Author's Foreword : For everyone that keep say write longer fics, here is the
longest fic since Chp 2 of Past/Future. Over 20 k.
Thanks to my pre readers: Murmur the Fallen, David Johnston, Eric McGinnis,
TonyLoco, Octavian
Ranma 1/2 : Redemption Chapter One
Created by Long Ngo
Started June 11, 1998
Finished August 22, 1998
* * * * *
It was late December and the ground was covered in a thin layer of snow.
>From the sky, tiny flakes of frozen water gently floated downwards to
ultimately meet with its peers in creating a breath-taking majestic landscape.
Not many people were out this early and the snow was continuous with little or
no footprints marring its surface, thus creating a serene and peaceful scene.
In the distant, the chiming sound, warning pedestrians of an approaching train
could be heard. Within the halls of the Tendou Training Halls, the usual
screams and mayhem were non-existent.
Walking around Nerima Ward was a young man around the age of 21. He
sported a backpack which somehow clashed well with the yellow bandanna and
shirt he wore. He was a wanderer and a loner. His manner was not of a person
who would stop to enjoy the scenery around him but was one of utter
depression. The kind that could only feed itself while blocking all rays of
light from penetrating its core. Trudging around without a thought of his
surrounding, he disrupted the peaceful masterpiece, nature had so carefully
erected.
It had been close to 13 years since his life was ruin by the cowardice
of a so called martial artist. 13 years of wandering the Earth in search of
revenge. Walking around with no friends, family and a place to call home,
this martial artist of extreme skill and prowess held one individual to blame,
"YOU'VE MADE MY LIFE A LIVING HELL, RANMA!!!!!" As Ryouga's shout echoed
through the silent air, only the sound of a frightened cat and an overturned
trash can answered his scream of frustration and anger.
As the falling snow covered the tracks of the wanderer, certain
individuals started to awaken within the Tendou compound. Opening her eyes
and yawning from a well night's rest, Kasumi started her morning routine.
Without the protection of the covers and warmth from the young man next to
her, the eldest of the Tendou clan was the first to shiver from the chilled
winter air. Walking to the closet, Kasumi drew forth another blanket which
she used to wrap around her body. Looking back at the calm face of her
sleeping husband, she smiled and thanked Kami for the wonderful life she had
before closing the door and headed downstairs.
Feeling the absence of his wife, the individual in question opened his
eyes as well. Without even thinking, he reached out and ran the back of his
hand over the spot his wife had occupied but a few moments before which still
radiated a warmth that mirrored the love he had for her and the kindness in
her soul. Getting up and stretching, Saotome Ranma, heir to both the Saotome
and Tendou Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu, smiled. Years of training had provided
Ranma with the ability to ignore any physical discomfort while still being
able to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings. It was because of this
that he did not shiver like his wife had before him. Looking outside, he
marveled at the beautiful morning. Heading downstairs, Ranma wanted to share
in the morning wonders with his wife.
Kasumi was busily preparing breakfast for the entire family. This was
something she enjoyed doing . *I'll be doing this for my own family someday,*
Kasumi thought. Placing her hand on her mid-section, *I wonder what it would
feel like...* Her thoughts were cut off as a pair of arms wrapped themselves
around her waist from behind.
"Morning, Kasumi-chan!" Ranma greeted his wife. It was a name he had
used when he was first engaged to Kasumi. There was a bit of tension between
them or more accurately within his wife. She felt that she was a bit to old
to marry someone as young as he was. To erase any doubts she might have had,
he started to call her, 'Kasumi-chan,' to show her that the years between them
didn't really matter. It stuck ever since. "Smells great!" Ranma
complimented enthusiastically.
*Can't believe how much my Ranma has changed since he first stepped foot
within this house five years ago,* Kasumi wondered before hearing his next
comment, "Although some things never change." Giving Ranma a smile,
"Breakfast will be ready soon. Weren't you going to spar with your father?"
Kasumi asked.
"Oyaji is a bit tired after last night," Ranma answered, his attention
still on the food his wife was making.
Kasumi blushed at the statement for it reminded her of what they had
done last night as well. Elbowing Ranma lightly, "Why don't you go wash up
while I finish breakfast," Kasumi suggested.
"Okay, Kasumi-chan." Ranma said. Giving her a quick kiss, he headed
upstairs.
Kasumi could almost sense when each member of the household would
awaken. Looking at the clock, Kasumi realized that she was a little behind
schedule. She didn't mind the interuption though for it made her realized how
lucky she was. Kasumi started to hum a pleasant tune as she quickening her
pace slightly.
Later that day, everyone was sitting down to a nice meal. They were
having Miso Soup, rice and fish. Ranma and Kasumi were sitting on opposite
ends of the table. After their marriage, they had become the head of the
household. Soun did not mind and was quite happy to see the Tendou legacy
continue and the joining of their two families through Ranma and Kasumi's
marriage. To one side of the couple was Nodoka, Genma and Soun and to the
other side was Akane and Nabiki.
"So is everything ready for the Fifth Annual Tendou/Saotome Christmas
Celebration?" Nabiki asked. She was visiting her family for the holidays,
getting a break from her studies to become a business major.
"Everything is set," Kasumi answered. "I've sent invitations to
everyone we know."
"I hope you didn't send one to that PIG!" Akane snarled the last part
out. "I still can't believe the nerve of him. He slept with me, saw me naked
and heard all my secrets." Akane hung on to her anger for a few more moments
before falling into a state of depression. She really wasn't angry with
Ryouga anymore. What she felt was betrayal and resentment from someone she
had once held as a friend.
"Come on, Akane. It's been two years already. Can't you give the guy a
break?" Ranma asked.
"And you, Ranma, kept it a secret from me. Not just you, my whole
family did." Akane continued to rant, her anger building again.
"It wasn't all that hard to figure out, Akane." Nabiki tried to explain.
*Although it did take me over a year to figure the connection out.* "Ranma
always called Ryouga, P-chan. Ryouga and P-chan always wore the same bandana.
They both get lost constantly." Nabiki continued.
"All right, already!! I'm heading to my room." With that, Akane headed
upstairs.
"I wish she'd get over it already," Ranma sighed, a little depressed.
Kasumi knew the real reason behind Akane's anger, resentment and Ranma's
sad look. Because Akane always jumped to a conclusion, her violent behavior
and her distrust of Ranma whenever there was a female involved caused the two
to grow apart and later resulted in the break up of Ranma and Akane's
engagement. Although, Kasumi felt sorry for Akane, a part of her was also
pleased because that was how Ranma became engaged to her.
Everyone was distracted from going to comfort Akane when a huge
explosion caught all of their attention.
Suddenly, the ground erupted and a substantial part of the Tendou's back
wall was shattered and turned to dust. It was at this moment that Ryouga
found the Tendou Training Hall and one particular martial artist. "I'VE
FINALLY FOUND YOU RANMA!!"
"What is it now, Ryouga?" Ranma asked in a tired voice. After Akane
found out about Ryouga's curse, there was no need for Ranma to call Ryouga, P-
chan any longer. *This week isn't turning out so well,* Ranma thought.
"There really isn't much to fight over anymore."
"FOR DESTROYING MY LIFE!" Ryouga shouted, getting more depressed by the
moment . It was at this moment that Ryouga saw Akane come downstairs. Seeing
her filled his heart with love but also depressed him further. He remembered
the day that Akane discovered his secret.
---------------
"You're P-chan?" Akane asked Ryouga after he had transformed back. She
was still in shock.
"Y..e..s," Ryouga stammered out his answer.
"YOU'RE P-CHAN? YOU SAW ME NAKED, HEARD MY DEEPEST SECRETS AND SLEPT
WITH ME!!" Akane shouted, having come out of her trance.
Ryouga was miserable and could not stand the fact that his one true love
was mad at him. Looking over Akane's shoulder, he could see that Ranma was
grinning. The depression he felt at the moment suddenly turned to bitter rage
as he continued to focus on the Ranma's grinning face. "THIS IS ALL YOUR
FAULT, RANMA!" Ryouga yelled.
"You're not going to blame me for this, Ryouga." Ranma answered back.
"Shut up, Ranma." Akane yelled over her shoulder, never taking her eyes
off of Ryouga. She had never been so angry in her life. At her side, she was
unconsciously clenching and unclenching her hands. She had very few friends.
Most people were jealous of the attention she got. Attention she never
wanted. Because of this, Akane had even fewer male friends and now one of
those so called male friend of hers had betrayed her. Worse, he had taken
advantage of her. Tears started to form within both of her eyes.
Concentrating all of her anger into a single moment, a single spot, Akane
slapped Ryouga, leaving a red hand print on his left cheek. In a low voice
only Ryouga could hear, "Thank you my friend," Akane spat out the last part
before turning and running into the house.
Ryouga stood there in shock. He reached up and slowly placed his hands
on his left cheek where Akane had slapped him. A tear rolled down his face.
To him, it felt like the hardest blow someone had ever dealt him. Ryouga was
beyond depressed. Seeing Ranma smile did not help his mood any. "PREPARE TO
DIE, RAN..." Ryouga yelled and was about to charge Ranma when he was
interrupted by Kasumi of all person.
<Slap> "That's my husband you're shouting at. This is all your fault,
not his. You are perhaps one of the worse excuse for a martial artist I have
ever heard of. You and Kunou are alike in many ways. You both wish only to
believe in a delusion rather than reality. It wasn't Ranma's fault that you
got your curse and it wasn't his fault that Akane likes him. You call
yourself honorable yet you sleep with my sister. You've seen her naked and
she has told you her deepest thoughts and secrets and still you blame
everything on Ranma. Ranma this, Ranma that. Ranma prepare to die, right?
Had it been anyone else, they would have left after the first hour or so. He
waited for three days for you. The fight was BEHIND your house. How hard can
that be? 10 meters! All you had to do was take twenty steps!!!!!! Who told
you to follow him? 'He made you life Hell right?' You followed him. It was
your own choice! I think your curse suits you. You are swine. Ranma is
honorable. Kunou is honorable. Heck, Genma is more honorable than you. Get
out of here. Get out of my house and stay out!" Kasumi lectured. She was
mad. She had always thought Ryouga to be an honorable person but today proved
her wrong.
Getting slapped by Akane and now Kasumi shocked Ryouga to the core. The
two nicest individuals he had ever known had slapped him and called him
dishonorable. Unable to keep his emotions in check or his anger at Ranma,
Ryouga fled into the night.
---------------
"I"LL CRUSH YOU'RE HAPPINESS!" Ryouga continued. A red haze filled
Ryouga's vision as everything else became a dark void The look of anger and
repulsion on Akane's face had shattered his fragile heart and finally sent him
over the edge. Darkness started to surround the depressed martial artist as
he wrenched every ounce of anguish he could bear into his being. The air in
his close proximity turned to night as though he had sucked in all the light
around him. Every muscle in Ryouga's body started to expand as he collected
more and more energy. Excess energy started to leak from his glowing eyes.
Ryouga created a crater around him by the simply act of clenching both hands
to his side due to the immense power he now wield. Cocking his head to the
Heavens above, Ryouga shouted out his last battle cry, "PERFECT SHI SHI HOUKOU
DAN!!!" The energy that he had previously gathered had no real point of
release and so started to shoot out of every pore in his body. Even Ryouga's
body could not handle the stress as it exploded, discharging the energy in a
dome of destruction.
No one really had a chance to run for cover when they figured out what
Ryouga was doing.
When Kasumi first realized what would happen, she became very scared.
She was going to die. A sudden flash of bright light covered her line of
sight as memories of looking up at an older lady played through her mind. She
felt loved and at peace. Looking around, she could see cherry blossom on
every tree. A younger version of Akane and Nabiki were playing in the sand
box. Only then did Kasumi realized that the person that was looking over them
was her mother. Someone she had not seen in nearly 16 years. The scene soon
changed to one of the same lady lying on a hospital bed. Tears were rolling
down Kasumi's eyes as she witness her mother's last breath. Everything
blurred and was replaced with a certain rainy day where she first met a
particular red-head and her panda. Her environment changed again to one of
wedding bells and then later to her honeymoon and one particular night. The
last flashback was a picture of this morning where she had placed one of her
hands on her abdominal wondering what it would be like to have Ranma's child.
As the light receded, she could see the look of horror on Ranma's face.
Giving him a reassuring smile, Kasumi closed her eyes and waited until the
moment she would again be reunited with all of her family. Her only regret
was the fact that she never truly had a family she could call her own.
Ranma had heard many tales saying that at a certain point you would be
able see your life flash before your very eyes and that was when you knew, you
were going to die. Although there was no flash of light, everything slowed
down for Ranma. Looking over at Kasumi and the dome of energy closing in on
her, a look of horror could be seen on his face. He could not move, just look
on as the energy engulfed her and turned her body to ashes. The last thing
that Ranma witness before his wife was consumed within the dome of energy and
turned to ashes was her smile.
-----
Sitting in what used to be the dining area of the Tendou Training Hall,
was the present Master of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu and sole practitioner,
Saotome Ranma. The only reason he was alive was due, purely, to the fact that
he was a remarkable martial artist. Somehow his body had survived the blast
at ground zero which had killed so many others. Remembering a certain fortune
that he had received so long ago, 'May you live in interesting times,' Ranma
could not help but chuckle at the irony.
In his hands he held a very special mirror. His only chance at saving
those he loved. Unfortunately the legendary Nanban Mirror was shattered. He
only had one piece of the shattered mirror in his possession.
The darkness of depression started to surround Ranma again. Everywhere
he went, the images of the dead haunted him. Nerima, which had become his
home was now, in all sense, a ghost town. No one wanted to move here. The
once joyous and exciting Ward of Tokyo was now almost completely abandoned.
The credit for this feat lies with his once best friend Hibiki Ryouga, now
deceased along with everyone else he cared for. Ranma's sorrow had long since
drowned out the anger he had for Ryouga.
He slowly cried as his vision passed across various pictures of friends
and family members. He remembered all the adventures and good times he was
able to spend with those he loved. His gaze lingered the longest on his
departed wife, Saotome Kasumi. She was always there for him. As a mother, a
sister and finally a lover and a wife. Losing her was the hardest. He lost
everything he had acquired in his 21 years on Earth because a certain ex-
friend could not handle reality. It may just have been fate or just the
desperate will of a man half dead, but a single tear drop landed upon the
cracked object in his hand and he was suddenly engulfed in a blinding flash.
* * * * *
"I'm heading back to China, Oyaji!" Ranma heard himself shout before a
veil of darkness descended upon him. *Am I dead?* he thought. Opening his
eyes and giving them time to adjust to their new environment, Ranma found
himself being carried by a huge panda over its shoulder. *Am I dreaming?*
Ranma thought to himself. *Only one way to find out.* Lifting his right
hand, Ranma pinched himself. Feeling a lingering pain, *I'm not dreaming,* he
shouted within. Ranma finally noticed that it was raining and he was
currently in his cursed form. A distant memory started to surface, *This
can't be!* "Hey Oyaji! Where are you taking me?" Ranma shouted.
"Did I hit you too hard, boy? I'm taking you to see an old friend of
mine. I engaged you to one of his daughters, remember?" the panda held up a
sign. Waiting for an outburst or at least a struggle from his son and finding
neither, *I think I hit him too hard* Setting Ranma down, Genma looked at his
son and discovered a small smile on his face.
*Somehow the Nanban Mirror worked. I'm in the past. I've got a second
chance to save everyone.* "What are you waiting for, lets go Tousan."
Following Ranma, Genma never saw the determination in his son's eyes. *I will
not lose you again, Kasumi!*
Shocked was not the word Genma would have used to describe his reaction.
*The boy addressed me with respect,* was the only thought that went through
his mind. Had Ranma looked behind him, he would see a very scared panda. *Is
the curse getting to him? If so, what about me? I DON'T WANT TO BE A PANDA!*
Genma was worried. *Have to keep a close watch on the boy,* he swore to
himself. Increasing his speed, he was surprised when Ranma stopped in front
of the gates to the Tendou Training Hall. *How did he know where to go? Have
to ask him later.*
* * * * *
"That must be them now," Nabiki said, getting up and heading towards the
door. Moments later, Soun, Kasumi and Akane saw her running towards them was
a look of fright on her face. Following her was a panda and a stranger with
red hair in a pigtail. Looking at Soun, "Are these friends of yours, Tousan?"
Nabiki asked. Seeing him shake his head left and right frantically, "It just
happens that a panda comes walking into our home."
At this moment, the stranger walked forward, "I'm Saotome Ranma, sorry
about this."
Later that day, everyone was sitting down at the dinner table listening
to Genma's explanation.
"You're problem is not so bad, Ranma. Here are my three daughters:
Kasumi, she is 19; Nabiki is 17; Akane is 16. Pick one and she'll be your
fianc�e." Soun spoke.
To be continued
Author's notes
One of the scene below was inspired by Anand Rao's Love and Marriage, more
specifically, the part where Ranma called Kasumi, Kasumi-chan.
Well after some of the flames and encouragement I recieve from readers after I
had posted my short bashing Ryouga fic, I decided to write a better one. I
was going to name this fic BASHING RYOUGA Chapter two but that would be giving
it away. If you ask me why I would say that one day I woke up and felt a need
to kill Ryouga. As you can see, Akane did not get Ranma again, HAHAHAHAHA.
Comments from a college student who will be starting school again in less than
24 hours. Expect no more fics from me for about 2 months. Want to get a good
grade this time around.