Ranma ½: Angry Tiger, Young Horse
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Prolog
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Ranma Saotome sighed as he ran through downtown Nerima. It was almost a daily occurrence now. Ukyo and Shampoo would show up and offer him food or try to glomp him and Akane would get mad and pull out her mallet and start trying to kill him with it. He would run because of his rule never to hit a girl and she would chase him with Ukyo and Shampoo right behind her. Kodachi would join the chase and then Kuno demanding that he, "Free the pigtailed goddess and the fierce tigress Akane from his evil clutches." Then Moose would join and try to win his "Darling Shampoo" by destroying Ranma and if Ryoga was around, he would join shouting that what ever was wrong in his life presently was all his fault or he would try to get him for hurting Akane.
Presently he could hear behind him, "Ranma no baka!"
"Ran-chan, come eat the lunch I made for you!"
"Airen bring Shampoo on date now, yes?"
"Come back Ranma-sama and I will take you away from these peasants!"
"Ranma! Prepare to die!"
"How dare you take my Shampoo!"
"Release my pigtailed goddess and Akane Tendo, foul Sorcerer!"
"Why can't you people leave me alone?!" he shouted back at the group as he looked backwards over his shoulder. While he wasn't looking where he was going, he ran full tilt into some one else who was also looking backwards over his shoulder at a mob of women who were chasing him to try and get their bras and underwear back.
As they both sprawled on the ground, something fell out of Happosai's clothes, and thinking that he could use it against the old pervert sometime, scooped it up. Before he could look at it though, he caught sight of the mobs closing in on him and Happosai. Hanging his head, he said in a tired voice, "I wish I wasn't always alone." As he started to get to his feet, a bright light flared from his hand where he was clutching the mysterious object. Looking at it, he saw that it was a bracelet that was glowing and suddenly, he was engulfed in the light.
Turning towards were the two mobs, plus Happosai were staring at him, he caught the shocked expressions on Shampoo, Happosai, and Cologne's, who had just arrived, faces as they realized what was happening. Then, he was gone in a final flash of light.
(I know that the ring of destiny is only supposed to go between dimensions, keeping the subject the same age, or something like that. But I'm bending the rules a bit. To fulfill his wish, he had to go back in time so, sorry to all the people who want everything to be exactly like it is in the anime. Now, on with the story!)
Ranma opened his eyes to find himself in the arms of a giant. "What?!" he screamed. The giant's face turned to look at him, and he realized that it was his mother!
"Ranma-chan? What's wrong?" she cooed to him as she started to rock him slightly.
"What's going on, mom?" he asked, then gasped in surprise at the sound of his voice. It was a child's voice!!!
"Oh, you silly little boy, you're here with your father to pick me and your baby brother up. It's time to go home." Nodoka said with a smile as she gestured to the side where Genma was standing, holding a baby seat.
"I have a baby brother?!" Ranma exclaimed as he pushed himself away from his mother so that he could sit in front of her on the bed.
"Yes. His name is Genki. Are you all right, Ranma? You know all of this already." She asked, concern radiating from her.
"Yes, I'm fine. But I just don't understand what's going on." He said seriously.
"Um, you seem to be talking a lot better than yesterday." She said in shock. Yesterday, he could barely speak good enough so that they could understand him, and now, he was talking clear enough for them to understand him without having to almost translate what he said.
Figuring it would be better to just go along with things until he could figure out what was going on, instead of freaking out, which is what he wanted to do, he said, "I've been practicing for Genki."
"Um, ok. You're speaking very well for a two year old. I'm very proud of you." Nodoka said slowly as she hugged him gently.
"Lets go home. I want to start Ranma today in the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Genma said impatiently as he shifted from foot to foot.
"I still think that he's to young to learn." Nodoka protested as she got up and carried Ranma towards Genma and the door.
"I want to learn." Ranma said, causing both parents to stare at him in surprise.
"See, he wants to learn." Genma said happily, already picturing the training trips he was going to take him on.
Knowing that look, Nodoka said firmly, "You won't be taking him on any training trips right now."
"But honey! He has to go on training journeys. I went on them, Soun went on them, and every other great has too! How can you expect him to be the best he can be, a man above men, if he doesn't train in the real world?" Genma said wheedling.
After a long moment of silence, Nodoka finally said, "Fine, you can take him on a short one when Genki is old enough to go along."
"But, that will be years!" Genma protested.
"Yes. That way, Ranma and Genki will be old enough to take care of themselves some." Nodoka said and wouldn't listen to any more of Genma's attempts to change her mind.
Things pasted in peace during the next four years as Ranma and Genki grew up and trained. Ranma was viewed as a prodigy because he seemed to take to martial arts like a fish to water. He never told his parents that he was from a different dimension and he was very careful to put the bracelet, which he had found in his pocket later the same day he arrived, in a box deep in a secret place under his dresser.
On the day after Genki's fourth birthday, Genma approached his wife again about taking them on a training trip. "Honey? I think it's time for me to take the boys on a training journey now." He said quietly as he approached his wife as she was washing the breakfast dishes.
"What? You can't take them now. Genki is only four!" she protested as she turned to face her husband.
"Yes, but he is a good fighter and his brother is the strongest of any one under the age of fifteen and he's only six. I would have taken him when he was five, but Genki had only started training the year before and wasn't ready. But now they're both ready and Ranma looks out for his brother like a she wolf looking out for her cubs. He can take are of his brother and I'll take care of both of them." Genma said as he hugged his wife reassuringly.
"Ok. I guess, I can have the boys and myself packed in a few hours." She said as she turned back to the sink.
"No. you can't come with us. If you did, you would coddle the boys and then they would never grown up as man above men!" Genma protested. He knew that she would never approve of most of the train methods, but it was part of the training and they needed to be trained, just like he and Soun had been under their dreaded master.
"But…they need their mother!"
"It's for the best if you don't come." Genma said and walked out of the room before Nodoka could say anything else.
Ranma crept from his hiding place just outside of the kitchen door and hurried up to his room. He had known that his father was going to take them soon, but he had been hoping that his mother could convince him that she needed to go with them. Now, it was all up to him to protect Genki from the training they would endure under Genma's tutelage.
"Genki! Ranma! Come here. I need to talk to you!" Ranma heard his father yell and reluctantly headed back down stairs, his brother running ahead of him.
As soon as they were both seated on the living room couch, Genma said, "Tomorrow, we will be leaving in the morning on a training journey and your mother isn't coming with us, ok?"
"How long will we be gone?" Ranma asked quietly, already knowing Genma wouldn't admit how long it would really be.
"Not to long. " Genma said with a nervous laugh. Then continued quickly before either of them could ask any more questions. "Well, go and play and later your mom and I will help you pack. Ok?" getting up quickly Genma left the room.
"Come on, Ranma! Lets go play with that new game mommy gave us!" Genki said as he grabbed his older brother's hand and pulled him up the stairs. Nodoka had bought them a super Nintendo not to long before on Ranma's sixth birthday and while Genki wasn't too good at it yet, he loved to play Super Mario Brothers with Ranma. Basically, he just pressed the buttons and would occasionally pass a level, with Ranma helping him.
They left the next morning and Ranma knew that it would be a long time before they would see their mom again and he knew that when they were finally came back, it would be to go right to the Tendo dojo and the arranged marriage with the Tendos. But before they left, they had put their handprints and signatures on a piece of paper saying that they would be men above man or they would commit seppuku. But Genki didn't know that. He had only thought that it was a game.
As their home disappeared behind them, Ranma sighed again. 'I have a really bad feeling about this.' He thought as he hurried to catch up with his small family