Disclaimer: I don’t own AMG! Or Ranma, damn it, the respective creators do. So there, my best disclaimer yet eh?
Ranma ½ and Ah!
Megami-Sama!
Rumiko Tendo lay in her bed, a sad expression marring her normally cheerful face. In truth, her face had lost its cheer when she had heard the news. She had barely a week left to live. It was a shock of course, but she was not afraid for herself. No, she was scared for her daughters. Growing up without a Mother was something no one should have to go through. It was positively awful. She knew as her own had died when she was a little older than Nabiki was now. Her two daughters were not ready for this. As these thoughts whirled in her head, she detected a sound emanating from a wall to the side of her. Glancing over, she almost fell out of bed in shock. There was a girl’s head sticking out of her mirror!
“Excuse me, may I come in?” The girl asked in a polite tone. She looked barely eleven Rumiko nodded wordlessly. The girl seemed to float out of the mirror, gradually revealing the rest of her body, and Rumiko noted that she had on very beautiful, if a bit odd-looking clothing, and three marks on her flawless face. The young girl smiled kindly and introduced herself.
“Greetings Rumiko Tendo! I am the Goddess Belldandy, second class, second category, limited, and I am here to grant you a wish!” Rumiko absorbed that information but could not respond. She was still a bit overwhelmed after all. Belldandy continued to smile and spoke again.
“Because of your good qualities, and your kind heart, you have been selected to receive exactly one wish, and therefore can have anything your heart desires!” Rumiko was still in shock but believed this girl. She just seemed too nice to lie, plus the fact that she phased out of a mirror and floated helped to convince Rumiko of the validity of her claim. Finally Rumiko spoke.
“So, I can have anything I want?” Belldandy nodded, still smiling.
“Yes, you may even wish for your condition to be cured!” Belldandy’s face lost some of its cheerfulness at the mention of Rumiko’s condition.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Rumiko smiled and shook her head.
“It’s quite alright dear…” Belldandy nodded in a relieved way.
“I’m glad…” Rumiko then thought for a moment. She could have anything she wanted, even cure her condition. She thought about that, Rumiko was a religious woman. She wore a small cross around her neck and believed in God. She also believed that certain things happened for a reason, even bad things, and that is how she viewed her condition. It would be going against fate to cure it, and the ramifications could be severe, but to leave her poor daughters without a Mother… or even some sort of guiding figure to turn to… She realized what she had to do.
“Um, Belldandy was it? I think I’ve made my decision…” Belldandy nodded her head.
“You have? Well then, what would you desire?” Rumiko sighed sadly and replied.
“I wish, that someone like yourself would help to guide my two daughters, and take care of my home after I pass on…” Belldandy blinked, before the mark on her forehead brightened and glowed with a blue light, and a pillar of said blue light exploded up into the sky. After a moment of this, the light died out, and Belldandy smiled at Rumiko.
“Wish…Approved…”
“Damn it Pop! How dare you choose my own fiancée for me!” A young girl screams at a panda walking beside her in an enraged voice. The panda, much to the various spectators’ surprise, pulls a sign from… somewhere, and scribbles some words on it. The words read:
“It’s a matter of honor boy! Don’t you dare defy this!” The girl snarls and lunges at the panda, slamming a foot into its face, and then standing on its head for several moments, before leaping off and turning her back to it.
“Fine old man, I’ll go along with this for now, but it’s only for honor, not for your greedy stomach…” She then trudged forward, ignoring the ecstatic, albeit slightly bruised, panda beside her.
“But I am going to go back to China and cure this damn curse very soon…”
At the Tendo dojo in Nerima Ward, the young woman known as Kasumi Tendo was busily preparing some tea in the kitchen. She knew that her “Father” was very nervous right now, and she hoped that a little green tea would relax him a bit. She then heard him yell for her and her sisters, and quietly entered the living room. Soun was already seated, and Akane and Nabiki were entering. She noted that Akane was in a gi, while Nabiki was dressed in a fairly nice kimono. Soun began to speak.
“Many years ago, I trained under an evil perverted master who forced upon me unspeakable acts to accomplish. The only person I had to turn to was my best friend in the world, and fellow student at the time, one Genma Saotome. Saotome and I trained for a long time under the old master, before we managed to escape his terrible clutches. We went our separate ways, and soon got married. About a year before Kasumi was born, we promised that should one of us have a son, and the other a daughter, then the two would marry and thus unite the clans. This was a solemn promise of great importance, sworn upon our honor. Now, Saotome is bringing his son, Ranma, here today, to hopefully become engaged to one of you. If one of you were to marry Ranma, then the Tendo and Saotome line would be secure…” The girls sat in silence for the entire amount of time that Soun spoke, and after he was done, they remained silent for several more moments, before Akane sprang to her feet.
“No way! There is no way that any of us are going to marry some perverted boy!” Kasumi spoke next.
“Father, isn’t a bit late to tell us this? If he is coming today, you probably should have told us at least a few days in advance…” Soun laughed nervously.
“Yes well…” Nabiki sighed.
“Look, is he at least cute? I doubt he’s rich, but if he’s cute then it wouldn’t be so bad…” Kasumi looked at Nabiki and chastised her.
“Nabiki! What have I told you about that? A person’s financial status or physical looks don’t matter! It’s the kindness of their soul that counts!” Nabiki looked a little ashamed.
“Yeah, yeah, um, I’m sorry…” Kasumi smiled at her.
“That’s alright…” Akane growled in anger.
“There is no way I’m going to let some boy, just waltz in here and marry one of us! He probably isn’t even that good at the art!” Soun coughed.
“Actually, from what I here, he is quite good. He did cross into China recently, and Saotome always was the better of the two of us…” Akane growled again and sat down with a huff. Kasumi despaired. It was amazing how someone who hated boys so much could act like one so well. She wished there was something she could do, but there wasn’t much; still it was her duty to guide Nabiki and Akane… She snapped out of her daze when she heard Soun speak again.
“They should be here any moment…” The sound of people entering the gate of the Tendo property was heard and Kasumi hastily got to her feet, and went to greet their guests. What she saw was a panda and red-haired girl regarding her with some embarrassment.
“Oh my…”
After this, things proceed as normal, with Ranma becoming Akane’s fiancée, mainly because “Kasumi” feels that he would be a good influence on her, as she sees that he has a good heart. The story picks up shortly after Saffron and the failed wedding…
Kasumi sighed sadly. The wedding had failed, and with it, went her hopes of those two ever getting married. She had been hopeful that the two would admit that they loved each other, but they, especially Ranma, seemed reluctant to do so. She then thought of the final battle against Saffron, which she had viewed using her powers…
“He killed a god… that should not be possible for a mortal to do…” But then, everything Ranma did defied the impossible. From being the first person to keep their sanity to some degree after the cat-fist training, to defeating scores of the most powerful martial artists in the world, Ranma Saotome was one who never let anyone, including fate, beat him. While it was true that Saffron was a lower god, and one who did not even reside in Heaven like the rest of them, the fact remained that if he wanted to, he could annihilate a city. And somehow, a young man of barely 18 years had beaten him… The thought was mind-boggling, and went against everything Kasumi had ever been taught in her old life. She noticed that Akane was storming into the house, and hastily made way. She walked up to her room, and slammed the door shut with a resounding boom that shook the house. Honestly, one would think that after turning eighteen, she could control her temper a bit more, but such was not the case evidently. Kasumi sighed. Her job was so hard sometimes, but it was her duty after all…
Ranma swore as he rubbed his aching head.
“She didn’t have to get that mad…” He muttered. As he was walking home from school, Shampoo (the annoying bimbo) had come and glomped onto him with such force that he had fallen off the fence and landed on the sidewalk, right next to a very pissed Akane. He soon found himself at ground zero of the A-bomb, that is, the Akane bomb… He winced as the pain intensified slightly. He sighed sadly and gazed out at the slowly setting sun from his spot on the Tendo roof, its presence comforting him. He wished that he and Akane could get along. They were fiancés after all. But both were much too stubborn for their own good.
“It doesn’t help that she never trusts me…” He mused. She had not been his first choice to be honest. Back when he had first arrived at the Tendo home, he had been awestruck by how kind the eldest sister seemed. She simply radiated beauty and warmth on an almost divine level, and then she rejected him and pushed Akane into being his fiancée… He sighed again, this time from past pain, and gazed at the now barely visible sun. Yes, Kasumi would make whomever she eventually married very happy indeed.
“And that will probably be Tofu, he thought to himself. Or maybe some other nice, calm guy.” This thought saddened him for some reason, and he banished it from his mind. He then heard a voice to the side of him, and glanced in its direction. He saw Kasumi climbing up onto the roof with a ladder, and padding over to sit by him. He smiled slightly, though he was somewhat surprised to be honest. Although it was a pleasant sort of surprise. She sat in silence for several moments, just looking out at the horizon with him, before she spoke.
“I’m sorry you and Akane had another fight Ranma…” He sighed sadly and bowed his head.
“Yeah, me too Kasumi…” She turned to him and smiled hesitantly. She needed to cheer him up.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t blame you like everyone else does…” He looked up at her in wonder. She blushed slightly and looked down. A smile slowly blossomed on his face, causing her breathing to quicken.
“Thanks Kasumi, it does make me feel better…” He smiled widely at her, his deep blue eyes shining with thanks. She blushed more and looked away to hide it.
“You-you’re welcome, Ranma…” He smiled and looked out at the now fully set sun. The sky had finally turned to night, and he marveled at the many stars. It reminded him of when he had been on the training trip, and how he always felt that the stars were his only friends. They never left him, and he never had to leave them like his other few friends. And now they twinkled at him merrily with promises of things to come. Feeling a lot better, Ranma turned once more to Kasumi and grinned in his usual almost cocky way.
“Thanks Kasumi, I needed that…” He then let himself fall off the roof, twisting and catching the edge of his window at the last moment, and flipping himself into it with one arm. She giggled slightly at the feat and smiled.
“You’re welcome, showoff…” After making sure no one was looking, she walked off the roof herself and simply stopped in mid-air and levitated the last few feet down, something that made Ranma’s feat pale in comparison, although both were quite impressive. She then headed into the house, and up above, the stars continued to shine.
The next day Ranma awoke with a smile on his face. Which was odd, because normally the young man was quite troubled and almost as depressed as Ryouga Hibiki, though he hid it much better, putting on an arrogant and cheerful front to mask his sorrow. But today, today he was genuinely happy. The reason was because for the first time he could remember, someone honestly tried to understand his side of the many problems in his life. He was still waiting for hell to freeze over… After dealing with his various morning activities, Ranma bounded outside to fight his Father. Easily beating the old man, he then sat down for a delicious breakfast made by the very person whom he owed his current happiness to. Only to find Akane Tendo, his fiancée, bringing out a pot filled with god knew what. It bubbled and frothed much like the cauldron of a witch, and the noxious stench that arose from its depths was enough to almost make Ranma pass out from one smell.
“Man, Saffron’s fire blasts were less deadly then that!” He thought as he desperately looked for an available escape. He then turned to the smiling Akane, who dropped the big pot unceremoniously onto the table, causing some to spill out and, to Ranma’s disbelief, burn a small hole through the wood. Gulping, he nervously turned to Akane and asked timidly.
“Um, gee Akane, where’s Kasumi?” She smiled, unaware of the reason why he was asking.
“Oh, Oneechan said we needed some soy sauce and decided to make a quick trip to the store to get some.” Akane then frowned.
“Although she’s been gone an awfully long time. Could something have happened to her?” Ranma seized the opportunity like a drowning man would a life preserver.
“Oh! Well I had better go look for her then. After all, who knows? Something terrible might have happened to her!” He was out the door before Akane could even respond.
“Baka…” She muttered.
Ranma tore down the street towards the market, leaping up onto the fence and sprinting along it for several moments before flipping off and landing about a block away from the market.
“Good thing I got out of there when I did. I don’t really want to die quite this young after all!” He walked up to the front of the store, and noticed something amiss.
“Hey, that’s Kasumi’s shopping bag! What’s it doing here?” He wondered as he picked it up and examined it for a moment. His head snapped up as he heard a loud explosion come from down the street. With a sense of growing dread, Ranma raced to where the sound came from. Turning a corner, he was shocked to see a large crater in the street. There was a laughing man dressed in a leather jacket and pants. His hand smoked and Ranma felt the sheer evil wafting off of him. His eyes widened however when he saw who was facing off against him. It was Kasumi. She had a determined look on her face, and Ranma could see that amazingly enough, her hands were glowing with power. It felt different than the ki energy he used, but he could tell that it was still very strong and potent. He and the other spectators heard Kasumi speak.
“Leave now demon, or I’m afraid that I will have to get
violent…” He could tell that Kasumi did not want to fight, but it was obvious
that she didn’t have much choice. She called the man a demon, and judging by the
fact that he radiated enough power to give Saffron a good fight, Ranma agreed
with her. The demon sneered.
” Hmmf, it was fortunate that I ran into you!
When I heard reports that one of “your” kind was living as a mortal here on
earth, I didn’t believe it. But seeing you here, and feeling your aura which you
mask so well, I can tell that those reports were accurate.” He then held up a
fist burning with flames.
“Now give me one good reason why I shouldn’t eradicate you here and now, especially since you’re cut off from your cohorts, and are a first class. Getting rid of you would give me quite a promotion.” Kasumi’s gaze hardened.
“You seem to forget about the doublet system demon. If I die, then so does one of your own…” The demon laughed, and it was not a pleasant sound.
“Bah, you think I care? Unlike the other demons, I could care less whether your death kills another of my kind. After all, the ends justify the means…” He grinned evilly at Kasumi’s shocked face and brought the burning fist back slightly.
“Now, enough talk! I will destroy you Goddess! For my name
is Brahm! Demon first class, first category, unlimited!” Ranma’s eyes
widened.
”Goddess!?” Brahm brought his fist forward, throwing out a massive
blast of white-hot fire. Ranma watched as Kasumi closed her eyes and
concentrated for a moment, and just as the flame was about to hit her, a large
glowing wall appeared in front of her and absorbed the blast. Three marks, one
on her forehead and two on the her cheeks glowed with blue light. Brahm
grinned.
”Heh, a shield spell, how cute, but can you keep it up?” He then
threw another gout of flame, this one even more powerful, and one again it
impacted the shield, although Ranma saw that it was harder for Kasumi to keep
the barrier up this time. Brahm continued to toss fire at her, and Kasumi
continued to block it, but Ranma saw the strain she was under, and finally
decided that he had better do something.
“Damn it, why me?” He wondered as he jumped in front of Kasumi and glared at the demon, who had an incredulous look on his face.
“And what do we have here?” His face became amused.
“A human trying to play hero huh? Well, I know what to do with wannabe heroes…” Brahm grinned and brought both hands forward, throwing a larger blast of heat at Ranma.
“Barbecue them!” Ranma focused his aura into his hand, concentrating on the soul of ice that was his to command, and threw his hand forward. A blast of ki, colder than the snow of Antarctica, erupted from his palm and impacted against the flame blast in mid-air, and then canceled it out. Brahm stared in slack-jawed amazement, and behind him, Kasumi was similarly awed. Ranma regarded Brahm with blue eyes of steel.
“Leave now, or I will show no mercy…” Ranma said coolly. His demeanor in battle had changed a great deal since the battle at Phoenix Mountain. For it was there, that he lost his innocence. Brahm finally closed his jaw, and grit his teeth.
“Hmm, It seems that I underestimated you slightly mortal, but no matter, I have other matters to attend to anyway.” He then turned and held up a hand.
“But know that we will meet again, and when we do, I will enjoy burning your flesh to ash and then the goddess after you…” He brought his hand down, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone. Ranma visibly relaxed and blew out a relieved breath. In truth, he was unsure if he could have won that fight. The sheer power emanating from that demon was enough to make him slightly afraid. The only being he could remember facing that had that much strength was of course Saffron, and possibly Herb. He turned to Kasumi and asked if she was alright. She nodded at him wordlessly, and he then turned his attention to the people who had watched the battle.
“Nothing more to see here folks. Go on home…” Slowly they all went their separate ways, and Ranma turned to regard Kasumi once more, who had a sheepish expression on her face.
“I think you have some explaining to do Kasumi…”
Author’s Notes: Yet another fic from me. I should really continue my other stories, but I’m afraid this idea just would not go away until I wrote something. And this is the result. I apologize if things are a little confusing now, although I’ve tried to lessen that as much as possible. I promise that things will be explained better in the next chapter, which should be out soon actually. Anyway, please REVIEW!!! I want to know how you felt about this. I’m afraid I have little experience in writing AMG, so some things may be a little different than the series. To all the AMG fans out there I apologize. If you’re wondering why Ranma is so cold in battle, well, I believe that after an event as emotionally taxing as the Saffron fight, Ranma would be forced to grow up quite a bit. Not just for killing someone for the first time, but also from nearly losing Akane, being forced to fight with all his strength and seriousness, and beating a god with his bare hands. It might change a person. I think it forced Ranma to finally start taking fights a little more seriously, as he usually fights in an almost light-hearted manner. Anyway, enough rambling, see you next chapter!