Chapter 1
Approximately 18 Years Later…
A young man Named Ranma sat thinking in a secluded area of a Forest on the outskirts of Tokyo, deep in thought about recent events, some of which had been beginning to wear on him heavily,
Even a year after Jusendo she still hasn't changed one bit, I killed so that she could live, and she repays me with an increase of abuse? he thought in confusion, she has gotten so much worse that she has beaten any love I may have had for her out of me he thought dejectedly And on top of that there is still far to much to figure out from that fight, like where I got the extra power from to Defeat Saffron for one, and why did it feel as if that power was speaking to me?, I don't know why I even used that power in the fight I was still holding back a lot, no-thanks to the damned panda's brainwashing, and it nearly cost Akane her life, and then those morons had the nerve to pull that wedding stunt right after we got back and only make things worse he shifted into a lotus position Ugh! I'm going in circles, I need to organize my thoughts he thought.
Ok, first things first, I need to get control over my life, then start cleaning up what I can of the stupid panda's mess, but how to do that?….I could challenge him for mastership of the school, but he's likely to just ignore that he shook his head No, I really need something or someone that he is deathly afraid of….Mom? no I'd prefer to use her as a "Last" resort. then, realization dawned on him and he snapped his fingers I have it, Him and Soun both are scared to death of Happi, and no one knows I'm actually on good terms with him…this could work! Ranma finishes his thinking and leaves the forest heading back to the Tendo dojo for dinner.
Why is Ranma speaking properly? some may ask. Well, contrary to outward appearances, Ranma is not a "Dumb Jock" he doesn't like talking and behaving the way the normally does around most people. It's all an act, an act he had to use while on the road with Genma, if Ranma ever spoke properly or behaved properly, Genma would always punish him for it either by insults or in one form of insane training method or another.
6AM the next morning Ranma met Happosai in the same woods
"ok Ranma, why did you leave me a message wanting to meet me here this early?" complained Happosai,
Ranma tossed him a small Thermos of Coffee and pulled another from his backpack
"Cinnamon & Vanilla" Ranma Said as Happosai caught it
"That make up for the early time?" Asked Ranma,
Happosai smiled and said "and then some Ranma!".
Why are Ranma and Happosai being civil to each other? well, it all happened a about 2 months ago when Akane malleted Ranma, Akane had much to Kasumi's dread taken over the Kitchen to make Breakfast, the….mess she made would have made a biological weapons designer proud, Ranma awoke to a stench that made him run to the nearest toilet to puke, the others had already fled outside to escape the stench, after several minutes of vomiting, a very pale Ranma tried to make it out of the house, he was cornered by Akane with a plate of "something" she demanded that he eat, he tried to defuse the already angry Akane by simply saying he wasn't felling well and couldn't hold down any food just now, enraged by this Akane hit him several times with her mallet and sent him on a Mallet-Air trip to Tokyo bay.
shortly after Ranma's unexpected departure,
"What a haul! What...the Hell is that god awful smell?"
Happosai said as he stopped dead in his tracks, before a feeling of impending doom hit him, Akane somehow got lucky & beat Happosai mercilessly with her mallet before sending him the same general direction of Ranma, a battered and unconscious Happosai crashed into a building that was about to be demolished just as Ranma was walking past, Ranma couldn't just leave him there in such a state so he grabbed Happosai and got him to safety just before the building was blown up, the explosion woke Happosai up who immediately regretted trying to move
"How does Ranma survive that so often?"
he asked no one, except that someone unexpectedly replied
"A train would probably hit softer than that damn mallet, you ok Happosai?" asked Ranma,
a little shocked that it was Ranma Happi did what he could to try to heal his injury's then said
"you are the last person I would have expected to help me Ranma, why did you?"
Ranma paused, then deadpanned
"it is all an act"
curious about that, Happi decided to ask Ranma if that was why he was speaking properly, during the time it took Happi to recover, and then the trip back to Nerima he learned a great deal about Ranma, such as why he acts the way he does normally, and more importantly Happosai began to learn about the real Ranma.
"now, what can this old man help you with?" asked Happosai,
"I need to fix Genma's Mess, It has to end." Ranma Stated simply,
Happosai nearly choked on his coffee
"Since when did you start referring your father by his first name?" he asked
"since he lost every ounce of respect I might have had left for him" said Ranma
"can't say that I blame you" Happosai replied in a sympathetic tone
"so, where do you want to start?" asked Happosai
"the Amazons" said Ranma
"I want rid of that engagement, but if possible, I would like to remain on good terms with them"
Ranma said while drinking some of his own coffee
"tough one, but I might have a few solutions, though I'll have to think them through first, Next?" said Happosai
"the other Engagements" said Ranma
"I only see any of them as friends at best" He said
"and, Akane is beating even that out of me" he added
"shouldn't be to hard to fix those, I'll see what I can do" said Happosai.
"Anything else?" he asked
"just a few minor things" Ranma said in between sips
"first, let me ask, how much do you know about Jusenkyo curses?" he asked.
"more than you would think, but not nearly as much as I would like to know" Happosai replied.
"first, the curse doesn't change you into a clone of what drowned in the spring, rather what you would look like if you had been born like that" he continued
"wait!" interrupted Ranma
"if you know that, then why haven't you asked why my girl form's hair is pure white? when the photos of my mom have her with dark reddish brown hair?" Ranma asked
"because I felt it would only add to your problems" said Happosai
"please go on" urged Ranma
"I don't think Genma and Nodoka are your real Parents" said Happosai as he took a gulp of coffee
"I cant prove it, and only a DNA test could prove it beyond any doubt, I figure that Oaf Genma must have lost the real Ranma somehow and gotten you as a replacement to save his own hide" said Happosai
Ranma Sigh's
"Kind of Figures"
"I've been wondering that since I had gotten a hold of a photo of Nodoka after we came to the Tendo's place" Ranma says as pours himself and Happosai some more coffee.
Ranma then says
"after we finish I'll visit Tofu at his new clinic and get the DNA test started, last time I visited him he had just gotten one back for another patient of his"
he finishes his cup then asks
"Will you help me find my real Parents if our suspicions are right?"
Happosai finishes his coffee and says
"I would have even if you didn't ask"
then adds with a serious look
"if it's true, Genma has some serious explaining to do!"
Ranma nods and Packs up to Leave,
"I'll signal you when the results come back, if anyone asks where I am today, just suggest that I went off to train or something"
Happosai Nods.
as Ranma turns to leave, Happosai Calls "Ranma, one last thing."
Ranma stops and turns around
"Yes?" then Happosai says
"Ranma, you have proven yourself to be everything Soun and Genma could never be in the art, in fact you are like the art itself given Human form, I would be Honored if you would would allow me to name you as my Heir"
As Ranma picks his Jaw up out of the hole in the ground it made he bows and replies
"I would be Honored to be your Heir"
then Ranma adds
"Just as long as I don't have to Pretend to steal woman's underwear to pester two useless students"
Happosai Laugh's
"so, you knew all along eh?"
then Happosai adds
"I knew you were sharper than you let on!" Happosai then gets an Evil grin
"I'll announce this soon just to annoy the two morons, and that old crone, ought to be fun to see the reaction"
Both Happosai And Ranma Laugh at that
"see you soon Ranma!" Happosai says as Ranma leaves with a smile.
Later that afternoon at about 1:00pm, Ranma had traveled to Shinjuku ward to Doctor Tofu's new Clinic…..
Doc must be doing well, the place keeps getting nicer looking each time I see it Ranma thinks to himself as he approach's the building, hope he hasn't left for lunch yet. he finishes as he opens the door and walks inside.
Tofu Ono had moved away from Nerima for two main reasons, one was because the way he reacted around Kasumi was beginning to seriously endanger his patients, and the other was he was asked by his mentor to take over his practice in Shinjuku, his mentor could no longer run his practice as he was in his mid 80's and wanted to spend what years he had left with his family, another reason is his eyes had been opened to what was actually going on in Nerima when he had closed his clinic for a couple weeks for a vacation, he didn't have enough money to go anyplace at that time so he stayed in Nerima.
during those two short weeks he saw things that changed his opinion of many people, he saw Akane who's anger and jealousy now ruled her, beat Ranma numerous times for as little as complementing literally anyone even including Akane herself, he saw Nabiki extorting, blackmailing and behaving like a high-school version of a yakuza boss, partly to keep her family afloat but mostly out of greed, he saw how the fiance hoard behaved as though Ranma was a prize in some twisted contest, he saw how the Kuno's behaved as if they were escaped mental patents and as the local authorities turned a blind
eye to all of it due the Kuno's "connections" and Nabiki's blackmail.
Those two weeks permanently changed Tofu's view on things in Nerima, during the following month he decided to play psychological games with Nabiki to try to persuade her to change her ways, after two weeks he saw success and Nabiki's conscience de-thawed itself, after another two weeks later Nabiki had restricted her activities to only what was necessary to pay the bills, and even that was beginning to bug her, over the next three months Tofu tried the same with Ukyo, Ryoga & Akane, he had some success with Ukyo, but Ryoga and Akane made no progress at all, he figured it would take someone
else to get through to them, it was shortly after that Tofu moved, only for Ranma to visit a week later via "Mallet-Air".
"Excuse me, Is Tofu-San still here?"
Ranma asks Tofu's Receptionist,
"Yes he is, I believe he was just finishing some paperwork in his office before leaving for lunch"
the Receptionist replies, Thanking her, Ranma walked down the corridor to Tofu's Office and Knocked twice,
"Come in!" came a muffled voice
"Long time no See Doc!"
Ranma Greeted Tofu,
"What do you say to a free lunch?" he finished,
"sure, just let me sign this, then we can leave" said Tofu
"no problem" was all Ranma said in reply,
"There we go, I'll never like paperwork"
muttered Tofu thinking out loud, to which Ranma snickered and said
"You and me both Doc!"
Outside Tofu asked "so what do I owe this visit to? Mallet-Air?"
Ranma just shook his head no
"Mostly out of Gratitude for always being around to help when you were in Nerima, and partially about a serious matter that has arisen, but we will discuss that over lunch" Ranma Said,
"so, where to?" asked Tofu
"a nice place I found once when I was sent here via mallet air about 6 months or so ago, go there whenever I'm here"
Ranma replied simply and led the way to a Restaurant that nearly dislocated Tofu's jaw when he saw it.
"are you sure you can afford this Ranma? This is the most expensive restaurant in Shinjuku"
said Tofu, Ranma simply nodded yes and opened the door and went inside,
"Welcome Gentlemen!" Greeted the doorman, who then turned to Ranma and asked,
"would you like your usual table sir?"
Ranma nodded yes and the doorman picked up 2 menu's and led the way to a private booth, after being seated, Tofu asked
"Usual Table?" with an incredulous look,
Ranma simply shrugs and says
"won a Tournament or two"
Tofu shakes his head and asks
"so, what serious matter did you want to discuss?"
Ranma just holds up his had and says
"after we order our meals, order anything you want, I'm buying!"
Tofu then starts to Scan the menu and wonder just "How Serious" this is.
Later, after both had ordered their Lunch Ranma Ordered some tea, after the waiter left Tofu spoke up,
"ok, Ranma, I have a feeling something deathly serious has to be up, please, tell me, you have my curiosity"
Ranma sigh's & says
"remember how you always wondered why my girl form's hair is pure white?"
Tofu nod's yes and replies
"yes, and I found it incredibly strange when you said the guide told you that the curse only makes you appear as what you would look like had you been born in the cursed form, which doesn't fit with the photo of your mother you told me of"
Ranma nodded as he ate some, then he said
"I found out there is a good chance I may not be a Saotome"
Tofu kept silent,
"in a way, if it is true I will be relieved"
Ranma continued,
"but, here is where you come in, I need your help to either prove or disprove this, and if true, I will need your assistance in breaking the news to everyone if you can manage it"
Ranma finished.
somewhat shocked by this Tofu took several moments before
"I will help you, but I will need a few things, and any further information you can provide"
Ranma just nods and says
"way ahead of you, I already have the samples you will need"
as he holds up 3 labeled plastic bags with hair samples in them
"as for information, about all I have is what you already know, and what Happosai told me" Ranma continued
"go on." Tofu said finishing his lunch,
"Happosai said he suspected that I am not a Saotome for a long time, and that he also suspected that Genma being his usual self lost the real Ranma somehow and stole me from someplace, he said there was no way for him to prove it to me, but suggested a DNA test if I wanted to know."
Ranma said as he finished off his lunch
"I don't know much more than that"
he finished, Tofu thought for a moment and said
"it will take at least a week for the results to come back"
Ranma nodded and said
"no problem, and I plan to pay for the test in full"
"we had better go get the samples ready to go then"
said Tofu, Ranma called for the bill, as Ranma paid for the bill Tofu tried not to imagine how much it was for and Thanked Ranma for the excellent lunch.
Ranma and Tofu then returned to Tofu's Clinic, Ranma gave Tofu the samples and a phone number
"send a text message to that number when the results come back"
he told Tofu then Ranma tossed him a envelope and said
"if that doesn't cover the cost let me know how much more is needed"
before leaving to go back to Nerima, Tofu looked inside and saw that Ranma had given him way more than enough for the test, also there was a note saying
"consider the extra as a small part of my thanks for your help which I doubt I could ever completely repay".
The week passed relatively quick & uneventfully, although Ranma kept having strange dreams that seemed a little to real, dreams of things he did not recognize, or understand, these strange dreams kept occurring nearly every night.
9am, One Week later…
Ranma is eating breakfast when he feels the silent alert on his Cellphone go off, but he doesn't answer it and continues as if nothing happened, unnoticed by everyone else Ranma signaled Happosai by breaking Genma's chopsticks as he tried to steal some of Ranma's food, on that signal Happosai waited for everyone to finish eating then said
"It has come to my attention that Ranma has not yet been tested for Mastership of the Anything Goes school"
he then glared at both Soun & Genma who both turned pale,
"I plan to fix this, Ranma, Starting today you will you will train unaided and uninterrupted in a location I will show you for a period of 2 weeks, Do you accept my Challenge?"
Ranma nodded and replied
"I Accept your Challenge"
Happosai Nodded and said "good" then turned to the others
"this part is for the rest of you, Do Not, I repeat, Do Not attempt to Interfere with this or even attempt to find Ranma, there will be no audience or assistance for this, I have already obtained an honor oath from the Amazons that they will abide by these terms, I expect you to do so as well"
he finished, then turned to Genma & Soun and shut them up with a Glare.
After he finished eating Ranma went and grabbed his backpack said his goodbyes, then met Happosai at the gate, it took a full 10 minutes for them to loose Nabiki's spy's, and once they had they headed for Shinjuku, on the way Ranma told Happosai that Tofu had sent a message that the Results had arrived and he would meet them at a cafe in Shinjuku, Happosai nodded and then told Ranma he might have a Solution to the Engagement to Shampoo, but he would tell him later, Ranma looked thoughtful but remained silent, the rest of the trip neither said much except for discussing some techniques.
When they arrived at the Cafe, Tofu was waiting in a booth. after they had all received there orders Tofu handed Ranma a brown envelope
"the results are in there, look over them and if you have trouble understanding anything I can help you to"
he said, Ranma took the envelope and looked at it as if it were one of Akane's concoctions, then something made his nervousness disappear and made him feel that only good would come of the contents, Ranma then opened the envelope and extracted the contents inside he found a bundle of papers stapled together which he began to browse through until he came to the last page which near the top had in bold print
"DNA Match = Negative" below that was written "Test Subject is of no relation to primary samples.
Further, results suggest no relation to the Japanese nationality, however nationality results proved to be Inconclusive therefore nationality could not be determined." Ranma stopped at that point and poured himself a cup of tea then turned to Happosai and said
"looks like our suspicions were right, I'm not a Saotome, in fact I'm not even Japanese…"
Happosai looked thoughtful then said
"In that case Genma has a LOT of explaining to do!"
Ranma nodded
"Not to mention we have plans to make on how to handle things"
Tofu then offered
"if you like we can go to my apartment and discuss things, it's not far from here"
Ranma accepted the offer
"sounds good to me, let's get on our way then."
A short walk later…
After the three arrived and tofu had made some tea they began to discuss the test results, Happosai responded
"as unfortunate as this might be there are a great deal of benefits, all of the engagements Genma made specify they are for the son born to Genma & Nodoka Saotome, therefore ninety nine percent of your engagements are made null & void by that, also all of the debts Genma acquired under that name will not be associated with you as you will not be a Saotome."
Then Happosai continues
"this still leaves how to deal with things but I think I might have a few ideas on that but I will let you know later once I get them ironed out".
Ranma nodded and said
"I figured that may be the case, but it still leaves finding the answer to one very important question, if I am not a Saotome, then who am I? That is one thing that we will need to find out one way or another."
Tofu replied
"Agreed, but we must cross that bridge when we come to it, until then we must form a course of action to deal with everything."
Then Happosai Piped in
"ok, let's get down to business then."
Ranma Started
"ok, lets start off with the main potential problems then, number one would be Cologne unless we can somehow get her on our side, number two would most likely be Akane she sadly lets her anger rule her, number three would be the rest of the fiance brigade, and Ryoga, Kodachi and True Blunder being the Wild-cards, there is no telling what either of them will do or when…
and on top of all that there's the problem of trying to keep Nodoka from killing Genma when she finds out I'm not the Ranma she gave berth to, I don't see Genma as a real threat we can simply use a pressure point to paralyze him or something."
Ranma Finished, Happosai Cleared his throat & said
"ok, then how about we arrange to do this shortly after you return from your so-called training trip?"
"well I guess the next thing is how to handle telling everyone"
said Ranma,
"any ideas?"
he asked, Tofu spoke up
"why not simply gather them in the Tendo home and first Extract what we can from Genma and explain the rest from there?
Letting Genma dig his own grave as it were"
Happosai commented
"that would work, but we may have to have several breaks to calm Nodoka down"
Ranma then asks "ok, but how do we get them all there? a Formal Invitation?"
"that might work" said Tofu
"ok, then I guess that leaves finding who my real parents are"
said Ranma
"Knowing the way things go around you Ranma, they will probably find you after we explain everything to the others."
Said Happosai Ranma just sighed & said
"wouldn't surprise me at all knowing the way things usually go for me"
then he laughed & continued
"heck knowing the way things go for me they might even be from another planet" he Joked.
After the three ironed out there plans Happosai said
"before we finish I have some information for you Ranma, Concerning Jusenkyo Curse's that I only found out this morning."
this caught Ranma's attention
"I found it in an ancient scroll I forgot I had, the scroll is incomplete, but did contain details of how to control part of Jusenkyo Curses, the water magnet part."
Happosai continued
"to effectively remove the water magnet part, you simply have to come to accept the curse as a permanent part of you."
Ranma mumbles "figures..."
Tofu catches that and asked
"what do you mean?"
Ranma looks up and says
"I came to terms with and accepted my curse about a month after the wedding disaster, since then I haven't been a water magnet at all, I was beginning to think it was a bad omen for a while."
Ranma said with a hint of relief, Happosai chuckled & replied
"I should have figured that you would have found that before I found the scroll"
Ranma then asked
"did the scroll say anything else?"
Happosai stopped chuckling and said
"Unfortunately no, but a way to change the trigger of the curse is said to exist, it's just a matter of finding it, but it wouldn't surprise me if you find out how to on your own long before then"
Ranma simply shrugged and replied
"with the way things go for me, who knows"
Tofu then asked
"so, are we finished then?"
Happosai spoke up
"nearly, we have yet to agree on when to start"
Ranma answered
"it's nearly 5PM just now, how about the first Monday after I get back from my training trip?"
Tofu replied
"sounds good to me, if all is a go we meet at the Tendo Dojo at mid afternoon in about two and a half weeks?"
Both Ranma & Happosai nodded and said goodbye for the evening.
Ranma and Happosai then went to a training area Happosai knew of at the northern base of Mt Fuji, it took them until nearly midnight to get there, but Happosai promised it would be well worth the trip, as soon as they arrived they set up camp and turned in for the night, the following morning Ranma got to actually see the area they were in, it was a perfect place to train at, though in the middle of a forest it had several perfectly sized clearings, and nearby was a well hidden hot spring, after breakfast Happosai told Ranma he would be training him in a number of techniques that he had never trained any other student in, he was only to use these techniques under serious circumstances, all of them involved the strictest levels of ki control, but were biased on the elements.
Ranma trained hard for 2 weeks mastering the techniques at what Happosai said was a remarkable pace, the training not only taught Ranma some new techniques but also increased his ki reserves and both his mental and physical strength, it was only a small strength increase, but it was still an increase just the same.
Ranma and Happosai arrived back at the Tendo home on Saturday evening just before dinner, amazingly Kasumi had prepared enough food for them also, nether Ranma or Happosai were surprised to see that nothing had changed, Akane was glaring at Ranma as if she could set him on fire with her glare, Nabiki was writing in her ledger in between bites and Soun and Genma appeared to be scheming something.
After dinner Ranma complemented Kasumi on the excellent meal, and Akane tried to drive him into the ground with her mallet over it, I say "Tried to" because Ranma caught the mallet before it ht him, the reactions were quite interesting. Akane froze, Soun and Genma's eye's bugged out, then Happosai Interrupted,
"I have good news to announce!"
once everyone was paying attention he continued,
"Ranma has successfully completed his trial for Mastership of the school of Anything Goes…"
Soun and Genma were about to say something and Akane muttered something about unfair perverts when Happosai continued with
"…And Surpassed it!"
*dead silence*
"I am Honored to name Ranma as Grandmaster and sole Heir of the school of Anything Goes"
The scene we see after Happosai Says this, looks like this, Akane turning bright red and starting to make the floorboards smoke, Nabiki doing a spit take, and Genma and Soun dropping there chopsticks and sitting there mouth's agape catching flies.
Ranma then bows to Happosai and says
"I am honored to accept the title and responsibility that comes with it"
Happosai bows back and say
"I am honored to have had such a worthy student"
then Kasumi congratulates Ranma, but Akane notices this and becomes so angry that she nearly sets the table on fire and is visibly shaking with rage, ignoring Akane's tantrum Ranma simply shakes his head sadly at Akane's antics and says he is going to turn in for the evening and heads upstairs to the guest room, the rest of the weekend was chaos mostly, Akane ranting about the injustice of everything, Nabiki resisting the urge to try to profit off of it, more or less normal for Ranma, but things began to calm down slightly by Sunday evening.
