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Hi,
I am looking for comments and criticisms.

I also want to say hi to everyone here at FFML2.

Now, on with the story,
Troy Thomas

***

The Sunlight and the Wind
By Troy Thomas <Silentnova@go.com>

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Rumiko Takahashi. Street 
Fighter II and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Capcom.

An extra special thanks to my mother and a 
great big thank you to my proofreaders Allyn 
Yonge and Anand Rao.

***

Dramatise Personae:
Genma
Ranma
Ryu

***

Chapter One

A young man with black hair, without shoes, and 
wearing a white gi and a large backpack walked 
along a green path. His name was Ryu.

He quietly followed the green trail, which 
snaked its way towards a town one half-hour 
away.

There was determination but no intent in the 
young man's strides.

His stride was suddenly thrown off though, when 
he heard a sound far from the trail hidden in 
the trees.

Stopping, Ryu began listening for the sound.

Dismissing the sound after a moment of hearing 
only the forest hum, Ryu resumed his walk.

The sound touched his ears again though.

Ryu turned to where he assumed it was, and 
looked determined to hear the sound once again.

It was silent, and seemed lost in the heartbeat 
of the forest, but the sound, so familiar to 
him from his childhood, sent an unwelcome 
tingle down his spine.

"Someone's crying..." Ryu whispered.

He moved unthinking towards the sound's 
creator, but stopped in a fright when the sound 
suddenly stopped.

"Hey! Is somebody there?" Ryu shouted, concern 
in his voice.

"Dad? Is that you?" a young child, a boy, 
replied.

Ryu rushed towards the child, who had stepped 
out from behind a tree.

The boy stumbled trying to walk towards Ryu, 
falling forward onto his knees.

When he was close to the boy, Ryu saw 
scratches, scratches everywhere on the child, 
from a hundred or more cats, and shredded 
clothing. Blood stained the clothes.

The boy looked less than the age of nine. He 
had long black hair, which was braided into a 
pigtail. He wore a white gi, not unlike Ryu's 
own.

Ryu motioned to pick up the child, but the 
child shied away falling onto his back, and 
from the impact of the ground on his skin, the 
child cried out in pain.

"Oh my god!" Ryu said, falling to one knee.

He looked into the boy's eyes, past all the 
scratches, seeing a red gloss.

He stared at the child, without emotion on his 
face. But slowly, determination began to appear 
at his the corners of his eyes and mouth.

Ryu warmly smiled. "My name is Ryu...what is 
your name?" he asked, when the boy smiled back 
at him.

"It's Ranma...Saotome."

"Ranma, we can't stay here...you need help." 
Ryu began to stand, but kept his knees bent so 
he could remain on an eye level with Ranma. "I 
don't think you should walk...but that means 
I'll have to carry you."

The child stood, but shifted his eyes towards 
the ground.

Ryu stood up completely, and then picked Ranma 
up, cradling him. He could feel Ranma cringing.

Before returning to the trail, Ryu whispered, 
"Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Carefully and slowly he carried Ranma. When 
away from the grasping branches of the trees, 
Ryu turned towards the city.



Alone, he sat beside a fire. Genma Saotome 
looked towards the stars. "Hmm, night-time 
already?"

He was a heavy man, more muscle than fat 
though. He was in his mid-thirties, but already 
showed substantial hair loss. Wearing only a 
white gi, he gladly sat closer to the fire. 
Flickering flames reflected off his glasses.

"Humph, it was noon when I last saw the boy. I 
wonder where he could've ran off to?" he asked. 
"Doesn't he know, all I'm trying to do, is..."

Genma silenced his own tongue. "Damn it! 
There's no one else here!"

Some wood Genma had earlier tossed on the blaze 
caught fire. Flames danced over the log.

"There's no need to convince yourself what the 
truth is!"

A book sitting beside Genma, opened to the last 
page, seemed to accuse the heavy man. Accuse 
him of ignorance and pride, blindness and 
foolishness.

Taking his glasses off, Genma rubbed his nose. 
"I guess there's no need for the cats anymore." 
He picked the book up. "Nor for this. The boy 
won't go through with it...I won't go through 
with it." Softly, he chuckled, although not 
happily.

"There's no need to try and force this issue 
anyway. I would rather have a sane son anyway." 
After tossing the book onto the fire, Genma 
stood. He walked over to a large and dark pit, 
which was alive with noise. The meows of cats 
could be heard.

Lying beside the pit was a long but narrow cut-
down tree. Sliding it into the pit, Genma then 
walked back to the fire.

He sat down. "My guess is, Ranma will be in the 
town."

He stared into the flame. Barely recognising 
the book cover, Genma sighed. "Somehow, I don't 
think I'll ever be the same..."

He looked at the book again, noticing its cover 
burned away.

"What to do?" he quietly asked.

Into the night sky, ashes of the book floated 
gently away, riding on the current of the wind 
towards the future.



It was morning. Birds outside the house chirped 
and sung, while the sun slowly warmed the cool 
earth.

Ryu opened his eyes. Not immediately 
recognising his surroundings, he tossed away 
his blanket and stood up out of the bed.

"Now that was weird..." He rubbed his head. "I 
just thought I was somewhere else. Must've been 
dreaming."

Someone knocked on the door. A moment later, 
the door opened and a head with a smile 
appeared. The owner of the smile, was an 
elderly lady.

"Oh, young sir. You're awake?" the lady asked.

"Yes, and thank you." Ryu replied. "You took us 
in, without a single doubt about either of us." 
He bowed. "I am in your debt."

The lady shook her head. "Nonsense young one. 
I'm just glad the boy is safe. Those scratches 
were very painful looking."

She cackled. "But some warm water and little 
bit of soap helped a great deal."

Walking over to the bedroom window, she drew 
the curtains open. "I'm happy the scratches 
weren't very deep, or else he might've never 
survived that horrible training."

"Excuse me? Did you just say those scratches 
resulted from training?" Ryu asked.

The lady watched the world outside the window. 
The sight was her backyard.

"Yes, I'm afraid. The boy arrived at this town 
three days ago with his father." She sighed. 
"The father wanted cats. First he searched for 
many stray cats, and then stole the rest he 
needed from helpless people like me."

The lady pointed to an area far beyond her 
yard. "Just over there, he dug a hole and 
tossed all the cats into it." She looked at 
Ryu. "He didn't know I was watching him, but I 
was. And I called everyone that I could to come 
over."

She shook her head. "He tried to throw his son, 
who he covered in sausages, into the pit. I'll 
bet those cats were hungry, because I could 
hear them yowling from here."

She laughed. "And then, everyone charged after 
the man to stop him." Her laugh faded towards 
silence. "But he ran away with his son, and all 
the cats, which he stuffed into a big bag. We 
haven't seen that man since. And my cat's been 
missing too..."

Walking towards the door, she frowned. "The boy 
you brought here last night is that man's son." 
Sighing, she left the room.

Outside, the branches of a nearby tree rustled 
from a gust of wind.

"If Ranma wasn't so badly hurt, it might've 
sounded weird rather than dangerous." Ryu 
commented. "After all, I'm no stranger to such 
extreme training techniques."

He thought for moment, and re-evaluated the 
situation. "But I willingly take on such 
challenges. What that man tried, was simply too 
dangerous!"

He clenched his fist, and then left the room.



The town was common enough, children played in 
the streets, old men sat down wherever and 
waited as the day past, pigeons pecked at 
whatever food lied about.

Genma, however, was both an uncommon and 
unwelcome sight. However, it seemed no one 
wanted to bother him.

"Humph, can't find him, but...if my luck holds 
up like usual, the boy will at that house..." 
He pointed to the house, from whence away he 
was chased.

He walked towards it. "Ranma, I'm an idiot, but 
I'm your father. You should not have run away."



"What are you doing here, you...beast!" the 
lady shrieked.

Moments before, at the kitchen table, with 
Ranma and Ryu, she had settled down to eat 
breakfast.

The doorbell rung and the lady went to answer 
the door, but apparently what she found didn't 
make her happy.

"Huh?" Ryu dropped his chopsticks and went to 
see what the matter was.

"I have come to pick my son up!" a man said, 
standing with his foot between the door and 
frame. "I know he is here! There is no denying 
it!"

Without thought, Ryu responded, "You can't have 
him!"

"He's my son. He ran away from me, but I don't 
want to lose him." The man crossed his arms. 
"Bring him to me."

The lady moved to follow the man's orders, but 
Ryu stopped her, grabbing her by her shoulders. 
"Listen madam, I can stop him. Please don't do 
anything rash."

"Me do anything rash? You're the one acting 
rash!" The lady's eyes pleaded. "Just give him 
his son, and let them go away!"

"No!" Ryu let the lady go and turned to face 
Genma. "Alright, we'll settle this right now!" 
He cracked his knuckles. "Prepare to lose."



The wind flowed gracefully past him. There was 
neither interval nor noise from the wind. It 
simply was. It was strong enough to force Genma 
to stand firmly, but weak enough so he could 
stand confidently.

"You look familiar, young man. But you will not 
keep my child away from me. I am his father, 
and you have no right to try to steal him!" 
Genma readied himself, placing a fist forward 
to be prepared and a foot behind to be steady.

A second later, he back-flipped away from the 
doorstep avoiding a kick, which the young man 
brought in a downward motion.

Spinning away from the young man's next thrust, 
which was a powerful looking downward punch to 
his stomach, Genma countered with an elbow to 
the young man's side, just under the armpit.

Next, Genma followed by kneeing the young man 
in the chest.

However, the young man did not collapse like 
Genma expected. The young man used the forward 
motion of his fall to propel himself away while 
commencing an upside down spinning kick to ward 
away further attacks.

Landing on his feet, the young man faced Genma. 
"You're very good. I underestimated you because 
of your size. Don't think I will again."

Genma charged the young man while the young man 
was speaking, but was quickly grabbed and 
tossed by the young man's leg as the young man 
flipped onto his back, and then back onto his 
feet.

Landing hard on his arm, Genma stood up holding 
his shoulder. "Damn it!" He spread his feet 
apart, grimacing at Ryu. "Well, young man. That 
was one lucky landing for you by me."

Genma laughed. "You can beat me, unless I use 
the most feared technique the Saotome School of 
Indiscriminate Grappling has ever devised!"

The young man spread his feet apart, bracing 
himself.



"Saotome Secret Technique!"

Ryu prepared for a great onslaught of power, 
but the man turned about and ran away. "What 
the?"



"Dad always says, a fool stays and fights, but 
the wise man runs away to fight another day." 
Ranma said, explaining his father's actions.

Ryu and Ranma sat together by a large tree, 
which was part of a forest. Forced by the 
elderly lady to vacate her home, the two found 
they only had each other's company.

"Humph, well, I guess this means he'll be 
coming after you again, huh?" asked Ryu. "And 
I'll have to fight him again?"

"Yup, and he'll be better! Dad never loses more 
than one fight in a row!" Ranma beamed.

Ryu frowned at Ranma. "You're proud of him, 
aren't you?" He almost regretted his next 
question, "But what about the cats?"

"Dad just wants me to be the world's greatest 
martial artist." defended Ranma. "I have to 
learn from anything and everything!"

"Oh."

Looking towards a road at the trail's end, Ryu 
sighed, thinking, "Should have I just given him 
back? He does seem to understand more than I 
assumed." He glanced at Ranma. "I have no time 
for this. I'm a fighter, not a babysitter."

Standing up, he began walking. "Ranma, come 
along. I'm sure you're dad will catch up to us 
soon."

"Are you going to teach me anything, Ryu?"

"Uh...sure!"

"Alright!"

"Ryu?"

"Yes?"

Silence followed the questions.

"Where are we going?"

"That way."

"Oh."

End Chapter One

***

The Sunlight and the Wind
By Troy Thomas <Silentnova@go.com>

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Rumiko Takahashi. Street 
Fighter II and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Capcom. No intent for 
financial gain is intended.

***

Chapter Two

A young man and boy walked on a path. The young 
man, his name Ryu, wore a white gi, backpack, 
and red bandanna. The young boy, his name Ranma 
Saotome, followed Ryu, both on the path and in 
dress.

The path was uneven and twisting, but it led 
somewhere. About the path, stood trees, a 
forest's front. The tree's branches reached up 
towards the sky, shading the path below.

"Ryu, why don't you have a last name?" Ranma 
asked.

"I do, but I don't know it." Ryu replied. "I 
was raised an orphan my entire life."

"If you have a last name, how come you don't 
know it? Are you sure you got a last name?"

Ryu smiled. "Uh, I never really thought about 
it before." Slowing down, allowing Ranma to 
walk with him, Ryu looked out towards the 
forest.

The view was dim, underbrush hiding the forest 
floor. No animals could be seen, although there 
were many animals heard, chattering and singing 
creating a symphony of life, which was heard 
for kilometres around.

"But I guess it's because my master, the one 
who raised me didn't have a last name himself." 
Ryu pondered Ranma's questions.

"His name was Gouken. He never really cared 
himself, always teaching me instead." Ryu 
rubbed his chin. "I was always training too. I 
guess he thought if I was happy, it didn't 
matter if I had a last name or not."

Smiling, stepping confidently forward, Ryu 
suddenly blinked. Water had fallen into his 
eye.

The sky, hidden by clouds, darkened. The path, 
which was dusty and light brown, quickly 
changed to sticky and dark brown.

"Ryu, when is my dad gonna find us?" Ranma 
asked.

"Um, I don't know. I'm surprised he hasn't 
already showed up." Ryu shrugged. "I thought we 
would've saw him two days ago."

Pointing to a tree, Ryu said, "It's getting 
really wet. Let's stop under that tree."

The boy rushed over to the tree.

Catching up with Ranma, Ryu took his backpack 
off, dropping on the wet ground. "Get the tent 
out. It doesn't look like we'll get anywhere 
now."

Ryu sighed. "What do I do with him?" He looked 
at Ranma. "Should I return him to his father?"



"Damn this weather." Genma growled. After 
picking himself off of the muddy ground, he 
looked unappreciatively at his clothes. "Mud... 
All over..."

He suddenly grabbed his left shoulder. "Ow!" 
His face contorted into a grimace. "It still 
hurts!" The pain was sudden.

Looking ahead, Genma knew he wasn't too far 
behind Ranma and the young man.

Holding his shoulder, he felt the pain inside 
growing.

"I can defeat him, if he isn't paying 
attention..."

Ever since he received the injury caused by the 
young man, Genma felt he couldn't stop chasing 
them. If he stopped to let it heal, he would 
lose ground on Ranma and the young man. If he 
continued, the injury would decline, eventually 
slowing him to a halt anyway.

It was a race against time.

He continued on.



Ryu sat under the tent, with a candle holder, 
which held a burning candle.

There was heat enough  "Ranma, you're soaking 
wet." he said, looking at the boy.

"Ryu..." Ranma shivered under a blanket. He 
continued speaking, but incoherently.

Ryu frowned. "Hey, are you okay?"

The boy mumbled an answer, but the sound was 
scarcely audible.



He ran, there was no time to think. The boy was 
pressed against his chest. He could feel the 
boy's breathing, slow and laboured.

"Damn! Damn! Damn you Ryu!" he shouted. "His 
temperature, his colour!" No one but himself 
was listening. "The rain!"

The sky fell, a drop of water for every 
heartbeat. It was not alive, more of a death, 
which wanted to drown the world, clean it of 
all weak and young.

The darkness pressed the earth down, which 
could hold it, and nothing else.

His steps were thrown forward, each foot 
landing uneasily in the soft ground, as though 
any extra pressure would cause the mud 
underneath to shift.

"Don't worry Ranma. We'll have you at that 
town..."

Lightning exploded across the sky, lighting the 
world up, momentarily.

"You'll be alright, just great, and you'll be 
up and..."

Thunder soon followed, and the world was dark 
again.

Lightning..."No!" Ryu screamed in vain, his cry 
wasted, drowned by both the rain and thunder.

Lightning, there was a shadow ahead...

Ryu charged ahead screaming, "Get out of my 
way!"

Thunder, it rolled across the land.

Lightning, and the shadow sprang into complete 
reality.



It was a flash, an explosion.

The foot of Genma Saotome slammed the side of 
his head, sending Ryu hurtling into the night 
air.

Ryu landed on his back, stunned. Ranma was not 
in his arms, having landed safely under a tree 
with thick branches.

"Return my son, young man!" Genma suddenly 
growled, from the darkness bringing his foot 
down towards Ryu's head.

Rolling away, avoiding the heel, Ryu launched 
himself off of the ground, away from Genma. He 
looked at Genma. "There's no time for this!" he 
growled.

"Are you a coward?" Genma asked. "Is there no 
time for me?"

Lightning, it sprinted across the sky.

Thunder, it rumbled, shaking the earth.

Rain ran down Ryu's face. He wiped it from his 
eyes, and scowled at Genma. "You idiot! You son 
is sick! He needs help, a warm bed, rest!"

"Humph! You can worry about all that after we 
settle our differences. Right now, you should 
worry about yourself!" Genma charged towards 
Ryu.

Ryu tried to side step a punch, but 
unexpectedly slipped on the mud. A kick to the 
back of his head sent him sprawling face first 
into the ground.

Quickly standing up, Ryu knew his face was cut. 
He felt a powerful smouldering sensation fire 
where Genma had kicked him.

His legs wanted to give way. His mind knew no 
peace, the world hurriedly spinning towards to 
a destination blurred from sight.



Genma charged towards Ryu, but caught sight of 
Ranma, who was lying under a tree with thick 
branches.

Time slowed.

One thought rushed through Genma's mind, "He's 
not sleeping...It is a land without dreams."

Time, it exists without life, and takes life 
for itself.

"Why am I fighting?" The thought came to Genma 
unbidden. "Why do I do this?"



One last chance...

Genma seemed to have forgotten him.

Ryu crouched, and then erupted into the air, 
his fist held high.

Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder 
tore the world apart.

"Shoryuken!"



Genma screamed, or he thought he did. He 
couldn't tell whether he was still in the air, 
or lying on the ground.

Had the world turned a sudden white for a 
sudden instant? Had there been an abrupt end to 
all sound?

When the young man used the technique, the 
Dragon Uppercut, had the world itself ruptured 
apart to render its might onto his body and 
spirit in one blow?

He opened his eyes.

Genma groaned. The blow's burn slowed his 
breathing, as though someone clenched his lungs 
and refused to let go.

However, the sight before him...It was no 
better than where he had been formerly.

The young man picked the boy under the tree up 
from, and then began running away from Genma, 
passing from sight.

"Ranma..." he tried to scream. "I..."

"I..." He did not want to look. He could not 
avert his gaze.

"I..."

Slowly, the rain failed, and the clouds blew 
away, a terrible nightmare disappearing into 
the night.

Only, the day appeared, bringing with it 
reality.

Genma lied in the mud. His boy had been taken 
not with the nightmare, but away from it.

"I'm so sorry..."

End Chapter Two

***

The Sunlight and the Wind
By Troy Thomas <Silentnova@go.com>

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Rumiko Takahashi. Street 
Fighter II and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Capcom. No intent for 
financial gain is intended.

***

Chapter Three

The medical clinic had an empty, quiet air. No 
one else except young Ranma Saotome made a 
sound, and he only quietly snored.

Ryu looked at the young boy, and sighed.

The two were alone, in a room far in the 
clinic's back end, Ranma in a bed, and Ryu in a 
chair by the bed.

Three days, plenty of time for Genma to have 
healed, and resumed the chase.

Ryu wanted to believe Genma lying in a ditch 
beside the path, where three nights before the 
man had tried to retake Ryu under a terrible 
circumstance.

Believe Genma losing track of Ranma and him. 
Believe Genma, accepting losing.

Ryu smiled, without confidence.

Once, he had woken without knowing where he 
was.

Where was he?

In a clinic, sitting in a chair, beside a young 
boy who was sick with fever.

Where was he?

"Where am I?" Ryu asked quietly.

Where?

In a chair, watching over a young boy.

"Is it important to me?"

"Yes."

In a chair, watching over a young boy.

"Why?"

"Because."

In a clinic, sitting in a chair, beside a young 
boy who was sick with fever, was a young man 
named Ryu.

He wasn't outside, looking for a battle against 
a warrior.

"In fact, I'm running away from one." he softly 
said.

And he was happy.

"So strange..." he smiled.

He looked at Ranma.

"It's so strange..."



One goal, defeat the Rising Dragon Uppercut, 
and then Ranma would be in his care again.

Genma slowly walked towards a river, which ran 
far into a valley shrouded by trees. Whatever 
lay at the river's end, seemed no concern to 
Genma. However, he walked towards the river, 
intended to know its course, and secrets, and 
questions, and answers.

One blow, punch, defeat, Genma knew the pain. 
He knew a pain beyond defeat though, but 
averted his spirit's gaze to the lesser ache. 
It clasped his lungs, heart, and ribs. It beat, 
and swelled, and tightened.

Defeat, it was his, and not something he could 
ever lose, as an article might be lost, and it 
was alive, as long as his own life lasted.

"Dragon Uppercut," Genma savoured the name, "so 
beautiful..." Reaching the river, he kneeled at 
its bank, and reached for the water. He looked 
at the water, and saw his own reflection, and 
frowned.

He was dirty.

Some water would remove the dirt.

He fell into the river, and let the water take 
him.

He surfaced when he was out of air, and 
submerged when he had had too much air.

The water took him, far from the bank, towards 
the centre, and there, it dragged him into the 
valley.

Once, he would've fought the current, but the 
pain in his chest was too great. His heart, 
lungs, and ribs were too great an enemy for his 
to overcome, ever.

And he didn't want to fight the current.

The river shifted, and Genma could no longer 
see what had once been of the river, so he 
wanted to leave the river.

However, the river began to flow faster, so he 
never again submerged, too afraid.

He swum for the bank but tired quickly. 
However, he did not quit, and so reached the 
bank.

He dragged himself onto land, and breathed a 
sigh of relief, in between his gasps for air.

And then, Genma knew.

There was nothing at the river's end, for it 
had no end. It continued on, past the valley, 
forever, and when it seemed to end, it would 
only be a bend hidden by the trees. It was 
forever.

"The Rising Dragon Uppercut." Genma said. He 
lied at the edge of the river's side, drying. 
"Will my plan work?"

End Chapter Three

***

The Sunlight and the Wind
By Troy Thomas <Silentnova@go.com>

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Rumiko Takahashi. Street 
Fighter II and its characters are the creations 
and properties of Capcom. No intent for 
financial gain is intended.

***

Chapter Four

"You've been sick for nearly a week now, 
Ranma." Ryu said, looking at the boy, walking 
to this right. "Your dad hasn't shown up yet, 
either."

"Ryu," the boy said, "he will come, won't he?" 
The look on the boy's face was worried.

Ryu smiled. "Probably..." Despite the smile, 
Ryu could not bring himself to impart the 
unspoken.

He'll want one last chance to win you back.

A few of the townspeople waved goodbye from 
their homes to Ryu and Ranma, which the two 
accepted and replied in kind.

The sun slowly began to disappear behind grey 
clouds. The last few houses of the town were 
hidden from sight by trees by a bend in the 
path.

The two walked quietly.

A wind, firstly gentle, and then increasingly 
cold and strong, took the sun's warmth towards 
the heavens, and then brought onto Ryu a chill.

Ryu looked ahead, and saw Genma.

"Young Man..." Genma said, his arms crossed, 
his face expressionless. "I want my son."

Ryu slowly shook his head. "Cats, Mr Saotome, 
and what else, hmm?"

"Cats, wolves, dogs, and every sharp-toothed 
animal under the sun!" Genma's face showed no 
emotion. "And there are worse things than 
animals...

"To the west of here, is an ancient training 
ground, where fire is the greatest tool a man 
could use to better his speed.

"To the south, is an ancient training ground 
where the cardiovascular system is strengthened 
by use of water."

Ryu snarled, and Genma laughed.

"But now, I will never visit those training 
grounds, Young Man." He returned to no emotion. 
"In a small way, I am glad you had taken my 
son...I learned what I didn't want to learn."

Ryu brought himself to a state of no emotion. 
"Perhaps, but..."

"But what, Young Man?" Genma began to walk 
towards Ryu. "Will you not return Ranma to me?"

Far away, "Must I take him from you by force?"

Closer, "Ranma, what do you want?"

"To be the best, Dad."

"Is that all?" Genma laughed.

Closer, "I guess it's all right for now, but I 
wouldn't know right now."

Closer, "Perhaps all I know is this, battle, 
but I'm not the only one is this situation."

Closer, "Right, Young Man?"

And closer, which is when Ryu struck.

Genma moved out of the strike's way, and spun 
about, bringing the bottom of his hand onto 
Ryu's shoulder.

Moving down with the strike, Ryu jabbed his 
foot forward, hoping to put distance between 
Genma and him.

Is battle everything?

Ryu rushed forward and threw a punch towards 
Genma's midsection, hoping to catch the older 
man, and render the older man out of breath.

Genma dodged the punch, and brought a knee to 
Ryu's own midsection, which the younger man 
quickly, yet barely jumped above.

What else is there?

A kick shot into his chest. Ryu flew backwards, 
but landed uneasily on his feet.

Ryu glanced at Ranma, whose face was bright yet 
filled with concern, whose face not one week 
ago, was filled with a dreamless look, whose 
face was scratched relentlessly by cats when he 
first met the child.

Is battle everything?

Is it all?



The young man had his fists forwards, but made 
no move towards Genma.

"Right, young man?" he asked again.

"All you and I know is battle! It is our lives, 
more so than anything else." Genma laughed. "At 
home, I have a beautiful wife, but I haven't 
seen her in three years."

Frowning, Genma looked at Ranma. "Neither has 
the boy."

Did the child remember his mother? Or had the 
image of Mother been covered, hidden by the 
morning mist which all people eventually notice 
whenever they travel into their memories, 
searching for their pasts?

The young man quickly moved forward, but did 
not hold his fists toward.

Genma too moved forward, and he knew he would 
win.



The two collided, and everything shone white.



It was the land of dreams, where one life is 
glimpsed for a moment, and then forgotten.

It was the land of dreams, where one forgotten 
life is relived, and then only glimpsed after 
waking.

Ryu watched, and glimpsed, and remembered.

For a moment, all the morning mist had 
subsided, and his life came before him, one 
memory at a time.

His life, and his battles.

His tutelage, and his friends.

And then the ground rushed forward towards him, 
or rather, he towards it.



Ryu awoke, alone.

He was covered by a blanket, and lied near a 
campfire, which seemed to burn as though it 
would never stop.

The campfire sat near a river, which with an 
incessant babbling drowned out the jovial 
crackling of the fire.

He wanted to move, however, his body was stiff 
and his muscles sore.

And then, he felt a piece of paper under his 
hand. He held it before his eyes, and, happily 
yet not, smiled.

"Goodbye Ryu, Ranma Saotome."

End Chapter Four

***

Author's notes:

This is my first completed story (and I'm sure 
it shows), and I hoped you've enjoyed it.

Wow, I neither thought it would be so long to 
start nor thought it would be completed so 
quickly.

When I first began to write this story, I 
wanted to write a crossover between Ranma 1/2 
and Street Fighter II, but it grew into 
something more once I began writing the 
character notes, and it changed into an idea 
which I would never have imagined except in my 
dreams.

What I originally wanted was story I have never 
seen before, where two great characters have 
their lives changed in a conflict between each 
other, which they cannot avoid. I also wanted 
the characters to drive the story, and I wanted 
to know who the characters are.

Whether I've succeeded or not on these points 
is left up to you as an individual, and I'm 
certain whatever points you may have about my 
story to be valid. But, I'm happy with what I 
have here, and I hope you've enjoyed whatever 
is here.

Now about the characters:

Ryu seemed to be a lonely individual, and I 
wondered how he would react if he came across 
Ranma in such a situation, like the cat-fist 
training.

Genma struck me as despicable individual, and I 
wondered how he would react when confronted 
with the truth about himself, how he would 
react if confronted with a situation he 
couldn't run away from.

Ranma is a blank piece of paper, and I couldn't 
do too much with him. But I wonder, when he 
grows up, I wonder how different he'll be 
compared with the canon Ranma because of this 
experience?

Oh well, I do hope you've enjoyed the story, 
and I'd like to hear from you, the reader.

Troy Thomas <Silentnova@go.com>

***

Check out my webpage:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~silentnova/index.html

I archive, write, link, and do almost all the wonderful things fanfic writers like. Check it out, today.
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