Thought I'd try my hand at this one more time, I'll finish this one
wuicker than the others.. ^^;;  Well, C&C appreciated!  Anyone wanna
help me out with a title? ^^;;


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The cold wind blew softly across the horizon, past the serene sunset 
illuminating the darkening sky.  Most people, now fast asleep in warm
beds, enjoyed peaceful, undisturbed sleep.  Of course, not all are as 
lucky as these.  Take the young man sitting on the cold steps in front 
of atavern.  His short black hair, tied in a braid from the back, blew 
in time withthe wind.  His red Chinese shirt, barely coving his arms, 
seemed torn and slightly dirty from travel.  He could only dream about 
warm beds andpeaceful sleep, and was far from anything he could call 
'home'.  Goose bumpscovered his arms and he struggles to keep warm.  
Silently, he curses his luck.

"Stupid old man.."  Ranma whispered under his breath, as he blew into
his cupped hands, "Drunk-fu, what a laugh.  He just wanted an excuse to 
godrink sake 'til he passes out.  Well, forget it!  He can drink all he 
want cuz I ain't waiting for him!"  The boy said while lifting his cold 
body from the pavement and shoving his hands deep into his pockets for 
warmth. 

A home.  A family.  What a laugh.  It was something he'd never have. 
Sure, he had his stupid father, and childhood friend Ukyou, but it just 
wasn't enough.  He missed his mother and wanted to go see her more 
thananything.  But, due to his father's stupidity taking him to those 
damn cursedsprings, he could never face his mother now.  How could you 
call him a 'Man among men' is he was a girl half the time?  She'd 
probably make him commit honorable suicide or something.  As long as his 
mother had a chance of finding out his curse, he had no home.  Sure, 
living on the road hadsome advantages.  He had become one of the best 
martial artists on theplanet.  But, it still left something empty inside 
of him.

Ranma stopped short when he caught sight of a few people deeper back in 
an alley to his left.  7� no.. 8 or 9 people, dressed in dark clothes 
were surrounding a young girl who stood with a relaxed stance, deep in 
concentration.  Her dark hair was done up at the back and only a few 
strands strayed down her neck.  She wore black slacks, tied at the 
bottom and a loose fitting shirt.  Ranma edged closer in the shadows, 
readying himself to fight if the people had the gull to attack the girl.  
He strained his ears to hear the conversation.

"Listen, how can I help it?  I stay outta the old man's business."

"Shut up, wench!  You're 'old man' was the one who burned our family 
business!!  We have no way of life now!!"  One of the taller gang
members spoke.

"You should not have borrowed money from father then."  The young 
girl said in a relaxed tone.

Ranma's eyes narrowed as he couldn't quite hear what they were saying,
but he could make out the scenario.  9 to 1.  Not great odds.

"That's enough talk!!  We'll make your father sorry he ever messed with 
us!!"  Another shouted, and advanced the attack.

Ranma steeled himself, waiting for the right moment.

The young girl's stance stayed relaxed and waited for the first to reach 
her.  With inhuman speed she was gone, just as one attacker filled the 
space where the girl had just been.  The pack looked frantically around, 
but the girl was no where to be seen.  They hastily threw shurikan and 
other weapons through the air, fear rising in the pit of their stomachs.

Ranma blinked.  She was so fast.  Maybe even matching himself.  His
trained eye caught her movement as she moved from the initial attack and 
bound into the air high above.

"ANYTHING GOES FINAL ATTACK!"

Ranma's heart thumped in his chest, *Did� did she say 'Anything Goes'? 
I thought only the Saotome family practiced that� *

The girl held out her arms and gathered a significant amount of black
chi in the palm of her cupped hands, "You guys pissed me off!  You must 
be stupid to have the gull to attack me!!  SUFFER!"

The pack barely had time enough to hear the attack name being called as 
the girl descended back to the earth.

Her fingers spread wide, as did her eyes as all color drained from them, 
"KURAI SHINZO!!!"

Ranma gaped as balls of black chi were sent down to the ground at the 
attackers.  Each member was, in turn, knocked to their backs and out
cold.  Some sported burn marks, while others had broken bones.  The girl 
touched down lightly, and all her hair spilled down over her shoulders.  
She flicked it back over, and rolled her eyes, "Childs play�"

Ranma's eyes widened as the girl dropped to her knees, while pulling one 
of the shurikan out of her shoulder.  Blood soaked through her shirt as 
she struggled to keep the flow down.  He stood, readying himself to go 
help her.

The girl's head snapped up as she grabbed the bloodied shurikan and
threw it into the dark.  She tried her best to stand, ready for an 
oncoming attack.  The girl gaped when Ranma walked from the shadows, the 
starheld carefully between two fingers, "W-who are you?!"

"Whoa, whoa, I'm not trying to hurt you or nuthin�," Ranma tried
reassuring her, "I just saw your fight.  You're pretty good."

The girl looked skeptical, "Why the hell should I believe you?!"  She
took a fighting stance, despite her injury.

"Well, for one thing, you're in no condition to fight.  You're bleeding 
all over�," Ranma winced as he closed in on the girl.  The wound was 
worse than he had expected.

The girl backed off slowly, "For all I know, you're one of those guys."

"Listen, do you want some help or not?"  He said while ripping the
sleeve of his shirt off.  He approached the girl again, only to have her 
lash out an arm.  He caught it and started to wrap the cloth around the 
girl's shoulder.

The girl yelped as Ranma tightened the makeshift bandage.  Ranma backed 
off a bit and grinned lopsidedly.

"Well, it's good enough for now.  You okay?"

The girl frowned, "Why are you helping me?"

Ranma looked thoughtful, but could only shrug, "I dunno.  Guess I can't 
stand to see guy pickin on a girl like that.  My name's Ranma," he said 
while extending his hand.

The girl waited hesitantly, but gave in and shook his hand, "Heh, I must 
be a fool.. but I trust you.  Thanks Ranma, you're not so bad yourself.  
My name's Akane."


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