Subject: [x-over] [MB/RANMA] MUSTARD GIRL #1 - Miki's Strange Family (REPOST)
From: ratbat@rocketmail.com (Ratbat)
Date: 10/6/1997, 8:34 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

Enough people seemed to be looking for this, so I thought I'd repost
it...

                           
          A Marmalade Boy alternate history crossover
                               
                          
                         MUSTARD GIRL
                               
                          Episode #1
                  Miki-chan no Hen na Kazoku
                               
                         by Urac Sigma
                               




             A.  KISSATEN.

             [Fairly  average-looking coffee-house. Meiko  and
             Miki   are   here,  both  wearing  their   school
             uniforms.]

MEIKO:       I   don't   understand,  Miki...I  thought   your
             parents got along really well! [Pause] [sad]  Not
             like mine...

             [Miki, in a major league fit, doesn't notice  the
             tangent.]

MIKI:        They were! They are! They should be! This is  all
             ridiculous!

             [She  jabs  a  button  on her little  robot/memo-
             keeper.]

MIKI [Distort]:   Papa to Mama no baka!!

             [Miki   fumes  in  agreement  with  her  recorded
             self.]

MEIKO:       ...and  didn't  they  just go  on  that  trip  to
             China?

             [Miki slams her hands on the table.]

MIKI:        China?  That  trip to China was the cause  of  it
             all!

MEIKO:       Un...did  they have a fight while they were  over
             there?

MIKI:        Iie. No, that's not what happened...

             [Flashback to:]



             B. MIKI'S FIRST LIVING ROOM.

             [The  living  room of Miki's old house  from  the
             first  episode  of Marmalade Boy. Miki  is  here,
             sitting  opposite her mother Rumi and her  father
             Jin, drinking tea.]

RUMI:        Aa nee, Miki...?

JIN:         We   want   you  to  listen.  Please   don't   be
             surprised.

MIKI:        Ee?

             [Her parents announce, happy as anything:]

RUMI & JIN:  We're thinking of getting divorced.

             [Miki all but spits out her tea.]

MIKI:        !

             [The room spins for poor Miki-chan.]

MIKI [VO]:   That  was  certainly an exciting  event.  [Pause]
             But that was...

             [She leaps to her feet, angry.]

MIKI:        Na-nani o sore?!?

MIKI [VO]:   It's  always  the same old thing. I suffer  every
             day.

JIN:         It happened on the trip we just took to China.

RUMI:        A   couple   on  the  same  tour  as   us...we're
             completely compatible.

JIN:         During  the  activities, Mama fell in  love  with
             the husband, and I fell in love with his wife.

             [Miki's eyes just bug out.]

MIKI:        Ko...koi?

RUMI:        Soonendo.

JIN:         The  four  of  us  discussed the  situation,  and
             decided to exchange partners.

MIKI [Thoroughly  livid]:    Partner exchange?! You've got  to
             be   kidding!  What  are  these  people's  names,
             anyway?!

JIN:         Their names are...Mr and Mrs Saotome.



             TITLE SEQUENCE.

             [At  the end of  Koi  o  Wakaranai, we hear   the
             jingle that used to herald Ranma episode  titles,
             and a character announces the title.]

MIKI [VO]:   Miki-chan no Hen na Kazoku.



             1. MIKI'S FIRST LIVING ROOM.

             [This  picks  up right where the pre-titles  left
             off.]

MIKI:        I'm not listening to such an idiotic story!

             [Jin and Rumi are still smiling happily.]

JIN:         Oh,  don't  think that the love  between  us  has
             disappeared, Miki-chan.

RUMI:        No...but  now  it's  not so much  of  a  romantic
             love.

             [They    start   to   forget   Miki    in    this
conversation.]

JIN:         Ee...it's  more  like brother and sister.  We've
             been like this even since before we got married.

             [This is also a line from Koishikawa Miki's 
             original anime home, Marmalade Boy. It does raise
             one question: If her parents feel like they are 
             brother and sister, what does that say about Miki
             herself?]


RUMI:        Yes...and  by  doing  this,  we  avoid  adultery,
             which isn't very nice at all...

JIN:         So...this is the best way...

             [Miki slams the table.]

MIKI:        Stop kidding around!

             [Her parents look shocked, and a little sad.]

JIN:         Na...nani?

MIKI:        Please! Change things back to normal!

RUMI:        Miki-chan...with  the  Saotomes,  we  both   felt
             things  we  hadn't felt in a long  time...please,
             forgive us.



             2. KISSATEN.

             [Miki has dug little holes in the table with  her
             fingernails through telling this story.]

MIKI:        How  am  I  supposed  to forgive  something  like
             that?!  How  can  anyone!?  They've  always  been
             strange, but this...? Grrr!

             [Meiko clearly thinks it's great.]

MEIKO:       What's  wrong with it? I think it's funky.  If  I
             had  parents  like yours, I'd love  to  have  two
             sets of them!

MIKI:        You   wouldn't  say  that  if  they   were   your
             parents...

MEIKO:       No.  I  mean it. [Solemn] Your parents are a  lot
             better  than  mine. Even if it  is  only  like  a
             brother  and sister, at least your parents  still
             do   love  each  other.  Mine...they  don't.  Not
             anymore. The only reason they don't actually  get
             a  divorce  is  because of the  money...and  they
             don't want people to talk about them.
             That's  what  makes your parents  so  good.  They
             don't  care  about that. They just do what  makes
             them  happy...when your parents can't  even  make
             themselves  happy...it's really painful  to  grow
             up like that.
             I  don't ever want to get married, not if  that's
             what it leads to.

MIKI:        Meiko... Now I understand why you never  go  out,
even though you're so popular.

             [Meiko  waves a dismissive hand and is  instantly
             bubbly again.]

MEIKO:       Nee! Just because I don't want to get married,  it
             doesn't mean I don't like men!

             [Miki face-faults.]



             3. STREET WITH JUNK JUNGLE.

             [On    this   street   we   see   a   second-hand
             store/coffee-shop  called  the  Junk  Jungle.  We
             hear  a crash, then the owner of the store  cries
             out:]

KIJIMA [VO]: Oi!!



             4. JUNK JUNGLE.

             [We  open  to see a large panda and a  red-haired
             girl  in  a  frilly blue dress  at  each  other's
             throats.  She grabs a chair and swats  it  across
             the  panda's head. He, in turn, throws a clothes-
             rack  at her. In short, they're beating the  crap
             out  of each other. At the counter, Kijima,  that
             with-it store guy, is getting rather cross.]

KIJIMA:      Hey!! Stop it!

             [Neither appear to take any notice of him.]

GIRL:        Get off! I'm not wearing this stuff!!

PANDA:       Graaarrr...!

KIJIMA:      Stop it, or I'm calling the keikan!

GIRL:        It's  your  fault  I'm  this  way  in  the  first
             place!!

             [The  panda  suddenly holds  up  a  wooden  sign,
             reading: You're just as much to blame.]

GIRL:        The hell I am! You were doing all the leading!

             [The  panda  instantly  holds  a  new  sign:  But
             you'll still need new clothes!]

             [Kijima's  eyes  widen. But  they're  behind  his
             shades, so we can't see them.]

KIJIMA [VO]: It's  the  panda's fault she's this  way?  She'll
             need   new  clothes...?  [Pause]  Is  this  chick
             pregnant to her panda?

             [In  a thought bubble by his head, Kijima briefly
             has  a  mental  picture of  the  red-haired  girl
             cradling a cute little baby panda.]

GIRL:        I'll wear what I like!

             [She  kicks  the panda quite viciously  into  the
             wall, and Kijima snaps out of it.]

KIJIMA:      I'm not going to warn you again!

             [His  only reply is getting hit in the face by  a
             thrown  hat.  He ends up below the counter.  Once
             there,  he  shakes his head and reaches  for  the
             phone.]

KIJIMA:      I  gave  her  fair warning. If she can't  control
             her panda, she should leave it at home.

             [We hear a new voice in the shop.]

NEWCOMER [OOV]:   Stop.

             [Kijima  has dialled half a number, then realises
             that  the chaos has, in fact, stopped. He scowls,
             and  rises above the counter. Both the panda  and
             the  girl  have stopped fighting to turn  to  the
             new   entrant  to  the  store:  a  woman  in  her
             forties,  looking very matriarchal,  and  holding
             an outstretched katana.]

FORTIES:     [Sigh]  I'm beginning to think I can't  take  you
             two anywhere.

GIRL:        But, Okaas--

FORTIES:     I  don't  need  to  hear it right  now.  Even  if
             you're not going to do it all the time, you  will
             need  the clothes for it sometimes. [Beat] I dare
             say  that this man has already asked you to leave
             his shop.

             [Kijima nods slowly.]

FORTIES:     And I hardly blame him.

             [Both  of  them look kind of sheepish. The  woman
             gestures with the katana.]

FORTIES:     Come on, you two - outside.

             [The  girl  and  the panda leave  the  shop.  The
             woman turns to Kijima.]

FORTIES:     I'm   so   sorry  about  this.  My  son  can   be
             quite...enthusiastic at times.

             [She bows and exits.]

KIJIMA [VO]: Her  son? But didn't the girl call her...?  Maybe
             the  panda's  hers  as well as the  girl...  That
             must be one interesting family.

             [Shaking  his  head, he gets to clearing  up  the
             mess.]



             5. STREET WITH JUNK JUNGLE.

             [The  woman  from indoors is here, lecturing  the
             girl and the panda.]

FORTIES:     You  two  have  really got  to  learn  to  behave
             yourselves! You're not on the road anymore -  you
             can't  just  start beating the  stuffing  out  of
             each other every time you have a disagreement.

GIRL:        But I'm a martial artist! That's what I do!

             [The woman sighs heavily.]

FORTIES:     Oh,  dear...that's not all there is  to  being  a
             martial  artist. Just what were you being  taught
             all  this time? [To the panda] I knew letting you
             handle  the  upbringing was a mistake...I  should
             have  at least made you promise to be responsible
             or something...

GIRL:        Hey! Quit talking about me like I'm not here!

             [The panda growls softly, but the woman holds  up
             her hand.]

FORTIES:     Not  now. We've got a dinner to get to,  so  we'd
             better  get  changed.  You two  especially.  Now,
             come on.

GIRL:        Hai, Okaasan.

             [The  panda  holds  up a sign  that  reads  'Yes,
             dear.']

FORTIES:     Mmmm...I  think  you'd better  get  used  to  not
             calling me that...

             [The  panda  rearranges his sign  to  read  'Yes,
             Nodoka-san.']

             [Nodoka smiles sweetly, and leads them away.]



             6. MIKI'S FIRST LIVING ROOM.

             [Miki picks up a ringing telephone.]

MIKI:        Moshimoshi?

             [Wipe to:]



             7A. MIKI'S FIRST LIVING ROOM. SPLIT-SCREEN.
             7B. GINTA'S ROOM. SPLIT-SCREEN.

             [In  Ginta's room, unsurprisingly, sits the good-
             looking  youngster known as Ginta. He is  dressed
             in  tennis gear, and has obviously been at it not
             long ago.]

GINTA:       Miki-chan?

MIKI:        Aa! Ginta!

GINTA:       Miki  -  you  didn't show up for practice  today.
             Are you all right?

MIKI:        Hai! I just...[trails off]

MIKI [VO]:   What  can  I  say?  No way can I  tell  him  it's
             because  I'm  going to dinner  to  meet  the  new
             couple my parents are going to marry. It'd be  so
             embarrassing  to  talk to Ginta about  the  weird
             things my family's doing!

MIKI:        I...had  to get ready for something.  Gomen  -  I
             should  have  told you. [Quick] Aa,  see  you  at
             school tomorrow!

             [Miki hangs up the phone dead fast. Cut to:]



             8. GINTA'S ROOM.

             [Ginta stares at the dead receiver. Dissolve.]



             9. RESTAURANT.

             [A  big,  six-seating table. Drinks  are  already
             served, but Miki's parents have evidently got  up
             to   do   something,  as  Miki  is  here   alone.
             Frustrated  and  bored, she slips the  chopsticks
             out  of  their  paper sheath.  As  they  are  the
             joined-together  cheap kind,  she  goes  to  pull
             them  apart.  They're  a bit  on  the  incredibly
             cheap  side,  as they won't come. She  pulls  and
             pulls,  and eventually it gives: with the motion,
             her  arms  go flying to the side, and she  knocks
             over  the  wine of the person to her  right.  She
             panics.  First,  she rights the glass  and  pours
             what's  gone  into the saucer on the  table  back
             into the glass. She then dries the saucer on  the
             tablecloth.  Then,  she picks  up  the  serviette
             (that  has also been soaked), and wrings  it  out
             into the glass.]

JIN [OOV, off]:   This way...we've already ordered drinks.

             [Miki  gives a final surge of panic, mops up  the
             chair   as  best  she  can,  then  replaces   the
             serviette  with  her own. She looks  up  as  five
             people  arrive at the table. Two are her parents.
             The  third  we  recognise as  Nodoka,  last  seen
             brandishing a katana. The fourth and fifth are  a
             middle-aged  man who looks unused to wearing  his
             suit,  and  a  boy of Miki's age, wearing  a  red
             Chinese shirt. Jin beams happily.]

JIN:         Miki-chan...these are the people we  met  on  our
             trip.   This   is  my  soon-to-be-wife,   Saotome
             Nodoka.

             [Lays a hand on Nodoka's shoulder.]

NODOKA:      Konbanwa.

             [Rumi  puts an arm around the bespectacled  man's
             waist.]

RUMI:        And  this is the man I'm going to marry,  Saotome
             Genma.

             [Miki just sits there looking rather stunned.]

MIKI:        Ha...hajimemashite...

             [Genma  smiles broadly and slaps the boy  on  the
             back.]

GENMA:       And this is our son, Ranma...

             [He  says  something else, but we don't hear  it.
             We  see  through Miki's eyes as she finally  pays
             attention   to  Ranma.  Everything   acquires   a
             startling  blue tint, and the background  becomes
             a  pattern  of  hearts and flowers.  Miki's  eyes
             glaze over.]

MIKI [VO]:   Ara...he's so cute...

             [She  follows  his movements, mesmerised,  as  he
             takes a seat. Suddenly she snaps out of it.]

MIKI [VO]:   Dame!  I can't be thinking of romance at  a  time
             like  this!  If they've got a kid  my  age,  then
             he'll  feel  the same way I do about  this  whole
             mess!

             [She turns to Ranma, having trouble focussing  as
             she  does so. In the background, the parents  are
             having their own conversation. Glenda only  knows
             what it would be about.]

RANMA:       Hey.

MIKI [Sotto]:Ranma, neee?

             [Ranma nods.]

RANMA [Sotto]:    Hai...Miki?

MIKI [Sotto]:Ee. Listen...what do you think about all this?

RANMA [Sotto]:     Well, I was in China not so long ago, so  I
             was hoping we'd maybe eat at a French re--

MIKI [Sotto]:Not  the  restaurant! This crazy idea our parents
             are having! Wanting to exchange partners!

RANMA [Sotto]:     I've gotta say it's pretty weird, yeah. I'm
             not exactly in love with the id--

MIKI [Cuts him  off]:    Good. Then you're with me. Sumimasen,
             minasan!

             [They  all turn to Miki. Genma is caught in  mid-
             gesture, using his hands to describe how  big  it
             is.]

MIKI:        I  think  it's best for everyone all round  if  I
             just  get  this straight out. We both think  that
             this  whole idea of exchanging partners is  sick!
             We're  completely  and  totally  opposed  to  the
             entire  thing! And neither Ranma here nor  myself
             are going to stand for it!!

RANMA:       Ano...that's not what I said.

             [Miki's anger loses flow, and she turns to him.]

MIKI:        Nan de?! But you said---

RANMA:       I  said  it  was a bit weird. I said I wasn't  in
             love with it. I don't remember saying that I  was
             completely opposed  to it.

             [Miki  now  looks very embarrassed, and registers
             the  stares the parents are all giving her.  They
             look a little hurt.]

RUMI:        Miki...we're  all very sorry that  you're  upset,
             but...we're happy now.

JIN:         Yes...we're not hurting you in any way, are we?

GENMA:       It's   not  as  though  Nodoka  and  I  are   bad
             people...

             [Miki looks slightly guilty. She casts a look  at
             Ranma. He gets up and whispers in her ear.]

RANMA [Whispers]:  Listen...ever since I was  a  kid,  Oyaji's
             been  all  over  me, training  me  in  Musabetsu-
             school  martial  arts. He's  done  all  kinds  of
             stupid  things in his time when he's supposed  to
             be  'educating' me. So if he's found a woman that
             he  wants to settle down with and he'll leave  me
             alone, then that's fine by me!

             [Miki makes a nervous little squeak.]

NODOKA:      Miki...it doesn't really sound like you've  given
             the idea full consideration.

             [Miki, seeming to debate whether or not to  start
             tears,  sinks  back  in her  chair,  drawing  her
             hands  across  the  table as she  does  so.  This
             action   causes  her  to  knock  another   glass:
             Ranma's  water.  It tips over, right  onto  Ranma
             himself...then no sooner has the  water  hit  the
             martial   artist  than  his  physical  form   has
             changed.  Sitting  there,  looking  alarmed   and
             slightly  embarrassed is the red-haired  girl  we
             saw at the Junk Jungle.]

MIKI:        Aaaiiieee!

             [She  looks  back at the parents, but  they  give
             little  reaction.  Evidently they  were  prepared
             for this. Ranma looks down at herself.]

RANMA:       Uh-oh.

MIKI:        Na...na...na...NANI?!?

             [Jin sighs and buries his face in his hands.]

JIN:         We were going to tell you about this, Miki...

MIKI:        What?!  That  you're  marrying  the  parents   of
             a...of a...[brain snaps]...of aaaa....

GENMA [Self]:To think I wanted to raise him to be a man...

             [Ranma  hears this, and throws the  rest  of  her
             water  over Genma. He suddenly becomes the  panda
             we saw in the Junk Jungle.]

RANMA:       Yeah,  a  chip  off the old block,  nee?  A  panda
             amongst pandas, was it?

GENMA:       Mrowf!!

RANMA:       That's easy for you to say!

             [Genma holds up a sign: You just watch it, boy.]

NICOLE:      [Sigh] Not again...

             [The  other two Saotomes start laying  into  each
             other.]

MIKI:        Wa...wakaranai. What happened?

RUMI:        Genma's  told  me  this  story  many  times.   It
             happened  on  the last training trip  Genma  took
             Ranma  on...in  China, just  before  he  rejoined
             Nodoka and they went on the same tour as us...

             [Flashback to:]



             10. JUSENKYOU.

             [Pan  across  a  sky,  eventually  finding  three
             figures  standing  in  a  clearing  amongst  some
             mountains.  Zoom  in  on  the  three  figures  to
             reveal  that  they  are  Genma  and  Ranma,  both
             wearing gis, and a bald man dressed as a guide.]

RANMA:       What, is this it?

             [He  looks  out across the various  ponds  before
             him.  On the parts of ground between them,  there
             are tall poles.]

RANMA:       This is the 'legendary feared training ground  of
             Jusenkyou'?

GENMA:       What were you expecting, boy?

RANMA:       Something  other than a bunch of poles  and  some
             ponds.  You  know,  as in something  that  didn't
             look  like it could be put together in the vacant
             lot at home after a trip to the garden centre.

GUIDE:       Okyaku-sama!  Please  do not  underestimate  this
             place!

             [He  holds  up  a  sign  saying  'Jhusenkyou'  in
             Chinese.]

GUIDE:       Jusenkyou is very dangerous place to train.

RANMA:       Yeah, whatever.

             [Genma points upwards.]

GENMA:       Nonsense, boy. This place has many...

             [He  is  walking forwards while looking  upwards.
             Not a bright thing to do at Jusenkyou.]

GUIDE:       Okyaku-sama! Please take caution! You could  fall
             into--

             [Genma  obliviously walks straight into a  spring
             and disappears from sight.]

GUIDE:       Aaaayyyaaahh!

RANMA:       What? What happened? It's just a pool!

             [Guide  holds up a sign saying 'shongmaoniichuan'
             in Chinese.]

GUIDE:       Honourable   father   has   just   walked    into
             shongmaoniichuan.  Two  thousand  years  ago,   a
             giant  panda  drowned in that spring.  And  since
             then, anyone else who fall in there...

             [He trails off as Genma rises up once more. As  a
             panda.]

RANMA:       ...comes out as a panda.

GUIDE:       Yes.

RANMA:       Chikusho.

GENMA:       GRAAAA! MARF! ROWR!

GUIDE:       Many  apologies  - there  is no cure.  Hot  water
             will  change  you back, but only until  you  next
             get wet---

RANMA:       You  hear that, Oyaji? This is what you  get  for
             coming  to weird places that you don't even  know
             what they are!

             [Genma  growls, then leaps onto one of the poles,
             making 'come and fight me' gestures.]

RANMA:       Nani? You still want to train? Get real, Oyaji.

             [Genma looks at him aggressively.]

GENMA:       GRRAAAAA!!

             [He  leaps  down from the pole, taking  a  flying
             kick  at  Ranma.  He misses, hitting  the  ground
             just  by his feet, as Ranma flipped himself  into
             the air anyway to avoid it.]

RANMA:       Ha! Still too slow, old man.

             [He   whirls  in  mid-air,  realising  where  his
             course is taking him.]

RANMA:       AAAUGGHH!

             [Down into another spring.]

GUIDE:       Oh no! Okyaku-sama!

             [He goes and bobs down by the spring. Holds up  a
             Chinese sign that reads 'Nyanniichuan'.]

GUIDE:       Okyaku-sama!   You   just  drop   yourself   into
             Nyanniichuan  -  where  young  girl  drown,  1500
             years ago.

             [Onna-Ranma splashes out of the water.]

GUIDE:       See - you turn into a girl.

             [Ranma  looks  about, opens the top  of  her  gi,
             sees her breasts, and screams.]

             [End flashback.]



             11. STREET WITH RESTAURANT.

             [We  see  the  door being slammed  closed  behind
             Ranma  and  Genma.  The other  four  are  already
             waiting for them.]

             [Panda sign: What a brusque fellow.]

             [Ranma nods.]

             [Jin and Rumi are walking close to Miki.]

RUMI:        Miki...you still seem very upset.

             [Miki,   near  to  tears,  stops   and   has   an
             outburst.]

MIKI:        I  can't take this anymore! I love...I love  both
             of  you! Very much! And the thought of having  to
             be  separated from either one, I...it  just...  I
             don't want it to happen!

MIKI [VO]:   There. That should do it.

             [There  is  a  long pause. Rumi and Jin  look  at
             each other.]

JIN:         Oh.  Ja,  Miki-chan...you  won't  need  to  worry
             about it.

MIKI:        I won't?

             [Her  parents'  new spouses catch up  with  them,
             and  they  stand  with  their  arms  around  each
             other. [Yes, Genma's still a panda.]]

GENMA:       Of course not!

RUMI:        We've decided to get...

NODOKA:      ...one big house...

JIN:         ...and all six of us can live together!!

             [Miki's  eyes  start spiralling,  and  she  sways
             where she stands.]

MIKI [Feeble]:    How...nice...

             [She faints. Dissolve.]



             12. BEFORE SCHOOL.

             [Meiko  is  walking towards the school  building,
             lost in her thoughts.]

MIKI [OOV]:  Meiko...!

             [Meiko  waits  for her friend to  catch  up  with
             her.]

MIKI:        Ohayo!

MEIKO:       Ohayo.  How's your new house? You were moving  in
             with   your   new   family  over   the   weekend,
             weren't...you...

             [She  trails off as she realises Miki is  hushing
             her.]

MEIKO:       What's wrong?

MIKI:        It's  so  embarrassing! You're the only one  here
             who  knows about how warped my family is,  and  I
             want it to stay that way!

MEIKO:       Ja...you can trust me!

MIKI:        My  home life might be completely insane, but  at
             least at school I can still be normal.

             [Ranma-kun (male) walks up behind her.]

RANMA:       Hey, Miki.

             [At  first,  Miki  sighs at the  handsome  vision
             before  her. Then she realises what this actually
             means, and all but jumps out of her skin.]

MIKI:        What are you doing here?!!

             [Ranma shows her his bag.]

RANMA:       Going to school. What else?

MIKI:        But...but...

RANMA:       I  know,  I didn't expect it either. But  Okaasan
             and  Oyaji  figured that since I wouldn't  be  on
             the  road training all the time, it'd be  a  good
             idea.

MIKI:        But  why  this  school?  Why  not  Tomobiki?   Or
             Furinkan?    Or    Degrassi?    [Little    laugh]
             Gomenasai.

RANMA:       This  is  the  closest one. It doesn't  look  too
             bad, I guess...

             [Miki  starts  to  adopt a look  of  switched-off
             panic, with Ginta arrives.]

GINTA:       Miki!

MIKI:        Ginta!

GINTA:       Miki...Na-chan  says that since  you  weren't  at
             practice,  there's a few things he  wants  to  go
             over with you.

MIKI:        Ee...hai! I'll go now! Mata nee, Meiko-chan!

             [She  follows  Ginta  away.  Ranma  stares  after
             them.]

MEIKO:       Akizuki Meiko.

RANMA:       Nan? Oh. Saotome Ranma.

MEIKO:       Miki's  told  me  all  about  your  two  families
             living together. It sounds so great to me!

RANMA:       Ah,  it's not that exciting. [Beat] Who was that?
             Is he Miki's boyfriend?

             [They  don't  notice that the  clouds  above  are
             looking rather heavy.]

MEIKO:       No...he was once...kind of, but he dumped her  in
             middle school. They're just friends now.

RANMA:       Right...and Na-chan?

MEIKO:       That's  Namura-sensei, our teacher! He's a  great
             teacher. In fact, he's very good all round!

RANMA:       Sooda.

             [Meiko looks up.]

MEIKO:       Nee, I think it's about to rain.

RANMA:       Nani!? Oh, th--

             [It  does rain. All over Ranma. He changes. Meiko
             just stands and goggles at her.]

RANMA:       Ja,  well so much for keeping that one a  secret.
             I  guess I'd better go and finish registering. Ja
             ne!

             [Meiko stares at her as she goes.]

MEIKO:       Ja...ma...ta.



             13. DOORWAY.

             [From  a  doorway,  Ginta watches  as  Ranma-chan
             runs  off.  His  eyes look a  little  bit  glazed
             over.  From  his  POV, we see someone  go  up  to
             Meiko.]



             14. BEFORE SCHOOL.

             [Meiko  is  standing  here,  getting  quite  wet.
             Someone  we can't quite make out comes up  behind
             her.]

SOMEONE:     Sumimasen.

MEIKO:       Un?

SOMEONE:     Where's that girl going?

MEIKO:       What?  Oh.  She thinks she's going  to  register,
             but   actually  she's  headed  for  the  library.
             [Beat]  Never  mind, I'm sure someone  there  can
             tell her where to go...

             [Still  distracted,  she moves  off.  The  figure
             goes in the direction that Ranma did.]



             15. DOORWAY.

             [Ginta    moves   back,   obviously   considering
             something.]

GINTA [VO]:  She's...but  did  she  really  just  change  like
             that? Or was it the light?

             [Yes,  Ginta. The kind of light that  makes  your
             entire body structure change.]

             [Miki  emerges from the doorway, evidently having
             gone  over whatever she had to with Na-chan.  She
             notices Ginta's gaze.]

MIKI:        What's wrong, Ginta?

GINTA:       Were you with a guy or a girl just now?

             [Miki thinks [amazingly enough], then decides  to
             dodge the issue.]

MIKI:        Meiko's a girl. You know that! [Laughs]

             [Ginta  is  about to ask again when he notices  a
             newcomer.  They're not quite in  shot.  They  tap
             Miki on the shoulder.]

MIKI:        Hai?

             [They  point to where Ranma is disappearing  into
             the library.]

SOMEONE ELSE:That is Saotome Ranma?

MIKI:        Hai.

SOMEONE ELSE [Self]:   Finally...good thing!

             [They go.]



             16. LIBRARY.

             [Ranma  enters  the  library,  trying  to   shake
             herself dry.]

RANMA:       Man...stupid  martial  arts  training.  I  should
             have gone into video instead...

             [She  walks  on for a bit, then realises  she  is
             surrounded by books.]

RANMA:       Hmm...somehow  I don't think this  is  reception.
             I'll just have to ask someone the way.

             [She  turns  to find herself face-to-arm  with  a
             long-haired youth leaning against the bookcase.]

RANMA:       Aa!

MIWA:        Hey...why don't you ask me the way?

             [Ranma  starts  to fume, as she quickly  realises
             what the guy wants.]

RANMA:       I'll manage!

             [She  tries to move around him, but somehow  he's
             already there.]

MIWA:        Oh,  I'm sure you'd at least like a tour  of  the
             school. Then maybe of a movie theatre...

             [Ranma  steps  right back and tries  to  overcome
             the sheer futility of her next statement.]

RANMA:       Listen!! I'm a guy!

             [Miwa smiles.]

MIWA:        Hey! We've got something in common, then!

             [Ranma  notices the figure emerging  from  behind
             one end of the bookcase.]

SOMEONE ELSE:You stop there!

             [Judging from Miwa's reaction, she turns  to  see
             someone come out from the other end, as well.]

SOMEONE:     What do you think you're doing with my fiance?

             [On Miwa's justifiably surprised reaction.]



             END CREDITS.

             [Over which is played Platonic Tsuranuite.]
                               
                    Written and created by
                          URAC SIGMA
                               
                           Based on
                   Marmalade Boy created by
                       YOSHIZUMI WATARU
                              and
                      Ranma � created by
                       TAKAHASHI RUMIKO
                               
          (c) Recycadelic Cacti Productions MCMXCVII
                               
                               
                               
                               
                        AUTHOR'S NOTES
                               
                               
'You're  evil.' 'Have you considered professional  help?'  'Oh
my GOD.'
These were just some of the reactions doing the rounds when  I
first put the teaser for this series out.
For  those  of you who don't know, Mustard Girl is  a  what-if
fanfic that combines two anime series: Marmalade Boy and Ranma
�.  Basically, I'd decided while writing Narrabundah � that  I
wanted  to write a 'real' Ranma fanfic, and that I also wanted
to  be  one  of  that small percentage of fanfic  authors  who
writes about a series other than Ranma. So I did both.
A few notes here:
1)  It's  probably become obvious by now that Nodoka, in  this
timeline,  knows  full  well of Ranma's  curse.  I  considered
having  him  still  trying to hide it even as  he  was  always
living  with her, but the more I looked at it, the less viable
it  seemed  for long-term use. I think we just have to  assume
that  this Genma was never made to promise to raise Ranma like
a man.
2)  This  episode is terribly derivative of the first  episode
of  Marmalade Boy. Basically, as it had to set up  mostly  the
same  kind  of  thing (and I wanted it to at  least  initially
focus  on  Miki), this was nigh on unavoidable. Now  that  the
Saotomes are settling in, things should start going all  kinds
of places.
3)  Where  does  the  title  come  from?  In  one  episode  of
Marmalade Boy, Miki deduces that Yuu is worthy of being called
'Marmalade Boy'. Stunned by the inescapable logic of this, Yuu
returns that Miki must thereby be 'Mustard Girl'. As Yuu isn't
in  this  fic,  we're  left not with a Marmalade  Boy,  but  a
Mustard Girl...
4)  This  one isn't going to even pretend to follow  a  weekly
schedule  like Narrabundah does. At the time of  writing,  I'm
not  even  entirely  sure if it'll be me that  does  the  next
episode.

                                                              
                                                        Ja ne,
                                                    Urac Sigma
                                           Canberra, June 1997
 



Comments and critique are certainly welcome! :)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   'I often think that, if I paid more attention, I'd lead a much   |
| more comfortable life.'                        - Benny Summerfield |
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| Urac 'Ratbat' Sigma, the Green Flame         ratbat@rocketmail.com |
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