This story, as so many before it, starts on a night.
It wasn't a rainy night, not even a cold one.
It wasn't particularly dark or quiet.
It wasn't peaceful as most nights go.
But it was night and a ground rule for Nerima was broken.
Ranma Saotome was awake.
Now being awake isn't unheard of, even in Nerima a place where ghosts walk the streets and world class martial artists destroy them, but there was a written rule everybody knew and nobody dared to inquiry: Ranma Saotome is a heavy sleeper.
How wrong the inhabitants of Nerima were for if Ranma appeared to be a heavy sleeper it was in fact caused by a lack of sleep in the first place. What, you don't believe me? Try sleeping next to a panda. A really loud snoring panda. Whom would steal your covers if you get distracted and sometimes even if you don't. Try to sleep with a battered body, with bruises covering bruises which covers scars. Try sleeping through the nightmares brought to you by a crazy training method made by your stupid father. Who, by the way, is the panda sleeping next to you.
Oh no, Ranma wasn't a heavy sleeper, he just got sleep whenever and wherever he could, be it a soft futon at the Tendou's guest room, a bench on a park, or even a desk at school.
But tonight it wasn't that Ranma was well rested, au contraire he was as tired as ever.
It just was that he couldn't sleep.
Not surprises there, uh?
The surprise would be the task he was doing instead of sleeping.
For you see, Ranma Saotome was thinking.
Yes, even he uses that single neuron form time to time outside of battle.
And he was remembering.
Which is just as hard a task as thinking.
For the if the former was a mental exercise used by every person on earth, the latter was a difficult task for when you remember you dream, and when you dream your hopes can be dashed. And if you lost hope, you become a dead man. And a dead man doesn't win. And don't winning is a concept as alien to him as astrophysics.
But Ranma was remembering, and thinking, trying to look at the things which amused Nabiki, trying to find the cause of Kasumi's 'Oh my', but above all else, trying to picture Akane's smile without remembering an insult thrown to him.
What do you say? Akane insults him because he deserves it? Well he was trying to find guilt then, and if you say it was because he lied to her, he was trying to find the exact moment when the lie came about.
But you can't find what isn't there. For the lie was an omission of truth instead of an alteration of the same. And he didn't lie, he just kept a secret.
As Akane keeps the secret about her mother's death.
As Kasumi keeps the secret about her innate niceness.
As Nabiki keeps the secret about her actual income.
As Genma kept the secret that Ranma's mother was alive.
As Nodoka still keeps the secret of why she married the fat moron in the first place.
And as the universe keeps the secret of life, so did Ranma keep his curse a secret.
Was it his fault Kasumi insisted on him taking a bath?
Was it his fault Akane walked in even knowing Ranma was already inside?
Was it his fault he wanted a friend, a place to call home and people that loved him?
Was it his fault he still had dreams?
Or was it just fate? Fate of never having a friend or a helping hand? Was he destined to never know the love of a mother or the subtle support of a father? Was his life already written before him the moment he was born? If so, Ranma had no choice but to agree to it, and then, surrender to fate.
But Ranma Saotome never surrenders. For to surrender is to lose, and Ranma Saotome doesn't lose!
With the exception being when he loses his friends.
A battle he could never win.
A battle he did never fight.
For Musabetsu Kakoutu Ryuu is a technique of the body, a path of the fists, of the warrior.
And he needs a path for the soul and the heart and the mind.
And to escape this loneliness which is eating him alive.
And so Ranma Saotome thought, and remembered, and smiled and cried.
And so Ranma Saotome started the path of the gods.
For he was flirting with the devil himself.
And as dawn approaches Nerima, and the first light of the sun brings new life to every house, and the songs of birds bring smiles to those who are able to hear them, and as Kasumi rises from bed to cook breakfast, and as Akane awakes to start her morning jog, Ranma Saotome lies down to sleep.
For a new day has come.
And Ranma Saotome has made a choice.
He won't lose!
******************************
I've seen so much
******************************
---------- Chapter one ----------
---------------------------------------- Sounds of despair ---------------
--------------------
Morning has come to the Tendo dojo as it does everyday, with the mouth watering scents of Kasumi's freshly cooked breakfast, with the tired moans coming from Nabiki's room, with the sight of one Tendo Soun, master of the house, tumbling down the hall to the bathroom. And with the complimentary cry of "You're getting sloppy boy! Time to train!" and as is usual for the dojo, with the sight of a young pigtailed man sailing through the air to land in the small and, until then, peaceful koi pond.
A splash, a couple curses thrown in for good measure, and two seconds later there's a young girl with vibrant red hair facing a burly, bald middle aged man and yelling "Whaddaya do that for oyaji!" and getting as the answer, as is typical, a kick to the head, or an attempt at one as the girl evades nimbly.
And so as the battle, although if you were to ask the participants they'd call it 'sparring', goes on in the backyard another young girl, with short blue-black hair, dressed in what appears to be jogging clothes, comes into the house, sweating.
And as this girl steps into the backyard and finishes the battle with a not- so-subtle cry of "Keep it down you morons!" and an even less subtle barbell thrown to the other girl's head, and as a bald man celebrates while chanting "That'll teach you to respect your elders boy!", and as a third girl steps into the porch overlooking the yard while shaking slightly her head and whispering something along the lines of "Saotome, Saotome.", and as a fourth girl hums a song to herself as she brings the plates out to eat, a gentle breeze blows, not caring in the slightly about the events happening here, and as the wind goes on it's way, all is quiet at the Tendo dojo, as it always is.
Or so Kasumi likes to think, and that's how Akane would usually define her house when there isn't any of Ranma's fiancées nearby, and this is how Nabiki commonly finds her home. But to a young god slayer named Ranma Saotome, this isn't peaceful.
As it hasn't been for more than a year.
And as he thinks while pretending to be unconscious, he cries.
Not with tears falling from his eyes.
Not sobbing loudly.
Not even a sigh is heard from him.
But the weeping is there, if hidden from view.
For a man amongst men doesn't cry. And so he thinks, and wishes, and resents, and laments, and rages, and curse, and despair.
But he doesn't cry.
And as his tears soil his soul something starts fading.
And when it fades completely, so will he.
But he doesn't care about it, in fact he seems to expect it.
For is a way out.
Without losing honor, or freedom, or his name, or his family.
For if he loses his life, what will be there to bind him?
But as he accepts this truth, and as his eyes open to a reality no one, not god or demon, wishes to be aware of. As he makes his first, and last, own decision. Life goes on.
And as life goes on, Ranma discovers his food plate empty, the furo cold and his mind numb.
And as Ranma weeps for that which is holding him, and that which will set him free, Nabiki leaves to school, and Kasumi cleans the dishes, and Genma in union with Soun start their never ending game of shoji, and Akane takes his pigtail and runs to school, dragging him behind with only the faint explanation of "Hurry baka we're going to be late!"
And so life for Ranma goes on, but he doesn't seem to realize, doesn't seem to even care.
For as Ryoga attacks him with his cry of "Ranma, prepare to die!" he doesn't acknowledge his presence, instead walking away from the battle without turning even once in his direction, for if his life is forfeit, then everything and everyone is too.
And as Ranma ignores the fanged boy's attack, and doesn't seem to mind Shampoo's embrace, and doesn't look Ukyo's way when in front of her restaurant, and as he doesn't answer any of Akane's questions thrown his way, the wind goes on traveling.
And wind brings change.
And change is about to happen, for Nerima has forgotten to forgive Ranma's faults, and the rivals seem to forget Ranma's prowess which allowed him to kill a god, and the fiancées don't see, or don't want to see, Ranma's indifference towards them, and Tofu is out of town, and Cologne is too busy trying to salvage Ranma's relationship towards Shampoo, and Happosai is too busy running from mad armed women, and the Kunos. go on with being Kunos.
And as the wind of change blows across Nerima, and a storm so strong none alive remember approaches the city's limit, the last string, the drop that broke through the glass that supply as Ranma's heart, the final bit of craziness left for the total annihilation of a hero's happiness is walking towards the Tendo dojo.
And as a knock sounds on the door and Kasumi goes to answer it, Ranma forgets life.
And when the only voice Ranma has ever heard talking to him in something akin to love is heard throughout the property.
The invincible heart of our hero stops.
For you see, Nodoka Saotome has come.
And she looks determined.
And the sword isn't wrapped in silk anymore. And the girl standing next to her doesn't seem to fare well for Ranma.
For the only words she spoke were: "Son, we need to talk."
And so, Ranma's life has met an end, against a foe he could never defeat.
A foe so powerful there's never been a technique able to even touch it.
A foe he has fought all his life.
A foe whom, ultimately, took his life in a final clash.
And whom destroyed him totally and ruthlessly.
A foe named simply Destiny.
A.N. This is set about a week after the wedding incident. And Ranma has been thinking a lot about his life. Name it depression, I call it reality. But oh well, who I am to determine how to call it? Oh yeah I'm the author. *insert evil laugh here* Who's the girl that came with Nodoka? What has Nodoka to tell to Ranma? Why is Ranma fighting destiny? Who is destiny? What is the secret ingredient of Coca Cola? If you're asking yourself the same questions then I may be doing a good job. And if you know the answer to the last one send it to me! No, really! No suing, please, Coca Cola and the Coca Cola's bottle design are copyright of The Coca Cola company. No offense meant to them. Ah! One last piece of nonsense coming outta my mouth. Drink water, lots and lots of water! End the big companies! Long life to water!!!! But please, save the beer!!!!!
It wasn't a rainy night, not even a cold one.
It wasn't particularly dark or quiet.
It wasn't peaceful as most nights go.
But it was night and a ground rule for Nerima was broken.
Ranma Saotome was awake.
Now being awake isn't unheard of, even in Nerima a place where ghosts walk the streets and world class martial artists destroy them, but there was a written rule everybody knew and nobody dared to inquiry: Ranma Saotome is a heavy sleeper.
How wrong the inhabitants of Nerima were for if Ranma appeared to be a heavy sleeper it was in fact caused by a lack of sleep in the first place. What, you don't believe me? Try sleeping next to a panda. A really loud snoring panda. Whom would steal your covers if you get distracted and sometimes even if you don't. Try to sleep with a battered body, with bruises covering bruises which covers scars. Try sleeping through the nightmares brought to you by a crazy training method made by your stupid father. Who, by the way, is the panda sleeping next to you.
Oh no, Ranma wasn't a heavy sleeper, he just got sleep whenever and wherever he could, be it a soft futon at the Tendou's guest room, a bench on a park, or even a desk at school.
But tonight it wasn't that Ranma was well rested, au contraire he was as tired as ever.
It just was that he couldn't sleep.
Not surprises there, uh?
The surprise would be the task he was doing instead of sleeping.
For you see, Ranma Saotome was thinking.
Yes, even he uses that single neuron form time to time outside of battle.
And he was remembering.
Which is just as hard a task as thinking.
For the if the former was a mental exercise used by every person on earth, the latter was a difficult task for when you remember you dream, and when you dream your hopes can be dashed. And if you lost hope, you become a dead man. And a dead man doesn't win. And don't winning is a concept as alien to him as astrophysics.
But Ranma was remembering, and thinking, trying to look at the things which amused Nabiki, trying to find the cause of Kasumi's 'Oh my', but above all else, trying to picture Akane's smile without remembering an insult thrown to him.
What do you say? Akane insults him because he deserves it? Well he was trying to find guilt then, and if you say it was because he lied to her, he was trying to find the exact moment when the lie came about.
But you can't find what isn't there. For the lie was an omission of truth instead of an alteration of the same. And he didn't lie, he just kept a secret.
As Akane keeps the secret about her mother's death.
As Kasumi keeps the secret about her innate niceness.
As Nabiki keeps the secret about her actual income.
As Genma kept the secret that Ranma's mother was alive.
As Nodoka still keeps the secret of why she married the fat moron in the first place.
And as the universe keeps the secret of life, so did Ranma keep his curse a secret.
Was it his fault Kasumi insisted on him taking a bath?
Was it his fault Akane walked in even knowing Ranma was already inside?
Was it his fault he wanted a friend, a place to call home and people that loved him?
Was it his fault he still had dreams?
Or was it just fate? Fate of never having a friend or a helping hand? Was he destined to never know the love of a mother or the subtle support of a father? Was his life already written before him the moment he was born? If so, Ranma had no choice but to agree to it, and then, surrender to fate.
But Ranma Saotome never surrenders. For to surrender is to lose, and Ranma Saotome doesn't lose!
With the exception being when he loses his friends.
A battle he could never win.
A battle he did never fight.
For Musabetsu Kakoutu Ryuu is a technique of the body, a path of the fists, of the warrior.
And he needs a path for the soul and the heart and the mind.
And to escape this loneliness which is eating him alive.
And so Ranma Saotome thought, and remembered, and smiled and cried.
And so Ranma Saotome started the path of the gods.
For he was flirting with the devil himself.
And as dawn approaches Nerima, and the first light of the sun brings new life to every house, and the songs of birds bring smiles to those who are able to hear them, and as Kasumi rises from bed to cook breakfast, and as Akane awakes to start her morning jog, Ranma Saotome lies down to sleep.
For a new day has come.
And Ranma Saotome has made a choice.
He won't lose!
******************************
I've seen so much
******************************
---------- Chapter one ----------
---------------------------------------- Sounds of despair ---------------
--------------------
Morning has come to the Tendo dojo as it does everyday, with the mouth watering scents of Kasumi's freshly cooked breakfast, with the tired moans coming from Nabiki's room, with the sight of one Tendo Soun, master of the house, tumbling down the hall to the bathroom. And with the complimentary cry of "You're getting sloppy boy! Time to train!" and as is usual for the dojo, with the sight of a young pigtailed man sailing through the air to land in the small and, until then, peaceful koi pond.
A splash, a couple curses thrown in for good measure, and two seconds later there's a young girl with vibrant red hair facing a burly, bald middle aged man and yelling "Whaddaya do that for oyaji!" and getting as the answer, as is typical, a kick to the head, or an attempt at one as the girl evades nimbly.
And so as the battle, although if you were to ask the participants they'd call it 'sparring', goes on in the backyard another young girl, with short blue-black hair, dressed in what appears to be jogging clothes, comes into the house, sweating.
And as this girl steps into the backyard and finishes the battle with a not- so-subtle cry of "Keep it down you morons!" and an even less subtle barbell thrown to the other girl's head, and as a bald man celebrates while chanting "That'll teach you to respect your elders boy!", and as a third girl steps into the porch overlooking the yard while shaking slightly her head and whispering something along the lines of "Saotome, Saotome.", and as a fourth girl hums a song to herself as she brings the plates out to eat, a gentle breeze blows, not caring in the slightly about the events happening here, and as the wind goes on it's way, all is quiet at the Tendo dojo, as it always is.
Or so Kasumi likes to think, and that's how Akane would usually define her house when there isn't any of Ranma's fiancées nearby, and this is how Nabiki commonly finds her home. But to a young god slayer named Ranma Saotome, this isn't peaceful.
As it hasn't been for more than a year.
And as he thinks while pretending to be unconscious, he cries.
Not with tears falling from his eyes.
Not sobbing loudly.
Not even a sigh is heard from him.
But the weeping is there, if hidden from view.
For a man amongst men doesn't cry. And so he thinks, and wishes, and resents, and laments, and rages, and curse, and despair.
But he doesn't cry.
And as his tears soil his soul something starts fading.
And when it fades completely, so will he.
But he doesn't care about it, in fact he seems to expect it.
For is a way out.
Without losing honor, or freedom, or his name, or his family.
For if he loses his life, what will be there to bind him?
But as he accepts this truth, and as his eyes open to a reality no one, not god or demon, wishes to be aware of. As he makes his first, and last, own decision. Life goes on.
And as life goes on, Ranma discovers his food plate empty, the furo cold and his mind numb.
And as Ranma weeps for that which is holding him, and that which will set him free, Nabiki leaves to school, and Kasumi cleans the dishes, and Genma in union with Soun start their never ending game of shoji, and Akane takes his pigtail and runs to school, dragging him behind with only the faint explanation of "Hurry baka we're going to be late!"
And so life for Ranma goes on, but he doesn't seem to realize, doesn't seem to even care.
For as Ryoga attacks him with his cry of "Ranma, prepare to die!" he doesn't acknowledge his presence, instead walking away from the battle without turning even once in his direction, for if his life is forfeit, then everything and everyone is too.
And as Ranma ignores the fanged boy's attack, and doesn't seem to mind Shampoo's embrace, and doesn't look Ukyo's way when in front of her restaurant, and as he doesn't answer any of Akane's questions thrown his way, the wind goes on traveling.
And wind brings change.
And change is about to happen, for Nerima has forgotten to forgive Ranma's faults, and the rivals seem to forget Ranma's prowess which allowed him to kill a god, and the fiancées don't see, or don't want to see, Ranma's indifference towards them, and Tofu is out of town, and Cologne is too busy trying to salvage Ranma's relationship towards Shampoo, and Happosai is too busy running from mad armed women, and the Kunos. go on with being Kunos.
And as the wind of change blows across Nerima, and a storm so strong none alive remember approaches the city's limit, the last string, the drop that broke through the glass that supply as Ranma's heart, the final bit of craziness left for the total annihilation of a hero's happiness is walking towards the Tendo dojo.
And as a knock sounds on the door and Kasumi goes to answer it, Ranma forgets life.
And when the only voice Ranma has ever heard talking to him in something akin to love is heard throughout the property.
The invincible heart of our hero stops.
For you see, Nodoka Saotome has come.
And she looks determined.
And the sword isn't wrapped in silk anymore. And the girl standing next to her doesn't seem to fare well for Ranma.
For the only words she spoke were: "Son, we need to talk."
And so, Ranma's life has met an end, against a foe he could never defeat.
A foe so powerful there's never been a technique able to even touch it.
A foe he has fought all his life.
A foe whom, ultimately, took his life in a final clash.
And whom destroyed him totally and ruthlessly.
A foe named simply Destiny.
A.N. This is set about a week after the wedding incident. And Ranma has been thinking a lot about his life. Name it depression, I call it reality. But oh well, who I am to determine how to call it? Oh yeah I'm the author. *insert evil laugh here* Who's the girl that came with Nodoka? What has Nodoka to tell to Ranma? Why is Ranma fighting destiny? Who is destiny? What is the secret ingredient of Coca Cola? If you're asking yourself the same questions then I may be doing a good job. And if you know the answer to the last one send it to me! No, really! No suing, please, Coca Cola and the Coca Cola's bottle design are copyright of The Coca Cola company. No offense meant to them. Ah! One last piece of nonsense coming outta my mouth. Drink water, lots and lots of water! End the big companies! Long life to water!!!! But please, save the beer!!!!!