I'm posting this on the FFML for a friend who isn't a member. Comments can be posted on the FFML I'll just forward them to him, but any private comments about this fanfic should be sent to
SSJSeinenTrunks@aol.com
Ranma 1/2: Warrior's Dreams
Prologue
Concept by Chris Purdy and Phu Lam
Written by Chris Purdy
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi
Street Fighter and Darkstalkers are property of Capcom
Note: The prologue takes place about 8 years before the Ranma series begins,
and before the tournament in the original Street Fighter. For the purpose of
the story, the Japanese names for the characters will be used.
********************
-Somewhere in Japan-
"Daddy, I'm hungry!"
"Fool! You should have thought of that before we left Osaka!"
"But that was three days ago!"
Gouken thought he was hearing things. Surely, a young boy and his father
wouldn't be out in the middle of nowhere, but sure enough, he saw a crying
child and his white-clad, bald father arguing just a few meters away.
Apparently, they were so preoccupied with their hunger that they hadn't
noticed the clearing in the forest, containing a dojo and sizable exercise
area. Noticing their sensei's distraction, Gouken's three students, Ryu,
Ken, and Retsu, walked over to see what could have shaken their master's
normally solid focus.
"What's up, Master Gouken?" Ken inquired. Gouken simply pointed angrily
at the scene taking place a few feet away. The two strangers walked ever
closer to the confused fighters, the boy busy crying, the man scowling at his
weak son. They took no notice of the four spectators until Genma
unceremoniously bumped into Gouken.
"Excuse me" Genma hastily offered before turning in another direction.
Suddenly, Gouken grabbed Genma's gi by the back of his collar, stopping him
dead in his tracks.
"You call yourself a father?! Who would be so heartless as to starve
such a young child?"
Genma turned angrily toward the meddling stranger. "Look, you, I'll rase
my son as I see fit! You don't have any business telling me what to do!
Let's go, boy." Then, Genma noticed his son talking to Ryu, who grew angrier
with each sentence the boy said. After a couple more brief statements, the
enraged warrior marched up to Genma.
"I challenge you."
Genma was taken aback by the sudden affront he had received. "What?"
"You're not a man! What kind of training is this 'Nekoken'?! What kind
of inhumane monster would do such a thing?!"
Ken was very surprised at Ryu's sudden show of rage. In all the time
he'd known his sparring partner, Ryu had been the picture of serenity and
calmness. Now, he had transformed into a fierce figure of a man, practically
glowing with angry ki.
"I challenge you for possession of Ranma-kun. If you win, I'll leave you
alone. If I win, I'll take him and raise him as a _true_ parent should!"
Genma was very confident in his abilities, plus the fact that his
opponent was enraged, which always limited one's fighting potential.
"I accept your challenge..."
********************
For what seemed like the millionth time, Genma recalled how he'd lost
Ranma to that stranger. He had _not_, as Genma had anticipated, been unable
to focus due to his rage. In fact, it had increased his strength many times
over. That, coupled with that amazing rising uppercut technique, had lead to
the fastest defeat he'd ever seen. However, he _had_ managed to convince Ryu
to uphold Ranma's engagement to Tendo's daughter. At that moment, Genma
recalled his wife. What was he supposed to do, say "Sorry, dear, but I lost
Ranma to a martial artist in the middle of nowhere. How about we consider a
daughter instead?"
Genma found himself filled with an overwhelming desire to stay in China a
bit longer.
********************
-Three years later, Thailand-
Ranma watched from the guest's box as Ryu-otosan performed the Shoryuken
attack, flinging his opponent onto his back with a nasty scar across his
chest. There was an awful lot of blood coming out of that wound. Maybe the
paramedics could get him patched up before anything seriously bad happened to
him. The referee raised a white flag, announcing "Win to Ryu!" The crowd
went wild, nearly rushing out of the stands and swarming the new Street
Fighter champion. Fortunately, the guardrail prevented the people from
leaving their seats. Ranma, however, was a special guest spectator, and
hurried out to the battlefield, accompanied by Ken.
"Amazing, Pop! He never stood a chance!" Ranma over-exulted his
surrogate father's victory over the seemingly-invincible foe.
"Yeah, Ryu. I'm sure Gouken-sensei's proud of you, wherever he is now..."
At that, all three warriors felt a wave of sadness rush over them. It
had been two years since they'd found Gouken's battered, lifeless body
outside the dojo. Ken had also been injured, although not as severely. All
of them, however, saw Gouken's assailant: a monstrous figure, clad in a black
gi, with spiky, flame-red hair. He had said, before leaving, that Ryu's
true path was not the mastery of the arts he sought, but the destruction of
every living thing. Afterwards, the three students went their separate ways:
Ken returned to America and made a name for himself in various tournaments
and action movies. Retsu had become a monk, seeking the answer to why his
master had to die that day. Ryu, with a confused Ranma in tow, left to
wander the countryside, constantly training. They had all met up at the
Street Fighter tournament, each one happy to see his friends for the first
time in years.
Ryu interrupted the lull in conversation with a brief "Let's get going,
Ranma-kun."
Ranma was shocked. "What about the awards ceremony? You deserve
recognition for beating Sagat!"
"Remember, a true martial artist seeks mastery of the art and himself..."
"...regardless of personal gain," the teen finished. He'd heard that
phrase quite a few times during their training. If anything, Ryu-otosan was
an honorable man, much like a samurai: never seeking any personal purpose,
only true understanding of human nature. He'd learned many things over the
course of three years; after completing his training in Shotokan-ryuu karate,
the two warriors had set off for the tournament, hoping to test their skills.
Ranma was crushed to find an age limit of 18 on any fighters entering.
Nonetheless, he felt that he'd done as much as possible in three years.
"Okay, let's go. It was nice seeing you, Ojisan," he added, referring to Ken.
"See you guys later, then." With that, the three fighters walked off
into the proverbial sunset, leaving the tournament's organizers in a state of
confusion. Without their number one fighter, what would they do?
********************
Ryu sat in the backyard of the Hibiki residence, looking at a scrap of
yellowing paper in his hands. The paper had the name, Soun Tendo, and an
address. He had promised the old man that, come Ranma's eighteenth birthday,
he would take the boy to the Tendo residence and go through with the arranged
marriage between him and one of Tendo's daughters. Ryu looked at Ranma as the
youth set up a makeshift training dummy, then turned to his sensei.
"Hey, Otosan, watch this!"
Adopting the traditional Shotokan fighting pose, Ranma quickly crouched
down, gathering his ki. In the blink of an eye, he reared up with his left
hand, striking the dummy under the chin and knocking it into the air. Just
as quickly, Ranma leapt up, focused his ki into his right hand, and performed
a familiar rising uppercut attack, accompanied with a shout of "SHORYUKEN!"
The ersatz dummy split in half, violently spraying sand in all directions.
"How was that? I call it the Hakaiteki Shoryuken! I got the idea from
your Shin Shoryuken!"
Ryu smiled. Ranma was a fast learner. He had already invented enhanced
versions of his fireball and hurricane kick. He was especially proud of the
way Ranma had performed against that Ryouga boy just yesterday. As he looked
down, Ryu saw the yellowed piece of paper in his hand, reminding him of his
previous thoughts. "Say, Ranma, when's your birthday?"
Thrown off by the abruptness of his sensei's question, Ranma thought
about it for a second. "A week from today, I think."
"Then we're going on a trip in a week."
********************
Well, there's the prologue. Pretty long, considering most of my works. In
Part 1, the Tendo girls gets to meet their future husband/brother-in-law. If
you're wondering what Ryu and Ranma were doing in Ryouga's backyard, that'll
be revealed in a later chapter.
SSJSeinenTrunks@aol.com
Completed: 12:30 AM, 3/18/00