This part of the story is still in a fairly rough stage.  Some of the 
dialogue may sound stupid, but I haven't decided what to replace it 
with.  Anyway, C&C is welcome, public or private.  And suggestions about 
the dialogue wouldn't be minded either.  Be sure and check out the 
author's notes following the fic.

____________________________________________________________________

	Akane laughed to herself as Mouko jumped up and walked along the fence 
behind Ranma.  Despite her earlier feelings about her, she really could 
see Mouko as a little sister to Ranma.  She had an innocent charm that 
made her so inevitably likeable that Akane couldn't remain stubborn and 
jealous for long.  Besides, it was increasingly obvious that she had no 
intention of trying to end up as another suitor  anyway.  Akane was a 
basically nice person, and the more she though about it, the more she 
realized that she and Mouko were becoming friends.
	"Well, we go and sit in these rooms and listen to our sensai tell us 
things.  It's sort of like when Pop and I were teaching you to talk."  
Ranma was explaining to Mouko what school was like, and why they were 
going.
	"Hey, Mouko!" said Akane.  "Why don't you register for school too?  You 
could go to our classes and stay with us and stuff.  It'll be a lot of 
fun!"
	Ranma frowned and thought about it.  "I don't think that's such a great 
idea."
	"Why not, Ranma-friend?" asked Mouko, looking at him with her sweet 
blue eyes.  Akane had to smile when she she saw her look at him like 
that.  Her liquid blue eyes could melt even Ranma's stubbornness.
	"Uh...well, for one thing, they won't let you dress like that," Ranma 
said, indicating Mouko's skimpy leather outfit.  You'd have to wear a 
uniform like Akane's."
	"What for?  Is it cold in the school?"
	Akane laughed slightly at Mouko's innocence.  "Oh, Mouko!  You're so 
cute sometimes!  Now, we wear uniforms because we have to."
	"But I don't understand.  You don't just _have_ to do something.  There 
must be a reason!"
	"It's the rules, that's why," replied Ranma.  "To go to school, you 
have to follow the rules."
	Mouko frowned for a minute thinking about this.  "Why do you do it?"
	"Because that's how we learn.  School teaches us how to get by in the 
world." answered Ranma.
	"That's how life is.  You do what needs to be done everyday," added 
Akane.  "You go to school so you can learn to go to work.  That's why 
our world has so much order."
	"What makes order so important?  Why give up your freedom when you can 
live anyway you want to?  I've never gone to school, and I get by in the 
world fine."
	Akane tried to explain better.  "But how would it be if everyone could 
do whatever they wanted to?  Some people would ingringe on the rights of 
others, and the we would live in anarchy.  We believe that everyone has 
rights."
	"What are rights?"
	Ranma tried to help out here.  "It means that everyone can expect to be 
treated decently by others.  Someone can't just do things to you that 
you don't want them to."
	"And that is good?" asked Mouko.  If you have these rights, where is 
the excitement?  You spend all your days in routines that you don't even 
like!  I don't understand why this is supposed to be a better life."
	Ranma laughed finally.  "Well, you're wrong about one thing, at least!  
We have plenty of excitement in our life!  There are more crazy things 
that happen around here, and there's always something that you have to 
fight.  I'll admit, our life is very different from yours, but it's 
certainly not dull."
	"Good!" smiles Mouko.  "When you were telling me about what you do, I 
was starting to wonder if I had made a mistake by coming here.  This 
life is very foreign to me, and I don't know if I could really ever 
enjoy it.  But if you say there are exciting things that happen, I will 
stay longer and see what kinds of things you do that are fun!"
	Mouko laughed and ran along the fence somemore, daring Ranma and Akane 
to race her.  
	"She sure doesn't worry too much about things, does she?" asked Akane.  
"She looks like she's already completely forgotten what we were trying 
to tell her."
	"That's what worries me," frowned Ranma.  "I'm not worried about her 
getting hurt, really, but I'm worried about what she might accidentally 
do, because she doesn't think about trying to live as a person.  She 
just does what she always does, and assumes it will always work for her 
in any situation.  We'll have to keep a very close watch on her."
	Akane tried to laugh him off.  "Oh, Ranma, but look how kawaii she is!  
How much trouble could she possibly cause?  I mean, the goat thing was a 
problem, but it wasn't that serious!"
	"Well, I hope you're right, but I'm still worried."  Ranma and Akane 
rushed up to rejoin Mouko before she wandered off and got lost.  Now 
that they were getting closer to school, the three of them started to 
hear a chorus of screeching female voices.
	"What in the world?..." started Akane.  She was interrupted by a small 
form that burst from the bushes next to her.  The figure was a tiny old 
man, with a lecherous grin on his face, and a bag full of lacey 
underwear.
	"Oh, Akane, my dear!" cried the old man.  "I have something in here 
that you would look wonderful in!  Let me get it out, and you can try it 
on for me!"
	"Happosai!" she said.  "Forget it!  I'm not trying on anything for you, 
now or ever!"
	Ranma pulled up his sleeves.  "It's time someone handled you once and 
for all, you old pervert!  Come here and face me like a man!"
	"I'd much rather face you as a woman!  You would be perfect in this 
pink ensemble here..."  Happosai suddenly froze in amazement as his eyes 
fell on Mouko.  She simply stared at him curiously, not knowing what to 
think of such a strange-looking individual.
	"Oh, my, that jungle underwear looks simply wonderful on you, my dear!  
I've really never seen anything like it; I just have to add it to my 
collection!"  Happsoai leaped at Mouko, intent on pulling her clothes 
off.  Mouko quickly leaped aside and snarled at him.  Her claws came out 
and she swiped at the tiny little man.  Happosai was very quick, but he 
was no match for Mouko's fine honed hunter's edge.  Her claws raked his 
side, cutting deeply into his flesh and dripping blood on the sidewalk.
	"Hah! Serves you right, you dirty old man!" laughed Akane.  "You 
finally bit off more than you can chew!"  Happosai apparenly reached 
that same conclusion.  He grabbed his bag of underwear and ran away, 
leaping over the fence that Ranma and Mouko had been walking on, and 
fleeing across the open field beyond it.  Mouko jumped over the fence 
with a roar and continued after him.
	"Akane, we've got to stop her!  She'll kill him!" Ranma urged.
	"So what?  That old pervert could use a good beating.  Maybe it'll even 
cure him!"
	"No, you don't understand.  I don't mean she'll kill him as in beat the 
crap out of him; I mean kill him as in kill him dead!  She has no moral 
qualms about slicing him open, and leaving him for the crows.  She's a 
tiger, remember?"  Akane's face suddenly went very white.
	"Oh, no..." she whispered.  Then, as if on cue, the two of them leaped 
over the fence to try and stop Mouko.  They could see her by a tree 
inside the schoolyard.  Happosai was desperately trying to keep Mouko on 
the other side of the tree, but he was tiring from his wound, and seemed 
to be slowing down.  It would only be a matter of minutes before he 
couldn't dodge anymore.
	"Mouko, stop!" called out Ranma as he ran.  She didn't hear him.  He 
and Akane kept running as fast as they could, but at that instant, Ranma 
slipped on a wet patch of grass.  He slid facefirst into a puddle, 
coming up as a very muddy, and very worried girl.  "Keep going, Akane!  
You've got to stop her!"  Akane gulped and turned back to Mouko and 
Happosai.
	She was tired of the game her little prey was playing.  With a violent 
tug, she ripped the tree clear out of the ground.  Swinging it like a 
massive club, she sent Happosai flying in the direction of the school.  
He crashed through the wall in a cloud of morter dust and glass into  
the girl's locker room.  Mouko dropped the tree and started to leap 
after him.	
	"Mouko, no!" Akane cried, holding her arm.  Mouko turned to face her 
with a bestial growl rattling deep in her throat.  Her icy eyes blazed 
into Akane, and the force of her stare nearly knocked her back.  Akane 
had faced dozens of threats in her life.  Everyday she fought countless 
boys seeking to best her in combat.  With Ranma, she had faced some of 
the most dangerous creatures she could imagine.  She was not a girl 
lacking in courage.  But as Mouko's feral stare bore into her, Akane was 
suddenly very, very afraid.
	"Mouko, please..." she whispered.  "Please stop."
	And the moment was over.  Mouko looked like she always did.  The 
palpable feeling of menace had passed, and she smiled down at Akane.
	"Allright, Akane-friend!"
	Ranma had picked herself up from the ground, and walked over to join 
them.  Akane merely shivered.  She longed to feel Ranma's arms around 
her, to comfort her and tell her it was ok again.  She couldn't remember 
being this shook up before.  Ranma merely looked at her as if to say _I 
told you not to underestimate her._ 


_____________________________________________________________________

Well, like I said, the dailogue doesn't really satisfy me.  The whole 
reason I put it in at all was to show how utterly foreign our concept of 
society is to Mouko.  But it didn't really sound at all like I wanted it 
to, and it came off kinda preachy.
An unrelated item of interest is the symbolism of the eyes I used; in 
each case Mouko's eyes showing the two different diametrically opposed 
aspects of her nature.  Does this work, or did you even notice it?
And lastly, this part isn't quite as "light-hearted" as the first one.  
I guess I just wasn't feeling quite as funny.  I do want this series to 
explore a little bit deeper and more serious emotions, etc. than the 
anime does, but there will still be pleny of "light" moments in episodes 
to come.



Joshua Dyal
j-dyal@geocities.com
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/1958/


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com