Cats and Cosmetology
Genma made sure his son was properly bound, gagged, and covered in fish sausage before tossing him into the pit and kicking closed the lid. The instinctive dodge at the brief smell of ozone was all that saved him from the bolt of lightning a moment later.
*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*
Urd's Well - bar and grill
"Die! Die! Die!" screamed an angry young goddess as she shot lightning bolts from a large metal warhammer into the pool in front of her.
Raiden was embedded in the wall and in no position to stop her, nor was Thor, as he was curled up in a fetal position on the ground.
"Any more bright ideas?" Urd snapped at Peorth.
"I thought a couple of first class gods could handle a measly second class goddess," Peorth snorted. "Forgive me!"
"Do you see any limiters on her? No, because this isn't Earth. Meaning all the classifications refer to control not power, and when it comes to power... not much stops the future," Urd replied dryly.
"Aren't you going to help?" Peorth asked Belldandy.
Belldandy sipped her tea calmly at one of the tables surrounding the divining pool. "I think Skuld has everything well in hand."
Aries stood there, fascinated by how everyone had reacted as opposed to how he thought they would, and realized he was missing some vital pieces of information.
"Are you going to help or just stand there?" Urd demanded.
Aries nodded agreeably and calmly walked over to Skuld's side. "Stop throwing where he is and aim for where he's heading," he suggested. "Much better. Don't' hit him again until he can actually feel it. Instead, aim for the edge of the pit. If you are careful, you can collapse a corner of it and break the covering so he can get out. Excellent."
Skuld's eyes narrowed as she saw a bloody form climb out of the pit carrying a kitten in his mouth.
"The fat man can feel pain again, but it might scare the boy off in his berserk state," Aries warned.
*ZAP!*
"Any place is better than with that... thing!" Skuld said, finally calming down.
The two watched the boy carrying the kitten in silence.
Aries waved a hand over the well and a small section started playing the boy's life from the beginning.
*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*
"That boy has amazing potential," Aries said thoughtfully.
"That boy has a hairball," Peorth said dryly, as she tried to rouse Raiden while Ranma coughed up a bit of fur from bathing his kitten.
"That boy is mine," Skuld said possessively, the hammer she took from Thor crackling as she stared fixedly at the boy cuddling with the kitten.
"Bast owes me a small favor I have no use for," Aries said thoughtfully, "and I have connections to a shrine nearby that can take the boy in while he recovers."
"What's your angle?" Urd asked suspiciously.
"I want to see the boy grow into his full potential," Aries replied absently.
"So you're going to harass him like you do other mortals who have caught your eye?"
Aries snorted. "Spare me the lectures of your flawed morality. Growth causes pain, whether you like it or not, and it's the struggle to live the life you choose that makes life worth living!"
"So you must consider Genma a wonderful father then," Urd sneered.
"In fact, he is a wonderful father for trying to make Ranma the best he can be," Aries said, drawing stunned looks from everyone conscious. "He has his flaws, but he is doing the best he can. The main problem is that his time under Happosai has made him think pain causes growth, which simply isn't true."
"Just because the birds sit in their nest when it rains doesn't mean it rains because the birds are sitting in their nests," Belldandy said thoughtfully.
Aries nodded. "He loves his son and wants what's best for him, but he's a bit of an idiot. Someone needs to watch him to make sure this type of idiocy doesn't happen again."
"We aren't supposed to interfere in mortal lives too often, as they need to make their own mistakes and find their own paths," Belldandy said softly.
Aries nodded. "Then we won't. Everyone watches when they have the chance and everyone interferes as little as possible, so no single god or goddess has too much influence. Free will is preserved, but at the same time we prevent needless suffering. Note I said needless, not all suffering. If we coddle him too much, he'll never grow and we might as well kill him now since the effect will be the same."
"I agree," Belldandy spoke up.
"I suppose that works," Peorth admitted.
"Fine," Urd acquiesced.
"Suffering tends to spread," Skuld said softly and Aries felt a chill run down his spine. He nodded slowly to her, acknowledging the threat.
*Ranma and his kitten at the Hino shrine.
*Four years later at the pools of Jusenkyo.
*Genma, in his lightning proof outfit, training Ranma.
*Something else.
Typing by: Ordieth!
AN: Bast's Addventure board is a bit screwed right now so it never got posted.
