Ranma ½ is the property and invention of Rumiko Takahashi. The following story is not produced for any monetary or personal gain. Its sole purpose is to entertain using the characters and plots developed by Takahashi.

 

Shadows of the Land   Volume I :   The Journey to Aina

Chapter 1: A time of remembrance

Kho Lon was watching her student avidly practicing his katas. She was still amazed at how this mere boy could have learnt the most difficult of techniques so easily. She could not believe that the boy survived all that he was put through. He was surely one of the finest specimens of a warrior she had ever seen. His father was definitely not a good influence. Though Genma had raised his son in the Art, Genma himself was not as good a martial artist as Ranma now was. She could tell the boy had far surpassed his father but continued his morning training with his father both to entertain himself and to perfect new styles of combat he came in contact with.

She remembered Ranma at the Amazon tournament nearly a year ago. She felt his ki when he entered the village; even then he was quite a capable warrior. She recalled Genma eating the first prize; enraging her great-granddaughter. Ranma, pushed by his father into the tournament ‘for the sake of training’, easily defeated her great-granddaughter. To her trained eye, she knew his skill was exceptional for a boy of that age. She could even taste the confidence in his aura. Kho Lon was surprised when Shampoo gave Ranma the Kiss of Death (it was actually an optional law that had seldom been used), but then, that was to be expected. Shampoo had the pride and ego of the great dragon. She could not accept defeat at the hands of another girl. That girl being an outsider and the defeat being such an emphatic one made it unbearable. There were many things her great grand-daughter had yet to learn. How to make the right decisions was one of them.

Kho Lon did not want Shampoo pursuing the girl, but she thought that it would be an excellent way of determining the redhead’s skill. If the girl was not as good as Kho Lon had anticipated, she would die. If she lived, Kho Lon would make the girl an Amazon. A girl that skilled at so young an age would make an excellent addition to the Amazons and would share Shampoo’s inheritance as her heir. Kho Lon was not at all surprised when Shampoo came home defeated, but when she learned that the girl was really a boy, she became excited. A boy of such strength would make an excellent husband for Shampoo and their children would ensure the future of the Amazons.

However, Kho Lon could not show sympathy towards her great-granddaughter. That would cause her to become weak, so she took her great-granddaughter on a training trip. She carried Shampoo to the cursed springs. Whichever spring a person fell into during training, transformed them into their kindred spirit. Ranma fell into the Nyannichuan , the spring of drowned girl. This symbolized unity of Ying and yang, and the power of the human soul, this was an extremely powerful spirit companion. Few had had the luck to fall into such a spring. Her great-granddaughter transformed into a cat. That symbolized a bond to the great tiger spirit. Shampoo possessed the powers of the ultimate feline. Kho Lon was a bit surprised: the cat usually meant cunning and trickery. She did not see this surfacing in her great granddaughter and would have to take measures to ensure that part of the spirit did not bloom. After the training was complete, Kho Lon invoked the Ancient Marriage Law. She would go to Japan to get HER son-in-law.

Kho Lon was perturbed by the amount of trouble this boy generated and the scorn with which he treated the Amazon Laws. However, that was to be admired; taming Ranma would be a challenge and he was worth the effort. He was stubborn and confident; characteristics that would hopefully be passed on to his children. However, he was also arrogant and brash. This was due mostly to influence of Genma, the honourless man who was his father.

Genma was a coward who had lost the trust and respect of his only son. She had seen it easily enough in Ranma's treatment of him. Kho Lon had no idea how many times Genma had sold Ranma for food, or engaged him. The man simply could not be trusted. How could a man train a young child in the Neko-ken? Many masters of the Art had tried and failed before, succumbing to the insanity that followed. For Ranma to keep his sanity and master the Cat-Fist was testimony to his strength.

She had decided to use the shiatsu touch techniques to keep the boy in his cursed state as an initiative to learn some of the Ancient Amazon Special Techniques. This was a test to see how fast Ranma could learn. He learned the Chestnut Fist more quickly than she anticipated. He would truly make an excellent student but she could not directly train him. There had to be a way of subtly training the boy. She then found the ideal sparring partner for son-in-law, the Eternal Lost boy. Not only was Ryouga interested in the Tendo girl, but also his constant wandering brought him into contact with new fighting styles that he mastered and attacked son-in-law with. She taught Ryouga the Breaking Point technique to make Ryouga tough enough to withstand sparring with son-in-law. Hopefully, Ryouga would wrestle the Tendo girl from Ranma, leaving Ranma open for Shampoo. Kho Lon knew the cook had no chance. She knew Ranma considered her more of a sister than a fiancée. How he acted around the cook had proven it to her.

As time passed Kho Lon became more disturbed by Ranma’s devotion to the Tendo girl. She was becoming a problem. However she saw that the Tendo girl could actually be an asset in taming the ‘wild horse’ in Ranma. Why Ranma allowed the girl to hit him with the mallet was beyond her. Although she was disappointed that Ranma thought girls weaker than himself, she realized that Ranma had had no prior battles with girls and therefore dismissed them as a threat. She had to admit; the boy had an overwhelming sense of honor. He could easily thrash the Samurai boy and Mu Tzu without even giving them a second thought but there was no honor in severely humiliating his opponents. He chose to humor their challenges rather than humiliate them. She thought he rather enjoyed those fights.

Ranma was a warrior, like her. He was strong enough to become a great martial artist, but his stupid father had taught him the rudiments of the Art without real guidance behind the foundation. Kho Lon considered herself lucky. As time went by she realized that Ranma would not come to Shampoo. After the battle with Saffron, she had given up all hope of luring Ranma to be Shampoo’s husband but Ranma still had to have a wife and if any of the other fiancées did become his wife, she could trick them into becoming Amazons. Ranma would still add his power to the Tribe. Yes, Ranma would be her successor; after all, he was half girl!

It was time to approach son-in-law…

******

After the battle with Saffron, Ranma started doing something he had never done before in his life. He started to think. The battle with Saffron had shaken him up. He didn’t know how he had managed to defeat Saffron or how he had managed to save Akane. He had killed Saffron; sure Saffron was reborn as a little child, but he had killed. It was something he had had to do to save Akane, yet he was afraid he might do it again. Now he found himself holding back punches from Taro and Ryouga his only real opponents. He just could not chance killing again. Then there was the training the old ghoul had been giving him. She had been training him for awhile since the battle with Saffron and he had to admit, the old bat was a good teacher.

/////////////////////////

Kho Lon watched Ranma and the Tendo girl walk home together. She could feel the tension in the air. Of course, her great-granddaughter had thought that the best time to ask Ranma for a date. Shampoo glomped onto Ranma again; such behavior was not befitting of an Amazon and Kho Lon resented that approach. It seemed that son-in-law was not too pleased either. It ended as usual with the Tendo girl losing her temper and son-in-law adding miles to his membership in the Mallet Airlines Club. Fortunately son-in-law landed in front of her

"Hello, son-in-law."

Ranma responded with his usual flair, "What do ya want ol’ ghoul?"

For that answer he received a resounding rap on the head from Kho Lon’s cane.

"Ouch!… What did ya do that for?"

"Son-in law, I would like to train you. It does not seem that my great-granddaughters charms are working on you…. (pauses) I want you to be my successor."

Ranma’s sixth sense for danger was flying into overdrive. Yeah right, this was some trick or the other to get him to marry Shampoo, but he would hear the old ghoul out, maybe he could gain another technique out of this.

"Ok, I’m listening," responded Ranma in a suspicious voice

"Son-in-law, I know you need training. The ease with which you learned the techniques I showed you is most impressive. One does not live over a hundred years and learn nothing. Shampoo is not interested in studying these techniques and you are the only other person I can think of to pass on my knowledge."

Kho Lon wanted to train him, HIM. Could he do it! Was it just a ploy or was it for real? Ranma knew training under the old ghoul was an opportunity of a lifetime, one he could not afford to lose, but could he trust her? That, was another thing entirely. He quickly decided, he could not lose an opportunity like this.

"Ok ol’ ghoul, I’ll do it. But you have to promise me some stuff." Kho Lon gave him a wary eye. "First, no trying to give me any love potions or nuthin’. Second, leave Akane and the rest of her family alone, no magic or any of that stuff and finally, I don’t want to be Shampoo’s husband so STOP CALLIN’ ME SON-IN-LAW."

Kho Lon allowed herself a half-smile. She had expected at least that much from Ranma.

"Well Ranma I accept your terms. However you must agree to mine." Ranma returned Kho Lon's initial wary eye eliciting a chuckle from the old woman that sounded more like a cackle than anything else.

"You will address me as Elder when we are alone…. I cannot stop Shampoo from pursuing you but I will stop pursuing you on my own…. Also, you must listen to me and most importantly, no one is to know that I am training you."

"Wha?"

"The reason is simple Ranma. If the Amazons knew I was teaching you, I would be thrown out of the tribe. I have found through my years that some of the rules of my tribe have become...(pause) outdated." Ranma eagerly nods his head remembering the Kiss of Death. "Likewise, if the Tendos found out you were training under me, they would surely throw you out as a traitor, not to mention the reactions of your OTHER fiancées and Mousse. (pausing) You must keep an eye on that Nabiki girl, she is a very crafty one!"

Ranma sighed. She was right. He could not tell anyone. If anyone knew, someone would get hurt in the resulting confusion. He could not afford that.

"Good…. Now Ranma you must listen to me! I have heard that you do not do well in school. That is not good, you must do better."

Ranma regarded at her suspiciously. "What school got to do with martial arts? I ain't ever had ta use anything dealin' with school."

"Hmm… I see. Your father has never given school much value before has he?"

Ranma shook his head, negatively.

"I thought so…your father is a fool!" she declared emphatically.

"WHAT!"

Kho Lon replied by repeatedly rapping Ranma on the head, "Did I not tell you to listen to me!" Ranma wanted to say something but for once he held back his tongue.

"Very good son-in-law, for once you did not put your foot in your mouth." She continued.

"As I was saying, your father has taught you to neglect your schooling; he has taught you to be brash and arrogant. No doubt this has caused you a lot of trouble in the past."

"I guess so." Ranma had to agree. His mouth always seemed to get him in trouble.

"If you do well in school, you can use that knowledge later to mask your presence as a martial artist"

"Why?" he asked. He wanted people to know that he was the best. What was the use of being the best if no one knew?

"Do you see me showing off my skills Ranma?"

Ranma shook his head.

"Even my great-granddaughter does not know the limits of my abilities. That is why Happosai will not attack me. He does not know what I am capable of."

"So how do ya know who is better?" asks Ranma.

Kho Lon lets out a smirk. "It is not about being better son-in-law. It’s about responsibility and tradition."

"Think of school as training for my training. How else can I teach you how to use chemicals and give you Ancient Text to read."

"What do I need that for?" he asked. "You can tell me what I need ta know."

"There are some things I can teach you Ranma, but other things you need to learn for yourself."

Ranma looked a bit lost in the reply so Kho Lon thought it best to change the topic.

"So son-in-law, can you speak Chinese?"

<Yes I can > Ranma states proudly in passable Chinese.

Whap!

"Whadda do that for!"

Whap! again

<Speak in Chinese, and you WILL address me as elder.>

<Ok, ok, sheesh.>

<So son-in-law, I’m glad I did not take you for a complete waste.> This draws a glare from Ranma. <So when did you learn Chinese.>

<I kind of picked it up along the way. I never told anyone ‘cause pops told me it was unmanly to do schoolwork and that kinda stuff. When I came here I guess I just kept up the act. Having you around, I started to get better at it.>

<Then…. Why do you speak Japanese so badly?>

Ranma (shrugs) <Old man’s influence I guess.>

Cologne decided she had enough trouble trying to follow Ranma’s Chinese...which was rough at best.

"We will start your training tomorrow son-in-law"

"Will you STOP callin’ me SON-IN-LAW!!"

"Sorry Ranma, force of habit".

////////////////////////////////

Ranma began to remember all the training he had done with Cologne. The first thing she taught him was stealth. She taught him to tap into his ki to project a small field of ki around him. This had taken him a couple of days to learn but its effect was amazing. It was the same technique Chinkinsai used to disappear. Perfection of the technique allowed the person using it to be seen as a blur. Now Ranma knew how Cologne could appear so suddenly from thin air. The Invisible Wall technique was the only way he was able to evade Akane and Nabiki, especially Nabiki. If she found out, he couldn’t imagine the amount of money he would have to fork out. He shuddered at the thought.

Kho Lon had refined his Chinese to near fluency and began to teach him English and Latin. Ranma didn’t understand the Latin part but he didn’t want to make Cologne angry so he went along with her anyway. She had shown him some Shiatsu Pressure Points and some other valuable ki manipulation techniques but she mostly focused on the languages and beating down his arrogance.

Ranma smiled at that. He had gained some measure of control over his tongue through constant reminders by Cologne. His head still hurt from the last one. True his grades had gone up from barely passing to just below Akane’s level, but he dared not do better than that. He did not want to look like a woman in front of his father. His father thought that only girls were supposed to do well in school, more importantly, he thought his mother had the same view. She had a strange definition for manly that was lost to him but he dared not cross her, not with that katana on her back. He wanted to trust his mother, but that katana was a reminder of too much. He didn’t want to make Akane jealous of him at school either. He had been trying not to insult her and beating her in school would only provoke her. Sure he had thrown a few tests, but he preferred detention to a mallet any day.

Then his thoughts turned to a more serious note. He remembered the failed wedding attempt when Akane had almost been hurt. He knew he cared for…maybe loved her but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her. Jeez, she looked so beautiful in that dress. Her eyes were shining and she had smiled at him. That smile had turned his heart to water. Then all hell broke loose. Mr. Tendo had brought a barrel of Nannichuan, which Happosai drank. Ucchan and Shampoo had burst in throwing food bombs. He had tried to protect Akane and had been hurt pretty badly. The only good thing about it was that Cologne had kept her promise, she had not interfered. Then he was told that Akane knew of the Nannichuan. He wondered if that was why Akane had given in to their parents. Did she love him or was it because of the Nannichuan that she agreed to the marriage. He had a lot to think about, too much! He realized he wasn’t too good at this thinking stuff his head had already started to throb. Talk about a migraine!

Kho Lon was out looking for her student. As usual he was on the roof of the Tendo Dojo. She thought of the roof as his place of retreat. A place for him to sit and think. He had been doing that a lot she surmised. He began retreating to the roof more often these days and all her years of experience told her that something was wrong. She really did not know how Ranma did it. Between his fiancées and his adversaries, how did he find time to relax and enjoy himself?

"So Ranma, what has my student been up to?"

Ranma responded in a slightly depressed voice, "Hi Cologne, I didn’t know you wanted to train today."

"Actually I wanted to know what was wrong. I can see that you have much on your mind."

"What do you mean?" 'Yes, Ranma’s Japanese has improved. Constant rapping on the head can do wonders for one’s speech.'

"Remember this old Chinese saying Ranma; all rivers end at the ocean but a river can hold only so much water before it overflows, I hope you find your ocean before your river overflows." With that said, Cologne left a more confused Ranma on the roof.

Cologne however was not finished. Something was bothering her student and she took it as her responsibility to rectify that. Then, she saw the Tendo girl walking to the house. Silently she dropped to the side of the girl.

"Hello there young one," greeted Cologne as Akane was about to pass her.

"Cologne?" replied a startled Akane and then regaining her senses, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"It is not what I want child, but what you can do."

Akane raised an eyebrow and regarded her suspiciously. Cologne did not even bother with the girl's slightly agitated state and simply pointed to the roof with her staff, "I believe son-in-law needs your help. Go to him." Then she left, hoping that the girl would be smart enough to do the right thing.

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