Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ If Wishes were Fishes ❯ Memory 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

If Wishes were Fishes

A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction

By Speed

--
2045
--


The pair looked out over the fountain.
"been a while, eh?"
"Yeah, it has. I've missed it."
"I noticed no one else is here."
"Well, I basically sent it that way so little Mrs. You wouldn't get jealous.
She doesn't have anything to be jealous of, but it seems nice to keep her from being jealous."
"You're awfully thoughtful."
"How is she, anyways?"
"She's well. She has a lot to do, nowadays."
"You happy?"
"Yeah, I guess so." the figure sighed contentedly.
"You don't sound too thrilled."
"Well, I just wish I didn't have to sneak off for these little sessions. I wish she
could really understand this part of my life."
"Wishing gets you nowhere."
"yeah, but it's kinda fun."
The woman reached into her pocket. A second of change rumbling later, her wrinkled hand
emerged with a handful of coins.
"Here's to wishing that things had gone a little differently."
With that, she flipped a coin into the pool.
"Ha. That's no way to make a wish." snorted the older man.
"Shut up." the woman said, and then they both began to laugh.

Tired as they were from their exertions and their advanced age, Kuonji Ukyou and Hibiki
Ryoga laughed up a good storm. It seemed trivial, and frivolous, to laugh so much at
something not that funny. But when these two were together, they were never really
laughing at just one joke.
There was a lot of history between them, and that was what they always laughed at.
They hadn't always been friends- they'd started out using each other, scheming together,
and hadn't really changed much from that, a single episode notwithstanding, until after
their lives had calmed down. Ryoga had married Unryu Akari, and was living pretty
contentedly. A photo wallet of their two children lay open on the stone bench, between them.

Ryoga slowly stopped laughing, and began to rub his hand. HE slipped his wedding
ring off his finger, pulling it until the joint popped, then dutifully slipped the
ring right back on. It'd never left his hand.

"That's a nice ring, Sugar." Ukyou said, looking at it.
"Haven't you seen it before?"
"Well, yeah. But I'm amazed a dope like you could get such a nice ring."
Ryoga replied with a withering look.
Ukyou smiled back at the look, then held her own hand aloft.
"All I've got is this cheap ring I get to keep the geezers from hitting on me at the baths."
Ryoga laughed. "Or to make you feel like there's a reason no one hit's on you at the bath."
Ukyou fixed him with the Kuonji brand of the withering stare.

They'd started meeting like this long after the craziness had died down. They met once,
while Ryoga was lost and Ukyou was out for a walk. They got to talking, and pretty soon,
they were back to practicing martial arts.

Ryoga laughed again at the look. He turned away from Ukyou, towards the pond.
"Okay, you ready? Here's how to make a wish."
Ukyou dropped the glare and watched as Ryoga fished out a handful of change from his pocket.
Taking one coin between his middle finger and thumb, he pointed his hand at the fountain.
"Copper nameplate."
He flicked the coin with his index finger.

A loud snap shot through the park, followed by a brief high pitched whine as the coin screamed
through the air until it connected with the stone aside the copper nameplate.

Pretty soon, they'd started meeting regularly. Ostensibly it was to practice their martial arts,
but in truth, They were meeting because they enjoyed each other's company. When they were
young, they'd never Really seemed to have much in common. Now, it was hard to imagine a closer pair.

"Damn." Ryoga muttered.

"Oh, so I should miss? I think I'll try a little harder, myself."
"You always did try too hard, Ukyou."

Akari got jealous over the meetings, after a while. She wasn't much of a jealous person,
and Ryoga wasn't much of a cheat, but if your husband meets another woman at a park once
a week for a few years, you start to wonder.

"It's better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." Ukyou said wistfully.
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be nice to love and be loved and forget all this lost love stuff?"
"I thought the cave of lost love was fun." Ukyou said.
"Not that."
"I know. Besides, those ghosts were a real pain."
"Yeah. You really looked out for me though."
"Vice versa, I recall."
"I always tried."
"I've always like that about you, Ryoga. All or nothing. It might not be the best way to go
through life, but I think I like it."
"Thanks. I guess it goes for you too, though."
"After all these years, I guess we'd have something else in common."
"And we're both nice."
"You sure are. I've had less than shining moments."
"Me too. But you're a basically good person with some bad moments. I think I'm the same way."
Ukyou flipped a coin up into her hand, and looked at the fountain.
"You ready fountain? Cause I got a wish to make!"
Ryoga put on a funny voice. "Only if you promise not to give me a little Tsubasa wish."
Ukyou growled, then laughed in time with the lost geezer, as she called him in his old age.
"Okay, pool. I wish things had gone differently back then."
Ryoga picked up a coin. "I wish I could have beaten Ranma."
"I wish I hadn't spent ten whole years of my life, chasing Ranma."
"I wish I hadn't spent my life cursed to turn into a pig, of all things.!"
"I wish I hadn't been engaged to Ranma at all, now that I think about it."
"I wish I had been able to say the things I wanted to say."
"I wish I could have said them to someone who'd have listened to them."
"I wish I'd spent my life with someone who could understand me."
"I wish I'd fallen in love with someone kind and sweet."

Ryoga stopped for a second, looking at Ukyou.
"You know, I fell in love with kind and sweet women, and I'm not all that happy for it."
"That's because men are the one who need to be kind and sweet. Women have it naturally. You
need a woman with spunk."
Ryoga laughed. "I wish I had fallen in love with a woman with "Spunk"" he said. The coin
whistled through the air, colliding with the stone, cracking the surface.
Ukyou fixed Ryoga with a wistful look. "I wish I'd had a man who appreciated my spunk."
Ryoga gave her a look as her coin whizzed through the air, cracking stone for her first time.
Ryoga looked at the fountain. "You know, I could have done a whole lot worse than to fall for
you, instead of Akane."
"Likewise about Ranma."
Ryoga blushed a little. It was kinda cute for the geezer, now over 65 years old, to do so. He
picked up the last coin from his hand, rubbing it over his wedding ring for luck.
"I guess I wish it could have been someone like you." he said, as it whizzed into the stone,
cracking it deeply.
Ukyou just nodded. "Yeah. I wish you could have fallen in love with me too."
"Hey!"
"Just friends, I guess. Wonder why it happens that way?"
"Fate is Cruel beyond measure."
Ukyou picked up her coin. "I wish I could have loved someone like you, too."
The coin whizzed faster and louder than any of the other coins had, smashing into the stone
and causing cracks to splinter all the way through it.
"I'm outta coins."
"Here." Ukyou handed Ryoga her last coin.
"And here's one to wish that all our wishes come true." Ryoga said.
The statue spurting the water mounted on the stone, of one of the Greek 'Fates', gave a
shuddering creak as the coin screamed through the air, colliding with the base, shattering
stone and concrete. In a mighty shower of sprayed water, the statue fall to the water below
as the freed water under pressure rocketed skywards.

---

1986

---
A little pigtailed boy wandered in the big doors, catching up to his momentum from a push
from his father. His words echoed in little Ranma's ears- "Be good in school, Ranma, and
honor the School"
Ranma may have been only 6 years old, but he knew what his father meant by each "school"
and "School".
He walked up to the receptionist's desk, and waved his papers above his head to catch her
attention. She walked over, gave him a big smile, and sat him down while she looked over
his paperwork. She seemed satisfied that his vacsinashuns and his papuhwuhk were in order,
and she smiled as she took hold of Ranma's hand and led him down the hall. Ranma contemplated
pulling the hand away- he didn't need help- but then he thought that might hurt her feelings.
Besides, it was nice to have a lady hold his hand,
Even if she wasn't his mom.

He walked into the classroom, and smiled at the teacher lady. She smiled back, and stood up.
She put her hands on his shoulders and introduced him to the class. "Class, this is Saotome
Ranma."
He was greeted by various smiles and waves, and he made his way over to sit in the nearest
open spot.
Once he sat down, he turned to his left and asked the girl there what her name was.
"Hi, my name's Ranma, what's yours?"
"My Name's Kuonji Ukyou."
Ranma smiled brightly. "Let's be friends, ok?"
She nodded happily. She pointed to the boy next to Ranma.
"But don't be friends with him. He's mean."
Ranma looked at the boy to his right. He looked to be the same size as Ranma, although
maybe he looked a little younger.
Ranma turned conspiratorially to Ukyou while the other boy snorted and turned his head.
"Why is he mean? And who is he?"
Ukyou turned back to whispering, as the teacher began her lessons. "He always says he'll
come over and play with me, but then he never does. His name is Ryoga."
"You want me to beat him up?" Ranma asked. Excuses for fights were cool.
"No!" Ukyou said. She eeped and turned to face the teacher as the teacher promised to put
Ukyou in corner if she didn't behave.
Soon though, she and Ranma were back to whispering.
"So why doesn't he come and play with you?" Ranma asked quietly.
"he says his parents get lost when he tries to come over. "
"Maybe it's true."
"6 times?" Ukyou said. "His parents and my daddy get along really well. I think he just
doesn't want to play with me."
Ranma looked at Ukyou. "I'll ask him."
Ranma turned to the other side, trying to avoid attracting the teacher's attention.
"Hey, you're Ryoga, Right?" the boy nodded. "I'm Ranma."
"hi" Ryoga said.
"Ukyou says you don't like her. Do you?"
Ryoga looked at Ranma. "Sure I like her." He blushed a little. "But my parents always get
lost when they try to find her dad. He moves around a lot, so..."
"So you do like her?" Ranma said.
Ryoga looked at him earnestly and nodded vigourously.
"We should all play together today, at recess."
"This school doesn't have recess." Ryoga asserted glumly.
"What!" Ranma shouted at the top of his lungs, earning him a trip to the corner.
As he snuck a peak out, though, he saw that Ryoga was trying to catch Ukyou's attention.
If all went well, he'd have a couple new friends out of this.
--

Well, Genma wasn't exactly the most caring or guarded parent, so Ranma basically made it
around to and from school from then on on his own. He quickly learned where Ryoga's house
was, and where Ukyou's father could be found. The three of them spent a lot of time together
at Ryoga's house. There were never any parents around to bring snacks or anything- so it
would have seemed bad to most 6 year olds, but Ryoga's parents were usually lost and Ranma
and Ukyou's parents were poor, so they never brought snacks or juice or anything anyways.
Some days, Ranma and Ryoga would sneak by Mr. Kuonji's Yattai, and they'd rush it and steal
some Okonomiyaki. On other days, the three of them would spend some time with Mr. Saotome
as he taught Ranma some martial arts. Some things Ryoga and Ukyou wasn't allowed to learn,
but they had their fathers to teach them. Well, Ryoga did occasionally.

And so it came down to one fateful day. Genma and Ranma were sitting by the Okonomiyaki
Yattai, talking to Mr. Kuonji while Ukyou and Ryoga were playing in the mud nearby.

"So you've met twice, eh? Doesn't sound like such a good setup."
"You'd have to understand what it was like when I met them. They loved my daughter, sir.
And I just know they'd be up for it. And I'd do anything to make sure my daughter was
taken care of."

"Okay, so where do I come in?"

"I have to leave town. I'm in a bit of trouble. I want you to take this money and the
Yattai, and offer it as a dowry for my daughter to the family. I doubt they'll even want
it- but offer it to them. And then this money and anything they refuse is yours, as a fee.
I'll expect you to take care of my daughter in the meantime, and if it falls through."

All of this, of course, flew right over little Ranma's radar.

One week passed. Then two weeks. Then three. Still no word from the boy's parents.
"Ranma m'boy, it's time we leave."
Ranma looked at his father. He usually disliked to go, but over his 6 shortt years
(well, 2 of understanding anything) but he;d learned that he usually like the next place
even more, and he'd really liked it here.

Ranma began to pack his things up jut like his father had showed him.

"So, Ranma, we have to arrange something between Ryoga's dad and Ukyou's dad before we go,
but Ryoga's parents just won't come back."
"What's that, poppa?" Little Ranma asked.
"Well, son, it seems that Ukyou's dad wants Ukyou to marry Ryoga when he gets older,
and he wants me to take care of the arrangements."
Ranma just grinned. "It's okay, poppa. I'll do it."

--
Later that day, Ranma returned. "Okay, daddy, I did it. I told him."
Genma smiled at his son. "good. Did they say they wanted anything?"
Ranma looked a little confused. "No, they just seemed happy."
Genma shrugged. "Good enough, I guess. Come on, son!"
--

Another month after that,both the Hibiki's and Mr. Kuonji returned
It was a freakish coincidence, really, that they should both arrive. And, sadly, it was
not a fortunate one.

"I'm afraid we haven't spoken to any Genma Saotome at all about any arrangements. Now,
just what was it..." Ryoga's father began.

"That double crossing snake! How dare he!" Ukyou's father said, shaking with rage.
"I'll chase him to the ends of the earth." he continued.

"Now, now, what's this all about?" Mrs. Hibiki said.

"Nothing except him ruining my daughter's future."

"Your daughter is right here, and there's nothing wrong with her."

Mr. Kuonji took his daughter by the hand.

"Not now. I have no daughter."

"Where are you going?"

"After them. Thank you so much for all your kindness. Tell Ryoga that Ukyou will
miss him, and that it's all Ranma's Dad's fault."


Later that evening, Ryoga came in the back door. He'd gotten lost downtown, he explained.
His parent had been very worried that it was the family direction sense kicking in, but
so far, it seemed, it was just the proclivity of a 6 year old to get lost if by themselves.
They worried about him all the time, especially since he spent so much time alone.
Suddenly, in a burst of brightness, he jumped to his feet and hugged his mom's legs.

"Guess what, sguess what? I'm gonna get smarried!" Ryoga exclaimed.

Ryoga's mother laughed. Children's imaginations. "That's wonderful, sweetie. To who?"

"To Ucchan. Ranma told me. He said his dad and you were gonna talk about it."

Silence reigned supreme in the Hibiki household. Mr. Hibiki dropped his glass, which fell
to the floor and seemed to shatter both his wife's and his eardrums with its volume. Mrs.
Hibiki slumped to her knees, and wrapped her son up in her arms, and began to cry.
Ryoga, though not perceptive even for a 6 year old, noticed the change.
"What's wrong, momma?" he asked quietly.
"Ryoga, honey, Ranma's daddy never came to talk to us. But that's okay, we'll try and get
it all straightened out."
Ryoga's father took a quick glance at his wife, and trusting to luck, bolted his way out
the door as fast as he could.
"Does that mean that I'm not gonna get smarried?"
"I don't know, honey."
"Where's Ucchan?"
"Her father took her away, Ryoga. Ranma's father did something very terrible."
Ryoga suddenly broke her grip and rushed out of the house without another word.

--
1996
--


Ranma weaved and spun through the mass of students exiting the school as easy as a fish
swims through
Water, with Akane angry and right behind. Suddenly Akane had a burst of speed just as
Ranma got caught up on a student, and he was forced to leap straight up into the air.
Just as he did, he heard a growling sound...
"Ranma, Prepare to die!" came the scream as Ranma suddenly turned to see a cloaked figure
falling towards her with a foot extended. Ranma twisted his body around on the x axis,
landing on his hands just as the stranger's kick shattered the thick concrete of the
Furinkan walkway. Ranma bounced away as the stone, impossibly, crumbled into dust, leaving
a crater with a kneeling figure in it.
"I've found you... Saotome Ranma..."
The figure stood up as the entire crowd, Ranma included, appraised the crater.
"I see you're still good at running away, Saotome"
Akane looked at Ranma. "Do you know this guy, Ranma?"
Ranma looked at Akane.
"I feel as though I've been waiting for this moment for thousands of years." Continued the boy.
"So you do know him" Akane said, still looking at Ranma.
"Are you still feigning ignorance?" The boy said, growing increasingly anxious.
"Do you know him or what?" Akane asked.

Ranma just shook his head sheepishly.

"Enough. It doesn't matter if you remember; nothing could repay me for destroying my life!
Die, Ranma!"

The boy pressed the attack with a deadly series of punches and kicks, some of which Akane
was sure would have landed if the boy hadn't been a fair bit shorter than Ranma. Ranma
skillfully weaved out of the way of all of them, though, and flipped up just as the boy
pulled something that jangled out of his backpack.
Akane watched as a three-sectioned staff came out of the backpack into the boy's hands.
Each section was longer than normal, and quite a bit thicker. With a flick of the wrist,
the three sections snapped together to form one long metal shaft, which the boy spun in
his hand and launched at Ranma.

Ranma weaved out of the way. "Who are you, and what did I do that got you so mad?"

The figure stopped completely as Ranma weaved past the returning staff just as easily as
before, and caught it between two fingers.

"Very well. I suppose I owe you that much, if you can't even remember then name of the
one whom you so grudged as to seal your fate."
Ranma looked. "So, go on?"
"You don't remember at all? You don't remember the children whose lives you destroyed?
Whose honor you destroyed, whose chance to get married was crushed by you and your father?"
Ranma snapped his hand into his palm, cutting the boy off. "Oh yeah, I remember! It's uh..."
The boy lunged forward. "It's Hibiki Ryoga!"
Ranma favored him with a puzzled look. " That's not how I remember it."
The figure trembled in rage.
"Just what did you do to him, Ranma?" Akane asked angrily.
Ranma shook his head. "We were friends when we were little, right? Long time no see!"
Ranma tried, going for a friendly greeting. A swing from a loosened segment of the staff
put his hand back towards his side.
"Why did you do it?"
Ranma shrugged. "Ryoga, I was only 6 years old. I don't remember. I doubt I could have
destroyed your life when we were six."
"Don't play dumb with me. I'm going to destroy your happiness."
Ranma turned to Akane. "Akane, tell me something. Am I happy?"
"What are you asking me for?"
Ryoga's high voice broke through again. "Enough stalling! Let's fight!"
Ryoga charged Ranma, who leaped out of view. Ranma kept trying to avoid fighting with
the boy, but he would have none of it, as the bounced around the courtyard, until
finally, there was no trace of Ryoga.
Ranma strolled over to the last known whereabouts of Akane. She was nearby, looking
around for Ryoga.
"Hey, Akane."
"Ranma, just what did you do to him? He's furious! This isn't just any old grudge."
"I dunno."
"Hmph" Akane snorted derisively, and walked home, Ranma trying to get her attention
from behind.


/ The next day /

Ranma walked into the schoolyard early- Kuno was waiting there as usual.
"Saotome Ranma, Today is the day I shall smite thee and win the hand of the fair
Tendo Akane!" he began with a roaring charge. Ranma was about to meet him halfway
when Kuno was knocked to the ground by a spinning staff.
Ranma skidded to a stop, and then spun to face the source of the returning weapon.
Sure enough, there was Ryoga, crouched upon a tree branch on the right side of the
courtyard.
"Welcome, Ranma" he said. "What cunning you showed in escaping last night."
Ranma looked at him quizzically. "WHO are you talking about! I looked around for
you for hours last night! You're the one who wandered off!"
"Hey shut UP! Just get ready to fight, Ranma!"
Ranma shrugged. "I have no idea what I did to make you so mad."
"Shut up and FIGHT!" Ryoga screamed as he hurled the staff like a buzz saw at Ranma's
head. Ranma weaved under it with significantly more difficulty than before.
/\Snap/\
/\Click/\
All of a sudden Ranma turned back to his opponent just long enough to see him slap a
handcuff around his wrist. The matching cuff, attached by a long segment of braided
wire, attached to his own wrist.
"That ought to keep you from running away this time, Ranma!" the boy screamed as he
jumped down and began a flurry of blows towards Ranma as the staff spun to a rest on
the ground a ways away.

Their battle continued, often with Ranma just stepping out of his shorter adversary's
reach while dodging the attacks- but to Akane's eyes, Ranma looked very pressed. Ranma
finally ceased his defending and threw a kick- but Ryoga blocked it handily, as he did
his few follow up blows.

"Whoah, check this out!" began someone's voice nearby.
"Wow!"
Akane turned to see the source of the commotion.
"What's the matter?" she asked, running over to Hiroshi and Daisuke, who were huddled
over Ryoga's staff.
"This thing weighs a ton!"
Akane placed both hands on it and began to lift. She quickly had to move both her hands
to one end- the thing was incredibly heavy. If Akane had to guess, she'd say at least
300 pounds.
<and he uses this thing one handed...>
"Ranma, stay away from him! Don't let him touch you!"
Ryoga just brushed Ranma's face with a fingernail, and a small spray of blood erupted
from the cut on Ranma's cheek as a wad of hair flew off from behind his head.
"That's it... No more mister nice guy." Ranma growled.
Ryoga came in again in a fury, but this time Ranma grabbed up the excess wire and swung
between Ryoga's legs, up and over onto his back, pinning one of Ryoga's arms against his
torso, and leaving the other in front of his face to support all of Ranma's weight up on
her shoulders as she crouched on one hand and her knees.
"Howsabout it, Ryoga? Had enough?"
Ryoga gritted his teeth and began a feral growl. With a mighty push, Ranma ended up hanging
by the handcuff wire from Ryoga's back as he held them both up in a handstand.
>Whoa< Ranma quietly muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, Ryoga buckled. But as he buckled, he curled up to fast for Ranma to stay with his
back. Ryoga landed crouched on two feet, facing Ranma. His hand was freed, and he sprang
back into the attack.
But this time, Ranma was ready. Ranma launched a mighty reversing kick, which Ryoga
barely blocked, lifting him skywards. Ranma smirked as the wire pulled him after his
foe exactly as he'd known it would- preparing a second vicious jump kick. But this time,
Ryoga's foot snapped up and caught him in the back of the knee, folding his leg before
the impact, and Ranma twisted out of the way of a clawing strike as he finished his flight.
Ranma threw a triple kick combination based on his greater reach to shove Ryoga back-
but Ryoga instead made a full run, clearing the courtyard walls and yanking Ranma to
give chase.

It was about to be schooltime, and the gates were about to close, but most of the
students left in a hurry to follow the exciting fight.

Akane caught up with them at the Nerima Zoo, with her classmates close behind.
Ryoga had just apparently cut apart Ranma's shirt with a chunk of guardrail.
"Hey, Ryoga, you just wrecked my favorite shirt!"
"This is a duel, you coward! I don't want to hear you whimpering... like a.. Girl!"
Ryoga growled as she swung again. Enraged, Ranma swung his foot in a trajectory to
meet the swinging guardrail, and booted the heavy metal chunk right out of Ryoga's
hands and up onto a nearby two story building. Ryoga had the
Temerity to look impressed.
"You take that back!" Ranma said, pressing his attack, and forcing Ryoga onto a heavy
defense.

Akane watched as Ranma crashed; kick first, into what from this side was obviously a
drinking fountain. With a splash, the fountain exploded, drenching Ranma and Ryoga.

Akane ran up to warn Ranma about his shirt.

Ranma jumped out of the shower of water and launched her attack against Ryoga, who
didn't even blink as Ranma kicked him twice from a handstand then backflipped away.
Ranma returned to her ready stance, ready to fight Ryoga, when Akane's warning came
out.
"Ranma! Your blouse!"
Ranma stopped and took a look down, then sighed, and turned back to Ryoga.
"You see now?" Ranma said sadly.
Ryoga could only stammer. "r-r-r- Ranma, is... that you?"
"I have no idea why you hate me so much... go ahead and laugh, I've got this curse
for a body..."
Ryoga seemed to grow even more irate. "How dare you... As if the fact that you're a
woman even makes any difference!
Ranma's hackles went up, but at that, the boy pulled off a handful of his yellow
bandannas with the black spots, and spun them off towards Ranma.
"I've got to get you some hot water..." Akane began
Each one followed it's own erratic trajectory, and Ranma wasn't taking any chances.
He hopped backwards a step, finding himself beside Akane.
"Akane, look out!" he yelled, scooping her up and jumping into a tree for cover.
The two rested for a moment, then realized their closeness. The shied away from each
other, blushing.
"Why you" they began at the same time.
"Forget it. I can do this by myself." Ranma said, the first to continue.
"But you can't beat him in your girl form!"
"There you go again, buttin in. I can take care of myself." Ranma said.
Ryoga walked over to the base of the tree and looked up at the pair up there they were
arguing about her butting in to a man to man fight. He sure didn't see any men up there.
"This is no time for your quibble, Ranma. Fight ME!" He said as he pulled his belt of.
With a flick of the wrist, it turned into a sword. With a powerful two handed chop,
the tree easily popped off of it's trunk.
As the tree bounced into thae air, Ryoga leapt upwards with a two handed strike that
chopped the huge branch that Akane and Ranma had been sitting on with plenty of force
to go through them both, but Ranma snagged Akane away from the branch at the last
second. Ryoga took one more swing as they fell,
Chopping through another section of the same branch.
"Let go of me!" Akane said.
"I ain't holding ya... cause AI like you or nothing... get real!" Ranma said.
"Fine then. If I'm such a burden to you.." Akane said as the two touched ground,
facing each other.
/\Slap/\
"Why don't you just...!" and then she tapered off, tears sprinkling away from her eyes.
Ryoga screamed for Ranma's attention. "Ranma, fight me!"
"Wait, Akane" Ranma said. Ryoga began to swing the belt sword, but Ranma booted it
out of his hands with a no look back kick, and then followed Akane. The spinning
blade flew through the air on an erratic course...
"Akane, I'm... I.. Uh... I mean.. Uh.. I'm ah..." Ranma began.
"Just forget it, Ranma. I want nothing to DO WITH YOU!" she screamed as she spun-
just as the spinning sword lopped off the back of Akane's long hair.

The hair, bound together at the end by a scrunchie, fell to the ground.

Ranma stared in shock, and even Ryoga stopped with a scared look on his face-
The breaths of the other students could be heard sharply intaking, as Nabiki stepped
forward. "oh, Akane..." she began.
Akane felt the back of her hair with a glazed look on her face, and then dropped her
hand to her side.

After a second, Ranma began to wave his hand in front of her face. "I think she's in
shock" Ranma announced.

"Wouldn't anyone be, caught in public with a haircut like that?" began one girl.
"I'd be in shock too" began another girl. "You should know that. You're a girl too,
aren't you?"
Ranma let out a quiet heh heh. "Yeah, sure, right, a .. ah.. a girl's hair is her
life, right?"
The first girl rolled her eyes.
"What's the big deal?" Ryoga began. "It's not like she was cut or anything."
"She wasn't cut, but her hair just got the cut of its life!" Ranma said, turning on
Ryoga swiftly.
Ryoga seemed to falter at that.
Ranma turned to Akane. "All right, Akane, Go ahead and hit me till you feel better."
Ryoga stepped up next to the now smaller Ranma. "Go ahead and hit me too, Akane. Hit
us both real hard."

She walked off, still in a daze, leaving both Ranma and Ryoga on the ground next to
each other, wishing they'd picked some other anger management idea.
Still, a minute later, Ranma picked himself up, and started to run. "We'll settle this
later, Ryoga" he called over his shoulder. Ryoga could only call out a feeble "Wait"

Ranma hurried after Akane, stopping for a moment to inspect a lightpole she'd barely
seen Akane punch.
As she peered closely at the crushed cement that left a clear impression of Akane's
fist, cracks began to spread from the impact.
"She's even madder than I thought!"
--

Akane looked out her window, and remembered the day she decided to grow her hair long.

--
1990
--

"Goodbye Dr. Tofu! See you later!" Akane said, smiling up at the doctor as he waved with
his skeleton.
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Akane saw Kasumi approaching.
"Oh no, Akane, another fight? Really, I'm sorry, Dr. Tofu" Kasumi said, bowing towards
the man.
His glasses fogged up a little bit, and he replied with a hasty "He's no trouble!"

Later, as they had walked home, Kasumi had imparted upon Akane some of her first year
middle school neuroses. "I'm sorry, Akane, but sometimes I feel like I've got a boy
for a little sister. If you don't start acting more like a girl, Dr. Tofu won't like
you anymore!" Even then, her exclamations were soft, but they didn't have to be to be
any harsher.
Akane'd taken one look at Kasumi and decided that the girliest thing about Kasumi was
her long, long hair. <Maybe if grow my hair as long as Kasumi, Dr. Tofu will like me
again!>

--
1996
--
Akane looked up from her musings to see Ranma hanging from the eaves.
She slid open the pane with a dull look on her face.

"Thought you'd catch me crying, Ranma?"
"Well.. uh.."
"Sorry to disappoint you." She said. "Now GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" she said, punctuating
her sentence with a hurled pocketbook. Ranma weaved past the flying book with a twist
from her strong legs, but soon was weaving between a barrage of more books. Finally,
she got caught in the face with one book, and hooked out the window immediately
following by one of Akane's dumbbells.

/
Later that evening
\
Ranma walked into the house right behind Akane, slipping off his slippers. His mind
was swimming with the ramifications of all the things he'd seen and heard that day.

<first Ryoga, and then Akane, and then Akane again, then Kasumi, then Akane, then Dr.
Tofu, then Akane.... Geez..> Ranma's brain struggled to keep up with all that had been
said.

Fin

You've got questions, I've got answers. But the answers are just in the next chapter,
is all. You'll have to send me C&C before I'll let it out, though.

In case it was in any doubt, anything I didn't mention specifically occured just as it
did in the normal continuity.

I do not own Ranma 1/2 nor am I profiting in any way by this use of its characters.