[FFML] [Ranma 1/2: alternate universe]Differing Waters: Prelude and Differing Waters Chapter One

Hi,
This is a story I sent out around a month ago. It was untitled when I sent it out, simply called A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction.

Anyway, the story has been titled, revised, and lengthened. It's also been cut apart into two distinct stories: The Prelude and The Actual Story I Wanted to Tell All Along.

This doesn't mean I've skimped on the Prelude. Some might think so, but I never intended to write more than what I've written (if anyone else would like to write more, write me, and we'll talk).

Anyway, what is here is what I have writ. If anyone wants to find copies of it, go to www.fanfiction.net (when there, search for Troy Thomas, and you'll find it).

Again with the anyway, on with the story.

Troy

***

Check out my webpage, where I archive, write, link, and do almost almost all the wonderful things fanfic writers enjoy. http://www.crosswinds.net/~silentnova/entrance.html

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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
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Differing Waters: Prelude
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and properties
of Rumiko Takahashi. Excepting flames, if you have any
comments or criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

***

Chapter One

Genma Saotome stopped walking, and then turned to look at the
young man following him. "Are you prepared, Ranma?"

"This is Jusenkyou?" Ranma asked, stepping beside his father.
Before him, a vast field with thousands of shimmering pools
glistened in the midday heat. "You said this place was
dangerous! It's too quiet and peaceful to be dangerous..." He
scanned over the many pools, and then said, "Silent like a
graveyard."

"Oh good day, Honoured Tourists from Japan!" a man said,
hustling up from behind the two. "You have come to see
Jusenkyou, Valley of the Pools of Sorrow?" He chuckled.
"Before anything else, don't forget advice I am sure caring
family gave before leaving home country." He gestured to the
pools. "Do not drink the water!"

"Who are you?" Ranma asked.

The little man bowed. "I am Guide of Jusenkyou. I have been
working here many years." Taking a moment to stare at Genma
and Ranma, he then slowly and carefully said, "You two wear
training gi's...I must emphatically give warning not to train
here!" However, to the guide's dismay, neither man nor boy
was listening.

"Enough chatter, Ranma. It was a long trip, and we came here
for a reason!" Genma let fall his heavy backpack, and jumped
up to a bamboo pole standing up and tall from in the middle
of a pool.

Ranma jumped up a neighbouring pole.

"No!" shouted Guide. "Come down, sirs! You should not be
training here! Jusenkyou is too dangerous!" However, the
father and son, rather than pay any attention to the guide,
watched each other warily.

"Are you prepared, my son?" Genma asked.

"Yes."

"Right. Now let's begin." Genma knees slightly tensed before
he sprung from the pole. "Oy shoh toh!" he screamed. However,
to his surprise, Ranma flipped off of his extended leg, and
pushed him down into the pool.

After landing gently on another bamboo pole, and hearing his
father splash down into water, Ranma turned about, and
awaited another attack.

A long moment later, he asked, "Pop? Are we finished
already?"

"Young Sir!" cried Guide. "Please come down. Do not, I
repeat, do not fall into any pools! Else you will forever
lose your body..."

"What?" Ranma turned his head, and gaped at the guide.
Suddenly, a huge and round black and white figure sprang
forth from the still water. "Panda?" Ranma asked, before
being knocked off the pole from a kick from the animal.

He felt the water surround him, and he saw the sky above
disappear into a wave of pool. Hitting the ground below, he
then pushed up, and gasped for air.

Guide removed his cap, and shook sadly his head. Slowly, he
walked over to the pool where a shocked and numb girl was
sitting, and then gently and quietly began to speak, "Young
Tourist, please come over here. Do not think. Do not act.
Come here, beside me." His words, words he had uttered too
many times, flowed too efficiently from his soul and memory.

Guide fell onto his bottom, and again sadly shook his head.
He looked behind him, and saw the panda gripping its fur, and
saw its eyes, confused...frightened. "Please Good Sir, come
to me."

His words, his voice, reached the two martial artists,
finding in their hearts a moment, which said, "Listen to
him."

When the two were sitting beside him, he said, "You two,
please do not think and do not act. I want you to listen, but
I don't want you two to do anything else." Guide gestured to
a pool. "A thousand years ago, a panda fell in and drowned.
Now whoever falls in is cursed with a body of a panda."

He gestured to another. "One thousand, five hundred years
ago, a young lady fell in the pool. Now whoever falls in is
cursed with body of a young girl."

"Every pool has tragic story. Every pool has curse." The
guide stood. "Please come inside. I must speak with you two,
but you two need to dry off first and not catch cold."

Ranma looked up and saw the guide, who seemed sad. She heard
him gently say, "We go inside. We talk." Numbly, she
complied.

End Chapter One

***

Author's Notes:
Thanks to Tangent for his helpful comments on the original
text, which have helped lead to the story as it now stands.

***

Differing Waters: Prelude
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and properties
of Rumiko Takahashi. Excepting flames, if you have any
comments or criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

***

Chapter Two

Dried off, Ranma quietly sat alone near the guide's window.
She listened to the guide's words, which repeated over and
over in her memory, "The curse of Jusenkyou has no cure."

She remembered asking a question, "Are you sure?"

The answer, "Look, Young Customer." The guide had pointed to
a large bookshelf, which was only one of a dozen or two.
"These books, all about Jusenkyou, all as old or young as the
pool a book was written about. I have searched through all,
and found nothing. The guide before me found nothing, and the
guide before her..."

There had been a silence. "Remember and please heed my words.
Do not act or react. Only listen." Soothingly, Guide had
approached her. "No cure, and thousands of people have been
cursed. These thousands of people over thousands of years
have used their lives looking for cure. They found
nothing..."

Blinking away the memory, she looked out towards the valley,
and saw a young man gingerly moving around the edges of the
pools. "Who's that?" she asked, her heart nervous for the
young man.

The guide ran out of the hut, and she watched him approach
the young man and begin speaking with him.

Turning around, Ranma looked at Genma, whose eyes seemed
hollow and distant. "Pop?"

Gradually, the panda turned its head to face her.

His eyes...'I want to feel sorry for myself.' she thought.
'But Pop...' She smiled. "You still with us?"

"No worry. He will retain his human mind." the guide said,
leading the young man into the hut. "He will always think
like a human, and not lose his mind."

"How do you know?" Ranma asked. She never removed her gaze
from her father.

"Most books not written by human hand." the guide said. He
then gestured to the young man. "This Ryouga Hibiki. He
looking for young man named Ranma Saotome. You know Ranma?
You Ranma?" Guide looked at the girl.

Ranma looked outside, and then to Ryouga. "See the pools out
there? I used to be him, but now I'm me." She sighed. "I
don't know if that means he's dead or what, but I'm now Ranma
Saotome, formerly Ranma Saotome."

"Yes, Ranma, that is good way of thinking. Do not lose that
thought." said the guide.

Ranma sighed, and looked at her three companions: her father,
the guide, and the young man. "You're Ryouga from high
school, right?" she inquired, when she was looking at the
young man.

The young man looked at her, and nodded his head.

"Why'd you follow me?"

"I wanted to finish our man to..." Quickly, Ryouga corrected
himself, "I wanted to complete our duel."

"Oh." Somehow, she didn't feel he wanted to fight. "Our
duel?"

"The one you ran away from to this godforsaken..."

"Three days, Ryouga. That's how long I waited."

"On the forth day...when I arrived, you had already left!"
The young man clenched his hands into fist.

"Is this revenge?" Sighing, Ranma stood, and walked over to
the boy. "It's the worst possible time for it." She clenched
her own hands into fists. Her facial expression hardened, and
her mouth formed into a grimace. "I want to explode right
now...Destroy something..."

"It's Jusenkyou out there though!" She opened her shirt,
which caused Ryouga to shyly shut his eyes. "Look at what
happened to me! Look!"

"Young tourist!" The guide stood. He hastily hopped over to
her, and frantically waved about his hands. "Please sit
Ranma! I say no thinking!"

"Right." Ranma continued to keep her hands clenched, but she
closed her eyes, not wanting to let them fill with tears.
"Excuse me." Hurriedly, she walked out of the hut.

***

Ryouga watched Ranma retreat outside, but instead of
listening to his heart, he turned to the guide. "I don't..."
Leaving his thoughts unfinished, Ryouga instead asked, "Is it
really possible...? The legendary training grounds of
Jusenkyou..."

"Yes. It seem nothing happen here, Mister Hibiki, but look
outside at pools. When I look, I see graves. Each pool has
story, each story tragic tale of poor fool who wandered too
close and drowned." Guide took from his inner coat pocket a
tobacco pipe. After lighting it and taking a breath through
it, he looked outside for the girl.

"I here for many years. Many people fall in, and many cursed.
It is too hard to talk to people before Jusenkyou, but after
Jusenkyou, it is too easy." The guide handed the pipe to the
panda, who appreciatively accepted it. "Please Mister Hibiki,
I ask you go outside, and talk with your friend."

The guide turned around, and was about to begin speaking with
Genma, when he heard the boy ask, "Excuse me, but where's the
door?"

"Over there." The guide turned back to the panda, but quickly
swivelled about. "I say over there! Why you opening door to
my closet?"

***

As he was pushed outside of the Jusenkyou guide's home Ryouga
heard Ranma ask him. "You want something?" Ryouga looked at
the girl, and shook his head.

"I want something, an answer." she said.

"What's your question?"

"I'm doing the asking here." Forcing a smile, Ranma turned
away from Ryouga, who was looking at her red and dry eyes.
"What will you do now? Since I'm not a man now, you've wasted
your time looking for a man to man duel."

"I'll go home."

'I'm a guy.' Ranma thought. 'I look like a girl though. I
have a girl's body. I'm still a guy though.' She smirked.
"Really? You'll go home, all by yourself?" Turning towards
the young man, she hid her smirk. "But you get lost so
easily, I'm a little curious how you'll ever get home alone."

"I'll manage..." To Ranma's satisfaction, Ryouga was
physically becoming annoyed.

However, to Ranma's disappointment, the front door to the
guide's home opened.

Genma stepped outside holding a sign, which read, "Ranma,
we're leaving. We're going back to Japan."

"Japan? Why? There's nothing for us there now!" Ranma
shouted.

"We're leaving."

"If you're going back to Japan," Ryouga began to walk towards
the panda, "would you like some extra company?"

"Yes." Guide replied walking out of his home. He threw at
Ryouga a large backpack. "It is Mister Saotome's. He can not
carry it." The guide took lead of the group. "I know good
fast way to the sea."

End Chapter Two

***

Author's Notes:
Once again, thanks to Tangent for his help.

***

Differing Waters: Prelude
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and properties
of Rumiko Takahashi. Excepting flames, if you have any
comments or criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

***

Chapter Three

"Ranma..." Ryouga growled. "Shut up!" He swung at the girl,
who easily dodged his swing.

"It's just a joke, Ryouga!" Ranma replied, seemingly happily.
"You shouldn't take it so seriously." She stuck her tongue at
the boy.

"Young Tourists! Please no arguing. We nearing the village of
heroines, the Amazon tribe, protectors of Jusenkyou, which is
our last stop before the coast. We must show peace." Guide
said, removing his hat. "Please no trouble, or we in big
trouble."

A hut was hidden behind heavy forest underbrush, signalling
the beginning of the village. Soon the group began passing
dozens of houses, modern and ancient, and then approaching
what seemed the city's centre, they found a large and
cheering crowd.

"Wow." Ranma commented. Her stomach growled, and she looked
at her father, who was holding a paw to his stomach. "You
too?"

"Oh, we are lucky today! This is the annual martial arts
tournament, which the prize is this buffet of food!" Guide
exclaimed, pointing to a table with a large and colourful
assortment of food. However, his mouth dropped open when he
saw Ranma and the panda digging into the fruit. "Oh no."

"Is something wrong?" Ranma asked, after taking a bite out of
an apple.

>From the crowd's centre, a girl screamed, her voice enraged.

"She ask, 'Who are you?'" the guide translated. "Now she say,
'You eat my prize!'"

The crowd grumbled, and a few boos were tossed about.

"Some people don't think the food is hers." Ryouga said. He
looked around, seeing the crowd surround them. "I guess most
agree though." He inched closer to the guide. "Now what?"

"Okay, if this food is a prize, then all I need to do is win
it, right?" Ranma asked. 'Fighting is all I've grown up to
do.' she thought, sullenly. 'Might as well keep doing it.'
She cracked her knuckles.

It was a second later, and Ranma was on top a giant fallen
tree facing the enraged girl. "You want a piece of me?"

Ranma's opponent snarled in response.

"She say, 'Prepare to die!'" the guide said.

"Heh, you need to be good enough to beat me first!" Ranma
rushed towards the other girl, and then threw a punch towards
the midsection of the village champion.

Unfortunately, Ranma's punch met only air, since the village
champion hastily backed away.

Suddenly, the champion jumped and as Ranma watched following
the champion's form, it disappeared into the intense
sunlight.

"Damn!" She crouched, and then quickly sprung backwards,
narrowly avoiding a downward kick from the other girl.

Ranma grimaced, watching the other girl, who looked up at
her, and smirked.

The point on the log where the champion's kick impacted began
to shudder, and then suddenly the log broke apart.

"She's got some major power." Ranma said, before jumping
backwards again, landing on the ground.

Raising her fists, Ranma looked at the other girl, who stood
on the end of the broken tree. "It'd be nice to know your
name." Ranma said, silently.

The girl spoke, and the guide translated, "She say her name
is Shampoo."

"Humph. I thought she could understand me." Bending her
knees, Ranma smirked. "You're good, but I'm better, Shampoo.
It's pretty unfortunate, but you're going to have to lose
now."

Shampoo raised one foot of the ground, and brought forth two
weapons Ranma hadn't seen before, which she pointed at the
ponytailed martial artist.

Again, the guide translated what Shampoo said, "She will not
be defeated by anyone."

"Heh, I'm Ranma Saotome. I'm not just anyone!"

Suddenly, jumping, Ranma swung her foot towards Shampoo's
head.

Shampoo flipped backwards, away from Ranma's kick, down the
fallen and split log, until she was three metres away from
Ranma, who stood where Shampoo had just been.

"Humph. Here I come again!" Ranma charged towards the Amazon,
and when a metre away feinted jumping, which caused Shampoo
to jump in the air.

Ranma quickly swept a foot under the startled Amazon, who a
moment later fell to the ground stunned from the hard fall.

"I win right?" Ranma asked.

Seconds later, her fallen opponent approached her, and then
lightly kissed her on the cheek. Again, the crowd gasped.

"What?" Ranma backed away, her voice confused.

"Young Customer, we must run!" Guide turned and pushed the
panda and Ryouga. "Run, she has given Kiss of Death! She was
defeated by outside, now she must kill outsider!"

"Eep!" Slowly turning, Ranma watched Shampoo, who seemed to
smirk cruelly at her.

And Ranma watched until she was out of sight, the smirk of
Shampoo, which seemed to say, "I will chase you to the end of
the Earth, and then when I have you cornered, you will die."

"Aw man..." Ranma tried to groan, as she ran into the sunset.
"Who let Ryouga lead the way?" she growled, trying to catch
up to the other three.

End of Differing Waters: Prelude

***

Again, thanks to Tangent, whose help with the original text
is infinitely appreciated.

Author Notes:
I only wrote the prelude to cement a story behind Differing
Waters, which is under construction as I speak, or literally
speaking, as I type.

Of course, the prelude is short, but it was never my
intention to write about Ranma's escapade across China with a
Shampoo chasing her determined to kill her.

A Note Concerning the Original Text:
Some might be wondering about the mythical original text I
keep thanking Tangent for helping me with.

It's what you read right now, but chaptered and contains more
attention paid to Ryouga and the Amazons.

I also decided to separate the first few chapters from the
original story into a story of its own: the Prelude.

Anyway, thanks for reading the story.

***

Differing Waters
By Troy Thomas

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the creations and properties
of Rumiko Takahashi. Excepting flames, if you have any
comments or criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

***

Chapter One

Two people and a panda walked down a street in Nerima, Tokyo.
The shortest, a girl, wore a slight smile. A young man,
walking at the girl's side, wore a small worried frown.
Trailing behind, the panda amazingly walked on its hind legs,
sadly watching the ground.

"How can you stand it, being a girl?" Ryouga Hibiki, who was
the young man, asked Ranma Saotome, who was the young girl.

"It's none of your business." she replied.

Ryouga noted there wasn't ire or annoyance in Ranma's voice.
Her answer was instead thoughtful and concise, intended to
stop him asking any more questions pertaining to her
girlhood.

Ryouga sighed, and then turned around to look at the panda,
who was named Genma Saotome, and, astonishingly, was Ranma's
father. "Where are we going?" he asked.

The panda held a sign up reading, "To an old friend's. His
name is Soun Tendo." The panda didn't look up from the
ground.

"Why are we going there?" Ranma asked. "We're going to be
only strangers to him..."

"I know my friend. Even if he doesn't believe I am Genma, he
won't turn us away."

"Right." Ranma looked away from her father towards a distant
sky, her smile fading with the darkening morning sky. "Let's
hurry up then. It's going to start raining."

Her words shortly came true, and the chilled rain came
falling.

She waved her hand in front of her, pushing away Ryouga's
umbrella. "And I don't need that! I can stand getting a
little bit wet!"

"Sorry..." Ryouga hefted his open umbrella above him. "Just
trying to be nice."

"Right." Ranma returned her gaze to the sky.

The panda walked beside Ryouga. Waving his paw at the boy, he
quickly caught the boy's attention.

"Yes?"

"Ryouga. I am happy you've come with us this far. However, I
must now strain your kindness." Written on the panda's sign,
Ryouga read, "At the next corner, before we arrive at my
friend's dojo, I will give you a postcard to deliver, and
instructions. You can use the whole morning to memorize the
instructions."

"I don't understand." Ryouga said.

Genma raised another sign. "For Ranma's sake and mine, please
follow these instructions. Perhaps you might have a glimpse
of what needs to be afterwards reading them." In the panda's
paw was a folded sheet of paper.

Ryouga took it, and opened it. After reading it all, he said,
"I don't understand." However, looking at the panda, he knew
he would receive no answer.

***

The postcard was too vague. "Soun, you and I must talk. I am
coming later today, after you receive this card. Genma." He
flipped it over, and saw a panda caricature.

"I really don't understand..." Soun Tendo tucked the card
into a pocket, and then walked into the kitchen. "Kasumi, I'm
receiving a guest today." he said to his eldest daughter, who
was washing the dishes.

"Okay, Father."

Kasumi wore a smile, which seemed to say to Soun, "I look
forward to meeting this person."

Smiling, Soun walked into the dining room. "Well, Saotome.
You've certainly made me wonder today."

***

After reading the instructions one last time, Ryouga looked
down at the dojo from a neighbouring roof. Sighing, he
crumpled the paper in his hand, and then said, "Mister
Saotome, what do you mean?"

Opening his hand, the instructions, now dust, were caught in
the wind, and blown towards the setting sun.

"The last instruction, to be carried out first..." Ryouga
said. "Destroy the note. Now for the first instruction, meet
the Tendo school master."

***

Kasumi opened the entrance door, and found a young man, who
was wearing a bandana. "Hello, welcome to the Tendo Dojo."
she said, smiling. "My name is Kasumi Tendo, and yours?"

"Hi, I'm Ryouga Hibiki, and I'm here to meet with Master Soun
Tendo on the behalf of Genma Saotome."

"Really? Then please come this way." Leading the young man
inside, Kasumi then gestured to a room. "My father is in the
dining room."

***

The door opened. "Saotome?" Soun asked turning around.

"No, Master Tendo. My name is Ryouga Hibiki. I am a friend of
Mister Saotome's...child, Ranma." The young man walked over
to where Soun was sitting. "I was asked to speak with you, to
prepare you for when Ranma and he comes to meet you."

"This is day becoming stranger than other I've experienced in
a long time." Soun slowly said. "Genma sent you?"

"Yes." Ryouga solemnly looked at the sitting man. "Genma and
his son travelled to China to train at deadly and ancient
training grounds." Soun noted the speech seemed rehearsed.
"Together, they went to Jusenkyou. However, there they were
cursed."

"Genma and Ranma are already here at the dojo. That's how you
received the card today, which said they were coming today.
It wasn't luck or coincidence you got it the very day they've
come."

"Where are they?" Soun asked. "I'd like to see them."

Heavy footsteps approached Soun from behind. He turned, and
saw a panda, which was holding a sign. Its head was pointed
at the ground. Beside the animal stood a young girl.

"I don't understand." Soun said, before reading the sign.

"I am Genma." the sign read. The panda flipped it around, and
began writing. "I didn't know where else to go." the sign
soon said. "I don't know what to do, and it's all because of
Jusenkyou."

"If it weren't for all the travels with the master and
Genma...I don't know what to think." Soun whispered. "I
require only one piece of proof..."

Already, there was an answer on the sign, "I am afraid the
engagement cannot be fulfilled. There is no cure for the
curse, unless I want to waste my life looking for one."

"Yes..." Frowning, Soun turned to the young girl. "Ranma."

"Mister Tendo?"

"It was Jusenkyou?"

The girl nodded.

"Genma..." Soun turned to the panda, which looked at him.
"Yes, I believe you, despite how unbelievable, disheartening,
and frightening it truly is." He stood. "I believe you."

"What now?" asked Ranma.

"Indeed." Soun turned to the panda. "Can we talk alone?"

***

"I'm home!" Akane Tendo shouted, jogging into the house.
After removing her sneakers, she was waved over by Kasumi,
her eldest sister. "Yes?"

"Akane, we have some guests." Her elder sister smiled.
"They're very wonderful, and a bit odd."

"What?" Akane asked.

"There are three. A boy, a girl, and a panda." Nabiki,
Akane's second eldest sister said. "Apparently, the girl is
the daughter of an old friend of Daddy's. She came here after
her father and brother died in China."

"Really? How sad." Akane said. "Where is she?"

"She's sleeping in the guest room." replied Kasumi. "If you
want to know, the boy's in the bath. So you should wait until
he's finished before taking one yourself."

"Humph. Boys are perverted." Akane said, her voice cold.

"This boy is the complete opposite. Bashful isn't a strong
enough word to describe this guy." Nabiki said, laughing. She
then walked up the stairs. "Akane, you have to come see the
panda! It's in the guestroom."

Sighing, Akane followed her. "A boy is a boy." she said.

***

Sitting in the bath, Ryouga wondered, 'Why are we playing a
farce?' He leaned backwards, causing the water the splash
over the tub's sides. 'We said Ranma's father is dead to
those girls. Soun told Ranma to tell this to everyone who
asks, and to say she was born a girl, and adopted by Genma.
Ranma's going along with it...'

He shook his head. 'I just don't understand Mister Saotome.
Does he...want to just start over?' He looked down at the
water. 'What can I do to help?'

He remembered a moment after Soun and Genma had sent Ranma
and him out of the room, where they had met.

Ranma told Ryouga, "Pop told me to tell you, don't tell
anyone anything."

"It said as much in the instructions." Ryouga replied.

"Maybe, but you need to figure out what my dad wants, before
you can really help us." After telling him this, she was lead
away by Kasumi to the bath.

"What is it that I need to know?" he asked, silently.

***

"Isn't it cool?" Nabiki asked. "A real panda is going to be
living in our house!"

"Hmm?" Akane looked at Nabiki. "What do you mean?"

"Daddy seems like he doesn't want the girl to leave on her
own. I think she's moving in with us." Nabiki leaned on the
doorframe.

Swivelling her head towards Akane, Nabiki asked, "You want to
know the coolest thing about that panda? It's smart. Really
smart."

"How smart is that?"

"Watch this." Nabiki shouted at the panda. "Hey you! Mister
Panda! Why don't you write something down for us?"

A sign was raised from the sleeping form, "Maybe another
time. Panda is sleeping."

"Oh my." Akane said.

***

Sitting down, Ranma looked from side to side. Her father,
behind her, was sitting in front of a bowl with the name
Mister Panda written on it. Ryouga was to her right, while
the girl named Akane was to her left.

She looked at the food. "Wow."

"You must've been pretty tired, Ranma." Akane said. "You were
asleep for almost two hours!"

"It was a long trip..." Ranma replied, prodding the food.
"Real home cooked food." Taking a mouthful, she smiled. "This
is worlds better than what I cook."

The panda raised a sign. "I have to agree completely. Your
cooking is horrible." A chopstick bounced off its head. "If
you don't quit that, you'll be charged with cruelty to
animals."

Ryouga looked at the panda curiously. 'Hmm? He's happy, all
of a sudden...'

Ignoring the comment, Ranma looked at Akane. "You eat this
every night? You're really lucky." She took another mouthful.
"Delicious." A blurred paw passed over her plate, surprising
her. Turning her head, in shock she looked at the panda, who
seemed to want to look innocent but was failing miserably.

A minute passed, and then Ranma scowled. "You jerk. This is
my food. Leave it alone!" She quickly reached over and took
some of the panda's food. "Now we're even."

"I never took that much..."

"I'm trying to teach you a lesson." A second later, Ranma
screamed, "Keep your paws away!" Again, she reached over to
the panda's plate, and took more food.

'I don't understand. Why is Mister Saotome acting differently
than from this morning?' Ryouga wondered. He replayed the
last line from Genma's instructions in his mind, 'Ryouga, to
secure happiness for my child, I will be a panda
forevermore.'

'How will his being a panda let Ranma be happy?' Ryouga took
a bite of his dinner. 'Unless...' He looked at Ranma's face,
which was filled with a happiness he hadn't seen on the girl
before. 'Mister Saotome knows something I don't.'

Ryouga looked at the panda, Genma, who genuinely looked
happy. 'He's happy because Ranma's happy...'

"Son." Ryouga looked at Soun, who had called to him. "Might
we speak outside?"

***

Both sitting, watching the moon travel over the clear night
sky, Soun and Ryouga sat silently.

"Genma's last wish for his old and foolish friend, Soun
Tendo, was to watch over his daughter, Ranma." Soun said.

Ryouga looked at the master of the Tendo dojo, but said
nothing. He couldn't deny Soun's words.

"You do not yet know how the two feel, but you've travelled
with them for just less then a month." Soun stated.

Ryouga silently concurred, by nodding.

"There were distractions though, which likely are responsible
for your attention not entirely remaining on Mister Panda and
poor Ranma..." Soun took a cigarette from his persons, and
lit it. "You're a young man."

"I think I'm beginning to grasp what...Mister Panda wants me
to know." Ryouga said, slowly understanding where Soun was
leading the one-sided conversation. 'He wants me to know I'm
not a dense idiot.' He sighed.

"You already know, Son." Soun exhaled smoke, and looked at
the moon. "Today, and for every tomorrow to ever come
forever, Mister Panda is Ranma's pet."

Ryouga remained silent.

It was a long time before Ryouga slowly said, "You're right.
I've already known why..." Cryptically, he began to ask, "How
would Ranma feel if Mister Panda weren't..."

"Here today?" Soun finished. "I would assume she would feel
like she was lost. Would she want to go on, without anything
left from her past?"

Ryouga's gaze moved from the moon to the koi pond, which was
the centrepiece of the Tendo garden. He wanted to say
something, 'Oh God, I couldn't ever imagine something so...'
He wanted to be supporting, 'Is there anything I can...'
However, he knew only what was real.

His hands, capable of obliterating a boulder, could help
nothing.

"Son, please don't think of leaving poor Ranma here alone.
You being here will help her more than hurt her." Soun stood,
and turned around to face the house. "One last thing before
we never speak of this again."

Ryouga looked at Soun.

"I mean it Son, we will never..." Soun emphasised the word
never. "We will never speak of this again."

Ryouga's heart beat quickly, and he looked nervously at the
Tendo School Master.

"You must never be so selfish again as you have been today.
All that matters from this night on is that Ranma will find
happiness again." Soun looked sternly at the boy. "The truth
hurts, but denying the truth hurts even more."

Soun walked inside the house.

Stunned, Ryouga looked at the pool, and his eyes watered, and
his throat tightened. However, he knew Soun to be right.

It seemed hours passed before he wanted to move again.

When he did, standing up, he looked one last time at the koi
pond before walking inside the house.

Perhaps if one stood close enough, the listener might have
heard Ryouga whisper before he looked away from the pond to
walk into the house, "Goodbye Ranma Saotome, bread thief."

End Chapter One

***

Author's Notes:
Has anyone else ever noticed how some allusions, metaphors,
and symbols sometimes happen by accident?

I had Ryouga watching the pond at the end of this first
chapter, and then I realised how his words and the pool
allude to the Pools of Sorrow, where Ranma 'died'.

Heh. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Troy