The Will

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi deserves all the credit. All bow down to her awesomeness.

Author's note: Hello, everyone. I have decided to rewrite this story since I feel I have come up with a much better plot. The only things I will be using from the previous version of this story are some of the original characters and a few other elements.

Here's a quick rundown of the new story;

Just like in the previous version, Genma is not Ranma's real father. Ranma is, in fact, a half demon (No this is not an Inuyasha crossover). Neither Ranma nor Genma learn that Nodoka is keeping this secret until after they return from the training trip. The manifestation of Ranma's demonic powers is age related (puberty) thus events don't start to diverge very far from canon until the trip to China. Circumstances will require that Ranma spend a lot of time as a female (warning to Ranma-chan haters).

EDIT- I have expanded the prologue after someone kindly brought a few things to my attention. I hope this will suffice.

Prologue

- Halloween 1979 -

Nodoka looked around the living room of her new home as she sat atop one sealed cardboard box while unpacking another. The big stuff had already been taken care of by the movers her father had paid for. He had gone the extra mile and furnished the place with brand new stuff, of course. She could only imagine how much he had spent on the sofa, dining, and bedroom sets. Not to mention the fact that he had put the deposit down to get them into the place. All of which only served to make her guilt that much worse.

She placed a hand on her distended belly and shed a tear.

The lies she had told him and almost everyone else, including her husband, about her absence weighed heavier on her as each new day passed. Sometimes she would slip up and almost get her different stories mixed up. Thankfully, Genma was an easy man to please and didn't really scrutinize her unless she wasn't cooking, cleaning, or doing other things he liked. Her father, however, was a smart man. She had been forced to keep him at a distance. How could she possibly tell either of these men that her soon to be born baby's conception had been so unholy?

She brought her hands up to her face as her emotions got the best of her. Her body trembled while she heaved breathy cries of anguish. This was not how she had imagined her youth coming to an end.

Her breath hitched when she felt a sharp pain shoot through her abdomen that preceded the sudden wetness running down her legs. Her water had broken.

'Damn it...' she cursed, internally, as she got to her feet and carefully made her way into the kitchen.

To the left of the refrigerator, on the adjacent wall, a rotary phone was mounted at her eye level. She reached for it, picking up the receiver, and dialed her brother. After a few rings she heard him pick up. "Hello?"

"Takeru, it's time," Nodoka said, the strain in her voice evident. "You made sure Chiaki is available, right?"

"Oh shit! Yeah, I told her to expect the call any day this week. We'll be there soon, Noka-chan. You just sit tight and wait for us, okay?"

"Thank you," Nodoka replied before hanging up.

Her brother and his girlfriend were the only two people she had entrusted with the truth. Takeru had always had her back since they were kids and he was good at keeping secrets from their old man. Chiaki was an intern at the local hospital under a midwife so she needed her services. Takeru had been the one to insist that she be in the loop.

Nodoka clenched her teeth as she carried herself over to the wooden dining room table and grabbed a seat on one of the surrounding chairs. She watched the wall mounted clock and began counting the minutes not just until her brother arrived but also to see how far apart her contractions were.

She would have just gone to the hospital if she were having a normal birth but, as it was, she really wasn't sure what to expect. The little she had heard about such a birth came from an unreliable source, so she wasn't about to take any chances. Knowing that she had been due anytime, she had already taken the liberty of putting up external wards surrounding her property. Whatever happened tonight, no trick or treaters would be approaching her house.

Five minutes had quickly turned into ten. Then, before she knew it, a half hour had passed. Knowing that Takeru would most likely have picked up Chiaki on his motorcycle so they could get through the afternoon rush hour quicker, Nodoka decided to chance getting up and making preparations since they would be arriving soon. The painful contractions that were coming and going were more intense than she had anticipated, which made moving around difficult, but she was a strong woman.

She gathered linens from the hall closet and began laying them out over the sofa. It would have been nicer to deliver on her bed, but she didn't think it was a good idea to try and walk up the stairs in her condition. She dropped what she was doing when she sensed a momentary break in her protective field. Two people had just passed through the invisible barrier.

Nodoka made it to the front of her house just as an urgent rapping came from the door. She opened it and was greeted by two familiar faces. Takeru, nearly the spitting image of their father in his youth, had his shaggy brown hair matted against his head most likely from having worn the full face helmet that he now held under one arm. His warm brown eyes and expressive brow clearly showed their concern for her. Chiaki, with the top of her head only coming to just below Takeru's shoulder lever, had to lean out from behind her leather clad boyfriend to greet Nodoka. Her brother's girlfriend was tidy as ever with her jet black hair neatly held back in twin braids. She must have just come off of a shift because she was still wearing her blue scrubs.

"So are you going to invite us in or did your baby reschedule it's own birth?" Takeru said, trying to lighten things up.

"Sorry, please come in," Nodoka replied, stepping out of the way to allow them space to enter. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"We would've been here sooner, but there was an accident on the highway that was tricky getting around," Takeru replied.

"Come on, No-chan," Chiaki said, stepping around her boyfriend so she could help escort Nodoka further into the house. "Let's get you laid down, okay?"

"Okay," Nodoka replied, allowing herself to be led by the other woman. "I brought out some linens," she added as they passed right by the living room and continued further into the house. "Where are we going?"

"To your bedroom," Chiaki replied. "You didn't think I was gonna deliver your baby on a couch, did you?"

"Well..."

"Takeru, come here and help me carry your sister upstairs!"

"Coming!" Takeru said, rejoining them quickly. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what I should be doing," he admitted.

"Just stay close and be ready for whatever I ask of you," Chiaki replied.

Together, the couple carefully lifted Nodoka and hauled her upstairs. In no time, they had her laid out on her own bed and made sure to grab the linens from downstairs. When it came time for Nodoka to remove her bottoms, Chiaki made Takeru wait outside in the hall and just listen for any instructions she gave him.

"Chiaki... I'm scared," Nodoka admitted as she felt her eyes grow watery. "What if it's..." She left the question unasked, too afraid to doom it by articulating the words.

"You and the baby are both gonna be fine, Nodoka," Chiaki assured. "Have a little more faith, okay?"

Nodoka nodded her head in reply as she did her best to suck it up.

"So... uh, where's the dufus at?" Takeru asked from behind the slightly ajar door.

"Genma? I wrote a letter to his martial arts master pretending to be him. I made sure they went on a training trip out of town this week," Nodoka said. "The poor guy was so scared when the old man showed up unexpectedly. I'll have to make it up to him later..." she added.

Takeru sniggered. "What a coward. I wish you would've come to me before recklessly marring that buffoon. I could've found you someone better, you know."

"Can we not have this argument again? Not right now, okay?" Nodoka asked.

"Sorry..." Takeru replied with a breathy sigh.

"Hnnn!" Nodoka grunted as she lurched upward with pain.

"The contractions are getting stronger!" Chiaki said. "Takeru, go bring us some wash cloths and a bucket of water!"

"Got it!"

"Hang in there, Nodoka," Chiaki said, rubbing the pregnant woman's forehead soothingly. "I'll get you through this."

True to her word, Chiaki sat with Nodoka and held her hand while they waited for the timing of her contractions to apex. When they did, Chiaki had her start breathing and pushing. Takeru had done his part and left the things he was asked to bring by the foot of the door.

Nodoka's labor continued on into the evening as the sunlight shining through her curtained windows grew dimmer. It wasn't until after darkness had fully risen that she and Chiaki had witnessed the infant's grand entrance into the world.

"Look," Chiaki said as she pulled the baby away from Nodoka's legs and carried it up to her waiting arms. "It's a healthy baby boy, No-chan," she added as she handed him off to her.

Nodoka cried tears of joy as she held her boy against her chest. "I can't believe it," she said as she rocked back and forth. "They were actually telling the truth."

"They? You don't mean..." Takeru said as he chanced peeking around the door.

"It's okay, hon, it's safe to come in now," Chiaki said to her boyfriend after covering his sister's bottom half with a sheet.

"Noka-chan... who are you talking about?" Takeru asked as he approached her bedside. "Please don't tell me it's... this boy's other family..."

Nodoka sniffled as she nodded her head. Her expression became a grim one as she recalled the moment she had been dwelling on for quite some time now. "When I was... gone, I overheard them talking to one another. I had been pretending to be unconscious, but I didn't know if they had bought it or not. They..." she said, letting her recounting drop off as she noticed her two companions baited expressions. "That's right, I never told either one of you about this part, did I?"

"Are you kidding? You barely told us anything about what really happened during those weeks," Takeru said.

Nodoka squared her shoulders and steeled herself before going on. "I know... I'm sorry. It's just been difficult, you know? What I was going to say is that I heard them speaking about half breed children. That's right, I wasn't alone there. I didn't see them, but I felt the presence of others like myself."

She watched the matching looks of horror dawn on Takeru's and Chiaki's faces. It was clear that they understood what she was getting at.

"The ones in charge of watching me... I overheard them say something along the lines of these babies being born as human as any other. Through time, trial, and right of passage, they would slowly come into their power and seize their heritage. I didn't know what to believe at the time, but now it kind of makes sense. If the babies couldn't pass as human from birth, they were likely to be slaughtered. I guess some part of me was hoping all along for it to be true. That's why I couldn't bring myself to get an abortion," she added, looking down at the wide eyed baby cradled in her arms. "I kept thinking that if there was even a slim chance my baby could be born human, then wouldn't it be possible for the human half to grow strong enough to completely win dominance? I just... I thought my child deserved to have a fighting chance and I know for a fact that father wouldn't have agreed with me. That's why I did what I did."

Nodoka watched Takeru and Chiaki share a glance as they digested her admission.

"So... what are you going to name him?" Chiaki asked.

"Well, I was thinking about going with something that Genma had proposed. I mean, he deserves as much for sticking with me through what's been the darkest time of my life so far and it would help reinforce the story I've told him. It's really... the only way I can think to repay him without telling him the truth," Nodoka said.

"Hn," Takeru grunted a reply. "So what's it gonna be? What do I call this little guy?"

Nodoka adjusted her arms to prop the infant boy up before replying. "Ranma. His name is Ranma."

- Eighteen years later -

For the longest time, religion was a concept that Ranma had only been familiar with in the abstract sense. He had been vaguely aware that different groups of people had different beliefs in regard to the supposed afterlife but, since his focus had always been on martial arts, he had never thought too hard about the subject. Even something as uniquely Japanese as the Shinto culture had been mostly a mystery to him.

Then again, being a half demon, he supposed growing up with close ties to religious groups would have been pretty dangerous for him. That thought alone almost made up for all of the times his old man had dragged him back onto the road before he could add new people to his very short list of friends. Of course, neither of them had known about his true heritage back then - it was just Genma being himself.

After his mother had passed down the news that his grandfather had died, the funeral that followed had been his inaugural participation in a Shinto ceremony and no amount of pep-talk from the woman could have prepared him for that experience. The twenty-four hour mourning period of kichu-fuda, the chanting priest, and all the meticulous preparation surrounding it would have been enough to make his head spin. His typical Saotome luck ensured that there was a whole heap of extras to make things worse, though.

The Haruna shrine, home to Ranma's recently deceased grandfather - Haruna Takeshi, was one hell of a large place nestled atop Mount Haruna in the Gunma prefecture. Due to it's ideal location near Lake Haruna, a popular tourist destination, the shrine received a lot of visitors during the day. At night, though, it came alive in a different way - one that was currently making Ranma sweat bricks.

"Son, are you listening to what I've been saying?"

Ranma snapped out of his reverie and realized that he had been unconsciously gripping the protective talisman hanging from the rosary around his neck. He tucked it back into his all black yukata and lifted his eyes to meet his mother's.

Nodoka was dressed similarly in all black - just as every other person he had encountered today had been. She set her cup of tea down onto the low table that was between them while looking upon him expectantly.

"I can feel the pressure from the new wards that are being put up even though I'm wearing my talisman," Ranma said, finally.

"Does it hurt?" Nodoka asked him. "I can see you sweating."

"No, not exactly. This yukata is just a little too thick and it's kinda stuffy in here. I'm not used to any of this either." He decided not to tell her about the slowly increasing burn or the nausea at the pit of his stomach.

"We can open the shoji, if you want. There was a nice breeze outside the last time I checked."

"It's alright, mom. I'll be fine. We get to go home soon anyway, right?"

"That's what I've been trying to talk to you about, Ranma. There's things happening right now that are out of my control and it's going to affect you too."

"What things?" he asked.

"My father left behind a will. I've been chosen to be his successor." She paused to let that sink in.

Ranma blinked a few times as the wheels in his head turned. "We're not going back home, are we?"

"I already cancelled the lease on our apartment. The reason I insisted on you taking part in this ceremony was so I could see how well you handled being on holy ground. For your sake, I was hoping for a better reaction."

"I'm fine, seriously," Ranma insisted. The look of obvious disbelief on his mother's face made him reconsider his denial. He sighed with resignation and let his shoulders sag a bit. "Okay, fine - I feel like crap."

Nodoka didn't get any satisfaction at having ferreted an admission out of her son. If anything, it lowered her spirits. She knew what his reaction was going to be to her next suggestion but, still, she had to bring it up anyway. "You know... you could always go back to being my daughter. You wouldn't have to rely on that talisman of yours and we already know of a way to make it permanent so you wouldn't have to live with your guard always up. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about being found out?"

"No, absolutely not!" Ranma said firmly, jamming a fist into the tatami mat on which he sat. His mother flinched and he deflated. "Sorry..." he added. "Mom... I can't go back to that, okay? I promised myself I wouldn't. I'll find a way to deal with it as I am. Anyway, I'm more worried about the relocation. Are you expecting me to switch schools this close to graduation?"

Nodoka took a second to recollect herself before replying. "Well, it would be more convenient if you did, but I would feel bad for making you switch after you finally managed to work things out where you are. I was thinking about buying you a car so you could commute. You could manage that if it's only for a short while, right?"

Ranma almost laughed. "Me getting a license? We both know how unrealistic that is, mom. If anything, I'd be better off just staying in Nerima. In fact, I'm pretty sure Gun would let me crash at his place as long as I needed to."

"Gun? Ranma, I thought I told you to stop associating with that man! He's dangerous and he's a bad influence on you. You need to work on suppressing your demonic instincts, not honing them."

Ranma clenched his teeth and balled his fists. He had known for a while that this moment was going to come sooner or later. "You're wrong, mom! You and I both know what's going on! Despite what you may think, you can't protect me forever and Gun is just as much my family as you are! I have a responsibility to learn mastery over my demon half so I can use that power to fight against what's coming! I'm done trying to fulfill a destiny decided for me by someone else - you included! It's time for you to respect my decisions as a man!"

Nodoka was rendered speechless for a long moment. Her little boy had somehow found his own way without her realizing it. She suddenly felt a bit of shame at trying to shelter him for so long. "I... I'm sorry if I've made you feel like I don't believe in you. That wasn't my intention. I was just trying to avoid adding to your burden! If I had known..."

Ranma stared his mother dead in the eyes as he replied. "Mom, I appreciate that you care about me so much - I honestly do. But this is something I have to do and nothing you say can change my mind about it. If I had to choose between all the lessons I've learned, I'd say the most important one is that you can't ignore something and expect it will go away."

Nodoka found herself unexpectedly misty eyed and reached a hand up to brush away an errant tear as it rolled down her face. "When did you become so wise? At this rate, you might end up teaching your old mom a thing or two."

"A lot has happened since I came back to Japan," Ranma said. "And you know what? I don't regret a single thing."

A/N: I hope you guys like it. I have this story blocked out all the way to chapter ten so I won't be taking suggestions on its direction, but I would really love to read all your thoughts in a review or PM.

Next chapter we'll be going back to the start of this adventure! Stay tuned!