TJ says- c&c are welcome

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part 2

Tears flowed down both men's faces as the larger one finished his
speech. "So thats how it is."

Genma nodded slowly, barely noticing Nabiki pass by the two on her way
to the kitchen. "Mmmm."

Sound looked out towards the city skyline that rested over his walls.
"No wonder your trip ran long. And the boy? How is he taking this?"

Genma grabbed the mug before him. "Not too well, but he'll learn from
this." After a long drink;"I'll see to that."

"Well then, old friend. All that remains is the dojo." Sound regarded
Nabiki as she passed by again, making no effort to be inconspicuos. "I
only have two daughters to offer."

"As I only have one son. Which would be best suited to the task?" Soun
looked down upon hearing his friend's query.

"Alas, my daughters are proving to be conciderably less than traditio-"
"Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" Nabiki now stood in the
sliding door frame, quite clear in her displeasure.

"Nabiki! Silence! I've had enough of this! He is our guest, and you will
treat him with more respect than you treat me."

"I suppose you want me to bow and scrape for the girl too?" she barked,
walking away.

Genma watched the whole exchange with a bit of confusion. "Well, she is
a firey one. . ."

"Just my point, Saotome-kun. Both are rather adamant about any kind of
relationship to your son. Especially with this. . unfortunate turn of
events."

"Well, for now I've enrolled the boy in school, the Furinkan, I believe.
Let him see if he has a preference to one of them. And if not, well
we'll think of something, Tendo-kun."

"How is his martial arts progress?"

Genma took another long drink before answering. "Excellently. I had to
stop holding back on him about 3 months ago so that I wouldn't bore
him."

"Is that so. . . is he a good son?"

"As good as one can be. . ."

_________

Akane was in her room, still a bit startled as she watched Ranma break
the board out in the garden. She hadn't even broken a sweat. BUt her
punching left it quite obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. The door to her
room opened and Nabiki walked in.

"I can't believe that old fossil has those two gallavanting around our
house!"

"What? What two? ANd where'd that Panda go?" she asked.

"I don't care, I just want to make sure they are outta her by the end of
the week. Freeloaders."

"Oh grow up, Its not like we don't have the room for them."

"Well if you're gonna be so giving, why don't you give them your share
of the food and the hot water? Huh?" Nabiki looked down at her where
Akane sat at her music stand. "Whatcha gonna do when these last 3
students finally give up on dad, huh? Are you going to get a job?"

"What if she got a job?"

"What makes you think that little runt could do anything that would
bring in enough money?"

Akane looked out the window. "Because she's crushing stone with her bare
hands."

Nabiki was dumbfounded, something she hadn't been in a long time. "Wha?"

"She smashing those rocks out by the pond, and she already destroyed
that old board."

Still a bit surprised, Nabiki came to the window next to Akane, only to
see Ranma juggling 3 of the rocks. "Liar."

"Watch," Akane insisted. After a few moments of juggling, ranma's fist
lashed out and shattered one of the descending rocks, then another, and
the final one, leaving bits of sediment to rest in the ground. "See?
She's really good. There's gotta be some good to come of them."

Nabiki's wheeles were already spinning like mad. "Hmmm."

"Don't say that. YOu scare me," Akane said, shrinking back into her
chair.

"Well, maybe if she helps us clean the house up to sell it. . ."

"Nabiki!" Akane yelled, standing up from her chair. Akane looked down,
being a good 4 or 5 centimeters taller. "How could you? This house is
the only thing we have left!"

"The only thing of value, I could probably up it through the trust at
the bank another 11 percent. . ."

"WHat makes you think Dad would go along with this?"

"What makes you think he'd have any say in this? I have the deeds to
this property ever since I started managing the finances." She tugged
down on her oversized T shirt. "How naive can you be?"

Akane was now giving Nabiki her dagger treatment, trying to live up to
the kanji for her name as she quaked with anger towards her sister.
After a few moments of tension, akane stormed out of her room, slamming
the door behind her. Nabiki could feel Akane's heavy steps plod down the
hall and down the stairs. She shook her head in disgust, turning back to
the window. Ranma was still there using a stick to prod at the pond.
(Well maybe she can cook in the meantime,) she thought.

____________

Ranma sat at the edge of the pond, using a broken limb to pick at the
pond scum on the top of the water. "This is really gross." He pulled the
stick up, but the pond pulled back. "Ewww." He let the stick go, and
with a gurgle, the pond claimed it.

Ranma looked around the garden. The walls were showing water wear. The
weeds were mangling the wood foundations of the house, crab grass at
every corner. The dojo, something she hadn't dared yet, was boarded up
at the entrance and even that was rotting through. The pond. . .

She'd come back to the pond later.

The board, she just broke with a half power punch.

It was basically an old dump.

It was getting late, so she decided to try and find a bath back in the
house. Ranma trudged through the foliage. It wasn't anything she wasn't
already used to, being on the road so much, but even she knew that a
house getting this far gone wasn't right. And she'd be living here?

She slipped past the old man and soun to head down the opposite hallway.
She found the bathroom easily enough. Closing the door with a kick, she
began undress. (Nuthin but a big dump.) She took her time unbuttoning
her rough cotton and exposing her recently found assets. She looked down
at her reminder of what her lifestyle was going to be like for the rest
of her life.

____________

Akane looked at the clock. 7:30. NIghts were coming sooner, she noted at
the window. (well, maybe I should bath for school tomorro.) She stood,
grabbing a bucket full of tolietries and left her room for downstairs.
Passing the itchen, she noticed Nabiki sitting at the table, her legs
propped up on a second chari while she chewed one end of a pencil.

Nabiki looked up at her younger sister. "Bath?"

Akane nodded as she stopped to look at her from the door way.

"Go on ahead, I'll get in in a few," she said, waving Akane off like a
child.

Akane made a face, but continued down the hall towards the bathroom. (I
get so sick of her sometimes.) She smothed her skirt with her free hand
as she opened the door with her free hand. The ifrst thing she saw was
Ranma's tunics piled up in the hamper by the sink. (Well, I guess we can
both take our baths, Nabiki'll live,) she thought, enjoying the chance
of one-upping her sister.

Akane set down her bowl and began unbuttoning her blouse. She was still
upset how the rest of her family acted sometimes. So selfish. She was
actually happy to hear about guests, but she wasn't baout to admit it to
anyone. Her father had actually showed some sign of hospitality.

She undid the short skirt, letting it drop.

Even if her father still wanted something out of it it was nice to see
him look more pleasant.

She looked at herself in the mirror while she undid her bra clasp. Her
head easily came to the top of the mirror. Sometimes she really disliked
her height. It intimidated other girls her age and being as tall, if not
taller, than most of the guys earned her a freak moniker. Giant. And the
one guy that approached her who was taller than her was a clueless
moron. Her long hair seemed to draw attention to her height, but after a
while she just didn't care what anyone thought anymore.

She grabbed a towel from the other hamper and moved towards the bath.

_______________

Ranma sulked in the tub. (What to do?) he thought. He felt rather bad
about having to fill the bath himself, but he had to change back. (They
were going to find out sooner or later. . .)

He sank a bit deeper, feeling the fringes of hot water becoming warm. It
was a big house, he learned that much. The bathroom was a bit mildewed.
(Doesn't anybody clean around here? Who takes care of this place?) He
looked up at the window and saw a spider web with its owner gingerly
gleaning the silks. (Nobody, aparently. . .) He sat up fully, his chest
rising from the water. (May as well go out like I am. .  .)

At that moment the door slid open as Ranma stood up halfway from the
tub.

Ranma caught Akane's face.

Akane caught Ranma's face.

Ranma's face turned red.

Akane's glance fell. She stood like a deer caught in the train of an
auto's headlights.

"Uh. . ," Ranma said, slack jawed. She was pretty, and his eyes wandered
down to what the length of the towel didn't cover.

Akane neither moved nor spoke. She was barely breathing.

"I can explain," Ranma finally spit out. Akane still didn't respond.
________

Nabiki saw the bathroom door still a bit ajar. (Close the door, you dumb
little,) she deadpanned as she took off her over sized T, already half
undoing the body suit. She never saw Ranma's tunics.

"WHat are you standing in the way for? Go on in!" Nabiki yelled as she
pushe past akane, already the top half of the body suit off.

Nabiki saw Ranma still half out of the bath, and froze like her sister.

Ranma saw a second set revealed. "I can explain," he repeated.
____________

Notes. .  .

Lemon, this will not be. The reason for change should be eveident in the
title of ther genre`. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. I like every character I write
with. I share a strong beliefe with GT that you should like your
characters if you have any intention of writing with them.
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-Biographical info. in archaic measurements & weights.(as interpreted by
me)
-Ranma male 5'10"
-female 5'4"
-Nabiki 5'8"
-Akane 5'11" [in this story]
-soun 6'
-genma 5'8"
-panda 7'4"


--
__________________________________________________
|Colliding SYmphonies consists of:               |
|________________________________________________|
|Eimi Nagakawa--of Okinawa, and of Shojo         |
|Trevor J Hamilton--of Fantasy Realm and Fanfics |
|Allan Zilinzik--of dark and depressing human    |
|   nature, and of strong gothics                |
|G.T. Hamilton--of Ranma and Anime Fanfics, and  |
| musics of life and time                        |
|________________________________________________|
|            Home page coming soon               |
|________________________________________________|