Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or anything remotely having to do with Ranma. This is a fan fiction created for my own enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others. A lot of the other characters, however, I do own, such as the soldiers, technology, science, magic, and names of the Chaos Empire. If you want to use them, at least ask first.
Also, feel free to review, ask questions, or even flame the story if you don't like it. At least have a point when you review though. Saying it sucks doesn't really do anything other than waste my time. Tell me WHY it sucks and help me to change it. To everyone else, enjoy my first attempt at Fan Fiction.
Authors note: Special thanks to all those that caught my misspelling of Wounded Tiger. Spellchecker doesn't catch words if they're spelled correctly. I've rechecked the story and made some corrections. I'll make sure to check more carefully next time.
Genma was in the back yard, going through a set of katas that he hadn't done in years. The moves came to him easily enough, his body still remembering the long years of training he endured under the master. He shuddered as he thought of some of those training methods, of the long hours of running, of the nights spent in jail paying for their master's appetites. Why couldn't that stubborn boy appreciate his training as much as Genma had?
The fat man cursed under his breath as he grudgingly realized how much he had let his training slide over the ten years of his son's absence. With his boy dead, there had been no reason to continue training. His life was forfeit if Nodoka had ever tracked him down, so he had been careful to make sure that his activities could never make it back to the Saotome household.
Then the boy had returned from the dead, trained and with an utter lack of respect for his father. Thus the renewed training. Unfortunately, simple katas wasn't going to cut it this time. The boy had advanced too far for his own good. Genma's future was at stake. How could he relax in his old age if the boy didn't marry a Tendo. Only Soun understood what Genma had been through. Only Soun was there with the master. Together they had banished that demon and together they had made their pact. Only Soun…
Genma stopped in mid move, his fist still extended in front of him. His old friend had as much invested in this union as he himself did. They had spent these last ten years lamenting the loss of Ranma. Soun understood the depths of suffering. Soun also knew the art of Anything Goes. Together, they could renew their training. Then they could return and show the boy his proper place.
He was distracted by the sound of the front door opening. The voice of his son drifted through the house. Genma made his way inside, to find the boy greeted by his mother, who was asking all sorts of questions about a date. Genma decided to add his own two cents.
"So boy, how was your date? Which one of the Tendo girls was it? And where will you be holding the ceremony?"
The withering gaze that Ranma gave his father should have flayed the skin from his flesh. Fortunately for the old man, Ranma wasn't given lethal authority while on leave, something he was grateful for. He didn't need the stress or the paper work. Instead, Ranma let a feral grin spread across his face as he turned his entire attention to his pops.
"Actually pops, it was a girl from school named Sakura, not that it's any of your business. And before you go off spouting about the uniting of the schools or anything like that, I happened to run into another one of your little promises. Does the name Ukyo ring a bell?"
Genma froze mid rant. The image of a cart flashed through his mind, instantly lost amongst the jumbles of martial arts techniques and various plans to get out of trouble. Unfortunately, this one never had a contingency plan. Instead, he had to fall back on his tried and true technique. Blame the boy.
"Why Ranma, how could you do such a thing to your father? No doubt that Ukyo girl has filled your head with all sorts of nonsense. Who would you believe? Some person you haven't seen in ten years, or your own father?"
Ranma just laughed out loud. "You forget pops, I haven't seen you in the last ten years either, and the last time I did, I was trying to kill you. Or did you forget?"
Genma mentally cursed. He was trying to forget that part and damn the boy for constantly reminding him. What happens in the past doesn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the future of Genma and his retirement. He couldn't let one willful boy ruin everything.
"Listen here boy. Enough with this foolish nonsense of dating other girls. The only people you need to be concerned with are the three Tendos. I just know that you and Akane will be happy together."
By this time, Nodoka was looking at her husband in utter shock. Sure, he had mentioned the Tendos during their 'talk' the night Ranma brought him home finally, but Nodoka thought the boy should be able to choose his own bride. Although she wasn't opposed to some sort of union with the Tendo clan. She had been good friends with Kimiko, back when she was still alive. When she died, Nodoka had drifted away from the family. She was regretting that now, especially after finding out that her husband had been hiding out there. Even after ten years of frustration, knowing he had been so close was enough to keep her from performing her wifely duties to her husband, or even offering. Although she still thought her son needed some siblings.
Nodoka firmly took control of her day dreaming before she rushed off into fantasy land. There were things that needed to be settled here and now. While Ranma and her husband argued about the Tendo girls, Nodoka slowly unwrapped her ever present cloth bundle. The hilt of a katana became revealed and suddenly an aura of fear filled the room. Ranma nearly clutched his head in pain and the power of the fear that rolled in waves from his pops. He had to back away from the man and turned to look at his mother, only to see her with a sheathed katana in her hands.
"Genma Saotome. I find you unfit and derelict in your duty to raise our son as a man amongst men. Not only did you abandon your duty, but when our sun returned, you continued to ignore your duty. I name you unfit and call your contract due."
The fat man trembled and tried to back away but found himself trapped in the powerful grip of his son. Ranma looked from his pops to his mom, confused at what was going on. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
Nodoka made her way to the framed finger painting on the wall, her eyes never leaving Genma for a moment. She took down the painting and placed it on the table. "As a condition for letting your father take you on the training trip, he and you both signed this contract. It states that if Genma fails to raise you to be a man amongst men, then you would both commit ritual suicide."
Ranma looked at his mother in shock, dropped his father from his suddenly nerveless hand. Ritual suicide? This can't be. He looked down at his father, who was cowering on the ground. Sure his father was a disappointment and sure Ranma wanted to kick the living snot out of him every day, but killing was so permanent. Death never solved anything.
Genma looked frantically around, searching for some form of escape. He didn't stand a chance against his wife, not once she had the katana in her hands. All the doors were closed. There was only one option. The dreaded Crouch of the Wounded Tiger. It was a desperate move but the only one he had left.
He got himself into his stand, kneeling on the floor with his head bowed to the ground, facing his wife. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He bowed continuously to Nodoka, saying he was sorry over and over.
Nodoka's face became stern as looked at her husband's prostrate form. A coward in the end. She lifted the katana into the air, pausing for a moment, and then swung down with all her strength. Blood sprayed into the air but the blade stopped way before it should have. She looked up and straight into the eyes of her son, those steely blue eyes that seemed so sharp, like the cold ice of the north, so cold it burns. A sharp tug on the katana pulled it from her grasp and she looked down to see the blade held firmly in Ranma's grasp, blood running from his closed fist to drip onto the floor. She gasped softly as she backed away from her son's stare.
Ranma struggled with his inner turmoil. He could feel the sharp blade of the katana cutting into his fingers as his grip tightened, but he felt himself unable to let go or relax his grip. His mind flashed back to a memory from one of his missions but he ruthlessly suppressed his thoughts. It was not going to turn out that way. He wouldn't let it. As much as he hated his pops for his greed and for abandoning his mother, killing him would not make it right.
Genma stared at the ground, at the drops of splattered blood. Blood that wasn't his. And his head was still attached. The boy had saved him. That meant the boy still respected him. That thought went right out of his head though, as the words the boy spoke sent chills throughout his body.
"Killing him isn't enough."
Nodoka and Genma both looked up Ranma, at the sheer void of emotion in the voice. Neither knew what to say and for once were unusually quiet.
"Pops doesn't deserve to die. It's too easy of a way out for him. And I don't think the authorities would turn a blind eye to a woman killing her husband in cold blood. Ritual suicide isn't as recognized as it once was.
"Pops left behind my best friend, my only friend, abandoned her in the woods, all so that he could steal a cart of food, which lasted only two days. He engaged me to that girl, knowing he would break the engagement. He's engaged me to the Tendos, no doubt with the same intentions. Who knows how many promises he has made and broken. No one but him. And I intend to see that he pays justice for what he has done. He can't do that if he's dead.
"I'm taking him with me tomorrow to see Ukyo, so that he can start working off his debt to her. When he survives that, I'll take him over to the Tendos and give him to Akane. Then I'm going to find each and every person that pops has tricked, and hand him over to them, one at a time. If this takes my entire leave, then so be it."
Ranma finally relaxed his grip on the katana, taking the hilt in his other hand and holding blade away from him. The metal was warped and twisted from his grip. A flash of hot ki engulfed his other hand in flames, cleaning the cut and clearing away the blood on his hand. His mother finally broke loose from her shock and rushed into the kitchen for some clean cloth to wrap Ranma's hand. Genma stayed kneeled on the floor, digesting what his son had just said. By the time Nodoka had returned, Genma had begun inching his way towards the back door.
Ranma speared Genma with a glare, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't go too far pops. I'm through playing with you. You won't be happy if I have to track you down." Genma just nodded and dashed out the door.
Nodoka feared to look up at her son as she gently wrapped up his hand. She didn't know what her reaction would be. But she had to ask. "Why did you stop me? Why did you risk yourself for that man? I know what you've already said, but I want to hear it again. Why?" She finally looked up, into the blue eyes that had once been so innocent, all those long years ago.
Ranma looked at his mother, his steely blue eyes fairly glowing with the intensity of his gaze. "He wasn't worth it. Our family honor is more important than just pops. I may love him because he was part of what brought me into this world, but he lost my respect before I left him behind for the military. I've done things and seen things that I wish I could erase. But for all of those things, I have never let someone die if I could help it. A martial artist protects the weak. One of the few things that pops ever taught me that I believe. Right now, pops is one of those weak that need protecting, so I must protect him, even from you mother. However, that doesn't mean that I'll forgive him. What he did to Ukyo and who knows how many others, needs to be rectified."
Nodoka nodded her head, a slow, pleased smile spreading across her face. She picked up the contract and promptly tore it half, then into smaller and smaller pieces, then placed those pieces in a neat pile on the table. Turning to her son, she gave him a smile that seemed to brighten the room, even through his cold stare.
"You have proven yourself this day, to be a man among men. There is only one more step for you to take."
Ranma tilted his head, listening closely to what his mother was about to say.
"You have to make me lots and lots of grandchildren."
Ranma nearly fell flat on his face in shocked awe. At a time like this, his mother could think about him having kids. Not just one kid, but lots and lots of them. In spite of himself, he found his cold resolve breaking down and he had to smile at his mother. Not that he was planning on fulfilling that request any time soon. Women were just too weird.
A knock at the door broke Ranma from his musing. He watched his mother leave to answer the door, leaving the katana on the table. Ranma reached out to the katana, taking a moment to really examine the blade. It was finely crafted steel, a rare work of art. He regretted the damage he has caused to it but knew that he couldn't allow his mother to commit murder. Because Ranma was so absorbed in the blade, he can be forgiven for not sensing the pair of familiar auras that entered the home. He could even be forgiven for not noticing a particular one of those auras. Had he been paying attention, he would have been out the door and on his way to the high hills as fast as his incredible legs could take him. Instead, he allowed himself to be caught unguarded as his mother led two people into the room.
He recognized both. The first stood nearly six feet tall, dressed in a military uniform that matched Ranma's own, only with an additional black cape that seemed to swirl around her even in the still air of the room. Her eyes seemed to glow with an inner power and she practically radiated power. However, it wasn't her that made Ranma's heart start to hammer in his chest.
It was the slightly shorter furry cat girl, who was the one that sent the spike of fear through his heart. She smiled at him, like the cat that had just caught her favorite mouse. She pounced at Ranma, uttering the words that he feared more than any other.
"Hello Mate Ranma!"
Author's Notes:
First, I would like to thank all of my readers that leave reviews. Nothing makes me happier than to see new reviews waiting for me every day. One of the reasons I try to update so fast. If you ever have questions you want answers to, just write a review and I'll see what I can do about answering it for you.
I would also like to point out that I do not know how the Japanese school system works and that I apologize for any discrepancies between my representation and reality. For any differences that you see, we'll just say it is because we are in an alternate universe and leave it at that, at least in terms of the school system. Instead, I'll base it off the American System, which was what I had to struggle through way back in the day.
Before I continue this story, I would like to point out that I still have not decided on the match ups, except for Ukyo/Ryoga as you have already seen. The only thing I have done, is eliminated Akane and Kasumi as match up candidates. I may pair Ranma up with more than one person, maybe more than one at a time. I'm still undecided, but I would like to know what you people think. My current plan is to just let Ranma go through life and see what happens.
I also don't plan on keeping him in Nerima the entire time. Eventually, he will be recalled into service. However, there is plenty that can happen before that time arrives, as we have already seen. This is only the third day back on Earth for Ranma and look at how much has already happened.
I have some questions though that I need you good people to help me with. You've already seen that Ryoga still have that unreasonable streak in him. We've also seen that his current power level is nowhere near Ranma's, since he hasn't had an opponent like Ranma to challenge him, only Ukyo. Who would like to see Ryoga get a power up from some of Ranma's enemies?
My other question, is how much devastation should I bring to Nerima? There are some massively powerful groups out there that would like nothing more than to get a shot at Ranma without the protection of the fleet. However, said groups and used to fighting on much larger scales than your average Nerima battle. Buildings get destroyed, hundreds of lives ended, all to kill one man. What do you people think?
