Transferring Trouble

Usual disclaimers: Ranma, Akane and the students of Furinkin High are the property of Rumiko Takahashi (all bow) and various publishing and anime producing companies. Saionji is the property of Chiho Saito, BePapa, Viz Video and other producers of Revolutionary Girl Utena. I'm not making one thin yen off this.

Rated for cartoon violence

Chapter Two - Those Who Forget Their Past...

The second Monday of school was a disaster. He was walking to school, minding his business, when he was suddenly struck from behind. He fell face forward into the pavement. He lifted his face quickly enough to see a small, grotesque figure dressed in purple, carrying a large sack over its back. "What a haul, what a haul!" gloated the retreating creature.

Something struck him again. It felt like a foot using his head as a spring board. He saw a slender girl, hair done up in a tight braid running down the street after the short man. "Come back, you old freak!" yelled the girl.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Saionji discovered that his lunch was missing when he picked up his spilled books. To his surprise, he saw a panda eating the remains of his carefully prepared lunch. When he reported the incident to a policeman standing on the next corner, the officer seemed unsurprised.

"But there's a panda running loose," exclaimed Saionji to the bored looking cop.

"Yeah, we know. I'll have a talk with him," was the cop's reply.

Things got worse at lunchtime. He was trying to look unconcerned, buy his stomach's growling gave him away.

"Hey, Saionji! Want some food?" It was Ranma Saotome, of all people, holding up a lunch box. Saionji approached him warily. What could Saotome be up to? Hunger won over caution, and he reached into the box, plucked out a roll, and stuffed it into his mouth.

It took a moment before his brain could comprehend how terribly, dreadfully awful the food was. He spat it out on the ground. He wanted to strike Saotome, wipe that smug smile off the underclassman's face. He started to raise his hand, when he remembered his family's orders. He lowered his trembling fist.

"How pathetic," he grated out. "Is poison the only way you can think of to keep your little fiancee?"

Surprisingly, Saotome laughed at that. "Nah, but I'll be sure to let Akane know how much you enjoyed lunch." He sprang away before Saionji could think of an appropriate retort to Ranma's nonsensical remark.

Tuesday was no better. It was raining, hard. Saionji walked through the downpour, grumbling at his family's insistence that he walk to school like any other student. He was so busy feeling sorry for himself that he didn't hear the approaching hoofbeats. A small black shape came hurtling out of an alleyway, right into Saionji's arms. Saionji dropped his homework into a large mud puddle. He glared at the creature, which turned out to be a piglet wearing a yellow and black bandana around its neck. It sprang away, disappearing into the fog. Grumbling, Saionji leaned down to pick up his ruined homework - and found himself face down in the puddle.

He looked up to see the disappearing figure of a girl with a tight braid down her back. Her again! She was yelling, "Get back here, you jerk!"

He got up, disgusted. Not only was his homework ruined, but now his clothes were covered in mud and soaking wet. He sat through the day's classes, damp and miserable. He swore to himself that from now on he would keep a clean uniform in his school locker from now on, just in case.

On Wednesday, he thought his luck had changed. He got all the way to school without disaster. Unfortunately, he was accosted by a lunatic as soon as he entered the school yard. The man, wearing a Hawaiian shirt of extreme garishness, ran after him with scissors and hair shears, yelling something about "da buzz cuts." Saionji's long flowing locks barely escaped the madman. To make things more incredible, the madman actually claimed to be the principal!

He complained to a teacher, demanding that the authorities be called at once to remove this dangerous lunatic from school grounds. The teacher had just shrugged, and explained that the crazy man with a hair obsession was, in fact the principal. Saionji stalked off to class, muttering to himself. Maybe he could talk his family into sending him to a boarding school somewhere else, anywhere else.

By the end of the school day, he was in a foul mood indeed. When he searched for Akane in the schoolyard, his fury reached new heights. There she was, by the gate, talking and smiling (smiling!) at that little freak, Gosankugi. He stormed over to them and shoved the underclassman away.

"Go away!" he commanded. Gosonkugi, eyes wide, backed away slowly as though from an escaped zoo animal.

"Hey, why you do that?" exclaimed Akane. She wasn't smiling at him now, oh no. She looked quite angry.

"That creature shouldn't be anywhere near you," he snapped. Couldn't she see that it was for her own good? Foolish female.

"I don't like bullies!" she yelled at him.

Saionji's temper finally snapped. Family orders, vows to behave better, all gave way to bad habits. He slapped Akane hard across the face.

He remembered how it was at his old school. The Rose Bride would forget her place, he would strike her. She would fall to her knees and beg his forgiveness, apologizing for her stupidity in angering him.

His pleasant memories came to a screeching halt. Akane was rocked back by the slap, but she didn't fall to her knees. She turned back to him. He could see the red imprint of his hand on her face, he could see her furious eyes, and he could actually see her battle aura, brighter than the sun and just as dangerous. He was stunned. He had sensed his opponents' battle auras many times in many martial arts fights and fencing bouts, but to actually see one, it was incredible!

"Why - you - jerk!" she screamed.

He found himself flying through the air, getting a bird's eye view of Nerima. His last thought before he hit the ground and lost consciousness was, "Where the hell had that mallet come from?"

End Chapter Two