From owner-ffml@ffml.fanfic.com Sun Jul 5 02:52:31 1998 Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by ffml.fanfic.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) id CAA17664 for ffml-outgoing; Sun, 5 Jul 1998 02:52:31 -0400 Received: from mailgate.telusplanet.net (mailgate.telusplanet.net [199.185.220.53]) by ffml.fanfic.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id CAA17661 for ; Sun, 5 Jul 1998 02:52:30 -0400 Received: from clgrps05.agt.net ([198.161.156.16]:38298 "EHLO clgrps05.agt.net" ident: "IDENT-NOT-QUERIED [port 38298]") by mailgate.telusplanet.net with ESMTP id <62889-19329>; Sun, 5 Jul 1998 00:27:32 -0600 Received: from default ([209.115.184.180]) by mail.telusplanet.net with SMTP id <267983-28135>; Sun, 5 Jul 1998 00:27:15 -0600 Message-ID: <359F1B1D.3E9F@telusplanet.net> Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 00:20:13 -0600 From: David Johnston X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.02E-KIT (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ffml@fanfic.com Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic] [Ranma] The Way We Weren't Chp 4 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-ffml@ffml.fanfic.com Precedence: bulk Here's the next bit. I may rewrite it a little still, I'm not sure. ________________________________________________________________________ Characters and situations are adapted from the work of R. Takahashi without permission. No offense intended. Comments, insults and questions should be sent to rgorman@telusplanet.net What has gone before: The usual stuff, except Ranma's a girl who changes into a boy, the Tendo brothers are Akira, Nikkei and Kaji, and Doctor Tofu's in love with the widowed Nodoka Saotome. Oh, and Kodachi paralysed Ranma in the previous chapter. The Way We Weren't Cue Theme Music: "She's Nobody's Girl" with the chorus in english, and the rest in Japanese. Chapter 4 Akira carefully manuevered Ranma's limp form past the front door, doing his best to forget a certain movie even though his actions exactly mirrored those of the male lead. Of course in the movie, the woman had been wearing a white dress instead of trousers. He carried her upstairs and in through the threshold of the room set aside for Ranma and Mrs Saotome, who greeted him, "Oh, hello Akira. Oh my, that is enterprising of you. Why don't I just give you some privacy while you put Ranma to bed?" "What?!" "Well she is your fiancee, dear, and you are a manly young man. Just do what comes naturally." Mrs Saotome left on that note. "But I...but she's..." Akira said, helplessly, then gave up and laid Ranma down on the futon. She looked up at him, still paralysed from Kodachi's drug. "Well... goodnight, Ranma." On impulse he leaned over and kissed her, then started back as her arms wrapped around his neck and she returned the kiss. He was a little foggy about how she got naked but as he backed away, in the dim light from outside her body looked every bit as perfect as it had in the bath when he'd walked in on her accidentally. Well, why not? She was his fiancee and she certainly seemed willing enough. He took a step back toward her, reaching out, then watched in horror as her form shifted and swelled. It was him, the boy he'd first met when Ranma arrived, who stood up, and reached to take of Akira. "Wait, what are you doing? Pervert! We're both guys!" Ranma's voice was very male as he answered, "Is that what you think?" He looked meaningfully at a point below Akira's face. She looked down at softly swelling curves... "AAAAAAAH!" Akira sat up in bed. He slowly lifted the blanket to look...then heaved a sigh of relief. He fell back against his pillow again closed his eyes and moaned, "I just gotta get out of this engagement." On the way to school that morning, Akira seemed to be in a rather testy mood. "Why don't you walk like a human being?" He emphasized the question by kicking the wire fence, which rippled under the impact, nearly causing Ranma to lose her balance atop the fence. "Hey, watch it! You nearly dumped me in the water!" she complained. "Well if you didn't have to show off, you wouldn't have a problem, would you?" Ranma perched and stuck out her tongue. "You just wish you could do it." "You think I can't do it?" Akira gritted his teeth and began to climb up on the fence. "You know, I started with something easier, and you aren't wearing the right kind of shoes for this," Ranma warned. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks, letting them drop to the grass beside the fence, but ignored the rest of her warning to clamber up again and slowly stand, arms stretched out for balance as his toes curled for purchase on the narrow metal rod forming the top of the fence. He stood there unsteadily as Ranma looked at him, unimpressed, and said, "Fine. You can do it...sort of. Now put your shoes back on so we can get to school." "Hah!, showed you-ooolf!" As he started to get back down, he lost his balance. Instinctively, Ranma reached out to try to steady him, but he was too far gone. He outweighed her by about 30 kilograms and she had no leverage. As he instinctively grabbed onto her, he pulled both of them off the fence; toppling both of them into the drainage canal on the other side in exactly the way that the fence was intended to prevent. Akira landed on top and recoiled hastily with an inarticulate cry as he felt the change happen underneath him. Ranma gasped for breath as she sat up in male form, and as soon she could breathe, scolded, "What did you do that for?" "If you hadn't grabbed onto me, I could have landed better and you wouldn't have fallen in." Ranma rolled her eyes, "Sure...whatever, klutz-boy. Let's hurry up and get to Doctor Tofu's. I already feel myself getting dumber, so I better switch back before I end up with your I.Q." She jumped over the fence and waited impatiently for Akira to climb back over. As he did, he asked, "Is there any truth to that? Do you change inside at all?" "NO! How can you ask that question?" "Sheesh, what a bad tempered guy you make. What, is it that time of the month?" There was a significant pause, then Ranma asked, "Akira, do you have any last requests?" She polished her fist with the palm of her other hand as she looked at him coldly. Akira gulped, then his attention shifted to behind Ranma, "Hey, Kodachi. Where'd you come from?" Ranma glanced over her shoulder, and when she looked back, Akira was already sprinting for his life. Doctor Tofu was a little startled when Akira charged in through his front door and apologised, "Sorry Doctor Tofu, matter of life and death. Do you have some warm water?" Doctor Tofu's glasses seemed to steam a little from the the kettle as he handed it to Akira, asking, "Oh! Ah! Does that mean that No-nodoka-san is..." "Sorry, no such luck. But Ranma's-" Ranma burst in, shouting "Akira! Get back here and take your punishment like a man!" She had to give Akira credit. Although he wasn't all that agile, he could really run when suitably motivated. Akira was there, holding a kettle, and standing beside Doctor Tofu as he bargained, "Wouldn't you like some nice hot water instead?" Ranma glanced at Doctor Tofu, who was watching with an air of benevolent interest, and sighed. "Fine. Hot water and an apology, and you get to live." "O.K. then," Akira conceded as he poured the water over Ranma and she transformed back to her natural gender. "I'm sorry, that last crack was a little over the top." She nodded in acceptance and warned, "We'd better get moving. You still have to deal with your fan club. Or is that club your fans?" "Hey, I'm not the one who'll slow us down. Remember I won the race, and your legs are shorter now." Tofu adjusted his glasses and said, "Nice seeing you again, Ranma. Please give your mother my...ah...respects." He took off his glasses and polished them, quite pleased with himself for getting that out so smoothly. "Um...yeah, nice seeing you too." Ranma said with a trace of discomfort. As they left Tofu could hear her continue with Akira, "That doesn't count, you took a head start!" By the time they reached the school gate, they were racing neck and neck. The usual reception committee was on hand to welcome Akira, so Ranma politely stepped to the side and waited him to finish. Really she thought that with all their practise, they would have learned something about how to attack in crowded circumstances, but they were getting in each other's way quite a bit, perhaps because they were as much competing with each other as trying to get Akira. She sensed an approach and wheeled, ready to block, and relaxed only slightly when she saw that it was Tatewaki Kuno. "Listen, I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday, but I didn't want to be late, especially on the first day of school." Kuno nodded with a trace of condescension, "Punctuality is indeed a virtue but matters of love and war know naught of timepieces. Since we have matters of import best dealt with privily and the spectre of tardiness doth loom over us like unto the shadow of mortality, therefore let us meet upon the football field yonder at 23 minutes to six this eve. Ranma paused for a moment, slightly confused, and then shrugged and said, "I'll be there." She wasn't sure exactly what he had said but it was probably a challenge and that invoked the first rule that her mother had drilled into her. Besides, she'd never taken on a kendoist before. It might be interesting. But first she had school to deal with... A few hours later, Ranma leaped up, snagged a potential home run and stifled a yawn. This game was so boring. You spent forever waiting for something to happen, and when it did...well, it didn't amount to much. It was like fishing, only you didn't get to eat what you caught. That was the third out, so she dutifully trotted off the grass to wait for her turn at bat. "Sugoi!" the girl sitting to the left of her enthused. "What a jump!" Ranma waved her hand in front of her face in token modesty, "Oh well, you know. Martial arts training, that sort of thing." "I'm Yuka Shinohara," she introduced herself. "Did you really study martial arts in China?" "Uh-hunh. I spent about a year in this little village near the Himalayas." "And I've never been father than Tokyo. Say, it's your fiance's turn on the parallel bars, he's good isn't he?" Ranma studied Akira's performance with a critical eye, "He puts too much muscle into it. He's just about knocking the bars down. Akira should relax more and stop trying to overpower everything." "Are you talking about his gymnastics or...something else?" "You know," commented Sayuri Narita on Ranma's other side. "If you're such an expert, maybe you should join the Gymnastics club. They'd win the tournament for sure." Ranma shrugged, "I'm more interested in martial arts training. What did you mean, 'something else', Yuka?" "Well, he's your fiance, right?" Ranma looked blank. "Yes...well...sort of. So?" "So you've done some stuff with him, right?" "Uh...stuff?" Sayuri explained, "She wants to know how good he is in bed." "WHAT!" Ranma squawked. "I never! He never! We only just met!" "Well, since you're already engaged it's not likely that he'll get you knocked up and then dump you, the way he did Kodachi." Sayuri prodded, delighted by Ranma's reaction. "He did?" Yuka asked. "I thought he just seduced her and ruthlessly abandoned her, breaking her heart and embittering her previously sweet disposition. She doesn't look pregnant now." Ranma looked over to where Kodachi was now draped over Akira. "Excuse me, it's my turn at bat." She picked a bat and began to walk over to the boys gym class. "Get offa me, Kodachi," Akira wearily ordered. Any lingering hint of arousal at close contact with a nubile female body was by far overshadowed by embarassment and frustration. Kodachi had apparently been spying on the tenth form from a tree at the edge of the athletic field, and she'd jumped onto his back as soon as he'd landed. Her gifts as a contortionist "Not until my Akira-sama forgives me. I didn't really mean to hurt the little slut, just convince her to let you go." Kodachi's voice took a slightly threatening tone as she continued, "You...don't _want_ to marry her, do you?" "No! So just leave her alone and get off my back I forgive you already!" "Oh really?" Akira winced at the sound of Ranma's voice. "Well, not everyone is so forgiving. Batter up!" A moment later Kodachi glared up from the ground and snarled, "My face! You little thug!" "I could have cracked your skull, you know," Ranma pointed out as she tossed the bat aside casually. The swing had been just a feint, but the butt end of the bat had jabbed with enough force to bruise Kodachi and knock her down. "I went easy on you and as far as I'm concerned, we're now even for last night." Kodachi's eyes narrowed. "Such a graceless, brutal attack. No wonder Akira has no interest in being shackled to such an unfeminine creature. Are you sure you aren't really a boy?" "I'm twice the woman you'll ever be in every way that matters!" Ranma declared indignantly. Kodachi flowed back to her feet, watching her opponent carefully. That seemed to be a sore spot. Perhaps an exploitable weakness... "Oh really? Now, I know how to fight with truly feminine grace, which doubtless helps explain how Akira chose to go out with me of his own free will but has to be forced to associate with you at all. Ranma gritted her teeth. "Going out with you shows he's stupid. Dumping you shows he's not a total moron." "Hey!" Akira exclaimed. "WHAT?" Ranma snapped back. "You know that's the nicest thing you've said about me since we met?" "Excuse me." Kodachi interjected "No, just this morning I said, 'You can do it'," she reminded him. "Yes, but that didn't sound sincere. You sounded really convinced that I'm not a total moron this time." "Excuse me!" Kodachi was beginning to sound irritated. "Don't get a swelled head. You're still a peeping tom and you copped a feel while you were picking me up last night." "That was an accident! It was dark! I apologised! I moved my hand!" "BE QUIET!" Both of them looked at Kodachi with identically startled expressions. She continued, "I challenge you, Ranma Saotome to a Martial Rhythmic Gymnastics duel a week from Saturday. If I triumph, you will abandon your claim to Akira. And, if somehow you stumble your way to victory, I shall abandon my devotion to him." Ranma tightly nodded. "Your challenge is accepted. End of Chapter 4 ________________________________________________________________________ And Now For a Word From Our Sponsor: You may expect Chapter 5 very shortly, since I wrote it before most of Chapter 4. But first, I need to fix it up a little. One Other Thing: Does anyone have the complete lyrics to "She's Nobody's Girl" by Michelle Wright?