Here's the prologue of my newest story.
For those who are wondering, the next part of Change of Scene is
coming along, slowly



Travels, Training and Trials

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by June "KaraOhki" Geraci (karaohki@snet.net)

July 20, 1999

Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and its characters belong
to her.  I'm merely borrowing them.  The story below is for
entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.


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

PROLOGUE


The proud parents gazed at their newborn son.  A new life, with so
many possibilities.  They would raise him well.

That was the way it started.

Then one day Genma Saotome told his wife that he wanted to take their
son off to "train him in the way of the Art".  Nodoka argued in vain,
and finally gave in after her husband had agreed to bring her son back
a true man.  It wasn't until after he left that she thought about the
other side of the coin.

Had her husband left her because she wasn't womanly enough?  Was he
unhappy with her as a wife and mother?  That question would haunt her
for years.

She found that the time passed slowly and painfully.  For a few years,
she patiently watched her mailbox, certain that her husband would
write to her.  When no letters came, she sought out an old friend,
someone who would understand her unhappiness.

Nodoka had waited too long.  She found Soun Tendo mourning his wife,
and his three daughters devastated.

Kasumi was valiantly trying to take care of her father and sisters.
It was evident that she'd worked herself into a state of exhaustion,
so Nodoka put her to bed and forced her to stay there.  Then Nodoka
sought out Nabiki and Akane.

"Nabiki, Akane, you have to help your sister."

Nabiki looked a little irritated, but she had been raised to respect
older people, so she merely nodded.  Akane, for her part, was eager to
help, and had no trouble telling Nodoka what she wanted to do.

"I want to cook, Auntie Nodoka!"

Soon she had both girls in the kitchen, and was giving basic cooking
lessons.  Nabiki did quite well, and Akane would have if she hadn't
been so overenthusiastic.  It would take some time to teach her to
slow down, and follow directions.

As time passed, Nodoka took all three girls under her wing, teaching
them to cooperate with each other in taking care of the household.
Each of them had their own talents, but Nodoka insisted that learning
all aspects of household management was essential.

Nodoka still felt that she herself had been lacking in some way, and
that this had caused her husband to leave her.  She vowed that the
same fate would not befall these three girls.

Of the three sisters , Nodoka found Akane to be the most difficult to
deal with.  She was a mixture of little girl and tomboy, insisting
that her father train her to be a true martial artist.  It had been
the cause of more than one disagreement between the two.

Nodoka arrived one day to find Akane beating on a practice dummy she'd
set up in the yard.  She quietly watched for a while, before
commenting.

"Dear, martial arts is not a very ladylike thing to do."

"Mommy was a martial artist.  Mommy was a lady.  If Mommy could do it,
so can I."

To that, Nodoka didn't have an answer.

*****

Ranma pulled his arm out from beneath the blanket, and patted his
father's knee.

"Read it again, Daddy?"

"It's getting a little too dark, Ranma.  I can't see the words.  Time
to go to sleep."

Genma tucked his son in, and kissed his forehead.  Nodoka had packed a
couple of Ranma's favorite storybooks when they left, and his son
insisted on having a story read to him each night.  He was using the
books to teach the boy to read, and Ranma was making rapid progress.

They had been traveling for some time now, visiting dojo after dojo.
Genma intended to teach his son everything he knew, and everything
they could learn as they traveled.  He missed his wife, and
occasionally entertained the idea of going home to her, but the
promise he had made held him back.  If his son wasn't "manly" enough
to satisfy the agreement he'd made with Nodoka, both of their lives
would be in danger.  A little part of him told him that Nodoka would
never hurt her only child, but he didn't want to take the risk.

Genma had the idea that if Ranma could learn something that was
unique, something that no one else could master, the promise would be
fulfilled.  That was the reason he kept moving--to find that
technique, and have his son learn it.

*****

Genma walked through the woods, followed by Ranma.  Ranma kept turning
around to look toward the dojo they had just left, and after a little
while his father noticed that he had fallen behind.

"What are you looking at, boy?"

"Why did we have to leave, Daddy?  I liked the dojo, and I liked the
Master."

Genma frowned.  The last thing he wanted to do was explain to a six
year old why they were asked to leave the dojo they'd been staying at.

"It was time to move on, Ranma.  I expect you to learn as much as you
can, everywhere we go, and that means we aren't going to stay anywhere
for very long."

Back at the dojo the pair had just left, the Master sat trying to
meditate.  He sighed, and abandoned the effort.

*I would have kept the boy if I could have found a way to get his
father to give him up.  He has potential, and though his father is
trying hard, he has little idea of how to raise a child.*

Master Shirato wondered if Ranma would remember what he told him
before he left.

"Come back some day, my son.  There will always be a place in my house
for you."

"Thank you, Master.  Maybe Daddy will bring me back one day."

"Perhaps he will, but I would welcome you here whether you came with
or without him."

The boy had looked confused, but had nodded, and joined his father
outside.

The sound of running feet brought the Master out of his thoughts, as
one of his servants burst into the room.

"Someone has been in your library!"

"Is anything missing?"

"I'm not sure, Master.  Please come look."

There were books scattered everywhere, and it took some time before
the two men finished putting them back where they belonged.  It was
then that they realized which book was gone, and who must have taken
it.

"Master, he wouldn't try that, would he?"

The Master's face was grim.

"Neko-ken?  I believe he would."

"We have to find him!"

Master Shirato sent out men in every direction, searching for the
Saotomes.  He remained in the dojo, waiting.

One by one, his servants returned, having failed to find Genma and his
son.  Several days later the last one returned, carrying a horrible
tale.

"I passed through a village, Master.  They told me of a boy who had
been repeatedly thrown into a pit of hungry cats.  He was terribly
injured, and they believed that he had gone mad."

The Master buried his face in his hands, and wept.

"I'm sorry, Ranma.  I should have forced your father to leave you with
me."

*****

"Daddy?  Daddy! NO!"

The woman sitting beside Ranma's bed patted his hand, and left the
room.

"I think he's waking now."

The man sitting on the doorstep nodded and went inside to his son.
The woman remained outside, thinking.

A few days earlier she had been startled when someone had come to her
door and pounded on it.  The man now inside her house--Genma
Saotome--had been standing there, holding a little boy in his arms.

"Please, can you help us?  We were attacked by a wild animal."

The man's face and arms were full of scratches, and the boy looked
worse.  He was positively covered with scratches.  When she had
undressed the child to tend to his injuries, she had also discovered
several bites.

At first the woman had thought that the man was concerned for his son
in the way any father would be, but as she tended Ranma through the
fever he developed, she began to change her mind.  Genma seemed to
view Ranma's fever as a weakness, and she more than once caught him
looking at his son with what seemed to be impatience, or disgust.
Once she had to leave the room to get a cool cloth for Ranma's head,
and overheard his father speaking to him when she returned.

"We have no time for this, boy!  A martial artist is strong at all
times, and you are abominably weak!  I have no patience for
weaklings."

The woman shivered.  She knew that Genma would take Ranma and go as
soon as he was able to get up and walk.  The child needed rest.

She was right.  A day later, she woke to find them gone.  She was
disappointed for more than one reason.  Ranma could have used a few
more days to recuperate, and the woman had wanted him to meet her
niece, Ukyo.  She and her father were expected to visit, and she had
been so sure that the children would have become good friends.

*****

Genma kept moving.  He was filled with a dread that he could not put
words to.  He'd thought to make his son the ultimate martial artist by
teaching him Neko-ken.  Instead, he'd instilled a fear of cats in
Ranma that was proving impossible to overcome.  This was a weakness,
and he couldn't afford to have his son show any weakness.

>From that point on, Genma changed.  The gentle father in him
disappeared, replaced by a strict disciplinarian, who allowed no room
for weakness.  Somehow, he would train that weak spot out of his son,
and make him into the man his mother wanted him to be.

*****

A year later, Ranma swept out yet another dojo.  He and his father had
been there several days, as usual having promised to do whatever work
the Master would assign them in exchange for meals, and a place to
sleep.  As usual, his father had disappeared, leaving him to do the
work.

The boy's face was a mixture of anger and confusion.  The
unconditional affection he'd had for his father had disappeared after
the Neko-ken training.  Now he regarded his father with less respect,
and much suspicion.

Ranma liked traveling from place to place.  He liked what he was
learning from the Masters at every dojo they visited, and he liked
what his father had to teach him.  What bothered him was the way they
would be treated every time they left.

Whenever they arrived at a new place, he and his father would be
welcomed warmly.  Whenever they left, it seemed that everyone was glad
to see them go, and he couldn't understand why.

Ranma finished sweeping, and sat down on the steps.  He was so busy
thinking that he didn't notice when the Master sat down next to him.

"You look troubled.  Is something bothering you?"

At first, Ranma was hesitant to confide in the Master.  The man
patiently drew him out with gentle questions, and he eventually began
to speak more openly.  The Master let Ranma talk, and then pinpointed
what he felt was the most important thing he'd told him.

"So, you are still angry at your father for what he did to you?"

"Yes."

"Have you told him?"

The fear on Ranma's face was enough of an answer, without his
whispered "No".

"I understand."

The Master sat for a few minutes, wondering how much a seven year old
would understand of what he wished to teach him.  *There's no harm in
trying.  He's an intelligent boy.*

At that point, Ranma got up and started to walk back into the dojo.

"Excuse me, Master.  I have chores to finish."

"No you don't, Ranma.  You've done all the work by yourself this
morning.  Let your father do the rest when he comes back."  *He'll
probably come back when he thinks you've done it all.*  "I'd like to
talk with you for a while."

The boy's curious gaze made the Master smile.

"Your father has made some mistakes, and that's made you angry at him.
Don't say anything--just listen.  You still have to show him respect,
because he is your father.  He has much skill as a martial artist, and
I'm sure he will teach you well, but there are some things I don't
want you to learn from him."

Ranma looked a little confused, but nodded, and waited for the Master
to continue.

"I can see that you're a hard worker.  You've done everything I've
asked you to do.  Your father hasn't.  Don't learn to be lazy from
him.  Don't learn to be dishonest, either."

"Yes, sir."

Over the next few days, Ranma spent much of his time with the older
man, following him around like a puppy.  The Master taught him some
simple katas, but spent most of their time together trying to impress
Ranma with the concepts of honesty, civility, and respect.  The boy
soaked it up like a sponge.

A few evenings later, the Master sat with one of his assistants.

"Has Saotome done any of the work we've assigned to him this week."

"Some of it.  I believe that he thinks it is good training to have his
son do the work instead."

"He has some strange ideas about what is proper training, doesn't he?
Perhaps it is time for him to move on."

"The cook would like that.  I've never seen anyone able to eat as much
as Saotome can."

The next morning father and son were on the road again.  Again, Ranma
had been sent off with a message he'd heard before, and would hear
many times during the coming years.

"You'll be welcome back at any time, Ranma."

*****

Ranma learned quickly that the lessons he'd learned from the Master
had to be hidden from his father.  All he'd done was mention some of
the concepts he'd been taught, and his father had taken a fit.

"Don't waste your time with philosophy, Ranma!  The Art is all that
matters, and the Art is all you have time for!  Do you understand,
boy?"

A nod from Ranma seemed to satisfy Genma, and they moved on.

As the years passed after that incident, Ranma was careful to keep his
thoughts to himself.  He spent as much private time with the Masters
of the various dojos they visited as he could, but he kept the person
he was becoming a secret.

It was as if there were two of him:  There was a Ranma who was a
mirror of his father, interested only in the Art, and nothing else.
Then there was the hidden Ranma, who had learned that there was more
to life than martial arts, and who was well on his way to being a man.

*****

It was becoming harder and harder to find a place to stay.  The years
had led them from place to place, and it seemed that every dojo they
visited had heard of the Saotomes.  Unfortunately, that meant they
were not welcomed when they arrived.

Ranma hoped that meant his father would decide to go home.  He no
longer remembered where home was.  He couldn't even remember if he had
any family to go back to.  Instead, his father told him that they were
leaving Japan.

Some days later, the pair gazed at the training grounds of Jusenkyo.
It certainly looked different from any other place they had been to.

Ranma was trying to listen to what the guide had to say when his
father challenged him.  Accustomed to responding instantly, he
accepted the challenge.

Later, reflecting on what had happened, Ranma realized that he should
have waited to hear what the guide had to say.  He resolved to take
his advice in the future.

"Sirs, this Amazon village.  You be careful here!  Women very
violent."

Genma grunted.  He'd been walking a long way, and was tired and
hungry, not to mention hot.  Pandas had WAY too much fur.

Ranma was also tired and hungry, but not too tired to listen to what
the guide had to say.  *Amazons, he said?*  Ranma had learned about
Amazons from one of the Masters they had stayed with.  For once, Ranma
was glad she was in girl form.  If they hd  walked into an Amazon
village as men, the women might attack.  As it was, they were all
gathered together in the center of town, having some kind of contest.

Genma didn't care about the contest.  All he could see was the big
table full of food.  He reached for it, but Ranma grabbed both of his
arms, looked at the guide, and asked for advice.

"What does the sign mean?"

"Food is prize.  You must not eat."

Ranma struggled to keep his starving father away from the food.  He
heard a roar from the crowd, and turned his head to see that the
contest had ended.  The young woman who had won gave a gesture of
triumph, and ran toward them.  She looked at Ranma and the panda
curiously, and spoke to them.  Ranma turned to the guide and waited
for him to translate.

"She says this her prize for being champion.  She asks who you are."

"Whatever you do, don't tell her we're men!"

The guide introduced his clients as a young woman and her pet, touring
the area.  The Amazon woman introduced herself as "Shampoo".

*Odd name* thought Ranma.  "Ask her if they could spare some food, or
if there is any work I can do for food."

The answer pleased Ranma very much:

"We never turn hungry women away."

A short time later, Ranma and her "pet" were on the road again, with
full stomachs.

*****

Akane dashed into the house, took off her shoes, and ran to the hall
table.  Maybe today she'd have a letter.  She was delighted to find a
letter from "Auntie Nodoka", and ran upstairs to read it in the
privacy of her room.

Nodoka had been away for several months, caring for a sick relative.
Akane missed her, especially since she had started experiencing
trouble in school.  A huge crowd of boys would wait at the school
gates for her every morning, fighting for the right to date her.
Akane's immediate response was violence, and this bothered her,
because she was sure that Nodoka would have found a superior way to
handle the situation.

*I hate boys* she thought.  *No, I don't hate boys.  I just hate
STUPID boys.*

Akane read her letter, and spent quite some time answering it.  She
explained her problem in detail, and asked Nodoka for her input.
Akane put the letter aside, and got started on her homework.  She was
absorbed in it when her father knocked on her door.

"Please come downstairs, Akane.  I have something to tell you and your
sisters."

"Okay, Daddy."

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



to be continued (of course)

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