Of Honor Won And Time Lost
Part 1
"Stupid Promises"
[Tendo Dojo, Kitchen]
Akane:[Thinking] It isn't fair; here I am 26 years old and I still have to bow down to my father's wishes.
Akane scowled as she chopped up some vegetables for the curry dinner she was preparing.
Akane:[Thinking] Musn't forget Kasumi's advice; never spoil a meal with bitter emotions. Easy for you to say Oneechan,
happily married with four kids, not an old maid like me. Kasumi married to Tofu-sensei, Nabiki living with Tatewaki,
and me expressely forbidden to see men, nevermind marry them. Damn Father and that stupid promise.
Akane, while lost in thought, managed to move from slicing the vegetables to slicing her finger.
Akane:ITE!!
She sucked at her finger as she reached into a drawer and removed a box of band-aids to bandage her wound.
Akane:[Thinking] It just isn't fair! But I did promise Father I would wait for Ranma, but I did it because I beleived he
was close to death, not to be bedridden for the last ten years. And because of that stupid promise I have to babysit my
own father for a decade.
[Nerima Street, Same Day]
A dark haired man with a pig-tail stood speaking with his two companions, a man much like the first sporting a
black and yellow striped bandanna, the other a brown haired woman with a spatula strapped to her back.
Ranma: Well here it is, Nerima... home of the Tendo Dojo. My greatest challenge to date.
Ukyo: Oh come off it Ranchan, we've fought many hard battles and tough opponents yet we've managed to defeat them all.
I'm sure it couldn't be that bad.
The bandanna clad man just nodded in agreement.
Ranma: Ukyo you should know this, and you too Ryouga, everything I've done has been for this moment, all my past fights
mere training for this one.
Ryouga: Well Ranma, is your too scared I can fight for you..
Ranma:[Interrupting] Ryouga this is a matter of honor entrusted to me by my father just before he took his own life, I
must restore the Saotome name from the disgrace to which it has fallen.
Ryouga: I understand.. but just what was it that honor compels you to avenge?
Ranma: I don't know..
Ryouga + Ukyo: You don't know!?!?
Ranma: What caused the stain on my family's honor is fo no importance to me. I merely have to cleanse it. My father
would not have insisted had it been otherwise.
Ukyo: Well no use worrying about that now, I'm sure we can get answers later, but if this has to be done maybe we should
just get it over with.
Ryouga: Well then, the Tendo Dojo it is!
Ryouga starts to head off down the street until Ukyo catches his arm and turns him around.
Ukyo: This way, sugar.
Togerther they headed off towards the...
[Tendo Dojo, Dojo]
A fine mist spread through the air as Akane finished off one of the last of the cinder blocks.
Akane:[Sighing] Even after all I've learned that still relaxes me.
Akane starts going through a basic kata speeding up gradually into some fairly complex routines, when a knock
resounds through the air. With a loud yell, Akane finishes off the last brick.
Akane: Well i guess I shouuld get the gate.
With that thought she leaves the Dojo and moves into the yard.
[Tendo Dojo, Outside the Front Gates]
Ranma pounded on the gate once more, with Ryouga and Ukyo flanking him silently.
Ranma:[Yelling] Open up this is a challenge!!
The gates opened to reveal Akane.
Akane: A challenge? As the heir to the Tendo Dojo i accept. Follow me.
Akane turned her back and walked back towards the Dojo. Ranma followed, motioning for his two companions to do
likewise. The four entered, Ranma and Akane moving to face each other in the middle, the non-combatants sitting by the wall.
Ranma: So I'm to fight you?
Akane: As this Dojo's best fighter it is my duty to defend it. Shall we begin?
Ranma: A man should never strike a woman..
Akane: You issue a challenge and then run from it? ... how brave of you..
Ranma:[Glaring at Akane] I never said I'd relinquish my challenge. [Reaches his hand out to the side his companions were
sitting] Ryouga.
Ryouga reached into his pack and withdrew a canteen that he tossed to Ranma. Ranma caught it without so much as
moving his gaze from Akane and dumped it's contents over his head. With that act he shrunk a foot, and noticeably became a
she, startling his opponent.
Akane: What the!?!?
Ranma: Now we can fight.
Akane: How did...?
Ranma: I'll explain after i defeat you.
Akane:[Regaining some measure of her composure] Confident aren't you? I'm only the winner of the All-Japan martial arts
tournament for the past four years. You'll be eating your words soon enough.
Ranma: You sure do talk a good fight, but I've waited for this for too long already. We'll discuss this after I've won.
Akane: Fine, let's see what you've got.
Akane drops into a defensive stance, as does Ranma after a moment. Both stare at each other for a pregnant moment,
neither making a move, then Akane initiated the attack. She rushed towards her foe with a yell, sending a punch at Ranma's face, one he deftly turned aside and retaliated with a lightning fast kick to her head. A kick that he was surprised to have missed with, Akane dodging to the side at the last moment, lashing out at him with a kick to his chest. It was her turn to be startled when he launched himself upwards and used her leg for support to try another head kick. Barely in time she grabbed his foot and dropped to the floor, rolling backwards, sending Ranma flying away from her. Ranma sommersaulted in mid-air to land on his feet facing the Dojo wall. He turned to face Akane just as she regained her footing.
Akane: you're pretty good.
Ranma: you're better than i expected, no wonder my father never sought you out himself. But now that I've warmed up, we
can make this match really interesting.
With a loud battle-cry Ranma leapt to the attack.
[Tendo Dojo, Soun's bedroom]
Soun Tendo lay on his bedding as he had for the last ten years, thinking and wondering when he would finally see
his dream of a united school completed. His musing was interrupted by the growling of his stomach.
Soun:[Thinking] I wonder what's keeping Akane? Usually she'd have dinner prepared be now.. something strange is going on..
I can feel it
His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time tiem by a loud shout
Soun:[Thinking] That came from the Dojo.. what's going on down there?
So perplexed was he, that for the first time since the arrival of Ranma's letter he ventured outside the confines of
his room. Muscles straining from disuse, Soun staggered towards the casue of his distress. More than slightly winded, his
knees buckling, he stumbled into the Dojo; In time to see a red-headed woman complete kick on his youngest daughter, sending
her crashing into the wall.
Ranma: Do you acknowledge deafeat?
Akane:[Tilting her head a bit] Hai...
Tears formed in Ranma's eyes as he realized the end of his decade long quest.
Ranma:[To Self] Finally Father.. you may now rest knowing your honor has been restored.
Soun stared in shock for a moment longer before energy fueled by his rage surged to his long unused limbs.
Soun:[Yelling] How dare you harm my daughter!!! Who are you?!?
Ranma: I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts.
After hearing Ranma's words, Soun rushed towards Ranma, who immediately moved to defend himself, but was surprised
as well as slightly embarassed to find himself embraced by the aging patriarch.
Soun:[Sobbing loudly] Ranma! Oh how long I've waite for you to come!
Soun squeezed Ranma once again, and only then fully remembered who he was holding onto.
Soun: Genma's son... a woman?
Soun's questioning face turned to shock as he slid to the floor unconcious.
[End Part 1]
Well here's some more of it.. i guess this might have shed some light on wher ei'm going with this fic... please note that
this will be going through revisions.. but only after i'm done with it.. i want to get the main ideas out first before I
start trying to make it look good... and yes i know i called Ranma a 'he' even when he was female.. sorry.. i just can't
bring myself to call him she...
P-R-P-Chan
P-R-P-Chan's Pathetic Little Place
www.colba.net/~andersn/
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geocities.com/tokyo/ginza/Ginza) (
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geocities.com/tokyo)