Quantum Destinies
A Ranma Fanfic
By Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com)
Editor (as of Chapter 10): D.B. Sommer (sommer@3rdm.net)
This idea occurred to me after I finished the science-fiction novel
"Paths to Otherwhere" by James P. Hogan. Ranma and all other
associated characters are owned by Kitty and the ever-creative
Rumiko Takahashi. Any new characters are the property of the
author. This is purely a work of fanfiction done for fun, so please
read and enjoy.
Notes: Thoughts will be bracketed by a * on each end. Any
speech other than Japanese will be bracketed by < and >.
Chapter 3 - The Many Lives of Ranma Saotome
Dawn found Ranma already awake. Waking up had always
been hard for him, but this morning his body had snapped awake
on its own. He barely remembered his head hitting the pillow, but
he felt refreshed this morning. His bruises had faded somewhat
during the night, so he was able to move without much pain
except for an occasional twinge. His dreams had been extremely
odd too, and may be why he awoke so early. *I dreamt I was a
girl last night. It felt so real! I hope it's not some sort of side-
effect.*
He dressed in his spare uniform, his mind focusing on how he
was going to need to avoid Akane now. *I am _not_ going to
fight with her. If she's looking for some sort of stupid challenge,
she can look somewhere else. I have more important things to
deal with... like, where the hell are my spare pants?* He quickly
rummaged through his closet until he found them hanging on a
back hangar.
*Just need to get something quick to eat, and I am out of here.
I suppose I could just lock myself in my lab space for the day. I'm
ahead in all my subjects. Yeah... that's what I'll do.* He grinned
as he walked down the stairs.
"Are you all right, Ranma dear?" His mother was up early
herself. She was surprised to see Ranma dressed and ready for
school so early. "Are you feeling better?"
"Fine, mother," he said with a reassuring smile on his face. "I
was right. A good night's sleep and I'm feeling a lot better."
"So how is your project going?" She slid a plate of fried eggs
and rice in front of him. He felt his mouth watering from hunger.
He also felt the strangest urge to eat quickly, in case someone
might try to take it away. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Ranma thought for a moment on how he should try to answer her
before he started to eat.
"I had a breakthrough on my project yesterday, and it has me
pretty excited. I want to confirm my test results today before I tell
Father." Ranma wolfed down his breakfast when his mother
turned her back.
"You and your father get so wrapped up in your theories and
work sometimes." Nodoka clucked her tongue. "There's more to
life than science, Ranma. When are you going to get a girlfriend?
Should your father and I plan to arrange a marriage for you?"
Ranma paused in his eating and got such a strange look on his
face that it gave Nodoka pause. She looked at him in surprise. He
noticed her look and began eating again at his usual pace, instead
of the starving man way he had been eating just a few moments
earlier.
*I swear that boy is getting to be as eccentric as his father.*
Nodoka turned around to busy herself with getting Genma's
breakfast ready. *Maybe I _should_ talk with Genma about
arranging a wife for Ranma. He might have some ideas. After
all, it's never too early to start planning for the future.*
******************************
Ranma unlocked the door to his lab, and flipped on the light
switch. The fluorescent lights flickered on slowly, one by one. He
closed the door and re-locked it behind him. He flipped on the
main power bar, and let the equipment begin to warm up as he
pulled off the tarps covering everything.
The monitor blinked on and Ranma sat and began tapping at
the keyboard. The screen cleared, and printed out:
*SELF-CHECK COMPLETE
*ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN
THE DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE
DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING
WITHIN THE DESIGNATED PARAMETERS
*SYSTEM HAS 11 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN
STABLE MEMORY
*TIME DURATION OF RECENT TEST RUN: 60.00 MINUTES
*SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES: NO
*PLEASE INPUT QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE DESIRED:
Ranma sat and thought for a moment. *I suppose I could try
some of the ones I've located earlier. Yeah, I should see how they
compare to my first live test run.* He bent down and typed for a
few more moments at the keyboard, and the monitor cleared and
read:
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000001 LOADED INTO
MATRIX
*SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES
*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 5.00 MINUTES
*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET
Ranma settled himself on the couch and placed the headset over
his head. He found himself strangely excited over the prospect of
seeing another life he could have lived. The thrill of discovery
tingled inside him. As he relaxed on the couch, the background
hum of the Resonator was a familiar tickle along the inside of his
skull. *I wonder what this life will be like?*
The last thing he remembered was the soft computer-generated
voice making its solemn pronouncement, "Activating cycle."
******************************
At first, Ranma couldn't figure out where he was. He found
himself in a small room with a desk, a chair that he was now
sitting on, and a futon pad as the only furniture. A small toilet
and sink were in the far corner. The light came from a single
fluorescent panel embedded in the ceiling. *I'm in some sort of
prison.* Someone was in the process of unlocking the cell door.
He ignored it to try to get some clue as to what was going on from
the items on the desk.
An open notebook full of confused scribbling was before him.
He read through the many partial equations and incomplete
circuitry notes. His other world counterpart was working on the
same experiment that he had already completed. However, the
handwriting was not his. Instead, it was his father's.
"Ranma?" A familiar female voice addressed him from the
direction of the doorway in calm tones. "How is it going? Have
you made any progress?" A turn of his head showed that Nabiki
Tendo stood in the doorway with a cool expression on her face.
Her uniform looked as freshly pressed as always, but she was
wearing a sidearm. "I need to make a report on your efforts to the
Security Directorate today. What should I tell them?"
Ranma wasn't sure what to say. Nabiki raised one eyebrow as
she watched him. Her hand stayed near her hip, resting on the
pommel of her gun. She remained standing by the door.
*She seems to expect me to try something,* he thought with a
little surprise. *What has happened here?*
Another person appeared in the doorway, cloaked partially in
shadow as he pulled a cigarette from between his lips. Ranma
wasn't able to tell who it was due to the lighting and the angle that
he was sitting at relative to the door. Nabiki moved to one side of
the door, and stood at attention. Her eyes never left Ranma.
Ranma blinked in recognition of the figure entering the room.
Raw surprise was on Ranma's face when Soun Tendo walked in
the door while taking another puff of his cigarette. He blew out a
ring of smoke as he surveyed the room, nodding. The standard
gray uniform of Imperial Security rested on his frame, but Ranma
couldn't quite tell what rank insignia was on the collar.
"Mister Saotome," Soun began in cultured tones. "I trust that
you have been making some progress in deciphering your father's
notes for us? He has been proving most uncooperative." His eyes
never wavered from Ranma. They remained as black and cold as
the grave.
"Ummm...," Ranma started to say. "I've been trying. It is very
complex material."
Soun's hand whipped out across Ranma's face. He fell from the
chair he was sitting on and crashed to the floor. Raising his hand
to his cheek, he felt warm wetness flowing from a stinging cut.
Lifting his eyes to look at Nabiki, he briefly caught a smirk on her
face before the cool look returned. *Bitch,* he thought.
"I've been patient up until now, young Ranma." Soun knelt in
front of him, blowing some smoke into his face. "However, my
patience is wearing thin. The Empire needs your father's research
for security purposes." He stood up slowly.
"The lives of both of your parents depends on your actions in
the upcoming days. The Security Director is most eager to hear of
progress. I for one do not wish to disappoint him. I trust that you
don't either." Soun turned his back on Ranma and walked over to
the door. Nabiki flicked her eyes off of Ranma and looked at her
father.
"Cadet Tendo?" Soun paused next to her.
"Yes, sir." Nabiki looked like an attack dog waiting for the
order to kill. Soun reached out and caressed her face with a gentle
hand. Nabiki smiled and looked up into her father's face.
"You won't disappoint your father, will you Cadet Tendo?"
"No, sir!" She straightened up to stand even more rigidly at
attention.
"If he doesn't come up with anything useful by the end of the
week..." Soun trailed off as he paused to look at Ranma with a
cold stare before turning back to his daughter, "then he's yours. A
reward for your attention to duty, and bringing his father's work to
my notice." Soun walked out without looking back, or saying
anything further.
Nabiki turned cold eyes in Ranma's direction. She smiled as
she fingered the pommel of her gun. "You have three days left,
Ranma Saotome. Work hard, or they'll be your last." She walked
out, locking the solid door behind her.
******************************
Ranma blinked his eyes, and pulled off the neural headset. It
took him several moments to stop trembling. *I have to act like a
scientist, and remain impersonal. Not every world is going to be
pleasant. I have to remember that.* He distracted himself by
pulling down the computer keyboard and punching up the data on
the last timeline.
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000001
*DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM BAND: 001
"Damn," he muttered softly. "I was hoping for band two or
three, at least. It looks as if I will need to be more careful than I
thought when it comes to Nabiki Tendo. I never realized what a
cold-blooded bitch she could really be." Ranma sat back and
thought for a few moments as he scrolled the data on his current
test runs.
The quantum bands were a mathematical representation of one
of the theories of his father's research. Each band represented a
set of temporal divergence points roughly twenty years across. A
divergence point could have taken place at any moment within
that range. The lower the number of the band, the "closer" to
home it was. The higher the band number, the "further" away
from home it was.
If it could be shown on a graph, all quantum realities would be
represented by timelines flowering out in three dimensions from a
precise central point. The resulting graph would form a cone
shape. Each "point" within the cone was a moment in time along
a particular timeline. Each new line could then sprout its own
branches in turn, which could also then sprout branches. Cones
would form from each group of lines radiating out from every
decision point. An infinity of possible worlds was thus created
that stretched back to the dawn of time.
For curiosity, he punched up the data on his initial full-power
test run. *This could give me an indication of the level of
variance in quantum realities.*
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000011
*DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM BAND: 016
"Amazing! That means there was a divergence point three
hundred and twenty years ago. That's pretty far out there." He
checked through each of the files in memory. Two were from
bands even further out than file number eleven, but the rest were
closer. The two files that came in with bands farthest away were
from two early scanning test runs at the system's maximum power
setting. The greater the quantum "distance" away a band was, the
more power it seemed to require to reach it.
Since his setup was rather primitive by necessity, the higher
quantum bands could not be reached unless he found a way to
upgrade his equipment. File number ten, quantum band twenty,
represented the "deepest" into the parallel timelines that he could
reach with his present system. From a mathematical point of
view, that still represented a very large number of timelines.
Each of those memorized coordinates also represented a reality
where Ranma Saotome existed in some form or another. His
equipment only allowed him access to a quantum parallel through
a compatible mind. No compatible mind present equaled no
entry. According to his assumptions, information was the only
thing that might pass through quantum barriers. Actual physical
travel was an impossibility.
Ranma sat and thought. The lure of the deeper parallels was
undeniable. However, based on his experience in that last near
parallel, the possibilities closer to home could not be ruled out
either. He shivered again at the fate of that other Ranma. *I hope
he makes it all right.*
"Well, this is getting me nowhere. I can't let a fear of the
unknown stop me. I'm a scientist." Ranma turned to his console,
and punched up the next coordinate file for a five minute test.
Since each scan was from deeper and deeper into the timelines,
the closer ones would seem more "normal" and the further ones
would be more and more radically different. He settled back onto
the couch.
******************************
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000002
*DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM BAND: 002
*Things don't seem all that different.* Ranma was standing
outside the Academy grounds as students walked in past him.
The girls giggled as they walk by, eyeing him as if his presence is
some sort of joke. The male students gave him cold-eyed looks as
they walked by.
Ranma felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a
semi-familiar male student looking at him in a rather unfriendly
manner. He wasn't alone. Several other very tough-looking sorts
accompanied him, and they were all wearing the grays of Security
cadets. Ranma took a step back in surprise.
"You've got a lot of guts to stand around outside this facility,
Saotome. Your kind isn't wanted here. Cowards sons have no
place at an honorable hall of higher learning like this one." The
tall student handed his bag to one of his friends, who took it with
a grin. The rest of the students formed a circle, cutting off any
escape for Ranma.
"Yeah, Kuno," shouted one of them. "Teach the little punk to
mind his betters."
"My kind? Cowards son?" Ranma looked at his uniform very
quickly. The cut was a little different, and the patch on the chest
was unfamiliar. He looked back up to see that Kuno has been
given a boken by one of the students surrounding him.
"Prepare to be taught your place in the great scheme of things,
Saotome." Kuno grinned coldly at him. "I'm going to enjoy this."
Kuno lashed out with a lightning fast stroke. Ranma tried to
dodge, but his body was moving too slowly. Pain exploded in his
side as the boken hit him a glancing blow. Ranma fell to the
ground, gasping in pain.
"Over so soon, Saotome?" Kuno loomed over him, the wooden
sword held in a casual grip at his side. "I didn't think that you'd
offer up much of a challenge."
"Brother dear," interjected a female voice. "Just what are you
and your gang of ruffians up to now?"
Ranma looked up through pain-filled eyes to see Kodachi Kuno
pushing her way through the human wall surrounding him and
Kuno. She had a frown on her face, and several of the male
students melted away from her when her gaze fell on them. She
stopped when she was almost nose to nose with Kuno. Her
uniform had the blue trim of a Science cadet, like Ranma's own
uniform looked like back in his home timeline.
"Stay out of this, my sister," commanded Kuno. "This foolish
whelp dared to look one of his betters in the eye as an equal. I
was only giving him a taste of the harsh consequences of such
foolish actions." Kuno started to push past Kodachi, but she
moved gracefully back in front of him.
"I think he's had enough." Her tone was silken, but steel could
be heard underneath. "Leave him be, brother dear."
The two siblings attempted to stare each other down. The air
seemed to crackle with electricity. Kodachi tightened her grip on
her bookbag and intensified her stare. Kuno blinked at the fierce
look on his little sisters face, and backed up a step.
"Very well, my stupid sister," said Kuno with an angry tone.
"Do your little act of charity for this miserable piece of human
filth. You won't be around to protect him the next time his path
crosses mine." Kuno grabbed his bag with a snarl, and led his
little army past the school gates.
"Are you all right, Mister Saotome?" Kodachi knelt down to
help Ranma to his feet. She had a pleasant smile on her face.
"Uhhh." Ranma felt his knees trembling as he stood up beside
her. *I'm either in love, or my body is going into shock.*
"You took quite a hit from my brother. Will you be all right
getting to your own school?" She picked up and handed him his
dropped bookbag, and then dusted off his uniform with her hands.
Ranma just watched quietly as she fussed over him.
"Are we still on for tomorrow night?" She whispered to him as
she leaned next to his ear, covering it by patting at his shoulder
area. "I've been looking forward to it for days."
Recall came before Ranma could think of a reply.
******************************
*Well, that was different. Kodachi Kuno seems to be a girl
who is full of surprises, and another life with people looking to
beat me up is heard from. I'm going to try a deeper parallel.* He
skipped the next file for file number four. The band was three
bands beyond what file number three offered. Ranma laid back
and prayed for an enjoyable timeline as the system activated.
******************************
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000004
*DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM BAND: 006
Ranma was staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked his
eyes and waited for his mind to clear a bit. His thoughts felt a
little fuzzy. *Where am I?*
There was an arm lying across his chest, and a warm body was
cuddled against his side. He was surprised that it took him a few
moments to notice these facts, but he blamed it on the sleepy state
he found himself in. This body was in such a comfortable state
that it took a little motion of the body lying next to him to call his
attention to it. Warm breath wafted across his arm.
*Who is lying next to me? Who is lying next to me?* He
repeated this mental question like a mantra, hoping to stir his
fragmented memories to unite. He blinked his eyes again as the
name came to him, along with a brief rush of memories.
*Xian Pu?* He moved a little to one side. The Chinese
Amazon held on to his arm in her sleep, a pleased smile curling
her lips. She muttered something in Mandarin, then sighed as she
tightened her hold on his arm. Ranma decided to just lie back and
see if any new memories would unfold.
For someone who had always expressed a disdain for the
importance of history, Ranma was now getting a first-hand
education on the significance of changes to it. The conquering of
China by the Sixth Japanese Imperial Army led to an interesting
discovery of a small tribe of very special people. Those special
people were the Joketsuzoku Amazons of China. Their discovery
was a complete accident.
The Matriarchs had tried to fight against the invaders. Their
special techniques of combat had seemed like sorcery to the first
troops, but the iron determination of the Emperor to allow for no
defiance of his divine rule refused to admit surrender. It was even
thought that only exterminating the Amazons would allow
victory, but a chance meeting changed that destiny.
A young soldier named Ryu Kitani was on solo reconnaissance
near the region of Joketsuzoku. He surprised a young maiden
warrior of the Amazons, also on solo reconnaissance for her
people, and they had fought. It was said that they struggled
through half the night, by the light of a full moon. In the end,
Ryu emerged as the victor. The young Amazon pledged herself to
Ryu as his wife, per her own people's laws. Ryu was an honorable
warrior from a proud samurai family, and the Amazon named So
Pu was comely, so he agreed to the marriage.
The Emperor, upon hearing the report of the young warrior
conquering an Amazon as an individual, came up with a radical
plan. Armies weren't practical against such a remote enemy, and
there were always hot-blooded sons of the many samurai families
looking for challenges. The Emperor sent a long letter to the
Chief Matriarch of the Amazons, Khu Lon. In it was a challenge,
as well as a treaty. The Amazons would not be destroyed, but they
must withdraw from the defense of China. In exchange for this,
the Emperor made a pledge to send ten of his finest young
warriors to challenge ten young Amazons to single combat. He
also stated that the warriors sent would be unmarried men.
The specific terms of the challenge are still considered a state
secret. It became known as the Tournament of the Amazons. The
Emperor sent his emissaries throughout the islands of Japan to
find warriors who had superior martial arts ability. The ten finest
warriors took up the challenge. Six of the ten emerged victorious
at the Tournament, and claimed Amazons as brides. The Chinese
Amazons were left alone, and they left China to its fate.
Since that day almost a century ago, it has become a sign of
skill to attend the Tournament of the Amazons. Any man who
won an Amazon bride was able to remain there or return to Japan
with her. Ranma had been the first of his family line to attend the
Tournament, which was held every ten years since that initial
treaty was signed. The result of his trip, and a mark of great
honor for the Saotome family, was the lovely girl who was
sleeping beside him.
Ranma pulled her close against him, and hugged her warm
body. The soft silk nightgown clinging to her body was very thin
and sheer. Shampoo's breathing changed as she woke up. She
stretched her free arm out, as Ranma tried not to look at her full
breasts straining against the silk.
"<Good morning, my husband.>" She pulled herself up for a
deep kiss. Ranma felt her nibble against his lower lip playfully at
the conclusion.
He started to reply when there was a moment of dislocation,
and he found himself back in his lab.
******************************
Ranma opened his eyes and sighed as the hum of the headset
faded into the background. *Wow! I never realized I could be
such a stud with the ladies.* He stretched out his arms over his
head, and grinned happily. *I must remember _that_ file in
particular.* Ranma found himself to be very tempted to transit
back to that reality immediately.
*No,* he finally decided. His curiosity to explore further
overcame his bodily lusts. *I'll try one more file before I think
about doing that. File four was good, so let's try file number five.*
Ranma pulled the keyboard down to his lap and started typing.
The system hummed as it loaded the file information. Ranma
adjusted the headset. *I've got to see if I can make this thing
smaller.*
******************************
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000005
*DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM BAND: 007
Ranma was walking along with his father in the market district
of Tokyo. Genma had a definite place he seemed to be heading to.
Ranma let himself trail along behind. They soon arrived at an
area filled with people who all seemed to be waiting for something
to happen.
Genma turned to him with a smile. He was wearing a silk suit,
and looked quite prosperous. Ranma was also wearing fine
clothes himself. *I guess I don't need to go to school here, or it's
some sort of holiday.*
"Are you excited, son?" Genma looked at him expectantly.
"Uhhh... yeah," Ranma tried to look eager. Genma smiled in
reply.
"That's the spirit, son!" Genma pushed his way to the front of
the crowd, Ranma trailed along behind him like a satellite.
"I hear that they even have several of the legendary Amazons in
the latest batch," Genma said as they reached a point near the
stage.
Ranma wisely kept his mouth shut. He doesn't want to
interrupt the stream of information that seems to be forthcoming.
"It's a proud day in a young man's life when he buys his first
female slave," Genma leaned over to try and get a view of the area
to the side of the stage. "The Empire knows how to take care of
its citizens. Why, I remember when I was a boy..." Ranma tuned
out Genma's words, dreading what he suspected was about to
happen. When his vision blurred out, he felt gratitude.
******************************
The recall occurred. Ranma stared at the wall of the lab.
*Slaves.* Slavery in the Empire existed today, but private
ownership did not. All slaves belonged to the Emperor, who
assigned them to his various Ministers to use in public works
projects or state-run businesses. For example, the trash was
picked up every week by slaves assigned to the task.
There was a knock on the lab door. Ranma took the precaution
of locking down his equipment and covering it with a tarp before
going over to the locked door. He unlocked the door, expecting to
see his faculty advisor checking up on him. No one else ever
came down into the basement labs.
Akane Tendo stood outside the door. Ranma's eyes went wide
and he tried to shut the door in her face. Akane slammed her foot
down, blocking the door.
"Oh no you don't, Saotome," she said in calm tones. She
pushed the door back open. "You and I have some unfinished
business. I came to find a man to challenge my skill, but instead I
find a boy cowering in the basement." She entered the lab and
shut the door behind her.
Ranma sighed. *This day just gets better and better.*
******************************
Ranma slept peacefully at his desk during homeroom.
"Hey Akane," whispered a voice from behind her. "What's the
matter with Ranma honey today?"
Akane ground her teeth a moment before turning around. She
tried to paste a smile on her face as Ukyou watched.
"Ranma didn't sleep well last night. His father tossed him out
the window when Ranma woke him up for the third time by
talking in his sleep." Akane suddenly looked worried.
"Talking in his sleep? About what?" Ukyou looked at Ranma
snoozing at his desk.
"Mister Saotome said he kept talking nonsense. The third time
he woke up, he said that Ranma was having a conversation with
himself. That was when he threw him out the window." Akane
shook her head.
The bell rang for the end of class. Ranma jerked awake.
"<Ready for English class, Ranma?>" asked Akane in English.
Akane enjoyed teasing Ranma with her speaking ability. English
was one of her best subjects.
"<English is a second language to me,>" replied Ranma in a
sleepy tone of voice. Ranma's words were slurred from his
sleepiness, but his pronunciation was still better than Akane's.
"Jerk!" Akane sat back in her seat and grumbled at Ranma for
showing off.
******************************
Akane looked around the lab space with some interest. It didn't
look like much to her.
"So this is where you go to hide every afternoon?" Akane lifted
up one corner of the tarp covering his equipment. "What's under
here?"
"That's sensitive equipment I'm working with." Ranma tugged
the tarp corner back down. Akane pulled it back up, and added a
glare in Ranma's direction for good measure. Ranma pulled it
back down, and returned the glare.
"Just let me see it, Saotome," said Akane through gritted teeth.
"Don't make me have to hurt you... again." She slugged him in
the jaw without waiting for a reply. Ranma flew back, bounced
off the couch without an ounce of grace, and landed face-down on
the concrete with a soft thud.
"Ow," he muttered to himself as he raised himself off the floor.
Akane was looking over his equipment with great interest. She
dropped the tarp on top of Ranma. Ranma muttered about violent
tomboys from psychotic families while underneath the tarp before
pulling it off of himself and standing up. Akane looked
innocently at him.
"Ready to fight me now?" She slowly flipped a few switches on
the console. Ranma felt his face twitch each time she did.
"Believe me, I'm considering it." Ranma went over to his desk
in an attempt to calm down.
"Oh???" She turned to look at him with a sly look. "Really?"
"Look, Tendo," he sat back in his chair as he spoke, "I have no
interest in whatever sick fantasy you have about me. I'm a
scholar, not a warrior." Akane glared at him.
"That's not it at all!" She stomped over to him and loomed over
him in the chair. "I've fought every boy in this school. None of
them are a challenge for me. You were a pathetic joke when you
arrived, so I never bothered really fighting you. Then I saw you
yesterday..."
"I wasn't myself yesterday." Ranma tried to scoot his chair
away from her. Akane wasn't looking too stable to his eyes at the
moment.
"I don't care!" She grabbed both arms of his chair, and she
looked him straight in the eyes. "I need a challenging opponent to
improve my skill. You have the potential, especially after what I
saw yesterday."
There was a gentle cough behind them.
"Am I interrupting anything?" A confident female voice called
from the doorway. "The door was unlocked, so I just came right
in."
Akane turned to look over her right shoulder at the unexpected
intruder. Ranma craned his neck to look past Akane on the same
side. Kodachi Kuno stood there with her school bag in her hands.
Her well-tailored, blue-trimmed school uniform showed off her
figure nicely to Ranma's eyes.
"Your advisor sent me down to see you Ranma." Kodachi
smiled pleasantly at the pair. "He thought you wouldn't mind
some help with your project."
One of the armrests on Ranma's chair cracked when Akane
suddenly squeezed it.
*This isn't good.* Ranma could feel himself start to sweat.