a little more than a year ago, I wrote 'The More Things Change' and put it out to RAAC. Since then, I've gone on and written other stuff, and imho,
improved my writing a fair bit.
then I looked back at my first effort, and found it to be VERY much in need of a rewrite. And so, this is what it is. Cleaned up spelling,
modified continuity, better characterization (I hope), and, well,
all that other good stuff.
I hope I did the right thing. Enjoy.
-rpm
THE RECENT PAST: Togenkyou Island
Sunsets on the isle of Togenkyou were beautiful. The way that it cast a certain soft light on everything was just extremely romantic, really.
This was why the all-male population of the isle was driven nearly to insanity, since there were no women on the isle to share such an event with, and hence kidnapp women from nearby islands, like they had just recently had kidnapped Akane. "YAAAAAAAH! GET AWAY!" Ukyou watched with mild interest as Ranma was chased by Neko-Shampoo,
who was being chased by Akane. They seemed to have recovered from the ordeal just fine, and now that they were on friendly terms with the prince of the island, it had become a dream vacation. "Shampoo! Come back Shampoo!" Mousse yelled. "Don't you see that it is I that loves you? Shampoo!" Ukyou sighed. Not exactly the best way to spend a beautiful sunset,
and she was hoping to share it with Ranma, but she was in no mood today to step back into the vicious circle. That's what it seemed to be for her, a vicious circle, an annoying and unbreakable pattern of her, Shampoo, Kodachi, and sometimes even Akane chasing after Ranma, while Mousse, Ryouga, and Kuno were out to pulverize him. They were on an island, they were _stuck_ there until they reached Japan, and there would probably be no progress made on anyone's part as far as winning Ranma's heart over. So, just for today, she thought, why bother? "RANMA, I'LL KILL YOU!" roared Ryouga as he blazed past. In the wrong direction. Ukyou laughed a little at that. The moron was always good for a laugh or two. As she watched the figures become small specks on the beach, she sighed once more. Okay, she thought to herself, five more minutes and then I go in there and save Ranchan's butt. She couldn't help it, it seemed. Some habits were hard to break.
"Some things _never_ change."
Blank Screen. queue title:
============================ *M productions presents...*
============================
[show flash clips of Ranma, Mousse, Ryouga, Kunou, Kodachi, Ukyou, and Shampoo as music starts fast]
Been running so long [Show Ranma and Akane running to I've nearly lost all track of time school. They jump into the hordes In every direction that usually attack Akane every day I couldn't see the warning signs and start fighting.]
======================== *A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction*
========================
I must be losin' it [Show Ukyou in her guy-disguise and 'Cuz my mind plays tricks on me then in her more ladylike look]
It looked so easy [Show standard wimpy Gosunkugi But you know looks sometimes deceive back-to-back with suit-clad confident and smirking Gosunkugi twin]
====================================== *Based on stories by Rumiko Takahashi*
======================================
Been running so fast [Show Ryouga running across various Right from the starting line locations across the world, checking No more connections maps, asking for directions, etc...]
I don't need any more advice
One hand's just reaching out [Show all the various Jusenkyo And one's just hangin' on cursed people (Shampoo, Ryouga,
It seems my weaknesses Genma, Ranma, Mousse, etc falling Just keep going strong into their Jyusenkyou pools]
====================================== *RANMA 1/2: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE...*
======================================
CHORUS Head over heels [Ryouga looking at a map]
Where should I go Can't stop myself [Kunou glomping angry Ranma-chan]
Outta control Head over heels [Ranma & Akane about to kiss No time to think (from the ice-skating episode) and Looks like then notice the presence of The whole world's out of sync everyone nearby and watching]
========================== *INSERT LEGAL JARGON HERE*
==========================
Been running so hard [Ranma-chan running from Shampoo]
When what I need is to unwind
The voice of reason [Mousse on his knees in front of Is one I left so far behind an angry Shampoo]
I waited so long [Ranma & Akane in the Romeo So long to play this part and Juliet play]
And just remembered That I'd forgotten about my heart
CHORUS Head over heels [Show Ukyou next to an old jukebox Where should I go in her resteraunt. She looks sad,
Can't stop myself & is soon seated by a happy Ranma Outta control & Akane, then Mousse, then Head over heels an angry Shampoo, then Kunou, and No time to think then Kodachi.]
Looks like The whole world's out of sync [Ryouga finally wanders in, looking very much lost and checking a map.
He knocks over a lamp and the room goes dark]
(The music fades as the big piano riff hits)
PRELUDE:
THINGS CHANGE
There exists, in the universe, an incredibly powerful force. It does not move mountains. It does not raze the earth. It does not spawn the seeds of creation on barren rocks. It does nudge people down certain paths without them even aware of it's influence. There are a select few that take this force seriously but even they just shrug their shoulders and stand aside as it twists the universe in strange ways. (Well, some of them, anyways. The cult of the Oddsmakers, the most well-known group,
live in Las Vegas, running incredibly tacky looking temples. They seem to take a great interest in professional sports, scantily clad dancers, neon,
and Elvis.) It's that kind of a force. It is called Normality. The most commonly known effect is the fact that there will always be death and taxes in this world. Always. It's not very complicated,
really. Normality is aided by human nature, and is in fact, shaped by it. If something persists long enough, like plants dying in a certain geographical area, mysterious disappearances in a certain region, or the Chicago Cubs never winning a baseball championship, it begins to move forward through time much like a boulder moves downhill. Pretty soon,
that boulder gets plenty of momentum and it becomes the natural state of that boulder. It's already rolling around nicely, so why stop it? The force of Normality isn't unshakable. There always exists the possibility that the Cubs might win a championship one of these years, but the force makes it very bloody unlikely that they'll win it too many times, if at all. In Tokyo, Japan, there has been a template of Normality installed and enforced after many years of human nature carving it out. Basically, it's like this: There's going to be a boy, a girl, and an absurd number of other girls. All the girls will pursue the boy, except one which will be fairly reluctant to even acknowledge that she cares about him. The boy will be attracted to this one girl that happens to chase him the least. This sort of thing has happened consistently in the history of Tokyo. From the dawn of civilization, a primitive man ran hectically across the plains as a small army of women stormed after him. A samurai met a humble farmer and his seven daughters. A prince ran for cover as he discovers that his twelve mistresses arrived in the same room waiting to surprise him for his birthday but instead were surprised when they found out that they were all promised marriage to the prince. The list goes on. Have you ever heard of the saying "The more things change, the more they stay the same"? That is very much correct. However, lately, Normality has been suppressed. The boulder has met some rather flat geography. For the longest time Tokyo has lacked such a fiery romance as the ones of its past. Things were calm in the city. Too calm. When Normality gets suppressed, it builds up like water in a dam. Or in this case, maybe a flow of boulders in a dam. Whatever. The point is that when it finally gets released, it flows steadily and rather viciously, with alot of destruction, mayhem, and loud noise. Recently,
the Normality had been restored thanks to a foolish martial arts master and his son. However, the hold that Normality had on this situation was weakening and it needed somebody else to get shoved into the situation.
Normality isn't picky. It doesn't care WHO is stuck with the job as long as SOMEBODY is stuck with the job.
The Tendou household was peaceful. Everybody was out doing something: Nabiki garnering funds from Kunou, Ranma being chased out in the streets by Akane, Soun and Genma out to the hardware store to buy reinforcements for the dojo, and Kasumi was cleaning up the kitchen. In the living room, Kasumi's dinner was set on the table. Someone crept in unseen, stood over the table, performed some unseen task, and left silently.
Shampoo bicycled along the walls and rooftops of Nerima, bowl of mind-altering-drug-spiced ramen in hand. She was happy. She thought Ranma is finally going to take her on a date today. With mind-boggling accuracy, she rocketed her bicycle off a roof and into the Tendou's dining room. She finally brought the bike to a stop and looked around... and noticed exactly what Ranma was doing.
She screamed.
High above Nerima, Ryouga ran. Eyes full of tears, fists clenched, and a pained expression on his face. Akane was several blocks behind, calling out to Ryouga and wondering why he was running and who he was running from. She couldn't keep up to his pace and soon lost track of him. Ryouga finally ran out of steam. He fell to his knees and started punching the pavement in frustration. Someone walked up to him, Ukyou Kuonji. Ryouga, by chance, had stopped near her store. She asked him what was wrong. He turned away from her,
fists clenched. Then he told her. She looked stunned, walked back to her store, shut the door, and hung up the "We're Closed" sign. Nearby, a Turn Right sign suddenly jumped around as if it was incredibly happy. It bounded into the store. It flew out much faster, followed by a flurry of small, very sharp throwing spatulas.
The Kunou family ninja Sasuke bounded into the Kunou residence. He raced into the room of Tatewaki Kunou. Nearby, Kodachi eavesdropped on the conversation. Sasuke bowed before Kuno, and spoke. Something rare happened. Tatewaki Kunou was angered beyond speech. He opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish and rattled his bokken. Elsewhere, an enraged Kodachi raced into the night, armed with her ribbon and a large metal mallet.
Nowhere...
Entities were swirling in a place not quite existing, debating and arguing amongst themselves.
I SENSE THE POTENTIAL IN HIM. YES, THE TIME OF HIS DECISION IS NEAR. THIS IS THE NEXT GREAT MAGE? SO FAR HIS LIFE HAS NOT BEEN MUCH, HAS IT? WHAT IF HE GOES MAD? THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE DISASTROUS. EVERY GREAT MAGE GOES THROUGH GROWING PAINS. HE IS NOT VERY STABLE. HE HAS BEEN TRYING FOR SO LONG, HAS HE NOT? YES, BUT HE SEEMS TO BE STUCK ON PAPER DOLLS... Why are we talking like this?
LIKE HOW?
LIKE THIS.
I... HAVE NO IDEA.
The titanic Dojo Destroyer had finally found a part of a little known but very much feared school of martial arts. This, he felt, would be his first step in recovering from that disaster in the Tendou Dojo, where he first met defeat. He was depressed for months, until finally he dedicated himself once more to training and had sought out a suitable challenge. He stood in the dojo, examining his opponent. His adversary was young,
arrogant, and overdressed. The Dojo Destroyer would have fun crushing this one. "Are you ready?" the Dojo Destroyer rumbled. "Sure." The young man grinned.
One minute later the young man was standing confidently, untouched,
while the Dojo Destroyer was out cold, a scar burned across his chest. The young man turned his back to the destroyed Destroyer, sneering.
"Next."
===============END PRELUDES===============
"The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn."
- anonymous