Pursuit of Happiness
Chapter 4

_______________________


By Exar A.K.A. Ben Jernigan
selfemployedninja@gmail.com

_______________________

Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Ranma, and make
no money off this writing.

_______________________

Really long author's note at the bottom, read it if you
like.

Some ideas about Ki shamelessly ripped off from Brian Randall's
"Burst of Confidence". But largely based on the manga anyway.

Comments and Constructive Critisism always welcome.
Flames will make me cry. Do you really want that on your
conscience?

_______________________


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.

_______________________



Ranma rolled out of bed at his standard time. 6:34 A.M. He would have
sparred with the old man, but Genma was in panda form, and still hung
over. Got to practice by myself this morning, he thought. Oh well,
it's not like I really need Pops anymore.

He pulled on a gi and leapt out the window, certain in his ability to
land safely. He hadn't reckoned on Shampoo being in the way.

She'd been indecisively standing at the edge of the roof, trying to
determine if she should wake him, and had decided not to, this time.
She'd just jumped down to go when he exited the building.

They collided in midair, and spun wildly out of control before crashing
in a heap on the ground below.

Ranma lay on his back, gasping for air due to Shampoo landing atop him.
She recovered instantly and twisted to face him.

"Nihao, Ranma. Shampoo come remind you of promise you make to take her
on date. Festival is coming up this weekend and Shampoo would like go
with Airen!" she said, bubbly and cheerful and clearly enjoying laying
on top of Ranma.

"Sure, Shampoo, just get offa me, wouldja? I gotta warm up," he mumbled,
gesturing with the one hand that wasn't trapped between them.

"Wo ai ni, Ranma," she said, then rose and leapt away.

Ranma got up and began his morning regimen. It was going to be a long
day. He just knew it.

________________________


Ranma walked into the kitchen where Kasumi was making breakfast.

"Mornin', Kasumi. What'cha fixin'?"

"Good morning, Ranma," she said, smiling. "The store had a sale on
traditional American breakfast food, so I thought we'd try a little
variety this morning."

Spread on the counter before her was a box of pancake mix, some eggs,
bacon, bread for toast, and instant powdered grits.

"Wow. I've never had an American breakfast before. Their burgers are
pretty good, tho. And with you cooking, it can't be bad."

Kasumi blushed at the complement and shooed him out of the kitchen with
orders to take a bath.

Ranma walked into the hall and past the stairs just as Akane came down.
She saw him and hurried to catch up.

"Ranma...," she said, tentatively.

"Yes, Akane?", Ranma replied, carefully keeping his face calm.

"After your bath, I... I'd like to talk to you." She lowered her gaze
and stared at the floor, hoping he'd give her a chance.

"Uh, sure. I'll meet you in the dojo, okay?"

"Sure. Er... thanks, Ranma," she said, turning and sprinting back up
the stairs.

Ranma stared at where she'd been, thinking to himself 'What was that
all about?'.

________________________


Ryoga awoke in a small cage, unsure of where he was. In the next cage
over, there lay a duck.

"Bwee!!" (Translation for those who don't speak pig: Mousse? Where am I?)

"Qwack..." (Translation for those who don't speak duck: Just five more
minutes, mom...)

"Bwee, bwee!" (Mousse, wake up! Get me outta here!)

"Quack, wakk." (Ryoga, you know I can't understand you when you're a
pig. Leave me alone.)

"WEE! BWEE! BWEEE! BWEEEE!!" (ARRGH! I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU! I HATE
BEING A PIG! RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!)

Shampoo walked in, wondering what all the ruckus was about, and saw
that Ryoga had woken up.

"Pig-boy, Shampoo turn you human if promise not hit on Shampoo."

Ryoga held one hoof up in a porcine version of a scout's salute.
"Bwee." (I Promise.)

Mousse was too busy having a conniption fit to really do much.
"Quack-Wakk-Wakk!" (What? Hibiki hitting on my Shampoo? I'll never
stand for it! Never!!)

Shampoo pulled Ryoga out of his cage, walked to one of the Cat Cafe's
bathrooms and tossed him in, along with his clothes and a kettle.

Moments later, a human, clothed, and slightly steaming Ryoga walked
out of the bathroom.

"Shampoo, thank you for your hospitality, could I repay you by taking
you to a movie tonite?"

"ARRGH! Shampoo forget! Cassanova Point not work on animal, only human.
Promise made in pig form not hold."

"I'm sorry, did I break my promise? Let me make a new one. I'll be by
your side forever. Now let's seal our promise with a kiss."

"Stupid Pig-boy try make Shampoo sick? Out!"

"But Shampoo..."

Shampoo cut off what Ryoga had planned to say by grabbing him by the
neck and throwing him headlong out a convenient window.

She sat down at a table and reigned in her temper.

"Aiyah. Even Mousse not that annoying."

________________________


Ranma walked into the dojo with a wary look on his face. He wasn't
sure what to expect from Akane, but he wasn't expecting it to be
pleasant. She hated him, after all.

He walked up to where she sat, leaned against one wall, and squatted
down in front of her, resting on the balls of his feet, heels in
the air.

"Whattaya want to talk about, Akane?"

Akane stared at him for a moment, a small blush riding her features,
and then spoke.

"Ranma, I... may have been mistaken. I want to apologize. To you. I
said some things that I didn't really mean. I'm not saying I like
you or anything, but I don't hate you, Ranma. I'd kind of like to be
your friend."

Ranma froze in astonishment as dozens of voices repeated in his head:
Akane doesn't hate you.

Akane stared at him, nervously working her hands, waiting for him to
respond.

Finally, he snapped out of his daze and replied.

"Akane, I, uh, I accept your apology. I'd like to be your friend, too."

Ranma thought to himself, 'I love her, but she doesn't love me back.
If friends is the best I can get, I'll take it.'

He extended his hand. "Friends?"

Akane thought to herself, 'I l- like him, but he doesn't seem to like
me back. If friends is all I can get, I'll take it.'

She took his hand in her own and shook it. "Friends. I still get to
mallet you if you do something perverted, tho. And you better be good
to my sister!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Akane let go of his hand, and smiling, asked, "Hey, would you like to
spar? You know, for fun?"

"Umm, yeah. Now that you aren't my fianc�e, I guess I can do that. Just
let me do something real quick."

"Okay."

Ranma walked over to the door and picked up the bucket kept there. He
stepped outside, and dumped the water over himself.

Ranma walked back inside, replaced the bucket, and moved up to face Akane.

"Now we can go. It doesn't feel as weird fighting a girl when I am one."

He took a relaxed stance, and she a tense, stylized one. Reacting to an
unseen signal, they rushed at each other, and began their dance.

Kasumi watched them from her place just outside, and felt glad that Ranma
and Akane had settled some of their differences. She just couldn't
understand the small part of her that wished they hadn't.

________________________


Breakfast passed quietly, but without the awkward silences that had become
common lately, as Ranma and Akane attempted to ignore each other's very
existence.

As Ranma helped Kasumi pick up the dirty dishes, he cleared his throat and
spoke softly.

"Kasumi, I wanted to talk to you about this weekend. The Festival is
comin' up and..."

"That's wonderful, son! You're welcome to take Kasumi to the festival!
Here, I'll even help out and give you some money to take her with!"

Ranma found himself being hugged and backslapped at the same time, as
his father and Mr. Tendo congratulated him for taking the initiative
with Kasumi. Soun shoved a small wad of bills into Ranma's hand, making
Ranma mildly angry, because he knew where the money had likely come from.

Kasumi had an odd look on her face, almost hopeful, but also partially
fearful. Ranma saw this, and for once accurately interpreted the emotions
he saw there.

"Ranma, is this true? Did you want to take me to the festival?", she asked.

Ranma couldn't say no to that face. He just couldn't do it.

"Yeah, Kasumi, I did. Wouldja like to go with me?"

She smiled then, and the smile lit up her face like a beacon. This was
different than the normal 'cheerful' smile she wore all day. This was
a genuine smile, that simply showed how happy she was. Ranma knew he
was going to get into trouble about this, but somehow, looking at Kasumi's
smile, it didn't really matter.

________________________


Ranma was Sitting Still.

Very still.

And he was Breathing.

In.

And Out.

Because that's how you meditate.

Sit Still, Breathe In and Out. Be at One With the Cosmos.

Be Cosmically Bored.

"This isn't working."

Ranma's ankle was healed, but never one to pass up an opportunity, he
was milking it a bit, and stayed home another day.

He was currently trying various methods of thinking of a way out of the
latest mess he seemed to have found himself in.

Fact: Ranma promised to take Shampoo to the festival.

Fact: Ranma promised to take Kasumi to the festival.

Problem: There is only one Ranma.

Solution that won't hurt anyone's feelings: Still in progress.

"Crap."

________________________


Ryoga was lost.

Normally, this isn't saying much. Rather, it's like saying a tree is
green or that water is wet. In other words, generally true, but with
some variance based on seasonal changes.

Today, he was fairly sure where he was geographically, but he was
still going places he'd never been before.

For instance, a singles bar.

He'd seen the sign for the bar from six blocks away, while trying to
find his way to the Tendo Dojo, and suddenly lost all control of his feet.

Now he was inside, and facing a rather pretty girl with pink hair,
enough piercings to set off a metal detector next door, and breath
like a Tennessee still.

Ryoga wasn't totally certain what time zone he was in, but he was pretty
sure it was a little early to be as drunk as this girl seemed to be.

"Yer cute, mister."

"Why thank you miss, you are a vision of loveliness yourself."

"Join me for a drink?"

"I'd rather you joined me for a stroll. I know of a little place we can
go to be alone."

In his own mind, Ryoga sighed in frustration, having become somewhat
used to being a passenger in his own body.

"You're a bold one, but I'm in the mood for a little fun. Lead on"

Ryoga took her arm and walked out the door, a confident spring in his step.

They walked a few blocks in silence, with Ryoga internally wondering
how he was going to get out of this, and the girl seeming to need all
her concentration to stay upright. Ryoga began to get truly concerned
when they found themselves standing in front of a love hotel.

The girl clutched Ryoga's arm and looked up into his eyes.

"I hope you martial artist types are a flexible as you look while yer
fightin'."

The passing car, and the spraying water it launched into the air as it
hit a puddle, mercifully saved him from responding.

Never had Ryoga been so grateful for his curse. If he landed in a
crock pot five minutes from now, he still would be glad for it.

P-chan fled as quick as his porcine hooves could carry him.

_______________________

Ranma stood in front of the Cat Cafe, hesistant to enter, but not
knowing where else to go.

Mousse walked by, glasses off, and Ranma saw little reason to provoke
him. Ignoring the white robed martial artist, Ranma walked inside.

Cologne looked up for her cooking and saw him enter. She hopped out
into the dining room to greet him.

"Welcome, Son-in-law! Shampoo isn't here, if you were coming to visit
her, or did you want your old job back?"

"Neither, ol' ghoul. I wanted to ask you a question."

"Really? You have need of my wisdom? Perhaps you should be more
respectful when you come asking favors, Son-in-law."

"I didn't mean ta..."

"Yes you did, young man. You were quite clear. Until you can be more
respectful, I see no need to tell you anything. Good day."

Shocked at her abrupt refusal, Ranma watched Cologne hop away.

Ranma realized he would gain nothing here, and left.

As he walked down the sidewalk, away from the resturaunt, he muttered,
"She'll teach me all kinds of things when I want her to leave me alone,
but when I want to learn something, she blows me off. What's the deal
with that?"

Unexpectedly, a voice answered him.

"Saotome, that is because not every martial arts instructor is like your
father, or Happosai. Some are truly worthy of respect, and expect it,
rather than demand it. Especially from students attempting to learn the
deepest secrets of the art."

Ranma whirled in surprise, to see Mousse leaning against a telephone
pole, glasses on.

"Why should I respect the ol' ghoul? She's caused nothin' but trouble
for me since she came here!"

"Yes, trouble that has tought you some of the most powerful of the
Chinese amazon techniques. You think she teaches just anyone the
Chestnut Fist? Or the Rising Dragon Ascension Wave?"

Mousse added in a quieter, more dangerous tone of voice, "You think
she's taught them to me?"

Ranma swallowed nervously, and replied, "I- I never thought about that."

"Well, start thinking, Saotome. I saw the end of your fight with Dr.
Tofu the other day. If you want Cologne to teach you the secrets of
Ki, you will have to treat her like the master she truly is."

"Why are you telling me this, Mousse?"

"Why? Because I want you to try, and I want you to fail. And I want
you to do it right in front of Shampoo, so she can see the truth about
Ranma Saotome."

"Gee, thanks. You're on top of my christmas list, too."

Mousse simply smirked and strode away from Ranma.

_______________________

Ranma approached the sleeping panda with a kettle in hand. He poked his
father experimentall with his foot, then dumped the kettle on the
unconsious bear.

Genma sat up spluttering and flailing his arms randomly, forcing Ranma
to duck or be swatted.

Genma regained his composure and glared balefully at his son.

"What are you doing, boy? There's no reason to disturb your poor
father in such a way."

Ranma sat in front of his father and said, "I need your help, Pop. I
need to learn about somethin' called Ki."

Genma nodded sagely.

"Ah, that," he said. "Waste of time. Very dangerous attacks, usable by
only the most focused and disciplined of martial artists. The Anything
Goes School does not use them, as the discipline required to use them
does not mesh well with the main tenants of the school."

"So that's why the old lech tosses around firecrackers."

"Exactly."

"He's too lazy to use this 'Ki'."

"Err, that's one way of looking at it. The Master would be both more and
less frightening if he did use Ki, son."

"Why?"

"Because focus and discipline do not change who you are, just how
effective you are at accomplishing your goals."

With that, Genma tipped a glass onto his head and rolled over, slipping
into ursine slumber.

_______________________

Ranma walked slowly through the Tendo house, his hands clasped behind
his back.

"Well, great. Pops was no help at all. I better know a little more about
this 'Ki' stuff before the doc gets it in his head to come after me again.
I don't figure it'll take long."

He wandered into the dining room, and happened to glance Kasumi out in
the yard, hanging up laundry.

"That's another problem, the festival is tommorrow and I still don't
know what I'm going to do about it."

Ranma sat down on the edge of the porch and slapped his fist into his
palm.

"Why's everythin' gotta be so COMPLICATED?"

He looked up to see a startled-looking Kasumi staring at him.

"Whoops. Hehe. Didn't mean to say that so loud."

Kasumi finished hanging the shirt she had in her hands, then came over
and sat next to Ranma.

"What's wrong, Ranma? Anything I can help with, or that you just want
to talk about?"

"Well, I dunno. Some of it, I doubt you could help with, but the rest...
I better not say, you'll just get mad at me."

"Ranma, I'm not Akane. I can't promise that I won't be mad, but I do
promise I'll listen to you, and give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Really? You will?"

"Really. Now tell me what's so complicated."

"Welllll.... first off, the Doc hit me with an attack I'd never seen
before at the end of our fight the other day. It's called a 'Ki' attack.
It's like somethin' outta a manga. I didn't think people could actually
do that. But I guess I was wrong. I tried to get Cologne to tell me
about them, but she got all mad about me not respectin' her enough, and
told me to get out. Then I asked pops and he told me it was a waste of
time, that it took too much discipline for our school. But trust me, the
way it hit me, that's no waste of time."

Ranma slumped a bit, his chin resting on his chest.

"So you think Cologne knows more about these attacks, maybe could teach
you one?"

"Yeah, that old bat knows a little bit of everything. 3000 years of
chinese amazon history and all that."

"Well, you may have to just swallow your pride and be gracious to her. I
know she's done some terrible things to you, but she's also helped you a
lot. Remember how she trained you when you had the moxibustion?"

Ranma lifted his head and looked at Kasumi seriously.

"Yeah, she's alright. For an ol' ghoul," He finished with a grin.

"I guess I could try that. I won't brown nose, but I guess I can cut the
insults. Mostly. As long as she actually teaches me somethin'."

"All right, that's one complication out of the way. I get the feeling
there's more than that, though."

Ranma blushed, and hung his head again.

"Yeah, um. That is, about tommorrow..."

Kasumi's eyes widened a bit, and she whispered, "You don't want to
take me to the festival..."

Ranma quickly waved his hands in denial.

"No! I want to! I just... I just kinda promised Shampoo I would take
her. Before I ever talked to you about it."

"So why did you say you wanted to take me? Why lie?" She asked, while
thinking inside, <Why get my hopes up?>.

"When I started to talk to you, your dad jumped in and assumed that I
was asking you to go. I was actually going to just tell you I would
be gone, so you wouldn't have to cook for me."

Ranma stared at his shoes intensly, and continued.

"I was still gonna say the same thing till I looked at you, and I saw
how hopeful you looked. How nervous. And I just couldn't refuse you.
I'm- I'm sorry. You looked so happy after, and now I'm screwing it all up."

Kasumi reached over and tilted Ranma's head up, her hand on his chin.
Gently, she turned his head so he was looking at her.

She had a sad kind of smile on her face, but didn't seem angry.

"Well, Ranma, I can't say I'm happy that you are skipping out on a date,
but if you promised, I guess I can forgive you. But I can say this. I am
happy that you told me up front, rather than leaving me to figure it out
tomorrow. If you had been honest from the start, I'd have been even
happier, but I understand why you lied to me. Daddy can be very
overwhelming, and you don't want to hurt me."

Ranma's voice was very quiet as he said, "Yeah."

Kasumi dabbed at the corner of one eye and said, "But I want you to
realize that you did hurt me, it just took longer than saying no in
the first place would have, but it hurt more than that would have.
Please, from now on, don't lie to me. You talked about Akane not
trusting you. I want to trust you, but I can't if you lie to me.
Trust is something you earn, Ranma."

"Y-you're right, Kasumi. Never again."

"Thank you, Ranma. Now if there's nothing else you want to talk about,
I have laundry to finish." Having said that, Kasumi stood and favored
Ranma with a glowing smile.

"No, I think we got it covered, Kasumi."

A grin finding its way onto his face, he bounced to his feet, and leapt
out of the yard.

_______________________

P-chan scurried through Nerima, homing in on the Cat Cafe in his own
inimitable manner.

Through sheer luck or the blessing of a fickle god, he found himself
there in record time.

He squealed frantically at Shampoo, angrily cursing her and all amazons
in the foulest oinks he could muster. He even went so far as to invoke
the name of the dread Lord Porcus, god of sausage factories.

Taking pity on the little bwee machine, Shampoo took him into the back,
laid out clothes for him and set a kettle out, before beating a swift
retreat.

Upon resuming human form, he very carefully removed one of his bandannas,
and tied it over his eyes.

He stumbled out of the back room, (unknowingly) doing a very good Mousse
impression, and called out to Shampoo.

"Shampoo! Don't say anything. As long as I can't see or hear you, I'm in
control. You have got to turn off this pressure point! I can't stop
asking out every woman I see! I don't wanna be a womanizer!"

A dry cackle echoed through the resturaunt.

"You used the cassanova point on this fool, Shampoo? And didn't tell
him it lasts for ten days? You are too cruel, granddaughter."

Ryoga whirled and ripped off his improvised blindfold.

"Cologne you lovely creature! Run away with me!"

_______________________

Ranma bounced from rooftop to rooftop, crossing town at a good clip.

He jumped over a chimney flue, backflipped, grabbed the top of a
chainlink fence, did a brief handstand, and frontflipped onto the
sidewalk directly in front of the Cat Cafe.

Just in time to hear:

"ALRIGHT! SHAMPOO GO ON DATE WITH STUPID PIG-BOY!! JUST LEAVE SHAMPOO
ALONE FOR TWO SECONDS!!"

Ranma slid open the door and stuck his head in.

"Err... Is this a bad time?"

"No, it very good time. Ranma come right on in. Just stay between
Shampoo and Pig-boy. Him driving Shampoo crazy!"

"Actually, I'm here to talk to Cologne. Where is she?"

"Great-grandmother is in the basement, Ranma. What you want talking
with her about?"

"Nothing too important, Shampoo. Just had some questions for her.
Hey, if you're dating Ryoga now am I still taking you to the
festival?"

Ryoga piped up quickly with; "Shampoo, please allow me to escort
you to the festival. I'll show you a far better time than this
ruffian ever could."

Ranma blinked for a second. <He sounds more like Kuno than Ryoga.
What's up with him lately?>

Shampoo ground her teeth together. She wheeled around to face
Ryoga. "FINE!! Now Pig-boy SHUT UP!"

She turned back to Ranma quickly and said, "Shampoo sorry, Ranma.
It look like Shampoo busy tommorrow. We go on date another time.
Maybe have roast pork dinner."

Ranma shook his head and walked downstairs, glad to get away from
the amazon and her new beau.

_______________________

"Hello Son-In-Law. Come to try again, have you?"

"Er, yes. I have, Sensei."

Cologne turned from the book she was reading to regard him.

"Much better, my student. What did you wish to ask of your master?"

<Wow, it's working.> thought Ranma.

Ranma cleared is throat and said, "I want to learn more about a
kind of attack I saw the other day. A Ki attack."

"Ki attacks? That is interesting. I can tell you much. What are
you asking?"

"What are they? I never thought they were even real till I was
being hit by one."

"In their simplest form, Ki attacks are balls of compressed air
that are shaped and fired by focusing a martial artist's life-force,
 or Ki, through their battle aura. More advanced forms can take on
elemental aspects, the taint of demonic forces, or the purity of the
higher realms. They require much of the martial artist who wishes to
use them, but they are a powerful addition to their arsenal."

"Wow. And how do you perform one?"

"The easiest way, but one frought with peril is to choose an emotion
to focus upon, and channel your life force through it. Fear, anger,
depression, greed, immature love, confidence, happiness, and so on.
Negative emotions are easier, as they are often more plentiful and
closer to the surface in a fight.

The danger of using emotions to power Ki attacks is that it encourages
that emotion in you, and makes you dependant on it. Eventually, some
warriors have become totally dominated by the emotion they have chosen,
and unleashed 'perfect' versions of their attacks. These 'perfect'
attacks are incredibly destructive, but to all parties involved.

The safer route, but much longer one, is through meditation and physical
deprivation, the martial artist can learn to exist in a emotionless void,
and then have a far greater degree of control over his life force. This
approach is best used by bhuddist monks and the like.

Most martial artists that reach the point of using Ki opt for the middle
ground. They learn to use Ki through emotion, but gradually as they
learn to control their life force, they move away from emotion as a
crutch."

"That's a lot to process. Thank you, Sensei."

"Think long and hard about this Ranma. Learning to use Ki will put you
into a whole new level of the art. Be certain that you are ready for
the challenge inherent in that."

"Uh, yeah. I'll think. You got it."

_______________________

Ranma sat very still.

In.

And Out.

In.

And Out.

In.

<Arrgh. Still boring.>

And Out.

The door to the dojo slid open.

"Ranma, dinner is read- Oh, my! I didn't realize you were meditating."

Ranma opened his eyes and looked up at his fiance. She was currently
upside down, and looking rather abashed that she had interrupted him.

He put his hands on the floor and pushed off, flipping himself back
rightside up.

"No problem Kasumi, it wasn't working very well anyway. Dinner sounds
great. I'm starved!"

She gave him a relieved smile and started to turn back toward the
house.

"Hey, Kasumi! Before we go back in, I wanted to ask ya somethin'."

She stopped and waited for him to cross the floor and join her in the
doorway.

"What is it, Ranma?"

A tinge of red appeared across his cheeks as he began, and a flicker
of hope lit in her heart.

"Well, I went by the Cat Cafe to try to talk to Cologne again, and I
saw Shampoo breifly, and welll.... long story short,
I'mnottakin'hersoIwannatakeyou."

kasumi blinked as the rush of words hit her, but she paused for a
moment, and then replied.

"If you are asking what I think you are, then I would love to, Ranma."

Ranma sagged as nervous energy drained out of him.

"Whew. That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"You did ask me out, right?"

Ranma got a hunted look on his face, and his eyes darted around the
room, expecting someone, anyone, to come barreling in, smash the
wall in, anything.

Nothing happened.

"Uh, yeah. I did."

Kasumi hit him with a dazzling smile and said, "Good. Now let's go eat
dinner."
_______________________

End Chapter 4

AN:WHOO! Back in the groove! This chapter was really, really hard to write.

The original version (plotted and partially written 2 years ago) was
to have Ukyo added to the mix, and Ranma trying to juggle taking all
three to the festival at once. There were to be wacky hijinks all
around, culminating in all three girls finding out what was going
on and being truly pissed. U&S were to beat on Ranma and forget
about it in no time, but Kasumi was to take it hard, and his
regaining her trust was to be a subplot for a few chapters to come.

But I couldn't write it. I can do a fight scene, and I'm getting
the hang of dialog, but the chaotic, fast-paced scenes required
for the festival sequence were (and are) beyond me at my current
writing skill level. So I got frustrated, and that is the biggest
reason I quit writing fanfics for so long.

Fast forward 2 years. Real life has been a bit rough on ol' Exar,
I have a lot of time on my hands, and a desire to do more with it
than play World of Warcraft (dreanor server, horde, lvl 60 warrior
named Midas, or my alt, Abraxiel, a lvl 33 human priest on the
lightbringer server, if you wanna say hi). I surf around a bit and
stumble across Neon Exodus Evangelion, one of my all-time
favorite fics. I reread it and fell back in love with fanficion. I
bounced around, visited CORK, Larry F's site, and re-subscribed
to the FFML.

So here I am, back at my old stories. :)

I've revised and renamed Love's Truth, and taken this chapter, (and
of course, subsequent ones) in a new and fresh direction. Instead
of goofy chaos, I've chosen to have this chapter focus on one of the
themes that I feel is central to this story. The development of
Ranma's communication skills, and overall maturity level.

I want to tell a good story, and a fun one, but I also want to shake
things up a bit and have Ranma grow a bit.

Will he end up with Kasumi? Not tellin. Honestly haven't gotten there
yet. Ranma won't be the only one growing up. Akane is maturing as
well, and may yet win him back.

In any case, I'm glad to be back, and I hope you all enjoy reading
this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And I promise a good fight in
chapter 5 to make up for all this dialog.

I don't yet have exar.us up and running, but my fics can still be
found at florestica.com and fanfiction.net (if you're brave enough
to venture there, it's gotten scarier since I left).

Or you can contact me at selfemployedninja@gmail.com

Comments and Constructive Critisism always welcome. Flames will make
me cry. Do you really want that on your conscience?

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