Ranma 1/2: A Saiyan Tail. Part 5
Ranma-chan, Wo dai Ailen?!!
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 Ranma's 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?" asked Akane as she glared at him.
"I guess I understand though, if you keep pushing yourself like that
every day, you're 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." Soun smiled at her with a strange look in his eyes and 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 Tendo. 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, but 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.
The man 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 too 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 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. 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 bound
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 the sidewalk with Ranma cheerfully
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 Ailen!"
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 to dust herself off. She was a small and
very perky girl, very beautiful and very Chinese, her clothes and her
accent told Akane that; even 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 pigtailed 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 directly 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 Bukoten 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 bukoten 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?