Ranma Necroscope:
Started 09-11 Version 1.2 Update 10-05-01
Disclaimer: The Necroscope series is by Brian Lumley and Ranma 1/2 is also someone else creation and I hold no writes to the series. I no claims to his work and write this in tribute to his work. Please support these wonderful series with your patronage.
Author's Note: The timeline may be off slightly, but not enough to matter. Other than that, if you got a problem send useful comments to madcat08@hotmail.com and mention this fic. Otherwise any message sent will be treated as junk e-mail.
{# } See author's comment at end of the story.
Prologue:
Genma stormed through the Saotome house. "Where the hell is that boy," Genma fumed? Genma had finally gotten Nodoka to agree to a training trip and Genma was ready to leave. Finally he found his six-year-old son alone in front of the family shrine.
"Hi, dad. I was talking to Grandpa," Ranma said.
"Whatever boy, get your pack." Genma said sternly as bitter memories came to him of his father.
"Yes dad," Ranma said. The boy stood up and bowed to the family shrine. "I'll talk to you later Grandpa," Ranma said before leaving the shrine.
Genma rubbed his temples and cursed having such a strange boy for a son. "Hopefully some time from his mother will give me some time to straighten him out. He then turned to the shrine and smiled as he remembered his departed father. Genma's father had died four years ago, much to Genma's delight. His father's had left a considerable amount of money to his grandson. All Genma had to do was marry his son off as soon as possible and his retirement would be secure. Genma walked off with a smile on his face as he imagined his 'golden-years'.
Chapter 1:
Later in the hills of Okinawa...
A six-year-old Ranma came up his still sleeping father. "Dad," Ranma yelled as he shook his father awake from his hangover.
"What boy," Genma asked groggily as he woke up.
"Can I play with Huri," Ranma asked?
"Sure," Genma said before rolling over and going to sleep.
"Okay Huri, let's go," Ranma said to the empty air to his right. Ranma then ran laughing into the woods with his friend.
Later that day Genma awoke to find Ranma playing at the edge of the wooded clearing. "Hi", Ranma said coming up to his dad. "I've had a great day dad. Huri showed me where his castle was and where he fought and..."
"Ranma quit talking nonsense," Genma said.
"But dad," Ranma began.
"I don't want to hear any more of these stories from you," Genma yelled pulling his hand back for another swing.
"But.."
"Don't make me keep doing this boy," Genma snarled.
"Yes dad," Ranma managed to sob.
A week later...
Genma was standing next to a pit holding a garland of fish sausage with his son. "Today boy you learn the 'Cat-Fist'," Genma proudly proclaims.
"You haven't read the manual. Have you," Ranma asked in a strange tone of voice.
"What...," Genma asks before looking at his son? Two completely white orbs look back at the fat martial artist. Genma takes a step back in surprise and falls into the pit. Screams and angry cat noises radiate from the pit as Ranma's eye turn back to normal.
An hour later a bleeding Genma pulls himself from the pit of cats. "Will you read the manual completely now," Ranma asks in a hostile tone?
Genma pulls out the Cat-Fist manual and opens it. "...leads to insanity," Genma muttered as he read the manual. Genma pulls himself upright and says, "don't worry Ranma. I'm sure you can master the Cat-Fist without going insane."
"I guess, I'll have to mention it to mom then." Ranma said with determination. "I don't think she'll be too happy with you."
Genma gritted his teeth and ripped the manual in half. "Fine, we'll forget the Cat-Fist."
A year later in rural Japan...
A small Ranma was sitting with Ukyo talking about their mothers under an ancient tree. "I love my father but, I miss my mother so much," the little girl sobbed.
Ranma was unsure of how to cheer-up his friend. He wondered if he should tell his new friend about his other 'friends'. His father and several other people hadn't believed him. Ranma sighed and decided to keep the secret to himself. But he still needed to cheer up Uchan. Ranma decided on trying some advice from his father. "Don't cry Uchan. Be a man," Ranma said attempting to imitate his father voice.
"I'm a girl you jerk," the little girl said as she jumped to her feet. Ranma blinked and stared at Uchan.
"No you're not. Girls wear dresses, do weird things with their hair, and cry about bugs." Ranma said still in shock.
Ukyo bounced a spatula off his head and yelled. "Why do you think, I can't pee standing up? You moron."
Ranma sat on the ground and scratched his head. "You sure? I know a guy, who lost a leg in an accident. Maybe you had an accident."
Ukyo bounced the spatula off Ranma's head again. "Yes, I'm sure moron."
"Um... Okay," Ranma said scratching his head. "I can't play with you anymore," he said standing up.
"And why is that," Ukyo asked with her arms folded?
"Boys shouldn't fight girls," Ranma said {1}.
"O really," Ukyo said tightening her grip on her spatula.
"Now Uchan. You need to calm down," Ranma said as he took a step back.
Several minutes later two kids ran through a clearing with two fathers. Both muttered, "kids" before returning back to their drinking.
A day later...
"Hey Ranma, I'm going to be your fiancee." Ukyo yelled.
"What's that," Ranma asks?
Four years later...
Mr. Ishin was watching a new student at the school taking an entrance exam. Ranma would stare at the test and then daydream before putting his pencil to paper. Ishin shook his head. The boy was apparently struggling hard to overcome his poor education. After several more minutes Ranma put down his pencil and walked to Mr. Ishin's desk. He hand the teacher the exam before returning to his desk and promptly began looking out the window as he waited for his test results.
Ishin didn't move for a minute as he looked at the pages in front of him. The first section was math. The first problems looked normal enough until, he reached some equations at the end first page. The boy had reinvented the quadratic formula (based on several tedious equations on the side of the paper) and used it to solve a problem. That should have been beyond his skill level. The short essay on the second page on Ranma's childhood was fairly normal except for his training journey. But otherwise the essay was excellent except for several archaic words. The third page questions on history were all accurate except for the current prime Minster of Japan. The forth page really stunned Ishin. Ranma had answered most of the questions on human biology accurately. The only sub-standard area was a general lack of education in chemistry {2}. Ishin shook his head in disbelief and said, "Ranma please come here."
"Yes, sensei." Ranma replied.
"You did very well in all areas. I must say I'm surprised given your background," Ishin replied.
"Thank you, sensei." Ranma replied as he waited for the other shoe to drop.
"I was wondering where you learned all this. Given your background I figured you would miss half the questions. You haven't had much formal education and I doubt it was your father's influence. So where did you learn all of this," he asked?
"My friends sensei," Ranma replied.
"Did you 'friends' give you a copy of the entrance test," Ishin asked?
"Sir? No sensei. I don't know anyone here," Ranma replied.
"Very well Saotome," Ishin replied. "Report to class B-4. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Elsewhere in Northern Japan...
Three archeologists were opening an ancient tomb in an ancient mountain range. The tomb the size of a one-story house had been covered in an ice sheet and only recently uncovered due to an unusual warm winter.
The professor and two graduate students from the university of Tokyo, where beginning an initial survey of the site. The first day they had established the base camp and began mapping the site. The forlorn tomb was carved out of ancient volcanic rock with four crude obelisks raised at the cardinal direction points around the tomb.
That night as the small party curled up to sleep. Yamo, one of the graduate students, was falling asleep in his tent the wind whispered. "Free me," a tiny voice hissed in the night's sky. Yamo instantly awoke at the inhuman voice and listened to the cold wind whipping around the mountains. An hour later he feel into the grasp of sleep. His dreams would be filled with images of carnage. He finally awoke screaming to a dream of being buried alive.
The party left the tomb three days later with plans on returning in a year if funding for a proper dig could be obtained. Somewhere else in darkness something returned to its slumber.
Elsewhere in Japan...
Ranma was killing time on a field trip. The purpose of the field trip was collect different stones for a science class. Ranma suspected the real reason was the most of the teachers got the day off. The exception was the classes three guardian, who were unhappy at being stuck with the fieldtrip duties.
Ranma had quickly found at his new school, that he had little in common with most of the other students. And so Ranma was able to wander off with little notice into the mountains for some time to himself. He slowly walked up a dry ravine, occasionally picking up a random rock to add to his collection. The ravine was big enough to hide a bus and rocky enough to make his journey a challenge. Two hundred yards up the nameless ravine me found a piece of aluminum two inches long. The small piece of metal was obliviously torn from a larger piece and was discolored by fire on one end. Ranma quickly added the piece of metal to his pocket and advanced up the ravine with a new purpose.
Five minutes later Ranma found more pieces of metal scattered in the boulders of the ravine. Ranma looked up into the sky and estimated he had five hours left before he was do back (useful skill, when Genma's too cheap to buy a watch). He scanned the ravine for several seconds before he found a twisted and tarnished ring half buried in the sand. He gently picked up the ring and sat down.
"I hate this part," Ranma muttered as he closed his eyes. He slowly concentrated on the ring in his hand and began to meditate. Slowly he began to detect the other person in the ravine with him. The other person had died suddenly and painfully from his aura. And was currently stuck reliving his death. The aura was an indistinct smudge in his perception and failed to give Ranma any information on who had died in the ravine.
"Hello," Ranma spoke. He immediately felt incredible dumb, but he had nowhere else to start. Waking a spirit from a death cycle (as he called it) was dangerous. He once tried talking to a suicide victim the previous year and it had almost shattered his sanity. The suicide victim had lashed out with painful and troubling memories. Ranma had blacked out and broken their mental connection.
The other figure in the valley shape seemed to come slowly into focus. Eventually a tall western in a kaki jumpsuit and a leather jacket stood in the valley with him. "Who are you," the translucent figure asked pointing a pistol at him?
Ranma concentrated hard to understand the foreigner. The general meanings were clear but understanding him was giving him a headache {3}. "I'm Ranma Saotome. What's the last thing you remember," Ranma asked?
"My wingman and shot up and we got attacked by two 'Vals'{2}. I cover him while he got away. Then... I got hit? That can't be right," the figure replies. The figure then looks around the ravine. "Where the hell am I?"
"Near Nygumi, Japan." Ranma replied cautiously.
The figure looked around the ravine and found a twisted and rusted machine gun barrel. Several minutes later the figure turned to him and spoke.
"I didn't make it did I," he asked?
"No," Ranma replied. "I'm sorry."
"Figures," the man replied. "I finally start thinking, that I might live through this war and bam. I get killed! That is a real kick in the ass," the man replied lowering the pistol. "How long have I been here," he asks Ranma?
"Its 1994. If that helps," Ranma replied.
"Damn. I've been out here fifty years," the man replied.
"I guess, Mr...." Ranma asked?
"Just call be Bruce," the man said sitting on a boulder.
"You can do what you want now," Ranma replied?
"How I'm dead," Bruce replied with some anger in his voice?
"What I mean is... you spent the last fifty years reliving your death," Ranma replied. "You can go whatever you want now," Ranma replied. "You can go visit you family. Living and dead."
"Well I guess being dead ain't too bad," Bruce replied. "Would've been nice to have a decent burial at least." Bruce looked up and smiled at Ranma. "Maybe you can help me."
The next day two letters were mailed from the school in the scrawl of a child. One letter was sent to a nearby Marine base and contained a mangled dogtag with directions to the final resting place of a Lt. Bruce Callaway of the 57th fighter wing. The other one was sent to a small town in Ohio. Several weeks later the recovery crew found a series of arrows made of loose stones creating a path up the ravine. At the end of the trail a ring was tied to a wooden cross made of two pieces of driftwood.
A couple year later...
Ranma was traveling with his father through China. His father had left his son at the edge of town to set up camp and immediately left to find the local bar. Ranma had taken the liberty to remove all of the cash from his father's wallet so the old bastard wouldn't waste it all. Before returning the wallet back to the old fool.
Now fourteen Ranma had studied under several more masters (living and dead). His skills now included many obscure techniques and he was able to beat his father sparing routinely. He had also come close to speaking Chinese fluently in only three weeks in the country with the help of his 'friends'. His father was making no attempts to learn Chinese beyond how to order food or sake in Chinese.
Ranma quickly speed into town to beat his father to the local bar. Ranma returned an hour later after stopping by the towns three bars to set up camp. He then talked briefly to several of his older friends before he began searching the local area for new friends. Several hours later a severly beaten Genma stumbled into camp and gave Ranma a dark look before crawling into the tent. Ranma smiled as he remembered warning the local bars to the old fool who couldn't pay his tab and his habit of trying to engage his son repeatly.
Ranma waited for his father to attack him. And when his father failed to attack he returned to a conversation with a Mongol horseman (who had died locally) on fighting from horseback.
A little while later...
"Here sirs. We come to famous legendary Training Ground of Cursed Springs, Jusenkyo." The recently hired Chinese guide informed his two charges.
Ranma felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked at the valley below him. He could sense thousands of souls tied to the spring filled valley.
"Are you ready Ranma?" Genma said with his usual lack of perception.
"I don't know...something feels weird here." Ranma couldn't put his finger on it but whatever was wrong with the valley went beyond a bunch of restless spirits.
"Hurry up and follow me boy!" Genma bellowed from atop a bamboo pole. The subtle feeling of an increasing wrongness to surrounding area completely passed over Genma's less then stellar powers of observation.
"Shut up you old fool," Ranma said before turning to the guide. "What can you tell me about the springs?"
A stunned guide looked at him a moment before replying. "Sir, you are the first foreigner to ever ask me story about springs before getting cursed." The guide and Ranma ignored Genma, who was beginning to taunt Ranma. "Anyone, who falls into spring, curse to take body of last thing to drown in that spring.
"Boy...," Genma began before a bamboo pole cracked under him. Genma landed in the spring with a splash.
"So sorry, you fall into spring of drowned...," the guide began. "Sorry, I forgot that spring." He says to Ranma.
"Spring of drowned pig, I take it." Ranma says as a small black piglet crawls out of the spring.
"Ah yes, sir. It is cursed spring of drown piglet. Whenever exposed to cold water your father will take the form of piglet. Hot water will left the curse, until he's exposed to cold water again." The guide said as he used a bamboo pole to fish Genma's clothes out of the spring.
"We'll your stupidity has finally been rewarded old man," Ranma says. He ignored the angry squealing of the piglet and watched a mass of black clouds moving towards the valley. Ranma grabbed his fathers pack and said, "let's go. I'm sure, we can make the next village tonight. The guide shrugged and follow the younger customer and the small piglet was forced to follow. "So tell me about the next village," Ranma asked the guide.
Tendos:
Soun looked over his daughters carefully. How soon one of their lives was going to be changed. "A friend of mine is coming to visit with his son. It's our intention that one of you marries him." As caught up as he was in the moment, he failed to noticed the varying reactions of his daughters:
Akane: Outrage.
Nabiki: Interest, especially if he was cute.
Kasumi: Concern that he was older, since younger men were so...young.
Soun knew whichever one Ranma picked, the girl would eventually get use to the idea. Why wouldn't she? Soun was sure Genma had raised an obedient son, it wouldn't take much before the lines were joined. And Soun got his portion of Ranma's inheritance. That he had never seen Ranma before, (and in mentioning that fact the girls seemed somewhat annoyed, even the previously interested Nabiki) made no difference to him.
As the discussion was about to continue, a knock came from the front door. Automatically Kasumi was on her feet first to answer the front door. With the rest of the family following her lead. Kasumi opened the door and found a slightly shorter young man in a wet gi carrying two backpacks and a small black piglet.
"You wouldn't be," Soun began?
"I'm Ranma Saotome. I assume that you are a Mr. Soun Tendo." Ranma said as he execute a minor bow, while balancing the weight of the two shifting backpacks.
Ranma abruptly found himself swept up and being crushed in a hug. "Oh my boy! Your father thought you were dead! The engagement between families can take place! Now our two houses can be united! How happy you have made me!" The floodgates briefly opened.
"Could you stop that," Ranma replied politely. "No sense in starting things off on a bad foot," Ranma thought to himself as he tried to be polite.
"Daddy, you might want to turn him loose before he goes unconscious." Nabiki said as she began inspecting their new guest.
"Father, please calm down." Kasumi said in her motherly tone.
When Soun ignored his daughter's advice, Ranma grabbed one of Soun's thumbs and began applying pressure. The thumb was close to being dislocated before the pain registered in Soun's head. Soun quickly released Ranma and grabbed his injured thumb with his other hand.
Kasumi took the opportunity to invite Ranma in before Akane could shoot her mouth off.
Several minutes later...
Soun, Ranma, the piglet, and the two younger Tendo daughter's sat around a low table.
"So which one of my daughter's will you marry?" Soun asked after calming down some.
"Lets wait for Kasumi to return," Ranma replied.
Nabiki's eyes narrow as Ranma mentioned Kasumi's name. "How the hell does this stranger know my sister's name," she thought to herself? "I'm sure we didn't mention it. Probably his father mentioned it to him," she finally thought coming up with the most likely answer.
Kasumi returned a minute later with a towel and a kettle of hot water. "Here the water and towel you asked for Ranma," she said.
"Thank you," Ranma answered taking the items from Kasumi. Ranma neatly folded the towel on the table and placed the kettle on top of it.
Nabiki looked around the table, edged a little closer to Ranma and looked attentive.
"First off, I can't marry anyone." Ranma said calmly as he waited for Soun to explode. Ranma grabbed the piglet in mid-air as it attempted to reach the kettle.
"What? " Soun cried going into his famous demon head.
Ranma calmly studied the chi used in creating the demon head. As Soun began his demon head attack. Several minutes later Soun dropped the illusion and was breathing heavily. Ranma calmly waited for Soun to catch his breath.
"Please allow me to explain." Ranma said to Soun. "When I was six my father engaged me to a girl and accepted the dowry." Ranma ignored Soun as the older man began a new round of ranting. Several minutes later Soun finally stopped his human fountain routine.
"So, if I married one of your daughters, my clan would be disgraced for breaking this vow."
"My agreement with your father, was made before you were born! You will honor it," Soun cried running out of the room.
Ranma turned to Soun's daughters and spoke. "I'm sorry, that I've disturbed the peace of your house. But I've decided the path to fullfill giri
(duty/honor) to the best of my ability. My father has also engaged me over the years to other families and disgraced my family name. Due to this your family should not feel slighted at the breaking of this agreement. Breaking the agreement should only protect your family's name from the stain that a marriage would result in.
Heavy footsteps sounded through the house for several seconds before Soun reentered the room in full samurai armor. "You will marry one of my daughters," he cried before drawing his long sword! "You will marry one of them tonight or die!"
Elsewhere...
A small convoy made its way into some forgotten mountains in northern Japan. Two years of haggling and calling in favors had finally gained the archeologists the funding for their expedition. Another two years of waiting were required before the ice sheet retreated enough for the expedition to be launched. Unknown to the convoy, something ancient was patiently waiting for them.
Random Notes:
{1} Several people disagreed with Ranma's stance, that he shouldn't fight girls. I've kept his stance on fighting girls from his peers. Take Genma's influence and add to that many other 'friends' (many of whom are very old fashioned). The result is a very traditional Ranma. He will fight girls but he will attempt to avoid doing so if at all possible.
{2} Mr. Ishin has met Genma briefly. I've also re-written the paragraph, since several people felt Ranma was out of character. In the original Ranma's 'friends' were supplying him with answers. So I've changed it so he's more in character with the cannon Ranma.
{3} Anthropologist say language is a bunch of symbols used by a society to communicate. Languages have slight variation in their ways of looking at things. The Navaho Indians of America for example had no words for time. So Ranma's connection allows him to get the basic concept but something gets lost in the language. Also people fluent in languages find themselves using one language in thinking about certain topics.
{4} Vals are dive-bombers. But in the final days of the war Japan was forced to use anything that would fly for home defense.
'People':
Huri 14th century samurai, died defending his lord's castle.
Shinta 16th century monk.
Mr. Ishin Ranma's teacher.
Bruce Callaway
Started 09-11 Version 1.2 Update 10-05-01
Disclaimer: The Necroscope series is by Brian Lumley and Ranma 1/2 is also someone else creation and I hold no writes to the series. I no claims to his work and write this in tribute to his work. Please support these wonderful series with your patronage.
Author's Note: The timeline may be off slightly, but not enough to matter. Other than that, if you got a problem send useful comments to madcat08@hotmail.com and mention this fic. Otherwise any message sent will be treated as junk e-mail.
{# } See author's comment at end of the story.
Prologue:
Genma stormed through the Saotome house. "Where the hell is that boy," Genma fumed? Genma had finally gotten Nodoka to agree to a training trip and Genma was ready to leave. Finally he found his six-year-old son alone in front of the family shrine.
"Hi, dad. I was talking to Grandpa," Ranma said.
"Whatever boy, get your pack." Genma said sternly as bitter memories came to him of his father.
"Yes dad," Ranma said. The boy stood up and bowed to the family shrine. "I'll talk to you later Grandpa," Ranma said before leaving the shrine.
Genma rubbed his temples and cursed having such a strange boy for a son. "Hopefully some time from his mother will give me some time to straighten him out. He then turned to the shrine and smiled as he remembered his departed father. Genma's father had died four years ago, much to Genma's delight. His father's had left a considerable amount of money to his grandson. All Genma had to do was marry his son off as soon as possible and his retirement would be secure. Genma walked off with a smile on his face as he imagined his 'golden-years'.
Chapter 1:
Later in the hills of Okinawa...
A six-year-old Ranma came up his still sleeping father. "Dad," Ranma yelled as he shook his father awake from his hangover.
"What boy," Genma asked groggily as he woke up.
"Can I play with Huri," Ranma asked?
"Sure," Genma said before rolling over and going to sleep.
"Okay Huri, let's go," Ranma said to the empty air to his right. Ranma then ran laughing into the woods with his friend.
Later that day Genma awoke to find Ranma playing at the edge of the wooded clearing. "Hi", Ranma said coming up to his dad. "I've had a great day dad. Huri showed me where his castle was and where he fought and..."
"Ranma quit talking nonsense," Genma said.
"But dad," Ranma began.
"I don't want to hear any more of these stories from you," Genma yelled pulling his hand back for another swing.
"But.."
"Don't make me keep doing this boy," Genma snarled.
"Yes dad," Ranma managed to sob.
A week later...
Genma was standing next to a pit holding a garland of fish sausage with his son. "Today boy you learn the 'Cat-Fist'," Genma proudly proclaims.
"You haven't read the manual. Have you," Ranma asked in a strange tone of voice.
"What...," Genma asks before looking at his son? Two completely white orbs look back at the fat martial artist. Genma takes a step back in surprise and falls into the pit. Screams and angry cat noises radiate from the pit as Ranma's eye turn back to normal.
An hour later a bleeding Genma pulls himself from the pit of cats. "Will you read the manual completely now," Ranma asks in a hostile tone?
Genma pulls out the Cat-Fist manual and opens it. "...leads to insanity," Genma muttered as he read the manual. Genma pulls himself upright and says, "don't worry Ranma. I'm sure you can master the Cat-Fist without going insane."
"I guess, I'll have to mention it to mom then." Ranma said with determination. "I don't think she'll be too happy with you."
Genma gritted his teeth and ripped the manual in half. "Fine, we'll forget the Cat-Fist."
A year later in rural Japan...
A small Ranma was sitting with Ukyo talking about their mothers under an ancient tree. "I love my father but, I miss my mother so much," the little girl sobbed.
Ranma was unsure of how to cheer-up his friend. He wondered if he should tell his new friend about his other 'friends'. His father and several other people hadn't believed him. Ranma sighed and decided to keep the secret to himself. But he still needed to cheer up Uchan. Ranma decided on trying some advice from his father. "Don't cry Uchan. Be a man," Ranma said attempting to imitate his father voice.
"I'm a girl you jerk," the little girl said as she jumped to her feet. Ranma blinked and stared at Uchan.
"No you're not. Girls wear dresses, do weird things with their hair, and cry about bugs." Ranma said still in shock.
Ukyo bounced a spatula off his head and yelled. "Why do you think, I can't pee standing up? You moron."
Ranma sat on the ground and scratched his head. "You sure? I know a guy, who lost a leg in an accident. Maybe you had an accident."
Ukyo bounced the spatula off Ranma's head again. "Yes, I'm sure moron."
"Um... Okay," Ranma said scratching his head. "I can't play with you anymore," he said standing up.
"And why is that," Ukyo asked with her arms folded?
"Boys shouldn't fight girls," Ranma said {1}.
"O really," Ukyo said tightening her grip on her spatula.
"Now Uchan. You need to calm down," Ranma said as he took a step back.
Several minutes later two kids ran through a clearing with two fathers. Both muttered, "kids" before returning back to their drinking.
A day later...
"Hey Ranma, I'm going to be your fiancee." Ukyo yelled.
"What's that," Ranma asks?
Four years later...
Mr. Ishin was watching a new student at the school taking an entrance exam. Ranma would stare at the test and then daydream before putting his pencil to paper. Ishin shook his head. The boy was apparently struggling hard to overcome his poor education. After several more minutes Ranma put down his pencil and walked to Mr. Ishin's desk. He hand the teacher the exam before returning to his desk and promptly began looking out the window as he waited for his test results.
Ishin didn't move for a minute as he looked at the pages in front of him. The first section was math. The first problems looked normal enough until, he reached some equations at the end first page. The boy had reinvented the quadratic formula (based on several tedious equations on the side of the paper) and used it to solve a problem. That should have been beyond his skill level. The short essay on the second page on Ranma's childhood was fairly normal except for his training journey. But otherwise the essay was excellent except for several archaic words. The third page questions on history were all accurate except for the current prime Minster of Japan. The forth page really stunned Ishin. Ranma had answered most of the questions on human biology accurately. The only sub-standard area was a general lack of education in chemistry {2}. Ishin shook his head in disbelief and said, "Ranma please come here."
"Yes, sensei." Ranma replied.
"You did very well in all areas. I must say I'm surprised given your background," Ishin replied.
"Thank you, sensei." Ranma replied as he waited for the other shoe to drop.
"I was wondering where you learned all this. Given your background I figured you would miss half the questions. You haven't had much formal education and I doubt it was your father's influence. So where did you learn all of this," he asked?
"My friends sensei," Ranma replied.
"Did you 'friends' give you a copy of the entrance test," Ishin asked?
"Sir? No sensei. I don't know anyone here," Ranma replied.
"Very well Saotome," Ishin replied. "Report to class B-4. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Elsewhere in Northern Japan...
Three archeologists were opening an ancient tomb in an ancient mountain range. The tomb the size of a one-story house had been covered in an ice sheet and only recently uncovered due to an unusual warm winter.
The professor and two graduate students from the university of Tokyo, where beginning an initial survey of the site. The first day they had established the base camp and began mapping the site. The forlorn tomb was carved out of ancient volcanic rock with four crude obelisks raised at the cardinal direction points around the tomb.
That night as the small party curled up to sleep. Yamo, one of the graduate students, was falling asleep in his tent the wind whispered. "Free me," a tiny voice hissed in the night's sky. Yamo instantly awoke at the inhuman voice and listened to the cold wind whipping around the mountains. An hour later he feel into the grasp of sleep. His dreams would be filled with images of carnage. He finally awoke screaming to a dream of being buried alive.
The party left the tomb three days later with plans on returning in a year if funding for a proper dig could be obtained. Somewhere else in darkness something returned to its slumber.
Elsewhere in Japan...
Ranma was killing time on a field trip. The purpose of the field trip was collect different stones for a science class. Ranma suspected the real reason was the most of the teachers got the day off. The exception was the classes three guardian, who were unhappy at being stuck with the fieldtrip duties.
Ranma had quickly found at his new school, that he had little in common with most of the other students. And so Ranma was able to wander off with little notice into the mountains for some time to himself. He slowly walked up a dry ravine, occasionally picking up a random rock to add to his collection. The ravine was big enough to hide a bus and rocky enough to make his journey a challenge. Two hundred yards up the nameless ravine me found a piece of aluminum two inches long. The small piece of metal was obliviously torn from a larger piece and was discolored by fire on one end. Ranma quickly added the piece of metal to his pocket and advanced up the ravine with a new purpose.
Five minutes later Ranma found more pieces of metal scattered in the boulders of the ravine. Ranma looked up into the sky and estimated he had five hours left before he was do back (useful skill, when Genma's too cheap to buy a watch). He scanned the ravine for several seconds before he found a twisted and tarnished ring half buried in the sand. He gently picked up the ring and sat down.
"I hate this part," Ranma muttered as he closed his eyes. He slowly concentrated on the ring in his hand and began to meditate. Slowly he began to detect the other person in the ravine with him. The other person had died suddenly and painfully from his aura. And was currently stuck reliving his death. The aura was an indistinct smudge in his perception and failed to give Ranma any information on who had died in the ravine.
"Hello," Ranma spoke. He immediately felt incredible dumb, but he had nowhere else to start. Waking a spirit from a death cycle (as he called it) was dangerous. He once tried talking to a suicide victim the previous year and it had almost shattered his sanity. The suicide victim had lashed out with painful and troubling memories. Ranma had blacked out and broken their mental connection.
The other figure in the valley shape seemed to come slowly into focus. Eventually a tall western in a kaki jumpsuit and a leather jacket stood in the valley with him. "Who are you," the translucent figure asked pointing a pistol at him?
Ranma concentrated hard to understand the foreigner. The general meanings were clear but understanding him was giving him a headache {3}. "I'm Ranma Saotome. What's the last thing you remember," Ranma asked?
"My wingman and shot up and we got attacked by two 'Vals'{2}. I cover him while he got away. Then... I got hit? That can't be right," the figure replies. The figure then looks around the ravine. "Where the hell am I?"
"Near Nygumi, Japan." Ranma replied cautiously.
The figure looked around the ravine and found a twisted and rusted machine gun barrel. Several minutes later the figure turned to him and spoke.
"I didn't make it did I," he asked?
"No," Ranma replied. "I'm sorry."
"Figures," the man replied. "I finally start thinking, that I might live through this war and bam. I get killed! That is a real kick in the ass," the man replied lowering the pistol. "How long have I been here," he asks Ranma?
"Its 1994. If that helps," Ranma replied.
"Damn. I've been out here fifty years," the man replied.
"I guess, Mr...." Ranma asked?
"Just call be Bruce," the man said sitting on a boulder.
"You can do what you want now," Ranma replied?
"How I'm dead," Bruce replied with some anger in his voice?
"What I mean is... you spent the last fifty years reliving your death," Ranma replied. "You can go whatever you want now," Ranma replied. "You can go visit you family. Living and dead."
"Well I guess being dead ain't too bad," Bruce replied. "Would've been nice to have a decent burial at least." Bruce looked up and smiled at Ranma. "Maybe you can help me."
The next day two letters were mailed from the school in the scrawl of a child. One letter was sent to a nearby Marine base and contained a mangled dogtag with directions to the final resting place of a Lt. Bruce Callaway of the 57th fighter wing. The other one was sent to a small town in Ohio. Several weeks later the recovery crew found a series of arrows made of loose stones creating a path up the ravine. At the end of the trail a ring was tied to a wooden cross made of two pieces of driftwood.
A couple year later...
Ranma was traveling with his father through China. His father had left his son at the edge of town to set up camp and immediately left to find the local bar. Ranma had taken the liberty to remove all of the cash from his father's wallet so the old bastard wouldn't waste it all. Before returning the wallet back to the old fool.
Now fourteen Ranma had studied under several more masters (living and dead). His skills now included many obscure techniques and he was able to beat his father sparing routinely. He had also come close to speaking Chinese fluently in only three weeks in the country with the help of his 'friends'. His father was making no attempts to learn Chinese beyond how to order food or sake in Chinese.
Ranma quickly speed into town to beat his father to the local bar. Ranma returned an hour later after stopping by the towns three bars to set up camp. He then talked briefly to several of his older friends before he began searching the local area for new friends. Several hours later a severly beaten Genma stumbled into camp and gave Ranma a dark look before crawling into the tent. Ranma smiled as he remembered warning the local bars to the old fool who couldn't pay his tab and his habit of trying to engage his son repeatly.
Ranma waited for his father to attack him. And when his father failed to attack he returned to a conversation with a Mongol horseman (who had died locally) on fighting from horseback.
A little while later...
"Here sirs. We come to famous legendary Training Ground of Cursed Springs, Jusenkyo." The recently hired Chinese guide informed his two charges.
Ranma felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked at the valley below him. He could sense thousands of souls tied to the spring filled valley.
"Are you ready Ranma?" Genma said with his usual lack of perception.
"I don't know...something feels weird here." Ranma couldn't put his finger on it but whatever was wrong with the valley went beyond a bunch of restless spirits.
"Hurry up and follow me boy!" Genma bellowed from atop a bamboo pole. The subtle feeling of an increasing wrongness to surrounding area completely passed over Genma's less then stellar powers of observation.
"Shut up you old fool," Ranma said before turning to the guide. "What can you tell me about the springs?"
A stunned guide looked at him a moment before replying. "Sir, you are the first foreigner to ever ask me story about springs before getting cursed." The guide and Ranma ignored Genma, who was beginning to taunt Ranma. "Anyone, who falls into spring, curse to take body of last thing to drown in that spring.
"Boy...," Genma began before a bamboo pole cracked under him. Genma landed in the spring with a splash.
"So sorry, you fall into spring of drowned...," the guide began. "Sorry, I forgot that spring." He says to Ranma.
"Spring of drowned pig, I take it." Ranma says as a small black piglet crawls out of the spring.
"Ah yes, sir. It is cursed spring of drown piglet. Whenever exposed to cold water your father will take the form of piglet. Hot water will left the curse, until he's exposed to cold water again." The guide said as he used a bamboo pole to fish Genma's clothes out of the spring.
"We'll your stupidity has finally been rewarded old man," Ranma says. He ignored the angry squealing of the piglet and watched a mass of black clouds moving towards the valley. Ranma grabbed his fathers pack and said, "let's go. I'm sure, we can make the next village tonight. The guide shrugged and follow the younger customer and the small piglet was forced to follow. "So tell me about the next village," Ranma asked the guide.
Tendos:
Soun looked over his daughters carefully. How soon one of their lives was going to be changed. "A friend of mine is coming to visit with his son. It's our intention that one of you marries him." As caught up as he was in the moment, he failed to noticed the varying reactions of his daughters:
Akane: Outrage.
Nabiki: Interest, especially if he was cute.
Kasumi: Concern that he was older, since younger men were so...young.
Soun knew whichever one Ranma picked, the girl would eventually get use to the idea. Why wouldn't she? Soun was sure Genma had raised an obedient son, it wouldn't take much before the lines were joined. And Soun got his portion of Ranma's inheritance. That he had never seen Ranma before, (and in mentioning that fact the girls seemed somewhat annoyed, even the previously interested Nabiki) made no difference to him.
As the discussion was about to continue, a knock came from the front door. Automatically Kasumi was on her feet first to answer the front door. With the rest of the family following her lead. Kasumi opened the door and found a slightly shorter young man in a wet gi carrying two backpacks and a small black piglet.
"You wouldn't be," Soun began?
"I'm Ranma Saotome. I assume that you are a Mr. Soun Tendo." Ranma said as he execute a minor bow, while balancing the weight of the two shifting backpacks.
Ranma abruptly found himself swept up and being crushed in a hug. "Oh my boy! Your father thought you were dead! The engagement between families can take place! Now our two houses can be united! How happy you have made me!" The floodgates briefly opened.
"Could you stop that," Ranma replied politely. "No sense in starting things off on a bad foot," Ranma thought to himself as he tried to be polite.
"Daddy, you might want to turn him loose before he goes unconscious." Nabiki said as she began inspecting their new guest.
"Father, please calm down." Kasumi said in her motherly tone.
When Soun ignored his daughter's advice, Ranma grabbed one of Soun's thumbs and began applying pressure. The thumb was close to being dislocated before the pain registered in Soun's head. Soun quickly released Ranma and grabbed his injured thumb with his other hand.
Kasumi took the opportunity to invite Ranma in before Akane could shoot her mouth off.
Several minutes later...
Soun, Ranma, the piglet, and the two younger Tendo daughter's sat around a low table.
"So which one of my daughter's will you marry?" Soun asked after calming down some.
"Lets wait for Kasumi to return," Ranma replied.
Nabiki's eyes narrow as Ranma mentioned Kasumi's name. "How the hell does this stranger know my sister's name," she thought to herself? "I'm sure we didn't mention it. Probably his father mentioned it to him," she finally thought coming up with the most likely answer.
Kasumi returned a minute later with a towel and a kettle of hot water. "Here the water and towel you asked for Ranma," she said.
"Thank you," Ranma answered taking the items from Kasumi. Ranma neatly folded the towel on the table and placed the kettle on top of it.
Nabiki looked around the table, edged a little closer to Ranma and looked attentive.
"First off, I can't marry anyone." Ranma said calmly as he waited for Soun to explode. Ranma grabbed the piglet in mid-air as it attempted to reach the kettle.
"What? " Soun cried going into his famous demon head.
Ranma calmly studied the chi used in creating the demon head. As Soun began his demon head attack. Several minutes later Soun dropped the illusion and was breathing heavily. Ranma calmly waited for Soun to catch his breath.
"Please allow me to explain." Ranma said to Soun. "When I was six my father engaged me to a girl and accepted the dowry." Ranma ignored Soun as the older man began a new round of ranting. Several minutes later Soun finally stopped his human fountain routine.
"So, if I married one of your daughters, my clan would be disgraced for breaking this vow."
"My agreement with your father, was made before you were born! You will honor it," Soun cried running out of the room.
Ranma turned to Soun's daughters and spoke. "I'm sorry, that I've disturbed the peace of your house. But I've decided the path to fullfill giri
(duty/honor) to the best of my ability. My father has also engaged me over the years to other families and disgraced my family name. Due to this your family should not feel slighted at the breaking of this agreement. Breaking the agreement should only protect your family's name from the stain that a marriage would result in.
Heavy footsteps sounded through the house for several seconds before Soun reentered the room in full samurai armor. "You will marry one of my daughters," he cried before drawing his long sword! "You will marry one of them tonight or die!"
Elsewhere...
A small convoy made its way into some forgotten mountains in northern Japan. Two years of haggling and calling in favors had finally gained the archeologists the funding for their expedition. Another two years of waiting were required before the ice sheet retreated enough for the expedition to be launched. Unknown to the convoy, something ancient was patiently waiting for them.
Random Notes:
{1} Several people disagreed with Ranma's stance, that he shouldn't fight girls. I've kept his stance on fighting girls from his peers. Take Genma's influence and add to that many other 'friends' (many of whom are very old fashioned). The result is a very traditional Ranma. He will fight girls but he will attempt to avoid doing so if at all possible.
{2} Mr. Ishin has met Genma briefly. I've also re-written the paragraph, since several people felt Ranma was out of character. In the original Ranma's 'friends' were supplying him with answers. So I've changed it so he's more in character with the cannon Ranma.
{3} Anthropologist say language is a bunch of symbols used by a society to communicate. Languages have slight variation in their ways of looking at things. The Navaho Indians of America for example had no words for time. So Ranma's connection allows him to get the basic concept but something gets lost in the language. Also people fluent in languages find themselves using one language in thinking about certain topics.
{4} Vals are dive-bombers. But in the final days of the war Japan was forced to use anything that would fly for home defense.
'People':
Huri 14th century samurai, died defending his lord's castle.
Shinta 16th century monk.
Mr. Ishin Ranma's teacher.
Bruce Callaway