Prologue: Losing and Finding Everything
Thoughts
A small boy stayed huddled in an alley just outside of Nerima during the rainy day. His eyes glared hatefully at the sky, mentally asking why all this pain had to happen to him. He had nothing left now. His clothes were made up of an old training gi that was torn and worn away. It had several rips, patches of dirt, and some stains of old dried up blood. It was the only clothes that would fit him now. Ranma bowed his head down quietly and hugged his body closer in order to have at least some heat in his rain drenched body. How could everything go so wrong? Ranma narrowed his eyes in contempt as he remembered what happened three days ago.
Flashback…
Ranma was happily running back to the Tendo Dojo after a month of searching for a cure for his curse. Apparently, the lead of an ancient cavern underneath a shrine was true. It took Ranma about half a month to find the shrine and then it took him hours to find the entrance to the cavern. The cavern itself was the home to a Kitsune spirit that could purify any curse; however, the price is to have it be entertained by a story. At first, Ranma had trouble coming up with a good story because it was either a bad story or the Kitsune had heard about it before.
It was when Ranma began to mutter several bad points quietly to himself was when the Kitsune became interested. With it's acute hearing it heard Ranma low mutterings and asked him about it. Ranma told the spirit everything about his life, from the day he was taken away from his mother, to the Nekoken training, to the day at Jusenkyo, to the arrival to the Tendos, the weirdness that happened during his stay, to finally the battle with Saffron and the failed wedding. Throughout the story the Kitsune looked at Ranma, showing disgust during his separation from his mother, anger during the Nekoken, laughing at the weirdness, shock during the battle with the demi-god, and finally disgust during the failed wedding incident. In a way, the Kitsune developed a deep respect for Ranma now and removed his curse. The Kitsune also told Ranma of a friendly Tanuki spirit that can cure his problem with the Nekoken.
Normally the Tanuki would ask for the same price but Kitsune simply told Ranma to tell the Tanuki that the Kitsune sent him and it would cure him of his fears. It took him another half a month to find the Tanuki, namely because it pulled pranks before Ranma managed to catch it. Sure the kitty cannon was a horrible moment, then again it also casted an illusion to make it seem that his fiancées were there to beat the crap out of him for leaving them behind. When he finally caught up to the Tanuki, when Ranma made a trap of tar around on a rock where he usually went to the hot spring nearby which the Tanuki was stealing his clothes tossing them into a nearby river. When Ranma came back the Tanuki was stuck to the rock and unable to get away. Ranma was a rather imposing site when he started threatening the Tanuki and glowing like the Fourth of July. In the end, the Tanuki removed the Nekoken and the fear along with it, but naturally Ranma would still have the dislike of cats.
When Ranma returned home happy the curse was gone. Eventually the rest of the Nerima Wrecking Crew found out and demanded the cure. Ranma told them and they all left to find the Kitsune to cure them of their curse. After several weeks the NWC returned unhappily and carried a big grudge against Ranma now. It turned out that the Kitsune refused to cure them of their curse after listening to Ranma's life and sent them away. Ryoga of course blamed Ranma of lying and plotted with Mousse for their revenge. Finally they came up with a plan to remove Ranma from the picture so that they could be with their loves. Ryoga attacked Ranma during dinner time and while everyone was distracted Mousse used his duck form to drop something on Ranma's food before Ranma finished punting away Ryoga.
When he downed the food he began to shrink until he was a five year old child again. It was when he realized that he ate the magic mushrooms again and everyone began to remake their plans when they found out from Ryoga that he didn't have any left and that he didn't know where he got it from. It was sure that Ranma would never grow back to his regular age and he would only age naturally. Genma and Soun soon declared that if the Tendo girls give birth to a daughter Ranma would be engaged to the said girl. The Tendo sisters loudly objected to the decision. Then there was a loud shouting match between the two sides until the fiancées arrived because the loud argument could be heard several blocks away. During that time Mousse and Ryoga mocked Ranma and Kuno attacked Ranma to 'purge the spawn of Saotome' and everything went down hill from there. It was then that Ranma finally snapped. Ranma may have been changed into his child like form but he still had a lot ki in his reserves and in his moment of insanity he unleashed a wave of energy knocking everyone out and causing massive damage to the Tendo Dojo.
He quickly ran upstairs packed everything he had in his bag and jump out of the window before anyone was awake to notice. Then he ran in a random direction and continued for most of the day as far as his stubby legs can take him, then slept and continued running.
End flashback…
Ranma sighed as he laid his back against the wall, he wanted to restart his life and forget about the one he left behind. He looked down at his hands, he didn't know where to start and soon he may need to find a job. But seeing that he was too young, most likely he would be placed in an orphanage. It was then he heard a woman scream. Instinctively Ranma got up and ran to the source where he saw a couple further down the alley being held up by some street punk pointing a knife at them. Ranma quickly grabbed a pip and ran up smacked the pip at the mugger's knee. As criminal fell on his other knee, Ranma had an opening to the head which was the reason he struck the knee first. He was too short even if he had the pipe he couldn't reach the head. Ranma quickly smashed the pipe at the mugger's head making him drop in a heap.
"Are you two okay" Ranma looked up at the two adults who smiled in reply. Then the smile changed to the look of horror as they looked behind him. Ranma immediately turned around just in time to see a knife burying itself into his chest and the muggers smirk of satisfaction. The man gave the mugger a brutal kick in the face which knocked him out. The woman laid Ranma on the flat of his back before turning to her husband.
"Call an ambulance!" Those were the last words Ranma heard as he blacked out hearing footsteps running off.
Ranma woke up to the beeping sounds of the medical equipment that was attached to his arms and the mutters of doctors though the hospital halls. Everything was hazy right now due to the use of sedatives the doctors used to dull the pain. The door was left open where he heard a doctor talking to the couple he helped. One thing for sure though, breathing hurts right now.
Outside Ranma's room…
"He was lucky that the knife was a millimeter away from his heart" The doctor looked up from the clipboard. "If he had moved any closer to the side he wouldn't be here today"
The couple sighed in relief that the child was safe at the moment. The doctor wrote several things down on the clipboard he was holding before turning back to the two.
"And you say that you are paying for the bills?"
"Yes, he did help us after all" The man said and the woman.
Behind the doctor, a nurse entered Ranma's room to check on his status after talking to the doctor about their patient to worrying couple.
"D-D-Doctor!" the nurse quickly ran out of the door with the look of shock. "The boy is awake!"
"WHAT? The sedatives should have kept him asleep for the whole day!" The doctor immediately rushed into his patient's room and looked at him. The doctor began to relax as he noticed the glazed eyes and sleepy look as the sedatives began to take a stronger hold over Ranma, however the doctor was impressed that the child could fight off the effects that strong. The Doctor went beside the bed realizing that he could find information about the child because the couple didn't know who he was either.
"What is your name, son?" The doctor said slowly, knowing that the drugs would make anyone slow in thought processes.
"Ranma" He muttered softly as everything began to darken.
The Doctor nodded and wrote the name on the clipboard hanging on Ranma's bed. "And your last name?"
"Don't have any" was Ranma's last response before he completely blacked out. The doctor looked at the boy before going to the front desk to call the police to find out about anything about missing or runaway children. Ranma had to stay at hospital for a month to heal his injuries while the doctor waited for the information that would match Ranma, however, there had been no child that was missing the matched Ranma so he placed him as an orphan.(Do you think Genma would go to the police withhis criminal record?)Meanwhile the couple occasionally came to visit Ranma when they can because the liked to keep him company as he recuperated.
"You're planning to adopt this child?" the doctor looked at the couple who nodded enthusiastically. It was a day before Ranma could be released from the hospital and the two was eager to have him with them. "Very well then. Please wait until I get the paperwork ready for you to sign. However, I believe you should talk to Ranma before we should start. Is that alright for you?"
The couple simply nodded to the doctor as they left his office and made their way to Ranma's room.
A few long minutes of talking later…
Ranma stared at the couple in shock; he didn't expect the two to want to adopt him. Ranma slowly got off his bed despite the doctor trying to keep on the bed and walked slowly to the couple. When he reached the two, he opened his arms and hugged them both while the doctor smiled at the scene. The couple happily hugged him back, however, they were wondering why Ranma was so strong because the hug he was giving hurt. The paperwork was filled out, signed and then shipped off to an official to get the adoption to be approved. The entire process, however, took a month to be completed so when Ranma was released, he was allowed to stay at the home of his family to be. When he arrived his jaw dropped when he saw his new home, correction, estate. Ranma realized that his new family was to very wealthy and well off. He stood still as a statue as he stared at the mansion for at least five minutes before his new mother pushed him gently foreword. A puppy ran up Ranma as soon as he reached the steps and began to curiously sniff at this new person. Ranma smiled as bended down and began to pet the small puppy, nearby the couple smiled at the scene. They told Ranma the name of the puppy was Tadakichi and it was recently brought to the family.
However, when the paperwork was fully processed Ranma had to register for school, much to the annoyance to Ranma. What Ranma didn't know that he would cause quite a stir in the school.
Ranma's new mother picked up the phone after two hours after Ranma left for school when it began to ring. It was a hassle to get Ranma to wear a uniform, it took a while to finally convince him to wear one.
"Hello?"
She listened to the person at the other end in silence for a while.
"Yes, I his mother… You need me to come over? Why?"
She continued to listen as she became more worried about Ranma.
"I'll be there soon"
She didn't know what was going on, but the principle at Ranma's new school said it was urgent and she had to see for herself. She was worried that Ranma had caused problems with the teachers or other students because he had to live on the street before. She quickly left the house and headed for the school that Ranma was sent to.
Few minutes after Ranma's mother came…
"Excuse me?" Ranma's new mother couldn't believe her ears as she sat in the Principle's office.
"Your son is a prodigy" As the principle handed her papers of IQ tests that they performed on Ranma. The principle himself was excited at the thought of such a boy at his school. "His intelligence level is through the roof for someone his age"
Ranma's mother simply stared at the reports in shock as she flips to each page reading one. She would have never thought Ranma would be this smart before or that he completed a high school math problem. Meanwhile Ranma was sitting outside under a tree eating his lunch with another student named Ohyama who Ranma had made friends with. Ohyama was a child with black hair and large rectangular glasses that seem to always have a bored expression on his face. Overall, Ohyama seem to be strangely more mature than most students, but Ranma shrugged it off. Suddenly Ranma felt himself picked up and hugged tightly before he even realized what happened. Ranma looked up and saw the face of new and unusually very happy mother. Ranma later found out that he was to be transferred to a high school and continue his education there. Ranma however felt guilty to his new family's belief that he was a prodigy. I will not disappoint my family! I never lose! Ranma thought as he dressed the next morning to be ready for his new school.
The school itself was surprised to see a child enter the high school and was even more surprised to find out how knowledgeable he was. He focused only on his studies in each class as he continued to hit the books. Contrary to many Ranma didn't seem to be the scholarly type of person, however, it was due to the fact that Ranma mainly focused on martial arts and the fact that he was attacked on a daily basis in his old life. Ranma also never lost contact with his friend Ohyama as he continued to go through high school. Ranma continued to try to improve himself in other aspects than the Art. He even tried to like cats again since the Nekoken incident, but it didn't go as planned, but anyway.
Ranma's attempt to like cats again…
Ranma saw a black kitten lounging on the wall on the path to school, it laid there, basking in the sun. The kitten lifted its head as Ranma bent over to pet it, but as soon as Ranma's hand came close to it, its mouth opened and snapped shut on Ranma's fingers. They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes before the feline noticed the human child in front of it was glowing light blue. It didn't help that there was a sudden chill as Ranma brought up the Soul of Ice that caused the kitten to see his breath.
"Alright cat" Ranma's voice was cold. "I'm going to pet you and you WILL like it. Got it?"
The cat nervously shook its head.
"Good kitty" Ranma patted its head before continuing on to school. The kitten however, sat there trembling.
However, today was a special day that he would always remember. It turns out that when Ranma was in his second year in high school and that his body of an eight year old, his adoptive mother was pregnant. Ranma and his father waited eagerly in the hospital that Ranma remembered that he was put in when he first met his new family. A doctor came by giving them a happy smile.
"Congratulations Mr. Mihama, it's a healthy baby girl" Ranma's father sat up relieved. The doctor quickly lead them to the room where the happy, but tire mother holding her child closely. Ranma looked down at his new little sister as she slept in his mother's arms.
"What's her name?" Ranma Mihama asked his mother.
"Chiyo, Mihama Chiyo" Mrs. Mihama happily answered and the family leaned to look at the new family member.
Author's notes
Didn't expect that didn't you? I noticed how rare that an Azu Manga Daioh and Ranma crossover are very rare or nonexistent, so decided to try my hand on them. Anyway, is the world ready for an amazing smart and strong Chiyo-chan? Find out in the next chapter!
