Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Stars of the Toushin ❯ Conflict and Consequences ( Chapter 3 )

Once again, I don't own anything except the plot. This is soooo redundant.

Thanks for all the reviews. Some of them were really helpful.

The votes stand thus:

2 for Jedi, 2 for Sith, and 8 for Rouge Jedi. (I'm adding my own vote for this)

3 for Kasumi, 3 for OC (my own vote included), 1 for Nabiki, and 1 for none

I still need a good name for this fic, unless people like the current name.

And finally, I need a name for a new metal.

 

Okay, this is a rewrite. I got some good reviews, some telling me to use spellchecker. (I'm looking at you Lock-1 and Ice-Tea-1983) For your info, I do use spellchecker and Microsoft Word. One person told me that the end was a little rushed, so I hope that this helps.

 

 

 

Conflict and Consequences

 

Nodoka spent five minutes trying to get Ranma to wake up, until finally, she slapped him.

“Hey, that hurt,” he exclaimed.

“Well, you wouldn't wake up,” she told him.

“But did you have to slap me?” he asked frowning slightly.

“Oh don't be such a baby. Anyway, I wanted to show you your father's things,” she told him with a smile.

 

Suddenly, their previous conversation came rushing back to him. Finding out about how his great-great-plus grandfather came to Japan. Now that he thought about it he had a question about that.

 

“Hey mom, if great-great-great-great grandfather was from England, why did that warlord take him in? If I remember my history right, weren't all outsiders killed on sight. No matter how well they fought?” he asked, curious

“Well, normally, yes. But according to family history, the warlord had a vision a week before the incident. In it, a warrior came from a distant land and fought against him and then for him. That vision was still fresh in his mind when he saw our ancestor fighting against his samurai. He saw him as a gift from the gods, and he didn't want to anger the gods by killing their gift,” she told him while they drank tea. (1)

“Oh… well that makes some sense,” he said. “So, Genma isn't my father, we are actually very wealthy, and my father was an alien,” Ranma said. “What was his name?” asked Ranma.

“Well, actually Ranma, your father was human. He was just from another galaxy,” she told him. “And his name was Koren Tou'shin.”

“Oh, well I guess I can buy that. I've seen so many weird things already, magic curses that make you change forms with just a splash of cold water, curses that make your hair grow incredibly fast, and half-dragon princes and an eternal phoenix, among other things. A human from another galaxy being my father is actually pretty tame,” he told her.

“I'm glad that you're accepting this so easily, Ranma,” she said with a small smile.

“Well what can I say; my life has been very interesting. Now I believe you said something about my real father's stuff,” he asked.

“Ah yes, come with me.” With that, they finished their tea and got up. Ranma followed his mother up the stairs to another set of stairs that led up to the attic. The attic, amazingly, was nice and clean. Everything was well organized and labeled. Nodoka maneuvered her way through everything to the very back of the attic. There, Ranma could see, was a trunk that looked old but very advanced. It was silver in color and was about three feet in height, four feet in width, and five feet in length. There were no handles or openings at all that he could see. All he could see were a couple of buttons and a panel just big enough to fit a hand. They both walked up to it and that was when Nodoka spoke up.

“When I found out that I was pregnant with you, I called your father in Europe, were he was finding out something for me. You see he was tracking down any information on my heritage there. He had a knack for getting information out of people. Anyway, Koren told me, that if anything happened to him, to put his trunk up here in the attic and to forget it.”

“But how could you get this thing up here? It doesn't look exactly light,” Ranma commented.

“I was able to get it up here thanks to the technology that created it. Here let me show you,” she told him as she pressed a button on the back. Suddenly the trunk started to float.

“Well that helps,” Ranma said with a smile.

“Yes, indeed it does. Anyway,” she said as she pressed the button again, “he told me that it was set to only open to him or someone with his blood. Unfortunately, that meant that I couldn't open it,” she said with a small frown.

“But I can. After all, I am his son,” Ranma said with realization.

“Yes, dear, you can,” she confirmed.

“How do I open it?” he asked hesitantly.

“You put your hand on this panel here,” she said pointing to the panel that he had noticed earlier.

 

As he put his hand on the panel, he couldn't help but wonder just what was inside the trunk. What would he find? As he was thinking about what might be in there, he felt a pinprick on his hand and then the panel turned green. With a hiss, the lid of the trunk opened and Ranma got his first look at what was inside. Inside the trunk there were books, devices which looked very advanced, more books, robes, and lots of things made out of a weird looking metal. The metal was a silver color and looked really strong. It had a weird shine to it though; he guessed that it came from wherever his father came from as he didn't know of any metals that looked like it. On top of everything, in an open case, there was a short metallic object with a button on the side. Attached to the inside of the lid, was a pad that looked like a GPS device.

 

As he sat there looking at all that remained of his father, his mother decided to leave him to his thoughts and went downstairs. As she got to the stairs, she turned back to Ranma, “If you want to stay for awhile longer, I'll be downstairs making lunch. Just remember Ranma, he wanted you to have all this, so it's yours to do with as you please,” she told him softly.

 

When she got no response, she sighed and continued down the stairs. Had she stayed a bit longer, she would have heard him reply, “Ok Mom… I understand.”

 

 

With sigh of his own, he started sifting through his father's stuff. He had a lot of books, that was immediately clear. The devices he didn't dare mess with, one looked like a weird gun. What drew his attention the most was the case with the metallic cylinder. He took it out of its case and looked at it very closely. He could see that it was very advanced. It had an opening at one end where, when he looked inside, he could see a crystal. Being very curious by now, he decided to push the button. Holding the device horizontally (luckily), he thumbed the button and was shocked to see a bright green bar of light appear with a small hiss. He almost dropped it in shock, thankfully he didn't, as he soon found out when it severed a near by box in half. Fortunately, there was only a couple of small things inside the box. He didn't want his mom mad at him. Brrr, she could be pretty scary when she wanted to.

 

 

He decided to check out just what it could do later, so he thumbed to button again and watched as the beam of light disappeared with another small hiss. He reverently put it back in its case. He decided to look at the books later and took out the device that looked like a GPS. There were only two buttons on it, so he pressed the top button. With a crackle, the screen came to life. However all it showed was a green screen, so he pressed the second button. With another crackle, the screen changed to show where he was and a route that he should take. He thought about it and choose to look into it later. With that decided, he pressed the on/off button again. Setting the GPS aside, he took out the robes. They were made of a material that was soft, yet at the same time tough. They ranged in color from white to off-white to brown. They looked as though they went together in layers. He reverently put them to the side and started to look through the books. He noted that a few of them were written in alien languages. But a few of them were written in English, a language that he was fluent in. No one realized just how smart he really was. He had gone all over Asia and had learned from many masters. How could he learn from them if he didn't know their language? Just because Genma didn't bother learning the language, didn't mean Ranma couldn't. The only reason that the whole Jusenkyo incident happened was because he was still learning Chinese and couldn't understand the dangers. Anyway, he decided to thumb through them to see if there was anything interesting that popped out at him. The first book he came across detailed the different tenants of the Jedi Order. It also gave what information was know on the `Sith'. He decided to go through it another time and set it aside. The second book went into great detail on the Force. He was defiantly going to read this book later. He looked at the third book and realized that it was a journal. His dad's journal. He realized that this could give him a look at who his father was. With great excitement, he started reading.

 

Spring, Galactic Year 2045

If someone is reading this, then that means that I am dead and you are my child, as only someone with my blood could open this trunk. If I never got the chance to meet you, I'm sorry. If I did, then you can skip this part. I was born on a small planet on the edge of the Republic. It's been said that this planet was created from the Force. I suppose that's why it was named Ecorf. That's force spelled backwards. It makes sense since everyone from my planet has had unnaturally high amounts of Midichlorinins. Midichlorinins are a microscopic life form living in our cells. They are what allow use to use the Force. They talk to us when we listen, giving us wisdom and knowledge. I suppose you might already know that. I have always believed that any children I conceived would be very much in touch with the Force. I know that I am. I follow the Old Code. I states that everything must be in balance. Good and evil, love and hate, truth and politics. Just kidding about that last one. But the Old Code isn't followed anymore. Not since the last war with the Sith. Now we Jedi have to be cool and collected at all time. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but we're not allowed to love. At least not just one person. We can love and cherish life, but we cannot form attachments. One cannot live without emotions. You must embrace your emotions, but don't let them control you. Anyway, you're probably wondering about the Sith, but I'll save that for another day. It's late and I'm tired. Good-night my child.

 

 

 

Ranma found that he had to fight back the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. His father had left a piece of himself behind. He had a way to know his father, al bit it was through his journals, but it didn't matter to him. He could get to know his real father! He started reading in earnest. His father had left behind three journals in which he detailed the Jedi and Sith orders. He wrote of all his accomplishments and of his life.

 

There was one more book written in English that Ranma hadn't read yet. As he grabbed it, he felt through the Force that it was important. When he opened it he saw that there was a note from his father stuck inside. He took it out and opened it.

 

 

“My child,” he read, “in this book I will teach you how to read, write, and speak Ecorven. Afterwards you will be able to read more of my books. Each time you finish a series of books, you will find a similar book to this, detailing the next language. This will continue until you finish the last book. Good luck, my child.”

 

 

As Ranma put down the note, he looked inside the book. Inside there were detailed instructions on how to read Ecorven. Skimming ahead he saw that there was a lot to the language.

 

“This is going to take awhile,” he said. “I should get some food first,” he realized.

 

With that, he got up and went to fill his bottomless stomach. It took awhile, but eventually he was full. He got yelled at six times by his mother for his atrocious table manners. After lunch, he went back up stairs to continue reading. This would be his ritual for the next week. Get up (he was staying with his mom), get something to eat, go up to the attic, read, go down for lunch, experiment with his father's Lightsaber (he found out its name from his father's books), go back up to the attic, read some more, go down for dinner, practice his katas outside, go to bed.

 

 

It was a week after he found his dad's trunk that the beginning of the end of his stay in Nerima happened. He had been out walking, thinking about all that he had learned, when Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo showed up.

 

“So Ranchan, where have you been?” asked Ukyo

“Yes. Where Airen been?” seconded Shampoo.

“Probably out with some floozy, the pervert,” scoffed Akane.

“Actually, I've been staying with my Mother. She had some important things to talk to me about,” Ranma admitted.

“Like what, Ranchan?” Ukyo asked him.

“Like none of your business stuff. What we talked about is between her and me,” Ranma said, annoyed by their nosiness.

“RANMA NO BAKA!” Akane screamed as she hit Ranma into LEO with her mallet.

 

“What did you do that for?” Ukyo yelled.

“He was being a jerk, so I smacked him,” Akane replied as if there was nothing wrong with what she just did.

“Stupid Pervert-Girl. Shampoo go find Airen,” Shampoo said with a glare at Akane.

“I'm with Shampoo. You really have a problem with your temper Akane,” Ukyo said as they walked in the direction that Akane had hit Ranma.

“THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY TEMPER!” Akane screamed at them. She then turned and stomped away with all the grace of a rampaging rhino.

“She stupid,” Shampoo commented.

“You got that right, hon. Her mother must have dropped her on her head too many times,” Ukyo agreed.

With that they started running towards where they thought they would find Ranma.

 

They wouldn't find him though; he had used the Force to change his trajectory towards his mother's house. Akane must have been really pissed; she set a new record for distance in the Ranma Bashing event. He landed fairly gracefully halfway to his mother's house. With a sigh he started walking home.

 

 

It took him fifteen minutes to get back home, ten more than usual because he decided to walk instead of roof-hopping like usual. When he got home, he saw that his mother was waiting for him in the living room.

“You missed lunch, dear,” she said. Then she saw the bruise that was starting to form. “What happened to your face, Ranma?” she asked as she started the doting mother routine.

“I just had a close encounter of the Akane kind. Nothing more than usual,” he said dismissively.

“That's it. I've had it with her abusing you. We are going over to the Tendo's and get rid of this insane engagement,” she told him.

“You mean it, Mom? I won't have to put up with Akane and her Father anymore?” Ranma asked hopefully.

“Yes Ranma. You won't ever have to go back after tonight. We'll get your things and bring them back here,” she replied.

“Ok, let's go,” he said as he headed back to the door.

“Wait, Ranma. We have to make sure that everyone is there. We'll handle all of the engagements at once,” she told him calmly.

“Ok, I guess I can wait. If you need me I'll be in the attic,” he told her.

 

 

Two and half hours later found Ranma and Nodoka heading towards the Tendo home.

“Remind me just who is going to be there again,” Ranma asked his mom.

“Well,” Nodoka began, “the Tendos are going to be there, of course. Ukyo, Kodachi, her brother Tatawaki, the Amazons, and Happosai. Nabiki was even able to get Ryoga there.”

“Ryoga? How did she manage that?” Ranma asked, shocked.

“All she said was that he was hanging around the Dojo,” she told him.

“Oh, well that's cool. Hey, do you want to get there quickly?” he asked.

“Sure, Ranma,” she answered.

“Well hang on then,” he told her.

“What do you mean, hang on?” she asked. She found out when he picked her up and started roof-hopping.

“Ahhhhhhh!” she screamed in shock.

“Sorry,” Ranma told her.

Soon she got into it and started to laugh. What would have been a thirty minute walk became five minutes roof-hopping. Soon the Tendo Dojo came into view. They landed softly in the Tendo's front yard. As they landed, the Three Stooges decided to attack.

 

“Ranma, because of you I've seen hell. PREPARE TO DIE!” Ryoga yelled his attack phrase.

“Release the Tigress Akane and the Pigtailed Goddess from your spell, foul sorcerer!” Kuno yelled as he charged.

“Shampoo will be mine once you're dead, Saotome!” Mousse yelled as he attacked a boulder fifteen feet away from Ranma.

“STOP!” Nodoka yelled.

They all stopped in surprise as the normally calm Nodoka was getting angry. They all gulped when they saw her finger the silk wrapped bundle she carried.

“That is enough! Now will you all go inside so we can get this over with?” she said in a commanding tone of voice.

 

 

Not wanting to get her upset anymore, they all went inside quietly. Once inside they all sat down. Genma was sweating bullets, Soun was smoking his pipe, Akane was glaring at Ranma, Nabiki was counting her money, Kasumi was getting tea for everyone, and the Amazons were all looking at Ranma for different reasons. Shampoo was looking at him lovingly, Cologne was looking suspiciously at him, and Mousse was glaring at him, along with Ryoga and Kuno. Cologne knew something was up. Ranma may have looked calm on the outside, but she could tell by looking at his aura that inside, he was ecstatic. She could feel that it was over. He had made a decision finally. She knew that the girls were not going to be happy. She knew from the beginning that Shampoo would never win Ranma's heart. She taught and tormented him so much because she knew that he was worthy of her knowledge. She decided to give him one last gift before they went back. It would also allow Shampoo to go home with her honor intact. Now all she had to do is to wait.

 

Nodoka waited till everyone had gotten their tea and started to talk.

“I had Nabiki contact you for a very specific reason,” she told them. “For two years now, my son has been hounded and hassled by all of you, except you Kasumi dear. Each of you has contributed to making my son's life a mess. I shall now clean up that mess. Starting with you, Tendo-san.”

“With me?” he asked, shocked.

“Yes, you. It was this insane pledge of yours and my husbands that has caused the most trouble. So, as Head of the Saotome Clan, I hereby dissolve the Saotome-Tendo engagement immediately,” she told them imperiously.

“YOU CAN'T DO THAT! RANMA BELONGS TO ME!” Akane screamed, forgetting to put up her sweet and innocent facade.

“My son belongs to nobody, Miss Tendo,” she said giving Akane a glare.

“I will not allow it!” bellowed Genma. “They must unite the schools. It's a matter of honor.”

“Shut up, old man,” Ranma began, “Don't preach what you don't practice. You don't have the smallest clue as to what honor is, so shut it!”

“How dare you talk to me like that? Oh, how could the gods curse me with such a worthless son?” Further complaints were silenced as Ranma flipped him into the koi pond.

“Wait a sec. Isn't Genma the Head of the Saotome Clan?” asked Nabiki.

“No, Nabiki, he isn't,” Ranma answered for his mother. “Genma married into the Saotome clan. He was originally from a very small clan, Masaki if I remember right. He was chosen to marry my mother after my real father died.”

“WHAT?” Everyone asked, dumbfounded.

“Genma Saotome is not my real father,” Ranma confirmed.

“Finally figured it out, didn't you boy?” Happosai asked from his new perch on Ranma's head.

“You mean you knew and never told me?” Ranma asked as he smacked Happosai off.

“Of course I knew. How could I not, your auras don't match. Not to mention that you don't look anything like him. You look so much like your mother and nothing like Genma,” Happosai told him.

“I'm shocked that you noticed and I didn't, Happi,” Cologne told him.

“Well, I am a martial arts master,” he told her with a huff, but everyone could tell he was smiling.

“Now, if I may continue,” Nodoka cut in. “Ukyo, my son is not now nor has he ever been your fiancé.”

“But Genma engaged him to me and stole my dowry,” she said angrily.

“No dear, he engaged you to his son, Ranma Saotome. Ranma is the son of Koren Tou'shin, not Genma Saotome. Thus, he is not bound by any promises that Genma has made.” she told a teary Ukyo. “Oh, and by the way Genma,” she told him as she tossed some papers at him, “I'm divorcing you.”

“What? Y-you can't be serious,” said a newly changed back Genma.

“I'm very serious, Genma. You have shamed the Saotome name. Be glad that I don't have you commit Seppuku,” she told him firmly.

“Yes, Shampoo win!” she cheered.

“You haven't won anything, Shampoo,” Ranma said firmly.

“Huh? What Airen mean?” asked a very confused Shampoo.

“I will never marry you, Shampoo. I can never love you. You have treated me as nothing more than a prize to be won,” Ranma told her.

“But Shampoo love Airen,” she said pitifully.

“Oh, grow up Shampoo,” Cologne told her.

“Great Grandmother?” Shampoo asked shocked. Cologne had never talked to her like that.

“Ranma would never be able to live the life of an Amazon male. He is too strong,” she told her softly. She then turned to Ranma.

“Ranma,” she started, “please forgive us. I knew from the start that you would never submit to the Amazon way. I taught you for the sheer pleasure of teaching you, not to try and get you into the tribe,”

 

 

Ranma was shocked by what he heard. She had never really tried to get him to marry Shampoo. “But what about the love pills, the reversal jewel, the potions? What about the hell you put me through?”

“I was helping my great-granddaughter try and snare your heart. I knew sub consciously that it would never work, but it was fun to try,” she admitted.

“Fun? You call all the crap you put me through, fun?” Ranma asked incredulously.

“Yes and it was for a good cause. It made you a lot tougher, didn't it?” she asked him.

 

Looking back at his life since he came to Nerima, he could see what she was talking about. There were a lot of times that she could have tried a lot harder to get him in the tribe but didn't. She was right about him getting tougher because of what interference she created. The Bakusai Tenketsu, the cat's tongue pressure point, the false cures. All of the crap she had thrown at him had made him stronger in the end.

“Your right. It did make me tougher and stronger in the end. Thank you,” he told her humbly.

“Your welcome, son-in-law,” she said with a smile. “I have one last gift for you, Ranma.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I'll tell you later,” she said.

 

As this took place, things were happening that Ranma didn't realize. The suitors and rivals were not taking being insulted well. Well, they took all this as being insulted. Akane was the first to break.

“I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS! HE BELONGS TO ME!” she screamed.

“SHAMPOO KILL OBSTICAL! MOTHER OBSTICAL!” Shampoo yelled as she got her bonbori out.

Ukyo was the only ex-fiancé that took this turn of events well.

 

The rivals were no better.

“Shampoo, darling, come to me my love!” Mousse said as he hugged his `Shampoo', which happened to be Ranma.

“Put your glasses on you idiot,” Ranma told him scornfully.

“Release the Pigtailed Goddess immediately, foul sorcerer!” Kuno commanded.

“Ranma, for this new insult and making Akane angry, PREPARE TO DIE!!!!” Ryoga yelled as he charged.

 

The resulting fight was quite impressive. All the rivals and ex-fiancés (except Ukyo) started fighting over who would marry or kill Ranma first. Everyone else just stood back and watched.

“So, Old Ghoul, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Ranma asked.

“Well, Son-in-Law how would you like to be able to control your curse?” she asked him.

“Are you serious? You're going to cure me?” Ranma asked hopefully.

“It wouldn't be a cure, son-in-law. There is no way to cure a Jusenkyo curse. I would cast a spell on you that would replace the water trigger with a mental trigger,” she told him.

“Wait a sec. How come you never mentioned this before, or did it to Shampoo?” he asked suspiciously.

“Shampoo doesn't deserve the right to be able to control her curse. Her failure to win you over proves that,” Cologne told him. “As for why I never mentioned it before, well, I wanted to string you along for as long as possible. I would have eventually told you as a last ditch attempt, but you preempted me by pulling this stunt.”

“So… when can we do this?” Ranma asked.

“Tonight would be best, seeing as it's a full moon,” she answered.

“Cool. Shall we go?” he asked her.

 

 

With a quick goodbye to his mother, they both bounded away. It would take the fighters five minutes before they realized that the person they were fighting over was gone. In that time, Ranma and Cologne had gotten to the Neko-Haten and were setting things up for the spell.

“It's a fairly simple spell. The hard part is the change of the triggers. You will be temporarily helpless. That's why I need to set up a shield spell. I can feel Shampoo and the others heading this way already,” Cologne told Ranma as she circled his sitting form with a weird powder.

“Ok, do it,” Ranma told her when she was finished.

 

Cologne started chanting in an almost forgotten language as she read from a scroll. With a wave of her hand, the shield came to life. Ranma looked up nervously. Even he could feel the battle auras of the others getting closer. He started listening in as Cologne started finishing. With a crescendo of words and a push of her hands she finished. Ranma could instantly feel the magic working. It completely immobilized him. He was suddenly grateful for Cologne's shield spell when he saw seven angry people storm into the restaurant.

“Aiyah great-grandmother, what you doing?” Shampoo asked.

“I am giving Ranma one last gift, Shampoo. If any of you interfere, you will regret it,” Cologne said menacingly.

 

No one wanted to piss her off, so they all waited for the spell to run its course. It took ten minutes for the triggers to change. During that time, Ranma changed genders many times. Finally it was over. Ranma slumped to the ground as the magic immobilizing him wore off.

“Airen!” Shampoo yelled as she saw him fall.

“Ranma-sama!” Kodachi was right with her.

However Cologne stopped them before they could go to him. With a quick pressure point strike, they were both out cold. She then turned to the men and gave them a warning glare. After she felt that they had been sufficiently cowed, she turned back to Ranma.

“Ranma? Are you okay?” she asked.

 

 

Suddenly Ranma flipped into the air and came down smiling.

“Never better, Cologne,” he replied with a large smile.

 

“What did you do to him, Great-Grandmother?” Shampoo asked in Chinese.

“I gave him control of his curse, young one,” Cologne replied, still in Chinese.

“YOU WHAT?” Shampoo yelled in surprise.

“Wait a sec. You mean that Ranma can now control his curse?” Ryoga asked.

“You could understand us?” Cologne asked in shock.

“I learned it during my travels,” Ryoga said dismissively.

“You mean when you were lost,” Ranma said with a smirk.

“Shut up Ranma or you're seriously going to get it,” Ryoga growled.

“What are going to do?” Ranma asked as he shifted into his girl form, “Hit a poor, defenseless girl?”

“Humph, poor you may be but defenseless you are not,” Ryoga replied. “Anyway, why did you give Ranma control of his curse and not us?” Ryoga asked as he turned back to Cologne.

“Simple,” Cologne told them, “You don't deserve it.”

“WHAT?” they all shouted.

“Ranma has gone through more than all of you combined. I felt it was time to give him a gift after all the crap he's had to put up with,” Cologne told them.

“Well I for one am glad,” Ranma said. “Anyway, I'm tired. I'm going home. Thank you honored elder, thank you for this gift.”
”My god, he has manners,” Cologne said jokingly.

“Ha-ha, see ya all later,” with that Ranma left.

 

 

They all turned back to Cologne, about to start launching questions.

“I'm going to bed too. It's been a long day,” she told them as she pogoed up the stairs. After she left, Ryoga and the others left, leaving Shampoo and Mousse standing there. With sighs of resignation, they went up to their bedrooms and went to sleep without changing their clothes. It had been a long day indeed.

 

 

Hope this chapter cleared things up a little. And if you don't like my bashing of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, well I don't like them. So there.

Love it? Hate it? Please review, but keep in mind that flames will be used to light my incense.