New Life Chapter #1 Mushrooms, Cats, and a Dragon (Revision #1) Takes place during the magic mushroom story line Unlike the original story, Ryoga and Ranma found Akane's hidden stash and despoils it. Chibi-Ranma's mind is sometimes affected by his body causing him to act more childish. He still Ranma, and will be (The brain stops developing at the age of 6. The rest is emotional development till adolescence.) By Shaggy ================================= "Ryoga you Idiot!" snapped a chibi-Ranma as he reared up to tackle Ryoga. Everything had happened to fast for Ranma. Ranma and Ryoga, both 8 years old, sick and tiered of being helpless, had desperately tried to find out where Akane had hid the magic mushrooms. When they did, and argument had broke out between them. Ryoga, being the short fuse he is, snapped and attacked Ranma, toppling the mushroom crop all over the in the process. "It all gone, it's that idiot Ryoga's fault!!" though Ranma, as an angry red aura flickered around him. He jumped at Ryoga, forcefully tackling him to the ground and punched Ryoga face, as Akane walked in at the very moment. Akane, with her unclouded and unbiased views on Ranma, decided that the fight and destroyed mushrooms were all Ranma's fault. Pulling him off Ryoga, she flung chibi- Ranma halfway across the room, temporarily disorienting him. Ranma managed to reorient his senses in time to see Ryoga turning back to his normal age and disappearing across the corner. He quickly rushed to table, only to discover that there were no other surviving mushrooms. "I'm stuck in this weak body!" Ranma's mind screamed. "This is all your fault you tomboy. You let Ryoga have the mushroom. You stupid flat cheste…" snapped Ranma fiercely, only to find his fragile body flung into the air by a mallet impact. A few hours later, a old lady rushed a small red-haired girl to the hospital across town. ================================= Ranma dreamt…. Ranma found himself on a foggy cliff overlooking a valley. The fog shrouded his vision to the extent that he could barely see his small hands. Taking slows steps to reorient himself to his body, chibi-Ranma trudged forward along the side of the cliff. A few miles down the path, Ranma heard a rustle beside him. It seemed to emanate from a forest, which had somehow appeared beside him out of nowhere. It was a remarkable sight. The entire forest was filled by shades of green he didn't know existed! A closer look at the lush forest revealed colorful flowers, trunks, and multicolored butterflies illuminated by the soft light shining through the canopy. As Ranma nimbly moved through the forest, he heard something that sounded like weeping. Pushing a few bushes aside, he came across a clearing encompass by the forest and a stone cliff. The entire area was breath taking, the ground covered by soft green grass, a large tree across to the right beside the edge of the forest. At the center was a pool partly surrounded by boulders, filled by a small waterfall pouring from an opening in the cliff. Neighboring the pool was a log enveloped by greenery, on which a figure sat. Ranma moved forward to see a woman hugging herself, crying silently as locks of her cascaded red hair floated around her. "What's wrong?" chibi-Ranma whispered to her in a soft voice that could only spoken by innocent child. The woman slowly moved aside making spare room for him to sit. She then turned to him. "Do you really want to know?" in a voice filled with sorrow. She was beautiful, a soft smooth face and deep blue eyes. She resembled his older girl side, yet looked different…older, more mature. "Yeah lady! I'll help you if I can…" said Ranma cheerfully, hoping to console her. He never liked to see girls cry. "I will show you." she whispered into his ear and moved her soft hand over his eyes. In the next moment, Ranma found himself in floating in the air. He was watching a girl trudge to the woods bloody and beaten; her only seemed to be to move forward. The woman suddenly tripped and slid down a cliff. She fell and drowned in a pool, located in valley filled by hundreds of small pools and a few bamboo shoots. "It happened almost three thousand years ago." commented a voice behind him. "You're the girl who drowned in the nayachuan?!!" exclaimed Ranma as she turned to face the red-haired girl. "No. That is the nayachuan, made 1600 years ago…" she said pointing to another pool. "…created by the musk." she spat. "Then what was the pool you fell in called? It…It was the one I fell in." Ranma wondered nervously. "The guide said it was the nayachuan!" "It is a long story." she said in a tired voice, looking like she was about to cry again. Ranma moved towards her and hugged her leg reassuringly. He then took her hand, led her to a small boulder to and sat her down. "I wanna help you!" said Ranma. "I… thank you, I hope you would be able to help me too." she replied softly. "The story begins thousands of years ago. A dragon had appeared in this world, tiered and weary from horrid conflict. An evil wizard managed to control the powerful dragon to do his vile deeds. He made it do horrible things, kill woman, and children! Hundreds of years later, a group of heroes decided to end the evil wizard's rule. Led by a powerful mage, the group killed the wizard. Thinking that the dragon was helping the evil wizard they cursed the dragon, as they were unable to kill it. The dragon was forced to wander the earth as an immortal but defenseless woman, suffering as the victims of the wizards had. Around 2900 years ago after escaping from the cruel musk, she drowned in the spring, the magic of Jusenkyo counteracted the curse." "You were the dragon! That's horrible… I'm so sorry!" commented Ranma "That was a cruel and unjust thing they did to you" he snapped angrily. The Dragon Lady softly smiled as she touched chibi- Ranma's face calming him down. "Thank you." She said gently. "But the story is not over yet. I thought my suffering was over when I died, but the spring trapped by spirit. For almost three thousand years I have been stuck in the void of the spring. I…I wish I could die and be free of the pain…" she concluded sadly. "How… How can I help? I wanna help you." Replied Ranma earnestly. She sadly turned to him and abruptly asked, "why do you hate me?" "I…I don't!" Ranma replied waving his hands earnestly. "Why would he hate her?" wondered Ranma. "You hated your curse, did you not always want to be rid of it, rid of me?" she commented. "No! It's not like that! I don't hate you. I don't hate being a girl, at least not anymore. It scared me! Pop always said girls were weak. Shampoo wanted to kill me first cause I was a girl. Then there was that idiot Kuno. I thought that no one would be a friend with a freak like me. Akane didn't as soon as she found out." The woman pulled chibi-Ranma in a hug "Shh! You will find friends, people who like you for who you really are. You will find love, just wait and see." "How do I help you" repeated Ranma looking up to her eye. "When you help me, you will help yourself too, but you will not be Ranma anymore." she said. With a wave of her hand, Ranma turned to chibi-Ranma-chan. "I can't be Ranma? You mean I can't be a man!!" he exclaimed, franticly back peddling. "No way, I have to be a man! Just have ta!" Ranma mumbled hysterically. "I just said 'you will not be Ranma anymore', never that you could be a man. You would be yourself yet something else, unable to return to your old life. It's your choice, I would never force you." she said sadly drooping her shoulders. "Is there any reason you have stay this way? Has being Ranma done brought you any good? You are a child now." "I… I don't know. Mr. Tendo won't care, cuz I can't marry Akane and carry on the dojo. She hates me anyway. Ryoga, Mousse, and even Kuno can beat me any time now. If I go back pop'll just keep engaging me over and over to fill his fat stomach. I can't see mom cause of the 'man among men' thing. I guess I don't have anyone… You win! I'll do it ta set you free." "You are the only one who was kind enough to risk all to help me. Thank you. A good deed deserves one in return…" she replied in a rich musical voice. The Dragon Lady, once called Lorena, glowed and floated off the ground with Ranma. The world then lighted up and turned white for Ranma. In the valley of Jusenkyo located near Balkan ranges in china, a pool glowed turbulently and then became still as its waters waited for another tragedy. ================================== Chibi-Ranma woke up groggily in the darkness. It was cold, damp and muddy. The wall he supported himself against felt slimy. The place seemed oddly familiar, and so did the strange smell. The place smelled like fish! The he saw it, a dozen glowing eyes in the dark. "NO!!!" his mind screamed desperately. He was…He was back in the pit, with the c…ca…horrible furry creatures. Just like it happened eight years ago! They were going to bite and claw him again! Ranma looked around franticly hoping for a way out. As the eyes and yowls drew closer, Ranma grew increasingly frantic util he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "There is nothing to be afraid of" a soft voice whispered. Ranma felt locks of hair fall around him, red hair. It was the Lorena! "You were a child then, helpless against your father and the cats. You are a child now, but you are far from helpless. You are strong, you can stop this." said the lady soothingly. "I'm not strong anymore, I can't even beat Kuno like this!" exclaimed Ranma, nervous and afraid. "You, Ranma Saotome afraid?! YOU ARE STRONG! A Strong honorable person, tenacious beyond ends, helpful and kind. Mousse turns into a duck, but he found a way fight as one. Cologne is an ancient and shriveled dwarf but she is stronger than you! You turn into a girl, but you defeated the might dragon descendent Herb! It all depends on who you are inside Ranma. To get rid of your fear, you have to face it. I believe in you…" said the lady vehemently, nudging Ranma forward. A few nervous moments later Ranma slowly got up. He turned to look at the smiling Dragon Lady and walked towards his worst fears, his aura flickering to life. HE WAS RANMA SAOTOME! Ranma Saotome never loses! Ranma Saotome never gives up! Ranma Saotome always wins!!! ================================== 3 weeks after the accident… If the 'normal' residents of Nerima were asked, they would rename the district 'chaos and destruction'. Most of Nerima showed some damage, parts of it were in shambles. There were destroyed flora, roads, and buildings all over, overextending the abilities of the reconstruction companies over their max. All this was surprisingly caused by one person. To be more specific the lack of that one person. It had been over three weeks since the disappearance of Nerima's most flagrant resident, Ranma Saotome. His fiancée anxious over his disappearance blamed and attacked each other, their suitors destroyed property in 'trying to find and bring the vile monster to justice'. The favored fiancée, Akane, was angry with everyone due to the reassembling of the Hentai horde, placing most of the blame on her 'baka fiancée'. Tofu was questioning his sanity for the dozenth time. He had always considered himself a smart, bright man; his medical abilities were a testament to it. He stood at a large park waiting for a notorious group of Nerimians to appear. "It's going to get worse before it gets better…much worse!" he said to himself recalling the volatile nature of the news he was going to dispel. Tofu watched his guests appear at the park, one by one. He had chosen this somewhat desolate location to spare his clinic and minimize the destruction to other residents, just in case. The Tendo's and Mr. Saotome were the first to appear followed closely by others. In the next few minutes that passed, several fights had started and been broken up. Tofu sweated as he saw the fiancés gathered in a corner, staring vehemently at each other, their auras blazing in multicolor. The assortment of Ranma's rivals were standing close to the fiancés as they could without causing severe harm to themselves. Konatsu sat patiently next to Ukyo, as Tsubasa watcher her from his mailbox disguise. Mousse, on the other hand, lay crippled in the garbage can where his Shampoo had 'lovingly' deposited him. A sudden cowardly squeal distracted Tofu from his observations. Smiling to himself he turned to Genma, who was shriveling under his wife's harsh gaze. Mrs. Saotome turned and bowed to Tofu, then sat close to Genma, very visibly fingering her katana. Tofu had invited Nodoka, promising information on Ranma, who, he had said, was hidden from her by Genma. Taking advantage of the momentary silence, Tofu coughed loudly to get the attention of his guests. "A few days ago an old lady was rescued from a few thugs by a boy." He announced. After pausing to make sure he had everyone's undivided attention, he continued. "The eight year old boy who had rescued the lady was unfortunately fatally hurt. He died in the hospital, and was cremated a few days ago." said Tofu, holding up and urn as he finished. "As the Tendo's and Ryoga know, Ranma had eaten a magic mushroom several weeks ago that reduced his age to that of an eight year old child." "The child who died at the hospital was Ranma." chocked out Tofu. He then handing Mr. Saotome the urn, a letter and several certificates. "After the 'Herb incident', Ranma made these 'just in case'." he said, handing each of the fiancés a letter. Nodoka seemed to in shock seeing how the Tendo's and Genma react to the unbelievable story. Shaking, she opened the letter, only to break down crying a few minutes later. As Genma moved to comfort her, she flared up at his touch and swung her katana at him. Missing him, she then started chasing him with it. The fiancés were a bigger mess collectively. Ukyo was being led home by Konatsu, Shampoo by her great- grandmother Cologne, Kodachi by Sasukai, all of them listlessly clutching their letters. Kasumi was trying to comfort a sobbing Akane, as Nabiki tried to keep Kuno from her. Mr. Tendo had initiated 'wail #123' which concerned the 'Anything Goes' school's future in jeopardy. ================================= Sighing Tofu entered a room after bolting most of his clinic shut. The room was sparsely decorated and only had a small T.V and a couch at the end of the room. Tofu quietly moved towards the couch, but abruptly turned around startled by a shuffling sound. He turned to a small figure by the door with dark red hair tied into a pigtail and dressed in dark clothes. The little girl moved smoothly forward, almost floating over the ground. "How did it go?" she said. "Ranma where were you?" exclaimed Tofu. "Had to go retrieve certain things." said Ranma flatly. Noticing Tofu's raise eyebrow he continued. "Just a few pictures, some money amounting to about 200,000 yen. Also got a few scrolls form my worthless dad, and some from home. Picked up a few trinkets that might be useful form Cologne. I then put it all in subspace, part of the hidden weapons technique I learned watching Mousse." "Was that wise?" asked Tofu. "Don't worry about it. I made sure Cologne blames Mousse; nobody cares about pop, and few pics. Besides Ranma Saotome's dead, I'm just plain Ranma who nobody knows yet. Everything did go off right, didn't it? There no way anyone can trace me?" inquired Ranma. "Yes it did. Even Nabiki wouldn't suspect a thing. Are you sure about all this?" replied Tofu. "No turning back now, like I told you before Ranma Saotome had to go, he was in too much trouble." ================================ Tofu thought back to several days ago. He had gone to the hospital to help out a colleague with a strange case. To his surprise, his patient was an eight-year-old Ranma-chan, glowing in a soft blue aura. A few shiatsu points later, Ranma groggily woke up. Ranma seemed very different now, everything form his aura to his attitude had changed, to his astonishment. Ranma had matured by leaps and bounds, which was very ironic trapped in child's body. Ranma had eventually told Tofu that he wanted to move on. He had no delusions or misconception of his current situation, or, for the matter of fact, about any part of his life. Deciding to take control of his life, he had asked Tofu to help him, who immediately agreed to help his favorite patient. ================================= "It was for the best" said Ranma breaking Tofu's reviver. "My fiancé's will get over it and go on with their own lives now. Don't have to worry about honor and all; I could only marry one of them anyway. The letters'll make sure they don't do nothing drastic, my 'last wishes' and all y' know. Akane'll be happy, she doesn't have to marry a pervert." Ranma said sullenly. "Mom doesn't have to be disappointed by her unmanly son who turns into a girl. She'll make sure pop gets what he deserves." he added with a small smirk. Mentioning Ranma to follow him, Tofu walked to the kitchen. He then handed Ranma a glass of warm water, which Ranma waved off. "Doesn't work anymore." Ranma said with a grin. He then stepped back then morphed with a small glow. In the place of the girl stood a well-muscled, slender boy who looked around 9-10 years old. His hair undid itself from the pigtail and flowed into a ponytail. It had turned a dark blood red with streaks of black and silver, clashing with his soft blue silted eyes. "H…How?!!" stuttered a very surprised Tofu. "It's a long story." said Ranma brushing a strand of hair off his eye. "Lets hear it!" said a grinning Tofu, who after recovering form the initial surprise started walking to the couch. ================================= Calming an excited Tofu, Ranma narrated his encounter with Lorena, the Dragon Lady. Ranma explained her predicament, his offer of help, and how she had cured of his ailurophobia, giving him partial control over the cat fist. Smiling he recalled how 'Ranma had to die' to help her. He was now part dragon; he had part of her essence. She had finally found peace, and passed on beyond the great veil. He memories and experience of thousands of years helping him in times of need, helping him control his new powers. She appeared to him in dreams and visions, teaching him to manipulate his dragon ki, magic, tact, culture, and the social skills that he lacked. It was almost like reading a living novel. Lorena was more of a parent to him than Genma and Nodoka ever were. Even after death, she cared and nurtured him, never abandoning him, never expecting anything in return. "But how did you change?" questioned Tofu. "Some dragons are naturally shape shifters. Getting dragon blood from Lorena, it kind'a mixed in with my Jusenkyo curse, giving me control over it. Right now I'm not sure if I can shape shift into anything else cuz I'm a kid, and a mere hatching compared to dragon age. Lorena sez that I'm gonna almost stop aging when I'm 18 to 20- something." "I thought she was teaching you culture and language?" said Tofu with a large smile. "Hey!! It takes me time for studying. The baka panda made sure I had no aptitude for anything other than martial arts. Besides Lorena only knew anarchic Japanese, English and other languages." muttered Ranma. He frowned as Tofu started laughing. "Don't see what's so funny" he mumbled. "Well I'm just surprised someone actually made you realize that Ranma." replied a smiling Tofu. "What are you going to now Ranma?" "Leave town, no ones gonna know I'm alive. I guess I'm going to be a nameless rounin adventurer. Lorena knew many places where there were dragon artifacts n' dragon burial grounds. It's going to be a wild ride. Only, this time, this trip I'm going to learn things other than martial arts and fighting. Who knows! I might make some new friends, meet some to love." said Ranma cheerfully. "I could add you to the Ono registry Ranma. You don't have to be a rounin. It doesn't mean we have to stay here. I'm leaving Nerima soon anyway." said a dejected Tofu. "Thanks, but no. I have to leave all of my old life behind, can't let no one find me. I'll miss you though; you, Kasumi, Ucchan, maybe even Hiroshi and Daiksu." said Ranma. Frowning when he saw Tofu flinch when said Kasumi's name he quickly added "Kasumi's the reason you're leaving isn't it?" "Ka…Kasumi… I…Yes" muttered Tofu hopelessly. "Can't even ask talk to her. How do I tell her I love her? Does she even feel the same way? I hurt people when I'm around her too, it's now way a medical professional should behave." sadly shaking his head he plopped back into the couch. "I can help you with that doc." said Ranma as he jumped on to the space next to Tofu and hovered over the ground. He playfully tapped Tofu's glass. "I know she likes you. I know she's hoping to meet a man of her dreams soon and marrying him, its so obvious from all the romance novels she keeps reading." "Really? Sh…She likes me?" Tofu's glasses started fogging up. Quickly shaking his head to calm his self. "It's hopeless!" he replied sadly. "I can help you with that problem…" said a smiling Ranma. "Kasumi deserves a good man for a husband, she's sacrificed enough. Just make sure you keep her happy" ================================== Orange light creeps from the distant horizon, lighting up Nerima. "Ignoring the destroyed buildings, roads, and running water, the Nerima can looks wonderful and peaceful" Ranma sarcastically thought from a roof top. Thinking back to last night, he recalled Tofu excellent martial arts potential. He had almost learned the soul of ice in one night! With some practice Tofu would be able to speak to Kasumi without going bonkers. Ranma hoped they would be happy together. Ranma took a deep breath, turning away form the sunrise. He took one last look at his favorite haunts during last year. The Nekohaten, Ucchan's, Furinken High, Tofu's clinic and finally the Tendo Dojo. Despite all the problems, the Dojo was the closest thing he had to a home all his life. A few minutes later, a figure jumped from a tall building. Almost gliding in the air and over the rooftops, it quickly headed out of Nerima. ================================== ================================== That's all of chapter one 1. Where it goes form here depends on feedback I've got several ideas. Email shravan2001@hotmail.com 1. Slayers crossover. The dragon came to a portal inside Balkan Mountains in china, to escape Xellos. Ranma goes around to finding ancient dragon treasures etc. He meets the Gold diggers, stuff happens. A) Match up with a character from gold diggers. They find the portal back to slayers world. The meet slayers, a big adventure… B) He goes to slayers world alone. Match up with slayers characters Luna, or Lina. Maybe he meets Luna when young (12-14)? He finds a dragon fighting a creature to protect a hatchling. He protects the egg. Dragon dies, bonds with the young dragon in the egg as he uses ki to find out about it. Adventure of Ranma and dragon. Maybe L-Sama has plans for him? Xellos let Lorena go on purpose, he predicted Ranma a new young strong rouzoku would come back for him to manipulate? Watch Ranma make fun of Lina, watch him kick her ass. Watch Ranma walk in Lina having bath…he calls her flat chested…Watch Ranma run for life from Dragon/Giga Slave…. If any of you know anything about slayers, plots give send me a email. If you have a idea and would like to co-author send me email. 2. Sailor Moon. Pluto finds out that crystal Tokyo would fail due to the nature of evil. There has to be a balance of evil and good. No evil in hearts of people means that there is a huge evil Kami like Mattilda forming to compensate. Earth is also chaos inherited. It used to be the slayers world tens of thousand of years ago. Now she has to fight fire with fire. Use someone with huge amount of chaos, Ranma! A) Ranma meets Mokato in the orphanage around 10 years old, after being accosted by a cop. Matchup… or he meets chiba momaru in orphanage? B) Pluto directs Edymon's reborn to be reborn soul in past into Ranma… When Ranma turns 14 again, he recalls memories. Ugasi, Ranma matchup. Ugasi is actually the same age as Edymon this time! C) Ranma helps Hotaru, who is the same age as him. i.e. all the sailor scouts are 14, Hotaru is 12 so is Ranma. Or he gets adopted my hirchu and mirchu? I know this idea's been done to death. D) Meets another scout… match up yadadada… Watch all the scouts fall for Saotome charm…Watch the new Edymon get himself engaged to all scouts…Watch Ranma throw explosive ki charged roses…Watch Ranma kick yoma's ass before sailor speeches… If anyone knows a site with info on sailor moon's outer senshi, or info on later episodes of sailor moon send me site. Email other suggestions. Or offers for co-authoring. 3. Dragon Ball A) Ranma meets goku when he was a kid. Goku and bulma want to find dragon ball. Hoping to meet a real live dragon he agrees to help. Ranma would now have potential to be as powereful as sayajin due to new powers. (I said potential! Not power right now!) He gets stronger as needs arise. B) Ranma meets Gohan while training with piccalo (they'r same age….) C) Ranma meets pan…? Watch Ranma attack freeza when he is transforming and defeats him (anything goes…) Watch Ranma create a huge hiryu shoten ha after taunting freeza… Watch Ranma kicking yamcha in the nuts… Watch yamcha fall in love with Ranma-chan, as Ranma cruelly breaks his heart into peices… 4. Tenchi Ranma Sasami match up?? Yosho train Ranma… Ranma against Kagato? Does anyone have info on Tsunami/Washu/Tokemi fight and the fact them choosing heros?? Send me sites email. Email me at shravan2001@hotmail.com Write comments, don't give me shit like 'it sucks' or 'ooo its good'. I've been working on it for 2 weeks. (Hey! I work days, and its my second fic!) Give me comments on language or grammar or ideas….