Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Turning of the Tides ❯ Joshou ( Chapter 1 )

This is a sequel to my story entitled The Shadows are Stirring. It will make much more sense if you read that first.

Prologue

I've been here longer than anywhere else in my life...

The young woman stood slowly from her meditation in the corner of the famous Anything Goes Dojo and opened her blue eyes just enough to see who else was in the large practice hall. For a thriving school of Martial Arts, having the hall empty save for herself was an unusual occurrence.

Not to say it really was empty, though. There were reminders of each of the sensei of the school scattered about. Near the front was a kettle of hot water, tucked into the corner. This was practically the only evidence of the Grandmaster's presence in the hall - he never left anything behind when he wasn't there.

Ranma Saotome. He was nearly thirty three now, though he barely looked twenty even still. The perfect specimen of a healthy man, he was a good choice for the leader of the school - and he had fought long and hard to obtain the title in the first place. To the young woman, his aura practically reeked of dragon... which made sense, considering how he seemed to be able to call on their power in desperate times.

Most people, she supposed, would have found that strange. But in fact, that was almost the only normal thing about Ranma. When he was younger, he had gone on a long training trip with his father, where he underwent various degrees of torture more than training. He also managed to find his way into the cursed grounds of Jusenkyo, where the spring water was enchanted with powerful, long lost magic. Ranma had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Girl - meaning that whenever he was splashed with cold water, he became a she in all meanings of the term. His hair turned from black to bright red, he lost some of his height, and he gained a rather ample amount of breasts... enough to make many women around her jealous. Hot water would turn her back into a man again.

Hence the kettle in the corner.

Looking around again, she spotted a couple of kendo sticks close to the kettle. These were the markings of Ranma's wife's presence. She was the one who trained the students in the way of the sword, and did so through the kendo style. She was nearly as advanced a martial artist as Ranma was himself, however. This made sense, as Ranma had said that they were partners in everything. Akane and Ranma.

Unlike Ranma, Akane did not have a curse from Jusenkyo. She was one of the few sensei who didn't, though. But she didn't let Ranma's curse bother her, either. While most would pause when he changed in front of them, Akane could keep talking or sparring without even batting an eye. Sparring wasn't always the best word for what they did, mind you. They fought more than most married couples seemed to on the outside, but they were very happy together. The Kami couldn't pull them apart.

The young woman in the Dojo was named Phen Riche, but most people ended up saying her name as Fenrish. At one time in her life, she had studied the Shinto religion, hoping to become a priestess, but had abandoned that in light of martial arts nearly sixteen years ago now. The myths and legends still held a great deal of fascination for her, though.

For her part, Akane looked about as old as Ranma - and was actually the same age - but was just as fit. While no one could actually keep up with Ranma anymore, Akane was the closest to being able to fill that role, and the only one he ever let try. That made perfect sense to Fenrish, as Akane's aura, her ki, was charged with traces of the Phoenix. The great dragons and phoenixes were normally natural enemies, and fought almost constantly. However, when working together, nothing could stand in their way, and when two pair up together, their bonds become unbreakable.

And she knew that that was true, too. Ranma had killed both a god and a devil for Akane already, though such things were never spoken about anymore. Saffron, the Phoenix King, had almost killed her before Ranma had pierced his body with blades of ice. The god was reborn afterwards as an infant, but had been killed by Ranma. Harito was a mortal man who had summoned a devil unto himself to kill the Saotome line - though none really knew why save the one member who was missing (Ranma's father). Ranma had literally torn him apart when Akane had been threatened.

Fenrish sighed and closed her eyes again. Thinking about such events always undid all the good her meditation did for her. Thoughts of her sensei almost being killed by such incredible beings, and still coming out alive in the end, was more than most could handle, and she was quite pleased to be one of the only students of the Dojo who knew about it.

Trying to regain an edge to her relaxation, she looked to the other side of the large training hall. There were several chains wrapped around a ladder against the wall that brought a smile to her face. Evidence of her husband... Master of the Hidden Weapons side of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Muu Tsu - or Mousse, as most called him - was an exceptional man. He had known Ranma for a few years long than she had, and was one of the few who were willing to challenge him to spar still. He was also one of the few who could actually survive such an encounter with Ranma putting forth half of his effort!

She had met Mousse first out of the group staying on the Tendo grounds - though now only two Tendos remained, while the heads of the household were actually Saotomes. She had tried to hijack his boat to get to Japan to try and join the Anything Goes school, and had gotten mixed up in a rescue attempt. The rescue was unneeded, however, and that fact was proven when both Ranma and Akane appeared before them. On the trip, however, Fenrish had started falling for the mysterious, quiet Mousse.

Later, she had learned the full extent of the Jusenkyo curses when Mousse had suddenly turned into a duck. She had found that his essence contained something that matched her own, and started telling him more and more about herself in an attempt to strengthen the bond that she already had sensed between them.

Their son, Minoru, was now fourteen, and an advanced student of the School.

Of the other two that she knew of who held a Jusenkyo curse, only Shampoo still lived in the Tendo residence. The buxom, purple-haired woman was apparently much easier to get along with now than she used to be, though Fenrish had never really managed to connect with her. Perhaps it had something to do with Mousse, but she couldn't be sure. Shampoo's curse was to turn into a small white cat with cold water. This would have been a much larger problem before, apparently, but she had been told that Ranma had gained control of his fear, though no one had ever told her more than that. Even her husband tended to stay away from subjects involving the Grandmaster's past.

Now, Shampoo was also a Master of the School of Anything Goes, and was the sensei in charge of magic and potions. While Fenrish hadn't thought such a thing to be called Martial Arts, when she had questioned it, she had ended up going up against the once Amazon woman in a contest, and had been soundly beaten within a couple of minutes thanks to a single puff of smoke. Although she didn't like it as much as she enjoyed the Hidden Weapons art, Fenrish had always held a grudging respect for it ever since.

The Kami are moving again... a change in coming.

She could sense it in the air around her - one of the only things she had managed to perfect while in training as a priestess. A large change was coming, but she wasn't sure what it was. All she could do was mentally cross off what it wasn't, and be prepared for anything else.

It wasn't going to be Nabiki or Soun Tendo. Nabiki was flawless with the record books of the Dojo, and seemed perfectly happy dishing out her unique brand of sarcasm whenever someone tried to upset her, and her father was equally happy to continue to work with a hammer and nails.

It wasn't the other married couple of the household, either. Kasumi was a flawless cook who worked seamlessly with Ranma's mother to keep the housework under control and meals on the table. Kasumi's husband, Dr. Ono Tofu, had resigned from his practice and was content to work directly for the School of Anything Goes - most of his patients seemed to come from there these days anyway.

The only thing that really came to her mind was a pig... and along that thought, her memories rolled back to the other curse she knew about - Ryoga Hibiki. He had been cursed in the Jusenkyo springs as well, and turned into a little black pig. He was supposed to be another sensei in the school, but had left with Akari Unryu almost fifteen years ago, and hadn't been heard from since. Could they be returning at last?

The large double doors to the Dojo opened slowly as several students started to file in for their warm up, before any of the sensei arrived. Due to her abilities, and the fact that she was an advanced student - one of only seven and the oldest one that wasn't a Master as well - most of the other students all looked up to her.

The group of intermediates stopped upon noticing her, and she smiled to them and bowed lightly before making her way out of the Dojo to leave them in peace. Akane would be along before too long - probably with Ranma not far behind - to lead the class.

Fenrish almost ran into a young girl with bright red hair worn in a ponytail as she stepped out. The girl in question was wearing black pants and had on the white blouse from her school uniform still. "Dad asked me to come get you, Fenrish-san," she said with a smile.

"When will you start calling me just Fenrish, Renia-chan?"

"When I finally best you in battle, Fenrish-san!" she replied with a laugh. "Same answer as last time."

"I doubt it will be long now, then. You are advancing with speeds equaling your parents, you know." Renia, who was almost fifteen, was the eldest child of Ranma and Akane. "You're Art is more pure than anything I have seen, save in your parents."

"I know, Fenrish-san," Renia said with a sigh. "You always say that, remember?"

Fenrish couldn't help but laugh as she nodded. "I suppose so. Any idea what Ranma needs?"

"He didn't tell me," the younger girl said. "But I think it probably has to do with the surprise party they're planning for my birthday."

"Doesn't sound like much of a surprise to me..."

"Hey, I'm a Saotome!" Renia said proudly, standing tall. "Which means I've mastered the Umisen-ken already! I like listening in sometimes."

"So... you've been eavesdropping again, have you Renia?" The girl is question jumped about five feet at the voice behind her, and when she turned, she found herself face to face with her father. "I guess Acchan was right when she said you were too young to learn the Umisen, wasn't she? Do I have to seal the rest of the technique into scrolls so you won't use them?"

"I won't listen in on you guys again, I promise!"

Ranma, who was male at the time, sighed and nodded. He looked back over his shoulder towards the house and then back to Renia again. "I'll hold you to that, you realize?"

"Hai!"

"Alright then. Can you lead the class that's about to start?" he added as he started to turn back to the house. "Since you already know about the party, I need your mother to help."

"Lead the class?"

"Are you, or are you not an advanced student of the Anything Goes School?" Fenrish asked quietly as she walked passed the startled girl. "Since I know you are, as you are in the same class that I am in, you are more than capable of leading them through their katas for the day. They aren't supposed to be doing anything new today anyway."

She suddenly spun around and pulled her hands out of her long sleeves to catch the incoming kick. Renia flipped backwards, away from the block, and darted in to try and land another hit. Fenrish stepped to the side and pulled out a chain from her robes to end the impromptu sparring early.

To her surprise, Renia dove under the chains and kicked upwards, catching her in the stomach and sending her stumbling a few steps backwards. When she recovered from the powerful assault, Renia had already started another attack.

Realizing that she needed to get some distance, Fenrish leapt to the air and landed on the roof of the Dojo, only to find Renia following her closely. The two traded off attacks and defense along the edge before Fenrish finally pulled hard on the chain that she had kept in one hand.

Renia jerked backwards without warning, and fell off the roof to land hard on the ground below. She had just stepped on the limp chain without even noticing, she was moving so quickly, but apparently Fenrish had seen it first.

"To class, Ki-chan," Fenrish said with a smile as she landed next to the girl and helped her to her feet. She often called Renia by that nickname, though she was the only one. Everyone had accepted by now that she was going to call some people strange things on occasion. "Before they come out to ask what was going on."

"Next time you're mine, Fenrish-san," Renia said, sticking her tongue out at the older woman before darting into the Dojo.

"She needs to work on her observation and how lightly she steps," Ranma said calmly when Fenrish turned back to him to follow him inside.

"That, and not losing her temper when she fights. She got frustrated up there, Ryu-sensei," Fenrish pointed out. "Like mother, like daughter, perhaps?"

"Acchan's temper is never a problem when fighting anymore. Just outside of Martial Arts," he said with a grin. "Speaking of which, we had best get inside before she starts looking for us. I don't want to meet her mallet today... yesterday was enough to make up for the two weeks I didn't see it, thank you very much."

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A young girl crouched down at the edge of the large town, next to the sign that read "Nermia Ward." Smiling to herself, she let herself relax for a moment after the long journey she had taken thus far.

She watched as several people walked passed her position, either on the way to or from work or school. Several girls around her age passed her, but no one noticed her. She sighed as she saw them all in skirts or dresses... she had never worn anything like that at all. Always pants or shorts - nothing else would have suited her training at all.

Now, she was wearing her favourite dark green pants and a lighter green silk shirt. Her breasts were bound with cloth against her body, rather than by a bra. She had never owned one of those, either, though she knew what they were. Her bindings were more effective anyway, she suspected.

Stepping lightly out from behind the sign, she started walking down the street, not entirely sure she knew where she was going. She remembered what her mother had told her she was looking for, but she had admitted that she was working from a rather old memory, and things might have changed in the time she had been away.

Maina found herself wishing that there were fewer people on the streets, not to mention her wish that she had any idea what day it was. She was looking for someone in particular, and it would be much easier if she knew if he could be found at school or at home.

Not knowing where either was anyway, she kept walking through the town. If her mother was right, she should find a park up ahead with a large fountain in the middle. Maina smiled when she laid eyes on the spraying water. Such things were few and far between for her while she had been training - her sensei hated to get close to any water unless he was eating. Something about not enjoying turning into a large panda every time he got hit with cold water.

She had seen it happen often enough to know that it was true, but that didn't mean she understood it at all.

She stopped in front of the fountain and looked at her reflection in the water. Her brown hair was getting long again... it was almost down to her waist. At least she had managed to find a hair band to tie it off with. She had it bound in a sort of ponytail, and tied off again at the bottom to keep it together and out of her way.

If she was really desperate, she knew she could also use it like a weapon, a whip of sorts.

"Who's that?"

"Never seen her here before."

Maina frowned and looked up to find two small children watching her closely. The one closest to her seemed a bit frightened to have been noticed. She had probably whispered, and hadn't expected to be overheard. Maina's hearing was much too good for that, though - she had been surprised by her sensei and/or mother far too often not to have developed the ability.

"Think she's here for the Dojo?"

"What Dojo do you mean?" Maina asked in a quiet voice, hoping not to startle the two girls. She hadn't really interacted with many people in a long time.

The two giggled and looked to each other before looking back. The one with blue black hair stepped forward, in front of the other girl. "There's only one around here, everybody knows that!"

"Maybe she's from out of town!" the other girl suggested. That girl had brown hair, Maina noticed, and looked a bit more frightened then the first. Was she really that scary looking?

"Is it the Anything Goes Dojo?"

"That's what Ryu-sensei calls it,"the second girl said. "Doesn't he, Akiko-chan?"

"Well, I guess so, Chika-chan. But mom calls it the Tendo Dojo every now and then, doesn't she?"

"That's the one!" Maina said, interrupting the two. "That's the one I'm looking for! Can you show me the way, please?"

The two girls looked to each other and then back to her again. Akiko took another step forward. "Whada ya want there, anyway?"

"I..." Maina paused for a moment. She didn't really want to tell these two everything - who knew who they were? Besides, she couldn't tell anyone the real reason until she met with Ranma Saotome. But what could she say that they would accept?

"Well?" Akiko pressed when she didn't go on. "What for? We ain't gonna take you for no reason... we weren't gonna go back for another few hours, right Chika-chan?"

Before the two could keep talking, Maina stepped forward and smiled to them both. "I want to train there." I need to meet Ranma. And I need to meet the woman who stole him from mon. But most of all, I need to meet their son. I've got a promise to keep for mom, after all. If Ranma has any honour left in him at all, he won't have a choice in the matter...

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Renia Saotome: Ranma and Akane's older daughter who turns fifteen shortly. Her birthday is April 26, which means school has started again. She is in the advanced class. Her name means "pure."

Akiko Saotome: Ranma and Akane's youger daughter who is about seven. Her birthday is closer to the end of the school year, and is September 21st. She is in a specialised class with Shampoo, learning about potions right now. Her name means "autumn child."

Minoru: Mousse and Fenrish's only child, he is fourteen. He was born on October 18th. He is in the advanced class as well. He feels outnumbered sometimes by all the girls in the house. His name means "seed."

Setsumi Tofu: Ono and Kasumi's thirteen year old daughter. She is in the advanced class. Her name means "peaceful."

Chika (Saotome): Another seven year old, her parents left her in the park one day and never returned. She hasn't told anyone her real last name, if she even knows it, but has moved into the Tendo residence, and answers to Saotome at school now. She is in the beginner class. Her name means "wisdom."

Maina Kounji: Daughter to Ukyo and... no, that won't be so easy. It will come to light later. She is fifteen as well, and her birthday is April 10th. She was trained by both Genma Saotome and Ukyo Kounji. Her name means "flying bird."

A touch of quick translation to end this off.

Ki-chan: A nickname for Renia from Fenrish, means pure/crude/raw girl.

Ryu-sensei/Ryu-san: Dragon teacher, or dragon master. Ranma is called the first on occasion by Fenrish, and the second by Chika.

Until the sun sets upon a broken world...

The Shadows