Disclaimer: The playground is by Rumiko Takahashi, I'm only swinging on
the monkey bars. Remember to leave the grounds cleaner than you found
them and please don't feed the Trolls.

/The Hunter and the Bear/ was picked up from Alan Cole and Chris Bunch,
and extensively filled out by me. If it originated with them, they own
whatever copyright exists. If it didn't, they don't. It was originally
told by Wee Alex, Laird Kilgour of Kilgour, who _may_ have Ranma beat
in cool, but who is nowhere near as cute.

Jei-san, on the other hand (look that's his name, okay?) is the
exclusive property of Stan Sakai, who is welcome to him. I am merely
borrowing his likeness, and will return it as soon as I am done with
it. And not before time too, I don't want it sticking around in my
head. 

"Summer Lightning" and "Stars in Their Crown" are by Garnet Rogers, as
before.

This story is archived at http://www.kawaiikunee.com/slp/

Release 1.3 (Dec. 04, 2000)

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She could barely believe her luck. 

It had already been a day to cherish forever in memory. First, she had
been brave. Ranma-sempai herself had said so. Not that she really
believed that she had been brave, as such. She had simply felt that
something needed to be done, and then she had done it. Still, it had
gotten her praise and admiration, and Ranma-sempai had even thanked her
for it, so .... 

She had, however, discovered that it was far preferable to feel that
one had been brave than to feel brave in the current moment. The reason
being, being brave _now_ meant that something deeply unpleasant must,
by definition, be happening; whereas, on the other hand, _having been_
brave meant that the unpleasant thing must have been faced. And, of
course, overcome. (The narrator would like to note at this time that
the subject is, after all, only seventeen.)

Second, her newfound notoriety had gotten her a date! Which she was
just now returning from. And which had been really fun, too. Not as
good as it could have been, true, but the cute guy from class 3-C had
been able to afford a trip to a _good_ restaurant - a good _expensive_
restaurant - and had spent most of the evening paying attention to her.
Even if it had only been so he could ask about Ranma. So, she felt, the
gates had been opened, and it was now possible that she might achieve
the lofty heights of Going Steady. Just as soon as she found one of the
boys at Furinkan who wasn't a jerk. She was sure there must be _one_.

But third, ahh _third_, now there was the thing. The great thing. The
unalloyedly wonderful thing. For, walking home from her date, she had
passed a park. And her attention had been drawn to an area just inside
a screen of bush, where she had made A Find. A wonderful find. She,
Asano Sayuri, Furinkan High Class 2-F, had found ... a puppy! 

Stop snickering. Right now.

It was weak and half-starved, and very ragged looking, but she knew
that it would grow up fine and strong. It had weakly snapped at her
hand, but she knew that she would soon win its heart, and that it would
be loyal and true. Best of all, it was in the park unhelped by any but
herself, which meant it must be free for any who could aid and protect
it. And since it was obviously Greatly In Need, her parents would have,
could have, no objection to her keeping it.

Asano Sayuri, at heart, was a great romantic, who frequently viewed the
world through glasses not merely rose-colored, but actively
rose-projecting, and so she smiled and skipped slightly as she carried
home the wolf cub she had found. It would, she knew, be grand. And,
invisible to her view (since it was turned away from her), a tiny fleck
of green light flickered in one of the wolf cub's eyes, and then went
out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

And Kuno Kodachi sat quietly and watched her brother with what passed,
for her, as concern. He had been very different since yesterday, and no
previous simple beating had ever engendered such a result. Also, she
noticed, his sword was now securely locked in its sheath, instead of
displayed on its stand, as was proper. 

Perhaps some spell had been cast on her idiotic older brother. Or
perhaps something else odd had occurred. In any case, she supposed, she
would have to check herself. Furinkan, bah! She had visited before, and
in the whole school there was no person of merit or spirit. No person
at all.

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And across Nerima a number of phone conversations burned late into the
night. They had been beaten. They had been disgraced and dishonored.
Moreover, some felt, they had deserved it. First, they had failed to
adequately take into account the proper considerations of a challenge,
and second, they had attempted to attack by surprise. A direct frontal
confrontation, it was agreed, would certainly lead to a restoration of
honor. In one sense or another.

And in a maison apartment on the outskirts of the district liquified
moonlight dripped, over a jade ring, into a silver pan. 

And the night rolled on. And morning came.

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Ranma & Akane: A Love Story. 
Chapter 3: The Third Day
Part A: Point of Contact: The Hunter and the Bear

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bushiko Ranma exited her apartment as the sun rose above her
windowsill. Behind her she left her apartments just as she had the day
before; ahead of her she had a wait of at least 30 minutes before Akane
would conceivably leave the Tendo Dojo for school. A half-hour of which
she intended to make full use.

The basic problem, she reflected, was that she had very little
experience in dealing with the emotion of great happiness. The only
means of easily dealing with _any_ great emotion she had was to work
off the excess energy. Therefore ...

She leapt, touched one toe to the nearest roof and leapt again. Spun in
mid-air, turned a somersault, bounced off a passing air molecule,
tapped a toe on a passing water-tower, back-flipped 30 yards of
warehouse, touched down in a cartwheel, leapt again. Flickering from
foothold to hand-hold, flashing from tower to wall, dancing across the
Neriman skyline, her only accompaniment the musical chiming of her own
delighted laughter, filling the air behind her progress like a chorus
of golden bells.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma came down on Akane from out of the rising sun. Akane determined
that Ranma's attack wasn't really serious by the simple fact that she
could defend against it. Instead Ranma neatly bounced off her raised
arm, transferring no force but achieving enough velocity to bounce off
a nearby fence in another attack. 

This sequence continued with Akane blocking and Ranma delivering more
and more complex and difficult attacks. Each coming increasingly closer
to breaking past her guard as Akane's defensive maneuvers drew her
farther and farther away from Nabiki, to the point where her back was
almost against the fence by the side of the road. 

Then a sneaky rebound off the fence behind her left her nowhere to go
but up. She snap-jumped to the top of the fence and was then forced
repeatedly back, unable to spare the attention needed to discover where
she was but happy just to have no more than one direction from which to
expect attacks. 

Akane was driven back more than sixty yards along the fence before
Ranma took pity and ceased her attack. Akane stayed in a defensive
stance for another few seconds as Nabiki came running up with her mouth
open. 

"Akane! That was great! I didn't think anyone could move along the top
of a fence like that!"

Akane looked down, wavered, and wildly waved her arms in an attempt to
keep her balance, but succeeded only in falling off the inside of the
fence, onto the sidewalk (instead of the outside, into the stream). 

Looking up from her position flat on her rump on the ground, Akane
observed Ranma covering her eyes and shaking her head, and Nabiki
shaking her whole body with barely restrained mirth. 

"And so gracefully done, too," Ranma observed mildly.

"If you'd _told_ me I was on a fence _earlier_...."

"You'd have fallen off earlier, ne? It's often the case that the body
unconscious of its circumstances can do things it never could by the
will of the mind alone, but you don't often see it that clearly," Ranma
replied, still calmly. "And now, for your next trick, get back on the
fence."

"But, but, but ...."

"_Up_!"

Wobbling frantically, Akane attempted to keep her balance on the
fencetop. Then she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, steadying her
balance. Ranma turned to Nabiki, "Please excuse us, Nabiki-san, and
continue on to school. I see that I have some training to accomplish,
but we'll be along shortly."

Akane gulped, and commended herself to the protection of the Kami. 

"Now, Akane, first we walk," beginning to do so, "and then we run."

Accelerating along the top of the fence, Ranma took a corner and left
Nabiki behind, pushing Akane along before her.

Akane observed the sharp-looking top of the fence vanishing beneath her
and quavered, "Wh-what happens if I lose my balance?"

"You get to do a split onto a sharp surface. This will hurt. A lot,"
Ranma replied calmly. "I don't recommend it." 

"Oh, fine!" Akane mumbled.

"And now we go faster."

"Help."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Returning to the straight track to Furinkan as they neared the school,
Ranma and Akane caught up to Nabiki just before they reached the outer
wall of the courtyard. Akane, Nabiki noted, was looking somewhat
frazzled but bore no evidence of injury. 

Returning to the sidewalk, the two walked alongside Nabiki as they
entered the schoolyard, only to run into a wall of semi-determined male
silliness. Perhaps a dozen Furinkan students were lined up in the
center of the yard, each bearing some form of combat implement. The
leader bowed to Ranma and began to speak.

Ranma raised an eyebrow and interrupted. "Let me guess. You lads have
decided to go the formal challenge route."

"Err ... yes," the leader said uncertainly.

"Ah. Tell me," Ranma said, "have any of you gentlemen heard the story
of the Hunter and the Bear?"

General negation was expressed.

     Ahh. So. (said Ranma) It seems that once there was a man who
     was successful in all his business and in all his life. 

     And he attributed his success to the fact that he treated his
     life and his business struggles as though they were hunts.
     And he proved his point by referring to the trophies that he
     had accumulated down the years he had hunted the valiant
     tiger, and the noble elephant, and the ferocious cow. 

     Yet, alas, his life was incomplete, and he suffered sorely
     for the lack. For, despite all the beasts he had hunted and
     all the trophies he had taken, in all his life he had never
     hunted _Bear_. 

     And so, one year in the summer of his life, when he had grown
     weary of the games he played, he summoned his managers and
     accountants and bade them take over all his enterprises and
     companies and investments, and to keep them safe and
     prosperous until it should again please him to exhibit his
     business acumen, and financial skill. 

     And he gathered to himself, from the reserves of all his
     possessions, a great store of treasure, and he set himself to
     hunt _Bear_ and to gain himself a rug. Or, as it might be, a
     coat.

     And he bought a new and most excellent rifle, such as he was
     wont to use to take his prey. And he hired a famous hunting
     guide to teach him of all the _Bear's_ habits and customs.
     And he spent gold with a free hand to seek out all the
     information and rumors that could be found concerning his
     victim-to-be. And then he took ship for the far-away land
     where, it was said, _Bear_ was to be found.

     On arriving in that place he indulged in another week of
     riotous living, such as he had done on shipboard (and indeed,
     if the truth were to be told, all his life): drinking fine
     wines and liquors, romancing pretty, admiring, girls, eating
     gourmet meals, and boasting to all and sundry of the glory he
     was soon to win. 

     Then he went into seclusion for a week, to listen to the
     efforts of the priests he had paid to pray for his success,
     and to watch the smoke rising from the sacrifices of the
     costly treasures he had purchased specifically to win the
     favor of the gods. 

     And to drink only the finest of teas, made only from the
     purest of water hand carried from the mountain springs of its
     birth. 

     And to eat only the newest and purest of rice, prepared by
     the finest of chefs, and topped only by the choicest of
     salted bream, and fugu, and squid from the deepest part of
     the ocean. 

     And to spend much time in the hottest saunas, thinking pure
     thoughts, while pretty, naked, girls attended him, striking
     him on the back with birch branches to drive all impurities
     and poisons from his pores. 

     And in various other such manners to strengthen his body, and
     to focus his mind, and to commend his success to all the
     relevant kami, and to call on the protection and good luck of
     all of his personal and family spirits, ghosts, fairies and
     tutelary dieties.

     And then, one morning, he picked up his weapon, and had a
     fine hunting lunch packed, and traveled forth into the wide
     world beyond the hunting lodge. He traveled to a secluded
     hide, above a descending slope which overlooked a brushy
     expanse of valley, where there were bushes of berries, and a
     swift flowing stream filled with fish. And where there was
     known to be _Bear_. 

     And after he had waited for an hour or two, drinking the
     nourishing drink with which he was equipped and nibbling on
     the many snacks which had been provided in his bento, along
     the open space in the vale below him came that which he had
     journeyed so far and through such hardships to match himself
     against: a _Bear_. 

     It was plodding unconcernedly along, eating berries from the
     bushes and considering, perhaps, a main course of fish.

     He observed it through the excellent telescopic sight on his
     rifle, sniffling a little at the sad fate that awaited such a
     magnificent specimen. Almost, almost, he abandoned his
     sniper's rest and descended to meet the great beast, to face
     it in hand-to-claw combat from a short distance, say 100
     yards or so, to be more sporting. 

     But no, he hardened himself to pity and thought that if the
     beast had desired a sporting chance, it should have worked to
     make one, as he had. And he settled the sights on the broad
     shoulder displayed before him, and he nestled the stock
     gently into his shoulder, and he stroked the trigger, and the
     rifle barked its song of death.

     And below him, in the valley, the great _Bear_ shook its
     head, and stumbled, and fell, very slowly, to its side, and
     lay still ... dead.

     And he rose from the blind where he had waited, and observed
     the trophy below him, and saw in it all that he had worked
     for. And descended the slope before him, to claim it. 

     Down he went, planning in his mind what he would do with the
     trophy so dearly won, and how it would be displayed. And he
     reached the bottom of the ridge, and broke through the brushy
     screen, and found there bushes full of berries, and a stream
     full of fish, but no _Bear_, nor corpse of _Bear_, and no
     sign that ever there had been one.

     Frantically now he cast about, searching for any clue as to
     where his trophy had gone, or who had taken it. And he strode
     forward into the middle of the vale, running to where he had
     seen the great carcass fall, but no carcass, nor sign of
     such, nor footprint, nor mark, nor any other trace of the
     great beast's presence did he find. 

     And then something tapped him on the shoulder.

     And then he turned around.

     And there before him, rising up in majesty and wrath, with
     fur stained by the blood of its victims, with rolling eye and
     roaring growl, stood _Bear_. And its terrible claws were long
     and crusted with red. And its awful teeth were sharp and
     keen. And it towered over him like a cliff above a shaking
     mouse. 

     And then his courage failed him, and he dropped his rifle,
     and waited tremblingly to die.

     And then he heard a voice, a terrible and growling voice, the
     voice of _Bear_! And it said, "Now lad, if y' wan' tae live,
     ye'll be droppin yer trousies and turnin aroun', an' I'll be
     performin' a disgustin' sexual act upon yer trembling bod!" 

     And the man winced, and *yerked* and *yaaghed*, but the
     _Bear_ was terrible, and its claws were sharp, and so.... 

     And so he dropped his trousers, and turned around ... and
     that's it, that's all. 

     _But_! 

     Later, dragging back to the lodge, he resolved that he should
     leave his properties and investments in the hands of his
     managers and retire to a monastery, to mortify his flesh, and
     apologize to the gods for his pollution. 

     But first, _first_ he would return to this place and destroy
     the _Bear_, and use its skin for a rug to sit on in the
     monastery, and to warm his backside as he begged for alms.
     And he would spend all his wealth and treasure, if necessary,
     to attain that end. After all, what use would it now be to
     him? 

     And so he returned to his homeland by the fastest jet which
     was to be found in all that country, and he threw all the
     resources of his great empire into his one overriding goal. 

     And he caused to be designed a rifle; a weapon so advanced
     that it could have destroyed a squadron of tanks in one
     burst. A weapon whose merest glancing blow would blow a hole
     three feet wide through battleship armor. A weapon which was
     so accurate that the veriest novice could use it to blow in
     half a fly three miles off, and hit both halves as they fell. 

     And he trained with it, and hired the world's greatest
     marksman, and its most accomplished tracker, and its foremost
     animal scientist, all to explain to him, and to design a plan
     to bring the fearful beast to its end. And he gave them all
     they required, and built and strove as they said.

     And then, again in spring, he again traveled to that far-away
     land, and prayed and sacrificed, and took his weapon, and all
     his devices and schemes, and went forth to the ridge above
     the valley, to meet his nemesis again. 

     And he set all his traps and devices in the valley below,
     disguising all his scent and sign, that the beast might not
     be disturbed in its progress. 

     And again he took up a position in a hide on the ridge, and
     again he waited for the _Bear_.

     And again time passed, and again the _Bear_ came along the
     stream in the valley below. 

     And again he sighted his weapon, but no pity or moment of
     grace stayed his hand this time! 

     And again he stroked the trigger, and again the rifle roared.
     And all the traps, and nets, and devices activated, blew up
     or fired at once. And when the smoke had cleared the bruin
     lay, not merely killed, but torn into a thousand pieces,
     pierced, burned, strewn about the ground. 

     And again he raced down the slope, and took his weapon with
     him. And he anticipated, as he ran, how he would dance upon
     the _Bear's_ carcass when he reached it, how he would make a
     common pillow from the largest scrap of its hide, how he
     would piss on the barren place where he would burn the rest
     of its rotten, stinking corpse.

     And again he reached the bottom of the ridge, and broke the
     line of the brush before the valley floor. And again he found
     there bushes full of berries, and a stream full of fish, but
     again he found no _Bear_.

     And again he searched the little valley, weapon held low and
     fierce before him, ready for any movement.

     And again something tapped him on the shoulder.

     And again he turned around.

     And again before him, rising up in terrible, monstrous form,
     with blood-stained fur, and flashing eye and thunderous
     growl, stood _Bear_. And its claws were long and sharp, and
     dripped with clotted gore. And its teeth were keen and
     clouded with the red tinged saliva that its twisting neck
     scattered near and far. And it towered above him and its dark
     shadow blinded him. 

     And again his courage failed him, and again he dropped his
     weapon, and prayed for the death he once had feared.

     And again he heard the voice, a terrible voice of his shame,
     the voice of _Bear_! And it said, "Now lad, if it's tae live
     y' want, ye'll be bendin' doon, and openin' yer maw, and
     ye'll be performin' a disgustin' sexual act upon me!"

     And again he wailed, and prayed that the test might pass, but
     the _Bear_ was strong, and its terrible fangs dripped blood-
     tinged drool. And he wished for death, but not like that. 

     And so, finally, he bent down, and ... and that's all, but
     later, again returning weeping to the lodge, he decided.

     Corrupt he was, and impure, and damned for a coward. He would
     endow monasteries and temples, he would give all his wealth
     to charity and good works, and then he would find some active
     volcano, and throw himself in, and remove his pollution from
     the circles of the world.

     But first, _first_, FIRST! 

     Without fear, without possibility of failure, without
     reprieve. 

                                _The_ 

                                _Bear_ 

                                _Must_ 

                                _Die!_

     And so he again returned to his homeland, and spent gold like
     water in his quest. 

     He acquired the perfect rifle, the highest product of the
     world's best gunsmith's art. 

     He went alone into the wilderness with his weapon and the
     collected wisdom of the world in regard to _Bears_, their
     habits, and all that related, or had ever related to them. 

     And in the wilderness, in practice with the rifle, and the
     bear-spear, and in communion with all that the world knew of
     _Bear_, he planned and plotted and grew in skill, until he
     was, without question, the very best, most knowledgeable and
     most skillful hunter of _Bear_ that there had ever been.

     And then, in fall, when _Bears_ are fat and somnolent,
     _again_ he traveled to that land, and _again_ he prayed and
     sacrificed. 

     And _again_ he took his rifle, and added to it his spear. 

     And _again_ he went forth to the ridge above the valley. 

     And _again_ he took up a position in a blind on the ridge. 

     And _again_ he waited. He waited for the _Bear_.

     And _again_ time passed, and _again_ the _Bear_ came along
     the stream in the valley below. 

     And _again_ he sighted his weapon, and _again_ he stroked the
     trigger, and _again_ the rifle sang. 

     And _again_ the missile flew straight, and struck its target
     directly on. 

     And _again_ the great head shook, and _again_ the great legs
     stumbled, and _again_ the great beast fell.

     And _again_ he raced down the slope, and _again_ he took his
     his rifle, and also he took his spear. 

     And _again_ he reached the bottom of the ridge, and _again_
     he broke the line of the brush before the valley floor. 

     And _again_ he found there bushes full of berries, and
     _again_ he found a stream full of fish. 

     And _again_ he found no _Bear_.

     And _again_ he scanned the valley, _again_ he searched and
     stared.

     And _again_ something tapped him on the shoulder.

     And _again_ he turned around.

     And _again_ before him, stood the _Bear_, and _again_ its
     claws were long and sharp, and _again_ its teeth were keen.

     And _again_ its mouth dripped bloody drool, and _again_ it
     towered above him and _again_ its dark shadow blinded him.

     And _again_ his courage failed him, and _again_ he dropped
     his weapons, and _again_ he prayed for the death knew he
     would not find.

     And _again_ he heard the voice, the terrible voice of _Bear_!

     And it said, "Now lad, tell th' truth. Ye didnae come here
     frae the huntin', did ye?"

Ranma's voice on the last question had become soft and gentle. And she
looked upon the white-faced boys huddling before her, and bestowed on
them a smile. A gentle smile. A kind and sweet smile. An angelic smile.

And the last remnant of the Fight at Furinkan, pale and shaking, turned
away from the terrible figure they had sought to challenge. And
stumbled weeping up the steps, and divided themselves among their
several classes, where they sat huddled and still all the rest of the
day. And where no-one spoke of the story, or of the Fight. Not that
day, nor for a long time to come.

And Ranma and Akane, arms linked, and voices rising to the clear blue
sky, walked up the stairs behind them, singing.

     When he was fast asleep, hey do me harity
     When he was fast asleep, me being young,
     When he was fast asleep, I from his side did creep,
     Into the arms of a handsome young man!

     Now he's got Faloorum, Faleerum, Fallorum,
     Now he's got Fallorum, Faleerum, Falaay!
     Now he's got Fallorum, he's got a Ding-Doorum,
     Maids, when you're young, never wed an old man!

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She had woken with the new day and prepared for school. Then she had
gone to the room where the puppy had slept, to see its progress for
herself. Now she knew, she had made a mistake, a dreadful mistake, the
previous day. Now, she knew, she must be brave, and even bravery would
do no good for her. But it still might serve another. 

And so she clutched the twisted, claw-like hand that held her throat
with both her own. 

And so she looked up into the eyes, burning with a green internal fire,
of the seven-foot, near skeletal, black-robed figure that held her
fast. 

And so she saw the twisted, part wolf, part fox, part feline, all
terrible face of the being before her, and recognized in it the remnant
of the puppy she had found.

And so she heard it ask, in a horrible, pain-wracked voice, as twisted
as itself, for information about _Ranma_. 

And so she was brave, and made no sound. 

And she heard the horrified shriek, and saw, through a sudden twilight,
her mother standing in the doorway, aghast. 

And then the night came down.

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Next:
Ranma & Akane: A Love Story. 
Chapter 3: The Third Day
Part B: Storming the Wall: A Game of Wolf and Dragon

'Til Next,

Eric Hallstrom 01/16/2001