Genma Ascendant 
By LarryF

based on an original story by 
metroanime@mindspring.com
-------------------------
This is an Alternate History story. It is not intended to resemble the canon
story much, so don't expect the characters to conform to the usual standards
except as it pleases me.

I will gladly listen to any comments and criticism that is offered in the
spirit of helpfulness, either listed or private, and of course I encourage it!
After all, that's what we post this stuff for.

As per the usual disclaimer, I don't own the rights to Ranma.  Rumiko Takahashi
does.  I'm just borrowing them.  (I'll give 'em right back, I promise!)
-------------------------



Chapter 2: In Which We Meet Young Ranma

Genma, Nodoka and the baby Ranma wandered the back roads of China for a time,
learning trade secrets from the Chinese martial arts masters when they could.
Genma supported his family by odd jobs and the charity of the schools they
visited. The family did not stay in China for very long, however. Avoiding the
attention of the Communist authorities was never easy, and wanderers were
always suspect. That they had no permits meant always living in fear of
discovery. Genma steered their steps towards Tibet as the eventual goal of the
Chinese journey. When finally they reached that sad country, it was to find
that the Chinese occupation had impoverished the Tibetan religious heritage.
Genma had hoped to learn spiritual balance there to offset the warrior skills
he had learned from the Amazons, but the monasteries Tibet was so famed for
were, for the most part, gone.

Disappointed, Genma and Nodoka decided to cross into India and seek the wisdom
of the Dalai Lama, who lived in that country in exile. The trail was a long one
through the stark beauty of the Himalayan mountains, and many times they were
forced to sleep hungry, but all roads one day reach their destination. When
they reached the border of India and crept past the guards, it was as if they
had entered a new world. Genma was able to seek work openly, and they could
walk the roads without hiding every time another traveler appeared. In China,
they had always had to be careful of roving patrols of police or soldiers
catching them and finding out that they had no permission to be in the country.
Nodoka was even able to call her family in Japan and arrange for passports to
be sent to them by the Japanese Embassy. It was as if the weight of the world
had been lifted from their shoulders.

When they reached the city in which the Tibetan government in exile lived, they
found the monks whom they had thought to find in Tibet. Arrangements were made
to allow them an extended stay as guests of the Tibetan people, and Genma spent
many happy years as a Buddhist monk, balancing his growth as a person with his
growth in the martial arts. Nodoka found instructors in the sword, and was able
to continue her learning in her own art as well. Both of them doted on their
son, who grew like the proverbial weed.

When Ranma was three years of age, they began training him to follow in their
footsteps. He was sent to a public school in the morning and attended classes
at the local monastery in the afternoon. In the evening, his parents taught him
elements of both their arts. On one day, he might be taught the sword, on
another the basic forms of the Anything Goes style. For all three, it was the
happiest time of their lives.
-------------------------

When Ranma celebrated his sixth birthday, it was decided that the time had come
to return to Japan. The boy had grown up in foreign lands all his young life,
and needed to learn of his own people. The offices of the Dalai Lama were able
to obtain travel permits for China, so they were able to return to visit the
village of the Joketsuzoku openly on the way home.

When they arrived in the Byankalas, the reception they got was very different
from the first time Genma and Nodoka had walked up that trail. Nodoka was
greeted like a returning sister, and even Genma found that the warriors
guarding the way gave him grudging respect. They had arrived in time for the
yearly battle contest, and Nodoka was permitted to participate. Although she
was no match for the champions of the Amazons, her showing was by no means
poor, and at the end she held the twenty-third place overall. At the end of the
festival, just before the feast celebrating the winner, Nodoka was awarded an
honorary citizenship in the village. The Elder Cologne, in a rare display of
open affection, even adopted Nodoka into her own clan.

After the feast, Ranma wandered away from his parents to play with some
children his own age. When he approached a group of girls who were sparring
just outside the village, one of the them ran up to him.

"Nihao! Shampoo is name! You Ranma, is right? Great-grandma make your mama part
of family, so we cousins now, yes? You want to play? Shampoo like to
practice-fight, weapons or no weapons okay. I kick your butt!"

The resulting duel had aspects of both ballet and brawl. When the dust settled,
both children were dirty and their feast day clothing was torn and disarrayed.
Shampoo would have problems sitting for days afterward, and Ranma sported a
shiner on his left eye that he would regard as a badge of honor.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

The way that Ranma and Shampoo hit it off (yes, it's a pun. Sue me.) was duly
noted by another boy. Mousse had decided that he wanted Shampoo all to himself
years before, although she repeatedly rebuffed him. She had easily decked him
when they were only three years old, and nothing had changed since. Shampoo,
like many Amazon girls, wanted to be a warrior when she grew up, and warriors
were only supposed to like boys who were strong. In her six year old opinion,
Mousse didn't make the cut.

Mousse didn't like the way Shampoo stayed close to her "cousin" all evening
long.

He didn't like it one bit.
-------------------------

When the family arrived in Japan, their first stop was the Kansai prefecture.
Nodoka's parents lived in Kyoto, and they felt it was high time that they were
introduced to their grandson. Although Nodoka wrote to them as often as she
could, and had sent them pictures of Ranma on each of his birthdays, they were
understandably dissatisfied at the long distance relationship. When Nodoka had
written of their imminent return to Japan, her mother had called long distance
to the Amazon village with dire threats of dismemberment if they were not first
on the Saotome's agenda. Mother's exact words were:

"You aren't the only one with an ancient family sword, you know. If we don't
get a visit from you and your husband the very hour you set foot in Japan,
No-chan, then I'll hunt you down like a rabid dog and draw and quarter you
both."

Most of Nodoka's extreme views about honor were handed down from her mother, so
she _didn't_ regard the statement as an idle threat.
-------------------------

To Ranma, Japan was an eye-opening experience. He had never seen so much
electrically operated equipment in his life as could be found in his
grandmother's kitchen, and negotiating traffic was a new and unsettling hazard.
On the plus side, for the very first time ever he got an allowance of his own
(500 Yen a week!) and there were all sorts of vending machines everywhere he
went that sold a bewildering variety of treasures. On the mainland, soda pop
was a luxury reserved for special occasions; now all he had to do was put a few
coins in a slot, and a can of the stuff was his for the taking. They even sold
bags of rice from the vending machines! Back in the Amazon village, you had to
work hard in the fields to get rice. To have it magically appear in the tray at
the bottom of a machine was a wonder to boggle the imagination.

Although it made Nodoka nervous, Ranma was allowed to wander around the
neighborhood as he pleased. He would not grow up to be manly if she coddled and
protected him the way she really wanted to. As long as he did not go more than
a block or two away, he was permitted to do as he wished. School was in summer
vacation, so except for tutoring to get ready for the upcoming semester, his
continuing spiritual training, his kendo lessons, his martial arts training,
the obligatory time letting his grandparents fuss over him and a crash course
he had to take on living in a modern, industrialized country, his time was his
own.

He was out exploring one Sunday morning when he ran across something
fascinating. A man was standing next to a big two-wheeled cart cooking
something that smelled wonderful, and a kid Ranma's age was giving away pieces
of paper to the passers-by. The kid was dressed up in the same kind of clothing
as the man, but had delicate features and long hair tied back with a white bow.
It looked kinda sissy to Ranma.

When the kid from the cart noticed him, Ranma asked:

"Hey, are you selling the food from that cart?"

The kid looked at him scornfully.

"Of course we are, jackass. You think I'm doin' this for my health?"

Ranma was a little taken aback at the rudeness, but the food smelled REALLY
good...

"Umm, how much does it cost?"

He was handed one of the papers. The food was called "okonomiyaki", and there
were many different kinds of it. The problem was the prices. Three hundred to
seven hundred Yen. He only had a hundred Yen left of the week's allowance, and
he wouldn't get more until the next day. Crestfallen, he gave the paper back.

"Oh. I guess I can't afford any."

The kid from the cart looked at him speculatively. Duly noted was the telltale
calluses on Ranma's hands and elbows, and the poise that came of long practice.

"You know how to fight, don't ya? Tell you what, I don't get enough sparring
time in to keep my edge, so I could use a match. If you win, you can have
anything you want for free. If I win, you gotta help me sell okonomiyaki for my
dad. Okay?"

Ranma brightened up immediately.

"You bet! My name's Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes school of martial arts!
I accept your challenge!"

"Okay, sugar. I'm Ukyou. Prepare to get your block knocked off!"

'Ukyou, huh?' Ranma thought to himself. 'That's a guy's name. He looks kinda
like a sissy, but he sure doesn't sound like one. This could be fun!'

The battle that followed, fist versus spatula, was epic. Ranma won his first
okonomiyaki, and over the following months many more would follow.

Thus was born his second lifelong friendship.








Larry Fontenot
Member Computer Consultant
Members Computer Source
http://www.memberscomputer.com/