Ranma « and Maison Ikkoku are both property of Rumiko
Takahashi, and the several publishing companies she has sold
the rights too as well.

Books 1 and 2 can be found at:
Rangerhq.50megs.com
Sofaspud.Org, and
Fanfiction.net

Comments and criticism welcome, E-mail me at starrngr@aol.com;
Pointless flames will be ignored.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tales of the Wanderer: Book Three: "Nerima Wandering"
Chapter 4: "Demands of Honor"

     Ranma had to fight an overpowering urge to fidget as he
stood before the teacher's desk and waited.  It had been over
a week since the disaster in the park, so whatever it was
couldn't be about that, could it?  School wasn't high on his
list of favorite things to do with his life, but its not like
he was falling asleep in class, either.  Either way, he'd find
out soon enough... if only Sensei would stop glaring at him
from over his folded hands and SAY something, already!

     Muck leaned back in his chair with a sigh, gaze still
firmly on Ranma.  "Why are you here, Saotome?" he finally
asked; a question that left Ranma as confused as before.

     "Huh?  Um, you asked me to stay after class, Sensei!"
Ranma finally blurted out.  This conversation was definitely
taking a left turn into weird!

     "Not that, Saotome.  Why are you in school in the first
place?  You rarely complete your homework and you pay precious
little attention in class.  Clearly, you'd rather be somewhere
else, so why are you here?"

     Geez!  This was worse than getting into an argument with
Akane; I think he's determined to take whatever I say the
wrong way!  Fortunately, I don't think he's gonna clobber me
the way she does.  But what does he want?  Is he gonna expel
me or something?  Uh oh... he really wants an answer, but what
to tell him?  "Um, no, Sensei. I don't really have anyplace
else I'd rather be."  That's true enough, I guess... sitting
around the Dojo watching Pops play shogi with old man Tendo
would get boring really quickly.


     "I see."  From the flat tone of his voice, it was clear
that this was not an acceptable answer.  "I would expect more
effort from someone who attends school because they WANT to be
here, Saotome."

     Aha.  That's where he's going with this.  Looks like I'm
about to be bestowed with yet another 'How to you expect to
succeed in life without schooling' lecture.  Heck, maybe Pops
will teach me how to play... then again, the way he cheats
he's probably forgotten how.  He's probably gonna start
with...

     "Just what are you expecting to do with your life, then?"

     Where did that come from?  Better give him the party line
then, just in case it gets back to Pops...  "I'm gonna take
over the Tendo Dojo and teach, Sensei."

     "With just a high school education."

     "Come on, sensei! This is the Art we're talking about. 
Why would I need a fancy education to teach people the Art?"

     Man, am I glad he's not Akane.  When she gets that look,
she's reaching for something to hit me with.  "You'd be
surprised.  For another, there's more to operating a dojo than
just teaching the students, Saotome."

     "Like what?"  Yeah, I know I'm supposed to treat my
teachers with respect, but this is getting annoying!

     "Well, lets see... keeping the books comes instantly to
mind.  Unless, of course, you actually want Nabiki handling
them for you..."

     Hey, come on here!  Nabiki is like family...  A family
member who makes money from selling pictures of me.  Maybe he
does have a point.  Is that really the sort of person I want
handling the money without being able to check up on her? 
"Okay, Sensei.  But what does all this have to do with me?"

     "Everything, Ranma.  You're the one who has to live your
life.  And that means you need to decide what you want to do
with it, or someone else will make it for you."  He does have
a point there... Kuno's made a laughing stock of himself the
way he refused to see things right in front of his nose.  "For
example, if you chose to improve your grades, you would have
the choice of going to college or not."  Akane does want to go
to college, now that I think about it.  She's said so a couple
of times.  "But if you don't that choice will have been made
for you because no college would accept you because of your
grades."  Do I really want Akane to go off to college without
me?

     Muck leaned forward on the desk and rested his head on
his hands.  Ranma was clearly thinking, not paying any
attention to him anymore; but that was okay.  Muck wanted the
boy to think; you had to consider all the options if you
wanted to choose the best one, after all.  Ranma seemed to
prefer the inactive choice... allowing others to make them for
him.   But that wasn't going to get Muck out of here, FRED was
certain about that.  Ranma needed to learn how to choose, to
take control over his own life; otherwise he'd never choose
one fiancee over another, and Muck would be stuck here.  Time
seemed to take the afternoon off as he contemplated the
student the other teachers considered the terror of Furinkan;
the moment seemed to stretch into an eternity before Ranma
blinked and focused on Muck once more.

     "My Pops has a very low disregard for anything which
doesn't have to do with the Art, you know."

     "That would be your father's problem.  Its all well and
good to honor your fathers wishes, but only because that's
what you choose to do.  Otherwise, you let him make the
choices of your life for you."

     Like choosing to take me to a cursed training ground he
didn't really know anything about... or engaging me to two
different girls.  That's probably the biggest thing that keeps
coming between me and Akane, too.  We both hate having been
pushed into this by them!  "I think I see what you mean,
sensei.  And it's not going to be easy, is it?"

     "Considering you spent ten years on a training trip with
a person who considered the art more important that formal
schooling?  It will be a challenge, Ranma.  Anything goes
Catch-up."

     Blue eyes sparkled.  "Ranma Saotome never backs down from
a challenge, Sensei!"

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     Ranma blinked in surprise at seeing Akane still waiting
for him outside Furinkan's front gate.  He'd thought for
certain that she would have gone on home, but here she was,
waiting for him.  And she smiled when she saw him, too!  She
was very cute when she smiled at him; if only he got to see
this side of her instead of angry, object wielding Akane!

     "So, Ranma?  What did the teacher want?"

     Ranma thought for a second as Akane started walking home
next to him, before deciding to pretend it wasn't important. 
"Oh, just the standard you need to get your grades up speech. 
Heard it before, and probably will again."

     Akane strode in silence next to him for a moment.  "He's
right.  If you don't do something about it, you wont get into
college."  She found herself wondering... She'd always planned
on college herself; she'd planned on taking over the dojo even
before she'd met Ranma and was determined not to make her
father's mistakes.  Father had concentrated on the art, and on
teaching.  Mother was the one actually running the dojo.  She
balanced the books and made sure students paid on time.  That
was why Akane was going; to learn about everything else she
needed to know to run a business successfully besides just the
art.

     Ranma found himself watching Akane deep in thought as he
struggled with his own thoughts on the matter.  Still, she
hadn't scoffed at him when he'd mentioned it to her... "So, do
you think I can?"

     "Of course you can, Baka.  You're the great Ranma
Saotome... you always pull off whatever you claim, eventually. 
To make up for ten years of poor schooling?  Why, its anything
goes catch up!"

     Akane took two more paces before she realised Ranma
wasn't with her.  She turned to see him standing there,
staring at her.  "What?  What is it Ranma?"

     "That's exactly what he said... that it would be a
challenge to make up for those years.  But, he just started
last month!  How could he know about that?"

     The two surprised teens just stood and stared at each
other as that thought sunk in deeper...

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     "Hey, Big sister, can we talk?" Akane's voice came from
the door.  Nabiki gave her little sister a mock glare, but the
fact was that she wasn't really as busy with her accounts as
she was pretending to be.

     "Sure, come on in," Nabiki assured her.  This was a
welcome distraction; while she was working, Nabiki kept
flashing back to some of the more emotional encounters of
earlier.  She'd thought passing along some of her anger would
help.  But the way people had looked at her somehow made her
feel worse?  Well, helping Akane always made her feel better. 
And if Ranma was involved, maybe she could figure out a way to
make some profit that didn't leave her feeling quite so...
soiled.

     Akane fidgeted on the bed for a second, and Nabiki
started to get impatient; but before Nabiki could snap at her
to 'spit it out', she did.  "Did you... sell... information
about us to Typhoon Gajin?"

     "WHAT?" Nabiki countered.  "Why would I do something like
that after he threatened to shut me down if I didn't stop
poking into his life?"

     "HUH?  What are you talking about?"

     Nabiki blinked at that.  She hadn't really meant to
mention that to Akane, it had sort of slipped out in her
irritation at that man.  And now, Akane was looking at her
with... was that disappointment in her eyes?  "Yes, I was
doing some... research into our very own Typhoon Gajin.  But,
he caught my agent and then told me to stop digging or he'd
take an unhealthy... interest in my side businesses.  But no,
I never sold any information about you or Ranma to him.  And
after this, he wouldn't get any even if he wanted too."

     Akane sat without moving, staring at her feet for a long
moment before meeting Nabiki's gaze again.  "But, he said some
things to Ranma today.  Things he shouldn't have known about. 
If he didn't get them from you, how did he know?"

     "That is a very good question."  One I want the answer to
as well...

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     Muck hummed a rather jovial tune to himself as he
wandered the Nerima market district.  He'd gotten Ranma to
make at least one choice... to bring up his grades enough to 
get into college if he so desired.  The seed was planted, and
with a bit more nurturing he was certain that the tiny acorn
of self determination would grow into an oak mighty enough to
settle this whole fiancee thing once and for all!  Once that
was done, he'd be able to get OUT of this constant disaster
just waiting to happen!  Not even that pessimist FRED would be
able to argue with this one, so he'd treated himself to a
bottle (or five) of Sake.  It wasn't a good idea to drink on
an empty stomach, though, so here he was picking up a few
things to whip up for dinner as soon as he got home.  Perhaps
it was a bit more time consuming doing one's shopping on a
daily basis, but not even a padlock would keep Yotsuya out of
his food supplies.  Therefore, it was shop daily for dinner or
go hungry.  At that moment, though, the street swayed
unsteadily under his feet... darn.  A bit to much sake and not
enough food.  He really should get something solid in his
stomach now, unless he wanted to embarrass himself by passing
out somewhere between here and the Maison...

     Providence smiled at him as a pair of salarymen exited
the shop in front of him, chattering excitedly about the
quality of their meal.  Oh yeah, keep him away from dice, the
Muckster was on a roll; nothing but lucky number 7's for him! 
Fighting down the swooning of his inner ear, he pushed off
from the wall that he was leaning on without noticing and
strolled though the door of the shop; never bothering to look
up and see the sign above that read 'Cat Caf‚'.  His bemused
detachment caused him not to really notice the chineese boy
who seated him, either.  But when a very familiar voice
suddenly piped up in his ear, THAT got his attention.

     "Nihao!" A youthful but sultry voice chirruped almost in
his ear.  "You ready to order?  Or like something to drink
first?"  Suddenly sober, Muck's eyes snapped to the right and
focused on the speaker, confirming that he probably had
excellent reason to panic.  Yes, it was the same purple haired
beauty he remembered from the White Dragon of Macross City,
only younger; Muck guesstimated her age at about 16, tops. Of
course, her young age didn't make her any less of a potential
threat... Muck realized he'd better answer, as she was getting
impatient.

     "Coffee, please.  Black.  I'll be ready to order then,"
he declared, managing to keep an cheery tone of voice. 
Satisfied, Shampoo turned back to the kitchen while he slumped
in relief as he studied the menu more closely, never noticing
the wise old eyes that had studied him intently.

     A much calmer Muck looked up as Shampoo returned,
carrying both his coffee and a bowl, which she set in front of
him. "Um? This... is exactly what I was about to order.  How
did you know?"

     "Great Grandmother did.  She very wise, no?" Shampoo
giggled in response, enjoying the stranger's discomfort.

     "More like very strange," Muck murmured to himself before
agreeing with her.  Once she left, he concentrated on his food
to further mask any outward signs of discomfort, fully
intending to make his escape as soon as possible.  From what
he recalled, Cologne was very much the wise old woman three
steps ahead of everyone else.  For her to know what he was
probably going to order was unsettling, but certainly seemed
probable.  That left the even more unsettling question of why? 
As far as anyone here should know, he was just another damn
gajin!  So why would a senior member of a very reclusive
people...

     "Because you were given something.  Something that was
hidden away a long time ago for its own safety," a wizened
voice informed him from across the table, brutally surprising
him.  It was enough to cause him to fall over backwards in his
chair, but at least he kept enough composure to avoid trying
to climb a wall in sheer terror.  Muck felt the blush burning
his cheeks as he righted his chair and sat back down; most of
his attention was on wrestling down the combat impulses coming
from the robotic side of his now dual nature.  Cologne simply
sat and watched as he did, nodding to herself.

     Finally Muck was able to convince his alternate self that
full combat mode was possibly the worst option they could
choose.  Before it settled into quiescence, though, it made
one final suggestion, one that Muck was very much in agreement
with; Sun Tzu had definitely understood the power of a good
bluff.  "I haven't got a clue as to what you're talking about,
Ma'am," only to find himself on the receiving end of yet
another version of 'The Look'.  A version which had been
perfected over a hundred years...  It was unnerving, and muck
was barely able to fight of the urge to start confessing to
whatever it was that he might have done.

     Cologne found herself raising an eyebrow at her visitor's
antics.  He didn't realize it, but for someone who knew the
true subtleties of body language his thoughts were as apparent
as if he screamed them at the top of his lungs.  "You bear the
icons of the stars, wanderer," she informed him, nodding
towards his left forearm.  "It's signature shows clearly in
you're aura."  She appraised his disbelief, and decided that
the only way past it was to shatter it completely.  "Who do
you think gave it to the Mujandeen for safekeeping?"  That
shattered Muck's disbelief completely, as the robot side of
his brain accessed the memories in question and replayed a
forgotten conversation between himself and the headsman of
that fierce tribe of warriors.  It was shortly after he'd
claimed the Star Shield and its sword for his own, and the
headsman had told him the tale of how it had been entrusted
into their care by the only other tribe of warriors to earn
their respect.

     Cologne nodded to Muck once more as the refocusing of his
eyes indicated that his attention had returned to the outside
world instead of his memories.  Nodding to the still confused
stranger, she hopped from her chair to her staff.  "We will
speak again, wanderer... once you've had time to digest what
you've just learned.  There is still much for you to know
about the icons you bear," Cologne informed him calmly before
using her staff to bounce back to the kitchen.  Muck shook his
head in amazement before looking down and realizing that she'd
also swapped his empty bowl of ramen for his bill.  As he
gathered his groceries and left, he half expected to see Rod
Sterling just outside the door; welcoming him to the Twilight
Zone, but it was the same street he'd wandered down in a less
sober state.  Settling himself, he headed back to the train
station; if anyone could make sense out of this evenings
events, it would be FRED.

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     Ranma lay on the roof of the Tendo home and stared up
into the slowly darkening sky.  He wasn't about to admit it to
anyone, but once the initial flush of accepting his sensei's
challenge to bring up his grades had faded, he'd felt concern. 
For all the references to anything goes catch-up, he'd
accepted a challenge that really had little to do with the Art
itself.  He'd spent eleven long years with only the occasional
periods of formal schooling; usually only when they'd been in
one place long enough for the truant officers to notice him
and forced Pops to enroll him.  Could he make up for that
deficit?  Would this be the challenge that finally defeated
the un-defeatable Ranma Saotome?

     Ranma was so wrapped up in these thoughts that he never
noticed Akane joining him on the roof until she spoke. 
"Ranma?  Dinner is ready..." When Ranma didn't instantly bolt
for the dinning room, Akane knew something was bothering
him... something big enough that he wasn't thinking about the
black hole he called a stomach!  Akane was certain she knew
just what that something was, too.  "You're worried you're in
over your head, aren't you?"

     "Aww, geez, Akane!  What makes you think..." Ranma made
the mistake of looking Akane in the eye.  In the face of that
gently hurt look, he found himself backing down.  "Umm...
yeah, kinda.  Pops never was big on formal schooling while we
were training."

     "And you think this might be to much for the mighty Ranma
Saotome?" Akane prompted after a long silence.

     "Well...  Umm... yeah.  I mean... It's like... why are
you smiling like that?"

     Akane gently shook her head before answering.  "It's not
that important, Ranma.  It's just I've never seen you act
so... human before.  It's a nice change from Saotome of the
incredible Ego, that's all."

     "Who are you, and what have you done with the real
Akane?" Ranma suddenly blurted, making a warding gesture.

     "OOOH, you idiot!" Akane growled, somehow pulling a
mallet from her clothes.  However, she continued talking, no,
yelling instead of swinging.  "Here I come up here trying to
help you with your problem and all you can do is insult me the
same way you always do!  Is it so hard to believe that some of
us actually care about you?  That we WANT to help you?  I
guess it must be Mr. I'm the greatest in the whole wide world
so why the hell should I need any help!"

     Ranma took a cautious step back, trying to widen the
distance between them without having Akane swing at him. 
"Then why are you holding that mallet?"

     "Because instead of listening when I was about to offer
to help you; you started insulting me instead, you IDIOT!"
Akane raved, finally hurling the mallet at the end to
punctuate her rage before dropping to the roof in tears. 
Ranma blinked in surprise, because she hadn't thrown it at
him; she'd just thrown it off into empty air on a trajectory
that wouldn't have come anywhere near him.

     "You came up here to offer to help me."

     "Right."

     "With my schoolwork."

     "No, with how to act like a girl.  Of course with your
schoolwork!"

     Ranma found himself sitting next to his sobbing fiancee
without ever consciously deciding too, trying to console her. 
"Help me how?"

     "By offering to tutor you in exchange for lessons in the
art, you idiot!" Akane blurted between sobs.  "But now it's
not going to happen because you went and made me mad at you
and you probably hate me again!"

     "Again?  Geez, Akane!  What makes you think I hated you
in the first place?"

     "Be, be, because you're always calling me uncute, and
klutzy, and... and... and..."

     "It not you.  Its this whole arranged marriage thing,
Akane.  When I marry you, I want it to be because I want to,
not because of some half baked idea our idiot parents came up
with."

     "Ranma..."  Suddenly Akane was no longer crying, but her
voice was still unsteady as she gave him a penetrating look. 
"Did you mean that?  Just now, when you said when, not if you
marry me?"

     Ranma picked his jaw up off the floor, and thought back
about what he'd said.  "Yes," he finally replied, gently, "I
guess I did."

     "Oh Ranma!"  Akane exulted, grabbing him with the intent
to hug him tightly.  Unfortunately, in doing so, she
overbalanced them and the young couple tumbled from the roof. 
Somehow, Ranma managed to twist them enough that he was on the
bottom when they slammed into the garden below.  As if on cue,
Kasumi stuck her head out of the kitchen.

     "Ah, there you two are.  Better hurry, I won't be able to
keep Mr. Saotome out of the food much longer!"