Suggested changes: {before : after}
On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 20:26:16 -0700 Mike Feeney <starrngr@aol.com>
wrote:
Here is the latest {instalment : installment} of:
Ranma � and Maison Ikkoku are both property of Rumiko
Takahashi, and the several publishing companies she has sold
the rights {too : to} as well.
No, the Furinkan High schoolyard was not a safe place to
socialize this morning, the grapevine informing new arrivals
that for some reason 'Typhoon {Gajin : Gaijin}' was on the warpath.
Kuno, for example, had already received detention after having
been caught waiting inside the main gate in his kendo garb;
accused of planning on challenging one or both of his true
loves. What wasn't known was why; none of the students could
have known that Muck was suffering from a particularly intense
hangover. As always, it had seemed like a good idea at the
time...
"Customers, dear. Time to earn your pay again." Akemi
stuck her {tounge : tongue} out at Master, but her smile indicated no
malice in the act, then slipped off the barstool and headed to
greet the new arrivals.
Catching Master's eye, he gestured to the pair sitting
next to him, indicating that he'd buy their next bottle of
{Sake : sake}. Which allowed Muck to explain that it was to
congratulate them over their children's engagement; which, as
expected, allowed him into the conversation. And into the
round of {Toasts : toasts} they were proposing to each other's
brilliance; after which it started to getting rather drunk
out...
Which left him feeling rather... delicate this morning,
what with the very photons that illuminated the day bouncing
off his skull like drumsticks on a snare. Which was why he'd
summarily given Kuno detention after catching the senior
lurking just inside the front gates. He supposed it was
possible that the boy really wasn't laying in wait for Ranma
and Akane... but he didn't think that was the case. Thinking
hurt this morning, even after the {asprin : aspirin} had kicked in; best
to do as little of that as possible until after the hangover
was over...
Thinking around there is liable to hurt even without a hangover.
Ranma closed his eyes and let the warmth of the late
spring sun wash over him. He'd never expected that schoolwork
could be as demanding as the Art, in its own way, but it was.
Prior to this, school had been more of a vacation from the
rigors of his daily training with Pops; but as the morning's
lessons had progressed, he became more aware of just how
severe his present educational shortcomings were. Even with
Akane's help, he was worried if he could keep his rash vow of
the day before. And their fathers only made the situation
worse; {Pop's : Pops} didn't like the idea of spending so much time on
something that wasn't directly related to the Art, while old
man Tendo had broken into tears of joy at seeing the two of
them at the same table without bickering. Fortunately Tendo
had dragged Pops off to celebrate with a drink; allowing the
two work in peace... until he'd become frustrated. The
resulting fight had pretty much ended the evening.
Kouh-Li turned, and found himself face to face with what
could only be some sort of Onii! Emerald hard Irises were
{surounded : surrounded} by bloodshot eyes and a floridly red complection
that seemed to almost blend into fiery red hair and {moustach : mustache}.
The throbbing vein on its forehead seemed to promise great
pain if its edicts were crossed; and Kouh-Li decided that it
would be best to wait, and quickly removed himself from the
Furinkan schoolyard. Ranma opened his eyes again and looked
warily at Thunders-sensei, but 'Typhoon Gaijin' merely nodded,
first to Ranma, then to Nabiki, before moving on with his
rounds of the schoolyard.
That is a good description for an onii or even an oni.
Akane looked up at her would be {Fiancee : fiance} and sighed.
Nabiki and the school grapevine had been up to form, so the
whole school knew about the upcoming challenge well before
school had let out back at three. At 3:10, Ranma had met his
challenger on the field of battle, just outside the school
gates, by 3:12 it was over. Clearly, Ranma was
disappointed... as had been most of the school. For all his
bluster Kouh-Li had not been much of a challenge, his Curl-Li
maneuver had reduced the assembled student body to laughter
when they'd seen it; Ranma hadn't needed any but the most
basic techniques to claim victory. Ranma was so disappointed
that he'd even brushed her off when she suggested taking Ukyou
up on her offer of a victory okonomiyaki! That had stunned
the gathered student body even more than the easy victory,
because Ranma's {apatite : appetite} was just as legendary as everything
else about him...
And that was what had brought him back here. Given his
druthers, he'd have preferred to remain as far as possible
from the general insanity and random destructiveness that
surrounded the central players of this fractured fairy {tail : tale}.
Clearly, however, a greater power dictated that this was not
to be the case; he wasn't going to find out anything until he
stopped stalling and went inside!
The sound of her cry managed what the earlier shock did
not, to snap Ranma out of his confusion into full out battle
mode. Time seemed to crawl to a stand-still as Akane's chi-
swathed fist slowly moved forward while Ranma reached out and
put one hand on her wrist and the other on her opposite
shoulder, giving him the leverage he needed to twist forwards
out of her grasp and drop below the strike, throwing himself
into a tumbling forward roll as he did. The blow missed by
the slimmest of margins, the chi gathered around her fist
raising the hairs on his back as it passed. In fact, as her
fist reached full extension, the chi leapt from it and
continued on in a straight line to demolish a neighbor's
chimney! The two teens just stood there, looking across at
the results for a timeless moment. Unfortunately, said moment
was broken when Ranma's common sense failed to re-boot with
the rest of his brain, and he {quiped : quipped} "Gifun? Someone's been
watching to many American..."
Just what Akane had been watching {to : too} much of went
unproclaimed as Akane landed a left hook that sent Ranma
straight down into the koi pond.