Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Time... ❯ chapter four ( Chapter 4 )

A Different Time part four

 

There is one thing that can be said about Genma that will always ring true no matter what else is said about the man, he was a bastard.

 

There were a lot of things about Genma that got overlooked by that one glaring character flaw. His love for his family, his absolute belief in family honor being more important than his own, and his devotion to his son. While there were many instances of Genma leaving Ranma to take some blame or the fall for one of his schemes that fell through, Genma had honestly done everything since the day his son was born for the boy. Genma never once abandoned his son if he thought that he couldn't handle it on his own.

 

Genma was old. While the panda form was in the prime of its life, Genma had long since past his own prime. He hadn't aged as well as he liked to think, much of his bulk had withered away from time and his wife's tender care. Genma wasn't soft by any stretch of the imagination, but he didn't fool himself into thinking that he could actually fight full on and be able to move in the morning.

 

Genma had come with Ranma at his son's request. After the death of his grandchildren, Genma had nothing to live for but his son. So with little fanfare, Genma left his still grieving wife to be cared for by his best friend and former in law, Soun. Genma recognized where his wife would do the most good. Soun's own pain would draw her out of her own pain and the two would help each other heal.

 

Genma knew that something might grow between the two of them when he sent his wife to his best friend, but then again the look in Ranma's eyes had said that he wouldn't survive the trip, so Genma did what he did to comfort two of the most important people in his life while he followed his son into martial arts oblivion.

 

Genma had prepared himself for Ranma's death, ever since Ranma started to either challenged or insulted every dojo, shrine, and champion between here and Nerima, Genma knew that Ranma had a deathwish. Ranma never held back in his fights except that he never killed a challenger unless they threatened him.

 

The man that Genma had raised and seen married and had grown to fear was gone, all that was left was a young slip of a girl with a confused look in her eyes. Nodoka was going to kill him.

 

Another thing about Genma that was well known to those who knew him was that he was an accomplished bull shitter. He could weave a story of woe and sadness in a blink of an eye that was as believable as the truth as long as nothing like evidence ever presented itself for inspection.

 

Genma was stunned at the lack of change in his son's body as the curse refused to work like it was supposed to. He almost thought that he had grabbed the wrong girl but a few things made him discard that thought. The girl wore the same clothes and had on the same necklace that Ranma had worn since the funeral.

 

The necklace had a locket and his late wife's wedding band on it, as well as Ranma's after the curse. Genma remembered the thief that had tried to take it from Ranma one night after their journey began. Tokyo were still blaming monsters for that body.

 

No, Ranma would never let anybody touch it.

 

“Who am I?” The girl's soft voice came out again.

 

Sighing, Genma decided that the truth wouldn't work. They couldn't risk going back to the Amazons for anything.

 

“You are my grandchild. Your name is Ranma, after your father.”

 

“Ranma? Wild horse?”

 

“That was your father's name, I think you are more of a wild flower. We can't stay here though, those who killed your father, my son, are still looking for us and we can't let them catch us.”

 

“Okay.” Ranma stood up and noticed the locket. Opening it, she saw two small photo's, one of Ranma as a guy and his wife.

 

“Those are your parents, child. They are both dead. Now come we must hurry before the Amazons catch us.” Ranma felt a strong attachment to the locket, rings and pictures, so she accepted that those were her parents.

 

They ran. They ran for Japan and away from the Amazons. During their run, Genma thought his story out further, and asked Ranma questions when they rested or felt safe enough to talk.

 

“Do you remember anything, Ranma?”

 

“No, nothing since the other day when you woke me up.”

 

“Do you want me to tell you what happened?”

 

“Please.”

 

“You, your father, and myself were on a training trip when we encountered the Amazons. They ended up killing your father and erasing your mind, I think to have you join them. I didn't know what they were doing but I couldn't just leave my granddaughter with them.”

 

“What were we training in?”

 

“Martial arts. Do you remember any of it?”

 

“I don't know. How good was I?”

 

“You were very good. Almost as good as your father, once we get home, we'll see if what those Amazons did to you has affected your skills.”

 

A couple of days later, the first group of Amazons caught up with Genma and Ranma. There were three of them, a tracker and two warriors. Genma and Ranma tried running but the three of them were soon trapped.

 

Genma tried to protect Ranma from the Amazons but they were just younger and stronger than he was. Their orders were to return with the girl, nothing was said of old men, so they decided to kill Genma. Ranma saw what they were planning on doing to her Grandfather and suddenly her body remembered.

 

There are times when a person goes into a trance and does something without thinking about what they are doing. Ranma's vision became cloudy, like she was looking through some foggy lens and she couldn't understand what she was seeing. She didn't think of anything until the fog cleared and she could see her grandfather off to the side unharmed while the bodies of three Amazons littered the grounds around her.

 

Ranma rushed her grandfather and hugged him like she was afraid he was going to go away, like her parents before. This was something that only his real grandchildren had done before, but they had never cried like Ranma was now. It broke his heart to see his `Granddaughter' like that.

 

Only one Amazon survived the encounter and she never did walk right after that.

 

Genma decided to start to retrain his granddaughter in Anything goes style as they made their way back to Japan. Ranma only had to be shown something once before `remembering' it.

 

By the time they made it back to Japan, Ranma was again at the level she was at when they reached the Amazon village, but her personality as a man had been erased and had been replaced with a tomboyish girl. Genma had never raised a girl before, so he had no idea where to start, so he had treated her like a boy without the `girls are weak' speeches. It was hard to make that argument sound good when they were being chased by girls.

 

They rode a taxi to the Tendo Dojo, Ranma fell asleep on the way there, being in Japan again made her relax and feel safe again. She was nestled against Genma as she slumbered.

When Ranma awoke, she wasn't in the taxi, she was in a bed in a strange house that seemed more familiar than not. Genma was nowhere to be found, but raised voices could be heard in another part of the house.

 

She found the room the voices were coming from and opened the screen so she could look in. Once the door was opened the voices stopped and Ranma sensed the movement just before the screen was thrust open and Ranma was enfolded in the arms of an elderly lady who cried out “Ranma!” like a sob.