Morning came to Nerima, Tokyo, unaware of the chaos the rest of the day would bring. But then, most days tended to begin like this of late. A few of the more daring birds were already weaving their way through the skies... their concerns less demanding than those of the people rushing to and fro back on the ground. "You want me to go where?" "School," Genma answered his daughter's question. "Aww, but Dad, we just got here!" The old man wasted no time. She hadn't even been here a full twenty-four hours yet and he was already sending her off to school. Then again, she had trouble remembering the last time she had 'officially' been in class. Ranma and Genma had just wrapped up a simplified version of their early-morning training routines - simplified, because the routines they'd used on the road were liable to cause major property damage to the grounds, something they certainly didn't want to do on their first official day staying at the Tendo home. "Why do I have to go *today*?" Ranma, dressed in a close-fitting tank-top shirt and black sweatpants, continued to complain. "Can't I wait a day or two?" Genma frowned. "Show some initiative, Ranma! Now that we're living here, it's best to get things like this out of the way. Besides, are you telling me you're not up to the challenge?" "I can meet any challenge!" Ranma asserted. Wait a minute... "Did you enroll me as a girl, or a boy?" "A girl, of course. What do you take me for?" While part of Genma wanted to have Ranma be the son he'd never had and could see the advantages to enrolling Ranma as a boy, for his and Soun's agreement to work Ranma would have to be what she truly was. This way, Ranma wouldn't oppose the decision as much, either. "You'll be going to Fuurinkan High, same as me and Ayumi," Naka announced from the hallway, already dressed and ready to go. "Better get moving if you want to be on time." He turned - straight into Ayumi, who had gotten out of bed early to walk to school with big brother Naka... avoiding Ranma in the process. Already, he could see Ranma glaring at him from where he stood. This was turning out to be another bad morning. Ayumi had hoped to go early with Naka to avoid what was waiting for him in the Fuurinkan courtyard. They wouldn't bother him with Naka around, would they? "Wait, big brother! I'm coming, too..." "Not this time, you're not." While Ayumi tried to figure out why, Naka headed for the foyer. "Ranma's your iinazuke now. Be a proper gentleman and take her to school." Ayumi glanced back at Ranma. Her eyebrows furrowed. Just great... terrific. "Come on, Ranma. Get dressed and we'll go," he said, begrudgingly. Ranma stood. "Kasuga-kun picked out a new school uniform for you," Genma told her as she began to make a run for her room. Being the only girl living in the Tendo household meant she had a guest room all to herself, the first time she'd been given this luxury in a long, long time. She didn't stop. "I won't need it!" Irritated, Ayumi followed. "What are you going to do, go without any clothes on? They've got a DRESS CODE, baka!" Destiny's Wish Part Two: First Day of School written by Mike Koos ------------------------------ Ten minutes later, they were both on their way. Not only was he engaged to this crazy tomboy, he had to walk her to school. As long as no one found out they were engaged, maybe some of the day could be salvaged, Ayumi thought optimistically. His eyes faced the road he was walking along. The tomboy couldn't even walk on the ground like a normal person. No, she had to be a show-off, tightrope-walking along the top of the nearest chain-link fence. Worse, she'd insisted on wearing another of those two-piece Chinese outfits that tended to make her look masculine. What, how many of those things did she have, anyway? No doubt she wore them to keep from looking too out of place if she was accidentally transformed, but there was no way she'd get away with wearing that to school for long. Okay. Time to make sure she knew the rules. "Once we get there, we're strangers. Got it?" She gazed off into the horizon. "Yeah." Apparently, she liked this arrangement about as much. "I don't even want you in the same area as me if you can help it." Ranma renewed her glare. "What are you so worried about? You think I *want* people to know I'm engaged to a hormone-crazed macho pervert!?" "Who're you calling a pervert, you tomboy?" "You, of course," she said mock-sweetly. "I thought your feeble mind would've figured that out by now." "Why you little..." he growled, brandishing his bookbag. She hopped off the fence to face him. "You wanna fight? I've got no problems with beating up a macho jerk that deserves it." Ayumi could tell she stood behind what she said by the intensity in her eyes. That didn't mean he was about to give up the battle. Time to try a different tactic. "I don't fight girls." Ranma smirked. "Because I'll win." "Awful sure of yourself, huh?" "If you've been through what I have, you'd better be. And I'm not just talking about Jhusenkyou." Uh-oh. The conversation was starting to turn toward the friendly side. That was unacceptable. "You may be a girl but you talk and act a lot like a guy." "That's Dad's fault," she scowled. "Oh, sure, blame all your problems on him! Aren't you responsible for anything, you kawaikunee tomboy?" "What? I'm a lot more responsible than you, pervert!" Kawaikunee, indeed! Words or a right hook alone weren't going to make up for that insult. Ranma ran at him with both fists readied, intending to turn him into a punching bag. But Ayumi was ready for her this time; he wasn't letting anger control his steps as she was, and knew she'd try a direct assault. He evaded her right, then a left. "Too slow!" he commented. "You punch like a girl!" Ranma fell for the ruse. "That's because I AM a girl!!" She launched into another one-two combo punch that also missed. "Really? And here I thought you were supposed to be a boy, ba--ka." One of her punches connected. Snort. "I'm more of a boy than you'll never be!" Only this time, instead of hitting Ayumi, she struck water. An elderly woman was routinely tossing out her bathwater - and Ranma had blundered into a faceful. "Well, you're a boy, anyway," sighed Ayumi. The former girl looked rather pathetic with the upper half of his body soaked and a miserable expression somewhere under all that cold water. "What now?" The boy made up his mind, readjusting his belt to match his new waist size and taking his shoes off his now-larger feet. "I'm goin' home to take a hot bath." "You don't have time for that! You wanna be late for school?" Ranma pulled at his shirt. "You think I wanna be seen looking like this, especially on my first day?" He had a point. "You don't have to go all the way home. There's a place nearby where we can get some hot water. That's all it takes, right?" Ranma nodded. ** ** ** "Ah, good morning, Ayumi-kun. Hot water? Wait here, I'll heat some water for you." "Sorry to trouble you." "That's all right." Ranma had let Ayumi take him to one of the local examination clinics. Not wanting to let anyone see him like this - having the curse was bad enough - he'd convinced Ayumi to let him wait behind one of the clinic's outdoor signs. He felt a hand - or something hand-like - grasp his shoulder. What? How could someone sneak up on him without his sensing it? Ranma turned his head to see who held his shoulder... and looked straight into the unassuming grin of a skeleton's head. Good thing he'd already taken his shoes off, otherwise he might have been scared right out of them. Assuming his feet weren't too big for them, anyway. He shot straight up, fingers white-knuckling the very top edge of the sign. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" The woman propping up the skeleton chuckled innocently. "There's nothing to be afraid of. May I introduce my skeleton, Bobby?" She seemed to be no real threat, so Ranma slid back to the ground. Ayumi rounded the corner. "Ranma? I've got the water..." "Hello, Ayumi-kun." The woman made the skeleton casually wave. "Ah, sensei," Ayumi's voice softened. "Good morning." "Good morning." Both the woman and the skeleton politely bowed. Ayumi blushed ever so slightly. The woman didn't notice, but Ranma did. "I haven't seen you in a while. I trust you're doing okay?" "Yes. Umm... things have been quiet lately..." A few feet away, around the other end of the corner, Ranma poured the hot water Ayumi had brought over himself. From where she stood she could still see Ayumi talking to the woman. Three minutes later Ranma and Ayumi were again on their way to school on a dead run. "Hey, who was that?" "That was Tofu-sensei, the doctor. She's the best and well-known around here." "She trains too, I suppose." "Eh? You noticed?" Ayumi was surprised. "Yeah, she's a martial artist. Though you'd probably never tell just by looking at her. She's our family doctor... as long as I can remember she's been fixing me up, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, things like that." "But she's a girl," chided Ranma. "Didn't you say something about not liking girls?" The school gates were fast approaching. Instead of replying, the mix of anger and determination on Ayumi's face deepened. "I hope you're ready," he told his companion. "Huh?" Then she saw what Ayumi meant. A horde of boys, outfitted in everything from a hockey goalie's gear to medieval suits of armor and back were streaming through the gates to greet them. Ranma quickly readied herself, wondering what in the world they'd gotten themselves into. "It's Tendo Ayumi!" one or more of the boys shouted, Ranma couldn't tell which. "And he's got a girl with him! GET HIM!!!" So. The attack wasn't directed at her and Ayumi, but at Ayumi alone? What was this all about? She found a decent vantage point atop one of the brick walls that formed part of the school's outer gate and did something she realized she hardly ever did of late - sit back and watch, not letting herself get involved in someone else's fight. Not that she didn't feel up to the task of taking all the boys on one by one, or more, if it came to that... but this time her mind decided to learn more before wading into the fight. Ayumi was a fair fighter, all right. She watched as he took out one opponent with his right, another with a kick and a third with the aid of his bookbag... all at once. "Tendo Ayumi!" The number of voices calling out Ayumi's name were beginning to dwindle. "I shall be the one to defeat you!" "You can't win against my skill!" Punt. "I'll defeat you and claim what's mine!" Crunch. "Playtime's over! Now you're facing me--" Fold, spindle, mutilate. Ranma winced, averting her eyes; that *had* to hurt. From the second floor, Naka and a few of his friends were also watching the fight. "I kinda feel sorry for your little brother, Naka, having to go through this every morning, all because of--" Naka caught sight of Ranma, perched upon the bordering wall. "Ranma!" he yelled to her. "You'd better get to class!" Ranma looked at the fight and then back at Naka. "But Ayumi..." "He can take care of himself! Don't worry, just get out of there!" But within seconds the fight was over. Ayumi stood in the very middle of a field of bruised and battered boys, the only one left standing, straining to regain his breath. Fighting hordes tended to do that to you. He wiped the hair and sweat from his forehead. "Ah... why me? Every school day... I'm *really* getting sick of this..." A hint of a cool breeze brushed past Ranma's cheek. What the...? There had been no indication of a change in weather. Hadn't the sky been clear while they were running to school? She looked up. The sky was definitely overcast. Strange... "How the uneducated have fallen." Both Ranma and Ayumi turned to the source of the voice. "They try to defeat you in order to gain the right to choose, to date. Always you prove yourself more skilled than they." Ayumi shrugged. "Good morning to you too, Kunou-sempai." Ranma studied the new challenger. He was tall, certainly a head or so taller than Ayumi and therefore her, dressed in traditional samurai robes and wielding a *bokutou* - a wooden sword. Obviously this guy thought a lot of himself. Kunou's face... a lot of girls would probably find him handsome, but not her. "But you forget that I stand in your way, Tendo Ayumi!" "How can I forget?" his opponent replied, expression unchanged. "We go through this every morning." Kunou opened his eyes to stare down Ayumi. "Your audacity amazes me." Ayumi sensed a footfall behind him... Ranma. Of all the times for her to interfere... She came to stand next to him. "My, you sure are popular around here," Ranma smirked. "Butt out," Ayumi said under his breath. "You don't want to get involved." "Why not?" "Just watch..." "You there!" Ranma found Kunou's wooden sword pointed directly at her face. "You are a girl, are you not? And a striking vision of beauty at that. Surely you know the folly of hanging around this lout, do you not?" Ranma was unimpressed. "I'll hang around whoever I want, thanks." "Why choose *him*, then? A beauty such as yours deserves much more than he has to offer." All this flattery was starting to make Ranma feel sick. "Well?" she asked Ayumi. "Don't ask me. We're just friends." The last word left Ayumi's mouth as though he refused to believe it. "Young lady, who are you? Wait - I have forgotten my manners. Let me introduce myself." Ranma could tell he would do it no matter what she chose to do. "Be my guest." "...I am Kunou Tatewaki, second year, class E. Kendo Club captain, the best the high school Kendo world has to offer. I am also known as the Fuurinkan High School's 'Blue Thunder!'" Lightning crackled from the heavens to confirm his nickname. Upstairs, the introduction set Naka's classmates to murmuring. "'Blue Thunder?' Is that what he's calling himself this week?" one girl asked in disbelief. "I thought it was 'Shooting Star.'" the boy next to Naka on the balcony remarked. "That was last week," Naka reminded him. "I lost count at 'Raging Tsunami,'" murmured another boy. Kunou passed the task of self-introduction to Ranma with a slight sweep of the hand. "Your turn, my dear." "Well, I'm sorta staying at the Tendo home for now and--" "YOU!" Kunou turned on Ayumi. "How dare you have this girl live under your roof!" He took a wide, sweeping sword slash that Ayumi barely dodged. "Hey! If you're gonna fight someone..." insisted Ranma, "fight me!" A smile crept onto Kunou's face. "An interesting proposal. And if I win, you shall forget all about Tendo Ayumi and you will have the honor of dating me!" Sword extended before him, he began his attack. She had been right. This guy really *was* in love with himself! "What makes you think I'd wanna go on a date with YOU!?" Ranma yelled. In one rough motion she wrenched her bookbag from her shoulders and tossed it into Ayumi's hands. "Hold that." Another instant found her in her defensive stance. "My name is Saotome Ranma, the second most powerful student in the Saotome class of martial arts! And you... are my opponent!" ** ** ** Before too long, it seemed as if the balconies on the upper three floors of the school building overlooking the battleground were filled with the entire Fuurinkan High student body, their faces lit now and then by more frequent flashes of lightning. As if the atmosphere wasn't ominous enough... "Look! That girl's gonna fight Kunou!" "Doesn't she know how dangerous that is?" Kunou maintained his distance for the moment, sword at the ready. "I will prove to you the folly of having a relationship with Tendo Ayumi!" Ranma hmphed. "Do I look like I'm having a relationship with him?" "She's just a guest at our place!" protested Ayumi. Or tried to, at any rate. "NO MORE TALK!" Kunou charged. At the last possible instant Ranma disappeared from the wall she had stood in front of. Kunou's wooden blade was left to slice neatly through the bricks. So the guy wasn't just boasting about his skill with a sword... Having missed his target, Kunou turned to find her. She was still nearby, ready to rebound off the trunk of a nearby tree. He moved to strike her before she could do so. He was too slow. The tree felt his blade instead, and as the top half of the tree slid to the ground Ranma landed behind it. "Listen here, hard-of-hearing," she had imposed herself in front of Kunou's face and out of the direct range of his sword before anyone knew it. "I'm not involved in a relationship with Ayumi, now or never!" boggled Ayumi. "How could you even think that..." Kunou surmised, nervously. "...*pervert* and I have a relationship!?" Furious, Ayumi pitched Ranma's bookbag back at her. "Who's a pervert, you weirdo?" "Don't interrupt!" Ranma yelled, then had to jump as Kunou tried another slash. The slash missed Ranma, but succeeded in cleaving Ranma's bookbag in half. "Your treatment of the fairer sex leaves a lot to be desired, Tendo! Perhaps after this match is over, I will be all too happy to prove to you the errors of your ways!" More lightning. Only now, the dark gray clouds had all but obscured the sky. Kunou brought his head up. His speech had given Ranma an opening to leap at him with fore and middle finger fixed downward to strike. Just as Ranma's fingers made contact with Kunou's forehead, the rain began. The business end of Kunou's bokutou hung in midair barely three inches from the base of Ranma's neck. Ranma realized all too late what was happening. Suddenly, a panda burst through the school's front gate, a teakettle of hot water in hand. Ayumi knew this because he knew the panda, could see the steam wafting from the teakettle's spout, and knew why a panda, of all animals, just might show up in a school courtyard with a teakettle in the first place. Ayumi felt the rain trickling down through his hair into his eyes. The panda steamrolled directly between the combatants, snagging Ranma out of midair. Its prize tucked neatly away under one arm, the panda pushed Kunou out of the way and continued running. Ayumi stood there in the rain for a few more seconds before starting after them. "Hey, that panda knocked Kunou out with one blow!" he heard the spectators cry. "That panda must've been way stronger than Kunou! It wasn't a fair fight!" Not a fair fight? Ayumi had to laugh. Why not? Both opponents were just as dense as each other... Mr. Saotome was physically dense as a giant panda, and Kunou-sempai was plain *mentally* dense. He shrugged. Come to think of it, it wasn't a fair fight, was it? Now, how dense was Ranma? ** ** ** Ayumi caught up with the pair at the P.E. storage room. Mr. Saotome had bothered to lock the double doors behind them... but not the windows, so naturally they both panicked when he forced the window open to climb in. "Typical," cursed the now-male Ranma. "I'm about to land a final blow - and it *rains*." "So you would've won, no contest?" Ayumi propped himself against a bin of volleyballs. "Yeah!" "Oh, really? I think you might want to check your throat." Ranma did as he asked, probing around with one finger. There *was* a strangely sensitive spot around the base where... His mind flashed back to the end of the fight. Yes, the position of Kunou's sword matched the bruise on his throat. But how? That sword hadn't even connected... "I don't doubt it," Ayumi watched the panda pour some of the hot water over Ranma's head. Ranma didn't flinch. He wondered how many transformations she had to experience before becoming used to having hot water dumped on her. "You wouldn't have a head right now if he did." He doubted Kunou would want to decapitate someone he'd spent a lot of time drooling over, however. Well, he could have her! "So what do you think of your opponent now?" "He's a fool." "I don't believe it..." Kunou stared intently at his image in a hand-mirror he had borrowed from a female classmate. Naka thought the whole scene looked rather cute; the great Kunou Tatewaki admiring himself in a mirror adorned with a great big pastel blue star on the back. "I don't believe it either," Naka had to admit to a bit of respect for Ranma's martial-arts talents. He smiled, that particular self-amused smile of his that Kunou despised. On Kunou's forehead, the girl had managed to write the Kanji for the word 'baka...' but she hadn't finished. Either the rain and panda had kept her from finishing, or Ranma had a way to go in learning her Kanji. "You really didn't feel her marking your forehead? She must be far more skilled than you are!" "Yes," replied Kunou, whom had changed into his school uniform for class. "She is skilled, quick and beautiful at that. But her writing needs work!" He made his way to the blackboard. "'Baka' is written like this!" The Kanji Kunou scribbled on the board, like Ranma's, was also off by one character. Naka took care to write the correct Kanji next to Kunou's so that the mistake would stand out even more. "It's written like this!" "I *really* hate you." "You've no idea how happy I am to hear that." In classroom 1-F, Ranma stood before her entire class. "Hmm... according to your transcript, you have just returned from a recent trip to China. That," the teacher turned a reprimanding gaze on her, "explains your clothing. But we have a dress code at Fuurinkan High, young woman, and you are required to follow it like everyone else." Ranma pursed her lips. "On top of that, you and Tendo Ayumi came late to class this morning. For that, you both will receive the standard punishment." Which was - unless Ranma missed her guess - to stand out in the hall. As it turned out she was only half right. She and Ayumi had to hold buckets of water in each hand while they stood in the hall. She hadn't had this punishment for what, three schools? "I can't believe you dragged me into this," Ayumi grumbled. "Oh, shut up! All I did wrong was get involved in *your* fight!" "So why did you interfere? I've been winning those fights long before you came along! AND get to class on time!" "Even against Kunou?" "Even against Kunou." "So what's his problem? Why were all those guys trying to beat you up?" "It's all Kunou-sempai's fault. He declared that he was looking for a girlfriend, and that no one else could try to get a date until he'd made his choice." Ranma's eyebrows lifted. "You went ahead and tried to go on a date anyway?" "Nah. I just said that it was the stupidest rule I've ever heard of, and everyone should be able to choose whenever they want." "Big mistake, huh?" "Kunou thought so. Next day, I found out he'd told everyone that whoever defeats me in a fight will get to have second pick at choosing a girl to date." "I'll bet the girls are all happy about these rules..." "I wouldn't know. Everyone all gets upset if a girl comes anywhere near me." "They're WHAT!?" Kunou bolted to his feet, almost tipping over his desk in the process. The word 'baka' was still visible on his forehead, almost as if Ranma had engraved it there. "That's right." Naka's smile had grown since Kunou saw it last. "Our dads arranged the whole thing a long time ago, apparently." He knew the news would upset Kunou and for that, he saw no need to charge. "I cannot allow this to continue!" Kunou cried. Unfortunately, his outburst wasn't ideally suited for the classroom. "Kunou! Out in the hall!" Kunou did as the teacher asked, for once. Most of the time he never really listened to what orders the teachers gave him. They should take orders from him, not the other way around. He had money, he had power... two things that often went hand in hand in his world. For now, the only reason he complied was because he needed to keep something extremely dreadful from happening. Yes, very dreadful indeed. Within five minutes he had changed into his fighting clothes and was racing toward the scene of a future possible crime. For good measure, he kept his assigned buckets of water with him as he ran. "So you go through all that every day?" "Just school days," Ayumi clarified. "I suppose they think there's strength in numbers or something. I always win, anyway." Ranma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess hormone-crazed macho jerks can be easy to beat..." "Is that supposed to be some kind of shot at me? You may be a girl, but..." "So that's it," Ranma laughed. "The 'Gentleman's Code.' You're afraid of fighting me because I'm a girl." A wicked look came over Ayumi's face. "Not all the time." He raised the bucket as though he were about to empty it in Ranma's direction, sending her edging to one side on the tips of her toes in retreat. "What do you think you're--" Before she could finish, another stream of water came between them. She yelped and leapt straight up to avoid being splashed. Ayumi whirled about to see who had thrown the water. "Tendo Ayumi! You are beyond forgiveness!" Ranma spoke before Ayumi, her heart nearly skipping a beat. "Wh-wh-what'd you do that for?" "Kunou... sempai..." managed Ayumi. What *was* the moron doing? Cutting class just to finish what he hadn't been able to this morning? No, wait. He had buckets of water of his own. Obviously, he'd gotten himself thrown out in the hall. "I mean to cool your fires of ill-placed passion!" Kunou yelled. He wanted the whole school to be aware how he felt. "Your engagement to this fair goddess is hereby *annulled*!" If only it were that easy! Both Ranma and Ayumi had shaken their heads and waved their hands frantically in an attempt to keep Kunou's big mouth shut, but it was now far too late. The sliding hall windows behind them flew open - boys on one end, girls the other. "An engagement? How?" "I thought you weren't allowed to, Ayumi-kun!" "It's a lie! It's a lie! It's a lie!" Ayumi repeated, trying to cut the gossip off at the pass. Ranma was having about as much luck. "We didn't! Our parents--" She fell silent as Kunou brought his sword down on one of Ayumi's buckets and sliced it in half. Ayumi dropped the other bucket and ran. "Don't run, coward!" Ranma placed herself in front of Kunou before he could follow Ayumi. "You wanna fight someone? How 'bout finishing your fight with me?" She watched the gears shifting in his mind. "And if I win--" "You won't win. C'mon, you wanna fight or not?" "I will." "Okay, but let's take it outside. This isn't the place for a fight!" Kunou straightened. "I can fight you anywhere." "Then follow me!" Ranma led Kunou away. The rest of the crowd surged past Ayumi, who was making up his mind whether or not to follow. "This is *so* cool! That girl's fighting for the right to... go out with Ayumi!" Ranma nearly swallowed her breath. Several steps back a teacher opened the door of his classroom to find a few dozen students *not* walking in an orderly fashion through the halls. "There is NO running in the halls!!" Ayumi, in the lead, spoke for the whole crowd. "Ha-i..." Ranma, meanwhile, stopped at the end of the hall to pull open one of the outer windows and launched herself over the sill. "We'll get there faster if we take this way!" Caught up in the desire to fight, Kunou missed considering what problems there might be with leaping from an open window - but then, so had Ranma. "Very well!" He jumped out the window after Ranma. Only then did he realize what one of those problems happened to be. "We're on the third floor...!" Ranma saw the teacher who had reprimanded the students for running in the hall had joined them at the window, yelling after them as if he thought it would somehow bring them back. Kunou wished it would, as well. "I'm a martial artist!" she called back. "We'll be okay!" She had to rethink her choice of words almost a full second later when she saw that they were not falling toward solid ground as she'd hoped, but Fuurinkan High's large swimming pool! She swallowed hard... "Baka!" Ayumi shouted - the only other one present who knew why landing in a swimming pool wasn't exactly a good thing. He thought about adding, "Why didn't you look before you leaped?" but decided it would sound too silly. "Whew - it's a good thing they've got a pool down there to break their fall." "Thank goodness." "Why me!?" Ayumi heard Ranma yell right before she hit the water. Kunou landed two seconds later with enough force to stun him. The spectators watched Kunou's form bob to the top of the water. Ranma's body, however, didn't, and the pool was too dark for anyone to make out moving or nonmoving shapes from the third-floor windows. Ayumi's classmates were asking themselves where the Saotome girl could have gone. He barely heard them, although he was busy worrying about the exact same thing. Under the surface of the water, somewhere short of the hilt of Kunou's bokutou - which was temporarily without its owner - Ranma's thoughts were as filled with the desire to escape as his mouth was with air. He found himself under the prone body of Kunou and swam there in place for a moment, staring up at his unresponsive face. he assumed, surfacing in order to position Kunou upon his shoulders and heading for the rim of the pool. Kunou's eyes snapped open. "Sa... o... to... me..." he struggled to get the word out. Wrapping his arms around his opponent was the best way he could think to keep her from escaping... Ranma screamed. Ayumi gasped. (To be continued...) --------------- Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Pre-readers: Artemis & Luna, Richard Beaubien, Robert Geiger, Tom Williams, David Wills Special Thanks: All the readers of this would-be series :) and Ed Little With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi... All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?