Prologue
"Hey Kei-kun!"
A little girl, no more than than five years old, ran towards the old adventure playground located behind the famous Hinata Lodge. Her face lit up in a brilliant smile as she saw her her friend, hanging upside down from one of the monkey-bars. The young boy was clad in a little t-shirt and a pair of shorts slightly too big for him. Because of his position his little ponytail flopped forward, obeying the laws of gravity, while his bangs did the same revealing his beautiful crystal blue eyes. The girl giggled, Kei-kun could be so silly at times.
She hugged her soft toy closer to her and called out again.
"Kei-kun its me. Mama and Papa let me come over to play for a little while."
Showing an amazing amount of grace for one so young the boy flipped himself upwards, grabbing another bar in his tiny fists. Letting his legs dangle for a moment, he dropped to the ground and scowled at the approaching girl.
"How many times ya gonna call me that? My names not Keitaro. Its Ranma... R-A-N-M-A... got it?"
The girl giggled again before walking closer to the little pony-tailed boy. She beamed at him, before leaning in to peck him on the cheek.
"Ok...Kei-kun"
Sighing in defeat, chibi-Ranma's face broke into a shy smile. This girl was one of the only friends he'd ever had. He'd do anything to see her smile, even play this little game with her. His face turned a crimson red when she reached out and took his hand in hers, pulling him towards the sand-pit not too far away.
Within minutes the happy pair were engaged in building an enormous sand dome. Ranma tired of this game rather quickly and instead lay on his back, juggling the girl's soft toy in the air with his feet. The girl continued to perfect their masterpiece. Satisfied with her work, she turned to her friend.
"Kei-kun..."
The boy stopped juggling to glare at her.
"Ranma!"
"Kei-kun", she insisted, "Did you know? If two lovers went to Todai...they'll find happiness together!"
"Really?"
The girl knelt next to Ranma, leaned in, and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"When we grow up...let's go to Todai together!"
(a couple of days later)
"I'll be back in a minute Kei-kun", said the girl as she leapt from the swing and ran off towards the Lodge.
"My name is Ranma!", the boy called after her from his precarious position... hanging from the top of the swing crossbar by his toes.
Ranma dropped and twisted in mid air to land safely. As he watched her retreating form a large shadow engulfed him. A stocky man in a dirty white gi, with a stained white bandana covering his thinning scalp, stood over him and looked sternly down at him.
"Boy! Come on, it's time to leave."
Ranma shook his head.
"Nuh-uh, not gonna! I like it here...I got friends Papa. I'm gonna stay here with Haruka-obasan and my other Momma and Papa."
Genma chuckled nastily before feigning a surprised look.
"Your little friend is waving at you son."
Ranma turned to look at the entrance to the Hinata Inn, following his father's gaze, but there was nothing there!
"Poppa, I can't see...URK!"
He felt a sharp burst of pain concentrated from a point just below the base of his neck. As he fell into Genma's waiting arms, Ranma looked up at the sly smirk on his fathers face which slowly warped into an amused grin. As everything blurred and faded into darkness, Ranma heard his father's voice echoing...
"Foolish boy, forget this place. I have a new technique to teach you. It's called...The Neko-ken!"
With a startled yelp, Ranma Saotome, heir to the school of Anything-goes Martial Arts, awoke!
Chapter 1: Farewell Nerima
Ranma lay there in the darkness, his futon's covers thrown of him haphazardly by his startled exit from slumber. In the futon beside him his father, in panda-form, was snoring loudly. Ranma's eyes narrowed dangerously as a furry paw came into his range of vision and began to grope around blindly in search of his blankets.
'Typical Pops' he thought, 'He even steals in his sleep!'
Picking up his blanket and pillow, he walked to the open window and, with one hand holding the window frame, leapt through swinging himself upwards. Letting go at precisely the right moment he catapulted himself upwards, turning his flight into a well-controlled somersault, allowing him to land gracefully on the roof of the Tendo compound. Sitting down, he lay his bedding to one side and then turned his gaze to the stars.
The stars had never abandoned him in his time of need. They didn't ask anything of him, his love, his help, his life. They didn't ask him to fulfill others dreams, neither did they demand compensation for sins of the father. True...they never showed emotion...they were never loving, caring or understanding... but they were always there. No-one could take them away from him, sell them, or use them as a bribe against him. Their presence was comforting in its own way.
To have that dream again was a faintly disturbing experience.
He remembered that once, when he was very young, he had made a special promise with a very close friend that they would get into Tokyo University together. He vaguely remembered that this friend had been a girl, but for the life of him he couldn't remember her face. The place they had met had been very large indeed, possibly a hotel of some sort, but he could never imagine his Pops having enough money to keep the pair of them in lodgings of that size. Probably the fault of that damned Neko-ken again. Many of his memories before that episode of his life were dim and hazy. Hell he couldn't even remember his own mother's face until he was reunited with her.
Nevertheless he had made good on his promise and attempted the entrance exams for Tokyo University this spring, much to the amusement of the Tendo sisters. Akane was anything but supportive. She burst out laughing after hearing his choice of further education and had been jeering about it ever since. Nabiki had sniggered to herself quietly before selling the information to students all around the school, adding to his displeasure. On the other hand he had expected their reactions, Kasumi's reaction had shocked him. Kasumi Tendo...kind, gentle, supportive Kasumi had...giggled quietly to herself and had then told him it would be better for him to be "...a little bit more realistic...".
The parents hadn't been much better.
Mr Tendo had been doubtful, telling Ranma that University was pointless. It was his duty to take over the dojo when he left school and carry on the sacred art of 'Anything-Goes' by marrying Akane immediately. His Pops had also been less than enthusiastic, seconding Mr Tendo's opinions and bemoaning the fact that his "weak son" was betraying the family honour and his obligations to his 'fiancee'. Even his mother was adamantly against the idea of him going anywhere. Too much time had been wasted in her opinion. She wanted grandchildren... lots and lots of grandchildren... and soon!
As for the other fiancees
Ukyo...had been convinced it was a joke on his part.
Shampoo...didn't even know what a University was, but was absolutely certain that the best course of action for Ranma to take would be to "come back to Shampoo village too too quick!"
Kodachi... lets not even go there!
In spite of the lack of support Ranma was still quite determined. What was done was done and he had kept to his word. The exam results would be coming out today and he was in no mood to be anything but positive. As he lay back on the cold hard tiles he gazed longingly up at the heavens.
He would keep trying.
Even if he failed he would keep trying.
He would not break his word, not to anyone! He was not his father!
That evening Ranma sat once again in the same spot, an air of melancholy about him.
Failed...
He'd failed...
Completely and utterly...
He hadn't even known it was possible to get a 'Z'
And now everyone knew, Nabiki had made sure of that! He was the laughing-stock of Furinken High, even more so than Kuno.
What made him mad was that it wasn't even really his fault. The night before the exams he had been dashing through the streets of Nerima with half of the city on his tail. How the chase had actually begun was a mystery to him. After all, the only thing he did was tell Akane that her 'pet' P-chan deserved to be neutered to curb his violent tendencies. Or maybe it was his "stupid Tomboy" remark after she had belted him.
Either way Ranma was starting to get sick and tired of Akane's childish behavior. Not only was she convinced that he was some kind of pervert, but she persisted in calling the one thing which drove him absolutely mad with rage... a 'Freak'!
How dare she!
Akane would never be able to survive in the real world, not if she failed to keep a hold on her temper tantrums and got rid of these ridiculous ideas of peversity. He would like to see how long she survived in any business after knocking her boss into the stratosphere.
Her friends (i.e. Yuka and Sayuri) had confided to Ranma that they were scared stiff of his overly violent fiancee. They were absolutely terrified of what she might do if they stopped hanging around her and terrified that should either get a boyfriend he would be dead within a week, most likely from an Akane-patented mallet strike. Hiroshi and Daisuke were in the same boat, deeply in love with Sayuri and Yuka respectively, but neither willing to risk the wrath of the almighty mallet of doom.
Akane, Ranma had come to the conclusion, was nothing more than a pampered, spoiled brat, safely protected from the harshness of reality by living in her own little world. He had loved her...Kami-sama had he loved her... he had even killed for her...been willing to die for her, but even he couldn't stand for this behavior any longer. It was not only his future at stake here, but hers as well.
Ranma jumped down from the roof of the house, landing in the yard below.
Todai wasn't an impossible dream, it couldn't be. He would face this problem the same way he had faced all others, with a confident grin and light heart.
Now it was time to train. Pop wasn't the only one who could design 'Ultimate Techniques' after all.
It was later that same evening and all in all, it had been a very quiet day. No Amazons, no Ucchan, no hopelessly blind or hopelessly lost boys dropping in unannounced. The Tendos and Genma were away to the newly-opened seafood restaurant on main street, celebrating Akane's acceptance to the local arts college at the prestigious Shimonu University. A fact which Akane never failed to rub in Ranma's face. Ranma had feigned a stomachache so as to remain at home. Hearing a gloating Akane praise herself all evening was not on his to-do list.
Deciding to order some take-out for dinner Ranma discovered, to his dismay, that all his hard-earned cash had been , somehow, discretely removed from his wallet. All that was left were a few black panda hairs. Ranma clenched his fists in rage, trembling all over as a fiery red aura erupted from his trembling form.
"POPS!"
Genma sneezed rather violently as he chugged back another gourd of sake, at the expense of his son. The cup beside the fat man suddenly cracked leaving both a very shaken Mr Tendo, and a now sake-soaked Mr Panda staring at it wild-eyed.
"A bad omen!", they both thought simultaneously.
"Its gotta be here, Its gotta be here...I didn't work late-night shifts at the local mall for nothin...Come on Pops, let me be wrong about ya for once!"
Ranma what at this moment in the guest room on his hads and knees, searching through the spilled contents of his father's haversack.
"Old Porn Magazines... yuck!"
" A copy of 'How to treat your cuddly Pandakins' by Wanda Cutestuff... no comment!"
"Martial arts scrolls...already read 'em"
"Old Gi's, bandanas, extra pairs of glasses... but no money"
Ranma sighed and shook his head in defeat, "I should known, the old fool is to cunning to leave it lying around."
Reaching down to start re-packing his father's belongings, Ranma suddenly noticed an old crumpled piece of paper which had obviously fallen out of one of the 'magazines'. No doubt his father had been using it as a bookmarker. Slightly interested he picked it up and unfolded it gently. As he read what was on the sheet of paper, his eyes seemed to become sharper and more piercing. A slow wave of red washed over his features, his fists clenched so tight that his nails dug into the palms of his hands, drawing blood and the skin around his knuckles whitened.
But this time he did not yell. Neither did he cuss, punch anything or tear anything to shreds... no... instead he rose very, very calmly and refolded the sheet, placing it in his pocket. Without a word he packed up his fathers belongings and then made a start on his own.
After he had finished, Ranma set off for the Old Pervert's room. There were a few things he needed to do.
When the other residents of the Tendo compound returned they were surprised to see the shadowy form of their resident pigtailed martial artist awaiting them in the living room. His eyes roamed over their puzzled faces before centering upon the source from which all evil sprang in this household, Genma Saotome.
The obese martial-artist shivered at the look in those cold blue eyes and then decided it would be a very good idea to be somewhere else...far away! He'd heard that Outer-Mongolia was very nice at this time of the year.
"Pops...come the morning, you and I are gonna have a nice...long...sparring match. Pleasant dreams!"
"What was all that about last night Ranma?", said Akane. They were walking on their way to school, after Ranma had beaten Genma senseless, and she was slightly worried by his antics last night. Technically they had finished their studies, but there were a few loose ends for leaving students to tie up. Luckily this was the last day. She knew he was a bit sore about his poor results but surely her teasing him hadn't hurt him that badly? She brushed the thought away, even if it had been a bit harsh the pervert had deserved it for all the times he attempted to peek on her. Next week she would be moving into her new apartment dorms and that would be the last she would see of the baka pervert for a while. Serve him right if she found a nice young MAN to take his place, someone like...sigh...Doctor Tofu.
"It's none of your business Akane."
"Wha... how dare you...", she spluttered. How dare he talk to her so! After all the concern she was showing him, the ungratefu...
"I SAID ITS NONE OF YOUR DAMNED BUSINESS!"
With that Ranma stormed off on his own, leaving a stunned Akane behind him. Not for long however! With a cry of "RANMA NO BAKA!", she set of after his departing form.
Anyone who had lived in Nerima for sometime knew what would happen now. Akane chased Ranma through the streets of the Nerima district, swinging her mallet around wildly and tearing up good portions of the high-street in the process. This inevitably led to the appearence of all the other fiancees in an attempt to "rescue him". Mousse, Ryoga and Kuno joined in soon after so as to help Akane smite the foul Saotome. Genma, Mr Tendo, Cologne, Happosai, Tarou ... the numbers just kept growing until soon the son of Genma was being followed by a massive stampede of people out for his blood.
"Boy! You will marry Akane today!"
"Quite right Saotome!"
"I am not marrying that perverted jerk! How dare you talk to me that way Ranma!"
"Ranchan honey come and try my new Okinomiyaki selection, Shrimpboat special... your favorite!"
"Ranma Saotome prepare to die!"
"Airen no eat Spatula Girl food, Airen come back to China with Shampoo, yes?"
"Saotome you will pay for stealing my beloved Shampoo"
"Son-in-law accept your fate"
"Hotcha, model this for your poor old master won't you Ranma-chan"
"The vengence of Hea- urk!"
"Shut up brother dear! Ranma-sama wait for me"
and so on and so forth
As he ran, Ranma could feel his usually suppressed rage boiling to the surface. Once again it all came down to Genma, that dishonourable piece of refuse he was forced to call father. This hellish existence was HIS doing! Thanks to him Ranma was officially engaged to God-knows how many women, cursed and deathly afraid of anything on four legs that said "Meow"!
A red mist began to swirl around his body, his anger attempting to manifest itself in the visible spectrum in the form of a battle aura. Cologne and Happosai, both grandmasters of the art, took heed of this new development both leapt from the throng to land upon the roof of a nearby department store.
"It appears that the boy has finally reached his limit, Happi"
"I believe you may be right Ko-chan"
"Shall we watch?"
"Of course! It will be interesting... to say the least!...HYEH HEH HEH!"
"THATS IT!"
Ranma suddenly halted outside the gates of Furinken High, turning to face his pursuers. Small rocks began to levitate, lifting off of the ground, a testament to the strength of his battle aura which had literally exploded from his body in a towering inferno of crimson flames. Adjusting his feet into a powerful defensive stance, Ranma took a deep breath and then reached deep inside of himself, bending all of his will upon the arduous task of reigning in his wildly fluctuating ki. He began to mold it, strengthen it, forcing it to draw in upon itself and concentrate itself within a small area surrounding his physical shell.
He could feel himself trembling as his muscles began to spasm, unused to the unseen pressure being putting upon them. He most definitely wasn't ready to attempt this yet... he doubted that he ever would be. His body was screaming it's protests at him for such harsh treatment, it was almost as if it was begging him to stop, but he had no choice in the matter. The 'Hi-ryuu-shoten-ha' was too risky to use in such a densely populated area and none of the other techniques he knew would be much use against so many opponents at once. He needed to finish this stupidity now and quick!
Ranma began to chant to himself as he continued to build up the anger he needed to fuel his ultimate attack:
"Stupid Akane with her uncontrollable temper, poisonous cooking and mallet of doom. Not to mention her obliviousness when it comes to P-chan's identity. All her friends are terrified of her and she even has the gall to belittle my hard-earned skills by claiming that shes in the same league as me."
"Stupid Shampoo with her bicycle,Bonbori, Amazon Marriage laws, magic and potions."
"Stupid Ukyo with her possessiveness and her huge spatula!"
"Stupid Kodachi with her ribbons, poisons and powders!"
"Stupid Ryoga, always blaming me for his damned problems and using his pig-form to incriminate me."
"Stupid Mousse, blaming me for an engagement I don't want!"
"Stupid Kuno with his poetry and 'pig-tailed girl'!"
"Stupid Pops!"
"Stupid Nabiki!"
"Stupid!"
"Stupid!"
'Stupid!'
The Nerima Wrecking Crew bore down upon their target like a ruthless tsunami. It was Ryoga that reached Ranma first. Seeing his hated rival remaining motionless for once Ryoga began to grin insanely. This fight would be his without a doubt...this was the long awaited day of his triumph! No longer would he live in Ranma's shadow! Dear sweet Akane would finally see him as the man he truly was! In a battle of strength and endurance Ryoga could not lose. So enchanted was he, by the thought of his own splendid victory, that Ryoga neglected to notice the now painfully bright aura surrounding the pigtailed boy.
"Ranma for all you did to me! For the hells I have seen because of you! For all the times you have hurt Akane! RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!"
Ryoga swung his umbrella overhead with surprising ease and then brought it down with enough force to crush his victim's skull, grinning like a maniac all the while.
Revenge is sweet!
Ranma waited until the last possible moment to launch his attack. He needed to time this just right. As Ryoga swung his umbrella Ranma jumped, landing upon the weapon with uncanny ease and unnatural grace. Using the umbrella like a ramp he ran along it and then bounced off of the stunned Lost boy's head, like a spring board, catapulting himself into the air. Using the special techniques, unique to the Saotome branch of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, Ranma pivoted in mid-air, adjusting his flight path until he was certain that the angle of his descent led directly to the center of the throng.
"Aiyah! Ranma come to Shampoo!"
"Saotome prepare to die upon my blade"
"Ranchan Honey! Come with me, lets ditch these losers!"
"RANMA NO BAKA!"
"OH HO HO HO! I'm here for you my darling!"
"Vile Sorceror!"
"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU USE ME LIKE THAT! DIE!"
Looking down at the insane crowd of suitors and rivals, Ranma felt any remorse that he may have felt for the course he was about take leave him. This was his life, his time, his pride, his honour at stake. He owed nothing to no-one! Silently he raised both hands above his head.and clasped them tightly together. The crowd parted a little as he reached the ground, only for a second, but that was more than enough time for our pigtailed hero to act. Swinging his arms downward with incredible force Ranma struck the ground and let loose a little of the grip upon his aura while at the same time, invoking the chilling power of the 'Soul of Ice' ...
"SAOTOME SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS... ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE!"
"THE FALLEN DRAGON GOD DESCENDS TO EARTH!"
...For an instant an warm glow enveloped all of his would-be attackers...and then everything went red.
Ranma trudged home wearily. That technique had taken a lot out of him. Everyone else had been knocked out cold but like seasoned martial artists they had quickly recovered with only a few minor burns to show for their experiance.Ranma on the other hand had been nearly drained dry. He hadn't felt this bad since after his epic battle with Saffron of Pheonix Mountain. Luckily the school nurse had allowed him to sleep off most of the school day and it had only been in the last period that he had returned to class. What he had seen in Akane's eyes did not look very good gor his health. Hers was a glare that promised pain in the near future. Too bad for her that she would never get the chance to make good on that promise.
'The Fallen Dragon God Descends To Earth' was an incredibly difficult and taxing move, but it had so much potential. Regardless of how weak or strong the blast, the move required that one maintained their battle aura at a particular level of concentration. It was that concentrated aura which gave the move it's explosive power. While this meant that the technique was inevitably taxing upon it's wielder, it also meant that by adjusting the hold he had upon his aura Ranma could determine the strength of the blast exactly.The 'Soul of Ice' not only protected him from the burning onslaught of his attack but it also allowed him to maintain his grip upon his aura with far greater ease. It had been difficult, very difficult indeed, but finally it had been put to the test. and Ranma couldn't be happier.
"Those stupid jerks deserved it to", he thought bitterly.
Of course this was just the beginning! Ranma planned to form his own set of techniques, much as his father had with the Umi and Yamasenken. That was for later though...
Ranma had come to the conclusion that to get into Todai he would have to give up his unhealthy life style. The Saotome name had brought him nothing but pain, loneliness and failure. The chaos that seemed to follow him everywhere would not give him a moments peace. Now, however, thanks to Genma, he had a way out. He could change his life and find a real family. And all it would take were two slips of paper, both in his possession.
Ah yes, there they were, standing in the doorway waiting for him. Akane in her Gi and holding her mallet, Nabiki was scowling (he must of lost her some money this morning with his little surprise), Genma and Soun with stern looks upon their faces, his Mother with her katana and Kasumi with a slight frown adorning her pretty face. Luckily they hadn't seen him yet, nor were they likely to ever again.
Invoking the sealed art of the Umisenken, Ranma crept past them and made his way to his room. Picking up his haversack, he shouldered it with a grunt. He placed a slip of paper on his neatly folded futon and the walked back to the window, the same way he had done the night before. Taking one last look at his room he smiled a little, remembering some of the good times he had spent under this roof.
A single tear ran from the corner of one eye and landed on the window sill as he leapt.
Later that evening a bellow of rage echoed through the halls of the Tendo home as Genma discovered his son's intentions.
To Pops, Mom and the Tendos,
I, Ranma Saotome, hereby renounce the Saotome name and all rights and responsibilities attached to that name
I have gone to fulfill a broken promise.
I will not be back.
I have had enough.
Goodbye Forever And Good Luck To You All.
- R
End of Chapter 1
