Somewhere in the Quanghai province of China, there is rumored to exist a
training ground that brims with tragedy. These cursed grounds, muttered
throughout the world by only a few in number, bear the equally cursed name
Jusenkyo. Attached to this rumor, is the story that each of the natural
springs there once had some animal or creature drown in them, all very very
tragically. The rumors even go so far as to say that who-so-ever falls in
these pools would take on the form of the creature that drowned there last.
And sometimes, those who spread rumors will mention in fearful, hushed
voices that only those who are specifically chosen by the gods themselves
will ever find this cursed ground, this unholy plot of land that has
claimed so many lives already. At least, so the stories go...
Threads of the Mind
The Highway to Hell
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
Some crap happened that has nothing to do with our story.
But, not too long ago, in a time stream far far away, there was... A SHRUBBERY! It was a rather nice shrubbery, not too tall and yet not too short. It happened to have been bought at a very reasonable price to boot. But it had a secret, un secreto muy importante. It had witnessed a murder, a very deadly murder. And as the following days were to show, The House on 47th Kalameed Avenue, which was exactly opposite The Dojo whom The Shrubbery was next to, would soon come to tell great stories of pain and anguish to The Old Dojo across the way. Sadly, we don't care about that Dojo, that Shrubbery, or that House aside from how, despite the fact they were on the other side of the planet as the newborn Ranma Saotome, they could still hear his tiny voice pouring forth as a shot heard round the world.
–––––––Juuban General Hospital–––––––
September 13th, 1984, 12:22:00 AM
Lieutenant Genma Saotome was standing in the back of the waiting rooms, staring out at the moonless night. Yet despite that, he could still see everything around the hospital with eerie accuracy. He had been looking into the sky (screaming, though he'd never admit it) as his wife held his hand and saw that star at the same moment that he heard his child's voice. My child, Genma paused at that thought for a moment. I'm a father now. I have a child.
Genma smiled bitterly at the feelings that such a tiny creature were bringing up in him. Having never known his father, Genma was worried about how he would take care of such a fragile little thing. He couldn't bear to hurt his son, but he also needed to make him into a man and prepare him for the world. But even then, he might not be able to do much. What have I gotten myself into this time? Genma wondered with a slight smirk. Because he was lost in thought, Genma missed hearing the doctor come up behind him.
"Pardon me, Mr. Saotome?" inquired a tired looking man in a white coat. "I thought you should know, your son is in excellent health and both he and your wife are resting peacefully."
Genma thanked the man for his comments and went back to his contemplation. Yes, he thought, I will have to bring this boy up right. And if that means that I am by his side night and day for the next twenty years, then so be it. Satisfied with his decision, Genma decided to go check on his wife for himself, and that he'd check in with the base later. After all, not much more could happen in one night, right?
–––––––The Kremlin–––––––
September 13th, 1984, 3:23:00 AM
Premier Gadastog sat behind his desk and silently read the final reports from his general staff. Everything had been planned down to the last minute. A little over an hour ago, his troops were to begin an invasion of Europe along the Warsaw line, and commence an air invasion of the NAA. At least, until that bloody star had decided to go nova. Now, his men lacked the cover of darkness to make this lightning strike, and he did not know what to do. Come dawn, NATO would have heard about his forces mobilizing, and he didn't know if he could pin this down to another standard drill.
"Damn it all, why NOW?" The Premier screamed in thick Russian as he threw his papers across the room. He was quickly losing time, and he had to act. In a royally pissed off mood, he phoned nuclear command. Once he was put through to the officer on duty, he returned to his usual moderately controlled self.
"Good evening comrade, it is time to serve your country," Gadastog said icily.
"Y-yes sir?" Said the officer, obviously shaken by Gadastog's tone.
"The time has come for us to end this petty feud with the Americans. You are here-by ordered to commence launch and destroy the Americans once and for all."
The officer on the line gasped as he heard the order. "S-s-sir, are you ab- absolutely s-sure?" He asked, obviously terrified at ordering such an attack.
"Entirely. I had hoped to end this problem with conventional weaponry, but time is running out. If we don't launch first, then they will, and all we have strived for will be destroyed. You have your orders." With that, Gadastog hung up, cutting off the poor man's reply.
Sitting down, Gadastog opened a box that he had sworn he would never open, and took out the lone cigar sitting in it. From the look of it, it seemed to be several decades old, and it almost crumbled to dust in his hands. Resolutely, Gadastog lit it up, and began to smoke even as the missiles began to fire in the distance. Even as the world was about to end around him, he knew that he would die happily. He was done with this life, and he would not bear it to go on without him.
"We are finished now, Mr. Bond," Gadastog said to the shadows. "At long last, our game has ended."
He was still laughing when an American nuke pierced through the ceiling and detonated.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
By all rights, nothing should have survived the exchange between the super powers. All life should have been extinguished by the dust and the radiation. However, the deities were not yet done with this world. Striking an agreement with the devils, both sides were given permission to intervene and save some of humanity. The gods and the devils proceeded to quickly raise the human resistance to radiation, and used it to reshape some of the genetic string. Unfortunately, the universe was never really prepared for such direct changes, and so even the most powerful of the beings could not manage to save more then a couple hundred. What was left of humanity, a paltry 40 million, was ruined, and doomed to live without the sight of the great grasslands or the comfort of many animals. Several would be destined to turn into monsters and lose their minds, while others would benefit greatly from the radiation. One of these was Ranma, whom the Goddess Mesia would not let die. Too much was planned for him, and the Goddess knew that he could not die... yet.
–––––––Fort Akigarwa–––––––
September 24th, 0 LA (Last Age)
General Kagawa sighed as he looked out the parapets of his command post. The fort the nominal leader of Japan (or what was left of it) he was in stared out into what had formerly been the city of Tokyo. Although, that was a bit of an understatement. The only clue that remained to tell people that this barren plot of desert was Tokyo was the fact that the GPS satellites in orbit told you it was. Almost nothing in a 12 kilometer radius had been left standing, as Tokyo was the target of a fully loaded nuclear ICBM. It was still impossible for anyone to penetrate much farther then they had into the city, and they were a good 11 km out from ground zero too. But, he knew that if he was to hope to rebuild his country, he would have to work out of here first, as a final tribute to the past. Turning away from the desolate desert in front of him, Rio Kagawa went back inside the main barracks, which was where all the sensitive equipment was being stored.
Fortunately for Kagawa, the threat of nuclear war had convinced the Ruling Council to make at least a few warehouses and bases designed to deal with radioactive fallout. Thus, several weapons storage dumps had been positioned across the country, and he had been inspecting one at the time of the attack. Using the personal that were there, everyone was rather surprised and relieve to note that for all the scientific blubbering about nuclear fallout, it wasn't hardly as lethal or long lasting as they had said it would be. That didn't mean they were safe in the radioactive zones, but at least they could still live. Assuming they could find more supplies.
"James, any luck getting a signal further northward?" The general addressed a rather young American who had been found wandering around the desert outside three days ago. He had proven invaluable to the general, however, in that he appeared to have been attending a university in the country for communications.
"No, still bad air," replied the nervous young boy in broken Japanese. He knew that the general could understand English, but he also had to practice as he was liable to be stuck here for some time.
Come again? the general asked, switching to English for the moment so he could get some accuracy.
We haven't got the power to boost a radio signal through the static the radiation is causing, sighed the young man with already graying hair. And until we can spare something more reliable then nearly drained 9 volts...
Damn, the general was none too pleased about this. He had to get more supplies soon, or else they'd never survive out here. And he couldn't risk abandoning this position, as it was liable the most defensible for miles around. "All right, then it looks like I'm going to need-"
The general was cut off as he suddenly heard some quick shouting by the men at the gates. Concerned, he looked at James once, and strode out the door again, making a bee-line for the gates. James went back to tinkering on the dead battery he was working with, trying to figure out some way to get even a little bit more charge out of the dry cell.
At the gates, all Kagawa could see was four of his nine men standing on the battle wall, screaming over for someone to stop, to not come any further. With a feeling of total dread, he realized that the person was probably another wanderer like James, and was even now moving closer to the light minefield they had set up after arriving. Damn it, that thing is more trouble then it was worth, thought the general bitterly. First thing tomorrow, I'm having it disassembled. While grumbling about this unhappily, he ran up the steps to the wall's parapet, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was approaching.
Staggering towards him from the direction of Japan's former capital was a man clutching a bundle close to his chest. He was barely 30 meters from the wall, and looked like he was about ready to ignore the warning sign that was nearly directly in front of him.
"Open the gates! Damn it all, open the gates and stop him before he blows himself up!" Kagawa screamed. Whoever the poor sap was, he might have news of what was happening somewhere else, and to lose that information would cost him dearly. When he noticed that his men weren't moving very quickly, he decided to reinforce the order by drawing his revolver. "OPEN THE DAMNED GATES ALREADY!"
This got his men moving, and as soon as he could slip through, he quickly ran towards the man and his bundle, being mindful of the exact position of each mine he had carefully laid himself. When he reached the man, he staggered for a moment himself. Whoever this guy was, it was obvious why he hadn't heeded the sign: He had no eyes.
Barely containing his partially digested meal, Kagawa moved to help guide the man through the mine field as a slight wind picked up and began to blow ash and dust around. It was only when he was right next to the man that he heard the child crying in his arms. Praying to the deities that both would be all right, Kagawa guided the shell shocked man back to the gate and decided that waiting here would definitely pay off if he could help survivors like that.
–––––––Fort Akigarwa–––––––
September 19th, 1 LA (Last Age)
Genma Saotome sat in the library of the vault, and continued to teach himself brail. Ever since he had arrived at Akigarwa nearly a year ago, he had been reminded day in and day out of the fact that his life would never go back to being normal. After pulling himself and Ranma out of the wreckage of the hospital, he had realized almost instantly that he had lost his eyesight. He didn't know whether it had been fatherly instinct or divine intervention (in actuality, a bit of both) that had driven him to leave the wreckage, but he had said every prayer he had ever been taught in thanks for finding this old place. Genma slowly chuckled as he realized just how comfortable he had gotten here.
The vault was apparently designed to be a self contained living unit during nuclear winter, and as such had several compartments that had been initially sealed away. After finding them, the General and his men had been able to help the slow but steady stream of refugees that had wandered in from Tokyo over the next month or so. The community that had developed had been helpful, especially since it had let Genma listen to and counsel people. For some reason, him not having any eyes seemed to convince the refugees that he could actually see things more clearly then them, so his opinion was widely sought after. As gratitude, Ranma was taken care of by everyone and guarded fiercely against all possible harm, seeing as he was one of only three children who were currently residing in the vault.
Genma paused as he began to feel someone staring at him, and put the book down before lifting the headband up and tying it behind his head.
"Who goes there?" Genma said when he had finished. "Katalli, is that you?"
"You still need a bit of practice using your ki like that Genma," said a confident, young, male voice. "Surely you should be able to recognize an old friend?"
Genma chuckled thoughtfully before he replied, "Tofu, don't you start calling yourself old now, you hear? Why you must be half my age."
"Yes, and perhaps we should say you're my father while we're at it," snorted a twenty-two year old Tofu. "We both know it's all a pile of lies anyway."
"Still insisting on being impetuous, eh boy?" Genma said, turning at last to face his friend. Even without his eyes, actually facing Tofu made it a bit easier for Genma to sense him.
"Oh, quiet you," said Tofu as he entered the cramped room and opened up a small duffle bag he was carrying. "Come on, time for me to check on your eyes again."
Genma frowned, "What, again already? What are you expecting them to do, grow back all of the sudden?"
"No, just making sure the lasers I implanted will work properly," replied Tofu with a roll of his eyes. "Now take the bandage off."
Genma sighed as he removed the bandage once again, and waited for the doctor to go to his work.
=====================
All right, this seems like a good stopping point to garner some reviews off of.
Though this is my second fic, this is also the first one I'm taking seriously. If you have a flame, e-mail me about it at cstalis@yahoo.com. Otherwise, I'd like people to recommend changes to the technicalities and nuances of my writing. To help stave off complaints about what I'm doing, let me move some stuff out of the way:
1) This is entirely and Alternate Universe fic, and I'm taking full liberties with everything. The characters will retain at least a few trace traits found in their respective mediums, but I'm not going to adhere to said medium as though it were gospel.
2) Yes, I know I'm making Genma a heck of a lot more compassionate. So sue me, I pity the way he's been treated in every fanfic from here to Mars.
3) I have not and will not apologize for adapting stories to this. If I take from a fanfic, I will give credit where credit is due when I remember it, but don't expect me to give kudos for every situation I happen to take from another fanfic author, in the same way I won't give kudos to every paid author whose work I borrow from. If you have a problem with that, again, send me a private e-mail at the above address.
4) If you are REALLY going to be ticked off about me using something that you are trying to claim as your original work, I would GREATLY appreciate it if you tell me it relatively soon after I post a chapter. Do NOT expect me to pull something from a chapter that is 20 chapters behind my last posted one. Unless you are willing to get LEGAL representation to do it... let it go.
Right, now that I've gotten that off my chest, please give me comments on my narration style and generally how the writing is. I'll work on improving plot developments once I have the technique for them down. Thank you for reading this min-rant, and have a nice day.
Oh, and before I forget, chapter 2 will merely be a continuation of chapter 1 here with absolutely no time lag. This is because chapters 1 and 2 are going to be chapter 1 broken over 2 chapters so I can get feedback on style changes as they are needed. Chapter 2 will be posted when I feel I have something that deserves to see the light of day.
Threads of the Mind
The Highway to Hell
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...
Some crap happened that has nothing to do with our story.
But, not too long ago, in a time stream far far away, there was... A SHRUBBERY! It was a rather nice shrubbery, not too tall and yet not too short. It happened to have been bought at a very reasonable price to boot. But it had a secret, un secreto muy importante. It had witnessed a murder, a very deadly murder. And as the following days were to show, The House on 47th Kalameed Avenue, which was exactly opposite The Dojo whom The Shrubbery was next to, would soon come to tell great stories of pain and anguish to The Old Dojo across the way. Sadly, we don't care about that Dojo, that Shrubbery, or that House aside from how, despite the fact they were on the other side of the planet as the newborn Ranma Saotome, they could still hear his tiny voice pouring forth as a shot heard round the world.
–––––––Juuban General Hospital–––––––
September 13th, 1984, 12:22:00 AM
Lieutenant Genma Saotome was standing in the back of the waiting rooms, staring out at the moonless night. Yet despite that, he could still see everything around the hospital with eerie accuracy. He had been looking into the sky (screaming, though he'd never admit it) as his wife held his hand and saw that star at the same moment that he heard his child's voice. My child, Genma paused at that thought for a moment. I'm a father now. I have a child.
Genma smiled bitterly at the feelings that such a tiny creature were bringing up in him. Having never known his father, Genma was worried about how he would take care of such a fragile little thing. He couldn't bear to hurt his son, but he also needed to make him into a man and prepare him for the world. But even then, he might not be able to do much. What have I gotten myself into this time? Genma wondered with a slight smirk. Because he was lost in thought, Genma missed hearing the doctor come up behind him.
"Pardon me, Mr. Saotome?" inquired a tired looking man in a white coat. "I thought you should know, your son is in excellent health and both he and your wife are resting peacefully."
Genma thanked the man for his comments and went back to his contemplation. Yes, he thought, I will have to bring this boy up right. And if that means that I am by his side night and day for the next twenty years, then so be it. Satisfied with his decision, Genma decided to go check on his wife for himself, and that he'd check in with the base later. After all, not much more could happen in one night, right?
–––––––The Kremlin–––––––
September 13th, 1984, 3:23:00 AM
Premier Gadastog sat behind his desk and silently read the final reports from his general staff. Everything had been planned down to the last minute. A little over an hour ago, his troops were to begin an invasion of Europe along the Warsaw line, and commence an air invasion of the NAA. At least, until that bloody star had decided to go nova. Now, his men lacked the cover of darkness to make this lightning strike, and he did not know what to do. Come dawn, NATO would have heard about his forces mobilizing, and he didn't know if he could pin this down to another standard drill.
"Damn it all, why NOW?" The Premier screamed in thick Russian as he threw his papers across the room. He was quickly losing time, and he had to act. In a royally pissed off mood, he phoned nuclear command. Once he was put through to the officer on duty, he returned to his usual moderately controlled self.
"Good evening comrade, it is time to serve your country," Gadastog said icily.
"Y-yes sir?" Said the officer, obviously shaken by Gadastog's tone.
"The time has come for us to end this petty feud with the Americans. You are here-by ordered to commence launch and destroy the Americans once and for all."
The officer on the line gasped as he heard the order. "S-s-sir, are you ab- absolutely s-sure?" He asked, obviously terrified at ordering such an attack.
"Entirely. I had hoped to end this problem with conventional weaponry, but time is running out. If we don't launch first, then they will, and all we have strived for will be destroyed. You have your orders." With that, Gadastog hung up, cutting off the poor man's reply.
Sitting down, Gadastog opened a box that he had sworn he would never open, and took out the lone cigar sitting in it. From the look of it, it seemed to be several decades old, and it almost crumbled to dust in his hands. Resolutely, Gadastog lit it up, and began to smoke even as the missiles began to fire in the distance. Even as the world was about to end around him, he knew that he would die happily. He was done with this life, and he would not bear it to go on without him.
"We are finished now, Mr. Bond," Gadastog said to the shadows. "At long last, our game has ended."
He was still laughing when an American nuke pierced through the ceiling and detonated.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
By all rights, nothing should have survived the exchange between the super powers. All life should have been extinguished by the dust and the radiation. However, the deities were not yet done with this world. Striking an agreement with the devils, both sides were given permission to intervene and save some of humanity. The gods and the devils proceeded to quickly raise the human resistance to radiation, and used it to reshape some of the genetic string. Unfortunately, the universe was never really prepared for such direct changes, and so even the most powerful of the beings could not manage to save more then a couple hundred. What was left of humanity, a paltry 40 million, was ruined, and doomed to live without the sight of the great grasslands or the comfort of many animals. Several would be destined to turn into monsters and lose their minds, while others would benefit greatly from the radiation. One of these was Ranma, whom the Goddess Mesia would not let die. Too much was planned for him, and the Goddess knew that he could not die... yet.
–––––––Fort Akigarwa–––––––
September 24th, 0 LA (Last Age)
General Kagawa sighed as he looked out the parapets of his command post. The fort the nominal leader of Japan (or what was left of it) he was in stared out into what had formerly been the city of Tokyo. Although, that was a bit of an understatement. The only clue that remained to tell people that this barren plot of desert was Tokyo was the fact that the GPS satellites in orbit told you it was. Almost nothing in a 12 kilometer radius had been left standing, as Tokyo was the target of a fully loaded nuclear ICBM. It was still impossible for anyone to penetrate much farther then they had into the city, and they were a good 11 km out from ground zero too. But, he knew that if he was to hope to rebuild his country, he would have to work out of here first, as a final tribute to the past. Turning away from the desolate desert in front of him, Rio Kagawa went back inside the main barracks, which was where all the sensitive equipment was being stored.
Fortunately for Kagawa, the threat of nuclear war had convinced the Ruling Council to make at least a few warehouses and bases designed to deal with radioactive fallout. Thus, several weapons storage dumps had been positioned across the country, and he had been inspecting one at the time of the attack. Using the personal that were there, everyone was rather surprised and relieve to note that for all the scientific blubbering about nuclear fallout, it wasn't hardly as lethal or long lasting as they had said it would be. That didn't mean they were safe in the radioactive zones, but at least they could still live. Assuming they could find more supplies.
"James, any luck getting a signal further northward?" The general addressed a rather young American who had been found wandering around the desert outside three days ago. He had proven invaluable to the general, however, in that he appeared to have been attending a university in the country for communications.
"No, still bad air," replied the nervous young boy in broken Japanese. He knew that the general could understand English, but he also had to practice as he was liable to be stuck here for some time.
Come again? the general asked, switching to English for the moment so he could get some accuracy.
We haven't got the power to boost a radio signal through the static the radiation is causing, sighed the young man with already graying hair. And until we can spare something more reliable then nearly drained 9 volts...
Damn, the general was none too pleased about this. He had to get more supplies soon, or else they'd never survive out here. And he couldn't risk abandoning this position, as it was liable the most defensible for miles around. "All right, then it looks like I'm going to need-"
The general was cut off as he suddenly heard some quick shouting by the men at the gates. Concerned, he looked at James once, and strode out the door again, making a bee-line for the gates. James went back to tinkering on the dead battery he was working with, trying to figure out some way to get even a little bit more charge out of the dry cell.
At the gates, all Kagawa could see was four of his nine men standing on the battle wall, screaming over for someone to stop, to not come any further. With a feeling of total dread, he realized that the person was probably another wanderer like James, and was even now moving closer to the light minefield they had set up after arriving. Damn it, that thing is more trouble then it was worth, thought the general bitterly. First thing tomorrow, I'm having it disassembled. While grumbling about this unhappily, he ran up the steps to the wall's parapet, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was approaching.
Staggering towards him from the direction of Japan's former capital was a man clutching a bundle close to his chest. He was barely 30 meters from the wall, and looked like he was about ready to ignore the warning sign that was nearly directly in front of him.
"Open the gates! Damn it all, open the gates and stop him before he blows himself up!" Kagawa screamed. Whoever the poor sap was, he might have news of what was happening somewhere else, and to lose that information would cost him dearly. When he noticed that his men weren't moving very quickly, he decided to reinforce the order by drawing his revolver. "OPEN THE DAMNED GATES ALREADY!"
This got his men moving, and as soon as he could slip through, he quickly ran towards the man and his bundle, being mindful of the exact position of each mine he had carefully laid himself. When he reached the man, he staggered for a moment himself. Whoever this guy was, it was obvious why he hadn't heeded the sign: He had no eyes.
Barely containing his partially digested meal, Kagawa moved to help guide the man through the mine field as a slight wind picked up and began to blow ash and dust around. It was only when he was right next to the man that he heard the child crying in his arms. Praying to the deities that both would be all right, Kagawa guided the shell shocked man back to the gate and decided that waiting here would definitely pay off if he could help survivors like that.
–––––––Fort Akigarwa–––––––
September 19th, 1 LA (Last Age)
Genma Saotome sat in the library of the vault, and continued to teach himself brail. Ever since he had arrived at Akigarwa nearly a year ago, he had been reminded day in and day out of the fact that his life would never go back to being normal. After pulling himself and Ranma out of the wreckage of the hospital, he had realized almost instantly that he had lost his eyesight. He didn't know whether it had been fatherly instinct or divine intervention (in actuality, a bit of both) that had driven him to leave the wreckage, but he had said every prayer he had ever been taught in thanks for finding this old place. Genma slowly chuckled as he realized just how comfortable he had gotten here.
The vault was apparently designed to be a self contained living unit during nuclear winter, and as such had several compartments that had been initially sealed away. After finding them, the General and his men had been able to help the slow but steady stream of refugees that had wandered in from Tokyo over the next month or so. The community that had developed had been helpful, especially since it had let Genma listen to and counsel people. For some reason, him not having any eyes seemed to convince the refugees that he could actually see things more clearly then them, so his opinion was widely sought after. As gratitude, Ranma was taken care of by everyone and guarded fiercely against all possible harm, seeing as he was one of only three children who were currently residing in the vault.
Genma paused as he began to feel someone staring at him, and put the book down before lifting the headband up and tying it behind his head.
"Who goes there?" Genma said when he had finished. "Katalli, is that you?"
"You still need a bit of practice using your ki like that Genma," said a confident, young, male voice. "Surely you should be able to recognize an old friend?"
Genma chuckled thoughtfully before he replied, "Tofu, don't you start calling yourself old now, you hear? Why you must be half my age."
"Yes, and perhaps we should say you're my father while we're at it," snorted a twenty-two year old Tofu. "We both know it's all a pile of lies anyway."
"Still insisting on being impetuous, eh boy?" Genma said, turning at last to face his friend. Even without his eyes, actually facing Tofu made it a bit easier for Genma to sense him.
"Oh, quiet you," said Tofu as he entered the cramped room and opened up a small duffle bag he was carrying. "Come on, time for me to check on your eyes again."
Genma frowned, "What, again already? What are you expecting them to do, grow back all of the sudden?"
"No, just making sure the lasers I implanted will work properly," replied Tofu with a roll of his eyes. "Now take the bandage off."
Genma sighed as he removed the bandage once again, and waited for the doctor to go to his work.
=====================
All right, this seems like a good stopping point to garner some reviews off of.
Though this is my second fic, this is also the first one I'm taking seriously. If you have a flame, e-mail me about it at cstalis@yahoo.com. Otherwise, I'd like people to recommend changes to the technicalities and nuances of my writing. To help stave off complaints about what I'm doing, let me move some stuff out of the way:
1) This is entirely and Alternate Universe fic, and I'm taking full liberties with everything. The characters will retain at least a few trace traits found in their respective mediums, but I'm not going to adhere to said medium as though it were gospel.
2) Yes, I know I'm making Genma a heck of a lot more compassionate. So sue me, I pity the way he's been treated in every fanfic from here to Mars.
3) I have not and will not apologize for adapting stories to this. If I take from a fanfic, I will give credit where credit is due when I remember it, but don't expect me to give kudos for every situation I happen to take from another fanfic author, in the same way I won't give kudos to every paid author whose work I borrow from. If you have a problem with that, again, send me a private e-mail at the above address.
4) If you are REALLY going to be ticked off about me using something that you are trying to claim as your original work, I would GREATLY appreciate it if you tell me it relatively soon after I post a chapter. Do NOT expect me to pull something from a chapter that is 20 chapters behind my last posted one. Unless you are willing to get LEGAL representation to do it... let it go.
Right, now that I've gotten that off my chest, please give me comments on my narration style and generally how the writing is. I'll work on improving plot developments once I have the technique for them down. Thank you for reading this min-rant, and have a nice day.
Oh, and before I forget, chapter 2 will merely be a continuation of chapter 1 here with absolutely no time lag. This is because chapters 1 and 2 are going to be chapter 1 broken over 2 chapters so I can get feedback on style changes as they are needed. Chapter 2 will be posted when I feel I have something that deserves to see the light of day.
