Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm not sure who Key: The Metal Idol
belongs to. Somebody tell me!
This occurs when Ranma is six, shortly after he and Genma left Ukyou.
Key is six years old also. I'm aware that she was younger in the anime
when the events at the beginning of her story occurred. Those events
have been pushed aside for the time being so that I can write the story
in the way I want to. Instead they happen after what is described here.
Everything but her age at the time is still the same.
So, here we go:
Key to His Heart: Prologue
By Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)
#####
Genma wrapped the fish-sausage around Ranma, ignoring the tears in the
boy's eyes and looking disapprovingly at the scratches and cuts that
covered his son. Ranma was going to learn the cat-fist technique, and
that was all there was to it. If the boy had been paying attention
instead of screaming his fool head off about how scared he was and how
much it hurt he probably would have learned it by now. Instead, Genma
was forced to keep running off and stealing more and more cat food
because his son was lazy. They'd been out here all day and it was
already getting dark! It just wouldn't do.
"Now, son," he said, "I know this is hard but you must learn it! You
want to become a great martial artist, don't you? Are you trying to let
me and your mother down by acting like a weak, whining little girl?"
Ranma looked away from him, at the fish-sausages draped about his body.
"No, Papa. But the ca-cats are scary! And, And..."
"Nonsense, my boy! The cats are more afraid of you than you are of
them, now just get down there and learn it! No more complaining, get to
it!" Genma finished by pushing his son into the pit.
After a few minutes of unmanly shrieking and yowling noises there was
silence. Genma stepped up to the edge of the hole and looked down,
searching for his son in the darkness.
"Ranma," he called down hopefully, "did you learn it yet?"
Suddenly something jumped up at him, moving so fast that he could see
nothing but a blur, and he was knocked back, falling down in surprise.
Looking down he saw that his gi was in shreds and that he had light cuts
across his now bare chest.
In front of him Ranma perched at the edge of the pit, hunched over on
his hands and knees. Blood dripped from his mutilated face and hands,
his clothes were in pieces, and there was no trace of sanity upon his
face. His eyes shone red as he glared malevolently at his father,
hissing in eerily cat-like fury.
Genma grinned happily. Ranma had finally learned the cat-fist! He
started to climb to his feet, wanting to test the boy's defenses and see
how effective the technique was, when Ranma leapt forward and clawed at
him again, lines of red light flaring from his fingers. Genma jumped
back, barely escaping the swipe, and gaped in surprise. That had been a
ki attack! Ranma, only six, was doing something most people took years
to master!
Forget sparring, it was time to celebrate!
Unfortunately his son was of a different mind.
#####
Genma woke in incredible pain. His whole body was battered, covered in
cuts and bruises. His clothes were in tatters, hanging loosely in
strips about him where they weren't stuck to his bulky frame by dried
blood.
What had possessed Ranma to act like that? Sure, the boy might not have
liked the training, but it'd worked, right? So what was the problem?
Genma had tried everything short of the forbidden techniques in an
attempt to defeat his son, but nothing had worked. Ranma should be
happy, proud to have been taught such a fearsome attack! Instead, he
repaid his poor father with abuse!
Ranma hadn't even been content to just beat him, instead the
disrespectful brat had toyed with him, using his new technique to an
unfair advantage as he moved too quickly for Genma to maintain a
defense. Every time he'd thought the boy would strike at one side Ranma
had blurred, appearing elsewhere and making a few painful, paper-thin
scratches before Genma could retreat.
It had continued forever, it seemed like, until Ranma had suddenly
looked towards the village for some reason, and took off in that
direction. Finally able to sit down and rest, Genma had collapsed in
relief. But now where was his son?
Sighing heavily, then wincing at the pain, he began the walk back to the
village, named Mamioda. Thankfully Mamioda was very small, so it
shouldn't be too hard to find his son. The town's size was the very
reason they had chosen it, in fact.
Training in the cat-fist had seemed likely to attract the authorities in
a more populated area since people probably wouldn't understand the
sacrifices that had to be made in the name of training. So he'd looked
for a fairly remote location to teach Ranma the technique at, even
though it would make finding enough cats much harder.
And the fool boy had still attacked him! Ungrateful brat!
#####
Genma trudged up the steps leading to the shrine. He'd been searching
for hours and still hadn't found Ranma. None of the villagers had seen
the boy, but one of them suggested checking here at the temple. The man
had also said something about the priestess having weird abilities but
he was probably just making things up. Women didn't have that kind of
power.
Instead, they carried swords. He shuddered.
When he finally reached the top of the stairs, he stopped in surprise.
The shrine was a small, tidy looking thing, well made and maintained,
but it wasn't what attracted his attention.
Ranma was running around, chasing some redheaded girl. They were both
giggling as they played tag and Ranma was keeping his speed down to the
girl's level instead of just tagging her then moving away too quickly
for her to catch up as he usually would. Normally he'd be dancing out
of reach whenever somebody tried to tag him, using insults to drive them
to faster movement. That was the way Genma had taught him to do such
things, to turn everything into a competition and a challenge to master.
Today, though, he was just playing. Ranma was so absorbed in having fun
with this little girl that he'd completely forgotten to pay attention to
his surroundings; he clearly had no idea that his father was watching.
Deciding that he'd puzzle out the reason for it later, wanting to just
take his son and go rest somewhere, Genma called out, "Ranma! Come on,
we're going!"
As soon as Ranma heard his voice, he whipped about in surprise. When he
saw his father he crouched down again, mimicking the stance from before,
and his eyes glowed red once again.
"Dammit boy! I'm not in any mood for more games! We can spar later,
now lets go!" Genma yelled irritably. He did NOT feel well and dealing
with Ranma's new technique right now was exactly what he didn't want to
do.
Ignoring him, Ranma bound forward to attack. Genma took up a defensive
stance, swearing to himself that he was never going to teach the fool
boy another technique again.
Suddenly, a new voice called out.
"Ranma! Come here, Ranma."
Blinking in surprise when his son ran off, four-legged style, Genma
turned to see the new arrival and gasped. She was a stunning woman with
long black hair streaming past her shoulders. She was dressed in the
garb of a priestess and obviously lived here, her serene spirit seeming
to fill the area around them. She had a gentle, loving smile on her
face as she watched Ranma run towards her, and when he jumped into the
air she caught him easily, not budging at all under his fast-moving
weight.
He purred, held in her arms, as she carried him over to the entrance of
the shrine. When she sat down on the steps the little girl Ranma had
been playing with, the woman's daughter, apparently, ran over to them
with a big grin and began ruffling Ranma's hair and scratching the back
of his head. The woman smiled at her then looked up at Genma.
"Are you his father?" she asked. Even her voice was beautiful!
"Yeah," he stammered in reply. There was just something about this
woman that made him incredibly nervous. No-chan looked great, but this
woman...
"Yes," he repeated. "He's my son. Who're you?"
She ignored the question, and said, "Did you know that you drove him
mad? He thought he was a cat. He was about to kill you last night when
I sensed him and drew him to me. He would have tried again right now if
I hadn't stopped him."
Genma laughed. "He was just showing off a new technique! He'll calm
down after a while. But he and I need to get going, so if you'd mind
putting him down?" He stepped forward impatiently, then stopped when
Ranma hissed and glared at him, eyes flaring red with rage. The little
girl yelped in surprise and drew back her hand hurriedly.
"Shhh, it's okay Ranma," said the woman. Ranma relaxed slightly in
response but still gazed at his father warily.
"If he goes with you now," she said, "he will kill you and never regain
his sanity. He needs to stay here for a while so I can help him."
Genma scowled. "Now you just wait a minute! I don't know what you're
trying to pull, but that's my son and you aren't stealing him!" Looking
at the little girl suspiciously, he added, "And he's already engaged,
too, so don't think you can have him marry your daughter!" Although if
she was willing to make a deal...
The woman just looked at him calmly for a moment, then glanced down at
Ranma and said, "Very well. I will show you."
With that, she pulled one of her hands out from under Ranma then pointed
it at Genma. He looked on disdainfully, expecting her to try some kind
of hocus-pocus like the villager he'd talked to earlier had mentioned.
He didn't react in time when a purple glow shot out from her hand.
When it hit, his world dissolved into foreign memories driving into his
mind like glass shards. Images of yellow eyes, claws and sharp teeth
assailed him. Pain flared into being, his body howling at him in dismay
as he felt his skin rip and shred under the onslaught. He flailed
about, trying to protect himself, but the attack continued.
Burning lines of agony ran across his face, driving him to panic with
the close proximity to his eyes. A claw punctured the cartilage of his
nose and stuck, and the cat screamed in fury as it tried to unhook
itself from his head. He whipped his head about, trying to shake the
beast free, but it remained fastened to his face.
Other cats swarmed over him, scratching and clawing as they tried to get
to the fish-sausages. His arms, legs, groin, neck, everything was being
attacked. He tried to fight back, smashing his limbs against the floor
and walls of the pit in an attempt to kill the cats. There were too
many, when one fell away, beaten to death or unconsciousness, another
took its place, demanding food.
His anger and terror grew. He shoved the pain aside, blocked off the
sensation of blood trailing down his face and limbs as the cats ripped
into him. He was going to fight back. He reached out and began
grasping the necks of the cats about him, yanking their heads viscously,
ripping them from their bodies. He punched and kicked at the cats,
crushing them beneath his hands and feet. He ripped the cat still stuck
to his face away, then smashed it's head between his hands. But still
there were more and more.
He fell into a violent frenzy, no longer consciously attacking specific
cats but rather attempting to take them all on at once, like some
drunken brawler. The cats began to crawl away from him, crippled and
near dead, but still there were many left. His terror was gone now, it
had followed the pain, crushed beneath his fury much like the cats he
was fighting. His anger consumed him, fed by the orgasmic experience of
killing the enemy.
Everything blurred into red.
#####
Genma's eyes shot open. His breathing was ragged, panicked, his chest
heaving in an attempt to keep up with his racing heart. His nerves were
afire with remembered agony. His hands, still aching, trailed about his
face and body checking for injuries. There were none.
He was still standing before the shrine, the same place he had been
while talking to the woman. She was still there, sitting at the steps,
but the children were gone now.
He drew a deep, shuddering breath. "What was that?" he asked hoarsely.
She looked at him, angry now. "That was what you did to your son. You
drove him mad. If I hadn't been nearby nothing could have stopped him.
He would have lived the rest of his life thinking he was a cat, and you
would be dead. You're 'technique' almost ruined your son's life.
"But he looked fine," Genma insisted. "He was running around with your
little girl without a scratch on him!"
"Yes. He is fine physically; I healed him last night after he arrived.
But otherwise... Even now, after I've done my best to block out his
anger and the separate, cat-like personality you forced upon him, he
could easily return to insanity. Just seeing you made him think of the
pit you threw him into, and that's all it took to push him over the
edge. It's likely that just seeing cats from now on will do the same.
"For all that you don't deserve him, I can't keep a child from his
father. But Ranma is staying here with me for a month. After that you
can take him back. Until then you are unwelcome in my shrine and are to
stay out of Ranma's sight. Now, be gone."
With that, she turned around and went inside, leaving Genma still
staring at where she had been. After a minute he sighed then started
making his way back down the stairs.
#####
Over the next few weeks Genma spent much of his time watching his son
from up in the trees surrounding the shrine. Ranma spent all of his
time running around playing with the little girl he called 'Key-chan'.
No time was spent practicing martial arts.
Several times Genma was tempted to simply grab the boy and run. There
were many opportunities, occasions where Ranma was all alone outside
without the little girl or the priestess in sight. But he could always
feel her presence, like someone watching him from concealment, hidden
too well to be found. When she was in sight, sometimes she would turn
and look directly at him, as if she knew exactly where he was, before
turning her attention back to the kids.
A month after being told to wait Ranma played alone outside. The fool
boy was imagining himself to be some noble samurai on a quest to save
the princess, an idea that was common in the games he and the girl
enjoyed. For once the woman's presence seemed muted, absent.
Genma grabbed his son and ran.
#####
From inside the shrine Toyoko Mimo watched, holding her sobbing daughter
as Ranma was taken away. Tokiko was crying because she was sure she
would never see the only friend she'd ever had again. Toyoko believed
she was right but just rocked her baby gently, saying nothing.
She hoped she was doing the right thing in allowing Ranma's father to
take him. The man was an idiot, and a danger to his son, but she still
couldn't justify stealing the boy from his father. However much she
might wish otherwise.
Ranma should be okay though. His cat persona had been almost completely
sealed up and he no longer reverted back into it upon seeing his father
or trying to use martial arts. He would, however, be scared of cats for
the rest of his life. Prolonged exposure to one would probably trigger
the cat-fist but enough of the boy's sanity would remain to keep him
from killing anybody.
Her only real concern was if the rage that had pushed Ranma over the
edge were to return, he might lose himself to the cat-fist again
completely. Thankfully, it was unlikely that would ever happen since
fear would be the pervading emotion were he to be in such a situation.
That poor boy.
Toyoko looked down at her now slumbering daughter, who was curled into
her lap and clutching at her Shinto garb with delicate little fists, and
sighed.
To be continued.
belongs to. Somebody tell me!
This occurs when Ranma is six, shortly after he and Genma left Ukyou.
Key is six years old also. I'm aware that she was younger in the anime
when the events at the beginning of her story occurred. Those events
have been pushed aside for the time being so that I can write the story
in the way I want to. Instead they happen after what is described here.
Everything but her age at the time is still the same.
So, here we go:
Key to His Heart: Prologue
By Thermopyle (thermopyle@tds.net)
#####
Genma wrapped the fish-sausage around Ranma, ignoring the tears in the
boy's eyes and looking disapprovingly at the scratches and cuts that
covered his son. Ranma was going to learn the cat-fist technique, and
that was all there was to it. If the boy had been paying attention
instead of screaming his fool head off about how scared he was and how
much it hurt he probably would have learned it by now. Instead, Genma
was forced to keep running off and stealing more and more cat food
because his son was lazy. They'd been out here all day and it was
already getting dark! It just wouldn't do.
"Now, son," he said, "I know this is hard but you must learn it! You
want to become a great martial artist, don't you? Are you trying to let
me and your mother down by acting like a weak, whining little girl?"
Ranma looked away from him, at the fish-sausages draped about his body.
"No, Papa. But the ca-cats are scary! And, And..."
"Nonsense, my boy! The cats are more afraid of you than you are of
them, now just get down there and learn it! No more complaining, get to
it!" Genma finished by pushing his son into the pit.
After a few minutes of unmanly shrieking and yowling noises there was
silence. Genma stepped up to the edge of the hole and looked down,
searching for his son in the darkness.
"Ranma," he called down hopefully, "did you learn it yet?"
Suddenly something jumped up at him, moving so fast that he could see
nothing but a blur, and he was knocked back, falling down in surprise.
Looking down he saw that his gi was in shreds and that he had light cuts
across his now bare chest.
In front of him Ranma perched at the edge of the pit, hunched over on
his hands and knees. Blood dripped from his mutilated face and hands,
his clothes were in pieces, and there was no trace of sanity upon his
face. His eyes shone red as he glared malevolently at his father,
hissing in eerily cat-like fury.
Genma grinned happily. Ranma had finally learned the cat-fist! He
started to climb to his feet, wanting to test the boy's defenses and see
how effective the technique was, when Ranma leapt forward and clawed at
him again, lines of red light flaring from his fingers. Genma jumped
back, barely escaping the swipe, and gaped in surprise. That had been a
ki attack! Ranma, only six, was doing something most people took years
to master!
Forget sparring, it was time to celebrate!
Unfortunately his son was of a different mind.
#####
Genma woke in incredible pain. His whole body was battered, covered in
cuts and bruises. His clothes were in tatters, hanging loosely in
strips about him where they weren't stuck to his bulky frame by dried
blood.
What had possessed Ranma to act like that? Sure, the boy might not have
liked the training, but it'd worked, right? So what was the problem?
Genma had tried everything short of the forbidden techniques in an
attempt to defeat his son, but nothing had worked. Ranma should be
happy, proud to have been taught such a fearsome attack! Instead, he
repaid his poor father with abuse!
Ranma hadn't even been content to just beat him, instead the
disrespectful brat had toyed with him, using his new technique to an
unfair advantage as he moved too quickly for Genma to maintain a
defense. Every time he'd thought the boy would strike at one side Ranma
had blurred, appearing elsewhere and making a few painful, paper-thin
scratches before Genma could retreat.
It had continued forever, it seemed like, until Ranma had suddenly
looked towards the village for some reason, and took off in that
direction. Finally able to sit down and rest, Genma had collapsed in
relief. But now where was his son?
Sighing heavily, then wincing at the pain, he began the walk back to the
village, named Mamioda. Thankfully Mamioda was very small, so it
shouldn't be too hard to find his son. The town's size was the very
reason they had chosen it, in fact.
Training in the cat-fist had seemed likely to attract the authorities in
a more populated area since people probably wouldn't understand the
sacrifices that had to be made in the name of training. So he'd looked
for a fairly remote location to teach Ranma the technique at, even
though it would make finding enough cats much harder.
And the fool boy had still attacked him! Ungrateful brat!
#####
Genma trudged up the steps leading to the shrine. He'd been searching
for hours and still hadn't found Ranma. None of the villagers had seen
the boy, but one of them suggested checking here at the temple. The man
had also said something about the priestess having weird abilities but
he was probably just making things up. Women didn't have that kind of
power.
Instead, they carried swords. He shuddered.
When he finally reached the top of the stairs, he stopped in surprise.
The shrine was a small, tidy looking thing, well made and maintained,
but it wasn't what attracted his attention.
Ranma was running around, chasing some redheaded girl. They were both
giggling as they played tag and Ranma was keeping his speed down to the
girl's level instead of just tagging her then moving away too quickly
for her to catch up as he usually would. Normally he'd be dancing out
of reach whenever somebody tried to tag him, using insults to drive them
to faster movement. That was the way Genma had taught him to do such
things, to turn everything into a competition and a challenge to master.
Today, though, he was just playing. Ranma was so absorbed in having fun
with this little girl that he'd completely forgotten to pay attention to
his surroundings; he clearly had no idea that his father was watching.
Deciding that he'd puzzle out the reason for it later, wanting to just
take his son and go rest somewhere, Genma called out, "Ranma! Come on,
we're going!"
As soon as Ranma heard his voice, he whipped about in surprise. When he
saw his father he crouched down again, mimicking the stance from before,
and his eyes glowed red once again.
"Dammit boy! I'm not in any mood for more games! We can spar later,
now lets go!" Genma yelled irritably. He did NOT feel well and dealing
with Ranma's new technique right now was exactly what he didn't want to
do.
Ignoring him, Ranma bound forward to attack. Genma took up a defensive
stance, swearing to himself that he was never going to teach the fool
boy another technique again.
Suddenly, a new voice called out.
"Ranma! Come here, Ranma."
Blinking in surprise when his son ran off, four-legged style, Genma
turned to see the new arrival and gasped. She was a stunning woman with
long black hair streaming past her shoulders. She was dressed in the
garb of a priestess and obviously lived here, her serene spirit seeming
to fill the area around them. She had a gentle, loving smile on her
face as she watched Ranma run towards her, and when he jumped into the
air she caught him easily, not budging at all under his fast-moving
weight.
He purred, held in her arms, as she carried him over to the entrance of
the shrine. When she sat down on the steps the little girl Ranma had
been playing with, the woman's daughter, apparently, ran over to them
with a big grin and began ruffling Ranma's hair and scratching the back
of his head. The woman smiled at her then looked up at Genma.
"Are you his father?" she asked. Even her voice was beautiful!
"Yeah," he stammered in reply. There was just something about this
woman that made him incredibly nervous. No-chan looked great, but this
woman...
"Yes," he repeated. "He's my son. Who're you?"
She ignored the question, and said, "Did you know that you drove him
mad? He thought he was a cat. He was about to kill you last night when
I sensed him and drew him to me. He would have tried again right now if
I hadn't stopped him."
Genma laughed. "He was just showing off a new technique! He'll calm
down after a while. But he and I need to get going, so if you'd mind
putting him down?" He stepped forward impatiently, then stopped when
Ranma hissed and glared at him, eyes flaring red with rage. The little
girl yelped in surprise and drew back her hand hurriedly.
"Shhh, it's okay Ranma," said the woman. Ranma relaxed slightly in
response but still gazed at his father warily.
"If he goes with you now," she said, "he will kill you and never regain
his sanity. He needs to stay here for a while so I can help him."
Genma scowled. "Now you just wait a minute! I don't know what you're
trying to pull, but that's my son and you aren't stealing him!" Looking
at the little girl suspiciously, he added, "And he's already engaged,
too, so don't think you can have him marry your daughter!" Although if
she was willing to make a deal...
The woman just looked at him calmly for a moment, then glanced down at
Ranma and said, "Very well. I will show you."
With that, she pulled one of her hands out from under Ranma then pointed
it at Genma. He looked on disdainfully, expecting her to try some kind
of hocus-pocus like the villager he'd talked to earlier had mentioned.
He didn't react in time when a purple glow shot out from her hand.
When it hit, his world dissolved into foreign memories driving into his
mind like glass shards. Images of yellow eyes, claws and sharp teeth
assailed him. Pain flared into being, his body howling at him in dismay
as he felt his skin rip and shred under the onslaught. He flailed
about, trying to protect himself, but the attack continued.
Burning lines of agony ran across his face, driving him to panic with
the close proximity to his eyes. A claw punctured the cartilage of his
nose and stuck, and the cat screamed in fury as it tried to unhook
itself from his head. He whipped his head about, trying to shake the
beast free, but it remained fastened to his face.
Other cats swarmed over him, scratching and clawing as they tried to get
to the fish-sausages. His arms, legs, groin, neck, everything was being
attacked. He tried to fight back, smashing his limbs against the floor
and walls of the pit in an attempt to kill the cats. There were too
many, when one fell away, beaten to death or unconsciousness, another
took its place, demanding food.
His anger and terror grew. He shoved the pain aside, blocked off the
sensation of blood trailing down his face and limbs as the cats ripped
into him. He was going to fight back. He reached out and began
grasping the necks of the cats about him, yanking their heads viscously,
ripping them from their bodies. He punched and kicked at the cats,
crushing them beneath his hands and feet. He ripped the cat still stuck
to his face away, then smashed it's head between his hands. But still
there were more and more.
He fell into a violent frenzy, no longer consciously attacking specific
cats but rather attempting to take them all on at once, like some
drunken brawler. The cats began to crawl away from him, crippled and
near dead, but still there were many left. His terror was gone now, it
had followed the pain, crushed beneath his fury much like the cats he
was fighting. His anger consumed him, fed by the orgasmic experience of
killing the enemy.
Everything blurred into red.
#####
Genma's eyes shot open. His breathing was ragged, panicked, his chest
heaving in an attempt to keep up with his racing heart. His nerves were
afire with remembered agony. His hands, still aching, trailed about his
face and body checking for injuries. There were none.
He was still standing before the shrine, the same place he had been
while talking to the woman. She was still there, sitting at the steps,
but the children were gone now.
He drew a deep, shuddering breath. "What was that?" he asked hoarsely.
She looked at him, angry now. "That was what you did to your son. You
drove him mad. If I hadn't been nearby nothing could have stopped him.
He would have lived the rest of his life thinking he was a cat, and you
would be dead. You're 'technique' almost ruined your son's life.
"But he looked fine," Genma insisted. "He was running around with your
little girl without a scratch on him!"
"Yes. He is fine physically; I healed him last night after he arrived.
But otherwise... Even now, after I've done my best to block out his
anger and the separate, cat-like personality you forced upon him, he
could easily return to insanity. Just seeing you made him think of the
pit you threw him into, and that's all it took to push him over the
edge. It's likely that just seeing cats from now on will do the same.
"For all that you don't deserve him, I can't keep a child from his
father. But Ranma is staying here with me for a month. After that you
can take him back. Until then you are unwelcome in my shrine and are to
stay out of Ranma's sight. Now, be gone."
With that, she turned around and went inside, leaving Genma still
staring at where she had been. After a minute he sighed then started
making his way back down the stairs.
#####
Over the next few weeks Genma spent much of his time watching his son
from up in the trees surrounding the shrine. Ranma spent all of his
time running around playing with the little girl he called 'Key-chan'.
No time was spent practicing martial arts.
Several times Genma was tempted to simply grab the boy and run. There
were many opportunities, occasions where Ranma was all alone outside
without the little girl or the priestess in sight. But he could always
feel her presence, like someone watching him from concealment, hidden
too well to be found. When she was in sight, sometimes she would turn
and look directly at him, as if she knew exactly where he was, before
turning her attention back to the kids.
A month after being told to wait Ranma played alone outside. The fool
boy was imagining himself to be some noble samurai on a quest to save
the princess, an idea that was common in the games he and the girl
enjoyed. For once the woman's presence seemed muted, absent.
Genma grabbed his son and ran.
#####
From inside the shrine Toyoko Mimo watched, holding her sobbing daughter
as Ranma was taken away. Tokiko was crying because she was sure she
would never see the only friend she'd ever had again. Toyoko believed
she was right but just rocked her baby gently, saying nothing.
She hoped she was doing the right thing in allowing Ranma's father to
take him. The man was an idiot, and a danger to his son, but she still
couldn't justify stealing the boy from his father. However much she
might wish otherwise.
Ranma should be okay though. His cat persona had been almost completely
sealed up and he no longer reverted back into it upon seeing his father
or trying to use martial arts. He would, however, be scared of cats for
the rest of his life. Prolonged exposure to one would probably trigger
the cat-fist but enough of the boy's sanity would remain to keep him
from killing anybody.
Her only real concern was if the rage that had pushed Ranma over the
edge were to return, he might lose himself to the cat-fist again
completely. Thankfully, it was unlikely that would ever happen since
fear would be the pervading emotion were he to be in such a situation.
That poor boy.
Toyoko looked down at her now slumbering daughter, who was curled into
her lap and clutching at her Shinto garb with delicate little fists, and
sighed.
To be continued.