Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][Altverse]Legends Part 4 [Repost]

From: "Jeffrey Lee" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 01:10:23 -0500

Legends

Part 4

By Belphera

The sun rose up upon the Bay Area, the Tendo compound glittered with a
beautiful hue. Sitting in the center of the solarium, a sturdy man sat deep
in thought. Was this a sign from Kami? The mantra continued through his head
throughout the dinner last night, his dreams, this morning, and now. Their
physical similarities were not alike, but their eyes were filled with the
same compassion, their voices filled with the same gentleness, and their
actions; almost identical. A part of him wondered if he was just going
through a stage of recovering from the death of his wife. Honestly he had no
clue. Was he being truthful to himself?

“Good Morning.” Came a melodic voice from behind him. Ranma looked up
quickly and realized it was Kasumi. It was her.

“It is a good morning isn’t it?” Ranma said as he stood to stretch the kinks
from his arms. “The birds sing their songs, The Father has grace Mother and
The Mother is happy. It is a good morning.”

“You are very odd.” Kasumi commented. “You speak in riddles.”

“Well The Father is the sun and The Mother is the earth, I am sorry for
confusing you.” He replied with a slight bow.

“No need to apologize.” She said with a blush. “You are an early riser. I am
usually the first to wake.”

“Really why is that?” he asked with an upraised eyebrow. “ I wake early to
enjoy the morning purity.”

“I am a resident, my hours at the hospital are very hectic.” She said as she
turned to head towards the kitchen.

“Well, where is this hospital of yours?” He said hoping that she would turn
back around to look at him. Kasumi stopped and wondered if she should tell
him.

“I work at St. Jude’s Hospital, it is about 3 miles away from here.” She
said as she turned back around.

“That is not far, when do you have to be there?” Ranma asked as a plan began
to formulate in his head.

“By 7:30.” She replied, still wondering why he was so curious.

“Would you be offended if I accompanied you to the hospital? We could have
some breakfast on the way to the place. How ‘bout it?” Flustered, Kasumi
averted her eyes to avoid looking into his eyes too much.

“I wouldn’t be offended at all.”

Walking through the crisp cool morning air, Ranma  and Kasumi chatted idly
about each others interests, goals, stories, and more. The environment
reflected the mood of their stroll: happiness. As the morning continued,
merchants awoke to open their shops, business men rushed through the
streets, cars began to accumulate, and life returned to the streets.
Continuing down the city block, they stopped at a small café for breakfast.
Taking a seat outside, they looked at the hectic life of the city.

“So Ranma what do you plan to do? Will you be staying in the US? Or
returning to Japan?” Kasumi asked, taking a sip from her orange juice.

“I will be staying for a while in America. I have decided to set up a school
here in America that will jointly practice with the Tendo-ryu. However after
that I am not sure if I will stay or return. I have certain obligations in
China that I still responsible for.” Ranma replied as he idly noted the way
Kasumi brushed her hair back.

“Really, you may want to talk to Akane to help you start up. She has quite a
few connections in that area.” She suggested.

“Kasumi, You have known my mother for quite a while now. What is she like?”
Ranma asked.

“Well, your mother is a very strong woman. She’s built up the largest
conglomerate in the world, and still managed to be a mother to my sisters
and I.” Kasumi thought back to those times that she spent with Nodoka. “She
is very concerned with honor, but reasonable and fair. I can remember many
times when Nabiki’s business transactions stretched those limits.”

“But what has she thought of me? I have been away for quite a while.” Ranma
voiced his concerns. “Will she be able to accept a grown man back into her
life as her son?”

“Ranma, you need not worry, your mother loves you no matter if you were an
old man. You are her son, she has many times wondered about you in the past.
You just need to be honest with her, and tell her of your life. Fill her in
on everything she missed.” At those words, Ranma flinched a bit.

“Well I have some thinking to do, there are certain things in my life that I
would like to remain a secret.” Ranma said as he looked to the sky.

“Please Ranma, she is your mother. She has a right to know everything that
has occurred in your life.” Kasumi pleaded, she couldn’t bear for Nodoka to
be hurt if Ranma withheld information.

“Yes but I have only know her for a very short period of my life. Sometimes
there are doors that are best left closed.” Ranma reasoned, as he continued
to look into the morning sky. Kasumi couldn’t believe it, he wasn’t going to
tell his mother the entire truth. She had been with Nodoka for so long, and
she knew that if Ranma didn’t tell his mother everything. Nodoka would take
it as a sign of mistrust. It would kill her, and she had suffered enough. To
live her life being true to her wayward husband, to fight through The Day
alone, to fight for her corporation without the support of her son and
husband, she had suffered enough. Many a times, Kasumi had caught her crying
in her sleep, crying out for Ranma and Genma. And now they had finally come
back and her own son didn’t fully trust her. It would kill her.

“No! Ranma, please look at me.” Kasumi said as she grasped the younger man’s
face in her palms, and turned them to face her own. “Your mother has gone
through a great deal. She has gone through her whole life without you or
your father. She has lived alone for so long. Do you know what is like to
live alone? You had your father, she had no one except us, and we did our
best to be her surrogate family. If you were to withhold parts of your life,
she would feel betrayed. Please, promise me that you will tell her
everything. Promise!” Kasumi looked intently into the two swirling orbs of
Ranma’s eyes. For a moment Ranma seemed confused until a seriousness washed
over his face, which was then replaced by mirth.

“Very well, I, Ranma Saotome, Promise I will tell my mother everything of my
life. For you, I will grant you this. Only under one condition.” Kasumi,
looked at this man with adoration, his voice was so regal and commanding,
full of confidence.

“What condition?”

“You will be there with me every time I tell her something important.” Ranma
stated. Kasumi stared at him for a bit.

“Y-You want me to be there? Isn’t  that a bit personal, you don’t know me
that well, do you really want to be telling me something that is so
 private?”

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t. I feel that you are a trustworthy
person. So what will it be?” Ranma asked.

“I guess I will be there.”

“Good, tonight then.” Glancing at his watch, he commented “ We should be
leaving now, you have work soon. I will accompany you.”

“Thank you.”

Back at the Tendo compound, everyone was beginning to stir again.
Peacefulness reigned throughout the gentle house, until a certain lavender
hair bundle awoke.

“Where is Ranma?!” Immediately a group rushed into the room.

“Where is he?” Ryouga looked around hurriedly. “Was he taken?”

“Fan out,  search the area, make sure there are no enemies around.” Genma
commanded.

“Arm yourselves.” Ukyou stated as she strapped on her spatula.

“Ranko check your link with Ranma see if you can contact him!” Cologne
asked.

“I’m getting something.” The group gathered around the red headed woman. “I
am getting a warmth. I see…. Pink?”

“Pink? Ranko this is not time to be playing a joke, Ranma could’ve been
taken.”

“Oh….” Ranko smiled and sighed in deep relief. “It’s okay everyone, he is in
the city with Kasumi. He is okay.” Everyone sighed in relief. For a moment
they had thought that their enemy had even come to America.

“Well I’m glad, since we are all up, why not get some breakfast… eh?” Genma
began but felt a warmth behind him. Everyone turned around and saw a large
violet battle aura around Shampoo. Backing away slowly, each male headed
towards the door.

“Hey boy, should we make a run for it?” Genma whispered to Ryouga.

“It’s the only chance we have.”  Ryouga said as he inched towards the door.

“Run!” The rest of the morning ended in a battle cry.

“Ranma no Baka!!”

Elsewhere in the city the sun touched upon a darkened apartment. Opening his
eyes Phadron relished in the feeling of the taste in his mouth. Last night
was absolutely satisfying, the girl had been an innocent virgin, and what a
body! Turning to his side, he looked at the delicate girl. She was a perfect
specimen, but not as useful to him as Kasumi would have been. Smiling
wickedly he glanced at the clock; 7:30. His shift didn’t start until noon.
Still had some time to have some … fun.

“Awake my slave.” He said with a guttural tone. The girl’s once beautiful
blue eyes snapped open to reveal two red orbs.

Stepping into the hospital, Kasumi laughed openly at one of Ranma’s jokes.
It had been such a long time since she laughed without abandon. Such a long
time since she has been happy with herself.

“So this is where you work.” Ranma said as he looked around.

“Well, this is work until I finish my residency.” Kasumi said as she walked
to the front desk and picked up a clipboard.

“Interesting, it is good that you have a healer’s heart.” Ranma said as he
greeted one of the nurses, thus he did not notice Kasumi blush.

“Yes well, I have to make rounds, it won’t be much fun for you, I guess you
can head back now.” Kasumi said as she looked through her charts.

“Yes well, I will take your advice on my relations with my mother, but don’t
forget about tonight.” Ranma said.

“Of course not, I will see you tonight. Thank you Ranma for accompanying
 me.” Kasumi said with a smile. Ranma faltered a bit at that. Her smile
seemed to cause some sort of warmth to spread through his body. Usually it
was only when he was with Shampoo or Kaze when that happened. Smiling, he
bowed a bit to Kasumi before he was about to head back out, until he leapt
out of the way of an incoming stretcher.

“ A child with multiple gunshot wounds to the leg and several arrow wounds
to the arms as well as deep sword cuts to the chest and lower back.” The
medic barked. “ Found him in the middle of a battle between a local gang of
martial artists and some street punks with guns. There are dozens wounded
they are coming in right after us.” Kasumi’s face hardened as she took to
the task of saving the young boy’s life. Ranma looked carefully at the boy
as the boy was pushed to a room.

Another stretcher bustled in this time revealing a young man in a ninja
garb. He was convulsing as doctors gathered around him. However he shouted
one thing that caught Ranma’s attention.

“Ashkram’s Eyes!” With that Ranma’s eyes narrowed. Flinging the medics
aside, he walked to the young man.

“Speak shinobi! What has happened to Ashlram’s eyes?!” Ranma questioned.

“Stolen!” the man said as he continued to convulse. Raising his hands, Ranma
emitted a white light and touched it to the man’s face.

“Sleep, fight the battle within your mind.” Ranma looked upon the now
peaceful face with sadness.

“Step away from the victim!” Security had arrived as they pointed a gun
towards Ranma. Looking to the man, Ranma shook his head and walked away from
the stretcher. The doctors gathered around the stretcher.

“Stop him, he pushed this man into a coma!” a doctor shouted. Ranma raised
both hands showing no ill attempt.

“He now has a chance to fight the battle on a different plane. Just make
sure his body is still functioning when he returns.” Ranma said as more
stretcher rolled in. Reaching into his pocket, Ranma pulled out a phone.
Dialing a number quickly he started rubbing his temples. Waiting for the
other end to pick up he asked himself the universal question.

“Why me?”

In the Tendo dinning room, tensions were visible between Akane and the
others. Her perfectly good morning was destroyed when Shampoo had started
yelling and attacking Genma and Ryouga. Akane blanched at the beating that
they had both taken while trying to run away from the enraged Amazon.
However that meant that she didn’t get a full 6 hours of sleep, and that
meant that she was not in a good mood.

“So Shampoo where is my son now?” Nodoka asked when she noticed that Ranma
was not at the table.

“He is with Kasumi.” Shampoo said trying not to grind her teeth. Kaze poked
at her food as she wondered why they were having eggs for breakfast.

“Oh? Well we’ll just wait for him to return. I would like spend some time
with him. Would that be okay with you Shampoo?” Nodoka asked

“Yes mother-in-law.” Shampoo agreed.

“But for now, why don’t you and me have a walk in the garden out back? Just
some girl to girl talk.” Nodoka suggested. Shampoo smiled and nodded, it had
been quite sometime since she had had a mother figure in her life. Her great
grandmother was too much like a grandmother if anything. Returning to her
breakfast, she noticed the look of envy that Ranko was giving her.

“Well I have to be headed to the office.” Nabiki said as she stood from the
table.

“Excellent, Nabiki I will be stopping into the office today to sort through
the up coming meeting with the Chinese emperor.”

“Very well Mother.” Nabiki said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

“Say Ranko is it? Do you practice any martial arts? I would like to spar
with someone other than my students today.” Akane asked as she placed her
utensils down.

“ Of course, we are from the Amazon village. We would be honored to spar
against you.” Ranko replied with an air of anxiousness.

“We?” Akane inquired.

“Of course, Ukyou and I would both like to spar with you if that is not a
problem.” Looking to Ukyou, Ranko nodded.”

“Of course not, I have no classes today so I would be delighted. I have
wanted to test myself against someone from the Amazon village.” Akane said
with excitement.

“Great as soon as we-“ Ranko was cut off when her phone began to ring.
Wondering who was calling her this early, she flipped open her phone.

“What is it?” She asked testily into the phone. “Where are you now? The
Eyes? They’re here? How is that possible? They were supposed to be back in
China. Okay, I’ll be over with Cologne and Shampoo. No, of course not. What?
Uh yeah she’s right here.” Turning to Nodoka, Ranko handed the phone to her.

“It’s Ranma, he wants to speak to you.” Nodding, Nodoka took the phone.

“Hello?”

“Mom! I have urgent business down here at Kasumi’s hospital. This is Amazon
business that must be taken care of. I would like to tell you something
tonight though if it is possible.” Ranma said.

“Tonight? Well, I suppose so. How about this, I will take Kaze shopping
downtown. We will be right by the hospital. We can have lunch. It will give
me the chance to get to know my granddaughter.” Nodoka said with a wink in
Kaze’s direction.

“That would be great mom, I’ll see you at lunch. Bye mom!” Ranma said
quickly.

“Bye dear.”

Snapping the phone closed, Ranma leaned heavily upon the door behind him. He
was hoping for a quiet vacation, but with the Eyes here in America and so
close to the Heart, he would have to push aside personal business and
destroy the Eyes. All he wanted was to spend time with his mother and look
around to see if he could settle down here with Shampoo and Kaze.

“Ranma? Are you okay?” as worried voice emerged from behind him. Turning
around he saw that it was Kasumi. She had blood all over her hands and apron
however even with this she still looked unfazed.

“Yes Yes, it’s just something the gang member said… there may be trouble. Is
it possible for you to allow Elder Cologne, Ranko and Shampoo access to the
members?” Ranma asked

“Well, I don’t think we can do that, hospital policies are very strict. Why
do they need to see them?” Kasumi inquired, while wondering what it was that
the man had said to cause such stress to Ranma.

“Well Elder Cologne has certain medical abilities of the ethereal nature
that she can demonstrate.” Ranma suggested. “As does Ranko. They both are
well trained in acupuncture as well as the Healing touch.”

“The Healing Touch? Oh my, I suppose the hospital board won’t mind much if
they possess that sort of knowledge.” Kasumi said as she reached over to a
phone.

“Kasumi, I would prefer it if the board does not know about them. I don’t
want them to be hassled. We just need a few moments with some of the shinobi
clan that was brought in.” Ranma pleaded. He knew that if the board was to
find out about Cologne and Ranko, they would not be able to keep a lid on
their identity for long.

“I don’t know… I could be suspended for doing this.” Kasumi said as she
chewed on her pen for a bit.

“Kasumi I promise that we will not cause any harm to any of the patients.”
Ranma said warmly. Kasumi felt her knees weaken a bit, but remained firm on
her feet.

“I guess one or two members would be fine.” Kasumi agreed hoping that she
was doing the right thing.

“Thank you Kasumi.” Ranma leaned back once again pondering what to do.
Kasumi looked once more at Ranma before heading off to help her fellow
doctors. Catching a nurse by the arm, Kasumi told her to call in more
doctors to help.

Flipping onto his back, Phadron let out a sigh of content. Never before had
he been this worn out, he had picked a durable host for his master’s dark
powers. His sexual partner laid next to him also panting for breath.

“Well as soon as the master’s next cycle, we will have more playmates.”
Phadron grinned wickedly.

“Of course, what shall we do in the mean time?” the girl asked in a monotone
voice.

“We will gather the parts that the master has asked of us. The Eyes and the
Heart are within the city. The master will want them.” Phadron said as he
got out of the bed.

“What shall I do while you are away?” The girl asked seductively.

“Amuse yourself, I heard that the Eyes are being held by a street gang
called the Black Drake. Go retrieve the Eyes and do what you will with the
gang.” Phadron commanded

“Thank you… master.”

Looking out the window of the limo, Kaze wondered what new and exciting
things her new grandmama would be taking her to see. This city seemed to be
a lot like the one that Auntie Ranko and Ukyou had taken her to see. Maybe
there was a big toy store here too! Sitting back down she picked up her
bottle of apple juice and sipped it as she listened to her mommy talk.

“What exactly did he tell you Ranko?”

“He said that the Eyes are here in San Francisco. It’s too close to the
Heart, and when more and more of the parts are gathered and brought closer
together, you know what happens then right?” Ranko said angrily as she tried
to concentrate on something.

“Why! Why does this have to happen now! I just wanted to settle down here
with Ranma and Kaze, why does all this crap have to happen to us!” Shampoo
wailed to the sky. Next to her Nodoka looked on the pair with a puzzling
look.

“Pardon me Shampoo, what exactly are you talking about? Is Ranma in some
sort of danger?” Nodoka asked worriedly. Thousands of scenarios were running
through her head as each consecutive one became more and more horrible.

“No, but he has discovered that something has been stolen. And as amazons,
we are responsible for that artifact.” Ranko replied with a tight lip.

“I see, what exactly has Ranma been doing in China. During last night’s
dinner he seemed hesitant about telling me about certain parts of his life.
Why is that?” Nodoka inquired.  “ I just have a feeling that he does not
trust me. I am his mother doesn’t he realize that?” Shampoo and Ranko looked
upon the woman with sympathy. Shampoo looked down and wondered what she
could say without giving away their secret.

“Nodoka-san, Ranma… he’s had a hard life.” Ranko began. “Before the war,
when Ranma and f-Genma were on the road, he grew up in a harsh place; the
streets. And they were no place for a child no matter what Genma says.”

“How do you know of this Ranko?” Nodoka asked the red headed girl.

“I… I am very close with Ranma. When Ranma feels comfortable he will tell
you what his relation with him. You can say for now that I am like a sister
to him.” Ranko said with a low voice. It was all she could do from telling
Nodoka the truth. It hurt her deeply to sit here in front of her mother and
not be able to talk to her as a daughter. Every fiber of her being wanted to
scream ‘Here I am!’. But she could not, not until Ranma gave her the signal.

“Really?” Taking the younger woman’s hands into her own, Nodoka smiled
endearingly at Ranko. “How long have you been with Ranma? Perhaps you can
tell me about him when he was younger.”

“I can tell you what I can, but most of it has to come from Ranma. He has to
get to know you again. He has to learn to trust you again.” Ranko said. Now
outwardly Ranko was calm, but inwardly she was felt horrible. Tonight, she
vowed to get Ranma to tell their mother about her. She didn’t know how much
more of this she could take.

“And I will help Ranma ease into this transition.” Shampoo added. “Ranma
will learn to trust you again, Mother-in-law. It is just that Ranma was
emotionally dead for a very long time. He is just beginning to return to us.
But he has always been very truthful with us. Ask him whatever you want, he
will always answer you truthfully.”

“That is true, in all my 300 years, I have not yet met someone as honorable
as my son-in-law.” Cologne said as she shifted her staff to her lap. “As a
mother myself, I know it is hard to see your child look upon you without
total trust. I have been in that situation many times, but as long as you
never stop being his mother and a friend to confide in, he will once again
trust you.” Nodoka looked to the old woman with hope and respect.

“Thank you Elder, you are right. I will wait for my son.” Just then a voice
came over the intercom.

“Saotome-sama, we have arrived at the hospital.”

As she exited the hospital, Shampoo resolved to help her mother-in-law get
to know Ranma better even if it meant compromising their identity. Truth be
told she didn’t know her mother that well, she had died in the first wave of
Amazonian attacks against the enemy. She remembered afterwards how she
regretted all the things she never got to say to her mother, all the things
that would have said if her mother was but alive for just one day. Life was
just too chaotic, sometimes a person could be here and the next moment they
were gone. It was in her power that Ranma get to know his mother again, and
then he would not have to go through the regret that she went through.
Walking through the sliding doors of the hospital Shampoo cemented her
determination to get Ranma to open up to his mother.

“Shampoo! Ranko, Cologne! Over here!” Ranma was standing by the front
counter of the emergency room. Dodging all the doctors that were rushing
through the emergency room, the trio made their way to Ranma.

“I’ve managed to find out that they are from the Wolf clan.” Ranma reported.
“I am hoping that the three of you can get some more information from them.
My white magic is not as powerful as yours.”

“Ranma The Great admitting that someone is better?” Ranko said mockingly.
“What a shock!”

“Where are these clan members?” Cologne asked.

“Kasumi will let you see some of them. But we have to be careful not to let
anyone see you perform these techniques. Our identities will be compromised
if they find out about your powers.”
_________________________________________________________________

Author's notes:

This is a repost of the first draft, I've added a bit on.

This is a really rough draft that I have been tossing around for the past
few weeks. Part 3 had included a scene where Ranma meets his mother and what
they discuss at the restaurant, but I stuck as to how to conclude that
scene, so I will go back to it when I figured out how to end it. Please C&C
all you like. I am still very shaky as to how to write these dialogues and
the transition between each person. I hate putting " He said", "She said"
after each line, if anyone can help me correct this i would be grateful.

-Belphera

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