And here's part two! Enjoy. :)


-----
Scoop of the Day
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
-----

Disclaimer etc. You know the scheme.


Chapter Two: Follow Ranma!



	"Hey, Noriko, is it true that the 'Informer' isn't going to 
survive another year? What're you going to do?"

	Noriko looked up from her proof-reading job and was dismayed to 
see the circle of crew members gathered around her desk, each eager to 
hear her answer.

	"We don't know that for sure; weren't you listening to Sensei's 
announcement?" she replied, slightly annoyed at the reminder. As soon as 
the latest issue of the "Informer" had been distributed, Mr. Watanabe had 
taken the opportunity to formally let the students know about the 
financial situation of the journalism program of Furinkan High. It didn't 
seem to be enough for the students, though, because just one minute after 
he had left the room, everyone ran to Noriko's desk to see if they could 
garner some extra details about the fate of the "Informer." Noriko idly 
wondered if this was how her interview subjects always felt.

	More of her reporters chimed in. "Are we going to have to beg in 
the halls for funds?"

	"Doesn't Mr. Watanabe want to be our advisor anymore? What did we do?"

	"Yeah, was it something we printed last month?"

	"I heard that Principal Kuno thinks that the yearbook is more 
important than the newspaper! At least he's funding yearbook!"

	This was too much. "STOP SPREADING RUMORS!" Noriko shouted. That 
shut everyone up. Good. She continued, slowly, obviously trying to retain 
control of her already rising temper. "Mr. Watanabe said that as it 
stands, the paper might not receive enough money to continue next year, 
unless he can change the principal's mind." *Or somehow scare up some 
cash, quick,* she thought to herself ruefully.

	The journalism room was silent, but only for a moment. "Yeah, 
right. Principal Kuno'll change his mind the day that Saotome decides to 
become a girl full time," someone muttered from the back. The crowd 
slowly dispersed, agreeing under its breath. Noriko's pencil went *crack* 
as she threw control to the wind.

	*I'll get you for this, Ranma,* she thought silently, letting 
shards of wood, paint, and graphite fall to her already cluttered desk. 
It had been just a week since she had made that promise after first 
hearing about journalism's pending demise and had tracked the primary 
cause for lack of funds to Ranma Saotome. However, ideas for revenge were 
scarce. Noriko had managed to crank out a scathing little editorial 
against violence within Furinkan High which got printed in the last 
issue, but she knew that it would have little effect on her quarry. She 
was beginning to feel rather desperate. "Hey, Hikaru! Suzuki! You're done 
with the last assignment I gave you, right?"

	Suzuki briefly looked up from his game of solitaire. "Yeah, 
Chief, why?"

	"Well, I've got another one for you! I want you two to follow 
Ranma Saotome for a week."

	Gosunkugi immediately turned a whiter shade of pale. "Follow...Ranma?"

	Noriko's patience was nearing its end. "Yes, follow Ranma; is 
there a problem??"

	"Well...last time someone tried to do that, he ended up in the 
infirmary with multiple dislocated joints," Suzuki answered. "Dang! 
Where's that red king when I need it?"

	Noriko stomped her foot in frustration. "That's because it was 
Kuno-sempai's idiot servant, and he was trying to ambush him at lunch! I 
just want you to tail him for a while! Geez! It's like I'm in charge of a 
bunch of scaredy cats or something!"

	Gosunkugi somehow managed to become even paler. "Please, 
Noriko-san...don't say 'cats' when I'm around." Ever since that incident 
in the multi-purpose room with Ranma and the tiger, Gosunkugi had found 
cats to be a rather squeamish area...

	"Uh...is there something specific we're supposed to be looking 
for?" Suzuki quickly asked, trying to avert a potential explosion on the 
part of his editor-in-chief.

	It didn't work. There was a noticeable *boom* as Noriko's fist 
hit the desk. The king of diamonds dropped from Suzuki's fingers. "Just 
follow him for a week!! Find out what he's about!! See who he hangs 
around with!! Find out *something about him! And for goodness' sake, 
don't let him know he's being followed!" Gosunkugi and Suzuki quickly 
fled to the relative safety of the hallway, leaving Noriko standing at 
her desk, fuming. 

	Outside, Gosunkugi quickly closed the door to the journalism room 
behind him. "Is it just me, or does Noriko-san seem to have it in for Ranma?"

	Suzuki thought for a moment. This _was_ rather unusual behavior 
for the Chief, who could usually be counted on to keep a clear head in 
the middle of the "Informer's" frequent disasters. Still... "Naaaah, 
Chief's probably just upset about the paper. I mean, who wouldn't be?"



	Later that afternoon, Suzuki and Gosunkugi met after school 
behind the large oak tree just outside the school gate. Suzuki had his 
notepad and pencil with him, while Gosunkugi brought along his trusty 
camera, along with another strange object. "Hey, Hikaru, what's that 
trinket supposed to be?"

	Gosunkugi fingered the talisman hanging from its chain. "I wear 
it whenever I have to go near Saotome. It's supposed to ward off disaster 
as long as the potion I steeped it in lasts."

	Suzuki managed to keep from rolling his eyes. "Does it work?"

	Gosunkugi shrugged. "Well, it's hard to say. The last three I had 
got smashed after the first day I tried them out."

	Suzuki looked less than convinced, but decided to let the matter 
drop. "Shhh!" he hissed suddenly, motioning for Gosunkugi to duck. They 
knelt behind the tree and watched a pig-tailed boy wearing Chinese 
clothes walk past, hop onto the fence, and continue walking. "There he 
is! Let's follow him!" Suzuki whispered.

	"Are you sure this is supposed to get us information about 
Ranma?" Gosunkugi whispered back as they started after Ranma. 

	Suzuki shook his head. "Not really, but do you want to tell that 
to Chief?"

	Gosunkugi sighed and continued to follow after Suzuki, hoping for 
the world that he looked inconspicuous. 

	

	Ranma Saotome walked on the fence towards the Tendo dojo, lost in 
thought. He had left school later than usual, having spent the earlier 
part of the afternoon avoiding Akane's latest "assignment" from her Home 
Economics class. She had said that they were muffins, and had handed 
Ranma one to try. When her back was turned, though, Ranma dropped the 
"muffin" onto the floor on a whim, instantly regretting it when the 
muffin continued to crash through the floor and land on a hapless Kuno's 
head on the first story, sending the kendoist into yet another dazed 
reverie about the gods, Akane, and his "osage no onna."

	"Stop insulting my cooking!!" Akane had yelled, chasing Ranma 
around the school with the remainder of her muffins. Of course, she 
couldn't run very fast while still toting her ridiculously dense baked 
goods, and Ranma was able to easily outrun her and hide out in the boys' 
locker room. Finally, Akane gave up and walked back home without him, 
muttering "Ranma no baka" all the way.

	*Stupid girl. Why does she have to keep trying to poison me with 
her lousy cooking, anyway?* Ranma thought to himself. It wasn't that 
Ranma always set out to tick Akane off (well, sometimes it was good for a 
laugh or two), but her cooking was just so _bad_! *I didn't even say 
anything; I just dropped the muffin on the ground, that's all!* He 
laughed silently to himself at the memory of the "muffin" dropping onto 
Kuno's head, knocking him out cold. *Who woulda thought a muffin could be 
so dangerous? Maybe I should've kept them, and used them as weapons, or 
training weights, or...*

	Ranma froze. Slowly, he turned around, not really expecting to 
see anyone, but taking a look anyway. Sure enough, no one was in sight, 
but Ranma knew that someone was following him nevertheless. He 
concentrated for a moment...yes, there was definitely someone there. He 
could feel his presence. And maybe someone else's as well. Was it Ryoga? 
Ranma quickly eliminated the possibility. It wasn't Ryoga's style to 
sneak up on people, even if he had sent Ranma another one of those 
blasted formal letters of challenge just a week ago. Probably not 
Shampoo, either. Mousse? Or Kodachi? Well, whoever it was, Ranma decided 
he was better off finding out as soon as possible.



	Suzuki and Gosunkugi stayed huddled behind a nearby tree which 
they had dove behind when Ranma stopped walking. "I think he knows we're 
following him!" Gosunkugi whispered.

	Suzuki snorted. "Yeah, right," he responded. "What do you think 
he is, some kind of magician or something?"

	"Yo, Gosunkugi! What're you up to this time?" Ranma's voice came 
from just behind them. 

	"Then again...," Suzuki sighed. He turned around to see Ranma 
standing over them, arms crossed.

	Ranma looked down at the now very nervous duo and smirked. "So, 
following me around again, huh? And who's your friend?"

	"Uh, I'm Toren Suzuki, from the 'Informer,'" Suzuki managed to 
get out.

	"The 'Informer,' huh? Does this have anything to do with that 
anti-martial arts article in the paper last week?" Ranma asked, 
suspicious. Ranma remembered being none-too-happy about the things that 
were said in that editorial. Kuno, on the other hand, had spent the next 
hour-and-a-half ranting and raving about the dishonor the editorial had 
dealt him. He was quickly sent to the hall with buckets of water, after 
which he continued to rant until Miss Hinako "disciplined" him.

	"N-no!" Gosunkugi blurted out. "That wasn't us, that was our 
editor who wrote that!" Suzuki shot Gosunkugi a dirty look.

	"Well, then, what're you following me for...?" Ranma broke off 
suddenly, glancing quickly around. "Hey, listen, you two had better clear 
out of here, quick."

	Suzuki looked dubious. "Clear out? What's the matter, are you sc--"

	"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" came the all-too-familiar yell, followed 
ever so quickly by a flying kick delivered by a bandanna'd teenager 
wielding an umbrella.

	Ranma easily dodged the kick and assumed a defensive stance. 
"Ryoga! Don't you ever let up?"

	"Have you forgotten? It's time for me to rid the earth of you!" 
Ryoga hurled his umbrella at Ranma, who sidestepped it with little effort.

	"Don't you ever get tired of this? You sound like a bad comic 
book or something!" Ranma yelled.

	"Shut up! This is for all your injustices to sweet Akane!" Ryoga 
aimed a vicious punch at Ranma, who deflected it with some effort.

	"Gosunkugi! Take your friend and get the hell out of here!" Ranma shouted.

	"What about you?" Suzuki yelled.

	Ranma side-stepped again to avoid the umbrella returning in the 
opposite direction and continued to block Ryoga's frenzied punches and 
kicks. "Don't worry about me; this happens to me all the time! Just get 
away!"

	Ryoga charged Ranma, who rolled back onto the ground and used his 
momentum to slam him into the pavement. The blow only seemed to make 
Ryoga angrier, however.

	"Always using dirty tricks, huh, Ranma? I'll destroy the very 
earth on which you stand!" Ryoga pulled his arm back, index finger 
extended. "BAKU-SAI..."

	Gosunkugi tugged at Suzuki's arm, but Suzuki had picked up 
Gosunkugi's camera from where he had dropped it and was busily snapping 
pictures of the fight. "C'mon! Let's get out of here!" Gosunkugi urged.

	"Just one more shot...there! Okay, let's git!"

	Unfortunately for Gosunkugi and Suzuki, it was already too late. 
"...TEN-KETSU!!" Ryoga shouted, driving his finger into the breaking 
point of the cement. The shock-wave from the exploding concrete threw 
them onto their backs, knocking the wind out of both of them and giving 
them nasty bruises. 

	Then five thousand six hundred forty seven sharp fragments of 
shattered concrete pelted them at full force.



	Noriko sat in the journalism room early the next morning nursing 
a cup of cocoa and jotting down ideas for her next editorial. This was 
the one time she had to herself before the craziness began all over again 
with school starting and the arrival of her crew. *Hmmm...maybe I can do 
one on vandalism and property damage next? I could probably tie it in to 
martial arts again.* She took another sip and sighed in contentment. *If 
only the rest of the day could be this peaceful,* she thought to herself.

	The door flew opened, followed by two figures who looked nothing 
so much as rejected mummies from a tryout for a B-movie. They limped 
silently into the room, swathed in bandages from head to toe. Noriko 
noticed that one of them carried a camera along with what looked like a 
broken piece of jewelry hanging from a chain. 

	Suddenly, Noriko understood. "Omigosh! Suzuki! Gosunkugi! What on 
earth happened to you??" She flew from her desk towards them, barely 
catching Suzuki as he fell to one side. 

	After Noriko helped the pair into nearby chairs, Suzuki spoke. Or 
at least, tried to. "Mhee mrai moo molloo Rnnnmoo...," Suzuki began 
weakly. Frustrated, he ripped the bandages from around his face, 
revealing a dozen or so little gashes, cuts, and puncture wounds. Noriko 
gasped in horror. "We tried to follow Ranma Saotome after school."

	Gosunkugi followed suit, revealing a similar condition. "We 
tracked him for a short while, but then that Ryoga guy came, and there 
was a fight, and..."

	"And what??" Noriko asked, anxiously.

	Pause. "I...I don't remember," Suzuki said uneasily. He had a 
vague memory of a shout, and then an explosion which threw them on their 
backs and sent Ranma and the crazy bandanna boy into the canal. Then 
Ranma...was it Ranma?...punted a small animal into the air, and... Suzuki 
shook his head again. A clinic. He was at a clinic, getting treated by a 
man with glasses. Gosunkugi was there, too. A young lady entered, 
and...pain. Lots of pain and shouting...was that Ranma shouting? More 
treatment, and waking up at his home, wrapped in bandages. Seeing a girl 
walk away with Gosunkugi on her back. *Strong girl, did she carry me, 
too?* Blackness...

	"I don't remember, either," added Gosunkugi. "I remember that 
Ranma was there for most of it, though." Gosunkugi ruefully fingered the 
broken remains of his talisman. "I guess that makes four," he remarked to 
no one in particular.

	Noriko's feeling swiftly shifted from concern and sympathy for 
her comrades to anger and hatred towards Ranma Saotome. *First the paper, 
then this! How dare he hurt my reporters! And without any reason, too!* 
she thought, not noticing her hands beginning to shake. 

	Suzuki and Gosunkugi, noticing Noriko's sudden mood change, 
backed off a little. "Hey, don't worry about it," Suzuki offered. "I'll 
be sure to get something good on Ranma soon, as soon as I can walk, that is."

	Noriko shook her head, realizing that she had been misunderstood. 
"No, no, it's nothing like that. I'm not mad at you two. I should never 
have sent you to do something so dangerous." She took a deep breath, 
trying to calm herself. "It's all the fault of that accursed Ranma! It 
wasn't enough that he jeopardize the paper, but now he attacks my own 
crew as well!"

	Gosunkugi quickly nodded in agreement, but Suzuki was doubtful. 
"Are you sure about that, Chief? I don't think it was like he was trying 
to really hurt us or anything..."

	But the words went right past Noriko as she tore up the notes she 
had written for her next editorial. *This new development makes it a 
whole different ball game,* she thought darkly. *Then again, drastic 
times always did call for drastic measures.*



end part two


    Part three tomorrow. As usual, any sort of C&C craved. :)

---
Raphael See