Well in the very least at least the last one got six actual reviews in (I'm not counting a certain someone's one word nonsense), so as a reward, I have here one more chapter before my finals. Don't expect anything till the 15th, and maybe not even after that, I'm going on a 2 week family reunion after the 15th, so I may not have time to write even then. I'll promise to get one up after that though.
I'd like to thank all my precious readers for adding this to their favourites' list; I hope I can live up to your expectations. And also, I may have mentioned to one of my reviewers, (I won't say who since I can't really remember if I said so or not) that the main cast from Nerima would be showcased in this chapter, sadly, that will not be the case. However, while I'm certain that many of you have figured out the main plot concerning Ranma, you probably didn't expect what I have in stored for you guys later. Also, it would seem that I have to cut this short of the revelation scene where Ranma learns the truth about his family (stupid finals).
Oh… and uhh, yeah, I don't own any of the characters in this story save for the next generation class 3A (who, thanks to a good suggestion, won't be fully made up off of OC characters anymore) and other OCs that I deem necessary.
P.s- I know that Nodoka, at this point, may seem a bit like a Mary-sue to some readers out there, but rest assured that it only seems like that for the first few (this probably being the last one) chapter.
Chapter II: Lessons and surprises
Last time…
"Alright then sochi, seeing as you're ready to fight, allows me to show you one of the first things that you'll learn should you go with me."
As she ended her short speech, an aura unlike anything Ranma had ever felt began surrounding her as she absorbed them into her being. The wind began swirling lightly around her as Nodoka threw her hands open with a shout: "Cantus Bellax!"
-X-
The mini tornado circling Nodoka burst outwards into strong gale, forcing Ranma to cover his face from the dust and wind. As he lowered his guards, the he could only stare in shock and awe at his mother. The aura of power that surrounded her, while not too strong in itself, held a certain feel to it that sent a shiver down his spine. It was as if a part of his mind had feared the odd energy. (1)
His mother slid into an, oddly enough, familiar stance. Legs leaning slightly inwards, knees bent; right leg to her forward and left leg turning towards the side. Her torso was turned with the right hand outstretched, left hand pulled back near her frame with the arm bent in front of her abdomen; both palms open.(2)
"Is that a… Chinese Kenpo stance? When'd mom learn that?" Ranma thought in confusion before quickly shaking it off, "well, at least someone I know suddenly learning some sort of new technique or style that I haven't seen them ever use before is normal."
With that thought, Ranma returned to his previous stance, more serious than before. While it was still far from perfect, it still showed that he was no longer going to take his mother for granted. "Still, I can't just go all out. I may have been wrong about mom not being a martial artist, but I'm sure I can still knock her down easy."
"Grr… Ranma, that overconfidence of yours is going to kill you," Nodoka growled to herself, though Ranma was still able to hear it. "I don't mean to sound like your father, but it looks like I'm going to have to teach you a few lessons." This time, her voice was loud and clear for everyone to hear.
And with a silent signal, Nodoka kicked off the ground, a sudden blur going behind him was the only thing he saw (3). "First lesson! Never ever underestimate your opponent!" she shouted, driving an elbow to his back, sending him sailing forward.
Coming out of his stupor at the strike, Ranma righted himself in mid-air and kicked off of the wall he was heading to. He rocketed towards the older woman; his right arm cocked back, fists closed. But rather than punching her, he, instead, shot the punch downwards, going into a forward roll before quickly sending out a swift sweep kick.
Hoping to catch his mother off guard with the feint, it took Ranma by surprise when she stomped down on his leg, stopping the attack in its tracks and causing pain to shoot up his body. Capitalizing on the short distraction, Nodoka jumped forward using her other foot, before angling it forward, aiming her knee to his face.
Ranma barely had enough time to duck down before she sailed over him, landing near the wall. Performing a fast handspring, he got back to his feet before getting into his stance once more, holding back even less.
This time it was Ranma who charged, going in with various punches and kicks, but not even one met it's mark. The ones that did hit, which were few in number, were grazing shots at most, as his mother kept dodging the assault.
Getting frustrated, the young martial artist went in for another feint, this time going from a leg-sweep to a reverse roundhouse kick. But once again, Nodoka simply caught the foot in her hand before hitting him with a palm strike to the chest.
Recovering from the strike, Ranma leapt backwards, near the pond, recovering some of his lost breath. "Darn it. I didn't expect mom to be this good. Guess she was right about that whole 'never underestimate your opponent' thing."
As he caught his breath, the cursed boy saw a smile cross his mother's lips. "Good… I see you've taken your first lesson into consideration. I suppose that's all I can hope for, for now."
Ranma's right eyebrow rose at her statement, an ever-growing curiosity bubbling up inside of him. "Huh?… okay, now I know something weird is going on here. The weird way mom's been acting the entire night, she's acting a bit like that mind reading kid… what was his name? Sotari or something like that? Bah, whatever, if mom really can read minds, then I'm in major trouble."
As those thoughts flowed into her son's mind, Nodoka could only keep smiling as she heard all of it from her earpiece. "So… Ranma's finally starting to realize it huh? I guess it's time for the next one then."
"Alright sochi, seeing as the first lesson's gotten through to you, here's your next one: Don't ever expect your opponent to fight fairly. Anything and everything you bring to a fight is a weapon, and using them in any way is always fair. Honour is important, but not everyone will uphold it."
And with that, Nodoka rushed him, running this time, but still at an incredible speed. She went in with strike after strike as Ranma defended himself, blocking each of her attempts at hitting him. It wasn't long till the pig-tailed boy started to throw punches of his own, once again, with his mother easily intercepting or dodging them.
They continued exchanging blows for a few minutes before both Saotomes (though Nodoka was irked at being acknowledged as such) jumped back. Taking deep breaths as they stood, staring the other down.
"Okay, so mom has the strength, speed and the senses of a martial artist, but her skills don't seem to match up with her power, which is odd enough. But what did she mean with that second lesson? The fight got easier for me when I accepted the first one, so it should be easier if I understand this one. What does it all mean?" Ranma asked himself.
Nodoka could only let loose a light laugh at her son's expense. "Having trouble figuring things out dear? Here's a little hint, don't just think of the first statement; every detail is important in order to answer all possible questions, whether it's in a fight or a puzzle. That's lesson number three."
Once more, Ranma's eyebrow rose in curiosity, "every detail is important eh? Alright then, let me think. Mom said that anything and everything you bring to a fight is a weapon; but all she brought with her was that book," he turned towards the tree where the book was under, "that book has been there since before this started, how could she have used it as a weapon?"
He turned back to his mother, seeing her still breathing hard. "Alright, I still have some time. She also said that using the weapons in any way is fair, that means that weapon's can be used in different ways. If she can somehow use that book to help her fight, then she must have thrown it there for a reason. If I can just get to it, then maybe… alright, I'll do it."
With renewed vigour, Ranma ran towards the book, hoping to get there before his mother did. Surprisingly, all she did was stand right where she was, a hidden smile on her face, filled with pride and joy.
Reaching the book, he quickly made a grab for it, turning back around towards his mother warily, yet all she did was stand there. Hesitantly, the raven haired young man opened the first page of the book and started reading. It only took a moment before his steel blue eyes widened in shock.
He recognized each word. Every single sentence was something that he had said to himself earlier that night. He skimmed through them, line after line, remembering himself thinking all the things that were written on its pages, the fight completely forgotten.
Having enough, he quickly searched for the last written page, and sure enough, he saw his recent thoughts recorded there as well, with the new ones being written each second.
Ranma kept staring at the book with mixed emotions of wonder and awe before the gentle laugh of his mother cut him off from his thoughts (don't know if that's a an irony or a pun, either which way it still made me crack up). "I see you've discovered my second most precious treasure, good job."
"But of course, this doesn't mean you've won. Search the thoughts of the one I call: Nodoka!"
At that moment, the book in Ranma's hands turned blank as the words faded. "Turn to the first page sochi," his mother asked, though it felt more like a command. He immediately obliged.
Good job on finding my secret weapon Ranma, you managed to understand two thirds of the second lesson, too bad about the last one though.
His face darted to his mother's in confusion and wariness. She wore a devious smile on her face that simply felt misplaced on her features, as two words left her mouth: "Nebula Hypnotica"(4)
Without a warning, the book in Ranma's hands suddenly glowed an odd bluish white light as he held it, before releasing a bright flash and a light fog. The pig-tailed youth suddenly felt a drowsiness overcome him as he breathed in the mist, before he fell asleep on his side.
-X-
The next morning
Ranma woke from his slumber to the sound of shuffling feet. Rising up onto a sitting position, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as a soft groan escaped his mouth. "Ohh… my head hurts. What happened last night?" he thought, as his other hand rubbed the back of his head.
Looking around him, he found himself in a room he hadn't yet seen before. Rather than the usually larger guest room, Ranma was inside a smaller bed room. Light seeped through the window as it reached his face. Getting up from the futon he was on, Ranma's mind went on high alert as he tried to remember where he was.
"Okay, there's no naked girl on my bed, it's safe to say that I'm not in Shampoo's or Kodachi's place. I can't smell any pancakes and it's around ten in the morning, on a holiday so this isn't Ukyo's either. In that case, where the hell am I?"
As Ranma continued his mental distress, the door to his room slowly slid open, the curious face of a young girl poking inside. Turning to the noise in worry, his body grew pale at the sight of her, expecting either an act of extreme affection (Amazonian style glomp tackle or overdramatic love proclamation) or anger (AKA Akane style, airborne rendering attack; mallet is optional but likely).
The girl looked to be about his age, though admittedly very short, at least, probably a few inches shorter than his girl form. Her body wasn't too developed, though she was still more shapely than Akane. Her dark magenta hair was divided into three parts, reaching the small of her back. The sides of her face was framed by bangs that formed into braids at her shoulders.(5)
She wore a simple set of clothes. Light green, cotton, long-sleeve shirt and a knee-length sky-blue skirt with what appeared to be navy-blue, crescent moon prints.(6)
Her face held an expression of calm and indifference, but the curiosity in her deep brown eyes was impossible to miss. She blinked once… twice… three times, before speaking: "You… must be aunty Nodoka's son, Ranma, right?" he nodded in response, only now remembering his current whereabouts.
"My name's Ayase Yume, it's nice to meet you," she said in a neutral tone. A loud silence was all that followed as the two stared at each other; one in a mixture of relief and suspicion, the other with a blank stare.
The awkward silence remained until the newly named Yume finally broke it, "so… are you really cursed to turn into a girl?" with a nice face fault on Ranma's part of course.
After picking himself up off the floor, Ranma turned his eyes towards the still neutral faced girl, now standing at the room's entrance. "Okay, how do you know about that? And what the hell are you doing here?" he asked in frustration. His mind still trying to remember the previous night's events.
Yume stared at him, her expression remaining the same. "Your mother told us about it. She also asked us to come over. It sounded like something pretty serious, but then again, I wouldn't really know. They sent me out after a while," she explained, a frown on her previously emotionless face. "They said that they'd rather tell it to both of us instead of repeating themselves. I've been waiting till you got up ever since"
Confusion was eminent on Ranma's face at her explanation. His mind was much the same way, though there was also a hint of betrayal lingering in his head from what his mother did. "Great… thanks a lot mom, why'd you have to do that? Get another fiancé used to my curse… or… something?… SHIT! She just said that our parents needed to talk to us about something! Don't tell me that this girl's another fiancé! I already have enough trouble as it is already!"
Yume could only watch awkwardly as Ranma continued to panic. While she, much like her mother, rarely showed any emotions when not around those she was close to, Yume still couldn't help but let loose a small giggle at the look of dread on the pig tailed martial artist's face. She wasn't a sadist, mind you, but the look on his face was simply priceless to her.
The sound of Yume's soft laughter brought Ranma out of his fear filled musing as he glared at the shorter teen. It could only last for so long though as a smile soon crossed his face at the sight of her. He didn't know why, but seeing her like that made him feel content.
"Well it seems that the both of you are getting along. Hopefully not too much though, that would make things real troublesome."
The two teens turned towards the new voice outside of Ranma's room. Just outside the room stood a woman, looking to be in her late twenties. She had brownish green hair that cascaded all the way to her knees, a trio of bangs framed her face, forming an 'M' shape while another, longer pair went down to her chest; two long protrusions poked up at the top of her head like a pair of antennas. Standing at a little over six feet, her build was something that many women would kill to have.
Her tall frame was complemented by a slim waistline that hinted at a good amount of exercise. She had a well endowed chest and wide hips. Her clothes consisted of a red, long-sleeved, button-up shirt under a tight, beige, sleeve-less jacket; a black pleated skirt reaching just a few inches below her knees, a pair of rimless glasses rested on her nose.(7)
None of these things caught Ranma's attention though. No, it was the smirk on her face that he took most notice of. To a normal person, they may have seemed rather ordinary, but to anyone from Furinkan High, it would have sent a chill down their spines. That very same smirk was one that was usually found on none other the ice queen of Nerima, Tendo Nabiki. But somehow, the feeling that this woman gave off was far more frightening.
The hidden predatory gleam in her eyes was not lost on Ranma as she approached them. "Aunt Haruna. Are you three finally done? Since Ranma-san is already awake, I think it's about time you told us what you were talking about earlier." Yume had a look of apprehension on her face as she asked Haruna, curiosity having gotten the best of her.
Haruna could only laugh at the girl's impatience as she approached. "Heheheh… don't be so impatient Yume-chan. We'll tell you both everything that you need to know. But for now, why don't you let me talk to your new friend over there," she said as she walked past Yume.
Ranma stood staring at the woman now in front of him, unsure of what to think. In most situations, he'd be extremely worried, as, in the usual case for him, being very close to women, especially ones that were considered attractive, always lead to someone getting very angry, which in turn lead to a fight where someone gets injured. And in many (most of which recent) cases, ended up skipping the fight and going straight to pain via the impending mallet of doom. However, as far as how everything had been happening since coming to his mother's home, nothing had ever gone like they normally did.
The shark-like toothy smile that spread across her didn't help his uneasiness any. "So… your Ranma huh? I haven't seen you since you were a little baby. You've certainly changed quite a lot. And I also hear that you got yourself an interesting curse."
The caring manner at which she spoke came as a big surprise for Ranma. He was expecting something more like Nabiki's emotionless mercenary tone, but instead got a voice that seemed to carry a wild excitement about it.
"Oh… I almost forgot. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Saotome Haruna, your godmother and one of the world's best manga artist and writer as well as the creator of the world famous Mahora Magister Magi series(8)!… oh, and I'm also Genma's cousin."
After that, Ranma's head had started spinning. It was like with every passing minute, something new would pop out of nowhere to surprise him. By the time that he had recovered enough to talk himself, Yume had already lost her patience. "Come on aunt Haruna, you've already introduced yourself. Can we just go back to the dining room now? I want to know what on earth it was that you, mom and aunt Nodoka were talking about!" she said eagerly.
Haruna gave the girl her usual grin as she turned to her. "Alright alright… let's go downstairs. I'm pretty sure both of your mothers are waiting as well," she instructed as she moved towards the stairs, Yume trailing up behind her. It didn't take long for her to notice that Ranma still remained as he was, trying to sort out his mind.
Stopping for a moment, Haruna looked towards Ranma's unmoving form. "Come' on Ranma-kun, you need to hear this too!" the commanding tone in her voice was unmistakable as she shouted, instantly prompting Ranma to follow.
And with that, our hero soon joined them; unaware of the revelation that would change his life forever.
-X-
Yeah, I know, 'what a cheesy ending'. That's what all of you are thinking right? Or am I just being too paranoid. Bah… whatever, either which way, I don't really care. I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter. And again, I'm sorry for having to cut it short like this, I didn't want to, believe me. But anyway, moving on, let's get some things cleared up shall we. Here's the list of things you might not get the gist of (the ones I want you to know anyway) from this chapter.
The energy that Nodoka released is magic energy, which is also the energy that caused Ranma's curse. His instincts react towards magic (actual magic) the same way that the body acts towards a virus. This will only happen if the user intends on fighting Ranma. This is the same reason he felt wary of the towards the Diarium Ejus.
This is a stance I've seen Ku Fei use in the manga before. While Nodoka is far from a master of the style, her enhanced physical capabilities, along with Ranma's reluctance to go all out, allowed her to fight that long. She also uses a few moves that are built more on common defensive acts (i.e. hitting a crouching opponent with a knee strike to the face) when fighting.
In case you didn't really get it, what Nodoka used here is the Shundo. However, instead of using ki (which she knows nothing about controlling, just so you know) she substitutes it for magic energy (which from now will be referred to as mana. Please do not confuse with actual character). However, as the technique wasn't built for use with mana, the Shundo she performed was much slower.
For the list of actual spells used in the continuation, go to my profile. The incantation was cast while Ranma was reading his thoughts, and then delayed.
While reading the manga, I noticed two things. The first of those was that Yue from Negima and Hisami from R.O.D, have similar appearances (not surprising as their original designers were the same). Yume's hairstyle looks mostly like Hisami's minus the ribbons.
The moon prints are a play on Yume's name, which means dream. She also prefers the night to day.
The second thing I noticed was that Haruna shared some similarities to Yomiko from R.O.D (though to a much lesser extent than Yue and Hisami). Likewise, Haruna's usual outfit consists of an altered colour scheme version of Yomiko's.
Basically, Haruna retold all of Class 3A's lives after Negi arrived into a manga, netting as many buyers as the actual manga managed to do.
-X-
Character corner: Ayase Yume
(will be used for new characters and, if asked for, changes in characteristics of the Mahora girls)
Age- 16
Hair colour- Magenta, but closer to blue
Eye colour- Brown
Height-5'9
Parents: Ayase Yue (mother), yet to be debuted father.
Likes- Eschatology (study of things which aren't understood), philosophy, mysticism, anything generally magic related or close to it.
Dislikes- Books, being kept from finding out something she is interested in or curious about.
Trivia-
Despite all of her mother's attempts at making her enjoy books just as much as she has, Yume simply doesn't take an interest in them.
She gets her usually neutral personality from her mother, however, she is more easily riled up when compared to Yue. (though still remains calmer than most others)
Her first name means dream (implying fantasy), which conflicts with the meaning of Yue's name, which means reason (implying reality). This conflict is personified in their opinion on books.
-X-
And there you have it. The third edition to 'The wild horse mage knight'. Will Ranma's new love interest be Yue's own daughter? Or will it be someone else? Only I know the answer and you'll all find out sooner if you review (Though it still won't come up before the 15th, but still). Ciao!