Chapter 01: Rekindled Flame
XxXxXxXx
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takashi, and Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! is owned by Akira Amano
XxXxXxXx
A six year old girl stared out of the window of her room. None of the other kids wanted to play with her, and the adults thought it was because she was to mature. The girl had obviously been the victim of abuse, as she had been found in an ally with old bruises and several bones that had healed incorrectly. This resulted in the girl being sent to the orphanage in which she currently resided in.
She had never given anyone her name, and refused to answer to anything anyone tried to call her. But then again, the girl had abandoned in such a way that no one could truly fault her. She had been abandoned by her parents and friends, who had possibly added to the abuse in some ways. She thought it better to ignore the past all together.
Today though, a family was coming to see about taking one of the children here into foster care, possibly adopting them. A tall blond man and his wife had walked in, along with an elderly Italian gentleman, causing the girl to look out through her doorway at them. Both men radiated power, according to what she was sensing, the Italian man had a power similar to her own, but different in several subtle ways. Drawing her knees to her chest, she watched from her claimed window bench the new people talk to the orphanage matron, a kind lady in her late thirties who tried to get her to open up to the others.
She heard the man tell his wife that if it was too early for her, they could leave now, before the elderly man cut him off.
"Now Iemitsu, I know that young Tsuna's death has been hard on both you and Nana, and I know what you think, but I had my most trusted men investigate and they concurred that it was an accident, and in no way intentional."
The tall blond man spoke softly, "I know, but it could still be too soon. What if…"
"Now listen here young man, the accident may of happened a year ago, and forgive me if I seem heartless, but it is time for you to begin to move forward again. One of these children here needs your help, as much as you need theirs." the elderly man turned from the couple, "This may seem like the situation with Xanxus, but then again, maybe you could truly find a treasure here."
"Dear, Timoteo-san is right. We could really help a child by giving them a loving home." the woman said, leading her husband off to the play room.
Hearing the man softly say his wife's name, the girl turned back to the window, staring at the sky.
XxXxXxXx
Timoteo began to follow his young adviser and his wife when he noticed a little girl in a room to his right. She was staring out of a large window into the sky, not watching anything in particular, but from his judgment, the sky as a whole. The girl also had a power hidden deep within her, almost exactly the same as the one he had sensed within young Tsuna when he had visited a year and a half ago.
In fact, he believed her to be the wielder of the Dying Will Flame of the Vongola Primo once wielded, along with a new flame, one that he couldn't quite describe. Deciding to get to know this girl, whether Iemitsu and Nana adopted the girl, or he took her under his wing as well, like with his adopted son Xanxus, he wouldn't allow such a flame to die out in a place like this.
"Hello young one, what are you doing in here by yourself? Do the other kids pick on you?" He asked, the girl didn't even turn her head towards him
"No, they're scared of me."
"Really? Why is that?" Timoteo asked as he sat down next to the girl. He took in her appearance carefully. It was apparent that she was not pure Japanese, her blue eyes and short red hair was obvious of that. And because she didn't look like the other kids, he thought she might be picked on. But then he noticed several nearly invisible scars on her arms and legs, too many of them parallel to each other to be accidents, along with surgical scars that were nearly healed.
"Because I'm smarter than them, and I'm stronger as well."
"Really now, how is that?"
"I was trained in Martial Arts since I could walk." something about how she said trained as well as her covering one of her surgery scars with her hand, set off alarms in the Vongola Nono's mind.
"If you'll excuse this old man for a minute, I need to check on my young friend and his wife."
As he got up, the girl silently slid off the bench and waited for him to follow. She lead him to the play room to where the matron had took the other two adults and left just as quickly as she got him there.
"Excuse me miss, the little red haired girl, I was just talking to her when I asked her why the other kids weren't playing with her when she said something that set off alarms in my head. Who is she and why is she here?"
The Matron looked in the direction that the child had disappeared in, before motioning the elderly gentleman to follow her. Apparently Iemitsu had overheard, and was telling Nana that he was going to find out about the girl she had heard him mention before she had gotten distracted with an assistant asking for help rounding up two toddlers with dirty diapers.
As Iemitsu slid into the office behind the two, the woman sighed before looking at both men, "There are times in this world that I believe that some people should be sentenced to death, and what happened to that little girl, her parents should have been killed years ago. When she was brought into the hospital, she had no records. Blood tests show that she is related to a boy and a girl, possibly separated twins, named Ranma Saotome and Ranko Tendo. If it wasn't for her age and a few other factors, the doctor said he would have believed it was Ranko. Both of them were reported missing and possibly killed by the Tendo Clan head and all three of his daughters. The two of them had left for a challenge match north of the city, and Ranko had reportedly came back alone, beat up and broken, before she was taken away by an elderly Chinese woman living in the town. When the woman, Ku Lon, or Cologne as she was known as in the area, was contacted by the authorities, Ranko had disappeared from her home, still wounded but not losing any blood."
Both men looked at each other, and for some reason one word ran through their minds, Arcobaleno.
"The girl showed up hours later, and was rushed into the emergency room for blood loss. We don't know her name, because she won't tell us, and when we presented the Saotomes and Tendos with pictures, no one other than the middle Tendo daughter seemed to recognize her, and when asked, the young woman said she knew the girl's face from somewhere, but couldn't remember where. The only reason the Saotomes weren't charged was because the girl wouldn't tell us who she is or who her parents are."
Both of the men looked at the photos and saw why no one recognized her, her bright red hair had either been shaved off for surgery or where covered by the bandages around her head, and her eyes were closed. Timoteo looked over at the blond haired man, "Iemitsu, how about you go check on Nana, I did promise the little lady I would come back to talk with her."
Iemitsu nodded, and left the room. Standing up, Timoteo looked at the Matron, "Either myself or my young friend and his wife will be taking that girl with us today, so please draw up the paperwork. And if she is going with me, please note that I am an Italian National on visit, and she would be leaving for Italy if I do take her in."
The Matron nodded, tears coming to her eyes. She couldn't doubt the man's words, as she had seen the look both of them had shared during her giving what little they did know about the girl. At least the one child that needed a stable home and loving family the most would be getting what she needed to overcome her past.
Timoteo walked back into the room where the girl had been, only to see she had gone outside underneath a large tree in the yard. Making his way out to her, he noticed Iemitsu had pulled Nana off to the side and informed her of what happened to the girl, and that Nana was looking at the girl, horrified that someone could do that to such a young child.
"Hello once again, little one, mind if I sit down?"
The girl shook her head as he sat, before studying him, "Why did you ask about me? Is it because of my power?"
Timoteo shook with soft laughter, the girl was a perceptive one, "Only partially child, as only two families in Japan are supposed to have that power, the Sawada Clan, which those two I came with are a part of, and your family."
"I have no family."
"Why did the Saotomes abandon you Ranko?"
"Only half right. How did you figure that much out?"
Timoteo pulled a picture out of his wallet before showing her, "This young man's name is Colonello, he is cursed to take the form of an infant, even though he is nearly thirty years old. I imagine something similar happened to you."
She took the picture from his hands, studying the toddler in military fatigues carrying an Anti-Tank Rifle and a hawk sitting on his head. These people had some experience with the supernatural at least, but that didn't explain what they wanted. She knew that the couple wanted to take in a kid, possibly adopting instead of just foster care, but why her?
"Why me? I'm nothing more than a silly, weak little girl." she said, hanging her head.
"Don't say that, little one," The woman's voice said, as she was enveloped in a hug, "You're not weak or silly, whoever called you that doesn't know you."
"But you don't know me either."
"But we would like to," The blond man said kneeling down to her eye level, "You and I are family, related by blood. The worthless sack of blubber Genma is my second cousin. Because of what he did, it harmed you, and shamed our family. I'm sorry for what happened to your siblings, but you got away, you're the one alive. And if you want, Nana and I want to bring you into our home to protect you from Genma and his greed from ever reaching you again."
By this point, the girl was having a hard time holding her tears back. To find out that she still had family out there that hated Genma was one thing, but their willingness to protect her from him was another.
"Are you…?"
"Yes we are. We want to adopt you."
The girl buried herself into the man's…. no, her father's shoulder, hiding her tears.
"What's your name?" Nana asked.
"It's Ranma." The redhead replied, lifting her head slightly to see the smiling couple.
XxXxXxXx
As the new family walked into the orphanage to fill out the paper work, Timoteo sighed. Pulling out his phone, he decided the best course of action. He dialed a number and waited for his most trusted man to pick up.
"Ciaossu."
"Reborn, I have a job for you…"
XxXxXxXx
Ranma watched out the window of the car she was in, her new mother in the seat next to her looking through the few cloths that she had. They were going to the airport to drop Timoteo off, as he was needed back in Italy for an emergency in the business that he ran. After that they would be going home. Home. That was something that she thought she would never truly had.
Watching the old man, Timoteo as he introduced himself, interact with his bodyguards and introduce her caused her six year old body to defy her older mind, and hid behind Timoteo's leg. They all laughed when she did, before telling him that they would be waiting on the plane. Timoteo knelt down and looked Ranma in the eyes.
"Tell me Ranma, Do you like watching the sky?"
"The sky? Yeah, I do. It lets me feel of free, almost like I could fly."
Timoteo chuckled as a small flame appeared on the tip of his finger, noticing that it put her on edge. Slowly bringing the flame to her forehead, he tapped in between her eyes. Ranma's eyes widened as the flame imparted the same feelings that her martial arts invoked. The aerial style she practiced allowed her to be free in the sky for short amounts of time.
"Never forget that feeling, Ranma. Now, I need to be off, before Coyote sends out a search party. Iemitsu, take some time to get to know your daughter before you leave for your next job. You both need it."
Iemitsu nodded, picking up Ranma. Not being use to such contact, Ranma squirmed before he sighed and maneuvered her onto his shoulders. Calling out a farewell to the elderly gentleman, Iemitsu turned to Nana, "I think that we can buy some bentos and have a little picnic in the park. What do you think, Ranma?"
Ranma had stopped squirming when she realized that she wasn't going to be let down anytime soon, nodded at his suggestion. Maybe they wouldn't be like her birth parents, but they would actually care for her as a person. As her new family walked out of the airport, she looked up into the sky once more as a plane passed overhead.
'Thank you, Timoteo-jiji.'
XxXxXxXx
Seven years had passed quickly for Ranma, who had come to love her new mother and father. She found out that their child, Tsuna, had passed away from a cold that had turned quickly to pneumonia. They had been mourning for nearly a year before Timoteo-jiji, as she called him, convinced them that they should foster or adopt a child to help ease the pain.
Iemitsu apparently worked over seas a lot, usually gone a couple months at a time, but always made sure that when he came home for the holidays and in between jobs he would spend as much time as possible with her and Nana. Ranma didn't believe for one minute that he was a construction worker or oil miner, whatever his cover story was. All she knew was that Timoteo-jiji knew and was involved as well. Nana was a well-meaning woman, if not a little oblivious to the world around her. She meant well and treated Ranma as her own child, spending time with her and encouraging her to learn new things.
Ranma thought back to when both of her adoptive parents had found out that she had nearly mastered Kempo and several other base styles that were used by Anything Goes, when in truth she was relearning them as her body had the muscle memory, but not the coordination or speed that she had before the incident. Iemitsu was happy enough to teach her the style he practiced, and also encouraged her to take up and learn archery as well, as all the schools in the area required students to join after school club activities. She had been refused entrance into the Mixed Martial Arts Club due to her being several levels higher than most of the members.
When it came to physical activities during school, everyone wanted Ranma on their team, and the Archery Club had won the last two National Championships with her help. But when it came to the academic portions of the day, especially English and Math, she was jokingly referred to as 'No Good Ranma' for her barely passing scores, even though Nana had done everything in her power to help Ranma succeed in school. It was one of the few things that had carried over from Ranma's past, and it didn't help that she was seated by the large window in the class either.
"Mom, I'll see you this afternoon!" Ranma yelled, head out the door for school.
"Ran-chan! Are you wearing your uniform? I don't want another referral coming home today!" Nana called out, looking at her daughter from the kitchen. For some reason the girl despised school uniforms, and it was hard to get her to wear anything slightly feminine in the first place. Nodding her approval after seeing that Ranma was indeed wearing her uniform, Nana walked back in to the kitchen, "Don't forget, the tutor your father hired will be here after you're done with practice today!"
"Okay, I'm going now!"
Nana watch as her daughter ran off, before moving on to a small shrine in the living room, "Tsuna, what would you do with such a tomboyish sister like her?"
After taking Ranma into their home, both Iemitsu and she felt the pain of losing their firstborn lessen, though at times even now, eight years later, it was still hard for her. Smiling and wiping away a tear, Nana stood up and went to prepare the guest room for the at home tutor Iemitsu had hired.
XxXxXxXx
"You do know, Sawada-san, that hair color is against school rules."
Ranma looked to her left at the older boy leaning against the entrance of the school, "Hibari-san, I have told you and your committee that this is my natural hair color, I am one-fourth American or something like that."
"I don't have proof, you could be using that as an excuse. Do I need to bite you to death in order to obtain the truth?" Hibari asked as his infamous tonfa appeared out of his coat.
"Well then you'll just have to deal with it. Now I need to get to class before I'm late again."
Hibari ginned menacingly, twirling his tonfa as a group of boisterous students approached the gates, "We will talk later, Omnivore."
Ranma snorted as she went into the building, running up the stairs to get to class on time. As she ran, she knocked over the captain of the Kendo Club.
"Sorry, Mochida-sempai, but I'm in a rush!"
Kensuke Mochida pulled himself up, fuming. 'No Good' Ranma had run him over once again, and this time he wanted to settle the matter over a match. He knew that she was high ranking in many forms of armed and unarmed combat, as well being the vice-chairman of the Archery Club. Grabbing one of her classmates, he told the frightened boy to deliver the message.
XxXxXxXx
"Sawada-san, Mochida-sempai wants to challenge you to a one-on-one match during the lunch break. He said that he wanted to settle this." the boy looked as if he was going to piss his pants. This was Ranma Sawada, supposed master of several obscure and old styles of the Martial Arts, and the second scariest person in school after Hibari. While the two had not fought yet, the verbal battles that were waged between them were ferocious.
"Hmm? A challenge? Did he give any details?" Ranma asked, her interest peeked. Iemitsu had taken it upon himself to set standards for her to accept a challenge, and made her promise to keep them. This was after she got into a cooking battle royal in fourth grade that ended up destroying the kitchen, and he was mad that she had done so upon hearing the word 'challenge'.
"He… he said that the rules would be set at the match, because he wasn't sure if you knew kendo or not, seeing as you do primarily use your bow or are unarmed."
"Alright," Turning to look out the window once more, Ranma fell back into her bored state of mind. She was soon interrupted once again by the so-called idol of the school, Kyoko Sasagawa.
"Everyone is fired up hearing about Mochida-sempai's challenge, Sawada-san."
"Oh?"
Kyoko nodded, "Everyone knows that the Martial Arts club wouldn't let you join because you're too advanced, but you fell back on the Archery club instead of pushing the Martial Arts club for entry. The most we've ever seen you do was when you took out the entire Discipline Committee without trying when we started here because of your hair color. Even though Hibari-san wasn't there, he respects your abilities, enough to try to get you to fight him."
"I guess everyone would be interested to see what I can do." Ranma muttered to herself, become lost in thought as she once more stared out at the sky.
XxXxXxXx
"Oh! So you did come after all, Sawada-san."
"Of course, Mochida-sempai, but if this challenge does not meet the standards my father made me swear to follow, I will turn around and leave."
Ranma was proud of two things that she had worked to improve over the past few years. Her Art, and her communication skills. She didn't have frequent attacks of foot-in-the-mouth anymore, they were few and far between. Both of her parents had explained the need for such skills, and Ranma agreed with them.
"Understandable, the challenge was issued due to multiple incidents where you have run into me and knocked me down over the past few months. This has gone on for too long. The Rules are one on one, no outside interference and no destruction of school property. Other than that, anything goes."
Ranma's eyes lit up at the phrase, "What are the stakes?"
"If you win, I will drop my grievances with you as well as grant you any favor you may need in the foreseeable future. If I win… You are to assist the Kendo club when we prepare for the tournaments we participate in. Are these conditions acceptable?"
Ranma walked past Mochida on her way to the locker room, "Get someone from the Martial Arts club to referee. I'm going to change out of this stupid uniform."
Several of the girls in the gym giggled as Ranma walk away, one of them stating, "It's a good thing a lot of the boys around here like cute tomboys like her, because Ranma's the biggest tomboy in Namimori!"
The audience's laughter suddenly quieted as the girl's locker room swung open. Ranma strode towards the center of the gym, ready to fight. Several of the Martial Artist in the gym recognized the unofficial uniform she wore, but no one said anything until she fell in to a relaxed pose.
"It….it can't be." the Captain of the Boxing club said, eyes widening.
"What is it Nii-san?" Kyoko asked, wondering why Ranma's cloths caused her older brother to act like that.
"The uniform and the stance that Sawada-san is currently using are those of to two famous figures in the Martial Arts world, the Saotome twins. Both are currently missing and have been for the last eight years."
Mochida shook his head before pointing his practice weapon at Ranma, "I don't care if you're a Saotome, trained under the Master Genma Saotome, or a copycat, put up a fight worth remembering."
Ranma's eyes shaded over, before she slid into an unrecognizable stance, "Start the match, or you'll join Sempai in the grave he just dug."
"R..right, Begin!"
Mochida started the battle off with a forward charge, only for Ranma to glide around him as he reached her. He stopped after three more steps, and Ranma turned and began to walk away.
"Never mention that man's name in front of me again. It's because of him my life was ruined," Ranma said softly, and said something else as an afterthought, "It's also his fault that Nee-san and Nii-san died."
Mochida collapsed, as everyone watched the petite redhead walk away, only pausing to retrieve her belongings beside the door.
"Not a single wasted movement. Three strikes to three nerve clusters to enhance the pain he is feeling as well as to knock him out." The Martial Arts club Chairman said, rolling Mochida onto a stretcher. "Take him to the Infirmary."
XxXxXxXx
A figure sitting on the adjacent roof from the gym watched the girl through the scope of a high powered sniper rifle.
"This one is going to be a challenge," the figure murmured to himself, before a smirk spread across his face.
XxXxXxXx
Ranma had reached her home soon after school was over. The Chairman of the Archery Club had approached her and told her to take the day off and calm down. He didn't want anyone in the club to upset her and get hurt, or for her to overdo it and hurt herself. After the fight, everyone in the school, including the teachers, had stayed out of her space, and everyone had shot terrified looks at her when Mochida's screams had echoed across campus nearly two hours after the fight.
Only one person had approached her on her way home. Kyoko had wanted to apologize, thinking her older brother had somehow set her off, but Ranma was able to calm her down and tell her it was Mochida that had said the wrong thing. Before the girl had ran off, Kyoko asked if they could be friends, which Ranma could only nod at. Her mother was worried about her inability to make friends, and perhaps Kyoko could help her in English, one of the other girl's better subjects.
"Mom, I'm home!"
"We're in the living room, Ran-chan!"
Ranma walked in thinking that she was about to meet her tutor, someone she imagined about collage age that was transferring into the local collage, and was tutoring her for room and board. What Ranma did not expect, was a small boy, no older than three, wearing a three-piece suit and a fedora with a chameleon sitting on the brim.
"Ranma-chan, this is Reborn-san, he'll be you're at home tutor. Isn't he adorable?"
"Ciaossu!" The toddler said in greeting, tipping his hat. Why was it that she always got into these weird situations?
XxXxXxXx
Author's Note: I was recently introduced to the Hitman Reborn anime by a friend, and while watching a few episodes while trying to overcome a writer's block on my other fics, this came out instead. Please leave a Review critiquing my work, as it helps me improve the story, also I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
And for those who are wondering, this is one of my older stories that I have finally got around to reposting, more chapters to come!