The Cycles of Life and Death
Prologue: Changes
It was a mostly quiet, typically humid spring Saturday afternoon in
Nerima, and all at the Tendo Dojo was as it usually was. Soun and Genma
engaged in a lively if somewhat devious game of Shogi, each trying desperately
to outdo the other with distractive tactics that would have made even the most
illustrious Diamyo tremble. Kasumi happily hummed to herself in the kitchen, as
she prepared her famous Sukiyaki, known throughout town as being better than
what one could receive at even the Kat café. And sipping at a cup quietly in the
dining room was Nabiki, completely oblivious to anything around her, save her
tea, and a particularly engrossing Shoujo manga.
But every so often, shattering this blissful calm, was a loud,
thundering boom.
Respective members of the Tendo household paused their activities
for a moment only, each looking in the direction of the dojo. In the dining room,
Nabikibriefly rolled her eyes to the ceiling, shook her head, and steadied her
teetering mug of tea. She then turned the page of her favorite Manga and lost
herself in reading again.
In the kitchen, Kasumi let out a small laugh, and sighed.
"So energetic," she mused, stirring simmering ingredients in the pot
before her.
And in the parlor, Soun grunted, unfolded his arms, then decided on a
particularly devastating move for his current shogi piece in play. Genma arranged
his crooked glasses.
"Saotome," Soun began, noticeably irritated. "If those two don't learn
to be more careful, there won't be a Dojo left for them to inherit. Much less
anything to take care of us in, in our old age."
"You said it Tendo. We must speak with Akane, about her aggressive
tendencies."
"What!? How dare you-" Soun began to huff, but then changed tactics.
"Look Saotome, a 100 yen coin!" Looking excited, Soun pointed in a somewhat
vague direction behind Genma, causing the greedy Martial Artist to swerve around
in earnest.
"Where? Where! ROWLF!"
"Ha ha Saotome, made you look." Soun smirked as he thumped the
trusty bucket back into its hiding place. "Oh would you look at this, I've won!"
Turning back to the game, Genma Panda held up a sign.
"Cheater," it said.
"Now now, Saotome. Remember, it's Anything Goes Shogi in this
house."
"Rowlf."
And inside the Dojo proper, from where the offending noise had
erupted, Akane was in a frenzy as she unsuccessfully tried to land a hit on one,
smug, pigtailed martial Artist, by the name of Ranma Saotome.
"JUST-" Akane swiped, Ranma ducked.
"YOU-" Akane kicked, Ranma swerved.
"WAIT-" Akane punched, Ranma sidestepped.
"RANMAAAAAAA!! KAI-YAAAA!!!" Akane gave it her all,
leaping in the air with a full out flying roundhouse kick aimed at right at Ranma's
head.
And she missed.
BOOOOM.
"Geez Akane, keep that up and there ain't gonna BE a dojo left!"
"Ranma no Baka!!!" Akane stood up, dusted herself off, and marched
over to where Ranma stood. The heat of Akane's fury burned in her eyes; pent up
and ready to be released. Most likely on Ranma's head, and probably in the form
of her deadly Magic Mallet.
Ranma still hadn't managed to figure out where she hid that thing.
One day.
"Hey whatcha gettin' all mad at me for?" Ranma stood unyielding, staring
Akane down calmly.
There was no defensiveness in his voice; no taunting or ridicule, and for
once something in Akane actually perceived it. Caught off guard, she held back on
producing the dreaded mallet, but only for the moment.
'Okay then, two could play that', Akane thought, tensing.
"As if you didn't know?" she breathed icily, leaning forward to stare him
down in return. She managed to suppress her fury only briefly, pushing it deep into
the recesses of... somewhere. "You've never taken me seriously as a martial artist
Ranma. How am I supposed to improve if you WON'T FIGHT ME??!!!"
The beast of her anger resurfaced, and The Hammer appeared, hovering
dangerously close to Ranma's head.
The pig-tailed boy stood his ground though, ready for this moment; the
correct time to make the shift. But, was HE ready to show her what it was to be a
true Martial Artist? It didn't matter; time was running out. He had to prepare her
for the journey to come; for what they would have to endure together. And so,
instead of his usual Tomboy Temper Triggering Taunt, what came out of his mouth
was,
"And WHY do you think I won't fight you, Akane?" Ranma finally relaxed
into his stance, folded his arms across his broad muscled chest, and cocked an
eyebrow at her. Sputtering, Akane's mallet wavered. She hadn't expected THAT.
And why was he so damned calm?!
Fury returned.
"Well, I don't know! You tell ME!!" Akane yelled, swinging with all her
might-
And hitting nothing but air.
A second passed and something blurred in front of her; then she found
herself staring at a broad sea of red silk. Her mallet was… stuck. Akane looked up to
met the calm blue eyes of Saotome Ranma, towering quietly above her, holding her
weapon inches from his head. His grip was firm. She couldn't budge.
They stood like that for a long moment, close yet not touching, drinking
in the heat of each other, but not really tasting it. Ranma broke the tension first.
"O.K. Akane, I'll make you a deal." Only the slightest hint of a smirk
reflected in Ranma's features.
Akane narrowed her eyes. The mallet disappeared. How does she do that?
Ranma wondered, reaching behind his head to scratch his scalp.
"What kind of a deal?" She asked, stepping back. She found herself fighting
against the magnetism of his closeness, not wanting to give into the feelings it produced.
She couldn't. Not just yet.
"Martial artist to martial artist." Akane boggled at him deer caught in the
headlights style, clearly taken aback. Never in their history, could she remember Ranma
having been THIS serious with her.
"Okay, what is it?" Akane blinked, tugged at the sleeve of her Gi, and shifted
uncomfortably, unsure of what to think.
"When you can hit me, I'll fight you."
"NANI!?" Akane began a slow burn.
"Hold it. Stop getting so mad Akane, and think about it for a minute." Ranma
gestured for her to sit, doing so himself in the process. When they were both comfortable,
he began again. "Just listen. And DON'T GET MAD; hear me out. Right now, your skills
obviously ain't no match for mine."
Akane Grumbled. "So what's your Point Saotome!?" she asked menacingly,
flexing a fist.
"The point is," said Ranma firmly, looking her straight in the eye, "You're
strong as an Ox, but slow as a sloth. You need speed. Speed and not getting' in your
own way. Not to mention, dedication. I WON'T fight you, not until you can at LEAST,
hit me." There was a silence between them then, and with each passing moment it grew
thicker with the sound of crickets, and the occasional warble of a back yard bird.
A small splash could be heard from a pond jumping Koi outside.
Then it dawned on her.
All those times she practiced with Ranma, she had never actually HIT him.
Not once. At least, not when she had been seriously trying to spar with him. The
Mallets didn't count. And her latest attempt. Did he mean-
"Now tell me: how are you going to seriously fight someone, when you can't
even hit 'em?"
Akane blinked back the tears that suddenly welled in her eyes.
"I- I guess you're right. I never thought… I didn't realize."
Ranma sat back from her then, watching the sadness that filled her posture. It
pained him to hurt her like this, but the time had come to cure Akane of any insecurities
she had about her Art. He stood up.
"Okay then," Ranma said firmly, extending a hand. Akane looked up forlornly,
shaking her head.
"Ranma, I can't. You just said yourself that I'm not-"
"What, so you're just gonna quit?" Ranma stood rigid with anger above her
sagging form. "No member of this Clan quits! We are the Heirs of the Anything Goes
School of Martial Arts. If this Dojo is to be the best in Japan, then WE have to be the
best."
As the words he spoke slowly sank in Akane's being, they began to race
through her like an unchecked fire. The feeling, it gave her- it was like a strange sort of
power. It surprised and terrified her at the same time.
"R- Ranma." She blinked up at him, momentarily at a loss for words. Her
posture straightened slightly. "Do you know what you're saying? Do you know… the
commitment you've just made?"
Ranma merely smiled. It was rare, and it was beautiful. It melted Akane's
heart.
"Of course I do."
"You've chosen then. Chosen me."
"I have," Ranma said bowing formally. "Inuzake."
Akane's hand flew to her mouth, to stifle the- There was this thing, caught in
throat. She couldn't tell if it was a sob or a laugh, she was so happy and so… petrified!
The implications were too much for her process at the moment; she needed time, to
think things through.
And then she thought about the Dojo.
"Alright then." Determination filled Akane, renewing her with fresh energy and
defiance. She could do it. She could do anything, with Ranma at her side.
"Just you wait, Ranma!" Akane flew into position, ignoring the proffered hand
Ranma extended.
"Two weeks." Ranma said, crossing his arms in front of his chest again. He
couldn't help himself. He had to smirk now.
Akane face faulted. "Excuse me?!"
"I said I'm givin' you two weeks. If you can't hit me in two weeks, then I'M
gonna be your Sensei, and I'm taking you to CHINA to train."
"Just who do you think you-"
"Do you wanna be taken seriously as a martial artist or dontcha?" The words
hung heavily in the air, waiting for a reply.
And then, something in Akane shifted. She didn't know why, or how. Instead
of the usual intense jealousy that filled her when confronted with Ranma's superior
confidence in his skills,she now only felt respect. She took one step back, and bowed
formally to him. When she met his eyes again, she could see the surprise and- was that
happiness in his face? A feeling of warmth filled her from head to toe.
'That's my Tomboy', Ranma thought. He sauntered a few steps back from her
position, taking up a ready fighting stance.
"Are you ready?"
Akane mirrored him. "Whenever you are."
"Then lets go."
* * *
Booom!
Kasumi frowned slightly at the dust and bits of wood that fell from the ceiling as
they settled into her teacup. She had joined Nabiki at the dining room table while the last
bit of dinner finished cooking, jotting down some new recipes from a cookbook Tofu had
given her, into her favorite notebook.
"Oh my."
Nabiki looked up from her Manga, and gave her sister a puzzled look. Was that,
an… edge? In Kasumi's voice?
"What is it, Kasumi?" Nabiki asked in her usual deadpan droll.
"This house really IS quite old." The tone of Kasumi's voice implied there
was moreto come, so Nabiki patiently waited as her elder sister carefully picked out a
particularly large chunk of ceiling that bobbed merrily in her cup of golden colored tea. "I'm
not really sure how much longerit can take this kind of abuse."
Nabiki raised her eyebrows at her sister.
"I think we should have a talk with them, before dinner." Kasumi finished, still frowning slightly
into her cup.
"You're right Kasumi. Don't worry. Ranma won't get away without paying
SOMEthing for the damage. He's already running up quite a tab." Nabiki smiled smugly,
waving an invisible piece of paper in the air.
Kasumi shook her head at her sister, giving her a motherly disapproving look.
"Nabiki. Sometimes I wonder at you."
Nabiki chuckled, eyeing her sister mischievously. "You'll thank me someday."
And with that, Nabiki went back to reading her manga.
Kasumi gave up on her tea, and went back to jotting down recipes.
In the next room, Soun and Genma Panda stared at the still trembling shogi board,
with trepidation.
"Saotome," Soun started. Genma Panda held up a sign.
"I know," it said. "I know." And Genma heaved a huge Panda sigh.
And passersby on the streets of Nerima could hear the distant, thundering
noises, cries of KAI-YAAA! and, Faster Tomboy! Come on! But they merely ignored
the noise, flying dust and debris from the aftershocks, and continued doing whatever it
was a Nerima denizen did on a balmy Saturday afternoon.
Because it was, after all, the Tendo Dojo.
This is my very first fanfic. What did you think?
All constructive feedback welcome to mala_chan@hotmail.com
Thanks!