In keeping with the Tradition, here is my yearly post of a fanfic
part... <g>
Begin Include
Can't Go Back
Part 1
by
Shaule Sachs
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Version 0.1
#include <alternate_universe/std_disclaimer.h>
#include <fusion/std_disclaimer.h>
#include <hokuto_no_ken/std_disclaimer.h>
#include <ranma/std_disclaimer.h>
Note: Based off of "Return of the Fist"
(RAAC:/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/ranma.fotns.return-of-the-fist)
by Anand Rao (anandr@earthlink.net) with permission and modification
from the few issues of "Fist of the North Star" that Viz has released
to the original, complete "Hokuto No Ken" series by Buronson and
Tetsuo Hara.
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Ranma Saotome sat in the Tendo Dojo meditating. It was easier to
meditate in the dojo then facing the Tendos themselves. For the past
two years or so, he had been in China, and now he was back in Japan,
City of Tokyo, Nerima Ward....
As he reflected on the events of the past two and half years, he
was forced him to acknowledge the simple fact, he was a killer.
That he always had a 'Killer's Heart.'
He wished it to be otherwise, but the truth remained.
He was a killer. Pure and simple.
True, in the past two and half years, he had only killed a
handful of people, Saffron didn't count, but before that, he had never
taken a single life. But the fact remained that he was a killer. One
did not learn the Hokuto Shin Ken, the North Dipper Godfist, without
a Killer's Heart, for it was a killing art.
In contrast, Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu (Indiscriminate Grappling
Martial Arts School) was a non-killing art. It lacked any true killing
techniques, since it was meant just for escaping a crowd out for your
blood after you stole something from them. Even the Saotome Forbidden
Techniques were meant solely for getting in, getting out, and
escaping, not for direct confrontation or a prolong battle with either
a single opponent or a group of opponents.
He vaguely wondered how his life had turned out so. Once, his
only dream was to become a Master of Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu.
But that was no longer a possibility.
Where had his dream been derailed, he wondered.
Sighing, he knew.
His dream was derailed by Shin, the Nanto Koshuu Ken Denshousha
(South Dipper Lone Eagle Fist Successor), that he had stumbled upon
almost three years ago, while on a class field trip. His fight, if you
can call it that, with Shin lasted about five seconds, and ended with
him being left for dead.
But he survived.
Barely.
But there was a price.
Shin had marked him.
His life was forever changed.
It was Cologne that mentioned that the only School that could
counter the powerful Nanto Holy Fist styles was the legendary School
of the Hokuto Shichisei (Ursa Major) Constellation... So like the fool
that he was, he had set out to find this legendary School of the
'Great Bear' Constellation, with the idea of learning a few techniques
from that school, using them against Shin, beat him up until he would
leave his friends and family alone, and things would return to normal
just like when he had learned the Hiryu Shoten Ha from Cologne to deal
with the Ultimate Weakness Point that Happosai had applied to him.
He should have known it would not be that easy...
Still, he was determined. Fired up by his mother's speech about
finding himself and that nothing was impossible for him, he set off
for China.
He spent several months searching the country-side of China
looking for the sixty-third Hokuto Shin Ken Successor, Ti Lin. Not
that he knew her name until much later. Or even that the Hokuto Shin
Ken Successor was a woman, especially one that had a past with Shin.
His desire for Justice, his potential in the Art, and the need to
stop Shin impressed Ti Lin into taking him on as her student.
For six months, he constantly trained with her day and night in
the techniques of the Hokuto Shin Ken, which came easily to him.
Too easily, he now reflected. It was as if he had known the techniques
along, but just hadn't used them for a very long time.
Although, everyone had told him that the Hokuto Shin Ken was an
assassin's art, he just ignored them. It wasn't the techniques
themselves, he told himself, but how they were used that decided if
the technique were killing techniques or not. And he thought, at the
time, he wasn't a killer, so he could safely use them. As he would
learn over the years, Hokuto Shin Ken wasn't like that. The Three Holy
Schools, Hokuto, Nanto, and Gento, were not like any other Martial
Arts. Where as the others Martial Arts were just human imitation of
animals, the Three Holy Schools, they and they alone, were based not
on any animal or such, but on Man, himself, nor were they created by
Man, but the Divine.
All this did not even register with Ranma until Ti Lin had sent
him out to deal with a giant that was killing children in rural areas
to 'help deal with the over-population.' Without meaning to, he had
killed the giant when he applied one of the techniques he had learned
from Ti Lin...
Immediately after that, emotionally tired, confused, and hurt,
Ranma had left Ti Lin to return home, to try to go back to what was.
Only you can never go home again....
As soon as he entered the Tendo home, he knew something was
wrong. Akane was the one that told him that his father, Genma, had
just a few weeks before went after Shin, by himself, in the hope that
he, Ranma, wouldn't have to. Shin had killed Genma in five seconds
flat, even the Saotome Forbidden Techniques were no match for the
Nanto Lone Eagle Fist.
Getting Shin's location from Nabiki, Ranma went to confront Shin.
The fight was not going well for Ranma, since he was still using
Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu.
Then, in a moment of realization, he finally understood Hokuto
Shin Ken.
In that very moment, the fight was over.
He simply used Hokuto Shin Ken's divine knowledge of hidden tsubo
points to shut-down Shin's body... Trapping a helpless Shin within his
own body as it slowly died.
Standing over his Father's grave, Ti Lin had told him about of
the life of all Hokuto Shin Ken Successors were filled with sorrow,
loneliness, and Duty. For of the three Holy Schools, Hokuto reigned
over all. Many, such as Shin, did not take it too kindly having a mere
girl reigning over them. Thus Shin went about gathering support to
prove that the time of Hokuto's reign of the three Holy Schools was
over, stating that Ti Lin was not worthy of the Hokuto, and to prove
it: he had challenged her, beat her, and left her for dead. But she,
like Ranma, survived her encounter with Shin, but was then challenged
by others seeing her as weak as Shin claimed. Although, she survived
each challenge, she was not given the time to full heal before the
next challenger showed up.
Ti Lin had convinced Ranma that a successor to Hokuto Shin Ken
was needed, among her reasoning where the fact that there were other
like Shin out there in world that only a Hokuto Shin Ken Successor
could deal with, and that Shin was but one of the six Nanto Roku Sei
Ken Masters that ruled over the other one hundred two Nanto Styles.
So Ranma informed his mother and the Tendos that he needed to go
off on a long training trip, to gather himself after Genma's death,
head off any retaliation from the Nanto for Shin's death, and to
fulfill his promise to Ti Lin for her help against Shin.
With a little coaching from Ti Lin, he was able to give the
impression that he would be gone only for several years to improve
himself, protect his mother and the Tendos, and return there after.
What he didn't say was that protecting his mother and the Tendos
from a Nanto retaliation was something that Ti Lin could do with a
quick meeting with the Nanto Emperor. He couldn't just come out and
say that he was going to China to become the next Hokuto Shin Ken
Successor. But that was what he did. He spent the next several years,
studying day and night to learn everything that a Hokuto Shin Ken
Successor needed to know, which also included an secular education.
And just last week, he learned the final lesson from Ti Lin, the
Law of the Hokuto School. There can be only one Hokuto Shin Ken
Successor. The battle for Succession, which took place in the holy
grounds of Hokuto Renkitouza as Tradition dictated, shook the very
Heavens themselves. In the end, Ranma had learned his lessons too
well.
In honor of his fallen sensei's memory, he had watched the Hokuto
Shichisei Constellation dim in the Heavens, which then followed by the
blazing rebirth of that same constellation in honor of the new Hokuto
Shin Ken Successor, himself.
So Ranma sat in the Tendo Dojo wondering about his life and how
it turned out, in the past two years, he had killed three people, that
nameless giant back in China, Nanto Lone Eagle Fist Successor Shin,
and his beloved Sensei, Ti Lin, who died in order to fulfill the
Hokuto Law.
Thanks to the Musou Tensei (Nil-thought Reincarnation), Ti Lin's
soul resided within him, so he was never alone. Ti Lin had explained
the Hokuto Law to him... That there could only be one Successor and
all others had to have their fists sealed or their Hokuto knowledge
removed... To avoid the danger of Hokuto Shin Ken falling into the
wrong hands like Shin's, only using the Nanto Lone Eagle Fist style,
he was able to take over all the criminal activities in Tokyo without
any difficulties, it would be too horrorable to imagine what he could
have done if someone like him knew the Hokuto Shin Ken. Thus, the
teachings of the Hokuto had to be protected, and passed only from
father to a single son/daughter.
In the space of several years he had gone from a freshman student
at Furinkan High School and practicer of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto
Ryuu to an advance student in a foreign exchange college program and
the sole Successor to the over two thousand year old, legendary Hokuto
Shin Ken...
Now, what was he going to do?
He was a Warrior now, no longer a Martial Artist that he once
was.
He did not study the Art of War for study's sake, to learn to
balance his mind, body, and soul, to improve himself, and to challenge
himself. No, now, he walked, talked, lived the Art of War, for
himself, for others, and for his beliefs that the innocent might live
and Justice be served.
The question was no longer how much was the minimum amount of
force needed to be applied to alter the course of someone's action,
but now, it was simply a question, can he afford to allow that person
to live or not.
Before, when he faced an opponent he asked himself, what can he
learn from his opponent? Now, he wondered, how fast must they die to
prevent further bloodshed?
Before, all he had to worry about was learning the latest
techniques and upholding family honor. Now, he was Kami-sama's Sword
on Earth.
Before, his actions as Heir to the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu
reflected only on himself and his father. As the Jade Emperor ruled
the Heavens for Kami-sama, so the Tentei (Heavenly Emperor) ruled the
Earth. Now, he was the Tentei's Shogun as well as Head of all Three
Holy Schools, so now, his actions reflected on himself, the Tentei,
and Kami-sama, himself.
Once, he thought he would settle down like Soun Tendo, get
married, build a dojo, teach his children and students the wonders
of the Art, and go on the occasional training trips, so as to avoid
losing his edge completely like Tendo-san did. But, that was then. The
Hokuto Law prevented that. At least, most of that...
Since his encounter with Shin, Ranma had been forced to grow up
and mature. He was responsible for the World, almost literally now.
It was a weight that did not rest well on his shoulders, nor was it
suppose to. For his very actions were reflected in the World and the
very Heavens themselves. If that wasn't a sobering enough thought, he
knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he now had the power to literally
destroy the World, if he wasn't careful.
Before, he could just concentrate on training and learning the
Hokuto Shin Ken, but now, his training was complete. By Tradition and
Law of the Hokuto School, he was now the Successor and sole Master of
the Hokuto Shin Ken.
Now, he had to face everything he had left behind.
Although he was meditating in the Dojo, Ranma could easily hear
Kasumi in the kitchen asking Akane to go get him for dinner, as well
as hearing Cologne, the Kunos, Ukyou, and others all over Nerima being
informed of his return as well. He could have been as silent as Death
in returning to Nerima, but he felt it would be best to be open about
some things, while quiet on others.
He felt Akane as she moved from the kitchen to the Dojo. He noted
her ki, and had to admit, given the circumstances involved, she was a
half-decent martial arts hobbyist. Unfortunately, she lack the very
fire that drove him and the others in their quest for the Art. In his
time in Nerima, before Shin, he had seen the others and himself
advance, at least, by a kyu (class) or even a full dan (level)... all,
save Akane. And now, he could feel that she had, at least, risen one,
possibly two, kyus since his departure for China. He could feel the
number of challengers that had sought him out from the dojo itself,
only to settle for Akane so as not to waste the trip completely. He
hoped that she took full advantage of the learning opportunity that
was presented to her. He wondered if she even realized what an
opportunity it was.
No matter, he remained in his seated mediation position as Akane
entered the Dojo, but he rose before she could say anything. With his
eyes, he noted that she was a lot smaller than he remembered her, but
then he had grown, literally, under Ti Lin's care and teachings. He
was now taller then Soun was by a few centimeters. And just by looking
at him, one could tell he was a warrior.
He noted her staring at him in puzzlement and a touch of worry in
her features. He also noted that Akane had that look in her face that
he had come to associate with Soun when he first came to Nerima, a
look of profound loss and self-defeat. It seemed that Akane was truly
Soun's daughter. He surmised that she didn't take the opportunity for
what it was, to learn from various people to improve herself, but only
to wallow in self-pity at her defeats. The Akane he knew was an
energetic girl, not the lethargic girl in front of him.
So he wasn't too surprised when she said in a quiet voice,
"Supper
is ready, Ranma."
He smiled at her, nodded, and then replied, "Thank you, Akane."
A small smile appeared then left her face as she too nodded her
head and started to head to the dining room.
He kept pace with her, and examined her body and soul as they
walked. He noted that she had broken both her legs, at different
times, and her right arm, in his absence, and that right leg hadn't
healed correctly so she was unconsciously favoring her left leg.
Once in the dining room, they both took their customary seating.
Ranma watched as the others filled in. Nabiki was next. She wore a
simply college-logo t-shirt and jeans, with an economics textbook that
she was reading as she walked in. She continued to read as she sat
down. Then Soun came in, if Akane looked like he did when Ranma had
first come to Nerima, Soun now looked like the walking dead. His
movements were mechanical, at best. After sitting down, he had a
lifeless spaced out look to him. And lastly, Kasumi and Nodoka
appeared out of the kitchen with the meal. He observed that Nodoka
carried almost everything, while a withdrawn Kasumi followed behind
her with the tea, held in her left hand, which was weird since she was
right-handed. Both had a sad, lost look to them. It was obvious to him
that Genma's death and his departure had a profound effect on them
all.
The passing out of the food by Kasumi and Nodoka was mechanical,
yet efficient, with Nodoka passing out the heavier items, while Kasumi
poured the drinks. Still, there was almost an art form to what they
were doing and interacting with each other. Although, Kasumi had sent
Akane to get him, by habit, he was forgotten at the serving of the
meal. He decided to serve himself and let his mother and Kasumi sit
down, rather than troubling them.
The family ate in silence. Nabiki reading her book while eating
and everyone else just looking at their plate like robots feeding
themselves. If he didn't know the reason, Ranma would have truly
thought them all androids in truth.
When it became obvious to him that no one was going to talk at
all during the meal, and that since his departure, that had become the
custom, he decided that, this was one more thing he had to change.
So putting a bit of his ki into his voice, to ensure everyone at
the table heard him, he stated to no one in particular, "A month, no
more."
Everyone could only stare at Ranma stupefied as if first noticing
him at the table.
Finally, unable to contain herself, Nabiki asked, "A month for
what, Saotome-san?"
"Why for long it will take to get the Dojo back up and running,
Tendo-san," Ranma said sweetly. "Wouldn't you agree, Happosai, or
would you rather I call you, Seiji-san."
Soun could only blink his eyes in confusion.
"Come now, Happosai-san, you should know that there are only two
fates for those who to study anything of Hokuto Shin Ken," Ranma
continued in a calm voice. "Death or..."
"Becoming the Successor," Happosai replied nervously as he came
out of the shadows. He was eyeing Ranma as a mouse eyes a hawk that
lands next to him. Nodoka and the Tendo sisters paled.
"Have a seat, Happosai," Ranma commanded. In a gentler voice, he
stated, "I will abide by Kouryuu-sama's decision."
Relief flooded Happosai's body as he sat down, but he was still
cautious of this new Ranma.
Working up her nerves, Nodoka timidly asked, "What this about
'death?'"
Ranma sighed and with sad smile answered his mother, "That is the
Hokuto Law. There is to be only one Hokuto Shin Ken Successor, any
other students are to die..."
"And there is more then just death of the body," Happosai added
quickly in an attempt to less the shock of the news.
Ranma nodded his head, and continued, "Yes, there's the death of
the mind and the death of the spirit, in this case, fighting spirit.
"Those that fail to become the new Successor face three possible
outcomes: first, they could be killed out-right, the Death of the
Body; second, their knowledge of Hokuto Shin Ken could be erased, the
Death of the Mind, for that removes anything associated with the
Hokuto School, which includes memories, skills, or more; and third,
they can have their fists sealed, the Death of the Spirit -- fighting
spirit -- thus never again able to fight, even to defend themselves."
"Isn't that a bit harsh," Kasumi wondered.
"No," Ranma replied without any hesitation. "Hokuto Shin Ken is
far too powerful to take any risks with improper use."
"But, what does that have to do with Happosai?" Nabiki asked.
Instead of answering her, Ranma asked her another question, "Do
you know where Ganso Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu came from?"
Akane blinked and simply stated, "Happosai-san created it."
"True," Ranma agreed, "But you don't think he made it from
scratch do you?"
"Hey," Happosai protested. He quieted down after a look from
Ranma.
"As I said, those are the fates of those that study Hokuto Shin
Ken and don't become the next Successor," Ranma lectured. "As it
happens, one of the students from sixtieth Successor had his fists
sealed, since he wasn't selected, but his knowledge of Hokuto Shin Ken
wasn't removed. Although he couldn't use it himself, he was able to
impart a bit of it to Sanga, who used that knowledge to create
'Hokumon No Ken (Fist of the North Gate) [1].'
"This Hokumon No Ken was but a small lake to the large ocean that
is Hokuto Shin Ken. It was still very powerful, even though it lacked
any of the gokui of the Hokuto. It was because of this lack of the
gokui that it was allowed to continued, although it is monitored from
time to time. And Sanga had three students it seems, Seiji of Japan
and Cologne of the Chinese Amazons. Both of Sanga's students were
ignorant of the origin of Hokumon and its actual name. Since neither
could fully master Hokumon, they only incorporated parts of it into
their own styles... Cologne used only some of the tsubo point
knowledge and some ki techniques from Hokumon and added it to her
village's Wu Shu. To further distant himself, Seiji wisely changed his
name to Happosai, and turned what he knew of Hokumon into Ganso
Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu. Correct, Happosai?"
"Hai," Happosai replied.
"I thought you said that Sanga-san had three students?" Nabiki
inquired, "Happosai and Cologne-san are only two..."
"Yes," Ranma remarked. "I'll leave the third student and current
Successor unnamed since he doesn't concern us at the moment, so
there's no point in mentioning him at this time.[2]
"Anyways, which is why the 'Death of the Mind' would be very bad
for me. For Ganso Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu is a descendent of the Hokuto,
if indirectly, so I would of lost all my knowledge of the Arts I had
learned. And having my fists sealed with how my life is would have
been just as bad."
Everyone just sat there looking at Ranma.
"Getting back to the original conversation," Ranma continued.
"Soun-san just needs a few weeks to get back into shape, and a week or
so for a priest to purify the dojo before we re-open it to the
public."
"A few weeks?" Soun and Happosai responded doubtfully.
"Yes," Ranma replied. "That was my father's plan."
"Gen-chan had a plan?" Nodoka asked surprised and a touch of awe
in her voice.
Ranma nodded as he said, "Yeah... I'm as surprised as you are.
More so, since this plan will actually work."
"Nani?" Nabiki and Nodoka wondered.
Ranma just smiled and handed over to Nodoka a scroll. She opened
it, started to read it, and then dropped it startled. She blushed,
picked it up, and handed it backed to Ranma. He just waved the scroll
off to Happosai, who looked at it and nodded.
"Basically, it divides Ganso Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu into two
halves... The two halves, of course, are the Saotome and Tendo Ryuus.
Saotome Ryuu would concentrate in the areas of unarmed techniques and
aerial maneuvers, while Tendo Ryuu would concentrate on weapons and
ground maneuvers. Both halves would teach a little of the other, and
when both halves are used together, that's the Ganso Ryuu."
It sounds simple to everyone, and worse, it made sense. But since
it came from Genma... Everyone tried to see what was wrong it, but
couldn't. So, as with all things that wasn't easily understood in
Nerima, everyone just shrugged and moved on.
Nodoka, Nabiki, and Kasumi asked Ranma of his time in China, to
which he told of the sight he saw, the mountains, the forests, the
rivers, the various temples and Dai Chin's Dojo. He even spoke of the
Nanto Capital that he and Ti Lin had gone to see the Nanto Emperor, to
ensure that the Nanto would not be troubled over one of the Nanto
Rokusei Ken Master's death. For as bad as Shin was, he was still one
of the ruling Nanto Masters.
In turn, Ranma asked what had been happening in his absence in
Nerima, but he only got vague responses back. It was mentioned that a
temporary truce had been called until his return. Many had taken the
time during his absence to go on training trips.
Soon the conversation turned to the college, how Nabiki and Akane
had been accepted to the same college, Nabiki as a business major and
Akane as a liberal arts major. Just as Nodoka was about to ask Ranma
what his college plans were, there was a sounding of the Dojo
Challenge bell in the back.
Upon the hearing the bell, Ranma excused himself, got up and
headed towards the Dojo with only Soun and Happosai trailing after
apprehension him. He noted the fear and on Kasumi and Akane's faces.
As Ranma walked into the Dojo, he noticed a boy, slightly older
than himself, waiting there. His sense told him that the boy was
around Ukyou's martial arts level, a lot of training and focus, but
lacking in formal instruction and vision. He noted that the boy's ki
was somehow familiar. It only took him a few seconds to match the ki
of the boy's to the break in Akane's right leg. Of course, only
someone with his knowledge would be able to tell that after the amount
of time that had passed, which Ranma figured was about a year and an
half ago. The boy stood there in a traditional kempo gi, with a
red-banana, and finger-less gloves giving off a 'bad boy' attitude and
smile. Even before, such a person would have pissed Ranma off, but
now... and knowing that he broke Akane's leg...
The boy had a puzzled look on his face when he saw Ranma, and
from the disappointed look on his face, he was looking forward to
beating Akane again.
Being formal, Ranma bowed to the boy and stated, "I am Ranma
Saotome, Master of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu, and you have
come here to challenge me, correct?"
Neither Soun nor Happosai made any indications of anything being
amiss with Ranma claiming his father's title.
The boy laughed and said, "So you're the mysterious Ranma
Saotome, I've been looking for... You don't see much to me."
Ranma gave the boy a friendly smile and replied, "You don't see
very well then. Shall we begin?"
The boy nodded and charged in straight at him, hoping to catch
Ranma by surprise with his boldness and speed. But Ranma just yawned
and easily avoid the boy's punch, and delivered one of his one.
Ranma's punch sent the boy flying back a few meters.
For the entire match, Ranma was the boy's shadow. Everything the
boy attempted to do, Ranma did it as well. But Ranma did not just copy
the boy's move for move, he improved upon them. Where the boy was
sloppy, Ranma was graceful. The boy was as focused as a fog bank,
while Ranma was as tight as a laser beam.
It was clear to both Soun and Happosai that Ranma was simply
limiting himself to his opponent's skill and power level. Yet, Ranma
was clearly the superior fighter. Since neither knew that the School
of Hokuto believe in fighting an opponent on equal footing, they
thought that Ranma's behavior was a left-over from the old Ranma.
In a short of matter of time, the boy exhausted himself with all
his flash and wasted posing, yet Ranma was as fresh and ready as
before the match began.
Upon seeing this, Ranma sighed and walked out of the Dojo, with
Soun and Happosai trailing behind.
Upon returning to the dining room, Akane in a haunted voice
asked, "Who... Who was the challenger?"
"Just some street fighter looking to make a name for himself,"
Ranma replied causally. To change the subject, he said, "So what's on
TV?"
Nodoka commented that some special was on, but that she and
Kasumi needed to clean up after dinner. Ranma wouldn't hear of his
mother missing some program on TV while he was perfectly capable of
cleaning everything himself. With very little convincing he was able
to send his mother, Soun, Happosai, Nabiki and Akane off to the living
room. Only Kasumi was reluctant to go while there were still dirty
dishes around. He knew with the Hokuto he could force her to go watch
TV easily, but he didn't wish to, so he compromised and allowed Kasumi
to help him. It also gave him a chance to examine Kasumi more, and
find out why she only took the kettle and only used her weak, left
hand.
With Ranma there, and taking the lion's share, cleaning the
dishes from the meal with easy. He noted that at no time did Kasumi
try
to hold anything in her right hand, only her left. In fact, he
couldn't
recall at any point when Kasumi used her right hand much at all during
his time there.
After finishing, Ranma felt forced to use the Hokuto to make
Kasumi show him her right hand. He could see and feel the tears
forming in her eyes as he examine it.
What he found didn't sit well with him. He noted that her right
hand had been severely injured at some point five months prior or so,
while the bone themselves had healed, the nerve endings and muscles
did not. Thus preventing Kasumi from gripping or holding anything with
her right hand.
Ranma sighed, and using the Hokuto gently, he asked Kasumi to
tell him what happened. Kasumi replied that some Warrior-Princess from
China had come looking for him while he was away. Said
Warrior-Princess wasn't happy that he wasn't there, and had took her
frustrations out on Akane and Kasumi, who had been in the Dojo as a
witness to the challenge. Kasumi said that Akane had both her legs
broken by said Warrior-Princess, and then went to destroy Kasumi's
right hand before Happosai drove her off. While the Hospital was able
to mend Akane's legs, they couldn't completely fix Kasumi's hand.
Towards the end of her tale, Kasumi began to cry. The old Ranma would
have panicked then, but the new Ranma, with coaching from Ti Lin's
spirit, took Kasumi into his embrace and let her cry herself out.
With a gently smile, Ranma asked, "Feel better?" Kasumi nodded, a bit
embarrassed. "Now that you do," Ranma stated, "I can see about fixing
your hand."
"But, Ranma," Kasumi protested, "All the doctors said that was
impossible."
"For them, maybe, it is," Ranma replied calmly, "but they don't
have Hokuto Shin Ken's knowledge of the body and ki."
Kasumi watched with mixed emotions as Ranma touched various spots
on her hand and forearm seemingly at once. Then he gently pushed on
her forearm down to her hand as if pushing something out from her
forearm out through her fingers. Afterwards, there was a bit in
tingling in her fingers, and then, for the first time, since the
Warrior-Princess had injured her, she could move her fingers and
gingerly grip something.
"Thank you, Ranma," Kasumi said with a kiss.
Ranma blushed and stammered out a 'It was nothing.'
The others in the living room were surprised to Kasumi with a
smile on her face and a big bowl of popcorn in her hand. They were
shocked to see Kasumi both hands properly again.
Nabiki voiced the question of their minds, "How --"
"There is little that Hokuto Shin Ken can't do," Ranma replied.
"It isn't just about killing."
With that everyone settled in with popcorn and watched the rest
of the special.
Several hours later, everyone but Ranma ended to bed. Before she
headed to the guest room, Ranma stopped his mother and said, "Mom,
Pops left something else behind, beside that scroll."
"Oh?" Nodoka wondered.
"Here," Ranma replied and handed her a book. "Originally, I
guess, Pops wanted to document our training trip and all, but that
lasted only for a little while, about the first five pages. The rest
of the book are... poems he wrote for you."
Ranma blushed a bit at that last part.
Nodoka smiled and said, "Thank you, Ranma. I'm sure your father
is very proud of you."
As he watched Nodoka continue on to the guest room, he thought,
//Who would ever imagine that Genma was such a great poet.//
His son wouldn't have, yet he couldn't find any evidence of
plagiarism. It was one of those mysteries of Life.
Once everyone was off to bed, Ranma headed out of the Tendo-ke
and moved swiftly to NIT's Medical Building.
There he entered an office of one of the medical professors that
was still occupied.
Within the office was Doctor Ichiro Choshi, a sixty-two year old
Chinese-Japanese physician.
"Greetings, Choshi-sensei," Ranma softly greeted the old doctor.
Doctor Choshi jumped upon Ranma's greeting him, since he was sure
that he had locked his office and never heard anyone enter his office.
"Be calm, Choshi-sensei," Ranma remarked with a touch of the
Hokuto in his voice.
Choshi-sensei was surprised to find that his heart and nerves
where calm, even though they had but a second ago been racing. He
tried to look at Ranma with annoyance, but the look was lost on Ranma.
"And who might you be?" the doctor inquired.
"I'm Ranma Saotome," he replied, "The student that my Sensei, Ti
Lin, told you about."
The doctor thought over the names for a bit, then nodded in
recognition. He asked, "And where is the lovely Ti Lin-sama?"
With a sad look on his face, Ranma replied, "buried with her
ancestors."
The doctor's sad look matched Ranma's.
"Ti Lin told me to come see you when I returned to Japan,
Choshi-sensei," Ranma stated to break the silence that had fallen over
them.
Choshi-sensei nodded, reached into his desk, and pulled out a
stack of papers which he handed over to Ranma saying, "Fill these out
as best you can and give them back to me."
Ranma took the papers and sit and started filling them out as the
doctor went back to grading his student's exams.
For the next few hours, the only sounds was pen on paper, the
occasional shuffling of papers, and the sounds of the cleaning crew
going about their rounds.
Ranma, then, handed the papers back to the doctor and asked, "Is
that it?"
"Not quite," the doctor replied, "your papers must be checked and
a review board to be convened."
"And that will be when?" Ranma inquired.
"Tomorrow morning," was the reply.
With that, Ranma left as quietly as he came.
[=== Notes ===]
[1] What, you thought Amoeba was the only one to try to duplicate
Hokuto Shin Ken? "Hokumon No Ken (Fist of the North Gate)" comes from
the _Hokuto no Ken - Jubaku no Machi (Fist of the North Dipper -
Cursed Town)_ novel by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. I am assuming that it
existed a century or so prior to the Novel, which is set after the
_Hokuto No Ken_ series.
[2] Does anyone really need to be told who this is?
End Include