Short little bit I wrote to tie this alt into the main
series. Not needed to understand the series, but it
does contain hints for future chapters.
WYBMF4 should be done in a few days, so consider this
a little appetiser before the main course. :)
***
Will You be my Fiance?
(A Ramna 1/2 Alt History)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm
Note: This takes place a little after the whole 'engagement ring'
incident.
Prologue: Idle Wishes
It was the aftermath of yet another great battle in Nerima,
and while the death count was zero as always, property damage
was more significant, especially to the Saotome home, which had
been totaled in the resulting chaos. Virtually no one escaped
without a few bumps and bruises, but as always nothing life
threatening.
Ranma sat in his room of the Tendo house, nursing a few
bruises himself while scowling at the door, though it was more
directed at what lay beyond it; his assorted fiances, rivals, and the
world in general. His return to the Saotome home had been
somewhat bittersweet, leaving so many people behind. But he
should have known better after they came and destroyed his mom's
house. He should have enjoyed those few moments of peace and
quiet while he could because he didn't know if they would come
again.
"Stupid pops," he muttered to himself, "Wish you never
took me away from mom on that stupid training trip in the first
place."
Father was no more happy than son at the moment. He was
currently sitting in the yard in panda form because his own wife
refused to let him in the Tendo house with wet fur. Sometimes he
even enjoyed his curse, but now...
"I wish someone else had this panda curse."
Nodoka stared at her husband as she helped to tidy up the
Tendo living room, feeling more than a little guilty for having the
Tendos support her family yet again. She had been so lonely while
her husband and son had been away. That's was why she had
clung to Ranko to tightly, perhaps seeing the spark of her missing
son deep inside that female body without even realizing it. If only
Genma had waiting a little longer before leaving on his training
journey...
"I wish I had a daughter."
Kasumi noticed Mrs. Saotome's mournful expression and
frowned. That woman had gone through so much, waiting and
hoping, only to finally receive a husband and son who were so
different from the ones that had left her that she hardly recognized
them at all.
But Kasumi knew that Nodoka wasn't the only one feeling
down at the moment. She had seen Ranma's expression just before
he slammed the door of his room shut. She had wanted to say
something, but she knew it wasn't her place. She was more like a
distant relative than a friend to him. She began to wonder if he had
any true friends at all.
"I wish Mrs. Saotome and her son both had someone that
they could really talk to."
Soun hid behind his paper and pretended not to notice the
sudden feeling of gloom that had descended upon the household
after the latest incident. Oh, he could blame Ranma for this like
everyone did, but he knew the true reason for the curse that seemed
to have been placed on his household, the demon who he dared not
even raise his voice to lest he incur it's terrible wrath.
"How I wish that I'd never met master Happosai."
The demon in question was currently sitting on the roof of
the Tendo dojo. People might have been surprised to see how sad
and old he looked at the moment. Though he'd never admit it, he
envied Cologne for having a great-granddaughter like Shampoo.
He wasn't thinking of her looks this time; he wanted someone with
a deep and abiding respect for him. No one respected him, no one
would care if he died. They'd even celebrate.
"I wish I had a great granddaughter like Shampoo."
Underneath him, in the dojo, Akane was 'practicing,'
though
she was really just taking out her frustrations on innocent pieces of
wood. It was all Ranma's fault. Why did he have to do stupid stuff
to make her angry all of the time? She knew the whole problem
went back to their first meeting. That had set entirely the wrong
tone for their whole relationship.
"I really wish we could have started out as friends."
Nabiki snapped off a few more photos to finish off the roll
and returned to her room. She'd sell them to Kuno like she'd done
dozens of times before. Her heart wasn't really in it anymore,
though. Nabiki thought herself a smart girl and was just a bit
disgusted with herself to have to be so petty to earn yen. This was
the sort of thing she should have people working for her to do.
People who admired and respected her for what she could do,
instead of fearing and despising like most did.
"I really wish I had some people who looked up to me."
A small black piglet passed under her window, away from
its wanted destination due to a very poor sense of direction. Inside
the piggy exterior Ryoga was seething at Ranma's latest
mistreatment of Akane. The pig-tailed boy was worst than an idiot
in his opinion, he had Akane but he treated her like dirt. If Ryoga
were her fiance, he'd never treat her like that.
"I wish Akane was my fiance!" Ryoga tried to shout, but all
that came out was, "Bwee!"
Shampoo blinked at the sudden cry of a pig as she rode her
bicycle down the street, but then shrugged her shoulders. She had
no time to investigate it, no time because she had to make
deliveries for the restaurant. She was just coming back from one
now and great-grandmother had already called about another. It
looked like she wouldn't be able to see Ranma for the rest of the
day at least. No chance to make up for the latest fight, and steal
him away from that tomboy Akane.
It seemed that even great-grandmother had given up hope
that she would succeed. Shampoo couldn't blame her, her own
nearly limitless supply of optimism had almost run out, and she
was beginning to feel as it she had lost the fight before even
beginning, all due to a mistake she had made some time ago.
"Shampoo wish that she find out about curse before coming
to Japan."
"Shampoo!" Mouse cried out as soon as his purple-haired
darling entered the restaurant, only to be backhanded hard into the
wall. An expected, but unwelcome response. He remembered
when they were young, long before he had even heard the terrible
name Saotome, when Shampoo would happily play with him.
What happened to those times? Was it really all his fault?
"Oh, Shampoo. I wish you would treat me like a friend
again."
Cologne ignored the commotion out in the restaurant as she
worked in the kitchen, her mind elsewhere. Ranma had proven
himself an even better fighter than before. They boy just seemed
like he wouldn't stop improving, and he'd yet to even reach his
prime. She had gotten to know him quite well, knowledge that she
regretted not having when they had first met. She had completely
messed things up with him then, and it was clear that no matter the
things she did for him since, Ranma would never fully trust her.
"How I wish I could start all over with the boy."
Not surprising, she wasn't the only person thinking of
Ranma at the moment. A certain young okanamyaki chef thought
about her childhood friend as she practiced her trade. Ukyo was
Ranma's 'cute' fiancee, but that didn't seem to be enough. Akane
was the one he was always with, the one he turned to, the one who
came first.
"I wish I was Ran-chan's true fiancee!" she shouted in
frustration.
She might have been surprised, and perhaps a little
disgusted, to know that her thoughts were currently being echoed
by Kodachi Kuno. The Black Rose could clearly see that she stood
no chance for Ranma for the simple reason that unlike the others
she had no official claim to him. So whatever Ranma may feel for
her, he was still bound by honor and tradition. She wasn't even an
option.
"I wish my parents had arranged a marriage for me."
Kuno ignored his sister's mutterings as he strode past, his
mind focused on two things: Akane and the pig-tailed girl. Each
perfect in their own way, the only two women truly deserving of
his greatness. Clearly their affections would be his if not for the
demon Saotome who blocked their path of happiness, do doubt for
his own twisted lusts.
"I wish that Ranma Saotome no longer stood in the way of
my happiness!"
Gosunkugi ignored the sudden shout as he passed by the
Kuno mansion. He had given up all hope of ever winning Akane
for himself, not even he and Kuno working together could beat
Ranma. What chance did he have of beating the boy alone? What
he needed was some sort of edge, but everything he had ever tried
always failed.
"I just wish I could use real magic for once!"
On most days such idle wishes wouldn't have mattered.
This was far from the first time that these people had wanted
something to change in their lives, though this was perhaps the first
time that they had all wished so all in one day. And on another day
they would have most likely wished for something else, especially
if they had known someone was listening.
There's a certain power inherent in wishing, the desire to
want things to change. Individually, it's not enough to lift a grain
of sand, but it grows stronger the more it's brought together,
especially when they are the wishes of some very strong-willed
people.
In this case it was enough to wake a slumbering spirit. The
spirit's nature was helpful, but that help was prone to be
mischievous. It heard all of these wishes and thought for a time on
how best to help everyone, for even being a powerful spirit it did
have limitations. But then it saw the answer, a small change to an
event in the past, one becoming two, that would give everyone
what they wanted.
As the spirit fell back asleep, the city around it began to
change...