Breaking the Circle
Chapter One
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Robert Thomson

Disclaimer : The characters in this fan fiction are the property of
Rumiko Takahashi and the
corporations which produce and distribute her work. Suing me for
using them would be pointless, as I'm a poor, broke university
student.
This story is set before Ranma is reunited with his mother and the
eventful trip to Mount Phoenix. Also, due to a temporal anomaly which
went unnoticed (there must be quite a lot of these really,
considering the number which are noticed due to some freak
occurrence), Akari and Konatsu haven't appeared yet. They might
appear later, I'm not sure.

	Since Principal Kuno's return from overseas, his students had
learned to ignore his pronouncements. This was because most of them
either involved coconuts or regulations regarding the length of the
students' hair, and very few of the others were comprehensible. The
ability to tune out his pronouncements was an essential ability for
surviving at a school run by a mentally unstable, Hawaii-obsessed
school administrator with a hair-cutting fetish. There was one
drawback. As all of the Principal's announcements were ignored, the
rare ones that were more than the ravings of a clinically insane nut-
job generally took some length of time to reach the attention of the
student body. So it was that the news of Furinkan High's first ever
Luau failed to reach the students until three days before the event.
	The uproar caused by this was only slightly above the normal level
of chaos associated with Furinkan(1). Girls scrambled about,
borrowing dresses and such while attempting to secure the few
available and socially acceptable boys as dates. The boys on the
other hand directed all of their energy towards securing dates with
the more attractive girls, but ignoring matters of appearance, such
as clothing, until the last possible moment. This insured that the
boys appearance on the night was so awful that their dates forever
regret saying 'yes'. There was only one boy whose energies were not
focused solely on getting a date and so would be reasonable
presentable at the Luau. This was one Ranma Saotome.
	Of course, this doesn't mean that Ranma didn't have any problems
with getting a date for the Luau.

	A massive brawl raged inside the Furinkan High lunchroom between
eight highly skilled martial artists. Ranma was fighting
simultaneously against Ryouga and Tatewaki Kuno at close quarters,
while attempting to avoid the daggers, axes, chains, and training
potties being thrown by Mousse. At the same time, a fierce conflict
between Akane, Ukyou, Shampoo, and Kodachi, was occurring in pretty
much the same area as the boy's battle, with each of the girls
occasionally lashing out at one of the guys. Simply put, the eight
teenagers were trying to beat each other senseless for reasons too
complicated to explore here, although the chief reason was presently
who got to take who to the Luau.
	The non-combatant students sat calmly at their tables, eating their
lunches and watching the fight from a safe distance. Nabiki's
associates (read lackeys) mingled with the crowd, taking bets on the
fight. At one table, four nondescript background characters sat and
ate, chatting quietly amongst themselves as they did so. Beside them
on the bench was a pair of bento boxes, temporarily abandoned by
Ranma and Akane when the fighting began.
	"So what started it this time?" inquired Sayuri, as she chewed on a
pickle. "Ranma refuse to eat Akane's cooking again?"
	"No, Kuno and Ukyo came looking for dates for some reason and
things went down hill from there." replied Yuka. "I think Shampoo
came to deliver some ramen to Ranma, and Mousse followed her. Not
sure where Ryouga and Kodachi came from, never is with those two." 
	"Why were Ukyo and Kuno-sempai after dates? It isn't like there is
anything special coming up, like Valentine's Day or something."
Daisuke was stealthily filching food out of Ranma's bento. He figured
even if his buddy was conscious after the brawl, he probably wouldn't
notice if some pickles were missing or if there a bit less soup than
there should be, and that meant Daisuke was free to partake of
Kasumi's cooking. 
	"It's this luau that the Principal's got planned. The girls all
want to go with Ranma, as usual, and the guys don't want them to, as
usual." Hiroshi frowned at his friend. Why wasn't Daisuke offering
him any of Ranma's food? He couldn't reach the bento from where he
was sitting.
	"Luau? What luau? When is it? Oh, I've got to get a dress and a
date and is there going to be a meal there 'cause if there isn't then
I've got to arrange dinner somewhere..." Yuka's babbling continued
until Sayuri interrupted her.
	"Don't worry. It's still three days away so you've still got plenty
of time."
	"Three days! Sayuri, I've got to find a decent date, and you know
how hard that is around here. The guys are all perverts or are
lusting after Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, or Ranma's girl-form. I mean, who
were you planning on going with?"
	The young schoolgirl blinked, then started looking nervous. "Well,
Hiroshi here asked me to go with him."
	Daisuke sprayed the soup he had been sipping over the table.

	*This is beginning to get repetitive,* Thought Ranma as he dodged a
bokken swipe aimed at his head. *Someone mentions the word 'date' and
suddenly it's like being trying to keep Pops on a diet(2).
	The news of the luau had resulted in a massive brawl, the likes of
which were only seen in the halls of Furinkan High about three times
each month. Each of the girls chasing after Ranma had arrived as
expected, followed by their own suitors. Oddly enough the fight
hadn't begun until Akane, in a fit of rage, had decided to repeatedly
pound Ranma in the head while screaming that she wouldn't go with him
(how this topic arose Ranma didn't know, he hadn't even asked her).
The girls had jumped on Akane for attacking Ranma, and the guys had
jumped on Ranma for upsetting Akane. 
	*It's always the same,* thought Ranma as he ducked a wildly arcing
ribbon and swept Kuno's legs out from under him, with a low kick
*Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi all assume I'm going with them, Akane says
she doesn't want to go with me, everyone else assume I want to go
with Akane, then they start fighting. In the end, it doesn't matter
anyway, because Pop and Mr. Tendo make me take Akane any way. It's
all pointless.*
	Ranma had never really had much control over his life, having spent
most of it following his father's instructions, focusing on the goal
of become the greatest martial artist ever. However it was clear to
Ranma that in order to excel at the Art, one had to control the path
of one's life. His greatest foes were those that followed their own
courses, such as the incorrigible pervert Happosai, or the wandering
Ryouga and Tarou. Ranma was driven to improve his martial skill as
much as possible, and if mastering his destiny would help him achieve
that goal, then it was something he had to do. So when he came to
realise that he was caught in an endless cycle of recurring events,
it was not a pleasant realisation at all. 	
	*Everything is just repeating itself. Akane yelling at me, Shampoo
glomping me, Ryouga attacking me, they've all done it before, and
they're most likely gonna do it again.* Ranma frowned as he avoided a
wild attack from Mousse. *It's just a vicious circle. Their actions
have become reflexes; I do something, and they all react the same way
they always do. Wouldn't be so bad, except I'm caught as well, always
doing the same things, so none of us are getting anywhere.*
	*Only way to stop this and get control of my life back would be to
do something different and break the cycle. But every time I try to
do something different, Akane gets suspicious and starts hitting me.
So I've got to have a good excuse for it before she finds out.
However, first I've got to have something different to do.* 
	Ranma had managed to shift away from the middle of the fight,
towards the edge, and was only dodging and occasionally attacking
now. *The girls all want me to go to this luau with them, but I
haven't even decided if I want to go yet. Still if I went, and with
someone other than one of them...*
	The look of concentration on his face shifted slightly, as he
focused more on the idea forming in his head than the fighting going
on nearby.
	*She'd have to be someone I'd like to go with, and she'd have to be
able to survive the other girl's attacks, otherwise she'd be in
danger. What else would she have to be...* Ranma's thoughts were
interrupted at this point by Ryouga's fist, which sent Ranma sailing
out through a Shampoo-on-bicycle shaped hole in the wall.

	Nabiki sat quietly in the shade of a tall tree, having avoided the
chaos inside by going outside to eat. She was just munching on an
onigiri when Ranma came crashing down head first a few feet away. She
causally considered the young pig-tailed boy as he lay unmoving on
the ground for a few moments, and then asked "Akane again?"
	"No, it was Ryouga this time," Ranma's reply was a little muffled
as he was still face down in the dirt, but Nabiki could make out what
he'd said. She could also hear the tone of frustration in Ranma's
voice. "Thought you'd be inside, taking bets."
	"I wanted to eat my lunch first. I'm sure Yukio and the others are
doing alright without me." She held out an onigiri towards him. "Want
one?"
	Ranma pulled himself up, and sat in the lotus position. Nabiki
giving something away free? There was a catch here somewhere. Still,
one of the chief principles of the Saotome Ryu was Never Turn Down
Free Food(3). Ranma snatched the stuffed rice ball from Nabiki, and
ate it quickly in a few big bites, nodding his thanks as he did so. 
	Nabiki nibbled on her own onigaki. "So who are you planning on
taking to the luau?" she asked casually.
	Ranma relaxed marginally. That was the catch. Nabiki wanted the
information for some reason, probably so she could sell it to
someone. It was best to answer truthfully.
	"I don't know yet. Ukyo wants me to take her, and Shampoo and
Kodachi are both taking it for granted that I'll take them. Your
sister on the other hand has made it quite clear she doesn't want to
go with me. I'm considering not going at all."
	"That would be a shame, I hear that Principal Kuno's putting a lot
of effort into the decorations, and has arranged for authentic
Hawaiian food." Nabiki began tidying up her bento.
	"The Principal's arranging the decorations. Sounds like another
reason to stay away to me." Ranma stood, stretching his legs.
	"Good point," Laughed Nabiki smiling, "Here, I'm full," She tossed
a kaki to him, then turned and walked towards the school buildings. 
	*Have to thank her for this later*, He thought as he bit into the
sweet persimmon, *Daisuke will probably have eaten most of my lunch
by the time I get back.*
	*Whoever I take to the luau will have to be able to survive the
riot the other girls will create...* Ranma smiled as a plan formed in
his head, *Or they need to be someone the girls won't attack because
if they did, it would be much more trouble than they'd like.*
	*Nabiki sure has a nice smile.*
 
Foot notes - 
(1) This should be taken as an indicator of the natural level of
chaos present at Furinkan High, rather than an indicator of the
readiness and adaptability of it's students.
(2) A dangerous task, only attempted once during the Saotomes' stay
in Nerima. Afterwards, Akane had her arm in a cast for a fortnight,
Soun needed 23 stitches,  and Ranma suffered from 3 broken ribs, a
concussion, a dislocated shoulder, and nearly needed to have two
fingers sowed back on. Genma, on the other hand, was unharmed and
actually lost 9 kilograms.
(3) Unfortunately for Ranma, Genma misheard and thought the
principle was simply Never Turn Down Food. And to this day, no matter
how many times he has engaged Ranma before, Genma will not turn down
any amount of food. Makes things a little clearer, doesn't it?

Onigiri - Japanese rice ball, typically stuffed or seasoned. A snack
or picnic food.

Kaki - Japanese sweet persimmon.