If you are reading this story, please tell me.  I know I have
problems in my stories, and I desperately need the C&C.

Things happen how they happen.  This story is a product of my imagination,
and the pain I feel.

<disclaimer>
Okay, before I let you into the story, I have to state that THIS IS A VERY
DARK STORY! If you don't like that theme of story, turn back now.  Also
included in this story are scenes of rape and murder, so you would be well
advised to turn away if you hate that kind of stuff as well. </disclaimer>



Happi's Legacy,
A Ranma 1/2 Alternate world
By Liath Corrine Shadow
Episode 1


I look at this vision of loveliness before me, hardly daring to believe
that finally...

"Come to me, Happi darling..." She calls me, beckoning me, teasing me.

"Of course, my lovely," I say, walking closer, disrobing on my way.

"Oh, Happi, you're so manly!" she cried as I finished removing my clothes.

"Of course, my sweet Nodoka, only for you."

*****

"But Pop!" I cried.

"No buts, Ranma.  You're my son and I order you to jump in this pool!"
Father _is_ serious.  Well, at least it will keep him from groping all the
girls we pass.  I don't like it when he's unfaithful to mother.

I sigh, and jump in the spring, feeling...something...changing.  I jump out
of the pool as soon as I feel the changing complete.  I look down, to see a
girl where there used to be a boy.

"Ranma, my sweetie! Now I just have to splash you with this..." a cold wave
of water flies at me, and I don't bother to dodge.  I know that this will
make me a female permanently, but I don't want, no, I _can't_ dissapoint my
father.   I just _can't_.

Right after the wave has passed over my body, I feel father glomping onto
my newly-grown breasts.  I sigh, and sit down, patiently awaiting the rest
of the treatment...the same thing I've seen father do to mother.

I wonder, idly, what it will feel like to glomp onto a girl, now.  No other
way to find out than to try it.

After Father is finished, of course.

"Oh, Ranma-chan, I've forgotten to tell you something.  I've engaged you to
one of my old pupil's daughters.  We'll be going there.  Tomorrow, of
course." I sigh, and continue to let my father grope me.

"Yes, father.  I understand."

"Don't call me that! My name is Happi, and that's all you can call me!" I
hate it when Father gets angry like that.

"Yes, Happi," I say, resigned to my fate.

*****

I sigh, as I follow Father towards his old pupil's house.  *Why did father
do that?* I think, as I trudge silently behind my father.  *Why did he
engage me to someone, and then make me a female, permanently?* I sigh, as I
remember a couple weeks ago, in that Amazon village that Father got me in
trouble in.  *I _knew_ that glomping someone would feel different, just not
how much.  I'm glad that I didn't have to kill her or anything, she seemed
a nice enough girl.  Too bad that Father got himself kicked back to
Jusenkyou, I think I prefer him as a human letch than a Panda letch.  Oh,
well.  Can't argue with fate*

"We're here, Ranma.  Now, remember what I told you.  Act like a boy the
entire time that we are here, and try not to let them see your breasts." I
look down at my prominent breasts and sigh.  "I know, that's going to be
hard, but remember what I told you."

"I know, father.  I...Ouch!" I gasp in pain as Father glomps me again, this
time squeezing until it hurt.

"Don't ever call me father! Call me Happi!" Father squeezed harder, to make
his point.  Trying not to whimper, I nod, knowing that Father won't stop
for a while.

"That's a girl, take us to that nice hotel over there...I've got some more
techniques to show you..."

I scream mentally, as I foresee what Father is going to do to me.  And
thanks to this curse, I'm powerless to stop it.

I walk over to the indicated hotel, pay the rent for one night, and pray...

*****

"Father?" Nabiki calls me.

I look up, startled that she should want to talk to me in the morning,
knowing that I tend to flood the house over little problems.  "Yes,
Nabiki?" I ask.  *I hope it isn't the master...I hope it isn't the
master...*

"You asked me to look out for a small letch who will have someone else with
him?" I nod, hoping, hoping...  "Well, it seems that someone answering to
that description just entered a hotel, glomped onto a girl."

My world comes crashing down, and I start panicking,

"Nabiki...gather up the others, it's time to hide you..."

"Relax, father.  My friend at that hotel said they paid for an entire day.
They won't get here any time soon."

Something waved itself in front of my mind, and I grab it.  *The master? In
a hotel? With a girl? And she wasn't trying to kill him? I wonder what he
could have done to the poor girl to have made her do such an unspeakable
act* I shake my head, saying, "How could any girl commit herself to such
horrors..." I raise my head, "Nabiki? Do you remember the other drill?
Gather Akane and Kasumi.  We have to practice, we don't want to be caught
off guard.  I want to be rid of the master once and for all, and this will
probably be our first, and only chance at this." Nabiki nods, and it warms
my heart to see her so determined to help.  I feel proud as she quietly
stands and gathers Akane and Kasumi to start the drills.

Akane sits still as Kasumi makes some practice swings with the katana, the
blade stopping an inch above her exposed breasts.  I turn away, as my
daughters continue their practice.

*****

"Why, father? Why?" I ask, hoping that Father would miss my slip.

"Because, my dear Ranma, you know the saying.  'It is a well known fact
that the son will exceed the father's prowess.' You are, or were, as it may
be, my son, and therefore I had to take you out of the running for
mastership of the school.  Because my beloved Nodoka would get angry with
me if I killed you, this was the only other option." Father looks happy
with how he resolved things.

"Why did you teach me?" I ask, confused.

"Ranma! You know very well that Nodoka had to be convinced that this trip
was for making you a better martial artist! And I told you before, DON'T
CALL ME FATHER AGAIN! CALL ME HAPPI!" Father screams at me, using his
demon-head technique.  Although I know that it is only a projection, I
still can't help but be afraid.  "Now, Ranma! You know what your punishment
is for disobeying me!" I nod, silently wishing that he would choose a
better way to punish me.

I strip out of my clothes, climb onto the bed that the hotel provided for
us, and kneel down, my back facing my father.  Although I can't hear it, I
know Father is taking out his pipe, getting ready to hit me with it.
Father does something different, this time.  His hands rush around my body,
touching me in a few places.  All of a sudden, I notice minute movements in
the air as Father removes his hands.  *Oh, no, a pressure point technique!*
Is all I have time to think about before Father starts hitting me.

Pain shoots through my body, forcing me to try to keep from screaming.  I
don't succeed, completely, as a small gasp escapes my mouth before I can
stop it.  *Don't hurt father...Can't hurt father...Not honorable to hurt
father...* I mentally chant as Father continues to strike my back.

The strikes slow down, and eventually stop, leaving me breathless and
fighting to hold back my tears.  Then I hear something that sends chills
down my spine.  I know I wished for another punishment, but this one I want
even less than the last one.  Father's clothes make a quiet rustling sound
as they are dropped to the floor.  Fear rushes through me when Father
touches me in on another point on my body, and suddenly it's all I can do
to even blink.  I suddenly realize why Father taught me so many ways to
pleasure both men and women when I was younger.  I try to scream, and fail
miserably.

Technique after technique, Father uses my body, bringing pleasure, bringing
loathing.  I feel all the pleasure that he means for me to feel, but I
loathe him, despise him...even want to kill him.  I brush that thought
away, remembering that Mother wants me to be strong, wants me to be
honorable.  *More honorable than Father will ever be* I think as Father
finally finishes with me.  I try to remember what Father did to me...not to
remember the pleasure.

But to remember it so that no-one will ever do that to me again.

At least, not after I get away from Father.

Finally, after Father has recovered from his pleasure *I won't call it
mine...I won't call it mine* he touches a point on my body and removes the
paralysis that he had on me.  I collapse to the bed, sleep finally
overcoming me, not really noticing that he didn't remove the sensitivity as
well.

*****

I am watching my daughters practicing their defense techniques that I
designed against the master, when I hear someone at the gate.  "Akane,
Kasumi, Nabiki.  It's time." I say, all the while hoping that the master
chose not to appear today.

Akane holds the katana she was wielding behind her back as she lines up
behind me.  All together, we walk to the front of the house to greet
our...guests.

When I open the door, a horrible sight appears before my eyes.

"Soun! Come to greet your old master, have you?" Happosai is standing just
inside the gate with his hand...holding a young girls hand.  Akane and
Nabiki gasp upon noticing that the girl looks like she had
been...raped...recently.  The girl's lone red pigtail hangs down in
tatters, along with the rest of her hair, testament to the fact that she
hadn't combed or even cleaned it in a while.  The girl looks up at me, a
slight glimmer of hope in her eyes, when Happosai says something more to
me, "Soun, I know this will be a shock to you, but I have to know something
first.  Will you, upon your honor, wed one of your daughters to my only
child?" My old master looks at me hopefully, as if he wants me to agree.
While I know that any offspring of Happosai is likely to be perverted, I
can't say no to my master, any more than I could when he was training me,
all those years ago.

"I swear, upon my honor, that one of my daughters will marry your child." I
say.  I can barely hold back the tears that my statement brings, but I have
to be strong, for my daughters at least.

Happosai immediately grins, "Great! Soun Tendo, I'd like to introduce you
to my only child, Ranma." He pushes the girl forward, and she stumbles a
bit on her way towards me.  "Now, the other shocker," Happi says, "I had a
foretelling a couple days ago, and I found out that I would die sometime
today.  I wanted to make sure my daughter would have a good home before I
died." Happi then grins maniacally, and then leaps on Kasumi.  "Sweeto!" he
cries, "How wonderful for you to greet me like this!"

I stare in shock, *How could he have known? How could...* My train of
thought is abruptly derailed when Akane reacts to Happi's groping of her
sister.

"You PERVERT!" she cries, even as she whips out the katana and slices it in
a small, deadly arc towards her sister and the letch.  Happi gets half a
second to look at the incoming blade before it slices through his side.

Kasumi faints when she notices that the blade came a lot closer than it
ever did in the practice sessions.  Her blouse, cut ever so slightly,
flutters in the air as she collapses to the floor.

Happosai looks at the blade that is embedded in his chest as he comments,
"I told you I'd die today, Soun.  I just never thought it would be by such
a lovely girl." Happosai breathes his last words, and then collapses.

Tears in my eyes, I turn to the girl that Happi proclaimed as his daughter.
She stares at me and Akane as if we were vampires, or something even more
terrifying still.  She backs up slowly, but with increasing speed, before
she trips.

Normally, I would think that falling such a short distance wouldn't hurt
very much, but Ranma reacts as if she had fallen a hundred meters or so.
Her scream pierces my heart.  Akane and Nabiki, letch forgotten, rush up to
Ranma to see what is wrong.  Ranma sits there crying as Nabiki and Akane
begin their ministrations.  Ranma mumbles something about techniques before
she collapses unconscious.

*****

I wake slowly, hoping that the horror I witnessed earlier was just a dream.
*Or a nightmare* my subconscious quickly pointed out.  [author's note: Yes!
A shameless plug, but it fit so well...;] I ignore my subconscious and open
my eyes.  A slight panicking session later and I decide that no, it wasn't
a dream.  Now, to only find out if this is a nightmare.

"Oh, good.  You're awake," a kind voice remarks from behind me, startling
me out of my reverie.  I jerk my head up, to see the girl that Father last
groped.  The girl has long, brown hair, and a hunted look in her eyes.  She
was massaging her right breast, as if to get rid of a phantom hand, or
something.  She notices my attention and stops rubbing herself.  When her
hand falls away, I see that there is no blood...but a slight bit of her
blouse is cut.  "It's all right...we won't hurt you,"

I stare, the girl pointing out the fact that I am scared startles me a bit.
*I must have become used to being scared, I don't even notice it any more*
I think as I carefully rearrange my face to one of surprise.  I ask, "Why
did you kill Father? He was the only family I had...sort of," I amend, not
really wanting to talk about my mother.

The girl looks at me like I am crazy or something.  I remember what Father
taught me while I was still a boy, and then think that maybe I was crazy,
at least until Jusenkyou.

"You mean, he wasn't lying?" she asks.  I nod, feeling helpless once again.
The girl rolls her eyes up and collapses.  I quickly jump over to her,
trying to see if I had killed her.  All of a sudden, the door opens and the
girl that killed father walks in.  I notice my fear, this time, as I crawl
away from her, backing into a corner.  I can't stop shivering as the girl
steps over to her sister and reaches down.  She lightly holds her hand on
her sister's neck for a couple seconds, and then turns to me.

"I didn't kill her!" I almost shriek.  I try to push myself through the
wall, to no avail.

"It's all right," the girl soothes me quietly, "She's not dead.  Kasumi
just fainted." She looks thoughtful for a second and then asks, "What did
you say to get her to faint, anyway? Kasumi rarely does that."

I stare at my fathers killer, and then at the girl who was just named
Kasumi. "I...I..."

The girl looks at me, not with anger in her eyes, but pity, "It doesn't
matter anyways.  She'll get better.  My name is Akane, would you want to be
friends?"

I sit there, shivering, as Akane walks slowly up to me.  She touches my
shoulder, barely brushing it.

The problem is, she brushed against one of the bruises that Father gave me
last night.

I can't stop the gasp of pain from leaving my mouth, and I curse myself
silently for being such a baby.

Akane stares at me for a second, before roughly grabbing my shirt and
yanking it off.

I'm afraid that she's going to rape me, as my father, and many others, have
done before.  I can't stop a whimper of fear as it works its way out of my
chest.

She stares at the welts on my back for a second before yelling, "Father!
You'd better come see this!" I cover my breasts with my arms, careful not
to touch them.

Feelings, as well as tears, seem to flow from me in torrential rivers,
leaving me empty, barely able to respond.

The man that father had identified as Soun runs into the room, saying,
"What is it, Akane? I was in the middle of disposing of...oh, my god!" He
rushes over and runs his hands down my back, eliciting more tears of pain
from me.

"Akane, you'd better take her to Doctor Tofu right away, some of these look
like they might be festering," as he pulls away, one of his hands pulls my
arm.  Not very hard, but enough to make my arm connect with my breast.
Another gasp works its way out of my mouth, but not in pain this time.
"What?" Soun asks, quickly touching my arm again, "Did that hurt, too?" My
feelings decide to come back early from their road-trip.

I shake my head, bewildered that these people would be caring so much for
me, even after they killed my father.

My tears were slowing, and now finally stop.  The man my father identified
as Soun looks me over, and then finally makes the connection, "He used a
shiatsu technique on you, didn't he," he whispers.  It is more of a
statement than a question, but I nod anyway.  "That bastard." I barely stop
the tears from falling down my cheeks from how vehement his words are
towards my father.  No matter how accurate they are.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you again," Soun says, reaching towards
me, but not quite touching.  I nod, glad that he is apologizing about that
little bit.  "My name is Soun Tendo, current master of the Anything Goes
style of martial arts.  Unless your father taught you..."

I shake my head, saying, "Father only taught me martial arts to get me out
of the house and away from Mother.  Mother probably won't recognize me
anymore..." I trail off as I finally realize that because Mother won't
recognize me, I'm effectively an orphan.  I close my eyes, trying to block
away the pain.  Tears well up in my eyes as I continue, "After we left,
Father tried to teach me to be as much of a letch as he was, but because
Mother asked me to be honorable, I only practiced his techniques when he
told me to.  The techniques he taught me are useless, now." I sigh, finally
finding something good in what happened.

"What techniques?" Soun asks.

I open my eyes, staring him straight in the eye while saying, "Father
taught me how to be a pervert, pure and simple.  The only reason I'm not
one right now is because I'm a girl now, and all I have left is my life and
my honor.  Mother made me promise to be honorable before we left."

Soun starts, "A girl now?  But weren't you always a girl?" I shake my head,
sighing at how utterly confusing and painful, my life has become.

Akane walks up to me, making me back away, however involuntary.  Someting
in her eyes says she understood, "You were a boy?" she asks.  I nod, hoping
that she wouldn't get mad at me.  "Well, then.  Everyone here knows I don't
like boys...but you are a girl now, right?" I wince at the simple truth of
the matter, "Do you still want to be friends?" Akane looks at me, smiling.

Confusion runs through me while I try to grasp what she just said to me.
After a minute of anxious waiting, Akane says, "You don't have to answer
right away, I'll understand." She turns away for a second before
continuing, "I know your father taught you to be a pervert, but do you
think you could forget what he taught you, and try to be normal? I...I
prefer girls more than boys.  I hope you understand..." with that, Akane
runs from the room, Soun silently watching her.

Suddenly Soun brings up something that I would really rather forget,
"Ranma, I know that I promised to marry you to one of my daughters...would
you like to marry Akane?" I stare at Soun, horrified at what he is
suggesting.  I sit there, not really noticing when he sighs and leaves.  My
eyes continue to buldge at those few words.

After about ten minutes, I hear Kasumi waking from her fainting spell.  A
gasp from her tells me when Kasumi notices the welts crisscrossing my back.
A hand grasps my arm, turns me around, and shoves my discarded shirt into
my hands.  I stare blankly at the shirt, mumbling, "...marry? Me? Akane?
Would she want to marry?..." Sighing heavily, Kasumi takes the shirt from
me again, and carefully works it over me.  After that, she helps me stand
up, and then gently leads me downstairs, murmuring kind words in my ear.

I abruptly stop when I see Mr.  Tendo, and what he's doing with what used
to be my father.  He has a small funeral pyre built, and Father is laying
at the top.  I quickly walk over to Mr.  Tendo and ask, "What are you
doing?" I feel my fear distancing itself from me for this one occasion.  It
feels good not to be afraid for once.

Soun looks startled, "What do you mean? He's your father, and we're going
to give him one of the old ceremonial funerals."

I shake my head, saying, "He doesn't...didn't have enough honor to deserve
that.  I...I know that in his own way, he loved me, but he still doesn't
deserve something this...this neat." My fear, and anger quickly reasserts
themselves when I remember who I am talking about, and talking to.  "I say
we should...we should just tie him to a...a big stone and drop him...drop
him in the ocean." I try to push my fear back, but fail miserably.

Soun nods, saying, "You're right.  We just didn't want to dishonor you by
getting rid of the body that way." I nod as he continues, "Kasumi, please
take Ranma to Doctor Tofu.  She should get those bruises checked out."
Kasumi nods, and then gently starts leading me away.

*****

Kasumi carefully leads me into a clinic of some kind.  A bunch of people in
the waiting room look up, startled, and then start filing out of the
building.  I barely notice, in that I'm trying to keep from screaming
because the almost constant contact with Kasumi during the walk here has
made me very...jittery.

A man who looks to be about twenty-five years old escorts an elderly man
out of the examination room.  He looks up, and I notice his glasses
suddenly go foggy.  The elderly man rushes out of the building as the man
says, "Ka..Kasumi! What a coincidence to meet you here, of all places."

"Doctor Tofu," Kasumi says sternly, "This is no time for your antics.
Ranma here needs your help." The man who Kasumi just identified as Tofu
suddenly stops gibbering as Kasumi's statement snaps him back to reality.
Kasumi warns him, as he reaches towards me, "She just had quite a few
shocks, I wouldn't go too fast if I were you."

Tofu looks at me and quietly asks, "What happened?"

I feel an odd sense of comfort emanating from Doctor Tofu, as I hesitantly
say, "I...I was...raped yesterday," the words flow a little faster as I
continue, "My father...touched me, and beat me...he used a pressure point
on me and then beat me for I don't know how long and..."

Doctor Tofu reaches over and touches my shoulder lightly.  A strong sense
of panic wells up in me and I try to stop it, stem the fear...to no avail.

Suddenly all I can see, all I can feel is his hand on me.

Touching me.

I scream and try to back away.

Try to run.

But his hand is holding me tight.

Holding.

Hurting.

I scream again, in pain this time.  A slap rings across my mouth and I feel
myself getting more and more scared the pain won't stop it won't go away...

Another pain, a sharp pain, erupts in my arm.

A small pain, very thin, but hurting a lot.

The world slowly fades away, and all I'm left with is a sense of tiredness.
I'm tired.  I let this new feeling wash over me and I slip into
unconsciousness.

*****

I faintly feel a hand...no a couple fingers...roaming around my back,
touching here, poking there.  The fingers retreat for a second, and I hope
that I can open my eyes again...I held them shut for so long...so hard.  I
mentally check my body, feeling each and every part...I still can't get rid
of the feeling that something's missing.  I already know it's missing, I
just have to get over it, now.  A tear trickles down my cheek as I remember
that not too long ago, I was a male.  I was a male pervert.  I quickly
brush away my feelings of regret for allowing Father to make me jump in
that pool.

I should be happy, I should...

"Ranma?" a voice calls.  I don't know who it is...I'm afraid that Father
sold me to a pimp or something...

"Ranma?" a second voice calls, more insistent, more pleading.  A female
voice.  I slowly open my eyes...to see...

Memories rush back to me, and I try to hold them back, try to keep them
from flooding me with fear.  Surprisingly, the fear recedes a little at my
pushing.

Kasumi is standing over to my left, Doctor Tofu on my right.  Kasumi is
looking at me as if I'll flip out at any second.  For some reason, I don't
blame her.  I feel that I should be flipping out as well.

"Ranma?" she calls again.  She looks at me with a compassion that I had all
but forgotten.  Mother was the last person to look at me like that.

"Yes?" I ask, trying to keep Father's last order to me out of my mind.

"Are you okay?" Kasumi no longer looks like I'll go postal...more like
she's scared, or surprised? about something.  I follow her gaze down to my
hand.  my hand is clenched in a tight fist.  I slowly unclench my hand,
gasping at the pain from the blood starting to flow again.  Then it hits
me, I felt only a little pain.  I quickly, and surprised, run my hands down
my front, absently noting that my shirt is still on.  I only feel the light
touch that I should feel from my hands, not the heavy touch that I had been
feeling since last night.

I look up, gratefully, to thank Doctor Tofu, when I see him turning away,
"It looks like my job was an easy one, this time.  The welts should be gone
in a week, your skin will be as pure as before." Kasumi is the only one
that sees my face fall.  Doctor Tofu continues, "You are an exceptional
fighter, Ranma.  I'd say that the only thing keeping you back from being
the best is that you've had very little training.  I'll see you later,
Ka...Kasumi." He then starts giggling and runs off with his skeleton.

Kasumi holds out her hand to me.  I stand up and gingerly take Kasumi's
hand.  She gently starts to lead me back home.

I ask Kasumi, "Kasumi? Why did Doctor Tofu say that I'm a good fighter?" I
run my hand through my hair.  I feel a lot better, somehow, now that I
don't feel everything super-sensitively.

Kasumi stops for a second, turns to me, and says, "Ranma, don't you
remember fighting?"  I shake my head, bewildered.

"Doctor Tofu had to fight with you to settle you down enough to sedate you.
I was afraid you'd attack and maybe hurt him." I start, realizing that I
did not know that I was fighting someone when I was flipping out.  Kasumi
starts walking again, "Ranma, I want you to learn to control yourself.
Maybe you could ask Father..." She stops talking when she notices me
shivering, "What's wrong?" she asks.

Still shivering, I say, "No guys...please...not your father..." I feel my
fear gathering again.  I push against the fear, and it retreats a little.
Too little.

Kasumi nods, "I understand.  You are afraid of boys now.  Maybe Akane?" My
fear retreats a little more at her new suggestion, so I nod, reluctantly.
The rest of the walk home was made in silence.

*****

"Turn it off," I say.  I've seen enough.

"You can no more turn it off then turn yourself off," my ungrateful student
replies.

"Turn it OFF!" I yell, becoming frantic.  Who'd have through that a world
where one of my first students died early on would make him happy.

Maybe it is because I die, as well.

"It is your fault, Happi.  You have caused that which is in front of you.
You must reap the rewards you've sown."

A world, where I die, at the hands of one of the most innocent girls in the
world.

A world where my greatest apprentice is my own son.  Where he is destroyed
by my own hand.

A world that I created by a single wish. "I wish that my greatest student
was my own child"

My only wish now is that I had never made that wish.

A pity that I used all of my wishes up.

*****

Searching through my panties and scrolls, I happened to come across a
scroll that I had never seen before.  It caught my eye, just barely.

Well, actually it caught my hand.  I was reaching for the golden silk
panties just underneath it when it...jumped into my hand.

Not that this didn't happen on occasion...but it kind of surprised me when
I saw a rune on the sealing wax.

A rune that started glowing as soon as I touched it.

Surprised, I broke the seal on the scroll, and opened it.  Halfway through,
I knew what it is.  I hurried to collect everyone.

*scroll*
<in ancient writing>
Gather ye six people who desire something in their hearts.
Gather thy six people at the crest of the hill which bears mine visage.
Gather ye at the crest of the hill with the visage of the dragon, aged with
time.
Gather ye at the dawn of the first of the celestial year, of mine year.
<scrawled at the bottom, in standard japanese>
On the first day of the celestial year of the dragon, meet on the summit of
the hill with the face of the dragon.

*** next day ***

Cologne, Shampoo, Ranma, Akane, Genma, and I all arrive at the top of the
hill described by the scroll.

"Are you sure today is the day, Happi?"

I nod, nearly cackling in glee, "Yes, oh yes...today, here, it's all ready..."

Just as I say this, a scarlet glow emanates from the tip of the hill,
slowly expanding into an incredibly complex magical circle.

By the sun, it is high noon.  By the Chinese calendar, it is the new year,
the year of the dragon.

Khronos, the dragon of time, appears before us.

"State your wish, in accordance to the rules,"  the dragon rumbles, eyes
looking over us carefully.

Each of us steps up to him, and tells him our wish.  Some he lets others
hear, some he doesn't.

Cologne steps up.  I can't hear her wish.  At times I wish that I had taken
more of an interest in lip reading.

Shampoo steps up next.  Hers I can hear very clearly indeed, "Shampoo wish
Ranma loved Shampoo as much as Shampoo loves Ranma."  I see a couple
shudders at that.

Akane steps up, and again, I can't hear what is wished for.  The dragon-god
listens intently, and nods at what she asked for, the first sign of him
recognizing a wish that I've seen so far.

Genma steps up, and says, "I wish that I did not have to live through my
masters training."  Again the dragon nods.  Nothing is changing yet, so
something seems fishy...

Ranma stands up, and wishes, "I wish that I had the free choice to marry
who I wanted."  A smile of happiness, and one frown.

Still nothing happens, so I step up, and make a wish that couldn't possibly
happen, "I wish that my greatest student was my own child!" I proclaim.

The dragon nods again, and a whisper from his lips falls on the breeze,
"All wishes have been taken and accepted.  The new time line has been
started."

And then we are transported, all of us...but one...to a black room, with a
window.

Only Ranma is missing.

*****

Visions haunt my dreams.

Visions of things that happened to me.

Visions of things that didn't.

My father.  I have...two fathers?  My father, Happousai.  Who trained me to
be a pervert.  Who promised to train me in martial arts, but didn't.

A father I have never known...one who is fat, and slow, and lazy.

and who loved me.

I remember, somehow.  He trained me in martial arts...

trained me in techniques that I haven't even seen my other father use.

brought me to people...martial artists...that taught me in still more
techniques.

I...I want this other father.

I want to be loved.

*****

Walking home with Kasumi, I remember the visions from my dreams.  Not much
of them, in particular, but enough to recognise where I remember them from.
Even now, when I can see what is happening, still I feel that something
else should be happening.

Kasumi walks beside me, a thoughtful expression on her face.  She turns,
looking me in the eye.

"Ranma-chan.  please tell me.  What did you mean, before?  When you said
you were a male?"

I stop, caught flat-footed as it were.  "I...I was a male before.  It was
a...a curse.  I can't explain it, really...it is just how it is."  I hold
my head down, embarrased.  How can I explain something I don't even know
myself?

Kasumi looks me over for a few minutes.  A few minutes, of which each feels
like an eternity in itself.  "Do you believe this, Ranma, deep inside?  Is
this how you want to be seen?"

"I...I want to be seen as I...am."  I force the words out of my mouth.  It
isn't entirely true...but it is what I want to be true.  "I will never
be...comfortable with how I am now.  But...I could use help.  I can always
use help."  That, also, is hard to spit out.

I could almost feel her, knowing about my lying.  She says nothing,
however, but continues walking home.

I hope to have a home of my own.  With people I can love.  Without fear.

Why do those visions of things that never happened haunt me?

Why would I want them to?

Memories, oh, so fleeting.  Not enough to drown out what is happening.  But
enough, at times, to learn from.

I hope I can continue my training with Akane, now that my father is gone.
I'll miss him.

*****

Upon coming back to the house, I'm greeted by the sight of Mr. Tendo and
another person I haven't seen before.  Mr. Tendo looks over at me as Kasumi
and I arrive.  Suddenly, for no reason, a sense of forboding strikes my
heart.  What's happening?  What's going on?

I must have said this out loud, because Mr. Tendo replies, "I asked mister
Fujisawa to come here to be a witness to what I'm about to ask you,"  I
shiver as he continues, "To begin.  What is your name?"

I hesitantly reply, "Ranma."

"By what family name do you go by?"  He continues, eyes partially
unfocused, as if he is saying something by rote.

"Saotome..." Again I'm hesitant in my reply.  Why is he asking me this?

"Ranma Saotome, do you have, at this point, any living relatives that you
know about?"

At first I want to reply `yeah, and you killed him!', but a sense of duty
comes over me.  I shouldn't be talking to my elders that way, "No, sir, I
do not have any that I know about."

"What are you now, Ranma Saotome?"

That question startles me.  I am...what I am.  "I am...a...girl."

"You told us that you were a male before, is this true?"

A shiver runs down my spine...something seems wrong here.  I look at
Kasumi, and she smiles gently, nodding at me.  I turn back to Mr. Tendo.
"Yes, sir, this is true."

"You are a female now, though.  Is there a female named Ranma Saotome
recorded anywhere that you know of?"

Again the shiver, "N-no.  No sir."

"Then Ranma Saotome, the girl, doesn't exist, does she?"

I feel my world slipping away, what is going on here?  I nod my head,
agreeing with him. Everything feels wrong for some reason.

"Ranma, of no family, something in your past has gone wrong.  Sever
yourself from your past,"  I nod my head, "Will you, Ranma, of no family,
accept me as your father?"

My eyes fly wide open in disbelief.  Is he asking that?  For real?

"Would you be my daughter?"  He wants me...as...a...daughter?

The world spins crazily, swiftly going black.

*****

"Ohohohohohohohohohohohohohohohoh!  Kneel at my feet, oh my Ranma-Sama!
Accept the pain of love from the one who loves you most!!!"

[Eeeep!  How did that get in there?  Wrong nightmare. *blushes*]

*****

"Oh Shun..."

"Oh Suka..."

"Oh Shun!!"

"Oh Suka!!!"

[Eeeep!  How did that one get in there?  *blushes furiously* *hides that
one, as well*]

*****

Visions don't haunt this dream.  Instead, I hear several voices.  Some are
new and familiar, some old and long forgotten.

"Can't we undo our wishes?  Bring him back!"  One voice calls out.  I
haven't heard this one before, that I remember.

A voice that I faintly remember, but don't know where from, replies in a
deep and resonant voice, "You can visit, for a short time, but you may not
bring him back.  After your first visit, you will be given back to your own
time."

"First visit?"  This voice sounds remarkably like Akane's, although older,
"Does that mean we can come back later?"

"Some may, " the resonant voice replies again, "But two will only get one
or two chances to visit.  Then they will be banished from this line
altogether."

"Who can't?" another voice that I've never heard before.  It sounds old,
wise, and most definitely female.

"Those who are already gone."

*****

Sorry about the dream sequence, I just had to =^_^=

Thanks for reading this far :)

C&C is, as always, much appreciated.  Flames should be watered down and
tossed in the ocean (send not thy flames to the list, please)

Liath Corrine Shadow
Shadow Dancer
Shadow-Chan

<sent myself a request for my own story the other day.  I haven't replied
to myself yet.>
<Real Life Dragon in hiding, 554 years and counting.  Forgetfulness finally
setting in *feeling her age*>