Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Magic Knight Chaos ❯ A Past Rewritten ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Ranma isn't mine. Furthermore, Magic Knight Rayearth
isn't mine. They belong to their respective creators, companies,
and other such entities.

*...* denotes thoughts.
[...] denotes the usage of a sign, when Genma is in panda form.

Magic Knight Chaos

Prologue One: A Past Rewritten


Tokyo seemed cold, gray, and completely devoid of life to
Saotome Ranma, as she walked behind her father, face towards the
ground. She didn't pay that much attention to her surroundings.
Not as if she needed to. The stench of wet panda fur could be smelt
from over a block away.

*Of all the times for it to rain, it had to be now,* Ranma
thought to herself. Things would have been bad enough if they were
in their proper forms, but now....now it was going to be ten times
worse.

Her mind raced back to her earlier days, playing back the
most important memories of her life.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


**5 years old**

Ranma could hear his parents in the background, while he
looked through a book with lots of pictures in it. Why was it that
all the pictures had people fighting each other?

Saotome Genma came into his view, towering over him.
"Otousan," Ranma cried out, clinging to his father's leg.

Genma leaned down and looked Ranma in the eyes. "Ranma. I
have great plans for you, but you must make the choice. Do you
understand?"

Ranma nodded his head. He was very proud that he knew what
all the words meant.

"Okay, Ranma. I want to take you on a training trip. One
that will teach you some of the stuff in those pictures. It would
take us to a lot of different places, but it would mean that you
would have to leave your mother for a little while."

"I wouldn't be able to see Okaasan?"

"No, but you would be able to talk to her on the telephone,
and hear from her through the mail."

Well, that didn't sound so bad, as long as he could still
talk to Mama. "Hai," Ranma yelled enthusiastically.

Genma's eyes sparkled as he brought out the document that
would allow them to fulfill his dreams. He got behind his son and
guided Ranma's hand, drawing his signature.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**7 years old**

Tears of regret rolled down Genma's eyes as he wrapped his
son in fish sausage. *This is the last time,* he vowed, as he saw
the fear in Ranma's eyes. If only he'd read through the manual
before starting this stupid training exercise!

Genma gently shoved Ranma, who was still recovering from
previous injuries, into the pit of yowling cats. He cringed as he
heard Ranma start to scream.

Then, Ranma stopped yelling. In fact, all of the cats were
quiet as well. This was odd.

He heard a growl, as if from a baby tiger. Then, all of a
sudden, Ranma exploded from the pit, landing on all fours. He
sauntered in a circle that centered on Genma, glaring at him the
whole time. Genma dared not move after what he'd put Ranma through.
Who knew what might happen?

After a few minutes of indecision, Ranma went about five
feet away and curled up into a ball for a nap. It would be nice to
finally get some rest. It'd been a very long time coming.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**8 years old**

Ranma ran as fast as he could towards Ucchan's grill. He
still hadn't played with her that day. That and the fact that he
was a little hungry, too.

Ranma made a slow punch to Ucchan's face, which she easily
blocked. He continued a slow spar with her for a few minutes,
before he finally decided enough was enough and tackled her, tickling
her the whole time.

Ukyo gasped for breath as he continued his assault.
"St...sto...p, Ranma. Y....you...win," she managed to yell out,
in-between the giggles.

Ranma stopped and looked up at Ukyo's father, his eyes
shining brightly. "One deluxe okonomyaki, with everything on it,"
he declared, handing a plate to Ranma.

Ranma grinned up at him and took great care as he broke his
prize into three pieces. He was a little surprised when he came up
with about the size of a single serving of okonomyaki per division.
The nice okonomyaki man must have noticed his stomach growling.

Ranma heard a cough coming from the side and turned towards
his father. "What do you say to the gentleman that just gave you
such a fine meal?"

Ranma bowed to Ukyo, then bowed to her dad. "Domo arigatou,"
he said, then bounded over to his father so he could give him a
piece. He then walked over to Ucchan and gave her the other piece
before he started digging into his own.

All was right with the world. He had his father, his best
friend, and a good meal, all in one area. He still missed his mom,
but he was able to talk to her earlier this week. She seemed to be
doing well and was very happy with all the progress that his father
told her about.

Now that the meal was out of the way, maybe his father would
teach him some more moves. He could beat Ucchan, but then again,
she's only a girl.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**10 years old**

Ranma trudged towards the all boy's school that he'd be
attending for a few months. He didn't get a lot of opportunities to
attend school, but his father made sure that he was educated as well
as possible. After all, as his father so often said, there was no
honor in having a strong body if you also had a weak mind. That, and
the fact that Genma gave him constant lectures on how he wanted "his
son to be better than himself."

Ranma snorted at the thought. He loved his father and
respected him for his training in the art, but he had to admit that
it wouldn't take much to pass his father up in certain areas.

Ranma entered the gate and went to the classroom he'd been
shown yesterday. After introducing himself to the rest of the class,
he spent the rest of his time until lunch trying to trudge through
the lessons that were given. He was having quite the time with
mathematics, but at least they had a history class as well. If
there was one subject that Ranma knew, it was history, the one area
Otousan excelled in.

He was startled out of his musings as he heard the lunch
bell ring. He'd heard about what lunchtime was like here and with
reflexes honed by years of combat, sprang up before the rest of his
class could.

As he ran past the classrooms he noticed that a lot of the
one's closer to the lunch hall were already empty. If he didn't
hurry, he wouldn't get anything good!!

He barged into the cafeteria just as he heard the lunch lady
call out "Chow Mein Bread," and throw a roll into the air. He
applied all the skill the Saotome School of Martial Arts taught him
and jumped 10 feet into the air, twisting just enough to catch the
bread and dodge the bodies of the other boys who tried to catch it.
A couple minutes later he was sitting under a tree with his prize.

"Saotome Ranma!! What is the meaning of this?" he heard
someone shout. He looked up to see a figure he recognized from his
class, even though he couldn't put a name to the face as of yet.

Ranma blinked a couple of times. "Whaddya mean? I'm just
trying to eat."

"You have stolen the last Chow Mein Bread. A crime I could
never forgive!"

Ranma sighed as he tore his bread in half and held a piece
up for Ryoga. His stomach would be a little tighter, but there
wasn't any honor in fighting over something so meaningless.

Ryoga looked like a wild animal as he slowly crept up to the
bread. He sighed when he finally got ahold of it and sat down
besides Ranma. When Ryoga finished, he brushed his hand off and
stuck it out towards Ranma.

"The name's Hibiki Ryoga. You want to be friends?"

Ranma blinked in confusion before an understanding smile
touched his face and he grabbed Ryoga's hand. "Friends."


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**11 years old**

Ranma grabbed onto a nearby log and gasped for breath, as
his father sat on another nearby log.

"Would you tell me again why we're doing this?"

"One can only learn so much in Japan, Ranma. To become a
true master of the arts, we must go elsewhere in order to gain
knowledge from the masters that can only be found overseas."

Ranma mumbled to himself as he let go of the log and
continued his swim. He wanted to learn more of the Art, but for
some reason he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something
very disturbing was going to happen there. Something important, but
disturbing nonetheless.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**13 years old**

Ranma followed his father as they trudged to the training
grounds at Jusenkyo. They'd seen a picture on a postcard and it
looked like the perfect place to practice. Since the Saotome
School's specialty was air combat it would be an ideal arena, since
it was covered with bamboo poles centered in small pools of water.

Ranma read the sign that hung over the entrance and smirked
at the title. "Jusenkyo Springs: Pools of Sorrow". He'd read about
all the different types of things that drowned here, but it wasn't
anything to worry about. He might not be as good at aerial combat
as his father, but he certainly wasn't an amateur.

"Follow me, boy," Genma yelled as he launched himself up to
the nearest pole. Ranma took off after him, but soon found himself
battling to keep his balance.

"Remember to keep your center, boy. Otherwise...," he
started, but was cut off when Ranma launched an attack at him.

Ranma smirked at Genma as he toppled head over heel into one
of the springs below. "Who's the one that needs to keep their
center, Oyaji?"

Ranma waited for his father to jump back out with a surprise
attack, but got concerned when nothing happened immediately. In
fact, he couldn't see his father down there, even though the pools
didn't look like they went that deep.

He waited another few seconds before he saw movement. Then,
all of a sudden, a large...panda?! leapt up from the water and took
him in the side with a swipe from its paw.

Ranma flew past several springs and had enough time to
position himself for the best possible landing, which all came to
naught as he landed in one of the springs.

He felt a stifling cold surround his body as the waters
enclosed him. He started to swim for the surface, but his body
wouldn't respond right away. It felt almost as if the water was
actually seeping into her body.

He regained control of his muscles just moments after the
disorientation and swam back up as fast as he could. He sputtered
for breath as he grabbed some weeds and pulled himself onto dry land.

Thanks to his training in mind an body harmony, it didn't
take Ranma too long to realize what was wrong. He opened his gi to
verify what 'he' already new. Having also been trained in many
different types of meditation and calming techniques, Ranma did the
only thing that came to mind. She fainted.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

**14 years old, present day**

Ranma finished her recollections as she absentmindedly
continued the final leg of her training trip.

After that, things had progressed fairly quickly. They
hurried back to Japan as fast as they could, knowing what must be
done to uphold their honor. Even if it cost them their lives, they
would do the honorable thing.

Luckily, there was still a chance. The night of Ranma's
birthday they stopped by a village to purchase a full course meal in
her honor. During the meal, a waiter accidentally knocked a cup of
tea onto her lap, turning her back to 'normal'. With a bit of
experimentation they discovered that the curse was triggered by cold
water and temporarily neutralized with hot water.

Ranma was thrown out of her thoughts rather suddenly, when
she bumped into the back of her father. She gagged, wiping her
mouth and spitting out a few pieces of fur. She didn't think she'd
ever get used to this. Then again, that might be a moot point.

[We're here.], Genma notified her.

Standing in front of her was a large two story house that
she could only recognize by the various pictures her pop carried
around. It was a rather intimidating site, especially considering
the circumstances and current weather. It seemed as if the weather
could almost sense their mood, as lightning illuminated the house in
a rather haunting manner.

Ranma nudged past her father and walked slowly towards the
door. She stood there for a few moments before she got her courage
up enough to knock and wait for the inevitable.

She heard a TV get turned off and somebody shuffle towards
the door. It opened, creaking slightly, to reveal a beautiful woman
with hair slightly less red than Ranma's, yet she had a face was just
as radiant. She was dressed in a formal kimono that was a light red
and green color, complimenting her complexion beautifully. However,
the most noticeable thing to Ranma was her deep blue eyes, which were
somewhat puffed up, looking like she had been crying.

Involuntarily, Ranma reached up and wiped away a tear that
was still rolling down her cheek. Saotome Nodoka turned her
head to the side and backed up somewhat. "Where are my manners?"
she asked herself as she looked at her young guest. "Please, come
inside."

Ranma bowed before turning around to look at her father and
give a slight nod. "Do you mind if he stays out here for a little
while?"

"It's alright, so long as he doesn't tear up the yard."

"He won't," Ranma promised as she followed Nodoka into the
house, sliding her slippers off at the doorway. Ranma looked around,
studying her surroundings with some trepidation, since she wasn't
able to remember anything too well...

She was shaken out of her stupor when Nodoka asked her if
she'd like a cup of tea. "Yes, Ma'am," she muttered, barely able to
get it out. It looked as if the time she'd been dreading so much
lately was finally coming to pass.

Ranma sat at the table with her knees folded underneath her,
determined to be on her best behavior. It seemed to take an eternity
for Nodoka to finish, even though it only took a few minutes to
finish the tea. She brought in a tray carrying two cups and a tea
kettle. Both cups had a fine wire mesh placed over them, with dried
mint leaves on the top. Ranma watched with a grave heart as Nodoka
slowly poured some water into her cup and then do the same with her
own. After that, both sieves were gathered and put to the side to
be washed later.

With the ceremony properly finished, Nodoka finally took the
time to get a good look at her new guest. Upon seeing Ranma, she
almost dropped the cup she'd absently picked up. In front of her
was a perfect likeness of herself during childhood, even though that
was impossible, since she didn't have any living relatives.

Ranma saw her mother's reaction and sighed. She was hoping
to have more time, but knew it was now or never. With a sad heart,
she put into action the plan her father had come up with in case of
similar circumstances.

She got up and slowly walked towards the wall which contained
the Saotome family katana. She lifted it off of the hooks with
proper care, making sure the ornamental scabbard didn't get
scratched.

She walked slowly back to her the table, trying to look
forward as much as possible. However, it seemed as if Nodoka's eyes
drew her own, and she couldn't help the occasional glance.

Ranma sat back down at the table and set the katana by her
side. She reached for the kettle and poured a small amount of the
liquid over her. She flinched slightly at the heat as well as the
reaction it caused, rippling throughout her body.

Moments later, Saotome Ranma knelt before his mother in his
true form. He made eye contact with her and steeled himself for the
next part. He knew it would take everything he had.

Ranma reached to his side and took up the Saotome Blade.
Breaking eye contact, he slowly withdrew the blade from it's
scabbard, watching the steel as it reflected the room's light off of
it's polished edge. He carefully set the scabbard down and placed
the blade in both hands, holding it upwards in an offering.

Ranma slowly prostrated himself before his mother until he
could go not further, making absolutely sure that he kept the blade
in his mother's direction. Then, with a shuddering breath, he
completed the last part of his ceremony. "Saotome Nodoka, I, Ranma
Saotome, hereby return to you having failed to uphold the contract I
have signed. I acknowledge any form of punishment which is felt
proper and shall await your judgment."


End Prologue One


Whoohoo. Cliff hanger. Yeah. I know it's nasty, but it could be
worse, ne?

I would like to point out, before I get nasty emails, that I know
Genma's out of character. This is an a altraverse. It's supposed
to show a possibility of what might have happened if Genma's honor
was not only above average, but impeccable. He's still just as
stupid, but now he actually feels sorry for some of the things he's
done. *cough* Neko-ken *cough*

This fic, as well as my others, can be found in the link at the
bottom. As always, all comments are more than welcome, as long as
they don't come in the form of flames. I would remind you, though,
to do a direct reply unless your comment pertains to the whole FFML,
Newsgroup, etc.

Thanks for reading it, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Asgeras
asgeras@prodigy.net
http://www.geocities.com/ asgeras@prodigy.net/index.html