Kyle Emmerson wrote:

Blue Tides

By Kyle Emmerson

Ranma 1/2 is the sole intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi. I take no
credit in the creation of these characters and situations. Enjoy.

Prologue: The First Wave

----

        The morning air chilled Ranma's face as he ran, but that was to be expected
after first being drenched by an old woman watering her walkway, and then
stopping at the local acupuncture clinic to get some warm water. It was the
beginning of his second day in Nerima Ward, and he had always been a firm
believer that bad news came in threes.

        The first, he thought as he ran along the chain link fencing that bordered
the street from the road, was the news that he would be attending the local
high school. School had never been Ranma's strong point. He believed all he
needed to know in life was to be learned from the art. The indiscriminate
Anything-Goes style of the Saotome and Tendo Clans had taught him much over
the years. What he had learned more than anything else over the years was
that his father was not to be trusted.

        The second came simply enough in the form of the old woman watering her
walkway, catching him entirely off-guard while he had been taunting Akane,
his new favorite pasttime, and changing his form.

        And then the brief visit to the clinic, where he met Doctor Tofu. While not
necessarily bad news, the visit had left him wondering quite a bit.

        "He was pretty good," Ranma said, breaking the silence between him and
Akane. "Martial artist?"

        Akane looked up at him inquisitively. "You could tell?" she asked.

        "Yeah," he said, concentrating on where his feet were going. "I mean, he
snuck up on me without me noticing him. To hide himself from my senses that
well... he'd have to be pretty damn good."

        Akane smirked. "Well, he's been--"

        "Whoa! Heads up!"

        It took all of Ranma's skill and talent not to be knocked off of the fence
by a flying projectile that was closing in on his head. However, running
along a fence, and not being able to dodge well enough rendered all his
skill and talent useless.

        'Three,' he thought as he was struck on the side of the head, and fell off
the fence, landing rather roughly on his rear on the road. After using a
moment to clear his head and regain his bearings, he jumped back up onto his
feet and prepared to face his assailant.

        What he saw wasn't something he had expected, however. A boy around his own
age slowed to a halt about three yards away from Ranma, bent over to pick up
the projectile, which, Ranma now saw, was a skateboard.

        "What the hell was that for?" Ranma yelled.

        The guy looked over at Ranma and allowed him to get a good look. He was a
tall boy, with short hair. He wore a red bandanna on his head, a yellow
hooded sweatshirt and a pair of extremely wide-leg jeans. Ranma also noted a
metal chain that ran from his back pocket to just under the hoodie.

hoodie?  What's that?  Some clothing jargon I'm unfamiliar with?  

        "Whoa, man," he said. "I'm really sorry about that. You okay?"

        "I'm fine," he said. "No thanks to you." He motioned to the skateboard.
"Now tell me why is it I'm trying to dodge flying skateboards."

        "Dude, the fences out here are weak, man. I'm just grinding along, and
there must have been a slippery spot on the fence, 'cause it just slipped
out from under me. I gave you a heads up. I'm really sorry, dude. When I saw
you running along the fence, I figured a heads up would be all you needed.
You musta been distracted, huh?"

        "What are you talking about?" Ranma said, looking sheepishly at
Akane. "I wasn't distracted."

        "No, man. You had to have been. You're either a gymnast or a martial
artist, right?"

        Ranma rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm a martial artist. So?"

        "Well," the boy continued. "Martial artists who can run along the top of a
chain link fence can usually tell when someone else is on the fence, even if
they can't see them. These things don't exactly have the best suspension,
you know what I mean?"

        "Well, yeah, but I wasn't distracted. I don't get--"

        "Look," Akane interupted. "You two can argue till you're both blue in the
face, but I need to get to school." She turned and made her way down the
road. "And I suggest you hurry, too Ranma. That stop at Doctor Tofu's didn't
help us out in the time department."

        "Shit!" the boy said. "School! I'm gonna be late, too!" He dropped his
skateboard on the ground and started to ride, passing by Ranma and Akane in
mere seconds.

        "Sorry again, man!" he yelled as he left earshot.

        Ranma frowned. "Who the hell was that?" he asked nobody in particular.
"Damn weirdoes." He ran to catch up with Akane.

        "Who was that guy, anyway?" Ranma he asked as he caught up.

Ranma asked

        Akane shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "He might be one of the new kids
everyone's been talking about."

        "New kids?"

        "Yeah," she said. "I mean... you were a surprise to say the least, but the
whole school has been buzzing about the news kids coming from America. One
of them is supposed to be in our class, and the other is going to Nabiki's."

        "Why from America?"

        "Well, the new Headmaster has been living in Hawaii for a few years," she
explained. "And his kids were born here, but raised over there. 

I've got Point of Departure questions here.   If they've been living with
Kuno-kouchou for the last few years, why aren't they mental?  Or bald?  
Is the PoD that he was never crazy but just went to Hawaii anyway?  

Now one possibility is that the Principal went to Hawaii earlier, before
he went insane, and thus escaped whatever pressures sent him around the
bend...like say...his wife.  Perhaps he went there shortly after 
his children were born, explaining why his children are functionally
American.  However, in that case he hasn't been living
there for "a few years".  He's been living there for "ten years".  



Technically,

they're Americans, but legal Japanese."

Technically, they're Japanese, but really they're Americans."

        Ranma remained silent in thought for a few more moments, but soon, the
sight of Furinkan High School loomed in the distance. "Great," he said.
"Just great."

I'd think his reaction would be more more like "Whatever,".  Why would
he care?  

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

        "Students," the teacher began, standing at the front of the room. "Please
rise."

        The students did so, without many complaints.

        The teacher waited until everyone was still and silent before she began.
"We have a special surprise today, class. As it turns out your homeroom will
have not just one, but two new students in class. She motioned to a girl
standing off to one side. "This is Kodachi Kuno, whom we have been
expecting. She, as you know, is the daughter of Headmaster Kuno. Let's give
her a warm welcome, shall we?"

        The class bowed at her presence as she walked up to the center. Unlike the
other girls in the classroom, she wasn't wearing the traditional Furinkan
uniform. Rather, she was wearing a red tank top, and a pair of worn blue
jeans that had seen its day long ago. She gave the class a brief nod and a
wave.

        "Hey," she said, seeming almost disinterested.

without much interest.  

        "Kodachi, as you well know, spent most of her life in Hawaii. Isn't that
right, Kodachi?" the teacher asked.

        Kodachi gave a nod. "Yeah," she said. "My brother and I used to come here
during summer break every year, but we've never really lived here."

        "How new and exciting this must be for you, to get back in touch with your
roots. I'm sure you'll have a great time here in Nerima," the teacher said,
then motioned to an empty seat near the window. "If you'll take your seat,
I'll introduce the next student."

        Kodachi shrugged and then moved over to her assigned seat.

You know, that would be regarded as remarkable insolence.  Although
obviously the teacher might cut her slack for being his boss's daughter,
the girls would notice.  

        "Next, we have Ranma Saotome," the teacher said, motioning Ranma over.
Ranma walked to the front of the class and nodded, much in the same fashion
Kodachi did.

        "Ranma has just returned from a long trip in China," she stated. "A few
years, isn't that right, Ranma?"

In the main timeline Ranma spent only one year in China, incidentally.  

        Ranma nodded. "Yeah," he said. "My Pop and me did a lot of training out
there."

        "I also understand you're a talented martial artist," she said.

        Ranma nodded again. "Yup."

That Ranma doesn't end up late is a good thing incidentally.  No fight
with Kuno and the boys leads to knock-on consequences, very good.  

        "Very good," she said. "You may take your seat as well, Ranma."

        Ranma did just that, finding an empty spot near the rear of the class.
        The teacher began gathering her notes for class, and then looked up. "I'd
also like to remind our new students that while you may attend today sans
uniforms, you are required to wear them starting tomorrow. Am I understood?"

        Both Ranma and Kodachi gave an annoyed nod.

Possibly another consequence of a madman never having been principal.  
Ranma might worry about the possibility of a sex change in boy's clothing,
though.  He likes the Chinese clothing because it's asexual and one size
fits all.  

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

        "Class," Nabiki's first period teacher said, "this is Tatewaki Kuno, who
has just moved here from America. Please give him a warm welcome," the
teacher said.

        "Hi," Kuno said, waving. "Call me Tach, or Kuno."

        The class spent a few moments looking him over. Before long, most of the
girls in the class had made up their minds about him... they liked him.

        However, as physics teach us, every action must have an equal and opposite
reaction. So thus, the boys in the class decided they didn't like him.

        Nabiki, on the other hand, was giving him a more detailed appraisal. First
off, she had heard things about him before he showed up in class that
morning, but not much.

        The most important was that he was rich. This automatically put him in
Nabiki's good books. Second, that he was widely popular back in Hawaii,
which obviously meant that he was a social being. Another good point.

        Third, and she only found this out that morning, he was attractive. Very
much so. Therefore, Nabiki decided that they must become friends.

        Kuno took his seat and the teacher left the class, allowing much of the
class to converge upon his desk and begin the questioning. Nabiki couldn't
have that. She stood up and cleared her throat.

        A path was cleared almost immediately. She walked up to a confused looking
Tachi Kuno, and bowed.

        "Kuno-san?" she asked. "I'm Nabiki Tendo."

        Tachi looked up at her with an appraising look, then smiled. He extended
his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said.

        Nabiki looked at his hand skeptically, then took it in hers and shook. "I'd
like to welcome you to Furinkan," she said. "And if you... need anything,
I'm the person you talk to."

        Tachi blinked for a moment, then smirked. "Gotcha," he said. "I'm good for
a little while, but I may need to talk to you during the weekend sometime."

Uh...he brought weed in his luggage?  He's lucky he made it.  

        Nabiki nodded in understanding-- although she really had no idea to what he
was referring to, but she wasn't about to let him in on that.

        "I'd be glad to assist you any way I can, Kuno-san," she said.

More likely Kuno-kun.  

        "Great, but can you lose the san?" he suggested. "Back home they either
called me Tach or Kuno. Either is fine, but this whole Kuno-san thing sucks.
Got me?"

        Nabiki smiled. "Of course... Kuno," she said.

        A moment later, the teacher walked back into the room, and the class took
their seats. Lessons commenced.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

        Ranma wandered around the schoolyard during lunch before settling on a spot
he deemed worthy of his attention. It was a tree branch large enough for him
to lounge on, and high enough for him to see most of the yard.

        "I dub thee, branchy," Ranma said as he leaned back on it.

        As chance would have it, the tree he took residence in just so happened to
be the same tree Akane and her friends Yuka and Sayuri sat under to eat

You mean habitually?  

their lunches. The three were aware of Ranma's presence, 

Hm.  That's surprising.  You must be dumping the "comical misunderstanding"
element of Ranma.  Not that I'm criticising, merely observing. 

so they included

him in their conversations.

        "So... Ranma, you're staying with Akane?" Sayuri asked.

        "He's not staying *with* me," Akane corrected. "Just in my house."

        Yuka smiled and added her own comment. "Sure. I bet you two are secretly
lovers, hiding your love from everyone in order to--"

        "Don't get too carried away there, Yuka," Sayuri said.

        Ranma rolled his eyes back and scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said. "Look, I'm
sorry to disappoint, but I'm not really interested in Akane, okay?" He
turned and looked down at them. "She's too tomboyish for me."

        Akane glared back up at him. "And he's too girlish for me," she shot back.

girlish?  girly?  feminine?  

        "Ooh," Yuka said. "Lovers spat."

        "We're not lovers!" came the simultaneous reply.

        "Who's not?" a new voice asked. The four of them turned to see Kodachi
enter the area. "Sorry if I overheard something I wasn't supposed to."

        "No," Akane said, smiling. "Don't worry about it. You're welcome to sit
with us if you want."

But don't go berserk and pull a gun, please...


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