JT awoke to Ranma stepping on his chest. Ranma looked down at JT for a brief moment,
then turned back to the door.

	"Damn! I'm gonna be late again!" Ranma exclaimed.

	"Eh?" JT asked groggily. That was all he could manage, only being awake for less 
than a minute. Ranma turned again to JT and addressed him.

	"I said I'm gonna be late, and you are too if you don't get moving now! You need to
go to school now, remember?"

	"Damn" was JTs only response.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ultimate Curse: Episode 2
Based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi
Written by JT Thibault
Send rants and raves to aoi.ikazuchi@juno.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Get dressed!" Ranma yelled. JT scrambled out of the sleeping bag and grabbed 
frantically for his school uniform. He dressed quickly and ran downstairs with his backpack 
slung over his shoulder, running out the door at stop speed. Moments later he re-entered the
house, laughing nervously.

	"Heh heh...where's Furinkan High? ...Has Nabiki left yet?"

	"She left a while ago. She's very rarely late. Just follow us. We'll lead you 
there." Akane helpfully replied.

	"Thanks." "I guess I'll have to get up earlier..." JT thought.

	Ranma and Akane ran outside, leaving JT no choice but to chase after them.

	Akane, Ranma, and JT arrived at Furinkan High to find a massive group of men dressed
in various sports uniforms waiting for them.

	"What's going on? I'm going to be late!" JT yelled, irritated with the current 
situation.

	"Don't worry." Akane said. "You can still make it on time! Just run inside now and 
we'll take care of these idiots!"

	JT took off running for the school doors, wondering why there would be a gang 
waiting for them before school started. He turned his head to look at Akane.

	"Akane: Thank y-"

	*POW* JT ran into someone, knocking him over.

	"Oops! Sorry man, I wasn't watching where I was going."

	The man rose from the ground and brushed himself off. He reached down and lifted his
bokken from the ground, inspecting it thoroughly for possible damage.

	"Who is this fiend who dares to blindside the greatest of the great, Kunou 
Tatewaki?"

	JT gulped. "My name's JT."

	"Well, JT. As you have viciously attacked me without any provocation, I will extract
my revenge in the only fitting way; I, Kunou Tatewaki, will smite thee with my bokken! I am 
Furinkan High's 'Blue Thunder'!"

	Ominous Thunder boomed in the background. JT cringed a little.

	"Um...oh yeah? Well, I am Furinkan High's...uh...Chainsaw!"

	Ominous chainsaw sounds arose from the background. Kunou looked at JT appraisingly.

	"Wow...he's good" Kunou thought, remembering the days when he had been the only 
student at Furinkan high who could summon sound effects from the background. "Then prepare 
to defend yourself!"

	"Hold on! I need a weapon so it'll be a fair fight! You wouldn't want people to 
think you were a coward, would you?"

	"Very true. The great Kunou Tatewaki is, above all other things, a supporter of a 
fair battle."

	JT rummaged through his backpack briefly, His hand emerging with a crowbar.

	"OK! I'm ready!" JT called. "This should be easy! What can he possibly do with a 
wooden sword?" he thought smugly.

	Kunou looked curiously at the weapon and shrugged. It did not matter to Kunou what 
weapon of choice his opponent chose to wield, as long as he had his bokken with him. JT 
leapt forward, swinging his crowbar in a clumsy arc. Kunou lashed out with his bokken, 
striking JT on the wrist, causing him to drop the crowbar.

	"And now I will teach you to regret ever initiating combat with Kunou Tatewaki!"

	Kunou started thrusting his bokken quickly at JT, hitting him repeatedly in the 
chest. The stabs began coming faster and faster, until JT couldn't even see what was hitting
him. JTs body slumped to the ground, unconcious yet again, the crowbar lying by his head.

	In a classroom on the second floor, a small group of students had gathered at the 
window to watch the fight. Among these were Nabiki and another girl.

	"_That_ is the guy you like? You can't be serious!" the girl asked.

	"OK, so he isn't much of a fighter. But he's a nice guy, and he's got a great body."

	"How can you tell? His uniform is awfully large for him..."

	Nabiki handed a picture to the girl, whose eyes threaten to pop out of her head.

	"That's how I know."

	The girl sighed. "He does have a nice body..."

	"Hands off though...He's all mine."

	"Damn..." she exclaimed, returning the picture to Nabiki. Upon closer inspection, 
one would notice the picture is of one American boy standing naked with a kettle over his 
head...

	JT awoke in the Nurse's office. He tried to stand but found his body was too sore to
cooperate. He leaned back in the bed and thought of  Kunou.

	"That jerk! It wasn't my fault he got in my way! Grrr..."

	The nurse entered the room and looked at JT.

	"I'm glad to see you're awake...You were hurt pretty bad. Judging from the size of 
each bruise and the vast amount of them, I'd have to guess you met Kunou this morning, yes? 
I see this injury quite frequently..."

	JT looked at the nurse, still feeling a little light-headed. "Th-that's right...It 
was Kunou."

	The nurse smiled reassuringly at JT. "I realize you must still be pretty worn out, 
so feel free to remain in my office until you feel like you can make it to class."

	"Thank you..."

	The nurse walked out and shut the door. JT stood up and glanced in the mirror. His 
shirt was reduced to mere shreds of fabric, and his chest and shoulders were covered with 
bruises. He took a closer look at the shirt. "How the...That thing was made of wood!" He was
thankful none of the strikes had hit his face. He was a tad protective of his looks "Hey" he
thought "when you only have one thing going for you, you better make the best of it...". He 
opened the door and started walking to class.

	He entered the classroom and met with looks of confusion and pity. He walked blindly
to a desk and dropped noisily into the seat. From across the room Kunou looked at him with 
an aura of smugness. The teacher turned to JT.

	"Are you JT?"

	"Yes, I am..."

	"Do you have a family name? My records say only 'JT'."

	"JT is fine."

	"I should put you in the hall for being late, but I heard about the incident this 
morning, and I realize it wasn't your fault. Besides, you look like you wouldn't be able to 
stay on your feet for more than two minutes."

	"Thank you."

	The professor continued the discussion. JT felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to 
find Nabiki smiling at him. This threw him completely off guard.

	"Heh heh...Hi?"

	"Was that a question? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I admire what you 
did today. Even trained martial artists fear the wrath of Kunou's bokken. And for someone 
with absolutely no skill whatsoever to accept Kunou's challenge? That's the bravest thing 
I've ever seen."

	"Thanks, I guess..." he replied half-heartedly.

	He replayed the conversation in his head for the rest of the class, ignoring the 
classroom discussion. The bell rang and he left for chemistry. He approached the classroom 
and noticed nervously that it was a kitchen...not a lab. He pulled out his schedule, looked 
intently at it, and panicked.

	"The room is at the other end of the building! AAH!"

	JT took off running, bolting down hallway after hallway, trying to make it to his 
next class on time. There was a feeling of Deja-vu as he collided with a student. They were 
both send crashing to the ground. JT looked up, relieved to find it was not Kunou he knocked
over, but rather another kid who was much smaller than Kunou and not wielding a bokken.

	"Watch where you're going, idiot!"

	JT laughed silently at the boy. "He's smaller than Kunou...I bet I can take him..." 
JT thought to himself, then addressed his adversary. "Watch your mouth, mongrel cur, or feel
my wrath!"

	JT awoke later to once again find himself in the nurse's office. He groaned as he 
realized he had just been beaten up for the second time in one day.

	"Not again..."

	"Not making a very good reputation for yourself, are you JT?" the nurse asked.

	"I guess not..."

	"As long as you're going to be staying at the Tendo dojo, you may find it in your 
best interest to get some martial arts training."

	"Good idea. Thank you. I should probably try to make it to one of my classes on time
today. Thanks for your help."

	JT started walking to his next class, making absolutely sure he didn't bump into 
anyone...

	He entered the classroom, thankful this was the last class of the day. He was also 
thankful it was Calculus. Many students despised calculus, but for as long as JT could 
remember, the only subject he had ever been good at was math. It was also the only subject 
he could deal with after being clobbered twice in one day. He took a seat in the back of the
room and was met with stares from everyone else in the room. Some of the girls were giggling
and some of the boys just grinned. The teacher walked in and stood at the front of the room.
The only person JT recognized in the room was Nabiki. Apparently Ranma, Akane and Kunou 
weren't good enough with numbers to be in calculus...

	"Class, I'd like to introduce a new student.". The teacher paused and gestured 
toward JT. "JT here is from the United States."

	There was more giggling which spread quickly throughout the room, eventually 
erupting into full blown laughter. Even Nabiki was laughing, despite her earlier attempts to
hold it in.

	"Settle down class! Will someone please inform me of what's going on?"

	"JT got beat up earlier today!" someone called from the rear of the room.

	"Yes, I heard about the unfortunate incident involving him and Kunou, but-"

	"No! He got beat up again! By DAISUKE!"

	With that, the entire class exploded. The teacher attempted to calm the students 
down, but to no avail. The laughter lasted for 5 minutes. The teacher did not seem pleased. 
Finally, when the class had calmed down, the teacher began to teach...

	The class finally ended, but not soon enough, in JTs mind. He left the classroom and
droned down the hall, tired and depressed. He heard footsteps rapidly coming up behind him, 
and he instinctively pressed himself against the wall, so as to avoid any more trouble. 
Nabiki pulled up in front of him.

	"What exactly are you doing?" she asked.

	"Trying not to get beat up again."

	"Oh...JT, I'd like to apologize for laughing at you in class. Can you forgive me?"

	JT looked at Nabiki, mesmerized by her beauty. "How could I not forgive someone as 
beautiful as you?" he thought. "Of course I forgive you!" he shouted enthusiastically.

	"Thanks JT. You're a great guy."

	She took hold of his arm and walked with him. He didn't know where he was going, and
neither did he care. It was enough just to be walking with Nabiki. He wanted to enjoy this 
moment of happiness...Still, the thought plagued him: Would she be able to love someone who 
transformed into a rock? He shut the thought out of his head, content with the way things 
were.

	"Yes, this is definitely worth the beatings..." JT thought as they walked.

	When they arrived at the dojo, Ranma was waiting at the door smiling.

	"So, JT...I heard you got into TWO fights today?"

	"That's right."

	Ranma's smile widened. "And you lost both of them?"

	JT was looking a little uncomfortable. "Yes, I lost both..."

	Ranma's smile now threatened to engulf his entire head if it got any bigger. "And 
one of those fights was with DAISUKE!?!?"

	"Yes...so?"

	"Daisuke!? Bwahaha!"

	"Ranma! Can't you just leave him alone?" Nabiki chided.

	"Huh? Oh...I see how it is. JT you sly dog!"

	"What?"

	"Let's go JT..." Nabiki said, dragging JT rather forcefully into the house.

	As they entered the house, they were immediately barraged with the sound of someone 
crying. They turned to see Soun sitting on the floor, crying like a baby. 

	"Dad! What's wrong?" Nabiki asked worriedly.

	"Kasumi's sick!" Soun blurted out between sobs.

	"What's wrong with her? Is it serious?"

	"She has a headache! Dr. Tofu told her to stay in bed! WAAAHH!"

	"Now that doesn't seem that bad..." JT added.

	"If you knew who was cooking dinner, you'd be crying too." Ranma countered. Genma's 
eyes widened.

	"You know, son, we still need to...uh...train more...uh...for that upcoming martial 
arts tournament in that city...up north. Let's go!"

	With that, the two ran for the door. Halfway there, Ranma turned around and looked 
at JT.

	"I really think you should come train with us, JT."

	"Maybe now I can learn to fight!" JT thought. "Sounds good to me!"

	JT followed Ranma and Genma out of the house, Soun still crying on the floor.

*		*		*		*		*		*

	"I thought we were going to train?" JT asked between mouthfuls of his Okonomiyaki. 
Ranma laughed at JTs comment.

	"Like you would be able to train with us! Find yourself a beginners' class!"

	"The truth is," Genma said to JT. "we left to escape Akane's cooking. Her cooking 
has killed greater men than Ranma and myself."

	"C'mon! It can't be _that_ bad!" JT replied. 

	"YES IT CAN!" Ranma and Genma shouted simultaneously.

	The store owner arrived at the table with three okonomiyakis. Ranma was served 
first, his okonomiyaki containing a heart-shaped design on the front. Genma and JT were 
served after Ranma. JT gestured toward the heart with his right thumb.

	"What's that all about?"

	"I'm Ranma's fiancee!" the cook replied with a smile.

	"Hmm...I thought Akane was Ranma's fiancee."

	"How dare you say that! I'm his rightful fiancee! If it weren't for this cretin,"
Ukyou paused and gestured at Genma "Ranchan and I would be happily married by now!"

	With those words, she drew her giant spatula from her back and sent JT flying into a
nearby wall. He hit the wall, stuck there for a second, then slid slowly to the ground. The 
girl stomped off and took up her position behind the grill. JT dragged himself to his feet 
and stumbled back to the table and took his seat.

	"JT! You trying to break Gosunkugi's record for consecutive lost fights?" Ranma 
taunted.

	"...Who?"

	"Nevermind."

	The door to Ucchan's opened and a tired Ryouga walked in. He looked around for a 
moment, the collapsed in the doorway. As he collapsed, the door detached itself and made its
way over to the grill.

	"Hey! What's with that door?" JT asked curiously. Ranma turned to look.

	"Huh? Oh, that's Tsubasa. He dresses up like streetsigns and other objects so he can
try to get close to Ukyou, the person who just clobbered you. When he isn't in a disguise, 
he dresses like a girl.

	"A girl? Why?"

	"So he can go to an all girl's school. "

	JT suddenly remembered Ryouga on the ground. "Is Ryouga okay?" he asked.

	"He does this all the time." Ranma replied

	JT ran over to the sprawled out body and helped Ryouga to his feet.

	"You okay?"

	"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me up."

	"No problem. Why don't you join us for dinner?"

	"Thanks. I'm starved. I haven't eaten for the longest time."

	Ryouga walked over to the table and scarcely had time to take his seat when a man in
a flowing white robe entered the restaurant, shouting "Saotome Ranma! You shall never have 
Shampoo as your wife! It is I who will marry Shampoo!"

	"Who's that?"

	"That's Mousse. He's hopelessly in love with Shampoo, but she treats him like he 
doesn't exist because she's in love with me. "

	"That's kind of sad..."

	Mousses hand shot forward with lightning speed, releasing 6 hooked chains, which 
wrapped around JT and rendered him immobile. "Hey!" he shouted, as he was ripped from his 
seat by the chains.

	"Help me!"

	"Quiet! No one can save you now, Saotome Ranma!" Mousse shouted angrily.

	With that, Mousse and JT disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

	Mousse and JT sat on the roof of the Nekohanten. Mousse stared down at JT, who was 
still wrapped in chains. He leaned closer to JT for a moment, then straightened himself.

	"Impossible! You are not Saotome Ranma!" Mousse exclaimed.

	"How very true...Why did you drag me up here?!"

	"I wanted to have my revenge on Ranma for taking Shampoo from me. I thought you were
him."

	"How could you confuse us?! We look totally different! Are you BLIND?!"

	Mousse pulled his glasses down onto his face. "You will regret that last comment!"

	Inside the Nekohanten, Cologne and Shampoo were discussing the appearance of JT.

	"So there is another boy living at the Tendo dojo?" Cologne asked.

	"Yes. He cute, but very weak. Weak like little girl." 

	"This could work to our benefit...we just need to find him..."

	There was a loud thud as JTs body flew off the roof and landed in a very painful 
position. As he flew toward the ground, his last thought was "Well, looks like I'm gonna be 
unconcious again..."

	"That him in street! ...Where he come from though?"

	The two amazons dragged JTs body into the Nekohanten and put a 'closed' sign on the 
door behind them.

	"He not waking up, great-grandmother"

	"Hmmm...well, I have some herbs I need to pick up anyway. Just leave him. He won't
be going anywhere. Come with me, Shampoo..."

	With that, Cologne and Shampoo left...

	JT awoke an hour later, wondering why he was tied to a chair. He looked around for
someone to untie him, but found no one.

	"Hey! Someone untie me!"

	There was no answer

	"Someone untie me! ...Now!"

	Still no answer

	"I guess I'll have to do this myself..." he thoguht, as he surveyed the room for a 
way to escape. The only possibility he found was the least agreeable. "I guess it's the only
way..." he thought as he maneuvered his chair over to the table, where there sat a vase of 
flowers. He struggled against his ropes and finally managed to lean forward enough to smash 
the vase with his head. Moments later, JT was nowhere to be found, leaving a rock in his 
place.

	"Now to escape!"

	JT rolled out to the dining area and noticed a definite lack of customers. "must be 
closed" he thought as he rolled over to the door, where he had a sudden realization.

	"Rocks can't open doors...This curse really sucks"

	He rolled to his left and positioned himself to the side of the door, waiting for 
someone to open the door. Less than 5 minutes later, the door opened and Shampoo and Cologne
walked in.

	"AAAGH! It's the crazy girl who beat me up!"

	JT rolled out the door as Cologne and Shampoo headed for the kitchen. The door shut 
behind him and he rolled away as quickly as he could (which still wasn't very fast), having 
no clue where he was headed...

	An hour later, he still had no idea where he was. He stopped to catch his breath, 
wondering why on earth a rock with no lungs needed to catch its breath. Suddenly, a large 
pair of hands lifted him into the air. He found himself looking at Ryouga.

	Ryouga looked around briefly, hoping no one would see what he was about to do. He
turned and addressed the rock. "JT? Is that you?"

	JT rolled a little to one side, hoping Ryouga would feel the pressure.

	"I guess so! Let's get you back to the dojo."

	Amazingly it took Ryouga only two hours to get them to the dojo. After some water 
and the usual clothing scramble, JT was back to 'normal'.

	"So you fought with Mousse?"

	"Yeah...He beat me pretty easily, too."

	"So you've already lost to Kunou, Mousse, Ukyou, Shampoo, and who was the last 
one...oh yeah! It was DAISUKE!! HA HA HA! That brings the total up to 5! You're gonna have 
to work harder than that to beat the record!"

	"Ranma, could you try to be at least a little courteous to our houseguest?"

	"Isn't it usually the guy who defends his girlfriend? Not the other way around?"

	JT turned red, but Nabiki just smiled.

	"It doesn't have to be that way."

	"Is she admitting that she is my girlfriend? She didn't deny it..." JT thought
excitedly.

	"JT...Wipe that stupid grin off your face and let's go up to my room so we can talk
in privacy."

	"Ooh! Nabiki and JT need a little privacy! What are you two--"

	Ranma's sentence was interrupted by a mallet crashing down on his head, knocking him
out. Akane stood behind him smiling.

	"You two go on upstairs! I have Ranma under control!"

	"Thanks Akane...and Ranma, grow up."

	JT sat on Nabiki's bed as Nabiki closed the door behind them. Nabiki walked over and
sat nextto JT.

	"Thanks for defending me, Nabiki. You really didn't have to do that."

	"Hey, no problem. You're my boyfriend aren't you?"

	"Eh? huh? I mean...um..."

	"You're so cute when you babble incoherently! You don't have a problem with...us...
do you?"

	"..."

	"Say something, JT."

	"Hello."

	"You're almost as bad as Tofuu..."

	Nabiki leaned over and kissed JT on the cheek. He stood up suddenly, and turned to 
Nabiki.

	"I need to do something...in another place...right now..."

	With that, he proceeded to run directly into a wall, falling to the ground. After a 
moment, he stood up, rubbing his head, and opened the door. He looked back at Nabiki, who 
just sat there smiling slyly, then he ran to his room.

	JT sat on the floor, contemplating what had just passed between him and Nabiki. He 
really liked her, and she seemed to really like him. But he had heard from people at school 
that Nabiki tended to manipulate people to attain her own personal goals. How could he be 
sure she wasn't just using him in another of her schemes? He wished he could be sure. After 
all, she did kiss him...He sighed quite audibly just as Ranma was walking in.

	"So JT, you made a move for her yet?"

	"Be serious, Ranma! Do you think I made a move for her? Honestly!"

	"True...you don't seem like you have the guts. So did she make a move for you yet?"

	JT paused for a moment thinking what he should say, but in that moment, Ranma found 
out all he needed to know.

	"I always suspected she'd be the one to initiate the relationship once she finally 
got involved with someone!"

	"We're not involved!"

	"Sure...Anything you say, JT. I believe you." Ranma's tone was less than convincing.

	"Grrr..."

	"So, i guess by now you're probably tired of getting beat up every day...You want me
to teach you some moves?"

	"You'd do that?"

	"Well, After sleeping in the same room as your battered body night after night, I 
imagine I'd start to feel a little guilty."

	"Thanks Ranma!"

	In the training room, Ranma and JT are practicing moves, with JT getting the worse 
end of the deal. Ranma demonstrates a punch-kick combo on JT, which JT tries to duplicate, 
failing miserably.

	"Hmmm...Try it again?"

	"Sure. Practice makes perfect, I guess..."

	JT punched the padding on Ranma's hand, then spun around and tryed to kick the same 
spot. He missed the guard and fell flat on his back.

	"Nice try. I'll tell you what. You need someway to defend yourself, so I'll teach 
you a really powerful move. Are you willing to try it?"

	"I don't see why not."

	"OK, watch me."

	Ranma pressed his hands tightly together, staring at a point in space directly in 
front of him. He moved forward a bit and yelled "MOKOU TAKABISHA!". From Ranma hands emerged
a beam of light which tore through the wall of the dojo, leaving a smouldering hole.

	"Wow..."

	"Now, let's see if you can do it."

	They practiced that one move for hours. Just as it looked as JT would never learn 
it, his persistence paid off...

	"*YAWN* One more time..." Ranma mumbled, trying desperately to stay awake.

	"All right. Here goes!"

	JT fixated his gaze on an invisible point in front of him as he pressed his hands 
together as he had seen Ranma do earlier. He took a timid step forward and yelled:

	"MOKOU TAKABISHA!"

	There was a flash, and a spark flew from JTs hands, hitting the wall and, not 
powerful enough to go through it, just disappeared. JT looked glum.

	"That's the best I can manage?"

	"Hey! Don't get yourself down! It'll just make it weaker! This move draws it's 
strength from your confidence, so you shouldn't..." Ranma paused "...Say, JT. Just how 
confident are you in your ability to learn martial arts?

	"I have absolutely no confidence at all."

	"All that training! Just wasted! He can't even use the move effectively!" Ranma
thought, just a bit irritated. "Hmmm...maybe that wasn't the best move to start you with."

	There was a knock on the door, and the boys turned as Kasumi entered the training 
hall. She looked at JTs panting form, then over to Ranma.

	"Ranma, it's so nice of you to offer to teach JT martial arts! How is he doing?"

	"Not too good."

	"I'm sure he'll pick it up eventually! By the way, Dr. Tofuu has something important 
to talk to you about. I tried to find out what it was, but when I got down there he had 
already forgotten."

	"surprise surprise" Ranma thought. "I guess I'll head down and see him tomorrow 
after school. Thanks Kasumi."

	Kasumi smiled and left the training hall. With JT and Ranma following close behind.
JT couldn't be sure about Ranma, but that workout had made him absolutely starved. He 
entered the house and situated himself next to Nabiki at the dinner table.

	"So how went the workout?" Nabiki asked.

	"Not bad...I can shoot a spark out of my hands" he said sarcastically, though not 
entirely displeased at this new talent. While not seeming to effective in a fight, it was an
interesting novelty...

	"Sounds great. You mind if I take some pictures of you and Ranma next time you two 
spar?"

	"I don't see why not."

	"Cool. I'll be there."

	Dinner was uneventful, mainly becoming a long discussion over JTs martial arts 
abilities, or lack thereof. JT answered everyone's questions as best as he could, and was 
interrupted several times by Ranma. He didn't mind though. No matter how badly anyone spoke 
of his fighting skills, it would be true, so there was no reason to get upset. He finished 
dinner and walked up to his room. He barely had time to sit down when there was a knock on 
the door. 

	"Yeah?" JT called.

	The door opened and Nabiki stepped in. 

	"Is it OK if I come in?" she asked.

	"Yeah, it's OK." JT replied, his mood suddenly improving a thousand fold.

	Nabiki shut the door behind her and took a seat next to JT on the floor.

	"JT, I've been wondering...why do you spend so much time up her in your room? Aside
from school and dinner, I hardly ever see you."

	"I guess there's just not much to do. I don't have anything in common with the other 
members of the household. I guess I just like keeping to myself. I also can't start any 
fights while I'm in here."

	"That didn't stop Shampoo from coming after you."

	"Oh yeah...I don't know. I guess I just feel more comfortable by myself. I'm sort of 
a loner."

	"Just like Ryouga. You're both actually quite like each other."

	"How do you figure?"

	"Well, you're both loners, and you both aren't exactly in the highest spirits most 
of the time. You were cursed at Jusenkyo, and you both are incredibly, incredibly shy. You 
also have bad senses of direction, although I suspect Ryouga may have you beat in that 
category."

	"I guess that's accurate, at least for me. I didn't realize Ryouga was like that..."

	"Well, he is. You two are more alike than you can ever know. Anyway, would you like 
to go for a walk? It doesn't look like you have anything better to do."

	"Sure, why not. Just let me grab my jacket..."

One hour later...

	"I told you it would be better than sitting in your room!"

	"You're right. I don't know why I spend so much time up there...Um...Nabiki?"

	"Yes?"

	"About earlier today...I...I just need to know..."

	"I'm sorry if I was too agressive...It's just that I've gone through life dealing 
with with inactive people. I found that I got no where unless I was the one who initiated 
things. I like things to move along quickly. If you're not ready for that kind of pace, I 
can ease up a bit.

	"It's not that...it's just...Do you really care for me, or am a just part of another
one of your money making schemes?"

	Nabiki looked at JT, surprised.

	"Have you been talking to my sisters?"

	"Yeah...and others, too...I just need to know if this thing is for real or not."

	Nabiki looked down at the ground. JT could tell he had hurt her feelings.

	"I'm sorry Nabiki...I just wasn't sure."

	"I understand. This is how everyone sees me; as an uncaring money-hoarder. No one 
realizes I have desires like everyone else...Everyone thinks all I care about is money...
but that's not true. Akane has Ranma, Kasumi has Tofuu, but who do I have? no one...I've 
never had anyone..."

	JT looked at her and saw tears dropping from her face to the ground. He didn't want 
it to come to this. He felt guilty. He had hurt the woman who cared for him. He didn't know 
what to say.

	"Nabiki...I'm sorry. I had no idea. I think you're a great girl. I really like you, 
although I can't express it very well...If you feel the same way about me, then I have no 
objections to having a relationship with you. I just can't go this quickly... I'm sorry if 
I hurt you...I'm sorry..."

	And then he was crying too. Crying because she was crying. Crying because he found 
someone who actually disregarded his faults. Crying becuase he was angry at himself for 
hurting her. He couldn't figure out the specific reason he was crying, so he just continued 
to cry. she moved into him and he held her in his arms, her tears running down her face and 
landing on his shirt. He would never be able to forgive himself for bringing her to tears. 
For this, he cried even more. She looked up at him through blurry eyes and tried to smile. 
It wasn't very convincing but he tried to smile back at her. "I'm sorry" JT whispered into 
her ear, his herat aching the whole time. Nabiki just leaned forward and kissed him on the 
lips, their tears mixing on each other's face. JT wondered if what they were doing was 
right, but didn't want to pull away for fear that he might hurt her even more. Finally, 
Nabiki slowly pulled away and stared into his eyes. "I love you" she said, and JT replied 
"I love you too", realizing only as he spoke the words just how true they were. They walked 
back to the dojo hand-in-hand, trying in vain to dry their eyes so no one would know they 
had been crying.

	The next day, JT woke up early so he would be able to walk with Nabiki to school. He quickly
bathed and dressed, then ran downstairs. Nabiki was waiting at the bottom. They looked at 
each other and smiled, and Ranma looked at them curiously. JT reached down and took Nabiki's 
hand in his own, and they headed off for school. As they rounded the first corner, JT was 
splashed with cold water by an old lady. He reverted to a rock and tried to continue in the 
same direction as the school, but wasn't making very fast progress.

	"Looks like I'm gonna have to find you some hot water, JT."

	JT had heard the stories of how Ranma had been splashed quite frequently on his way
to school. He had also heard the stories about the obscene amounts of money charged by 
Nabiki to find him hot water. JT didn't have much money...

	"Cmon" she said as she picked up his backpack and stuffed his clothes into it. 
"Follow me."

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End part 2! I still need feedback! Was this better than part 1? Worse? Tell me!
Write me at: aoi.ikazuchi@juno.com
Preview of part 3: JT gets beat up even more, and discovers that Jusenkyo may hold the key
for him to change back to a 'normal' human. Will he revert to human? Or will he accidentally
fall in the spring of drowned Dodge Ram! watch for part 3, coming soon!

Note: This part is much different than part 1. I decided to let humor play less of a part in
this section and opted for something a little more serious. Part 3 will probably be a medium
between the two. But even the original series had it's funny parts and serious parts, so 
it's all in the spirit of Ranma 1/2, ne? -JT-
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