Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Nezumi ❯ Secrets Revealed ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: SoulSurvivor 
Bits of the past are revealed.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Horror / Martial Arts / Occult / Supernatural / Thriller | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.31.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 634 | Status: Completed
Bits of the past are revealed.
Anime/Manga: Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Horror / Martial Arts / Occult / Supernatural / Thriller | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.31.2001 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 634 | Status: Completed
The trees of Mt. Terror echoed, as they often have in the past, with the cries of those who dedicate their lives to the Arts of combat. This time, however, neither combatant was human. One, and oversized panda, moved with a grace and speed that far outstretched even the wildest expectations one could have for such a beast. The other, a humanoid rat, moved with a blinding speed normally not seen off of the silver screen. Both fought with a level of skill that would bring tears of envy to many a Hong Kong action hero.
Accustoming himself to fighting in his hybrid form had proven to be more of a challenge than Ranma had expected. While the old man was no longer pulling his vanishing act, a trick that he steadfastly refused to teach, fighting with a tail and claws was a definite pain in the ass. Focusing on his art however, gave him a moment to relax and think the last few days over, and as he did, one question began to nag him, and inconsistency that begged for resolution. Calling a halt to their sparring match, Ranma regarded his father with more curiosity than he normally gave his daily life.
"Got a question for ya, old man," he said as he shifted fully human. "How is it that you're so calm 'bout this? I'd a thought you'd be flipping balls 'bout this whole deal. 'Stead you start trainin' me, like ya know what's up... So, what's the deal?"
Genma paused a moment, as if debating his response to the inquiry before answering.
"Heh... I was wondering if you would ever think to ask that question... Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you about your heritage, though, to be honest, I would rather never have had reason to have this conversation..."
"What the hell are you babbling about, Old Man?" Ranma snorted, "You're stalling, trying to weasel outta tellin me what's goin on..."
"As I was saying," Genma interrupted, "while this is a conversation I would rather not have, your condition leaves me no other option, so... If I may continue?"
At Ranma's slightly abashed nod of assent, Genma sighed in annoyance before continuing.
"Your 'curse' as it were, is one that has plagued my family every few generations for as long as our family history is recorded at the very least. The last one that carried it was my Grandfather Sato, and it was his hope that I be the next Nezumi Warrior in our family. It was to this end that he began my training in the martial arts, as well as other slightly less honorable pursuits. Now, you may consider me dishonorable, I know that others do, and to a degree, you may be right... But Grandfather's 'Low War', as he called it, was something that I simply could not deal with. You see, boy, the Nezumi are killers of the worst sort, murderers with no regard for honorable behavior, or the welfare of any that stand in their way." Genma shuddered a moment at the memories, then gave his son a piercing look before speaking again.
"Listen to me, boy... Some of the things I have done in my life may not have been those of the honorable man I have tried to mold you into, but I swear, on what honor I have left, that I have never taken a life needlessly, nor have I deliberately tried to end the life of another... With the exception of the Master, that is." The last was followed by a bitter chuckle as he regarded his son's shell-shocked expression a moment before continuing.
"It was Grandfather's continued pressuring that finally forced my hand... I heard of a wandering Master of the Art, and in the hopes of escaping my Grandfather's influence and plans, I sought him out and became his student, all without bothering to find anything out about him... Heh... It's actually amusing now, but consider my shock when I discovered that my sensei was the most perverted man in all of Japan! Still, for all of his faults, the Master was not a killer, and that thought alone kept me from running away for the first few months, then fear of my grandfather finding me kept me with him after that. As much as I reviled the Master for his perverse ways and brutal training, he was all that kept my grandfather's minions from bringing me home. As a human being, the Master left a lot to be desired, but as a martial artist... He could sniff out grandfather's me regardless of their guise, and those that confronted him were not very pretty to look at after he finished with them. Eventually, they either stopped trying or perhaps our travels finally caused him to lose track. Then, shortly before I met your mother, I learned that Grandfather had disappeared without a trace, and was presumed dead. I was more relieved than I have ever been in my life, then I found that the Master had no intention of ever releasing Soun and myself. What followed that, you already know."
To say the least, Ranma was in shock at his father's revelations. Following shock came revulsion at what he had become, a killer, a monster, a freak! Shaking, he could barely bring himself to speak, and when he did, it was with a noticeable quaver in his voice.
"So that's what I am? A monster? Of course! Look at what I did to Ryouga! A godforsaken killer freak!"
Genma's sharp retort cut through his depression, cutting short his self-recrimination.
"Wrong, boy! That is what you might become," stepping up to his son, he let his gaze bore into the despairing eyes of his offspring, "but only if you let it happen! That is why I brought you here, that is why we are working on controlling your anger, bringing you back to your center, helping you gain control. Control your anger and you control the beast inside you, control the beast, and you make your own destiny! The question you need to ask yourself is this, boy. Can you do this? Are you enough of a MAN to control your fate IN SPITE of your heritage? Are you?!"
As his father's question resounded in his mind, one thought kept surfacing. This was a challenge, a battle for his soul as it were, and battle was something he could understand and relate to. For the first time since coming to with Ryouga's throat in his hand, he felt the stirrings of confidence. This was, at its most basic level, another fight, and when the chips were down, Ranma Saotome never lost.
When he met his father's gaze, it was with the beginnings of his normal cocky grin, and his voice was firm and resolute as he gave his answer.
"Yes."
*************************
While Ranma dealt with the meaning of his existence, life in Nerima continued unaware. In the confines of his booth at the Nekohaten, the scion of the House of Kuno pondered the meal before him. The meal, cold and untouched, seemed to stare mockingly into his bloodshot eyes as he stifled yet another yawn and shifted uncomfortably on the vinyl seat. To the best of his recollection, this was the longest period of lucidity he had ever experienced since his visions started at puberty, and for the first time in his life, he prayed for his delusions to return. It wasn't that he enjoyed the madness, but he was beginning to believe that it served a purpose.
Since his vision of Shampoo's murder, he had been rational. He had also slept for maybe three hours in the last two days. When he did doze off, his dreams were haunted by varied images, from Shampoo's rictus grin, to the death screams of everyone he knew as they were consumed in black flame, and so on in that vein. Needless to say, none of this was conducive to a good night's sleep, the lack of which was responsible for his present condition.
Gazing about at the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, his gaze was drawn to the nearly blind busboy. Mousse's posture, normally resigned to his toils, or fawning on the purple-haired waitress, had become rigid with annoyance as his hand shot out and trapped a large fern in a steel hard grip. Not bothering to look at his captive, he simply snarled in anger.
"I thought I told you never to come back here, Tsubasa." The tendons on his arm stood in stark relief as he tightened his grip.
Before anyone else could respond, Cologne's annoyed voice rang out.
"What the hell are you doing, Part Timer? That's a plant, not a pervert!"
The frost in Mousse's voice was clear as the disdain in his retort.
"Is that so? Then tell me _Oh Wise Matriarch_ why your 'plant' is turning blue."
Sure enough the formerly green and healthy fern was taking on a decidedly unhealthy blue pallor, and finally collapsed out of the pot to reveal Nerima's least favorite cross-dresser.
For about 10 seconds silence reigned broken only by Shampoo's soft "Aiyah..." Finally Cologne spoke again.
"Score one for the part timer. Mousse, unless you want to go to jail for murder, I suggest you let the pervert breathe, then perhaps he can explain his presence here."
With one final squeeze for good measure, Mousse complied and the next few moments were silent aside from Tsubasa's choking gasps and the footfalls of customers discretely exiting stage left to avoid what might become a potentially violent situation.
Tsubasa, of course, wasted no time at all in adding his match to the powder keg.
"You *choke* have no *gasp* right to *wheeze* keep me from my *cough* beloved Shampoo... URK!!"
The last exclamation came from being forced to his tiptoes by the point of Mousse's dagger at his throat.
"Your Shampoo!!" Mousse thundered. "How dare you lay claim to my rightful bri...OW!"
Mousse's tirade was cut short as an expertly thrown chopstick struck a sensitive nerve cluster in his wrist causing his hand to spasm and release the dagger he was attempting to ram through Tsubasa's throat. Before he could react, Cologne was at his side, and the look on her face stopped him cold. When she addressed them, her voice was strangely subdued.
"Calm down, Part Timer. If you kill him, nothing I can do will keep the authorities from taking you away. As for you Tsubasa, why aren't you out harassing Ukyo? Why risk death to come here and harass..."
The look of utter loathing and disgust that warped Tsubasa's features stopped her in mid-sentence as he snarled his reply.
"Ukyo?! Why in hell would I want that cross-dressing freak? She disgusts me! She always has! I love Shampoo! I always have, and you all know it!"
Taking advantage of the momentary stunning effect his outburst had, Tsubasa made a mad dash out the door, screaming all the while.
"You wait! Shampoo will be MIIIIIIIIIINE!"
It was Tatewaki, forgotten in his booth, who finally broke the ensuing silence.
"That... was different."
***********************
In a hospital room across town, Ryouga awoke to an angel at his bedside, and for the moment, simply basked in her glory.
Akane felt a hot flush creep across her cheeks at the naked adoration in Ryouga's eyes when he awoke. For a moment she was at a total loss for words, and the seconds ticked by in silence, as, for the first time, things began to click in her mind, A leading to B leading to C. For the first time, the conclusions she was drawing were accurate, and based on these conclusions, a lot of the previous few months began to make sense. What worried her was her own reactions to these conclusions. Finally, the thoughts running through her mind and the pervading awkward silence became too much to handle.
"Ahem... How... How are you feeling?" Blushing even deeper at the catch in her voice, Akane focused on the room, the floor, anything besides those adoring eyes.
Snapped out of his reverie by her voice, Ryouga realized that he had been staring a little TOO intently, and blushed himself.
"I... I'm doing fine," he stammered. "I'm g... glad you came to see me, Akane-san."
When she looked at him again, he avoided her gaze, his lips pulled into the weak grin she was familiar with. This Ryouga, the painfully shy one, she could handle him, he was familiar territory, and yet, a part of her missed what had been there just a moment ago. Shaking her head to clear it and try and avoid blushing again, she focused instead on Ranma. That did the trick quite nicely, thank you very much, her thoughts on the pigtailed Martial Artist being about as far from romantic as it was possible to get. Centered once again, she addressed one of the things she had overheard from Ryouga's doctor.
"Is it true that you can't remember what happened to you?"
At his nod she went on.
"I saw part of it... Towards the end... It... It was bad, very bad..."
At the haunted look on her face, Ryouga's heart melted all over again, then, her words registered on his hormone-befuddled mind.
"You saw? What happened?"
Gathering herself, Akane proceeded to relate the events as she recalled them.
"Well, it all started..."
Accustoming himself to fighting in his hybrid form had proven to be more of a challenge than Ranma had expected. While the old man was no longer pulling his vanishing act, a trick that he steadfastly refused to teach, fighting with a tail and claws was a definite pain in the ass. Focusing on his art however, gave him a moment to relax and think the last few days over, and as he did, one question began to nag him, and inconsistency that begged for resolution. Calling a halt to their sparring match, Ranma regarded his father with more curiosity than he normally gave his daily life.
"Got a question for ya, old man," he said as he shifted fully human. "How is it that you're so calm 'bout this? I'd a thought you'd be flipping balls 'bout this whole deal. 'Stead you start trainin' me, like ya know what's up... So, what's the deal?"
Genma paused a moment, as if debating his response to the inquiry before answering.
"Heh... I was wondering if you would ever think to ask that question... Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you about your heritage, though, to be honest, I would rather never have had reason to have this conversation..."
"What the hell are you babbling about, Old Man?" Ranma snorted, "You're stalling, trying to weasel outta tellin me what's goin on..."
"As I was saying," Genma interrupted, "while this is a conversation I would rather not have, your condition leaves me no other option, so... If I may continue?"
At Ranma's slightly abashed nod of assent, Genma sighed in annoyance before continuing.
"Your 'curse' as it were, is one that has plagued my family every few generations for as long as our family history is recorded at the very least. The last one that carried it was my Grandfather Sato, and it was his hope that I be the next Nezumi Warrior in our family. It was to this end that he began my training in the martial arts, as well as other slightly less honorable pursuits. Now, you may consider me dishonorable, I know that others do, and to a degree, you may be right... But Grandfather's 'Low War', as he called it, was something that I simply could not deal with. You see, boy, the Nezumi are killers of the worst sort, murderers with no regard for honorable behavior, or the welfare of any that stand in their way." Genma shuddered a moment at the memories, then gave his son a piercing look before speaking again.
"Listen to me, boy... Some of the things I have done in my life may not have been those of the honorable man I have tried to mold you into, but I swear, on what honor I have left, that I have never taken a life needlessly, nor have I deliberately tried to end the life of another... With the exception of the Master, that is." The last was followed by a bitter chuckle as he regarded his son's shell-shocked expression a moment before continuing.
"It was Grandfather's continued pressuring that finally forced my hand... I heard of a wandering Master of the Art, and in the hopes of escaping my Grandfather's influence and plans, I sought him out and became his student, all without bothering to find anything out about him... Heh... It's actually amusing now, but consider my shock when I discovered that my sensei was the most perverted man in all of Japan! Still, for all of his faults, the Master was not a killer, and that thought alone kept me from running away for the first few months, then fear of my grandfather finding me kept me with him after that. As much as I reviled the Master for his perverse ways and brutal training, he was all that kept my grandfather's minions from bringing me home. As a human being, the Master left a lot to be desired, but as a martial artist... He could sniff out grandfather's me regardless of their guise, and those that confronted him were not very pretty to look at after he finished with them. Eventually, they either stopped trying or perhaps our travels finally caused him to lose track. Then, shortly before I met your mother, I learned that Grandfather had disappeared without a trace, and was presumed dead. I was more relieved than I have ever been in my life, then I found that the Master had no intention of ever releasing Soun and myself. What followed that, you already know."
To say the least, Ranma was in shock at his father's revelations. Following shock came revulsion at what he had become, a killer, a monster, a freak! Shaking, he could barely bring himself to speak, and when he did, it was with a noticeable quaver in his voice.
"So that's what I am? A monster? Of course! Look at what I did to Ryouga! A godforsaken killer freak!"
Genma's sharp retort cut through his depression, cutting short his self-recrimination.
"Wrong, boy! That is what you might become," stepping up to his son, he let his gaze bore into the despairing eyes of his offspring, "but only if you let it happen! That is why I brought you here, that is why we are working on controlling your anger, bringing you back to your center, helping you gain control. Control your anger and you control the beast inside you, control the beast, and you make your own destiny! The question you need to ask yourself is this, boy. Can you do this? Are you enough of a MAN to control your fate IN SPITE of your heritage? Are you?!"
As his father's question resounded in his mind, one thought kept surfacing. This was a challenge, a battle for his soul as it were, and battle was something he could understand and relate to. For the first time since coming to with Ryouga's throat in his hand, he felt the stirrings of confidence. This was, at its most basic level, another fight, and when the chips were down, Ranma Saotome never lost.
When he met his father's gaze, it was with the beginnings of his normal cocky grin, and his voice was firm and resolute as he gave his answer.
"Yes."
*************************
While Ranma dealt with the meaning of his existence, life in Nerima continued unaware. In the confines of his booth at the Nekohaten, the scion of the House of Kuno pondered the meal before him. The meal, cold and untouched, seemed to stare mockingly into his bloodshot eyes as he stifled yet another yawn and shifted uncomfortably on the vinyl seat. To the best of his recollection, this was the longest period of lucidity he had ever experienced since his visions started at puberty, and for the first time in his life, he prayed for his delusions to return. It wasn't that he enjoyed the madness, but he was beginning to believe that it served a purpose.
Since his vision of Shampoo's murder, he had been rational. He had also slept for maybe three hours in the last two days. When he did doze off, his dreams were haunted by varied images, from Shampoo's rictus grin, to the death screams of everyone he knew as they were consumed in black flame, and so on in that vein. Needless to say, none of this was conducive to a good night's sleep, the lack of which was responsible for his present condition.
Gazing about at the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, his gaze was drawn to the nearly blind busboy. Mousse's posture, normally resigned to his toils, or fawning on the purple-haired waitress, had become rigid with annoyance as his hand shot out and trapped a large fern in a steel hard grip. Not bothering to look at his captive, he simply snarled in anger.
"I thought I told you never to come back here, Tsubasa." The tendons on his arm stood in stark relief as he tightened his grip.
Before anyone else could respond, Cologne's annoyed voice rang out.
"What the hell are you doing, Part Timer? That's a plant, not a pervert!"
The frost in Mousse's voice was clear as the disdain in his retort.
"Is that so? Then tell me _Oh Wise Matriarch_ why your 'plant' is turning blue."
Sure enough the formerly green and healthy fern was taking on a decidedly unhealthy blue pallor, and finally collapsed out of the pot to reveal Nerima's least favorite cross-dresser.
For about 10 seconds silence reigned broken only by Shampoo's soft "Aiyah..." Finally Cologne spoke again.
"Score one for the part timer. Mousse, unless you want to go to jail for murder, I suggest you let the pervert breathe, then perhaps he can explain his presence here."
With one final squeeze for good measure, Mousse complied and the next few moments were silent aside from Tsubasa's choking gasps and the footfalls of customers discretely exiting stage left to avoid what might become a potentially violent situation.
Tsubasa, of course, wasted no time at all in adding his match to the powder keg.
"You *choke* have no *gasp* right to *wheeze* keep me from my *cough* beloved Shampoo... URK!!"
The last exclamation came from being forced to his tiptoes by the point of Mousse's dagger at his throat.
"Your Shampoo!!" Mousse thundered. "How dare you lay claim to my rightful bri...OW!"
Mousse's tirade was cut short as an expertly thrown chopstick struck a sensitive nerve cluster in his wrist causing his hand to spasm and release the dagger he was attempting to ram through Tsubasa's throat. Before he could react, Cologne was at his side, and the look on her face stopped him cold. When she addressed them, her voice was strangely subdued.
"Calm down, Part Timer. If you kill him, nothing I can do will keep the authorities from taking you away. As for you Tsubasa, why aren't you out harassing Ukyo? Why risk death to come here and harass..."
The look of utter loathing and disgust that warped Tsubasa's features stopped her in mid-sentence as he snarled his reply.
"Ukyo?! Why in hell would I want that cross-dressing freak? She disgusts me! She always has! I love Shampoo! I always have, and you all know it!"
Taking advantage of the momentary stunning effect his outburst had, Tsubasa made a mad dash out the door, screaming all the while.
"You wait! Shampoo will be MIIIIIIIIIINE!"
It was Tatewaki, forgotten in his booth, who finally broke the ensuing silence.
"That... was different."
***********************
In a hospital room across town, Ryouga awoke to an angel at his bedside, and for the moment, simply basked in her glory.
Akane felt a hot flush creep across her cheeks at the naked adoration in Ryouga's eyes when he awoke. For a moment she was at a total loss for words, and the seconds ticked by in silence, as, for the first time, things began to click in her mind, A leading to B leading to C. For the first time, the conclusions she was drawing were accurate, and based on these conclusions, a lot of the previous few months began to make sense. What worried her was her own reactions to these conclusions. Finally, the thoughts running through her mind and the pervading awkward silence became too much to handle.
"Ahem... How... How are you feeling?" Blushing even deeper at the catch in her voice, Akane focused on the room, the floor, anything besides those adoring eyes.
Snapped out of his reverie by her voice, Ryouga realized that he had been staring a little TOO intently, and blushed himself.
"I... I'm doing fine," he stammered. "I'm g... glad you came to see me, Akane-san."
When she looked at him again, he avoided her gaze, his lips pulled into the weak grin she was familiar with. This Ryouga, the painfully shy one, she could handle him, he was familiar territory, and yet, a part of her missed what had been there just a moment ago. Shaking her head to clear it and try and avoid blushing again, she focused instead on Ranma. That did the trick quite nicely, thank you very much, her thoughts on the pigtailed Martial Artist being about as far from romantic as it was possible to get. Centered once again, she addressed one of the things she had overheard from Ryouga's doctor.
"Is it true that you can't remember what happened to you?"
At his nod she went on.
"I saw part of it... Towards the end... It... It was bad, very bad..."
At the haunted look on her face, Ryouga's heart melted all over again, then, her words registered on his hormone-befuddled mind.
"You saw? What happened?"
Gathering herself, Akane proceeded to relate the events as she recalled them.
"Well, it all started..."