Disclaimer: Ranma Nibunoichi a.k.a. Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, all characters belong to her and are the property of Vis comics and Vis video.
This Fanfic is created for fun; the only thing I own is the plot and actions described
The original author of this idea is Guyver (Guyver@ipoline.com)
"Speech" (duh)
"/Chinese/"
/Thought/
-Signs-
(Authors notes)
One Half of One Prologue
"H-He's here... He's finally here..." the boy smiled and ignored the small splatter of blood that littered the ground as he coughed. Said boy was currently kneeling and clutching his abdomen in pain as his tormentors watched on, circling like a pack of vultures over a piece of carrion left over as road kill. Ryoga Hibiki, the eternal lost boy and his worst enemy. Mousse, the Amazon male, was a bully and tormentor of those who can't defend themselves. Tatewaki Kuno, the lunatic kendoist and self proclaimed samurai taking out his frustrations on him for 'hounding' one girl. That girl was Akane Tendo, Youngest daughter of Soun Tendo, heir of the Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling or The Tendo Branch of Anything Goes Martial Arts. "He's here... Now I will be whole again!" Tears were flowing down Ranma's face as the three others closed in and continued to beat on him while ignoring the mutterings of the boy they had chosen to make a punching bag.
Ranma Saotome, Heir of The Saotome Branch of Anything Goes Martial Arts and fiancé of Akane Tendo through a pact between their fathers. A pact most likely made while both were under the roof of a bar and had almost imbibed the entire contents of the tavern. An engagement that had led to countless beatings and accusations on the part of Akane, an engagement that neither had wanted but had been forced into. And although he might have been the heir of a martial arts school one would not think that after meeting the boy, mainly because he refused to spar and hated fighting. But he was emotional and often would be left a sobbing wreck after the morning beatings or even the incessant teasing by the other kids at school over his weakness and emotional outbursts. But Ranma never asked to be like this, and now that his other half was back things would change and he would finally have his revenge.
As the pain of the many fists and bokken strikes threatened to overwhelm his control and send him into blissful unconsciousness he thought back to that day that turned him from a martial artist to a whimpering Soun Tendo wannabe. It was back before the trip to china, as they were camping at the beach and Genma had been digging a large pit in the sand saying that it was for a new training method to make him the ultimate warrior...
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A ten year old Ranma is sitting at the edge of the hole his father was digging constantly pestering his father with questions while trying, however not succeeding, to envision this new training he would receive. This had gone on for the last few days and he was getting bored waiting or doing a kata that he had mastered weeks ago.
"Come on daddy, when will I be learning the unbeatable technique you keep talking about?" He was excited, he was gonna be the best martial artist ever but if he didn't learn anything how could that happen. "Come on! When can I learn the Hawk's Talon or the Iron Palm strike?" He kept prodding his father; he'd seen the techniques but had yet been able to perform them himself.
"RANMA! Quit whining you sound like a girl!" Genma roared. If there was one thing that could get the boy to shut up was to compare his vocations to that of a girl. The inferiority of girls had been drilled into the boys head since he was away from his mother. Girls are weak, stupid and dependant on men in life.
"DO NOT!" He retorted.
"OH! Kami-sama why did I have to be burdened by such an ungrateful whelp?!" Genma Asked the heavens tears streaming down his eyes and overall making a good effect, although the acting would have earned a razzie. Ranma chose that time to shut up, if he had learned one thing from his father was that he didn't like to be disturbed when he was talking to a god. "Why couldn't I have received a boy who would respect his father? Why!"
"Who's that?" Ranma said suddenly standing and getting into a defensive stance, which happened to be the only stance he knew right now. The figure that was approaching them didn't look like a cop but one could never be too sure these days.
"Huh?" Genma didn't like to be interrupted when he was ruing the gods but his son's reaction was one to be noted. "What are you talking about boy?" He glowered while climbing the ladder to find out what was wrong; the man approaching made his scowl deepen. The man was tall, towering over the two Japanese, and he was wearing a large hooded cloak that covered his face in shadow. "Who are you and what do you want?"
"Be at ease Genma Saotome, I'm not here to harm you or your son. I'm here to offer you a deal. One that is mutually benefiting." The hooded man's voice was, disturbing to say the least almost grating against Genma's nerves. "I can make Ranma the great warrior his potential allows of him." The hints of a smile under the cloak could almost be seen.
"What's the catch? There's always something that you want or you wouldn't be offering this, now what is it?" Genma was being protective of his son (yeah right), if he lost his son then where would his meal ticket come in? (That's better) And Nadoka would skin him alive with that katana of hers.
"Its quite simple really, I'll make Ranma a great warrior. A True man for his mother, in return you allow Ranma to help free my home. To rescue my people from genocide, a truly manly quest." His words bore deeply into Ranma; Genma had always pressed being a man and becoming the greatest martial artist ever. Now this stranger was offering just that, to become a man and a great warrior. Genma was thrilled, not only does he not have to worry bout raising Ranma and making him a man but he would become a warrior as well. All Genma had to do was sit back and wait.
"Lets talk this over, come sit with me" Genma waved over to the makeshift camp that he and Ranma had been using the past few days. Ranma sat there watching them for all of ten minutes before walking off a bit to practice some katas; he was bored out of his mind. He even tried meditating twice, after waking up the second time he decided to try something else, and even dug some in the hole to speed up the training he'd be doing soon.
Kata's didn't work, meditating didn't work, digging didn't work, and running around the camp to increase his endurance didn't work. Heck even using a small tree as a practice dummy didn't work, and he had to clean his fists of sap after. Nothing was getting rid of the boredom he was feeling. He was on his second attempt at digging when his thoughts were interrupted.
"Its a deal then!" Ranma heard while throwing a clump of dirt onto the ever growing pile. "After all its a martial artist's duty to help those weaker then themselves." Genma's smiled at the man and his son; this'll be easier than he originally thought. The man smiled and nodded, turning to face Ranma.
"It is a deal then..." He lifted his hands and placed one on each of Ranma's shoulders. This action perturbed Ranma but he didn't flinch, it was unmanly to flinch in the face of a challenge. "Have a good life Ranma; your other half will be back one day..." Ranma felt the hands start pulling apart although they kept their hold on his shoulders, Ranma was wondering what the man meant by the words.
"Other half? What other half? Pop, what's he talking about? Uuhhhgg..." Ranma's head started to spin and the world suddenly split into two separate images. "What's happeni..." the question died as everything went black for the young boy.
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When Ranma woke up he was surprised to see himself staring back at him, the only difference between the two was the ashen grey eyes and the hard expression on the other Ranma's face. This new Ranma was standing beside the man while he was sitting beside his father, who at the moment was trying to comprehend what just happened. The other man didn't show any sign of discomfort as he turned and started leading the other Ranma away from them.
"Daddy... what just happened?" Ranma asked feeling really scared and not knowing why. His father just stared at the retreating form of the man then at Ranma and back to the man again, the shock clear on his face. Ranma just hugged his knees to his chest and watched as the man and himself faded out of sight down the beach leaving him with a feeling of loss or emptiness like he had just lost a part of himself.
Genma had ignored his on beside him until he heard the telltale signs of sobbing, looking around he noticed that it was from the boy who had come from Ranma when the man had pulled them apart, literally. Scowling deeply at 'Ranma' he smacked the boy upside the head, which incidentally only made the crying louder.
"Quit your whining boy, your sounding like a girl!" He yelled at his son in frustration, Ranma hadn't cried since Genma had beat into him how real men didn't cry. Smacking Ranma again he kept repeating it but the bawling just got louder and louder. "QUIT BEING LIKE A WEAK GIRL BOY! Oh why must I have such an ungrateful whelp?"
Ranma didn't know why he was crying but couldn't stop it and sobbed deep into the night while Genma pounded and insulted the boy. That feeling of loss only grew as time went on and the pain caused by his father wasn't helping him at all. Sobbing quietly as the sun set Ranma couldn't sleep as the feeling of loss overwhelmed him.
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As time went on he was able to overcome the fears and loneliness but he seemed unable to learn martial arts, this of course really irked his father and was the excuse for many beatings over the years but they were endured, and the insults, and the abuses, for 6 years. Even that kami forsaken trip to Jusenkyou was for naught, the only thing Ranma learned was to avoid cold water which he did already. No life couldn't possibly have gotten worse, he'd hit the bottom of the barrel. Too bad life had decided to kick that barrel down a cliff.
After 6 years of failed attempts to train him in martial arts Genma had all but given up, and after Jusenkyou fortunately he had, the last thing he could do was hopefully fulfill the Tendo Saotome pact of marrying Ranma to one of Soun's daughters. But, of course, even that backfired and now Ranma was stuck with an abusive intolerant fiancé and a curse that caused more problems and awkward situations than a cat in a dog pound. The first problem of course had been the water magnet aspect of the curse and the fact that it just had to rain before they met the Tendo's.
Then came the confession of his lacking in the martial arts despite 10 years of training and the final straw had been when Akane had walked in on his in the bath right as he changed into a guy. The whole 'friend' idea of hers went out the window, so did the 'not everyone has to be a martial artist' bit, just one big hypocrite. But he accepted the engagement meekly, Genma would beat him if he didn't, and they shoved Akane into the mix, 'need a martial artist to run the dojo'. Idiots. Then there was Kuno...
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"Foul Knave! Have at thee!" Upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High and a rising star in kendo, expelled while he swung his bokken at Ranma's head. It was just after the late bell, Ranma and Akane were late because of a freak rainstorm and so they had to carry buckets in the hall, during which Akane had gotten angry over something and threatened to splash him with one of her buckets. At least had Kuno not tried first, thankfully for Ranma Kuno was a crappy shot and he was able to dodge the water that coated the floor.
"What seems to be your problem Senpai?" Ranma calmly asked cautiously backing away from the water that was spreading down the hall. Carefully talking this out would be what saved Ranma from an embarrassing situation or a beating for he knew that he couldn't fight even that Gosunkugi guy and win.
"NEVER! NEVER SHALL I ACCEPT YOUR ENGAGEMENT TO AKANE TENDO!" Kuno Bellowed at the top of his lungs while Akane and Ranma were trying to signal him to keep the noise down. Not that the hair brained Kuno could take a hint. After the declaration both Ranma and Akane were mobbed by the various members of their class for details on how Ranma beat her in a fight or how they fell in love, both of them denying it. But, to Ranma's misfortune, life again took a downturn as Kuno lunged across the hall with his bokken outstretched.
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That was only the first of the problems his life in Nerima brought him, about a week later his old friend Ryoga showed up. He was just not being overly friendly, and didn't take well to Ranma's overall lack of interest in finishing the duel. That first encounter left Ranma hospitalized for a week, and it still took close to a month before he was able to got school again. Shampoo and Cologne came after Ryoga but they didn't much bother with him, he wasn't a fighter and thus under their notice. After Shampoo came Mousse, angry that he couldn't beat Ryoga and gain the love of Shampoo he decided to take his frustration out on the local punching bag.
Mousse was by far the worst with his hidden weapons martial arts he often used them to beat Ranma within an inch of his life then wait for modern medicine to patch him up so that he could be beat again. Again life turned its back on the Saotome boy, even the hentai horde joined in on the beatings but they usually took pity on him and stopped after a few months. Akane just kept up her insults and beatings whenever he was well enough from the others, Soun and Genma just thought it was love or something else stupid like that. No one cared, even Kasumi was only polite but she seemed to show the same to anyone and Nabiki was well Nabiki, what more is there to say? They never changed.
But now everything was going to change, he was here. Finally he was here, and now he'd be whole again and they would pay for what they did. Spitting up blood Ranma took the beating from the trio still muttering about being whole.
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Authors notes:
This is still just an idea if I get positive response then I'll continue if not then it ends here.
As always all C&C is welcome, flames will go in the hearth and degrading e-mail spam will be blocked anyway.
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