" Bifurcation. n To divide or be divided into two branches or parts. "
—Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
" BIFURCATION "
A Ranma ½ Fanfiction by CompMan44
Text Conventions:
Text Denotes thoughts
«Text» Denotes foreign speech
(note that Japanese is considered the "home language.")
*Text* Denotes a sound effect
Text Denotes the setting and/or scene
… Disclaimer …
The characters and settings used in this story are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty TV, and Viz Communications. They are used here without permission.
… Foreword …
I just want to warn you: this is my very first fanfic. It takes place about a week after the wedding disaster. I put quite a bit of work into it, but even so, it's fairly short.
The concept of this story has most certainly been used before—several of the stories I've read used it in fact—but this is my own take on the idea. The chapter titles, as you might have guessed, come from the phases of cell division in biology; I thought it only fitting.
One more thing before starting the story proper; I don't plan to put any lemon in it. As much as the story lends itself to such, I'm just not very good at writing that sort of thing. So I'll apologize ahead of time. ^_~
… Part 1: 'Interphase' …
" Interphase. During interphase, the cell's chromosomes duplicate themselves, in preparation for nuclear division. "
Tendo Dojo: Saturday, 3pm
"RANMA NO BAKA!" The battle cry rang through the Tendo household, shattering the afternoon calm. Actually, it shattered several things, most notably a vase on the living room table, and Ranma's eardrums.
Ranma sighed. What'd I do this time? he wondered. Not that it would have mattered to Akane; she'd find something to blame on him, he was sure of it. Dropping out of his meditative stance, he was nearly to the Dojo door when the inevitable appearance of Mallet-sama—not to mention its wielder—stopped him in his tracks.
"Oi, Akane. What's up?"
She turned to face him, quite literally steaming with rage, but the hint of tears in her eyes.
"You should know perfectly well 'what's up,' Ranma! You— you— Oooh! You make me so mad!"
"Still doesn' tell me what'cher so mad about, Akane. What, didja look in the mirror and see jus' how kawaiikune ya are?" He smirked as Akane took another angry swing at him, and he leapt nimbly over it, knocking her to the ground from behind. As she got to her feet, he noticed an envelope under her arm.
"Hey, what's that?" he asked, gesturing at the item.
"That's what's 'up,' Ranma!"
"But I don't ev'n know—"
Before he could finish, she had thrust the letter into his hands, so he began reading.
" To Mr. and Mrs. Ranma Saotome:
Congratulations on your first child; may she be as lovely as her mother.
Signed,
A Friend "
"What the… 'Mrs.'? Who—"
His stupor left him open for a harsh slap across the cheek. On her way out the door, she half-turned to him, and asked with a glare, "So who's the lucky girl?" She stalked out without waiting for an answer.
Looking down at the letter again, Ranma flipped it over to see who had sent it. It came as no surprise that there wasn't a return address. He ran through a mental checklist of people that might want to get him in trouble. Pops? Nah. He'd never do something that subtle, Ranma thought with a twinge of sarcasm. Ryoga, maybe? Now there was someone who was anything but subtle. Scratch that idea, too.
The Kunos were out of the question as well, since he knew they'd rather accost him in person—whichever he happened to be at any given moment. He tossed out the ideas of Happosai, Soun, and Kasumi as quickly as they came to him. Nabiki might have come up with something like this, but he doubted she was this adamant about his marriage to Akane, despite the fact that she'd been the one to crash their attempt last weekend.
I give up, he sighed. Not a single person he could think of would have the means, mindset, and most importantly, the motive to pull this sort of prank. Unless it's someone I don't know, said a small voice in the back of his mind. But why would someone I don't even know… He decided to leave that train of thought alone. Whoever did this had a reason, as strange as it might be. And 'strange' was nothing new to him.
Speaking of strange, he noted to himself, that's the first time today that Akane yelled at me. It wasn't something to complain about, he knew, but it sent a sort of chill down his spine. On most days, he'd have gotten into at least five or ten arguments with her by this time of day. Her incessant yelling, slapping, kicking, and malleting were things he'd long since gotten used to. They even seemed to define her in Ranma's mind. But today, she'd only done it once so far. Maybe the world's finally gone as crazy as me, he thought with a frown.
Before he came to any conclusions, though, the girl in question reappeared. Ranma winced, and braced himself for another attempted pounding, but none came. When he looked up, he saw that the hint of tears he'd seen earlier had finally become full-fledged tears, threatening to pour from her eyes as liberally as they tended to do from her father's. Confused, he stepped cautiously toward her.
"Akane? What's… what's wrong?" Seeing her like this started to make him feel guilty, even though he knew the letter had been faked. "C'mon, Akane. What're ya so worked up about?" But no answer was forthcoming. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he dredged up from a dusty corner of his mind. Wrapping a tentative arm around her shoulders, he led her over to a bench by the wall. As they sat down, he was shocked—and secretly, a little glad—when Akane leaned her head over on his shoulder.
"I… Ranma, I… why would you…" Akane stuttered. She stopped for a moment, trying to regain her composure. Finally, sitting up, she asked him, "Ranma, how could you do something like this to me?"
"Wha'dya mean, Akane? I didn' do anyth—"
"I don't want to hear another of your excuses, Ranma! I just want to know why!" She was practically screaming. She bent over, and began crying into Ranma's chest. "I just… want to know… why…"
"Akane… look, f'r one thing, I don't even know who sent that letter. And another, I've never ev'n… been with… anybody, so this's gotta be some kind o' prank, or somethin'. 'Sides, ev'n if I had, what's it to ya? 'S not like y're exactly jumpin' at th' chance to marry me—"
"Baka!" She slapped him across the face once more—the same cheek as before, too. Well, that's twice, he noted mentally, wincing at the welt he could feel starting to rise. "You idiot! I— I do l- like you… but… you're so… just so stupid sometimes!" Ranma was taken aback. She likes me? How can I believe that, when…
"How c'n I believe that, when all y'ever do is hit me, or yell at me? You're always getting mad at me for somethin' somebody else did!" As he thought about it, he added, "And it's not just you, either… everybody's always blamin' things on me. You, yer sisters, yer dad, my dad… jeez, Akane. Y'think I enjoy bein' miserable? Y'think I enjoy seeing you miserable?"
It was Akane's turn to be surprised. "You mean… you…"
"Yeah, I… I guess ya could say the feelin's mutual," he replied, a bit dejectedly. He looked away, his eyes resting in the sky, which was just now taking on the dark shroud of night, but with streaks of reddish-orange still in the clouds. "I… I like ya too… Akane." A soft blush—something he rarely wore—spread across his face, and he looked down at his feet. "I… uh… well, I have fer… a while, now, I guess."
Akane looked at him curiously. "You… you mean it?"
Finally looking back at her, Ranma gave her a sly grin. "Would I lie to ya?"
Author's Notes:
Thus ends Chapter 1 of my first endeavour into fanfiction. ^^; Opinions? Comments? Death threats? Please let me know!
And yes, I realize Ranma and Akane may seem a bit out of character, but that's because I don't want to make this too funny; if I did, it would detract from the rather serious theme I have planned. But it won't be completely serious and sad, either; I don't want anyone committing suicide. (Or murder, for that matter.)
[2-1-04] Made some quick edits, read the chapter over again. I notice now that there might be some confusion about that letter. It will come up again, but for now it was just a plot device to set the mood. ^_^