Ranma ½: Something More
Long live Chaos
**** Swirling waters of black surround, Pulling me down, To the bottom of the world, I see the face of a girl, Flowing red hair the color of blood, Eyes a crystal blue, Memories flood my mind, Fire slowly burning my lounges, This water is tainted with, Pain of loss, Regret of life, And tears of blood.
**** NOTES:
I have been very busy with school and haven't had much, if any time for writing. I'm not sure how good this is since I've been too busy to really look it over or plan anything. I could really use a PRE-READER to help edit and give me some comments. I have more of this story already writen, I just haven't had the time to get it typed up yet. Please Review. ****
Prologue: Hurray for death
Blackness and nothing else. I make my way through the thick darkness that threatens to smother me. I don't know where I am or where I am going, all I know is that I'm looking for something I can't find. Something very important that I've lost and need to replace as soon as possible.
A faint light appears shining ahead, the farther and longer I walk, the brighter the faint light becomes. After a countless amount of time walking my heart grows heavy, my mind doubtful, and so I just lay on the hard black ground while staring at the far off light. It seems so hopeless, what if I'm stuck here forever, tears start to flow from my eyes.
A breeze passes through my ear like a whisper, I can barely make out the single word "Rrannma." The word is so familiar and yet I can't remember what it means. What I do know is that the word makes me feel sad for some reason that I've forgotten. The sad word is whispered again, louder, this time it tugs at the threads of my memories, dragging them out into the open one at a time.
I find myself drawn towards the light as images are flashed rapidly through my mind. I see a girl, a panda, and a boy. I see a katana being carried by a kind looking woman, I also see a cute girl smiling down at me and feel my heart skip a beat. The light becomes too bright and hurts my eyes so I close them. When I open them again I am no longer in the thick darkness or the searing light. I am home.
Chapter 2
Peace is dead:
Part One: Perfect Dream.
Ranma woke to see Kasumi's concerned eyes staring down into his own. The pigtailed boy watched her eyes as they searched into his, as if trying to read into his very soul. The attention made him feel warm inside, and nervous as well because he was certain that if she searched too deeply she'd find something that would make her not like him anymore. He tried to sit up, but disorientation and confusion kept him firmly on the ground.
Kasumi smiled as she removed the warm cloth from his face "welcome back Ranma." The pigtailed boy moaned in response. Everything seemed off and he was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened. However he didn't exactly feel like doing any thinking at the moment.
Somehow he knew that Akane had knocked him into the koi pond, and that was how he ended up here, but he couldn't remember any of the details, just the plain facts. He also seemed to have acquired a lot of other various knowledge as well. Ranma would have shook his head in disbelief if it hadn't hurt so much, as it was he contented himself with trying to sit up again.
Kasumi's smile became strained as she asked "are you all right Ranma- kun?" The pigtailed boy nodded weakly, "yeah, sure......" He remember the canal, the doctor and the 9mm. Ranma felt the burning behind his eyes, and the tightening in his throat.
He heard Kasumi leave the room, but he was too lost in his memories to really notice her absence. He lay waiting for something, anything, to happen.
* * *
The room suddenly seemed to get a lot brighter and he felt a buzz passing through his body. It felt almost like he was floating. The pigtailed boy struggled to move, but no matter how hard he strained it felt as if a great weight was pushing down on him, keeping him from moving. When he looked back up he saw a short old man appear in a flash of colorful light. He choked out "who the hell are you?"
The wrinkled old man laughed as his eyes twinkled in amusement. "Ranma, my boy. You can call me Master Time." The pigtailed boy blinked a few times, "you're the one that brought me hear aren't you?" he whispered. The old man nodded, and the pigtailed boy realized the room was starting to blur. "You see Ranma, it wasn't your time to go."
The weakened pigtailed boy tried his best to glare "what do you mean it wasn't my time to go!? What could I possibly have to stay for?" The old man nodded knowingly "your far more important than you like to believe." Everything suddenly shifted and Ranma found himself staring at nothing. He managed to shake his head in disbelief, still rather confused by everything. And slowly the memory of the strange old man began to fade from his mind as his eyes began to drift closed. * * *
Ranma heard a noise and when he looked up saw a very familiar face. He hadn't seen this person in over a decade, yet at the same time he had over ten years of knowledge on this person and instantly knew who it was. He hadn't seen his father outside of old photo's and his dreams in over ten years, and here he was. "F-father.... Is that really y-you?"
The large, bald man looked down at his son with concern and nodded his head, at a loss of words. Ranma wiped away the last traces of tears and stood up, hugging his father "don't leave me again." Genma looked down at his son, confused, "leave? What are you talking about boy? And why are you crying like a little girl?"
Ranma knew that this wasn't how he should be acting. That he should be strong and hate his father, but at the same time mere knowledge just wasn't enough and his feelings were everything. The pigtailed boy sighed and pulled away from his father "nothing." Genma snorted and slapped his son on the back before leaving the room.
* * *
It was early evening and Akane was helping Kasumi with cooking dinner in the kitchen, Ranma knew from his recently acquired knowledge that this was a 'bad' thing, but he didn't really care. Besides, he knew that he could always eat later at his friend Uc-chan's, or maybe even the Neko- haten. Now that he'd had some time to think, Ranma started think about how he'd gotten here. He wanted to know what happened to the "Ranma" whose life he had taking over, but it seemed very unlikely that he'd figure it out. It seemed that he'd died and somehow come back as another him from a different reality, or something like that. He wasn't sure he even really believed that was what had happened, but couldn't come up with any other answer for his current situation.
An explosion came from the kitchen and the pigtailed boy looked over, from where he was sitting at the table, to see vast quantities of smoke drifting from the kitchen door. He stood up and called out "I'm gonna be out for awhile!" He did his best to ignore Akane's growling and heard Kasumi reply "that's fine Ranma, just don't be out late! You have school tomorrow." * * *
Ranma approached the restaurant which was exactly where he knew it would be, even if he'd never been to it before. The large sign on its front said "UC-CHAN's" in big, bold letters. Inside he saw his old friend standing behind the grill, she called out to him "Hey Ran-chan, you beat the dinner time rush."
Ranma smiled and sat on one of the bar stools, his stomach grumbled hungrily. Ukyou giggled and started pouring batter onto the grill. "How about a nice Okonomiyaki Sugar?" she asked sweetly. Ranma grinned and nodded, he knew that Uc-chan's Okonomiyaki was 'the' best.
Ukyou paused in her work to frown at him "your awfully quiet today Sugar, something bothering you?" The pigtailed boy's smile weakened "its nothing." Ukyou smiled back "common, you can tell me. I 'am' your CUTE fiancee after all." Ranma paused for a moment, and realized she was right. "Uc-chan, just 'cause you're my fiancee doesn't mean we can't just be friends, right?" Ukyou tilted her head to the side, looking confused, "I don't think I understand what your saying Honey." Ranma sighed, realizing that Ukyou wasn't the childhood friend he thought she would be. He looked up into the loving brown eyes "Uc-chan, do you really love me?" he asked in a quiet voice. Ukyou's eyes widened "of course Ran-chan, isn't it obvious?" The pigtailed boy felt something warm burning deep inside him and he leaned towards the chef. "Uc-chan I......"
The door burst open and Akane stormed in "RANMA!?" She closed the distance between herself and the pigtailed boy in mere seconds "what do 'you' think your doing here after I spent all that time making a nice dinner for you!?" The pigtailed boy grimaced, Akane being mad at him always seemed to hurt more than a punch in the face by Ryouga. He backed away from her "I...uh..." Akane grabbed his arm and dragged him from the restaurant, leaving behind an angry and very confused Ukyou. * * *
As he was dragged down the street with Akane holding his arm he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and trapped. "You know I can walk on my own!" he snapped angrily. Akane released his arm "then walk!" Ranma avoided looking at her and followed his fiancee. As they turned the corner Ranma found himself face to face with Ryouga Hebiki. The eternal lost boy became enraged at the very sight of Ranma with Akane. He grabbed his battle umbrella from his large pack, then dropped the pack on the ground.
The lost boy looked from Ranma, to Akane, then back to Ranma. The pigtailed boy shook his head "another time P-chan." Ryouga bellowed "don't CALL me that!" and lounged forwards with his umbrella, preparing to swing. Ranma found himself dodging to the right before he even realized it. Unfortunately he didn't dodge the upwards swing that followed.
Akane shook her head in disapproval, yelling out "Do you two have to fight ALL the time!? Forget it.....I'm going home!" Ranma rubbed his jaw and ignored Akane. The bandana wearing boy smirked at him. The pigtailed ground his teeth in frustration and wondered what it would feel like to squash P-chan into mush with his bare hands. * * *
Akane returned home to find everyone sitting around the table in the family. Kasumi noticed her and said "please have a seat little sister." Akane complied, sitting beside Nabiki. "What's going on?" she asked no one in general. Genma replied "Ranma hasn't been himself lately. Does anyone think they know what's been causing his odd behavior?"
There were assorted negatives in the form of words, shaking heads, and confused stares. Soun was about to say something when the door bell rang and Kasumi stood up "I'll get it father." Mr. Tendou nodded at her. A moment later voices from the front door drifted into the family room. Upon hearing them Genma made a mad dash for the pond. * * *
Ranma couldn't explain what exactly was going on, all he knew is that he wanted Ryouga to hurt, bad. What really confused him though was at the same time he'd give anything for Ryouga to want to be his friend. The feelings had him on a thin line between attacking the lost and trying to dissolve the conflict.
He shook his head to clear it and focused on the bandana wearing boy. Ryouga tossed his umbrella to the side and cracked his knuckles "your really pathetic Saoutome, you know that?" Ranma shook his head again, and found himself stepping back into a Kempo stance. Ryouga grinned and charged forward with a powerful left cross. The pigtailed boy ducked and rolled forward to Ryouga's side just in time to block a spinning heal kick.
Ranma jumped back to gain some distance, unfortunately he wasn't out of reach of Ryouga's words. "Your nothing but a pathetic excuse for a man, I don't see how Akane could ever like you. All you do is cause others pain and trouble. We'd be better off without you." Ranma shook his head in denial, but he could find too much truth in those words to just ignore them. If he wasn't here then Akane wouldn't be forced to marry him, both Shampoo and Ukyou would be free to chase after someone worthwhile, and Ryouga, the closest person he had to a friend wouldn't turn into a pig whenever splashed with cold water.
Just then the weather decided to match the pigtailed boys mood and it began to rain. The pigtailed girl turned away from the pig struggling to free itself from under a pile of cloths, and walked dejectedly back towards the Tendou home. Ranma found herself absently wondering if Kasumi would want to play a game of Mahjong with her later. She shuddered as thunder sounded in the distance. * * *
Nodoka walked into the family room to find the Tendou's and a soaking wet Panda sitting at the table. She found herself cringing at the unpleasant odder of wet Panda fur. Akane's eyes were wide with surprise "Auntie! What are you doing her?" she asked. Smiling weakly Nodoka looked over everyone and answered "today's Ranma's birthday so I though I'd drop by....."
Understanding seemed to shine in Kasumi's eyes "no wonder Ranma's been acting so strange, no one remembered his birthday!" All the Tendou's turned to face the panda who was holding up a sign reading {Hey what do I know!? I'm just a panda!} There was the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and a very wet, dejected looking redhead, stood just outside the rooms door. * * *
Ranma looked directly at her mother with a cold, hard stare "hello Auntie." She could remember how her mother never even acknowledged her, and yet here in this strange world her mother was actually "looking" for 'her'. The pigtailed girl new that it was because Nodoka didn't know her that she actually seemed to care. Ranma found himself not caring that he had to be Ranko, besides he was already pretending to be a Ranma he just wasn't.
"Ranko, your soaking wet!" Nadoka pointed out. The redhead glared at her and in a sarcastic tone replied "you think?" as she walked past. Kasumi looked after the retreating redhead "I'll go talk with her."
* * *
Ranma slammed the door behind her and felt her anger quickly change into loneliness and regret as soon as the door was closed. She walked towards the window and looked out at the rain falling down from the dark sky. It seemed that now she had more problems then before. Ranma wished she had just gone into non-existence instead of being brought to this hell. She knew she could never be as strong and as brave as the Ranma that she'd somehow replaced. That Ranma was....special.... and she was...well.... below average, worthless and pathetic. It was only a matter of time before everyone else figured out she was more trouble than she was worth.
Shan Pu and Ukyou would forget about her, and Akane would continue to hate her until the end of her life. Ranma wished for some hot water, actually now that she thought about it, she wished for a motorcycle. On her bike she could lose herself. Racing down the road as if she were flying. Ranma still remembered what she'd had to go through to steal her Sazuki 12000 cc motorcycle, but in the end she'd had plenty of good times on that bike.
A knock on her door brought her out of her remembrance. "Who is it?!" she called out. "Ranma can I come in?" The pigtailed girl seemed to debate it for a minute then managed to bring a smile to her face. "Yeah, sure." The door slid open and the eldest Tendou sister entered. * * *
Nadoka stood in the kitchen directing Akane into making dinner and staring in wonder at the amount of damage that had recently been done to Kasumi's usually perfect kitchen. Nodoka walked to stand beside the destructive girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "Akane, you don't have to use that much strength to cut the vegetables." Akane nodded and slightly changed her chopping motions. Nodoka had always wanted a daughter, someone she could teach things to, someone she could talk to. It was very lonely living all by yourself. * * *
Ranma had thought about what Ryouga had said. The lost boy had told her that she made people unhappy. The pigtailed girl decided that maybe if she tried her best to make everyone happy then maybe they would like her.... Kasumi interrupted the pigtailed girl's thoughts by saying something that took Ranma completely by surprise. "Happy birthday Ranma- kun!" Ranma blinked a few times. "Birthday? What are you talking about?" she asked bewildered. Ranma couldn't remember ever having paid much, if any, attention to her birthday and wondered what had made Kasumi bring it up. Or how she even knew.
Kasumi's smile became strained "you didn't know?" The redhead shook her head and the eldest Tendou sister asked "then why have you been acting so...." she shrugged her shoulders "....lately?" Ranma shook her head to clear it and buy some time so she could think of something to say. "Wh....no reason" she said, smiling as genuinely as she could. Kasumi's weak smile turned to a frown "are you feeling alright?" The redhead nodded vigorously "yeah of course, never better. You wanna play Mahjong?" Kasumi blinked a few times "maybe later Ranma-chan, I have to help Auntie in the kitchen." As the door slid shut Ranma turned back to the window, as she stared, all alone, out at the rain she tried to figure out why there were tears flowing down from her face. * * *
Nodoka looked to see Kasumi walk into the kitchen and asked "is Ranko okay?" Kasumi nodded weakly "she says that she's fine. Its just that....." Nodoka looked at her with questioning expression and Kasumi released a deep sigh "she was crying and Ranko NEVER cries...." Nodoka smiled "you want me to talk to her." Kaumi beamed "would you?" Mrs. Saoutome nodded "of course. While I'm gone though would you watch Akane for me?" Kasumi turned to see her younger sister cutting up carrots a little too enthusiastically for her own good and felt her pleasant smile becoming strained again. * * *
Ranma lay on her futon while her legs dangled in the air as she writes in a blank school notebook she found in her school bag. It was strange really, she knew this was her note book, and yet she had never seen it before. It gave the whole night a surreal feeling, she glanced over at the window just to make sure it was still raining, before turning back to her work.
Ranma had kept a journal before in his old life and so found himself wanting to start a new one. It was like he'd left home on a long trip, and would never return. For some reason he wanted to keep as many ties to his past life as possible. This life was definitely more complicated than then his old one. He remembered how he always wanted to go to the main land, and now he knew he had, but all it brought him was great misfortune as well as two curses. Ranma wrote: 'Its funny how things can change so much and still be the same. Mom used to ignore and avoid me, now she's gone forever. I'm really starting to hate that word "forever". Why can't everything just end?' Ranma jumped when she heard a knock on the door and slipped her journal under her futon. "Ranko, may I come in?" The redhead shook her head and called out "No!" There was a moments pause "if you want to talk...." Ranma's mind overloaded, her mother actually wanted to talk to her.... she shook her head to clear it. Not 'my' mother, she's gone, but maybe..... Ranma rubbed the tear streaks from her face "wait!" The door slowly slid open "Ranko- chan?" The redhead looked up at her mother and nodded.
Nadoko walked over to the redhead and sat down on the floor beside her. "Ranko" sat up and forced a smile when all she wanted to was scream at her mother how much she hated and despised her. Nodoka smiled back "you know today is Ranma's birthday?" she asked. The pigtailed girl nodded "Kasumi told me." The woman's smile became strained "I was wondering if you could tell me what my son is like." Ranko frowned "like?"
Nadoka shifted into a more comfortable position "is he manly?" The pigtailed girl shook her head in disbelief "so you haven't seen your son in ten years and the first thing you want to know is if he's manly. Shouldn't you be asking is he's okay, or if he missed you, or maybe if he's happy?!" Nadoka paled at the outburst "Ranko, are you feeling all right?" The redhead glared at her "why wouldn't I be?" Ranma found herself standing up "I really don...." she was cut off by 'Auntie.' "Ranko, there is something
obviously bothering you, would you please tell me what it is? I'm sure we can make it all better...." this time it was her turn to be cut off. "You want to know what's bothering me!? EVERYTHING in general and YOU in specific! If you want to make things 'all' better than get the hell AWAY from me!" Nadoka stood and walked towards the door, she looked over her shoulder "Ranko, if you want to have a nice peacefu..." Ranko snarled "Just leave me alone mom." Nodoka quickly backed out of the room, away from the hostile looking redhead and founder herself noticing something. "Did she call me 'mom'?"
**** Swirling waters of black surround, Pulling me down, To the bottom of the world, I see the face of a girl, Flowing red hair the color of blood, Eyes a crystal blue, Memories flood my mind, Fire slowly burning my lounges, This water is tainted with, Pain of loss, Regret of life, And tears of blood.
**** NOTES:
I have been very busy with school and haven't had much, if any time for writing. I'm not sure how good this is since I've been too busy to really look it over or plan anything. I could really use a PRE-READER to help edit and give me some comments. I have more of this story already writen, I just haven't had the time to get it typed up yet. Please Review. ****
Prologue: Hurray for death
Blackness and nothing else. I make my way through the thick darkness that threatens to smother me. I don't know where I am or where I am going, all I know is that I'm looking for something I can't find. Something very important that I've lost and need to replace as soon as possible.
A faint light appears shining ahead, the farther and longer I walk, the brighter the faint light becomes. After a countless amount of time walking my heart grows heavy, my mind doubtful, and so I just lay on the hard black ground while staring at the far off light. It seems so hopeless, what if I'm stuck here forever, tears start to flow from my eyes.
A breeze passes through my ear like a whisper, I can barely make out the single word "Rrannma." The word is so familiar and yet I can't remember what it means. What I do know is that the word makes me feel sad for some reason that I've forgotten. The sad word is whispered again, louder, this time it tugs at the threads of my memories, dragging them out into the open one at a time.
I find myself drawn towards the light as images are flashed rapidly through my mind. I see a girl, a panda, and a boy. I see a katana being carried by a kind looking woman, I also see a cute girl smiling down at me and feel my heart skip a beat. The light becomes too bright and hurts my eyes so I close them. When I open them again I am no longer in the thick darkness or the searing light. I am home.
Chapter 2
Peace is dead:
Part One: Perfect Dream.
Ranma woke to see Kasumi's concerned eyes staring down into his own. The pigtailed boy watched her eyes as they searched into his, as if trying to read into his very soul. The attention made him feel warm inside, and nervous as well because he was certain that if she searched too deeply she'd find something that would make her not like him anymore. He tried to sit up, but disorientation and confusion kept him firmly on the ground.
Kasumi smiled as she removed the warm cloth from his face "welcome back Ranma." The pigtailed boy moaned in response. Everything seemed off and he was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened. However he didn't exactly feel like doing any thinking at the moment.
Somehow he knew that Akane had knocked him into the koi pond, and that was how he ended up here, but he couldn't remember any of the details, just the plain facts. He also seemed to have acquired a lot of other various knowledge as well. Ranma would have shook his head in disbelief if it hadn't hurt so much, as it was he contented himself with trying to sit up again.
Kasumi's smile became strained as she asked "are you all right Ranma- kun?" The pigtailed boy nodded weakly, "yeah, sure......" He remember the canal, the doctor and the 9mm. Ranma felt the burning behind his eyes, and the tightening in his throat.
He heard Kasumi leave the room, but he was too lost in his memories to really notice her absence. He lay waiting for something, anything, to happen.
* * *
The room suddenly seemed to get a lot brighter and he felt a buzz passing through his body. It felt almost like he was floating. The pigtailed boy struggled to move, but no matter how hard he strained it felt as if a great weight was pushing down on him, keeping him from moving. When he looked back up he saw a short old man appear in a flash of colorful light. He choked out "who the hell are you?"
The wrinkled old man laughed as his eyes twinkled in amusement. "Ranma, my boy. You can call me Master Time." The pigtailed boy blinked a few times, "you're the one that brought me hear aren't you?" he whispered. The old man nodded, and the pigtailed boy realized the room was starting to blur. "You see Ranma, it wasn't your time to go."
The weakened pigtailed boy tried his best to glare "what do you mean it wasn't my time to go!? What could I possibly have to stay for?" The old man nodded knowingly "your far more important than you like to believe." Everything suddenly shifted and Ranma found himself staring at nothing. He managed to shake his head in disbelief, still rather confused by everything. And slowly the memory of the strange old man began to fade from his mind as his eyes began to drift closed. * * *
Ranma heard a noise and when he looked up saw a very familiar face. He hadn't seen this person in over a decade, yet at the same time he had over ten years of knowledge on this person and instantly knew who it was. He hadn't seen his father outside of old photo's and his dreams in over ten years, and here he was. "F-father.... Is that really y-you?"
The large, bald man looked down at his son with concern and nodded his head, at a loss of words. Ranma wiped away the last traces of tears and stood up, hugging his father "don't leave me again." Genma looked down at his son, confused, "leave? What are you talking about boy? And why are you crying like a little girl?"
Ranma knew that this wasn't how he should be acting. That he should be strong and hate his father, but at the same time mere knowledge just wasn't enough and his feelings were everything. The pigtailed boy sighed and pulled away from his father "nothing." Genma snorted and slapped his son on the back before leaving the room.
* * *
It was early evening and Akane was helping Kasumi with cooking dinner in the kitchen, Ranma knew from his recently acquired knowledge that this was a 'bad' thing, but he didn't really care. Besides, he knew that he could always eat later at his friend Uc-chan's, or maybe even the Neko- haten. Now that he'd had some time to think, Ranma started think about how he'd gotten here. He wanted to know what happened to the "Ranma" whose life he had taking over, but it seemed very unlikely that he'd figure it out. It seemed that he'd died and somehow come back as another him from a different reality, or something like that. He wasn't sure he even really believed that was what had happened, but couldn't come up with any other answer for his current situation.
An explosion came from the kitchen and the pigtailed boy looked over, from where he was sitting at the table, to see vast quantities of smoke drifting from the kitchen door. He stood up and called out "I'm gonna be out for awhile!" He did his best to ignore Akane's growling and heard Kasumi reply "that's fine Ranma, just don't be out late! You have school tomorrow." * * *
Ranma approached the restaurant which was exactly where he knew it would be, even if he'd never been to it before. The large sign on its front said "UC-CHAN's" in big, bold letters. Inside he saw his old friend standing behind the grill, she called out to him "Hey Ran-chan, you beat the dinner time rush."
Ranma smiled and sat on one of the bar stools, his stomach grumbled hungrily. Ukyou giggled and started pouring batter onto the grill. "How about a nice Okonomiyaki Sugar?" she asked sweetly. Ranma grinned and nodded, he knew that Uc-chan's Okonomiyaki was 'the' best.
Ukyou paused in her work to frown at him "your awfully quiet today Sugar, something bothering you?" The pigtailed boy's smile weakened "its nothing." Ukyou smiled back "common, you can tell me. I 'am' your CUTE fiancee after all." Ranma paused for a moment, and realized she was right. "Uc-chan, just 'cause you're my fiancee doesn't mean we can't just be friends, right?" Ukyou tilted her head to the side, looking confused, "I don't think I understand what your saying Honey." Ranma sighed, realizing that Ukyou wasn't the childhood friend he thought she would be. He looked up into the loving brown eyes "Uc-chan, do you really love me?" he asked in a quiet voice. Ukyou's eyes widened "of course Ran-chan, isn't it obvious?" The pigtailed boy felt something warm burning deep inside him and he leaned towards the chef. "Uc-chan I......"
The door burst open and Akane stormed in "RANMA!?" She closed the distance between herself and the pigtailed boy in mere seconds "what do 'you' think your doing here after I spent all that time making a nice dinner for you!?" The pigtailed boy grimaced, Akane being mad at him always seemed to hurt more than a punch in the face by Ryouga. He backed away from her "I...uh..." Akane grabbed his arm and dragged him from the restaurant, leaving behind an angry and very confused Ukyou. * * *
As he was dragged down the street with Akane holding his arm he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and trapped. "You know I can walk on my own!" he snapped angrily. Akane released his arm "then walk!" Ranma avoided looking at her and followed his fiancee. As they turned the corner Ranma found himself face to face with Ryouga Hebiki. The eternal lost boy became enraged at the very sight of Ranma with Akane. He grabbed his battle umbrella from his large pack, then dropped the pack on the ground.
The lost boy looked from Ranma, to Akane, then back to Ranma. The pigtailed boy shook his head "another time P-chan." Ryouga bellowed "don't CALL me that!" and lounged forwards with his umbrella, preparing to swing. Ranma found himself dodging to the right before he even realized it. Unfortunately he didn't dodge the upwards swing that followed.
Akane shook her head in disapproval, yelling out "Do you two have to fight ALL the time!? Forget it.....I'm going home!" Ranma rubbed his jaw and ignored Akane. The bandana wearing boy smirked at him. The pigtailed ground his teeth in frustration and wondered what it would feel like to squash P-chan into mush with his bare hands. * * *
Akane returned home to find everyone sitting around the table in the family. Kasumi noticed her and said "please have a seat little sister." Akane complied, sitting beside Nabiki. "What's going on?" she asked no one in general. Genma replied "Ranma hasn't been himself lately. Does anyone think they know what's been causing his odd behavior?"
There were assorted negatives in the form of words, shaking heads, and confused stares. Soun was about to say something when the door bell rang and Kasumi stood up "I'll get it father." Mr. Tendou nodded at her. A moment later voices from the front door drifted into the family room. Upon hearing them Genma made a mad dash for the pond. * * *
Ranma couldn't explain what exactly was going on, all he knew is that he wanted Ryouga to hurt, bad. What really confused him though was at the same time he'd give anything for Ryouga to want to be his friend. The feelings had him on a thin line between attacking the lost and trying to dissolve the conflict.
He shook his head to clear it and focused on the bandana wearing boy. Ryouga tossed his umbrella to the side and cracked his knuckles "your really pathetic Saoutome, you know that?" Ranma shook his head again, and found himself stepping back into a Kempo stance. Ryouga grinned and charged forward with a powerful left cross. The pigtailed boy ducked and rolled forward to Ryouga's side just in time to block a spinning heal kick.
Ranma jumped back to gain some distance, unfortunately he wasn't out of reach of Ryouga's words. "Your nothing but a pathetic excuse for a man, I don't see how Akane could ever like you. All you do is cause others pain and trouble. We'd be better off without you." Ranma shook his head in denial, but he could find too much truth in those words to just ignore them. If he wasn't here then Akane wouldn't be forced to marry him, both Shampoo and Ukyou would be free to chase after someone worthwhile, and Ryouga, the closest person he had to a friend wouldn't turn into a pig whenever splashed with cold water.
Just then the weather decided to match the pigtailed boys mood and it began to rain. The pigtailed girl turned away from the pig struggling to free itself from under a pile of cloths, and walked dejectedly back towards the Tendou home. Ranma found herself absently wondering if Kasumi would want to play a game of Mahjong with her later. She shuddered as thunder sounded in the distance. * * *
Nodoka walked into the family room to find the Tendou's and a soaking wet Panda sitting at the table. She found herself cringing at the unpleasant odder of wet Panda fur. Akane's eyes were wide with surprise "Auntie! What are you doing her?" she asked. Smiling weakly Nodoka looked over everyone and answered "today's Ranma's birthday so I though I'd drop by....."
Understanding seemed to shine in Kasumi's eyes "no wonder Ranma's been acting so strange, no one remembered his birthday!" All the Tendou's turned to face the panda who was holding up a sign reading {Hey what do I know!? I'm just a panda!} There was the sound of heavy footsteps approaching and a very wet, dejected looking redhead, stood just outside the rooms door. * * *
Ranma looked directly at her mother with a cold, hard stare "hello Auntie." She could remember how her mother never even acknowledged her, and yet here in this strange world her mother was actually "looking" for 'her'. The pigtailed girl new that it was because Nodoka didn't know her that she actually seemed to care. Ranma found himself not caring that he had to be Ranko, besides he was already pretending to be a Ranma he just wasn't.
"Ranko, your soaking wet!" Nadoka pointed out. The redhead glared at her and in a sarcastic tone replied "you think?" as she walked past. Kasumi looked after the retreating redhead "I'll go talk with her."
* * *
Ranma slammed the door behind her and felt her anger quickly change into loneliness and regret as soon as the door was closed. She walked towards the window and looked out at the rain falling down from the dark sky. It seemed that now she had more problems then before. Ranma wished she had just gone into non-existence instead of being brought to this hell. She knew she could never be as strong and as brave as the Ranma that she'd somehow replaced. That Ranma was....special.... and she was...well.... below average, worthless and pathetic. It was only a matter of time before everyone else figured out she was more trouble than she was worth.
Shan Pu and Ukyou would forget about her, and Akane would continue to hate her until the end of her life. Ranma wished for some hot water, actually now that she thought about it, she wished for a motorcycle. On her bike she could lose herself. Racing down the road as if she were flying. Ranma still remembered what she'd had to go through to steal her Sazuki 12000 cc motorcycle, but in the end she'd had plenty of good times on that bike.
A knock on her door brought her out of her remembrance. "Who is it?!" she called out. "Ranma can I come in?" The pigtailed girl seemed to debate it for a minute then managed to bring a smile to her face. "Yeah, sure." The door slid open and the eldest Tendou sister entered. * * *
Nadoka stood in the kitchen directing Akane into making dinner and staring in wonder at the amount of damage that had recently been done to Kasumi's usually perfect kitchen. Nodoka walked to stand beside the destructive girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "Akane, you don't have to use that much strength to cut the vegetables." Akane nodded and slightly changed her chopping motions. Nodoka had always wanted a daughter, someone she could teach things to, someone she could talk to. It was very lonely living all by yourself. * * *
Ranma had thought about what Ryouga had said. The lost boy had told her that she made people unhappy. The pigtailed girl decided that maybe if she tried her best to make everyone happy then maybe they would like her.... Kasumi interrupted the pigtailed girl's thoughts by saying something that took Ranma completely by surprise. "Happy birthday Ranma- kun!" Ranma blinked a few times. "Birthday? What are you talking about?" she asked bewildered. Ranma couldn't remember ever having paid much, if any, attention to her birthday and wondered what had made Kasumi bring it up. Or how she even knew.
Kasumi's smile became strained "you didn't know?" The redhead shook her head and the eldest Tendou sister asked "then why have you been acting so...." she shrugged her shoulders "....lately?" Ranma shook her head to clear it and buy some time so she could think of something to say. "Wh....no reason" she said, smiling as genuinely as she could. Kasumi's weak smile turned to a frown "are you feeling alright?" The redhead nodded vigorously "yeah of course, never better. You wanna play Mahjong?" Kasumi blinked a few times "maybe later Ranma-chan, I have to help Auntie in the kitchen." As the door slid shut Ranma turned back to the window, as she stared, all alone, out at the rain she tried to figure out why there were tears flowing down from her face. * * *
Nodoka looked to see Kasumi walk into the kitchen and asked "is Ranko okay?" Kasumi nodded weakly "she says that she's fine. Its just that....." Nodoka looked at her with questioning expression and Kasumi released a deep sigh "she was crying and Ranko NEVER cries...." Nodoka smiled "you want me to talk to her." Kaumi beamed "would you?" Mrs. Saoutome nodded "of course. While I'm gone though would you watch Akane for me?" Kasumi turned to see her younger sister cutting up carrots a little too enthusiastically for her own good and felt her pleasant smile becoming strained again. * * *
Ranma lay on her futon while her legs dangled in the air as she writes in a blank school notebook she found in her school bag. It was strange really, she knew this was her note book, and yet she had never seen it before. It gave the whole night a surreal feeling, she glanced over at the window just to make sure it was still raining, before turning back to her work.
Ranma had kept a journal before in his old life and so found himself wanting to start a new one. It was like he'd left home on a long trip, and would never return. For some reason he wanted to keep as many ties to his past life as possible. This life was definitely more complicated than then his old one. He remembered how he always wanted to go to the main land, and now he knew he had, but all it brought him was great misfortune as well as two curses. Ranma wrote: 'Its funny how things can change so much and still be the same. Mom used to ignore and avoid me, now she's gone forever. I'm really starting to hate that word "forever". Why can't everything just end?' Ranma jumped when she heard a knock on the door and slipped her journal under her futon. "Ranko, may I come in?" The redhead shook her head and called out "No!" There was a moments pause "if you want to talk...." Ranma's mind overloaded, her mother actually wanted to talk to her.... she shook her head to clear it. Not 'my' mother, she's gone, but maybe..... Ranma rubbed the tear streaks from her face "wait!" The door slowly slid open "Ranko- chan?" The redhead looked up at her mother and nodded.
Nadoko walked over to the redhead and sat down on the floor beside her. "Ranko" sat up and forced a smile when all she wanted to was scream at her mother how much she hated and despised her. Nodoka smiled back "you know today is Ranma's birthday?" she asked. The pigtailed girl nodded "Kasumi told me." The woman's smile became strained "I was wondering if you could tell me what my son is like." Ranko frowned "like?"
Nadoka shifted into a more comfortable position "is he manly?" The pigtailed girl shook her head in disbelief "so you haven't seen your son in ten years and the first thing you want to know is if he's manly. Shouldn't you be asking is he's okay, or if he missed you, or maybe if he's happy?!" Nadoka paled at the outburst "Ranko, are you feeling all right?" The redhead glared at her "why wouldn't I be?" Ranma found herself standing up "I really don...." she was cut off by 'Auntie.' "Ranko, there is something
obviously bothering you, would you please tell me what it is? I'm sure we can make it all better...." this time it was her turn to be cut off. "You want to know what's bothering me!? EVERYTHING in general and YOU in specific! If you want to make things 'all' better than get the hell AWAY from me!" Nadoka stood and walked towards the door, she looked over her shoulder "Ranko, if you want to have a nice peacefu..." Ranko snarled "Just leave me alone mom." Nodoka quickly backed out of the room, away from the hostile looking redhead and founder herself noticing something. "Did she call me 'mom'?"