Sunday, March 12, 2006

A Philippine Story

A Filipino tale about a warrior, I think, or was he a commoner


Name: NoNamer(me) Date Submitted: January 6,2006
Year & Sec.: Fourth Year – St. Dominic Quarter: 4th Quarter

Book Report # 4
Title: Laarni
Author: Alberto S. Florentino
Source: Communication in English Third Edition

Situation: When our country was divided into barangays and ruled by datus, no one was fiercer and more powerful than Datu Maginoo was. He had an only daughter, Princess Laarni, who was known for her beauty. Men had asked for her hand in marriage, offering love, youth, land, and titles, but to no avail.
Then one warm day when she was bathing in a river, a man in a banca suddenly came. Alarmed, the princess warned the man and tried to call her slaves. But the man assured her that he means no harm and introduced himself. The man’s name is Maharlika. He is a freeman and speaks out his love to her.

Conflict: Laarni was called to the palace by her father because Li Ho Weng, a Chinese suitor, has come with his fleet of ships to ask for her hand for the fourth time. Laarni tells Maharlika of this. He then vows to come twice and take her for his bride.
Soon after, Maharlika comes to the palace and tells Datu Maginoo that Rajah Bayani, Maharlika’s datu, wants the hand of Princess Laarni for marriage. He and his datu both want the princess for their bride, but unfortunately for Maharlika, duty tells him to make known his true mission even at his own expense. Then a slave comes and tells the datu that Li Ho Weng is inviting the princess to have tea in his boat.
Princess Laarni went to Li Ho Weng’s boat and was enjoying beautiful display of goods. After some time, Laarni decides to leave but Li Ho Weng would not let her. Laarni warns her that her father’s warriors could come anytime but Li Ho Weng was prepared and had his ships loaded with guns and warriors. There was a commotion and two Chinese warriors came dragging a wet, struggling Maharlika. Li Ho Weng instructed a warrior to get a wire cage with a cobra. He orders him to thrust his hand into it. He does so and drops dead. Li Ho Weng said that Maharlika would die like that. Laarni begged to spare his life.

Turning Point: Maharlika frees himself quickly, pulls out the cobra and thrusts it into Li Ho Weng’s face who falls dead. The warriors surround Maharlika but his warriors clamber up the sides of the boat to disperse the enemy. The warriors flee in different directions.

Conclusion: Maharlika and his warriors defeated Li Ho Weng’s warriors and returned with princess Laarni to the palace. Datu Maginoo agrees that Maharlika should take the hand of the princess for marriage.

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Gotta save this here....

My tribute speech for English Class:
Must save it here, in case it gets lost

Tribute of Marc Anthony

ANTONY

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men--
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.

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Sunday, November 20, 2005

   Ranma fanfic

Author's note:

This is the first in a series of YAAH stories (Yet Another
Alternate History) based on Ranma 1/2. Although some elements
resemble several stories that have appeared (ie, "Curses", et al.)
the idea came to me independently.

I asked myself, "What would happen if there was _one_ difference
to the Jusenkyo curse? How differently could the story/series
evolve?" After much thinking and plotting, I began to write.
What follows is the product of this idea.

Because I don't have access to the manga, only the anime, as
likely as not this will be a limited series, on 10 to 20 parts
in length.

Since everyone else does it, I might as well also start giving
disclaimers to my stories:

"All rights to Ranma 1/2 and its characters belong to
Rumiko Takahashi. My use is intended solely for the
purpose of fan entertainment, and no profit is to be
derived from this story's posting to the Internet or
any other medium. If it becomes the case where this
story's existence violates copyright, the story is to
be deleted, destroyed, or removed from all sources
unless permission from RT is given."

Sound legal enough for everybody? Good. On with the story.

======================================================================

Ranma 1/2 : Half and half

Part 1: "Here's Ranma-chan!"

======================================================================

Nerima was a sleepy little part of Tokyo. It was a safe, clean,
and friendly place to live. But, oh lord, it was a strange place,
and never a dull moment. Especially when the newcomers arrived.

It happened to be a rainy day as from the distance, a large panda
galloped down a Nerima street on its four paws. Three things were
immediately noticeable about this event.

1) It was a panda. In downtown Tokyo.

2) The panda wore a backpack.

3) A young redheaded girl rode on its back, clinging to the
panda's pack.

Like I said, Nerima was strange.

"Hurry, Mr. Panda, this rain is so cold!" cried the girl as the
rain continued to fall. The panda was moving very fast, making
a real effort to reach their destination. "I wish you had told
me sooner just where we're going, before the rain changed you!"

The panda did not falter nor reply, simply continuing to run as
fast as he could. "Tendo dojo. Must reach Tendo dojo," thought
the panda.

*****

Inside an old well-established home, a man, Soun Tendo, sat
crying as he read a postcard bearing a picture of a panda on the
front. From his long lost friend and training partner, Genma
Saotome, it was written with a simple message: "Am bringing
Ranma from China. Will arrive soon."

"How long I have waited for this day, a day that will assure the
future of the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts," spoke Soun
Tendo. He stood up from the central room's table, and began to
search the house, calling for his daughters.

"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane! I have something to tell you!" he
said, first finding Kasumi in the kitchen.

"What is it, father?"

"I must see all of you at table, daughter." He went upstairs and
found his second daughter, Nabiki, in her bedroom reading a book.

"What is it, Daddy?" said Nabiki.

"Nabiki, please come downstairs, I have something to discuss."

Soun looked for his third daughter, Akane, first in her bedroom,
then the living room, and called through the door to the bath to
find her. "Where is that girl?"

Outside in the dojo, a young woman in a yellow gi was setting up
bricks. She slowly summoned her strength, and with a cry, brought
down a mighty blow upon them, shattering the concrete into rubble.

"Whew, that felt pretty good!" she remarked to herself as she wiped
her brow. Nabiki stood at the door, taking a picture of her sweat-
soaked younger sister, then chided her for her own amusement.

"Typical of you, Akane; no wonder the boys think you're weird."

"What do I care? Besides, Nabiki, not everyone thinks the world
revolves around...BOYS!" yelled an irritated Akane.

"Oh no? Then I guess this wouldn't interest you." Nabiki spoke
with a hint of mischievousness in her voice, to which Akane looked
at her sister in surprise.

Soon all three daughters were seated at the family table, listening
to what their father had to say.

"I've just received a postcard from a very good friend of mine,
named Genma Saotome. He has a son, Ranma, and if one of you girls
would marry him, our two families would be joined as the only ones
who practice the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts." Soun
looked at the postcard again. "They'll be here any minute!"

"You expect one of us to marry some guy we've never even met!?"
said an incredulous Akane, still in her gi. "I don't believe this!"

"Father, how old is this Ranma? Younger men are so...young." asked
Kasumi, wearing a comfortable dress with an apron overtop.

"Is he cute? Is he rich?" chirped Nabiki, wearing a formal kimono,
looking as if she were anticipating their arrival.

Soun stood from the table and walked to the edge of the engawa,
looking out into the rain. He let out a light laugh, then said,
"I don't know. I've never met him."

"You don't know?" Nabiki asked with a little anger in her voice.

All three daughters looked at their father with more than a little
concern over their joint situation.

At that moment, the front doorbell rang. Nabiki quickly jumped up
to answer it, Kasumi standing, ready to greet their visitor, and
Akane just sitting there, slowly stewing at the thought of a forced
engagement.

Nabiki returned from the front door, with a perplexed look on her
face. "Father, you must be kidding! Ranma's a girl! And with a
pet panda, no less!" she said, leading a soaked girl and her panda
into the room.

Soun turned to look at the visitors, shock on his face as he heard
his daughter's words.

"A...girl?" he spoke, near fainting as he saw the buxom redhead
in front of him. It was the panda barely able to walk on all fours
down the narrow hall that pushed Soun over the edge. He went down
like a sack of hammers.

*****

With a pillow under his head and a blanket over him, Soun Tendo
slowly woke from his shock-induced slumber. As he slowly opened
his eyes, he looked at those who surrounded him: his three
daughters and the girl who had just arrived.

"Oh, Father's awake," Kasumi noted.

"Some fiancee, Daddy! Ranma's a girl!" said an annoyed Nabiki,
poking at Ranma's breasts.

"Aah! Stop that!" cried Ranma, bringing both her arms to protect
her chest. "I'm not that kind of girl!"

"Nabiki! And you call me weird!" said Akane. "Leave her alone."

Nabiki turned to face her now sitting father, chastising him for
this mistake. "I would have thought you could tell the difference
between a boy and a girl, Daddy. Does _this_ look like a boy?"
said Nabiki, again poking at Ranma's chest.

Ranma was now very distraught and near tears, turning away from
Nabiki as Akane reached to comfort the redhead.

"Nabiki, that's not very nice!" said Akane, turning to Ranma.
"C'mon, let's get you warmed up, you've been out in the cold."

Ranma sniffled, happy for the friendly way Akane treated her.

"Do you want to take a bath, Ranma?"

"N-no, I don't want to inconvenience you or your family."

"Oh, don't worry! You look like you'll freeze to death in
those clothes. I'll let you borrow some of mine, okay?" Akane
offered with a smile. The two walked toward the bath, hearing
the argument between Nabiki and their father in the background.
"I'm Akane. Do you want to be friends?"

Ranma looked at her with a shy smile. "Mm hmm," she said nodding
as they walked.

After Akane had left Ranma to take her bath, she retrieved two
sets of her clothes and returned to the bath for her own scrubdown.
In the entry to the bath, she lay them on the washing machine and
began to undress herself, looking forward to talking to her new
friend. She opened the inner door to the bath.

The panda, whom no one was paying attention to, simply lay down to
sleep on the engawa.

*****

In the warm water of the bath sat a black haired teenage boy,
quietly talking to himself. "Hmm...what to do? I guess I'll have
to stay as a girl for now until I can explain things. Might as
well change back."

The boy got out of the hot bath and sat down on the stool he had
used before, filling a bucket with cold water. Just as he raised
the bucket above his head, the bath door opened, and in walked a
naked Akane.

She stood there for a second, looking at the back of the boy's
naked body, a scream building inside her. That scream was
released, however, when she saw the water fall on his head, and
he began to change into a girl.

Ranma had his back turned to the door and was in the motion of
dumping the bucket as Akane had entered, so he didn't know she
was there until she screamed. Quickly dropping the bucket, she
turned to face Akane.

"What's wrong, Akane? What happened?"

Akane stood with the small towel barely covering herself, and not
doing a very good job of it. With one hand pointing at a naked
Ranma, she stuttered out "Y-y-you! What's going on?"

Realizing she had been seen, Ranma stood to walk to Akane, trying
to explain, but Akane's fear talked louder than Ranma. Akane
jumped behind the door, slamming it shut and quickly put on her gi
before leaving the bath area.

Kasumi quickly came running to find a shaken Akane. "Akane, what's
wrong? Why are you so scared?"

"Ra-ranma's some sort of freak! I saw her...him...a boy turn into
Ranma when he dumped cold water on himself!"

"Akane, don't be silly! That's not possible! You must be
imagining things. Look, let's both go in and see how Ranma's
doing, okay?"

Akane trusted her sister, but still believed what she saw, and
stood behind Kasumi as she opened the door to the bath. There
they found Ranma nearly dressed, again in her still wet clothes,
much to Kasumi's dismay.

"Ranma, dear, you'll catch cold in those clothes, you should have
put on the ones Akane brought you!" said Kasumi.

Ranma looked very shy and embarassed, staring at the floor as she
replied, "I know, but...Akane saw me and my secret. I think it's
best I tell everyone right now, and set everything right." She was
quiet, almost apologetic in her words, unable to look Kasumi or
Akane in the eye. "Kasumi, could you please bring some hot water
to the table?"

"Certainly, Ranma," she smiled, leading away a still shaking Akane.

*****

With everone at the dinner table, Ranma sitting with her back to
the engawa where the panda lay, Akane on the opposite side, and
Soun and Akane's sisters seperating them, she began to explain
what happened.

"I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier, but I was afraid you'd reject
me," she said in a quiet voice. "Six weeks ago, my father and I
were on a training mission in China, at the Cursed Springs of
Jusenkyo. Father did not bother to find out all the details about
the place, so we were not prepared for what was to happen to us.
Despite warnings from our guide not to train there, we fought upon
the tops of poles that stood in the pools. After a while, I put a
good blow against my father, and he fell into one of the pools."

Akane still looked at Ranma with fear and shock, and even a little
anger, while Ranma evaded everyone's gaze, hoping to complete her
story.

"I had thought father would simply get out of the pool and continue
to spar with me, but what I saw coming out of the water was a large
panda crawling on the ground," said Ranma. "In my surprise, I lost
my balance and fell into the pool holding the pole I was standing
on. When I surfaced, I found that I was a girl."

"But you are a girl, Ranma...aren't you?" asked Kasumi.

"No, I'm not," she spoke, beginning to pour hot water upon herself.
The eyes of all Tendo family members reflected their shock upon
seeing Ranma's transformation. "I'm a guy. I never wanted to be
a girl. Like I don't got enough problems with the stupid old man
dragging me off to some cursed place." Ranma stood and walked to
the engawa.

"Nice going, old man! What's next, training in a rock avalanche?"
said Ranma with vitriol in his voice as he poured hot water onto
the panda.

Soun and his three daughters were shocked at the different tone in
Ranma's tone when he became a boy, but they lost all compusure when
they saw the sleeping panda turn into a naked, fortyish year old man;
thankfully, his back was to the table and the girls.

"My old friend..." began Soun.

"You had to go and drag me all the way to China, didn't you, even
though you couldn't speak a word of Chinese!" spat an angry Ranma,
kicking his father into the backyard koi pond. A now awake panda
emerged from the water, very wet and very angry and beginning to
charge at Ranma. With yet another well placed kick, the panda
ended up back in the pond, this time unconscious.

"So now you know. If I get hit with cold water, I turn into a girl;
I need hot water to change back." Ranma looked at Akane who was now
more angry than anything else. "Sorry about this," he said, then
looked down.

"You pervert! you saw me in the nude!"

"Hey, I didn't walk in on you, you walked in on me! Anyway, it's
not like I was a guy when I saw you. I was a girl!"

"Oh, like that makes all the difference!"

"It does! In my cursed form I like boys!"

Ranma immediately clamped his hands to his mouth, wishing he could
take back those words. It seemed everyone else did, too, their eyes
wide open in shock.

"Y-you're not one of those..." began Soun, pointing at Ranma when
Ranma grabbbed the collar of Soun's gi.

"*NO!*" yelled an angry Ranma into Soun's face. "I'M NOT! When I'm
in my cursed form, I am a girl, just like Pop's a panda when he's in
his cursed form. Right now, I'm a guy, and I don't wanna hear
anything about guys. Got it? I prefer *girls*."

Soun let out a laugh at this revelation.

"Well, now, your problem's not so bad after all. These are my three
daughters," said Soun, pointing to each in turn, "my eldest daughter
Kasumi, she's 19. My middle daughter, Nabiki, she's 17, and my
youngest, Akane, she's 16, pick anyone you want, she'll be your new
fiancee."

"Hey, don't we get some say in this?" shouted Akane.

"I think Akane would be the best choice." Kasumi said with a
little insistence.

"Couldn't agree more," said Nabiki with a little smile.

"Marry that-that freak? You must be joking!" said Akane with a
little panic.

"Oh, like you're that hot a marriage prospect yourself!" Ranma came
back with. "At least when I'm a girl I don't hate boys. And I'm
better built, to boot." With a look of defiance, Ranma turned his
back on his unwilling better half. A mistake.

With a look of fury on her face, Akane picked up the table and
slammed it down on Ranma's head. ....8, 9, 10, knockout.

*****

Ranma began to awaken, finding himself under a blanket in a
bedroom, with Kasumi tending to him, and Nabiki sitting as an
interested onlooker.

"Ooohh, my head...."

"Just lie down, Ranma, you've taken quite a knock. You know,
Akane's really a sweet girl. She's just...high spirited."

"Oh, good, Kasumi, like that explains everything."

"And she calls *me* a freak. It ain't normal for a girl to be
like that; even I'm not when I'm a girl. Jeez, what kind of tomboy
is she?"

"Ranma, I don't think you should say that around Akane, she doesn't
take too kindly to it. You should be nicer to your fiancee."

"Fiancee?! I'm nobody's fiancee, okay? This is no time for 'em,
I've gotta go back to China and change back for good. Just knowing
I'm starting to judge guys' looks makes my skin crawl." Ranma
shuddered.

Against better judgement, Ranma got up and went downstairs, passing
Akane who was on the way up. Each gave a look to the other that
would have killed a lesser person. As Ranma entered the dining area,
he found his father in a gi talking to Soun Tendo, both regaling in
old stories and drinking sake.

"Fun's over, old man, I'm going back to China, with or without you.
Just give me the rest of our money and I'm gone."

"I'm afraid not, boy, we'll be staying for a while. We ran out
of money getting here, so I'll need to earn some more."

"You?! *I'M* the one who was earning the money, you jerk! All you
did was spend it on booze! Now you're saying there's nothing left?
Stupid old man!"

In a sudden rage and before Genma could react, Ranma punted his
father back into the pond, with an incredulous Soun Tendo looking on.

"Suck on that, old man," said Ranma, walking back inside.

*****

Akane sat in her room, fuming at what had happened earlier. She
felt humiliated and disgusted at what Ranma had said to her. If
he would dare show his face to her again tonight...even she had
never considered what she was planning to do to him.

She started at the sound of a knock on the door, so lost in her
thoughts she was. She wasn't expecting anyone....

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Akane fumed for a few seconds, then stopped herself before yelling.
Onna-Ranma, she realized. Akane hesitated, debating with herself
over what to do, and finally came to a decision.

"Enter," she said firmly, with a touch of anger in her voice.

The door opened slowly, a shorter, and meeker, red-headed girl
first looking in cautiously, then opening the door fully to walk
in.

The two looked at each other in silence, Akane sitting on her bed
with an intense look on her face, and Ranma standing, fidgeting
with her fingers, trying to look Akane in the eye.

"Akane, I...I'm sorry for what I said earlier," she began softly.
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, it's just when I'm a boy,
I'm very headstrong and selfish. I changed into a girl because I
knew it was the only way I could make myself apologize to you."
Ranma paused, a small smile growing on her face, "I also thought
you might not beat me up." Ranma then sat cross-legged on the
floor.

Akane looked down at the girl, mentally questioning what was going
on, whether Ranma was just making a fool of her, or if she was
truly sincere. Ranma began to speak again.

"Akane, it's been a long time since I settled down anywhere. I
haven't had much contact with people my own age, so I'm not very
good with my manners and behaviour. Even how I'm speaking to
you now is more a nature of the curse than any politeness or
guilt I really feel." She looked at Akane with pleading in her
eyes, and said "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'd like
to start again. We don't have to be fiancees, not if you don't
want to."

"Do you want to be someone's fiancee, Ranma?"

"Now's not really a good time to ask, Akane, you know I'm not
attracted to girls," she said with a laugh. "But we could play
along for now, keep our fathers happy, and get to know each
other. Tell you what, I'll promise to be as polite as I can
when I'm a boy, and you promise not to hit me if I sometimes
slip up. Deal?"

"You also promise not to insult me?" Akane asked, to which Ranma
nodded. Akane sat silently for a minute mulling it over.

"Deal. And you take back everything you said earlier?" Akane
asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not all of it," replied Ranma, a mischievous grin appearing on
her face, and continuing just as Akane started to get mad. "Not
the part about wanting to be friends." A once angry Akane now
wore a wide smile.

Ranma changed to a kneeling position, leaning on Akane's bed
with her elbow, and putting out her right pinkie finger.

"Friends?" she said with a smile.

"Friends." Akane's little finger linked with Ranma's.

======================================================================

E N D

Part 1

======================================================================

C&C welcome at:
shunsuke@mailcity.com
www.fortunecity.com/victorian/university/5/index.htm
www.fortunecity.com/victorian/university/5/a-fanfic.htm

Author's note:

This is yet another "Yet Another Alternate History" fic series,
this one base on the premise that anyone with the curse of
Jusenkyo actually *becomes* the creature or being they are in
their cursed forms.

What happened in part one:

Ranma and Genma arrived on the Tendo's doorstep in
their cursed forms: Genma, a big dumb panda that likes
to sleep, and Ranma, a sweet and shy teenage girl.
Eventually their curses are revealed, but not before
Akane accidentally saw Ranma naked in the bath.
(Enough review, now get on with it!)



"All rights to Ranma 1/2 and its characters belong to
Rumiko Takahashi. My use is intended solely for the
purpose of fan entertainment, and no profit is to be
derived from this story's posting to the Internet or
any other medium. If it becomes the case where this
story's existence violates copyright, the story is to
be deleted, destroyed, or removed from all sources
unless permission from RT is given."



======================================================================

Ranma 1/2 : Half and half

Part 2: "School is no place for perverts!"

======================================================================

It was a cool morning, but not so cold as to force Akane to wear
more than a shirt and shorts on her morning jog. She ran quickly
through the streets of the neighborhood, saying hello to everyone
out as early as she was. Soon enough she turned the corner toward
home, and entered the gate to the yard. She quickly turned back
and ran out when faced with what could only be loosely called a
sparring session.

"What's *your* problem, old man? Didn't sleep enough last night?
Nyaah!" Ranma leapt away from his father's attacks, jumping around
the tree the pool, the covered walkway to the dojo, all the while
evading Genma's attacks.

"Stay still, boy! I'll teach you some manners! You - hmph! - you
should respect your elders!"

"Why, you need me to take it easy on you, old man? Ha ha ha!"
Ranma dodged a sweeping kick from his father by jumping up, then
bouncing off his father's head to the other side of the pond.
Seeing an opportunity, Genma used a nearby pot to splash Ranma
as he landed, now unable to avoid the water.

"Aah!" she cried, "That's cold, father!"

"So! A true martial artist doesn't fear the elements, only his own
nature. Now to finish you!"

With that, Genma leapt to the attack, jumping right at a shivering
Ranma-chan who simply stood like a deer caught in the headlights.
Akane saw the attack coming and knew Ranma-chan wouldn't be able
to move in time, so she ran forward and sent Genma flying onto
the veranda. Ignoring the now fallen man, Akane tended to the
shaking girl.

"Ranma! Are you alright?"

Ranma still shivered and shook her head no as Akane led her back
into the house.

"Akane! Ranma and I are not finished. I won't let him cower out
of a training session like that."

"Mr. Saotome, let's just get Ranma changed and warm, then you can
continue, okay?" Akane knew Genma had no intention of waiting had
she not been there, nor was Ranma in any condition to fight right
now. Since it was getting on towards time for school, this seemed
to her like a good time to end the sparring session.

"Come in, everyone, breakfast," called Kasumi.

Everyone sat around the table for the first proper meal together
with both families. Kasumi sat with her father, their backs to the
kitchen, Nabiki to the left of them, Akane and a still wet Ranma-chan
opposite, and Genma alone to the right.

"So, Ranma, are you looking forward to your first day of school in
Nerima?"

"School, Kasumi?" said Ranma-chan, swallowing quickly. "Must I?"

"Of course, Ranma, it's not like you don't need it," added Akane.

"But I haven't gone in a while..." she said meekly, tailing off.

"All the more reason to go, Ranma dear" Kasumi smiled to her.
Ranma-chan looked back at Kasumi, and felt Akane gave her an
encourging hand on the elbow.

"Don't worry, Ranma, we'll be in the same class, so we can help
each other."

"Okay." Ranma said quietly, finally smiling and finishing off
her rice.

Soun sat with a smile on his face, happy to see the two got along
as fiancees; Nabiki sat quietly, considering the value of the
situation and whether she could make a profit; Genma just sat,
eating his breakfast with an intensity that almost broke the
bowl he held in his hand.

*****

"Aw, jeez, Akane, they're not gonna make me wear a uniform, are
they? It's bad enough I don't have a choice about going," whined
Ranma as they walked to the school, "I mean, what good is school
anyway? I'm a martial artist."

"Well, if you want to go to college, Ranma, you don't really have
a choice. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on just being
some man's housewife." The two walked alongside the canal, headed
toward the school with plenty of time to spare.

"Yeah, right, Akane, like anybody wo-"

<*SPLASH*>

"Oh no," Ranma-chan said quietly. "I'm doomed, I can't go to
school like this. Akane, you go on ahead, I'll go home and
change."

"Don't worry, Ranma, there's somewhere nearby we can get hot
water. Come on!" Akane began to run ahead, and Ranma-chan, not
wanting to be stranded or forced to walk to school, followed.

Soon enough they came to a clinic, the sign saying "Dr. Ono Tofu,
chiropractor and GP." Akane still led the way inside, nearly
dragging Ranma-chan along with her.

"Wait here, Ranma, I'll go get you some hot water," called Akane.
Ranma waited there just inside the door, hands folded together
and standing quietly as she looked around.

"Pardon me!" called a voice, and Ranma-chan turned to see who it
was. She screamed in horror at the sight of a skeleton waving
hello, her fear preventing her from noticing the man standing
behind the bones.

Ranma had jumped onto the door out of fear and near tears, which
the man quickly noticed.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss, I didn't mean to scare you, that was just
meant as joke," he said, helping her down from the door. "Hi,
I'm Dr. Tofu. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We-e-ll," said Ranma-chan, still shivering from the shock as
much as the cold water, "I'm just waiting for a friend to bring
some...hot...water." Ranma looked up at the smiling man who
was gently holding her hand; his warm face made her smile too.

Akane returned shortly with a kettle, ready to help Ranma get
back to normal.

"Here you go, Ranma, one pot of wa- oh, hello Dr. Tofu!" Akane
said, a slight blush crossing her face. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Akane, how are you, no new injuries, I hope?"

"N-no sir," she stammered, first looking at the ground, then
looking up into his face.

"So, what's the hot water for, Akane?"

"Ah - oh! Ranma, my new friend, has a bit of a problem..."

*****

The two left the clinic in a hurry after a brief explanation
and great surprise of the doctor. Ranma and Akane ran through
the streets towards the school, hoping they could make it in
time to beat the bell.

"So he's the family doctor, huh?" Ranma said.

"Yes, he always makes it better whenever I get hurt."

"You like him, huh?"

"Sure, he's a great doctor, Ranma?" Akane said.

"You know what I mean Akane, you're...'sweet' on him,"
Ranma grinned.

"Wh-what are you talking about??!"

"Come on, Akane, I saw the way you were looking at him. I don't
have much experience chasing girls, but even I can tell you've
got a thing for him."

"Oh really? You seemed to be drooling a bit yourself," she said
with a smirk, causing Ranma to nearly lose his balance. He
jumped down to the road, running beside her and his face bright
red.

"Hey! I was in my girl form!" Ranma was clearly flustered at
her comments, saying "I'm not a pervert, you know! There's no
*way* I like guys!"

"Well, neither do I!" she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

"HUH? What are you talking about, Akane?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Ranma..." she said with a grim face
as she outdistanced him.

Ranma looked on in surprise as Akane ran on ahead; as she neared
the gates of the school in front of him, a waiting throng of
teenage boys gathered inside the school grounds. As Akane
entered the yard, she waded into the group, throwing punches and
kicks in all directions, gradually one and two at a time putting
all the boys down for the count.

Ranma jumped to the top of the wall to watch the melee. He was
debating whether to jumped in and help his new friend, but she
was doing quite well without him. In watching the fight, Ranma
was surprised at how good she was, a natural, if a little slow.
He couldn't help but smile as he jumped down from the fence to
stand beside her.

"Hey, Akane, you're real popular with the guys, aren't you?"
smirked Ranma.

"Popular is not the word, Ranma. They all want to date me."

"Date you? They act more like a gang."

Before Akane could respond to Ranma, a voice arose, carried on
the wind from amongst a stand of trees; deep, older and in a
poetic manner, it spoke:

"None is so fortunate as I to witness the strength and beauty
of one such as thee, but to be the one true love of a lady so
fair as thee, Akane Tendo."

"Oh, no," Akane said quietly, her face falling into her hand.

"What's goin' on, Akane? Fight ain't over yet?"

From behind the trees a teenage boy appeared wearing a hakuma and
carrying a wooden sword. He strode out onto the path to where
Akane stood, a look of further dismay on her face.

"I can see by your expression that you welcome my presence, my love.
I, too, await the coming battle and the chance to shower you with
my affection once I defea-"

"Akane, who is this blowhard?" Ranma's interruption didnot go down
well with this new boy. The tip of the bokken was quickly pointing
toward Ranma in a threatening gesture and he spoke.

"Who are you to speak to the your betters in such a tone? Methinks
it would be prudent to teach you two lessons, one for your
disrespect toward me and one for your unwelcome advances toward
Akane Tendo."

"True love? Kuno, get a clue, I want nothing to do with you!"

"Stand aside, my dear, I shall quickly dispatch this cretin so that
we may be alone," Kuno said, pushing Akane behind himself as if to
protect her. "I am Tatewaki Kuno, the rising young star of the
fencing world, the bright light of the martial arts world. My
enemies tremble at the very mention of my name. I am known
throughout Japan as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

Clouds that were lighter that morning were now dark and
threatening; just as Kuno finished his speech, a lightning strike
came from the sky and struck down a few miles away in Nerima.

"Yeah, well I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything-Goes-School-Of -"

<*klunk*>

"I've had enough! Ranma, hurry or you'll be late for class!"
Akane shouted to him as she ran for the school doors. At first
Ranma just stood there, looking at Kuno's prone form with the
clear mark of a mallet on his head, but quickly followed Akane
as soon as he realized that rain was beginning to fall.

"Akane, you didn't have to interfere, you know, I could've taken
him," Ranma said as he caught her; he was grateful that at least
he hadn't felt more than a few drops of rain.

"I didn't do it for you, Ranma, I don't want to be late! The
teacher makes you spend the rest of the half day holding water
buckets, something *I* don't like doing, though I don't know
about you."

The two barely made it into class as the bell rang, receiving
a dirty look from the teacher, but they took their seats without
incident.

From Akane's seat she could see out the window to the front gate
and saw that Kuno had recovered or been helped up; whichever it
was, Akane hoped that it was the end of Kuno for that day.

*****

Even though he arrived in the classroom a full half hour late,
Tatewaki sat in his seat without a reprimand from his teacher.
Nabiki, who had seen the events of the morning's battle, wrote a
quick note and passed it to her classmate, her mind swirling
with possibilities.

"I see your technique needs a little work, Kuno-baby. Wasn't
quite your usual performance outside today."

"Undoubtedly someone working for that cowardly cur struck me from
behind; an honorable warrior such as I would have no need for
assassins or conspirators."

"Actually, Kuno-baby, it was Akane that hit you."

"Akane, you say? Then mayhaps in her exuberance and joy at seeing
me as her champion, her affections took the better of me."

"Whatever you say. Oh, as for Ranma, here's the scoop on him: His
Daddy and mine are old friends. They'll be staying at the dojo;
our fathers decided he's going to marry Akane."

Kuno's reply was not written this time; no amount of ink could
have expressed his dismay at hearing this.

"HE'S HER...FIANCEE?!?!! NO!!! NOT RANMA!" In his fury and
shock Tatewaki had stood and spoken his displeasure so loud that
the class simply stopped until the teacher spoke.

"Kuno! Go stand in the hall!" A piece of chalk flew and caught
Kuno squarely on the forehead, quickly garnering his attention.

"Yes, sir." Kuno said quietly.

*****

Akane was shaking her head, wondering what she had gotten herself
into, becoming friends with a baka like Ranma. It was not even
10:00AM on his first day and Ranma was already standing in the
hall holding buckets.

"What a dolt. Falling asleep in class," she fumed.

Out in the hall, Ranma stood quietly, holding the buckets in
different positions, trying to turn the punishment into a martial
arts training session; certainly, avoiding the cold water helped
his contentration.

Ranma stood on his head with both buckets balanced on the soles
of his feet, when from down the hall he saw the figure of Tatewaki
Kuno carrying buckets of his own. Always prepared for any threat,
Ranma was quickly upright and ready to face Kuno.

"Ranma Saotome, I curse the day you were born! How dare you think
you can be an interloper and come between me and my beloved Akane
Tendo! I cannot tolerate the thought of you being her fiance!"

Ranma wore a look of panic, trying to signal Kuno to shush himself,
but it was too late. The door to Ranma's class was open, students
looking out and yelling their surprise at this news.

Ranma could only imagine what was happening to Akane inside.

Kuno flung one of his pails at Ranma which was redirected back at
him; Kuno promptly cut it into halves as Ranma jumped overhead and
landed further down the hall.

"This is no place to fight, Kuno. If you want a fight, follow
me," said Ranma, now running down the school halls.

"That I shall," exclaimed Kuno with no hesitation in his voice.
As the two ran down the hall Ranma's fellow classmate followed,
including a flustered Akane being pestered by her friends.

Ranma soon came upon an open window and decided it was a good
enough place to get outside.

"Here's a nice shortcut," he said jumping through it into the air.

"I follow, Saotome," shouted Kuno as he jumped through, but his
tone changed to one of "AAAIIIGGGHHHH!!!" as he realized it was
the third floor he had jumped from. Thankfully for Kuno, the
school swimming pool was below.

Now it was Ranma's turn to be distressed, because he realized
there was cold water below him and no way to avoid it. Akane
reached the window where Ranma and Kuno had jumped from and knew
what was about to happen. Leaving her friends behind, still
battering her with questions, she ran downstairs to find hot
water. Outside, Ranma braced himself for the change, trying to
think of a way to get out of this situation without his secret
being revealed.

Ranma broke the surface of the water, followed by Kuno less than
a second later; Ranma-chan's gender change, however, caused her
to panic and her lead time quickly evaporated. As she swam to
the surface and to the edge, Ranma-chan was grabbed by Kuno who
had sought to prevent his opponent from getting away.

Kuno latched onto Ranma, expecting to battle the cur, Saotome.
He was shocked to find he had touched the breasts of a girl; the
girl, upon feeling Kuno's touch, stuggled and began flailing at
Kuno who now let go. In his surprise at these events, Kuno
merely swam to the surface to see the retreating form of a girl
exit the pool in tears. It was only when he could no longer
breathe did he realize he had stopped swimming and had sunk to
the bottom of the pool.

*****

Akane was carrying a kettle of hot water and searching the school
grounds for Ranma, hoping she hadn't run far. Akane soon found
her by following Ranma-chan's sobs emanating from a nearby tree.
Circling the tree, Akane found Ranma-chan sitting against the
trunk rubbing her eyes and sobbing heavily.

Akane put down the kettle and knelt beside her friend, putting a
hand on her shoulder. Ranma-chan looked up to see Akane and threw
her arms around the girl.

"What happened, Ranma? What did Kuno do to you?"

"H-he," Ranma choked as she tried to speak, "He touched me! He
molested me!" Ranma broke down again, burying her head in
Akane's chest."

"It's alright, Ranma, it's alright. I'll fix you up so we can
go back to class." Akane held the redhead as she contemplated
what to do. She soon made up her mind as she heard the voice
of an approaching person.

"Ah, my love, Akane! Have you seen that honorless cur, Ranma
Saotome? Cowards die so many times before their deaths."

Akane was fuming as she stood up from Ranma, looking at Kuno
with an intense anger on her face.

"Kuno, you baka! Is fighting and dating all you think about?
You hurt my friend, don't you care at all about anyone feelings
but your own?"

"Fear not, Akane, I care greatly about you or any fair maiden.
I would not stoop to such a cowardly act against anyone."

"You don't get it, do you, Kuno? You *hurt* her, you touched
her without permission. She didn't like it, I don't like it,
nobody likes it."

"Come, Akane, surely it must have been the doing of Saotome,
leaving me to think it was he in the pool and leading me to
an unfortunate incident."

"You just don't get it, do you Kuno?" Akane thought to herself.
She grabbed the kettle just as Ranma-chan had gotten hold of
herself and bashed Kuno over the head with it, spilling the water
all over the ground. Akane then used Kuno's bokken on him, in
the process leaving him in a such a state that not even one such
so inured to pain as he could withstand it.

A "bloody pulp" would be an accurate term to describe Kuno when
Akane had finished with him. Ranma-chan sat shaking upon seeing
the violence Akane had perpetrated, only coming out of it when
Akane touched Ranma-chan's elbow.

"C'mon, Ranma, let's go home."

Ranma was still in shock, but stood and walked with Akane who
helped her stay balanced.

*****

In the infirmary, Nabiki Tendo sat watching over her classmate
with a look of concern, surprised at the level of injury her
little sister had caused to him.

The damage that covered Tatewaki Kuno's body was so bad it might
have killed other men, but he seemed to be surviving; he
definitely would be going to the hospital, but not for that
long, which was good news for Nabiki's pocketbook.

"Kuno-baby, you have got to work on your technique. I've never
seen you lose this badly."

Thankfully for him, Kuno was out cold and feeling no pain. As
the ambulance attendants came in and took away Kuno, Nabiki sat
thinking about whether there was any profit in Ranma's
appearance. Just by first impressions, it didn't look likely,
and that was bad for business.

She needed to do something about this.


======================================================================

E N D

Part 2

======================================================================

C&C welcome at:
shunsuke@mailcity.com
www.fortunecity.com/victorian/university/5/index.htm
www.fortunecity.com/victorian/university/5/a-fanfic.htm


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Sunday, November 13, 2005

   Double Date KOR fanfic

by whats-her-name and not by me :)


Here it is in all it's glory... :-) :-) :-) (right..:-))
Kimagure Orange Road - Double Trouble Double Date!

[Writer's foreward: This story was inspired by an Anime Champions
Campaign that our group plays. Each of us plays an "anime
archetype", but we're not suppose to play actual "main
characters". This was intended to allow the GM to utilize the
various anime characters in a variety of settings. However, it
left me with an interesting dilemma; the character I chose to play
was Ayukawa Madoka from Kimagure Orage Road. At first, I just
renamed my character Usami Kyoko. However, I had watched the
anime and read the manga to get a better feel on how to play the
character. As a result, many of the players, for the sake of name
recognition, were still calling my character "Madoka of the
Northstar" (the fighting style I chose to emulate).
Therefore, I decided to come up with a reason my character
and Ayukawa were so similar. The requirements I had to fulfill
were to introduce my character to the KOR universe and not to
disrupt the continuity of KOR. The idea I came up with is the
idea in the story below: twin sisters.
Well, why not? If Komatsu-san can have a one-episode, never-
to-be-seen-again brother (the lecherous guy who tried to have his
way with Kurumi-chan in one TV episode), then why not Ayukawa.
Very little is actually known about her past, which is revealed
piece-by-piece during the TV series. Even less is known about her
family (except that they're "world-class musicians"). The premise
that I used is that they were separated at birth. The who's and
why's aren't known at this point, nor are they actually relevant
to this particular plot. That's for a future story.
Although I have written some short stories before, this is my
first attempt at an anime story, as well as my first attempt at a
"script format", so in the words of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman,
"Be gentle, it's my first time...". Comments, suggestions,
compliments and flames please mail to acombs@ccwf.utexas.edu].

[Open with Kyosuke in a spinning, disorienting background.]
Kyosuke: Ayukawa...!

[Coming from his left] Ayukawa: I don't like guys that jerk me
around! If you didn't want to go out with me, then just say so!

Kyosuke: No! It's not like that at all! I...

[Coming from his right] Hikaru: [with tears welling in her eyes]
...I can't believe Darling would do this to me...!

Kyosuke: It's not what it looks like! There's a simple
explaination for why this hap...!

[Coming from the opposite direction, but fading away fast]
Ayukawa: You are the most wishy-washy [indecisive] guy I've met.
And I hate guys who can't make up their minds!

Kyosuke: Ayukawa! [Reaches forward to stop her from leaving and
grabs...Jingaro.]

Jingaro: MEEOOW! [Understandably upset at being manhandled,
Jingaro leaves his trademark criss-cross scratches on Kyosuke's
nose.]

Kyosuke: [Sits up on his bed, rubs his bleeding nose and throws
Jingaro across the room.] Oww! Damn cat! [He sits back and
looks somewhat relieved.] Jeez, what a nightmare. Good thing it
was only a dream. [Pause for a few seconds, then he suddenly sits
up straight as his eyes widen.] Oh no! What if it was a
foresight dream?

[Cut to slow pan outside of Kasuga's house.]

Kyosuke Narration: Today was the day for the summer festival. I
was planning on going to the festival with Hikaru, since she asked
me first. But if that was a foresight dream...

[Cut to inside Kyosuke's room, where we see him fully dressed
except for his shoes, sitting on his bed, with a pensive look on
his face.]

[Picking up from narration] Kyosuke: [to himself in thought]
...then I must have run into Ayukawa at the festival. Knowing
myself, I probably tried to spend the day with her, and got
caught. [Lays back on his bed as he tries to decide what do]
Sigh...Just like always, my wishy-washy nature is going to get me
into trouble! [Sits up abruptly, with as determined a look on his
face as he can muster. He clenches right fist and smacks it into
his left palm.] Alright then! I'll make up my mind right now!
[pauses and winces as he shakes his right fist open] I'll go
with...

[Cut to outside street about a few blocks away from the school.
We see Usami walking on the sidewalk, parallel to the fence.
She pauses and looks at the school, but before she says anything,
Kyosuke comes running around the corner and sees her.]

Kyosuke: Pant...! Pant...! Thank goodness I caught you! I just
wanted to invite you to come with me to the festival!

[Writer's note: Remember, Usami looks and sounds like Ayukawa.]

Usami: Surely you've got plans to go with someone else? The
festival opens in about an hour.

Kyosuke: Sure...I mean no! I mean...not really! I mean not
anymore...!

Usami: [eyes narrow] Kasuga Kyosuke...?

Kyosuke: [leans forward in hopeful anticipation] Yes...?

Usami: [relaxes a bit] I was going with someone else but...

Kyosuke: [leans forward even more] Yes...?

Usami: Sure, I'll go with you!

Kyosuke: [Jumps up and down] Ya-tah!!

Usami: I'll have to tell my other party that I've changed my
mind. Meet me at the festival front gate in an hour.

Kyosuke: Sure. [Runs off happy as a clam]

[Cut to ABCB. Kyosuke is in the phone booth with a paper napkin
wrapped around the speaking mike.]
Kyosuke: ...and so I can't go today. I'm sure I'll feel better
tomorrow and we can do something then.

Hikaru's voice [from phone]: Poor darling! Are you sure you
don't want me to come over?

Kyosuke: [Almost panics and drops phone] No! I mean...it wouldn't
do any good if you caught my cough too. Then we couldn't go
anywhere for at least a few days!

Hikaru's voice: Oh, of course! Darling is so smart! Then I'll
go to the festival and catch a fish for Darling! Bye-bye!

Kyosuke: No wait!

Hikaru's voice:

Kyosuke: Shoot! Now I've got to watch out for her too!

Ayukawa: Watch out for who?

[Turns around and see Ayukawa, apparently working the early
weekend shift, is standing outside the phone booth. Kyosuke
almost panics again and jumps to the back of the phone booth.]

Ayukawa: What was all that about? Who were you talking to?

Kyosuke [Noticably relieved that Ayukawa didn't guess the other
person on the line and puts hand behind his head and laughs.]
Nothing.

Ayukawa: Say, you want to go to the festival with me? My other
party just called and cancelled out and I've got an extra ticket.

Kyosuke: [Somewhat surprised, but puts it behind him] Uhhh...sure.
So it was OK with them?

Ayukawa: Who?

Kyosuke: The other party?

Ayukawa: Oh sure. She just called and told me that she was going
with someone else instead.

Kyosuke: Who?

Ayukawa: Oh, just a family friend. [Starts pulling off her
apron] I need to go home to change. Meet me at the front gate in
half-an-hour.

Kyosuke: Right. [Runs off happy as a clam again]

[Writer's note: That's right, it took Kyosuke half-an-hour to
walk to ABCB and make that phone call.]

[Cut to the festival front ticket gate. There's a lot of activity
as people line up for tickets. Kyosuke is sitting on a bench
looking periodically at his watch. He looks up and almost panics
as he sees...]

Kyosuke: Hikaru-chan! [He desperately scrambles under the bench
and looks again to see if she saw him. Much to his dismay, he
sees Yusaku with her.]

Yusaku: It's so crowded! Couldn't we have come tomorrow? There
would have been less people!

Hikaru: Quiet! I wouldn't even ask you if poor Darling [with
usual doleful look in her eyes :-)] didn't get sick so not another
word!

Yusaku: [Almost but not quite to himself] Do I have to listen to
thi-?

[Cut to Yusaku's face imbedded on the bench where Kyosuke is
hiding, almost making him give himself away. Hikaru is striking a
pose with her fist extended towards Yusaku's general direction.]

Hikaru: That's a word.

Yusaku: Uuhh...hai.

[Cut to Usami waiting by the ticket booth. She seems to be
scanning the crowd, looking for Kyosuke. Recognition hits her
face as she sees him muttering to himself, coming towards her
general direction.]

Usami: There you are, Kyosuke.

Kyosuke: Yup. Are you ready?

Usami: Sure. You got tickets?

Kyosuke: Tickets? I thought you already got tickets?

Usami: No. You must be thinking of someone else.

[Writer's note: Naturally, someone who's thinking clearly would
begin to suspect something was wrong at this point. But we are
talking about Kasuga Kyosuke. :-)]

Kyosuke: No problem then. I'll get the tickets.

Usami: I'll wait over by the gate.

[Kyosuke gets in line and buys two tickets. He turns around and
starts towards to the gate, but bumps into Ayukawa almost
immediately.]

Kyosuke: Hey, I thought you were going to wait by the gate.

[Writer's note: By cruel twist of fate, as in so many KOR
episodes, both girls are wearing exactly the same outfit. :-)]

Ayukawa: I didn't say that. [Hands him a ticket] Here's your
ticket.

Kyosuke: Wait a minute. I just bought two tickets!

Ayukawa: Baka! I told you I already had two tickets!

Kyosuke: But you just said...

Ayukawa: [Cutting him off] Never mind. I'll meet you inside.
Try to scalp those so you don't waste your money.

[Ayukawa leaves to enter the park, leaving Kyosuke standing there
holding three tickets with his usual look of disbelief on his
face. Aimlessly, he starts wandering towards the gate, thinking
how to get rid of the extra tickets, when suddenly, Usami steps
forward and snatches one.]

Usami: Thanks! What took so long?

Kyosuke: Eh? I thought you already had a ticket?

Usami: Baka! I just told you that I didn't!

Kyosuke: But you just said...

Usami: [Cutting him off] Never mind. Let's go inside. [She
drags Kyosuke inside, while Kyosuke is trying to ponder this one.]

[Cut to inside the park. Kyosuke and Usami are admiring the
myriad sights, sounds and smells typical of a summer festival
carnival. All around them are people on rides, participating in
games of skill and chance, and sampling a variety of foods.]

Kyosuke: The festival's a lot bigger this year.

Usami: Sure is. Meet me at the first ride over there [points at
the Rotating Cup ride]. I'm going to get a souvenir map. After
all, I've never been to festival like this before.

Kyosuke: Wait a minute. What about last ye...[Cuts himself off
when he realizes that she's already out of earshot.] Oh well [to
himself]. I guess she means that the fair's a lot bigger this
year.

[He turns around and starts towards the Rotating Cup ride and
suddenly runs into Ayukawa.]

Kyosuke: Ayukawa. [Sees that she has a souvenir map] Back so
soon?

Ayukawa: What are you talking about? Why did you take so long to
get through the gate? [Shrugs] Oh well, don't worry about it.
Where do you want to go first?

Kyosuke: I thought you wanted to go to the Rotating Cup ride.

Ayukawa: That's fine. Let's go.

[Writer's note: My interpretation of a "Rotating Cup ride" is as
follows: A main circular, spinning platform, with four, smaller
circular platforms, each holding four "cups". The "cups"
themselves also spin. In short, a hi-speed, dizzying and
disorienting ride]

Kyosuke: AAAAAYYYHHHHHHH!!!!

Ayukawa: YYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Kasuga-kun, you're not taking it so
well!

[Ride stops and Kyosuke staggers off. Ayukawa doesn't seem to
have that much problem.]

Kyosuke: I...think I'm gonna be sick...!

Ayukawa: Just sit down on that bench [Points to where the
Rotating Cup ride line starts]. I'll go get a glass of water.
[Leaves]

Kyosuke: Sure... [Sits down and regains his breath. Thinks to
himself...] I hate rides like that. But at least I don't have to
go ag... [Jaw drops as he see Usami standing in line to the ride
again. He walks up and asks her...] What's going on? What are you
doing here?

Usami: [looks at him with a funny look] I said to meet me here!
You're just in time!

Kyosuke: B-b-ut... [Kyosuke is helplessly dragged on the ride
again.] AAAAAYYYHHHHHHH!!!!

Usami: YYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Kyosuke, you're not taking it so well!

[Ride stops again and this time, Kyosuke falls out of the cup.
Ayukawa still doesn't seem to have any much problems.]

Kyosuke: This time...I am gonna be sick...!

Usami: Just sit down on that bench [Points to the snack bar].
I'll go get a couple drinks. [Leaves]

[Usami walks to the snack bar and gets in line. Kyosuke has his
head down on the table with his arms around his face, as he tries
to regain his balance. He is interrupted by Ayukawa, who taps him
on his shoulder and hands him a cup of water.]

Ayukawa: You're really not taking it well, are you Kasuga-kun? I
couldn't find you by the bench, then I saw you here.

Kyosuke: Ayukawa...?

Ayukawa: When you're ready, join me over by that booth. I'm
going to try to catch some fish!

Kyosuke: Uh...hai [He quaffs the water and puts his head back in
his arms again. He is interrupted again by another tap on the
shoulder. He looks up and sees Usami offering him a soda.]

Usami: Here, drink this.

Kyosuke: Ehh? Back so soon? [Usami looks at him with a
inquisitive look that says, "Still don't know what you're talking
about".] I thought you wanted to go catch some goldfish.

Usami: [Perks up a little.] Good idea! Let's go! [Kyosuke
stands up and starts towards the fish-catching booth with Usami,
then suddenly freezes.]

Kyosuke: Oh shoot! Hikaru-chan!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

[Kyosuke grabs Usami's hand and runs around the corner. He
flattens against the booth and peeks around the corner. Usami,
now thoroughly confused, is next to Kyosuke.]

Usami: Who are we hiding from?

Kyosuke: Ssshhh! [To himself] Oh please don't let her see me!

[Cut to goldfish booth. We see Hikaru and Yusaku standing in
line. Hikaru is fast-walking towards the snack-bar Kyosuke was
sitting at, with Yusaku running behind her.]

Yusaku: Where are you going? The booth is over here!

Hikaru: I'm sure I saw Darling over here! [Pauses and
reconsiders] At least I thought I did...

Yusaku: HE'S SICK AT HOME!

Hikaru: BUT I KNOW I SAW HIM!

[Scene freeze. Yusaku and Hikaru suddenly look around and realize
that they are making a scene. Hikaru's and Yusaku's noses go
red.]

Hikaru: I guess...maybe I was just seeing things...

[As Hikaru and Yusaku are leaving the Goldfish booth, Ayukawa is
stepping forward in line and starts fishing.]
[Meanwhile, behind the booth where Kyosuke and Usami are
hiding...]

Kyosuke: Whew! Looks like she's leaving.

Usami: Oh shoot! You dragged me away so fast I left my stuff at
the snack bar.

Kyosuke: Well, let's go back and find it.

Usami: No, it's OK. I'll find it. Go ahead and get in line at
the goldfish booth.

Kyosuke: OK.

[Kyosuke goes towards the goldfish booth and gets in line. He
looks in the front of the line and, much to his surprise, he sees
Ayukawa. He notices that she's already caught a fish and is
working on her second.]

Kyosuke: Wow! How'd you get here so fast?

Ayukawa: Eh? Kasuga-kun. I've been waiting for you here for
quite a while. [Hands the bagged fish to Kyosuke.] Let's go ride
the ferris wheel.

Kyosuke: Uh...sure. [Both leave; just as Usami is coming around
the corner with her stuff from the snack bar.]

Usami: [Looking around. Kyosuke is no where to be seen.]
Where'd he go?

[Cut to the ferris wheel. We see Kyosuke and Ayukawa on one of
the buckets of the ferris wheel. As the wheel loads, it stops
periodically and leaves them waiting near the top of the wheel.
The view is breathtaking and, being on a gentler ride, Kyosuke has
put the earlier confusion behind him. He's sitting on the top of
the ferris wheel with his girlfriend; the classic scene of a young
couple in love. Then he ruins it when he sees who's sitting in
the bucket in front of him...:-)]

Kyosuke: [Ducks down inside the bucket in near panic.] Oh shoot!
Hikaru-chan!

[Writer's note: Note that the bucket with Hikaru is in front of
Kyosuke while they're on the top of the wheel, so he's safe
temporarily. However, a little visualization will inform the
viewer that, when the wheel rotates to the bottom half of the
turn, the relative positions will be reversed.]

[Kyosuke reaches up and grabs Ayukawa and pulls her down so
Hikaru-chan won't see her and put two and two together.
Unfortunately, from the angle he's pulling from, the only handhold
on her outfit is her neckline. :-)]

Ayukawa: ...

Kyosuke: [Looks at Ayukawa and sees where his hands and fingers
are reaching. His nose goes red and he withdraws his hand.]
S-sorry...

[Ferris wheel comes to a stop to load the last bucket. Kyosuke's
bucket is accessable to the ground, thanks to the extended loading
ramp; a convenience Ayukawa quickly takes advantage of by jumping
off and storming down the exit ramp.]

Kyosuke: Ayukawa! [Almost jumps off with her, when he suddenly
remembers who's in the bucket that's now right behind him.]

Hikaru: Heey! That was Darling! [Jumps off the bucket, leaving
Yusaku flailing helplessly at empty air trying to stop her. She
walks toward Kyosuke's bucket, a fact he's frightfully aware of.]

Kyosuke: Oh shoot! Gotta use my power! [Concentrates and
teleports away just before Hikaru can see inside the bucket.]

Hikaru: Ehh? Empty? [Look of disappointment on her face as she
scratches her head.] I'm sure I saw him. I even heard him!

Yusaku: DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS AG-!

[Cut to Yusaku imbedded in the back of the ferris wheel bucket.
Hikaru is again striking a pose with her fist.]

Hikaru: I know what I saw and I'm gonna find him! [Storms off
the ferris wheel exit ramp, leaving the attendant with a look of
disbelief. Yusaku's face is visible as a typical battered anime
face.]

Yusaku: H-hi-ka-ru-chan...[Another tooth falls out as he says it,
just for effect...:-)]

[Cut to empty wall behind a booth. With appropriate sound
effects, we see Kyosuke appear out of nowhere. He looks left and
right and shows relief that no one saw him. He looks forward
and...]

Kyosuke: [to himself] Now I've got to find Ayukawa and straighten
this whole thing out. If this keeps up, my foresight dream might
very well come tr...AAYYHH! [Looks to the left and suddenly sees
Usami standing in front of him, holding two goldfish in a bag.
Her arms are crossed and she doesn't look pleased. His eyes
squeeze shut, his head ducks down and his arms fly up to protect
his face from the anticipated, dreaded, "triple-take slap". When
it doesn't come, he tentatively opens one eye and observes
Usami's response. The angry look is replaced by a look of
confusion.] A-ayu...?

Usami: [face goes back to angry] Where were you? I waited by
the goldfish booth for half-an-hour and you weren't anywhere to be
found!

Kyosuke: What do you mean? We were on the fer- [Cuts himself
off, as he decides that he would rather not mention what came
next.] [Eyes downcast] Sorry about that.

[Writer's note: He's referring to grabbing her chest.]

Usami: [face softens] That's alright, forget it. Let's go.

[Writer's note: She's referring to standing her up at the
goldfish booth.]

Kyosuke: [surprise that he's being let off so easily] Uh...sure.
Where to?

Usami: [smiles wickedly and points. He's not getting off *that*
easy.] There...

[Writer's note: Picture the largest, tallest, wooden roller-
coaster you've ever seen. You know the one with the twin-loop
corkscrew that can be seen from five or more miles down the
road...:-)]

Kyosuke: [Head slowly tilts up] Aaaahhhhh...

[Cut to concession stand near the middle of the festival. Ayukawa
is sitting alone at a table with a drink in front of her. She
looks depressed; this was not how she envisioned the day turning
out. She takes another sip and suddenly hears a familiar voice...]

Hikaru: Madoka-san!

Ayukawa: [Turns around] Hikaru!

Hikaru: Ha! Thought that was you! Have you seen Darling?

Ayukawa: [Face darkens] Well...yes.

Hikaru: Ya-tah, I knew it! [Face suddenly turns serious.] But
he told me he was sick...

Ayukawa: [Realization gradually creeps on her face, as she puts
two-and-two together.] I see...

Hikaru: I gotta find him! [Just then, Yusaku comes staggering
in...] See? Madoka-san said she saw him too!

Yusaku: [Face turns angry] Then don't you see? He was lying
about being sick! He doesn't really want you!

Hikaru: But...[Face turning sad]

Yusaku: Can you think of any other reason he would have told you
he was sick?

Hikaru: [Tears welling in her eyes] Well...

Ayukawa: [To Hikaru] Don't jump to conclusions yet! Let's find
him and hear what he has to say!

Hikaru: [Tearfully] Hai...

[Cut to the Tsunami Roller Coaster. Kyosuke is sweating as the
restraints are being latched down and the seat belts are buckled.
His eyes pop open with fear as the attendant's voice cries, "Stand
Clear!". The train coasts down a gentle slope and starts up that
big, first hill. The "rat-tat-tat" of the chain does nothing to
calm Kyosuke down.]

Kyosuke: Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Usami: Nonsense! Don't be such a wimp!

[At the top of the hill, the first *steep* drop is now visible.]

Kyosuke: AAAAYYYYYYHHHHHH!!!!

[Cut to the game booths. Hikaru and Yusaku are standing in front
of the "Knock the Bottles off with the Ball" game as they look for
Kyosuke. It is apparent that Ayukawa has split off and is looking
in another direction.]

Hikaru: I don't see him anywhere!

Yusaku: [To Hikaru with a determined look on his face.] Then we
must keep looking for him!

Hikaru: [Pleasantly surprised by Yusaku's determination.] Hai!

Yusaku: [To himself, with an even more determined look on his
face.] ...And when we do...[Slams his right fist into his left palm.]

[Cut to just outside the Tsaunami Roller Coaster. Ayukawa is
standing by a snack vendor across the sidewalk where riders queue
up to ride the roller-coaster. She looks less than pleased that
her day has gone to hell...]

Ayukawa: [To herself in thought.] Now I have to look for that
jerk! Where could he have gone...eh? [Looks up and thinks she hears
his voice. After all, right now he screaming louder than anyone
else...:-)]

[Cut to the Tsaunami Roller Coaster. The ride is finishing up
with it's finale double-loop corkscrew. As the air brakes kick
in, Kyosuke's face is a shade slightly off-color. Usami looks
happy; having gotten some small form of payback. As she walks,
and he stumbles down the exit ramp, she reaches into her pocket
and pulls out a large bag of peanuts. She hands them to Kyosuke.]

Usami: Here, eat these. You'll feel better. I'm going to the
washroom, so I'll be right back.

[Kyosuke sits down by the entrance line and swallows the peanuts.
Just as he gulps the last one down, he looks up and see Ayukawa,
with a *very* angry look on her face.]

Kyosuke: A-ayukawa...?

Ayukawa: I don't like guys that jerk me around! If you didn't
want to go out with me, then just say so!

Kyosuke: No! It's not like that at all! I...[Freezes when he
remembers where *that* line came from. He recovers to see Ayukawa
standing in line for the Tsunami Roller Coaster. He scampers back
in line, his fear of losing her momentarily overcoming his fear of
exciting rides.] I want to be with you!

Ayukawa: What's going on with Hikaru? Why did you tell her that
you were sick?

Kyosuke: [to himself] Because I'm gonna be after riding this
thing again...

[Cut to outside the Tsunami Roller Coaster. Usami is just
coming out of the washroom and sees that Kyosuke is no where in
sight...again.]

Usami: Damn him! Well, I'm not gonna waste any more of my time
waiting for him. [Gets back in line for the Tsunami Roller
Coaster.] If he's not back when I get off, then to hell with him!

[Cut to entrance ramp of Tsunami Roller Coaster. Kyosuke is
sweating with fear again, and this time, his stomach is churning
with the peanuts he just ate. Ayukawa is silent; she has very
little to say to Kyosuke at this time. Meanwhile, Usami is also
getting on one of the front cars. She too has very little to say.
As the train rolls out of the gate again, Kyosuke is again starting to have second thoughts...]

Kyosuke: [Almost to himself] Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

Ayukawa: Well, if you're gonna be such a wimp, you shouldn't have
come!

Kyosuke: [As the first drop comes to view again...]
AAAAYYYYYYHHHHHH!!!!

[As Kyosuke's voice again dominates the noise of the train,
Usami takes notice. She turns around and sees him sitting in the
seat five cars behind her. However, because of the train's
movement, passenger restraints, and a few conveniently tall
passengers, she can't see who he with...]

Usami: Son-of-a...! What's he doing here? [She knows by now that's
it's highly unlikely he would be here on his own accord.] Damn!
I can't see who he's with! [Turns back around and faces forward
with a determined, angry look on her face.] But I'm gonna find
out!

[Cut to the roller-coaster station. The train has just pulled
into the station and the passengers are getting off. Kyosuke runs
off the ramp in haste. His stomach is telling him that he's got
to go somewhere fast. Ayukawa follows him off; curiosity, coupled
with genuine concern motivating her. Meanwhile, because of this
rapid departure, Usami is unable to see who Kyosuke was with on
the train.]

Ayukawa: Wait up! Where are you going so fast?

[Kyosuke runs down the ramp and towards the washroom.
Unfortunately, someone(s) see him first...]

Kyosuke: ...!

Yusaku: There you are! Even when you're not around, you ruin the
whole day! [Cracks his knuckles] Have you anything to say about
lying to Hikaru-chan!

Kyosuke: [To Hikaru] Wait just a minute! I wanted to go with
you...

[Just then Ayukawa comes into view from the exit ramp, weakening
his case immensely...:-) Hikaru's lips is trembling, her eyes are
welling with tears and her fists are just below her eyes]

Hikaru: ...I can't believe Darling would do this to me...!

Kyosuke: It's not what it looks like! There's a simple
explaination for why this hap...!

[Just then, the strain of the rides, the peanuts, the day's events
and Kyosuke's natural nervousness come slamming together. He
pitches forward and empties half-digested peanuts on the pavement.
Hikaru stops crying, and Ayukawa's previously angry face softens.
Even Yusaku unclenches his fist; after all, you can get only so
mad at a guy pitching his lunch on the pavement...]

Hikaru: He...he really is sick...

Yusaku: I guess so. [Face goes back to angry] But then why did
he come?

Kyosuke: [Coughs out the last of the peanuts] Like I said, I
wanted to be with you. I later thought that I didn't feel so bad,
so I tried to...

Hikaru: [Back to usual beaming self] You did want to see me!
Even though you weren't feeling so good, you came anyway! [Turns
to face Yusaku] There! See?

[Writer's note: Naturally, Ayukawa could contradict this somewhat
biased interpretation of the day's events, but chooses not to. As
she has done before, it's more for Hikaru's sake than Kyosuke's.]

Yusaku: [Still not satisfied] Then where were you? If you
wanted to see her, why did you spend all day with Madoka-san?

Ayukawa: [Shakes head] He has not! He's been gone half the time
we've been here. I thought he was with you.

Hikaru: [Shakes head] No. [Turns to face Kyosuke, and with
usual sweet, pleading voice...] You were just with Madoka-san,
because you thought she was going with me, weren't you?

Yusaku: Then if you weren't with Madoka-san, then WHO HAVE YOU
BEEN WITH ALL THIS TIME?

[Right on cue, Usami is storming around the corner. She is
walking into the scene with Kyosuke facing her, but the others
with their backs turned. Seeing him first, she storms up to him
and says...]

Usami: You are the most wishy-washy guy I've met. And I hate
guys who can't make up their min...!

[She turns around to see who he's been talking to and...scene
freeze. Hikaru's and Yusuka's jaws are slack. Kyosuke looks
white as a sheet. He is stammering meaningless sounds and
pointing back and forth]

Ayukawa: ...

Usami: Madoka-san...

Ayukawa: Kyoko-san...

Both in unison: What are you doing here?!?

[Kyosuke faints]

COMMERCIAL BREAK

[Cut to ABCB. It's late evening and the sounds of conversation
are coming from inside.]
[Cut to inside as we see the entire group looking in silent
disbelief. Ayukawa and Usami are both behind the server's booth,
now wearing different outfits. Both are smiling, since the secret
is now out. The silence is cut by...]

Hikaru: Ehh? Twins?

Usami: That's right. We were separated at birth, but Ayukawa's
parents are my blood parents.

Kyosuke: But why didn't you tell us this sooner?

Ayukawa: I didn't find out myself until a few weeks ago, when I
got a letter and a photo from Kyoko-san. She said that she would
like to visit and talk. I wrote back and suggested that we go to
the festival together.

Usami: But then, I ran into Kyosuke on my way to her house.
After I realized who he was, I decided to try to get to know him,
so I could find out a little about Madoka-san from someone who
knew her better.

Ayukawa: So she called me and asked to postpone our meeting until
later this evening. She must have called just before you [to
Kyosuke] were coming into ABCB. I guess we had a breakdown in
communication.

Kyosuke: [to Usami] But how did you know who I was if you never
met me before?

Usami: [smiles broadly]: Easy. Ayukawa told me a little about
you and sent me a photo. When I first saw you, it became apparent
right after you opened your mouth.

Kyosuke: [stews silently]...

Hikaru: [Hugs Kyosuke vigorously, much to his embarrassment.] No
wonder poor Darling was so confused! I knew I should have trusted
you and not listened to Yusaku!

[Cut to outside patio of ABCB. It's about a couple hours later.
Kyosuke is sitting outside, apparently waiting for Ayukawa to
finish closing. He take a deep breath in relief that the day is
over and that all is resolved.]

Kyosuke: [to himself] Well, even though the day wasn't exactly
how I planned, I did make my decision to go with Ayukawa. To be
fair [since he didn't know Usami Kyoko at the time], I did pretty
well. [Eyes light up with a determined look on his face.] From
now on, I'll be able to make my own decisions!

Usami: Say, Kyosuke.

Kyosuke: Eh? [Looks and sees Usami is right in front of him.
Ayukawa is right behind her, locking the front door and coming down the steps.]

Usami: We just wanted to asked you a question about today.
[Looks at Ayukawa, who nods and smiles. To the viewer, it is
apparent that both have worked this question out in advance.]

Ayukawa: Kasuga-kun, if you had to make a choice...

[Both lean forward into Kyosuke's face and...] Both in unison:
...Who did you like being with better?

Kyosuke: AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

[Slowly pull back from the frozen scene. In the black background,
the viewer sees a photo of another event that summer with Kyosuke,
Ayukawa and Usami (girls wearing different outfits).]

Kyosuke Narration: Usami returned to Tokushima at the end of the
summer, promising to write and keep in touch. It was a summer
I'll never forget--the summer that I got to spend with two
Ayukawas. But, even though I couldn't tell the difference the
first time we met, I think that I have begun to realize the subtle
cues that I pick up from both girls. If I had to make the choice
again, I would have chosen...uhmmm]

END CREDITS

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