"And THAT'S when I found out the ramen had some kind of weird magical drug in it," Onsen Mark ranted. "After I had eaten it, of course. And naturally, since she wasn't a student at this school there wasn't much I could do in way of detention. I was CONSIDERING giving that lout Ranma a few weeks of it for letting her in the building, but he was already jumping out the window -- Out the WINDOW, of all places! -- to go fight that strange kid with the umbrella that keeps showing up in class, and besides, Akane pointed out the large hole in the wall the crazy purple haired girl came in through of her own volition, and I haven't even MENTIONED all those black rose petals I gotta clean up..." Principal Kunou strummed his ukelele idly, listening to the English professor rant and foam about current events. Principal Kunou loved his school dearly, and had esprit up to here; but when it actually came down to the little details, like budget reports, equipment authorizational purchases or teachers complaining about their jobs, he simply got bored and phased them out. "...at least THERE, all you had to worry about was being electrocuted and the occasional alien invasion!" Onsen Mark finished. "KUNOU-SAN, you must do something about this... this chaos!" "Eh?" the Principal mumbled, mention of his name snapping him out of the coconut fog his mind had become. "Oh, hai. Chaos. Very bad indeed. I'll tell Hinako-chan." Onsen Mark slammed his fist on the Principal's sky blue desk. "That's not enough! Either you get these students under control, or I QUIT!" "Very well, if you quit, sayonara," the Principal shrugged, handing Onsen Mark a pink slip. "Thank you for choosing Furinkan High for your educational needs." Mark blinked, studying the tiny paper (which was written in english, like all of the Principal's weird paperwork). "No, I said, if you can't control them, I quit. Conditional." "Yes, yes, you quit, I heard. Oh well. It was entertaining, but now you bore me. Aloha," Kunou-san said, tapping the button for his Wilson trap door and sending Onsen Mark plummeting down a chute, en route to the trash heap behind the building. How he loved that trap door. Maybe he'd have an ejection system installed as well, for variety. Up, AND Down. Ying and Yang. Very educational, that. Principal Kunou tapped the button on his hula-girl intercom which he had recently purchased during his last trip to the Promised Lands of Hawaii, Cradle of the World, Last Hope of Society As He Knew It. "Hinako-chan, take a memo," Kunou-san said. "'To Akira's Superior Barber School -- Aloha! Why haven't you recognized my skills and sent me an honorary degree yet? Did you not receive the last sixty letters I have sent you? Your lack of attention is staggering. If you were my student, I'd fail you. Maybe I'll make you an honorary student just so I can fail you! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME? SUBMIT OR BE CRUSHED!!! Call again soon, hugs and kisses, Furinkan High Principal and Overlord, Principal Kunou.' Oh, and hire another English teacher." --------- Hinako frowned, finishing her notetaking. That was the fifth English professor the Principal had gone through this semester! Such a waste of resources. Miss Hinako was a firm believer in resource management. Anything which distracted from or impeded the educational process had to be purged in order to maintain optimum student learning potential! At least, that's what she thought when she was a big girl. At the moment, she just thought it meant more annoying paperwork, which wasn't fun or kawaii. (Currently, Hinako-chan was quite -chan indeed, sitting on a stack of dictionaries on the Swiss-designed ergonomic office chair, doing a great impression of a kawaii little girl. She didn't look the part of a Disciplinarian General, but she was, by official titling of the Principal. She liked the title. Thought it was kawaii, in an intimidating sort of way.) Well, paperwork or no paperwork, the school couldn't go without an English professor. So, Hinako picked up the office line and dialed out to the Board of Education. 'Hello, Board of Ed,' the voice responded. "HIEEEE! This is Hinako-chan at Furinkan High!" Hinako piped in with. "Ano, we lost our English teacher. Oh, it's so sad! We sure could use another one. Can you send it today, pleeeeease?" 'Is this some sort of joke, kid?' the voice asked. 'Put someone OFFICIAL on the line.' Hinako frowned. Life was simpler in her younger form, granted, but in a lot of ways... frustrating. "Hai!! One second," Hinako said, setting down the phone, hopping over the desk and out the door. A few moments later, a hideous flood of yellow light surged down the hall, ripping through the air like unholy fires, with the screams of several students. Then, silence. An absolute knockout of a woman, with long, curvy legs and shapely hips walked back in a moment or two after that. For some reason, she happened to have the same yellow dress Hinako-chan had. Same size, too. She carefully lifted the dictionaries off the chair, and sat down, fitting perfectly. "Hello, this is the Disciplinarian General of Furinkan High," she said, voice dripping with ethos (and huskiness.) 'Uh, hai? How can we help you?' the man replied. You could almost feel the steam over the copper phone lines. "It's very simple, really. We require a replacement English teacher for this semester on short notice," Hinako stated, twirling the phone cord around one finger idly. "Would you happen to have one available who could supply such a service?" 'Well, uh... no. I think you guys used the last one we had on standby.' Hinako frowned. "Are you certain?" 'There... IS another option.' "We'll take it." 'But he's just a--' Hinako hung up the phone. --------- Ranma 1/2 : Lack of Common Sensei "Enter the Shiro! Will I Survive to Midterms?" --------- Shiro looked up at Furinkan High School in awe, shock and a kind of sinking feeling he was trying hard to ignore. Awe, because this was his first teaching job. A REAL teaching job. At a REAL SCHOOL! Okay, granted, it looked like every other school he'd ever seen, but this was different; it was HIS school. His new job, his new school. His school. Golly. Shock, because he wasn't even done his college training in education yet. At the under-ripe age of 22, he was on his first assignment! It was almost like the tsunami of fate slammed into the college of today and washed him to the job of tomorrow on the surfboard of destiny. In the course of two days, it was suggested (ordered, really) that he get alternative credit for all of his classes by switching from his 18 credit semester to a full-time internship at this. A school. A REAL school. His school. Gosh. Finally, a sinking feeling, for reasons he couldn't explain. (It's a shame humans ignore their dormant psychic powers of intuition, really, it probably would have saved Shiro a great deal of mental anguish in the long run.) To a boy as optimistic, idealistic, and totally naive as Shiro, the school was like looking at one of those pamphlets the College of Education offers. Happy young boys and girls, playing, studying, enjoying the primetime of their lives. Teachers teaching! Coaches coaching! Trees falling! Shiro blinked, and was rewarded with a large chunk of greenery hitting his head for his own lack of attention. Lots of people were around to see it fall, so it did indeed make a sound; all Shiro made was sort of a sad little squeak. "Hold still, Saotome, you wretch!" a voice boomed somewhere over Shiro, as his world reeled from the double whammy of a trunk in the face and leaves covering his eyes. From above came the sounds of... fighting? Fighting at school? Surely something was wrong here. The young boy Shiro (not as young as the students, but close) crawled out painfully from beneath the wreckage, just in time to see what looked like a samurai warrior without the armor chasing a boy who immediately used Shiro's head as a springboard. Possibly from shock, possibly from concussion, or just to help him deal with things, Shiro passed out. --------- Shiro woke, to find a wet towel over his eyes. He pulled it away and sat up, inner ear immediately protesting. He was in the nurse's office, likely; that explained the beds, and various sick or injured students. Funny, there shouldn't be this many occupied beds, accord to his training. They always left room for a few more people, in case of disaster. "Nurse Karou, got another for you," a female student said. Shiro swivelled his head, again upsetting his headache, to see a young girl with brown, pointy bangs drag in the samurai who wiped him out. She had a few classmates assisting her, since the boy was quite tall. "I've got his usual bed cleared," a voice Shiro couldn't source said. It wasn't a happy voice. Sounded a bit like Professor Harumi from school, who had seven hours a day of freshman classes to teach. The girl and her partners dragged the samurai, who had footprints all over his body, to a bed. "Excuse me, Nurse?" Shiro offered, his first coherent words since arriving on campus. The Nurse pulled the curtain aside, that was obscuring Shiro's view of her. Shiro wished he could say the first think he noticed was her beauty, which would have stretched to the heavens and beyond, without comparison. Unfortunately, the first thing he noticed were the rings under her eyes, a dark color that matched her slightly unkempt long hair, contrasting off the white of a nurse's uniform. Once you see that, any impression caused by naturally good looks sort of dies off. "You're a bit tall for a student," she commented, with a tired voice. "Who, me?" Shiro asked, stupidly. "OH! No, no, I'm not a student. I mean, I am a student, I'm just not a student here. Although I don't know if I'm a full time student now that I've got this--" "Who are you?" the Nurse Karou asked directly. "Uh, Shiro," Shiro said, climbing off the bed to properly bow to the nurse. "I'm going to be the new English teacher here." "Oh," Karou-san said, without enthusiasm. "I guess Mark couldn't take it anymore." Shiro looked around. "Um, Karou-san? If I may call you that?" "It's Karou Shi, actually. But Karou will do, or just Nurse. Doesn't matter, really." "Ah, yes, Nurse. I was wondering, why are there so many injured students here?" Karou looked at Shiro like he had grown a another head. "How many days have you been teaching here?" "Uh, none, really. I just arrived." "Oh," Karou stated. "You'll figure it out eventually. Trust me on this." --------- Shiro was told to brace himself before entering the Principal's Office, and was glad he did. He might have to bring sunglasses next time. The entire room had been done over in day glo colors, a wraparound mural with a beachfront theme. Seagulls, cartoony but loveable, cruised in still silence and watercolor paint. The carpet had been colored the fine beige of sand, with the occasional shell tossed around for color; plus, there was the huge sun lamp stuck in the corner, blinding anybody who walked in, eventually baking those who had to stay in here. The Principal himself didn't seem to mind. A large, bulky man, he wore clothes that matched this theme, which were sometimes more painful to look directly into than the sun lamp. He had shades on, and a smile that didn't just gleam, it reflected the light with a little PINGGGG. "Shiro-kun!! ALOHA!!!" he said, upon Shiro's entrance. The man got up, and with two powerful sandal-clad strides, was pumping Shiro's hand vigorously. "It is SO good to have you onboard here at Furinkan High -- Bringing Education To The Next Level! Like it? I made it up. You'd better like it. So, sit down, kick back, have a margarita. Non-alc, of course, don't want you becoming a boozehound and dropping the school into disgrace! Ha ha ha!" "Uh, hi," Shiro said, not quite sure what else to say, while he massaged life back into his hand. "So, Shiro-kun, got a first name?" "Err, sir, Shiro is my first name." "Ah, no, that's not how it works here," Kunou-sensei said. "I recently wrote a rule into the school bylaws that all faculty will adopt American naming patterns. Your last name is your family name. We'll be filling out your checks this way, naturally." "Oh, good," Shiro said, mentally preparing ways to explain this to the bank so he could actually afford his rent. "My name is Smi... Shiro. Shiro Smith." "Smith, eh? That's an unusual name." "Well, my father was american by way of Hawaii by way of Texas by way of Kyoto," Shiro explained. "It's a long sto--" "HAWAII!!" the Principal beamed, brighter than his 'sun'. "Why, I didn't know you were native to the blessed isles! Why didn't you tell me? How are they, anyway? Have they changed in the last two weeks?" "Uh, I don't know, I was two when we left," Shiro said. "Ohhh... so sad. So tragic. We'll have to get you on our Faculty Spring Break Trip to Hawaii! But that is for the future. For now, there is work to be done." "Hai! I'm looking forward to it," Shiro smiled. "That's good! I like spirit. Now, there are some ITSY BITSY rules to cover first," Principal Kunou said, picking up his weird shrunken guitar Shiro didn't recognize and strumming. "Rule One : I Am Always Right. Rule Two : When I Am Wrong, Please Refer To Rule One." "Err..." "Rule Three," Kunou-san said, plucking out sick little notes, "I Make the Rules. Nobody Else. Me. I Make All The Rules And They Will Be Obeyed Without Question. Your Unswerving Loyalty Is Duly Appreciated. By the way, you'll need to shave your head." "Nani?!" Shiro gaped. "I couldn't possibly--" "Nah-ah-ah. Rule Three," Kunou-san reminded him, grinning. --------- Shiro contemplated the electric clippers Kunou-san had given him, looking into the washroom mirror of the Unisex Bathroom (recently installed to make the gender-challenged of Furinkan feel more comfortable, despite the other problems it had caused.) It was one of those painfully awkward moments, often experienced in life as you shift from one phase of your life to the next... specifically, the 'With Hair' phase and the 'Bald as a Cueball' phase. Wasn't this pushing things a little? Shaving your head for a job, it was just... just... a bit odd. A bit. More than a little. Extremely, on the offsides. Of course, this entire school was odd. It LOOKED normal, if you could overlook certain elements... which... you just couldn't. The principal's office. The various broken fountains and pipes around campus; recent breaks, too. The water damage alone to the building must be more than Shiro made in a year! And there was that strange pigtailed boy, who was chasing was fighting someone ELSE in the halls as Shiro passed, someone in yellow -- not a school uniform, either. It was enough to make you doublecheck that nobody had slipped the brown acid into your coffee before work. It was enough to make you want to quit... But he HAD to succeed at this! His first posting, his first job! They'd never let him have another one if he couldn't get THIS right, no way, no how. So... shave he would. A noble sacrifice towards education, rather than just the worst haircut he'd have in years since the slightly traumatic episode with a half blind barber and a pair of pinking shears he'd had as a child. Shiro fired up the clippers, which did not sound like a chainsaw, but were close enough for discomfort... "Hey, hey, WAIT!!!" a voice yelped in alarm, grabbing Shiro's wrist before he could make the first swipe with the shaver. Shiro blinked, as the shaver was wrestled from his grasp and clicked off, effectively disarmed. The woman who took it was panting and wheezing from the adrenaline rush. Or maybe it was just the thick white lab coat she wore. She tossed her long, quite lovely black hair back, to keep it away from the shaver, then turned it off, then stood on her toes to get eye to eye with Shiro. "You almost shaved your hair off, man!" she said, in shock. "Don't you know how many days it takes for those follicles to regenerate new strands of equal length?!" "Er, no, not exactly..." Shiro said, a little unsettled (but being unsettled was starting to become the norm). "But, see, the Principal--" "OHHH, I get it," she said, slapping her forehead (with the hand NOT holding the shaver). "Duh, stupid me. Okay. Let me guess. English?" "Why, yes, I'm the fill-in for the English class--" "Okay. Rule One," she started, counting on her fingers. "Principal Kunou is a Nut. Rule Two, Never Shave Your Head. Sure, he brings it up later, but he's more lenient with the faculty, since he NEEDS us..." "You teach here too?" Shiro asked. "Hai! Sakura-sensei, from Biology, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Advanced Robotics, and Home Economics," she said, bowing slightly. A few pens fell out of her pocket protector. "We have a high staff turnover rate, so I've had to cover a lot of departments, run some classes simultaneously... any explosions you hear INSIDE the building are likely from my lab. Don't be alarmed. I disabled the smoke detectors there to keep from being a bother." Shiro's brain reeled from the very concept. "Ah... pleased to meet you. You seem a bit young for a teacher, though..." "I'm seventeen. One of those child geniuses," she said, quite matter- of-factly. "And I could say the same of you, you know. A few inches shorter and without a tie, and you'd look like a student here. "Oh! I'm a student, actually. Student teacher. The department insisted that I needed some field training, though..." "Suckered another one in. Ouch," Sakura laughed. "Well, don't worry, it's nasty at times, but it's not as bad as it looks. The kids here are just a bit... high-spirited. Some of them are really talented, actually..." "Wait. Back up. Suckered? How many teachers came before me?" Shiro asked. "Uh... okay, there was Mark... I think we had Urd for awhile, 'til she swapped to sex ed at another school... there was this guy who kept ranting about the springtime of youth... that drunk with the light blue Nike running suit... a lot, really," Sakura summarized. "I'm sure you'll do fine, though!" "Eh heh," Shiro laughed nervously. "Yeah... they're good kids, really. Umm. One more question?" "Shoot." "Where is my class?" "It's--" The door to the bathroom blasted open, and bathed in the radiant light of cheap flourescents stood... a cute little girl in a yellow dress. "Didn't you hear the bell, naughty students?!" she shouted, pointing dramatically. "Class is in ses... oh! Oh, my bad, you're the new teacher, aren't you?" "I didn't know we ran elementary school classes," Shiro stupidly said. And wondered why that seemed to upset her so much... Sakura nudged up against Shiro, and whispered. "Oi, Shiro-kun -- Ixnay on the idkay odybay. Rustay emay!" "Eh?" Shiro whispered back. "I am NOT a kid! NOTNOTNOTNOTNOT!" Hinako-sensei shouted, stamping her adorable little foot. "I'm a respected and valued member of this staff, and you're a mean person to say that! I'm gonna hold my breath until you apologize." On the spot, Shiro fumbled the ball. "Ah... I didn't mean any harm, I just, ah... er... sorry?" "Waaai! I accept," Hinako said, swinging bipolar on him in the blink of an eye. "But you're late for your own class, and that's naughty! I'm going to have to suck you dry." "Wh-What?!" Shiro said, rather scary images rising from that sentence. The little girl advanced on him, drawing a small coin, and some instinctive fear made him back up to the wall, despite the nonthreatening nature of copper monies... A lollypop waved between him and his assailant. "Look, Hinako-chan, candy!" Sakura announced. "OOOooooh!" Hinako Wai'ed, eyes lighting up like a krisimasu tree. "I want, I want!" Sakura took aim, and tossed the (plastic wrapped) confectionary to the other side of the bathroom. Hinako ran for it like a golden retriever after a football. "Now's your chance! Go!" Sakura ordered. "B-but--" "Room 2F," Sakura filled in. "Good luck, old timer." Shiro quickly gathered up his bookbag, bowed in stuttering apology, and fled the scene. --------- Bathroom scene weirdness aside, Shiro DID have a class to teach. And teach he did! Like a beacon of hope through the seas of ignorance, his class embraced the art of the language, and worked wit him in flawless harmony towards the bright, shining knowledge of tomorrow! "I would like to buy some bread and cheese," Shiro recited, in fluent English. "I could like to fry some red and peace," most of the class replied. More or less. Shiro sighed. Apparently, the other English teachers hadn't had much success either. But he could persevere, and teach them; heck, he had already made progress today! Before, it was 'zed and meece'. "Are there any questions?" Shiro asked, because he was told in his own classes that it's important to encourage class participation. A hand went up to Shiro's right, which Shiro recognized. A boy in an odd red satin shirt -- again, lack of adherence to the school uniform -- stood up. "Yeah, I was wonderin', why aren't we being told anything we could actually USE in America?" the boy asked. "Well, umm... er..." "Ranma," Ranma filled in. "Well, Ranma, these phrases are very useful," Shiro said, trying to find a good use he could mention. "Say... well, say you were on vacation in Disneyland--" "I thought Disneyland was in Tokyo," a random student said. "No, it's in Florida," another replied. "Please, please, Ranma has the floor," Shiro said. "Anyway, um, so you're in Disneyland, and you have an urge for some bread and cheese. You wouldn't be able to get any. Um. If you didn't know that phrase." "Yeah, but who eats bread and cheese?" Ranma frowned. "Now, if I was looking for food, I'd go for some sukiyaki and ramen!" Shiro was about to explain that Mickey Mouse didn't provide sukiyaki when the wall collapsed. Shiro ducked under his desk, which was standard procedure for an earthquake, but there were no aftershocks. Just a really high pitched laugh, and : "Aya! Ranma want ramen, Shampoo provide!" "Shampoo, we're in the middle of class!" "Good food wait for no one. Say aaaah." "Aaaahh..." "RANMA! How can you think about food at a time like this, you baka?" "Hey, who you callin' a baka, you tomboy?" And a multitude of crashes, which were probably desks being thrown. Shiro considered the relative merits of just staying hidden under his desk, but that would be cowardly -- this was HIS class, after all! And he would control it! "Now, see here--" Shiro started, crawling out from under the desk. The room was empty, in a state of ruins, and one window had been broken open. No students remained; they all had run to follow the chaos and enjoy watching it in a queer parody of spectator sports. Shiro gaped in shock at this flagrant breach of educational protocol, and ran to the window, careful not to touch the broken glass. Fortunately, they were on the first floor, so nobody broke their necks; but for some reason, several of his students had taken this opportunity to catch a little sunshine and start hitting each other. "Hey, class isn't over!!" Shiro called out to the short-haired girl who was swinging her backpack at the strange girl with blue hair, and big... spherelike things on sticks. "Get back in here!" The schoolgirl, surprised by Shiro's voice, didn't quite do a correct follow through on her swing, and Shiro got a great view of a schoolbag coming at him, before he blacked out. Again. --------- Fighting off the sense of deja vu, Shiro got up from the health room bed. The room was a bit different than his last visit; it was empty. Also, the lighting had changed, moonlight streaming in through the solitary window, instead of sunlight. How long WAS he out? What happened? "Hell of a first day, huh?" Shiro turned, noticing Nurse Karou sitting at his bedside for the first time. "You could say that," Shiro said, rubbing the spot where the Nurse had put several band aids. "Where is everybody?" "Home," Karou sighed, putting the wet washcloth away. "School ended a long time ago. Your students say they're very sorry, and the nice girl with the maces gave you a bowl of ramen in apology. I wouldn't eat it, mind you." "Why? Bad seasoning?" he asked. "No, Tricholaral SO-4 Phosphate. It stimulates the sexual desire functions of the brain." Shiro grabbed his nose, fighting the oncoming bleed. "Sheesh, you're jumpy," Karou said. "What on earth would a student want with THAT?!" And Karou did something that probably should have been done before Shiro came within six miles of the building. Something that was so totally important that everybody had totally forgotten to tell him. She told him about Ranma. And all his little friends. --------- Shiro stared at the wall, numb from shock. "Lesse, did I leave anything out..." Karou thought. "Well, there was this crossdressing boy who liked disguises that came around looking for Ukyou and caused a few scenes, but that was minor. I haven't seen him in awhile." "Gosh..." Shiro mumbled. "It's Kunou and Ryouga who are the real troublemakers, and Tatewaki Kunou -- that's the principal's son -- moreso," Karou explained, like she was describing the weather. "Ryouga doesn't go here, after all, he just shows every week or two. Then there's Shampoo. Hinako-san has the construction crew on speed dial. Poor girl just doesn't know about doors, really..." "Why... WHY hasn't the Principal done something!?" "Who, Kunou-sensei? He can't. Ranma's one of the few folks who can get away with anything," Karou stated. "The Principal has tried to stop him, but couldn't. Secretly, I think Kunou-sensei likes the mayhem. He likes students with spirit, and those guys have spirit to spare." Shiro laughed slightly. "That's so... strange. What an interesting school! Dangerous, but interesting. Mind you, I THINK I'm going to have to turn down my internship here... I bruise easily..." Karou sighed, rubbing her temples. "I figured. There's no shame in it, really. Get out while you can." Shiro pondered this, something in his brain not quite clicking. "Wait. Karou, if you don't like it here, why don't you leave?" "I can't," Karou said. "Someone... someone's got to look after these kids. Toufuu-sam...-sensei mainly handles Ranma and Akane, but the others... they get just as injured, and they need help. If I left, this place would fall apart." "Ohh," Shiro said, nodding. "A sense of duty. Very good." Karou yawned, deep, and long. Shiro blinked, realizing the extent of the Nurse's fatigue; it was hard to see in the light, but if it was possible, she looked worse than she did when Shiro first met her. Not WORSE, as in ugly, just... unhealthy. "Maybe you should get some sleep," Shiro suggested. "Duty, yes, very good," Karou said, barely hearing Shiro. "I'd pass off the duty, if I could find someone else that could handle it... like you, I was a temporary replacement, but I was the only one who stayed more than a week..." "Oh." "It's an exhaustive job. I can't recall the last time I got a good night's sleep. But hey, it's a living. A lonely, boring, horrible living, but a living..." "Ummm..." Shiro started. "I put your coat and things over there, with mine," Karou said, pointing to another bed. "I also got out a resignation form, figuring... well, like I said, no shame. Was nice knowing you. Hang on, I'll fetch'um." "No, it's okay, miss..." Shiro said. Karou was fast asleep, the horizontalness achieved by leaning across a nearby bed enough to put her under. Zzzzzzzz. At that moment, looking at the tired, overworked, but still... rather kawaii nurse, Shiro had a Moment. It was a moment of realization, a moment of clarity; one of those sweet moments where everything in the universe clicks into place, and everything becomes understandable. Then he lost it, distracted by a large posted of Kunou-sensei reading 'ALOHA! DON'T DO DRUGS' in neon yellow. But he managed to scrabble for that Moment and recover it quickly. The realization was this : If Nurse Karou could devote so much of her life to a job she couldn't stand... a job she OPENLY couldn't stand... why should he wuss out at the first signs of trouble? Isn't this his calling, his reason d'etre? To teach? Karou's words made sense. There was something about her, the way she talked, how she carried herself despite the burden, Shiro found amazing... the strength she employed in life, without appearing superhuman. He was never really comfortable with girls, who were usually very chatty with him or very aloof, since, frankly, he was sort of a nebbish... but Karou just talked to him. Straightforward. It was comforting, really. Well, if she could do it, so could he! Maybe he'd put off resigning. Maybe he'd just sort of hang around and see if he could bring his English class back on the path of righteous educational merit. Maybe he'd have to get a towel to stop the nosebleed he got from pondering could be done about a heavy sleeping nurse on a bed in an empty school building. One thing at a time, mind you. author's note: Twoflower let me put this on here in case it got into the sweepstakes. I've been reading the board and I'd like to point out something really important -- the Ranma cast should stay in the background! otherwise, it's just another Ranma fanfic. It's more fun to have them as this vague force occasionally interfering than putting them into the plot directly. I figured that would be obvious but JUST in case I thought I'd mention it right here ^_^