Ranma Tales Side Story: Stress Relief

by TheShadow99

This is a side Story of my Ranma Tales 12 series. In this one of my characters plays havok with the Ranma 12 world.

Ranma Tales ½ Side Story: Stress Relief

Part 1: Entrance with Ryoga

It was a normal night in Nerima. Well if any night in Nerima was truly normal since Ranma had come more than a year ago. Things had been somewhat calmer than normal right after the wedding disaster, but after a month things had gone almost back to square one.

A glow light a street far from anywhere important and went unnoticed by everyone. Slowly the glow collapsed in on itself to reveal the form of a man of western ancestry wearing a outfit made almost entirely out of dark leather. The pants were at least a few centuries out of date and completely out of place, If anyone here knew what they were they'd have placed them as coming from Europe during the middle ages and said they belonged to a type of leather armor outfit. The shirt was also from vaguely the same style and had a series of draw strings across the front that were laced up. Over that though was something very Japanese, it was a type of cloak worn a few centuries ago in this country by travelers. In his hands the man held another fragment of Japanese culture. A four foot long katana made of some form of black metal that still reflected light.

The figure looked around and sighed. It hadn't been a good week. Things still weren't going right between his protege and the girl he needed to be with. Both were so incredibly stubborn at times. He'd already made specific effects to the world they lived in to minimize the problems between the two, but some problems couldn't be avoided. It didn't help that some other force seemed to be getting in his way. He really hoped it wasn't his arch nemesis, though frankly this wasn't her usual style. Why did so many problems need to get in the way of his avatars? Oh well... It was time to relieve some stress.

From down the street came a yell of "Oh great now where am I?" The man smiled and headed down the street to find a boy wearing dingy brownish yellow clothes and a bandanna who seemed utterly lost.

The man spoke to the boy "Your Ryoga Hibiki, right?"

Ryoga stared at the man and asked "Yes I am, do I know you?"

The man smiled and says "No you don't, but on the other hand I know you. I know your a whiny obsessed brat who can't accept blame for his own faults and get over things. Instead deciding to abuse the woman you claim to love by acting as her pet, because you don't love yourself and crave the affection she shows you as a pet. You also ignore Akari who does seem to love you for you, yet you refuse to accept it because you still can't find love in yourself and continue instead to crave the attention you got as Akane's pet. Then there is Ranma who you can't seem to forget things he did that to him were signs of affection or a person he feels is his friend. Not to mention you chase after him for the silliest of reasons and then when on accident you end up getting cursed because you followed him you blame it all on him. You never let him forget 'your pain' and pretend he is a cold uncaring bastard."

Ryoga stares at the man. He didn't even know him yet the things he said were so apt. Wait, everything was Ranma's fault! Nothing was his fault! Ranma hurt Akane! Akane loved Ryoga, he knew she did! He just had to tell her first and then she'd admit it to him! With his anger know consuming him Ryoga attacks the man.

His lunge started and he got a couple feet forward into his charge before the man disappeared from before his eyes. One moment there, then before the blink of an eye he wasn't. He only realized where the man was as the foot slammed into his chest. The man had crossed twelve feet faster than Ryoga could cross three inches and now stood slightly to the right of Ryoga. Ryoga felt a flash of intense pain easily the match for the best hit Ranma had ever been able to give. Then he was through a brick wall and into a small yard only barely stopping before he slammed into the house as well.

Ryoga rises to shaky feet trying to stand after the wind had been knocked out of him. The man walks through the hole in the brick wall and walks over to Ryoga. Then he says "So can you admit it's your fault? I won't hurt you to bad if you can just admit that to yourself."

Ryoga growled "Nothing is my fault! Ranma is to blame for everything bad in my life!"

The man sighs and says "I figured you'd say that. Oh well you just aren't any fun." Then the man is gone again. The pain hits Ryoga's back accompanied by a snapping sound only briefly before the ground reaches up to bring pain to his front as well. Hardly there for two seconds and another kick to his right side causes a sick cracking sound and sends him out across the street where he came from.

Ryoga struggles to rise, but his lower body refuses to move and he can tell at least a few ribs are broken on his right side. This was pretty much a first for him, he could only recall a few times in his life he'd ever broken a bone. He couldn't believe one man he'd never meet could do this to him...

He doesn't have much time to think about it though as another foot comes down on his neck from above and he hears a sound he can't even describe. This time he doesn't feel any pain however. In fact he can't feel any of his body now. Then his world goes black.

The man stands over the fallen boy and says "Well you really aren't any fun. It's to bad I have no desire to actually solve your mental problems... But killing you took all of maybe thirty seconds... Fixing your head would take years of painful work I really don't care to spend with you." He then kicks the body so it rests against the opposite wall. The man turns and walks off down the road.

Part 2: Amazons Take 1

The next morning Ranma and Akane were running to school when a sound both dread can be heard behind them. It was the sound of a bicycle bell. It starts to get closer and Ranma is nearly frozen in place waiting for the dreaded amazon glomp he knows will come regardless of what he tries to do.

However there is a sudden crash and the sound of metal breaking and part of a wall collapsing from behind them. Ranma and Akane both turn at the sound of the noise. The sight that greets their eyes is almost unbelievable. Shampoo is lying against the wall and her bike is twisted and bent fragments embedded into the wall itself. A man in black stands a few feet away looking at the Chinese girl.

Shampoo shakes her head and looks up at the man. He says in Chinese to her "Hello Xian Pu, before you get your panties tied in a knot, know that I won't marry a baby like yourself regardless about your law about outsider men. If you try to insist on such a thing I'll just kill you now."

Shampoo pales since she hadn't felt his presence before he'd struck the bike and flatten her to the wall. Ranma had refused, but he would never kill her. This person sounded like he didn't care. She also had no desire to see Ranma face this man. She tries to look at him defiantly, but the cold stare he gives her leaves her shaking instead.

The man goes on "I wish to speak with the hag you call a great grandmother. Have her, Mse Tsu, and yourself all come to either the park or the abandoned lot within the next few hours. Now go."

Shampoo gets up still shaking and leaps across the street to the top of a building, then heads for the restaurant. She had been dishonored in front of Ranma by another man. Her great grandmother would want to hear of this. She would also want to get their payback for what the man had just done to her.

The man looks over at Akane and Ranma and in perfect Japanese says "Shouldn't you two be in class? You don't want to be late." They glance at each other, shrug, and then run off to school again. Neither having a clue what they just saw.

Part 3: School Day

Ranma and Akane's day had been going well until lunch. That was when Tatewaki Kuno found them. The poetry started almost instantly, so do the insults to Ranma. It was also the second time that day they saw the strange man in black.

The man seemed to come out of nowhere and said to Kuno "You now if think you could easily hold the world record in reality distortion." He pauses and then goes on before Kuno can think of a reply "How about we fight and if I win you leave these two alone? Though I hope you have a real sword... That stick wouldn't last a second even if I didn't use my own sword."

Kuno puffs up at these insults and says "You dare threaten me Tatewaki Kuno, Blue Thunder of Furinkan high? You are a mere foreigner with no honor or dignity!"

The man's eyes narrow and he says "I'm a member of a clan in higher standing than yours even if it's by marriage." He pauses "However if you are to afraid to fight..."

Ranma and Akane almost decide to tell Kuno this man had already shown he had skill and that fighting him was probably not a good idea. Both however hold their tongues. This was Kuno after all and anything that made him not hang around them was a good thing.

Kuno looks disgusted and then says "Very well, I shall smite thee."

Kuno launches into an attack. The man just stands their until the bokken gets within arms reach and then the man reaches out with his pinky and touches the bokken. As soon as his finger strikes it the bokken explodes into splinters.

Kuno yells "What foul sorcery is this?"

The man shrugs "No sorcery, just a variation on something called the breaking point technique. I could have just broke it in half, but really that would have taken to much time and you aren't worth it. I'll let you surrender now if you want though. Or I can leave you in need of a long stay in the hospital. Your choice."

Kuno may not be bright by any means. He may also have problems with reality. However he is very well aware that he has no hand to hand skills. He says "I will leave for now, but you have not won." He turns to walk away.

The man shakes his head and says "That wasn't an option I gave you." Before anyone can move he's now standing in front of Kuno once again and his foot comes up to the boys chest before Kuno can do anything to stop it. He flies back to land in the wall of the school with a thud. A few moments later his body slides down the wall, leaving him slumped against it.

Just then an evil laugh can be heard back by Akane and Ranma. Before the laughing girl can even speak the man turns around ands says "Seal." while pointing his hand in the girls direction. A wheel made of glowing blue light formed around her, filled with Chinese characters. Each character glows briefly in turn around the wheel till each has lit up, then the wheel starts to shrink rapidly until it enters the girls body.

The stunned pair just watch as Kodachi Kuno hits the ground like a stone. The man picks her up with one hand and tosses her more than forty feet to where her brother is slumped against the wall.

The man turns back to Ranma and Akane and he says "You might want to inform the school that the Kuno's both need some medical attention. The brother has several cracked ribs, a broken arm, and a number of other more minor injuries. I'd also suggest you suggest a possible interview with a psychiatrist as he heals up. I hope the hospital does that anyways, but he needs it. The sister is going to sleep for a long time. The good news is that her body is basically suspended while she's that way, no hunger, no thirst, no needs at all till it ends. The bad news is that she is having a battle with herself. I let all the different aspects of her mind fight it out. Only if she pieces herself back together in a more... Healthy way, can she return to normal. Otherwise she'll stay that way until her body gives up... I'd guess that would take a few decades."

He starts to walk away and says one final comment as he leaves "They are lucky I pity them to much."

Ranma and Akane look at each other. Akane asks "You don't happen to know who that was do you?"

Ranma shakes his head and replies "Not a clue." Then he thinks a moment and says "I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt I never want to face him. Which is why I'm glad he didn't seem to care about fighting me."

Akane looks at him strangely and asks "He was good sure and that seal thing was kinda scary, but what could cause you to turn down a fight?"

Ranma looks at her with what has to be the most honest look he's ever had on his face and replies "I took a good look at him when he was standing near us. At first I thought I saw the oddest thing ever... He didn't seem to have an aura... Not even a none battle aura."

Akane interrupts and asks "How can that be? Do you mean he's a walking corpse or something?" A shiver runs down her spine.

Ranma shakes his head again "No it's not that. When I took a real good look I realized it's not that he doesn't have one, but that he has intentionally pulled it back so it's even with his skin. I'd never heard that was even possible, but weird things happen after all..." He pauses briefly while Akane takes this in and adds "Anyways, the crazy thing is I also noticed his aura was as solid as his body. Cologne and Happosai have incredible auras when they want to, but they aren't solid... I got the impression his was harder than steel and hitting him would hurt more than hitting a tank."

Neither says anything else, until the bell rings and they return to class.

Part 4: Uchan

Ukyo was just arriving back to her restaurant after the end of school. It had been a weird day. Mostly due to some strange man showing up at school and taking out both Kuno's with ease and sending them to the hospital. Of course the reactions of Ranma and Akane were strange as well. They showed zero interest in having anything to do with the man. When had Ranchan ever turned down a challenge?

As she came back out to the grill a man walked in the restaurant. One she'd just been thinking about. She whipped out her battle spatula just in case it was needed and said "Welcome to Ucchan's. Can I help you?"

The man nods to her and says "Yes. You can stop following Ranma like a lost puppy dog."

Ukyo yells "Excuse me?" waving her giant spatula.

The man looks at her calmly and says "What you think you want can only hurt you. He cares for you, but it's just not the way you think you want..."

Ukyo yells at him "How would you know what I want? Come into my restaurant and tell me how to live my life will you!" She tries to bring the giant spatula down on his head, but his hand stops it from moving an inch.

The man sighs and looks at her sadly. Then he says "Would you like to see your future? The one you'd have right now if you forced him to choose you as his wife."

Ukyo looks at him strangely and asks "What do you mean?"

He replies "I'll show you the most possible future outcome based on what you want... I'll set it five years in the future, so things can develop and give you a better view of that life. You will live it as if it were real. Then after awhile I'll bring you back here and we'll see if thats still what you want..."

Ukyo doesn't believe a word of this, but shrugs figuring she'll have the chance to come up with another plan while he 'shows her' this 'future world'. She says "Sure go ahead."

Instantly she realizes how very bad that idea is. Everything faded from in front of her only to be shoved back into the world through her own eyes, but also not her own. She felt like normal, she thought like normal, but she didn't control her body, her mind, or anything else.

What she felt and saw was a nightmare. It was a married life for her and Ranma most definitely, but it was nothing like she pictured it. All they seemed to do was argue. Whatever friendship they had had was gone. They lived together, they worked together, they even had a child together some time before. That seemed to have been awhile ago however as they could barely stand to touch each other now. She watched this horrible world for what seemed to be a year... Then she returned to her normal self, every horrible memory of that other world intact.

Ukyo collapses to the ground crying. The man looks at her and says "Do you understand now?" Ukyo nods her head slowly as the tears continue to fall. "Don't pine away for him however. You need to make your own future. No more following your fathers desires. You can be anything you choose to be. Your future can be bright, I can see that as well... The problem is always in making your life your own. No delusions. No impossible dreams. Face reality and except who you are. Who you can be. Anything less will make it your fault when you don't achieve your goals."

He starts to walk out the door and turns back one last time and says "Think about it. You can still be their friends, but you aren't the one to marry him." Then he walks out.

After awhile Ukyo goes and changes the sign out front to show they aren't open. Then she crawls upstairs and cries herself to sleep on her bed.

Part 5: Happosai

The diminutive form of Happosai ran through the streets of Nerima yelling "What a haul! What a haul!" As he's chased by a horde of women out for blood. It is at just that time he runs by Ucchan's as a man walks out. A familiar man to many in Nerima by now.

As Happosai runs by he feels a sudden pain in his leg and collapses to the ground. The horde of women catch up and beat him senseless for several minutes. Then having gotten their vengeance (and certain articles of clothing back) they disperse to what they had been doing.

As Happosai tries to get up a hand grabs him by the back of the neck and says "Hello 'Happy', let's have a small talk." Happosai glances around as the world blurs in front of him only to see he is now on top of a skyscraper. The person holding him tosses him to the ground and he turns around to face this person.

Happosai says "How dare you interrupt my panty raid! You must pay for insulting me so!"

The man just says "Happy just shut up for once in your sorry excuse of a life."

Happosai rages "I'll teach you what it means to ridicule Happosai!" After saying this he lashes out with his pipe at the man using his full speed. The man makes no move to save himself from the attack and Happosai decides he's won before the fight even begins. However when the pipe strikes the man it shatters into pieces much to Happosai's surprise.

Happosai looks up at the man and says "How?"

The man just looks at him calmly and says "Death was been waiting for you for a long time Happy and I'm here to collect for sorry carcass."

Happosai pales and says "No one can defeat me! I even cheated death itself by stealing female chi!"

The man nods and says "Yes you cheated death, but that doesn't mean your immortal." Before Happosai can react the man's sword spears through Happosai's body and embeds itself in the ground behind him. The man releases the sword and watches the blood run out of the evil creatures body.

Happosai smiles slightly and says "You think you've won already? I may die, but I will use my ultimate technique and take you with me!" He starts to wave his hands and gather his power.

The man just says "I think not Happy. Die." The last word acts as a command for the sword Happosai is impaled by and at it's masters request it reaches out to run tendrils of it's body through the body surrounding it. Soon the 'vines' of metal cut the target into small cubes of flesh. It's job done all the 'vines' retract into the sword and the giblets that where once Happosai the grand master of the anything goes school of martial arts rain to the ground.

The man turns and walks away. Then taking a leap, down the side of the forty story building, he lands safely on the ground He continues walking toward a construction site.

Part 6: Amazons Take 2

The man arrives at the construction site just following the arrival of three amazons. The purple haired amazon Shampoo, the young man with glasses Mousse, and the old woman Cologne.

When the man approaches Cologne calls out to him "So you are the one who attacked Shampoo earlier and asked we pick one of two spots to meet you at?"

The man nods and says "Yes. I must ask you to leave Nerima and forever forfeit any claim on Ranma Saotome. Failure to do so will have grave consequences for you."

Cologne cackles and replies "You think you can force us to give up three thousand years of Chinese amazon traditions because of the threat of one 'man'?"

The man shrugs and says "I'm willing to fight you for it, but I don't think you could be any sort of challenge."

Cologne cackles again and says "Fool! I am the most powerful elder of our tribe! Now mere man can hope to defeat me!"

The man nods and says "It's a good thing I'm 'no mere man' than I guess. Just so you know I already faced off against a young man named Ryoga, that's why I chose specifically to avoid fighting either Msu Tse or Xian Pu."

Cologne smiles and says "The fool boy isn't a real challenge, but I guess that does mean I may have to be a bit more serious with you... It will be good to see the boy defeated again, when he heals I'll train him and send him after Ranma again just for the fun of it."

The man smiles and says "Good luck teaching a corpse. Much like you or Happosai, I care nothing for that sniveling cretin and so chose not to hold back."

The two younger amazons are shocked by these words, but Cologne wasn't to surprised even if most of the foes they faced weren't killers by nature. She did however notice on other thing however.

Cologne's eyes narrow and she asks "What was that about Happosai? Has the old fool bested you before?"

The man smiles grimly and says "Acting in my role as an agent of death I took his miserable life. You could still find the bits I left for the birds if you know where to look."

Cologne's eyes grow large and she hisses "You killed Happosai?" The man nods. Cologne thinks to herself 'This changes things, if he was able to kill Happy then I must fight all out and leave nothing to unused.'

As if reading her mind he says "It's the only way you have a chance true. However I give you a choice: I can fight you with my aura active or passive..."

Cologne puzzles at this until she takes a good look and can't see any kind of aura coming from him at all. Confused she asks "How can you have no aura? You should be dead!"

He smiles and says "My aura can cause... Trouble for myself and others, so I have to contain it. Would you like to see it?"

Cologne thinks for a second and then says "Yes, I must see it before we fight."

The man smiles and says "This should be interesting..." Then things change... It's as if a wall of force streamed out of his body. Dirt flew in all directions in a huge cloud and winds in the several hundred mile an hour range pummeled the three in the first second. Every piece of glass in the area shattered instantly (including Mousses glasses, which practically disintegrated). The temperature also seemed to increase at least ten degrees.

Everything touched by the expanding wave of force was affected in one way or another. People and anything that was alive or had been alive fared the best. Metal seemed to practically melt. Plastic broke apart and blew away. Everything within a city block was effected in that way, which made a empty lot the size of a city block a good place for this to happen.

In general it was almost as if you stood at ground zero for a nuclear blast, except it didn't harm anything alive. Outside of this, the wave of power still expanded continually for at least a mile in all directions it just didn't destroy things anymore. People within this area however all felt a presence and couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching them.

When the dust finally settles Cologne sees the man still standing in the same spot, however there is a ten foot wide crater under his feet. She could feel power all around her it felt like being pressed against a wall. It was still powerful enough to force her on aura to press back into her. She tried to use her normally impressive battle aura as well, only to have it stopped dead. 'What the hell is he?' was her only thought. A quick glance showed both Mousse and Shampoo had passed out from the effect.

The man smiles and says "Wold you like to see what the effect looks like outside 'ground zero'?"

Cologne shrugs as she tries to look impassive to this display of raw power. With a wave of his hand a portion of the space between turns hazy and she sees a picture as if looking down from above at an angle. If this view showed the truth, and she could see herself and her fellow amazons in it, so it sure had a feel of being real, then this mans aura was a giant bird of prey made of blue and white feathers of flame. In other words it was a Phoenix. One the size of over a city block in width and easily twenty or more stories in height.

The man waves his hand again and the image fades. Cologne had seen Saffron before, though she hadn't witnessed his death at Ranma's hands. This however was different. She couldn't explain how, but this felt way more powerful. She grew more than just a little pale.

The man says "This is just my 'normal' aura. Do you understand why I don't 'let it hang out'? I could show you my battle aura, but it would fill most of the sky here around Tokyo and frighten most of the country... That would be annoying especially since they couldn't get so much as photograph of it. Who knows what they'd think..."

Cologne decides her chances are incredibly small of doing anything to this man... Or bird... Whatever the case may be. So instead she says "Is their no other way to get you to let us have son-in-law?"

The man shakes his head. Then says "None. In fact the fact that you still haven't given up tells me your to stubborn for your own good." He pauses and says "How about this... Leave Ranma and Akane alone or I leave a crater where your village currently is and you can know forever that you personally were the cause of the destruction for all Chinese amazons."

Cologne shakes slightly knowing from the even tone he is using that he feels absolutely nothing about destroying her people completely. She also respects the sheer power he has and realizes he probably could complete his threat regardless of what she did. Finally she says "Fine. We will return to the village and leave both Ranma and Akane alone from now on."

The man smiles and his aura fades away in an instant. The drop in pressure makes it feel like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. Cologne admires his use of power to help his point.

He walks toward them and says "One last thing and then I will leave you." He kneels next to Mousse and his right hand ignites into a bright flame. He thrusts his hand into Mousse's body, which is soon covered in flames. Within seconds however a perfectly fine Mousse is seen again as the flames die out.

Cologne asks "What have you done to him?"

The man grins and says "I fixed his eyes and give him a small gift of knowledge I thought he could use. He doesn't quite fall in my domain, but I admire his spunk..." Then the man walks away leaving Cologne to stare at his back as he leaves.

Part 7: Dinner at the Tendo Dojo

Dinner at the Tendo was much like it always was, though the mood was a bit more tense. By this point rumors of strange goings on from all over Nerima had been heard. The story of the Kuno's was described to those not at school. Ukyo had called on the phone and told of a visit by the same man and she needed some time to think about things. Happosai had been missing most of the day. Then to top things off they had all felt the very strong strange power about an hour ago. This was made worse when Ranma accidentally put his foot in his mouth and insulted Akane.

True to form Akane screams "Ranma no Baka!" and proceeds to swing her 'Mallet 'O Doom' into Ranma's head. Everyone braces for the sound of impact and a new hole in the building, but no sound comes.

Standing in front of them holding the mallet tight in one hand is the same man all the rumors talked about. The man looks at Akane and says "You really shouldn't do that to him. I'd suggest anger management training." Then he looks over at Ranma and says "While it's nice you realize you deserve some consequence to your words, try thinking before you say things instead."

Soun says "How are you and what are you doing in my house?"

The man shrugs and says "Most people call me Shadow. Though I'm also known by bunches of other names among others 'Traveler', 'Pheonix', and 'GodSlayer' are the most often used." He bows slightly and says "I'm also the god holding domain over the concept of the cycle of life and death and the representation of the elements of Fire and Air." He holds out his hand and a ring like metallic object made of beads connected by a ring through the center of each bead forms in his hand and blue and red glows rotate around the object. He adds to a now fairly stunned crowd "As for why I'm here... Well I choose to be. Are you going to try to throw me out?"

A very pale Soun replies "No, you can stay if you want..."

Shadow smiles and says "Besides I would think you and Genma would be happy to see me, Soun. Since I did kill that perverted master of yours and all..."

Shocked expressions could be seen on almost every face in the room. Then the silence is broken by twin cries "Oh finally! The master is dead!" Soun and Genma dance.

Deciding to tease the two men however Shadow says "Yes he's dead, however who said you would be alive long enough to appreciate that fact?"

A shocked gasp escapes more than one persons lips and Kasumi adds an '"Oh My!" to the mix. Ranma says "Hey know! pop me be stupid and all, but he doesn't deserve to die!" Akane nods and adds "Daddy isn't a bad person!"

Shadow smiles and says "Oh go ahead and think that. However I know each and every secret of both men." He looks at a very pale Soun and Genma and asks "Would you like me to give away some of your secrets?"

Both men shake their heads 'No' incredibly vigorously.

Shadow smiles and adds "Not even things like how both of you know very well that Ryoga was P-Chan and you two didn't care?"

A stunned and stupefied Akane stares at him and then glances at their fathers hoping for them to deny what he said. The looks on both their faces however proves it's not a lie. Akane shakes her head and says "Ryoga is P-Chan? I slept in the same bed with Ryoga?" She glances around and notices everyone else look away when she glances at them. She yells "You all knew?"

Shadow says "Well if it makes you feel any better Ranma was the only one who tried to stop it... However you kept taking it the wrong way... " She glances at Ranma and starts to say something, but Shadow interrupts her "He was bound by an oath to Ryoga before he became your pet not to tell you. Personally I found him the only honorable one in the whole bunch when it came to Ryoga. I be angry at the others than him."

Akane falls to her knees in complete shock. Shadow smirks and says "Well now that I've said that... I should probably mention you aren't likely to see Ryoga again. I've... Dealt with him."

Everyone chooses to ignore what that could mean. Shadow goes on to say "I also did you a favor and sent Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse packing back to China." He pauses briefly and adds "Now for the bad news for all of you... Before I leave I have every intention of giving you all some advice, though a couple of you need a stern punishment as well."

Shadow continues on "First Kasumi..." He looks at the girl who tries really hard to smile her normal smile when he looks at her "You need to get a real life dear. I'd suggest almost anything that takes you out of the house for several hours a day at a minimum. No exceptions. You deserve a lot better than to be the surrogate parent to two older men and two younger girls. Your life is yours to live." Kasumi just stares at him as he says this.

He changes his gaze to Nabiki, who looks extremely uncomfortable. He says "Now For you I'm going to have a mixed suggestion. First item. For the love of god stop hurting yourself by hurting others for money. I spent centuries as an assassin and frankly you act like a lot of people I once worked with, you just don't have quite the potential to kill people in that way. That is not a good way to live. I know this from experience." He pauses.

"Second Item. Don't push other people away emotional or keep them at a distance. Your not alone in that, Kasumi and Akane are just as bad though in different ways. You however keep repressing your desires and it's going to eat you alive one day. One day you'll look at life and realize you lost something along the way. Most people don't get second chances, so if that happens it's your own fault."

He glances away and Nabiki looks relieved. His gaze however stops at Soun Tendo "Now you... You need to do many things... First of those is to pick yourself up and do something with yourself. I know I'm not exactly one to talk seeing as how I spent years following the deaths of several of my wives obsessing over vengeance. However I didn't have a family that needed me. I've seen some bad fathers before, but I'd have to look pretty far before I found a worse example beyond you and Genma."

Genma almost takes offense, but decides the better of it. Shadow continues "First get a frickin' job you loser! You've made your daughter whose not even ought of high school be the one to earn all the money to support your lazy ass for years! She's hardly the only daughter you hurt badly, but it's the easiest to fix. Once that's done it's time to act like a real father. No forced engagements against both their better interest or their will. That goes for all three daughters. Think of their feelings, goals, and desires both you act."

Soun just sits their stunned. Shadow's gaze slides over to a very uncomfortable looking Genma. Shadow says "Now you... I have a threat first. You must try to fix all the things you've done that hurt your son. Failure to atone for your acts of stupidity, greed, and general lack of morals will have a price. I will extend your curse. You won't be able to leave your panda form ever. Then it gets worse. You'll start to think you are a panda. Then it ends with you being a panda in all ways. The last thing is I won't leave you a male panda. Normal measures to remove the curse will fail. From this day on you must do everything possible to make things right."

He pauses and then looking at a shaking Genma says "I'd suggest you start with Ukyo. You stole almost as many years of her life as you did your own sons. After that work through all the other girls still out there with 'engagements. Getting rid of them as future threats is a good start. Also no forcing marriage on him under any circumstances. "

Genma just looked like he'd been given a death sentence. Shadow almost turns around when he thinks of one last thing "Oh, I almost forgot... Get a job you lazy bum! Geez..."

Finally he turns to Ranma and Akane, both look worried. Shadow says "While I won't force you to marry, I will force you to admit your feelings for each other." Both try to complain that they didn't have feelings like that and he just holds up his hand and gives them a stern look. "If you can be honest and admit your feelings to each other, I'll help each of you... For Akane I'll give you a small amount of knowledge on a variety of martial arts techniques and exercises, so you get your wish to become a more capable martial artist. Though it will take a long time to learn everything I'll give, you will not be bound to having to learn martial arts from Soun, Genma, or Ranma." He pauses and goes on "For Ranma... I will give you control over your curse. I still see a need for you to have both forms so I can't get rid of it, but I can make it so water won't change your form automatically. Looking for a cure as you can probably guess is rather self defeating..."

He looks at them and waits. They get extremely nervous and it seems to take ages, but in the end nearly as one they say "I love You." and each others name. They have a bit of a moment to themselves as Shadow slows time for their own benefit. In the end however they look back at their family. Kasumi is happy. Nabiki has a grin upon her face. Soun and Genma look confused since they want to be happy, but since they understand quite well that this doesn't guarantee a joining of the schools, it's less happy than they'd like.

Shadow turns and walks toward the door with a wave behind him. Several voices call out asking one question in a variety of ways "What about those changes you promised?"

He turns around with a smile and says "I really don't need any flashy effects to do those things. So I just left them out... Changes are done. Goodbye." Then he walks right through the wall.

Part 8: Remembrance

Shadow looked on this new very different Nerima and sighed. Sure he had fixed things some, but he hadn't been able to spend the time it really took... He did however love certain parts of it... It also wasn't the first time he'd done this sort of thing. Whenever the stress got to him he'd come play with a new Ranmaverse or some other similar world and proceed to kick some ass and fix some of the problems, then return to the place he was truly working on...

It was funny, everyone seemed to have a different take on how to 'fix' things... But in the place he kept going back to that wasn't his goal... Sure he changed things, but things were already different. When it had come right down to it he'd been watching yet another version of events when he'd seen the young Ranma loose her father. He identified with Ranma anyways... Somethings in his life reminded Shadow of his... Though he didn't randomly change genders for any of it. At that moment he'd decided to take the place of Ranma's idiotic father and raise a young man/woman that anyone could be proud of.

Problems with women and expressing his emotions... A hard life with parents who didn't understand... A feeling of complete lack of control over ones own destiny... A lack of friends who truly cared for his well being... It may have been millenia ago, but he could still feel those times... He'd also found ageless people didn't tend to have kids of their own... It was nice to fill the role of father for a change...

He carefully examined here compared to the place he would go back to...

Ryoga for instance... He'd never liked that miserable excuse for a boy. Turning into a pig was just so fitting. The moron was also full of himself. It was actually kinda relaxing to put him in his place from time to time. The other world however he had ignored Ryoga and that was coming back to haunt him.

Then their was the Kuno's they weren't a worthy threat, though they did need watching. Here he'd kicked the crap out of Tatewaki for the heck of it. The boy was just to fun to kick around. He didn't see any reason however to beat up on Kodachi even if she was a deranged bitch that needed a good slap in the face at the very least. Maybe they'd get some mental help. God only knew they needed it...

Next was Ukyo... He hoped he'd convinced the girl what was real and what was an illusion... She had such a tendency to hurt herself... Oh well he'd given it a shot. Back where he'd would return to he hadn't managed to track her down yet. That wasn't to big a surprise. Things were different from normal there.

The amazons... Well scaring that old bitches head off was always good for a laugh... Always so full of herself and full of disgust for men... This was always a debate, whether to kill her or just make her piss herself. Both were fun. In the other world though he'd gone back in time and impressed his power into her mind from when she was still young. He'd helped save their village from the Musk Dynasty with a rather impressive show. He didn't however show off his aura. That sort of thing was overkill and besides he didn't want to know everyone and their brother knowing what he was. Shampoo however hadn't followed the script and was still Ranma's enemy, it was rather disappointing. They could be friends in the right conditions.

Happy was another story... Shadow had always treasured women, like any living person they were special and unique. Happosai treated women as batteries and objects... Demeaning them. That was always wrong. Frankly Happy didn't deserve to live and his perversion started so early it wasn't worth fixing. So Happy was always someone to kill with extreme prejudice. He was still sealed in his 'tomb' however in the other world, that would end soon and it would be time to play a game with the perverted old freak of nature.

The man looked at this Nerima and decided it was time. He needed to get back and act as any real father would. Time to return once again and help his son.

The body slowly fizzles into sparkling flickers of light that fall up toward the sky.

Author's Notes:

This was mostly just an exercise in stress relief for me, I was watching a few Ranma episodes to get some ideas and I always get annoyed with the way things go. I think most people do, hence thousands of pieces of fanfiction based on the series. In some ways this is a 'Mary Sue' as the term goes, but that's not exactly intentional...This is an already well developed character I've worked on for years, the end result is just incredibly powerful... So if you don't like it tough...

First this is obviously not the Ranma Tales ½ World... In fact only Shadow shows up in both places. It shows exactly what my Shadow character from Ranma Tales ½ would do if he didn't care about the consequences. It also shows you what he is truly capable of, but he'd rather others fix their own problems as much as possible. But we all need stress relief even if we are amazingly ass kicking badasses. In fact knowing that character very well I'm sure he has done this... Probably more than once... I should also mention that you'll most likely never see Shadow act this way in Ranma Tales ½, it would only end up screwing things up more than they are.

Oh and in case your curious this story takes place between chapters 13 and 15. It's why he isn't there himself to defend Ranma and Akane from what happened.

The Shampoo and Ryoga side stories are coming along shortly, and most likely will be done before I do another chapter of the main story...