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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Ranma 1/2. The Ranma 1/2 cast belong to Rumiko Takashi or own Suikoden 3 so I'm just using them in this fan fiction and, I have no money.
(Author's note: I turned off the no anonymous reviewer's option so now everyone can leave a review. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!)
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Chapter 8 - Meet the Parents or Magic Time with Magic Hat
In a dark room a woman sat in a chair staring into a glowing glass orb. She's dressed in blue robes that flowed around her like water. She has long dark hair and her eyes were closed. A blue gem is imbedded into her forehead. She's watching the antics of a certain pigtail fighter. Even if she couldn't use her eyes anymore she can still see with her mind's eye.
A blue furred winged cat materialized next to her. "How are you Leknaat? It's been awhile."
The blind woman turned towards the cat and gave a slight bow. "Same to you Chaos, I guess that I have you to thank for this 'Ranma' coming to my world."
The cat smiled. "Yeah, I figured that since there have been so many of his counter-parts have been sent to so many different dimensions before that one of them should at least come to yours as well. Practically all of them do help out their new world in one way or another."
Suddenly Leknaat growled and shadows seem to form around her. "Yes, but you didn't even asks first!"
Chaos' eyes glowed in response. "Oh my, oh my Leknaat, you know if I didn't know better I would start to think you didn't want me around?"
"Well I do safe guard this world you know," Leknaat said taking a smaller tone of voice not wanting to get him mad. She may be powerful, but he is even higher then a god.
"Well as long as you don't become like Pluto, I'll let that go." 'Geez, what is it with them anyway. Guarding that gate must have driven her insane and killed her sense of humor. NO SENSE OF FUN AT ALL!' Chaos thought to himself.
The robed woman returned to 'looking' at the glass ball. "The Chaos Rune has chosen him to be his bearer. I understand that, but why did you put the Hats into this world?"
"Who said I did? They did it themselves. You know what my owner and his family are like. They like to turn mortal every now and then."
"Why do they do that anyway?"
"So that they won't become like those so called gods. A lot of problems are caused by them and that whole 'holier than thou' act makes me sick," Chaos said with disgust in his voice. "This way they remember what life is like for mortals and in turn they have a better understanding what you mortals go through."
"So the god of this world is going to be..." Leknaat began.
"Yes, Ranma is here to prevent what your former helper is trying to stop."
"So he's the one."
"Yes, Ranma is the Godslayer!"
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Dear Journal,
It's been three weeks since the battle for the castle. We are still rebuilding the parts of the castle that were damaged during the fight. Everyone that was injured in the fighting have all recovered and back in shape. They have asked me to rename the castle, but we still call it "Lake Castle" since I didn't really have a new name for it anyways. I'm now master of the castle again and since it's now part of the grasslands we won't have to worry about the knights coming back. Besides, all the knights now know that Ranma has made his home here and they don't want to face someone like him anytime soon. Life in the castle has returned to normal. Well, as normal as things get around here anyways.
Tina, or Fight Hat, has been helping out in the rebuilding. She has been quite helpful around here. The girls are still growling every time she's around Ranma. Ranma for his part always seems to be waiting for something from her every time she's with him. He acts like she's going to jump on him or something. She does seem to have two sides to her. When she fights she's as cold as ice, but when she's not she is surprising quite shy especially around her "fiancée". From what she told me about herself her family had always been stronger than regular people and she's the middle child of a family of seven. Each one of her siblings has their own special abilities. She has always been able to fight the way she does all of her life through the training her family gives her, but she won't tell us what her other family member's abilities are. She says her fiancée has to expect any type of surprise when they come to test him. When she referred to him as her "fiancée" he started waving his arms around in panic and shouted off denials while the girls around them growled even louder. When he noticed how hurt she was he calmed down a little (for some reason it turned pretty cold at that time) and apologized. She gave him a smile that got crimson blushing crimson and the girls to give off "the aura" as its being called again. SCARY!
Tina and Ranma have been training a lot with each other lately. When I saw them sparring the first time I knew that Ranma was holding back when he first began to train me and some of the other people of the castle. They fought on a level all their own. Juan was especially awed and dropped that leaf thing he always keeps on his mouth. Sebastian, Martha, Piccolo and Cecile were shocked for a whole hour when that happened. Ranma went up Martha and gave her a tap on the shoulder to wake her up and she actually fell backwards! She would have hit the ground if he hadn't caught her.
We brought them over to Doc Tuta and Mio and they said that they were just in shock and will be fine. Something weird happened while we were there though. When Mio told Ranma that the others would be fine he smiled at her. That's not the weird part. The weird part was that she was holding onto Cecile's shield at the time and she suddenly turned red and actually shredded it apart! Good thing Cecile had a spare one, but she didn't stop crying about it for hours.
Also ever since Ranma and Tina have been sparring and hanging around each other the other girls have been livid. They have been watching the two like vultures everywhere they go. I don't think the two of them have had any sort of privacy unless they are in their rooms, the bathroom or the bathhouse.
(Thomas paused for a moment and scratched out 'or the bathhouse.' He remembered when he decided to go with Ranma to the bathhouse and Belle, Mel (curiously without Branky for once), Emily, Shizu, and Mio all decided to suddenly go to the bathhouse at the same time.)
--------------------------------------Flashback----------------------------- ---------
While the two were soaking and chatting about small things Ranma suddenly stopped and seemed to concentrate. He motioned for Thomas to be silent and both teens listened intently. Very faintly they heard the sounds of a few people arguing fiercely with each other while trying not to be too loud about it. They followed the sounds and it lead to a thin part of the wall that separated the men's and women's baths. They put their ears to the wall and heard the girls arguing on the other side and some sort of ripping sounds.
"Come on, hurry up Belle!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going as fast as I can!"
"I don't thing you should be doing this."
"Yes, Ranma won't be very happy if he catches you drilling a hole in the wall!
"Keep it down you two! Shizu, I KNOW you want to see Ranma in the buff. I see the way you look at him whenever he uses the elevator to go down to the tunnels. You were practically undressing him with your eyes! Mio, you're even worse! You can never concentrate whenever he's around. My arm is STILL sore when you bent it the wrong way a week ago! Besides, we can tell with the way you two are ripping your towels apart you want to be the first."
There were two startled eeps and the ripping sounds stopped.
"We have to hurry, Ranma might finish soon!"
"Look you two if we let you see first will you two let us do this." They were silent for a few seconds. "Good. Just stand back."
There were sounds of tools being banged around and sure enough the grating sounds of a drill going through a wall could be heard. Ranma signaled for Thomas to stand back and waited for the girls to finish drilling. A few seconds later a drill came through a hole in the wall and went back.
"Alright! I'm through! Wait a minute while I look to see if it's clear."
An eye appeared in the hole and seemed to look around a little. Suddenly Ranma put his own eye to the wall and said cheerfully.
"Hi girls! You wouldn't be by any chance trying to peep on me are you?"
There were startled screams from the other side and splashes signifying that the girls have rushed out of the bath. Afterwards Ranma and Thomas told Goro about the hole and the situation for it and he went to work repairing and making the wall thicker. For a couple of days the girls involved would blush crimson whenever Ranma was around. He too blushed a little, but he forgave them and dismissed the whole thing. When he was walking away from them he kept mumbling something about 'perverted Amazons' and 'money grubbing mercenaries' for some reason. Thankfully Kidd and Arthur never found out about it.
--------------------------------------End Flashback------------------------- -------------
(He added the story into his journal.)
Also Arthur found out about Ranma's manga collections. He reprinted them and has been selling them to the people who have been coming to the castle. Belle had built a printing press from a blueprint out of Ranma's books so that it would be easier to print the mangas. How she figured out how to do it with the stuff we go around here, I have no idea. But somehow Belle built it. Once they got out on the stands we couldn't keep up with the demand for them. The ones that's been selling out the most is the 'Gold Diggers' manga that the girls really seem to like. I read it and I must say it's quite funny. Piccolo has been trying out the spells that are in the 'Slayers' manga and he told me that he's getting the hang of some of the spells. Oh yeah, for some reason Piccolo said not to sell the 'Slayers' mangas. He says that if too many people learned the spells in it the world would be in big trouble. He hasn't learned how to do the big spells like the Dragon-something, but he's got the fireball spell, which he has been showing some of the people with fire runes.
A week after the battle a man with strange clothes came to the castle. He said his name is Hortez VII and he's been looking for this castle for weeks now. He wants to open a magic scroll shop in the castle. Jeane said that he's the son of an old friend of hers. And let him open his shop right inside her shop since he needs a rune to make a magic scroll and it would be good for both of them. He also has a really, REALLY bad sense of direction and has to be lead everywhere. Ranma says that he's just like someone he knew back in his old life and has been helping him get around whenever he can.
Oh yes, Viki has disappeared again right after she put too much pepper on her meal. Little Viki says that she'll be back in a couple of days. I don't know why but Little Viki seems to know what's going to happen before it happens. She still won't tell anyone anything about herself. Kidd tried to find some secrets on her, but every time he tried she just teleported him someplace else. He was sent to so many places that Ranma went with him so that when they were teleported away Ranma could just pick Kidd up and run back with him. We usually see them back here in an hour or so.
One thing to note is that Little Viki always has a smile on her face whenever she's with Ranma, but only when no one else is around. I only know this because I walked in a couple of times on the two of them talking and she always has a gentle smile as she talked with him. I was thinking about telling this to Kidd, but she went up to me and just gave me 'the look.' I don't know why it scares me, it's just...intense.
(He pauses when a shiver goes through his spine when he remembers 'the look')
Well I hope Viki comes back soon. It's been two days already and there's no sign of her.
Thomas
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Outside in the training center Tina is fighting against Sharon, Belle, Emily and Sanae Y. Ranma, Juan and Arthur, who was writing down, watched them fight. The girls had surrounded Fight Hat on all sides. The girls looked triumphant while she remained calm. Like she had the either fight in her hands.
"We got you now!"
"You are NOT taking Ranma from us!"
"You're so dead!"
In the sidelines Ranma had a large sweatdrop behind his head while Juan and Arthur tried very hard not to laugh, and failed miserably.
"GET HER!" Sanae Y shouted as they all closed in for the kill.
Tina grabbed Belle's incoming hammer and threw her up into the air. She intercepted Sanae Y and Sharon's spears and spun around and used the spears as a lever to throw each of them up into the air too. She faced off with the only remainder of the group, Emily who stop in her tracks when she saw her teammates get thrown around.
"On the count of three," Tina said holding up three fingers. Emily got ready for anything as she has no idea what's coming from Fight. "One, two, three!"
On the count of three the girls that Tina threw into the air came crashing down onto Emily. Belle hit first followed by Sanae Y then Sharon. All four of them lay in a heap of mangled limbs groaning with pain.
"The girls once again lose to Fight," Arthur said out loud writing it down to put in his paper.
"You think they learn after the tenth time," Juan said getting up and leaving.
"Great, he's going to put us in his paper again," Belle said rubbing her aching arm which she landed on.
"At least our parents aren't here to see this," Emily said from the bottom of the pile. "And you guys get off my back!"
Sharon, who is on the very top, sees a group of people heading towards them. She instantly recognizes them and calls out and waves to one of the visitors.
"Hi mom!"
Looking to where Sharon is waving at Ranma saw Viki leading a group of older people to them. A golden haired woman dressed in red armor that's like Sharon's is walking along next to a red dragon. A brown haired man dressed in the same style of armor only green instead walked next to her and with him is a white dragon. The woman wore a small, light sword on her belt and the man has a huge sword that needed two hands to hold sheathed on his back.
A couple that wore clothes that were just like the people back in his old life walked just a little behind Viki. They reminded Ranma of Sanae Y so they must be her parents. The dark haired man is dressed in green and white army style of clothes complete with a sword and shield. The long brown haired woman is dressed just like Sanae Y and both of them wore glasses. And answer where Sanae Y had inherited her bad eyesight from them.
Then there is the strange couple walked right next Sanae Y's parents. A dark haired man dressed in a red blacksmith outfit carried a huge hammer while the longhaired redheaded woman next to him stood over 7 feet towering over her husband. She's dressed just like Emily and he could see she moves like a fighter. She could probably take on his former father's cursed form and win.
Near the end of the group is a woman who is definitely Belle's mother if her identical style of clothing is of any indication. Instead of a hammer she's armed with knives. She looks just like Belle if she were middle aged except that the mother keeps her hair in a high ponytail.
The last one is a teenager just like himself. He wore a brown jacket and black shorts with his brownish red hair cut it short. But it's the sword on his back that got Ranma's attention. He felt a great power coming from it and the hilt has a face on it.
Belle quickly disengaged from the dog pile throwing the other girls off of her and glomped onto her mother. "Mom you're finally back!"
Meg smiled at her daughter and hugged her back while patting her head. "Hello dear. Did you have fun traveling around the world? I was in Radat visiting Freed Y and Yoshino when Viki showed up all of the sudden."
Sharon mimicked her friend and also glomped onto her mom. "Hiya mom!"
Milia also gave her daughter a bear hug. "We were on our way to see how you girls were doing, but when Viki showed up we had a faster way of getting here even if she teleported us around before she finally got it right."
"I'm sorry," Viki said looking ashamed and downcast.
Ranma approached her and put a hand on her shoulder and lifted her head up. He just couldn't see the ever-cheerful Viki sad. He gave her the best reassuring smile he could. "Don't worry about it Viki. I know you'll get it right soon."
Being away from his abusive "family" and living in the castle has allowed him to grow up a little and lessen his foot in mouth disease. And it didn't hurt being surrounded by more than a dozen girls who are very good at 'reprimanding' guys who say the wrong things tend to make you watch your mouth. Also having known Kasumi for so long has also taught him a lot at making other people feel better. The only reason he never used it in his old world is because his fiancées would drag him off to the altar after saying one kind word while a certain uncute tomboy would think he was feeling guilty about something and punt him to lower earth orbit.
Viki instantly went back to her cheerful self and hugged him. "Thank you Ranma!"
Luckily for Ranma the girls are too busy being glad that their parents were there to notice. By the time they turned towards the two they were separated already. "Guys these are our parents," Sanae Y said introducing everyone. "These are my parents Freed Y and Yoshino, over there Belle's mom Meg, Ronnie Bell and Mose are Emily's parents and Milia is Captain of the Dragon Knights and Futch is one of the knights over there. Their dragons are Blight and Thrash."
"So who is that?" Ranma asks pointing to the one with the sword with a face.
Emily's father Mose replied for their group. "Oh his name's Edge. We met him while we were being teleporting around by Viki and he decided to come along."
"You humans are forgetting about someone." Everyone except Ranma and the parents looked around for the source of the voice until their eyes settled on the sword on Edge's back.
Arthur almost dropped his notepad in shock, "A talking sword?"
Edge replied while looking over his shoulder at the sword. "Yes, a friend of mine gave him to me. The sword is called the 'Seven Star Dragon Sword', also known as the 'Zodiac Sword' for short."
The face on the hilt looked exasperated. "First it was the bear man who had more hair on him then a real bear, and now some punk kid! What's next?"
"Hey! You were the one that said you wanted to come with us," Edge said to the sword.
The sword suddenly turned all business. "Yes, I felt a power awaken that I haven't felt since I was freed from the True Sword Rune. I know it's somewhere in this area."
Freed Yamamoto added in his own thoughts. "Oh yeah, you're the Night Rune aren't you. A True Rune like yourself would be able to feel another True Rune nearby wouldn't you."
Arthur has shaken out of his shock and is writing down everything as fast as he can. "A True Rune?"
"Yes and I... it's you!" Zodiac shouted. He flew through the air to come face to face with Ranma. "So you have finally chosen a user." He studied Ranma for a few moments. "You have chosen wisely. This one can bring out your true power. It is an honor to meet you True Rune Bearer." The sword gave what resembles a bow to the startled pigtailed warrior.
The newcomers were currently shocked stiff. Edge fainted when the sword bowed, actually BOWED to somebody. Milia's the most shockproof and came out of it first. "What? Does this young man bear a true rune?"
Ranma sighed. He's had to do this every time someone who can detect very powerful runes figures out he has a true rune. Thankfully there weren't many, but he's getting a little sick with the way they act whenever he shows them his rune. "Yeah, I got a true rune."
The other newcomers have come out of their shock at this point. "Really? Which of the twenty-seven runes do you have?" Meg asks.
The Zodiac Sword is now floating next to Ranma. "He bears the twenty- eight." Insert picture of wide eyed shocked parents yet again.
"What!? I thought there were only twenty-seven true runes!?" they all said at the same time.
The sword huffed. "What would you humans know about true runes. I am a true rune myself so I am better informed than the rest of you. I think, I would recognize my own peers thank you very much!"
"Ranma, which of the rune do you have?" Yoshino asked with awe in her voice. She might have known the ones who have the Sword and Shield True Runes and briefly met with the bearer of the Soul Eater True Rune. However, meeting one who has a true rune that no one has ever heard about tops those by a large margin.
"This rune," Ranma said taking off the white bandanna he's been wearing to hide the rune. All the newcomers except for the sword gawk at the yin and yang like rune.
"I have never seen a rune like that before."
"What rune is it?"
"The True Rune of Chaos," Zodiac said proudly. "This rune has never had a bearer before now. When I felt its energy, I knew it had finally chosen someone to bear it."
"So that's what you hit me with. I have to see if you can take me without using it one of these days." Tina commented from Ranma's arm. After the little episode with Viki (which she missed since she was staring at the dragons) she went up to him and hugged his arm to herself. For her to be this forward is the same as pigs flying. However, spending time with her reluctant fiancée has made her realize just how big of a catch she has made and is therefore relaxing her barriers when she's around him. For his part he only flinched once before relaxing himself. However, in his mind he kept up a mantra. 'Do not panic, there are no uncute tomboys with mallets around. Do not panic, there are no uncute tomboys with mallets around.'
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In another world a certain pig cursed lost boy is currently flying in the air. The reason why, he somehow ended up in a woman's bath and got punted out by several angry and nude women. On the way up one of the women splashed him with cold water.
"RANMA! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! FOR MAKING ME SEE NAKED WOMEN I WILL KILL YOU!" The resulting nosebleed knocked him out before he could hit the ground. Coming out of the store near him is a cute things loving skater.
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Arthur wrote down the position of the two to put in his paper, but one look from both fighters made him hastily scratch that out and burn it out of his memory. He decides to ask something to get the pressure off of him. "Ah, um...you two train a whole lot right? I mean you two trains for two hours every day with each other. What are the two of you doing with all that time?"
The other girls finally registered the position of the two. "Yeah, what DO you do with her Ranma?" 'The aura' is starting to make another appearance. Ranma suddenly remembers that Belle DOES have a hammer and it's just as big as Akanes and she DOES act a bit like a tomboy sometimes. 'OH SHIT!'
Ronnie Bell is looking in between the pigtailed warrior and his fiancée and her own daughter. "Honey, what's your relationship with that young man?" At the mention of 'relationship' Emily's face went from red with anger to red with embarrassment. She hastily waved her arms around in panic just like the man she wants to marry.
Juan by this point has returned to see what is going on. "Oh, these four along with almost all of the young women in the castle want to be his girlfriend or wife." The four young girls all blush a deep red as their parents stared at them. "Also Fight Hat here got beaten by Ranma and he now has to live with her for one full year to see if they can marry each other or not, which the girls here are pretty steamed about. Ever since she's arrived they have been following Fight Hat and Ranma all over the place." By now the girls wished they have studied martial arts better. Ninjitsu is a very good art to practice. It allows one to disappear whenever they want to. They should ask the castle two ninjas to teach them how to disappear quickly.
Meg walked up to Ranma and looked him over like someone looking over a used car. "Let's see what we got here. Handsome, well built, in good shape." Ranma felt very self-conscious and started straightening out imaginary wrinkles. "Judging all the muscles he can probably go a long time before wearing out, which means I'll be a grandmother with lots of grandkids when you come to age and marry him!"
"What!" everyone shouted looking at the middle age woman jumping up and down. She practically glowed!
"Grandchildren," the three other mothers said at the same time. Thoughts of ways of getting their kids to marry Ranma quickly formed in their heads.
Belle got hearts in her eyes and glomped onto her soon to be fiancée. "Yay! See Ranma, mom's giving us the okay to be engaged!"
"Hey!" the three other girls shouted before grabbing onto him themselves.
Tina tried to push the other girls away. "Hey, don't pull him like that! We want him in one piece remember!"
The remaining newcomers who weren't currently dreaming about hoards of grandchildren looked over to Juan, Viki and Arthur. "Does this happen a lot around here?"
"Yup, at least once a day," all three said.
"What women see in Ranma I'll never know. But seeing this," Juan said looking at the tug of war the four girls were doing with their reluctant love interest while Fight tried to stop them, "I don't know what to feel. He's taking all the girls, but then again I really don't want to go through that."
All the guys nodded.
"Does anyone know where the bathroom is?" Hortez VII asks as he suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Juan and Arthur sweatdropped while the others looked confused at the eternally lost boy of THIS dimension.
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"So all you of came here to check up on your kids?"
Everyone had moved into the meeting room after the girls had calmed down enough to let go of Ranma. There they met with the lord of the castle and explained the situation to him. After he woke up Edge had wonder off and Futch went to put the dragons in the stables with Ranma to help calm down the horses and explain the situation to Kathy and Billy.
"Yes, it seems that my baby girl is finally growing up! Her martial arts have improved greatly and she even has her husband all picked out!" Ronnie Bell patted on top of Emily's head.
"Mom! Don't do that!" said the daughter as she waved her mom's hand away from her head.
Thomas looked over the assembled parents. "So I guess you'll be staying for awhile?"
Freed Y spoke for the group. "Yes. I hope you do not mind."
"Not at all by the way, where did Ranma go?" Thomas asks seeing that Ranma wasn't with them.
Belle spoke up from her hug with her mother. "He said something about doing some training in the tunnels after helping putting the dragons in the stables."
"Really? I wanted to talk to him," said Milia.
"Yes, we have to see if Ranma is suitable to be one of our son in laws," Yoshino said. The glint in all the mother's eyes at that statement worried their husbands.
"Dear, are you sure about this? Isn't Sanae Y a bit too young still?" Freed Y asks his wife.
The sparkles seem to just shine even brighter. "Dear she is growing up and if I can find someone I like to be her husband then I'll do what I can to help her." 'And getting some grandkids out of the deal would be great!' The giggles that were escaping her mouth really started to creep out her husband.
"I still think that Emily's too young," Mose said. His wife looked down at him before she beamed him on top of his head.
"Don't ruin to mood dear!" Ronnie Bell puffed.
Meg spoke up for the first time. "So how do we get in touch with his parents?"
Silence filled the room.
"Mom, there's something you should know about Ranma's parents..." Belle began.
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Down in the tunnels-
"Why hello Ranma. How are you?"
"I'm...fine, Shizu. I just need to get out some stress."
While the parents heard about Ranma's abusive parents said martial artist is currently headed towards the tunnels under the castle. He always finds the cavern where he found the Chaos Rune to be a great training ground. It's peaceful and roomy and you can hear when someone's approaching. Sometimes Shizu even joins him. The two of them would talk about little things like what new things he has been showing to people or how his studies are going. Sometimes he even tells her a little about his old life. He never talked about his multiple fiancées or rivals, but he tells her about the different enemies he's faced and the techniques he has. They sometimes even talk about the machines he has seen. She became fascinated the one time he told her about the TV.
He even started training her. Her very nature prevented her from learning any type of offensive attacks, but she's progressing very nicely with her defensive and evasion techniques. Out of all the girls in the castle he probably feels most comfortable with Shizu. Minus the bathhouse hole event she hasn't really done anything to him, and even then she was hesitant. Her gentle nature helps him to relax whenever he's stressed out.
"Oh my, what's wrong Ranma?"
Ranma gave a long and tired sigh. "The girls were fighting over me again. This time they almost ripped me into four pieces." He tells her about the arrival of the parents and the ensuing fight.
By now they have reached the 'training cavern' and the two of them start training with Ranma going into some basic katas while Shizu tries her best to mimic him. He corrects her every now and then and offers her advises on how to do them naturally and making her movements flow. At first he was very hesitant to even touch her to correct her moves, but a lot of reassurances that he will not get beaten for it and he has gradually relaxed and can now hold her to show her the correct stances and such.
"They really shouldn't do those things to you. It's just not proper to go around treating people like prizes like that."
He gives her a beaming smile that makes her knees weak. "Thanks Shizu, I really needed that." He gives her a small kiss on the cheek that causes her legs to wobble. Thankfully they have come near the wall and she is able to catch herself before she falls and makes a fool out of herself.
"You know Shizu, you remind me so much of a woman I used to know in my old life."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, her name is Kasumi Tendo and the two of us would talk like this whenever the chaos let up a little. She's very gentle and caring like you are. Sometimes we even practice out in the dojo I told you about. Her offense is practically non-existent, no offense to you or her of course, but I could barely get past her defenses and her evasions are as good as mine! She's one of three people who could actually sneak up on me. Who knew a housewife type of woman was so good at martial arts."
"Wow Ranma, I'm honored that you think so highly of me to compare me to someone you think fondly of."
"Hey, I'm just telling the truth. Heck, if I didn't know she was interested in someone else I probably would've asked her to marry me! Hahahaha!" A part of him had always entertained that idea. She was nice to him, talked to him, healed his wounds, she even gave him those cookbooks before he left. However, whenever that part of him gets too strong it would always be beat down by the thought that Kasumi wouldn't like someone like him. She really deserved better. He never stopped to think of asking Kasumi herself what her feelings towards him were. He just 'assumed' that she would end up with Tofu. Now it's too late to find out.
Neither did he think about how his comment would affect his companion.
Shizu stood frozen at this revelation. 'If he was so interested in this Kasumi person to even consider asking for her hand in marriage, and he's comparing me to her, does that mean...' Her resulting blush would have made a tomato jealous. Thankfully Ranma's too busy laughing to notice. She quickly composes herself before she gets caught. 'Such a powerful man, but one that is gentle and carefree. With him always playing around with the children and his promise to give them the childhood he did not have he will be a great father. Yes, that is why I want him.'
Ranma soon gets his laughter under control and they continue their training and chatting for the better part of the day.
It should be noted that Shizu's stride is a little more confident and her smile reached ear to ear for days after this training session and conversation.
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Awhile later-
His conversation and training with Shizu did great things to the stress he has been feeling since the girls started fighting for his attention. Whenever he feels a headache coming he goes down to the tunnels under the castle with Shizu and the two would talk and train until he feels better. Not only is it a good headache relief for him, but Shizu is really coming along great. She's a lot more limber than when she first came here and can probably give moderate fighters a run for their money. Still, with the parent's arrival and the resulting tug of war he feels like he is loosing control of his life again.
"This is turning out to be just like my old life," Ranma said as he watched the lake from the stranded ship's deck.
He felt a familiar presence come toward him, but did not bother to run away. "I've been looking for you, Ranma." Belle's mother moved over to him to watch the lake by his side and they remained silent as they gazed at nature's beauty. "The girls told us about your parents."
He did not immediately react. After a few moments he moved his gaze a tiny fraction towards Meg. "So you know how I was raised."
Meg nodded. "Hearing about what your parents did to you I can't help but feel like I did the same to Belle. I left her to find new gadgets, leaving her to look after herself." Twin streams of tears make its way down her face. "I'm just as bad as yours were to you."
Looking at her face Ranma could see she did loved Belle. "No, you are not." He takes a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully, even reluctantly wipes the tears from her eyes. Before leaving his old world Kasumi taught him just what to do when a girl cries. 'Lesson number eight, sometimes a girl cries because she is in emotional pain. In these situations take a handkerchief and dab the tears away. If you can say sometime that will comfort her. If you have nothing to say, be silent.' He hasn't gotten all of his old instincts out, but it's easier to do when the girl is not after you for her husband or for your head. "Your tears prove it. My parents would cry as well, but only because they would lose face or a meal ticket. I wish that my mother is more like you. Sure, I have become the strongest fighter of my age group, but I never had a choice in it." He hands it to her in case she cries some more.
Meg's crying has subsided a little and she gives him a small smile. "After Belle's father died, I just wanted to run away from everything. When I see Belle, I keep on thinking of him. I just couldn't take it, so I rebuilt Gadget and left him to look after her."
"Well, Gadget is still better then the one I was left with."
"You mean you're father?"
Ranma's face hardens. "No, he's not my father. He has never acted like one so I won't call him that ever again. He's nothing but the one who knocked up the woman who gave me birth."
"So you hate you're parents then." She dabs at her eyes a little and tries to return the handkerchief, but he motions for her to keep it. She gives him a nod in thanks and both look out at the lake once again. "I wonder if Belle feels the same about me. I wouldn't blame her if she does. I've earned it."
"No, there's still time. Go to your daughter and ask her how she feels about you. Then chose what you need to do for her and yourself."
Meg thinks about it for a few seconds then turns to look at him. "Ranma, I don't know if you marry Belle or not, but if you do I would be proud to have you as part of the family. But Ranma," she waits until he faces her. "All I ask is that you try to get to know her better. I'm not asking that you be her boyfriend right this minute. I just want her to have a friend. That is all I ask for now. Will you give me this?"
He looks at her in the eyes and nods. "I think that I can do for you."
She gives him a smile and left him to find her daughter and save what's left of her family.
Down below the ship's deck the other parents had been listening in.
"I would be proud too." Who said it didn't matter, only that all the parents nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but remember that we can't treat him like the people in his old life did to him."
"To have grown up like that and still be sane and kindhearted is a miracle in itself. We'll have to talk with the girls about how they treat him."
"Yes, our kids are quite wild. The way they treat him is no longer tolerable. If they wish to gain him for their husbands they must treat him better.
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Inside a dark room-
"This wasn't in the plan," the masked man said. He and the others were meeting with Dark Hat.
"Why didn't you tell us about your rules about losing a fight?" the man in coat asks.
"You didn't need to know, and to be frank I didn't think that this Ranma would be that strong," Dark Hat said with a calm air around him.
The woman of the group frowned at him. "Yes, but now your sister has to be with him for one full year."
The man in black growled and clenched his fists. "If she gets in the way..." Before he could finish Dark Hat grabbed his neck and held him up with one arm.
"If she does pray that nothing happens to her!" Dark Hat said in a voice that froze them to their core. He threw the man in black across the room and into a wall.
"You!" The man in black began pulling out his twin swords. Before he could even defend himself he was hit harder then he had ever been hit before in all of his long life. Dark Hat had crossed the room in a heartbeat and slugged him in his gut. That one blow sent his entire body into shock as that blow sent critical damage threw out his either body. He could feel everyone of his bone shaking from the inside as the blow cause them to vibrate. Even his teeth were shaking.
"I think I made my point. If anything happens to Fight because of any of you I will not hold back my wrath," Dark Hat said. The man in black was still down on the floor staggering from his punch.
"Yuber, it's been awhile. I see you have gotten soft over the years," a newcomer said entering the room. He's dressed as a gentleman, but his eyes said of something much darker.
"You! So you still live. Last I heard you died trying to create your own kingdom," Yuber said getting back up. His body was still shaking from Dark Hats blow and it took all of his willpower just to stand up. 'One punch just one punch how in the world can he be that strong?'
"Yes, I just managed to flee using a copy of myself."
"Yes, and it cost you of the true rune you had."
"I lost most of my power, but I still have the power of creating monsters."
"Yes, that's why I brought you in," the mask man said, "When the time comes I need you to create something that can take out this...Ranma." He said the name with venom.
"I already have a plan for him."
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Back at the castle -
The moms are in the bathhouse talking to their daughters as well as some of the girls of the castle. Besides them are Mel, Kathy, Anne, Mamie, and Ernie. Meg was with Belle having a heart to heart talk in Belle's room.
Milia decided that now is as good as any to see just why it is these girls want the pigtailed martial artist. "So why do you girls like Ranma?"
"What?!" they all said at once.
Ronnie held out a hand to silence them. "Now, now girls. We went through the same thing, so just spit it out!" She gave the girls 'the look.' It is the look that said 'you better answer or you're grounded for the rest of your life.'
"Ronnie, do you have to do that?"
She gave Yoshino a knowing look. "Well Emily, do you have something you want to tell your mommy?" She took her daughter into her arms and squeezed tightly. This wouldn't be so bad that is if your mom wasn't a seven foot tall giantess with the strength of a bear. Luckily for Emily she only used enough force so that she can't escape.
"Mom! Let me go! It's just too embarrassing!" Emily said trying to break free from her mother's powerful grasp.
"Sorry dear, but I'm not letting go till you spill why you like Ranma."
She struggled some more but couldn't get any leverage. "Fine!" Emily said stopping her struggling. Her face turned red and she turned away from her audience. "The reason why I fell for Ranma is because I never met someone like him before. He acts so much likes he doesn't have a care in the world, but I still see how much pain he has inside all thanks to his parents. Why I fell for him is because instead of growing bitter from it he grows from it. You've seen him. He should be out on a killing spree, but here he is helping this castle and all its people try to lead happy lives. He fights for us even though he gains nothing from it. His heart...his heart is what I fell in love with."
Her mom turns the body lock into a warm hug.
"For me..." Sharon said drawing attention to her. "I fell for him because he treats me like an adult, not like a kid like most people treat me as. He's like that. He doesn't care how you look, how you act is more important to him. At first I wanted him because he's a hunk." She had the decency to blush while the rest of the females just nodded. "But a couple of days after we met him he did something that changed how I felt about him. I was complaining that no one treats me like an adult. Then Ranma just grabs my hand and pulls me to a broken piece of the wall and tells me to start repairing it. All day he kept giving me chores and every time I said no he would just smirk at me and say that I must be a child since I won't do it. Of course I fell for it and by the end of the day I'm exhausted. Finally he comes up to me and asks me how it feels to be an adult. I was pretty angry at him so I try to hit him with my spear. He grabs my spear and pressed his finger at parts of my body and I suddenly lock up. I cursed him out pretty good after that. Then he said it. He said that no one treats me like an adult because I don't act like one. An adult doesn't go around saying people should respect him or her because they said so, an adult gets respected because they deserve it. Then he looks me in straight in the eyes and told me that I have potential, a lot of potential. He said that all I need to do is be the sweet, kind person I could be and people will treat me as an adult. Nothing else, but be...me. From then on whenever I would act like a kid again he would tell me to stop and just 'be nice.' People actually started saying what a nice person I am, not child, person. He changed my life and that is why I love him."
The other girls just sat stunned at the story of the girl...woman in front of them.
Emily is the first to come out of her shock. "So that's why. That's why you've been acting strangely. I haven't heard you cry, throw a tantrum, demand you get your way or anything for a long time."
Milia places a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "That's what I detected when I came here. I knew you were acting differently than when I last saw you. More grown up, still a bit of a tomboy, but grown up. I'm proud of you my daughter." Sharon beams and resisted the urge to glomp her mom. She instead calmly puts her own hand on the one on her shoulder and gives it a light squeeze.
Yoshino gives them a moment then turns to her daughter, "Your turn dear."
Sanae Y closes her eyes and smiles as if remembering a fond memory. "I fell for him because of his honor. He holds his honor above everything else. If he makes a promise it's guaranteed he will keep it. Not many people can say that. Even I cannot say that. That's saying a lot if you know what type of father he had. To have a rat bastard as a father and still be like that speaks of an iron will. He also doesn't let other people use his honor against him. Gordon once told him he has no honor since he keeps on refusing to 'take advantage' of our love for him, that Ranma is denying us the pleasure of his company. Ranma practically disappeared from where he was standing and next thing we know he has Gordon by the neck and pinned to the wall. He tells that playboy that he would have no honor if he DID 'take advantage' of our feelings for him. To lead on a woman so you can get her into bed is the most dishonorable thing you can do. It is considered rape. He will not marry or sleep with anyone unless he loves her and she loves him. Most other men would have slept with one of us by now, but he hasn't. That is why I have chosen him to be my life companion."
She opens her eyes and has a look of contentment on her face.
Yoshino nods at Sanae Y's words. "You have chosen well my daughter. He will make a wonderful and loyal husband."
The mothers and daughters look to the remaining girls. Ernie decides to add in her piece. "He showed me there's more to life than just reading about it. Whenever he had the time he would take me out to the forest and show me all the different plants and animals. One time he even took me out to go camping and it was the most terrible and most wonderful experience I ever had. I had a lot of trouble with setting up tents or making a fire, but it was fun. He showed me that even if there are very little comforts that can be found in 'roughing it' it can still be fun and the sense of accomplishment you get at the end makes it worthwhile. He was right. Now I want to see what the world is like using all my senses and not just reading it from a book, and I know that having Ranma by my side would make it the best thing I ever did in life."
Now it looked like Kathy's turn. "My family. He got my family back together. If he hadn't helped me count all those horses long ago, herd them towards the castle, and convinced Thomas to let me use the stable and field I never would have been reunited with my father and got to meet my little half brother. Of course like the other girls I at first wanted him for his body, but now I want him because of his nature and his spirit. One of the horses who joined my herd when I first met Ranma was uncontrollable. No matter what I did I couldn't control him. Sure he behaved when we brought him here, but afterwards I could barely keep him in his stable. For three days I tried to tame him, but nothing worked. Then Ranma came to help me. Somehow he approached him and the horse calmed down. He used the exact same cooing noises and gestures I did and yet he was able to tame him. He just stroked him a couple of times and removed the reins, then he lead him over to the entrance. He just...talked to the horse. He said that if you do not want to be cooped up here then he can leave and come back if he wants to. HE JUST LET HIM GO! I was pretty pissed at Ranma, but he told me that you do not tame a horse by locking him up. You tame him by giving him a choice. I asked him what experience he had with horses and you know what he told me, NONE! Then two days later the horse came back. It seemed totally different, but I know it's the same horse because it had the same markings. It just went up to me and Ranma and nuzzled us. Ranma then turns to me and introduces me to Brego. He doesn't know why he named him Brego, he just did."
"You mean Ranma can talk to horses?" Anne asks.
"I don't think so. I think that Ranma was able to tame him because he gave him the choice of staying or going and treated him nicely. I wouldn't have. I would have just let the horse go and that's it. I think Ranma has a connection to horses than just his name. He gets along really well with all of them, especially Brego. I think he understands how it's like to be wild and being caged, especially with his parents. He never forces the horses to do anything. He just talks to them and gently nudges them to do what he wants them to do. I've been taming, breeding, and training horses for years, and yet he's just as good, maybe better than I am. All because he treats them nicely. That is why I admire and love him. He might act a little macho sometimes, but when he lets out his gentle side not even a wild horse stands a chance."
All the girls mouth an awed 'wow'.
After they digest Kathy's story they turn to the bar owner. "He save me," Anne simply said. "I've been dreaming of opening up my own bar like my mom and dad did. I finally do, then those ironheads attack the village. I would have died then and there, but the next thing I know I'm staring at the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen. He took care of me and healed my wounds. Then he brings me here and I meet up with my Aunt Martha who I haven't seen in ages. Then he stayed with me. He kept me company so that I can get over seeing my friends and my dream die even though all you girls would have killed him for spending time with me. Then he gives me the surprise of my life, my own bar! He got Thomas to let me use the old bar and Ranma even cleaned up and stocked the place with the best liquors I've ever tasted. Somehow he knew which ones were the best and which ones weren't just by looking at them. He told me he had a lot of experience with his father using their money all the time to buy the cheap stuff so he can tell which are good and which aren't. He saved my life, helped me cope with the loss of my friends and my first bar, and then gives me another chance to make my dream come true. If that doesn't make me fall in love with him I don't know what will."
Mamie adds in her story. "He likes my cooking and showed me some dishes I never knew about. That would be nothing new. I have a lot of fans of my food and I could just become a student of a master chef if I needed new recipes, but the way he appreciates my cooking is astounding. Sure I've seen him eat like a pig sometimes, but how many of you have heard him compliment the chef?" When no one answered she continued. "He rarely ever compliments anyone. He makes it seem like it's the best thing he's ever had. He sometimes compares me to the one who taught him how to cook, some girl named Kasumi, but he would say that I'm just as good as her. That's saying a lot considering that Ranma is just as good a cook as I am and his teacher must be way better. Whenever we would cook together I feel like I'm in heaven. Before I met Ranma I would do the recipe to the exact amounts and do it exactly as the recipe says. I just did my cooking and that's it. Sure there's the joy of accomplishment, but something seemed missing. The missing part of it is the fun. Ranma showed me how to have fun when I'm cooking. He showed me how to cut the vegetables in midair, send them through the air into the pots while making a big show of it, generally the fun way of cooking. He also showed me that it's ok to do the recipe exactly, but the real chefs would use their senses to 'feel' the right amounts. My food's never tasted so good before in my entire career as a chef! That is why I want to be with him forever. I want to cook side by side with him, have fun doing it, and invent new dishes to cook. We can travel around the world and while I become a master chef he can be the best martial artist in the world and my husband."
"And having a killer bode doesn't hurt either," Branky said.
"Yeah he does... HEY! Branky!" all the young girls shouted at the hand puppet.
"Sorry about him," Mel said dunking Branky underwater. Loud drowning noises could be heard while the puppet futile splashed around underwater. All of them sweatdrop as they watched.
Mel put in her reasons for wanting to be the wife of Ranma while Branky choked underwater. "I fell for him because he treats me like a person and not some odd ball that most people do. Whenever someone teases me he would step in and make them realize how much it hurts that they say those mean things to me. He would point out that they don't really know me and have no right to judge me just because I act differently than they do. When the teasing really gets to me he would let me cry my eyes out on his shoulder and put me to my bed if I fall asleep. His compassion is what I love about him. I don't mean to sound bad, but he is my knight in shining armor." Understanding smiles went her way. Mel brought Branky out of the water and smiled as the puppet made hacking noises to get the water out of its 'lungs'. Bigger sweatdrops formed on their heads.
"You know if Ranma is like me he'd be more interest in girls with big boobs," Branky said.
"Hey!" the girls with the smaller chest shouted at him.
"I mean Ranma likes hanging around Kathy and Anne and they have big boobs."
Emily went up to the puppet and shook her fist at it in a threateningly manner. "Hey! Some of us are still growing you know! I mean look at my mom, she has a big chest so when I fully mature I should be big as hers!"
"Emily, your mom is a seven foot giantess, so she would have a big chest for her body size," Ernie pointed out.
"Well it looks like me and Anne here both have something that most of you won't have for a few more years," Kathy grinned.
"Ranko has a bigger pair!" Mamie growled.
"Isn't Ranko Ranma's girl form?" Yoshino asks. She and the others were very surprise when they saw Ranma transform for the first time in front of them. But they slowly began to get use to it.
"Yeah she is, Anne replied. Then she grinned. "But since she IS Ranma we have nobody here in our age group that have a bigger pair than us."
Then Tina walked in. Taking off her clothes they saw she wraps bandages around her chest. "Hi, hope you don't mind me." She unwrap the bandages and let them fall with the rest of her clothes. It turns out that her bandages were tighter than they thought. She sported a pair of...assets that are just as big as Ranko's, but looks smaller because she's just as tall as Ranma when he's a guy.
"You...you..." was all Anne and Kathy could say staring at someone that was in their age group and was much bigger then they were.
"You have big breast!" Branky said and once again found himself underwater.
"Now don't, none of you girls even start. Yes, I'm well gifted. So what," Fight said getting into the water. "You have no idea what it's like to be a fighter like me and have a pair of breast this big. I have to wrap them up really tight just so that they won't jump around when I fight."
Ronnie Bell nodded. "I know what you mean."
Tina looked around and pointed to Emily's much smaller pair. "I would rather have small ones like those so that it wouldn't hurt so much when I wrap them."
"Hey!" Emily shouted raising her fist at her.
"At least you don't have to worry about yours bouncing all over the place if you don't wrap them. At least mine aren't as big as my sister."
"Your sister is even bigger!" all the young girls shouted.
"Yup, my older sister is bigger than me. You'll see when she shows up," Fight said not seeing their faces falling. Then a large object crashed through the roof of the woman's bath.
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Outside the bathhouse awhile earlier -
Ranma was walking to the bathhouse when he spotted a strange sight. A little girl no taller than Shabon came floating through the sky riding on top of a blue cloud. It's just like something straight out of Monkey King. She's the cutest girl he had ever met. The child has silk-like light blue hair that flowed down beyond her shoulder blades. Her face showed nothing but carefree joy. She's dressed in a plain yellow dress that was ankle length and made her look even more cute and innocent. She wore a pink top hat that has a red flower popping from the middle of the top. She held a yellow staff with a blue-green ball on top that is much taller than she was.
"Hi! Are you Ranma?" the girl asks in a cute voice.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"I'm Magic Hat, Fight Hat's little sister! I'm here to fight you!" With that she pointed her staff at him. A beam of energy grabbed onto him and sent him flying into the air. Before he fell back down Ranma landed onto a yellow cloud just like the one that's under Magic.
"What's this?" Ranma asks when he could get his wits back.
"Simple, you have to catch me to win and if you do I'll give you that cloud you're riding on and let you marry my big sister," Magic said before flying off.
"So a little air way tag this huh. This'll be fun!" Ranma said as he 'willed' the cloud to go after her. The trill of the chase is so high he didn't even notice that if he beat her she would let him marry her sister.
Somehow knowing how to use the cloud he went faster until he could catch up with her. But when he was about to grab onto her she suddenly stopped in mid-air. Ranma flew past her before he could stop.
He tried to dive bomb her. Magic Hat just zipped to the right and Ranma had to pull up to stop from hitting the ground.
"Goody you're getting the hang of it! If you're going to be my new big brother then this is the first step of your magic training!" Magic Hat jumped about on her cloud.
"So this is just a test? Big mistake telling me that. Because I never lose!" Ranma shouted taking to air again.
Ranma could go faster than Magic Hat, but she could twist and turn a lot easier than him. Every time Ranma had a chance to grab onto her she just swerved out of the way. This was a classic case of small VS. large. Being smaller than Ranma she could move around in the air better and with more grace. He could go faster, but couldn't make the shape turns as easily as Magic Hat could.
'Can't get her like this. I need a plan if I'm going to catch her.' He continued the chase until inspiration came to him. 'If I can control the cloud by thinking then it shouldn't matter if I'm not touching it. I have to time this just right!'
He zoomed down to Magic Hat in a dive bomb run, and then jumped off the cloud taking to the air. Seeing this Magic Hat forced all her attention on Ranma. Her distraction proved to be a mistake when she felt the cloud she was riding on knocked away from under her feet. She stayed in mid-air for a sec or two before Ranma grabbed her in mid-air.
"Got you! I win."
"There's something you should know. When two magic clouds hit each other both will break apart and won't reform for a day or two," she pointed down towards their feet when they began falling towards the ground.
"Now you tell me." He turned his back towards the ground and hugged the girl to himself so that he would take the blunt of the fall.
Luckily they're over the ship at that time. Unluckily they are right over the bathhouse, specifically the women's bath. The two of them crashed through the roof of the bathhouse and right into the bath.
'This is just like when the tomboy hits me,' Ranma thought to himself as he stood up from the water and took a few deep breaths. In his arms Magic Hat was laughing and having a great time.
"That was fun! Let's do it again, again!" Magic Hat said waving her arms in the air having a good time.
When he finally regained his breath he saw an all too familiar scene. He's in the middle of a bath with women already in it. The girl's mothers are in here along with their daughters and Mamie, Kathy, Anne, Mel, and Tina. They were all looking at him with shocked faces and a deep red covering their whole body. In these types of situations it should be noted that Ranma's brain tends to work at light speed instead of freezing up. Being in this sort of situation before many times because of Happosai has ingrained in him a few survival tactics. Fortunately, one more option opened up with the affixing of a Chimera Rune on himself. He turned himself into his girl side.
"Since we're all girls here it's ok right?" He...she laughed nervously and starched the back of his head in a sign of nervousness.
"Hi sis! Ranma and me, had fun and he past my test even if we did ended things off by falling through the roof! But it was so fun and, I want to do it again!" Magic laughed as she waved to her sister.
Fight walked up to Ranko, letting her to see that her chest is just as big as hers, and took her little sister from Ranko's arms. "Let me take care of Magic and you better go before the others snap out of it." As soon as she finished her sentence Ranko disappeared, leaving only afterimages of her running away.
Magic Hat looked at her sister curiously. "Shouldn't you have told him that he lost his pants and underwear in the fall?"
"That wouldn't be fun if, I did. Besides," She gave off a grin that clearly said she's thinking some VERY naughty thoughts." I got a good view of what, I'm getting if I marry him!"
Sharon still hadn't gotten the image of her naked love interest out of her mind. Not that she ever wanted to ever. In fact she's currently trying to burn the image into her memory, vowing to get an even better look once they get married, "Mom, do they come that big?"
"Well dear, all I have to say is you have to be a lot more limber if you marry Ranma. We start your training tomorrow." Sharon would have given her mother a nod, but currently her mind is coping with burning the image to memory, then realizing the meaning of her mother's words, and coming up with some scenarios of what being limber would do. A small trickle of blood escaped her left nostril.
"Well Emily, at least you now know what Ranma has in store for you if you get him. Should, I start calling him son-in-law anytime soon?" Ronnie Bell asks her still gasping daughter.
Seeing that none of the girls are going to say anything at anytime soon Yoshino decides to speak up. "Sanae Y, we're going to have to have a long talk and, I have to teach you a thing or two."
All three mothers had one thought running threw their minds. 'With that big of a tool Ranma has on him and from the sheer amount of blood that's coming out of my daughter's nose, I'll be sure to have lots of grandchildren!' Then a thought entered their minds, almost destroying their good mood. 'Why can't MY husband have one that big!' they all thought to themselves. The aforementioned husbands all felt ashamed for some reason.
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Three days had passed and Ranma still couldn't get his mind off what happened that night. When he got to his room he found he lost his pants and underwear in the fall, which means the girls had saw him in the nude. He still glow red with embarrassment and not even using the Soul of Ice Technique could calm him down for the rest of the night.
The mothers haven't said anything about it. The girls on the other hand have been hanging around him more and treating him VERY nicely. They were bordering on how Shampoo used to act around him. The fathers just said that if he grew up the way he had and ended like he is now he would be a fine son in-law. No one has told them of what happened, only that their daughters seem to be extremely happy around Ranma and they sometimes caught them staring out into space and drooling.
This is especially true for Billy and Melville. Kathy hadn't stopped grinning like a fool ever since the bathhouse incident (which they don't know about) and when whenever she's not grinning she would have a glazed over expression and keep saying 'he really does have a lot in common with horses'. Thankfully for Billy's peace of mind he and Melvile haven't figured out what the hell she's taking about.
Magic has been spending her time playing with the other kids. She had made up her mind to stay awhile and is currently bunking with her big sister. Everyone agrees that she's the cutest thing they had ever seen. She so cheerful and happy it's hard to believed that she isn't a spoiled brat by now. Her magic skills are on the same level as Piccolo's and she still only six. Who knows how powerful she'll be when she grows up.
She has gotten into Ranma's Slayers collection and has been helping Piccolo with some spells. Ranma did overhear them trying to use the Dragon Slave spell without much success, but they keep trying.
Then Ranma felt a familiar aura coming to him. "Watari, what up?"
"Ranma, the Lizard and the Karayan Clans have begun attacking Iksay Village. You better get there quick," Watari said as he had been scouting around the area when he spotted the Glassland clan army as they made their way to the village.
"What! That means...Thomas!" An image of a smiling boy he saved awhile back came to him. "Get everyone assembled as soon as possible and meet me there! I'm going ahead!" Ranma used his Gale Rune to its full power and zoomed faster than the eye could follow.
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Far to the southeast of Lake Castle-
Iksay village was in the middle of a festival. The harvest was ripe for the picking and everyone was having a good time. Then they came. The Lizards were the first to attack followed by the Karayan warriors.
They overturned tables and threw flaming touches into houses and watched them burn. They were attacking the village for what happened to the Karayan village. They killed anyone that stood in their way.
Ranma arrived as they made their way through the back parts village. Seeing them doing the same thing as the knights did back in the Karayan village to the people of Iksay made his blood boil. Then he saw Thomas lying on the ground, dead. His lifeless eyes stared into the sky his mouth left a gasp. His face had a pleading look to it as if asking why this is happening.
Something snapped inside him and two new spells came to him. His sword he took from his mother still was broken. It's a symbol for him discarding his old life to gain a new one. It's also to remind him of his broken dreams. Now the broken sword will serve a new purpose, to avenge these people and kill their murderers. In order to do that it must be repaired.
"From the darkest of nights, come to me now, let all that face me be shown no mercy, the power to slay anything, Twilight Blade!" The blood-red part of the True Chaos Rune glowed brightly and a black energy formed on the broken blade. The energy shaped to form the broken end of the katana. In less than two seconds the energy seemed to solidify and the blade is whole again with the dark energy now encompassing the whole blade. The sword seems to suck light into itself, making it glow in a menacing way.
Ranma charged through the grassland warriors, never even giving them a chance to defend themselves. His rage at seeing innocent people killed takes over his mind and he kills any and all Lizard and Karayan warriors in his path.
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At the back of the village a confrontation is occurring-
"What! You killed my father!?" Chris yelled at the grassland warrior she's facing.
Percival had gotten her to come with him to Iksay for some R&R. There she met a man named Nash who was older then he look. She was starting to actually enjoy the great weather and the happy atmosphere when the grasslanders started attacking. They managed to hold them off for awhile before being forced back to the windmill at the back of the village. Now both chiefs of the attacking clans were in front of her and a Karayan warrior is saying that he killed her father.
"So we meet again, Chris." A voice she knew too well came from behind the warriors that were with the chiefs.
"Ranma?! You're here?!" She couldn't believe it. Had he come to help her escape? Is he going to save her and help her avenge her father? She was too happy and lovesick to think clearly.
Dupa had turned around and gaped at the mighty warrior glowing with a dark aura before him. "Ranma? Why are you here?"
"Some of these villagers were my friends." Ranma said. His eyes had taken a dark glow to them.
Lucia looked on with fear at the most powerful man she has ever met. Long ago she though she knew power from meeting the one called Luca Blight and the bearers of the Sword and Shield Rune. Then she had witnessed Ranma using a ball of energy to prevent her side and Chris' from fighting. Then he took down Chris, the best the Zexens can offer, like she was a child. She knew he was holding back, now she's about to find out how much. Unfortunately, she's going to find out by having his power used against herself. "R-R-Ranma? W-w-what did y-y-you do to the warriors in the v-v- village?"
"I gave them the same chance they gave the villagers." Only now did Dupa, Lucia, Chris, Percival, Nash and the other warriors with them notice the bloodstains on his clothes and blood dripping from his dark sword. The Lizard and Karayan clan members paled.
"So that's Ranma," Nash said to himself.
Jimba looked in disbelief at the pigtailed warrior. "You mean they're all dead?" he whispered.
"I give you a chance to leave now. I suggest you take it." Ranma went into a stance.
"Let's see how strong you are," Jimba said pointing his sword at Ranma in a ready position.
Jimba's eyes widen as Ranma's sword went threw his chest then out his back. He never even saw him move. One second he's over twenty paces from him, the next he's up to his face and there's a sharp pain his chest. He felt the sword being pulled out as darkness surrounded him.
"I'm in no mood to play around," Ranma said coldly as he watch Jimba fall to the ground.
"Jimba!" Lucia shouted running up to him. She cradled his head on her lap. She knew she's going to die here. How foolish they were. They have done the exact same thing the knights have done, and now the same man who defended their village is going to kill them for mimicking their hated enemy.
Ranma finally regains control of his emotions. However, he cannot show weakness now, or else his message would be loss. It's time to use the other spell he has learned. Thankfully a part of him was able to figure out that even if he did kill the warriors in the village he could do something about it and the dead villagers. "Since you are friends with Piccolo and Martha I will do this for you. Do not expect this mercy again." He turned towards the village and dispelled the Twilight Blade.
Then he chanted another sword enhancement spell. This time the sky blue side of the Chaos Rune glowed brightly. He has his back to the others so they do not see it. "Light that gives life to all, to heal that cannot be healed, I call upon your power now, Healing Blade!" As with the Twilight Blade his sword became whole again, but this time the blade is a blue color.
Forcing all his energy into his sword Ranma used the power the spell gives to its user. "Healing Light!" Ranma shouted slashing sideways through the air. The energy wave covered the whole village and a little behind him, which hit the dead Jimba. And all those who where killed, including the villagers, came back to life.
Jimba gasped loudly at being returned to life. He felt for the wound that 'should' be on his chest, but felt nothing but clear skin. Lucia yelled his name and hugged him while sobbing on his chest. She though for sure she had lost another good friend.
Percival had seen the entire thing and awed is an understatement. "Ranma, what was that?"
Ranma is currently gasping. Using such a spell takes the breath out of you. "The power of the spell I used on my sword. It can bring back the dead as long as they have died in a one hour time and their head aren't destroyed."
Dupa is currently shaking and would have wet his pants if he wore them. No way will he face a warrior that killed Jimba in a second then returned all the dead back to life. "R-Ranma, we will leave now." He motioned for warriors for both clans to leave. They didn't have to be told twice.
"Ranma, I'm sorry about this," Lucia said as she helped Jimba to his feet.
"Lucia, Dupa." When he had their attention he continued. "This is strike one. Trust me, you do not want a strike two. And I hope that you have been praying to your gods if you ever reach strike three. You have seen what my Healing Blade can do." He somehow summons the Twilight Blade without going through the spell and holds it up to the two chiefs. "Don't make me use my Twilight Blade's power. Your clans will NOT survive!"
"We understand Ranma, and again we are sorry." Then they left with their troops at a fast run. Those in the village wondered why they were running until they saw the pale looks on their chief's faces and those who were with them. Whatever scared their chiefs must be really bad. It's probably as bad as that guy who cut them down a few minutes ago. They're too busy running for their lives to notice that they should be dead right now.
Jimba had waved off the help from Lucia and is the last one to leave. "Chris, if you want to know the truth about your father find the 'Fire Bringer'." He took one look at Ranma and bolted. Yes he's a warrior, yes nothing should scare him, but getting killed in less than a second by a man not even pass twenty would scare anyone.
Chris could not tell how she should feel about the whole situation. All she knew is that she had to talk to Ranma and get his forgiveness for her part in the Karayan village's destruction. "Ranma, can we..."
"Don't." He interrupted her, "I only did this to save the village. If there's one thing I hate, and you should know this, is innocent people being killed. You too have a strike one with me. The same conditions apply to you. I may forgive you someday, but I will never forget." He walked away without even looking at her.
"Ranma..." Chris said looking at the man she has fallen for walk away from her again. She wanted to fall to her knees and cry, but that would have to wait until she was alone. Too late, she's now crying her heart out. 'How could things turn out this bad?'
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Much Later-
Ranma was finishing his story in the meeting room. There with him was Thomas, Cecile and Martha.
"I told them what would happen if they try that again, and then I left. I'm sorry Martha, everyone, I just couldn't let what happened pass." He bowed his head in shame.
Martha puts a hand on his shoulder. "We understand Ranma. You did a good thing bringing back everyone back to life. Do not fret over their deaths. That is a risk all warriors take. Just be glad you also have the power to undo the damage you did. If it weren't for you a whole village would have been wiped out." Everyone agrees with her.
Ranma is silent for a time, then he brings up his head and says a shaky, "Thank You."
Cecile steps up to him. "So what will we do now?"
He remembers something from the fight. "That warrior Jimba said the 'Fire Bringer' would tell Chris the truth about her father. I have a feeling whatever this 'Fire Bringer' is an important part to this war."
"You mean you're..."
Ranma nodded. "Yes, I'm leaving and finding this 'Fire Bringer' and getting some answers."
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Next Time - Ranma leaves the castle to find out about the Fire Bringer. He takes along some friends for the ride. He also meets up with some girls in the woods. One can see into the future. Also he meets up with Chris again.
Author's Notes
I like to thank 'ilikesecret' for pre-reading and also for adding some new stuff to this story. Who without him I wouldn't be able to gave you readers this new chapter or any new chapters.
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