Gamer4 in! Okay, quite a few famous firsts lately- a couple days ago, I write my first all-Earthbound fic, followed by my first Evangelion fic, and now is the first fic for a show I have an extremely love-hate relationship with- as before, no point in being mysterious, it's right there, plain as day- welcome to the Ranma ½ story of Live Alive! For those of you not in the know, I'm writing a mini-series, known as Live Alive, consisting of eight initial stories that, on the surface, are completely self-contained, taking place in different places, times, and fandoms, but, when read together, will have enough connections to be considered a mini-series, rather than just a collection of short oneshots. Today, of course, Ranma ½ steps up to the plate! This is the series that, Yu-Gi-Oh aside, probably did the most to get me into anime, for which I am grateful. In addition, it's got great characters (for the most part,) some great storylines with quite a bit of heart, it's funny, and while it does certainly forget to be awesome sometimes, we're going to put that on the shelf and dive into its story for the Live Alive mini-series!
Disclaimer: Okay, this is a series I wasn't even aware of until after it was finished. Does anyone really think I wrote it? The same goes for Live A Live, the Squaresoft game this mini-series is inspired by.
Live Alive
Akane's Story
The Wild Gang
Akane collapsed to the ground, nursing a black eye, and with blood flowing from her mouth and nose. Panting, she gasped out, "How... how did I get into this mess?"
Looking up, she saw a tall woman with blue hair down to the middle of her back approaching. "Do you see, now?" she asked, grabbing onto Akane's hair and pulling it back as though intending to slit her throat. "How worthless you are? Martial arts are all about strength, not any sort of idealistic crap. Now for your final demonstration."
Akane closed her eyes in quiet acceptance as the woman prepared the final blow...
XXXX
Earlier that day...
"A new school?" Akane asked, glancing over the breakfast table. Everyone in the household was gathered there, eating the morning meal, with the (thankful) exception of Happosai. Akane sat between the two guests of the Tendo household- Ranma and Genma Saotome, heir to and founder of the Saotome school of Anything-Goes martial arts, respectively. Ranma was a tall boy dressed eternally in a red chinese outfit with blue pants, while his father, Genma, dressed all in white training clothes. On the other side of the table sat her father, Soun, with his black moustache and long black hair, as well as her two sisters, Nabiki and Kasumi. They had been having an ordinary breakfast until her father had brought up the news.
"Indeed," Soun nodded. "I just got the news this morning. A new school of martial arts is coming into town. I don't know much about them- only the name of its founder, some woman named Wu Ya."
"Wu... Ya?" Akane repeated, the name foreign on her tongue.
"Sounds Chinese," Ranma commented. "Maybe Shampoo knows her?"
"I hope not," Akane muttered. She didn't think she could handle any more of the amazon's relatives.
"That would be wonderful," Kasumi smiled. "After all, Mousse, Shampoo, and her grandmother are the only three people from China around here. It would be good for someone else to come over."
XXXX
On the way to school, Akane made a conscious effort to spy the newest school out of the corner of her eye. The building was relatively small, only one story, and done in the usual Japanese style, whoever was at the head of the school. So preoccupied was she in wondering about it that she didn't notice their newest arrival until Ranma was already choking out, "Akane... help!"
Spinning around, she saw Shampoo, the blue-haired amazon, latching onto Ranma in a gigantic bearhug. "Wo ai ni," she quietly said as she nuzzled him, as she so often did.
Akane's rage soared. She ran over and punted both of the people responsible over the nearest fence. "PERVERT!" she shouted, seeing red.
As she watched the two slowly get to their feet and turn back, she heard a voice behind her. "Nice leg you have there."
She spun around to see a tall woman with blue hair approaching, right from the building she'd previously been observing. At the current moment, the woman's eyes were lit with a trace of humor. "A martial artist with enough strength," the new arrival noted, "has the power to remake the world in their image."
"Um... who are you again?" Akane asked, nonplused.
"Oh, forgive me. Introductions, of course. Wu Ya, of the Wu Ya school of martial arts." The woman bowed her head and extended her hand. Akane tentatively took it. "I travel across the land, searching for new techniques to add to my own. Most recently, my travels have brought me here."
"Oh, so you're the one in charge of that new school Mr. Tendo was talking about," came a new voice, and the two of them turned to see Ranma approaching. Looking her over, he smiled. "Wouldn't have pegged you as a martial artist, though."
"Ranma..." Akane growled. The boy had a tendency to think after he spoke.
"Oh, it's no problem," Wu Ya said dismissively, waving the implied insult aside. "I've known plenty of people who had problems speaking when they shouldn't have."
"Well, we've gotta go," Ranma said. "Come on, Akane, we're going to be late!"
With that, Ranma turned and began sprinting to Furikan High School. Akane turned to follow, but Wu Ya held out a hand. "Wait a moment!"
Akane paused, turning back to the woman. "Akane, hm?" Wu Ya mused. "It has a nice ring to it. I don't suppose you would consider coming to my school? I see you have strength, and I can provide technique..."
"Sorry," Akane replied immediately, shaking her head. "I'm already part of a school- I'm set to inherit the Tendo school of Anything-Goes Martial Arts."
"I see," Wu Ya nodded, bowing her head. "Well, far be it from me to try and separate family. Though, if you ever preferred a different flavor of instruction... you know where I'll be."
Akane stared for a moment as the mysterious woman turned and re-entered her school.
XXXX
Later that day, a young man was almost crawling through the streets of the town. He was panting and breathing heavily. "I... I don't think I'm gonna make it..." he gasped out. "Akane... forgive me!"
Desperately, he reached out and touched a nearby stone surface. Looking up, he saw words written on it: Furikan High School. The words floated around in his mind, trying to find something to connect to. Furikan... that was a school in Nerima... and Nerima was where Akane lived... and if he was in front of Furikan, then it followed that he was in Nerima...
"Ha ha ha!" the boy perked up, leaping up and punching the air in victory. "I've finally done it! I found my way here without any help at all!" He continued in an odd victory dance, heedless of the stares he was being given from passers-by.
He stood tall, and was very well-muscled, and dressed in a green shirt and brown pants. Around his head was a speckled headband, and he carried a backpack over his back, on top of which sat a heavy red umbrella.
"Oh, hey, Ryoga, what's up?" came a voice from nearby, and the eternal lost boy turned to see Ranma running quickly down the road.
"Ranma Saotome!" he shouted, turning on the boy and preparing to give chase. "Stop running away- get back here and take your-"
Unfortunately, he'd failed to note the reason Ranma was running in the first place- an enraged Akane in hot pursuit, waving a large wooden mallet with no regard to friend or foe. "Ranma, get back here, you jerk!"
*CRACK!*
Akane froze as she felt the mallet connect with something that very clearly wasn't Ranma. Looking, she saw Ryoga, passed out on the ground. "Oh, Ryoga!" she gasped, bending over. "Are you alright?"
"Ha fa fingishgoobin," Ryoga muttered before passing out, no doubt owing to the large lump forming on his head. Akane felt guilt surge through her, overcoming her previous rage, and eventually bent down to lift Ryoga over her shoulder.
XXXX
"Oh, dear, what happened?" Kasumi asked, hand over her mouth, as Akane entered the Tendo dojo with an unconscious Ryoga over her shoulder.
"I found him like this," Akane lied. "He didn't look well, so I carried him home."
"I see," Kasumi said, putting a hand to the boy's forehead and feeling the lump. "I suppose we can get him a room upstairs..."
Akane nodded as the door slid open and Ranma entered the room. "Oh, hey, Ryoga's here," the boy noted, eyebrows raised, as his eyes slid over the boy currently passed out on the ground. "Thought I saw him earlier." Examining the bump on his head, he added, "So, let me guess... you got him on accident, didn't you?"
"Wh- what- what are you talking about?" Akane asked, ears reddening.
"And that means yes," Ranma nodded.
"You mean, you did?" Kasumi gasped, hand returning to mouth. "Akane, haven't I asked you not to strike others in anger?"
"It's alright, the tomboy can't help it," Ranma shrugged, patting her on the back.
Akane's temper flared up once more. "Ranma, you jerk!" she yelled, striking him across the face and knocking him to the floor.
"Akane!" Kasumi intervened. "You can't handle all your problems with violence like this!"
Akane, still seeing red, said nothing.
"Maybe you should get out for a while," Kasumi suggested. "I was planning on making curry tonight. Could you go out and pick up ingredients?"
Akane gave a curt nod, then turned and stormed out through the front door.
After she'd left, Ranma slowly rose to his feet. "Geez, what's her problem?"
"That's just the way she is..." Kasmui quietly responded, gazing after her younger sister. "She's a little high-spirited..."
"High-spirited is right," Ranma muttered.
The two were distracted by a groan on the ground. Looking down, they saw Ryoga stirring. "What happened?" he groaned again, pulling himself to his feet. "Ranma? Where-"
"Long story short," Ranma said quickly. "You got hit in the head by the tomboy, she felt bad for you and dragged you back here to rest and recover."
Only one word of this seemed to have registered with Ryoga. "Tomboy?" he asked, anger starting to flare in his eyes. "You- you don't talk about Akane like that!"
"Whoah, buddy, calm down!" Ranma said quickly as he dodged a strike from the lost boy's umbrella.
"I chase you all the way here, and now you won't even fight me properly? Come on, fight me like a man for once, Ranma!"
"Calm down, you've still got that lump on your head-"
*Ding-Dong.*
Both of the boys, along with Kasumi, turned at the sound of the doorbell. Ryoga slowly stopped his offensive, turning to gaze in the door's direction.
"Were we expecting visitors today?" Ranma asked, turning to Kasumi.
"Not that I was aware of," Kasumi shook her head.
Ranma and Ryoga, calling a temporary truce, turned and walked to the front door. Opening it, they saw a small group on the other side of the threshold. At the head was a woman Ranma recognized from earlier. "Hey, you're that Wu Ya person, right?" he asked, snapping his fingers.
"That's me," Wu Ya nodded. "Is Akane Tendo in at the moment?"
"Nah, she just left," Ranma shook his head. "She should be back soon. That a problem?"
"No, no problem at all," Wu Ya spoke with a voice that sounded almost like poisoned honey. "Mind if me and my boys come in for a moment?"
XXXX
Akane stormed down the Nerima marketplace, angrily taking the ingredients her sister needed and paying for them with equal vigor. She only stopped her mild rampage when she saw something that allowed her to focus her anger a little better. Down an alley, a pair of kids were being cornered by a group of thugs.
"T-Tamara... I'm scared," the boy, young with dirty brown hair, was saying.
"Come on, guys, back off of Galen," the girl, slightly shorter with long, blond hair, said, raising her hands.
"Not until he gives us the money he owes us," the leader of the thugs growled, cracking his knuckles.
"I- I don't even know these guys!" the boy, Galen, said, sounding more and more afraid by the second.
"Out of our way!" the thugs growled before proceeding to grab Tamara and beat her to a pulp.
"Tamara! NOOOOO!" Galen cried out, incapable of doing anything but watching.
"Hey!" Akane cried out, not finding herself capable of just standing there and watching anymore. "Why don't you jerks pick on someone your own size?!"
The thugs turned to her- they were all dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, styled a deep shade of blue. Something about the outfit looked familiar to her...
"What's it to you, girly?" one of them leered at her.
Akane thought for a moment, trying to place where she'd seen those clothes before. "Do... do you know a woman named Wu Ya?" she asked.
"Oh, so you know the boss, huh?" the thugs' leader grinned. "Aren't you special?"
"Wh- your boss?" Akane asked, taken aback. "Does she know you're doing stuff like this?!"
"Are you kidding? She's the one who told us to hit up the marketplace," the thug grinned. "Now, why don't you just beat it?"
"I don't think so," Akane grimaced, stepping between the thugs and Galen. "If you want to hurt these two, you'll have to go through me, first!"
What ensued was an alleyway brawl, during which many blows were exchanged, until Akane stood triumphant as the thugs fled. "You'll pay for this!" they cried out. "You'll pay!"
Akane spit savagely on the sidewalk. "Yeah, try again any time," she muttered. "I'll take you on whenever." Adjusting her voice to a more gentle tone, she turned to see Galen kneeling over Tamara's limp form.
"She- she's hurt badly." The boy's voice was trembling.
Akane felt a surge of sympathy. "There's a doctor not far from here- Doctor Tofu. He can heal just about anybody. Tell him I sent you."
Still sniffling, Galen quietly lifted Tamara over his shoulder and ran off down the marketplace, Akane watching him go. Slowly, her anger dying down, she continued with her shopping.
XXXX
Akane knew, even as she approached her dojo, that something wasn't right. The front door was open, despite Kasumi's usual insistence that it stay closed at all times. The yard was wrecked, and it was somehow too quiet for what it normally was. Nobody in the yard, no Ranma sparring with his father, no battle raging between Ranma and Ryoga...
Stepping in, she looked around. The inside of the building was a mess. Tables were broken and overturned, shelves were on the ground, and hardly anything seemed like it was in its proper place. "Hello?" she asked, shuddering at the nervousness in her own voice. "Anybody?"
"Akane!" came a voice from the steps, and Akane looked up to see Kasumi descending the steps. "You're back!"
"What happened here?" Akane asked, looking around. "It's like this place has been ransacked..."
"There was a visitor- that woman, Wu Ya- and she-"
Remembering what she'd discovered about Wu Ya and her school earlier, Akane's blood froze. "Where's Ranma?" she asked.
"In the kitchen, but-"
Akane didn't wait to hear the rest of the sentence before dashing into the kitchen, where Ryoga knelt over a limp form on the floor. He moved very slowly as he noticed her entrance. His head turned slowly up to her, and his voice, when he spoke, sounded hollow. "H... he's not... he's not breathing."
XXXX
Akane wasted no time in carting Ranma over to Doctor Tofu- the very doctor she'd recommended to Galen. When she arrived, she was disappointed that the doctor didn't hold much hope.
"These wounds... these are beyond anything I've seen before," the doctor noted, eyes wide behind his glasses. "Who- who did this to him?"
"Another school," Akane explained briefly. "But- you can save him, can't you? You can save anybody!"
Tofu caved under her desperate gaze. "I- I'll do everything I can," he promised. "But I can't guarantee anything..."
XXXX
And so it was that that night found Akane lying awake in her room, staring up at the ceiling. Ranma had still not returned from the doctor's- he hadn't even woken up. Try as she might to sleep, she simply couldn't. Finally, she rose to her feet, got dressed as quietly as she could, and left her room, tiptoeing down the stairs, out the front door, and into the night.
She walked down the darkened streets, lit only by the occasional streetlight, only stopping when she looked up and saw the very building she'd been thinking of in front of her. Her feet seemed to have guided her here without her own input- though she wasn't complaining.
Before her stood Wu Ya's school of martial arts. She glared up at it, her fists clenching and unclenching. Finally, she rushed forward, breaking down the front door and charging in.
A group of people stood in the first room, all dressed in the same uniform- the chinese clothing colored a deep blue. Akane struck swiftly and without mercy- they didn't stand a chance. One by one, she tore through the rooms, taking out everyone she met with no pity. Her fists were beginning to ache, but she felt a savage joy in it. These people had crossed a line, and she was here with a vengeance.
Finally, she burst into a long room containing a table at which sat almost twenty more students, and at the head, sitting in front of a large gong, was Wu Ya. "Ah," the woman said, standing. "Akane. How nice to see you. I was wondering if you'd grace us with your presence tonight."
"Cut the crap!" Akane shouted. "Why? Why did you do it? Why did you attack my dojo?! Why did you order your people to attack the marketplace?"
"Lots of questions in such a short time," Wu Ya smiled. "You really don't understand anything, do you? I had to teach you a lesson about true martial arts."
"True martial arts?"
"You seem to be under the delusion that martial arts are for helping those too weak to help themselves. You couldn't be more wrong- martial arts is all about strength. Those who are strong have a right to rule over those who are weak- it is simply the way of things. I thought you would be able to see that, but it seemed you needed a bit of a push in the right direction- hence, the attack."
Akane was seeing red. She let out a loud curse and began leaping over the table directly for her quarry, only to be attacked by all of Wu Ya's students around the table. She tried to fight her way through them, but found herself subdued by sheer force of numbers.
Finally, Akane collapsed to the ground, nursing a black eye, and with blood freely flowing from her mouth and nose. Panting, she gasped out, "How... how did I get into this mess?"
Looking up, she saw Wu Ya approaching. "Do you see now?" she asked, grabbing onto Akane's hair and pulling her head back as though intending to slit her throat. "How worthless you are? Martial arts are about strength, not any sort of idealistic crap like protecting the innocent. Now for your final demonstration."
Akane closed her eyes in quiet acceptance as Wu Ya prepared the final blow...
"Hey!" came a shout from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Ryoga standing there, panting, but looking ready to fight. "You're not giving up that easy, are you?" he called out. "Not to these punks?"
"Who are you?" Wu Ya asked, narrowing her eyes in distaste.
"Just a friend," Ryoga said as he prepared his umbrella for battle. "Come on, Akane, you've got more talent in your pinky than most of these guys have in their whole bodies!"
"Why, you-" one of the thugs growled, lashing out, only to find his face being slammed into by an umbrella weighing over fifty pounds.
"Why does it matter what this moron says?" Ryoga continued as though there had been no interruption. "Did you forget what she did? To you? To Ranma? You won't let her get away with that, will you?"
"Shut up!" Wu Ya shouted, and, with a snap of her fingers, the rest of the students in the room leapt forward to attack him.
"Ryoga!" Akane cried, leaping to her feet.
"I'm fine on my own!" Ryoga shouted back as he began fighting them- and indeed, though they were landing plenty of blows, he didn't even seem to feel them. "Did you forget my training? You focus on Wu Ya!"
Akane closed her eyes briefly, then turned to the leader of the school herself. Wu Ya grinned nastily- Akane wasn't sure she'd ever seen less joy in a smile.
"You think you can challenge me, little girl?" the woman glowered. "Then attack!"
Akane gladly did so, leaping forward. Wu Ya struck first, landing blow after blow on her opponent, but in her fury, Akane hardly noticed. Every time she threw a punch, she packed all the strength into it that she could, hitting with all the force she could muster. Slowly, she began to drive Wu Ya backwards, and she felt a savage satisfaction at the note of fear in her opponent's eyes as she began to realize that she was outclassed. Finally, she struck the final blow, preparing for a moment, then lashing out with a roundhouse kick, channeling all her energy down her leg, through her foot, and into Wu Ya's chest. The woman went flying backwards, crashing- with many a nasty cracking noise- into the gong behind her. A loud note sounded from the gong as Wu Ya collapsed to the floor, unmoving. Akane didn't know what would become of her, and, at this point, didn't particularly care. Turning, she saw Ryoga standing triumphant over the unconscious forms of the rest of the martial artists from the school.
"How did you know I was here?" she finally asked.
"Followed," Ryoga responded. "I thought... I thought you might try something like this. To be honest, I wanted to, also. So I followed you here."
Akane would have said more, but she was tired. Slowly, she beckoned Ryoga to follow her, and the two of them left the school, heading off into the night.
XXXX
The next day, Akane paid a visit to Doctor Tofu's. Tofu had a bright smile gracing his face as he turned to face her.
"He's going to pull through!" he said jovially.
"Really?" Akane grinned. "That's great!"
She pushed her way past him into the room where Ranma was still laying in his bed, though he was, at least, awake, and leaned up a little as he saw her enter. "Akane!" he said quickly. "Listen, it's that Wu Ya woman, she's-"
"I know," Akane nodded. "But... I already took care of her."
"You- you did?"
"With some help from Ryoga," Akane acknowledged, "but in the end, I fought her alone."
"How'd it go?"
"She won't be bothering anyone else for a good, long while," Akane smiled.
"Oh, really?" Ranma smiled, reclining back into his bed. "That's... that's great to hear. Nice... nice job, Akane."
"Thanks... Ranma," Akane said, a smile warmer than anything she'd felt lately sliding across her face.
XXXX
Once again, first attempt at writing for a fandom, and I feel like it went pretty well. (Too bad I couldn't grammatically say 'pretty good' and give you an Ocelot gesture...) And thus ends another chapter of Live Alive. See you guys next time! In the meantime, please R&R, constructive criticism will be used to improve the story to be the best it can be, flames will be delegated to my woodstove, Gamer4 out!