Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Seventh ❯ Afraid ( Chapter 1 )

The Seventh

A Ranma

By Azurite - azurite_moon@yahoo.com

http://www.geocities.com/azurite_moon

Based off the Ranma

Ranma

Supernatural/Romance

PG

Note the First: I like taking Ranma plots and twisting them out of proportion and thus screwballing the entire Ranma continuum. I hope you enjoy! Do check out my site, and be sure to email me with feedback!

Note the Second: I am an Akane/Ranma `shipper all the way. Anyone else who says otherwise can go get a tessen shoved up his or her arse while Tasuki-chan and me yell "Lekka Shinen!"

@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@* @*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*

Everything in the Tendo's lives revolved around the old adage "The right place, the wrong time." It had happened to their mother, the late Kimiko Tendo, to the patriarch of the family, Soun Tendo, when he got involved with the perverted master of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Happosai, and to each of the three daughters Tendo, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane.

But Akane, the martial artist of the Tendo three, was bound by fate to experience this more than anyone else in her home. That is, exempting her fiancée, the rather "infamous" Ranma Saotome, a cursed boy, forced to change into a girl when splashed with cold water. After quite a time, Akane had gotten used to the weirdness in her life… even the weirdness that Ranma brought with him-the kind of strange happenings that she wouldn't have been able to get used to, despite her already-chaotic life as a martial artist.

It was one such incident -on a day that had started out normal, and gotten totally skewed out of that definition-and Akane truly learned what it meant to be "in the right place at the wrong time."

"Give Lychee back scroll!" The Mandarin girl demanded, struggling against Happosai's groping hands. She had come in search of Happosai to force him to pay reparations for years done of damage to her family-though the damage was truly imaginary, it still hurt. You see, long ago, Happosai had paid for a meal in China with half a scroll, claiming that it had the secret "ultimate" technique of the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists-and she who possessed it would find happiness and security when the other half of the scroll was joined with the "Prince" of Nekonron. But generations had passed, and no Prince appeared.

Lychee, along with her monstrous elephant, Jasmine, had rampaged through the streets of Nerima, Tokyo, in search of the perverted master of martial arts. When they had found him, he was leading a wild goose chase with everyone who was anyone in Nerima-and that included Akane, Ranma, all his other fiancées, all their suitors, their enemies, and so on and so forth.

When the party -down to Shampoo, Ranma's Amazon "fiancée-in-name;" her suitor Mousse; Akane; Kuno, a persistent suitor of Akane's; Ranma; Ryoga, another accursed boy who befriended Akane, Genma, Ranma's father; Soun, Akane's father, and the offender, Happosai-finally got back to the Tendo house, with an angry Lychee and Jasmine in tow, there was a mass hysteria-and the scroll somehow found its way into Akane's hands. As luck would have it, the fabled Prince of Nekonron chose that moment to show up. Using specialized martial arts techniques -assisted by his six companions- the Prince kidnapped Akane… and began another adventure for Ranma and Company.

When the party finally made it to Nekonron, China, Ranma and the others had to blast their way through the six castles housing the first six of the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Arts-and they made it to the Prince's final castle, where this Prince Kirin was to be wed to a confused and hurt Akane. She was upset that Ranma had not come after her-or at least, not made a more valiant effort. For the first time in all the months he'd stayed with her family in Nerima, she felt as if he might really care for her. After all, in this case, the enemy didn't have a cure for Ranma. There was no accursed water in his chopsticks that Kirin attacked with, nor was there any guarantee to help Ranma find a spring that did cure him of his sex-changing curse.

Kirin, alone in the castle with Akane, told her that Ranma wouldn't come. He was a coward, and despite Akane's protests that Ranma would come after her, they fell on deaf ears. Defeat, Kirin proclaimed, was not in his vocabulary. Even if Ranma came, he countered, would he be coming for her-or because he'd been beaten before, and couldn't lose gracefully? Akane was forced into silence-this was true of Ranma. He was a sore loser, and always boasted that he would be the best in the world one day. On this particular day, Fate had dealt him a severe blow and caused Kirin to defeat Ranma-and kidnap her. Akane wasn't about to believe that Ranma let her be kidnapped… but whether or not her fiancée would come after her was another thing entirely.

Before Akane could argue with her conscience over Ranma's past actions, she found herself pinned to the wall by a lustful prince, his eyes not so secretly roving over Akane's form. As Fate had it, Akane seemed to be a prized girl-many men wanted her for their bride, and chased her so valiantly that Akane quickly became sick of boys and romance. Then of course, when Ranma -the one boy who wasn't entirely a boy- came into her life, she changed her mind… and it seemed that just because of Ranma -the one boy she found herself admiring and even liking-she couldn't have him. Or at least… it seemed he didn't want her to want him. It pained her to imagine Ranma forgetting all about her, and moving on with his life-getting cured, marrying someone else… But she couldn't bring herself to be so open and frank with Ranma, exposing herself when she knew all too well that all she was in his eyes was an "uncute, unsexy tomboy."

But fear welled inside of her like a balloon inflating-she didn't want to be anyone else's but Ranma's, even if he didn't want her in return. All she wanted was to…

Closing her eyes tightly and wishing Kirin would simply vanish; she made no move, pinned as she was to the wall.

When nothing happened, Akane opened one eye, then another-and was startled to see the Prince blasted back into a wall-scorch marks appearing on the wall behind him, a bright spot outlining his frame on the decorative wallpaper. Akane, thinking Ranma had finally come, turned jubilantly to the door-which was closed. Even the tiny crystal lock was still turned in its counterclockwise position, indicating the door hadn't even been opened, let alone blasted through. Akane's "Kirin can eat his `never will be defeated'!" faded away into the recesses of a hopeful mind…

Kirin stared at her once he righted himself, still rubbing his head. He approached her, though this time, Akane had the time and the sense to adopt a fighting stance and keep herself suitably distanced from the Prince. She was angry, afraid, and above all, confused. What had happened to the Prince that he hadn't acted on his obvious lust? Akane ran smooth hands over her face, briefly wondering with some amusement if she'd grown horns or something… and as it seemed, she was still as normal as she had been for years now.

"You…" Kirin began in a soft voice… His deep blue eyes searched her clear brown ones, as if hoping to find some answer to his unspoken question there. Akane only stared back her eyes blinking in rapid succession out of her fright about what had happened. She didn't even know-and not knowing was scary.

"W-What did… what happened?" Akane asked in a trembling voice. At least, by speaking, she filled the uncomfortable silence that only served to make Kirin's gaze more intense, and her own fear double.

"You…" Kirin repeated slowly, glancing back towards the place where he'd evidently been blasted, "You emitted a power… a strong power… the likes of which I have never seen before."

Akane stared, disbelieving, first at Kirin, then at the blast marks, and then at her own two hands. Could she have…? No… it simply wasn't possible. Ranma was the martial artist with ki techniques, powerful and unstoppable in most instances. The only other two who could even come close to matching him on a given day were Cologne and Ryoga, each with their own ki techniques. True, Shampoo was a good fighter, but she preferred glomping Ranma to fighting him; Ukyo was more of a chef than a fighter these days, and Happosai used his Happodaikarin more than he used actual techniques anymore.

"You are…" Kirin grasped Akane's hands, startling the girl into a rigid position, "The Seventh."

"Wh-What… what Seventh…?" Akane asked, stuttering.

"The Seventh Lucky God… The Goddess of the Mystery…" Kirin murmured, his eyes not once straying from hers. Akane could only stare back, bewildered.

`What…?'

Coming up next, in "The Seventh"

Ranma finds Akane… but instead of wanting to go back home to Japan, she tells everyone she plans on staying in Nekonron! Why the sudden change of heart? When Happosai discovers the answer, Ranma might have to throttle it out of him… and he won't like the truth…

Oh no, I've done it again… I've started another fic. But this one has been on my mind for a while, and I figure I mine as well type it up and post it when I have the time and the inspiration. If you're looking to help beta for me, please email me privately at azurite_moon@yahoo.com

Review! And be nice, because I've taken on the role of evil author, who reports all people who don't have the dignity to remain polite in their reviews.

Arigatou,

Azurite 04082002