---Title---

Cherry Dispatches 1/2
A Sakura Diaries / Ranma fusion
By Dr. Suekeiichi Kaiton

---Tokyo---

	"I guess big places like this take care of all the little details."
Ranma stepped out of his shower and tied the belt to his robe tightly, looking
over the note the hotel had left for him on the table.  He was finally in
Tokyo again and under the watchful eye of his mother; Nodoka Saotome was not
going to have her son grow up to be a nobody.  Three exam passes were
scattered next to his suitcase, his mother had insisted on a suitcase and
disposed of his soiled knapsack citing that nearly ten years on the road was
enough for a single pack and that he would have to use a more civilized
object.

	"'Thank you for ordering our 'Good Luck!' student package, we hope you
will enjoy your stay and enter into the college of your choice.  The
management.'  Well I'd better go to sleep, I have a big day ahead of me
tomorrow."  Ranma sat down on the cushioned blanket of his bed and switched on
the TV, flipping through channels until he came to rest on a late-night porn.
He swallowed hard, knowing that if she were there, Nodoka would make a comment
about his 'manliness'.  "Is this one of the details...?"  Ranma continued
watching just as any other normal eighteen year old would, the blood flowing
down to his lower extremities rather than to his head.  A dribble of blood
began to flow from his nose as the camera moved downward until you could see
the fleshy pink of the girl's-

	Suddenly the room buzzer made itself known and Ranma jumped back,
startled and embarrassed by the whole situation - wondering how he was going
to hide the obvious signs of his arousal.  "Uh, I'm coming, hold on a minute!"
Ranma hid himself underneath the tight knot of his bathrobe and opened the
door a crack, making sure his lower body stayed behind the wood.  What was
behind the door was something he hadn't expected to see at all, a high school
girl still in her sailor fuku.  "C-can I help you?"

	"Hi!"  The girl pushed open the door and took advantage of his surprise
by sitting on his bed.  Ranma quickly banished the shock from his mind and ran
inside.  "I'm sorry I'm late but my last customer took a little longer than
expected."

	"Uh...who are you?"  Ranma sweatdropped as the girl fished around in her
bookbag.  "Excuse me?"

	"I know you don't believe me, here's my ID card."  He took it and saw
that indeed she was in high school, twelfth grade to be exact.  "I'm the real
deal!  So why don't we start already?"  Her attention was soon ripped from his
face and started behind him at the pornographic exploits on his television.
"Ooh!  Were you watching naughty movies to get in the mood?"

	Ranma turned in horror to find that the porno flick was still playing and
fumbled with the remote for several minutes until the machine shut off.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ranma looked back only to find that the girl,
whoever she was, had stripped down to her bra and skirt.  If he looked close
enough he could see the barest glimpse of white pantied crotch from underneath
her dark blue skirt.  Little Ranma chose the moment to wake up.  "What are ya
doing?"

	"Well we can't do anything all dressed up, can we?"

	"Listen I don't know who sent ya but I'm not interested!"  The girl
perked up and grabbed the remote from his numb fingers, turning to the TV and
flipping back to the porn channel where the woman was crying out in feigned
ecstasy.

	She turned back to him and smiled.  "We can use this a great background
noise!"  Her voice was syrupy sweet but pleasant, imparting her cute features
with a hint of mischief that frankly Ranma found quite attractive.  "Well?"

	[She must be one of those high school girls who'll do anything for
money.]  No sooner had the thought entered his mind before she stripped off
her pink lace bra and her bare breast bounced delightfully in the air.  "What
are you doing here?!"

	"No, you can't look yet!"  Ranma turned around quickly, unsure of what to
do.  He was still a virgin, and it wasn't like he was saving it for any
particular girl, was this his chance to finally become a man?  Ranma began
running kata through his head to clear the steamy thoughts bombarding his
libido.  "We can do whatever you like for the next hour or so, don't be
impatient!"  Ranma turned around in indignation.

	"I am not impatient!"

	"Don't look yet, Ra-chan!"  [Oh no...]

	"Who are you anyway?  And how do you know my name?"  The girl was looking
at his exam passes.

	"Of course!  You're name is Ranma Saotome from Azabu Juuban, age eighteen
and two months."  She flipped through the first two passes with rather generic
pictures of the boy until she saw a familiar mark.  "Wow!  You're taking the
Keio exam?"

	"I'm not going ta get in but my mom's making me take the Keio exam."  She
sensed there was more to it but didn't pursue the matter.

	[You still don't remember me, Ra-chan?]  "Well, big boy why don't we get
started?"

	"Yup."

	[Oh no what am I going to do if he takes me seriously?]  "Uh...y-yeah."

	"Get out."  Ranma smiled at the girl before scooping her half-nude body
in his arms and depositing her in the hallway with her clothes thrown after
her.  "And don't bother me again."  He really felt bad about doing it, but he
needed sleep to pass the Keio exam.  Well, he'd actually need a miracle but he
would take what he could.

	The girl stood up in anger a moment after his door slammed shut and began
pounding on it, her blows shaking the brass hinges.  "Open up you idiot!
Ra-chan no baka!"  Ranma opened the door soon afterward.

	"Cut it out will ya!?"  He looked into her hurt eyes and wondered what
exactly he'd done to deserve such a fate.  "What is it?"  The girl sneezed in
his face.

	"Ra-chan no baka!"  She thrust her chin up and proudly walked back down
the hall, by then fully clothed, leaving Ranma to stand in the silence with a
profound feeling of confusion.

	As Ranma stood dumbly in the hallway, staring off and cursing fate for
his extreme bout of bad luck, a certain red-head leaned up against the wall of
a train.  She was dressed again in her school uniform and was still sniffling
from the cold as row after row of lights breezed past her.  He hadn't
remembered her, not that she was really expecting him to, after all it had
been six years since he saw her last and eight before that.  He probably
didn't even remember her at all, he hadn't six years ago, she sighed at the
injustice of it all.

	As the train pulled into the station she traced her feelings on the pane
of glass, walking off quickly so she wouldn't have to see a random person wipe
away her dreams.

	Back at the hotel, Ranma was trying to deal with the arousal he still
felt from the girl, but still he was here with a firm purpose and he wouldn't
run away.  He had the Teito exam tomorrow and he was determined to pass.  Keio
was going to be impossible for him but he still had to try.

---The next day---

	The next day found Ranma talking animatedly to his mother cloistered in a
phone box.

	"Yes, Mother.  I'm sure I got into Teito but I'm still hoping for
Keio...yes, I know she'll be there."  Ranma hung up presently and pulled his
card from the slot.  He sighed.  He didn't like to lie to his mother but he
also didn't like crushing her spirit.  Walking dejectedly from the booth and
down towards the testing building he was blown over by a thin jacket.

	"What the-!?"  Ranma pulled off the garment and met the dark eyes of his
love - a love separated by gulfs of education and miles.  "A-a-a-Akane?"

	Akane looked up from her fallen pocketbook and into the crystal blue eyes
of Ranma Saotome.  As he looked at her the changes were clear.  She had grown
into her body, her breasts full, her hips thin as she sashayed over to her
'fiancˇ' and slapped him hard across the face.

	"What the hell do you think you're doing here!?"  Akane tore her coat
from the pig-tailed boy's numb fingers.  "I told you to stay away from me!"

	"I'm...I'm here for the entrance exam."

	"I told you I was going to Keio!  You can't be taking the exam, I won't
let you ruin my life again!"

	"B-but I just came here to be with you."

	Akane slapped him on the other cheek.  His head flew back in astonishment
and pain.  "Shut up and get out!  I never want to see you again!"  The irate
blue-haired woman ran back down the cherry-blossom lined boulevard.

	Ranma touched his cheek as the crowd passed the rag-tag youth.  He
collected his book from where they had fallen and sat down on a bench, the
length of his bangs shadowed over his teary eyes as more students passed by.
Such sights were commonplace during testing season.

	"Excuse me, sir?  Are you alright?"  Ranma looked up at the pink
handkerchief held out on wafer-thin arms.  His eyes trailed up to the swell of
full breasts barely restrained by a  bra and a gorgeous face framed by a shock
of red curls.  He sat gaping for a moment before taking the cloth and wiping
his eyes.

"Thank you."  He didn't dare meet her eyes.

	"You're welcome."  The woman sat beside him and tucked the used tissue
back into her pocketbook.  She didn't watch as he wiped them again and looked
up at the exam building.

	"I'm sorry."

	"For what?"  Ranma just gaped a bit more.  "So who was she? A
girlfriend?"

	Ranma chuckled.  "Fiancˇe."

	"Oh..."

	"I'm sorry...uh...I'm Ranma Saotome."  He offered her a hand which was
soon encircled by a cool smooth grip.

	"Mieko, Ranma-kun.  Are you here for the Keio exam?"  His eyes went
downcast again.

	"Yeah, I wanted to get in here to be with her."  Mieko chuckled at that,
ignorant of the snarl of Ranma's annoyance.  "What's so funny?"  If she was
laughing at him he'd-

	"No, no, Ranma-kun, I wasn't laughing at you!"  She waved off his anger
and soon both were back to square-one.  Mieko gazed up at the snow-covered
canopy as the two sat in silence.  "We're both her for the same reason."  She
smiled bitterly.  "Forgive me.  I'll be going now."

	"Wait!  Will you be here tomorrow for the exam?"

	"Yes."  She murmured as she walked away then suddenly turned - tossing
her curls over a rounded shoulder.  "Perhaps we'll see each other."  And with
that she was gone.

	Ranma brought his hand back up to the reddened cheek and felt the buzzing
warmth of Akane's slap.  Smiling at the irony of Mieko's pity and at the great
changes wrought over him since the Tendo's rejection.  He haltingly stood,
dusted the snow from his pant legs and headed back to the gate.  To his
everlasting surprise a familiar face was waiting for him.  A face framed by
soft short red hair.  A face which lit up in happiness as he approached.

	"Ranma-chan!"  She stood on tip-toes and waved happily as he frowned and
moved to meet her.  "Ra-chan over here!"

	"Who are you!?  Why are you following me?"  Ranma turned on her and
grabbed her shoulders, shaking her soundly.  He sweatdropped as she melted in
his hands, moving her body closer to his.  She was dressed in an
inappropriately short skirt and thin jacket.  He was merely bowled over as she
pushed forward and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her face into his
chest.  "Stop doing that!"  Ranma stepped back embarrassed by the close
contact.

	"But Ra-chan!"

	"Stop calling me that!"  Ranma knocked the parcel in her hands out onto
the ground.  As it fell the knot came undone and exposed the
sakura-blossom-stamped pink bento.  He looked down and turned to her, why had
she made him lunch?  Tears had begun to fall as she slapped him and ran down
the street.