Author's Forenote:
This 'fic was not originally divided into chapters. But due to its
length, I have broken it down into three postings. C&C is very much
welcomed.
* Disclaimer *
I didn't create any of the characters herein. Imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery. Please don't sue me!
Tailkinker Presents
A Wasted Wish
15 June, 1995
"A wish?" Ranma scratched his head. "I think I've had a few of
them before."
"But this wish is different." The girl - Skuld, she called
herself - knelt before Ranma. "The other wishes you had weren't
issued by Goddesses, were they?"
"Well, no."
The evening air was cool, a welcome break after the horrid summer
day, and a refreshing breeze blew through the family room. The
remains of Ranma's dinner was scattered on the table. With the
Tendos out at some family function, and his father off with
Happousai on some brain-damaged mission, Ranma had been enjoying
an unusually peaceful evening off. That is, until he had poured
his first cup of tea, and this little girl had jumped out of it.
Ranma was used to odd things happening around hot water. But
this was a new one.
"The whole reason why Kami-sama sends Goddesses to deliver wishes
to those that earned them is to avoid misinterpretations. With
me handling the wish, there's no way it can go wrong!"
"I don't see how a little girl can--"
"Don't call me a little girl!"
"Sorry." He sighed. "Why you givin' me a wish anyway?"
"Because you've done so much good and suffered so much in
return!" Skuld clasped her hands before her. "You've fought for
the woman you love, and you try to treat everyone around you as
best you can, even when they want to kill you! Oh, I know you've
been a real jerk sometimes--"
"Hey!"
"--but overall, your heart is pure and good." She looked down at
the floor. "I never expected to get such a hero for my first
wish-granting."
"Whoa!" Ranma raised his hand. "First?"
"Well...yes. But my older sister is helping me with this one!
Really, you don't have to worry about me making mistakes. Okay?"
Ranma considered this. "Do I get three wishes?"
"Nope. Just one."
"Just one? That's kinda cheap!"
Skuld frowned. "What do you mean, cheap?"
"Well, in every story I've ever heard, the people get three
wishes. One to screw up, one to fix the screwup, and one to get
what they really wanted."
"You've got me to make sure the wish goes properly, remember?"
She jerked a thumb at her chest.
"Oh, that's reassuring."
"What stories were these about three wishes, anyway?"
He waved a hand dismissively. "Aah, just stories my mother used
to tell me, when I was a kid. Fairy godmothers, talking fish,
that sort of thing."
Skuld sniffed. "Well, I am not a fairy or a mother, nor am I a
fish."
"I probably ain't remembering them right, anyway. After all, I
heard 'em when I was just a little kid. Ten years ago, or more,
I guess."
"And your mother told you these stories?" Skuld shook her head.
"Pity she didn't know any better."
"Hey, it's not like that!" Ranma shook his head emphatically.
"She was just passing on fairy tales, y'know?"
"Wherever would she have heard such tripe?"
"I dunno. She probably heard them from her mother. I never met
my grandmother, so I wouldn't know."
"Never met her?"
"No, she died before I was born. I wish I'd met her; Mom has
said some pretty nice things about her. I don't really know my
mother that well, either." He snapped his fingers. "That's it!
I wish that I could somehow get to know more about my mother and
my grandmother!"
He had barely finished speaking when a beam of light from the
heavens struck down to illuminate the girl before him. Skuld's
eyes glowed, and the mark on her forehead blazed like a beacon.
He was dimly aware of objects around him being blown around the
room, before he blacked out.
* * * * *
"Your wish has been granted."
"Huh?"
He tried to turn his head, to look at the speaker, but it didn't
help; there was still nothing but blackness around him. It felt
like his head was full of cotton.
No, wait. Just his eyes.
He raised his hand to his face, and found a damp towel draped
across his eyes.
"Ah, he's awake."
The voice was Tendo's, but there was something odd about it. He
pulled the towel off of his face...and gaped.
It was indeed Soun Tendo, seated next to him, along with a girl
that looked a lot like Kasumi. However, Soun's face was unlined,
and had no mustache; he looked to be about Ranma's age, and
rakishly handsome. Ranma sat upright, and stared at him in
shock.
"Careful, there. You don't want to re-injure yourself."
"Mr. Tendo?" Ranma blurted it out before he could think.
Soun glanced over his shoulder, then back at Ranma. "You were
looking for my father?"
"You're Soun Tendo, right?"
"Yes, I am." Soun grinned. "Were you looking for me, then?"
"I..." Ranma's voice trailed off.
The girl spoke up. "What happened? We came home to find you
unconscious on our floor, with a nasty bruise on your forehead."
"I don't really know." He shook his head, then looked around the
room.
He was sitting in the middle of the Tendo family room, but there
were many differences. The table looked a lot newer, and didn't
have the Ranma-shaped dent in the middle. Many of the pillows
scattered around the room were different. There was no game
table by the doors, and the pictures on the wall were all
different. Oh, yeah, and no TV.
Then he remembered the wish.
"No way..." He jumped to his feet. "What's the date?"
The girl replied, "June fifteenth. Why?"
"What year?"
"Year?"
"Noriko, I think the poor boy's delerious."
"No, I'm not." He glanced around the room again, until he
spotted a calendar. "Nineteen seventy three!"
"Yes." Soun's expression was one of amusement. "For at least
five months now."
Ranma turned and bowed to the future Tendo patriarch. "I thank
you for looking after me, but I am well now and must leave. In
thanks, I can offer you a glimpse at the future. You and your
girlfriend here will have three lovely daughters. Thanks again."
He turned and ran out the family room door, and jumped over the
boundary wall.
Nineteen seventy three! It had really happened! He jumped into
the air, yelling from pure joy. He could go visit his mother,
meet his grandmother, find out what they were like!
Then he stopped, and smacked his forehead.
"I coulda wished away the curse!"
* * * * *
"Noriko, I cannot help but hope that that odd young man was very
wrong about our future."
"So do I, little brother."
* * * * *
Of course, not even Ranma was so dense as to believe he could
simply drop in at his mother's place, asking to visit her, and
announce that he was her future son. Plus, he realized as he
came to another screeching halt, he had no idea where she lived.
"Aw, man. This is gonna end up bein' another wasted wish."
"No it isn't."
He turned, and found himself face-to-face with the young Goddess
Skuld. For her part, she was looking quite smug and self-
satisfied. Behind her was another woman, a Goddess as well, to
judge by her clothing and the way she floated an inch or two
above the ground.
"I told you, didn't I, that I could grant your wish."
"Skuld." The older Goddess' voice was low and musical.
"Sorry, sis." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "This is my
big sister Belldandy."
Ranma waved. "Hi."
Belldandy smiled, and bowed to him.
Skuld cleared her throat. "Okay, I gotta tell you the ground
rules for this wish. First off, you've got three days, not
counting today. On the morning of the nineteenth of June, you
will return to your own time."
"Man! Only three days?" Ranma threw his hands into the air.
"That ain't nearly enough time to find her!"
"Yes, it is." Skuld produced an envelope. "In this, you will
find her home address, telephone number, the school she attends,
and her homeroom number."
"Sweet!" He took the envelope.
"It's almost nine o'clock at night now, and you must be getting
tired. I know you can reach Juuban in about fifteen minutes,
even without roof-hopping, but I imagine your mother's already in
bed. In this time, she is, after all, a teenager." Belldandy
smiled at him. "There's a hostel near the main park, and I've
taken the liberty of arranging a room for you until the morning
of the nineteenth. Plus the morning of the nineteenth in 1995,
for when you return."
"Thanks, Bell."
"Okay, next," said Skuld. "I will be available to help you out.
Once per day, at dawn, you may ask a question, and I will do my
best to answer it." She beamed. "And since I am, among other
things, the Goddess of the Future, my best is pretty darned
good."
"Skuld?" Belldandy leaned forward. "Judging from the usual time
Ranma gets up, perhaps you should make it sundown."
"But I'm always so tired by then!"
Ranma smirked at the idea of a whining Goddess.
"Skuld..."
"Okay, fine." She turned back to Ranma. "Sundown it is. And
wipe that smirk off of your face."
"Sorry."
"Finally: You cannot change the past. Anything you do that
might change the past will result in your wish being taken back.
You've got a certain amount of leeway here - events tend towards
a certain path - but if you start really mucking with things,
I'll rip the whole Tapestry up, and start over."
Belldandy spoke up. "This one is very important, Ranma. I've
seen her do it before; it's not a pretty sight. And when my
sister and I have rewoven the Tapestry, your wish would be gone."
She wrung her hands. "Plus, you really do not want to get my
sister angry. Trust me, Ranma, Akane has nothing on her."
"Aside from a really big mallet," muttered Ranma.
Skuld pulled Mjolner II off of her back. "You were saying?"
He raised his hands. "I'll behave!"
"Good." She re-sheathed the mallet. "I hope this works out the
way you want, Ranma. You gave me a tough one for my first wish,
but I'm up to the challenge!"
And they were gone, with a suddenness that left Ranma feeling
somewhat foolish for being about to thank empty air.
* * * * *
16 June, 1973
"How the heck am I gonna do this?"
Ranma stared at the small suburban house. It was perhaps half
the size of her mother's house in 1994, and back to back with
two others on the corner, but nonetheless looked like a
comfortable place to call home.
But now he was stymied. He'd tried asking Skuld for help on this
one, last night at sundown, but had received no answer.
Probably, the envelope full of information was all the help he'd
get for today. The school had turned out to be Azabu High, a
local public high school, the telephone number was probably
correct but rather useless at this point.
But at the moment, he was seated on a bench, staring over at the
house.
"Excuse me."
He jumped almost straight up.
The giggle from behind him did much to settle his suddenly
shattered nerves. He turned, and gaped.
The girl was a few inches shorter than him, though she was
obviously not yet finished growing. Her hair was a deep auburn,
with red highlights showing in the sunlight, and was pulled back
into a pigtail. In fact, save for the hair colour and the slim,
coltish figure, she was a dead ringer for Ranma's girl form.
"I was just wondering why you were staring at my house."
"Sorry. I was thinking that it was a nice house. Nicer than
where I grew up, anyway." He bowed.
"Oh, don't do that! It's terribly old fashioned!"
He straightened, and blinked.
She offered a hand. "I'm Nodoka. And you are?"
"Sa--Sato Ranma." He hesitantly took her hand.
She shook it energetically. "Pleased to meet you. Now. What
was so terrible about where you grew up?"
"Well, I grew up on the road. Wandering from town to town."
"Really? Sounds exciting. And what's so cool about my house?"
Before he could answer her, there was a shout from the house
behind her. "Nodoka!"
"Oh, shit."
Ranma blinked. Surely she had not said...
Nodoka was looking over his shoulder; she glanced back at him.
"I gotta go. My mom is gonna give me hell for this..." She
turned and ran towards the house.
Ranma watched her run, feeling even less sure of himself. This
girl was obviously Nodoka Saotome, but...she seemed like a very
different person.
* * * * *
Neither puzzle was any clearer an hour later.
He felt certain that to continue to hang around the house as he
had been doing was a bad idea. So, he'd wandered through the
neighbourhood, wasting time.
It was time well wasted, as Juuban was a pleasant district.
There were several small parks, looking green and inviting in the
morning dew. There were also street vendors and yatai about,
rather more than he was used to seeing, some selling familiar
wares and some selling things he'd never seen before.
He stopped now in front of a ramen yatai, on strict orders from
his stomach. The proprietor, an old woman with a wide grin,
greeted him loudly.
"Two bowls, please."
"Not a problem. Five hundred."
Ranma was surprised. "So little?"
"Little!" The old woman shook his head. "I wish. What with all
the food shortages going on, it's hard to just get a bowl of rice
for a reasonable price!"
Ranma scratched his head. "I have to admit, I'm from out of
town--"
"Can't be too far out of town." She poked a finger at Ranma.
"By your accent, I'd say you were born here in Tokyo, though I
detect a hint of Kansai."
"...Well, I've wandered a fair bit."
"Indeed?" The old woman nodded. "That would explain a lot."
She set the two bowls of ramen on the tray. "There you are."
"Thanks." Ranma dropped a five-hundred bill on the tray.
The old woman frowned at it. "What's this?"
"Hm?" Ranma looked at the bill. "It's a five. Why?"
"What are you trying to pull on me?"
"Nothing!"
The old woman dug into his pocket, and produced a bill. "This is
a five-hundred yen bill. That's real fancy, and it does look
like money, but it ain't no five."
"Hell." Ranma grabbed the bill off the tray and checked the
date. Sure enough, it was a 1992 bill.
"Well, sonny. You got a problem, eh?" The old woman cackled.
"Tell ya what. I can use a good strong back to help me out. I
ain't so young as I used to be."
"Sure, what do you need? Dragon slain? Ancient magical artifact
recovered? Daughter rescued? As long as I don't have to marry
her, I mean."
"Nope." The old woman bent down, picked up a hatchet, and tossed
it to Ranma. "Wood split."
* * * * *
"Hi there!"
Ranma glanced up from the woodpile. "Hello, Nodoka."
"You've done enough woodchopping for the day, boy." The old
woman clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Drop by tomorrow for some
more ramen."
"Thanks, Granny." He turned to Nodoka. "Sorry about earlier
today."
"Aw." She waved it off. "Don't be. My mom was born before the
war. She's a real stickler for proper behaviour and all that."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She's always telling me to behave properly, like a proper
young lady." She made a face. "Like I'm gonna listen to her.
If she's an example of a proper young lady, I'd rather remain
improper. She's miserable all the time."
"I'm sorry to hear that." And he was; he'd come to meet her,
and learn about her, and he wished...well, he wasn't really sure.
"Well, when you consider that..." She bit her lip. "Nope, can't
go into that. Sorry."
"Not a problem."
She tilted her head. "You know, you're a nice guy, Ranma."
He bowed. "Thanks."
"Even if you are old-fashioned." She smiled at him. "Do you
like ice cream?"
"Ice cream? Yeah. Uhh...why?"
"You really are a dope!" But her eyes were laughing. "Let's go
get some! My treat!"
* * * * *
Ranma raised a hand to his face and covertly glanced around the
parlor as the two ice-cream dishes arrived. Well, it was about
as covert as naval bombardment.
Nodoka looked at him oddly. "What the heck's your problem?"
"I don't normally eat this stuff."
"Why not?"
"Well, it's not really manly. And my parents always carped on me
to be a man among men." He sighed, and picked up the spoon.
"But I do like ice cream."
"That's stupid."
"Hm?" He looked up again.
"To deny yourself ice cream for any reason is dumb. But that's
the lamest thing I've ever heard." She shook her head. "Ice
cream not manly? If it bugs you that much, just eat plain
vanilla. Or don't eat any. I'll take yours."
"No!" He pulled it away from her, and she giggled.
"That's what I thought." She dug into her banana split.
"Hey, I never said that it wasn't dumb. But I keep thinkin'
about it. It's kinda beaten into me."
"And then when you do order ice cream, you go with something like
that."
He looked down at the dish in front of him. "What's wrong with
it?"
"Three flavours of ice cream, all in one dish. Plus chocolate
sauce. Plus sprinkles. Plus nuts, and both strawberries and
cherries. Ice cream doesn't get any less manly than that."
He shrugged. "Hey, if you're gonna cheat, go all out, right?"
He picked up a spoonful. "Never figured you liked ice cream,
though."
She glanced up, surprised. "Why do you say that?"
He blinked, and realized he'd made a mistake. Luckily, dealing
with Nabiki day in and day out had sharpened his wits somewhat.
"Well, you seem kinda tomboyish - not in a bad way, mind you."
Dealing with Akane had sharpened his reflexes as well. "Just not
the cute flowers-and-bunnies sorta girl that eats banana splits."
"Well, I suppose I can take that the right way." She pointed at
him with her spoon. "But trust me, there's a hell of a lot about
me you don't know."
"You got that right." He looked out the window. "But I wouldn't
mind learning."
She blinked. "Really?"
He glanced back, and grinned. "Sure. I mean, you seem nice
enough."
She stared at him, wide-eyed, then tore into her banana split at
a rate that would have impressed a school of piranha.
* * * * *
"My dad works for Sony. He's the manager for a small radio
factory." She shrugged. "It's boring work, I imagine, but he
makes a fair amount of change." She glanced over at him. "What
about your family?"
"Ummm..." How to answer that loaded question? "Well, I can't
really talk about them. Except that they expect an awful lot
from me, and don't really ask my opinion."
She glanced down at her feet. "I know what you mean."
"Hm?"
She glanced up. "Well, you know that my mother is even worse
than you for being old-fashioned." She smiled sadly. "She wants
me to find a husband, and get married right away. Says I don't
need any more school." She looked back down at the road. "Three
times she's tried to marry me off to someone. Each time, I've
made myself so intolerable to them that they couldn't deal with
me at all. I don't like doing that."
Ranma nodded. "I understand. My father has gotten me engaged to
three different girls, and two others are chasing me just
because."
"You're engaged?"
"Not my choice."
She glanced up at him. "You in love with any of them?"
"No!"
"So, you see? My problem, too." She looked away again. "Oh, I
might get married someday, but it'll be to some brave, handsome,
wandering martial artist. I told Mom this once, and she tried to
hook me up with this guy from the other side of town. But he was
way too settled for me." She grinned impishly. "I grabbed my
Mom's katana off the wall and threatened to cut his balls off.
He's been scared of me ever since."
"A wandering martial artist, eh?" He grinned. "I have a good
feeling you'll meet just such a person in the not so distant
future."
"Really?" She glanced over at him. "You got a name for him?"
"The name Saotome comes to mind."
"Saotome...but that's my name!"
He kicked himself mentally. Idiot! Genma's last name was Ikari,
before he got married!
She snapped her fingers. "I know what you mean! He'll take my
last name!" She frowned at him. "You're calling me a tomboy
again, aren't you?"
He took a step back from her and raised his hands. "Hey, if
you're the sort that wants a wandering martial artist--"
She kicked him in the shin. Hard. "Beast." She then stepped
forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"Huh?"
"Sorry for kicking you. But you needed it." She took a step
back. "Meet me after school tomorrow. We'll talk some more."
She turned and ran down the street.
* * * * *
"Three times you goofed up, Saotome."
"Three?"
Skuld nodded. "Yep. But you managed to patch all three."
"I know I shoulda never mentioned the name of Saotome. But it
was her that covered that one up."
Skuld nodded. "But it mighta bugged her more if you'd not said
something really boneheaded immediately after."
"And the bit about the ice cream. Managed to pull that one
along, too. The other?"
"The old woman. Trying to pay her with money from the future."
"It's all I had! You want I should starve?"
Skuld considered. "Well, it worked out all right in the end.
But I'll make you a deal. Gimme as much future money as you can,
and I'll replace it with current money."
"Good enough." He tossed her his wallet. "Now, about my
question."
"Shoot."
"What the heck is wrong with my mom?"
Skuld chuckled. "You know, I bet I can answer this one all by
myself, without help from Belldandy. Tell me, what do you
remember about yourself from one year ago?"
Ranma thought back. A year ago today? He shook his head. "I
wasn't even born yet!"
Skuld smacked him. "A year ago from 1995, you twit!"
"I can't remember what happened last year at this time." He
shook his head. "Was it the Yoiko disguise?"
"I was referring more to the sort of person you were one year
ago." Her face held an expression of long suffering. "You were,
to put it simply, extremely arrogant and sexist."
"Well...yeah." He hung his head.
"But in the last year, you've been forced to defend your loved
ones from death, or worse. You've been forced to admit your love
for Tendo Akane, and worse, you've had to admit it to yourself.
And you've had to kill to save her."
His head snapped up. "That ain't something I'm real proud of,
Skuld."
"Nonetheless. You've changed, Ranma. You've grown up. And you
will continue to mature, until probably you reach about twenty-
five. Nodoka's only fifteen. How do you think she's gonna
change in the next ten years?"
Ranma nodded. "And if her mother is as old fashioned as Nodoka
thinks..." He shook his head.
"Exactly. It's something all mortals have to go through, and
even us Goddesses." She smiled. "Remind me, Ranma, when this is
all over, to introduce you to my sister's husband. Meeting him
forced me to grow up in a hurry."
* * * * *