Disclaimer From HELL: I do not own any of the Ranma ½ characters...yet. Soon, I shall exert my power over them, forcing them to bend to my will! Dance my puppets, dance! But...I digress.

AN: Well, I made my choice. It might prove a bit difficult in later times, but ah, well. I'll live. It IS a concept that has been done before, I know. I don't care, I like it! A lot! There WILL be a few differences in how I do things, however. Oh and...if, by some wicked twist of fate, you correctly guess who the 'sad young woman' from the previous chapter was, you get...a cookie! Heh, good luck. The chances are astronomical.


Losing Innocence, Finding Self

Chapter 5: Revealing the Past, Shaping the Future


"Ranma...your father was a great man. Loyal, brave, compassionate...he died fighting for what he believed in...he died to save his family. I look at you and I see so many of the same things. Your father would be very proud of you, just as I am."

Ranma felt his heart swell at his mother's praise. For several long years on the road with his...with Genma, he had longed to hear the words of love and comfort most children take for granted.

Smiling warmly at the joyful look adorning her son's face, Nodoka cleared her throat and folded her hands in her lap. Nervously biting her bottom lip for several seconds, she decided on how to proceed.

"You and I are...different from other people. We look the same- at least right now we do- but we are very different. And I'm afraid that we are also the last of our kind."

Feeling depressed over the loss of a people he never had the chance to know, Ranma quietly asked, "What happened to all the others?"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, fighting to keep the memories from resurfacing, the Saotome matriarch barely managed to reply in a choked voice, "T...they were all killed at the hands of those we perceived as our allies. Many died without even getting the chance to defend themselves. Others were cut down as they tried to escape their fate."

Growling angrily, Ranma demanded of his mother, "Who was it? Who betrayed our people?"

Fixing her son with a stern gaze, Nodoka composed herself and smoothly replied, "That is in the past, Ranma. Do not commit yourself to vengeance...you would only be condemning yourself to death."

Deflating slightly, the pigtailed warrior tilted his head back and shut his eyes. Sighing softly, he waited several seconds before answering.

"Alright mom. I won't try to fight them, I promise."

Opening his eyes and bringing his head down again, Ranma continued in a serious tone, "But if they ever show up and try to hurt you...I'll make sure they regret it."

Nodoka couldn't stop herself from giggling slightly at her son's declaration. "So much like your father..."

She allowed the statement to trail off as she became lost in thought, remembering with fondness history long since past. After several long moments, the spell was broken by the phone ringing downstairs.

"Who could that be, I wonder? We will continue this after I see who it is."

Nodding to his mother as she exited the room, Ranma made himself comfortable and waited, meditating once more about recent events.


Sighing gently, a young woman made her way through the crowd, finally arriving at her destination. Resting for a moment in one of the park's many benches, she allowed her mind to wander.

'I should stop feeling so sorry for myself. It's definitely not going to help me get over...him.'

Taking in the sights around her, and inhaling deeply to enjoy the fragrance of the local wildflowers, she smiled for the first time in several long weeks.

'I feel much better now. Taking a walk around the park was a great idea. Good thing I finally got out of the house, my family was really starting to worry.'

Her gaze grew wistful as she observed the many young couples around her, enjoying one another's company. Brightening suddenly, her smile quickly reappeared.

'Something good is coming, I just know it! But what? Hmm...winning the lottery? Nah. Receiving first prize in a contest I didn't even know I entered? Mmm...nope. Well what could it be? ...Maybe...'


Returning to her son's room, Nodoka handed him a glass of cold water. Accepting the drink gratefully and taking a sip, Ranma said in a sincere tone, "Thanks mom. Um...who was it?"

Frowning slightly, Nodoka schooled her features before replying, "That was elder Cologne. She said that she has something important to discuss with both of us. She will arrive in about fifteen minutes."

Blinking in slight confusion, the pigtailed one nodded absently while focusing inward on his thoughts. 'The Old Ghoul is coming here? Why?'

A dark look crossed his face as he came up with a possible answer. 'If she comes here to try and force me to return to China with her...'

Noticing the look on her son's face, Nodoka snapped Ranma out of his thoughts before his mood worsened. "I still haven't explained exactly what we are, have I? There should be plenty of time to tell you...and show you."

Getting a strange feeling in the back of his mind, the former Saotome decided to stall for a bit of time. Tentatively, he inquired, "How did...how did my real father die?"

Caught off guard, Nodoka visibly stumbled for words before calming herself with a deep breath. "When we were betrayed, our allies turned on us and began to slaughter us. Your father...he sacrificed himself buying me time so I could escape. I wanted to stay with him, or have him escape with me, but he said there was no point in both of us dying. So I ran, and eventually made my way here to Japan. Our clan kept significant resources here, in case something ever went wrong and we had to go into hiding. A month after that nightmare, I found out I was pregnant. Since Japanese society looked down upon single mothers, and I needed to blend in, I made the mistake of marrying one Genma Saotome. He thought that you were his child and...well...you know the rest."

"I see..." Ranma remarked quietly, tilting his head forward slightly. 'Definitely a relief to know that fat fool isn't my real father...but mom could've picked someone better to marry. Ah, well.'

"Ranma..."

Retreating from his thoughts and raising his head to look his mother in the eye, the former Saotome heir hesitated momentarily before replying, "Yeah mom?"

Turning her head away from her son, Nodoka squeezed her eyes shut before continuing."I am so sorry...if I had known back then what kind of man he really was, and what he would have done to you, I-"

Ranma cut off his mother's apology, shaking his head animatedly. "It's not your fault mom. Don't worry about it. Everything turned out okay."

Smiling ruefully at her son's easy dismissal of the tortures suffered under his supposed father, Nodoka faced her child once more. "No, everything is not okay. What about the Neko-Ken, Ranma?"

Swallowing nervously as the strange feeling intensified, the martial arts prodigy let loose a shaky laugh and attempted to wave off the subject that had haunted him for so long. "As long as I stay away from cats, it isn't such a big deal."

Shaking her head sadly, Nodoka quietly stated, "It isn't that simple I'm afraid. Because of that bastard Genma, you may not even be able to face your own heritage."

Alarm bells began ringing in the back of Ranma's mind as he hesitantly asked his mother, "W-what...what do you mean?"

Instead of answering, she walked to the center of the room and began to loosen her clothing. "Ranma, this is going to be...difficult for you. Please, try to stay calm."

Giving her son a reassuring smile, Nodoka willed the change to begin. Ranma's eyes widened to epic proportions and his breath caught in his throat as his mother began to transform into a creature from his worst nightmares.

The Saotome matriarch suddenly shot up in height, to just over seven feet, filling out the loose clothes and stretching them to their limits. Brown spotted blonde fur sprouted all over her body, except around her hands and face, which had white fur. Her hair color changed from copper to the same spotted pattern as the rest of her. A black stripe now adorned each eye, running from her forehead to nearly the bottom of her face. However, all of Ranma's attention was on two new features. Cat-like ears replaced her human ones, and a tail now jutted from the base of her spine and swished about nervously, also cat-like. Very cat-like. Too cat-like.

'A c-c-cat! No! I gotta get away from it before it tries to eat me! Don't wanna die don't wanna die don't wanna die! B-but...mom would never hurt me. She said so herself. But a cat would! A giant, evil, demonic, feline from hell would love to tear me apart with those claws, and...and...no. She would never do that to me, I'm her son! She's my mom, not a demon c-c...feline.'

Nodoka worriedly watched on as love and fear warred with one another over Ranma's features. Guessing quite accurate at the source of the internal conflict, she adopted a soothing tone and attempted to reassure her child. "Ranma, you know I would never hurt you. I'm your mother, I love you."

Visibly relaxing, the pigtailed ailurophobe nodded slowly. 'That's right...she's still my mom, even if she looks a little...furrier than normal.'

Favoring his mother with a shaky smile, Ranma fought to keep his voice from quaking too badly. "S-so...w-what exactly are you...we?"

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, the maternal feline began her explanation. "Ranma, we belong to a race of magical creatures called the werecheetahs. We have access to three different forms. A human form, an animal form, and a hybrid form like this one."

Furrowing his brow in thought, Ranma began slowly, "Were...cheetah? Oh, like those big wild c...nevermind. You mean we're kinda like werewolves?"

Nodoka nodded mechanically, frowning darkly at the mention of the canine lycanthropes. The pigtailed progeny of werecheetahs, for once, managed to put two and two together. "Are werewolves the ones who turned on our kind and slaughtered them?"

Jerking once more from the painful memories, the Saotome matriarch wavered momentarily before giving confirmation. "Yes, it was them. They invited us to their homeland, claiming to want peace between us after years of animosity. Most of the clan agreed that ending the hostility between the werewolves and ourselves would greatly benefit us, Verias- that's your father, dear- and myself included. When we arrived they stabbed us in the back, butchering our people mercilessly. I already told you how I managed to escape that nightmare, thanks to your father's sacrifice."

"I...I see."

Taking a moment to sort out his thoughts, Ranma came to another realization. "Mom...if I'm a werecheetah too, how come I've never, you know, changed?"

Pleasantly surprised at her offspring's newfound mental alacrity, Nodoka felt pride once again fill her. 'He must have really taken what I said about furthering his education to heart.'

"Well son, that is because when you were born, I had to use a spell to lock you in your human form in order to avoid having people discover the truth of your origins- and mine. When you believe you are ready to accept your true form, I will remove the block on your transformation."

Studying his hand intently, Ranma allowed himself to become lost in thought once more. 'So I really look like a big freakin' c...feline, huh? Oh, Heaven must be having a field day with it. Twisted sense of humor, hitting me with this kind of irony.'

Before the discussion could progress any further, a familiar voice pulled their attention to the now open window. "So, it is as I suspected. Son-in-law really isn't human."

"Elder Cologne! How long have you been listening in on us?"

Noticing Ranma and Nodoka tensing up in expectation of a fight, the ancient Amazon leader waved her hand in dismissal. "Since about thirty seconds after I called. There IS a payphone right outside you know. Now settle down, I pose no threat to you."

Allowing their guard to fall marginally, mother and son kept a wary eye on Cologne. "You knew Ranma was a werecreature?"

"I suspected. I can sense the magic in his aura. At first I thought it was merely a result of his Jusenkyo curse. But then I noticed the exact same thing in your own aura, Mrs. Saotome. This merely confirms my suspicions. Although, I am very surprised to find a pair of werecheetahs of all things...terrible tragedy, what happened to your clan."

Tilting her head curiously, Nodoka could not stop herself from asking the question that had been steadily nagging at her since the elderly matriarch's arrival. "How do you know so much about us?"

Smiling wryly, Cologne answered without hesitating. "The Chinese Amazons have, in ancient times, hunted down a number of entities supernatural and magical in nature. Among those are demons, undead, ghosts, and...werebeasts."

Immediately, Ranma sprang to his feet and adopted a combat stance just milliseconds before his mother drew the Saotome Honor Blade, brandishing the katana with expert and deadly ease.

Grimacing lightly, the ancient Amazon raised her hands in a placating gesture. "As I told you, I am not here to do you any harm. My people only hunted down renegade weres that chose to prey on humans. And that was over half a century ago, we no longer condone such a practice."

Resheathing her sword as her son shifted into a neutral stance, Nodoka bowed her head in shame. "I beg your forgiveness, Honored Elder. I have lived for so long in fear of pursuit that I-"

Once again waving her hand in dismissal, Cologne smiled kindly as she cut off the werecheetah's apology. "I understand completely. You fear for both yourself and for your child. As a mother myself, I cannot begrudge you for protecting your family."

Raising her head, a dejected look crossed Nodoka's face as she sighed wistfully before responding, "It's not just that. My son and I are the last of the werecheetahs. If we die, then our race will be gone forever."

This time grinning widely, Cologne retrieved an envelope from one of the many hidden pockets in her robes before continuing. "Even though we no longer hunt any werecreatures, we still keep track of all known magical entities in the world. And we know of one other werecheetah, Mrs. Saotome."

Shocked beyond belief, Nodoka stumbled for words before managing to find her voice. "Then we aren't the only ones? Please, tell me where I can find this other werecheetah!" Nodoka insisted urgently while still managing to remain polite. Years of acting the part of a proper Japanese housewife had instilled manners as almost second nature to her.

With the same wide grin still adorning her wrinkled face, the Amazon elder handed Nodoka the envelope with a flourish. "Inside you will find the exact location of your lost clanmate, as well as two plane tickets. When you arrive at your destination, simply follow the enclosed instructions to find her."

Instantly bringing her attention up from the envelope in her hands, the elder werecheetah focused on the last word in Cologne's statement. "Her? The other werecheetah is female?"

Blinking in surprise at the unexpected question, the venerable ancient nodded her affirmation. "Yes, she is female. Why do you ask?"

But Nodoka was too far gone into her own little world to be bothered with answering. 'If the other werecheetah is female...then...our race can be revived! Yes, I can send Ranma out to locate her, giving them time to grow close. Given my son's track record with the opposite sex, it is almost guaranteed that they will fall for each other! But first...'

Ranma felt a shiver go up his spine as his mother returned her attention to him, a goofy smile prominent in her features. "Ranma, I want you to go and find this other werecheetah. I will remain here for a while in order to take care of unfinished business..."

Feeling the sensation of impending doom worsen significantly at the last statement, the pigtailed werecheetah began to squirm uncomfortably, frowning slightly. Noticing her son's lack of enthusiasm, Nodoka thought quickly, seizing the first idea that came to mind. "...including the legal nullification of all the engagement contracts."

Instantly brightening, Ranma forcibly restrained himself from jumping up and dancing in joy. 'No more fiance troubles! But...why is my danger sense going on full alert again?'

"Alright mom, I'll do it."

Barely managing to contain the giddiness rising up within her, Nodoka gave a mental cheer. "Good. I will join you after I finish up here. Before you leave, however, I need to remove the block on your transformation. I need to teach you how to shift forms, and you need to become used to your hybrid form."

Smiling weakly, Ranma resisted the urge to cringe in fear at the mention of his feline half. 'Oh, great. This is going to be fun...'

AN: Alright you big babies, no more cliffhangars (unless it is reeeeally necessary), I promise. Anyway, there you have it. Ranma's a werecheetah, like his mother. I'll explain the relationship between his parents, and the events leading up to his father's demise, in either a flashback or a sidestory. More likely a sidestory. Other holes in the storyline will be filled in thusly. They were left there intentionally...really! I didn't screw up...nope, not me. Feh. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, and especially thank you renzokuken-sama, for your advice. Since I'm brand new to this, all helpful advice is appreciated. And I will try, keyword TRY, to lengthen the chapters. I'll go back and revise what I've already done...eventually...maybe. Oh, right, before I forget. Nodoka dealing with all of Ranma's problems will be covered, as I said, either in flashback or sidestory format. Probably sidestory. I wanna do a sidestory! Oh, right, one last thing. The chapters are on the short side 'cause this is all more of a prelude than anything else. The real fun begins soon! I hope...