[Ranma][Fanfic] Destiny's Wish, Part Thirty-Two

[Mike Koos]

"Ranma!"
The cursed girl blinked, forcing her thoughts back to the
present and discovering that she had chosen to prop herself against a
desk for her mid-day daydream break. It had been a really nice
daydream, too. Something about Ayumi actually getting up off his
tail end and doing some actual work for once... with a little
'persuasion' on her part. But that would *never* happen, not even
after they were married - *if* they were married, Ranma corrected her
mental slip - Ayumi would just leave *her* to do all the work...
She was tempted to dart her mop at his head, then thought better
of it. Why waste a perfectly good mop against a head as dense as
steel?
For his part Ayumi was sitting off in a far corner of their
classroom, playing some kind of card game with those two friends of
his while she, along with Yuka and Sayuri, were making sure the room
was relatively clean. Here, they had volunteered their entire lunch
period to work and the three morons only wanted to sit there,
watching them do all the work?
She could only hope they were playing poker... if one of the
teachers happened to walk in and see them playing poker, oh, they'd
really be in for it!
Ranma stared at Ayumi's back for a handful of seconds. Oh, well
- she could always yell at him later. At least Sayuri had stopped
Hiroshi from making idiotic comments about their work with a
well-placed withering glare. Ranma didn't doubt that as annoyed as
she currently felt, she might have punched someone instead. Namely,
Ayumi.
Yuka was still calling her name from across the room; she
figured a distraction might be welcome after all the work she and the
two sisters had put into cleaning.

Destiny's Wish
Part Thirty-Two: What a Tragedy
written by Mike Koos
-------------------------------

"These two want to talk to you," Yuka said, gesturing toward a
pair of costumed boys with a glance. Ranma studied them. They were
part of the Drama Club, both more than likely from one of the higher
classes - since nearly all of the Drama Club's few members were
seniors.
A minute later, Sayuri paused in her argument with Hiroshi to
look at another argument taking shape on Ranma's side of the room.
"I don't want to be in any play, and that's final!" Ranma
smiled, gritting her teeth.
The boy dressed in a Kabuki costume dropped to his knees
alongside the boy in the Godzilla costume as Ranma pretended to go
back to mopping a section of the floor she'd already covered.
"Please, Saotome Ranma, we need your help!"
"No one has volunteered to be in our play, and we're running out
of time!"
Whether that was true or not, Ranma didn't care. That the two
seniors were down to begging first-year students for help was a clear
sign of their desperation. "The answer's still no!" she replied.
"Why don't you try out for the play, Ranma?" asked Yuka. Ranma
hesitated.
"Yeah!" Sayuri agreed. "You might make a great actor!"
Neither sister could figure out why Ranma was so reluctant to
join any club or try out for an activity, such as this play.
Certainly, it wasn't just her curse - if that had anything to do with
Ranma's refusal to begin with. No, there were other concerns on
Ranma's mind than her curse. For Ranma to keep to herself all this
time...
Ranma *did* want to keep from calling attention to herself to a
degree, but that couldn't be her only reason, either.
She struck the palm of her left hand with her fist. "I've got a
better idea," Ranma said abruptly, a vindictive smirk taking shape
from her lips. Before Yuka or Sayuri could wonder what kind of weird
idea Ranma had invented, she was already striding over to Ayumi's
corner of the room. "Oh, *Ayumi-kun*..."
Nearly everyone understood from Ranma's sing-song tone of voice
that Ayumi was about to find himself in over his head.
Everyone except Ayumi. "What?" Irritated, he set his cards
face-down on his desk. If the tomboy was coming over to gripe at him
again...
Ranma indicated Ayumi with a sweep of her hand. "He'll be happy
to try out!"
Ayumi glanced at her, then the two Drama Club representatives.
"What!? Try out for what?"
The girl's smile unnerved him. "Their play, of course! You've
always said you wanted to be an actor! This is your big chance!"
"I never said that!" Ayumi narrowed his eyes. What in the
world was Ranma up to?
"I've never heard anything spoken with such passion, such--"
"*Hey*!"
The representatives shrugged, having no idea how to proceed.
Oh, well; word had it around school that Ranma was one of the few
people at Fuurinkan High to avoid annoying at all costs.
They turned their attention to Ayumi. "Tendo Ayumi, from all
we've heard about you, you would be perfect for our play!" And Ranma
as well, though she was proving to be impossible to convince.
Ayumi turned a suspicious stare on the pair. "What have you
heard about me?"
He would never find out. Ranma continued her pitch, resting a
hand against Ayumi's shoulder. "Don't be so modest, Ayumi-kun!" she
gave him a smile so large it had to be fake. "See? Everyone's heard
about your skills as an actor."
Oh, so she was trying to get whomever these two weirdos were to
pester him instead of her, then. Ranma was undoubtedly still miffed
that he'd decided to stick around and not do any of the work that she
was sending the geek squad to aggravate him. "*Ranma*..."
Her friends were watching the scene with interest. Ranma at
least had *some* experience in acting, the way she was shamelessly
hoping to shift the focus onto Ayumi. "You *sure* you don't want to
audition, Ranma?" Yuka called to her.
"We *would* be grateful if you auditioned for the cast," the boy
wearing the Kabuki costume remarked.
Ranma let out a soft, annoyed sigh, then rounded on him. "Don't
tell me. You need someone to play the role of a really butch, tough
girl or something like that, right? Forget it. I don't need the
embarrassment."
Or the added reputation of being more of a 'tough girl,' which
she wasn't sure she needed. She'd always wondered what it would be
like to be 'normal.' Not cursed to transform into a boy. Not having
to worry about fighting, training or challenges. Most of all, not
having to worry about prearranged marriages. Neither Sayuri nor Yuka
had to directly concern themselves with that sort of thing, did they?
They liked to believe her life was so exciting... that she was so
lucky to have Ayumi watching out for her...
"You're just afraid everyone'll find out what a lousy actor you
are," Ayumi interjected, seeing a chance to turn the tables.
Yes... Ayumi was definitely one part of this life she could live
without.
She began swinging her mop about her in wide arcs, trying to hit
Ayumi as the boy sprang away from his desktop. Yuka and Sayuri,
thankfully, had the good sense to drag Hiroshi and Daisuke away from
the battleground.
There was a temporary lull in the chaos when the head of Ranma'
mop caught Ayumi full in the face, sending droplets of water flying
everywhere. Ranma backed away a few steps to avoid the water.
"Stupid tomboy...," growled Ayumi. "I'll get you for that."
"I'm not done yet," she returned. The chase resumed.
"Won't you reconsider auditioning, Saotome Ranma?"
"I said, NO!" The cursed girl tried to bring her mop down on
Ayumi, which only led to Ayumi pulling his mouth wide to stick his
tongue out at her.
The Drama Club representatives shrugged to themselves.
"I guess we have no choice, then."
"Yes. But we still might have a chance of convincing Tendo
Ayumi to play a part."
His Kabuki costume-clad partner nodded. "Tendo Ayumi," he
raised his voice, "we think you would definitely be perfect for the
lead role of Romeo in our play!"
Ranma abruptly froze in her tracks. Her eyes nervously went
wide. "R-Romeo...?" she whispered to herself. Could it be?
With hope rising in her features, she turned to look at the
representatives. "You're... you're not doing 'Romeo and Juliet,' are
you?" she nearly stammered.
The pair was unsure how to respond. "......Yes."
Ranma's eyes widened even larger with hopefulness. "Is there
anyone playing Juliet?"
Kabuki blinked. Hadn't he already asked Ranma if she wanted to
portray the 'heroine?' "No."
As soon as the word was out of his mouth, Ranma turned into a
blur... haphazardly piling most of the desks and chairs into a pile
in the center of the room to form a makeshift pedestal - or rather, a
balcony. She scrambled to the very top.
"Oh, Romeo," she pleaded, holding her arms open as though
longing for someone's embrace. "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
"Very impressive!" remarked Kabuki.
"That's the fastest turnaround I've ever seen," Yuka commented
in an aside to her sister, who promptly shushed her.
Ranma allowed herself the luxury of a faint smile. She couldn't
believe her incredible luck! The blood was rushing to her cheeks,
but for once she didn't care who witnessed her blush...
An instant later, Kunou Tatewaki popped up immediately next to
her. "Oh, my Juliet!" Tears streamed freely from the Kendo
swordsman's eyes.
A startled Ranma instinctively punched him in the face - a move
that sent Kunou tumbling end over end back to the tiled floor.
"Kunou-sempai!" she exclaimed upon collecting her senses. "What are
YOU doing here!?"
It was true, she supposed; she was a bit more tolerant of
Kunou's presence these days than Ayumi, although *she* was the one
Kunou insisted on overwhelming with his affection. Maybe it was
because they largely ignored him these days - the Kunous were less of
a threat than Ryomi, Shampoo and her great-great grandmother, or
Happosai. Or maybe it was because Ranma was aware the boy wouldn't
truly do anything to hurt her. He'd do anything she asked, just as
Shampoo would do anything for Ayumi...
She forced the thought from her head. No, Kunou wouldn't do
practically anything for her like Shampoo would for Ayumi.
Kunou had been even more desperate to prove his love for Ranma
lately, since Ranma's mother had ordered him to stay far away from
her daughter and to - in Nodoka's words - never 'harass' Ranma again.
He had thought to convince Nodoka otherwise, though the older woman
refused to speak to or meet with him, except to state one thing.
Her decision was absolutely, irreversibly final.
Any further 'harassment' of Ranma, and she would have the
authorities take Kunou away. Kunou could tell she meant it and would
not be swayed.
But Kunou also believed that Ranma loved him exclusively, almost
as much as he loved her. He was hoping Ranma could convince her
mother for him, telling Nodoka who she truly loved. Saotome Nodoka
would then have no choice but to allow them to be together.
To believe that someone as successful as Nodoka, whom Kunou knew
to be a prominent businessperson, could endorse marrying her only
child to a buffoonish, street-trash peasant such as Tendo Ayumi...
oh, what a cruel joke brought to him by Fate! The woman of his
dreams... beautiful beyond any possible description, a capable
fighter... and, before he could learn her name she had already been
engaged to his truly evil foe.
Unless... what if Nodoka was somehow being forced to allow Ayumi
to marry her daughter? What sinister hold did Ayumi or others in his
family have over the Saotome family? Kunou was well aware of the
manipulative skills of middle Tendo brother Naka. Did *he* have a
part in coercing Ranma to marry Ayumi against her wishes? If so,
nothing in the heavens or on Earth would prevent Kunou from
unleashing his ultimate fury. A precious jewel such as Ranma
deserved a setting worthy of her beauty and class...
But for now, he had other things on his mind. "It is I, Romeo,"
Kunou spoke even before he had pried his face away from the floor,
"answering the call of my one true love."
Ranma stared at him in sheer disbelief.
Kunou's reputation as a over-dramatic dramatist was well-known
throughout the entire school. "What makes you think YOU'RE playing
Romeo?" Kabuki grated. Kunou had had his chance - not that they'd
wanted someone with such a high opinion of himself to be Romeo -
along with the rest of the higher classes. The more important point,
however, was that everyone except Kunou knew how much Ranma disliked
him. How was she supposed to pretend to show love to someone she
hated?
"I am without a doubt far more talented than that hack, Tendo
Ayumi," snorted Kunou.
Ayumi frowned. <*Sure* you are.>
Kunou leveled his bokutou at the kabuki-costumed boy. "Unless
you believe you can somehow dispute my claim..."
"I-I'll take your word for it." A sudden sensation of
approaching danger flooded the young man's senses. He pivoted to one
side...
...And froze as the railroad spike Gosunkugi Hikaru gripped
tightly in hand pierced the air where he had stood. The willowy,
lanky boy proceeded to drive the spike into a straw doll upon a
nearby desk. "*I* want to play Romeo!" he said with an intensity
that seemed out of place in his eyes and voice.
A cold shiver ran along Sayuri's spine. "Gosunkugi-kun...?"
Yuka snorted. "Oh, c'mon! You *knew* those two would show up
the moment Ranma agreed to try out for the play!"
That, Sayuri had known. She hadn't been prepared for the image
of the pale Hikaru holding Ranma fondly in his arms - being Romeo to
Ranma's Juliet - that had found its way into her thoughts, however.
Sayuri made up her mind not to mention it to Yuka or Ranma... no
sense making *them* sick as well.
<I can't believe I'll have the chance to trade romantic passages
with Ranma-san!> Hikaru brought his hands up to conceal the
reddening of his cheeks.
Before anyone could attempt to counter his claim - particularly
Kunou, who was debating whether or not to show Hikaru the utter
pointlessness of crossing him - a new voice could be heard.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime!"
Ranma recognized the voice instantly. She scanned the room from
her high perch. Now where... <Ah-HA! There's the little pervert!>
Everyone in the room reflexively backed away from the diminutive
martial-arts master standing near the base of Ranma's mountain of
desks. Why did he insist on interfering, she wondered? The old lech
was worse than Ayumi in that regard. Happosai was making it a point
to insinuate himself into as many details of her life as he could,
even faced with the threat that Nodoka might dice him into tiny
pieces with that katana of hers somewhere down the line.
"You don't even attend this school!" Kabuki exclaimed,
accusingly. If he'd known all they needed to do was sign up the
Saotome girl to bring in the volunteers...
Happosai ignored him, lost in his own visions and dreams. <No
matter how this makes me feel, I must do it.> He imagined himself
sharing the spotlight with Ranma. How he wanted Ranma to be *his*
Juliet... well, at least without all that tragic death stuff. But
there were still a fair number of scenes in which he and Ranma could
declare their eternal love for each other... "It's my chance to share
a love scene with Ranma-chan!" he cried while bounding up the
mountain to place himself within her arms.
Suddenly, Ayumi stood next to Ranma, having clawed his way to
the top of the desks. He was about to move to shield Ranma from
Happosai when she took care of the decision for him, intercepting
Happosai with a fairly powerful place-kick in mid-air.
That done, Ranma dropped back to her knees and sighed. She was
almost... depressed, Ayumi saw. What was wrong with her? "You wanna
play Juliet if one of THEM is gonna be Romeo?"
She didn't answer.
<Aww, she's not gonna cry, is she?> He figured he had better act
now if that was going to be the case. An angry Ranma he could deal
with. An emotional, crying Ranma, on the other hand... "If you do,
then..." Ayumi patted her on the shoulder. "good luck."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Eh?" she said, her jaw
dropping. "R-really?"
Ranma locked her fingers together above her chest. "Thanks! I
can't believe this is happening to me..." A look of pure elation
crossed her face.
"Huh?" Ayumi withdrew a step or two from her. He had clearly
not expected this kind of reaction from Ranma. In fact, it was
rather rare for anyone to see her in such an extremely good mood.
Ranma's unusually high spirits remained fixed in place for the
rest of the afternoon, despite her choices for co-stars and the
bewilderment of Ayumi, Hiroshi, Daisuke, Yuka and Sayuri.

** ** **

Nodoka was waiting in the foyer for Ranma and Ayumi when they
returned from school. "So, what happened in school today?" she
asked them.
Ayumi watched Ranma take off her shoes and carefully place them
in the corner behind the door. She was still fairly happy, too.
Why? All this just because she had the chance to play a character in
a stupid play? "Ranma signed up to be Juliet in a school play."
Her face fell slightly; Ayumi guessed she had been looking
forward to telling her mother about the play.
"What!?" Nodoka, Ayumi and Ranma brought their heads up as
Genma dashed into the room. "Ranma, what did I tell you about--"
Nodoka silenced him with a stern glare, one that promised dire
consequences if he continued to treat Ranma the way he had before her
arrival. What ridiculous restriction had he tried to place on her
daughter's life *this* time?
Genma retreated. The last time Nodoka had... *disapproved* of
his treatment of Ranma, she had arranged to have him locked up as a
panda in the zoo for a week. He'd managed to escape before the
week's end, of course, but clearly Nodoka would not hesitate to use
harsher methods in making her point if she had to.
"You did?" Nodoka returned her attention to Ranma.
Not even her father's attempts at control had destroyed Ranma's
good mood. "Yes," she absently nodded.
"That's wonderful!" her mother exclaimed. "Let's go up to your
room. You can tell me all about it."
Ayumi made no attempt to follow Nodoka as she led Ranma
upstairs. Would Ranma tell her mother why she was so
uncharacteristically, deliriously happy to be in a mere play? If she
would - he was willing to bet she would, anyway - then this was a
conversation he should be eavesdropping on. <Thank Naka for teaching
me how to do that,> he smirked. Maybe if he could figure out how to
keep Ranma from getting angry, she wouldn't try to beat him up as
often... well, that was a long shot, anyway.

"I swear, that man needs professional help. I'll bet he's doing
this just to get close to you."
"I know he is," Ranma replied. She sat on the edge of her bed,
reclining. "That's the only reason he would do it. But I can take
care of myself."
Nodoka took a seat next to her on the bed. "I know, dear. But
you were taught by your father, and he was never able to stand up to
that pervert." It went without saying that Genma was something of a
bully, intimidating those he believed to be weaker than him and
cowering in the presence of those who were obviously 'stronger' than
him, like Happosai.
Ranma briefly gave her a quizzical look. "I'm not Dad, Mom.
And I'm not afraid of Happosai, either."
"You shouldn't have to be forced to put up with that lecher."
Nodoka relented. It was easy to talk about what should be done with
Happosai, but in practice... Happosai managed to wreck any plan they
invented to get rid of him.
"Ranma? You mentioned that three people were interested in
playing the part of Romeo opposite you? You've only mentioned two.
Who is the third?"
Ranma hesitated, withdrawing her breath. She had been hoping to
avoid discussing the candidates to be Romeo, as she knew exactly how
her mother would react on hearing the name of one candidate in
particular. Worse, she hadn't had a chance to come up with someone
else's name or an excuse explaining why that candidate would be there
in the first place. "......Kunou Tatewaki," she finally said in a
subdued voice.
"That Kunou boy, again?" snarled Nodoka.
"M-Mom, calm down!" The younger Saotome's mind raced to come up
with an appropriate lie. "I... I didn't know he had already asked to
be Romeo when I signed up. I was so excited about being able to play
Juliet that I didn't check the prospective cast list."
Nodoka studied her for a moment. "Okay," she said. "I won't
object this time. But if he tries anything..." Why was Ranma
defending the boy, she wondered? As far as Nodoka could tell, Kunou
constantly bothered Ranma with gifts and advances that she did not
want, in addition to trying to beat Ayumi up with the aid of a
bokutou. So why would Ranma want her to let the boy continue with
that kind of behavior? Did she pity him?
Well, perhaps this was Ranma's half-hearted attempt to get her
to give Kunou the benefit of the doubt.
"I'm sure he'll behave himself." He probably wouldn't, come to
think of it. Perhaps what Tatewaki and Kodachi needed was to spend
some time in therapy? Brute-force tactics only made them more
annoying.
Nodoka snorted, focusing her gaze on what was visible of the
late-afternoon sky through the bedroom windows. "He had better. And
I will try to be there on opening night," she resolved.
Ranma didn't object. The cursed girl leaned forward and
wordlessly began to stare at her toes. Time for a minor change in
subject, then.
"You said you were excited about playing the role of Juliet,
Ranma. Why? I didn't know you had an interest in acting."
"I do," the girl off-handedly shrugged. "But Dad never let me
try out for anything."
Outside, in the hall, Ayumi repositioned the drinking glass he
was using to eavesdrop on the conversation against Ranma's door. <Is
*that* the reason why she was acting so weird earlier?>
Another question that stubbornly refused to leave his mind was
whether or not either Saotome could sense his presence while he was
standing just outside the door. Ranma probably could, if she was
paying attention, though Ayumi had no idea how far Mrs. Saotome had
developed her fighter's senses.
"Is that why you signed up for this play?" Nodoka was asking.
"Well, uh... not really... When I was - well, I don't remember
exactly how old I was or what grade I was in at the time - but I know
I was about... maybe six or seven..."
Ranma seemed to drift for a few seconds. "Um... anyway, they
made us go through a few plays as school assignments, so Dad couldn't
order me not to be in them."
"I take it one of those assignments was 'Romeo and Juliet?'"
asked Nodoka, making an effort to second-guess where her daughter's
story was going.
"Yeah." A measure of sadness and anger crept into Ranma's
voice. "They thought that since I was so much of a tomboy, I'd be a
better Romeo than Juliet. They had me playing guys in the other
plays, too!"
She continued, snorting. "All my classmates said I was a good
Romeo. Dad even said it was a good character-building experience for
me. I just wanted to play a regular girl - but *no*, they didn't
want me to! Nobody wanted to let me be who I wanted to be!"
Nodoka finally understood. If anything, Ranma had the secret
desire to live the life of a 'normal girl,' apart from all the
madness her father had brought upon her... from fighting and
Jhusenkyou curses.
It had definitely been a tremendous mistake to let Genma take
Ranma away from her. Well... Ranma *had* developed more of an edge
than she would remaining at home, but... Nodoka's influence had been
absent from Ranma's life far too long. <Maybe I should have gone
with them. Even if I was foolish enough to get myself cursed, I
wouldn't have had to be separated from her.>
She wondered if asking Ranma to live with her instead might not
be such a bad idea, after all.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Ranma," Nodoka ultimately
announced. "I don't want to spoil any dreams you might have of being
an actor, but... I'm sure you're aware that in the Shakespeare plays,
men would assume the women's roles as well?"
"Yes, but..."
"Were you the only girl cast as a boy in all those plays?"
Ranma shook her head. "No."
"I understand you're angry that your father tried to control
every aspect of your life as well as how much of a girl you were, but
that does not mean the school and your classmates intended to do the
same. Correct?"
"They didn't think I was enough of a girl to play Juliet," Ranma
said, far from convinced.
"I'm not sure if that was the case. However, I'm sure that this
time, you'll prove to everyone just how good a Juliet you can be."
The smile returned to Ranma's face. "Thanks, Mom."
Ayumi left his post at the door, with a better idea of why Ranma
wanted to play Juliet - even opposite Kunou, Happosai or Gosunkugi.
There were a few portions of Ranma's past she was reluctant to
share... and to be brutally honest, it wasn't his place to pry, even
if she was his iinazuke.
<I probably won't be able to talk her out of this,> he frowned.
<Damn. Stupid tomboy's too stubborn for her own good.>

Thoughts of Ranma's possible childhoods insisted on playing
themselves out in his mind, so Ayumi ventured downstairs to the dojo
in the hope that a workout would help him change that line of
thought. Here he was, Tendo Ayumi, getting himself all worried about
Ranma. They had come to be a lot closer since their first meeting -
and that disturbed him. Maybe he did care for her, but did he really
*love* her? Ah, that was the important question, now, wasn't it?
A question he still refused to completely address.
Well... Ranma wasn't dwelling much on the issue, either. Both
of them tolerated each other - more or less - and maintained a habit
of sniping at one another.
It occurred to him that in some ways, he and Ranma could be
considered alike.
He broke into a punch-and-sidestep routine. <No way! That
tomboy and I are NOT meant to be together!>
But if that was true, why would he have put himself through
countless hassles for her sake?
He had helped Ranma face her first few weeks of school and Kunou.
He'd stepped onto the battlefield to fight Ryomi, been in
Ranma's corner for her match against Kodachi, and defended her in a
skating match against the Golden Pair. When Shampoo had used a
special technique to make her forget him, he had been ready to swim
to China to search for a cure.
After that, it was Ranma's turn to help him through some unusual
circumstances. She'd helped him weather being trapped in a girl's
body and discovered that she was one of the few people who could
safely bring him out of the state of mind induced by his training in
the Nekoken technique.
Having Happosai around promised to lead to many different
situations involving Ranma, too. No doubt he would be spending a lot
of time saving her from the old pervert.
Ayumi stopped for a moment to catch his breath and cast a glance
out the door that led from the dojo to the yard. The stars were out;
dwelling on Ranma had preoccupied him into the evening.
So much for distractions.
"Ayumi!"
"Huh?" He turned to see that his father and Mr. Saotome, ever
the panda, were entering the dojo from the house. "Oh... hi, Dad,
Mr. Saotome." What did *they* want?
"I assume what I've heard about Ranma volunteering to be Juliet
in a school play is true?"
Ayumi wondered what his father's true intent might be. The man
had never been known for his subtlety. "...Yeah," Ayumi admitted,
somewhat warily.
"Why haven't you volunteered to be her Romeo?"
Oh, so *that* explained his father's questions. The meddling
duo only saw this play as a means to try to bring him and Ranma
closer together. "Why should I? It's just a stupid play."
Soun looked as though her were about to break into tears. "It's
true," he shook his head. "My son has no pride, no shame."
"What? Hey! I do too!"
"Then you would know better," his father seemed to have a
response already prepared to give him. The panda nodded. "You must
be Ranma's Romeo... to keep her safe from those who would take
advantage of her, like our Honored Master."
<What about YOU? You guys are using her in your stupid plans!>
frowned Ayumi. "He's not my master. And Ranma can take care of
herself."
"Perhaps she can. Nonetheless, you must be there for her."
"Why?"
"Because she is your iinazuke. That's why," Soun declared.
Ayumi gave the fathers a suspicious glare. "You wouldn't happen
to have some other reasons for wanting me to be in this play, would
you?"
"Us? No!"
[We only want you and Ranma to be happy.]
Inwardly, Ayumi snorted. <Yeah, right. As if you really cared.>

Ranma leaned against the railing of the outdoor balcony that lay
at the end of the upstairs hallway, breathing a wistful sigh as she
stared up into the evening sky. The balcony was *her* private spot,
a place other than her bedroom where she could be alone and think.
Kasuga had such a spot of his own in the kitchen; Ayumi considered
the dojo his place to work through whatever was on his mind. As for
the remaining four members of the household, Ranma didn't know.
Wait... what about P-chan? Did little P-chan have any stress,
sadness or depression to deal with? The thought brought a fleeting
hint of a smile to Ranma's lips. Wondering how animals would cope
with human qualities and problems was occasionally fun - though a
certain panda and cat did *not* count in that line of thought.
She decided to change the subject. All thinking about her
father or Shampoo would do was make her angry at one or both of them,
and she didn't need that right now. If only her mother hadn't had to
leave to take care of business...
"I still don't know..."
Her thoughts wandered, traveling back to her childhood. She saw
a classroom through the eyes of a child, who wore coveralls... one of
the last times she would wear such clothes in her life.
None of her classmates' faces were as clear as their voices.
"Why don't you be Romeo, Ranma-chan?" someone suggested. "You'd be
a better Romeo than Juliet."
Chibi-Ranma blushed. "Eh? Really...?"
"Yeah! You'd be great!"
"I should've said something, then. Why didn't I?" Ranma asked
herself. "I wanted to play Juliet, but *no*..."
Her child-self was dressed in a Romeo costume, defeating an
opponent at swordpoint among the desks...
"Wow! That was awesome, Ranma-chan!"
"Uh, really?" Chibi-Ranma blushed again. Her hopes were
sinking. To her, it always seemed the fact that she was training to
become a fighter was all anyone cared about.
"You're so cool, Ranma-chan!"
"Ah?" she blinked. "Uh..."
"I didn't know you could do that!"
"But it's different this time," insisted Ranma, resting a hand
over her heart. "This time, I get to realize my dream and play
Juliet!"
Suddenly, she became aware of a familiar presence on the balcony
beside her. She immediately turned her head to her side to see who
it was.
"Oh, *Romeo*...," Ayumi said mockingly. He'd been a little
upset over being forced to participate in the play... and naturally,
he thought he would transfer some of that annoyance to Ranma, if only
to make himself feel better.
Ranma angrily punted him into the sky.

** ** **

Two days later, she stood within a makeshift balcony constructed
in the branches of one of the taller trees of the Fuurinkan
courtyard. The Drama Club had gratefully built the 'set' for her
after learning that they wouldn't be able to use the auditorium for
rehearsal sessions.
Ranma excitedly clasped her rolled-up copy of the script to her
chest, feeling the blood rising in her cheeks and practically
hearing her heart beat faster with her anticipation. She wasn't sure
if she could recite her lines as Juliet entirely from memory; Ranma
had been memorizing her lines as often as possible, and figured that
a rehearsal would be as good a test as any to see how much she was
able to recall.
The rehearsals had a second purpose as well - to attempt to
narrow down the choice of actors demanding to play Romeo. With the
addition of Ayumi, there were now *four* candidates, none of whom
wanted to give way for any of the others.
Many wondered who would be next to volunteer for the role,
assuming the four already competing for the role would let anyone
else enter the running. But then, why were Kunou and Ayumi allowing
the somewhat weaker Gosunkugi to remain a candidate? Perhaps they
were sure Gosunkugi wouldn't be much of a threat when it came down to
it.
There were those who were jealous of Ranma's popularity; how she
could have so many people fawning over her without really trying...
and how the Saotome girl certainly wasn't trying, even when her
dislike for the prearranged marriage between her and Ayumi was
well-known. Were Ranma ever to make herself available for dating,
there were a number of guys who would line up for the chance to date
her - provided Ayumi or Kunou would ever allow such a thing. Kunou,
in particular, would definitely threaten anyone who dared show such
interest in Ranma with bodily harm.
Ranma had to admit that she had no real experience when it came
to the subject of dating. Her father had chased away everyone who
might have shown interest in her in the past, or anyone whom Ranma
might find attractive. Eventually, he chose to place her in a
private school despite the amount of money that option demanded he
spend... the school in which Ranma would later meet Hibiki Ryomi
before heading off to Jhusenkyou and - though she hadn't known it
until she was trapped within it - her engagement to Tendo Ayumi.
Ranma's thoughts at the moment were on the play, however. She
was being given the chance to realize a dream Ranma hadn't known she
was still carrying with her, locked safely away all these years. Now
that her father couldn't exert as much control over her life, more so
that her mother's influence was at long last returned to her, she was
finally being allowed to explore some of the dreams she'd had all her
life. Why, if this worked out, who knew how far she could take it?
A career as an actor? Maybe she could be the first idol singer to
have an extensive knowledge of the martial arts...
Ayumi, unlike his three opponents, remained in his school
uniform, as Ranma was wearing hers. He'd situated himself upon a
branch close to Ranma's pseudo-balcony and was crunching the
occasional senbe from a plastic bag, content to let his 'rivals'
embarrass themselves before him.
When the relentless crunching and bag-ruffling came to be too
much for Ranma to ignore, she gave him an icy glare and darted her
copy of the script at him. "Who said you could eat those here!?"
Ayumi dodged the script-turned-weapon. Ranma was taking this
role far too seriously, wasn't she? It was just a *play*, for crying
out loud...
"Okay, you four!" he heard the Drama Club member who
practically seemed to live within a Kabuki costume shout. Uh-oh -
that was his cue. "It's time to determine exactly who will be
playing the part of Romeo!"
For some reason neither Ayumi nor Ranma could understand, Kunou,
Gosunkugi and Happosai had each come to the rehearsal in costumes
that had absolutely nothing to do with the character they wanted to
play.
"Me! Me!" Hikaru, dressed as the wicked witch from Snow White
in disguise, was one or two steps away from jumping up and down.
"Pick me!" Even if he was the least likely to be picked for the
role, he still had to try. How *else* would he be able to get close
to that vision of loveliness, Saotome Ranma? Did any of the other
Romeos deserve to be with her? No. Ayumi didn't know what a
treasure he had within his reach and insisted on treating Ranma like
dirt. Kunou assumed Ranma was already his, yet knew nothing of the
proper way to treat a woman. The idea that someone as intelligent
and beautiful as Ranma could be in awe of... *Kunou*! It was insane
to think of such a possibility!
Hikaru shook his head to clear it. If he didn't keep his mind
on the play, he'd lose the chance to be close to Ranma before it even
began.
As for the old man, he was rumored to be a pervert around
campus. No doubt he was only here to grope Ranma, run off with her
underwear or something like that. Ranma could probably stop him, but
if the pervert was Romeo... she would have to act opposite him in the
play. Well, he would just have to out-do Happosai in the Romeo
competition...
...Happosai, who was currently, laughably drunk. "Oh, my lovely
Juliet!" the perverted old man slurred... a bottle of some kind of
alcohol held in a death-grip beside him. "We'll share such wonderful
times together..."
Maybe, making sure the pervert didn't become Romeo was going to
be easier than he thought.
With the threat of Happosai neutralized, only Ayumi and Kunou
remained.
"There is only one obvious choice for the role, and that is none
other than I," asserted Kunou.
Ayumi approached the trio of would-be actors, snorting a laugh.
"Only because you spout as much poetry as a reject from a Shakespeare
play," he folded his arms.
"Not that someone as lowly as you has any talent to speak of,
Tendo Ayumi."
"Enough to pound the you-know-what out of you anytime,
anywhere," Ayumi retorted.
Kunou was doing his best to restrain himself. "You see? An
uncultured street brawler such as you cannot hope to assume this
noble role."
Each of the four glanced up as Ranma's voice floated down to
them from her balcony. "Why are you here, anyway, Ayumi? You've
probably never read a Shakespeare play in your life!"
Ranma had guessed right; he hadn't, but she and everyone else
did not need to know that. "I have," he lied, keeping his eyes
trained on his rivals.
"Is that so?" Kunou, who was dressed to look as the samurai
nobility he often believed he was, asked in mild interest. "Then you
won't mind proving your aptitude for Shakespeare to me."
Ayumi frowned. "Why bother? I'll bet you've got all of those
plays memorized."
"Exactly," Kunou replied, putting on airs. He coolly swept his
dark hair away from his forehead with one hand. Great literature was
to be appreciated, and certainly never forgotten, or the works of all
the greatest writers throughout time would no doubt fade from the
world's sight.
A nagging sense in Ayumi's instinct was telling him to step to
one side. It was an ability fighters such as himself and Ranma
developed, the ability to second-guess where the next attack was
coming from or to sense approaching danger. In this case, the
latter. Ranma could 'feel' the area around her with her senses and
detect hidden presences or an incoming threat. Though her senses
weren't perfect, she claimed they were more refined than Ayumi's,
even if he refused to see anything which would make him weaker or
less 'perfect' than Ranma.
Hikaru was rushing toward him with another stake held in his
outstretched hand. <Oh,> Ayumi thought, his hopes receding. <It's
just Voodoo-Boy wanting to impale me again.> He'd been hoping for a
'real' challenge...
"You mustn't interfere, Tendo Ayumi!"
Ayumi was long since tired of these sudden 'attacks' from
Gosunkugi, which had almost become an accustomed greeting of sorts.
It obviously meant that Hikaru had gathered enough nerve to start
resorting to physical attacks.
He easily caught the stake between his forefingers. "Oh,
really?" Ayumi challenged. Hikaru's fixation with Ranma was
infamous among the student body, but at least he wasn't fawning over
enlarged, poster-size pictures of the tomboy as Kunou was... Come to
think of it, Hikaru could very well have been a Kunou-in-training.
His weapon lost, Hikaru had the sense to retreat a few steps.
"You don't have enough class to be fighting for the right to be Romeo
alongside us."
Kunou hmphed. "If that is the case, Tendo Ayumi would not have
enough class to play the fool on the stage of life." That the
Gosunkugi boy was considering himself to be an equal to the
unparalleled Kunou Tatewaki was laughable; let the pathetic fool
taste the greatness he would never achieve while he could.
"Think so, huh?" retorted Ayumi. "Why don't we have a
free-for-all to determine exactly who's gonna be the *real* Romeo?"
For emphasis, he snapped Hikaru's wooden stake in half.
The idea brought a thin smile to Kunou's lips. "A contest I
cannot lose. Very well; I accept!"
"Me, too!" Happosai added a smile of his own. There was no
choice any of these three would be able to defeat a true master of
musabetsu kakutou...
"Ah..." stammered Hikaru.
Ranma leapt from the balcony to bring her mallet down on Ayumi's
head. "BAKA!" she yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why do
you ALWAYS have to turn *everything* into some stupid macho fight!?"
She turned and ran out of the courtyard, upset, not waiting for
an answer to her question. "Mou - you're all IDIOTS!"
Ayumi watched Happosai bounce out of the courtyard after her in
an obvious attempt to worm his way closer to Ranma by pretending to
comfort her. "Poor Ranma-chan... I'm here for you..."
<What right does SHE have to call me an idiot?>
Other people, yes. Like a certain Kendo swordsman who spoke in
what he perceived to be a regal manner, yet was generally just as
annoying as a faucet with a steady drip. "I only hope you can
forgive me, Saotome Ranma," Kunou was saying in a subdued voice. "I
only do this for your love."
Ayumi sighed. Of *course* Ranma was the only reason any of them
were interested in this stupid play. <Now, all I've gotta do is
prepare for the fight...>

** ** **

He raised his hand to knock on Naka's bedroom door. "Naka? Are
you in there?"
"No," came the answer from the opposite side of the door.
Ranma peeked her head around the frame of her door and saw Ayumi
standing outside Naka's room. *Now* what was the baka up to? One
usually didn't go to Naka unless one happened to have a lot of
unnecessary loose change.
"C'mon," Ayumi persisted. "I wanna know if you've got any books
with that Romeo play in it."
Ranma bit her lip, resisting the urge to correct him.
"It's 'Romeo and Juliet,' stupid. And I *do* have a book or
two..." Naka told him on opening the door.
"Great! Can I borrow one of them? I need to know what to
rehearse for the fight scenes."
Naka paused. "One thousand two hundred yen," he said at last.
Ranma drew herself back into her room. <What an idiot.>

** ** **

Surprisingly enough, the afternoon of the play arrived with
nothing truly of interest taking place beforehand... as far as those
who weren't participating in the play were aware.
"You're kidding! *Ranma's* who they got to be Juliet? I never
would've thought she'd do it." Though, the girl reasoned, the
unusual popularity - or was that infamy? - that Ranma was unaware she
had gained could explain the considerable length of the ticket line
they stood in now.
The play was due to start in an hour and forty-five minutes - at
least it had been the last time Yumemi checked her watch, anyway.
Any school event that Saotome Ranma participated in promised to
become quite a show, and this play was no exception. Why, rumor had
it the four guys who had jumped at the chance to be Romeo once Ranma
became Juliet were *still* fighting over the role.
One of those would-be actors just happened to be Ranma's
iinazuke, Ayumi. Would *he* be her Romeo?
A large sign to the left of the line caught Yumemi's attention,
as well as that of her friends. "You think maybe they forced her to
do it?" Kikuko, who wore her short black hair in an almost masculine
cut, asked on reading the sign.
At her side, Chizuko snorted. "I didn't think anyone could
force her to be in a play."

Ranma, meanwhile, was indeed searching for Ayumi. She wanted to
make sure that he knew his lines - Ranma was almost willing to bet
that he had concentrated exclusively on the fights rather than
memorizing anything.
*Almost* willing; living in the same house with Naka tended to
make most anyone swear off gambling forever.
<Now where did that idiot go?> she wondered. He'd told her
after school that he was going to make a stop in the restrooms... and
then vanished. Had the Romeo quartet set up another fight? And how
had Gosunkugi managed to stay in the running to this point?
She wasn't too happy about having to be paired off with Ayumi;
it meant that her experience as Juliet would leave some things to be
desired. Still, having Ayumi play Romeo was better than having to
worry about bouncing lines off Kunou, Gosunkugi or Happosai the
entire play.
A hasty search of the schoolyard and halls yielded no trace of
the youngest Tendo boy. There were no indications of a fight among
skilled martial artists, either. Maybe Ayumi had learned better than
to dedicate himself only to the fights, after all.
She shook her head. Yeah, right. That, if it ever happened,
would be a miracle.
Ranma sighed. Ayumi had to be with the other losers - er,
*Romeos* - in their dressing room, then, barring any idiotic turn of
events. If only they'd let *her* decide, things would've been a lot
easier!
<Sure it would.> She snorted. For a change, she would pick
someone other than the four idiots to play Romeo... though all that
would *really* accomplish would be to place the guy's life in mortal
danger.
Again she sighed. There was no sense in putting someone else
through that kind of problem. Ranma knew from experience what having
each member of that group of four out to pester her for one reason or
another was like.
Well... actually, that Gosunkugi guy wasn't really out to annoy
her, but Ayumi. The problem was she usually happened to be in the
way when the boy's ridiculous schemes to hurt Ayumi backfired.
Kunou, Happosai and Ayumi were far more dangerous than Gosunkugi. If
*they* wanted to hurt someone, they likely would. Her only choice
was to continue playing Juliet to four Romeos and hope they wouldn't
screw the play up *too* much.

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door to the boys' changing room.
<Remind me again WHY I'm putting myself through all this work just
for *Ayumi*?> Ranma asked herself.
A moment or two passed without any indication that someone had
heard her knock.
She closed her eyes, counting to herself in an effort to control
her temper. Were they ignoring her? Well, if they were, there was
one method she knew which was practically guaranteed to get their
attention.
"AYUMI, YOU IDIOT!" When in doubt, yell. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN
THERE!"
The call brought the sound of someone running to open the door.
<Guess risking my voice before the play was worth it.> Hopefully it
would be Ayumi who came to the door...
No such luck. Kunou threw the door open and caught her in his
arms. "Oh, how my heart leaps! My pig-tailed goddess has come to
wish me luck before the curtain's rise!"
Ranma broke free of the embrace with the aid of a sharp uppercut
to Kunou's chin. She was in no mood to put up with anyone's
advances. "Get your ears checked, *sempai*. I was calling for
Ayumi, not you. So where is he?"
"So, you cannot locate Tendo Ayumi?" If there was one thing
about Kunou Ranma found of interest, it would be his ability to
endure considerable attacks and then snap back as though he wasn't
hurt in the least. Of course, most of that endurance was due to
extreme stubbornness and a rather thick skull, in others' opinion.
Whatever the case, Kunou had an infuriating habit of not learning
much from past experiences or ignoring them entirely. "If it is as
you say..." He embraced her once more. "Oh, Juliet, you must be
heartbroken! Obviously, Tendo Ayumi knew he could not stand before--"
She threw him into a row of tall lockers. "I'll find him
*without* your help, thanks!" growled Ranma.
Atop the nearby makeup desk, Happosai took a second to apply a
layer of lip balm to his lips. "How dare that Ayumi worry our tender
Juliet so..." He tossed the balm aside and sprang toward the only
girl in the room, readying his lips for a kiss. "You don't have to
worry, Ranma-chan! I'll be your Romeo--"
Ranma spun to face the source of the voice. She was already
berating herself for not maintaining her full guard when she was well
aware of the old pervert's presence. He drew closer, apparently
intending to kiss her... she recoiled at the thought. It was such a
shame, really, leaving his mouth unguarded and vulnerable like that...
She never had the chance to take advantage of that opening. A
familiar figure crashed through the frosted wire-reinforced glass
window at the far end of the room - Ayumi, who had somehow arranged
to have most of his body encased in a block of concrete, encircled
with thick iron chains. He kicked Happosai out of the air before the
man could realize his goal.
Ranma abruptly realized she was holding her breath. "A-Ayumi?"
she stammered. What was going on here? The baka had gotten himself
caught in a trap... probably Happosai's doing; trapping Ayumi in a
block of concrete wasn't Kunou or Gosunkugi's style.
As she'd half-expected, Ayumi began his rant against Happosai by
calling him a 'stupid old pervert.' He shattered the block and let
the fragments fall everywhere about him. "It's amazing you still
live!" the martial-arts master chided him.
"No thanks to you, old man! How DARE you put a trap like that
in the bathroom! You could've hurt someone!"
"Just you."
Ranma was about to add her own thoughts to the argument when
someone behind them interrupted. "Oh, thank goodness you're all
right, Tendo-kun! I was afraid you would miss the play!"
It was Hikaru. Dressed in a girls' uniform from another school
and looking for all the world as though he were about to
hyperventilate while raising his voice as high as possible - all for
a terrible approximation of a girl's voice. "I'm your number-one
fan!"
Ranma withdrew along with Ayumi. "Gosunkugi..."
She recalled the time Hikaru had pretended to be *her*, dressing
in a standard Fuurinkan High girls' uniform jumper at the time -
where *was* he getting all these girls' uniforms, anyway? - and Ranma
had wanted to pound him for it. She was working her way up to doing
so now; Gosunkugi wouldn't have fooled anyone in his 'Ranma' disguise
then, except perhaps a temporarily-addled Ayumi, and he wasn't
fooling anyone *now*.
"H-here...," the boy pushed a wrapped package into Ayumi's
hands. A package... with a rather obvious burning fuse protruding
from its top. "I made this food just for you. I hope it gives you
strength for the play tonight!"
Hikaru made a mad dash for the door, clasping his hands to his
cheeks and squealing in glee. "Ganbatte kudasai, Tendo-kun!"
Once out in the hall he allowed himself the luxury of a sinister
laugh. <Yes, Tendo Ayumi. Enjoy your little present,> he grinned.
<It'll make sure your debut tonight ends with a bang...>
And in the next second, Ayumi was beside him, shoving the
package back into his hands. "I'm sorry. I can't accept this, but
thanks anyway."
"How can you toy with a girl's emotions like that?" were the
last words out of Gosunkugi's mouth before the bomb exploded in his
grasp.
"What a loser," Ayumi muttered under his breath, casually
strolling away from what was now a small blast crater.
Ranma was waiting for him in front of the door to his assigned
dressing room.
They stared into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to
speak first. Ranma finally opted to break the silence. "Ayumi...
are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Hmph. Who better?" Did she even need to ask? He wasn't the
type to pass on a challenge, no matter how insane, though this one
wasn't quite as unusual as many of the challenges he had been facing
in recent days. "'Sides, I'm not just doing this because our dads
said I have to."
He could see the indecision wavering in her eyes. Ranma
honestly wanted to be in this play, for the night to pass without
something happening to bring it all crashing to the ground. She was
nervous and vulnerable, a side the girl rarely let show - even more
so since her mother had had to leave for Kyuushuu on business at
practically the last minute. Ayumi's instincts were telling her to
keep her safe. Make sure her dreams weren't endangered... for
tonight, Ranma wasn't a fighter but a girl who was being given the
chance to realize an old dream...
This play meant a lot to her, no matter what the public thought
of Ranma for appearing in a school play. The best thing of all? She
wasn't doing this to one-up him or prove her would-be superiority, so
why not let Ranma have her fun?
Ayumi took her hands in his. "I know how much this play means
to you," he chose his words, "and I won't let anyone ruin it for you."
Ranma fought to keep the blood from rising in her cheeks.
"Ah... Ayumi..."
Wait a minute. Something was still nagging at her mind; she
knew the nature of the play and wondered if her 'hero' was aware of
what he'd have to do opposite her. "Umm..." she began, once she had
collected herself. "Can I ask you something? What kind of
relationship do Romeo and Juliet have?"
He blinked. Why would Ranma ask him such a stupid question as
that? Oh... she was testing him. She wanted to know if he'd
memorized his lines. Well, if he opened his mouth, Ranma would find
out he hadn't memorized a thing.
Ranma definitely wouldn't let him get away without answering her
question, either. Damn. He needed to give her an educated answer.
What kind of names were 'Romeo' and 'Juliet,' anyway? <Must be
*something* special about them if they named a play after them. And
if Kunou likes this play, it's gotta be boring... c'mon, think!>
"They're... family?"
Ranma gave him an incredulous stare for a few seconds, then
slammed her copy of the script in his face. "The curtain goes up in
about an hour. I suggest you use that time to actually READ THE
SCRIPT!!"

** ** **

By the time the play was scheduled to begin, nearly every seat
in the auditorium was filled.
The announcer hesitantly cleared his throat and began speaking
his lines into the microphone. This situation wasn't exactly one he
had forseen when the Drama Club thought it would be a good idea to do
'Romeo and Juliet.' "We would like to thank you all for coming
tonight. In just a few minutes, our show will begin."
Kabuki shut off the microphone. It had been to much to hope for
a *normal* play on *this* campus, hadn't it? He wondered if anyone
in the audience actually knew how much madness rotated around Saotome
Ranma wherever she went... although she didn't recognize all of it
herself. She only wanted to be an actor for the night, yet four
people were making that difficult for her and everyone else
associated with the play. Maybe it would've been a good idea to
stick with the simpler plays after all...
He shot a glance toward stage right. Ranma stood in position on
the balcony, waiting for her cue. When she saw that he was looking
at her, she gave him a quick nod.
Next, he peeked around the side of the velvet curtains at the
audience. They had lowered their voices to whispers. No doubt
waiting for Ranma's performance to begin.
Where were the Romeos? He could only hope they were in position
and not fighting among themselves, as they had been twelve minutes
ago. If they weren't in position, that was their problem. They
couldn't delay the play any longer on the account of four love-sick
Romeos.
Another click, and the PA system was again active. Kabuki gave
the signal to raise the curtain. "And now, Fuurinkan High School is
proud to present... our own special version of *Romeo and Juliet*!"
They would discover soon enough why they were putting on a 'special
version' of the play...
A single spotlight found Ranma. She clasped her hands to her
bosom and gazed off into the horizon. "Oh, Romeo..." she called,
sadness and longing evident in her voice. "Wherefore art thou,
Romeo?"
The clapping which met Juliet's introduction soon turned to
catcalls and whistles. Ranma ignored all of it.
"The story of..." Kabuki hesitated. There *was* more than one
Romeo, after all. Should he embellish the line? No, better to stick
with the script. "...two tragic lovers who must keep their love
hidden..." A dust cloud from another scuffle was forming behind him.
"......because their houses are at war with each other!" Only in
this case, it wasn't just the characters in the play who were at war
with each other...
Ranma made for a wonderful Juliet, stealing the scene even
though that was not her intent. "But not even such conflict can turn
away the love--" He suddenly found a little over half of the
microphone lodged in his mouth. Happosai, the first Romeo to break
free of the off-stage fight, wasted no time in bounding onto the
stage - starting by springboarding from the announcer's head.
"Juliet!" the martial-arts master cried as he grabbed one of
the imitation vines tied to the scenery and used it to swing toward
Ranma.
She withdrew a step, fighting her revulsion.
"R-Romeo-sama......"
The audience wasn't exactly convinced, either. "HE'S Romeo?" a
girl yelled. Even in costume Happosai remained recognizable to every
last girl he had terrorized.
Fortunately, there were other choices. "Imposter!" yelled
Kunou, severing Happosai's vine with a katana in mid-swing. "*I* am
the true Romeo!"
"No, I'M Romeo!" Ayumi made his entrance while stomping Kunou
head-first into the stage.
Ranma rolled her eyes and sighed as the three Romeos exploded
into another all-out brawl, this time on-stage. Honestly... when
would those four idiots learn?
But only *three* of the Romeos had made their entrance. She
gazed peripherally out into the audience to see that some people were
holding up numbered signs to indicate who they thought was the better
Romeo. One person raised a sign with the number one on it - long
enough for the girls sitting near him to yank the sign out of his
hands and threaten to beat him up with it.
There were no 'four' signs, as far as she could see. She rested
her hands carefully on the balcony before her, remembering that it
was only a wooden set built to look like chiseled marble... Happosai,
Kunou and Ayumi were accounted for. Time to activate her
martial-artist's senses. Where was Gosunkugi, Romeo number four?
The balcony beneath the railing she was resting her hands upon
would answer that question. "Juuuuliett..."
Ranma yelped, starting in surprise and leaping back a couple of
steps. Hikaru had been pretending to be a part of the balcony since
the beginning of the play, by painting himself to match the balcony's
columns?
If anything, the white paint the boy had used made him appear
even more pale. Hikaru laughed. "While those pretenders beat
themselves up... the *true* Romeo has waited for you to come out onto
your balcony!"
<That's it!> Ranma scowled internally. <I'm gonna cream him!>
What was preventing her from pounding a few dozen measures of sense
into the weirdo?
She heard the cheers of the audience rise above the sound of the
fight on the stage.
The audience! She had completely forgotten that they were
there! Tonight, on this stage, she was suppose to be Juliet
Capulet... *not* Ranma. Juliet did *not* go around beating people
up, malleting them, or so forth. Here she was, finally getting a
chance to play the role she'd always wanted to play, and she was
letting these four idiots make her break character? <Guess I'll just
have to beat them all up *after* the play.>
Not that the elaborate costume dress and hair extensions she
wore would be of much help to her in a fight. That left trying to
keep her cool and letting the four Romeos drool over her for the
night.
How would Juliet react to Hikaru as her Romeo? "Let us depart
from this balcony and fly away on the power of our true love..."
Sheesh, the guy was starting to sound like Kunou...
While Hikaru pressed forward to kiss her, Ayumi sprang upward
into the air just short of the balcony and snap-kicked the willowy
boy away from Ranma. That done, he landed on the balcony with a cry
of, "Juliet!"
"Ah..." Ranma reflexively began to say Ayumi's name, then caught
herself. She locked her fingers together above her chest in order to
feign true love. "Romeo-sama!" His makeup was smudged from the
fighting and she could see the beginnings of a tear or two forming in
his costume, but out of all her choices Ayumi was the best candidate
to be Romeo.
An uncomfortable amount of silence was to follow. Silence -
from Ayumi, the audience... and Ranma, as she waited for this Romeo
to speak his line.
Another minute later the sound of murmuring rose among the
audience. "Haven't they been quiet a little too long?"
"Maybe it's something they added to the play?"
A girl dabbed away the tears in her eyes with her handkerchief.
"They're so filled with love for each other, they're speechless!"
Her comment sent everyone in the neighboring rows of seats crashing
to the auditorium floor in disbelief.
"Romeo-sama," Ranma whispered, intensifying her stare in the
hope that it might help Ayumi remember what he was supposed to say.
Had he at all listened to her when she'd told him to read the script?
"Did you forget your lines?"
His shrug told her that he had. Wonderful, and the play was
barely underway! Maybe Kunou or Gosunkugi weren't bad choices for
acting opposite her after all...
She become aware of a trap door opening to her left. <*Now*
what?> Was there anyone *else* in the cast out to possess her as
either Ranma or Juliet? <Stop it!> Ranma told herself. <You're
being silly and paranoid.>
A man dressed as a black-robed kuroko emerged from the trap door
and immediately shoved Ayumi toward her. She turned to one side to
avoid the threat of Ayumi forcing her to the balcony floor. "Romeo,
embrace your beloved Juliet!"
That voice! What was *he* doing on-stage?
Soun removed his mask, uttering a stage laugh. "Just think of
me as a simple servant who wishes to help bring the two of you
together."
Great. Now her 'uncle' was helping as well. "Uncle!" hissed
Ranma.
"Never fear, Ayumi," the man leaned closer to Ayumi and
whispered in his ear. "I'll tell you what to say."
"Ah...... well, okay."
Ayumi drew Ranma closer to him. "Juliet," he said, repeating the
words as his father spoke them.
"R-Romeo-sama." Ranma resumed her act.
"Once we are married, the dojo will at long last be ours."
The audience was confused. "The dojo?" someone muttered.
"What are they talking about?"
Again, Soun pushed Ayumi toward Ranma. As Ayumi already held
Ranma at arm's length, little effort was needed to place them
face-to-face. "And now," crowed the man, "the kiss!"
"Huh?" Ayumi yelped, and Ranma was as equally surprised.
Cheers and applause erupted from the audience. "It's about
time!" a boy cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled.
"I've always wanted to see them kiss!"
"What a great scene!" several boys chimed at once. Ranma was
the most difficult girl in the school to strike up a relationship
with, so if anyone could get close to her, much less *kiss* her...
that would be quite a feat, indeed.
Ayumi felt the blood rush to his face. Were they cheering for
the *characters* kissing, or Ranma and Ayumi? "What the...?" he
managed as he looked out upon the crowd.
"Nothing happened!" Ranma frantically waved her arms in a
warding gesture. It was rather obvious that all of this was for
Ayumi kissing her, not Romeo kissing Juliet. But why? "Nothing
happened!" She turned a glare on Soun, who suddenly had a giant
panda leaning out the trap door next to him. "What's going on here?"
Her father held up a large billboard of a sign. It was an
advertisement for the play, telling everyone to come to see the
passionate kiss Romeo and Juliet will share...
"So THAT'S why you wanted me to be here!" Ayumi no longer cared
who heard him. "You're trying to force us together again!"
"Absolutely! Can't you see? Our houses must be joined!" And
with that, the two fathers made an effort to push Ayumi and Ranma
back into an embrace... until Ayumi back-kicked them both into the
scenery. "KNOCK IT OFF!" he practically exploded. "I didn't sign
up for this so I could kiss her!"
Ayumi rounded on the two fathers while the anger steadily rose
in Ranma. "Get it through your heads! I'm NEVER gonna kiss her!!"
<That's IT!> she let the rage take over. Ranma ripped the tree
branch hidden behind her balcony and swung it toward the boy like a
baseball bat. "Yeah!? Well, I don't want to kiss you, either!" she
retorted through her teeth.
Genma raised a new sign. [Your actions are unforgivable!]
"You're not the ones who are supposed to be fighting!" Soun
fought back his tears to cry.
Meanwhile, the audience breathed a collective sigh. "What a
weird play..."

(...to be continued...)

------------
Credits:

Written by: Mike Koos
Pre-readers: Richard Beaubien, Jonathan Ng, Tom Williams, David Wills

With apologies to Takahashi Rumiko...

All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works
or from my WWW pages at
http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm
Comments and questions welcome.

*****************************
* Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you.
*---------------------------* Your background music is too
* email: mak...@mother.com * strong for me."
***************************** - Whose Line is it Anyway?
www: http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm