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

Books 1 and 2 can be found at:
rangerhq.50megs.com
fanfiction.net and
rec.arts.anime.creative

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 6: "The Calm Before"


     Kocho Kuno was in his office, and all was right with the
world as he stood at the window and surveyed his domain. 
Miscreancy was at an all time low since the arrival of ‘Typhoon
Gaijin'; the only fly in the ointment being that Thunders,
knowing what would probably happen to them, refused to send
students to him unless the offense was severe enough to actually
merit it, depriving him of his favorite pastime of handing out
really bad haircuts.  Even his son had finally gotten it through
his thick head that one did not ignore the Typhoon lightly.  The
man was depressingly honorable, though.  He only came down hard
on the real miscreants... and was willing to give a student the
benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.  Personally, Kocho
was surprised that Nabiki hadn't wound up in deeper trouble yet;
although that was probably because she worked very hard at not
getting caught.  Shaking his head, he pulled the curtains closed
before turning on the sunlamp and settling into his beach-chair. 
The day was still young; even if he didn't get a victim to... 
counsel this afternoon, at least his tan would be nice and dark!

     Outside, life was going on as usual.  Lunch period was far
enough along that everyone had bought whatever food they were
going to;  Ukyou was cleaning her portable grill before settling
down to eat her own lunch when she heard the soft cough she'd
been fearing, yet praying for.

      "Hi Ran-chan!" she brightly chirped, trying her best to
hide the sinking feeling in her middle;  She knew he'd been
really upset over what she'd done at the wedding, and feared this
had been the last straw.

     Ranma winced, realizing at once that this was going to be
even harder than he'd already imagined; he also knew that the
only way out of this was through the other side.  "Yeah.  Hi. 
You might wanna hold off on the Ran-chans till you've heard
everythin' tho."  Seeing her face fall, his stomach went and
tightened itself into a knot tighter than the worst Akane's
cooking had ever done.  The urge to use the Saotome secret
technique was overwhelming; but wasn't going to solve anything
this time.  The point of running was to give one enough time to
think up another solution; but no amount of thinking was ever
going to come up with an answer to this one!  Even facing Saffron
hadn't been as hard as this, he realized as he mutely stood there
for a second, bumping his index fingers together.  It took every
bit of the discipline and resolve he'd ever learned to force the
words from his lips, and still they came out as a barely audible
mumble.

     "I'm sorry, but I couldn't understand you, sugar," Ukyou
prompted, a faint hope still wavering inside her pounding heart. 
Neither noticed the crowd that had started to gather around them,
nor did they notice Nabiki and her cronies somehow materialize
between them and the crowd, keeping them away from the
discussion.  And as the crowd gathered, much like storm clouds on
the horizon, this drew the approach of the Typhoon...  Who, on
seeing what was happening, simply nodded at Nabiki and changed
course.

     As usual with such a journey, it was the first step that was
the hardest, so Ranma was better able to articulate himself this
time; "I...  I wanna apologize for the way I've been acting
since... well... you know."

     Ukyou's heart soared at this; he was apologizing!  He was
forgiving her for what most  would feel was the ultimate in
unforgivable!  He really loved her...  Then she caught sight of
his eyes.  No....  NO!!!!  Trembling inside she found herself
voicing...  "But..."

     "But.   I'm...  I'm sorry, Ukyou," Ranma sagged to the
ground, drained by this more than any challenge he'd ever fought. 
Ukyou found herself likewise drug down by the heaviness in her
heart; the two teens coming to rest back to back, staring out
into space, not noticing the crowd held at bay.  In a strange
way, this breaking of the line of sight somehow made it easier
for Ranma to continue.  "It wasn't the wedding.  It made me
realize something though...  You're the one best memory of my
childhood.  My... my best friend."

     "But not your wife," Ukyou finished for him, the quavering
of her voice confirming what the shaking of her back against his
had already told him.  Ukyou was crying.  He'd never wanted to
hurt her...  that was why he'd put it off for so long, dammit! 
She deserved to be happy...  Ranma hated himself, and hoped that
someday he'd be able to see her smile again.

     "But not my wife," he confirmed.  "I... I don't have a way
to replace your dowery...  Not yet.  But I will, somehow."

     "But I don't want it back!!!  I want you!!!" Ukyou wailed.

     "But you can't have me," Ranma reminded her gently as
possible.

     "I KNOW THAT YOU STUPID JERK!" Ukyou raged at the top of her
voice, screaming defiance against the storm in her heart before
falling silent for an ageless pause.  The gathered crowd,
expecting imminent violence, scattered like clouds driven by the
wind.  "I know.  I'll...  I'll have to think about this, Ranma... 
A-a-alone, ok?"

     "Yeah.  Just...  Just don't do anything rash, willya?" Ranma
asked as he slowly forced himself to his feet, a sobbing silence
his only answer.  Head bowed and shoulders slumped, he made his
way to where Akane was waiting for him.  He supposed this could
be counted as a victory... so why did it feel so much like a
loss?

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     "Ukyou...  Come on, time to get up.  I'm going to walk you
home," the soft voice intruded into her sorrow, forcing her to
look up.

     "Why?  Why should I, sensei?"

     "Well, you can take your pick of any of a number of reasons. 
The two I like the best are that the grounds keeper is about to
turn on the sprinklers and the principal is going to shave your
head and send you back to class if you don't," Thunders-sensei
replied, doing a comical mustache twist as he extended a hand to
help her up.

     "Yes, sensei," Ukyou giggled as she accepted his help. 
Somehow, he'd managed to turn her sorrow into hysteria, which
still threatened to overwhelm her, but somehow the laughter was
holding the pain at bay.  She started to ask about her things,
but stopped when she saw that he already had them with him. 
Dusting herself off slightly, she fell into step beside him as he
escorted her off the grounds.  It wasn't until they were about to
cross the rail line that ran between Furinkan and the rest of
town that she spoke again.

     "Sensei?"

     "Hmm?"

     "Why?"

     "Why what?"

     "Why are you doing this?" she asked.  "I mean, the first
time you came in to Ucchan's, you said if it didn't affect class,
you'd be staying out of it?"

     "And you don't think what happened affected class?"

     "Oh.  But this seems kind of... well, above and beyond
what's necessary, sensei."

     "Ah.  Let's just say that I don't agree and leave it at
that, ok?" Muck replied as they arrived at Ucchan's.

     "Yes, sensei," Ukyou sighed as she sagged into the booth by
the door and Konastu appeared as if by magic, as ususal.  The
kounichi glanced worriedly between Ukyou and her teacher, but
kept silent in response to a warning shake of the head from Muck,
who quietly set down Ukyou's school things before drawing the
kounichi aside.

     "Kunonji-san's having a very bad day, Konatsu.  I don't know
if she's going to feel up to talking about it later, but if she
doesn't don't push it, ok?  Oh, and give me your order pad for a
second."

     "Yes, Thunders-sama," the confused kounichi replied as he
handed over the pad.  "I don't understand..."

     "She'll talk about it when she's ready, Konatsu.  I rather
doubt she's going to feel like having the place open for dinner
tonight though," Muck informed him as he scribbled furiously,
then handed the pad back.  "These are her homework assignments
for tonight and tomorrow, but tell her I expect to see her back
in class on Monday, ok?"

     "Yes."

     "Good.  I have a feeling I'm going to crave okonomiyaki for
dinner Friday night, so I'll see you then.  Take care of her, and
yourself, Konatsu."

     "Yes, Thunders-sama..."

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     "I hate you," Godai sighed in a conversational tone as the
two of them turned the corner and made their way to Maison
Ikkoku.

     "Mmm?" Muck mumbled, raising an eyebrow as he sipped the
large soda he was carrying.  "Why?"

     "It's been just over a month, yet you've managed to get the
two most unruly classes in the school eating out of your hand. 
You get their attention and hold it; and the whole school is a-
buzz over the companionate way you handled what happened at
lunch.  You keep this up, and the whole school is going to be
worshiping you by summer break!"

     "GACK!" would be the best translation for Muck's reply as he
spit out a mouthful of soda.  "Great Ghu, I'd better stop or I'm
going to have to change my name to Martin Susolov."

     "Marty Su.. Su.."

     "Susolov.  Yeah."

     "I don't get it."

     "Ah, don't worry about it.  You'd have to be a follower of
Star Trek fan-fiction to really get it."

     "Fan-fiction?  What's that?"

     "Well, It's like this, Godai.  There are some otaku who love
a show so much that they don't want it to ever end.  So, when it
does..."

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     All of the tenants were gathered outside the door to room 5. 
While in and of itself, that might not be that remarkable... it
was the why that made it that way.  There was a heated argument
going on inside, one that had drawn everyone's attention due to
the fact that it was clearly an argument between two men... yet
Thunders-san lived alone!

     "He never struck me as yaoi," someone commented.  As one,
they turned their gaze to Yotsuya, who's only response was a
‘darn if I know' shrug.

     "He isn't," Akemi spoke up from where she was lounging
against the door to room 6.  "He mumbles about Patricia in his
sleep."  Astonished eyes swivelled to stare at her.  "What?  I
took a day off..."

     The sound of Thunders-san ending the argument with "Fine, be
that way you unsufferable slab of silicon!  I'm going out,"
prompted most of them to scatter, leaving only Yusaku and Kyoko
in view when Muck flung open the door.  His sudden shift from
anger to embarrassment was rather comical as he hemmed and hawed. 
"Errr, sorry about that," he finally stammered.

     Kyoko looked past Muck, only to see an empty room.  "Gomen,
Muck-san, but who were you fighting with?" she finally asked,
causing Muck to slap his forehead.

     "Why don't you come in and I'll explain everything?" he
sighed, stepping back out of the doorway.  Once they were inside,
Muck closed the door and walked over to the computer desk. 
"Yusaku, Kyoko, Meet Fred.  Fred, I'm sure you remember our
landlords?  The nice young couple who like peace and quiet?"

     "They have one child and another on the way. I'm sure peace
and quiet is only a fond memory," the computer replied tartly,
before swiveling the camera on top of the monitor to face them;
it then panned it down and up in an approximation of a bow. 
"Hajimemahite, Yusaku and Kyoko.  I am Fred."

     "Your computer talks!"

     "More than that, it sounds real, Kyoko!"

     "I am real, Yusaku, except for possessing a human body."

     "I don't understand, Muck-san," Kyoko murmured as she
settled down on a sitting pillow.  "If you created him, why are
you a teacher instead of making millions of yen as a head of
research somewhere?  Isn't this the breakthrough everyone is
working on?"

     "I am not a breakthrough.  I am a person who lives in
silicon instead of cells.  I am also one of a kind."

     "He's also the result of sleep depravation combined with a
caffeine and nicotine overdose," Muck added.  "I can't replicate
my results..."

     "And even if he could, it would raise all kinds of ethical
issues humans don't seem to be ready to handle," Fred countered.

     "Gomen, Fred... but does that stand for anything?" Yusaku
wondered.

     "Fully Recursive Endotropic Deliberator... Which we made up
because I like being a Fred."

     "Oh."

     "Muck-san?"

     "Yes, Kyoko?"

     "Just what was it you were debating so heatedly with Fred,
anyway?"

     "Why Gojira and the other giant monsters always attack
Tokyo," Muck dead panned; causing Yusaku and Kyoko to fall over
in surprise, creating a break in the conversation.

          *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     Akane looked up at Ranma and glared.  From the vacant look
in his eyes, he wasn't concentrating on homework.  Again.  Which
meant he was probably worrying about Ukyou.  Again.  All right,
maybe this would be a good thing under most circumstances,
certainly better than a lot of the other BOYS at school who
seemed only to think of themselves; but he needed to concentrate
on the task at hand!  He was HER fiancee, and she was trying to
help him in his self-proclaimed quest of Martial Arts Catch-Up! 
He should be giving her the same level of commitment that he gave
to learning new techniques!  With her frustration reaching
critical mass, she picked up an eraser and bounced it off his
head – with enough force that it bounced off his head and caromed
through the rice paper of one of the half open doors.  Ranma's
head snapped back and his eyes refocused on her and he instantly
started an apology; but Akane was still too frustrated to accept
it, so with a few snippy comments to Ranma she gathered up her
school-books and beat a hasty retreat to her room.

     Still frustrated, Akane dumped her books on her desk and
threw herself onto her bed, then propped her chin up with her
hands and stared out her window at the darkening spring sky and
contemplated the multi-level contradiction that was Ranma
Saotome.  The boy...  No, scratch that.  In every real way that
counted Ranma was a man.  He was also a man who seemed to manage
to irritate her just by breathing sometimes... then turn around
and do something so gallant and just plain right that she
couldn't stay mad at him.

     Akane rolled over and found herself contemplating the
ceiling while inside, the same part of her mind that would lock
onto something Ranma said locked onto that last thought with the
same tenacity.  Was that the core of what both attracted her and
irritated her?  His common decency, in a world where so many
people were more like his father... their only concern being to
grab what they could for themselves and let the devil take the
hindmost!   That was a good example of the many bundles of
mysteries that made up Ranma Saotome.  How could a lazy, lying,
toad like Genma manage to raise such an inherently decent person? 
It certainly seemed clear that somewhere along the line Ranma had
decided that he was going to use his father as an example of how
not to be a person.  But when?  And how did it come about that
Ranma had realized that the way his father behaved was wrong? 
Ranma knew... but she couldn't ask him.  Akane just knew that the
same quirky sense of honor that had drug Ranma into so many other
situations would rise up and cause him not to answer; as if to
tell someone about what someone else did would betray that third
persons trust?  Interesting thought there... It certainly seemed
to describe a lot of the rivalry between Ranma and Ryoga back
before Akari entered the picture.  If so, Ranma knew something
about Ryoga that he'd sworn not to tell anyone else; whatever it
was she was going to have less luck asking about it that she
would asking about his life before his father had drug him to
Daddy's doorstep!

     What had their fathers been thinking when they'd done that,
anyway?  It was like they'd been born and raised a century ago,
instead of during the aftermath of the war...  Something about
that last bit tickled at her, and propelled Akane up from the bed
and over to her desk, where she found herself flipping through
her notes from today's lessons.  The phrase all but leapt off the
page at her, causing her to recall that moment in class that
afternoon.  Thunders-sensei had been lecturing about History, and
at the moment the class was covering the start of the Meiji
restoration.  Sensei had managed to shock the class by stating
that there were great similarities between the culture shock that
had occurred then and what had happened at the end of the War.

That declaration shocked the class into silence for a long
moment.  And it was Ranma who'd spoke up and disagreed with it,
arguing that Emperor Hirohito couldn't possibly have been as
captive to his generals as the emperor had been under the
Tokugawa Shogunate.  And rather than slap Ranma down for
disagreeing with him, Sensei had just smiled and asked Ranma to
prove it.  Then something remarkable happened as others started
to try and prove Ranma's case...  And a spirited discussion broke
out about comparisons between what had happened after both
events.  And Sensei was proved right.

     Akane put her notebook down and sat back down on her bed. 
It really didn't matter what her parents had been thinking.  What
mattered is if she and Ranma actually would follow through on it. 
No, scratch that.  She'd known Ranma for over a year now.  That
same sense of honor that would keep him from actually betraying
anyone's trust would compel him to go through with it, no matter
how much he complained.  So it all came down to what she would
do.  And that had brought her back to the same spot she was in
when she'd stormed up here.  What was it she felt?  Was this what
love really felt like?  Had she fallen in love with a person
who's only crime had been being a target for a resentment she'd
felt towards her father?  And was that fair to him, to hold
something their parents had done against him instead of allowing
himself to prove what he felt...  Her train of thought was
abruptly derailed when Ranma coughed from the windowsill.  

     Ranma started to say something, but whatever it was never
really penetrated, because several other facts quickly flashed
through Akane's head first.  One, she'd been sitting on her bed
in sort of a lotus style.  Two, she'd flopped back on her pillow
without thinking about that.  Three, she was still wearing her
school uniform, which meant; Four, she could well have just given
Ranma an unintentional ‘Show'.  It wasn't until Ranma was pulling
herself out of the Koi pond that several more points hit... First
and foremost being that Ranma had been telling her dinner was
ready.  Sure, the stupid jerk could have knocked on her door, but
that wasn't the way Ranma did things, was it?  No, the Saotome
branch of Anything Goes was as at home in the air as a fish might
be in the water.  And Ranma loved to lie back on the roof and
watch a sunrise or sunset, so if he'd been asked to let Akane
know, it would seem only natural to just hang off the edge of the
roof and knock on her window.  And he wouldn't have had any way
of knowing how she was sitting.  Which meant she'd just belted
Ranma for something that really wasn't his fault!

     Akane sunk down into the chair at her desk as she started
looking back at a year of other events.  Thoughts of food fled as
she wondered just how many other times she had pounded Ranma for
something that really wasn't his fault?



A musical thank you to Dolly Parton, who's songs of love and loss
were invaluable in writing certain scenes.  I'm sure all of you
can figure out which one it was. :)