It's My Life
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
by Gendou Knepper
Please send C&C to gendou_knepper@hotmail.com
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations created and copywritten
by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, Fuji, Viz, etc. Other
copyrights are owned by the respective copyright owners.
All copywritten material is used without permission.
All other material is (c) 2001 Gendou Knepper
RAAC Draft (public) v0.2
editing assistance by Saotome Ranchan
============================================
"I've had it!" Ranma screamed, startling Kasumi out of her
reverie. "I'm outta here, oyaji!"
"Oh my," she murmured, watching as Ranma and Genma
got into yet another of their now all-too-frequent shouting
matches.
"Boy, I've had about enough lip from you, now," Genma
snarled, his eyes narrowing dangerously behind his glasses.
"Shove it, pop. I'm leaving." Ranma's defiant expression
never wavered as he went nose-to-nose with his father.
"You're going nowhere," Genma hissed, "since family honor
is riding on your marriage to Akane."
"What do *you* know about honor, old man?" Ranma
sneered, turning to leave.
"Don't you turn your back on me, boy!" Genma snapped,
grabbing Ranma by the collar. Ranma deflected Genma's
incoming hand with his own.
"What'cha gonna do? Make me stay?" Ranma said, glaring
at his father with hate-filled eyes. Genma's own expression
became suddenly neutral, as if a curtain had descended on
his emotions.
"If I must," he stated simply. Ranma chuckled.
"Old man, you're too long out of practice. You couldn't keep
me here if you tried." He turned to leave. Genma didn't try to
stop him this time.
"Don't do this, Ranma," he whispered warningly. There was
a pleading in his tone, not for himself, but for his son. Ranma
ignored him and kept walking. He breezed past Kasumi,
who stood in the doorway of the back porch.
"Ranma-kun," she murmured as he passed. He ignored her.
Kasumi looked up and met Genma's gaze. She covered an
involuntary gasp with her hand. The cold hardness in his
eyes was completely unlike anything she had seen there
before. Genma continued to stare through her, seeing but
not seeing.
"Foolish boy," he said finally, and turned toward the dojo.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-= It's My Life =-
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
by Gendou Knepper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"I already told you, I'm leaving," Ranma muttered
stubbornly. He continued packing his bag, trying to ignore
the three sisters in his room.
"Ranma-kun, have you even thought of where you're going
to go?" Nabiki asked. 'Ever the practical one,' thought Soun
proudly, wiping a tear from his eye. He was currently hiding
just around the corner from Ranma and Genma's room,
eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Mom's got some relatives in Osaka. I thought I'd head there
first and see if I can't find some work at a local dojo," Ranma
replied.
"But what about the engagement?" Kasumi asked. Ranma
turned around with a sigh.
"If I marry any of my current fiancees, I'll end up breaking two
other agreements." He shrugged. "If I break two, what's a
third? I want to live my life my way. That means marrying
who I want to marry." He turned back to his packing, placing a
small photograph in the top of the pack, then zipping the
pack shut.
"Ranma," Akane whispered miserably. Ranma ignored her
completely. He picked up his pack.
"Well, I'm gone. Kasumi, thanks for everything." Ranma flatly
ignored the other two girls, pushing past them and heading
out the door.
"Ranma-kun, what about family honor?" Soun wailed as
Ranma passed him in the hall.
"My family has no honor, thanks to pop," the boy replied
quietly. "I have to make my own family and my own honor
now." Ranma kept his back turned toward Soun as he
spoke. "Goodbye, Tendou-ojiisan." Soun began to weep in
earnest as Ranma continued down the hall and down the
stairs.
Ranma had stepped through the front door and onto the
front step when a massive shadow loomed before him. He
looked up into the cold, blank eyes of his father.
"Don't do this, boy," Genma warned. Ranma tried to push
past him, but the old man was immovable. Ranma sighed
with exasperation and started to walk around his father. A
large hand on his collar stopped him. "Are you going to walk
away from a challenge, boy?" Genma rumbled. Ranma
turned and stared at his father.
"You challenging me, oyaji?" Ranma asked. He dropped his
pack and cracked his knuckles in anticipation of pounding the
old man.
"If that's what it takes to make you remember your place,
then yes, I am challenging you." Genma's face remained an
unreadable blank, despite his words.
"So, here is the challenge: if you win, then I will renounce
your engagements for you and accept the dishonor
personally. The family honor will be in your hands, as well as
the Musabetsu Kakuto Saotome-ryu. I will even commit
seppuku if that is what it will take to cleanse the family name.
In short, my life will be yours."
Genma adjusted his glasses slightly. The sun reflected from
them, hiding his eyes from Ranma. "If I win, you will remain
here as my student until I say, you will marry one of the
Tendou daughters, and you will not question my judgement
ever again."
Ranma's eyes widened as he heard his father's speech,
then his face split into a wide grin. Extending his hand, he
nodded vigourously.
"I accept!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The fight took place the next day, in the abandoned lot
where so many of these challenges were held. Word had
spread quickly about the match, and many interested and
disinterested parties had turned out for the fight. Nabiki had
ordered her minions to erect bleachers, and tickets for these
seats were already sold out. The four fiancees sat near the
front, but ignored one another for the most part. The Tendou
sisters sat huddled together at the very front.
"This should be interesting," Nabiki whispered to her older
sister. Kasumi nodded, distracted by the way Genma was
dressed.
His stained white gi had been replaced by a dark gray gi
with a black belt. His usual head-covering bandana was also
black and was attached to his glasses, firmly fastening them
to his head. His posture was straight, not slouched, and his
gait was even and measured. Behind him, Tendou Soun
followed.
"Saotome-kun, are you sure you want to do this?" Soun
hissed to his oldest friend. "No one will think less of you if-"
"No one could think less of me than they already do,
Tendou-kun," Genma whispered. "I need to do this. If not for
him, then for me." Genma turned and looked at his friend.
"Take care of Nodoka for me if I fail, old friend." Soun looked
like he was about to cry, but simply nodded and took his
place with his daughters.
"I thought Saotome-no-ojiisama admitted that Ranma was
better after their duel," murmured Kasumi softly. Nabiki and
Soun stared at her in shock.
"Kasumi," Nabiki whispered, "didn't you see the panda's
ultimate technique? The Hell Cradle?" Kasumi nodded.
Nabiki continued. "Well, didn't that strike you as odd?"
Kasumi looked to her father for help. Soun sighed at his
eldest's lack of guile. It was her strength and her weakness.
"Genma was mocking Ranma, Kasumi. He was using a
foolish technique to show the boy that he didn't care enough
to even try to beat Ranma. That's what infuriated the boy so
much." Soun turned back to the field. "Something has
changed in Genma recently, and I'm not sure it's for the
best."
Now the crowd began to murmur loudly. Ranma had arrived
with his mother. His cocky stance proclaimed to all that he
knew how easy this was going to be. He spared his father a
second look, surprised at how the old man was dressed, but
a second later his face split into a wide grin.
"Hey oyaji! Ya think new clothes are going to help you win
this?" Ranma jeered. Genma ignored his only child, instead
turning toward his wife. Nodoka gazed evenly at her
husband, then turned to join the Tendou family without
speaking to Genma. Genma's head drooped for a mere
second, then his upright stance returned.
"Are you ready, boy?" Genma rumbled. Ranma assumed
his usual relaxed fighting stance, then motioned to his father.
"Bring it on, old man."
The battle was joined.
Ranma moved first, his aerial jumpkick aimed straight for
Genma's chest. Genma's form blurred, then was gone.
Ranma snarled as he hit the ground, but was moving again
an instant later. Genma's use of the forbidden umisenken
was a shock for only a moment as Ranma engaged his own
invisibility. There was silence for the space of a minute, then
a loud thunderclap.
Ranma exploded into visibility, flying backwards through the
air before slamming into the ground. Genma reappeared a
second later, following up with a jump kick. Ranma rolled to
the side as Genma's foot slammed into the earth with a
groundshaking crack. Ranma was in the air an in an instant.
Genma held his ground, snarling like a bear.
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma screamed, aiming his
blows at his father's face and chest. Genma's expression
remained neutral as he blocked the flurry of strikes using only
one hand. Ranma's eyes widened. "How did you-?" he
gasped as he backed away. Genma's cold gaze settled on
his son.
"Did you truly think I taught you everything, boy?" Genma
backed away from Ranma, then extended his hands in front
of him. "Roaring Bear Strike!" he shouted. A blast of energy
exploded from his hands and smashed into the startled boy.
Ranma was once again flying through the air. This time,
however, he landed on his feet, his expression grim.
"This ain't funny, oyaji," he muttered. Genma raised an
eyebrow.
"Am I laughing, boy?" he queried coldly. Ranma shook his
head as if to clear it, then charged Genma.
"Moko Takabisha!" he shouted, firing a blast of superheated
chi at the older man. Genma stood still as the chi burst
crashed into him, then broke like a wave on rocks. A massive
amount of steam poured off his body as he stood there,
unharmed. Ranma, however, was still moving. He followed
up the chi blast with his own body, accelerating into his father
like a freight train. There was a crash, then dust obscured the
two combatants.
A moment passed in still silence, then two. Then Genma
stepped out of the dust cloud, carrying Ranma's broken form
in his arms.
"It ain't over, pops," Ranma coughed. Genma's gaze
remained neutral as he stared at Ranma's face.
"It's over, boy," he whispered. Ranma began shivering
uncontrollably.
"Cold," he gasped. Genma just nodded, then passed
Ranma to Tofuu-sensei. Tofuu gasped as his fingers
brushed Genma's skin.
"Saotome-san," the doctor said softly. Genma's icy gaze
met Tofuu's for a moment.
"Take care of the boy. He's injured. It's important that he get
well soon."
"No," gasped Ranma once more. "No, I'm not through... it's
my life..." Genma heard him and leaned down into his son's
face.
"No boy," he whispered softly. "It's my life. It always has
been." And for the first time since the battle had begun,
Saotome Genma smiled. It was not a pleasant thing to
behold.
"And it always will be."
End
============================================
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