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Chasing Dreams
by Shade

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 & Love Hina are the property of their 
respective creators Rumiko Takahashi and Ken Akamatsu. 
Ken-san Banzai!

Ranma Note: Takes place before Nodoka's introduction, 
but after the Shi Shi Hokodan arc

Love Hina Note: AU, uses mix of anime & manga, spoilers later 
on for those who haven't read through the manga and haven't 
seen the entire tv series, ovas, and specials. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: Memory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scene was blurry and faded by the passage of time 
and numerous impacts by blunt objects to the head.

But he could still see the sandbox. 

And the plump stuffed beaver animal doll. 

He would never ever forget anything looking *that* silly.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

Two kids were playing in the sand, one slightly bigger then other.

He couldn't make out their faces, only vague shadows and impressions.

"If two people go to Todai together, they'll find their happiness there."

He wanted to find happiness too.

He opened his mouth to call out to them, but only silence emerged.

"Let's make a promise to meet in Todai."

He wanted to go too!

He started running toward them as fast as he could, trying to catch up 
to them before they vanished like they always did. 

"Wait for me! Wait! Don't leave me behind!"

He didn't want to forget them like he always did when morning came.

If he could only make it before the kiss.

"It's a promise!"

No!

*smooch*

Too late.

Again.

He cried out.

"Todai!"

And with a start, Ranma Saotome woke up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Ugggh, what the hell was I dreaming about this time?"

The last wispy fragments slipped through his mental grasp like quicksilver, 
vanishing along with the last holdouts of the previous night in the blindingly 
bright morning sun. He hated that feeling of not being able to remember anything.

But there was nothing he could actually do about it.

"What time is it anyway?"

It was rare for him to be able to get up like a normal person.

Between Genma, Akane, Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, and occasionally Happosai
mornings usually came too damn early for him. That was why he kept dozing
off in class, he had to get some sleep somewhere. But this morning none 
of the usual suspects had shown up yet.

Weird.

He wondered how long his luck would last today.

If previous experiences were any indicator, probably not much longer.

With a yawn and a groan, he threw off the warmth of the blanket 
and sat up on the beaten up old futon.

It might beat sleeping on the ground but not by much.

The Tendos didn't have the slightest clue of how good they had it here.

There had been times on the training trip when Ranma would have happily
kicked somebody else's ass to be able to sleep on a real mattress.

The brisk morning chill in the air worked better then any cup of coffee 
to shake the last cobwebs of slumber from his body. From his new vantage 
point he was able to see that the angle of the light streaming in from 
the window was relatively low, indicating that he probably hadn't overslept much.

A pity, he could have used the extra rest.

One quick glance across the room was enough to discover that Genma wasn't here.

With a regretful look, he got up and stepped away 
from the tempation of simply going back to sleep.

Which was just as well, because there was a strange 
restlessness in his mood today, and it bothered him.

He wondered if it had something to do with the dream that he couldn't remember.
 
Maybe.

It was the most disturbing sensation.

He felt...lonely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{What am I missing?}

Ranma had been so preoccupied that he'd hardly tasted breakfast.

It might as well have been mush and gruel, 
he probably wouldn't have noticed any difference.

Even the absence of Soun and Genma barely registered.

{Am I happy?}

He was really starting to dislike this feeling.

{Shouldn't I be?}

This kind of uncertainty had no business in his life.

He was a martial artist.

One of the best.

He had to be, otherwise that would mean the last ten years 
of his life had been wasted for nothing. 

Surely that was enough?

But no matter how hard he tried, Ranma could not shake 
the cloud of unease that hung over him.

{What else is there for me?}

Tired of putting up with the strange looks that Akane and Nabiki 
had been giving him all morning he'd decided to go out for a walk. 

It had taken him a bit longer to lose them when they'd tried 
to follow him. But the final outcome had never been in doubt.

After all, neither one of them were up to roof hopping.

Now he was just randomly strolling along the streets of Nerima, 
taking care to keep a safe distance from the Nekohanten and 
Ucchan's Okonomiyaki restaurant. The longer he could put off 
running into someone that he knew, the better. He didn't feel
up to another one of those all out free-for-alls that seemed
to be breaking out more and more frequently lately. 

Damn it, what was wrong with him today?!

"Thank you Gwan-ma!"

He turned to see a cute little tyke who didn't look a day 
over five give a wrinkled old woman a warm hug. 

It was nothing. Just a simple family scene.

And yet, something held his attention there.

"You're welcome, dearie."

What was this tight burning feeling in his chest?

Jealousy?! 

But why?

What was he getting so upset about? Just because he
didn't have any memories of *his* family like that....

He didn't...did he?

He could remember training, cold nights with not enough 
to eat, and his father always fighting with him for food.  

But for the life of him, Ranma could not remember a genuinely
happy moment spent with his parent. Did he even have a mother? 
Or grandparents? Was the old man all the family he really had?

"...."

Suddenly he didn't feel like walking anymore.

~~~~~~~~~

The tense feeling that had been hanging in the empty
cavern of his stomach turned cold and queasy as 
he returned to the Tendo home.

Something was up.

The excited voices coming from the 
living room could only mean one thing.

Trouble.

He entered to find the household in an uproar.

Soun was weeping, whether in happiness or sorrow 
he didn't know. Not that it made much of a difference
either way.

Nabiki was eyeing him like a piece of expensive meat 
or a large denomination yen note. It was hard to tell
sometimes with her.

Not a good sign. 

Looking at Kasumi didn't help. She would probably
still have that same happy little expression even
if Martians were to suddenly invade the neighborhood 
with handheld Deathrays while screaming about 
"Love and Peace!"

"-Rich!!"

Hmm?

What was going on?

And why was Akane giving him such a dirty look? 

What was he being blamed for *this* time?

Then he spotted the envelope addressed to him, 
or rather what was left of it.

Torn and smudged, it bore all the signs of having
been in several hands so far. 

At first glance it looked empty, but then he noticed
a small letter that had somehow been overlooked by
the others and was still lying inside. 

He pulled it out slowly, it seemed to have escaped the
notice of everyone else who had gone through his mail
and he was determined to protect this small remmant of
his personal privacy. 

Ranma looked down and started to read.

'Dear Mr. Ranma Saotome,

We regret to inform you that your grandmother, Mrs. Keiko Hina,
recently passed away. As per the instructions in her will, you have 
been designated as her primary heir. This includes controlling interest 
in the property known as the Hinata Sou as well as the surrounding lands 
within the Hinata district. Her bank accounts will be held in trust for you 
by Ms. Haruka Urashima until you reach 20 years of age or marry, whichever 
comes first. A portion of those funds have been released and enclosed with 
this letter in order to pay for your traveling expenses....'

His heart froze.

The words kept echoing in his brain over and over. 

'Your grandmother...passed away.'

'Passed away.'

Genma had never told him.

He didn't know how long he kept staring at the paper 
clutched in his hands, his eyes blurring from the pain 
in his heart that he could not, dared not acknowledge.

He was a man. And men did not cry.

"Ah, the priest is finally here!"

A peculiar pressure began building up inside Ranma's head 
as soon as he heard that gloating tone. A dreadful premonition 
of something so unspeakable that for one of the few times in his life, 
the young man silently prayed that his intuition was wrong.

{PLease. Just this once, don't do this to me.}

"Perfect! We can hold the wedding ceremony immediately, Saotome!"

Bile clawed at Ranma's tightening throat while his shaken
mind tried to cope with this unbelievable turn of events.

"I won't marry him!"

He heard Akane's words as if from a great distance, for there 
was a dull roar filling his ears now. As if the ocean itself 
had been summoned into his skull, knocking aside the very pillars
of his existance as if they were mere castles in the sand.

"If you don't want Ranma, I'll be more then 
happy to take him now that he's got some actual money."

"Nabiki!"

"That's the Tendo spirit, girls!"

"Dad! How can you say that?! 

Ten years.

The training, his sacrifices, the loneliness.

All of it for nothing.

No home. No real friends. Not even a bed to call his own.

And now this.

"Feeling jealous?"

"Jealous? Of that idiot? Never!""

"I'm sure Shampoo and Ukyo will be happy to hear that."

"They can have him for all I care!"

A cold black void started seeping into Ranma's very being. 
He felt empty. Completely drained of all hope, all joy.
Even Cologne's Soul of Ice training had never pierced this 
deeply into his soul. 

"Stop staring and say something, Ranma! Try to think about 
how I feel for once instead only thinking about yourself!"

"Boy! You *WILL* marry Akane and that's that!"

"Don't you dare try to leave my daughter at the altar!"

"I've got the tuxedo ready over here, Father."

"I won't marry him!"

"Time to start paying off your tab, Ranma."

"Ranma!"

It was simply too much.

The letter crumpled as he balled both hands into a shaking fists.

"Ranma!!"

Something shattered deep inside of him.

"RANMA!!!"

And he ran.


(To be continued)


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