As always, C&C are appreciated :) But, please, be gentle :)
I got the main idea from this story after watching A!MG! and thinking about
a play scenario I saw a champion humor duo do which involved two people
destined to fall in love, and how whenever something goes wrong, a bell
rings, and they start over from the last good point. :)
Soun:"When he's a boy, she just wants him. When he's a woman, she wants
him dead."
Ranma:"...salad sandwich, and soup bread. Wait. Soup bread doesn't exist."
Akane:"Pile up enough dust and you've got a mountain, right?"
"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF SHAMPOO!!! *SLAM*" -Mousse, in full kick-ass mode
"Only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter." -Confucius
email at:geist@holly.colostate.edu -- Ukyo on IRC at #ranma!
Ranma 1/2: Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls (or, Fate lends a hand)
a fan-fiction written by Kevin Eav
Inspired by and written about characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
Fate was bored. There simply was no way around it. She was
unutterably, completely, and to all extents, thoroughly bored. Ever since
she'd be slapped with that restriction to only doing minor course
corrections, she was _bored._ She looked at the Map of Earth's Fates.
<Hmmm....nowhere interesting...wait...what's going on there?> She peered
closely at the map, pulling out her 'Spyglass of Time'(tm). <Hmmm.....
Nerima, huh? And what's this? Two lives, intertwined with several others
in unimaginable ways....I like this, I should go down and check this out.>
She immediately 'ported down to Nerima, Tokyo, to the dwelling of one
Soun Tendo, his daughters, and the two freeloaders known as Ranma and Genma
Saotome, just in time for the fun.
Meanwhile....
Akane's cry of "RANMA NO BAKA!!!!!!" faded away as Ranma-chan took the
LEO route to Ucchan's, again. This would make it the fourth time this
week, almost a record.
"What'd I do _now_?" Ranma-chan ruminated, as she started her
descent towards the Ucchan's front door. *WHAM* Ranma-chan sighed,
starting to pick herself up from the pile she had been left in when
she landed.
Uk-chan was already there, waiting with hot water. "Geez,
Ran-chan, what'd you do now?"
Ranma-chan shook her head. "Don't ask me...she never changes. Yep,
she's still uncute, violent as a gorilla--"
Uk-chan interrupted with "And you wouldn't have it any other way."
Ranma face-faulted. "Na-nani? What do you mean? I _hate_ her!"
Uk-chan sighed patiently. "Ran-chan, you can lie to yourself, but
you can't lie to me. I _see_ the way you look at her, when she's not
watching, and I can see in her eyes that she cares for you too." Ukyo
finished her speech by pouring the hot water on Ranma.
Ranma-kun sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Uk-chan, but I can't
just go tell her I love her...I mean, I don't even know if I know what
love is!"
Uk-chan said quietly, "I could show you...but, in your heart,
you know that it's true...Ranma, I love you...but more than anything, I want
you to be happy--and I can see that you'd be happy with Akane if you only
thought before you spoke."
Ranma sighed again, both because, while Ukyo was a great friend, one
of his only friends, in fact, it still hurt him to hear her say that she
loved him, and because he knew that she was telling the truth, but
couldn't accept it.
"I guess you're right, Uk-chan....I better go apologize, ok?"
Ukyo sighed. "Yeah, Ranma, go apologize....*sniffle*" With that, Ukyo
ran into her shop, and Ranma, looking extremely guilty, walked off
towards the Tendo Dojo. <I'm sorry....Uk-chan....>
Ranma reached the Dojo around 9:00 PM, taking a _very_ scenic route,
reminiscent of Ryoga, to help clear his thoughts. He looked up to see Akane
waiting for him. "Akane? What's up?"
Akane flushed. "Ranma, where have you been? I've been waiting all
day for you!" Ranma sighed. "After you knocked me into LEO, I landed at
Uk-chan's...we talked for a while, and then I took the Ryoga route home
so I could think about what Uk-chan and I had talked about."
Akane looked downtrodden. "Oh. I see. Well, I...I hope you two are
ha-happy..."
Ranma was suitably shocked. "Wait, Akane, that's not what we talked
about...we..we talked about you 'n me. Akane, I think we need to talk
things over. Maybe we could talk at lunch tomorrow?"
Akane nodded, still sniffling. Ranma walked over to her, and took
her by the shoulders. He looked into her eyes. "Akane..I--I....uh...anoo...
it'll wait until tomorrow." With that, they both went to their rooms,
both pondering what direction their lives were taking.
Fate sighed, delightedly. <ALLRIGHT!!! A couple I can work with!
The Master couldn't fault me for anything...because anything would be an
improvement!> Fate suddenly found herself laughing uncontrollably, and
something in her memory linked the laugh with one Kodachi "The Black
Rose" Kuno. Something about that disturbed Fate, though she couldn't
exactly tell why. Fate quieted down and started rummaging through her
rented hammer-space for the item that would bring Ranma and Akane
together. <Aha! I found it!> She held it up to the light. It was a bell.
The Next Day.....
Kasumi was, for once in her life, briefly shocked. Ranma and Akane
were sitting next to each other, _and_, for some deep, unfathomable reason,
they weren't fighting. In fact, they seemed to both be deep in thought,
hardly eating. Kasumi gave a mental shrug. <Oh well....at least we won't
have to fix the dojo, not this morning at least.> Fate watched on with
extreme interest. <Maybe I shouldn't help them along. Nah....it'll be
more fun this way anyway.> A very subdued Ranma and Akane made their way
towards school.
As they neared school, Kuno came out and made his usual challenge--
Ranma and Akane sighed in unison, and, it being Ranma's turn to defeat him,
moved up to challenge him. Funny, that--that day, Ranma never knew what
hit him, and somehow Kuno got a hit in. The bokken no only hit Ranma, it
put a hole through him. Fate frowned. <That's not what was supposed to
happen...hmmm...*ding*>
As they neared school, Kuno came out and made his usual challenge--
Ranma and Akane sighed in unison, and then did a simultaneous jump-kick
to Kuno's head. Fate couldn't help but hear the words "Boot to the head"
echo in her head. Ranma and Akane parted ways, promising to meet each other
at the tree at lunch. Fate sighed. "Well, nothing to do but wait," she
said, to no one in particular, which was just as well, since no one could
hear her anyway. She watched with interest for a while, then went and took
a nap by the tree, waiting for Ranma and Akane.
Lunchtime, at the Tree....(This is the same tree we see Akane under
in the opening animation for "Little Date".)
Fate stretched luxuriously, then hid in the tree, bell at the ready.
"Ahhh....time to do what I'm best at!" Ranma was nervously waiting for
Akane under the tree. Akane walked towards him with a smile on her face.
"Hi Ranma...what is it you wanted to talk about?"
Ranma looked up. <She really should smile more--she's almost
irresistable that way.> "Uh, hi, Akane, please, have a seat," he managed
to stutter out. Akane nodded and sat next to him. She pulled out a
couple of bags. "Here, have some lunch." Ranma eyed it suspiciously.
"Did you make this?" Akane armed both her battle aura and her
Inter-Dimensional Mallet(tm) at the same time and smacked him. They both
suddenly heard a *ding*.
"Here, have some lunch," said Akane as she tossed a bag with his name
on it.
"Thanks Akane, I had to dodge both Kuno-sempai and Hinako-sensei
today, it wasn't fun at all." Ranma set the bag down.
Akane looked at him. "What's wrong Ranma, not hungry?"
Ranma shook his head. "I wanted to do the talking before I ate."
Akane nodded. "So shoot...what's on your mind?"
"I just wanted to tell you some stuff....like, about Uk-chan and
Shampoo. I know you don't like the fact that they're after me, and
neither do I, and I know that you wish I'd just tell them off--"
"Hey!" interjected Akane.
Ranma looked up. "Akane, please? Just let me finish. I know you wish
that I'd just tell them off, but I can't. I can't because--well, dammit,
I don't like hurting people! That's not the reason I became a martial
artist. I became a martial artist so I _wouldn't_ have to hurt people.
But...it seems that no matter what, I hurt you, or Uk-chan, or
Shampoo...I--I just consider them friends, that's all, and I _don't_ hurt
my friends."
Akane nodded, thoughtfully, his words digesting in her mind. "I--I know
how you feel. Except...why do you always pick on Ryoga and P-Chan?"
Ranma started. "I _don't_ pick on Ryoga!!"
"Yes you do!"
"No, I _don't_!"
*SMACK* *DING*
Akane turned to Ranma. "Why do you always pick on P-Chan and Ryoga?"
Ranma started. "I...I don't. Watch more carefully sometime...have I
ever started a fight?"
Akane thought, a small VHS VCR in her head replaying every fight she
had seen Ranma in. "I--I guess...I guess you haven't, really....it's
just I get so mad, and Ryoga's such a nice guy..."
Ranma stared at her. "So, you in love with that pig Ryoga?"
Akane immediately pulled her mallet. "Don't pick on Ryoga!!!"
*SMACK*
*DING*
Akane thought. "No. He's just a good friend. But why P-Chan?"
"I can't answer that, Akane...not without compromising my honor. But
I can tell you that...well...P-Chan...we'd get along better if the circum-
stances were different." Fate smiled. <Now this is more like it!>
"Akane...about our engagement....I...I think that..I would like to
keep it...I mean...it seems that...that...we're about the only two that
could live with each other."
"Hmph. Well, I guess you think you're doing me a favor, huh? RANMA
NO BAKA!!!!"
Before Akane could swing her Mallet, Fate shook the bell, then froze
time. <Damn...this's gonna be more work than I expected. Oh well, the Master
always said to never leave a job half-completed.>
Fate unfroze time, then shook the bell. *DING*
"Akane...about our engagement....I...I think that..I would like to
keep it...I mean...it seems that...that...we're about the only two that
could live with each other...and besides, while Shampoo and Ukyo are cute,
and nice (well, Ukyo more than Shampoo,) you've got something they don't."
Akane froze. "Wha--what's that?"
Ranma grinned. "Well. _They_ may be cute, but you're the only one
who doesn't fawn over me and glomp on me, and I've had enough of that. I
like that you're different from them, that your talents lie in other areas."
Akane blushed. "Ra-ranma..."
Ranma leaned closer. "Hmmm??"
Akane reached out and tapped Ranma on the forehead. "Tag! You're it!!!"
With that, she ran off, laughing and daring Ranma to catch her. Ranma, being
Ranma, couldn't resist a challenge, chased after her.
Fate smiled, and 'ported back up. She looked at the Map(tm).
"Well, that's taken care of--...wait...what about these two, this
Shampoo, and this guy Mousse...they seem to be like the last two...and,
hey, there's also these, two, Ryoga and Ukyo..." Fate sighed. "Well...my
job is never done, I guess." Just then the Master dropped in. "Oooff....
Say, Fate...it's been a while, what have you been up to?" Fate pointed
at the Map(tm) proudly. "Very nice...however, what do you plan on doing
with the others? That bell you used on works on one couple every century,
you know." Fate smiled slyly. "Well...you'll just have to wait and watch,
huh?"