Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Adventures of Jusenkyo Man: Imperial Horse ❯ Chapter 2

The Adventures of Jusenkyo Man: Imperial Horse

By Lord Raa

Chapter 2

#~#

Disclaim-me-do: this is why the internet sucks - any idiot with a computer and an internet connection can post rubbish like this under the impression that it's entertaining.

Note-me-do: For those of you that are new to this the reading order is: "Unexpected Effect" then "The Adventures of Jusenkyo Man". "All About Eva" follows, but it has been posted out of sequence and can be "enjoyed" on its own without this trash.

#~#

The identity of the new Emperor of Japan was quite the shocker as far as the inhabitants of the ward of Nerima were concerned.

In the Tendo house, Kasumi thought that Ranma looked very handsome and mature in the suit he was wearing.

Akane thought that it was a good thing that Ranma was her fiancé and plotted to show him just how much she loved the pigtailed young man.

Nabiki twitched violently as the realisation sank in that Ranma's new friends might want to have words with her about certain pictures that had been circulating around Tokyo.

Soun was ready to forgive Ranma for his foolish actions.

#~#

At the Kuno mansion, Kodachi was feeling most vindicated and hot under the collar as she took in the news about her dream man.

Tatewaki was twitching almost as violently as Nabiki as he tried to comprehend the facts being presented to him. His already less than stellar thought process was being derailed by the metal taste in his mouth.

#~#

At the Cat Café, or Nekohanten as it was also known as, an old lady of indeterminate age frowned slightly at the television.

A pair of cursed martial artists stopped in their fight over how much affection should be applied to the girl known as Shampoo when the old lady mentioned that Ranma was now likely to be off limits.

The visually impaired boy was happy at this bit of information, but the girl, she did not like the idea one bit.

"But Airen," Shampoo whined.

#~#

At the restaurant known as Ucchan's, two cross dressing martial artists were unsure of how to deal with Ranma. Ukyo Kuonji was sure that Ranma's family would object to her calling him Ranchan, but he always was the friendly sort. And for some reason, she hoped that he would be even friendlier with her.

Konatsu considered how his friend and employer was now drifting off into a rosy-cheeked fantasy about the new figurehead of Japan. "I wonder how many people are thinking the same thing as Ukyo-sama is now?" he asked rhetorically.

This stirred Ukyo from her dream about relieving the stress that her husband-to-be was under. "What was that Konatsu?"

"I was just wondering how many girls are going to chase after Ranma-sama's hand now."

"…Crap," was all Ukyo could respond with.

#~#

At the Imperial Palace, Nodoka smiled at her son as he finished his impromptu announcement. 'He certainly looks more comfortable in his role now, but I hope that we can find him a suitable wife before too long.'

"Mother, before we go over my role in the coronation ceremony, I'd like to practice my kendo skills," Ranma interrupted his mother's musing.

"Yes, of course, son. I would like to see how you handle this blade," she gestured to the thin bundle in her arms.

"I mean no disrespect, but I have my own sword that I practice with."

"I, too, would like to see the Emperor's sword," Toshihiro Watanabe bowed to the Saotomes.

"Certainly. Now where can I practice without causing too much trouble?" Ranma asked the Imperial aide.

"If you'll kindly follow me."

#~#

Back at the Tendo house, Akane liked the idea of being affianced to the most handsome man she'd ever seen on television. In fact she was beginning to annoy her sisters with her smug attitude, until Nabiki burst her bubble by pointing out that Ranma was not best pleased with them.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked her sister.

Nabiki sighed. "Ranma left us after you gave him the impression that you don't like him. You do remember that, don't you?"

Akane blinked. "When did I do that? That's just not true! I love Ranma, how could I not love him after all we've been through together?"

Kasumi and Nabiki looked at their younger sister in disbelief.

"Um, Akane, what about `Ranma no baka'?" Kasumi asked.

Akane paused. "…"

"And what about `Ranma no hentai'?" Nabiki helpfully added.

"I was just joking, you all know that!" the youngest Tendo insisted. "Besides, neither of you want to marry him and he wants me, remember?"

Nabiki was beginning to see a similarity in thought processes between her little sister and a certain "noble" family. She was unable to suppress the shudder that followed. "Akane, you're my sister and I love you with all my heart, but do you have any idea how much you sound like a Kuno right now?"

"Oh please, Nabiki. What about the damage you did with your schemes? I'm not the one who took naked photos of the Emperor!" Akane waved a naked picture of Ranma's male body in front of her sisters.

"I only took shirtless shots of Ranma," Nabiki insisted. "Where did you get that?"

"I found it," Akane replied, internally thanking her good fortune.

Kasumi caught a look of the image and recognised it. "Hey, that's mine!"

The Tendos froze at that statement. They slowly turned to face the eldest daughter.

"Kasumi?" Nabiki asked, not quite sure of what she'd just heard.

"What?" Kasumi's tone was a mix of annoyance and confusion.

"What are you doing with naughty pictures of my fiancé?" Akane demanded.

"I recall that you gave him to Nabiki, and you declared that you were never going to marry a pervert like him," Kasumi explained. "He is not your fiancé anymore. And thanks to the pair of you, we'll be lucky not to be executed for treason."

Soun began wailing about the injustice of the whole situation until Kasumi announced that she would speak with Ranma and attempt to bargain for their freedom.

They agreed as in the past, Ranma had never been able to resist Kasumi's requests. Little did they know that the eldest Tendo offspring had a special move to assist her with bargaining.

#~#

As Ranma went to where he was going to demonstrate the basic warm up kata of the Hiten Mitsurugi style with the Saotome family sword, Nodoka noted the discrete looks her son was receiving from the passing members of the female staff and smiled gently.

After what would have been an average work out for most of his rivals, Ranma walked to his mother without giving away so much as an inkling that he'd been exercising and smiled. "It is a fine blade, mother, but I would like to show you the one I picked up on my travels."

Ranma pulled his doutanuki out of nowhere and handed the sheathed sword to Nodoka.

"It's heavier than I expected, how much does it weigh?"

"Sixteen kilograms. Its blade is of unusual construction," Ranma explained. "The metal is a special alloy."

Nodoka unveiled the blade and saw that there was barely a scratch on the metal. "That would explain its immaculate appearance. Where did you come across such a weapon?"

"A friend gave it to me some time ago; I'm not entirely sure how old it actually is." Ranma was a bit embarrassed but this admission.

Toshihiro walked up to the two Saotome family members and knelt down. The naked blade caught his eye. "Is that the sword?"

Nodoka smiled. "Yes. And my son was going to demonstrate just how skilled he is."

Ranma took his sword back and stepped away from the observers. "Pay attention, there might be a test after."

As Ranma performed his dance of death, he mesmerised those that had the good fortune to be able to watch. He finished his practice with a flurry of thrusts and slashes into a broad tree-trunk that seemed to have no effect.

He turned to his audience and noticed their looks of confusion. With a sharp exhalation of breath, the bark and wood shavings fell to the floor to reveal accurate images of his watchers.

"Who are those two at the bottom, Sir?" Watanabe asked.

"They're the young ladies that have been watching from behind the screen door, five metres to your left," Ranma explained. "You can come out now."

The two maids slowly stepped out with their eyes fixed on the ground. Nodoka walked up to them. "Care to explain yourselves?"

"W-we're sorry."

"We didn't mean to spy on the Emperor, but we were entranced by his movements. Please forgive us," the slightly older one explained with her head on the floor.

Nodoka didn't really feel angry with the serving staff, as she couldn't blame them for wanting to look at Ranma - she'd seen Kasumi and the others watch Ranma practicing during her visits to Nerima.

"Well, I suppose that if you were observing to make sure that my son was safe, then I can understand your actions," Nodoka said slyly.

"Yes," came the quick reply. "We were looking out for anything that could cause trouble for the Emperor."

Nodoka smiled, her son was now in a position to take advantage of his manly

nature.

Ranma was a bit suspicious, but let it go for the sake of his mother.

"Well, I believe that it is time for the rehearsal for the coronation ceremony."

#~#

After rehearsal for the coronation, the young Emperor announced his desire for a quiet walk in the Imperial gardens. Watanabe would have been a little concerned, but Nodoka had Ranma promise not to leave the grounds without the proper preparations.

Ranma had, of course, kept that promise. He was enjoying the flora when he heard a familiar phrase.

"Where the hell am I now?"

"Hello Ryoga. What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Ranma smiled.

The Lost Boy turned to the voice of his nemesis. "What are you doing here in Okinawa?"

"We're in Tokyo, Ryoga. In fact, if that brain of yours actually worked, you'd recognise that building," Ranma gestured to the main palace.

"But that's the Imperial Palace," Ryoga pointed out.

"I know. I live there now," Ranma answered with a smirk. "Now, what can I do for you?"

Ryoga unholstered his umbrella. "We have unfinished business. I still owe you for Jusenkyo."

"Ryoga, I've got some good news about that. I could cure your curse if I wanted to."

"Then why don't you?" Ryoga was getting angry. So there was a cure, all he needed to do was to beat Ranma into submission and then his life would be back to normal.

"I'm not so sure that I've got the time. I am rather busy right now, what with my new life and all," Ranma teased.

`The bastard's toying with me,' Ryoga thought with a snarl. "I'll kill you dead!"

The fanged boy charged intent on breaking as many of Ranma's bones as he could. Ryoga's acceleration would have taken even Cologne by surprise, but he ran towards someone who practiced speed training by using chopsticks to catch bullets fired at him.

It took a few seconds for Ryoga to realise that his feet were no longer touching the ground and that Ranma had lifted him up with one hand, by the face.

"I really wish you'd drop this stupid feud, Pig-boy. It'll save you a whole lot of stress," Ranma explained.

Ryoga responded by biting Ranma's hand as he swung wildly hoping to momentarily stun the young emperor.

The commotion attracted the attention of one of the secret service agents that patrolled the grounds. The man charged in and did his best to pin Ryoga to the floor.

The young Hibiki managed to easily throw the bodyguard off and stood back up to face Ranma.

"Your lackeys are pathetic, you Girly-man," Ryoga taunted.

Ranma ignored the barb about his manhood and checked over the black suited man. When he was confident that he was not in any danger, Ranma faced Ryoga, staring the wanderer down.

"Give me a good reason why I don't make you suffer."

Ryoga gulped nervously. `What's so different about him?'

"I'm afraid that you must now be punished," Ranma pulled out his sword as he stepped towards his old rival.

Ryoga did the smart thing and fled the immediate area.

Deciding that he would keep his promises as best he could, Ranma picked up the secret service agent and quickly walked back inside.

"Ranma!" Nodoka greeted her son. "What happened?"

Ranma gently placed the man in his arms down on the nearest suitable surface before answering. "Ryoga turned up and attacked. I fended him off, but he," Ranma gestured to the unconscious man, "did his job and intervened. I nearly ran after the pig for what he did."

Nodoka understood Ranma's desire to hand out some sorely needed justice, but was glad that he hadn't given chase. "I see. What do you plan to do about him?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm tempted to do things that'd likely get me in trouble."

When the injured man came to, he asked what had happened.

The senior agent explained what happened, but Ranma interjected before a dressing down could be issued.

"You should know that some of the people I've sparred against are incredibly powerful. I doubt that that's the sort of person you've had to protect people against in the past," he explained with a reassuring smile.

"But your majesty, I should not have been incapacitated so easily."

"Do not worry about it. I shall deal with Ryoga myself," Nodoka insisted.

"Mother, I have a better idea. I'll give him another chance, but should he fail to see the wisdom," Ranma whispered his suggestion to his mother who started to smile evilly.

"Oh yes, I think that would be more appropriate. I approve."

#~#

The day of the coronation arrived, and all of Japan was buzzing with excitement. The press was speculating when a fiancée was to be announced in order to carry on the Imperial line, while some of the more determined investigators found out about Ranma's previous state of betrothal.

Nodoka having been made aware of this discovery through back channels, discussed the situation with her son. Ranma knew that any decision he made now might raise a few flags, especially if he chose Shampoo.

He did make a decision, it was to wipe the slate clean with regards to any promises made in his name or anybody that had wronged him. When his mother questioned that, Ranma gave his reasoning.

"My logic is that if I forgive those that I have good reason to publicly humiliate in a lengthy trial, I'll be able to cut down on the attempts on my life and those of the people around me. That and I don't know just how many people Pops engaged me to."

"I see," Nodoka nodded. "Now, let's get you properly dressed for the ceremony."

#~#

As the Tendos watched Japan's television event of the year, Akane smiled smugly. She had completely forgotten the about her and Nabiki's previous treatment of Ranma.

Nabiki was kicking herself for not checking up on Ranma's family, while Kasumi just let the world see the mask she put on.

Behind that mask, she was thinking about how best to atone for her family's behaviour. Some of those thoughts involved being spanked by Ranma for being naughty and being at his beck and call to deal with any of his "manly urges".

Luckily, no one noticed her wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

It was when Ranma made his first official announcement as Emperor that things started to kick off.

*Ladies and Gentleman of Japan, there is something that I would like to say about my past. My immediate family has done some foolish things over the years, myself included. I fear that our actions over the years have caused trouble for a number of individuals, conversely there are people that have ill-treated me. It is my desire to allow all the parties involved to move on with our lives. As such, I am forgiving those that trespassed against me, but I must annul any agreements made in the name of Ranma Saotome.

*If I can forgive those that would try to kill me, I would not think it unreasonable to hope that people would forgive me for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or for my father's moments of weakness. I consider the karmic slate to be wiped clean in order for the healing process to begin. Thank you for your time.*

Nabiki turned to her younger sister. "Well, it looks like you're in with a chance now, Akane."

"I knew we were destined to be together," Akane smiled back.

"My daughter is going to become Empress," Soun wept with pride.

"Well, there goes my plan to be shagged senseless by Ranma as part of the deal to get you off the hook," Kasumi grumbled.

All eyes in the room turned to face the housekeeper.

"What?"

#~#

To be continued…

I leave it here, because I am a complete bastard. It took years of government training to get to my level, your taxes were well spent.

Thanks go out to my pre-reader, Chi Vayne, who pointed out glaring errors that my crappy vision missed.

Next chapter: there should be non-canon appearances by characters from other anime shows.

Question time:

Who should Ranma end up with?

Do any of you have any crossover ideas for other Jusenkyo Man sections? Bearing in mind, I want to avoid going back to too many series. There is a Kenshin section/chapter coming up soon(ish) so that's that one taken care of, as is Sailor Moon and Evangelion.

Do you want me to continue any of my other stories? If so, which one(s)?

Why are you reading my shoddy work when there is stuff out there that's so much better?

Feel free to give your opinions via review or email:- (lordraa) AT (hotmail.com) or (lordraa) AT (digitalpimp.co.uk)

I'll respond to anything that isn't a flame, but I make no guarantees as to the quality of the response.