Hello.  Reposting revised material.

Standard disclaimers apply.  C&C would be appreciated.

---------------------
	Ranko stared across the space of the table at Akane, who simply 
shrugged, pushed a lock of long black hair behind an ear, and looked at 
her oldest sister, Kasumi.  Kasumi shrugged in turn and directed a 
questioning look to Nabiki.  The middle sister simply sighed and looked 
over her father's shoulder at the worn, but legible postcard.  Ranko 
looked to her side, sending a questioning look at her mother who seemed 
to be meditating on something.
	Soun Tendo mused over the rectangular piece of cardboard.  Scrawled on 
the back was the kanji, 'will be back next week.'  Soun looked at the 
postmark and sighed.  He handed the postcard to Nodoka who read it in 
turn and then placed it on the table.  The Saotome matriarch shook her 
head and sighed.
	"So it's finally come to this," Nodoka sighed.  "The time we all have 
been dreading."
	Soun stared off at a dot on the wall behind Nodoka and Ranko before 
nodding slowly.
	"I thought he'd disappeared, coming to a horrible end somewhere 
unfitting a martial artist," he said quietly.  "I guess I'm wrong."
	Nodoka didn't respond immediately.
	"Perhaps," she replied in an off-handed mumble.
	Ranko quietly slid the postcard closer until she could read it.  The 
postmark was for the pervious week.  If the post-card was at all 
accurately indicating when her father would arrive, it meant it would be 
today.  She looked up at Akane who was quietly reading the post-card 
upside down.
	"That's today, isn't it?" Akane asked in a hushed voice.
	Ranko nodded mutely as the postcard made its way around the small 
dining table in the room.
	"Auntie Saotome, what are you going to do when he comes back?" Kasumi 
asked quietly.
	Nodoka's face hardened slightly.  She fingered the wrapped bundle by 
her side and frowned, but didn't reply.

	"Just what did your mother mean by that?" Akane asked Ranko.  The small 
brunette sighed and picked up a small manga of Aa! Megamisama! and idly 
flipped through it as Akane turned back to her schoolwork.
	Ranko seemingly ignored her, oblivious to anything but the manga.  She 
flipped the pages quickly, scanning just a few of the images and kanji.
	"Ranko?" Akane asked hesitantly.
	The petite brunette continued to ignore her.  Ranko picked up another 
manga and flipped through the pages as rapidly as she had with the 
first.
	"It's okay.  I understand," Akane said quietly, turning back to her 
homework.
	"You know how I told you Dad kidnapped my brother and disappeared?" 
Ranko asked suddenly.
	Akane nodded.  It had been in the news for quite some time - everyone 
knew about it.
	"Well," Ranko continued, "Mom kinda threw Dad out of the house.  With 
the family shinken to boot."
	Akane raised an eyebrow.  
	"You're kidding," she said.
	Ranko didn't answer, lost in the world of the manga again.
	Akane blinked, staring off into space for a second before turning back 
to her schoolwork with a slow exhale.  Ranko turned to an issue of X and 
skimmed the pages.  Silence blanketed the room, making it stuffy and 
unbearable in just a few minutes.
	"You finish the biology homework?" Akane finally asked, breaking the 
uncomfortable silence.
	"Yup," Ranko replied.
	"What did you say about the spider web thing?"
	"What spider web thing?" Ranko asked.
	"The essay we're supposed to write about the spider web thing.  The 
deal about innate behavior versus mimicked behavior?"
	Ranko thought for a moment before smiling sheepishly.	
	"Uh, I kinda forgot that one," the brunette replied.
	"I sometimes wonder how you ever finish your work," Akane replied in a 
tired voice.
	"Was that the thing the teach was talking about?" Ranko asked.
	"Well, it's where we were talking about how apes and other mammals 
learn primarily by mimicking.  They mimic and learn that way, versus 
animals like spiders, who do everything innately, like a reflex motion."
	"So what's the question?"
	"The question is whether you can say anything about the differences 
between the two," Akane replied.  "Small animals don't imitate parents 
or anything like that.  Bigger animals do."
	"Oh.  You mean, like people?"
	"I guess," Akane replied after a moment of thought.  "We do things 
after mimicking people.  That's how we talk and stuff, I guess."
	"I guess," Ranko replied offhandedly.  She returned to the manga at 
hand and entered into the quietude of reading.
	Akane slowly finished the homework, despite the slightly disturbed 
feeling the sudden silence gave her.
	"You want to go work out in the dojo?" she asked Ranko.
	Ranko sat in silence again.
	"Ranko?"
	Akane's friend slowly looked up from the manga, a puzzled look on her 
face.
	"You okay, Ranko?  You seem awfully preoccupied," Akane observed.
	"Oh.  It's nuthin' - I just have a lot on my mind," Ranko replied.
	"So you want to do some stuff in the dojo?"
	Ranko shrugged.
	"I guess.  I suppose I could do some of the open-hand stuff," she 
replied.
	Akane smiled.
	"You think we can spar today?" she asked eagerly
	"I dunno.  I'm a little tired from today.  I had to do all of the 
shoden waza for okaasan to see.  It wasn't hard, but she was really 
picky today.  I guess I was really sloppy this afternoon because she 
made me do them forever!" Ranko complained.
	"I'll go easy on you," Akane laughed.
	"Whatever.  Even tired, I could take you on," Ranko teased.
	"Oh yeah?"
	"You know the Saotome-ryu is way better than the Tendo-ryu," Ranko 
exaggerated.
	Akane laughed as the two slowly made their way to the dojo.  As they 
neared the back door to the dojo, Ranko made her way to the door, a 
puzzled look on her face, and put a hand out the door.  She frowned.
	"I didn't hear the rain clouds move in," she stated in surprise.
	"The weatherman didn't say rain was likely," Akane noted.
	Ranko shrugged and ducked out into the back yard, and sprinted to the 
dojo.
	
	A lone man standing under a store-front stared down the street.  His 
attention turned from the wet pavement to the girl that was crouched on 
the curbside, staring at the water running in small rivulets into a 
gutter nearby.  He cursed silently under his breath.
	"Ranma!" he bellowed.
	The girl didn't respond.
	"Ranma!" the man bellowed again.  He cursed under his breath again.
	The girl turned slightly to look at the man, slightly abashed, and 
downcast, yet the look in her eyes was blank, expressionless - her wet 
brown hair was plastered to her forehead in tangled ringlets.  The wild 
hair, messily tied back in a small, wet, pigtail.  She stared at the 
angry look in the man's face and whimpered softly, nearly inaudibly 
before rocking slowly, gently where she crouched.  The man growled and 
rubbed the bandana that covered his bald head.  He pushed his thin 
wire-framed glasses up higher on his nose and frowned.  He walked closer 
to the edge of cover, but did not walk an inch outside.  It didn't 
matter.  A passing vehicle sprayed him with water from the gutter as it 
swerved slightly to avoid a little boy splashing in the gutter further 
up the street.  The young boy's mother snatched him away, scolding him 
as she did so.  The boy simply pointed and giggled at the enormous, 
sopping wet panda down the street.  The panda stepped out from under the 
store-front, much to the surprise of the people around him, and boxed 
the girl's ears.  The large animal dragged her to her feet and pulled 
the girl along behind him as he walked down the street.


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com