I don't know if this worked the first time, so I'm reposting it.
Sorry if it actually did get through!
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Raphael See
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 13:38:00 -0700
From: raphael@IMAP1.ASU.EDU
Subject: [FF][RANMA] Scoop of the Day; Chapter 1
Okay, here's my first attempt at a fanfiction ever! Please feel free
to comment, criticize, kill, clean, or correct to your heart's content.
Scoop of the Day
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
Disclaimer: Ranma and company are the property of Rumiko Takahashi (like
I'd be able to come up with anything that crazy on my own!). This fanfic
was written because I didn't have anything better to do and because I
like Ranma 1/2. No profit was gained from this writing, no glory was won,
and no animals were harmed in the production of this story.
Special thanks to Mike. W. Loader for his ideas and support, and for
convincing me that my idea wasn't so dumb after all.
WARNING!!! In the following story, you will see none of the below:
*Lemon scenes
*Angst
*Resolved relationships
*Crossovers
Okay, on with the show!
Chapter One: Here's Noriko
Noriko Hirauchi held her head in her hands and sighed as she
looked at the chaos around her.
The journalism room of Furinkan High was always in some state of
disorder, but this afternoon, entropy levels were at an all-time high. It
was deadline day, and just about everyone in the room scrambled about,
each dealing with their own little crises. The guy in the corner --yes,
that one-- he had lost the floppy that contained the article that was due
today. The girl over there with the ribbon in her hair -- she was
supposed to have met the principal this afternoon to interview him about
his latest truancy policy, but he was currently unavailable, something
that had to do with a pineapple bomb going haywire and him going to the
infirmary. And the guy way in the back sprawled on the floor, well, one
of the teachers had caught him sneaking around the faculty lounge trying
to overhear the latest details on the bomb explosion and decided to drain
him of his chi, yammering something about "delinquency."
And so on and so forth. And Noriko was responsible for them all.
"Hey, where's that story on last week's softball game!?" she hollered,
trying to make herself heard in the already maddening noise.
"Sorry, chief, the printer in here went blooey and I had to go to
another room to get it out!" A sheet of paper was thrust in her face.
"Here you are!"
Noriko glanced over it quickly to make sure it was an article
about softball and not last night's math homework. The printer was
broken? Well, she could deal with that later. "Hey, what about those
photos I asked for?" No response. "Hey! Gosunkugi! Drop that stupid doll
and get over here!"
A rather sheepish, baggy-eyed freshman quickly made his way over
to Noriko's desk. "Sorry, here they are," he mumbled as he handed an
envelope over. Noriko opened it and examined its contents. Ah, here was a
good photo of the team captain (Akane, wasn't it?) catching a pop fly.
And another of Akane at bat. And Akane sitting in the dugout. And Akane
chasing some pig-tailed girl with a bat, and Akane getting some water,
and waitaminute were these all pictures of...
"Gosunkugi no BAKA!!" Noriko shouted. "You wasted an entire roll
taking pictures of AKANE??"
Gosunkugi blanched. "S-s-sorry! Th-that's the roll I bought for
myself. H-here're the real pictures!" He quickly shoved an identical
envelope across the table. Noriko snatched it up and quickly looked
inside.
"Okay, that's better. I'd better not catch you wasting our film,
you know! That film costs money, and we're rather tight on funds!"
"H-h-hai, Noriko-san! Gomen!" Gosunkugi quickly scurried away.
Noriko sighed once more. The chaos seemed to have dropped to
manageable levels; the guy had found his floppy in the computer's drive,
the girl had managed to contact the principal on the phone, and the guy
on the floor was even starting to come around. Sometimes her crew was a
bit tough to work with, but they always managed to pull through somehow.
Noriko allowed a brief wave of pride to wash over her. Her crew.
Her paper. After all, she was editor-in-chief of the Furinkan Informer,
and had single-handedly rescued the paper from the rut of mediocrity it
was stuck in when she had arrived at Furinkan just a little over a year
and a half ago. To be editor-in-chief as a sophomore, that was
unthinkable. And to be editor-in-chief practically immediately as a
newcomer to Furinkan, that was even more unthinkable. But, after a
stellar first year as a reporter (getting the scoop on the Oni invasion
was a plus), everyone on the paper had agreed that editor-in-chief was
where Noriko Hirauchi belonged.
"Hey, chief! Got the layout for next week's edition right here!"
Noriko broke out of her reverie and directed her attention towards
Suzuki, the layout editor. Suzuki waved a sheaf of paper. "It's a real
beaut, too! Okay, we've got the normal header for the front page, and the
top headline is--"
"Let me guess," Noriko interrupted. "'Student Brawl Causes Damage
to School: Disagreement between martial artists becomes out of hand,U"
she recited with an almost bored look on her face.
Suzuki looked crestfallen. "You already took a look at the
layout, chief?"
"No, but that's what the headline has been for the last four
editions of the Informer!" Noriko said, frustrated. "It's gotten so that
nothing short of Nerima sinking into the ocean will even make the
students turn their heads!"
"Well, chief, it is rather important news," Suzuki remarked,
somewhat annoyed.
"Yeah, it was news the first time, all right, but then the
incidents kept occurring over and over again!" Noriko shook her head in
frustration. "Why can't this be a normal high school like everywhere
else? Somewhere where fights don't occur every single darn day and you
don't have to worry about losing your head as you walk to your next
class. It's all those darn martial artists!" Noriko spat out the word
"artists." "Some 'art,' breaking everything in sight! In fact--"
Just then, Mr. Watanabe, the advisor, poked his head into the
doorway. "Noriko, could I talk to you for a moment?" He gestured towards
his office.
Mr. Watanabe calmly sat down in his chair and studied the
standing, slightly nervous Noriko in front of him. She was a cute enough
girl, slightly short for her age, with shoulder-length wavy brown hair
and round glasses that made her already large eyes appear even larger
than they were, creating an impression of eager, although somewhat
untried, intelligence. Watanabe-sensei drew a breath inward, realizing
what he had to say to Noriko would not be pleasant. Still, although she
didn't look it, Noriko was a tough girl, and would probably be able to
take the news well.
"Noriko, I couldn't help but overhearing what you were saying
about the martial artists in our school," Mr. Watanabe said carefully,
fingering a letter opener in the shape of a small katana.
"Hai, sensei," Noriko said, looking at the ground.
With lightning speed, Mr. Watanabe hurled the letter opener in
Noriko's direction. Before Noriko could even gasp in surprise, her
reflexes took over her body and Noriko caught the blade just centimeters
from her face. "What did you that for?? You could have been killed!"
Mr. Watanabe's smile was wan. "No, I couldn't have, and you know
it as much as I do." He readjusted himself in his chair. "Noriko, I know
you didn't mean what you were saying in there about martial arts." A
statement, not a question.
Noriko was indignant. "Not mean it? Of course I did! They cause
nothing but trouble, and damage, and..." Noriko trailed off at the sight
of the stern look that had replaced her sensei's smile.
"Noriko, you couldn't have caught that letter opener and still
think that you don't want anything to do with the martial arts. And I
thought I had taught you so well." Mr. Watanabe waved his hand,
dismissing his last thought. "Anyway, that's not the reason I brought you
in here. I went to the faculty meeting today at the hospital since
Principal Kuno couldn't make it to school this afternoon."
"Oh? What happened?"
"As you know, maintenance costs for Furinkan this year have been,
shall we say, somewhat higher than they have been in the past." Mr.
Watanabe pulled out a packet and handed it to Noriko. "Now, what you are
about to look at must not leave this office."
Noriko scanned the page of numbers. "It looks like a budget for
next year," she remarked. "Maintenance costs, improvements, funds to
various programs: rugby, gymnastics, Hawaii Club, softball,
yearbook...hey! Where's journalism's funds?"
Mr. Watanabe nodded gravely. "Since costs for repair and
maintenance have been so high this year, Principal Kuno has decided to
eliminate all of what he deems non-essential programs."
"Non-essential!? What about stupid Hawaii Club? Or Chemistry
Club? Or that awful Akane Tendo Fan Club?"
"Hawaii Club is Principal Kuno's pet club; he won't be getting
rid of that anytime soon. And the Chem and Akane Tendo Fan Club don't
receive funding in the first place." Mr. Watanabe paused. "I know this
must be tough for you, especially considering all you've done for the
Informer. You saved this paper from certain demise just a year ago when
the biggest news-breaking item was the opening of Ucchan's."
Tears threatened to well up in Noriko's eyes. "Saved it just so
it can be axed by the principal!" she flung bitterly.
"Not necessarily so. This budget you're looking at isn't a final
one, and is subject to change with Principal Kuno's fancy. I will do my
best to try and convince Principal Kuno's mind in the meantime. But,
unless we can find some funds soon..." Mr. Watanabe's eyes glittered
darkly. "...I'm afraid what you're looking at is going to be very close
to what will be passed for next year."
"But...but our fund-raisers barely cover our extra costs as it
is," Noriko said weakly.
Mr. Watanabe looked sympathetically at Noriko. "Yes, I know," he
said gently, "but that's just the truth of the matter. I'll help you as
best as I can for fund-raisers, but I just want you to know in advance
that saving the Informer may be a very difficult task indeed. I'm very
sorry Noriko, but there just isn't any other way to look at it. I'll make
a formal announcement next week when the next edition of the Informer
gets out. Until then, I'd appreciate silence in this matter."
Noriko slowly walked back to the journalism room. Somehow,
deadline day didn't seem as urgent anymore. Not when she knew that the
paper would probably not last another year...!
*All right, none of that*, Noriko chided herself. You can worry
about that in a week. *For now, you should concentrate on making the
Informer the best paper it can be!* Still, Noriko did not feel too much
better. It was all the fault of those darn martial artists, breaking the
walls and equipment and such...
*Wait a minute*, Noriko thought to herself. *Maybe I can get back at
them after all.* She started walking faster.
By the time Noriko arrived at the room, most of the chaos had
sorted itself out and the room was much quieter. She absently waved "hi"
at her staring crew and headed for the photograph file. Opening a drawer,
she pulled out a manila envelope marked "DISASTERS AND DAMAGE -- NO
NEGATIVES." She laid out the enclosed photos on the desk in front of her.
*These are photos of almost all the major disasters that have
struck Furinkan in the last year and a half*, Noriko thought to herself.
The first photo showed a pig-tailed boy wearing Chinese clothes and
another bandanna-clad boy locked in combat, causing a good-sized crater
in the sidewalk. *That pig-tailed boy is...Ranma Saotome, right? And I
don't think the other one goes to Furinkan.*
A photo of Ranma still in combat with the other boy, this time
destroying a water fountain. The next series of photos were continuations
of that fight, only there was something strange about Ranma... *Oh, yeah,
he's got that strange curse of his that changes him into a girl
sometimes.* Another photo of a ramada being destroyed with Ranma clutching
a girl in his (her?) arms. *Hmmm...Akane, right? The captain of the
softball team. And...his fiancee?*
Another shot of Ranma in a battle pose as a girl, but his shirt
was damaged in the fight, leaving certain areas of the body exposed. *I
had to pay quite a pretty yen for this picture*, Noriko thought, recalling
the transaction with a junior with short brown hair. *But it was such a
good picture; it's a shame I couldn't use it for the article. Of course,
back then, no one knew that she and Ranma were the same person.*
More pictures. A shot of Furinkan's rhythmic gymnastics team in
bandages, the victims of a mugging. Another shot of Ranma in a leotard at
St. Hebereke's arena fighting Kodachi Kuno, St. Hebereke's then-champion.
*Ranma was involved in that one, too?* Another photo of an ice-skating
competition at Kolkhoz High's rink, but the rink was in shambles, the ice
having been completely shattered. *That skater...that's Ranma again!* A
post-game shot of the infirmary's wall being destroyed some Chinese girl
(what was her name? Shellac? Shaving Cream?), apparently after Ranma as
well. Another photo of that same Chinese girl (Shampoo, that was it!)
breaking down the cafeteria wall, this time to bring Ranma lunch.
A photo of the multi-purpose room being demolished by an enraged Ranma.
What were all those cats doing there? Another photo of Shampoo breaking
down a wall with her bicycle in the gym. Another one of Akane punting
Ranma through the school roof. And another of Ranma "molesting" Ms.
Hinako. And on and on and on, each photo somehow or another involving
Ranma in the destruction.
Noriko put down the stack of photos. *So, Ranma, you're the cause of
all this chaos at Furinkan, eh? And you're the reason my paper might not
survive until the next year.* She clenched her fist. *Ranma, you'll pay for
all that you've done to this school!*
End part one
That's it for now! *Please* send me some C&C, or else I have no incentive
to continue this story (well, I'd probably finish it anyway, but I'll be
sad). :P Anyway, send me comments about *anything*, even if it's just a
simple "Your story sucks." My e-mail address is raphael@asu.edu. You can
respond by private e-mail or post to this newsgroup; I have no
preference. Thanks!
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Raphael See