Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ So Cold ❯ Awakened Spirit ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: xzero 
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Martial Arts | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 584 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Drama / Martial Arts | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 01.23.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 584 | Status: Work In Progress
So Cold
By: XZero
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi
Chapter 1 - Awakened Spirit
I'm alive, how?
Gekkaja...
How could I have been so foolish?
His internal monologue ended he looked around, trying to take stock of his situation. The room he now stood in was vast, and he'd been atop a pedestal, this much different from the last sight he'd had, standing where he'd landed after using the Gekkaja to freeze himself. Saffron's flames had leapt past him, toward the others. He remembered pressing the crescent blade into his abdomen, and felt a numb pressure from it. Even as he looked down, he knew what he would find. True to his thought, embedded in his stomach was the artifact of the phoenix people. With a snort he ripped the bladed staff out of his flesh. He wasn't even bleeding. He stifled a growl, trying to maintain his objectivity, immersing himself in the soul of ice.
Holding the staff he could feel its power reacting in time with his will, from him and the blade a thin layer of frost began to form. He saw something, a wisp of breath escaping from behind a frozen and shredded suit of western plate mail armor. His eyes widened in recognition of the other occupant of the room.
"Come out!" He ordered loudly in Kiima's direction. She hesitated, but eventually came out. Though she began to wish she hadn't as the teen's eyes narrowed dangerously, becoming slits of furious light against his already luminous form.
"You." He growled, staring not at her, but at the warm egg that sat huddled against her chest. "What are you doing here?" He asked the egg, and strangely enough, it responded. Pulsing in a rhythm she knew well.
'I have come to lay before you an apology. I was spoiled by the nobles of that incarnation. For stealing your youth, and the generation in which you belonged and for the crime of threatening your loved ones I offer you my sincerest apologies. In an attempt at reparations I also offer you the sacred weapons of my people, the Kinjakan and Gekkaja. The staves I hope will serve you well.'
It was a lot to take in. What did he mean? Why could he understand him? His eyes wandered until they found a polished mirror nearby. What he saw shocked him beyond anything else he'd seen since his awakening from the frozen tomb.
"What am I?" He wondered aloud, staring at the being before him.It was strange; his entire body was bathed in a golden light, not unlike his normal battle aura, but why?
'I do not know. I can only imagine it to be a subconscious method of keep from being frozen entirely while trapped within your prison of ice.' Great, now he was getting advice from an egg. Worse, the egg was the same being that the last time they had met had killed his family and friends.
"You killed them. How could you?" He yelled at first, but suddenly his words were a pitiable whisper as the memories hit him, crushing his spirit beneath the thoughts. The aura shifted until it was the same sickly green as the Shi Shi Hokodan. The words made it to Kiima's ears, and her shock was great. She could feel the rising depression rolling off of him in waves.
"No! Lord Saffron didn't kill them, he threw the fireball in front of them, and they moved. He stopped them from getting too close. I moved to stop them from reaching the dragon tap but Lord Saffron ordered me to let them pass, to help them save the girl, Akane." Kiima was pleading, not something he'd expect from the silver haired phoenix woman.
Confliction struck him, his memory told him one thing, but now, this pleading woman, tears spilling from her eyes had told him another side of things. Damnit, why did things always get complicated?
It hit him; Saffron had mentioned his generation, which in turn told him something, something he desperately needed. "How long?" Another barely audible sentence, Kiima had strained to hear it. Gods above and before her, why? Why did she have to do this to him? Over the years it had become a sore spot in her memory, this boy, no, he was a man, more a man than any of the veterans whom had during his time been mere cadets. He knew sacrifice, he knew pain. She had spent a great long time learning about the enigmatic and charismatic young man whom had so long been trapped within the ice, and within these halls. Why did she have to deliver such a harsh blow to him?
"Twenty years." She whispered, ashamed of the syllables that issued from her mouth. The temperature was dropping steadily, though it suddenly leveled out as her lowered gaze caught sight of his body lying inert on the floor, no longer covered by the brilliance.
"Ranma?" She asked tentatively, hoping he'd not broken free of his tomb merely to die from taxing his energy stores for so long and then bursting free. She sighed heavily with relief when she found a pulse, his breathing shallow but steady. Wisps of smoke emerged from his lips as the warm breath met the cold air of the chamber. That was a fear abated, but now it came to her to move him where he might be cared for.
"Lord Saffron, what have we gotten ourselves into?" She whispered as she set the egg in the sash she wore across her chest. Her burden was inexplicably heavy, though his definition seemed to explain it. His muscles must merely be a great deal denser than she believed before. She grunted in effort for only a moment before gathering him into a fireman's carry. What came when he awoke would be the longest period of her life.
Village of the Joketsuzoku
Ku Lon, the eldest matriarch of her people was startled from her meditation by a life force she'd believed long extinguished. 'It's impossible. No one could survive being trapped by that staff for so long. Dear Goddess, his chi is immeasurable.' The thoughts seemed to collect upon her. 'Who am I kidding, that boy did the impossible many times over, and this... this is just too much. It must be investigated.' She stood her legs half asleep from her long period of reflection. She gripped her gnarled staff with equally gnarled hands as she limped toward her goal. 'I must tell Xian Pu.' She knew what her great granddaughter would do, and wholeheartedly agreed. The rest of the tribe must never find him; he was too far beyond them all now. Saffron had been a match only for his skill before, but now, with a power capable of competing with the Phoenix God, she could think of none to match him. She only hoped he never found reason to be angry with them. For her to have felt that much power this far, oh it truly was frightening to imagine.
Her hurried pace did nothing to aid her as moments later the power seemed to wink out of existence, confusing her and making her question her sanity.
"Did I feel the boy's power or not? Am I going senile?"
Musk Citadel
'That power? Saotome? Could it be? How?'
Herb had been training, trying to perfect a new technique. He'd been devastated when he'd gone to Japan, having traveled the distance to face off with Saotome once again. He wanted to release his restraints against a true opponent, to free himself from the shackles around his power. He arrived at the address the pigtailed fighter had left him, only to find that his somewhat friend had been dead for so long. Strangely, it was the wild haired bandana clad martial artist, Ryouga, who'd given him the words he now used to forge ahead.
'Ranma always trained, always. Not because of us, we only made him train harder. He didn't fear us for our strength; we only made him master himself to be stronger. He trained because he wanted the best of himself, to challenge every limit. I learned that the hard way, when I watched my best friend kill himself trying to live and save us all.'
Ryouga's words had been something from an epic, some lamentation of a long dead hero, not the words Herb had expected Saotome's rival. They had their effect though, since that day Herb had trained his hardest, poured his all into the art, leaving room only for the mild duties he faced in court. He would train himself until he could no longer stand, and the moment he could begin again, he would. He would become the best he was able, not for Ranma, not for the Musk, but for himself, Ryouga's words had become the maxim by which he lived.
'Saotome is alive. I've got to see this for myself.' Herb rushed from his training, his tired breaths forgotten as new energy filled him.
Nerima - Tendo Dojo
Ryouga grunted as he increased the weight again, investing more weight into the normal seeming umbrella. He had taken to doing this when he was able to move his weighted weapon without conscious effort, so far it amounted to once every six months, though now, he had become so accustomed to increasing the weight that it seemed a routine. The advanced application of the Iron Cloth technique drained him, and taxed his ki reserves, in turn making them deeper. His control of the release of his energy had grown, and now, there was no other among the former Nerima Wrecking Crew that was his equal. Most of the others had settled down, others still had receded into madness at the loss of that which they coveted. As for him, he'd taken to training with renewed vigor.
"Ryo-Chan, are you in the dojo?" That voice, how he loved the sound of it. He smiled as he finished and turned his head toward the door.
"Yeah, 'Kane, I'm in here." He smiled again warmly at her presence. After nearly fifteen years of marriage you would think he'd have gotten used to it, but every here and there it again struck him how lucky he was to be married to such a wonderful woman. His smile darkened as he recalled the days of his youth, the days of carefree adventure.
'Ranma, I'm sorry it turned out this way, but I promise you I'm taking care of her, just like you would want.' He heard the sound of the dojo doors open, and her footfalls came at him despite her attempts at stealth. She had gotten immeasurably better, but he had been light-years ahead before the birth of their daughter, but after her recovery and the time consumed by caring for him, she was decades behind his level.
"Ryouga, Rei-Chan had a dream last night." She began slowly, almost afraid of her words. Ryouga looked up at her quizzically, his expression blank. His eyes told her that she should elaborate.
"She said that a man with funny hair and blue eyes was coming, and that when he got here, the bad men would come." Akane had never spoken so cryptically, had never looked so afraid. But something drew his attention away from the fear written so plainly across her features; it was a piece of paper in her hand that drew his eyes. He reached out a hand, gesturing absently, and she obliged him.
He studied the drawings that covered the page intently, and with no little amount of weight before finally letting it drop from his numb fingertips. His mind was racing frantically, and he could not find the power to draw more breath than it took to utter a single word.
"Ranma..."
To Be Continued...
A/N: I hope that you all enjoy this, because it has been coming ever since I got back from North Dakota (never go there, is scary and empty) Anyhow, as always, I beg you review and let me know what’s good and what needs work.
By: XZero
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi
Chapter 1 - Awakened Spirit
I'm alive, how?
Gekkaja...
How could I have been so foolish?
His internal monologue ended he looked around, trying to take stock of his situation. The room he now stood in was vast, and he'd been atop a pedestal, this much different from the last sight he'd had, standing where he'd landed after using the Gekkaja to freeze himself. Saffron's flames had leapt past him, toward the others. He remembered pressing the crescent blade into his abdomen, and felt a numb pressure from it. Even as he looked down, he knew what he would find. True to his thought, embedded in his stomach was the artifact of the phoenix people. With a snort he ripped the bladed staff out of his flesh. He wasn't even bleeding. He stifled a growl, trying to maintain his objectivity, immersing himself in the soul of ice.
Holding the staff he could feel its power reacting in time with his will, from him and the blade a thin layer of frost began to form. He saw something, a wisp of breath escaping from behind a frozen and shredded suit of western plate mail armor. His eyes widened in recognition of the other occupant of the room.
"Come out!" He ordered loudly in Kiima's direction. She hesitated, but eventually came out. Though she began to wish she hadn't as the teen's eyes narrowed dangerously, becoming slits of furious light against his already luminous form.
"You." He growled, staring not at her, but at the warm egg that sat huddled against her chest. "What are you doing here?" He asked the egg, and strangely enough, it responded. Pulsing in a rhythm she knew well.
'I have come to lay before you an apology. I was spoiled by the nobles of that incarnation. For stealing your youth, and the generation in which you belonged and for the crime of threatening your loved ones I offer you my sincerest apologies. In an attempt at reparations I also offer you the sacred weapons of my people, the Kinjakan and Gekkaja. The staves I hope will serve you well.'
It was a lot to take in. What did he mean? Why could he understand him? His eyes wandered until they found a polished mirror nearby. What he saw shocked him beyond anything else he'd seen since his awakening from the frozen tomb.
"What am I?" He wondered aloud, staring at the being before him.It was strange; his entire body was bathed in a golden light, not unlike his normal battle aura, but why?
'I do not know. I can only imagine it to be a subconscious method of keep from being frozen entirely while trapped within your prison of ice.' Great, now he was getting advice from an egg. Worse, the egg was the same being that the last time they had met had killed his family and friends.
"You killed them. How could you?" He yelled at first, but suddenly his words were a pitiable whisper as the memories hit him, crushing his spirit beneath the thoughts. The aura shifted until it was the same sickly green as the Shi Shi Hokodan. The words made it to Kiima's ears, and her shock was great. She could feel the rising depression rolling off of him in waves.
"No! Lord Saffron didn't kill them, he threw the fireball in front of them, and they moved. He stopped them from getting too close. I moved to stop them from reaching the dragon tap but Lord Saffron ordered me to let them pass, to help them save the girl, Akane." Kiima was pleading, not something he'd expect from the silver haired phoenix woman.
Confliction struck him, his memory told him one thing, but now, this pleading woman, tears spilling from her eyes had told him another side of things. Damnit, why did things always get complicated?
It hit him; Saffron had mentioned his generation, which in turn told him something, something he desperately needed. "How long?" Another barely audible sentence, Kiima had strained to hear it. Gods above and before her, why? Why did she have to do this to him? Over the years it had become a sore spot in her memory, this boy, no, he was a man, more a man than any of the veterans whom had during his time been mere cadets. He knew sacrifice, he knew pain. She had spent a great long time learning about the enigmatic and charismatic young man whom had so long been trapped within the ice, and within these halls. Why did she have to deliver such a harsh blow to him?
"Twenty years." She whispered, ashamed of the syllables that issued from her mouth. The temperature was dropping steadily, though it suddenly leveled out as her lowered gaze caught sight of his body lying inert on the floor, no longer covered by the brilliance.
"Ranma?" She asked tentatively, hoping he'd not broken free of his tomb merely to die from taxing his energy stores for so long and then bursting free. She sighed heavily with relief when she found a pulse, his breathing shallow but steady. Wisps of smoke emerged from his lips as the warm breath met the cold air of the chamber. That was a fear abated, but now it came to her to move him where he might be cared for.
"Lord Saffron, what have we gotten ourselves into?" She whispered as she set the egg in the sash she wore across her chest. Her burden was inexplicably heavy, though his definition seemed to explain it. His muscles must merely be a great deal denser than she believed before. She grunted in effort for only a moment before gathering him into a fireman's carry. What came when he awoke would be the longest period of her life.
Village of the Joketsuzoku
Ku Lon, the eldest matriarch of her people was startled from her meditation by a life force she'd believed long extinguished. 'It's impossible. No one could survive being trapped by that staff for so long. Dear Goddess, his chi is immeasurable.' The thoughts seemed to collect upon her. 'Who am I kidding, that boy did the impossible many times over, and this... this is just too much. It must be investigated.' She stood her legs half asleep from her long period of reflection. She gripped her gnarled staff with equally gnarled hands as she limped toward her goal. 'I must tell Xian Pu.' She knew what her great granddaughter would do, and wholeheartedly agreed. The rest of the tribe must never find him; he was too far beyond them all now. Saffron had been a match only for his skill before, but now, with a power capable of competing with the Phoenix God, she could think of none to match him. She only hoped he never found reason to be angry with them. For her to have felt that much power this far, oh it truly was frightening to imagine.
Her hurried pace did nothing to aid her as moments later the power seemed to wink out of existence, confusing her and making her question her sanity.
"Did I feel the boy's power or not? Am I going senile?"
Musk Citadel
'That power? Saotome? Could it be? How?'
Herb had been training, trying to perfect a new technique. He'd been devastated when he'd gone to Japan, having traveled the distance to face off with Saotome once again. He wanted to release his restraints against a true opponent, to free himself from the shackles around his power. He arrived at the address the pigtailed fighter had left him, only to find that his somewhat friend had been dead for so long. Strangely, it was the wild haired bandana clad martial artist, Ryouga, who'd given him the words he now used to forge ahead.
'Ranma always trained, always. Not because of us, we only made him train harder. He didn't fear us for our strength; we only made him master himself to be stronger. He trained because he wanted the best of himself, to challenge every limit. I learned that the hard way, when I watched my best friend kill himself trying to live and save us all.'
Ryouga's words had been something from an epic, some lamentation of a long dead hero, not the words Herb had expected Saotome's rival. They had their effect though, since that day Herb had trained his hardest, poured his all into the art, leaving room only for the mild duties he faced in court. He would train himself until he could no longer stand, and the moment he could begin again, he would. He would become the best he was able, not for Ranma, not for the Musk, but for himself, Ryouga's words had become the maxim by which he lived.
'Saotome is alive. I've got to see this for myself.' Herb rushed from his training, his tired breaths forgotten as new energy filled him.
Nerima - Tendo Dojo
Ryouga grunted as he increased the weight again, investing more weight into the normal seeming umbrella. He had taken to doing this when he was able to move his weighted weapon without conscious effort, so far it amounted to once every six months, though now, he had become so accustomed to increasing the weight that it seemed a routine. The advanced application of the Iron Cloth technique drained him, and taxed his ki reserves, in turn making them deeper. His control of the release of his energy had grown, and now, there was no other among the former Nerima Wrecking Crew that was his equal. Most of the others had settled down, others still had receded into madness at the loss of that which they coveted. As for him, he'd taken to training with renewed vigor.
"Ryo-Chan, are you in the dojo?" That voice, how he loved the sound of it. He smiled as he finished and turned his head toward the door.
"Yeah, 'Kane, I'm in here." He smiled again warmly at her presence. After nearly fifteen years of marriage you would think he'd have gotten used to it, but every here and there it again struck him how lucky he was to be married to such a wonderful woman. His smile darkened as he recalled the days of his youth, the days of carefree adventure.
'Ranma, I'm sorry it turned out this way, but I promise you I'm taking care of her, just like you would want.' He heard the sound of the dojo doors open, and her footfalls came at him despite her attempts at stealth. She had gotten immeasurably better, but he had been light-years ahead before the birth of their daughter, but after her recovery and the time consumed by caring for him, she was decades behind his level.
"Ryouga, Rei-Chan had a dream last night." She began slowly, almost afraid of her words. Ryouga looked up at her quizzically, his expression blank. His eyes told her that she should elaborate.
"She said that a man with funny hair and blue eyes was coming, and that when he got here, the bad men would come." Akane had never spoken so cryptically, had never looked so afraid. But something drew his attention away from the fear written so plainly across her features; it was a piece of paper in her hand that drew his eyes. He reached out a hand, gesturing absently, and she obliged him.
He studied the drawings that covered the page intently, and with no little amount of weight before finally letting it drop from his numb fingertips. His mind was racing frantically, and he could not find the power to draw more breath than it took to utter a single word.
"Ranma..."
To Be Continued...
A/N: I hope that you all enjoy this, because it has been coming ever since I got back from North Dakota (never go there, is scary and empty) Anyhow, as always, I beg you review and let me know what’s good and what needs work.