Subject: [FFML] [FF] [R.5] The Leper Part 1
From: "Nikholas F. Toledo Zu" <niftol@i-manila.com.ph>
Date: 3/26/1998, 4:22 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

	I was sitting in front of my PC trying to get the specs on 'Lunar 
Urge 2' but something kept bugging me in the back of my mind.  Then, 
after a very intellectual discussion (with myself), I finally decided to 
do it, I'm gonna write a non-lemon.  A Ranma non-le...

	But this was two months ago.  I actually got to write more than 10 
pages of brilliance before the inevitable happened.  My hard drive got 
infected with a virus and all my stuff got corrupted.  It was a sad day;  
I succumbed into a two month period of depression and hopelessness.  But 
now, I think I'm over it.  But it's sad to know that while writing, 
somewhere out there in my memory is a better version of my fic.  Please 
bear with me.

---------------

                                The Leper
                                  Part 1
                     "A Martial Artist Comes to Town"

                      by Nikholas "NomaD" F. Toledo


	Ranma 1/2 is the property of Kitty, VIZ and the omnipotent Rumiko 
Takahashi.  I am a property of Switch (so you know who to sue).

	A Sailormoon character is also mentioned in this fic.

	I am NomaD... I am coming... I am near.

	By the way, this is a self-insertion.  My character had a past with 
Ukyou but not the kind you're thinking of.  And, because this is my first 
Ranma fic, I'm gonna do some weird stuff like use Ryouga and Ukyou but 
still keep Kuno, Tendo and Tofu.  But I'm really not sure.

-----------
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! 
I'm still very depressed...
-----------

	Midday in downtown Nerima seemed to be the safest time to be out 
and about.  Your regular teen-age martial artists were either in school 
or managing family businesses.  Even underwear thieves seemed to pipe 
down during this time, resting for their later afternoon panty raids.

	This district might as well be the martial artist capital of Japan 
as Tokyo being the senshi capital.  And yet, as we zoom down the 
district, we see a man emerging from a street corner...

	"Where the hell am I now?"

	No, it's not who you think.  This man had no resemblance to the 
"Eternal Lost Boy", though they were of the same age.  The man was 
dressed in a black long-sleeved top with matching pants.  If one was to 
examine him closer and see beyond the tears and tatters and rips and 
smudges of his clothes, then one would realize that this man was wearing 
a school uniform (or what remained of it).  He seemed to have traveled a 
long way on foot, as seen in his clothes as well as his bloodshot eyes.

	A soft breeze blew his hair in front of his eyes.  His hair seemed 
to take a life of its own, smothered and entangled in front of his face.  
>From a backpack, he took a small black strip of cloth and started tying 
his hair into a ponytail.  He took in the breeze with all his heart and 
heaved a hearty sigh.

	"Aah, Nerima, at last.  My search has almost come to an end... But 
I don't want to give myself false hope.  Still, some unseen force keeps 
telling me that she is here."

	It's been almost a whole semester since the stranger left his home 
in search of his 'beloved'.  Indeed, he was right.  He had finally found 
the haven of...

	"...my dear beloved Ukyou..."

	Alas, another so-called martial artist comes to town and he is...

	"Kiiroi Niwatori, how do you do?"

	He has traveled for sometime now, about four months.

	"Four whole months..."

	And he even made friends and mistakes along the way, especially in 
Tokyo...

	"Yeah, that was embarrassing..."

	Here, in Tokyo, was where he met a girl who, from a distance, 
resembled his black-haired beauty.  He was stalking, her not knowing that 
she could see him.  She eventually tricked him into turning a corner and 
from there beat the living hell out of him.  But after explaining his 
story, the girl invited him for lunch at her place.  Kiiroi Niwatori was 
just too happy to oblige.  She lived in a temple manned by her 
grandfather, and... what was her name again?

	"Rei, Rei Hino.  It's because of her that I ended up here... I 
should visit her again sometime..."

	Indeed, it was because of Miss Hino that he found out where his 
beloved Ukyou was.  Rei, being a temple maiden, prayed for divine 
guidance and her faith brought him to Nerima (on foot).

	"I'm running out of cash, okay?"

	WILL YOU PLEASE STOP INTERRUPTING THE NARRATOR!!!

	"Oh, I'm sorry.  I thought you didn't mind..."

	Well, I do!  Besides, you're a character, how the hell can you be 
aware of me?

	"I'm an insertion, self-explanatory.  John Biles did it, so why 
can't I?"

	Well, you're not... oh, never mind.  It's just safer for you if you 
kept from talking to me.

	"Yeah?  Why?"

	People stare.

	"Huh?"

	Kiiroi looked around and saw indeed that people were staring.  
Everybody stopped what they were doing.  A small crowd had gathered to 
witness the spectacle.  Along the road was a woman who had a ladle and 
was splashing water on the road but now stopped.  He turned to his right 
and saw a child with his mother.  The kid had a finger stuck up his nose 
but eventually forgot that he was picking it, too distracted by Kiiroi.  

	Slowly, Kiiroi's face started turning red.  He edged away from the 
crowd and when he was at a certain distance, he started running, dragging 
what was left of his dignity.

----------

	Turning another street corner, Kiiroi found himself in a 
residential neighborhood.  But the streets were deserted since the locals 
were either at work or in school.  He walked further down the street 
until he stopped at an intersection.

	"How odd..."

	Standing in the middle of the intersection was a boy about his age.  
The young man had uncertainty written all over his face.  He stepped once 
in front, but gave a longing gaze to the road to his left.  He sighed and 
retracted his step.

	Kiiroi thought twice about asking this guy for directions, but 
then, he looked around and saw that there was absolutely nobody else in 
the neighborhood to ask, since they were the only wandering souls in the 
place.  He approached the guy with extreme caution... a bit too extreme.

	"Um, excuse me?"

	"Gyah!!!"

	The man leapt back in astonishment at the sight of the face that 
crept behind him out of thin air.

	"Oh, you startled me..."

	"Sorry 'bout that, I was wondering if you knew anybody by the name 
of Ukyou, Ukyou Kuon..."

	"Ukyou Kuonji?  Sure, I know her - we're great friends, you know."

	"Really?  This is great!  I never caught your name..."

	"Oh, I'm Ryouga Hibiki..."

	The man with the bandanna took out his hand and smiled at his new 
acquaintance with fangs and everything.

	"And you are?"

	"Um, I'm... Kiiroi, Kiiroi Niwatori..."

	Ryouga stopped shaking Kiiroi's hand but it stayed there just the 
same.  Ryouga tried but failed to contain his smirk.

	"Uh, nice name."

	"I kinda get that a lot... but enough about me.  You said you knew 
Ukyou?  Where can I find her?"

	"Ukyou?  She lives in her restaurant.  It's called 'Okonomiyaki 
Ucchan's'."

	"Okonomiyaki, of course!  Now why the hell didn't I think of that?  
Thank you, Mr. Ryouga, you've been a great help.  Now, where can I find 
this 'Ucchan's'?"

	Kiiroi watched as Ryouga swallowed a lump and the boy seemed to 
stare blankly at him for a moment.  A sweat drop appeared beside Ryouga's 
head.  Ryouga scratched his head while grinning sheepishly.  Kiiroi 
thought it best to save the man from the awkward situation.

	"Oh, I understand, you're not from around here are you?"

	Ryouga nodded.

	"But you have been to Ukyou's..."

	Ryouga nodded.

	"And the name of her street is?"

	Ryouga shook his head.

	"What about the subdivision?"

	Ryouga shook his head.

	"Boulevard?  Avenue?"

	Ryouga shook his head.

	"A LANDMARK?  A PARK?  ANYTHING?!?!?"

	Then Kiiroi saw that Ryouga was about to answer, but from the look 
on the boy's face, Kiiroi knew that he wasn't gonna like the answer...

	"Uh, Mount Fuji?"

	Kiiroi froze for a moment.  His face was an expression of 
bewilderment.  Ryouga kept on scratching his head innocently.

	"S-sorry..."

	Silently as he came, Kiiroi turned and left.  His head was hanging 
between his shoulders.  Ryouga shouted words of encouragement to make up 
for the disappointment.

	"Hey, don't worry!  Look at me, I find my way... eventually..."

	Kiiroi just raised a hand in that 'yeah-yeah-thanks-for-nothing' 
kind of way.

	As he disappeared into the horizon, Ryouga went back to the matter 
at hand that led him to this spot in the first place.  It's been four 
days since he took in a spoonful of Akane's cooking and ever since has 
been searching for the Tendo bathroom, and this time, he really needed to 
go...

----------

	Kiiroi found a bench in a busy part of the district and was sorting 
out the things in his backpack.  He got out, and started nibbling on, a 
piece of rice cake he was saving from two days ago, as he unfolded and 
unrolled the various maps he had.  When he found one of Nerima, he got 
out his reading glasses and searched the map for police stations or other 
information centers where he could ask for directions.  His eyes lit up 
as he traced the street of a building that caught his attention.  It 
wasn't Ukyou's place or a police station, but it was the next best thing.

	"A public bath... at last."

	The young man's eyes began tearing up as he recalled the six days 
of agony he undertook getting to this place.  Oh, how he missed the feel 
of water on his skin (soaking in rain wasn't the same).

	Kiiroi got out his wallet and began counting his money.  There was 
enough for a bath and a little something special he planned for himself 
later on, but he'd be broke come dinnertime.

	Better find her today, if you plan to freeload...

	"Shut up!"

	Kiiroi started placing everything inside again, except for the map 
of Nerima.  He also removed his ponytail since the wind calmed down a 
bit.  He pushed his glasses up and stared at the street signs.  He got up 
and began walking with his map in his hands.

	The thought of the caress of hot water on his skin distracted him 
that he failed to notice a cute babe in a hot pink number chasing after 
him.  The girl was waving her hand, trying to get Kiiroi's attention but 
to no avail.

	"Mousse!  Mousse!  Over here!  Shampoo over here!  MOUSSE!!!"

	But it was too late.  Kiiroi disappeared into the crowd.  Shampoo's 
face was a mask of irritation.  She crossed her arms and pouted (ever so 
cutely).

	"Stupid Mousse.  How come he no notice Shampoo?"

	Shampoo stared down at the one-piece suit she always wore that 
could beat a mini anytime of the day.

	"With clothes Shampoo wear, everybody notice Shampoo...  Ooh!  That 
stupid duck-boy make Shampoo very mad.  Now Shampoo have to get great 
grandmother's groceries herself.  Shampoo no get to go to Ranma darling's 
school and flirt.  Stupid, stupid Mousse.  Later Shampoo turn him to 
duck-type and pull all his feathers..."

	The crowd started to make way as a purple-haired girl stomped away 
while emitting a blue aura.

----------

	"Mmmmmm..."

	He twisted his head all the way to the right until he heard a 
satisfying crack.

	"Aah!  Now that felt good!  Life is most definitely getting 
better..."

	He opened his eyes and saw everything in a thick, blinding haze.  
He took off his glasses and rubbed it with his towel.  The tub was just 
too perfect, and Kiiroi felt all the tension melt away.  He rested his 
head on the edge of the tub.  He almost drifted off to a restful slumber 
had it not been for a couple of voices he heard entering the bath.  
Turning his head towards the entrance, he saw two not-so elderly men at 
first and then noticed the third one which he mistook for a bath toy 
until it began moving.  It was an unlikely trio: a bald man wearing 
glasses as round as his own, a mustachioed man with shoulder length hair 
and a shriveled up old man who was at the moment jumping up and down with 
great vigor.

	"Whoopee!  I get to see girls!  GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!"

	"I don't get it, Tendo.  How come you wanted to go here this 
early?"

	"Oh, just relax, Saotome.  You'll get it later..."

	"Soun, old boy, you've done your master proud.  It's a miracle, 
actually, how you didn't try to stop me.  And, without that meddling 
Ranma around, I get to peak at PRETTY LADIES!"

	"Thank you, master.  I am happy that I have pleased you."

	"Now, if you boys don't mind, I'll just go over to the other side 
of the bath and visit a few lovely, youthful goddesses."

	"Go right ahead master, we'll just stay here and be about with our 
business."

	Soun Tendo turned to Genma Saotome and gave him a wink.

	"Well, I guess I don't have any protests with it either.  Enjoy 
yourself, master."

	As the old man's voice drifted away, Kiiroi observed these new 
strangers.  The pair kept calling the old man 'master'.

	"Maybe they're martial artists like me..."

	But his thought was immediately cut off at the sound of piercing 
shriek of agony that seemed to come from somebody who was not human.  
Just then, the old man emerged from the other side, his face was a shade 
of pale green.  He would've thrown up right then and there.  The man with 
the mustache came up to him.

	"What's the matter, master?  Weren't there any GIRLS at the other 
side?"

	"No, there weren't, you dope..."

	"Are you sure?  I could've sworn there were a few who entered with 
us..."

	"That's different!!!  All those women are shriveled up old 
prunes..."

	It was turn of the man named Saotome to butt in.

	"Like you, master?"

	"Why you..."

	"See, Saotome, what'd I tell you.  It's still early for any 
ordinary teen-age girl to be in public baths, right now.  There still in 
school, you know."

	"Very impressive, Tendo, very impres..."

	"This is insubordination!!!"

	At that moment, a great white flash filled the entire bathhouse.  
Kiiroi had to squint his eyes to see that the light came from the old 
man.  The other bath patrons started to look for cover.

	"Wow, that's some battle aura..."

	Kiiroi thought that the bath would be in rubbles any second now but 
it didn't happen.  He opened his eyes only to see the old man moping in 
the distant corner.  He contented himself with his little toy ship and 
his rubber ducky.  The other two men just laughed it off.

	"What an odd bunch.  I wonder if they know Ukyou.  After all, they 
are martial artists, too."

	Kiiroi got up and wrapped his towel around himself.  He approached 
the bald one who at the moment was busy shampooing his head.

	"Excuse me ,sir..."

	Genma looked up from his stool and saw what he thought was familiar 
face.

	"Well, hello yourself!  What can I do for you, boy?"

	<What a friendly old man...>  "As I was saying, I was wondering if 
you could point me the way to 'Okonomiyaki Ucchan's'?"

	<What a pitiful child.  He's been cooped up in that restaurant of 
theirs by that old hag that he probably haven't even been to Ukyou's 
place...>  "Sure, boy!  But it's still closed now, you know - after all, 
it is a school day.  If I were you, I'd go to Furinkan High School."

	"Furinkan High School..."

	Then Kiiroi remembered seeing the school in his map.  His eyes lit 
up at the thought.  He turned to the man to thank him...

	"Thank..."

	...but instead saw a giant bubbling panda.

	"It's a... it's a... P-p-pa-pan..."

	The panda got a wooden sign out of thin air that said "... DA!"

	Kiiroi ran out of the bath like a madman.  Genma-panda just stared 
at the young man as he sped away.  He turned to the observing Tendo and 
raised another sign.

	"Must be on drugs..."

	Soun just shook his head in agreement.	

----------
	Nekohanten...

	"And, after you're through there, go clean the toilet upstairs."

	"Yeah, yeah, you old bag."

	Cologne swung his cane and knocked Mousse's head to the floor.

	"You better learn some respect, young man - it's your fault that 
you took so long getting those eggs."

	"I couldn't find my glasses, okay?"

	Cologne gave him another whack.  He could've sworn she was enjoying 
this.

	"They were on your head!  I'm sure my Shampoo is quite disappointed 
for having to do the shopping that YOU were supposed to do."

	Just then, the door flew (or rather blew) open and a fiery blue 
aura blinded the customers inside.  Everyone stopped munching on their 
noodles, too awed by the spectacle.  A purple-haired amazon had a grocery 
bag in one arm while her other arm was flexed straight forward.  Where 
the door used to be was now where her fist was.  She entered the 
restaurant, but the sound of her own footsteps seem to drown in the eerie 
silence.  Cologne fidgeted.

	"Shampoo, I see you got the groceries.  You wouldn't believe what 
happened to Mousse..."

	But Mousse cut her off and swung his arms towards his beloved.

	"Shampoo, oh my darling Shampoo.  How can one stand and see you 
burdened by that load you carry.  Here, let me..."  WHAP!  BAM!  SWOOSH, 
CRACK!  WHACK!  BAM!  WHACK!  CRASH!  WHAPANG!  STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!  
SPLASH!  CLONK!

	Mousse managed a "Qua...?" before passing out.

	Shampoo silently placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter 
and then went upstairs, still with the unwavering blue aura.

	Cologne witnessed all this.  The hair at the back of her neck was 
still standing.  There was something in the air, but she couldn't point 
it out.

	"Something big is about to happen..."

	She began picking up the clutter littering the kitchen floor...

----------

	A door opened at a second-hand clothing store...

	Kiiroi stepped out, taking each step with pride.  With what was 
left of his money, he bought himself a new set of clothing.  Actually, he 
bought himself the same set of clothing.

	"I happen to like the black motif."

	Kiiroi was now ready (and broke).  He has already forgotten the 
panda incident in the bath and now he was set to search for Furinkan 
High.  He got out his ponytail, his glasses and his map, and began his 
journey.

	"Ukyou, here I come..."

----------

	Furinkan High, late afternoon...

	"Wow, just look at them."

	"Look at hers, they're so white."

	"Yeah, and long, too."

	"I bet they're smooth to the touch."

	"What about her?  Just look at them.  They're so shapely..."

	"I wouldn't mind running my hands up those babies."

	... the girls were currently in the middle of the field playing 
football.  Three individuals were under a tree;  two were ogling at the 
sight of numerous pairs of legs, while the other one was comfortably 
resting his brain on the prickly grass.

	"And look at Akane's..."

	"Hmm, they're so... so... muscular."

	"... but in a good way..."

	"Yeah, exactly what I mean.  With legs as long and muscular as 
those, you know what I'd like to do, Daisuke?"

	"No, what?"

	"I'd like to <@%#$*!>..."

	Ranma's eyes flew open - he sat up, his sleepiness gone, his mouth 
overtaking his brain once more...

	"What?!?   You've got to be kidding me!  That tomboy's legs are as 
big as a hippo's.  And as strong, too!  She's better off felling trees 
than using those legs for all that mushy-gushy stuff!  Not that she'd 
know how to use...<SPONK!!!>"

	Ranma's dialogue was cut off by a soccer ball stuck on his face.  
At a distance, Akane was flaming...

	"NEXT TIME, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S... BODY PARTS, 
CAN YOU PLEASE KEEP IT DOWN AND NOT LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW, FOR 
GOODNESS SAKE!!!"

	Ranma managed to get the ball unstuck and threw it towards the 
girls' direction.  Akane caught it in one hand;  she turned and stomped 
away.

	"She is so uncute..."

	Ranma lied on the grass once more and tried to regain his sleep.  
Just then, a girl came up to them, a row of small spatulas across her 
chest, a giant spatula slung across her back, and a white bow in her 
hair.

	"Hiroshi!  Daisuke!"

	The two pervs turned and saw who was coming.

	"Hey, Ukyou!"

	"C'mon, sit with us."

	Ukyou sat with them under the tree and saw Ranma snoring mildly in 
his sleep.

	"Hey, Ranchan..."

	Ranma managed a moan before drifting back once more to his slumber.  
Ukyou took in the lazy afternoon.  It was a good day.  The wind blew 
softly against the school, there was a thick bunch of clouds over the 
place but not enough for rain, the birds and leaves made their beautiful 
and restful sounds, Mousse was falling from the sky...

	Ukyou took this all in for a second and a couple of blinks...

	<MOUSSE FALLING FROM THE SKY?!?>

	Everybody was staring up now.  Indeed, there he was, the modern 
blind samurai with his hands in his robes, getting ready to strike.  
There was a small commotion as people took cover.

	A triumphant battle cry from the skies was heard as a chain 
swooshed towards the tree where the four rested under.  There was a 
gigantic, vicious blade at the end of the chain.  Hiroshi and Daisuke 
cowered to one side while Ukyou leapt to the other.  She glanced behind 
her and saw Ranma still lying on the grass.  Her heart pounded.

	For a moment, two hearts stopped beating as two breaths were held.  
Ukyou and Akane both cried out...

	"RAAANMAAA!!!"

	The blade hit the part of the tree where Ranma's head would've 
been.  Mousse landed on the ground, the chain still in his hand.  He 
stared up and saw that the vile Saotome managed to leap in the air 
(though nobody saw him execute it).  Ranma landed on the chain.  He 
trailed it with ease and, when he was close enough, he gave Mousse a 
satisfying kick on the face from above.

	"Okay, Mousse, what the hell's wrong now?  Why'd you go and disturb 
my sleep?"

	"Curse you, Ranma..."

	Ranma, Akane and Ukyou noticed that Mousse had a couple of bruises 
on his face.  They were there even before Ranma's kick.  Something wrong 
was going on and they knew it.  Normally, Mousse shouldn't be bruised 
because of the Takahashi phenomenon but somebody had beaten him enough 
for the bruises to last until the next battle.  Akane butted in.

	"What's the matter, Mousse?  What happened to you?"

	Mousse whimpered momentarily.

	"Shampoo beat me up..."

	Ranma fumed a bit.

	"So?!?  She always beats you up!  What's so special about this 
one?"

	"This time she did it for no reason at all!"

	"Well, maybe she felt a bit special today!"

	"It's still not how my beloved Shampoo would normally act.  And 
deep inside, my conscience tells me that this is all your fault, you... 
ENSLAVER OF WOMEN!!!"

	Mousse thrust his fist towards Ranma's face.  At the last minute, 
spikes shot out but missed his head entirely.  Ranma leapt back as the 
crowd gave the two some fighting space.

	"I don't know what you did to Shampoo, Ranma, but I cannot forgive 
you, either.  You have gone too far, and now you will perish by my hands 
right here and right now!!!"

	Mousse made a swift grabbing motion to the insides of his robes 
and, in a matter of milliseconds, hurled more than a dozen chains towards 
the waiting Saotome.  The chains were propelled by numerous objects, 
including various types of blades, balls of spikes, a sink, a fridge and 
a monkey.

	Ranma made a quick observation of the things coming towards him.  
He managed to dodge the balls of spikes and parry the blades.  He 
sidestepped to avoid the sink.  He was about to jump up to avoid the 
fridge but he noticed the chain was about to be pulled taut.  It did.  
And, as it did, the door flew open.  This was something Ranma didn't 
expect.  He was pelted by various fruits and food products.  A lemon 
creme pie sideswiped his face.  He squinted and saw a monkey salivating 
in front of him.  The monkey ate the lemon creme and bit his nose in the 
process.  He tried to pry the thing off, but it clawed him, causing his 
cheeks to redden.  When he got the monkey off, he turned to Mousse who 
just gave him a smirk.  His body began glowing with a sickly reddish 
light.  For a short moment, Mousse feared for his life.

	"Mousse, you've gone too far!  Disturbing me from my sleep was 
understandable, pelting me with food stuff was forgivable... BUT THE 
MONKEY WAS THE LAST STRAW!!!"

	The crowd immediately ran away as fast as they could as they saw 
Ranma's arms cross in front of him.  They've seen this move a dozen 
times, and from the size of Ranma's battle aura at the moment, they 
deduced this to be a big one.  Mousse managed to gulp before...

	"MOOOOKOOOO TAAAAAKAAAABIIIISHAAAA!!!!"

	A great bright flash was seen even in the most confined spaces of 
the school.  People tried to see what happened.  There was nobody on the 
field but, as they stared up, they saw Ranma gliding in the air chasing 
an unconscious Mousse.

	"Come back here, Mousse!  You're not gonna get away from me!"

----------

	On the other side of the campus, Kiiroi stared up at the sky.  He 
searched for rain clouds, since he thought he saw lightning just then.  
He managed to reach Furinkan High but it seemed that reaching Ukyou was a 
whole different matter.  From the building to his right, he heard a 
'THUD!' and some breaking branches behind some trees.  He kept on 
walking, unaware of lightning about to strike again...

----------
	Up in the sky... (no, don't say it)

	"There you are, Mousse... no silly disguise's gonna fool me, though 
I admit, this isn't your style, but I'll hurt you, just the same..."

----------

	Something deep inside Kiiroi told him to look up - he wished he 
hadn't...

----------

	Akane, Ukyou and the rest of crowd came just in time to see Ranma 
beat the crap out of an unidentifiable lump on the ground.

	"Take that!  And that!  And that, that, that!!!  And this, too!!!"

	As Kiiroi's consciousness was about to leave him, he whispered the 
name of his beloved one last time...  Ukyou's ears perked up at the sound 
of her name.  She gave the man on the ground a meaningful stare, and 
then...

	"Oh, no!  Ranma!  Stop, don't hurt him, he's not Mousse!"

	Ranma and the whole crowd gave a resounding "HUH?"

	Ukyou cradled the young man in black in his arms.  He was still 
breathing, which made Ukyou relieved.  It took Kiiroi a moment before he 
regained consciousness.  But when he opened his eyes, he almost lost it 
again.

	"Uk... Ukyou... I-I found you... at last..."

	"Hush, don't talk, you'll be all right in a moment...  How's your 
fingers?"

	" ... they're fine..."

	Akane gave Ranma a questioning glance but Ranma just shrugged, not 
knowing what the conversation was about, either.  They both leaned over 
Ukyou's head to take a peek at Kiiroi.  That's when they saw the 
unnoticed.  Kiiroi had small bandages at the tip of his fingers, though 
they appear to be unhurt.  Odd as this seemed, they never questioned 
this.

	And, indeed, after a few moments, all bruises and aches that Kiiroi 
had were gone.  He got up and dusted himself.  Ukyou made the 
introductions, and when she said Kiiroi's name, an uproar occurred, but 
eventually died down.  Kiiroi never got used to this.  Ranma, on the 
other hand, managed to keep his mouth shut, still embarrassed at beating 
Kiiroi up by mistake.  Akane just smiled at this.

	"So, Kiiroi, how did you and Ukyou meet?"

	"We used to be schoolmates..."

	"Oh, you mean in that all-boys school?"

	Kiiroi nodded.  At the same time, the school bell rang to signify 
the end of the day.  Ukyou tugged at Kiiroi's arm.

	"C'mon, let's get outta here..."

	"Let's go, Ranma..."

---------- 

	The four were now on their way home.  Akane, Ukyou and Kiiroi were 
on the ground, while Ranma strolled on the fence as usual.  Everybody was 
silent, not knowing what to say to each other.  Amazingly, it was Ranma 
who broke the ice...

	"Um, Kiiroi?  S-sorry about... you know, what happened earlier...  
the momentum kinda got to me."

	"That's okay, after all I'm a martial artist t... oof!"

	Ukyou nudged him before he could finish.  Kiiroi looked at Ukyou in 
wonder, but all he got was a glare.  He knew what it meant.  Akane tried 
to continue the conversation.

	"So, Kiiroi, where will you be staying in Nerima?"

	"Oh, he'll be staying with me..."

	As if on cue, Ranma slipped his footing and almost fell into the 
water on the other side, but he managed to grab on in time.  He leapt to 
the other side, right in front of Ukyou.

	"HE'LL WHAT?!?"

	Ukyou blushed at Ranma while Akane was glaring.  She gave him a 
"don't-tell-me-you're-jealous" stare.

	"Don't worry, Ranma, Kiiroi's different.  Trust me..."

	"But, Ucchan... he might... you know."

	Kiiroi looked at the two questioningly.

	"I might what?"

	Ranma just stared at him wide-eyed.  He couldn't believe that 
Kiiroi couldn't get what he was trying to point out.

	"You know..."

	"I don't."

	"You know, the thing..."

	"What thing?"

	"That thing that people do..."

	Kiiroi scratched his head.  Ukyou smiled triumphantly.

	"Give up, Ranchan.  C'mon, Kiiroi, this is where we guys part."

	Everybody gave their final good-byes as the two pairs parted ways.  
Ranma was still worried about Ukyou while Akane kept on yelling at him 
for being a jerk.  On the other end, Ukyou and Kiiroi walked on to the 
sunset.

--------------
end of part 1
--------------

	That wasn't so bad.  I managed to improve a few things along the 
way, too.  Hope you like this one...

	For those waiting for 'Lunar Urge 2: Makoto's Cousin', shame on 
you!  Kidding aside... I managed to start the thing but then came this 
project.  I'm sorry but I might lay low on lemon writing for a while.  
Thanks for reading my works.

	So who is Kiiroi (that's 'Ki-i-rou-wi') anyway?  And for those 
people who might be wondering why everybody laughs whenever they hear 
Kiiroi's whole name, it's because Kiiroi Niwatori means 'yellow 
chicken'...  As for the other questions, I won't mention them.  Just read 
the next one or send me a mail... "Nikholas F. Toledo Zu" at niftol@i-
manila.com.ph, care of NomaD.
 
	Anyway, that's about it.  I'd like to thank the following people:


Switch, the official Deputy Bastard Taskmaster from Hell, I haven't 
bugged the guy for quite a while now.

Nomadess, who thinks that this fic is better than my lemons.  She 
actually enjoyed reading this thing and tells me that it's very good (and 
this has nothing with the fact that we've been dating for the last four 
years...  Happy Anniversary, babe!).

Elf, she already overtook me.  I haven't read part 3 but I heard it was a 
riot.


	For all you guys who've been patient enough to visit my page every 
once in a while even if there's nothing there, THANKS!  I'm also gonna 
post an artwork of mine... hope you guys like it...


-NomaD-
=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)=);):)