Standard Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publication Rights are held by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. No copyright infringement is intended.
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It all began and ended here, at Furinkan High. A journey's start, full of dreams and hopes and goals, and a conclusion to a chapter of life…
--
"Ugh! This is impossible!" A young boy shook his head in frustration as he stared at the last problem on his test.
"C'mon, Hiroshi, think! We just covered this topic today!" A friendly hand landed on Hiroshi's shoulder.
"But Saotome-sensei! I… I can't remember!" Hiroshi dropped his pencil, a look of defeat on his face. Saotome-sensei sighed and clapped his hand on Hiroshi's back. He looked down at Hiroshi's test, then picked it up.
"Well, Hiroshi, it looks like you've gotten all the other problems done."
"Yeah, I guess…" Hiroshi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "If they're all correct, how'll I do?"
Saotome-sensei twirled Hiroshi's test before placing it, with a flourish, on top of a stack of other tests. "It's a twenty point test, Hiroshi, so if you got nineteen correct, then… let's see… you'd have a ninety-five percent." He smiled at Hiroshi, then focused his gaze on the door. Smirking, he commented, "Looks like your family just arrived."
"BRO!" A small blur rocketed through the doorway as a laughing man held the door open.
"Huhn?" Hiroshi barely had time to turn around before he was knocked from his seat by the blur. "Heya, Sis!" The blur had solidified into a mound of loose clothing that quickly commenced to giggle.
"And what about me?" the man asked with a small pout.
"Don't do that, Dad! The pout just doesn't work for you!"
Hiroshi's father burst out laughing as his son pasted a look of fear onto his face. "All right, all right. Yuka-chan, you can let your brother sit up, now. It sorta looks like he's suffocating." A new round of giggles emenated from the pile of clothes that was sitting on Hiroshi's chest before it climbed onto the floor.
Saotome-sensei smiled at the family before he turned to Hiroshi's father and asked, "So, how's Sayuri doing? Knowing you, Dai, she's probably been busy just tolerating all your lame jokes!"
Dai, more often called by his full name, Daisuke, smirked and replied, "Nah, I save all those jokes for you, Ranma." Ranma and Daisuke both let out a few chuckles.
Ranma glanced out the window and sighed, "You know, Furinkan's changed so much since then. It used to be a loony-bin…" He sighed again as he turned back to Daisuke and continued, "Anyway, you should probably start heading home, it's supposed to rain today." Ranma smirked at Daisuke.
"Huh? But, the forecast said… oh, right, I'm standing next to 'Mr. I'm-cursed-to-attract-all-liquids.'" Daisuke let out a short laugh as he thought of Ranma's peculiar curse. "But yeah, you're right, we should be leaving. Sayuri's probably worried half-to-death as it is." He nodded to Ranma and turned to leave. As he and the children walked out the door, he turned back to Ranma. "Well, seeya tomorrow, Ranma, and…" Daisuke paused, trying to think of a different way to say what he wanted, but relented and continued, "…take care of yourself. We're worried. Don't forget we're all still alive, thanks to you. After saving so many, you'd better not let your past pull you down, Ranma."
Silence.
Sighing, Daisuke stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him, not waiting for Ranma's usual reply of, "I know, Dai, and it's been years, but I'll never forget them…"
--
It all began years ago, at this very site, when the infamous chaos known only to the ward of Nerima still existed…
"RANMA! We're going to be late!"
"Do you think I don't know that!? It's all Pop's fault, dammit!"
"I don't care! Just MOVE!"
Two blurs emerged from the gates of the Tendo Dojo, streaking towards Furinkan High. As they slowed down to a more moderate pace, though one still unable to be matched by the general public, they formed two teenagers: a boy wearing a shirt, pants and slippers all of Chinese design, and a girl wearing a school uniform. Interestingly enough, the boy was running on the top of the fence bordering the canal.
"Do you have to run on the fence? You're bound to fall in, and if you do, we're going to be even later than we already are, Ranma." The girl watched Ranma as he continued to run, apparently oblivious to her concerns.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Akane, I'm the best. I won't fall off of the rail," Ranma boasted, shifting his gaze to Akane.
"Oh, that's right, you've never fallen off! How could I have forgotten!?" Akane muttered sarcastically.
"What? Have I ever fallen off?"
"What do you think, Ranma?"
Ranma appeared to pause and think for a moment, which was probably not a good idea while in mid-stride on a fence. As a result, Ranma slipped from the fence and tumbled into the canal. "I guess I might've fallen in once or twice," the wet figure admitted.
"Oh, I don't know why I bother talking to you at all!" Akane grabbed Ranma as she climbed over the fence and lobbed her towards Tofu's office. "GET YOUR HOT WATER BY YOURSELF, BAKA!" Akane patted herself before continuing her sprint to school as if nothing unusual had occurred, which technically, was true.
--
Sighing, Ranma looked down at Nerima from her private aerial view. She swept her gaze across the whole of Nerima and let her gaze linger on the huge monument that sat on the outskirts of town. Wait a sec, monument? Since when did Nerima have a monument of anyone other than Kuno? Ranma focused her gaze on the "monument" and realized it was none other than Tarou, wandering the streets searching for Happosai. Nodding to herself, content with the fact that Tarou wasn't, at present, a threat, Ranma flipped onto her back and began cloud-watching.
As she finally approached the ground, Ranma flipped over and landed softly on her feet, before padding into Tofu's office, grabbing the pre-prepared kettle, and dashing off to school, once again male.
Sadly, he had noted neither that Tarou was headed in the general direction of Furinkan High, nor that Tarou was most definitely chasing a small blur.
Moments after Ranma had left, Tofu rushed out of his door with a piece of paper in his hand. The words on that paper could have changed history, but Tofu was too late. Sighing Tofu read the note to himself once more, unable to believe what was written:
It is our duty to inform the doctor of one
HAPPOSAI
That he was discovered dying near Juuban Ward.
He was discovered at 10:53 AM,
and placed into I.C.U. at 11:01 AM.
As of 11:15 AM, he has yet to regain consciousness.
Juuban Police: Medical
The current time was 11:15 AM.
--
Ranma arrived at school just in time to see a small blur fly over the campus walls. Shaking his head in confusion, Ranma took another step towards the school and was stopped short when he heard a roar from behind him. "Wait," Ranma thought to himself, "Tarou was all the way on the outskirts. Why would he be here? Unless…" Ranma dashed forward and intercepted the small, bouncing blur. "I knew it," Ranma muttered, "It's Happosai." Ranma blinked a few times as he studied Happosai. Something seemed different about the little pervert—something about him seemed purely evil. Even the old man's ki was laced with dark energy.
Ranma was about to voice his opinion when "Happosai" suddenly blurred again and stabbed Ranma through the chest with a small dagger. This was followed by a quick and painless pressure point that was designed to knock an opponent out. On normal people, it would have dropped them immediately, but on Ranma, it had a delayed effect. Ranma wobbled and managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see Ryouga, Ukyo, and the Amazons all arrive and aid Tarou in attacking Happosai.
Ranma had one last thought before he lost consciousness: "Something about this just feels… wrong …"
--
Ranma peeled open his eyes and looked around the room blearily. He made out the shapes of a number of bodies, and wondered where he was. His gaze swiveled and he began to take note of his surroundings. As his eyes became focused, Ranma recognized the inside of the Tendo Dojo. Yet, if this was the Tendo Dojo, why were bodies laid out inside? Ranma's eyes flew open as he finally became fully aware of his surroundings. He shot into a sitting position as his eyes darted around the room. Bodies!? If there were bodies, there was an attacker, and he, or she, wasn't going to catch Ranma off guard. Ranma glanced back to the people on the ground and did a double take. Ryouga, Tarou, Shampoo, Ukyou… they were all on the ground, but why?
A scuffing noise caught Ranma's attention and he flipped onto his feet in a defensive stance.
"Do not worry, Son-in-law, it is just me." The door slid open and Cologne hobbled in.
Narrowing his eyes, Ranma ventured to ask, "What happened to them?" He shifted his position so that he stood between Cologne and those that were still on the ground.
"You shouldn't be wary of me, Son-in-law, it should instead be that thing back there," Cologne motioned towards a dark shape in the back of the Dojo before continuing, "that you should be worried about. After all, it knocked you out as well."
Ranma spun again, this time to face the shape he had earlier mistaken for a pile of ropes. "Ha-Happosai?" Ranma stared at the lump within the ropes. He blinked as he saw something he was certain Happosai could not do. Gulping, he asked, "Is he supposed to be melting?"
"What? MELTING!?" Cologne rushed to the pile of ropes and slapped a number of wards onto it. "It won't stop melting! Impossible! Unless… it's a youma!" Cologne jumped back as she made her startling discovery and pointed her cane towards the bundle. 3000 years of Amazon knowledge and almost 300 years of personal experience allowed Cologne to execute a fast and effective ki blast. It shot from the end of her cane and proceeded to systematically dissolve the youma, though it needn't have bothered, since the youma faded into ash once it was killed.
As the light and residual energy from the ki blast faded, the forms on the floor began to stir. Ranma let out a sigh of relief before he turned to Cologne. A question that had been nagging at him ever since he'd awoken and looked at the Happosai-youma was finally voiced. "How could everyone here get defeated by something that weak? Your ki blast wasn't very different from Ryouga's Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan."
"Well, you see, Ranma," Cologne began, pausing to glance at Ranma, "it was all your fault as usual."
"What!? I was knocked out!"
"Precisely. You see, this is what happened…"
-A few hours ago…-
Ranma's body collapsed against the walls of Furinkan High.
"Ranchan!"
"Airen!"
"Ranma!"
"ROAR!"
"Saotome!"
Cologne stared as the whole group of attackers was reduced to a pile of blithering idiots for a brief period of time. "By the gods, Son-in-law, but you do have an effect."
"MWAHAHAHAHA! You weaklings are no match for me! Not even you, oh "great" elder Cologne!" The perverted little troll bounced back and forth cackling in glee. The attackers spun to face the demented, evil little troll.
"Ow!"
"Yipe!"
"Urgh!"
"GAH! RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!! URK!"
Cologne stared, bug-eyed, as Tarou accidentally, with the simple motion of turning around, managed to knock out most of the fighters. She just shook her head as the Happosai-clone hopped onto Tarou's back and poked a few pressure points, causing Tarou to collapse into the Furinkan pool.
"Only you are left, Elder! Bwahahaha! I'm the greate-urk! Ow! Mmph!!" Normally, the Happosai-clone would have continued boasting, but having Cologne use one of the many revisions of Katchuu Tenshin Amaguriken on him, this time being the 'Storm of Wards' revision, managed to shut him up—especially since one of the wards just 'happened' to land on his mouth.
Cologne smirked as she watched the troll rip the ward on his mouth off and toss it to the floor. Hopping back, she commented, "It's amazing that someone as weak and pitiful as you managed to defeat so many people. Oh well. We all know you're a fake. The real Happosai would've noticed that Mousse was still awake."
"WHAT!?" The pervert-clone spun in a circle. "Where!?"
"Tie him up, Mousse."
"With pleasure!"
"WHAT!? WHERE IS HE!?" A shadow descended upon the hapless gnome-ish creature. It looked up as a barrage of chains and ropes closed in from above and began to wrap around him.
"Pitiful. He's weaker than most of the students at this school," Cologne commented, before whapping the creature on its head until it fainted. Mousse snorted as he landed and looked to Cologne.
"This thing is so weak. It cannot be Happosai."
"You are correct, Mousse. It is not Happosai." Cologne nodded to Mousse as he dragged the fallen gnome over to her. "Take him… it… and everyone else. We're bringing them all to the Tendo Dojo. There is not enough room in the café to house this large a group. Wrap them in chains and drag them, if you need to."
Mousse nodded and began to wrap the fallen in chains as Cologne pogoed away to inform the Tendo patriarch of their imminent arrival.
-Present-
"Wait, so you're telling me that most of the bruises and scratches are from Mousse dragging us home?"
Cologne nodded before adding, "It would've been nice if you'd just knocked that clone out and not let it knock you out. The fact that you let it knock you out led to the defeat of so many, and therefore, this is all your fault. As I said before, you certainly have an effect on those around you, Son-in-law."
Ranma opened his mouth to make a retort, but didn't get around to voicing his opinion before the door slid open again.
"Oh my!" Everyone is awake! Would you all like something to eat?" Kasumi stood in the doorway, head cocked to a side and a wide smile on her face.
Mumbling, the group of people stood, stretched, the shuffled around a bit. As they all, one at a time, gave Kasumi the affirmative, Ranma snuck out the door and made his way back to his room.
Yawning, Ranma flopped back onto his futon and dozed off. As his snores echoed within the confines of the room, Ranma's body began to replenish his ki.
It was unfortunate that Ranma even had to replenish his ki, since, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have to do so. Had he been more on guard during his short encounter with the Happosai-youma, he might've prevented the small drainage of his ki. But, since he hadn't, the youma had managed to obtain a small sample of Ranma's ki, and along with the ki, it also obtained a bit of one of Ranma's personal quirks. And since the ki had been sent to the youma's higher-ups, the unique quirk reached all the way to the top of the youmas' chain of command. In the wrong hands, that unique piece of Ranma could be deadly, and in the hands of youma… well… it wasn't a pretty sight. Since youma tended to absorb energy, they managed to "inherit" Ranma's unique property:
Chaos.
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Author's Notes:
First off, I'd like to say that I'm planning on carrying through with this story, unlike my other one, Smarter?, thought the chapter updates may occur erratically. I don't actually know where I got this idea from, though it started with the idea of Ranma teaching students at Furinkan and telling one of the failing students his life's story. As you can see, I've already made changes from the original outline. The rough versions of this first chapter were also edited a good bit before I posted this.
Yes, for those of you wondering, this will have Sailor Moon in it, though to what degree, I'm not sure of quite yet. The outline has the senshi introduced in a chapter or two, and I'm not sure whether or not I actually want to make this into a crossover, especially since most of my Sailor Moon knowledge comes from reading other crossovers, the most prominent in my memory being Sailor Ranko (by Fire) and its sequels by Burgerbill.
Geez…. getting more than 2000 words with difficult enough for one chapter… and I was hoping for an even longer chapter. Oh well. I'll try to make each chapter at least 2000 words long. My goal is to get at least one chapter at around 10,000 words, but who knows if I'll ever make it that far, huh?
This chapter is officially past the 3100 word barrier, according to MS Word, though I'm saddened to say that it looked much longer when I wrote it out by hand. Can't ever trust hand-written lengths, ne? Yeah, this was a planned 5000 word chapter. It sucks to say that I always had trouble believing it could be so hard to get past 1000 words per chapter, but now I know the difficulties in writing 10,000 word chapters. Those of you who can do so, you have my admiration.
Unfortunately, Fanfiction.net doesn't agree with MS Word on the word count, so this chapter has officially about 3000 words. Dang. Still high enough a word count for me.
A few more comments of mine:
1. Snuck was originally sneaked, as it was created that way. Common usage has put "snuck" into the dictionary along with "sneaked." I just felt like mentioning that.
2. Many Ranma ½ characters have two spellings for their names. Here are the ways I'm spelling them: Ryouga (vs. Ryoga), Tarou (vs. Taro), Ukyou (vs. Ukyo).
3. Juuban will be spelled with two 'u's in it.
4. For some reason, my italicized words aren't getting through to Fanfiction.net, so I've had to manually edit the whole story. I may have missed some, and if so, then I apologize. Anyway, that shouldn't be happening. Hopefully it'll work for the next chapter. ¬.¬
5. I've managed to get word to work again, and have reposted the whole first chapter after removing/repairing a good number of spelling and grammar errors. Sorry about having those errors in here in the first place. I'd accidentally deleted parts of my MS Word spell-check/grammar-check database, so it stopped working for a while. Enjoy the newly revised story! (5/14/04)
Yup. Please read and review! Especially the review part! Thanks!
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
-Ayanami Rei (ayanamirei928hotmail.com)