Looking through my old and newer mails from the list, I got all nostalgic
about the idea of everyone having secrets. And there was one particular idea
which I thought was possible but never got raised. Now I know all you die
hards out there will find something somewhere to disprove this, but...

What if...

******

Black and White

A Ranma 1/2 shortfic by Glazius Falconar

Standard Takahashi disclaimer: She owns the characters. I do not. She likely
doesn't even know I'm doing this, and probably wouldn't approve of it.
Trying to make any money off of this would be suicidal, and I LIKE life so
far. In other words, I'm a fan and not a pro and no official sanction is
asked, given, implied, or desired.

******

The panda scooped up a handful (or, in its case, a pawful) of black stones
and deposited them on a fairly large pile of similarly hued stones. But
these were no ordinary pebbles. They were carefully rounded, and polished so
as to be almost reflective. And, in the entire pile of one hundred or so
stones, not one stood out as being larger or smaller than the others.

The panda leaned back and looked almost smugly at the dark-haired man who
sat on the other side of the stone slab. His fingers followed loosely dotted
lines of white stone around the slab and  through spirals, loops, and small
collections. He reached toward the pile of black stones, fingered one
hesitantly, and then let it drop. He fixed the panda with an even gaze and
slowly shook his head. The panda nodded in response, and the two began to
separate the mix on the board into white and black.

After a few minutes of counting and cross-checking of tallies, the panda
broke into a small dance of celebration. From nowhere it produced a party
cracker which split open in a shower of confetti and a small sign bearing
the message "I finally won!"

At which the dark-haired man laughed. "Count again, Saotome. I have you by
six, and you were only given five and a half."

The panda abruptly ceased celebrating, and rapidly sifted through the piles
of stones again. It glared at the dark-haired man briefly, but its features
slowly shifted to an expression of resignation. "Again, Tendo?" proclaimed a
wooden signboard.

"Again, Saotome," nodded the dark-haired man.

And Genma and Soun began their fourth match of Go that afternoon.

******

To an outside observer - a fly on the wall, as it were - this match was much
more rife with underhanded tricks and just plain wrong things than an
average game. Three stones in, Soun noticed that a sizable chunk of air
happened to look exactly like a few egg rolls left over from lunch,
completely helpless against the ravages of a hungry thief. Naturally, he
informed his training partner of this, and, while the panda's head was
turned, he...

...shifted the board?

Now, unlike shogi, there is no particular meaning to the arrangement or
direction of the stones on a Go board... if rounded stones can even be said
to have a direction. White stays white, black stays black, and pieces which
are surrounded stay surrounded, no matter which way the board is turned.
Which is why it was equally surprising when the panda waved at a doorpost
which momentarily took on a striking resemblance to Kasumi and rotated the
board again. Was this some strange variation on a shogi match? Or were the
two simply ignorant of the rules of go?

The board rotated yet again, prompted by the sound of a lightning strike
outside and a deftly flicked wrist. Ignorance was perhaps an option at this
point, as the few pieces on the board were scattered in a strange mosaic.
Advanced strategic maneuvering? Perhaps. After all, it WAS only a game...

******

'It failed.'

'Yes, it did. Could it not have?'

'Of course not. The cask...'

'Running off with it was not my finest moment.'

'But it had to be done.'

***

Nabiki had a tape recorder going in a small compartment near the doorways
and in most of the rooms of the house and dojo.

***

'And the guest list, Tendo?'

'Merely a precaution.'

'Why ruin it? Our schools must be united.'

'That they must. But not yet.'

***

She considered it wise to be informed of most of the plans her family was
making, and of any secrets which were being let out into the open. And,
properly manipulated, Ranma's voice - in both his forms - was selling for
tens of thousands of yen at Furinkan and elsewhere.

***

'True. Not yet. Our children must realize...'

'...that all others pursuing them are maniacs?'

'Yes. I think this fiasco helped.'

'To say the least, Saotome.'

***

However, when she retrieved her tapes for the day, this conversation would
be somehow absent.

***

'Ukyo worries me.'

'If only she had really been a boy...'

'Or I had left more abruptly...'

'But the Amazon...'

'I was in top form that day.'

'And hungry form as well.'

'True. But the Kunos, Tendo...'

'They were unexpected... somewhat.'

'Somewhat?'

'There are other locations for a dojo, Saotome.'

***

Nothing but the clacking of stone on stone came from the roofed porch
outside, where Soun and Genma were playing Go.

***

'I suppose there are.'

'Having doubts, Saotome?'

'My wife.'

'She's accepted the curse.'

'But acquiring it was a risk...'

'Your secret is safe.'

'As it should be.'

***

The clacking of stone on stone... marred by a single interruption.

***

'But...'

'But?'

'Perhaps we don't need to force them.'

'Perhaps not so much. But our schools...'

'Trust your children.'

Genma and Soun blinked a few times in confusion. A rice ball had fallen from
somewhere, and had splatted down on a small portion of the Go board,
covering a few squares and knocking a piece or two aside.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry, Otoosan! I thought you and Ojisama would want
something to snack on..."

Genma scooped up the small pile of rice, catching a few errant grains
between his claws, and popped the concoction in his mouth. He chewed,
swallowed, and smiled up at Kasumi, who was looking a tiny bit distressed.

"Thank you, Kasumi. You haven't disturbed the game at all..."

Kasumi blushed slightly, and set the tray she was carrying down on the table
which supported the Go board.

"I should be more careful, Otoosan..." she said, as she bowed and returned
to the house...

******

Soun shook his head as he placed a white stone on the board and gathered a
few of Genma's black stones in his hands. They clicked against each other as
they fell back onto Genma's pile.

'So like her mother...'

******

Comments and criticism are welcome. Flames are not, though I expect some for
ostensibly mauling the continuity...

--G. Falconar