An Echoes in Time Side Story Series
Echoes of the Past - Story #1 - Chapter 02
Version 1.2 (05/18/02)
By AllWhacked
Send C&C to allwhacked@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/allwhacked/
--- Disclaimer ---
The characters of Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takakashi. The
characters of Hokuto no Ken belong to Buronson and Tetsuo
Hara. The characters of Ninja Scroll belong to Manga. The
characters of Highlander belong to Davis/Panzer Inc. All
other characters to appear are owned by their respective
owners. So in other words, I DO NOT own shit, so please
don't sue me because I have Zero money. Thank You.
--- Warning!!! ---
Anyway this is an Alterverse/Continuation fanfic with severe
x-over tendencies.
--- Note to Reader ---
This is a prequel to Echoes in Time. It focuses on Ranma's
adventures after being left behind in China, during the
Nanban Mirror episode(anime only). Now he's stranded 300
years in the past, stuck in the middle of Imperial China
surrounded by husband hungry Amazons. The events that occur
may not run in chronological order and will be based on
flashbacks on key events on his life.
Also, due to the X-Over with Ninja Scroll a few of the
beginning scenes will follow more of less the direct
dialogue with the movie. Although I try not to follow canon
word for word, I felt that it was necessary to do so for at
least a few scenes so that those who aren't familiar with
the series can get a better idea of who and what is going
on. Also note there will be definitely a lot of spoiler if
you've never watched Ninja Scroll though if you haven't
watched it by now then shame on for not already seeing it.
"..." = spoken dialogue
'...' = thoughts
--- End Note to Reader, Start of Flashbacks ---
*** Japan, Tokugawa Period (circa. 1600-1868 AD) ***
Ranma was walking calmly down the dirt path that lead away
from the small shack he had spent half the night in. After
rescuing the ninja girl, Kagero and killing the rock giant,
Tessai, he felt it wouldn't be prudent for him to remain
there anymore. Besides, he had sensed that he was being
watched; he wasn't sure from whom or from where but he had
learned to trust his instincts and knew that remaining out
in the open wasn't a smart thing to do.
As he continued walking away, his agitated state decreased
allowing him time to relax as he contemplated what had just
happened.
'Sheez' he thought. 'Rock monsters? Rescuing shorthaired
chicks in distress? This totally reminds me of Nerima.
Man, all I need now is some sword wielding punk trying to
smite me, a dried up old mummy giving me shit, and some
macho chick tomboy trying to poison me. Hehe.'
*Snap*
Ranma's senses went into immediate alert. 'Hmm, light
footsteps. The person is pretty good at stealth though not
good enough. Probably not one of the same guys that was
watching me at the shack.'
While Ranma continued walking, he put on a good front. He
was calm and collected; he didn't betray a sign that he knew
he was being followed. As he stretched his highly tuned
senses, he could literally hear their every step, their
every breath. The bending of grass, the beating of a heart;
the sounds that normally couldn't be heard by normal ears
were however reverberating in Ranma's skull.
'A small man? A woman?' he questioned. He began to sniff
the air. 'Hmm, definitely female. Perhaps the girl I
rescued? I suppose... I guess she doesn't follow directions
too well. Hehe.' He continued walking before he paused and
stopped moving completely.
"Girl," he said out loud. "You can stop hiding, I know
you're out there. Don't be scared, I won't bite."
There was silence as he waited. 'Stupid girl, don't just
stand there and keep me waiting. Either come out or run
away, I don't have time for this.'
Tapping his foot impatiently as his arms now came over and
crossed his chest. "Look, pretending that I can't sense you
isn't going to work. You're about twenty paces to my right,
hunched over behind a rock. Either come out or run away,
I'm not going to wait here all night."
The girl suddenly stood up. 'Hmm, I guess I'm right. It is
the girl I rescued. I guess she wants to thank me or
something. No matter, it is after all a martial artists'
duty...'
"I'm grateful for your help," she said in a calm voice. She
began to approach him from the confines of the tall grass.
"My name is Kagero of the Koga Ninja team."
"I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome. Um, are you alright?"
She looked at him with a slight furling of her brow. "I'm
not in danger anymore," she said curtly. "I must go now."
She immediately got up and ran some distance away.
Ranma just stood there with a puzzled expression on his
face. 'Geez, what a rude chick. She thanks me but blows
off my offer for help. Feh, women.' As he watched her run
off, he turned around and continued to head north up the
road.
While Ranma walked away as a lone figure in the moonlit
night, Kagero stopped in her tracks and paused to look back
one last time. When she noticed that he was sufficiently
far away, she took one step forward and fell to her knees;
gripping herself in a tight ball.
Now, without the eyes of strangers looking down upon her she
let loose the flood of emotions that she had yet had time
for to express. That night, her closets friends and
comrades had died; in particular, Hanza had been killed. He
was one of the few people in her life who had ever treated
her kindly--like a normal human being and not some
indispensable ninja.
'Damn it Hanza! Why did you have to die!? Why did this
have to happen?' she asked herself. No answers came forth
while she continued to sob from the deep pains of grief
welling up from within her.
*** Sometime Later ***
In one of the large buildings that made up the Mochizuki
Clan compound, Kagero stalked towards the Lord Chamberlain's
bedchambers. In the cool night air, the sound of a woman's
passionate moans could be heard resonating out into the
distance. As Kagero neared the structure, she knocked
lightly against the doorframe and slid it open slightly.
"Sir" she said.
"What is it now?" remarked the Chamberlain between mid
stroke, he stopped what he was doing as he remained kneeling
there behind a naked courtesan.
"It's Koga Ninja Team Member, Kagero. There's trouble."
"What's happened?" he asked gruffly.
"The twenty Koga Ninja led by Hanza tried to infiltrate
Shimoda Village a while ago but they were completely
annihilated sir."
"Is this true? All of them? Who killed them?" He asked
incredulously.
"It was someone strong and skillful. That is all I can
say..." She paused in mid sentence. "However sir, I can
report that the killer was slain himself. Killed by a man
named Ranma Saotome; without his assistance I wouldn't have
made it back to report to you sir."
"Hmm, I see... Ranma Saotome?" he said to himself. "Never
heard of him. As for the Koga Ninja team they proved
useless after all."
The Chamberlain proceeded to return to what he was doing
prior to being interrupted. The courtesan kneeling before
him began to moan loudly as he thrust deeply between her
gasps. Despite doing this, he continued talking.
"So you are the only survivor?" he asked.
"Yes" Kagero replied painfully, her eyes lowered in both
shame and remorse.
Taking a pause in talking as he collected his thoughts, the
Chamberlain issued his order. "We can't send our men to the
village without knowing who that killer was and what he was
up to..." he said. "Go back and find out, that's the first
thing. Then get back to me immediately with your report.
Based on what you find we'll decide what to do later. Now
Go!" he ordered.
Kagero lowered her brow. 'That bastard' she thought.
'Twenty men died and... and.' It was too painful for her to
think further as she discontinued that thought. Closing the
sliding door quietly, she proceeded to head back to Shimoda
Village, intent on finding who exactly was behind the deaths
of all her friends and damning that person to hell when she
found them.
*** On a paved road heading north ***
Ranma was walking casually along the Imperial Highway as the
full moon lit up the night sky. On his back was strapped
the long wooden staff he had used during his fight with
Tessai. Though he didn't need a weapon to necessarily
defend himself, the staff acted as a visible reminder or
warning to strangers or potential bandits that they should
think twice before trying to rob him or give him trouble.
In this world so different from the one he left in Nerima
and even China, he had learned--often the hard way--that the
avoidance of violence was often a greater part of the battle
than the fight itself. So as the long wooden rod rapped
lightly against his back, he felt the hairs on his neck
bristle. 'Someone is following me' he thought with
annoyance. 'Is it that girl again?... No, it's someone
different... Maybe the one who was watching me earlier?'
As he continued to walk, his eyes shifted from left to right
as he took in his surroundings. To his left was dense
foliage; to his right ran a tall stonewall that went along
the entire length of the highway. Stopping in his tracks,
Ranma listened carefully as the light footsteps of his
unknown follower came closer.
Turning around slowly, he saw a shriveled up old man
standing above him, walking along the length of the wall.
Narrowing his eyes on the old man, he noticed that stranger
had a long white beard on his chin and wore on top of his
head a large circular reed hat. In his grip was a long
staff that was nearly one and half times his height and at
one end of the staff were yellow links that clinked together
as he neared him.
'Hmm, a shriveled up old mummy' thought Ranma to himself as
he gazed on the old man's form. 'First monsters and now
this... this is definitely feeling like Nerima all over
again.'
As he waited there in silence, it was the old man who
finally spoke first. "I came to thank you for killing that
devil earlier tonight. You showed great skill and proved
that he was no match for you. Why don't you join me, your
skills would be of great use in fighting all of the others
like him."
Ranma smirked. "Sorry old man, but that was a one time
deal. I'm not a devil hunter or a mercenary--it's not
really my place to fight other people's battles. I just
intervened so that I could help that poor girl there at the
shack, I'm not here to fight monsters." Ranma proceeded to
walk north as if that was the end of the conversation, but
the old man however just laughed.
"You act as if have a choice my fine young friend. Know
that they won't leave you alone. You have already killed
one of the eight Devils of Kimon."
Ranma shrugged. "Yeah yeah. Whatever old man. If they
come to give me any shit I'll send them to hell with the
first one." He proceeded to walk off into the night as the
darkness enveloped his form.
On a stone pillar, the old man smirked to himself as he
pulled on his long white beard. "I'm sure you will. But
rest assured we'll meet again. Sooner than you think, Ranma
Saotome." He then proceeded to whip out a corked gourd that
contain some strong sake. Drinking it down he felt a light
buzz that would help sustain him through the long night
ahead of him.
*** In a remote building in Shimoda Village ***
A red-eyed owl flew quickly towards its roost in one of the
upper floors of a large building. Landing on its perch, the
delicate hand of Yurimaru, Lord Gemma's second in command
grasped the birds' leg and removed a rolled up note.
After unfurling the paper, he read quietly to himself.
Then, with a thin wire held between the folds of his lips,
he proceeded to talk out loud. On the other end of the
wire, was Lord Gemma; the wire also held between his lips in
a similar fashion as Yurimaru. As the two talked, the wire
acted as a conduit between the two, passing along its length
the sounds of their voices.
"Lord Gemma" began Yurimaru. "Everything is going according
to schedule. It will come by the Shogun of the Dark by six
o'clock tomorrow evening."
"Very well... Write to him in return that we will be back
in three days and ensure him that there is nothing to worry
about."
"Immediately" Yurimaru replied. The thin wire then fell
from his lips as he felt two small hands snake their way up
along his back and rest on his shoulders. His brow furled
in annoyance.
"Isn't Benisato back yet Zakuro?" The woman behind him was
almost pretty in a way, she had short black hair and her
face was almost flawless except for the deep stitched scar
running along the length of her right cheek. She leaned up
against him as she replied to his question.
"No" she said. "She is still with the others looking for
Tessai's killer... So we're alone now, completely alone
Yurimaru... In the time that we've been together, I have
fallen madly in love with you, but you know that don't you?"
There was deep sincerity in her voice as she proceeded to
rub her hands across Yurimaru's turned back and shoulders.
She looked downwards in a diminutive fashion as she waited
for his response.
As he turned around slowly, he kept a calm face. He was a
handsome man, almost effeminate in a way. As Zakuro looked
up into his eyes, she felt his right hand cup her chin and
tilt her head up as if to kiss her. Pausing for a second,
she leaned in and closed her eyes so as to savor their first
kiss together. Then, she felt a jabbing pain in her abdomen
as Yurimaru thrust his fist into her gut.
With the air out of her lungs, she gasped for breath as she
felt herself being thrown back and up against a wall.
Looking at Yurimaru in shock, she listened in detached anger
and jealousy at her beloved's words.
"I don't need your love," he said with feelings of disdain
in his voice. "You don't interest me, even in the
slightest. Now go and stand watch." As he turned his back
slowly against her, Zakuro gasped for breath as she prepared
her rebuttal. She was furious now, and before she left to
stand watch she was going to hit Yurimaru where it hurt
most.
"So what I've heard is true," she almost laughed out. Then
with a humph, "have many pleasant dreams in Gemma's arms...
but Gemma makes love to both men and women." As she started
to walk away and head down stairs, she turned one last time
to add one last quip. "Oh and by the way" she said with
amused venom in her voice. "Do you know that he regularly
has Benisato?"
There was pause in Yurimaru's actions as Zakuro looked on in
amusement. "I suppose you didn't" she said last as she
proceeded to laugh both to herself and at Yurimaru. From
Yurimaru's stand point, he was experiencing cold anger.
'Stupid bitch' he thought. 'Benisato and Lord Gemma?
Preposterous. That bitch, Zakuro is probably just trying to
get under my skin. But no matter, her words mean nothing to
me.' As he thought that, there was a hint of doubt weighing
in on his subconscious as he began to grind against an ink
stone in preparation of drafting a letter for the Shogun of
the Dark. While he sat there in silence, not so far away
Benisato had zeroed in on her prey.
*** A Remote Hot Springs ***
'To take a dip or not to take a dip? That is the question,'
thought Ranma as he approached the steaming pools of a
natural hot spring. He had traveled most of the night and
had little sleep so far. 'Stupid rock monster' he thought
bitterly. 'Now I have to travel for the next day or so to
avoid those stupid devils.'
Ranma wasn't scared of them but he wasn't one to look for
trouble. 'It is through the avoidance of trouble that has
allowed us immortals to live for as long as we have' he
remembered his master, Sifu[1] Long once say.
Cracking his neck from stiffness, and feeling a slight
burning in his feet from walking all day he felt that he
deserved to at least wash up and rest for a while. 'After
all, I did save some girl today. I should reward myself.'
Shedding his clothes and his bo staff, he sunk deep into the
hot steaming water as he allowed its medicinal affects to
loosen tight muscles and relieve a day and half worth of
stress.
"Ah, that hits the spot" he said aloud. He felt his eyes
begin to close as he savored the feeling of swirling warm
water and the occasional bubble of trapped air. As he lay
there half asleep and half awake, he noticed through half
lidded eyes the silhouette of a naked women.
'I don't remember seeing her when I got here' he thought
detachedly. 'I wonder, how she got here without me
noticing?' Opening his eyes wider, the swirling mist parted
ways enough for him to notice the intricate tattoos that
adorned her body. Along the length of her bodice, ran a
multitude of serpents that danced over the cleft of her
buttocks and ran up and down her leg, arms and spine.
There was a slight disturbance from his groin area as he
continued to gaze upon her naked form. 'Stop it you sicko.
We're not perverts so advert your eyes,' he said to himself.
He was about to do so when he noticed the women begin to
speak, though her face was still turned away from him.
"What's your destination stranger?" The question sounded
almost cliché in a way.
"Oh, I'm heading up north to a small shrine in the
mountains."
"Really?" she said. "You know, you look a lot like someone
I'm looking for."
"Oh I do?" he replied. He felt a sense of uneasiness as he
began to sink lower into the water. By now his senses were
on high alert as he tried to focus on this woman and the
possibility that she was sent out there as a lure to help
spring a trap on him.
'There's something not right about her' he thought to
himself. Just then, he noticed something moving along her
back. 'What the fuck?... Did that tattoo just move?'
Ranma continued to stare as he watched the serpents tattooed
on her body begin to shift and move; changing from two
dimensional to three dimensional life size snakes that
swarmed around her body.
"You killed Tessai, and for that you must die" she said
calmly. As she finished her statement, Ranma noticed that
her skin was now clear of tattoos. Instead of being on her
body, the snakes were now dangling around her with their
hissing heads turned towards him.
'Ah Fuck!' he thought as the snakes suddenly lunged out
towards him. He felt a light knick in his shoulder; a ninja
star had been thrown from above and had pierced his flesh.
Ignoring the slight pain, he acted quickly and slashed out
towards the water with his arm; creating an invisible wave
of air that caused a wall of warm water to form. The snakes
passed through the wall with nary a problem, however as they
exited they noticed that their target wasn't there.
'Where could he be?' thought Benisato. 'He couldn't have
eluded me that easily.' Looking left and right, she didn't
notice the small ripple of air as a beam of bright blue
light lit up the spot where Ranma had been.
In a dazzling brightness that took Benisato by surprise, her
snakes were incinerated by the heat of the blast that caused
water to steam and rock to either shatter or turn black.
She in turn was knocked off her perch on a rock by the
resounding shockwave. She fell back first into the water
and she immediately began to sputter for breath as she spat
out water and began to rub her eyes to regain her vision.
As she got up waist way into the water, she felt a light tap
on the back of her neck.
"I'm back here Medusa. Try anything funny and I'll fry you
like I did your snakes." Ranma was standing behind her with
his right arm outstretched, the other arm was grasping it as
he began to funnel his ki into a tight ball in his palm.
The women cautiously turned around and gasped as she saw a
softball sized sphere of blue light floating in the man's
hand. She then shifted her vision and noticed the tiger and
dragon brandings on his underarms. 'Shaolin?' she thought.
Then smirking to herself. "Who are you? Who sent you
here?" she queried. In her mind she asked herself 'A man of
Shaolin here? Why? A man of his skill coming here by
chance... it doesn't seem likely.'
Ranma unfurled his brow as he heard her queries. "You're in
no position to ask questions lady, but I'll indulge you.
I'm Ranma Saotome and I'm on a religious pilgrimage to a
temple up north. That is all you need to know." He paused
as he thought for a second.
"Now tell me" he began. "Who are you? Who sent you?" He
didn't receive an answer as she laughed and her skin began
to fall upon itself. Looking at this gruesome sight, he
noticed her skin had taken on the scaly complexion of a
snake.
'Cast away skin' he thought. 'I should have figured a snake
monster could do that.' He proceeded to walk back over to
his clothes and staff as he pulled from his shoulder, a
large ninja star jetting out of his skin.
Pulling it out, he barely grunted in pain as he fingered its
edge. 'Who threw this?' he wondered. The answer came to
him from a voice from above.
"That's her cast off skin. She shed it like a snake and got
away..." Remarked the old man Ranma had seen earlier.
Yawning. "Well well, what a bunch of strange creatures they
are."
Ranma looked none amused as he hefted up the ninja star and
pointed it towards the old man. "I assume that this was
your doing," he asked.
The old man nodded. "You owe me no thanks. I didn't want
you to die, that's all." Ranma rolled his eyes.
'He hits me with a ninja star and I should thank him. If he
wasn't some pathetic old fart I'd drown him for talking such
utter nonsense.' Grasping the ninja star in his hand, he
held it up and crushed it in his palm. Turning the sturdy
steel into a mass of bent metal. The old man in turn looked
on with a raised eye.
As Ranma proceeded to walk back towards his pants and shirt,
he turned his head and began to question the old man. "So
tell me" he said. "Who are these eight devils of Kimon?
I've never heard of them."
The old man smiled and began to thumb his white beard.
"They are a group of ninja who work for the so called Shogun
of the Dark. He plans to rebuild the house of Toyotomi, the
ex-rulers of Japan. He may yet see this ambition realized.
His is the greatest threat to the Tokugawa Shogunate
Government, his power is supported by the eight devils of
Kimon."
Ranma pondered this. 'I don't remember this in history
class' he thought idly. 'Then again, I never did pay
attention.' Looking back up to the old man. "So.. what are
they up to for this fight for Mochizuki."
"That is exactly what I came here to find out... Why don't
you work for me for a hundred pieces of gold?" The old man
proceeded to leap from rock to rock as he descended the
twenty-foot high cliff bluff. Looking at Ranma he continued
to ask, "well my friend, what do you think of that
proposal?"
Ranma immediately baulked at the offer. "Sorry old man,
like I said before, I'm no mercenary and I don't fight other
people's battles. Anyway, if you're a government spy why
don't you get someone from the government to help you? I'm
just a wandering vagabond, not a patriot."
Ranma proceeded to walk over to his belongings and produced
a towel. As he dried himself off, the old man just frowned
and shook his head. "I would prefer to do that, but
unfortunately my team was attacked by the Eight Devils of
Kimon. Only I survived to make it to Mochizuki." he
solemnly stated.
Ranma revealed no hint of emotion on his face as he took in
this information. 'To help or not to help? That's the real
question,' he pondered. Part of him wanted to assist in
this battle between this Shogun of the Dark and the Tokugawa
government, but the other part of him realized that by
intervening in such a key event such as this, he might
disturb the flow of time and screw up his future.
"Sorry old man," Ranma finally said. "I already told you,
I'm not helping. Why don't you contact the local authority
for assistance? This isn't my fight."
The old man snorted at that. "But that is where you're
wrong. You've already killed one of them and nearly
another. You've gotten their attention and more will come
after you. You'll have to fight them sooner or later and
even with your skill, you'll die on your own but together we
might succeed. So why don't you join me... it's a nice
offer isn't it?"
Ranma put on a skeptical look on his face. 'He's lying
about something' he realized. 'But not about those Devils
of Kimon. Damn it, what should I do?' As he contemplated
his options, he finally resorted to what he knew best, which
was avoidance.
"Look old man, I'll pass on the offer. If the Devils of
Kimon come after me, then so be it. But I'm not going to
get myself involved in some business with the government.
That's for you guys to deal with and for me to stay out of."
Ranma proceeded to get dressed, while the old man just shook
his head.
"What a pity for the both of us" remarked the old man
offhandedly. "I mean, such a talented young man throwing
away his life like this."
Ranma interrupted. "Whatever old man. I see your lips are
moving but you're not making any sense. Stop trying to talk
in riddles and get to the point. I don't have time for
this."
"Hmph, you young people. Such lack of patience. But, as I
was saying, what a waste of a life. You're practically
throwing it away."
"As if old man" scoffed Ranma. "I'm a lot older than I look
and who are you to say I'm wasting my life. You're just
some stupid government spy, whose team got killed because
they couldn't handle some measly rock monster and snake
demon."
The old man ignored this jibe at his pride. "True" he said,
"But they died in honor of defending their country. You on
the other hand will die slowly and in vain. For you see,
that ninja star you crushed, the tips of it were coated in a
special poison. It won't kill you instantly but without the
antidote you'll die in less than a day. I know of a cure
and I'll share it with you upon completion of the mission
along with the 100 pieces of gold I promised you. Does that
sound fare?"
Ranma was getting a little angry. 'So that's what he was
hiding. Well, hahah. The jokes on him. I'm an immortal.
Hmm, now how can I use this to my advantage? I'd like to
burst his bubble, but how?' He began to feel a burning
sensation in the pits of his stomach as a glob of blood
rushed up his throat and into his mouth. He had to cover
his lips with his hand to keep it from getting all over him.
'That bastard, now my mouth taste like vomit. Okay, I was
just going to play a little joke on him, but now it's going
to be serious.' Ranma proceeded to press a finger under his
right underarm, pressing gently against the Anbaku-kou
pressure point, designed to help resist poisons and toxins.
With his clothes on completely, Ranma's image blurred and he
appeared next to the old man. Stretching out a single
finger towards the man's chest, Ranma hit his Zenha pressure
point, which immediately caused him to stop breathing.
Then, for good measure he hit the Domei pressure point at
the back of the head that removed the old man's eyesight.
Seeing the old man begin to gasp for breath, Ranma proceeded
to talk calmly as he relayed what he had just done.
"Don't you dare try to manipulate me old man, I'm not some
puppet that you think you can play around with. I just hit
two unique pressure points on your body. I'm sure you can
already guess which two. I suggest that you stay calm or
you might just use up all the oxygen left in your lungs."
As he saw the old man begin to calm down and halt in the
gagging motion, Ranma continued. "Now you're going to
listen and I hope you listen good. I'll release the lock on
your breathing in about a minute, but not before I finish
with my demands. One, don't fuck with me or I guarantee I
will kill you. Two, seeing how important this is to you and
the Tokugawa government, I decided to change my mind and
help. Three, I suggest you don't try to double cross me
because you know what, aside from those two pressure points
I also hit another one."
"You won't feel it at first, but what it does is constrict
the opening of your stomach so that no food can pass through
it. I normally use it on obese people who can stand to lose
a few pounds. However in your case, you'll probably die in
a few days, wasting away as you try to gorge yourself with
food but I suggest you don't do that. An enemy of my master
tried to do that and he ended up causing his esophagus to
explode as the food got trapped between his windpipe and his
stomach. Anyway, nod your head that you won't double cross
me and I might, just might let you live after this mission."
The old man nodded as he began to turn purple from lack of
breath. Feeling a light tap, he could breath again but
couldn't see. "Oh and one last thing, before I return your
sight I just wanted to hear you promise me. I'll take it on
your word, but if you fuck with me you will die and die a
miserable death that is worst than starvation."
As the old man gasped for breath, he agreed and promised
Ranma. Feeling satisfied that he had scared the old man
enough, he pushed the remaining pressure point to return his
vision. The old man looked on then blinked and double
blinked. He was amazed at what had happened.
"You are very skilled indeed" he remarked. "My name is
Dakuan, I would ask to be friends but I see that I've
already gotten on your bad side."
Ranma laughed at that. "Yeah old man, but if you continue
to kiss my ass I might just let you live. Don't let it
cross your mind that I wouldn't mind laughing at you from
hell if it meant taking you there with me."
The old man laughed in return. "You truly are a devil,
Ranma Saotome."
Ranma just shrugged. "Perhaps, but no more a devil than
you."
To be continued...
--- End of Flashbacks ---
Glossary:
[1] Sifu means master or teacher in Chinese.
Q&A
Q1. Some might ask how Ranma became Shaolin.
A1. The answer to that is I'll explain later, just like how
he learned the Hokuto shinken.
Echoes of the Past - Story #1 - Chapter 02
Version 1.2 (05/18/02)
By AllWhacked
Send C&C to allwhacked@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/allwhacked/
--- Disclaimer ---
The characters of Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takakashi. The
characters of Hokuto no Ken belong to Buronson and Tetsuo
Hara. The characters of Ninja Scroll belong to Manga. The
characters of Highlander belong to Davis/Panzer Inc. All
other characters to appear are owned by their respective
owners. So in other words, I DO NOT own shit, so please
don't sue me because I have Zero money. Thank You.
--- Warning!!! ---
Anyway this is an Alterverse/Continuation fanfic with severe
x-over tendencies.
--- Note to Reader ---
This is a prequel to Echoes in Time. It focuses on Ranma's
adventures after being left behind in China, during the
Nanban Mirror episode(anime only). Now he's stranded 300
years in the past, stuck in the middle of Imperial China
surrounded by husband hungry Amazons. The events that occur
may not run in chronological order and will be based on
flashbacks on key events on his life.
Also, due to the X-Over with Ninja Scroll a few of the
beginning scenes will follow more of less the direct
dialogue with the movie. Although I try not to follow canon
word for word, I felt that it was necessary to do so for at
least a few scenes so that those who aren't familiar with
the series can get a better idea of who and what is going
on. Also note there will be definitely a lot of spoiler if
you've never watched Ninja Scroll though if you haven't
watched it by now then shame on for not already seeing it.
"..." = spoken dialogue
'...' = thoughts
--- End Note to Reader, Start of Flashbacks ---
*** Japan, Tokugawa Period (circa. 1600-1868 AD) ***
Ranma was walking calmly down the dirt path that lead away
from the small shack he had spent half the night in. After
rescuing the ninja girl, Kagero and killing the rock giant,
Tessai, he felt it wouldn't be prudent for him to remain
there anymore. Besides, he had sensed that he was being
watched; he wasn't sure from whom or from where but he had
learned to trust his instincts and knew that remaining out
in the open wasn't a smart thing to do.
As he continued walking away, his agitated state decreased
allowing him time to relax as he contemplated what had just
happened.
'Sheez' he thought. 'Rock monsters? Rescuing shorthaired
chicks in distress? This totally reminds me of Nerima.
Man, all I need now is some sword wielding punk trying to
smite me, a dried up old mummy giving me shit, and some
macho chick tomboy trying to poison me. Hehe.'
*Snap*
Ranma's senses went into immediate alert. 'Hmm, light
footsteps. The person is pretty good at stealth though not
good enough. Probably not one of the same guys that was
watching me at the shack.'
While Ranma continued walking, he put on a good front. He
was calm and collected; he didn't betray a sign that he knew
he was being followed. As he stretched his highly tuned
senses, he could literally hear their every step, their
every breath. The bending of grass, the beating of a heart;
the sounds that normally couldn't be heard by normal ears
were however reverberating in Ranma's skull.
'A small man? A woman?' he questioned. He began to sniff
the air. 'Hmm, definitely female. Perhaps the girl I
rescued? I suppose... I guess she doesn't follow directions
too well. Hehe.' He continued walking before he paused and
stopped moving completely.
"Girl," he said out loud. "You can stop hiding, I know
you're out there. Don't be scared, I won't bite."
There was silence as he waited. 'Stupid girl, don't just
stand there and keep me waiting. Either come out or run
away, I don't have time for this.'
Tapping his foot impatiently as his arms now came over and
crossed his chest. "Look, pretending that I can't sense you
isn't going to work. You're about twenty paces to my right,
hunched over behind a rock. Either come out or run away,
I'm not going to wait here all night."
The girl suddenly stood up. 'Hmm, I guess I'm right. It is
the girl I rescued. I guess she wants to thank me or
something. No matter, it is after all a martial artists'
duty...'
"I'm grateful for your help," she said in a calm voice. She
began to approach him from the confines of the tall grass.
"My name is Kagero of the Koga Ninja team."
"I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome. Um, are you alright?"
She looked at him with a slight furling of her brow. "I'm
not in danger anymore," she said curtly. "I must go now."
She immediately got up and ran some distance away.
Ranma just stood there with a puzzled expression on his
face. 'Geez, what a rude chick. She thanks me but blows
off my offer for help. Feh, women.' As he watched her run
off, he turned around and continued to head north up the
road.
While Ranma walked away as a lone figure in the moonlit
night, Kagero stopped in her tracks and paused to look back
one last time. When she noticed that he was sufficiently
far away, she took one step forward and fell to her knees;
gripping herself in a tight ball.
Now, without the eyes of strangers looking down upon her she
let loose the flood of emotions that she had yet had time
for to express. That night, her closets friends and
comrades had died; in particular, Hanza had been killed. He
was one of the few people in her life who had ever treated
her kindly--like a normal human being and not some
indispensable ninja.
'Damn it Hanza! Why did you have to die!? Why did this
have to happen?' she asked herself. No answers came forth
while she continued to sob from the deep pains of grief
welling up from within her.
*** Sometime Later ***
In one of the large buildings that made up the Mochizuki
Clan compound, Kagero stalked towards the Lord Chamberlain's
bedchambers. In the cool night air, the sound of a woman's
passionate moans could be heard resonating out into the
distance. As Kagero neared the structure, she knocked
lightly against the doorframe and slid it open slightly.
"Sir" she said.
"What is it now?" remarked the Chamberlain between mid
stroke, he stopped what he was doing as he remained kneeling
there behind a naked courtesan.
"It's Koga Ninja Team Member, Kagero. There's trouble."
"What's happened?" he asked gruffly.
"The twenty Koga Ninja led by Hanza tried to infiltrate
Shimoda Village a while ago but they were completely
annihilated sir."
"Is this true? All of them? Who killed them?" He asked
incredulously.
"It was someone strong and skillful. That is all I can
say..." She paused in mid sentence. "However sir, I can
report that the killer was slain himself. Killed by a man
named Ranma Saotome; without his assistance I wouldn't have
made it back to report to you sir."
"Hmm, I see... Ranma Saotome?" he said to himself. "Never
heard of him. As for the Koga Ninja team they proved
useless after all."
The Chamberlain proceeded to return to what he was doing
prior to being interrupted. The courtesan kneeling before
him began to moan loudly as he thrust deeply between her
gasps. Despite doing this, he continued talking.
"So you are the only survivor?" he asked.
"Yes" Kagero replied painfully, her eyes lowered in both
shame and remorse.
Taking a pause in talking as he collected his thoughts, the
Chamberlain issued his order. "We can't send our men to the
village without knowing who that killer was and what he was
up to..." he said. "Go back and find out, that's the first
thing. Then get back to me immediately with your report.
Based on what you find we'll decide what to do later. Now
Go!" he ordered.
Kagero lowered her brow. 'That bastard' she thought.
'Twenty men died and... and.' It was too painful for her to
think further as she discontinued that thought. Closing the
sliding door quietly, she proceeded to head back to Shimoda
Village, intent on finding who exactly was behind the deaths
of all her friends and damning that person to hell when she
found them.
*** On a paved road heading north ***
Ranma was walking casually along the Imperial Highway as the
full moon lit up the night sky. On his back was strapped
the long wooden staff he had used during his fight with
Tessai. Though he didn't need a weapon to necessarily
defend himself, the staff acted as a visible reminder or
warning to strangers or potential bandits that they should
think twice before trying to rob him or give him trouble.
In this world so different from the one he left in Nerima
and even China, he had learned--often the hard way--that the
avoidance of violence was often a greater part of the battle
than the fight itself. So as the long wooden rod rapped
lightly against his back, he felt the hairs on his neck
bristle. 'Someone is following me' he thought with
annoyance. 'Is it that girl again?... No, it's someone
different... Maybe the one who was watching me earlier?'
As he continued to walk, his eyes shifted from left to right
as he took in his surroundings. To his left was dense
foliage; to his right ran a tall stonewall that went along
the entire length of the highway. Stopping in his tracks,
Ranma listened carefully as the light footsteps of his
unknown follower came closer.
Turning around slowly, he saw a shriveled up old man
standing above him, walking along the length of the wall.
Narrowing his eyes on the old man, he noticed that stranger
had a long white beard on his chin and wore on top of his
head a large circular reed hat. In his grip was a long
staff that was nearly one and half times his height and at
one end of the staff were yellow links that clinked together
as he neared him.
'Hmm, a shriveled up old mummy' thought Ranma to himself as
he gazed on the old man's form. 'First monsters and now
this... this is definitely feeling like Nerima all over
again.'
As he waited there in silence, it was the old man who
finally spoke first. "I came to thank you for killing that
devil earlier tonight. You showed great skill and proved
that he was no match for you. Why don't you join me, your
skills would be of great use in fighting all of the others
like him."
Ranma smirked. "Sorry old man, but that was a one time
deal. I'm not a devil hunter or a mercenary--it's not
really my place to fight other people's battles. I just
intervened so that I could help that poor girl there at the
shack, I'm not here to fight monsters." Ranma proceeded to
walk north as if that was the end of the conversation, but
the old man however just laughed.
"You act as if have a choice my fine young friend. Know
that they won't leave you alone. You have already killed
one of the eight Devils of Kimon."
Ranma shrugged. "Yeah yeah. Whatever old man. If they
come to give me any shit I'll send them to hell with the
first one." He proceeded to walk off into the night as the
darkness enveloped his form.
On a stone pillar, the old man smirked to himself as he
pulled on his long white beard. "I'm sure you will. But
rest assured we'll meet again. Sooner than you think, Ranma
Saotome." He then proceeded to whip out a corked gourd that
contain some strong sake. Drinking it down he felt a light
buzz that would help sustain him through the long night
ahead of him.
*** In a remote building in Shimoda Village ***
A red-eyed owl flew quickly towards its roost in one of the
upper floors of a large building. Landing on its perch, the
delicate hand of Yurimaru, Lord Gemma's second in command
grasped the birds' leg and removed a rolled up note.
After unfurling the paper, he read quietly to himself.
Then, with a thin wire held between the folds of his lips,
he proceeded to talk out loud. On the other end of the
wire, was Lord Gemma; the wire also held between his lips in
a similar fashion as Yurimaru. As the two talked, the wire
acted as a conduit between the two, passing along its length
the sounds of their voices.
"Lord Gemma" began Yurimaru. "Everything is going according
to schedule. It will come by the Shogun of the Dark by six
o'clock tomorrow evening."
"Very well... Write to him in return that we will be back
in three days and ensure him that there is nothing to worry
about."
"Immediately" Yurimaru replied. The thin wire then fell
from his lips as he felt two small hands snake their way up
along his back and rest on his shoulders. His brow furled
in annoyance.
"Isn't Benisato back yet Zakuro?" The woman behind him was
almost pretty in a way, she had short black hair and her
face was almost flawless except for the deep stitched scar
running along the length of her right cheek. She leaned up
against him as she replied to his question.
"No" she said. "She is still with the others looking for
Tessai's killer... So we're alone now, completely alone
Yurimaru... In the time that we've been together, I have
fallen madly in love with you, but you know that don't you?"
There was deep sincerity in her voice as she proceeded to
rub her hands across Yurimaru's turned back and shoulders.
She looked downwards in a diminutive fashion as she waited
for his response.
As he turned around slowly, he kept a calm face. He was a
handsome man, almost effeminate in a way. As Zakuro looked
up into his eyes, she felt his right hand cup her chin and
tilt her head up as if to kiss her. Pausing for a second,
she leaned in and closed her eyes so as to savor their first
kiss together. Then, she felt a jabbing pain in her abdomen
as Yurimaru thrust his fist into her gut.
With the air out of her lungs, she gasped for breath as she
felt herself being thrown back and up against a wall.
Looking at Yurimaru in shock, she listened in detached anger
and jealousy at her beloved's words.
"I don't need your love," he said with feelings of disdain
in his voice. "You don't interest me, even in the
slightest. Now go and stand watch." As he turned his back
slowly against her, Zakuro gasped for breath as she prepared
her rebuttal. She was furious now, and before she left to
stand watch she was going to hit Yurimaru where it hurt
most.
"So what I've heard is true," she almost laughed out. Then
with a humph, "have many pleasant dreams in Gemma's arms...
but Gemma makes love to both men and women." As she started
to walk away and head down stairs, she turned one last time
to add one last quip. "Oh and by the way" she said with
amused venom in her voice. "Do you know that he regularly
has Benisato?"
There was pause in Yurimaru's actions as Zakuro looked on in
amusement. "I suppose you didn't" she said last as she
proceeded to laugh both to herself and at Yurimaru. From
Yurimaru's stand point, he was experiencing cold anger.
'Stupid bitch' he thought. 'Benisato and Lord Gemma?
Preposterous. That bitch, Zakuro is probably just trying to
get under my skin. But no matter, her words mean nothing to
me.' As he thought that, there was a hint of doubt weighing
in on his subconscious as he began to grind against an ink
stone in preparation of drafting a letter for the Shogun of
the Dark. While he sat there in silence, not so far away
Benisato had zeroed in on her prey.
*** A Remote Hot Springs ***
'To take a dip or not to take a dip? That is the question,'
thought Ranma as he approached the steaming pools of a
natural hot spring. He had traveled most of the night and
had little sleep so far. 'Stupid rock monster' he thought
bitterly. 'Now I have to travel for the next day or so to
avoid those stupid devils.'
Ranma wasn't scared of them but he wasn't one to look for
trouble. 'It is through the avoidance of trouble that has
allowed us immortals to live for as long as we have' he
remembered his master, Sifu[1] Long once say.
Cracking his neck from stiffness, and feeling a slight
burning in his feet from walking all day he felt that he
deserved to at least wash up and rest for a while. 'After
all, I did save some girl today. I should reward myself.'
Shedding his clothes and his bo staff, he sunk deep into the
hot steaming water as he allowed its medicinal affects to
loosen tight muscles and relieve a day and half worth of
stress.
"Ah, that hits the spot" he said aloud. He felt his eyes
begin to close as he savored the feeling of swirling warm
water and the occasional bubble of trapped air. As he lay
there half asleep and half awake, he noticed through half
lidded eyes the silhouette of a naked women.
'I don't remember seeing her when I got here' he thought
detachedly. 'I wonder, how she got here without me
noticing?' Opening his eyes wider, the swirling mist parted
ways enough for him to notice the intricate tattoos that
adorned her body. Along the length of her bodice, ran a
multitude of serpents that danced over the cleft of her
buttocks and ran up and down her leg, arms and spine.
There was a slight disturbance from his groin area as he
continued to gaze upon her naked form. 'Stop it you sicko.
We're not perverts so advert your eyes,' he said to himself.
He was about to do so when he noticed the women begin to
speak, though her face was still turned away from him.
"What's your destination stranger?" The question sounded
almost cliché in a way.
"Oh, I'm heading up north to a small shrine in the
mountains."
"Really?" she said. "You know, you look a lot like someone
I'm looking for."
"Oh I do?" he replied. He felt a sense of uneasiness as he
began to sink lower into the water. By now his senses were
on high alert as he tried to focus on this woman and the
possibility that she was sent out there as a lure to help
spring a trap on him.
'There's something not right about her' he thought to
himself. Just then, he noticed something moving along her
back. 'What the fuck?... Did that tattoo just move?'
Ranma continued to stare as he watched the serpents tattooed
on her body begin to shift and move; changing from two
dimensional to three dimensional life size snakes that
swarmed around her body.
"You killed Tessai, and for that you must die" she said
calmly. As she finished her statement, Ranma noticed that
her skin was now clear of tattoos. Instead of being on her
body, the snakes were now dangling around her with their
hissing heads turned towards him.
'Ah Fuck!' he thought as the snakes suddenly lunged out
towards him. He felt a light knick in his shoulder; a ninja
star had been thrown from above and had pierced his flesh.
Ignoring the slight pain, he acted quickly and slashed out
towards the water with his arm; creating an invisible wave
of air that caused a wall of warm water to form. The snakes
passed through the wall with nary a problem, however as they
exited they noticed that their target wasn't there.
'Where could he be?' thought Benisato. 'He couldn't have
eluded me that easily.' Looking left and right, she didn't
notice the small ripple of air as a beam of bright blue
light lit up the spot where Ranma had been.
In a dazzling brightness that took Benisato by surprise, her
snakes were incinerated by the heat of the blast that caused
water to steam and rock to either shatter or turn black.
She in turn was knocked off her perch on a rock by the
resounding shockwave. She fell back first into the water
and she immediately began to sputter for breath as she spat
out water and began to rub her eyes to regain her vision.
As she got up waist way into the water, she felt a light tap
on the back of her neck.
"I'm back here Medusa. Try anything funny and I'll fry you
like I did your snakes." Ranma was standing behind her with
his right arm outstretched, the other arm was grasping it as
he began to funnel his ki into a tight ball in his palm.
The women cautiously turned around and gasped as she saw a
softball sized sphere of blue light floating in the man's
hand. She then shifted her vision and noticed the tiger and
dragon brandings on his underarms. 'Shaolin?' she thought.
Then smirking to herself. "Who are you? Who sent you
here?" she queried. In her mind she asked herself 'A man of
Shaolin here? Why? A man of his skill coming here by
chance... it doesn't seem likely.'
Ranma unfurled his brow as he heard her queries. "You're in
no position to ask questions lady, but I'll indulge you.
I'm Ranma Saotome and I'm on a religious pilgrimage to a
temple up north. That is all you need to know." He paused
as he thought for a second.
"Now tell me" he began. "Who are you? Who sent you?" He
didn't receive an answer as she laughed and her skin began
to fall upon itself. Looking at this gruesome sight, he
noticed her skin had taken on the scaly complexion of a
snake.
'Cast away skin' he thought. 'I should have figured a snake
monster could do that.' He proceeded to walk back over to
his clothes and staff as he pulled from his shoulder, a
large ninja star jetting out of his skin.
Pulling it out, he barely grunted in pain as he fingered its
edge. 'Who threw this?' he wondered. The answer came to
him from a voice from above.
"That's her cast off skin. She shed it like a snake and got
away..." Remarked the old man Ranma had seen earlier.
Yawning. "Well well, what a bunch of strange creatures they
are."
Ranma looked none amused as he hefted up the ninja star and
pointed it towards the old man. "I assume that this was
your doing," he asked.
The old man nodded. "You owe me no thanks. I didn't want
you to die, that's all." Ranma rolled his eyes.
'He hits me with a ninja star and I should thank him. If he
wasn't some pathetic old fart I'd drown him for talking such
utter nonsense.' Grasping the ninja star in his hand, he
held it up and crushed it in his palm. Turning the sturdy
steel into a mass of bent metal. The old man in turn looked
on with a raised eye.
As Ranma proceeded to walk back towards his pants and shirt,
he turned his head and began to question the old man. "So
tell me" he said. "Who are these eight devils of Kimon?
I've never heard of them."
The old man smiled and began to thumb his white beard.
"They are a group of ninja who work for the so called Shogun
of the Dark. He plans to rebuild the house of Toyotomi, the
ex-rulers of Japan. He may yet see this ambition realized.
His is the greatest threat to the Tokugawa Shogunate
Government, his power is supported by the eight devils of
Kimon."
Ranma pondered this. 'I don't remember this in history
class' he thought idly. 'Then again, I never did pay
attention.' Looking back up to the old man. "So.. what are
they up to for this fight for Mochizuki."
"That is exactly what I came here to find out... Why don't
you work for me for a hundred pieces of gold?" The old man
proceeded to leap from rock to rock as he descended the
twenty-foot high cliff bluff. Looking at Ranma he continued
to ask, "well my friend, what do you think of that
proposal?"
Ranma immediately baulked at the offer. "Sorry old man,
like I said before, I'm no mercenary and I don't fight other
people's battles. Anyway, if you're a government spy why
don't you get someone from the government to help you? I'm
just a wandering vagabond, not a patriot."
Ranma proceeded to walk over to his belongings and produced
a towel. As he dried himself off, the old man just frowned
and shook his head. "I would prefer to do that, but
unfortunately my team was attacked by the Eight Devils of
Kimon. Only I survived to make it to Mochizuki." he
solemnly stated.
Ranma revealed no hint of emotion on his face as he took in
this information. 'To help or not to help? That's the real
question,' he pondered. Part of him wanted to assist in
this battle between this Shogun of the Dark and the Tokugawa
government, but the other part of him realized that by
intervening in such a key event such as this, he might
disturb the flow of time and screw up his future.
"Sorry old man," Ranma finally said. "I already told you,
I'm not helping. Why don't you contact the local authority
for assistance? This isn't my fight."
The old man snorted at that. "But that is where you're
wrong. You've already killed one of them and nearly
another. You've gotten their attention and more will come
after you. You'll have to fight them sooner or later and
even with your skill, you'll die on your own but together we
might succeed. So why don't you join me... it's a nice
offer isn't it?"
Ranma put on a skeptical look on his face. 'He's lying
about something' he realized. 'But not about those Devils
of Kimon. Damn it, what should I do?' As he contemplated
his options, he finally resorted to what he knew best, which
was avoidance.
"Look old man, I'll pass on the offer. If the Devils of
Kimon come after me, then so be it. But I'm not going to
get myself involved in some business with the government.
That's for you guys to deal with and for me to stay out of."
Ranma proceeded to get dressed, while the old man just shook
his head.
"What a pity for the both of us" remarked the old man
offhandedly. "I mean, such a talented young man throwing
away his life like this."
Ranma interrupted. "Whatever old man. I see your lips are
moving but you're not making any sense. Stop trying to talk
in riddles and get to the point. I don't have time for
this."
"Hmph, you young people. Such lack of patience. But, as I
was saying, what a waste of a life. You're practically
throwing it away."
"As if old man" scoffed Ranma. "I'm a lot older than I look
and who are you to say I'm wasting my life. You're just
some stupid government spy, whose team got killed because
they couldn't handle some measly rock monster and snake
demon."
The old man ignored this jibe at his pride. "True" he said,
"But they died in honor of defending their country. You on
the other hand will die slowly and in vain. For you see,
that ninja star you crushed, the tips of it were coated in a
special poison. It won't kill you instantly but without the
antidote you'll die in less than a day. I know of a cure
and I'll share it with you upon completion of the mission
along with the 100 pieces of gold I promised you. Does that
sound fare?"
Ranma was getting a little angry. 'So that's what he was
hiding. Well, hahah. The jokes on him. I'm an immortal.
Hmm, now how can I use this to my advantage? I'd like to
burst his bubble, but how?' He began to feel a burning
sensation in the pits of his stomach as a glob of blood
rushed up his throat and into his mouth. He had to cover
his lips with his hand to keep it from getting all over him.
'That bastard, now my mouth taste like vomit. Okay, I was
just going to play a little joke on him, but now it's going
to be serious.' Ranma proceeded to press a finger under his
right underarm, pressing gently against the Anbaku-kou
pressure point, designed to help resist poisons and toxins.
With his clothes on completely, Ranma's image blurred and he
appeared next to the old man. Stretching out a single
finger towards the man's chest, Ranma hit his Zenha pressure
point, which immediately caused him to stop breathing.
Then, for good measure he hit the Domei pressure point at
the back of the head that removed the old man's eyesight.
Seeing the old man begin to gasp for breath, Ranma proceeded
to talk calmly as he relayed what he had just done.
"Don't you dare try to manipulate me old man, I'm not some
puppet that you think you can play around with. I just hit
two unique pressure points on your body. I'm sure you can
already guess which two. I suggest that you stay calm or
you might just use up all the oxygen left in your lungs."
As he saw the old man begin to calm down and halt in the
gagging motion, Ranma continued. "Now you're going to
listen and I hope you listen good. I'll release the lock on
your breathing in about a minute, but not before I finish
with my demands. One, don't fuck with me or I guarantee I
will kill you. Two, seeing how important this is to you and
the Tokugawa government, I decided to change my mind and
help. Three, I suggest you don't try to double cross me
because you know what, aside from those two pressure points
I also hit another one."
"You won't feel it at first, but what it does is constrict
the opening of your stomach so that no food can pass through
it. I normally use it on obese people who can stand to lose
a few pounds. However in your case, you'll probably die in
a few days, wasting away as you try to gorge yourself with
food but I suggest you don't do that. An enemy of my master
tried to do that and he ended up causing his esophagus to
explode as the food got trapped between his windpipe and his
stomach. Anyway, nod your head that you won't double cross
me and I might, just might let you live after this mission."
The old man nodded as he began to turn purple from lack of
breath. Feeling a light tap, he could breath again but
couldn't see. "Oh and one last thing, before I return your
sight I just wanted to hear you promise me. I'll take it on
your word, but if you fuck with me you will die and die a
miserable death that is worst than starvation."
As the old man gasped for breath, he agreed and promised
Ranma. Feeling satisfied that he had scared the old man
enough, he pushed the remaining pressure point to return his
vision. The old man looked on then blinked and double
blinked. He was amazed at what had happened.
"You are very skilled indeed" he remarked. "My name is
Dakuan, I would ask to be friends but I see that I've
already gotten on your bad side."
Ranma laughed at that. "Yeah old man, but if you continue
to kiss my ass I might just let you live. Don't let it
cross your mind that I wouldn't mind laughing at you from
hell if it meant taking you there with me."
The old man laughed in return. "You truly are a devil,
Ranma Saotome."
Ranma just shrugged. "Perhaps, but no more a devil than
you."
To be continued...
--- End of Flashbacks ---
Glossary:
[1] Sifu means master or teacher in Chinese.
Q&A
Q1. Some might ask how Ranma became Shaolin.
A1. The answer to that is I'll explain later, just like how
he learned the Hokuto shinken.