Number: 13 Title: No Title Type: Fan fiction Ranma 1/2 ---------- Synopsis: ---------- Ranma and Genma at the springs, practicing martial arts 'n' stuff. No Guide is on duty or anywhere to be seen. Ranma gets kicked into a pool and changes into a girl. This is obviously not good, as Ranma seems kind of sick. Later, a sober conversation occurs between Ranma and Genma. Ranma is a lot more respectful, thoughtful, and smarter than normal, and we find how Nodoka died when Ranma was only eight and how's he's trained since then. All seems lost, then he spills some hot water on his arm. Something is terribly wrong this time and he's gone for two days. When he comes back, it's with a frighteningly determined look on his face. They start sparing again, and Ranma is totally kicking ass. Cut to some days later, as they prepare to leave. Genma is slightly worried about Ranma because the girl doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the word 'stop' and is training like a man--excuse me, a woman possesed. Ranma gets his say here and there as he's reading an interesting book with quotes in it similar to 'Ghost Dog.' Although, it is slightly more Sidestep-like... For example, not only has her skill apparently increased five-fold in just a few days, but she is also far faster and is working on her strength like there is no tomorrow. The day they agree to leave, Genma finds Ranma up in a tree balancing on a thin limb on one arm, in a handstand. From there they go right to Japan, note a conversation about Ranma walking to an Amazon villiage but leaving Genma behind in the woods later. When they come to the Tendo's, Ranma insists on being called 'Ranko,' since he claims he can't turn back into a boy (legend explained by Ranma to Genma, and by the Amazons to Ranma). He keeps doing subtle manuevers on Genma to keep him from spilling the beans. Akane is a lesbian in this story, but doesn't try to let this on to Ranko. Nabaki is leading several guys around and won't take much interest in her new houseguest until she floors Kuno with ridiculous ease before collapsing in front of school. Kasumi is involved with Tofu, who's kind of a goofball, a bit like Goku, though much more suave. Soun Tendo is a man of good honor and better morals than Genma, and has kept the practice. Because of Ranko's 'condition,' Souna and Genma spar often. Soun seems set on getting back up to Genma's level, a considerable feat since Genma has had to try and keep up w/ Ranma for a while now. Ranma is direct sometimes, almost to a fault, and tries to make jokes, though they are ususally lost. Akane tries to establish a platonic relationship with Ranko, and succeeds, although during their first day of school, it becomes clear Ranko is suffering from something severe, and Akane's mothering instincts tell her to help out however she can. After their first fight, Ranko and Kuno become good friends, with Kuno being Ranko's protector. He's a bit of a buffoon, but he had a younger sister that died when she was very little. Ranko reminds him of her a little bit, and he takes it upon himself to watch after Ranko. Kodachi is still crazy, but minus the hoops. She just has regular violent fights with this 'Asuka' character at her school. Ranko runs into Kodachi after a bad one later on in the story and the two begin to build a friendship. Ranko's quotes from this book, and the ideals it holds are a powerful force in her chaotic life. Sure, things are more stable in this world than the 'conventional' ranmaverse, but she coughs up blood when she gets hit with either cold or hot water, and sometimes gets very ill when in 'cursed' form. She also has a secret she wants kept away from everyone else at any cost... dark lemon angle? Ryouga is another force to be reckoned with. He comes vowing revenge, but it turns out it's just a practical joke. Ryouga's pretty much insane in this story, but a nice kind of crazy. He tries to kill Ranko one minute, but only in a funny way, then the two laugh about it. Much, much later one (after a hint during one of Ranko's quotes she is brooding over for a while), it turns out there was some tragedy that keeps him deathly afraid of practically everything to this day, and that is the reason for his bizarre behavior. The big secret? Twofold. First off, Ranma is destined to fight some 'Eternal Dragoon Lord', and no-one knows exactly what that means. Second, She is also the carrier of the 'trigger' for this evil. A small dragon is growing within her female form. It isn't growing very fast, but merely being there is causing her great harm. The advantage is it will make her unimaginably powerful, the downside is that being in this role pretty much ruins her entire life. Kinda sucks, don't it? ---------- Scenes: ---------- "Akane Tendo, I would date with thee. How's that for an opening?" Akane sighed. "Still needs work, Kuno-sempai." She was about to set her bookbag aside when a tiny hand alighted on her shoulder softly. "Akane-san, who is this?" Ranko whispered. "Tatewaki Kuno. An upperclassman who thinks he's going to get the right to date me." Akane smirked. "Of course, that's never going to happen." "Are you prepared to fall to my bokken, Akane Tendo?" Kuno threw the rose he was holding. Akane caught it without blinking. Ranko looked blankly at Kuno for a moment, then seemed to shift gears internally. "Why's that?" "He sort of made this challenge. If he beats me, he gets a date with me." "You two fight?" "Frequently." Kuno leveled his bokken, staring at Ranko curiously. "Who are you, fair maiden?" "Me?" "Yes. You who's beauty outshines the sun." The bokken did not waver. Ranko made a show of looking into the darkly clouded sky, a sure sign of danger. "Ranko Saotome, Kuno-sempai." "I suggest you allow us the field, sylph, or you may be injuried in our morning clash." Kuno said, indicating Akane at the last. "Keep your distance, Kuno!" Akane shouted, her fists closing in anger. "I accept." Ranko said. "What?" "What?" "You, Tatewaki Kuno, have challenged me. I accept." Ranko dropped her book bag on the ground and stepped in front of Akane. "Listen, this is my fight--" "No it is not." "Ranko--" "Have at thee!" Akane slipped to the side as Kuno charged in, his bokken raised overhead. Ranko stood heedless of the charge, simply frozen in place. Akane was about to dive back in to rescue her house guest when Ranko moved into Kuno's attack, then past him--err, where he used to be. Kuno went flying across the field to crash into one of the large trees with a loud thud. There was silence over the entire yard. Ranko didn't move from her carefully relaxed stance. 'There is a point where all but the moment ceases to be. In this moment, there is only the now, there are only things. Unencumbered with the burden of Time, the mind can fix on space with infinite precision such that the flaws of any attack are obvious and trivial to exploit.' Kuno, to his credit, regained his feet, though slightly winded. After a few seconds, he seemed to catch his breath and staightend out, trying to stare down Ranko, now that she was at a safe distance. "Clever blow. I almost felt that one." Ranko didn't make any movement to indicate that she heard him. "Are you still prepared to fight?" "Yes. We are not finished." Kuno was breifly surprised at the sheer lack of emotion in Ranko's voice, but then shrugged it off, feeling his strength return. That... blow, whatever it was, didn't harm him. Hitting the tree had barely hurt, but the girl was incredibly fast to sneak past his guard like that. He increased his evaluation of her abilities, then dropped into a more mobile stance before moving in. Akane was to the point of biting her nails in nervousness while Ranko stood in Kuno's path. She wasn't even raising her guard to him. Akane knew Ranko was good. Their little match had proven that much. But Kuno, with his bokken, simply had too much force at his disposal, and the means to use it. Her first hit was probably a lucky shot, so why wasn't she at least being cautious? Akane's though process was interrupted as Kuno began his ultimate attack. "STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!" Through the hail of blows, Ranko could be seen, still unmoving to the naked eye. Akane saw much more, however, discerning how she was stopping each of Kuno's blows with open palms, absorbing the force of hundreds of strikes every second without even breaking a sweat. Occasionally she missed one and dodged with incredible speed as the pressure from the blow went right past her to put a sizable hole in the front wall or knock a stray tree-limb loose. Akane was literally biting her nails at this point. What a fight! It didn't last long, however. After a few seconds this stalemate, Ranko just grabbed Kuno's bokken in one hand, about mid-blade. Then she started staring him down, speaking in that same utterly emotionless voice as before. "Not bad. Not the mark of a great martial artist, but not a complete slouch either." Then her tiny hand tightened, the wood splitering under her fingers until the blade shattered, breaking into two messy pieces. "However, there are two things you should take note of. One, you have a long ways to go before you can fight at my level." She tossed her ruined half of the bokken away. "Two, don't hold back when fighting me ever again, or I'll break more than just this stick. Thanks for the match, Kuno-sempai. I'll see you around." Then, smooth as silk, she walked past him. Kuno remained frozen on the field. staring at the splintered stump of his bokken as if he had seen a ghost. Akane looked from the kendoist to the receding form of Ranko and back again before finally finding motion in her limbs and grabbing Ranko's bookbag to give to her. She ran up the slowly walking martial artist, who seemed to be lost in thought, 'And behold, the Heavens may cry upon the one who choses their own fate. Nature insists fate is for the Gods, but Nature also insists that Nature is of prime importance. Nature is often mistaken. For more times and reasons than there are grains of sand upon the oceans' beaches, Nature is wrong a million times over. Never forget this, and never be afraid of the Heavens, who merely serve the God that hates Man.'