Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan.
A Not so Simple Wish
by Ebiris (danielmcdonagh@hotmail.com)

Chapter 14

The short sylph-like girl looked in the mirror and took in her appearance. Alarmingly red
hair, tied back into a simple pigtail, an oversized red Chinese style shirt that did little to
conceal her figure or the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra, baggy kung fu trousers
securely tied around her slim waist. Clear skin showed a natural beauty that needed no
makeup to enhance it while amazingly blue eyes like purest sapphire looked back
despondently from the reflection, showing none of the spark or zest they usually evoked.

Hesitantly, almost as if she were afraid she might shatter the mirror, the young girl raised
a hand to touch its glassy surface, her reflection doing the same to meet her palm.

"Ranma..."

She breathed that single word in a soft voice filled with a curious mix of reverence, hope
and pain.

"I'm Ranma..."

***

"So, you wanna see how worthy I am do ya?" Ranma popped his knuckles while glaring
down at the little troll who claimed to be the grandmaster of his school, doing a
surprisingly good job of hiding the fact that he was almost ready to soil himself from the
terrifying intensity of Happosai's aura.

"And I can already tell you I'm not impressed!" Happosai jabbed his pipe in Ranma's
direction "A true student of Anything Goes would show proper respect to his master, you
snot nosed little punk!"

What little patience Ranma posessed evaporated on his rebuking by this obviously senile
(but pretty scary) old coot. "Oh yeah? Well respect this!" He shot forward with speed and
skill borne from a lifetime of rigorous training in the martial arts. His fist arced towards
Happosai in a powerful (but only incapacitating, not fatal) blow.

Only Happosai wasn't there any longer.

"That all you got?" A taunting voice came from behind him, causing Ranma to quickly
whirl round and adopt a more defensive stance.

He's fast... Ranma thought in grudging respect, still, he'd battled people who were faster
than him before, the trick was just to find the pattern in their attacks. If you know what
they're going to do next, it doesn't matter how fast they are. "I see a whole lot of
posturing, but I don't see any action old man!" he retorted, hoping to goad the geezer into
making a mistake.

Happosai purpled with rage, then sprang into action, faster than Ranma could react. He
leapt around the boy's defence, striking all over Ranma's body, whenever Ranma tried to
counter, the tiny grandmaster would already be hitting a vulnerable spot somewhere else
on his body.

"Had enough yet?" Happosai sneered, now standing on the prone Ranma's chest.

"Grr...It ain't over yet old man!" Ranma growled, throwing a vicious punch at his elderly
foe, but like before, Happosai was easily able to evade by leaping backwards off of
Ranma's body.

Picking himself up, Ranma wobbled slightly before firming his stance and spitting out
some blood. The old man had worked him over good, his entire body felt like one
massive bruise, but he'd be damned if he'd lie over for this old bastard. He lifted his chin
proudly and beckoned Happosai to attack once more.

"So you do have spirit..." Happosai noted, a tone of grudging respect in his voice, then he
once more sprung at Ranma and yelled "I'll just have to beat it out of you!"

***

Ranma-chan considered taking a backpack full of camping supplies, but discarded the
notion. She was just going to another district in Tokyo, not out into the wilderness, even
if she was going to tell everyone it was a 'training trip'.

In a sense it was training. She needed a refresher course on her true identity. She needed
to BE Ranma once more, even girl-type Ranma, for just a little while. She'd had to play
the role of a girl before, for fooling Ryouga and Kuno - which was just harmless fun, to
the far more serious (and heartbreaking) task of pretending to be Ranko Tendou. But
never had she immersed herself in the life of a girl for so long, and to such a degree.
Ranko Tendou was a tomboy who bucked convention and did what she liked - and what
she liked most was making her 'auntie Saotome' smile. Ranko Xiawang was a proper
young lady who just happened to practice martial arts and wanted nothing more than to
be a good wife for her arranged fiance.

Ranko.

She hated that name, a feminine bastardisation of who she really was, it was a symbol of
all she was not. All she had lost because of that wretched training ground known as
Jusenkyo.

Every time she played Ranko Tendou, smiling with false cheer as she told a lonely
woman that her son had 'just left on a training trip' a little part of her died. There were
times when she just wanted to end it all, to tip a kettle over her head and stop the charade
of Ranko and her pet panda before throwing herself on her mother's mercy.

Akane believed she would not do that out of a simple fear of seppuku. She was wrong.

Ritual suicide held little fear for someone who had survived the terror of the Neko-ken
training. No, what really terrified her was seeing the disapointment and perhaps even
anger on her mothers face. Could she really betray Nodoka's memories of a young boy
who promised to grow into a man among men? Death would be a blessing after doing
something like that to her beloved mother.

***

Ranma backpedaled furiously as he tried to ward off Happosai's lightning fast offensive.
Any thought of counterattacking was gone as he was forced to concentrate everything he
had on simple defence. However, even if he was currently unable to take any offensive
action, he was taking careful note of the patterns Happosai was using in his attack.
Sooner or later he'd be able to take advantage of that - if only the old freak would let up
for a moment!

His prayers were answered when Happosai once more withdrew to examine his opponent
with a critical eye "Had enough, boy?"

"Heh... I... I'm just gettin' started..." Ranma slurred out, speech proving difficult from the
many blows to the jaw he had taken. He shifted his stance to one that would allow him to
put maximum power into one last all or nothing strike. He believed he'd have a good
chance of hitting when Happosai next attacked, but he knew that a miss would mean the
end of the fight.

Happosai shrugged "Your funeral." and once more attacked. As he flew towards his
young foe, Ranma stumbled forward and lashed out with a haymaker in a style that was
rather similar to drunken boxing - which was pretty close to the mark since Ranma was
feeling pretty punch drunk at the moment.

Amazingly, it connected, slamming Happosai into the nearby wall with enough force to
collapse the bricks on top of the geezer where he fell.

"Hah! How'dja like that?" Ranma crowed, spitting out some blood and noting
distractedly that his vision was becoming rather blurred. "Ranma Saotome don't lose!"

He was naturally quite distressed at that point when Happosai pulled himself clear of the
rubble and dusted himself off, seeming none the worse for wear.

"Well, I have to hand it to you, Ranma m'boy, you're a lot better than Genma was at your
age to actually hit me. I'm almost impressed."

"No way..." Ranma breathed - He'd put everything into that punch and the little freak just
brushes it off? What the hell was he?

Happosai just walked over to Ranma and looked up at him cockily "Well boy, shall we
finish this or will you call me Master?"

Ranma grimaced - no way was he going to call this little freak Master. But there was no
way to beat him. Unless... Ranma didn't like the idea that came to him then, but he was
fresh out of options.

If he wanted to win, he'd have to use the Saotome Desperation techniques.

***

Ranko Xiawang had things better than Ranko Tendou in many ways, but at the same
time she paid a higher price.

She could be with her mother, and even call her by that title. Even if it was as a
prospective daughter in law rather than as a son. Her relationship with Nodoka was
much better too, while Ranko Tendou was a loveable scamp that Nodoka liked and
wanted to mold into a proper lady, Ranko Xiawang was perhaps a younger reflection of
Nodoka, and it showed in just how much more affectionate the Saotome matriarch was
towards her.

Perhaps part of it was because Ranko Xiawang was her future daughter, while Ranko
Tendou was just her future daughter's backwards country cousin.

Ranko Tendou was a mask. A facade that was worn when necessary and then discarded
for the true identity underneath. Ranko Xiawang was a real person, with a real life and
future. She had friends and people who cared about her. In short, she mattered.

That was the trap.

Ranma-chan did not want to be Ranko - either Ranko. She wanted to be herself. But how
can you be yourself when everything that makes you who you are gets stripped away?
Ranma did exist in this world, but she was not Ranma. She was just some girl that
thought of herself as him. The only way to truly become Ranma once more was by going
through the role of Ranko - playing her role to its conclusion.

And she would do it. To become Ranma once more she would pay any price, overcome
any obstacle. No matter what.

"No matter what." she whispered to the reflection.

The reflection didn't look convinced.

***

The secret of attacking from behind like a hunting canine: Fox-fu!

"Oh my God! What's that?!" Ranma yelled, pointing at a spot in the distance behind his
wily foe.

Happosai snorted "Yeah, as if I'll fall for that one!"

Okay, Saotome Desperation strike number two: Striking the enemy to the ground with a
single blow, like a tiger! Feline-fu! (not to be confused with Neko-ken)

"Look! A hundred yen coin!" he pointed at the ground by Happosai's feet.

"What? Where?" Happosai instantly started scrabbling around the pavement looking for
the elusive piece of currency.

Reacting instantly, Ranma struck with a mighty blow, driving the ancient pervert into the
concrete while giving a loud yell.

Happosai swiftly recovered before Ranma could rain further blows on his ancient body,
and now he looked really pissed. "There was no hundred yen coin! How dare you cheat
an old man like that!" He summoned forth his intimidating battle aura once again,
paralysing Ranma with fear.

However, this was just playing into Ranma's hands, and the Saotome heir dropped to the
ground and started convulsing, no longer paralysed when not looking directly at
Happosai. "I'm s...sorry..." he choked out.

"Hmm... perhaps you can learn respect after all..." Happosai nodded approvingly at this
display.

Ultimate Saotome Desperation strike! Lulling the enemy into dropping his guard like a
toad in the road! Flat Frog fu!

With the old letch's guard down, Ranma again lashed out with a massive blow, only to
find his fist intercepted by a pipe which amplified and redirected his momentum
skyward.

"He really is Genma's son." Happosai noted as Ranma became a distant speck in the sky.

***

Ranma-chan put down the phone, having just given Sasuke a message to Kodachi that
she would be out of town for a few days, and then dialed a different number. After a few
seconds it was picked up and she heard growfing noises on the other end of the line.

She groaned and slapped her forehead, just imagining Genma on the other end holding
up a sign proclaiming that panda's can't talk. Then a human voice was heard.

"Honestly dear! What were you thinking?" a brief pause then "Hello, Saotome
residence."

Forcing her voice into a cheerful tone, Ranma-chan replied to her mother "Hello mother,
it's Ranko."

"Why hello Ranko-chan! You wouldn't know where Ranma is would you?"

"Well, I took him to meet a friend after school, he should be home soon." she said,
twisting the cord around her fingers.

"I see, showing off your manly fiance, eh?" Ranma-chan could just imagine Nodoka's
smirk on the other end of the line.

"Uh yeah... something like that. Anyway, could you tell Ranma that I won't be around
for a few days, I'm going on a short training trip."

"Of course dear, I'll let him know. I understand it's important for you to stay in shape -
besides, it'll mean you can bear lots of healthy children!" Nodoka gave a happy sigh at
that.

Ranma-chan couldn't help but chuckle at her mother's odd views on the world "Yeah.
That'd be good too... anyway, just called to let you know, I'll be back before you know
it!"

"I should hope so, Ranko-chan. You don't want my son getting too close to Kasumi while
you're gone after all. I'll see you soon."

"Bye... mom..." Ranma-chan whispered before hanging up.

Taking one last look around her apartment, she wrote a note to Happosai in case he got
back while she was gone, explaining she was only gone for a few days and telling him
where to find his 'collection'.

"I'll be back." she told the empty apartment before stepping out.

***