Really beta at this point.  I'm bored.  Too bad, this is not lemon. :)  I
haven't seen my girlfriend for awhile...

Ranma Alternative Reality #4: Eternal Love.
By Michael Chen

Heh, heh, yet another alternative reality by me.  Don't you get
bored?  Maybe, if I ever finish any of these stories, I'm sure
that I'd have a rather weird collection of Ranma 1/2 alternative
realities.

This is not the final version of this chapter.  This was just an idea I
got after watching too much Please Save My Earth and IRCing :).  I mean,
Nabsy on #anime/manga is such a PSME fan...

Main question:
(1) A name for Mrs. Tendo?  I'm tired of thinking of dumb things w/o a
name.
(2) Feasible story?  I mean, Ranma's not going to be even present in this
story.


A Prologue to this Fanciful Account of Two Families.

    "These are for you."  Akane heard a lisping voice, and she
looked up from her toy trucks to find a rather messily picked and
semicrushed bundle of flowers shoved into her face.  Akane looked
at Ranma's red face.  He wasn't looking directly at her.

    Akane smiled as she stood up and accepted the flowers. 
"Thank you, Ran-chan."  She giggled as she took the flowers and
arranged them into her hair.  "They're very pretty."  Well, in
reality, Ranma had managed to mangle the flowers pretty good. 
But to Akane, she seemed to like the thought more than the actual
object.

    Ranma laughed nervously.  Perking his ears up, Ranma turned
his head at the gate to the Saotome Dojo.  In ran Nabiki sobbing. 
Ranma ran up to the girl he thought of as his own sister. 
"Nabiki-oneechan!  What's wrong?"

    Nabiki sniffed for a bit before she could finally control her
spasms of crying.  "Some older kids threatened me for my lunch
money.  And when I didn't give it to them, they started to pick
on me."  She just gave up and started bawling her eyes out,
attracting the attention of the two mothers who had been talking
in the kitchen.

    Nodoka Saotome was the first out the door.  "Nabiki, what's
wrong?"  Nabiki ran into Nodoka's arms.  Both mothers whispered
soothing words to Nabiki as they carried her into the Dojo.

    Ranma shouted at Nabiki.  "Don't worry Nabiki, I'll get them
for you!"  Nodoka handed Nabiki over to Mrs. Tendo before she
turned around to give Ranma a stern lecturing on the evils of
seeking revenge.

    "Now Ranma,"  However by then, all that remained of Ranma was
the open gate, which someone did not thoughtfully close.  "Oh
great, when will he learn that muscle isn't the way to solve
every problem.  I guess one he get banged up enough, he'll
learn."

    Mrs. Tendo nodded as she wiped Nabiki's face free of the
dried tears.  "So, Nabiki.  Who tried to take your money?  I'm
going to call up everyone of their parents right now and make
sure they get what they deserve."

* * *

    Some twenty minutes later, a breathless Ranma made his way
into the Dojo, sporting a black eye, some bruises, and a few
scrapes.  Nodoka clucked her tongue as she grabbed Ranma and the
bottle of peroxide.  Ranma hadn't been crying at all when he came
home, but as soon as his eyes landed on the dreaded bottle he
started to cry.

    "No Mommie!  I don't want that stuff!  No!"  But Ranma was so
intent on getting his mother to throw away the bottle, that he
didn't notice that his mother had pulled a little magic by
cleaning all of his scrapes without him noticing it.

    "There Ranma, see, it didn't hurt.  Let me see that black
eye."  Nodoka kneeled down, and looked at the respectable bruise
around Ranma's eye.

    Much later, after Nodoka and Mrs. Tendo had taken turns
inspecting every inch of Ranma's body, Ranma was finally free and
watching television.  Nabiki walked into the room with a lollipop
in her mouth, no doubt a rather useful device to quiet her
crying.  "Nabiki-oneechan!  I gave all of them bloody noses, just
for you!"  Ranma smiled briefly, before his attention was grabbed
by the crudely drawn, slapstick humor, children's cartoon.

    Nabiki's eyes opened slightly.  "You did?  But they're all
bigger than us."

    Ranma looked smug.  "Yeah, that's why after I punched all of
them in the face, they caught me and dragged me from their bikes
for a block, until I tore my shirt."  Ranma raised his hands to
reveal the torn sleeves.  Not that it was a bad addition to
Ranma's clothing.  He had the distinction of being a rather
hyperactive child, and his clothing showed it.  There were
infinite amounts of patches and needlework that kept his wardrobe
together.

    Nabiki shot Ranma a weird glance.  "I'm telling you, when I'm
older, I'm going to make everyone of those idiots pay me back
1000 fold!"  Nabiki gripped her fist together as she made her
pledge to no one in particular.

    Ranma sighed as he looked at the television. "That's great. 
And when you need someone to knock the stuffing out of them, just
ask me."  Nabiki had to laugh.

* * *

    Genma's chest puffed out proudly as Nodoka told him what
happened to Ranma that day.  With relish, as Genma brushed back
his amply hair and sampled the excellent cuisine, he patted Ranma
on the shoulder, only to be surprised when Ranma winced.  "That's
my boy, a born fighter."

    Soun had to smile, and Kasumi grabbed Ranma to seat him on
her lap.  There was one thing that everyone had to admit,
everyone loved to lavish attention on Ranma.  Not that Akane
minded, of course, Ranma was a really nice boy, quite possibly
the only nice boy she knew.  Most boys their age believed in the
idea that girls were some evil force.

    Genma cleared his throat, and he looked at Nodoka who gave
him a quick smile.  "Well, I'm sorry to say, that Nodoka and I
have made a decision.  It was a hard decision, but nevertheless,
for our son, we felt that it was a good decision.  Of course,
don't take our decision the wrong way, we all love you and I
wanted to let you know that this decision was in no way
influenced by you."

    Genma would have gone on and on about the decision, if it had
not been for Nodoka's interfering.  "Genma, why don't you cut to
the point?"

    Genma sighed, and then said what he had been meaning to say. 
"Nodoka, Ranma and I are leaving Nerima tomorrow on a long
training trip.  This is going to be good for our boy's future in
martial arts.  I can't teach him enough, and I feel it was time
that we took Ranma to the many masters."

    Everyone was silent.  Soun was first to speak.  "We, my
friend, I respect your decision, and I hope the best for you." 
And that was that.

    Of course, Akane didn't seem to like the idea of Ranma
leaving.  "Nabiki?  Don't you think it's wrong for Ranma to go on
a training trip?  What would happen if he never got back?  I
mean, it'll be bad.  He's one of the best friends that I have."

    Nabiki sighed, as she tried to get some sleep.  "I have to
agree.  Once Ranma's gone, I'm sure those boys will be back to
pick on me.  I'll miss not having him around anymore."

* * *

    The next day, when both Nabiki and Akane woke up, they found
Ranma in their room, already dressed up as if ready to travel. 
He smiled as he looked at both of them.  "Good morning!  I just
wanted to say bye before I go!"  Surprising enough, Ranma seemed
cheerful, as if the entire training trip was some glorious
adventure.

    Ranma looked at Akane, and was somewhat surprised to find
that she had kept his terrible example of flower arranging.  "I
can't believe that you kept these."  Ranma walked up to the
little cup that held the wilting flowers.  As Ranma passed, Akane
heard him whisper something into her ear.  Immediately she gave
Ranma a strange stare.

    He acted like his childish self and stuck his tongue out at
her before running out of the room at breakneck speed.

    And that was the last that anyone had ever seen of Ranma or
the Saotomes.  And for the next some 11 years, there was not a
single word about the whereabouts of the Saotomes that was until
a week ago at the Tendo Dojo, a postcard came in the mail.

    Kasumi grabbed the card and read it carefully.  "Oh my! 
Father!  The Saotomes are coming back to Nerima!"

    Akane walked into the room, dropping her satchel on the
floor.  "Hi Kasumi, what was it that you said?  The Saotomes are
coming back?"

    There was a muffled knocking at the door, and the entire
Tendo Family crowded to the entryway.  Soun opened the door with
trembling hands, revealing Genma, looking like himself, except
for a rather obvious pure white bandanna tied around his head. 
There was Nodoka, who didn't seem to have aged at all during the
absence.  And finally there was a little boy, some six to eight
years of age, still somewhat short.

    Akane looked as if there was a missing person.  "Where's
Ranma?"  Nabiki, Soun, and Kasumi nodded.

    Genma looked at Nodoka sadly.  "He died two years ago." 
Nodoka wiped her eyes clear.  "But let's not ruin this happy
occasion."  Genma took the young boy by the arm.  "See these are
the Tendos."  Genma proceeded by pointing out the various people
to the little boy.  "She is Akane.  She is Nabiki, and she is
Kasumi.  And this is Mr. Tendo."

    The little boy smiled and bowed.  "Hi, my name's Tadashi. 
How do you do?"  He seemed to speak rather clearly for a child
his age.

    Kasumi smiled as she took Tadashi's hand.  "My what a well
behaved child.  Well, I have some candy in the kitchen, do you
want some?"

    The mere mention of candy made Tadashi's eye light up, and he
skipped after Kasumi.

* * *

    Akane sat uneasily at the porch watching Tadashi playing his
heart out in the backyard, throwing stuff, playing in the pond,
doing things that seemed to make him happy, things that would not
satisfy anyone older.

    Behind Akane, Genma, Nodoka, and Soun were locked in
conversation.  Nodoka had to ask the sensitive question.  "So
Soun, where is your wife?  I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." 
Almost immediately, Soun burst into a torrent of tears, and it
took seconds for the Saotomes to realize that the Tendo's had a
tragedy of their own.

    Soun finally regained his composure.  "So, how is the boy,
Tadashi?"

    Genma nodded his head vigorously.  "Yes, he is a very caring
boy.  He is somewhat more mature than Ranma at his age, though. 
It was a sudden change.  I guess Ranma's death, force him to grow
up a little more quicker."  The three adults turned their head to
watch Tadashi climbing the fence in the backyard.

    "And how about his abilities in the Art?"  Soun asked.  "I
was wondering about our promise..."

    Genma shrugged his shoulders.  "Well, that was one thing I'd
say that Tadashi could not do.  He is not a fighter.  He tries to
talk his way out of things.  But then again, two years ago, he
began to show a sudden improvement in ability."  Genma leaned
forwards and whispered into Soun's ear.  "And I mean, rapid
progress."

    Nodoka, however, was slightly disturbed.  "Are you crazy? 
You intend to keep that promise we made some 11 years ago?  Our
oldest son is nowhere near the age of your daughters.  It would
be insane."

    Meanwhile, Akane hadn't really been paying attention to the
conversation.  Rather, she had been thinking about Ranma.  She
thought about the last thing he had said to her.  She had thought
about her childhood dreams.  She had thought about quite possibly
her best friend in the world.  And he was no more.

    She felt someone sit next to her, and she at first thought it
was Kasumi.  "Why are you crying?  Are you sad?"  It was Tadashi,
and he was looking at Akane with sympathetic eyes.

    Akane wiped away her tears.  "No, something got into my eyes,
that's all."

    "You're thinking about Ranma."  Tadashi looked at Akane, and
as soon as she nodded, a smile came over Tadashi's face.  "You
know?  He loved you very much.  And if he were here, he'd ask you
to marry him."  Tadashi had a strange smile on his face and he
nodded knowingly at Akane.

    Akane felt uneasy.