Ranma 1/2: A Saiyan Tail. Part 5
	Ranma-chan, Wo dai Airen?!!

	It was morning at the dojo. Ranma woke suddenly as a bucket of
ice cold water struck him from above. He felt the change and gasped from
the cold shock. As she finally regained her senses she noticed Nabiki
standing over her with a bucket and an odd smirk. "Wake up Ranma, we're
going to be late." 
	It was only ten minutes later that Ranma staggered down the
stairs and looked around drowsily. "We aren't late Nabiki." she muttered
as she headed towards the bathroom.
	"You have to stay a girl today." said the girl in reply.
	"Huh?" said Ranma looking confused.
	"The hot water is broken." said Nabiki as she shoved a wrench
under the table with her foot.
	"Oh, my. I guess I'll have to call the plumber again." said
Kasumi as she walked into the room.
	Nabiki visibly winced at this statement but stayed calm. "I'll
have to 'fix' it before I leave."  she thought.
	"I guess I can just get some on the way then." muttered the red
head without much worry.
	Nabiki frowned and just sat calmly as Ranma sat down next to her
to await the morning meal. No doubt her father would join them soon, he
liked to practice early in the morning and never missed a meal. He was
currently out with Akane on her morning jog.

	Goku jogged easily beside the almost sprinting Akane. She forced
herself ahead of him watching with a strange competitive stare as he kept
up and then decided to fly along side her. She stopped as they rounded
the corner and came within sight of the dojo, it was still several blocks
away though.
	Akane almost collapsed as she struggled for her breath. "N-no
fair flying!" she stammered between breaths.
	"Well, it's not like you couldn't too ya know." said Goku as he
looked at her with a lopsided grin.
	"What do you mean?" said Akane as she glared at him.
	"I guess I understand though. If you keep pushing yourself like
that every day, your bound to get better and better." continued the man
obliviously. "I bet you could fly circles around your old man if you
wanted to huh?"
	"I can't fly, neither can my dad." said Akane looking annoyed.
	"Huh, You mean...he didn't teach you?" said Goku in shock.
	"No." muttered Akane as this conversation became more familiar.
	"I guess he must have a reason, can't think of what it could be."
said Goku looking thoughtful.
	"It's because of her mother." said a voice from behind them.
	"Dad?" said Akane in surprise. Goku just looked happy to see him.
	"What are you doing here Tendo?"
	"Kasumi needed some things for breakfast." said the man as he
held up a bag of groceries. "I was the only one awake, so I got drafted."
	"Let's hurry so we can eat then!" said Goku happily.	
	"Mother?" said Akane in confusion.
	"Yes, I'll tell you about it at breakfast. I think your old
enough to know now." said Soun as he led the way home. 

	Ranma sat looking at a framed picture that Akane and her family
were vaguely familiar with. It was a pretty young girl of about eighteen
years old, she was smiling and holding on to an euphoric, and just as
young, Soun. Goku was standing in the background with Kurillin at his
side. Bulma stood next to Akane's mother.
	"We met under unusual circumstances. It was at the Tenka Ichi
budokai many years ago. I had participated in the tournament and been
beaten by an old friend by the name of Kurillin. That's him next to Goku
in the photo."
	Akane looked surprised. "You lost, to that guy?"
	"Uncle Kurillin doesn't look like much, but he's real strong."
said Ranma with a knowing smile.
	Soun frowned slightly at the interruption but continued. "Ahem,
yes. Anyway, She appeared wanting to fight Goku for some reason, she
refused to say why. She did and lost; as it turned out Goku had promised
to marry her when she was very young. He didn't understand what marriage
was at the time and thought it was something about food as I recall."
Goku received a disapproving stare from the man and his daughters at this
point.
	Goku just looked up and away blushing slightly.
	"Unfortunately, Goku had already married Nodoka a few weeks
before. She was forced to turn away in shame. I, well....I was in love
from the moment I saw her. Enraged by the prospect of her honor being
lost in such a way, I challenged her for her hand in marriage. I was
determined to prove myself as worthy as my friend. She stared at me for
almost twenty minutes before she agreed. I'm not sure why, I think she
was deciding whether or not she would kill me." Soun laughed at the
memory and Goku just smiled and nodded in agreement.
	"I won. That's how I met Chi chi. A few years later, Kasumi was
born." said Soun with a wistful smile. "However, she never did forgive
Goku for what he did to her. I guess it was just to much, if she had not
befriended Nodoka, I would have had to stop seeing him completely. The
marriage would have never been arranged at all if not for that."
	Akane frowned deeply and said nothing. Nabiki just smirked at
Ranma, who just looked interested in the story.
	"Chi chi did not believe that martial artist were needed any
longer, the world is at peace. Piccolo was defeated and all has been well
since. She wanted our children to be scholars instead of fighters. I
disagreed; in the end however I promised never to teach you if you did
not want to learn. That is why Nabiki and Kasumi were never made to learn
the arts. They showed no interest, Akane did from the start however, it
was a joy to my heart to teach her. Even at as young as three she was
always in the dojo. Unfortunately again, I promised never to teach the
higher arts to her or any of my children. Only the physical art; after
all why would a normal person need chi blast or flight? Which brings me
to this moment. I cannot teach you these arts Akane, because I promised
not to do so. Goku is not binded by this oath. Do you want to learn from
him?"
	Akane sat silently for a long while before she realized that they
had asked her a question. Everyone was looking at her and waiting for the
answer patiently. She thought about it and looked at everyone numbly.
	In the end it was her father who decided for her. She did not
want to disappoint her mother, but the longing in his eyes was too much.
He wanted her to learn very badly; she also wanted to learn. Her pride
almost took her again as she looked at Ranma, if she accepted he would
have won again. She would have lost another battle with him. Even if it
was one the pigtailed martial artist was unaware of. "If I don't take
this offer, I'll never beat him." said her mind. One more look at her
father's face clinched the deal. 
	"Yes, teach me. Please." she replied quietly. 
	
	A few minutes later Ranma, Akane and Nabiki were on their way to
school. Akane just walked silently along sidewalk with Ranma cheerfully
walking beside her still in her female guise.
	"We'll have to stop by Dr. Tofu's on the way so we'd better
hurry." said Akane finally. She was hoping Ranma had enough sense to not
bring up the earlier events. She was about to when something distracted
her.
	"Nihao Arien!"
	Ranma stiffened up like a rod and whirled around to face the blur
that tackled her from behind. 
	The blur missed, Akane gasped as Ranma vanished and appeared
further down the fence. The mysterious figure appeared sprawled on the
ground in front of her and promptly stood and dusted herself off. She was
a small and very perky girl. Very beautiful and very Chinese, her clothes
and her accent told Akane that before she got a good look at her.
	[Why do you run from me darling?] said the girl in Chinese.
	[Damn it Shampoo! I told you I'm not into that stuff!] cried
Ranma in a slightly nervous voice. Akane just stared at the girl as she
floated above the newcomer, she was visibly shaking and very nervous. She
took a moment to control herself and floated down next to this 'Shampoo'.
	[Your voice says no, but your body reacts like you do.] replied
the girl as she jumped up next to Ranma and leaned on her.
	Ranma responded by stiffening up again and gently shoving her
away. [Shampoo I...] she looked at her and frowned as Shampoo gazed
lovingly at her. [Goodbye.] with that she shot into the sky leaving Akane
and Shampoo behind.
	"Ranma?" said Akane in confusion. Shampoo just jumped away
skipping from rooftop to rooftop easily as she faded into Nerima.
	Akane arrived at school and looked at the carnage that surrounded
her in shock. Ranma had made it to school, and the boys had been waiting
to make good on Kuno's speech. They had been swatted aside easily from
the look of it. Ranma didn't even bother to fight. Many of the boys were
still standing, they were visibly shaken though. The fallen students were
all in a straight line that led straight to the doors of Furinkan. She
had just plowed through them like they weren't there. She reached the oak
tree stepping over the fallen boys gingerly. Kuno was propped against the
trunk looking very battered. 
	"Ah, Akane Tendo, so you arrive. The Saotome girl is powerful,
more so than I imagined." he said weakly as he staggered over to her side
using his Bokuten as a staff. "She defeated her opposition without
slowing down. She even gave them the opportunity to leave. Such an
honorable girl."
	Akane mostly ignored him and looked at the building. "Who was
that other girl?" she wondered out loud.
	"Akane, I am prepared to meet you." said Kuno as he noticed her
somewhat vacant look. He stood in a ready stance and held the bokuten out
threateningly.
	Akane absently stuck out a single finger and pushed gently on his
chest. Kuno dropped like a rock.

	As soon as Akane walked into the room Ranma looked up and smiled
at her. Akane could tell he was very tense though. A hot water kettle was
sitting just outside the room in the hallway. She blushed slightly and
looked at him questioningly. She took her seat next to him. 
	"Ranma, who was that?" she asked quietly.
	"I'll tell you about it at lunch, it's kind of a long story."
said Ranma as the teacher walked in.

	TBC....

	Just a short part that I whipped up at work today. I have plans
for Shampoo. She's acting the way she is for a reason. 
	Ranma speaks Chinese, Why? Because it's hinted in the manga that
Goku was raised in China. That is where the Monkey king story originated
anyway. [It's the story that DB was based on if you didn't know.]
	Good for you if you spotted the Soun/Chi chi connection early. It
makes almost as much sense as the Ranma/Goku relationship. I didn't even
have to change anything in the Ranmaverse to fit this in. Yes, she did
die when Akane was very young. 
	Next time: is where we really start diverging from cannon manga a
lot more. Find out about Shampoo and her village, and what does this have
to do with Ryoga?

Ranma 1/2 A Saiyan tail. 
Part 6
How I met Ryoga.

	Ranma sat with Akane at lunch. She glared at him with an
untrusting gaze as he began the story he promised to tell her. 
	"In order to tell you about Shampoo you have to know about
someone else. Me an' this guy go way back, Ryoga Hibiki was his name. It
started between us in middle school, it was part of the reason I started
training outside of Japan with my father in the wilderness. OF course I
didn't realize it at the time though...


	Ranma wandered the halls of the school aimlessly. He had been
feeling sick all day. Then he came upon what he needed to see so badly.
The hoard by the lunch counter.
	"Last meat bread of the day!!" cried the cafeteria lady as she
tossed the roll into the air.
	Ranma shot up and snagged it out of the air just as another boy
grabbed for it above the crowd. This was a daily occurrence, the boy
decided he had finally have enough.
	"Ranma Saotome, I challenge you!" he growled angrily.
	"Hun?" said Ranma as he stuffed the bread into his mouth
absently.
	"Meet me after school behind the vacant lot near your house in
one week Saotome!" cried the boy angrily.
	"You want to fight?" said Ranma in surprise.
	"Your darn right! I can't take this anymore!!" roared the boy
angrily as several students held him back. He drug them along easily
never stopping his pace towards Ranma.
	Ranma smiled, the boy was strong, probably a martial artist too.
"All right." he replied. Ryoga turned away and stormed off. "I wonder why
he was so mad?" said Ranma in confusion. All he knew he was angry but
wasn't sure why. If things went well he might even get a new friend out
of this. 
	"You dope, You get to the bread before him every day. He was the
best fighter in school before you came along." said one of the boys. 
	"Yea, He's a real jerk." muttered the other boy.
	
	Later in the last class of the day; Ranma watched the overhead
screen as the teacher wrote some things on it absently. "The moon causes
tides to change and effects the gravity of our planet. It has four major
phases..." she placed a chart on the screen. It was a photo of the four
phases of the moon.
	"I always thought there were only three." muttered Ranma absently
as he looked at the projection in surprise. His eyes fixed on the last
photo, the full moon. It was as if he could not turn away from it; it
pulled at his eyes like a gigantic magnet. His heart raced and he felt
the blood rushing through his veins. 
	Then the bell rang, the teacher looked at her watch and flicked
her wrist shutting down the projector sending the class into darkness for
a moment. The lights came on and the students began to file out of the
room.
	"Hey, Saotome you all right?" asked one of the boys noticing his
far off gaze.
	"Ranma I want you to stay after class." said the teacher with a
frown. 
	The boy snapped to attention suddenly. "Yes sir." he muttered
dejectedly.
	
	A few moments later the teacher looked at him sourly. "I don't
know what's coming over you. We've been on this chapter for over a week
now. Every time I turn around your staring off into space lately. It's
not like you to fall behind like this. Is something bothering you?"
	"N-no sir, I just..." stammered Ranma in confusion. He didn't
know what he did but he knew he was in trouble. It was a new experience
for him, he hadn't really gotten in trouble at school before. "The moon
has four phases?" he asked suddenly looking unsure.
	"There are many things I don't tolerate, one of them is a wise
ass. Take this referral and go to the principals office Ranma." said the
teacher as he jotted down some things on a sheet Ranma had seen in the
hands of other students. Students who were in trouble.
	
	Ranma walked towards the office on the other side of the school
with his head hung low. The halls were mostly deserted as the day had
ended. He wondered if the principal would even be in his office right
now. "What did I do?" he wondered out loud as the weight of the situation
crushed him. "What am I gonna tell mom and pop?!" he thought suddenly as
a panic hit him. A cold terror formed in his heart as he thought about
what might happen when his parents found out about this.

	Ryoga wandered the halls in his usual after school activity;
trying to find his way out of the building. He growled as he wandered,
sometimes he could just follow someone out; that was how he got to school
and his various classes. He found a student he recognized and followed
them. Today, however, he had been in the bathroom when the day had ended.
He had to take opportunities for that sort of thing as they came to him.
Now he probably wouldn't even see school for a week once he found his way
out. He only hoped he could find his way home after he finally left, if
he didn't he wouldn't be able to beat the crap out of that punk Ranma. He
turned another corner to see the boy wandering in front of him. The kid
looked like someone died.
	Ryoga looked around and frowned. He was angry at Ranma, but his
situation was desperate. The boy didn't look like he was leaving anytime
soon. Maybe he could show him out; that is if he wasn't angry at him for
blowing up earlier. Ryoga just stared at the boy and his maddeningly slow
pace. He wanted so badly to pound him for his disrespectful treatment,
but he also wanted to get home before the summer break started. He
prepared to swallow his pride and ask directions when he saw something
that frightened him. Saotome was glowing, and it was getting brighter.
His face had contorted into a mask of anger and he raised his hands into
the sky and the world around Ryoga went completely white.

	He awoke several hours later and groaned as every part of his
body ached. He struggled to his hands and knees and looked around in the
darkness as his eyes adjusted. He felt the side of his face burn with
pain and he instinctively reached up to test it. It was sticky and hot.
He brought his hand away and looked in horror at the blood that covered
it. He gasped as he finally notice the horror of what surrounded him. The
hallway he was standing in when Ranma seemed to explode was sitting
around him in ruins, along with most of the building. Ryoga staggered to
his feet finally and wandered through the smoldering mess. All around him
the sound of emergency crews working filled his ears and he staggered
around a wall into a large crowd. 
	"Look it's another one!" cried a voice as several search dogs
tackled him to the ground and licked at his face. He felt someone place a
blanket around his shoulders and lead him into a mess of reporters and
cameras. He shielded his eyes to the lights and noise as they led him to
a nearby ambulance.
	People bombarded him with questions and he just glanced around in
a daze. "Where am I?" he muttered almost reflexively.
	"Your all right son, there was a bomb. Every thing is gonna be
fine." said one of the rescue people that hovered around him.
	He caught a glimpse of a sullen looking Ranma standing beside his
father with a single bandage on his forehead. He was watching in
confusion and the elder Saotome was looking at him with a worried
expression.
	The memories flooded back to Ryoga and he realized that there was
no  bomb. It had been Ranma, and judging by the look on his father's face
he knew it was true. "Ranma! This is all your fault! I'll kill you for
this! Damn you Ranma!" screamed Ryoga as he charged the boy through the
crowd after tearing away from his rescuers. Just before he reached his
target he lost sight of him and emerged on the other side of the crowd
with paramedics chasing after him. He screamed in anger and ran off into
the night. He would meet Ranma at the appointed place in a week and
destroy him for what he had done. He would find a way to beat him if it
was the last thing he did.

	A week and three days later Ranma stood in the lot waiting.
"Ranma we have to leave, it isn't safe for you to be here." said his
father as he stood next to the boy who waited patiently. 
	"I promised pop, I have to be here." said the boy with a
determined gaze.
	"I understand Ranma, but it's been three days. He isn't coming."
said Goku calmly.
	"I...Your right pop, lets go." said the boy sadly as he walked
over and retrieved a large traveling pack from the corner of the lot. 
	With that Ranma and his father floated off into the sky towards
the wilderness. "Don't worry son we'll find a way to control that power
of yours and be back before you know it." said Goku cheerfully.
	"I sure hope so pop." said Ranma.

	TBC... 

	What has this got to do with Shampoo? You'll find out soon
enough! This is a pretty big story that sets up allot of stuff later on. 
	More should be out on Monday or Tuesday, I can't promise anything
though because I just got Tomb Raider 3 and The legend of  Zelda.
 Ja!!




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