Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma and the rest of the gang. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and all the other respective owners. I own nothing. Well, I own Suiren, because she's my character, I made her up, along with some others (I can't name them, because that would ruin the story). I'm using all the names of the gang without permission.
Author's Notes: Warning, this is gonna be a long one! I started to think one day, what if… (I can't tell you, it will ruin the story) but then I wrote this story on the bus when I should have been doing my homework (eep!). Suiren is a girl that I made up, but I thank Crikit, because I got the name Suiren from one of her pieces, called 'Akane & I,' and I suggest you read it, 'cause it's really funny. Anyway, thanks for the name, Crikit, and I hope everyone likes the story. Here's 'Suiren.'
~
The girl pushed a stray strand of her long, black hair from her face as she stared at the road sign.
"Welcome To Nerima"
The girl's face lit up with a smile. 'I'll find them here, I just know it! I'll finally be able to see them again after all this time.' She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and walked forward into Nerima.
~
Akane Tendo ran into Ranma's room. "Ranma! Wake op! We're going to be late for school!"
Ranma leapt to his feet in a flash. "WHAT???"
Akane leaned against the doorframe, a smug smile spread across her face. "Gotcha." She dodged the pillow that came flying at her. Ranma glared at her. "The tournament's today, remember?"
"Yeah, so?" Ranma rubbed sleep from his eyes.
"It starts at one, right?"
"Ranma was getting annoyed with this question and answer game. "Your point is…?"
Akane straightened from the doorframe, smoothing her gi. "Well, it's noon now."
Ranma sat down on his futon. "Yeah, right."
"No, seriously. Look at the clock. She thumbed in the direction of the alarm clock. Ranma's gaze traveled from Akane to the clock. Sure enough, it read twelve noon.
"Ohshitohshitohshitohshit!" Ranma ran around the room, gathering clothes and his bath stuff. Finally, he ran out the door, past Akane, and down the hall to the baths. Akane shook her head and made her way downstairs.
As she sat at the table, her father asked, "Ranma up yet?"
"Yes, he's up now. Kodachi really got him good with the sleeping potion last night." Akane accepted the bowl of rice Kasumi offered her.
Ten minutes later, Ranma came rushing downstairs, water glistening from his pigtail. After wolfing down his lunch, Ranma ran outside to begin his warm-up. A few minutes later, Akane followed him outside, to find him rushing through his katas.
"Ranma! Slow down! At this rate, you'll kill yourself before the tournament starts!"
Ranma stopped, and sat on the ground. Wiping sweat from his forehead and breathing heavily, Ranma closed his eyes and savored the heat of the early afternoon. When his breathing slowed, he opened one eye and looked at Akane. "Wanna spar with me?"
~
The girl looked at the flyer in her hand, then at the sign on the building. "Tendo Dojo," she murmured to herself, "This is the place."
The girl strained her ears, and heard the faint sounds of combat. The girl walked through the gate, and found her way to the dojo. Opening the door, the girl was bombarded by the sounds of combat and cheers from spectators.
Two men were fighting it out in the middle of the dojo. One was considerably older than the other, as the younger man had to be no more than sixteen or seventeen. With a determined look on his face, the younger man bounded toward the wall, deflecting off it, and before the older man knew what hit him, kicked the older man, knocking him out. The younger man landed on the ground without a sound, flipped his pigtail over his shoulder, and called out to the crowd, "Are there anymore challengers out there?"
The room was silent.
"I'll fight you." Ranma turned toward the door to see a girl removing her backpack from her shoulders. She had obviously just arrived. She walked confidently to the middle of the dojo as the older man was dragged off to the sidelines. She also flipped her long, black braid over her shoulder. She was wearing travelling clothes, and was slightly dusty
"What is your name?"
"I will remain nameless until you defeat me," said the girl.
"Fine with me."
"Soun began to rattle off the rules. "Rule Number One: The first opponent to have both shoulder blades touch the ground or be knocked out, loses. Rule Number Two: Anything goes in this battle." The two bowed to each other, and took up ready positions.
The girl surveyed her opponent. 'He looks to be about three years younger than I am. But I shouldn't judge by age, considering the way he beat that older man. But he is exhausted from his other battles. This shouldn't be too hard.'
Ranma was also sizing up his opponent. 'She looks easy enough. I'm really wiped out after the other battles.'
"You may begin."
Immediately, the girl leapt into the air, straight at Ranma. Before he could block, she released three kicks at him. She landed on the ground, and, taking advantage of Ranma's stupor from the kicks, swept her foot beneath his, bringing him crashing to the ground. But his shoulder blades didn't touch the floor.
'She's better than I thought.' Ranma leapt onto his feet with a grunt. The girl sent a roundhouse kick at his head, but Ranma easily bounded in the air, avoiding the kick. He twisted artfully in the air, landing behind the girl. When she turned around, he tapped her forehead, sending her to the ground, flat on her back. She stayed there, admitting defeat.
Ranma walked over to her. He offered a hand to help her up. She sat up, staring at him in amazement. She took his offered hand, and he hauled her to her feet. While she dusted herself off, Ranma asked, "So what is your name?"
She straightened, looking him right in the eye. "Suiren Saotome."
Ranma froze. Genma stared at the girl. 'Suiren? She's still alive?'
~
Author's Notes: Cliffhanger! This is for all you authors out there who torture the reader by ending chapters with cliffhangers. (Sorry to everyone else.) This was a really good place to end the chapter. Wondering who Suiren is? You'll hafta wait till the next chapter! E-mail me! My e-mail is