Long before Ranma and his father Genma visited Jusenkyo and met with their cursed fate, many years before Ranma first met Akane, the Saotome males traveled through China seeking strength, honor, and adventure. This is their story.
Iron Ranma Episode Four!
-Yellow River, Green City-
The road to Zhengzhou was well traveled, and so it was with great ease that Genma decided to avoid it completely. Opting instead to take a direct route overland, Genma figured he could shave enough time off the trip to make the extra effort worthwhile. It also helped that he could train Ranma better without dozens of prying eyes. Suspicious as the Chinese were of foreigners, he didn't want to draw any undue attention. It was easier to teach your son basic combat techniques without every fourth man trying to step in while you were sparring. As if he'd ever beat the boy. If he did that Ranma wouldn't be able to train effectively the next day.
As they began their climb through the foothills of the Funiu Range Genma put his son through the most intense training he thought Ranma could handle. From carrying both packs while running uphill to carrying both packs while walking downhill on his hands, Ranma faced everything he could with determination. He'd be ready when they got to the city, and they'd take him seriously even if he had to beat a few heads to do it.
They crossed the range with little difficulty, skirting around Songshan despite the temple there. Genma decided that incorporating a little Shaolin boxing into the school couldn't hurt, but first he needed to know if Ranma was ready. 'If I send the boy into a dog pit he'll sink or swim, if he sinks it'll be another year before he's ready. Hopefully he'll swim, I can't teach him much more without advancing his rank. There are only so much of the basics he can get down after all.'
Ranma had sight only for the city, which was visible the morning they descended from the mountains, even though it was still miles away. From the distance, Ranma could see the glittering of the Yellow river, and could just barely make out the sprawl surrounding a natural bend in the river. It took them all day to reach it, and Genma had them running the entire day, but they had finally made it. Ranma hoped that Zhengzhou was ready for him, because he was more than ready for Zhengzhou.
The city was one of the largest Ranma had stepped into, but he could still remember Beijing even though the last time he'd seen it he'd only been six. Zhengzhou wasn't nearly as big, but it had a much more interesting layout. And all the trees nearly had Ranma convinced they'd never left the forest.
Genma threaded his way through the crowds, trusting his son to stay behind him, and gradually made his way to the docks. He hoped to find a bar or some other sort of gathering place, as he knew that this is where fighters would gather for information. One way or another, eventually he'd run into someone who knew when and where the fights were held. After a few minutes, the elder Saotome spotted a likely bar, and walked towards it. He stopped just outside as he considered taking his son inside such a place and decided it might not be such a good idea.
He turned towards Ranma and said, "Wait over there in that alley, son, while I take care of business." With that he strode into the bar and found a seat. Ranma just shook his head ruefully and walked down the alley that ran down the left wall of the bar. He deposited his pack in a dry place and sat down on a stack of old paper, where he began to meditate.
The scene inside the bar was much more sedate than Genma had expected, but it was just as well. He ordered a drink and some stew, and surreptitiously scanned the crowd while he ate. From his position at a corner booth, it was easy to see most of the bar's patrons without them knowing he was looking. After he had finished his meal he was beginning to think he'd need to find another bar, but just as he was leaving two sailors swaggered into the building. Looking mean and smelling worse, one of the men shouldered into Genma. A trained martial artist always attempts to avoid conflict except when there is no other option, and so Genma allowed himself to be jostled. He bowed slightly and made to go around the men, but the sailors weren't having any of it.
"Hey you Japanese dog, watch where you are going!"
Genma rolled his eyes at the overly schooled Japanese the sailor was spouting at him. Obviously he'd only learned a phrase or two. Bowing politely, Genma said in Chinese, "Apologies, sir, Genma will watch where he is going in future"
The sailors looked at each other, and the one who hadn't spoken yet sneered at Genma. This had the unfortunate effect of revealing the fellow's teeth, which was a guy-wrenching effect. The sailor took note of Genma's response to his unfortunate denture and took offense. He spoke in rapid-fire Cantonese to his friend, and suddenly Genma found himself dodging a clumsy strike from the first man.
Not wanting to be responsible for a fight in the bar, or the damages, Genma ducked a second swipe from the sailor and turned it into a roll that brought him up next to the door. He ducked outside and then turned, just in time to intercept another punch from the sailor. Being outside afforded him plenty of opportunities that had been closed to him previously. When the sailor jabbed once more with a quick left, Genma was ready. Pushing the man's fist across his body, Genma rotated along the sailor's arm and used the added motion to send a crippling back fist to the man's temple. Faster than anyone could follow Genma stood above the man's unconscious body. He was ready for the sailor's buddy, and when he came Genma decided to switch to something more humiliating.
The second sailor rushed Genma recklessly, and was surprised when the middle-aged martial artist seemed to drift to one side, leaving his foot in the sailor's path. As the sailor began to fall, Genma pivoted and performed a double-handed open palm strike to the man's posterior. As goofy as it looked to the crowd that had gathered, it was nothing but pain for the sailor. He bounced off the ground pelvis first, and instead of trying to get back up he started to cry while he held himself.
Genma brushed off his hands and nodded to himself in satisfaction. Another job well done. He turned from his work to collect Ranma, but found a tall and well muscled European man walking towards him. The man's rolling gait and confident stride marked him as a fighter, but Genma hoped he'd seen enough to dissuade him from attacking.
The man didn't appear hostile, and when he reached Genma he smiled and said, "I see you are a fighter." His accent sounded British, clipped and heavy, but his Japanese was easy to understand. And he obviously was well traveled; most foreigners couldn't tell the difference at a glance between Chinese and Japanese, much less speak the language so well.
"I am" said Genma with a shrug.
"Are you looking to do a little more fighting while in town, then?"
"Just passing through", lied Genma. He was hoping to draw the man out to get as much information for free as possible. An old hand at deceit learned many tricks along the way, and one of Genma's was the ability to learn about people just by watching them. The foreigner wasn't giving anything away from his body language or facial features, though. Whoever he was, he was good.
"A pity", said the man as he turned to leave, "Though, if you should pass by the eastern quarter on your way out of town, go down the third street north from the main road. Find a red door with a silver handle, and knock five times then two."
"Why would I do this thing?"
"Entertainment" And with that the man was gone into the evening. Intent on finding Ranma and getting some training in before the matches started, he walked into the alley expecting to find Ranma working on his meditation and waiting. However all Genma found was an empty street.
'That boy! This is a very bad place to wander off!' Genma growled to himself in frustration. This was no place for a ten-year-old, even one as well trained as Ranma. Genma started off towards the market district thinking that Ranma had in all likelihood gotten hungry and wandered towards food. He stopped short, however, when he saw that there was a brothel located just across the street from the alley he had directed his son to. For some reason other than base desires, Genma couldn't shake out the notion that he had to go into the building.
He rolled his shoulders then squared them as he marched across the street towards the brothel. He didn't know what was drawing his attention, but he would be sure to avoid falling to temptation while he investigated things. As he walked in, however, all thoughts of temptation fled as his thoughts came to a screeching halt. There, sitting on a mound of cushions, being fed sweet fruits by a beautiful red haired buxom temptress while he was fawned over by four other oriental beauties, sat his son Ranma.
It took Genma a few moments to collect his thoughts enough to form coherent speech, but before he could say anything yet another beautiful woman approached him. With a smoky look in her eyes she took a very obvious and very good look at Genma as she glided to his side.
"Oooh, honored customer from land of rising sun! Sun not only thing that rise, I make you very glad you visit China, yes?"
His brain on the verge of overload, Genma stepped back from the woman and held his hands up between them. He shook his head back and forth violently.
"N, no thank you, uh, madam." Despite his worldly ways, the woman's open and lewd invitation had embarrassed him. He could feel his face heating and tried to get things back on track. Unfortunately Ranma took the time to notice exactly who was causing a ruckus.
"Heya pops! Whatcha sayin ta her huh? Ya don't need ta be rude, they just wanna be nice! Look, they fed me and everything!"
The girls giggled and one even tickled Ranma while Genma stared at his son in shock and horror.
"You...you have no idea what's going on!"
"Sure I do, pops, come an meet my friends! This is Lin Yu, Jan Re, Sarah Trent, Yi Fa Lan, and Beirei Bei. Aren't they beautiful pops? Beirei came an talked to me while I was meditatin' an asked if I wanted ta come play wit her an the girls. I never played a game like this, but hey, I couldn' tell 'em no. That'd be impolite"
Genma felt like pounding his head against a wall. He had to get his son out of here before they pampered the boy to death. He glared daggers at Beirei, who smiled and winked at him. What kind of woman talked to a ten-year-old like that anyway?
He walked over to his son. "Alright boy, 'playtime' is over, we've training to do before tonight and I want you to be fresh."
"Stop there, Japan Man."
Genma whirled at the threatening and mocking tone of the newcomer. What he didn't expect to see was a stout, almost burly woman in her mid forties with a gaggle of beautiful young women surrounding her.
"Just who do you think you are, you old biddy?" Genma had never quite gotten the hang of tact.
"This one thinks Madam Zen is who she is, and you are one who is not who this one thinks is to be here any more!"
Her accent was better than the girls had been, but she had a peculiar way of talking. Genma stopped and thought about what she had just said before responding.
"Listen, lady, that's my son there and we've got more important things to do today!"
"Your son is the one there? What father is one who would leave that beautiful boy in an alley? Beirei has taken a liking to that one who is there on the pillows, and she is one who is bringing much money and fame to this one's business. Maybe this one is one who is keeping that boy there?"
Genma shook his head a little to clear it. He was beginning to suspect the troll talked that way on purpose to confuse customers into things they didn't expect. Either way, he got the basic idea of what she intended, so he abandoned talking to her entirely.
"Enough of this foolishness, boy, get up and come with me!"
"Ahh, awright pops. Ya don't gotta be so weird about it tho, the girls jus wanna play is all. You know how girls are"
A few of the brothel's employees tittered at the boy's words and translated for those who didn't speak the language. 'This is exactly why I took the boy from his mother, a little feminine charm and he goes soft in the head.'
Genma sighed with relief as his son grabbed his discarded pack and walked up to his father, ready to leave. He waved goodbye to his new friends and let them kiss his cheeks, even though it made him blush. Girls were always so weird.
Genma just rolled his eyes at the antics and turned to leave, only to find Madam Zen blocking the doorway. He smiled bemusedly, but his expression swiftly turned to panic as he heard and felt the women of the brothel close ranks behind him. Madam Zen's stern face held a look of supreme victory, almost as though she were a hawk watching a particularly large bass she had just snagged.
"So you are on who thinks that leaving this place is to be the easiest thing to do, eh? Madam Zen thinks she is not one who likes to be ignored by one who is you. Maybe I teach you a little lesson and we keep that one who is so lovable and handsome for ourselves?"
'This is getting weird and creepy', thought Genma, 'What does a bunch of brothel girls want with a boy anyway?'
Then it hit him. These were all girls who likely had never had children, and never would. They were likely to spoil Ranma and turn him into a momma's boy if he didn't get him out quick. Thinking that discretion was always the better part of valor, he crouched down into an aggressive fighting stance and glared fiercely at Madam Zen.
"Very well, you think you can hold my boy and contain me? You leave me with no choice but to fight!"
Madam Zen's look of superiority slipped a bit and her eyes darted to each side of Genma as he could feel the girls back up warily.
"What you think you do Japan Man?"
"Are you prepared, foolish woman? Behold the Saotome Secret Technique!" The last was said in a roar, and the brothel girls could feel a rush of power that sent them quivering to their knees. Ranma stared at his father in awe, but couldn't figure out what the trick was. He knew his dad wouldn't actually hit a girl, so what did he think he could do? Madam Zen still stood in the doorway, but she was beginning to look a bit unsure of herself.
"Fast Break!"
With that Genma grabbed Ranma's hand and bolted as fast as his legs could carry him. Madam Zen barely had enough time to scream and dodge out of the way as Genma hit the doorway at a flat run. With such speed as the old woman and her girls had never seen the older Saotome hauled his son with him off down the street, a trail of dust marking their passage. They were gone in a flash, and Madam Zen blinked in confusion.
"That's the secret technique? All he did was run away!"
Genma Kept running until he reached the outskirts of the city, where he set down his son and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been forced to use that technique in ages, and was impressed that he'd been able to pull it off so well. He faced the setting sun and smiled in pride, his contemplation only broken when Ranma came up behind him and delivered a punch to his kidney.
As Genma grabbed his side and groaned his son stood there and asked angrily, "What was that supposed ta be, huh pops? Ya just ran away an didn' do nothin! What kind of secret technique issat, huh?"
Genma regained his composure then faced his son with a solemn look on his face. "Listen well, my son" He said sternly, "The secret technique of the Saotome clan is founded on the basic tenets of 'motion', 'contemplation', and 'opposition'. Learn the technique well, as some day it may become necessary to utilize it in order to reevaluate a foe."
Ranma cocked his head to one side and queried, "So ya run away?"
"It's more than that boy!" Genma fumed, "You must become an expert at studying your opponent's fighting style in the short time you have before it becomes too late to win. Then you must disengage and drop your opponent into confusion as to where you've gone. Once you've had time to analyze your opponent's moves, you can learn counters and discover holes that aren't as easy to find when you are in the thick of battle! Once completed, you can reengage your adversary on your own terms, utilizing the knowledge you've gained!"
Ranma nodded, suitably impressed. It sounded dumb on the surface, but his father made a good point. It was a lot easier to work things out when some meathead wasn't attacking. It still seemed a little cowardly to Ranma, so he vowed to use it only under deadly situations.
"Awright pops, so it's a good technique. But are ya plannin on goin' back and attackin those girls then? That don't seem much like ya."
"No boy, I will not employ the technique to its fullest potential today, but if those women cause any more problems I'll find a way to dissuade them."
"Whatever pops. Didya at least figure out where we gotta go to fight?"
Genma nodded, "Yes boy, and that means you better start warming up! First thing I want is three hundred push ups! Get to it!"
Ranma grinned nervously; 'Isn't that a bit much?' then got down and began. It'd be a long couple of hours before the matches.
Sunset in Zhengzhou is a beautiful sight to behold. The descending sun sets the trees ablaze even as it reflects off the Yellow River, and visitors to the great "Green City" often find themselves left speechless by the spectacle. For Ranma Saotome, however, there was only one thing of any importance to him. Tonight he would prove himself a true martial artist, and no one would be able to stop him!
-AUTHOR'S NOTES!-
Hey everyone, it's me again! I'd like to point out my thoughts on the timetable here, just to answer any questions that might arise. I went ahead and decided that Genma didn't waste any time in Japan when he began to train Ranma, according to my timeline I'm placing Ranma in China as early as six. How will I get around Ranma swimming to China and his middle school experience? Well just wait and see! Also, I fixed last chapter's notes to match the change of this chapter's title. Once again I had a whole story pop up and write itself, but that's what happens I suppose.
Also I wanted to give a special thanks to those who've left me reviews. Thank's for your support ChaosRune, I actually had something else entirely in mind for last chapter, but it sort of wrote itself. I still have the idea for later though. And thanks for your review too, screaming dean, I try to be as original as I can. I hope I'm keeping you all entertained, and thank you to everyone who's read so far! Be sure to check back again later for Iron Ranma Episode Five: Cage Rage!
