Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ Ranma’s and Ryouga’s Reunion ( Chapter 86 )

A Light in the Darkness - Part 86: Ranma's and Ryouga's Reunion
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

 

PAIRING: Vegeta/Bulma, Yamcha/Hakusai
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: none
C&C: Please! ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. At least all of the ones with hair. And yes, we're including Yamcha, Ranma, and Ryouga in that, now you know. Dragonball Z and the associated characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation. Ranma 1/2 and the characters of Ranma Saotome and Ryouga Hibiki are owned by Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, and some Japanese studio I don't know the name of. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball or Ranma 1/2 themselves. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic. We just have fun writing it. Oh, I guess we do own Hakusai and Serori. But I doubt anyone cares. ^_~
SUMMARY: Ranma wakes up and learns that he's an alien.

NOTES: The rest of this story is completely unbeta'd, as I can't seem to find a beta who will be as brutal or thorough as I like, and will get me chapters back in what I feel is a timely manner. I have, however, had training as an editor, and I've edited the remainder of this pretty thoroughly. I would simply like people to be aware that no one else has gone through it to catch any errors or inconsistencies, so it may be more flawed than I realize.

 

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Vegeta was right; the monitors indicated that Ranma's injuries had been healed. Bulma knew the injuries hadn't been that extensive, but their location had made them extremely dangerous. She noted that Ryouga had moved towards the tank almost instinctively, numerous conflicting emotions warring on his visage. Bulma couldn't even recognize most of them as they flickered and changed so quickly.

 

When the liquid was drained from the tank, Bulma opened the chamber. Ryouga stepped forward quickly, catching Ranma as he started to fall. Trunks and Bulma began systematically removing the monitoring electrodes, even as Ryouga held the pig-tailed boy firmly in his arms.

 

Ranma groaned as Ryouga held him and he shook his head slightly. He shifted and gradually opened his eyes, then noticed the crowd around him. It took several minutes for everything to penetrate his grogginess, as he realized that he was unclothed, and that there was a crowd around him that consisted of women as well as men. He blushed then, and abruptly covered himself in embarrassment.

 

“Ryouga! Why'd you do this to me?” he accused the other boy, unconsciously turning to the belief that somehow Ryouga had been doing something to humiliate him. Ryouga, however, wasn't listening; his eyes were fastened rather firmly on the tail that was attached to the backside of the boy he was holding.

 

Bulma's gaze followed Ryouga's and she nodded. “Yes, that does rather clinch it, doesn't it? Well, Ryouga, say hello to your brother!”

 

Ranma stared at her, and then stared at Ryouga, who was looking at him enigmatically. “What the hell are you talking about?!?” he shouted at them, suddenly forgetting about his nudity in his shock. “I ain't Ryouga's brother! We ain't even close to bein' related!”

 

Ryouga's expression didn't change, but he reached behind the other boy and lifted his sensitive tail. Ranma's eyes widened in shock at the feelings it suddenly invoked in him, and he straightened in surprise. He didn't even want to think about how it made him feel; although he had no idea what Ryouga was doing to him, he didn't like it at all.

 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?” he shouted at Ryouga in anger, even as the other boy brought the end of his tail to his face.

 

Ranma had no idea what it was and grabbed it angrily, and as Yamcha had experienced a little over a week ago, he found himself doubled up on the floor of the infirmary in agony.

 

“What the hell...?!?”

 

Bulma sighed and bent down next to him, running her hand soothingly down his back. “You'd better be careful about that,” she said quietly. “Saiyan tails are sensitive; you can hurt yourself that way.”

 

Ranma blinked at her in confusion and disbelief. “How the hell do I have a tail?” he demanded.

 

Bulma opened her mouth, blinked, shut her mouth, shook her head, and sighed as she stood up. “Can someone else please explain it to him?” she asked in a plaintive tone. “I don't think I can at the moment.”

 

“Do you want the long version or the short version?” Hakusai asked, grinning at the young boy. “If we give him the long version it may take awhile.”

 

Vegeta snorted. “You are only half human,” he said simply. “Your mother was a Saiyan scientist. Our race is almost extinct.”

 

Goku nodded. “There are only three full-bloodied Saiyans now,” he said catching Ranma's attention. “Vegeta, Hakusai, and I are the only full-bloodied Saiyans left. Ryouga, my son, Yamcha, and you are half Saiyan.”

 

“Baka!” Vegeta snapped at the younger man. “There are other Saiyans. You are forgetting about Yamcha's mother.”

 

Hakusai made a face the others couldn't read. “Assuming they are still alive, there may be more of our race left than Frieza had bargained for.”

 

“It doesn't matter since Kakarotto killed him,” Vegeta remarked.

 

Goku smiled reassuringly at the boy. “I know how you feel, Ranma. I didn't know I was Saiyan until my older brother showed up one day. It takes a while to get used to.”

 

Ranma was staring at all of them in disbelief. “You're all nuts! What the hell is a Saiyan?”

 

Bulma laughed. “I can't argue with that. All Saiyans are a little psychotic.”

 

“Speak for yourself, woman.” Vegeta winced as he shifted to sit upright. “Saiyans are a warrior race from another planet.”

 

“Vegeta, don't you think you should explain it better than that?” Goku scratched his head. “I don't think you are helping very much.”

 

“What's to explain?” Vegeta asked. “It's not that hard to comprehend, although how your miniscule brain can understand anything is beyond me.”

 

“Now, now,” Hakusai chided. “Fight nice, children.” She turned her attention to Bulma. “Do you think we should put Vegeta into the tank now? He is getting cranky.”

 

“He always is. And we'll put him in there in just a moment.” Bulma studied Ranma, who still looked completely confused. “Saiyans are aliens, from a planet named Vegeta-sei. About twenty years ago it was destroyed by another alien of a different race named Frieza. Frieza didn't consider how many Saiyans were off-planet at that time, many of them doing his work, conquering other planets for his amusement. He was afraid of their potential power, so in his arrogance he belittled them and then destroyed them to eliminate their threat. But he was eventually killed by Goku, one of the few remaining Saiyans, in a battle that destroyed yet another planet. There aren't very many Saiyans left, but there are some, and you and your brothers are half Saiyan.”

 

Ranma stared at her, stared at each of them one at a time, and shook his head slowly. “You're all nuts. Aliens? Planets? You're crazy!”

 

“Then explain this,” Ryouga said quietly, lifting Ranma's tail again.

 

Ranma stared at it in horror. “What did you do to me? Why do I have a tail?”

 

Bulma sighed and sat down. “It's because you're Saiyan. Your mother was a bio-geneticist from Vegeta-sei, and when she was pregnant with you she modified your DNA to suppress certain genes. It was to protect herself, but I think it was also to protect you. She was planning to leave Chikyuu at the time and didn't want you to stand out too much. She knew it could cause you trouble, so she arranged for both of you to be adopted, and made you as human as she could. Just like she did for Yamcha, but she apparently didn't suppress his genes quite as well as she did yours. Perhaps because for him she didn't do the modifications until after he was born.”

 

“DNA?” The boy continued to stare at her blankly. He only had a vague idea what she had been talking about. Academics had never been his forte, let alone science.

 

Bulma nodded. “The tail is part of it. Saiyans are also very strong and very fast, and have very good senses. They also eat a lot and have strong ki.” She blinked when she realized he was simply staring at her with a kind of numb shock. “Ryouga, why don't you and Trunks give him something to wear and take him inside? It took you a while to adjust, and... I think it's going to take him a while, too.”

 

Ryouga nodded, as he took the pair of pants Bulma handed him. He gave them to Ranma, who pulled them on swiftly. For once neither Ranma nor Ryouga argued with one another as Trunks led both of them to the house to get something to eat.

 

Bulma sighed at Vegeta. “Now, before you kill yourself, I want to get you into the tank.” She looked at him critically. “You do realize this means your tail will grow back again, right?”

 

“So cut it off again,” Vegeta muttered. “It isn't that hard of a decision to make.”

 

Bulma looked at him dubiously. Despite the fact that he had pretended it hadn't hurt to remove it earlier, she knew it had. But she wasn't going to argue with him about it; she knew if he wanted it that badly he would do it, no matter the cost. Instead she simply walked over to him and looped his arm around her shoulders, allowing him to lean on her as she led him towards the tank.

 

“You'll have to get undressed, Vegeta.” Her eyes twinkled. “I promise I won't look.”

 

Vegeta smirked. “You'll have to help me. My ribs are broken.”

 

The Saiyan warrior winced as they reached the tank. He wasn't about to admit it hurt to breathe. He didn't want her to worry about him, so he pretended the pain he was in was not all that bad.

 

Vegeta didn't fool Bulma for a second, but she wouldn't hurt his pride by letting him know that. “Oh, of course you need help!” she teased him. “Which is why Goku is going to help us!” She giggled at Vegeta's glare of disgust, but the other Saiyan, oblivious to the underplay in their words, had immediately moved forward at Bulma's words, eager to help out where needed. “After all, I can't lift you on my own, can I?” Bulma's eyes got glittery, as she looked innocently at Vegeta. “Poor helpless little me....”

 

“Don't give me that `little helpless me' crap,” he muttered at her, and gave Goku a glare that would have stopped anyone else dead in their tracks. “Just give me a hand, woman.”

 

“Oh, it's ok, Vegeta,” Goku said. “I can help you. Really, it isn't that big of a deal.”

 

“Kakarotto, if you even think about touching me I will put you into orbit.” Vegeta turned his head when Hakusai barely managed to keep from laughing. She returned his glare with a grin and when Vegeta looked back at Goku, the younger man looked a little hurt. “Don't even think it.”

 

“Umm... Bulma, I think he wants you to help him,” Goku said, giving her one of his helpless looks.

 

Bulma shook her head in exasperation. “All right, Vegeta,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. When he glared at her, she shrugged. “Well, don't expect me to help you too much. I can't possibly lift you. You're going to have to undress yourself.” Then she arched an eyebrow at him. “Or did you really want me to undress you in front of an audience?”

 

Vegeta scowled at her. He had not thought of that. “I can lift myself,” he decided. “But getting this armour off will be a problem.”

 

“She is right, Vegeta. You need a little privacy.” Hakusai leaned towards Yamcha, pressed a kiss against his forehead, and stood up. “Come on, Goku. Let's leave them alone.” Goku nodded and followed her to the door. “You'll get me if Yamcha wakes?” she asked Bulma, turning towards her. “I want to be here when he does.”

 

Bulma nodded to her, and then arched an eyebrow at Vegeta as the other two Saiyans left them alone in the lab other than for the unconscious Yamcha. She knew Vegeta wouldn't be willing to do anything with Yamcha there - unconscious or not - and even if he was, she certainly wouldn't be. Besides which, she was well aware of how much pain he was in. Despite his attempts to hide it from her, she could still feel it through the bond, and knew what he was experiencing.

 

“Well, let's get that armour off you then, Vegeta.”

 

“Finally!” he complained, as she helped him slip his armour and clothing off. He could see the concern in Bulma's eyes when she looked at him. He knew he must be covered from head to foot with bruises and scrapes of all sizes. “It's nothing,” he told her when she looked up into his eyes after her silent perusal of him. “I have had worse.”

 

She sighed. “I know....” She remembered some of his old scars, proof that he indeed had taken much worse and still had lived. He no longer had them; his first visit to the tank had removed all of his old scars. But she remembered them, and with one finger traced down a memory of an old scar she remembered on his chest. It had been a deep one, right over his heart, and must have been difficult to survive. “I just wish you hadn't.”

 

“It was different then,” he responded quietly. “I was different then.” He shrugged. “Let's get this over with. I always end up feeling like a fish when I am in this thing.”

 

“Well, without it you'd be dead now,” she snapped acerbically, but she strapped the harness around him and placed the electrodes on his skin after he stepped into the open tank. She placed a swift kiss on his lips before she lowered the mask to his face. Then from the controls she closed the tank and began the process of filling it with liquid. Her eyes met his as they stared at each other while the tank filled, and she watched the matrix do its work and put him slowly to sleep as he submerged.

 

When he was finally completely asleep, she sighed and sat down, watching Vegeta carefully for any possible signs of stress or fatigue.

 

~~~*~~~

 

As Trunks led Ranma and Ryouga into the house, he shot them curious glances occasionally. He had never had the chance to know either of them; like Hakusai and Vegeta, they had died before he was born. He realized he should warn the others about that; he didn't want that part of history to repeat itself either. Even if he had to take on the enemy himself. He knew the cost of that battle, and didn't want to have to pay it again.

 

Ranma was frowning thoughtfully at the others. “Ryouga,” he said suddenly. “If I've got a tail because I'm a Saiyan, and you're my brother, why ain't you got a tail as well?”

 

Ryouga blinked and was unable to answer, because he wasn't entirely sure what had happened to his tail. It had been there when they had been training the previous day, and then at some point during their training he must have taken a ki blast that had burned it and his clothes off. He didn't remember exactly how it happened, but he guessed that must have been the case.

 

Before he could answer, however, Trunks was already replying. “Because his tail got cut off,” he replied quietly. “Just like mine did. Because it's dangerous for us to have tails. If we have a tail when the moon gets full, we go Oozaru.”

 

“Oozaru?” Ranma scratched his head in confusion, looking around curiously as they entered the kitchen. “What's that?”

 

“Well....” Trunks began programming the food replicators with the ease of long familiarity. In some ways these replicators were less advanced than the ones he was used to, but at least they didn't need repairing as often as the ones in his time. They didn't have to make do with equipment that they had to build in a hurry here, but instead his mother used top of the line components.

 

“When the moon gets full,” he explained, “if a Saiyan with a tail looks up at the full moon, he has some sort of reaction. He turns into a giant, mindless, rampaging ape, about fifty feet tall.” He glanced at the other two. “You've probably never seen it before - I haven't either - but I'm told that it's rather frightening.”

 

“You're kidding!” Ranma stared at him in disbelief.

 

Trunks shrugged, then lowered the back of his pants slightly and showed Ranma the scar. “That's my tailspot. My mother used to cut it off me whenever it would grow back, which was fairly frequently. They grow back whenever a Saiyan takes any kind of physical trauma. Sometimes even emotional trauma triggers it. And with what was happening where I was from....”

 

“Why? Where were you from?” Ranma blinked at him curiously.

 

Trunks shrugged again. “The future.”

 

Ranma just stared at him. Ryouga had been there for his story, and although he hadn't been paying complete attention to it, had at least heard it. “Wha... huh?” Ranma just stared at him uncomprehendingly.

 

Trunks sighed. “My mother is Bulma and my father is Vegeta. My father was supposed to die today, but my mother sent me back in time to stop it and to warn about something that would happen in a little under three years from now. I almost... I almost failed.” His fists clenched. “My father and my aunt Hakusai almost died today, even with my help. And because they're alive, maybe the rest of you won't die tomorrow and three years from now.”

 

Ryouga looked at him thoughtfully. “No. We have three years to train for it. We won't let it happen again.”

 

Trunks looked at the two boys guiltily. He had to tell them the truth. “But you don't have three years to train,” he blurted out, a flush staining his cheeks.

 

Ryouga blinked, and then glanced at Ranma, who also blinked. “Why?” Ryouga asked, frowning in puzzlement.

 

Trunks' gaze shifted to the floor. “Because both of you die tomorrow,” he said softly.

 

“We... we die?” Ryouga stared at him in shock. “How? Why?”

 

“Because one of the most powerful madmen in the universe comes to Chikyuu tomorrow, and during the fight you two are killed. Yamcha, Gohan, and Goku defeat him, but not before he kills you two.” He looked up at them, sorrow in his eyes. “I'm sorry. But maybe because my father and my aunt weren't killed today, maybe you won't die tomorrow.”

 

Ranma blinked, and then a cocky smile spread its way across his face. “O' course we ain't gonna die tomorrow! We got enough people to fight whoever it is, right?”

 

Trunks sighed, but didn't want to disillusion the other boy. He knew the fight was going to be tough, but he was there as well, and he would help keep as many of them alive as possible. Maybe he could keep these two from fighting until they had more training. Although somehow he doubted it. The two boys - especially the exuberant pig-tailed one - didn't seem to be the kind to back down from a fight. Well, if they were a little more prepared, or if he could protect them, maybe it would be enough.

 

“Who is going to die tomorrow?” Goku asked as he and Hakusai came into the kitchen. “What is going to happen tomorrow?”

 

“And do we really want to know?” Hakusai asked sitting down at the table and rubbed her temple with a hand. She looked up to see Trunks watching her and he blushed when she caught him. Hakusai gave him a small smile. “So, what is this about a fight?”

 

Trunks ducked his head, blushing slightly. Being around these two was still a little intimidating to him. He had heard so much about them - especially Goku - that he couldn't help feeling slightly in awe. When he spoke, it was so quietly they almost didn't hear him.

 

“It's... it's Frieza. He comes back.”

 

To be continued.....

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... Vegeta wakes up.

 

 

 

As you can see, another fight scene is on the way. I love writing fight scenes. ^_^

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Reviewer Responses

 

o0kittyblue0o: A decision has already been made on baby Trunks' name, at least for this story. I'm not giving it away, however. ^_^ No, no more Ranma characters are going to show up. We were going to write a sequel which would have focused on the two boys and would have had the entire Ranma cast, but my co-author lost interest in writing DBZ, and I became disillusioned with the DBZ fandom in general, so nothing was ever written.

 

Mew1464: Sounds like you're a new reader, not one from way back. Cool! I didn't think I was going to get any new readers, and I'm not even sure all my old readers are still interested. ^_^;