Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ My Travels - China's Music ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
My Travels - Prologue

Daybreak was always a special time for nature. The sun, rising from its shelter in the east to once again illuminate the world was warmly welcomed by all creatures...

"Argh! I hate mornings!"

OK. Most creatures. The exception at the moment was a boy in the middle of a clearing. He was wearing a yellow tunic that seemed worn from travel, and a spotted bandanna on his head. Next to him was the remeains of a campfire, along with a big pack that right now was almost empty. Sleeping outdoors was not a problem for Hibiki Ryoga. In fact, most of the time it was a necesity. A proce he paid for having such a bad directional sense.

In the distance, he spotted smoke. This meant there was a settlement nearby. With the hopes of finding or earning a meal, he began to pack his things. As he rummaged through his pack, he found something near the bottom. It was a hard wooden box that surprisingly had not been crushed in his many travels.

"Huh? I don't remember buying this..." he exclaimed as he opened the box. Its inside was made of cushioned velvet, with a small ocarina in the center. He took out the instrument and tried to play it. A melody of the past came out, which generated a very warm memory.

"It was our song"

True that many would think that the travels of Hibiki Ryoga would be very eventful, despite the fact that he never shared what happened in all those years he was chasing after Saotome Ranma. This ocarina was a remnant of a time when he was not alone. When he had a family. When he had her...

"Before Akari, before Akane, there was only her..." The sentence made him recall that day, four years in the past, when he first saw her...

My travels - Story One - China's Music

Chapter 1

A thirteen year old would normally be home in the middle of the night. Sleeping in a warm bed, with the knowledge his parents were next door, keeping him safe from the dangers of the world. This thirteen year old was an exception. Currently, he was walking through a heavily forested area, with no signs of any settelments. "Great! Now I have to camp again. Damn you, Ranma! This is all your fault!"

In the midst of his anger, he began to hear jovial music in the distance. As he followed the music, it grew louder and louder until he found its source. The source was in the middle of a clearing, and consisted of wagons and a bonfire, with dancers and musicians performing for the dancing flames. On of the performers was a girl about Ryoga's age, who unknowingly caught his attention. Though her garb was chinese, her long brown hair and beautiful green eyes claimed otherwise. Her instrument of choice was what looked like a violin, but Ryoga could catch the deeper tone the instrument produced. "It must be a viola," he thought, "but it doesn't look anything like mom's." He continued to watch the girl play, with motions so powerful that she seemed to blend with the instrument, making it a part of her and her a part of it.

Since all his attention was on the girl, Ryoga failed to notice the tall brawny boy that stood behind him. "Hey you! What are you doing here?" The shout startled Ryoga, and before he knew it he was being carried towards the group of performers. He was the placed down in front of an old looking caucasian man of about fifty years of age. All the music had stopped, with all eyes on the newest arrival to their troupe. "It's not nice to peep at others, you know," said the man, "but we are always appreciative of our audience. I am Kabal, and as you can see, we are travelling performers, though the westeners have cruely dubbed us gypsies. Who might you be?" Ryoga would have made a run for it by now, but the gaze from not only the old man, but from all the members of the troupe kept him there. Also, the tall boy behind him would not have let him leave so easily.

"Um...well, my name is Ryoga Hibiki, and like you, I'm also a traveller, though right now I'm after a coward that ran from a man-to-man fight." The old man smirked for a second before speaking again. "Man-to man, huh? Well, by your look, I'm assuming you're a fighter, and a martial artist at that..." he then turned to the boy that brought in Ryoga. "Connel, wanna practice some?" The older boy nodded and walked a few steps from Ryoga before taking a fighting stance. The young Hibiki stood there, a confused expression on his face, until Kabal spoke. "We entertained you, now its your turn. Show us what you got, boy." By this point, Ryoga let his pride get the better of him and nodded. He then used the fighting stance taught to him by his father.

Connel didn't waste much time and rushed Ryoga with a series of punches and kicks. The younger boy was having problems defending himself, since what Connel was doing was not a martial art; It was brawling. That, added to his lack of experience were more than enough for the boy to fall over after about ten minutes. Before Connel could land the finishing blow, old Kabal spoke. "All right Connel. We've seen enough." He then walked ot the fallen Ryoga and helped him up. "Very impressive, boy. No one has lasted that long against Connel in a fight. Most usually fall after the second or third blow." The other members clammored in agreement and seemed equally impressed. "Well, that was entertauning, but we really have to rest, since we're mocving on tomorrow..." The olf man began to alk towards the wagons, but turned around once more. "We can patch you up, if you want, and and give you a place to sleep for tonight. After all, you did entertain us. Fiona" The violist that caught Ryoga's attention stepped forward. "Yes, Kabal?" She already knew what he was going to ask of her. "Would you take this boy to Sandra to get patched up, and then lead him to the back of the storage car? I'm sure he can sleep there." Fiona nodded and led Ryoga away, quickly realizing how hard it was to lead him around. This realization caused her to just grab his arm and pull him in the right direction.

Watching his younger sister lead away the seemingly directionless boy, Connel scowled and turned to Kabal. "Why'd you make Fiona show him around?" The old man just looked at the stars and murmured, "he already had his eyes on her. Did you notice that? besides, we could use another strong hand around here. Now go to bed. We have to pack up early before the troops find us." Kabal walked to one of the wagons, while Connel looked a little angry. "If he touches Fiona, I'll kill him!"

Author's Notes:

Well, there you have it. This idea, surprisingly, came to me while I was stuck in traffic on the way to the university. Considering Ryoga left after Ranma while he was in junior high school, something must have happened in the three years it took him to catch up to Ranma in Jusenkyo. This story is part of a set of tales I have planned, though this is the only long one, since after Ryoga arrives in Nerima, he's not gone long enough for any other big event to take place. Also, many thanks to all my pre-readers (Lord_Bahamut17, Nero_Landale, and MissWolfe)! LONG LIVE CAML!!