JediKasumi02

Jedi Kasumi

By
Jim Robert Bader

(Apologies to Takahashi & Lucas,
but far too many readers have been asking
me for another chapter)





It had seemed like a simple enough assignment, hunting down one of 
the few surviving members of the Jedi High Council, who had been 
rumored to be crossing into an unknown sector of this part of the 
galactic arm, but who could have anticipated that the wily old Witch 
would put up such a fierce resistance?

Now Darth Purge found himself in the jettisoned life capsule of his 
ruined starship, plummeting landward with his life systems barely 
functional and almost no control over his rate of descent as he watched 
the monitors registering a sizeable island mass that lay directly below 
him...and seeming to increase in size with every passing second!

On the whole it looked to be a very disappointing end to what had 
been such a promising young career.  The former Jedi turned Sith Lord 
curled a lip in faint disgust as he did what he could to try and miss 
landing on anything too solid.  At best he would just barely miss the 
coastline by a few dozen meters, which meant that he had to rely upon 
the inertial-dampening crash systems of his pod to absorb the brunt of 
the damage or else his pod would likely become his coffin.  Not given 
to optimism, he prepared for the worst as best he was able.  Having no 
particular religious inclinations he naturally felt no urge to pray, nor 
could he expect to have an afterlife as his dark philosophy demanded 
that only pain and ruin were the price for failure.  Given all of that he 
could only watch the monitor with a grim sense of fatalism.  He could 
not even nurture the satisfaction of knowing his enemy had perished as 
he sensed that she was very much alive and in much better condition 
than he himself at the moment.

Impact came with a suddenness that drove all thought from his 
consciousness, and he blissfully passed into oblivion with only 
minimal pain for the stunning trauma of his landing.  Seriously 
wounded and barely alive, his pod driven deep into the water by the 
force of his impact, he had no sense at all that his fall was being 
observed from the shoreline.  In fact nothing mattered to him at all 
until an unknown amount of time had passed and he found himself 
being dragged onto the beach by a pair of tiny hands that proved to be 
surprisingly strong and supple.

Purge coughed out briny water as sunlight hammered relentlessly on 
his much-aggrieved senses.  There was little more strength left to him 
as he saw a hazy face appear above his head and someone asking him 
in an alien tongue about his condition.  He could sense no hostile 
intentions directed towards him, only a sincere concern and curiosity 
about his landing and appearance.  By the time Purge managed to 
focus his eyes upon his rescuer he had already formed an impression 
as to this alien's nature.  His eyes confirmed his suspicions, for she was 
a humanoid girl-child, not yet even near puberty, and pleasing enough 
as things went for the species.  Purge contemplated the child, then idly 
wondered at what had become of his universal translator.

He was too weak to do anything more, his injuries being substantial, so 
he put himself into a meditative trance and had no further thought 
about what went on around him.  When he awoke later it was in a 
building that quite clearly was intended as a medical ward, and he had 
tubes inserted into his body with fluids dripping into his veins and air 
being fed to his nostrils...all quite primitive and backwater when 
compared to the standards of the society from which he had fallen.  
Purge had little patience for their poultices and mummery and got 
himself well out of that place as soon as he was physically able.  The 
guards they had posted to watch over him proved no match at all for 
his Sith training, nor was the place he was kept in sufficiently secure 
enough to hold him.

After retrieving his belongings he went in search of his life pod and 
managed to trace his path back to the beach upon which he had been 
stranded.  There he encountered the female who had somehow 
managed to save his life and found her practicing in an arcane and 
primitive kata revolving around a huge iron implement that she 
wielded like a broad ax.

Despite himself Purge found himself intrigued by the girl, sensing an 
intensity about her that rivaled his own dark ambitions and---even 
more astonishing for her backwater species---she seemed to have little 
fear of his alien appearance when he approached her, she just went 
about practicing as though nothing were the matter.  Clearly the girl 
had a strong motive of revenge that was fueling her movements, and 
this was a motivation to which he could easily relate, having come to 
feel such things towards those who had wronged him in his youth, 
back when he had followed the insipid philosophy of his Jedi Master.  
Clearly the child was training to be a warrior, and that sparked within 
him a half-formed thought that would possibly serve his need to 
complete his own mission.  A Padwar could be helpful to his quest, 
especially one who understood the language and the culture of her 
planet.

It was not that he felt indebted towards her or even particularly 
grateful, but the child had done him a favor, after a fashion, and he 
could see such...possibilities in one so young and impressionable, so 
near already to being claimed by the Dark Side.  If the child proved to 
be as intelligent and alert as he suspected...then this would prove 
beneficial indeed!  And so a plot was formed, one that would have 
unexpected results less than a decade later, when at last Jedi and Sith 
Lord would meet again with their heirs to clash in a battle that would 
decide the fate of all who lived in the Prefecture that was known as 
Nerima...



*	*	*



"Begin," said Trieste as she charged her students to engage one 
another in combat.

At once Nabiki and Akane began to free-spar with their wooden 
Naginatas, circling each other across the floor of the dojo while 
making slow, experimental passes with their pole arms, never looking 
either directly at nor away from their opponent.  At first theirs seemed 
to be a slow, ritualized dance as they tested each others guard and 
seemed to probe for openings, but then they clashed in earnest as their 
wooden weapons connected and then deflected one another.  Several 
times the sound of wood striking wood punctuated the air before the 
two sisters would break off, circle around, and try once again to 
penetrate their respective defenses.

And as the sisters continued to spar, Trieste spoke to the boy seated 
next to her and said, "What do you see before you, young Master?"

Ranma was a little surprised by the question but answered it just the 
same, "Two girls going at it...they're pretty good.  That Akane's got a 
lot of raw strength and her control is pretty awesome, but I'd have to 
give Nabiki the edge here.  She's got her sister figured out pretty good, 
and she's almost making this seem effortless."

"And of course you believe that you could take them both on, 
correct?" his sensei asked with a knowing smile that Ranma found 
somewhat disconcerting.

"Well..." Ranma had to reluctantly concede that it would be a pretty 
close match.  He could beat Akane, no problem, but that Nabiki...she 
was another thing entirely, almost his equal in the arts and very tricky.

"You are wise not to leap to any conclusions," Trieste informed him, "I 
have trained these girls as best I could within their limitations.  Akane 
is young and impulsive, very brash and headstrong, not the best 
qualities one could find within a warrior, but she certainly knows that 
she is good without having to overpower her opponent.  Her sister is a 
different story altogether...very clever and perceptive, very precise in 
her control over her power, and always two steps ahead of the game.  
She can feel an attack coming faster than the eye can perceive it, and if 
you telegraph anything of your intentions she will pick it up and ready 
a counter before you have even begun to execute a maneuver.  She is 
subtle where Akane is open, and while you could prove to be a match 
for either one it is almost guaranteed that you would not come away 
unscathed in such a battle.  However...it is not merely a question of 
power that can decide the victor here."

"Yeah?" Ranma asked, "What does?"

"Observe," Trieste replied without needing to indicate that they should 
pay closer attention to the battling sisters.

Ranma saw a moment coming almost instantly as he saw Akane 
overstep herself by a fraction of a centimeter.  Her weight shifted 
slightly off balance, and even as he registered this fact he saw Nabiki's 
Naginata hook out to catch her sister's foot and draw her further off her 
balance.  Akane stumbled, started to go down, then did a backward flip 
to regain her footing, only to suffer a rap to her jaw by the blunt end of 
her sister's wooden pole.  Akane fell heavily to the floor but almost 
immediately recovered, spinning back to her feet only to find the 
wooden blade-end of Nabiki's Naginata pressed firmly up against her 
breastbone.

"Smile Sis," Nabiki said cheerfully, "You're dead."

"That's not fair!" Akane protested, "You cheated!"

"You enemy isn't going to have any scruples about it in a fight, 
Akane," Nabiki replied, "You're the one who gave me the 
opening...how many times have I told you about practicing more on 
your footwork?"

"Nabiki is right, Akane," Trieste spoke up, "Your enemies will not 
have any hesitation about using whatever you give them in a battle.  
You must learn to feel the moment, to let things happen as they will, 
and only to act when you know the moment is upon you.  To do 
otherwise is to attempt to force your will upon events, and if done 
improperly the mere act of wanting can leave you open to the Dark 
Side.  Let the Force flow through you and it will always guide your 
actions in the correct and positive manner."

"Works for me, Sis," Nabiki said as she stood back, "It's not a personal 
thing...I just do what the Force tells me and I let the other guy make all 
the mistakes."

"Ah...this Force stuff," Ranma spoke up, "What's it like?"

Nabiki turned an amused glance his way and said, "Don't you know 
already?  I feel it strongly in you and you don't even have our formal 
training."

"There is a degree of difference between Chi Mastery and the ways of 
the Force," Trieste explained calmly, "You summon the power within 
you to intensify your strength and natural abilities...but the Force does 
that for you automatically and without real effort.  You don't need to 
use your emotions in order to fortify yourself...you let your emotions 
flow freely, but selectively, discarding the negative for the positive.  
Anger, Hate, Resentment, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth...a Jedi cares not for 
these things.  Greed and base Desire have no relevance to our training.  
It is in the positive flow of life itself that a Jedi finds the purest 
expression of the Force.  That is why it is better to love than to hate, to 
appreciate rather than to fear, to seek the fulfillment of basic needs and 
desires without wallowing in the primal soup of negative emotions.  
You don't repress your desires, nor do you completely ignore them, but 
rather you allow them to be and release them as you would let water 
flow between your fingers..."

"Ah..." Ranma felt a curious reluctance at the mention of the word 
"water," but slowly he nodded, "I guess I can figure some of that out.  
It ain't what Pop teaches, but I can't argue with results."

"Your father," Trieste allowed with some hesitation before resuming, 
"Instructed you in the manner in which he was taught by his Master.  
Genma has suffered much for your sake, young Master, and yet you 
have suffered a great deal because of his compulsive behavior.  I sense 
a great deal of anger and resentment within you, and I know how 
strong these qualities have shaped your character, but in time you must 
learn to let them go and no longer be a slave to their dark nature."

"Whatever," Ranma said, then found Nabiki standing in front of him 
with an oddly amused expression.

"Care to free spar with me again, Ranma-kun?" she asked, "We never 
did settle which of us is the better fighter."

"Ah..." Ranma found himself staring at this bright and quirky girl who 
was one year his senior.  Tall, lanky, well developed with incredibly 
well-shaped legs and perfectly tapering feet, her face such a study in 
contrasts, so pretty and feminine on the one hand, so mischievous and 
cat-like on the other (the latter thought caused him to shudder ever-so-
slightly).

"Proving who is best is not the way of the Jedi," Trieste cautioned, "A 
Jedi cares not who is the best or the lesser fighter.  However...I am 
well aware that young people do possess an innate need to prove 
themselves in whatever kind of pecking order they might establish, so 
why don't you two have fun and see what you can learn from one 
another.  I will be the one to judge which of you is the more capable 
fighter."

"Okay," Ranma said, getting to his feet with a curious reluctance as the 
thought of fighting with the middle Tendo sister was making him feel 
uneasy for some odd reason.

"Huh," Akane frowned as she took her place on the floor near to 
Trieste, "I don't know why Nabiki's always got to hog the limelight.  I 
could take that guy down anytime, no problem."

"You still have much to learn," Trieste said with soft amusement in her 
voice, "Perhaps later you can have your chance, but I want Kasumi to 
be the next one who free-spars with young Master Saotome."

"Hmm?" Kasumi turned a surprised look towards her mentor, but the 
young Padwar knew better than to question the desires of her Mistress, 
having long ago learned to trust that the Jedi Mistress always acted for 
the best of purposes.  She turned her attention back towards the boy 
named Ranma, upon whom a good deal of her concentration had been 
focused since their first meeting the previous night.  There was 
something about the odd gender-cursed youth with the name of "Wild 
Horse" that was puzzling her greatly, and Kasumi found that she could 
not stop thinking about him, not even when she attempted her daily 
meditations.

Nabiki had that sly cat-like smile about her as she stood unarmed and 
facing against Ranma.  The boy was clever and quick when it came to 
the martial arts but a bit slow and thick headed in other things.  He had 
a raw, almost elemental character that combined the best and worst 
aspects of the male sex (saving only that he did not strike her as the 
"drooling Hentai" type far too common at their high school).  Ranma 
had been checking her out and was obviously well aware of Nabiki's 
feminine assets (what she allowed him to see, which included a bit of 
fun that she had indulged last night when "surprising" him in the 
shower, all the while pretending it was an "accident" that she had let 
him see her without her clothes on...and vice versa!).

Ranma was undeniably handsome, quite unselfconsciously so, and 
from the way he moved she knew he had a GREAT body (that shower 
business was just for her own confirmation).  You could do a lot of 
really FUN things with a guy like this, and while Nabiki was still (at 
least technically) a Virgin, she reasoned that if she were going to have 
her first fling that she could do a whole lot worse than to seduce this 
Saotome Ranma.

After all, he was cute, handsome, had a great tush and was surprisingly 
easy to manipulate...all qualities that Nabiki could appreciate in a man, 
and he DEFINITELY had an edge over another guy she knew by the 
name of Kuno...

Ranma kept telling himself that he wasn't afraid of this Nabiki, she had 
just caught him off his guard last night, and he hadn't meant to look 
her over, but she was just standing there outside of the Furo with all of 
her BITS showing out, and what was he supposed to do anyway?  It 
wasn't like he hadn't seen a naked girl before (his other self, for one 
thing) and so what if she had a GREAT body with all the parts 
perfectly connected?  Besides, if she didn't want him to look, when 
why hadn't she covered herself up when she found him in the furo?  
For that matter, why had she stepped INTO the furo while he was still 
in it if it bothered her at all that he was a guy and looking right at her?

Of course if he had stayed he might have been accused of trying to 
take advantage of her, but Ranma hadn't stopped to ask what she was 
doing there as he grabbed his things and ran out of the furo (and hey, 
was it his fault if he hadn't finished putting them on when he ran past 
that Akane in the hallway?  Who was she to be calling him names 
anyway, the Uncute Tomboy...?

"Earth to Ranma," Nabiki's voice drew him back into the moment, 
"Are you going to spar with me or should I schedule in another 
appointment?"

"Ah...right," Ranma said, and assumed a fighting posture.

"That's more like it," Nabiki said, and at once she struck before Ranma 
had even registered her movement.

Instinct caused him to turn his body to the side as Nabiki's fist glided 
by his face with mere centimeters of separation.  The girl followed up 
with a punch towards his middle, but Ranma deflected it with his arm 
and stepped into her guard with a backfist that failed to connect as she 
turned her own face sideways.  They grappled together for several very 
intense seconds as hands and feet moved with a speed that was 
superhuman.  A hundred blows were exchanged with neither one 
finding their mark until the two of them broke off and leaped 
backwards to take further stock of one another.  By this point Ranma 
found himself slightly winded from the exhausting exchange, but 
Nabiki was not even breathing heavy, which signified to Ranma that 
she had yet to push herself and was merely taking his measure.

Again they came at one another, this time with kicks being exchanged 
even more than punches, the added distance and power raising the 
stakes and carrying their fight into the air above the floor of the dojo, 
where Saotome Ryu was alleged to be the best of all attack styles.  
Once again Nabiki seemed to anticipate his every move while counter-
attacking at what definitely seemed to be less than her full power.  It 
began to annoy Ranma to think that she was patronizing him, and yet 
still he could not bring himself to feel angry towards her as there was 
something about this Nabiki that appealed to him on a certain level.

They broke off once again and this time Nabiki did appear to be a bit 
more stressed than the last time, and yet in spite of this she was 
grinning even more than ever.  Clearly she was enjoying the fight and 
did not want it to end prematurely.  This Ranma guy was holding his 
own against her, and that had never happened before, and the 
challenge this presented to her was more than a little bit intriguing.

"Ready to give up yet, Ranma-kun?" she teased, and was rewarded to 
find her taunt had caused his resolve to stiffen.

"I'll show you what I can do," Ranma growled, and at once he 
launched into an offensive that was twice as furious as before, using 
specialized maneuvers that Nabiki had never previously encountered, 
which was why she had more difficulty anticipating his attacks, 
especially when a few of them turned out to be double-edged swords 
or feints that concealed his actual intentions.  At last she was caught 
with an opening wide enough for him to solidly connect, and the blow 
knocked her down and carried her almost the full length of the dojo, 
stunning her for several rather grueling and intense seconds.

Ranma's delight at finally scoring turned to dismay when he saw his 
opponent writhing on the floor in pain.  Without thinking he rushed 
over to her side and said, "Hey, are you all right?  I didn't meant to hit 
you so..."

Nabiki came alive the instant he was kneeling over her, and her legs 
wrapped around his neck as she jack-knifed and threw him onto the 
hard wooden floor, landing on top of him and straddling him with her 
body.  She pinned him there using an Aikido maneuver, then grinned 
like a Cheshire cat pouncing on a tasty mouse and said, "Gotcha!  You 
fell for that one big time, Saotome."

"Let me go!" Ranma snarled, "You tricked me!  You---" all at once his 
protests were smothered as Nabiki brought her heaving chest down on 
top of his face.  She lay atop him there and held him closely to her 
body, murmuring softly, "Now there, Ranma-kun...does that feel 
better?  Feel free to sample, I don't mind one bit..."

"Mmmph...?" was all Ranma could say to this, finding his face pressed 
into the warm cleavage of the girl's swelling bosom, nestled between 
the twin pillows that smelled awfully nice from this close a vantage.

"Oh my," Kasumi murmured, in no way having foreseen something 
like THIS occurring!

"Nabiki---what are you doing?" Akane demanded!

"Pressing her advantage it would seem," Trieste remarked, "I 
wondered why your sister had chosen not to wear her halter this time 
around.  Ah well..." she raised her voice and said, "Nabiki-chan...if 
you would like to be alone we could leave you two for now and 
conduct the rest of your training after your normal classes."

"Hmmm?" Nabiki slowly sat upright and adjusted the top half of her 
gi, "Well, if it's all the same to you, Sensei..."

"Hah?" said a slightly stunned Ranma, who lay where he was staring 
blankly up at the ceiling.

Just then Kimiko showed up with a tray of food and said, "Are you 
still working out together?  It's almost past seven...you'll be late for 
your school if you don't clean up and get dressed in a hurry."

"Actually I would say we were about done for now," Trieste turned to 
Kasumi and said, "You'll have your chance to spar with him later, 
dear.  Besides...I think your sister has worn him down for the next few 
moments."

"Hah?" Ranma said once again, still not focused on anything but the 
pattern of the wood grain in the rafters.

"Another time, Ranma-kun," Nabiki cheerfully remarked as she got to 
her feet and tossed him a jaunty smile, relishing his befuddled 
expression, "We definitely have to pick this up where we're leaving 
off.  You'll understand if we take a rain check for now?"

"Hah?" Ranma again repeated.

Nabiki could not hide her delighted expression as she turned away.  
Big, Dumb and Sexy...EXACTLY what she was looking for in a 
boyfriend!  And how nice of him to be concerned enough over her to 
leave himself wide open like that...could she really be blamed for 
taking such an opening?

Apparently Akane did, for her younger sister was glowering at her, 
while Kasumi just seemed...well...unusually distressed over 
something.  Nabiki could not recall when she had last seen her 
normally serene older sister look this perturbed, and it made Nabiki 
wonder if she were really the only member of the household who was 
regarding their new houseguest as a prospective romantic partner.

Well...in a way it did make sense...after all, there was that PROMISE 
of an engagement made by their fathers seeking to wed a Saotome to a 
Tendo, and what more convenient excuse did someone like Nabiki 
need to take advantage of this?  If she ever got too forward she could 
just bring up the subject of an engagement to stifle the protests.

That Akane wanted no part in the whole business was hardly 
surprising at all, given what Nabiki knew about her little sister...but 
what WAS surprising was discovering that she might have Kasumi of 
all people as a potential rival!  Kasumi was surprising for several 
reasons, not least of which being that Nabiki had thought her interested 
in Doctor Tofu, and hadn't her older sister often complained about how 
immature younger men could be?  This did bear further reflection...

Trieste sighed as she contemplated her two most promising students.  
Nabiki had certainly wasted no time in staking out her claims, but 
Kasumi was reacting with more than just maternal empathy for the 
hapless boy named Saotome Ranma.  The older Tendo sister's feelings 
were surprisingly acute considering the scanty time in which she had 
come to know the boy, but almost from the start Kasumi had seemed 
to sense in the young martial artist a desire for intimacy and affection, 
not to mention a very deep pain that would not go away no matter how 
hard the boy sought to bury his emotions.  There was a yearning in 
Kasumi that Trieste had never before detected, and it promised well 
for the future of her young Padwar if she be encouraged to deepen and 
explore the nature of those feelings.

Not all desires were harmful, after all, and though Lust might be 
counted as the dark counterpart to Love, it had many useful 
applications, not least of which was in childbearing and procreation.  
Nabiki was already manifesting an unusual degree of that emotion, and 
Trieste could tell that it was a more intense feeling than any of her 
previous flings, flirtations and even crushes.  It was good to see both 
girls developing a healthy appreciation for the male of their species (as 
for Akane...well, that was only to be expected, given the different 
makeup of her psychodynamics) and Trieste meant to encourage it, 
even if it meant putting the two sisters (at least temporarily, she hoped) 
in opposition to one another.

It was a risky strategy and it could well backfire with tragic results, but 
Trieste would stay alert and monitor the situation to insure that her 
students did not succumb to their darker emotions.  She knew that 
Kasumi and Nabiki loved each other very much and would never 
actively try to hurt one another...but when it came to such a complex 
set of emotions as sexual desire, lust, love and even infatuation, one 
could never be too careful.  There was something about the Saotome 
boy that seemed to draw attention from the opposite sex like bees to 
honey or iron filings to a magnet.  Given the way he had been raised 
by Genma it seemed unlikely that the boy even knew he had such a 
power over women, but it seemed equally likely that he would be 
learning all about it shortly, and the Force protect him when his power 
full blossomed!

It looked as if there would be some interesting times ahead for the 
families of Saotome and Tendo, and Trieste would see what she could 
do to insure that those results did not prove to be too explosive...



*	*	*



Darth Purge curled his lip with anticipation as he surveyed the wide 
valley that lay below him, convinced that at last his long search was 
about to bear fruit, and if his sources were correct he would finally be 
able to complete his mission and be rid of the sole surviving member 
of the Jedi council altogether.

At first it had taken him time to learn where she was staying, and then 
to make careful observation from afar in order to determine for himself 
that the annoying witch had indeed allied herself with a Terran family 
unit and had taken one of their daughters for her Padwar.  Purge had 
prepared to make a daring assault on their living quarters, only to 
discover at the last moment that Trieste had gone on a wandering 
pilgrimage with her Padwar in tow, the better to teach the child about 
the world and the use of her powers.  That had set Purge back by about 
a year, but he had learned to be patient in his time among the 
Terrans...very patient indeed, knowing that if he left the family alone 
his prey would one day return with her apprentice.

And now that day had finally arrived.  Purge had followed the 
accounts of the wanderings of both Jedi and understudy, learned from 
studying accounts of their adventures the extent to which this Tendo 
Kasumi had progressed in her training.  He had monitored rumors of 
the use of certain special powers by the younger two girls and grew 
satisfied to know how much force would likely be needed to destroy 
them.  In the meantime he had been gathering his own resources in 
order to stage his assault, young people with special talents of their 
own who could be taught just enough in the use of the Force to be 
credible allies (IE: Cannon Fodder).

His true Padwar stood to his left, the girl named Kuonji Ukyo, now 
near-fully ready to assume the mantle of the Sith in her own right.  He 
had cultivated the girl's dark obsessions over some boy by the name of 
Saotome Ranma and used it to craft her into a weapon most deadly.  
He had never quite broken her of the habit of using that odd cooking 
implement of hers, or of her other obsession with cooking Japanese 
pancakes, but as the results of her labors was usually quite good he had 
gotten accustomed to the taste of okonomiyaki.  In all other respects 
she was an excellent Padwar, and it was almost a shame that she would 
soon be of an age to prove her mettle or perish.

That was the way of the Sith, after all...the Apprentice would train to 
one day challenge their master.  If the Apprentice were strong then he 
or she would become the Master, but if the Apprentice proved to be 
the weaker...well...there was always time to train a new apprentice...

Not like these other fools who followed him blindly, young men who 
had come into the service of Darth Purge when the Dark Side of the 
force had led them into his employment.  Each had talents of their own 
that made them useful, but none of them was truly worthy to be a Sith 
Lord in their own right.  They served Purge faithfully because of his 
promise to help them in their own peculiar obsessions (a promise he 
may or may not choose to fulfill, depending on whether it worked to 
the advantage of his mission) and he intended to use them for as long 
as they continued to prove useful.

That time was near at hand, and soon Purge would announce his 
continued existence to his longtime enemy...on the day he tore her 
bleeding heart from her chest after making her watch the destruction---
one by one---of her much-beloved students.  Revenge was nearly at 
hand, and soon Darth Purge would be the sole surviving Force Master 
on the planet, and an empire would beckon shortly afterwards as he 
put his superior skills and knowledge to use conquering this pathetic 
mud-ball in a backward sector of the cosmos!

"Come," he said to his minions and allies, and together they descended 
from the hills to begin the task of hunting down Jedi...



*	*	*



"Penny for your thoughts, Ranma-kun," Nabiki asked as they made 
their way towards school.

"Ah..." Ranma said uneasily as he walked the top of the wall, looking 
down on the three sisters, "I'm just wondering why Pop got me 
enrolled in school on my first day in town.  It's not like we're planning 
on staying all that long, and I really ought to be finding a way to get 
back to China..."

"So you can get that curse of yours lifted?" Akane said, breaking her 
own resolve to ignore the boy's very existence, "What makes you think 
you can find one by yourself?"

"I don't know," Ranma huffed, "I just know I gotta.  You've got no 
idea what it's like turning into a girl...I mean...what if you got turned 
into a boy?  How would you feel about that, huh?"

Akane actually thought about that one, and her eyes got very round 
before she said, "Oh boy..."

"Hey, that's not such a stretch when you come to think of it, Sis," 
Nabiki teased her sister, "You act like a boy, and you even chase other 
girls..."

"Shut up," Akane growled, "I'm not like you, you know.  At least I 
don't go throwing myself around flirting."

"True enough," Nabiki conceded, "And it's not exactly your fault when 
you come down to it.  You're practically 'Miss Popularity' in our 
school, but the boys never seen to get a clue that you're just not 
interested..."

"Why would I be interested in a bunch of...BOYS?" Akane huffed, 
"Those raging perverts better stay out of my way.  I've got no time for 
their usual nonsense."

"Has it been very bad for you while I've been away, Akane-chan?" 
Kasumi asked.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, Sis," Nabiki replied, "You'd 
have to see it first to believe it.  By the way...how come you want to 
walk with us to school?  I thought you were attending college."

"Ah...well...it is break time and I wanted to spend more time with you, 
Sisters," Kasumi smiled demurely, "We've been apart for so long, I'm 
sure we have so much catching up to do...a whole years worth of 
gossip."

"Uhuh," Akane said skeptically, "And it wouldn't, by any chance, have 
something to do with a certain promise made by Dad to Uncle 
Saotome?"

"Ah..." Kasumi glanced away and her face colored shyly.

"Yeah, Sis," Nabiki purred softly, "I didn't know you were into 
younger men.  You mean you're not going to just leave the field open 
to me?  I didn't know you were into Boy chasing."

Kasumi colored prettily and did not immediately respond, but Ranma 
nearly lost his footing on the wall as he overheard these exchanges and 
went, "HUH?" in a manner that (even for him) seemed particularly 
clueless.

"Well...didn't you stay awake through that part, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki 
smiled slyly in his direction, "According to our Dads, you're going to 
wind up becoming a husband to either me or Kasumi.  I think we can 
safely rule Akane out of this by her own declaration, right Sis?"

"Completely," Akane growled in a voice that dripped icicles.

"So, there you have it," Nabiki said grandly, "Either Kasumi or me 
will one day have the honor of being your wife...so would you care to 
state a preference, Ranma-kun, over which of us you would prefer to 
be engaged?"

"Engaged???" Ranma gasped as his foot completely missed its target 
and he suddenly went tumbling over the wall and into the drainage 
canal with an audible splash.

All three sisters lined up by the chain-link fence that he had been 
walking upon and peered down into the water where a redheaded form 
came splashing to the surface, spitting out water and looking totally 
befuddled.

"That baka..." Akane sighed.

"Oh my," Kasumi remarked, "Nabiki, you really shouldn't tease him 
like that."

"Hey, it's fun," Nabiki turned a sly look towards Akane, "And look at 
the bright side, Sis, at least now you can think about dating him 
without getting sick, right?"

"Get real," Akane huffed, "He's not really a girl, he just looks like that 
when you add water."

"Yes, but we do not have time to play around if we are to get the three 
of you to school on time," Kasumi responded, stretching out a hand as 
she focused upon Ranma, and a moment later the redheaded girl came 
whooping like a crane as she lifted up into the air, then casually drifted 
over the fence onto the sidewalk, where Kasumi deposited her, still 
dripping wet but otherwise unhurt.

"Whoah," Ranma-chan blinked her eyes at Kasumi, amazed at this 
simple demonstration of her powers.

"Think that's something?" Nabiki asked, then snapped her fingers and 
waved a hand over Ranma, instantly causing the moisture in her hair 
and clothing to part company with her body, "And you won't even 
have dry skin as a consequence.  Now is that handy or what?"

"Huh?" Ranma-chan turned to see the middle daughter eyeing her with 
no less interest than she had paid to her boy form, and remembering 
her prior encounters with Nabiki made her color slightly and feel a bit 
more nervous.

"Hmmm," Nabiki said, "Sure you won't reconsider, Sis?  I think she 
looks really cute this way..."

"Would you two grow up," Akane growled, though she did seem to be 
staring a lot more at Ranma's cursed form than she ever had when 
Ranma had been male.

"That's quite right," Kasumi chided, "We've no time to be playing 
around, and it just wouldn't be proper for Ranma to spend his first day 
in school like this.  We must her at once to Doctor Tofu...I'm sure he'll 
be happy to provide some hot water."

"Good thinking, Sis," Nabiki nodded, "Wouldn't do to have our 
boyfriend get molested on his first day at our school."

"Huh?" Ranma looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Akane warned her in a voice filled with irritation and 
resentment.



A few minutes later a fully-male Ranma understood exactly what had 
been implied by Akane, murmuring to himself, "Man...was that guy 
hopeless or what?  And you say he's your family doctor?"

"That's right," Nabiki said cheerfully, "And usually he's pretty 
competent, but he gets kind of excited every time he sees Kasumi."

"You mean he turns into a total Spaz case," Akane huffed, "He can't 
even see right to stay focused, and when he's like that he can actually 
be pretty dangerous...to anyone but Kasumi."

"Huh?" Ranma eyed the sad-faced older girl as Kasumi had barely 
spoken a word during the whole very strange encounter, "You 
mean...he flips out because...?"

"Yes," Kasumi sighed, "And I used to find it rather amusing when I 
was little, but now that I am a woman he just doesn't seem to be 
getting any better.  I used to think of him as being a very mature and 
level headed fellow, but lately..." she sighed.

"We know, Sis," Nabiki replied with surprising sympathy in her voice, 
"You want more than that from a boyfriend."

"Ah..." Kasumi looked away, seeming as sad and pensive as at any 
time that Ranma had yet seen her.

"Cheer up, Oneechan," Akane spoke reassuringly, "I'm sure one of 
these days Doctor Tofu will snap out of it and come back to his senses.  
He's just excited on seeing you after a year that you've been away.  
Give him a little more time..."

"You're encouraging her?" Nabiki asked skeptically, "I seem to recall 
at one point you had a pretty big crush on the good doctor..."

"Shut up," Akane growled, "It's not like it's something I'm proud 
about, okay?  And besides, I got over that a long time ago..."

"Just the same," Nabiki persisted, "He's about the only guy, aside from 
Daddy, who you treat in any way decent."

"Ah...I don't get this," Ranma remarked, turning back to Akane, "What 
have you got against guys anyway?"

"You'll see in another minute," Akane glowered, quickening her pace 
as she started to snarl, "I hate BOYS!"

"Eh?" Kasumi seemed herself surprised on seeing her younger sister 
charging into the ranks of a group of Furinkan students.  Nabiki just 
seemed to nod sadly and said, "Ranma-kun...welcome to the Furinkan 
High School all-male welcoming committee, Violent Tomboy Fan 
Club Obsessives."

"Hah?" Ranma blinked, seeing around twenty or so boys dressed up in 
various sports outfits come charging towards Akane, who met their 
mass like they were bees attacking a rhino.  What ensued was an 
outright melee in which the lone Tendo sister took down their ranks 
with methodical efficiency, sending the majority of these boys off to 
dream land while being careful not to inflict any permanent injuries to 
even the worst of her assailants.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "Is this sort of behavior typical, Nabiki?"

"Unfortunately so, Sis," Nabiki replied, "At first Akane and me took it 
to be a kind of impromptu training, but lately it's just gotten to be too 
much of a routine to be worth the effort."

"You go through this regularly?" Ranma was openly appalled as they 
walked out onto the field of carnage.

"Just about every school day," Nabiki replied, "Sometimes its me they 
attack, but mostly it's Akane, and I can't say I blame her for being a 
little upset about it.  That's partly the reason why she has such a bad 
temper."

"Or why she thinks so poorly about boys," Kasumi fathomed, "Why 
doesn't the school administration do something to prevent these 
attacks?"

"You don't think they've tried?" Nabiki replied, "Heck, our former 
principal openly encouraged this kind of stuff, which is why 
everybody on the faculty pitched in to give the guy an extended 
vacation in Hawaii.  And these sports addicts aren't even the worst of 
it, the one guy who's the former Principal's son is the real ringleader 
behind it all.  I think you know who I'm talking about, Sis...he used to 
be pretty hung up about you."

"Oh my," Kasumi said with a note of dismay, "You don't 
mean...Tatewaki?"

"Indeed, Gentle Maiden," a male voice said dramatically as a lone 
figure stepped out from the concealment of a tree near the center of the 
school yard, "And Lo, though mine eyes have not witnessed thy beauty 
for nigh-on a season, you continue to blossom and grow more fair with 
time's passage."

For some reason Ranma felt the hackles on his arm and neck stand on 
end as he turned his attention towards a tall boy in a Samurai Hakata.  
Said boy cradled a bokken across his shoulders and stood rather self-
importantly as if expecting everyone to be impressed by his mere 
appearance.

"Kuno!" Akane fairly snarled the world as she turned to regard this 
new comer, "When are you ever going to get it through your thick 
head that I DON'T LIKE MEN!?!"

"Ah, but surely you do not equate these...weaklings with all who are of 
the male half of the population?" the tall boy gave a contemptuous toss 
of his head at the fallen bodies of their fellow students, "Besides...you 
cannot expect me to surrender one as fair as you to the grip of this sad 
fancy for those of your own gender?  It ill behooves a gentleman to 
allow such a travesty to persist.  You but need to spend time with a 
man who can cure you of this fickle jest of the fates that you may 
resume your station as a true and proper woman..."

"Hey Pal!" Ranma called out, "Who the hell are you talking like that to 
her?  And just what do you think you are dressed like that?  Some kind 
of nut or something?"

"And who are you who dares address himself to the great Kuno 
Tatewaki?" the tall boy challenged back with a hint of distant thunder 
in the background, "And by what right do you presume to stand in the 
company of the daughters of the House of Tendo?"

"Oh, didn't you know, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki teased as she took Ranma 
by the arm, "He's my new boyfriend.  Say hi to the Captain of our 
Kendo Fencing team, Ranma-kun, the ol' Falling Star himself..."

"That's 'Shooting Star!'" the tall boy growled, "And I've recently 
change it to 'The Blue Thunder.'  One moment...did you just say...that 
he is your BOY-friend?"

"Sure thing," Nabiki grinned, "Say hello to Saotome Ranma, the son of 
a very good friend of our father."

Kuno pointed with his bokken at Ranma's breast and asked, "You are 
the male companion to this, the Mercenary Middle Daughter of the 
house of Tendo?  Truly you have my condolences.  I sincerely hope 
that you have very deep pockets because she sometimes charges by the 
hour for her mere company."

"Hey!" both Nabiki and Ranma protested at one in the same instant, 
then exchanged surprised looks at one another.

"Tatewaki," Kasumi sighed as he stepped out around her sister and 
prospective boyfriend, "You really shouldn't be talking to my sisters 
that way.  It isn't very nice, and it does not befit a man who claims to 
be a son of the House of Kuno."

"You are quite right, where are my manners?" Tatewaki smiled as he 
fully regarded the oldest Tendo sisters, "I spoke sincerely, though, 
when I praised you for your beauty.  Every time that I behold you, fair 
flower of innocence, you grow more radiant and alluring."

"I thank you for your kind words," Kasumi replied, "But I must ask 
that you stop bothering my sisters.  Were you the one who encouraged 
these others to attack them every morning?"

"I confess only that I did declare them unworthy of seeking your 
young sister's affections without first proving their mettle," Tatewaki 
replied, "As you can see I was quite right to declare them unfit for her 
company.  Indeed, only a man among men has the right to court a 
daughter of the House of Tendo.  I am such a worthy man, of course, 
and I will be happy to demonstrate this to you if you will permit me 
the great honor of a challenge."

"I can sense that you have grown much stronger from the last time we 
met, Tatewaki," Kasumi replied, "But I don't think the outcome will be 
any different from when you challenged me on my day of graduation."

"Mayhaps we shall see, fair one," Kuno crouched down low and stood 
ready with his bokken.

"I've had about enough of this," Ranma growled as he started to move 
forward, only to find Nabiki's grip on his arm all but immovable.

"Don't interfere this time, Ranma-kun," Nabiki urged, "This is 
Oneechan's fight, she's only one of us qualified to take down Kuno.  
He's a lot more dangerous than you realize, and he's been training hard 
for a rematch with Kasumi."

"Oneechan," Akane growled to herself, "I should be the one who decks 
that baka..."

Ranma was about to protest being left on the sidelines when that 
feeling of ants crawling over his skin started up once again, and as he 
turned his gaze towards the would-be Samurai he was amazed to see 
the tall boy was surrounded in a powerful battle aura.  This aura 
intensified until it seemed as though the boy was like the wick of a 
candle burning brightly against the gathering gray of an approaching 
storm cloud.  He stood like a flame before the impassive girl whom he 
was confronting, his wooden sword seeming to glow itself as though it 
had been transformed into a light saber.

To his amazement he heard Kasumi sigh, "Really, this is so childish..."

Kuno leaped to the attack, his sword raised high over his head and his 
entire body seemed to be surrounded by the glow of a blue-white bolt 
of lightning.  He came crashing down to Earth with his blade poised to 
strike at the unmoving Kasumi, and it was only at the last second that 
the older girl seemed to react in the face of her mortal peril.

All at once Kasumi sprang to life, her Light Saber appearing in her 
hand as though it had been put there by magic, and with a single 
upward slice she stepped beyond the point where Tatewaki landed.  
For a moment nothing seemed to happen, though the dark boy's aura 
faded away into practically nothing.  A moment more elapsed in which 
nothing seemed to occur, but then his bokken fell to the ground in two 
halves, leaving Kuno clutching the mere handle, a befuddled 
expression coloring his handsome features.

Kasumi put away her Light Saber and said, "Your Nampo is strong, 
Tatewaki, but the spirit behind you attack is weak.  It will take more 
than strength if you wish to defeat me.  Now...as the victor of this 
exchange, I ask once again that you cease harassing my sisters."

Kuno straightened up and turned to regard her, then said simply, "Fair 
enough...in truth I never wanted either of them in the first place.  It is 
you whom I covet, and I will strive again to prove my worth.  This day 
belongs to you, gentle maiden, but Kuno Tatewaki is far from done in 
his pursuit of your affections."

With that the arrogant boy turned around and calmly walked back 
towards the school building, leaving the others to stare at his broad 
backside until Akane finally said, "That guy is a total loony!  If you 
ask me, Oneechan, you've been way too lenient.  If it had been me he'd 
be eating his lunch through a straw..."

"Akane," Kasumi chided, "You can't expect to solve everything 
through violence.  I've known Tatewaki for years and I've seen as 
much good as bad within him.  He's lonely and misguided, which is 
why he does things like this to serve his craving for attention.  I wish I 
could be the one to cure him of his obsessions...but...I fear that is 
beyond even the scope of my training."

"Maybe so," Ranma said, "But that guy better watch himself around 
me.  I don't like creeps who hassle girls, and that ain't even because I 
turn into one either."

"Ah...speaking of which," Nabiki turned her gaze towards the skyline, 
"I think we'd better get you indoors real fast, Ranma-kun, or we're 
gonna have to take another detour to the hot showers."

"Then I suppose I will have to leave you for now," Kasumi sighed with 
evident reluctance, "Be well until I see you again at mid-day, 
Sisters...Ranma-kun."

"Ah...sure," Ranma said, noticing the sadness about the eyes of the 
older girl and wondering if there were anything he could do to cheer 
her up.  His arm was still tightly gripped by Nabiki, however, so he 
had no choice about following her into the school building...but before 
they got three steps he heard Akane call out to them.

"Guys?" the youngest Tendo child sounded worried, "Did you just feel 
that?"

Nabiki blinked her eyes, "Uh...yeah...something cold...like a chill..."

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "Who in the world are those people?"

The three Tendo sisters and Ranma all turned to see a strange group of 
dark-clad figures standing near the gates to the school yard, chief 
among whom was a man whose features seemed very alien, being 
more like the face of a lizard, complete with long-darting tongue and 
slit eyes whose malevolence could be felt at a great distance.

"Magnificent," he hissed audibly, "You are everything I expected and 
more in an apprentice Jedi.  This will be a most...interesting first 
encounter."

"Who the hell are you creeps?" Ranma demanded over the rumbling of 
thunder growing more intense in the background.

To his surprise it was not the lizard who spoke first but rather a girl 
with long brown hair standing next to him, holding in one hand a giant 
spatula as she softly purred out his name, "Saotome Ranma...long time 
no see, Ranchan."

"Ranchan?" Nabiki asked archly, not liking the sound of familiarity in 
that woman's voice.

"Ranma...so we finally meet again!" growled another in the strange 
group, a boy wearing a bandana and holding up an umbrella as though 
it were a club, "Now you pay for breaking your promise!"

"Friends of yours?" asked a cautious-sounding Akane.

"Not that I can remember," Ranma responded, "Do I know you guys?"

"Oh yeah," the girl hefted her iron spatula and snarled, "You're only 
the creep who spoiled my whole life!"

"Not to mention made mine a living hell!" the other boy bellowed.

"Stay your hands, my brethren," the lizard man hissed, "You will have 
your chance at revenge...but I am here now for the would-be Jedi.  
Taro...Mu-Tsu...stand ready to persuade our young companions that it 
would be folly to rush into imprudent action."

"You got it, Boss," said a tall, handsome boy whose smiled conveyed a 
nasty personality.

"It would be my pleasure," said an even taller boy whose long black 
hair and thick eyeglasses gave him a somewhat exotic appearance to 
match his Chinese-style outfit.

"Five against four," Nabiki murmured softly, "I don't like those 
odds...and Scale Boy over there's got a really nasty aura."

"He is with the Dark Side," Kasumi spoke with considerable alarm, 
"He is the one my Mistress has warned me about...the Sith Lord!"

"That is correct," spoke a calm-voiced Trieste as she stepped out into 
the open, turning to confront the lizard man and his allies, "I had a 
feeling you would be turning up sooner or later.  The Force warned me 
that you would attempt to harass my students.  You wanted me, Darth 
Purge?  I am here...and I am ready."

"We will see about that," the Lizard-man replied, cocking his head 
with one eye taking notice of a passing rain cloud, his tongue darting 
out with a hint of satisfaction.

"What's he looking at the sky for?" Akane asked, then answered her 
own question, "You don't think he knows about Ranma's curse, does 
he?"

"I told you," Ranma insisted, "I don't know these guys, especially that 
lizard creep."

"That's starting to seem pretty academic, Ranma-kun," Nabiki replied, 
sighing as she added, "So much for my perfect attendance record.  
Looks like we're about to get busy..."

And even as she spoke these words the first drops of rain began falling 
from the heavens...



Continued.

Comments/Criticisms/The Fandom Menace: 
shadowmane@ridgenet.net

Yes, at long last, I am back to working on this concept, which many 
have begged me to turn into a series.  I trust this first new installment 
was well worth the wait, and that you will continue to be please by the 
things that I have in store for the heroes, villains and "Misguided" 
characters in this story.  I want to thank the many people who have 
offered me their ideas for how this could be continued (too many 
names for me to remember off-hand) and I welcome your comments 
and suggestions.  I do intend to take a few liberties with the basic 
concepts offered by George Lucas, but otherwise I will try and remain 
faithful to the Lore of the Jedi as established in his epic series, Star 
Wars.  (Hey, if Takahashi can forgive me for some of the things I do 
with her people...)

Stay tuned for the next installment as Jedi clashes Sith with the Dark 
and Light sides of the Force vying for the hearts and minds of the 
innocents in this story.  Has Ukyo totally given herself over to the 
Dark Side?  Will Ryoga yield to his own Heart of Darkness, and can 
anyone triumph against the likes of a rampaging Pantyhose Taro?  
(Something tells me Ranma will need more than just to tell Ucchan 
that she's "cute" in order to dissuade her from homicide!)  For these 
and other matters of serious drama, stay tuned for, "Ran-Wars," or 
"The Empire Strikes Out!"  Be there!

Jim Robert Bader
07/23/00



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