This is the first of THREE batchs today. I missed the second batch
yesterday (well, I actually wanted to avoid sending it long enough for
Phillip Mak to identify a problem in the FFML. He found the problem and
has instituted at least temporary measures to fix the problem... I would
wait for a more permanent solution, but I'm too short of time- if I don't
average 2 batches a day from now on, I'll probably not be able to finish
the reposts before Listbot is taken down)
To reply, post publically or e-mail the author at brian@azurite.org
Enjoy!
The FFML Refugee List
Oh man.
My pre-readers are gonna _kill_ me.
But my muse wants more of this, not more Unbroken Circle...
Rursus Iterum Intro
Disclaimer: Takahashi provided us with the paint, I'm simply a peasant
with an easel.
A Ranma 1/2 alternate universe.
The rushing water all around him, the panic setting in, which way was
up? The frantic scrabbling of his seemingly too-small hands as they
clawed against the water, desperately seeking purchase, and not finding
it. Then a sudden soft, muddy impact against his side, as he met the
bottom of the pool.
He righted himself instantly, pushing away from the muddy surface with
all of his might, towards where he could faintly see the bubbles rising
towards a faint point of brightness above him. The light slowly grew,
becoming wider and wider... yet so far away. His lungs were burning with
pain; the desire for oxygen seeming to drain at his strength at he
frantically kicked and clawed towards the surface.
His vision began to dim, and his movements became weaker as the
glimmering, waving top of the pool shimmered above him, out of his
reach... out of his reach... He wasn't going to make it, he could feel
his body spasm, unable to resist the need to breathe, and took a gasping
breath, feeling the rush of swirling water crossing over his teeth,
invading his lungs and --
***
He sat up, coughing, spitting out water and fighting off a strange sense
of displacement. It was a dream... nothing more than a dream. It took
his brain a few minutes to catch up, reminding him that he had been
engaged to Akane about a week ago. And Jusenkyou... and earlier than
that --
He sighed, coughing a few more times, then croaked out, "Stupid, uncute
tomboy..."
Looking up revealed Akane standing nearby with a partially amused and
partially annoyed expression. And a bucket in one hand. Ranma glanced
down to check, realizing that she was in fact, changed into her cursed
form. Akane snorted, slinging the bucket over her shoulder as she left
the room. "Get ready for school, Ranma."
She groaned, climbing to her feet, and grumbling about the indignity of
uncute tomboys. She knew in the back of her mind that it wasn't fair to
blame Akane for the nightmare... but it always put her off to wake up
from a dream like that. The only ones that were worse, were the dreams
where Ranma made it to the top of the pool, and... she was there.
Shaking her head, she gathered a fresh set of Chinese clothing, and
padded into the bathroom, knocking before he entered. She caught a flash
of her reflection out of the corner of her eye, and froze, captivated by
her own reflection.
Her reflection. Ranma swallowed, feeling fresh tears well up, and
suppressing them, with effort. It wasn't fair... it was bad enough to
turn into a girl, Ranma could have come to grips with that. But to turn
into... into her... she slumped visibly, moving away from the mirror and
its unkind reminder of a forgotten past. "Why..." she whispered to the
quiet of the furo. "Why did you have to die? Why..."
She took a deep breath, releasing a single wracking sob. She couldn't
let anyone see her like this; her reputation... she couldn't afford to
let anyone see that the great Saotome Ranma was in emotional distress.
But it was so hard to be strong, and Genma wasn't helping matters. She
was only just getting over her, and Genma went and engaged her to
another girl. "Why..."
But the furo held no answers.
***
Nabiki smirked, blithely droning on, "Of course, if it had been your
first kiss, it would have been a _tradgedy_."
Kasumi released a small giggle, seeing something in Ranma's demeanor
that the others hadn't. "But certainly that wasn't the case, was it,
Ranma?"
He said nothing simply scowling, and remembering...
*************
She looked at Ranma, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. "So..."
she began slowly, a faint flush creeping up her cheeks. "Have you ever
kissed a girl?"
The fifteen-year-old Ranma's face began to color, and he adopted a
haughty expression. "'Course I have! I've kissed bunches of girls in my
time. Why?"
She dithered a moment, pointing her index fingers together and flexing
them nervously, too flushed to look directly at Ranma. In a quiet voice,
she asked, "Would you kiss me?"
*************
Akane hid a smile of her own, seeing Ranma color, then storm off to the
dojo, she asked, "I wonder what that was about?"
Nabiki shrugged, seemingly uninterested.
Akane shook her head, wondering, while Kasumi wore a worried expression,
thinking that she had perhaps said too much.
In the dojo, Ranma muttered to himself, hunched in the center of the
wooden floor. He sulked, "Feh! Laughingstock of the whole town... Nobody
cares how I feel, just..." He trailed off, not wanting to think about
his first kiss. And then there was Akane...
*************
The young Ranma swallowed nervously, then nodded, and slowly drew his
face to hers. Their lips touched tentatively, a simple, sweet kiss, one
that lingered on his mind even after he pulled away. He felt a vague
sensation in the back of his head, as though he had blown a mental fuse.
All he could manage to say was, "Woah..."
She giggled deliriously, throwing herself across his lap and snuggling
into his embrace. He flushed, suddenly overwhelmed by the kawaii factor.
Blushing profusely, she poked his nose, accusing, "That was your first
kiss too, wasn't it?"
*************
A swat on the back of his head diverted his attention elsewhere, and he
looked up to see Akane, first aid kit in hand. "Your back's wide open."
She criticized. "You're completely off guard."
Ranma said nothing, simply peering at her out of the corner of his eyes,
and curling in on himself.
Akane scowled at the lack of a reaction. "How long do you plan to pout?"
She rolled her eyes, complaining, "And you call yourself a man!"
Growling, Ranma looked away. "If you think it's so funny... go ahead and
laugh!"
Akane knelt in front of him, looking him straight in the eyes... and
laughed. "Hah!"
Ranma sprang to his feet, furious, demanding, "What's so funny!?"
Akane turned serious, loosing her demeanor of false cheer. "Was that
really your first kiss?" she asked. It had better have been, or...
*************
She drew herself away slightly, eyes still sparking with joy. "Ranma,"
she began. "I don't think I ever want to kiss another boy aside from
you... I think..."
Ranma swallowed, stunned by the love in her eyes, wishing he could find
his tongue and say something for the situation, and cursing himself a
fool for remaining silent.
Drawing an unsteady breath, the girl began again, "Ranma, I think I lo-"
"BOY!" the shout brought both teenagers to their feet, several meters
apart while they frantically tried to look innocent. Genma stamped into
the clearing, wearing a cross expression. "Boy," he grumbled, glowering
between him and the girl. "Come on, time for your sparring session."
*************
Ranma sank to the floor again, deflating, and saying nothing for a long
moment. Akane began to dig through the first aid kit. Turning away to
hide a slowly building blush, Ranma mumbled, "What difference does that
make?"
Akane frowned, not finding as much gauze as she had hoped for. "Oh
foo..." Turning her attention back to Ranma, she muttered, "It doesn't
make any difference at all. But really..." She crawled over to a
position where she could bandage Ranma, studying his face while
carefully tending his wounds. She knew that she couldn't cook, but
taking care of Ranma's cuts and scrapes was something she could handle
easily enough. She admonished, "... to let yourself be kissed so
easily!" She frowned for a moment, concentrating on applying another
bandage. "... you haven't trained enough."
He frowned, saying nothing and mulling it over while Akane prepared
another bandage, her speech continuing unabated, "You talk a good match,
but you leave yourself open a lot."
Ranma blinked at that, and shifted his position swiftly. Before she was
completely aware of what was going on, Akane found herself laying across
Ranma's lap, his face close to hers while he peered down at her. He
stared into her eyes, unblinking as he asked, "Who are you to talk?"
She stared up at him with wide eyes, wondering if he would actually kiss
her. Akane began to close her eyes the slightest bit, to encourage
Ranma... but found herself abruptly sitting on the floor while Ranma
made warding gestures from halfway across the dojo.
Sputtering, he explained, "D-don't get the wrong idea!" Even had he
wanted to, he doubted he could easily forget what he had once, and move
on. Not that soon. But... maybe...
>From the sidelines, the assembled Tendo family plus panda watched the
exchange intently.
*************
Genma frowned, studying Ranma out of the corner of his eyes. There was
no way he was going to allow his idiot son to ruin the engagement he had
planned even before the boy was born. He would just need to find a way
to make sure that Ranma would forget about her...
And she would forget about him, too. Somehow. He was confident that he
would come up with a plan.
*************
"It's not like I was gonna kiss you, or anything!" he rambled. Even if
he could... would he still be thinking of her?
Blushing furiously, Akane attempted to adopt a haughty expression.
"I-I... I know that. You don't have the guts..."
***
In a quiet bedroom, an alarm went off. A slender arm emerged from
beneath a tangled heap of blankets, the questing hand fumbling for
something to throw at the alarm clock for a moment, before the bedding
fell away to reveal a rather disheveled and tired looking redhead.
She climbed out of the bed and swatted the clock until it stopped, then
staggered towards the shower.
Once the first cold drops of water streamed across her, she bit her
tongue to restrain a yelp, and raised the temperature.
Yep. It had been about a year and some odd months... since that day, the
last day she had seen... She shoved the thought away. Today was going to
be a good day. She was going to smile, and she was going to laugh, and
damn it, she was going to put the past behind her.
Yet there was that nagging doubt, telling her that she'd _never_ be able
to forget him, no matter how hard she tried.
Swallowing, she stared directly up at the showerhead, pouring steaming
water across her face and hiding her tears. Unbidden, the memory
returned to her. The memory of...
*************
Ranma's father shook his head sadly, intoning in a quiet voice, "I'm
sorry, Megami-san. I'm afraid that... my son is... no longer with us."
Genma sniffled loudly, weeping into a handkerchief.
The girl peered around the corner of the stairwell, into the living
room, aghast at what she was hearing. Her father nodded stoically,
saying, "Ah... well then, Saotome-san. That does change things. I'm very
sorry to hear about Ranma... I'll have to tell..."
*************
She shook her head, scrubbing at her eyes, and washing away the tears
forcefully. She was not going to cry today. She was going to go to
outside, and she was going to have a good day, and... and... and...
Composing herself, she finished washing with quick and methodical
precision. She would be going to a new school in a few months, and until
then, had some free time. Maybe she could look up an old friend, or keep
herself busy some other way... no sense letting the past drag her down
again.
She dressed quickly, wearing the pair of bracers her parents gave her,
trying not to think about the identical pair she had given Ranma
before...
Yes, Eiko Megami was going to try and have a good day today.
----------
Ho-hum.
Title is now something vague and obscure in Latin. I'm not saying what
it is, it's actually pretty simple, if somewhat... inaccurate.
Regardless, I still need C&C on this.
--
Haiku of my lament:
Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.
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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
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