PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Feelings Are Blind
Prologue

     "A water, please."
     The bartender stared at the teenager sitting on the creaky stool
before him.  The kid seemed to be having a bad day, but at least he
didn't try ordering alcohol to solve his troubles. "Sure, kid."  He
reached under the counter and picked a glass, then filled it from the
faucet.  He placed it in front of his customer with the dull clink of
glass on finished hardwood.  Then, he left him in his state of
reflection to go tend to another person.
     Ranma stared down into the water.  His silhouette was returned to
him, an ouline of himself without eyes to see.  Yet, he knew what was in
them without looking.  Dispair, a feeling that he couldn't escape.
Entrapment, almost to the point of claustrophobia.  He wasn't sure what
to do, and he wasn't used to being in that sort of situation.  He found
he didn't like it one bit either.  A small bit of ash landed on the
placid surface of the liquid, causing miniscule ripples to traverse it,
rebouning off the walls, unable to break free of its borders.  It was so
much like his life he almost cried at the symbolism.  
     He sighed and lifted his head.  That's when he noticed he wasn't
alone in his misery.  While he was lost in his thoughts someone had come
to sit next to him.  A person who seemed as alone as he did.  A person
who also had nothing but a glass of water sitting in front of him.  He
briefly wondered what the chances were.  Math was never one of his
strong suits, and he had absolutely no idea how to figure statistics.
About all he was good for was guaging whether or not he could beat the
person in a fight.  A talent he took no pride in at that moment, in
fact, he was beginning to loathe it.
     The young man, must have been about his age, looked up suddenly.
Then, he turned his gaze to Ranma.  The martial artist discovered
himself looking straight into the eyes he knew were missing from the
water's surface.  The two stared at one another for a few moments, as if
deciding whether or not to actually talk, or if it would cause more
problems than they already had.
     "Hello," the young man greeted with no warning.  So, thought Ranma,
this guy has more balls than I do it seems.
     "Hey," he returned noncomitmentally.
     They sat in silence for a while longer before the guy spoke up
again.  "Name's Tenchi."
     "Ranma," he replied.  He agreed with Tenchi that the formality of
last names was useless at that point.
     "What brings you here?"
     He shrugged, "Nothing in particular, life in general.  How about
you?"
     "Same.  Kind of amusing how your own life can turn on you so
violently."  He laughed at his little irony.
     Ranma couldn't say that he saw the humor, but grinned anyway.  It
was good to have someone to talk to, someone who understood. "I suppose,
but I'd rather just live a day without it trying to explode in my face."
     Tenchi nodded, "I hear you there.  If *anything* else tries to blow
up in my face, I swear I will lose it completely."
     "Is it women problems?"  Ranma was just so curious he could't help
but ask, even if it could be considered rude.  He had to know.
     "Yeah, you could say that."
     "I understand, I have plenty of my own."
     Tenchi looked over at Ranma and smiled grimly, "Not like these you
don't."
     Not wanting to be underscored, Ranma puffed out slightly and asked,
"What makes yours so different?"
     "Oh, I don't know... the fact that they could destroy the planet,
possibly the whole galaxy if they were so inclined.  The fact that
they're all aliens," he paused a second, "but so am I, at least in part,
so I suppose it's only proper."  He grinned, "Don't believe a word I'm
saying, do you?"
     Ranma shook his head.  "Actually, I do believe you.  It's far
fetched, sure, but I would be a hypocrite to distrust you.  I have
multiple fiancees through various extaneous circumstances.  They are all
top notch martial artists, they are all beautiful, a few of them are
insane.  On top of that, I have a curse that causes me to turn into a
girl, so I also have a small number of the male population after me."
     Tenchi's eyes widened in disbelief.  Ranma smiled, "Now who's the
hypocrite?"  With that, he threw his mug of water into his own face.
     "Hey!" the bartender protested.
     Ranma turned to the now stunned man and asked, "Yeah?" 
     "N... Nothing."  The shaken bartender returned to cleaning glasses,
blinking his eyes a bit more than before.
     Ranma looked back to Tenchi, whose face was a mask of complete
surprise.  "I know, blew me away at first too."
     After another moment Tenchi could speak again, "How do you change
back?"
     "Hot water."
     "Oh..."  He reached out a hand toward Ranma's face.  He paused, "Do
you mind?"
     Ranma looked Tenchi over for a second, for the first time realizing
what a handsome young man he was.  However, he didn't seem to have any
alterior motive other than basic curiosity so he nodded.  He felt
Tenchi's warm hand against his face, almost like a feather's touch.  It
was a tentative and slightly shaky contact, as if Tenchi were afraid he
would vanish without warning. Then, the hand made full contact, its
fingers digging in behind his ear and into his hair. 
     Ranma, try as he might, couldn't help but feel comfort from
Tenchi's caress.  He felt so alone sometimes, for having all those
people around him.  They were there, but they weren't truly caring.
Kasumi was about the only person who came close, and she had too much
work on her hands as it was.  Ranma craved a touch like the one he was
receiving, and he didn't give a damn what the gender of the person
giving it was.  It was another human being, even if only in part, and
that was enough.  He closed his eyes and moved his head slowly, softly
rubbing his cheek against Tenchi's hand.
     What felt like an eternity later, he felt something touch his lips.
He opened his eyes to find Tenchi's face right up against his own. Then,
his eyes widened completely as he realized Tenchi was kissing him.  He
pulled away sharply and instinctively wiped his mouth.
     At first, Tenchi looked shocked.  It soon transformed into regret.
He bowed his head. "I'm sorry.  I had no right to do that, and I know
you're really a man.  I don't know what came over me."
     Ranma calmed his breathing.  Tenchi seemed almost as upset as he
was over what had happened.  He couldn't deny he had felt something
while his face was in his hand anyway.  "It's okay.  Just don't do it
again, alright?"
     Tenchi nodded, "Okay.  Sorry, really."
     "I know, I know.  Forget about it, I know I can."  So, he was
lying, what of it?
     Tenchi smiled lightly and looked out the nearby window.  "I suppose
I had better get home before they send out a search party."
     Ranma nodded, "Yeah, I'd better too."
     They rose together and headed out the front door.  They split up
and headed in opposing directions down the sidewalk.  A few steps away
from the bar, Ranma touched his lips softly, as they still burned from
the touch of Tenchi's.  Try as hard as he could, he couldn't get the
thought or feeling out of his mind.  It troubled him to no end that he
felt somehow that he actually enjoyed it, and would do so again if given
the chance.
     He paused and turned his head, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tenchi
as he walked off. Much to his amazement, he found him looking right
back, having turned himself.  He saw a longing in those eyes that caused
him to blush, and was shocked to find they once again mirrored his own.
     Ranma wasn't ready for this.  He couldn't deal with it, not yet
anyway.  He turned away and jumped to the roof of the nearest building,
wanting to put as much distance between himself and Tenchi as possible.
He knew he was running away, something he was not used to, and he hated
it.  However, he felt inside that he would meet Tenchi again soon.  He
wasn't sure yet if he hated that or not.
     He supposed he would find out.
END
Oh, heavens... not *another* series.  I hate it when I do this to
myself.  This did not start as such a long story, and would not have
needed continuation.  However, it mutated.  I'm not so sure about this
myself, and require feedback as to whether to continue or not.  I still
am working on GWF, and the first part of Where Time Lies, so don't worry
about those fics.  
Thanks for reading,
PMasters       

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
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