-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fic
------------------------------
Switch: Herbs and Spices Day 1
by Nikholas "Switch" F. Toledo
------------------------------
Please do remember that Ranma 1/2 is a trademark and a copyright of and 
by some big name people and companies I am not even worthy to introduce.  
Anybody who says that I took any of their stuff better not find me 
hiding.  Also, great thanks to whoever reads this and likes it, good 
thanks to whoever reads it anyhow, and teeny-weeny thanks to whoever else 
even saw this. 
------------------------------
In case I forget to say so, this story was recycled 100% post-consumer 
story, using a Switch Regressor AS-07, set on medium mayhem.  No aliens 
were injured, molested or met during the story.  Parental guidance is 
weird.
------------------------------
The Vector Mark of Approval is the foremost seal of excellence of NFT 
fics.  The freshness, correctness, and F-ness of each work pass through 
rigorous tests of labial dexterity and cognitive consistency.  Grammar 
checked and taste tested by the highly esteemed board of Vector, Editor-
in-Chief.  (No small thanks to Peggy Stonnel who read it without knowing 
what she was getting into and ended up knowing more about the language.)
------------------------------
Herbs and Spices is the first story arc of the complete Switch story.  
Consult the stars to find out when the rest of this tale will unfold:  
Lovers and Friends;  and, Odds and Ends.  Brought to you by NFT Fics.
------------------------------



	In an almost perfectly rectangular district of Tokyo, popular to 
many tourists, aliens and all-around weirdoes, it is quiet.  It is quiet 
only because it is almost three in the morning.  It is exactly the time 
of day when even perverts aren't around doing their jobs.
	Needless to say, the town heals.
	It is in these hours when those who are indeed awake (while 
fighting unimaginable forces to run amok stealing underwear of the 
opposite gender [if possible], to make a public nuisance of one's self, 
or, in the very least, to make a fool of one's self in the process) think 
of the prospects of leaving said district for the nearest, but safest, 
asylum.
	While pondering in the exact three minutes and forty-nine seconds 
of bliss, the nightmare begins again.

	In the Tendo anything-goes dojo grounds, three figures stumble to 
wakefulness.  In the interests of those within the house, these three 
have promised (silently, of course) to not go about bashing each other's 
heads in before sunrise.  They take their respective baths, dress up, and 
leave for the dojo proper in a matter of half an hour.
	The proper anything-goes warm-up set involves many rigorous 
exercises, done at about four speed in order to maximize what's 
equivalent to twenty times as much.  After another half-hour, they begin 
their basic katas.
	At this time, the eldest Tendo girl would have woken up, taken her 
bath, and summarily assessed any property damage for maintenance and 
control.
	After the three in the dojo finish with their basic katas, they up 
the tempo into the specialized movements trademarked by the school, 
interspersed with sparring matches informally opened and ended.  They 
would take breathers afterward, at which time, they descend upon the 
house for their first breakfast.
	The food left upon the table by Kasumi would be the normal training 
breakfast;  she would have been starting upon the breakfast that would be 
served to the family.  The three attack the food like stalkers, then give 
thanks to the cook.
	Nabiki would then invariably wake, noting that the unexciting parts 
of the day have elapsed.  She would then take a bath, much to the dismay 
of the three sweaty eaters.  She knew this, and this was why she did 
this.
	Through all this, Happosai would be sleeping.  After an additional 
two hours of sleep, he would begin warming up for another day of reaping 
the joys of womanhood.
	Akane, as most of us know, wakes up at the drop of sunrise.  Today, 
she had woken up to find out what the fuss was all about in the bath.

	It was Ranma's turn in the bath when the sun finally came for its 
daily rounds.  He had to survive yet another summer's regimen of 
industrious training.  He craved it, sure, and when his father had 
implied that he was becoming soft for being groggy this morning, he had 
shown him who really was soft.  Not too much before sunrise, though.  Had 
to give the girls time to sleep, Mr. Tendo said.  Now that's someone who 
cares.  Mr. Tendo.  Though he does tend to overreact... *yawn*
	Removing his boxers and tank top, he reached for the door into the 
bath.  He set the gi on a shelf to keep it dry.  Through the fog in the 
bath, he could see only a fuzzy reflection in the mirror.  It was good, 
in a way, because he hadn't exactly gotten proper sleep for a week now.  
He'd just look awful.  With all the panty raids, beach "outings" and 
overall mayhem the little lech causes in the summers, he couldn't afford 
to sleep much.  Thank God that this summer was only three weeks long, and 
the next one comes in four months.
	A restful dozer in the bath did not see the female enter.

	Nerima is one of those rectangular patches of land on Earth that 
strictly adheres to the notion of defying nature.  The climate of this 
area is accelerated in such a way that four or five years of weather pass 
through annually.  This is not as unusual as another such patch of earth 
in China, whose climate is diametrically opposed to the weather of the 
nearby areas.  Thus, in what is normally winter, the swath of land is in 
summertime, and vice versa.
	And, as people in Nerima know, the Chinese are a weird sort.  
Anyone who's come from there has had something wrong happen to them.  
Which made them fit in quite well here.

	Mousse blinked.  He could tell he was upside down because his head 
felt heavy.  Feeling for balance, he righted himself.  It was morning in 
balmy Nerima, and he noted this while clearing the trash (which he 
evidently slept in last night) to locate his glasses.
	He didn't want to remember why he was here, because the details 
were unimportant.  He had lost.  Again.  To whom and why, it didn't 
matter.  It could have been Ranma, to take Shampoo from his clutches.  Or 
Shampoo, just because she would.  Or Cologne, for Shampoo.  Or any of 
those other people.
	He sat down, his head in his hands.  It wasn't that he hasn't 
trained - he was still the undisputed master of hidden weapons.  But he 
was disheartened.  He could not claim for his own his love.  Neither 
could he defeat the one who has stolen her heart.  It wasn't really fair.  
	Returning to all fours, his hands find his glasses.  Sighing, he 
returned to the Cat Cafe.  The workday was about to begin anew.

	Soun Tendo had just had his bath, thank you.  He had also finished 
his daily training, which meant that he was only waiting for the day to 
lazily stretch out before him.  The master would be going out by now, 
seeing that he avoided taking breakfast with the family.  It would be 
much, much safer if they could tag him before he could do damage, but the 
little freak just liked it rough (something he had coined from Ranma, 
which he was laughing about before the master saw him;  afterwards, he 
just couldn't quite see why it was so funny).  They had to go out and 
search for him while peaceably asking the gods to take him now, or at 
least stop him from doing what they knew damn well he was doing.
	He was hoping that whoever had just shouted could wait until after 
breakfast to do bodily harm, the training was starting to get to him.

	The man had trouble sleeping.  He was not going to like these 
changes life was giving him, he believed.  Things would start to become 
boring once more, and he would have to leave.  His itinerary was marked 
out, and it was so troublesome to find out that life was going to be so 
continually downhill.  At least one can find a way to keep out of the 
headlines.  
	But, to reminisce on the things that were.  Yes, things were 
exciting.  It just helped that the man knew what was going to happen.  
	Yes, exciting indeed.

	P-chan had had a relatively restful night, as he had gotten used to 
the way Akane slept.  The day before ended well, with the cacophony of 
agony and jellied bones.  And the fact that he was where he wanted to be, 
not in a state of transition.  Here was where he was, and that was all 
that mattered.
	A contented bwee escaped him, and the bed rustled slowly under him.  
A small shift of weight, and then the feel of the hot wind through cool 
silk assailed him.  Not knowing better, he drifted comfortably back into 
sleep.

	Kasumi had just arranged breakfast in the living room, and was in 
the process of waking up the sleepyheads, when the shriek erupted.  The 
pitch was perfect, and so was the throw, from what arc of smoke she could 
determine from the hallway window.  Ranma again joined the avian species 
in projectile motion, preparing to land in a one-point bone-jarring 
manner.    
	The shrieker, Akane, had returned to her quarters in a most Akane 
manner, which meant that whoever was asleep was not anymore.  The elder 
sister just replied, "Breakfast is ready," and scooted downstairs to call 
Dr. Tofu.
	
	Nabiki espied the newspaper on the dojo's front doorstep.  She 
shoved the paper away into a trash bin, and then took out a similar one.  
With a small smile, she went back in.
	
	The doctor's clinic was open this early for only one reason, 
nowadays, and it was coming on time, via air mallet.  This practice 
befell the reason, but since Ranma was associated with the Tendos', it 
was better safe than sorry, and so a four-hour delay was usually given to 
even dare to peek inside, lest be caught by the young healer in a haze.
	A peaceful cloud lay in wait of the blushing young boy entering an 
anterior non-orifice.  After being so rudely interrupted, it spat out a 
topless dew-soaked goddess, and moved on to consider wreaking chaos on 
the plans of men (and woman) with curses.
	Ranma was getting better at receiving crash injuries, the doctor 
mused while watching the swan dive.  Almost just like a Volvo.  He 
dragged the younger martial artist into his offices.
	Ranma-chan had fallen in a towel he grabbed on his way out, 
exchanged it, upon revival, for a set of clothes he had left the last 
time he was here, and was seated on an examining table in the office, 
only looking irked, but half-asleep.  Dr. Tofu guessed that time was due 
for some healthy man-to-man talk with the boy, since it was the doctor's 
duty to prevent injury whenever possible.
	Stopping his train of thought to get on the subway of action, he 
sat down slowly on the table which the teen-ager sat on.  His mind said 
the obvious.  "What happened with you and Akane, Ranma?" the doctor 
opened suddenly.
	"That tomboy must have thought I was peeping on her again."
	The doctor smirked at the line.  "Do you peep on Akane?"
	Ranma-chan whirled on the table.  "NO!  Uh... I mean, no.  But that 
doesn't stop her from thinkin' so."
	Tofu turned.  "And why would she think that?"
	"Because she's so thick-headed!  You can't get through to her."  
The female began to rant.  "... egged-on paranoid, utterly unfeminine, 
and obnoxiously redundant!" he finished with a flourish.
	"Yes, yes, you've said that," the doctor calmly acceded.  "But 
haven't you even tried to make amends with her?  Convinced her of your 
innocence?"
	"Oh, yeah, sure.  Try talking to the business end of an industrial 
strength mallet, for all the good it'll do you."
	"How about something else?  How about trying to talk about it... 
without the insults?"
	"It's not that easy," he sat down, immediately deflated.  "She 
won't even give me a chance..."
	Again, the smirk appeared.  "So, you're saying you're trying to get 
along with her?"
	"Of course I am.  We've been living at the dojo for almost four 
summers now.  We even trash the place every couple of weeks, when the 
latest 'terror' comes up," the depression resurfaced.  "I'm getting so 
tired of this."
	"Of what?"
	"The fights.  The destruction.  The roofs," he said, rubbing his 
bottom and nape.  "I don't know what we're waiting for.  We can't go home 
to mom, for one.  But we've always been on the road.  This isn't helping 
any."
	The doctor stood to face the redhead.  "Ranma, I've been here for 
years now.  And I've had no trouble practicing martial arts.  Being on 
the road doesn't change anything except the places you tend to call home.  
But we both know why you haven't left for the road, yet."	A 
melodramatic pause.  Zoom in on the doctor's expression of authority.  
"You've found a place to call home."

	Genma had heard the ruckus and, knowing that training would not be 
continued this morning, went to the bath for his morning toilette.  
	Something had been biting at him for a few days now.  How the 
master had kept turning up in places far in-between.  How they had had 
days of inactivity.  How his son (the no-good ingrate) had been feeling 
weak in the past days.  
	Something fishy was happening, he was sure.  But what he wasn't 
sure of was the feeling of something has happened which has pervaded the 
air.  
	He scoffed at it.  It was, as he knew, only the weather, and Ranma 
(the weak-kneed idiot) was quite under it.  Foolish boy!  Weather 
preparation is in the training of the anything-goes school.  Be it rain 
or sleet, hail or snow... whatever.
	He brushed up and then went hairy.

	It was all Ranma-chan could do to keep from laughing into the good 
doctor's face.  Which was enough to convey the self-same sentiment 
crystal clear.
	Tofu pushed his wire-rimmed glasses towards the bridge of his nose.  
"I knew you wouldn't agree."  He stared into blue irises.  "You can't.  
Or at least would deny it.  Among other things."
	He gave the youngster the kettle he had been holding behind him 
with a meaningful look.  Pretending he didn't notice and not even 
bothering to turn his head back, Ranma gave his thanks and left for the 
dojo.

	Ukyo had woken up, all alone.  Not that any self-respecting nubile 
(which meant marriageable, she kept reminding herself) young woman would 
want to get caught with someone else in bed.  But she desperately needed 
a hug.  It was something she was looking for quite a while since she had 
first set foot in the district.
	Every morning, as had been her yen, she would invariably look for 
her mother and father to hug and feel important and special to.  That was 
before she had left to avenge her broken heart.  Had she succeeded?  No, 
she thought bitterly.  Here she was, nursing the same heart, broken by 
the same boy from years ago.
	She got up drowsily, hours before the diner would open.  Way too 
early, but early enough to get in some good and fresh positive attitude.  
She stared back at the futon.  Yes, it couldn't be wasted on the 
dreamland.
	On her way out, she nearly stumbled over a slowly mobile object of 
lower-shin height.  She had to rub her eyes to realize that the black 
blot was actually Akane's little pet pig.
	Now, while she had her differences with Akane, she had no real 
anger for the girl, and only the same affections for her little black 
piglet.  The sight of the pet sleepwalking almost made her laugh out 
loud, but a better idea bloomed.  She lightly picked the darling little 
porkchop by the bandanna (?), and settled it back with her into the bed.  
She only hoped Akane wouldn't find the munchkin in her possessive embrace 
while she decides to return to slumber.  With P-chan's snout slightly 
nuzzling her breast, with contented bweees of happiness, she fell asleep 
again.

	Cologne could not exactly figure out why she had woken up with a 
smile, but, somehow, she figured that she could find out why soon enough.  
She went to wake up Shampoo for today's training.

	The Kuno residence lay blissfully ignorant.



                               First Flick



	Ranma returned to the dojo to find the breakfast Kasumi had 
spirited away when the more bottomless members of the household were not 
aware.  Mumbling thanks, he decided to eat at racehorse speed before 
retiring to the bath to return to more comfortable trappings (all the 
while avoiding Akane). The coast being clear, he had hoped the rest of 
the day would be as uneventful.  It was a useless wish, but someone had 
to ask, and it could just as well have been him.
	He couldn't have been more safe, as Akane had already donned her 
gi, and was taking the strain out on her hollow blocks.  Her rhythm 
belied the concentration on the mantra as a focus, but telepathic 
inspection would reveal that the mantra was, in fact, "Ranma baka."  
After dishing out the last of her anger replaced with a warm glow of 
indignation, she felt herself go loose.  Pepped up, she bounded up on the 
balls of her feet and started priming for a workout.
	The good thing about indignation is that the mind is clear to focus 
on the matter of a problem, without release of heat from the argument.  
The kata brought her body into a trance, which freed her mind to connect 
with the events of the day's destruction.  Ranma was in the bath again, 
peeping on her.  But there was something wrong with her recollection of 
his face in the fog-filled bath.  It was ... wrong.  As though there was 
something there he was hiding behind.  Hiding behind what?  Then he was 
peeping!  But he was just sitting there, slightly sagging forward, facing 
her naked form.  That pervert!  Except, she couldn't shake the feeling 
that he wasn't exactly peeping.  Or that it wasn't him.  Or something.
	She finished her kata, then went straight out into the streets to 
jog a few miles.  If she had just happened to turn right instead of left 
as she departed the house, she would have probably crossed paths with a 
confused looking pet of hers.
	Ryoga cursed his luck.  He was sure that his disorientation with 
the apparent change of his sleeping area had blinded him to the straight 
and true path to the bathroom.  He held his head low, for he was sure 
that it would take another week to return to the dojo.  He held his path 
forward, and therefore was farther from the corner where the dojo was.  A 
few blocks hence, he started to wonder whether to change back into human, 
before something unsavory happened to him.  The next left he took brought 
him facing the Cat Cafe.
	Incredible forces had changed his luck, it seemed, so he entered 
through a window into the basement, so as to avoid the Amazons within.
	The aforementioned Amazons were, in fact, preparing the menu for 
the day, whilst the industriously conniving Shampoo was deciding what to 
feed her future husband.  Cologne had let her go early, as it was summer, 
and that men tended to eat more frequently in the mornings, i.e. a chance 
to take the groom once and for all was presenting itself.  Shampoo had 
picked a recipe which required, unfortunately, eggs.  She sighed.  Mousse 
had done all sorts of stupid things with the eggs, like stuff them with 
explosives and such, which gave her the right and privilege to beat the 
living daylights out of him.  Plus, they were producing way too much 
pastry in her get-laid-quick schemes.  Angrily, she sped away to purchase 
a few dozen at the nearby marketplace (which, she could protest, did not 
have fresh poultry shops anymore).  Somewhere nearby, Mousse threw away 
the pages of recipes that did not require eggs, and went to help Cologne.
	Tsubasa held the fillers which held some decades of secret Amazon 
alchemy which concerned enchantments of the heart, with some doubt.  He 
could not, and would not, force his beloved Ukyo to love him if it wasn't 
real.  He would try, yet again, to let her see how she could learn to 
love him, but never, ever without her conscious consent.  It would be too 
much like forcing himself upon her, and the thought would never cross his 
mind, normally.
	He threw the neatly inked Chinese texts, with the disgust of 
incomprehension, into a nearby (real) garbage can and then changed his 
disguise into one of a telephone pole.  He was starting to run out of new 
and innovative disguises which he could use to get closer to the 
Ucchan's, but somehow, one weirdo or another would pass him by, and he'd 
have to assume an inanimate position, which would be normally abused, as 
property damage was particularly high in the area.  He's been careful, 
then, to use one of the lesser passed routes.  This one took a rather 
long swath of walk into the zoo.
	He successfully changed from the pole, to a signpost which read 
"Osaka this way", then into a statue of a horse, finally into a park 
bench, before entering the zoo.  He quickly peeked.  There were lots of 
people, especially children, in the crowd which formed a knot in the area 
near the gate.  Wearing a bamboo shoot, he edged closer to the crowd, 
with hopes of leaving quite rapidly.
	Genma was grinning ear to ear, something he would not do normally.  
But he was having a hard time concealing his joviality.  As a panda, he 
felt he could be his true self, free as the wind.  Although he was 
getting hungry, he was starting to enjoy the various attentions the 
little squawking children were raining upon him.  A little nervous pat 
here, some weak (but heartfelt) rappings on the other side, little tugs 
here and there, but all the laughter was becoming infectious.  Just a few 
more moments, and the secret Saotome free-food-will-come philosophy would 
see justice.  And with a turn of his head, he noticed the bamboo shoot 
approaching him.  Gratefully thanking Kami-sama, he took it and bit off.  
	There is a heaven, he thought.  But a rather surprising view of 
someone he didn't exactly want to see yet arrived, reminding him that 
heaven wasn't where he wanted to be going to quite yet.
	Nodoka passed by a weird-looking bamboo with an arm with the sleeve 
of a girl's dress sticking out from it.  Some people were staring at it 
bug-eyed, but most of them just took it as nothing out of the ordinary.  
It must be some sort of street play or another unorthodox impromptu, 
which could explain the panda.  Obviously, someone took care of building 
a fine panda suit, but the outstanding human traits of pantomimed fear 
were enough to show the skill in acting of whoever had donned the suit.  
Funny, though.  This panda-suited actor seemed familiar.  She shrugged.  
It was all that she couldn't distinguish between this obviously fake 
panda and Ranko's pet.  She could swear that there was a connection, but 
the more pacifying edge of taking care of a martial arts family kicked 
in, and explanations would come, later if not sooner.
	She exited the zoo, hugging her groceries tightly.  She remembered 
with some amusement the purple-haired foreigner (she had this funny 
accent) who practically blew up when she couldn't find any eggs.  
Apparently, she hadn't heard of the recent shortage due to the fear of 
poultry shop owners that the animals in Nerima had acquired something 
akin to the mad cow disease (insane sightings of animals duking it out 
with people and themselves), but with less discrimination (a pig, a cat, 
a panda and a duck were among others mentioned).  So, live poultry had to 
be removed first, since they were used all over the district, and might 
spread this disease quicker than any other animal group.  So eggs in 
Nerima will not return until the end of this summer.  Nodoka was partly 
glad of her intuitive skills, which allowed her to stock a crate of eggs 
a few days before.
	She probably couldn't eat them all, she thought, passing by the 
restaurant district.  She might visit the Tendos' sometime soon.  She 
sighed.  Maybe she might see her family.  She walked on, just before a 
human Ryoga crossed confusedly into the yard of a mansion.
	He knew that the place was familiar somehow, but couldn't place it.  
He been here a couple of times already, but no idea of where he was 
popped up.  This was close to the dojo, he was sure of it.  Now who to 
ask....  He wandered off not quite sure if he was still within the 
grounds because he had seemingly stepped into a forest.
	Off in the branches, Sasuke giggled.  Then he gave up and belted a 
full blast guffaw, with some chuckles and wheezy high-pitched nasal 
sounds for flavor.  It was important, the master said, to laugh, in which 
he had taught all the servants to have a particular laugh.  He had not 
spared the children either, thus a person could distinguish any member of 
the Kuno household from any other by way of their laughter.  
	It was perfect.  He knew this one, who had been hounding mistress 
Akane, albeit from afar.  He had often fought young Saotome (he spat, as 
a reflex taught to him by his current master) for her hand, and has, to 
date, not satisfactorily beaten him.  To catch him upon the hallowed 
grounds of the Kuno estate was a sure sign of skullduggery and 
underhanded tactics, of which Sasuke would not become a party to by 
omitting his duty to his lord and liege.
	He haggled over which trap he could operate on the young trespasser 
could be the most appropriate for the intruder while switching places 
amongst the branches, keeping an eye on Ryoga.  Impaling was out of 
style, and any chemicals would be criticized from technique to usage by 
mistress Kodachi, and any mistake would be intolerable.  At the mention 
of her name, an idea struck, which he sought to implement by going ahead 
of his prey.
	Kuno was practicing the basic katas, while honing his wit by 
composing soliloquies on the often trivial bestiality of man succumbing 
to the tranquil nature of Venus's spring, only to rear its raging forces 
come summertime.  It was while he was posing to practice glinting 
sunlight off of various molars, when he heard the branches of the nearby 
trees at his back rustle slightly.  Nonchalantly, he turned and swung his 
bokken with the air pressure to hurl an unsuspecting Sasuke into the 
atmosphere.  He had missed this spectacle by turning yet again, in order 
to contemplate the void which was his mind.  He did this in total 
ignorance of the fact that Ryoga had crossed behind him, only to fall 
into Mr. Turtle's pool.
	The cloud which was on the way to wreak chaos upon the hallowed 
grounds of Kuno was turned about by the body of the manservant.  
Promising revenge, it went to find a regular customer, who had started 
this vicious water cycle.
	Kodachi on the other hand was on her way to the garden/laboratory 
on the other side of the forest.  She spied her brother locked in another 
battle of wits with himself, which she feared he was losing.  She heard 
some splashing and found that Mr. Turtle was playfully jumping up and 
down in the pond, as if in supplication for its owner's affections.  "Not 
now, dear," was all Kodachi said, as she turned, entirely missing the 
little black piggie jumping not quite out of the jaws of death for dear 
life.
	She had found Sasuke napping in a tree in an awkward fashion and 
immediately berated him.  He apologized profusely, and asked her if she 
had seen anyone suspicious in the premises.  Since she had not noticed 
any, Sasuke wandered off to apprehend the hooligan, after borrowing some 
potions from his mistress.  	
	She turned on her heel to enter the greenhouse, noticing slightly 
that Mr. Turtle had just stopped its splashing about.  On that note, she 
went to in to continue her latest project, while laughing a happy tune 
(in that distinctive way she does).
	Kuno had gravitated to the pond while his buggy of thought had 
drifted to sailing the high seas, as is his yen in the summers.  Truly, 
he would have to invite the pig-tailed girl and Akane, to partake in the 
splendor of the blue deserts and to bask in his undying love.  This was 
when he noticed two figures floating in the pool.  The larger one was an 
alligator, and the smaller one was that of a piglet.  Both were familiar 
as pets, the former of his wretched sister, and the other of the 
beauteous Akane, and in a state of unconscious akin to that after a 
fierce battle.  Sensing an opening, he picked up P-chan, and asked Sasuke 
to get him two bouquets of roses from the greenhouse.  Sasuke informed 
him that his intolerable sibling was about the area, which meant he had 
to go and get the flowers elsewhere.  Grasping his bokken, he left Sasuke 
in pursuit of the missing unwanted visitor, and went to the nearest 
florist's shop.
	As he went in, he had not noticed that the objects of his affection 
had passed by.  Upon his arrival at the dojo, he was informed that they 
were on the path to the chiropractor's clinic, and would he mind if he 
went in to wait for them to return?  Kasumi was on the way there herself 
to return a book on acupuncture literature.  Could he wait inside with 
father?

	The man sighed.  Lunch was over, and the day looked grim.  He would 
expect no better tomorrow, and knew he would be right.  Anyway, in his 
case it was better to live for the past than the future, and so read an 
old newspaper he had acquired in the hopes of finding an adventure in the 
offing.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
	(Detach here)
	Here marks my first major break in writing this fic, and I will 
hope to be able to continue within the next week.  I know that this has 
been hectic, yet not unlike the stream of consciousness during a 
hangover, but I promise to be a bit less confusing.  In fact, part 2 
(Second Change) is going to have less than five characters interacting.   
If I don't send this before writing the next part, I'll just leave this 
here.  For sticklers, this takes place in an alternate Ranma universe 
when Nodoka hasn't found out about Jusenkyo yet.
	Why "Switch", you say?  Well, it's more of how many different and 
utterly confusing ways can I use the word switch in one Ranma fanfic.  
There'll be a switch of personalities, a switch of pairs, a switcheroo or 
two, some other switches and "Switch"'s, and maybe, just maybe, a light 
switch story.  Needless to say, just stick to the trip to see if it's 
hip.  What?  Oh, the name "Switch".  Well, that's my secret.
	Currently, a recap of where everyone mentioned was:
	Ranma:  with Akane, transformed, on the way to Dr. Tofu's
	Akane:  with Ranma, also on the way to Dr. Tofu's
	Ryoga:  with Kuno, in the dojo, transformed, waiting for Akane and 
Ranma to return
	Kuno:  in the dojo, holding Akane's pet piggie, waiting with barely 
bated breath
	Soun:  in the dojo, tensely waiting for Ranma and Akane's return
	Nabiki:  somewhere scheming in the household
	Kasumi:  fixing up to go to Dr. Tofu's, at the dojo
	Tofu:  everybody hopes he's in his clinic, probably is
	Ukyo:  woke up and is opening shop at the Ucchan's
	Cologne:  cooking, wondering why Shampoo's missing, at the Cat Cafe
	Mousse:  opening shop at the Cat Cafe, knowing why Shampoo's 
missing
	Shampoo:  looking for eggs, somewhere in Nerima
	Happosai:  somewhere in Japan
	Genma:  transformed, in the zoo, with a crowd
	Tsubasa:  in the zoo, hiding as bamboo, on the way to Ucchan's
	Nodoka:  probably cooking something up at the Saotomes' house, 
planning to go to the dojo sometime really soon
	Sasuke:  looking for Ryoga, in the wilds of the Kuno estate
	Kodachi:  cooking something up, in the greenhouse, Kuno estate
	Principal Kuno:  somewhere in Hawaii, I think
	The man:  somewhere in time (trust me on this)
	Mr. Turtle:  unconscious in the pond, Kuno estate
	Next up, second change!  What is going on here?  We actually get to 
the/a story.  Will anybody else end up in here?  Will there be actual 
dialog?  What is the purpose of the man?  What other inane explanations 
will I come up with?  How long can this paragraph be before it becomes a 
story on its own?  And, will Ranma end up marrying Kodachi by the end of 
this story?
	Please somehow send C&C.
	(Detach here)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu @ WWW: The Entertainment Capital of UP Village
Vector, Switch, Yebah, Rain Man, goo, Pervert, Scruples, Hollie, NomaD, 
 Blitz, Gee, Datzo, Jewel, elf, Radler, Pinball, Mayhem, Chaos, Father, 
 Attar and Llewe @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/mezza9.html 
Fanfiction Page @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/fanfics.html
Perv's SI Archive @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/insert.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------