----- Continuity -----
This is a Ranma divergence fic, the divergence occurring at the
beginning of the Ranma storyline, the day before the fateful trip
to Jusenkyo at the end of the 10-year training trip. This will
NOT be a rehash of the "Sorry 'bout this!" beginning to Ranma
1/2. It will be decidedly different, as you will see.
This is also a continuation of the TM! OAV storyline, although
the concentration will be on one character, with the remaining
cast coming in as appropriate.
The dates inserted are somewhat arbitrary. If anyone has better
info and can point to some primary source material to back it up,
I would then welcome suggestions.
----- Acknowledgments -----
My sincere thanks to Vince Seifert for giving this puppy a
critical going over. As always, my work would be far poorer
without him.
Thanks to T.H. Tiger for the Tenchi discussions, catching some
errors of omission, and the thumbs up. ^_^
____________________
Sticks and Stones
____________________
[October 7, 1991]
"Excuse me, sir."
The okonomiyaki vendor looked up from the grill to see a short,
ragtag redheaded girl wearing Chinese peasant clothes looking up
at him.
"What do *you* want," he asked suspiciously.
"Lookin' for work."
<A classic case,> the vendor thought, his eyes narrowing. <Barely
keepin' the drool in her mouth.> "What's your name?"
"Ranma."
"What Ranma?"
Ranma lowered her gaze to the grill, shuffled her feet, and
didn't answer.
"Where's your family?"
Her eyes flicked from side to side. "Ain't got none."
<Oh, great.> "Gomen. Don't have any work for ronin."
Ranma sighed, "Nobody does," and started to walk off.
A mild attack of conscience loosened the vendor's tongue. "Wait a
sec."
Ranma turned and watched the man wrap a plain okonomiyaki in
newspaper. "Here. Now be off with ya!"
Ranma took the proffered food. "Arigatou gozai--"
"Yeah, yeah. Just scoot!"
To the vendor's relief, Ranma sketched a bow and left.
Slowly munching on the okonomiyaki to savor every bite, Ranma
wandered down the street, occasionally asking the locals for
work. No luck, and night was beginning to fall.
She popped the last piece of the dough into her mouth and chewed.
<Sure ain't yours, Ucchan, old buddy. I could really go for one
of your pop's famous cakes.> She slumped a little. <Your folks
wouldn't want me now, either, I guess.>
"Shit!" <What's in a name, anyways? Just one more way ta pin ya
down, make ya somethin' ya ain't, or... try ta make ya be
somethin' ya can't be no more, because ya spent your life
followin' some dumb-ass fa-->
An explosive sneeze shattered her thoughts. "Oooh, that felt
weird." She looked at the slightly green-tinged mucus on her
hand. "*Now* what?" Ranma wiped her hand on her sleeve and walked
on.
----------
[June 14, 1976]
The door opened to reveal three women in their best kimonos.
"Nodoka-san! How are you? Is that Ranma-chan?" The first guest
wiggled her fingers at the one-year old child Saotome Nodoka
cradled in her arms.
The three women filed in, and Nodoka bade them sit while she
prepared some tea. She handed Ranma off to one of the ladies to
play with. She smiled at the joy a little baby could bring and
went into the kitchen.
"So what's that husband of yours up to, these days?" guest number
three asked.
A small frown creased Nodoka's forehead as she sipped her tea.
"He's probably off running around with that friend of his, Tendou
Soun."
"Errr, has he gotten a job--" guest number two asked before
getting swatted by guest number one. A quick glare from number
one sent number two in a different direction. "I mean, has he
gotten to know his baby?" Number two smiled weakly.
It was a lame save, and Nodoka knew it. She shook her head
wearily. "No and not really," she replied, answering both
questions. Ranma began to complain at that moment, and Nodoka
took him back from the woman who'd been holding him. Picking up a
bottle she'd prepared earlier, she began to feed him. She smiled
serenely down at her child. "Your Mommy's little manly man,
aren't you?"
Ranma just looked up at his mother, soaking in the sounds of her
voice as he suckled on the plastic nipple. Understanding would
come later.
----------
[October 9, 1991]
Something was definitely wrong. Ranma coughed, her chest rattling
and wheezing. <Man, I *never* get sick! What the hell's this all
about?!>
Finding no comfort in her thoughts, Ranma continued down another
street. She'd finally made it to Tokyo and was wandering around
the Juuban district, still looking for work. Being sick, as well
as without family, made her all too easy to turn down. Starving
and gaunt, Ranma kept trudging.
<What I wouldn't give ta see Pops about now,> she mused, then her
face darkened. "No, he had his chance," she mumbled.
Her sunken and hooded eyes concentrated on the asphalt in front
of her as she continued in a straight line, not caring where.
"Baka oyaji..."
----------
[March 15, 1990]
*WHAP!* Saotome Genma cuffed the back of his son's head. "Boy,
I'm really starting to worry about your training! Thievery is
part and parcel of the Musabetsu Kakutou Ryuu! What will it take
to get through to you?!"
The son, Saotome Ranma, was getting a belly full of his father's
griping this morning and had just about had enough. "Pops, how's
it gonna help me in the Art, again? What the HELL does thievin'
have to do with martial arts?! Just cause YOU couldn't steal
enough this mornin' ta fill your fat belly's no reason ta get mad
at me!"
Genma put his fists up to his head and reared back. "ARGH!!
Stupid boy! It's not the stealing, it's the situations it puts
you in!! Have you learned nothing?!"
Cross, Ranma snorted and looked away. "You've been tryin' ta sell
me that bill'o goods for ten years. Give it up."
Genma slumped, still angry but unable to come up with further
argument. He shouldered his pack and struck off down the road.
Thinking of his good friend, Tendou Soun, he mumbled quietly to
himself, but not quietly enough. "The boy's going to be a big
disappointment when we get home."
<NANI?!?!> Ranma was thunderstruck - this was something
completely new. <What's Pops talkin' about?! Who'll be
disappointed at home?!> The realization that hit was terrible.
Who else? <MOTHER?!?!?!>
Visibly shaking, Ranma hefted his pack and plodded after his
father. His thoughts were having a hard time coalescing into
anything understandable, so he just followed along, allowing the
turmoil to settle into a dull ache.
"See that cooked duck hanging over there, boy?" Evening had
fallen, and Genma and Ranma had made it to a small village, a
half-day's walk from their next training stop. Genma, of course,
had blown what little money they still had left on Chinese beer
the night before.
"Yeah, so what." Ranma studied his fingernails.
Genma grimaced and leaned one hand against the building they were
hiding behind. "So *take* it, boy!"
"Ain't gonna." Ranma started to walk off, but Genma cuffed him on
the head again, glaring.
"You're such a disappointment, Ranma."
Ranma flinched, thinking of his mother again.
"Why, when I was training, we would..."
Tuning his father out, Ranma concentrated on stuffing away the
hurt, but he was unsuccessful. It quickly boiled into anger,
simmering just below the surface. <No way! She can't want me to
be like *him*!> Ranma's thoughts roiled, and he missed the rest
of Genma's anecdote.
"So, now do you see?" Genma finished.
Staring at the ground with his fists clenched, Ranma barely heard
his father's question. He looked up.
"Huh?"
Defeated, Genma slumped and then prepared himself for a try at
the duck hanging so tantalizing close yet so annoyingly far.
Genma grumbled to himself as he moved off, "What a disappointment
he'll be." <I hope you can see your way clear to honor our pact,
Tendou.>
Ranma's heart fell into his stomach. He felt like crying, but
that wouldn't be manly. <Can't do that! Pops is always harpin' on
the manly bit. At least I can be *that* for Mom.> He shuffled
away, not wanting to be around his father for a while.
The next day dawned bright and clear, the very opposite of
Ranma's mood. He shot Genma a deadly glare after being kicked
awake. <Don't push it, old man!> After scarfing down the meager
remains of the duck his father had left him, the two of them got
through their morning sparring session in record time. Ranma
pounded Genma into the dirt.
Genma was surly when he came to, and neither spoke as they broke
camp and proceeded down the road to the next training spot.
A few hours later, the road began to climb slightly, and Ranma
looked up. Genma had stopped and was comparing the Chinese
writings on a sign to the writing in a small book he'd been
carrying around for some time. Ranma sighed, tired of the all-
too-familiar futility that his father personified in certain
matters. A flash of sunlight caught his eye, and Ranma found
himself walking to the edge of the road and looking down the
slope.
A small brook wound its way through the stones. The clear water
seemed to laugh as it bounded and flowed through the obstacles.
In intermittent patches of soil, wildflowers had opened their
springtime faces to the sun and waved in the slight breeze. It
dazzled the eye with myriad shades of red, yellow, and blue.
Ordinarily, being who he was and doing what he did, Ranma
wouldn't have had time to notice the small wonders that
surrounded him. His current frame of mind, though, was in
desperate need of a soothing balm, and gazing at the scene before
him provided it. He became so lost in admiration that he failed
to hear his father walk up behind him.
"Beautiful..." Ranma said to himself.
Genma smirked. "Pretty, hey? I wonder how *manly* your mother
would think you are, looking at pretty flowers and shiny water.
'Shall we stop and freshen up at the stream, dear Mother?'
Yessiree, Momma's manly man!" Genma turned and walked back up the
road, chortling.
Ranma was a statue. His father wasn't acting like he usually did
when telling lies. He certainly ought to know; Genma told enough
of them. That left only the truth. Ranma tried desperately to
reconcile the picture of his mother his father was painting with
the dim memories he had of warmth and security. He failed.
Hanging his head, he once again plodded up the road. <Am I
already a disappointment to Mom? What am I gonna do?!> He trudged
along, barely keeping his father in sight. <Maybe Pops is right.
I guess it's thievin' for me. And the manly thing's always been
there. I guess I know why, now. A *manly* thief. Yeah... right.>
Ranma picked up his pace and soon caught up to the man in the
threadbare gi.
"Welcome, Sirs, to Training Ground of Accursed Springs,
Jusenkyo!" Ranma and Genma looked out at the numerous pools,
varying numbers of bamboo poles sticking out of each small body
of water. Ranma was silent, his thoughts still miles away, over
the China Sea.
"Errr, thanks," Genma said uncomfortably. The Guide was not in
his training plans for the day. He shrugged, dropped his pack,
and leapt to the nearest bamboo pole. "Ranma! Follow me!"
"ACK!! Sir! What you doing?! Very bad you fall in spring!" The
guide waved his arms frantically, trying to convey the urgency of
the situation.
Jarred from his thoughts, Ranma looked up and sighed. He dropped
his pack and jumped up to a pole, while his father bounced around
from pole to pole, getting the feel of the place. In the
meantime, the sun on the water had recaptured Ranma's attention,
and he stared into the brilliance reflected up from the pools.
<Mother...>
Ignoring the Chinese the yelling Guide had lapsed into, Genma
stopped, readying himself for battle, and was not a little
annoyed that his son seemed unaware of his surroundings. <Bah!
This'll teach him!> Genma leapt at Ranma.
<Mother--> "URK!!!" He hadn't even noticed his father coming at
him. Ranma described a textbook parabolic trajectory through the
air, terminating in one of the pools nearby. Ranma sank beneath
the surface, the water bubbled for a few seconds, and then all
was quiet.
"Oh, too bad," the Guide sang. "Young Sir fall in Nyanniichuan.
Very tragic story of young girl who drown there one-thousand,
five-hundred year ago."
Genma hopped over and peered down into the water. He leaned back
out of the spray as the surface broke, and one of the most
beautiful girls Genma had ever clapped eyes on looked up at him.
"Pops? EEP!!!" Genma was frozen in shock, and Ranma wasn't much
better, wondering what had happened to his voice.
"You see, Sirs. Nyanniichuan. Whoever fall in spring take body of
young girl."
Ranma *did* feel strange, so he looked down. He carefully felt
his chest, his dread growing. Grimacing, he opened his gi and
took in the sight of two magnificent breasts. <I'm a girl...> her
mind blandly stated. The color drained from her face, and her
hands fell to her sides, the gi still open and Genma still
staring. <It's all gone. Everything that I am.> Ranma looked up
at her father. She misread his unreadable expression for a lack
of emotion and caring instead of the shock that it was.
"See?" the Guide said. "You young girl."
Ranma stared at her father, seeing no pity, no love, nothing. An
all-too-easy picture with Genma. She began to shake, and terror
temporarily washed away any sane response. Her worst fears rose
unbidden, reflected in those dead eyes high on the pole. Manhood
gone. Honor gone. Only shame.
With an inarticulate scream, Ranma leapt out of the spring and
ran off back down the road that had brought them there. <I'm so
sorry, Mother...> She began to sob as she ran. The springs passed
out of sight, and the road suddenly turned to the left. With a
mighty leap, Ranma cleared the brush lining the turn and kept
going straight, over the countryside.
Genma, perched atop a pole, was still staring at the spot where
his son had become his daughter. He would come to regret his
inaction at that precise moment for the rest of his life.
A few minutes later he shook himself out of his daze and speared
the Guide with his eyes. "What -- just -- happened?!"
"Young Sir fall in Nyanniichuan, Spring of Drowned Girl. Very
tragic story of girl--"
"YES, YES! But what happened JUST NOW?!"
The Guide shrugged. "Fall in spring. Now young girl."
Genma boggled at the Guide. "You've GOT to be kidding--"
"Not trust eyes, no?" The Guide pointed at the pool.
Genma looked down at the pool, and then back to the Guide. "Can
it be cured?"
"No cure." The Guide shook his head sadly.
"Oh, no! NODOKA!!"
"Eh? What this nodoka?"
"NO, not what, who-- nevermind. What am I going to do?!"
The Guide shrugged again. "Find young Sir and take hot water."
"WHAT?!"
The Guide sighed. <Tourists!> "Cold water make curse happen. Hot
water change young Sir back... till next cold water, anyway."
Genma nearly fell off the pole and into the Nyanniichuan in
relief. "Thank you, Kami-sama!!" he whispered fiercely. <All
isn't lost, Tendou!>
The countryside had flattened out as Ranma had continued to run,
and she now found herself in a stretch of well-worked farm plots.
Pelting through the organized growth, she surprised many men and
women working the fields. She didn't stop or even acknowledge
them; she just ran.
In two hours, she finally reached a road and the end of her
stamina. She instantly collapsed onto a clear spot, lying on her
side and staring dully at the packed dirt. She had lapsed into
emotional numbness and was content to feel nothing.
The sun had crawled across the sky a minute distance when the
scuffling of hooves and the creak of an oxcart impinged on her
awareness. Ranma rolled her eyes to look at an elderly woman in
dull, mannish clothing looking down at her curiously.
"Are you all right?" the woman asked in Mandarin. Ranma simply
stared. "Do you speak Han?" Ranma recognized "Han" as the word
for Mandarin in the tongue. She wearily shook her head.
The woman sat back on her seat and studied the girl. <Hmmm. Not
Chinese. Didn't think so to begin with. She looks a little like
an American with the hair, at least, from what I've seen in
government films, yet the rest of her is from close by. Very
pretty. *Too* pretty to leave on the road, especially in the
shape she's in.>
The woman scooted over on the bench and patted the empty space,
pointedly looking at Ranma. Ranma blinked and, since she had no
better offer - make that no other offer at all - climbed up next
to the Good Samaritan.
The woman tapped herself on the sternum. "Wong Liu," she said.
Ranma smiled tiredly and repeated the gesture. "Saotome Ranma."
<Strange name,> Liu thought. A terrifying possibility occurred to
her. "Nyuuchiezuu?!" she asked shakily.
Ranma looked at her strangely and shook her head, not
understanding. Liu relaxed and chided herself; the Nyuuchiezuu
would've understood her. She shook the reins, and the two oxen
pulling the cart began to shuffle down the road.
"Arigatou, Wong-san."
Liu nodded, not understanding either but getting the gist of it.
She watched Ranma lapse into staring at the passing road. <Great
pain, there. I wonder what happened.>
The oxcart trundled slowly along and soon crested a hill, moving
out of sight. They were headed North.
----------
[March 22, 1990]
To say Genma was exasperated was an understatement. After taking
leave of the Guide, he'd traveled back down the road to the next
village. Asking after his son or the girl he could become, he
discovered that no one recalled having seen them other than when
they initially passed through. Or at least, that's what he'd
understood from the pidgin conversations he'd endured to find
that out. Thinking that Ranma could've passed through unnoticed,
he continued on to the next village, and the next, with the same
result.
His failed search brought him back, on this day, to the leg of
the road leading into Jusenkyo. He began to search the ground to
either side. Some hours later, he discovered a deep set of small
footprints just beyond the turn in the road. Cursing the fact
that the trail was a week old, Genma sighted back up the road and
then out over the countryside. He took off at a steady lope,
keeping one eye peeled for sign of his child's passing.
----------
[March 23, 1990]
He was at an impasse. The trail terminated at a road, running
North and South. Genma had been happy to discover that the
occasional farmer he'd run across had been able to convey to him
that a redheaded girl had blown through some days before. He had
continued on with a lighter heart. Until now.
There were no villages and few or no passers-by. The handful that
he'd asked simply shrugged and went on their way. He sat down on
the ground and began to think, an activity that didn't come
exactly natural to him. <If I were Ranma, which way would I have
gone? Hmmm. Where would I want to go? Well, home, of course.
Which road will take me there? South!> To his credit, Genma was
thinking as would a normal person, one not having to deal with
the trauma of a form-altering water curse... or living up to
certain promises made.
Happy that he'd deduced Ranma's intentions, Genma headed South.
South would be towards the ports that could take one to Japan...
and home.
----------
[October 10, 1991]
<Nerima?!> *COUGH, COUGH* <Didn't Pops say isn't that a pretty
rough ride back from where am I going, again?>
Ranma hunched over and put her hands on her knees, waiting for
the swirling in her brain to stop.
<Gah. I'm really sick. Can't even think straight.>
After a few moments, Ranma slowly rose to a slumped-over position
and looked around. Spying a place to sit down, unlikely to be
bothered by anyone, she shuffled over and fell on the three steps
leading to the entrance to an abandoned building. She lay there
without moving for about ten minutes before crawling up into the
alcove in complete exhaustion.
"Mother, I miss you!" she deliriously cried out in Chinese.
Ranma slept fitfully for almost a day-and-a-half, not moving from
her cover.
----------
[February 2, 1991]
*THOK!* *Chunk*
*THOK!* *Chunk-chunk*
The head of an axe came to rest on a splitting-stump, and the
wielder wiped his little bit of sweat against the sleeve of the
simple Chinese tunic he wore. He breathed in the crisp late
winter air and smiled. After years of the rough and tumble and
scrapes of life on the road, the quiet serenity of this simple
farm had done wonders for his state of mind and emotional health.
He picked up the last log to be split for the fire, for the cold
days and nights still to come, and set it on the stump.
*THOK!* *Chunk-chunk*
Satisfied that enough wood had been split, more than enough, as
Liu would probably point out, he quickly loaded the tinder onto
the cart behind him. He shouldered the pull-straps and walked to
the cottage.
Leaving the stacked cart outside, he went into the dwelling,
shook the snow off his boots, and looked for a kettle. <A nice
cup would hit the spot!> A commotion in the front room changed
his mind, and he wandered in to see who was here.
A middle-aged man, one of the village elders, Ranma remembered,
was speaking animatedly at Liu. He abruptly stopped speaking when
Ranma entered. The two men looked at each other for a moment, and
then the elder nodded to Liu and left.
Liu had slumped over in some kind of distress, and Ranma rushed
over. "What wrong, Liu-san? What he say?" Liu had been patiently
teaching Ranma the local version of Han, when time and the
demands of the farm permitted, but he'd stubbornly hung onto the
Japanese honorifics. "Liu-san?"
"Ranma." Liu turned around and fiercely hugged her friend and
housemate. She leaned away and looked up at the young man. "My,
how you've filled out since I first met you. But then, you were a
girl when we crossed paths." Liu smirked mischievously at him.
"Ah! No remind Ranma. You no answer, Liu-san."
The old woman sighed. "If I were forty years younger and trained,
I'd fight them off and keep you for myself."
Ranma looked at her strangely. "What you mean?"
Liu's eyes began to tear. "Time for you to go."
"NANI?!" Ranma had to steady himself a little. "You no want
Ranma? Chase off?"
"No, child. You're the best thing that's happened to this old
woman since my husband died in one of the Party's stupid wars.
No, people are coming for you. You must leave before they arrive,
which is soon. They are already in the village."
"People?"
"Nyuuchiezuu."
Ranma started. He remembered Liu saying that word when they first
met, and he'd since heard it spoken in whispers in the village.
"Who Nyuuchiezuu?"
"Bad news. Women warriors. They have a village near Jusenkyo, and
they claim Jusenkyo as theirs. Word of the few times you've
changed in public must've finally gotten to them. I would not see
you cast into their hands. Men are treated very badly by them.
Many acquaintances of mine have lost their able-bodied menfolk to
Nyuuchiezuu raids."
Ranma stood straight. "Martial artist. Fight off!"
"Fight off twenty well-armed and well-trained warriors? Most
carry swords and know how to use them."
Ranma wilted. "Call, ano, authorities?"
"They would ignore it, as they have since anyone can remember.
There is no choice, child. You must leave. Now!"
Clearly unhappy, Ranma tried to stand his ground.
Liu sighed and hugged Ranma again. "It is my wish. Will you go
against my wishes?"
"...!" After Liu released him, Ranma sat down heavily in a nearby
chair, the weight of his situation bearing down on him. "I honor
you wish," he whispered.
Liu pasted a smile on her face. "Good! Go pack. Make it quick.
I'll put together a little food for you."
Ranma dragged himself up and entered the one bedroom of the
house. He looked at Liu's bed against the wall on one side of the
room, and then at his against the opposite wall. <I'll miss this
place. And Liu.> Sighing again, he quickly gathered his things
into a makeshift pack and returned to Liu.
"That was fast!"
Ranma just shrugged, depression beginning to settle in.
"Here." She handed him a bundle of hardy foodstuffs wrapped up in
cloth. Ranma took the bundle and set in on the counter. He
grabbed the old woman up in a crushing hug. "You mother for
Ranma," Ranma choked out. "Help Ranma. Teach Ranma. Make feel
good even with curse. No want leave!"
Liu, crying freely, beaned him on the head. Surprised, Ranma let
her go. He then smiled at her wet face. She swatted his behind.
"'Mother' says go! The Elders will stall only so long with the
Nyuuchiezuu. Go!"
Ranma took Liu's care package in hand and stumbled out the back
door, dazed by the sudden tragic turn in his life.
"Go South!" Liu called. Ranma nodded absently and took off across
the field. He was glad Liu couldn't see his tears as he turned
around one last time to see his friend. Liu shooed him, and he
turned, disappearing over the rise.
Liu sobbed for a few minutes, and then shuffled in and put the
kettle on. There was no way she'd get anything done, today. Her
heart just wasn't in it. She dried her face and waited.
Soon, the kettle was hot enough, and Liu poured herself a cup of
tea. She sat down in her chair in the front room and brooded.
The front door abruptly shattered and fell in. Several grim
women, garishly dressed and armed to the teeth, walked in.
"Tell us where he is," the young leader with the purple hair
commanded.
Liu sipped her tea and smiled. Sixty years of manhandling a farm
had made her tough, as well. "Gone. Back to Jusenkyo to look for
the Nanniichuan."
"You lie. That doesn't work."
Liu was genuinely surprised. "He didn't know. Hmmm, if you were
cursed with a *man's* body and not being any wiser, wouldn't you
think of the Nyanniichuan?"
The lead Amazon chewed on her lip, digesting the possibility. She
quickly made her mind up. "Let's go."
The women filed out and disappeared into the fields.
Liu set her cup down and went out back to find some boards to
nail over the front doorway. It would be a cold night, regardless
of what temporary measures she took. She noted the oversized
stack of chopped wood in the cart by the backdoor and smiled,
crying anew and blessing her one-time son.
____________________
[October 11, 1991]
Cold rains had been drenching the Nerima Ward of the Greater
Tokyo Metropolitan Area for the last two days, and pedestrians
were going out for the evening dressed in warm and somewhat
water-proof clothing and toting countless umbrellas, most of them
yellow.
One man, carrying such a yellow umbrella, was stepping briskly
along the shiny streets. He was returning from a call for his
services, midwiving a young woman trapped in an elevator due to a
sudden power outage, and was humming a happy little tune. He
smiled as he stomped in a puddle just for the joy of it. Of
course, the yellow rain boots he also wore took away any worries.
He looked up and saw the entrance to the clinic he ran a couple
of blocks up. He quickened his pace.
A loud and congested sneeze brought him to a halt. Tracking the
noise, he spied a curled-up figure in the entry alcove of an
abandoned storefront. Normally, the derelict figure would not
have been approached, but this particular man was unusual in two
important respects.
First, he was a doctor. Helping others was his calling in life,
even if many of his colleagues would still have passed by,
cultural biases directing their behavior. Second, he was a top-
notch martial artist, and his sensitivities had been attuned to
pick up on certain aptitudes and qualities in the people he met.
His sensitivities were screaming at him as he looked at the young
girl wedged into the alcove. The girl's aura, while unfocused and
suffering from illness, was astoundingly strong. Adjusting his
glasses, Dr. Ono Toufuu crossed the street to stand over the
girl.
"Konbanwa."
With bleary eyes, the young girl looked the man over. Toufuu
grimaced as a coughing fit shook her slight frame, and she spat a
mass of green phlegm at the other wall of the alcove.
"You're ill. Influenza, I'd expect."
The girl focussed on him again. "What's it to ya?" she muttered.
Toufuu sighed and squatted down at the entrance, bringing him eye
to eye with her bloodshot crystal blues. "I'm a doctor."
Ranma snorted and looked away. "So what. I ain't got no money. I
ain't got nothin'."
Toufuu looked at her critically. "Would you rather die in the
cold?"
"Maybe," she rasped. "There're worse things."
The despair in her voice rocked Toufuu, but he managed not to let
it show. The girl looked back and studied him.
"You ain't no doctor. You're a martial artist. From what I know,
they don't mix."
Toufuu adjusted his glasses again. "Then maybe you don't know as
much as you think." He reached into his overcoat and pulled out
his card, handing it to her. She took it guardedly, and looked it
over. <Ono Toufuu...>
She flipped the card back at him. "Okay. So you're a doctor *and*
a martial artist. Don't mean nothin' ta me." She turned back to
her examination of a stone in the wall across from her.
Instead of answering, Toufuu stood and held out his hand, waiting
patiently. The girl looked at him askance. "Told ya. Got no
money."
"So you'll work it off when you're better." The hand still
waited. The girl bit her lip. Her fevered mind was not clear
enough for her to make command decisions, so she had to decide if
she could trust him. She'd been burned often enough over the last
few months, trusting when she shouldn't have.
Her body convulsed as another fit took her. She stared at the
mottled blob she'd just ejected from her lungs, and that made her
decision. Without looking, she scrabbled for his hand and found
it.
Toufuu smiled and hauled her to her feet. She stumbled, but he
caught her, unintentionally mashing her breasts. Once he got her
back on her feet, he said, "Ano... gomen."
The girl snorted again. "Eight months on the road. Ya get used to
it. Perverts, all of 'em!"
Toufuu nodded and began to walk her down the street. "By the way,
is there a name to go with the attitude?"
The girl thought for a moment. "Ranma." At the doctor's
hesitation, she said, "That's all... for now."
"Ranma," Toufuu said. "Interesting name."
"Yeah," Ranma chortled raggedly, "sort of like bein' named 'East
Wind'."
Toufuu laughed out loud and was graced with a smile from Ranma.
"You get used to it," he said.
The pair limped up the final two blocks to the clinic entrance,
each having passed the first of many tests between them.
"First is a warm bath... or shower, if you prefer. Then I want to
examine you." Toufuu helped Ranma up the stairs to his apartment.
Ranma started, but the sudden motion brought on another fit. When
it subsided, she said, "Warm shower. May not be a good idea. The
warm, I mean."
"Huh? Well, you certainly can't take a *cold* one." They began
climbing the stairs again.
"Believe in magic, sensei?" Ranma had to stop at the top of the
stairs and catch her breath.
Toufuu looked at her oddly. "Maybe. I've certainly seen some
strange things in my studies. Why?"
Ranma barked a ragged laugh. "Well, it's about to get stranger.
You may wanna toss me back out, when you see." When it was
apparent nothing more was forthcoming, Toufuu supported Ranma
through the door and into his bathroom. He moved to leave.
"No. Stay. Might as well see this now." The pain in Ranma's voice
was quite apparent. "Tired of trying ta hide this. Folks chasin'
me away when they see." Ranma began to slough off her clothing,
and Toufuu started looking uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, sensei. I ain't got nothin' ya ain't already
seen... yet." Ranma snickered to herself. Toufuu wondered if the
fever was affecting her mind.
Now fully nude, Ranma walked carefully to the shower and turned
on the hot water. When it had heated sufficiently, she turned on
the cold to adjust the temperature. Before she stepped in, Ranma
looked back at her benefactor.
"Don't blink, now," she giggled hoarsely.
<Yes, definitely the fev--> Toufuu's jaw dropped as the pretty
little redhead suddenly added several kilos of mass, rose in
height, and became obviously male, her... his hair shifting to
black. The running shower water had visually fuzzed the process,
but it was clear enough. A memory of something once read tickled
the back of his mind, but the shock was too much for his mental
functions to dredge up.
Ranma chose a cloth and some soap and began to scrub his body. He
looked over. Toufuu was still staring, although he was in the
process of slowly closing his mouth. "Shocking, ne?" a deeper
voice inquired.
Toufuu shook himself and adjusted his glasses out of habit.
"Um... There must be quite a tale behind that, er, son. Ano...
are you male or female?"
"Male. The girl body's a curse."
Old information flooded Toufuu's mind. Curse... Hot water...
"Jusenkyou," he said.
Ranma looked over sharply, and then slowly turned back to his
washing. "When... when I'm finished, I'll leave. Ya don't want
some freak hangin'--"
"Nonsense." Toufuu had gotten over the shock and was speculating
on the difficulties such a condition must've caused on the road.
"The last thing you need is to be back out in that weather.
Besides, you'll still have to work off your treatments, and I
have need of an assistant. I think you'll do fine."
Ranma was in shock, this time. He stared at the kindly doctor for
several heartbeats before falling to his knees, shaking. Toufuu
moved to help, but before he got there, Ranma had passed out from
the various kinds of fatigue he'd been suffering from. Toufuu
shut off the water and picked Ranma up in his arms. He tottered
down the stairs and into the examination room, laying the
unconscious boy on the table dominating the area.
Toufuu sat heavily in a chair and considered the young man. <Such
pain.> His eyes refocused, and he studied Ranma's aura. <And such
potential. I'd be no healer to let that waste away.> His mind
made up and his intentions firmed, Toufuu went about his
examination.
----------
[November 3, 1991]
Ranma was mopping the waiting room for the clinic, in which he
worked and lived. The regular patient hours were over, but that
didn't mean the visitors stopped. There were frequently needs to
be met off-hours, and Ranma had come to understand and enjoy the
constant ebb and flow of crises around his patron. His respect
for Toufuu-sensei grew daily as he witnessed healing arts
performed and little kindnesses bestowed. He'd also learned to
get the hell out when a certain young woman came by to visit or
borrow books.
He chuckled. That certain young lady, a one Tendou Kasumi, had
even captivated Ranma a little, but it was clear she was
interested in Toufuu. And it was more than clear that Toufuu was
plain, head-over-heels in love with Kasumi. Everyone knew it,
except, it seems, Kasumi herself. <Odd,> he thought, <she doesn't
really strike me as the dense type, although she acts like it
sometimes.> A rapid knocking at the entrance interrupted his
musings.
Ranma walked over, unlocked the door, and stuck his head out.
"Hai?"
The girl standing there blinked and then smiled. "Oh, you must
Toufuu-sensei's new assistant. Kasumi told us about you."
Ranma nodded. "Yeah." <Man, she's cute!> "Are you Kasumi's
sister?"
The girl twirled her foot on the pavement. "Yeah, I'm Tendou
Akane." Akane started when she realized she was blushing. <ARGH!
It's just another *boy*!> Schooling her features, she said, "Um,
is Toufuu-sensei in? I kinda, er, hurt myself."
Ranma wondered at the change in her manner. "Uh, yeah. C'mon in.
Sensei says the Tendous are always welcome." He laughed.
"Especially Kasumi." His good humor fled when he saw the anger
rise in Akane. "Heh, anyway, just a minute." He hotfooted it into
the examination room.
Toufuu was busy inventorying his prescription medications. "Errr,
Sensei? There's a Tendou Akane to see ya. Might wanna be careful.
Seems mad about somethin'."
Toufuu laughed. "Akane does have something of a temper." He
paused. "Are you sure you don't want to tell them? It might help
you find your mother."
Ranma sighed and fidgeted. He finally shook his head. "No, if old
man Tendou is a friend of Pops, then tellin' him will only cause
trouble. And anyway, I don't figure Mom'll wanna see me with this
curse, not from what I've heard. The Tendou girls wouldn't
understand what it's like, the thing with Mom. They'd probably
try ta help and only make it worse."
Toufuu's mouth drew a line. That was a lot of thoughts out of
Ranma at one go, and it was obvious from the various
conversations they'd shared, the boy had considered virtually all
the angles. The revelation about the Tendo Ryuu of Musabetsu
Kakutou had initially brought Ranma some hope, but he soon
remembered his father speaking of a Tendou he'd trained with and
had probably correctly deduced that the local Tendou was one and
the same.
Ranma had put it best once, he remembered. "It doesn't matter.
Not anymore. I was livin' those last days, thinkin' of Mom. I
don't think Pops was lyin', so if she expects me to be like Pops,
well... let her believe it as long as she can. I won't be the
reason she don't no more."
Finished with his reverie, Toufuu said, "I understand, Ranma.
Show Akane in, why don't you?"
Akane made many visits over the next couple of weeks, sometimes
for the sparsest of reasons. Everytime she talked with Ranma, she
had to remind herself that he was just a boy. Nothing more.
But Ranma was different. He was generally quiet, didn't do
anything to provoke her, and was genuinely funny on the rare
occasions he let his humor show through. She also felt a kindred
spirit in him - someone who'd suffered great pain and was
persevering.
Eventually, she stopped coming by on the pretense of seeing
Toufuu and simply came to visit with Ranma. No one had really
caught on to what she was doing, not even her nosy sister. Akane
relished the haven Toufuu's waiting room had become and the
friendly male voice that would talk with her.
It was in the third week that she stepped over the line.
Akane bounced happily into the waiting room and, as expected, saw
Ranma waiting there. The fact that he was working was incidental.
She plopped down on the couch next to where he was sweeping and
smiled.
"Hi!"
"Hi, yourself!" Ranma said, putting down the broom and sitting
next to her. "How was school?"
"Oh, you know. Same old stuff."
"I hear you're havin' some troubles in the mornin's."
Akane scowled. "Don't worry about it. I can handle it," she said
sharply.
Ranma made a peace gesture by holding his hands up with the palms
out. Akane grinned ruefully.
"Gomen. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Let's forget
it." She thought for a second. "By the way, can I ask you a
question?"
Ranma's eyes flashed, but he stayed steady. "I guess..."
"Why aren't you attending Furinkan?"
"Oh, that," he said relieved. "Errr, Sensei got me some private
tutors, instead."
"Did he get you a speech coach, too?" she smirked.
"Ha. Ha." Ranma made a face at her, and Akane giggled. It wound
down, and she turned serious.
"Really, though. Aren't tutors expensive?"
"Yeah, but Sensei trades doctor visits for them. He says free
medical stuff is very, ah, persuasive."
Akane smiled knowingly. "I can imagine. Nabiki was very proud of
herself when she finagled a family rate out of him."
Akane's mood abruptly shifted when she clasped her hands together
in her lap and stared at her fingers. "Ah... Ranma?"
"Hmmm?" Ranma's mind had wandered somewhere, and he looked at her
again. "Gomen."
"Um, I was wondering," Akane straightened the skirt to her
uniform, "if, ah, you'd like to, erm, comeoverfordinnertonight."
Ranma squinched his nose, trying to decipher the last run-
together bit, but when he did, he grew afraid. He stood up and
grabbed his broom, resuming his chores.
Akane looked at him with a slightly hurt expression. "Ranma?"
"I'm sorry, Akane, but I can't. I, uh, have stuff ta do." He
busied himself sweeping the same spot of floor.
Akane's slight hurt became anger. She stood up and stomped in
front of him. "And WHY NOT?! Are we Tendous not good enough or
something? Am *I* not good enough?!"
Ranma sighed and stopped sweeping. He leaned against the broom
and closed his eyes. "Nothin' like that. I just... can't. That's
all." Ranma resumed sweeping.
"What?! You can tell me!" Akane pleaded. Ranma stopped again, and
looked her in the eye.
"No. I can't. You wouldn't understand. No one understands." He
shuffled across the room, moving the broom back and forth in
front of him.
Akane stood there a moment, tears beginning to run down her face,
and then she ran out the door. Ranma stared at the drops of
moisture on the floor and cursed himself. <Shouldn't have let
myself get so close! Damn it!>
"Ranma."
Ranma jumped in surprise and spun around. Toufuu stood there
looking at him sadly. "Would it have been so bad?"
"No... If it'd been anyone but the Tendous, no, it wouldn't."
Toufuu shook his head. "You can't hide forever, you know.
Someday, you'll have to let someone else in."
Ranma didn't answer and went back to sweeping.
----------
[December 21, 1991]
A few more weeks had passed, and Akane had stopped by only once,
and it had been to really see the doctor. Ranma could tell she'd
had to steel herself. He also felt her longing gaze when his back
was turned. He'd tried to say something to her before she walked
out, but the words wouldn't come. That was one week ago.
Ranma walked down from the apartment he and Toufuu shared, a
satisfying lunch settling nicely in his stomach. He went to the
front door, collected the day's mail, and set it on Toufuu's desk
in his office. He walked outside and set about cleaning the
sidewalk and steps.
He'd brought a scrubbing brush and a bucket with him, and the
bucket was soon full from the outside tap. Ranma squirted some
cleaner into the water and gently stirred it with a stick he kept
for the purpose. Holding the bucket at arms length, he climbed
the few stairs to the clinic entrance and set the bucket down. He
carefully dipped the bristles of the brush into the liquid and
swirled it slowly. Applying the wet brush to the stone, he
scrubbed at the dirt and algal growth that had appeared since the
last cleaning. He worked diligently, part of his mind on the
work, part on the passers-by, and the rest lost to thought. He'd
nearly finished the upper landing, when one part of his awareness
noted that someone had stopped.
"Ranma."
He turned to see Akane standing at the bottom step. Overflowing
water washed shallowly around her shoes. "Hi, Akane." He went
back to scrubbing.
"I, um, wanted to apologize for making a big fuss that day."
Akane's head was down, and her hands were clasped in front of
her.
Ranma sat back on his wet shins, mentally keeping track of how
much of his body was damp.
"That's okay," he said. "It's... no big deal."
"Yes it is!! I..." She stopped, then more calmly, "I shouldn't
have pushed like that. Whatever it is that you won't say, I hope
someday you can tell me."
Ranma didn't say anything for a moment. Then he bent back over
and resumed scrubbing. "It's not... easy."
A running man came into view up the street.
Ranma stopped and thought for a second, then said, "It's outside
of what most folks want to believe... or can believe." He sat
back on his shins again. "There're some stuff in the world,
Akane, that... that..."
The running man was abruptly upon them. He dashed up the steps
and blew through the open door, kicking Ranma's bucket as he
went.
Akane gasped. Where that cute guy had sat, the guy Akane had
finally realized had wormed his way into her heart, was a
beautiful redheaded girl. Her wet clothes clung to her body,
leaving no doubt as to the completeness of her gender. Akane's
head began shaking back and forth.
Ranma looked down and closed her eyes. "Now do you understand?"
she sadly asked, the pitch of her voice punctuating the change.
She looked up to see Akane running back the way she came. "No...
I guess ya don't."
Without bothering to return to her normal gender, Ranma bent down
and mechanically continued to clean.
After dumping the remaining water in the bucket down the short
stairway, Ranma put the cleaning materials up and shuffled back
into the clinic, wringing her clothes out as best she could
without taking them off. The man that had triggered her change
passed her on his way out, giving her an odd look.
"Caught you, huh?" Smiling, Toufuu was leaning against the
doorway to the examination room. Ranma nodded.
"Did I hear you talking to someone?"
"Akane... stopped by... to say she was sorry for gettin' mad at
me." Ranma kicked off her slippers and walked towards the stairs
to the apartment level. Toufuu's smile had dropped.
"Did she--"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"And nothin'." Ranma stopped at the first step. "She ran off."
She put a damp hand on the wall and put her forehead against it.
"I hate this place, sometimes."
A grim line formed between Toufuu's lips. "Careful what you wish
for."
Ranma turned her head against her hand. "Huh?"
"Come back down when you're cleaned up. We have to talk."
Male and freshly laundered, Ranma went into Toufuu's office and
plopped down in the patient chair.
"What's up?"
Toufuu leaned back and adjusted his glasses. He picked up a piece
of paper from the desk and waved it in the air.
"This came in the mail, today. I'm moving."
"What?!" Ranma sat up straight in the chair.
"I've been offered a teaching practice at my old university. It's
not something I can turn down and expect to advance in my
career."
Ranma settled back and let the information soak in.
Toufuu allowed him a minute to think, then said, "So. You have a
choice, now. Do you want to stay here, or come with me?"
Ranma snorted. "What choice?" He then reconsidered his words.
"No, that's not fair to ya." He clasped his hands in his lap. "If
ya want me, I'll gladly come with ya. You're... well..."
Toufuu smiled warmly. "I think I know what you're trying to say.
Which brings me to another matter, one I was planning on waiting
till Christmas to tell you, but I think you could stand to hear
it now."
He definitely had Ranma's attention.
The doctor opened a lower drawer to his desk and began pulling
papers out, continuing to speak as he did so.
"I have, over the last couple of months, come to an interesting
conclusion concerning you." He stopped what he was doing and
pointedly looked at Ranma. "I've decided that my life would be
much poorer without you in it." He resumed scrabbling around in
his desk drawer. Ranma gulped, nervous as to the coming
revelation.
"I've come to depend on you for help in the clinic, on your
friendship, and..." he plopped a stack of papers on the leather
desktop, "the sense of family you've brought to my life. The
whole thing actually quite surprised me, when I realized it."
Toufuu shrugged and continued, looking Ranma in the eye again,
"And since you're not willing to seek out your own family...
That's still how you feel about it, ne?"
Ranma nodded.
"I still don't think things are as bad as you paint them, but
then, I didn't experience your father first hand, as you did. If
half of what you've told me is true, well... I'm not sure I want
you going back to him, either. However, this family-name limbo
you're in is going to cause you some problems... very soon."
Ranma was silent.
"I have a solution, if you'll agree to it."
Ranma leaned forward, indicating for him to continue.
"I'd like to transfer you to the Ono family register, adopted as
my son."
Ranma fell out of his chair. Toufuu stood and looked over his
desk. "Ranma?"
Ranma climbed up from the floor. "Ah! HAHA! WOW!! I wasn't
expecting that!" Ranma settled himself back into the chair, a
silly grin covering his face. "I... uh... Jeez! Why? I mean,
don't get me wrong, but you've only known me a couple'a months.
Why?"
The chair creaked as Toufuu seated himself. "I like to think I'm
a good judge of character, Ranma, and from what I've seen, you'd
bring honor to the Ono name, regardless of what you do with your
life. Besides," his eyes glinted from behind his glasses, "you
have certain, ah, potentials that shouldn't be wasted."
"I haven't really talked to you about this yet, since your
recovery from one of the worst cases of flu I've ever seen was
slow, but one of the things I was trained to do was to read a
person's aura. When I first met you, out on the street, ill and
confused, your aura was inconceivably strong. The first thing
that came to my mind was that this girl... sorry, this person has
amazing potential as a healer."
Ranma almost fell out of his chair again.
"A healer?" he squeaked, gripping the chair arms.
"I feel that once my old teachers get a good look at *you*,
they'll be beating a path to your door."
"But... but... I ain't had no proper schoolin'. Hell, I can't
even talk right!"
Toufuu laughed. "All that can be fixed." He turned serious.
"Ranma, you don't have to be a healer. You can be anything you
want, and my adoption offer will still stand. It isn't contingent
on your career choice."
Ranma smiled in acknowledgement.
"I just want you to think about it, and I want you to know that
you have great potential for a healer. Just think about it. We've
certainly got some time. We've got to move, after all, and you
have much tutoring to finish before you have to make any
decision."
Ranma steepled his fingers and moved them up and down for several
moments in the silence of the room. An expression of sadness
washed over his features.
"What... what about the, ah, oldest Tendou daughter?" he asked.
Toufuu bowed his head and studied his intertwined fingers. After
a moment, he said, "I... I... ...!"
"Sensei?" Ranma prodded him softly.
Toufuu looked up, and Ranma saw a single tear tracking down his
right cheek. The doctor's eyes were unfocused, looking into some
deep part of his psyche. Ranma chose to wait him out.
After about five minutes of silence, Toufuu's eyes abruptly
focused on Ranma. "What...?" He sighed. "How long was I gone,
that time?"
Ranma snickered. "Not very."
A rueful smile tweaked the corners of the older man's mouth.
"We're a pair, aren't we? The women we, er, 'like a lot' are
sisters, but we're separated from them: me by what happens to me
on the inside, and you by what happens to you on the outside."
Ranma shrunk into his chair.
"Gomen," Toufuu said. "I didn't mean to pick at your wound." He
took in a deep breath and exhaled. "But it doesn't change
anything. I haven't been able to, um, get past certain, ah,
inhibitions before this came up," he wagged the same piece of
paper, "and now it's a moot point. I can no more refuse this than
I can refuse eat or drink. I owe these people honor debts. I'm
sure you understand."
Ranma slowly blinked.
Toufuu pasted a smile on his face. "So! What about my offer?"
Ranma shook himself and settled into his chair, going back to
squinching his fingers up and down. He thought about what the
step would mean. It was a divorce of sorts, a cutting-off from
who he'd been and from the people, or person, who had gotten him
there. <Pops!> he thought, frowning. <Well, he'll be happy about
one thing. I don't plan on givin' up the Art.> Ranma abruptly
stood and bowed formally to his mentor.
"I would be honored to be added to your family, Sensei." He
straightened and looked at Toufuu with a mercenary gleam in his
eye. "And I *will* think about what ya said... 'bout healin'. But
ya hafta teach me what ya know about martial arts. I seen ya
practicin', and ya got some interestin' moves."
Toufuu smiled at the playful change in Ranma's demeanor and
slapped his hand on the desk. "Deal!"
____________________
[April 4, 1993]
"Saotome-kun!"
A sopping wet Genma stood in the foyer of the Tendou household.
The storm raging outside had blown his umbrella away, not that it
had helped much; the rain was almost horizontal.
"Tendou."
"Come in, come in! Good lord, let's get you out of those clothes!
Kasumi!!" Tendou Soun called back into the main part of the
house.
Tendou Kasumi stepped out of the kitchen. "Yes, Father?"
"Get one of my gi's, please. My friend, here, is cold to the
bone. And some tea and a blanket, when you can."
"Yes, Father." Ever the dutiful daughter, Kasumi went about
gathering the necessary items. Soun led his silent friend to the
bathing room. Kasumi followed shortly after with a fresh gi.
"Here, Saotome-kun. Get cleaned up and join me in the tearoom."
The silent man nodded, and Soun and his daughter left him to his
ablutions.
Soun sipped his tea and watched the rain alternate between
falling down at an angle to blowing directly across his field of
view. Kasumi walked in, drying her hands on a dishtowel.
"Father, did you say 'Saotome'?" She knelt at the table. "Is that
the same man you were telling us about from that postcard a long
time ago? Something about a prearranged marriage?"
Soun set his tea down and sighed. "Yes, daughter. That's him, and
he was supposed to have been here shortly after we received that
card. Something must have happened, since he's here now, years
late, without a son." He reached over and patted her hand. "Let's
wait and see what he has to say."
Kasumi nodded, settling in, and poured herself a cup of tea, as
well.
Genma, scrubbed and in a clean, if somewhat tight, gi, hesitated
before joining his old friend. There would be no celebrations
from this visit. Genma hung his head. When Ranma had disappeared,
a large part of his soul had disappeared with him. Genma
straightened and schooled his features. Time to tell Tendou the
news. He walked into to the tearoom, catching the attention of
Soun and his daughter.
"Satome-kun. Please, sit and get warm."
Kasumi stood with a blanket in her hand and walked behind Genma,
setting the cover over his shoulders. Genma smiled his thanks and
drew it around him.
"I gather by your unannounced appearance - without a son - that
your news is not good," Soun began as Kasumi took her place at
the table again.
Genma shook his head sadly and took the cup of tea proffered by
Kasumi. He took a warming sip and said, "I lost him, Tendou. The
last I saw of him was in the Bayankala mountain range, Northern
China... over two years ago."
"Oh, no," Kasumi whispered. "What happened? Did he run off?" Soun
nodded at her questions.
"Yes, but not like you might think. *sigh* Do you believe in
magic, Tendou?"
"Well... I think so. The, um, Master certainly knew an odd thing
or two."
"Believe *me*, then. It does exist, and in ways you can't
imagine. It all began at our last training stop before we were
supposed to leave China, a place called Jusenkyou..."
"...and the girl's trail stopped and disappeared at that road. No
one had seen her after that. I assumed she would head South, to
the ports, but I never caught a whiff. I've searched high and low
for many, many months, but it was like she, er, he had vanished
off the face of the Earth." Never once did Genma refer to his
child by name.
The room was very quiet for several long moments. Soun's eyes had
begun to tear; he feared for the fate of the boy and for the
future of the Art.
Kasumi was lost in her own thoughts. After the furor from the
announcement that one of them would have to marry Saotome's son
had died down, Kasumi had gradually begun to entertain happy
little fantasies about this mysterious young man. Now knowing why
he'd never arrived, her heart went out to him. She would pray for
him at the shrine of her ancestors.
"Father? What was his name again?"
"Ranma. It was Ranma," Soun said sadly.
"Oh, yes. I remember now." A puzzled expression settled on her
face. <That's funny. I knew a Ranma not too long ago.>
Soun noticed his daughter's expression. "Something wrong, Kasumi-
chan?"
Kasumi jumped a little, and then waved her hand in a dismissive
gesture. "No, no. Nothing to do with this, I'm sure."
Sound turned to his friend and began to console him.
Kasumi, however, was still thinking. <What was his family name? I
don't think I ever knew. I thought he was related to Toufuu-
sensei somehow.> She shrugged and stood to walk back into the
kitchen. <'Ranma' *is* unusual, though...>
The sound of humming soon drifted into the tearoom, Kasumi's
thoughts already on other, more immediate concerns.
END PART 1
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