[ranma][fanfic][the bet-a different art

[MetroAnime]

A Different Art, brief treatment given BY REQUEST
Ranma 1/2 by R.Takahashi, other char by other
people and i could see a LOT of crossover possibilities
with this one. Not only Gold Digger (Ranma as the up-and-
coming young mage investigated by Dr Diggers on
behalf of the wizard's council) but traditional fantasy
literature and even Chris Stasheff's Warlock series.
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betfic by gregg, metro...@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/greggsharp/index.html
don't forget all votes by private e-mail, if you
post to the FFML i won't get it. thank you.
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April 10, 1982...a mountain glade in Tibet.

A young father continued to look
for his six year old son, who had wandered off
during the night (looking for a little privacy.)

"Ranma!" The call echoed through
the mountains.

Genma grimaced. In the kind of mountains
there were around here, a child wandering in the
dark was likely to end up with a rather painful
landing at the very least.

How was he going to explain this to
Nodoka?

He missed entirely the odd runes
flaring to life on the inside of a nearby cave.
------------------------------------------------------
March 1, 1992, same place
The runes flared to life again, as
they had done sporadically over the ages.
Then, as they had also done before, the runes
faded to become mere scratches on the wall.

A young man wearing rough but
serviceable clothing stepped out of the cave
and fixed his eyes on the landscape before him.
Nodding, he scuffed a circle into the ground.
After consulting a crude compass, he began
scrawling sigils, glyphs, and other odd markings
out, with the largest symbol pointing due North.

Raising his hands over his head, the
youth began to speak.

"Powers of light, hear as I ask,
Guide me on this simple task,
From thy vantage, guide me true,
Where I must go, what I must do.
Show me the way to go home,
This I ask as boon from you."

A beam of light seemed to rise
out of the circle, and Ranma carefully sighted
along it.

Nodding again, he mumbled a
word of thanks and scuffed his foot along
the circle. The beam went out abruptly.

He left the statuette in place, no
point in waking him up. A cloth was unfolded
several times, and a few moments later the
unusual sight of a flying carpet heading
due East could be seen.

Unfortunately, Ranma did not
see the runes flaring to life again behind him.
----------------------------
Ranma was frowning. The magic
here was chaotic, rather like the Mists Of Change
in the Faerie Realm. He wasn't too concerned until
the carpet suddenly seemed to become so much
lifeless fabric.

Angling down towards one of the
many pools, Ranma cast a velocity damping
spell and watched as his satchel sailed past
with the carpet. As soon as his velocity was
down to a gentle drift, he allowed himself to
land on one of the ridges of dirt seperating
the pools.

The satchel waddled out of a
pool, dripping water, and had a distinctly
unhappy air.

Ranma sighed, noting that the carpet
was waterlogged in one of the springs. He reached
in for it. A moment later he was using a few words
he'd picked up in one of the seedier taverns he'd
visited. He really should have known better.

"Oh, young miss!" A rather large man
in a Chinese uniform came hurrying up. "You did
not...oh you DID get wet."

Ranma nodded her head, not trusting
herself to speak as she'd probably say something
quite nasty or throw a few fireballs around.

"Ah, well that is 'Spring Of Drowned..."

"Girl?" Ranma guessed.

"Oh no, miss. That one over there. This
Spring Of Drowned Amazon. Very terrible tragic
story of Amazon who fight Musk warriors here
350 year ago. Now whoever fall in Spring take
body of young amazon!"

"I would never have guessed," said
Ranma drily. "What's the cure?"

"No cure."

"There will be." Ranma promised.

"Hot water turn you back, but only
until cold water change you again." The Guide
paused. "Where you come from, miss, I no see
you arrive..."

"Any planes ever lose power over
these springs?"

"Yes, miss, most people know you
no fly over Jusenkyo. Very bad terrible tragic
stories of people who try."

"Figures," Ranma squeezed what
water she could out of his carpet. It would have
to dry, and then she'd have to check the spells
before she could risk flying it again.

Ranma blinked as a thought occured
to her. "Do all of these springs have similar
effects? Oh, and I'm a guy. Present appearance
not withstanding."

"Yes sir. Why you ask..." The Guide
looked at the coin that Ranma handed him. It...
was gold?!

Ranma opened the satchel and
started pulling out large containers and finally
a long-handled ladle. "I want you to tell me
which one is which."

"But sir..." The Guide looked at the
coin in his palm, then bit on it. It was real and
he estimated the heavy coin to be worth more
than he made in a year. "Okay, but why?"

Ranma didn't look at the Guide. If
that coin was insufficient, he had more. Though
sometimes information was even more valued
than money, he didn't think the Guide was very
well off and could use the cash. "Simple. By
having various samples, I'm going to figure out
how these things work, then work on either
eliminating the curse, or tricking it into seeing
my original form as the form I'm to transfer to."

"Sir is very strange," the Guide
looked at the coin again and added that at
least he was generous.
----------------------------------------
"Fighting tournament here, you
watch sir, is special honor to win tournament."

Ranma nodded. He'd asked for
someplace he could get some food, then
lay out the carpet so it would dry. It would
take him a few hours to do the check on the
carpet's magic, and he wanted to be away
from Jusenkyo's influence as much as possible.

"Amazons..." Ranma smiled at a
few pleasant memories. "Well, well. Which
House?"

"Sir?" The Guide looked to where
Ranma was quite openly admiring the one
amazon fighting a much larger opponent.

The satchel, feeling much abused,
thunked into Ranma's leg, then spotted the
banquet.

"<YOU! WHAT YOU....what in
the...>" The Champion had come striding over
to yell at Ranma, then her mind caught up to
what she was seeing. "<Excuse me, but your
carpetbag over there is eating my prize?!??>"

Ranma had just realized what those
slurping and crunching noises were. "Oh no...
No! Bad Bag!"

"<Shampoo, claim the bag as your
prize!>"

Shampoo was surprised. Mousse
had a good idea? "<Since your box-with-legs
ate most of my prize, I claim it!>"

"Out of the question," Ranma said
back, glad that his translation ring was at least
working. "How about if I pay you for your prize?"

"<NO. Want bag...how come your
lip synch is off?>"

Cologne hopped forward quickly.
There was little that could surprise her after all
these years. This looked...interesting.

"I'm using magic. Well...if you won't
accept payment, and this was your prize, how
about if I challenge you for the tournament?"

"<You dare!?>" Shampoo glared at
the arrogance of this man. Even though he DID
look cute and seem interesting. To challenge HER.

Cologne smirked. Oh, she was glad she'd
attended the Tournament today! She thought to
herself that if what she was suspected was true, she'd
have to arrange something...special.

Ranma landed lightly on one end of the
Challenge Log, Shampoo leapt to the other.

"Fight!" The referee brought her arm
down in a slashing motion.

Shampoo raised her bonbori, charging
forward.

Ranma considered for less than a second.
Fireball, no. Lightning bolt? No, he didn't want to hurt
her, just beat her. Flesh to plush? No, she might consider
that humiliating. Ranma drove a finger forward, and
wove a pattern of spirit.

The spell hit with a polychromatic sparkle
quite visible to the audience, most of whom now made
the assumption that the boy had unleashed a chi attack
of some kind.

Cologne's eyes widened as Shampoo fell.
He WAS a mage! She'd marry him to half a dozen
amazons if that was what it took to get him into the
village, but maybe Shampoo would be enough...

In the ensuing silence, a very kawaii
voice started singing from where Shampoo was
lying on the ground. It broke off into giggling a
moment later.

Maybe not, concluded Cologne. It
looked like Shampoo had gone from completely
sober to absolutely drunk in very short order.
Cologne doubted Shampoo could even get up
to give the Kiss Of Marriage. What a disgrace.

The giggling died down, only to be
replaced with a light snoring noise. Cologne's
eyes met six others in the crowd, then nodded.

"<Avenge our fallen sister!>"

Cologne's eyes widened. THAT wasn't
the signal she'd given. It hadn't even come from
one of her common agents. Rei Ga...

The mage, being a mage, did the
sensible thing and fled. Shampoo awoke, three
hours later, and was in for the tongue lashing
of her life in front of the village. The disgrace
could only be repaired in one manner. She had
to come back with that man as her husband.

The magical display, walking satchel,
and odd lip-synch, did not go unnoticed. Even
before Shampoo left, various other Elders wanted
to one-up the Matriarch and so sent their own
prodigies out on similar missions.
------------------------------------------------
Ranma was drying his carpet and
checking over his spells when he felt his wards
go off. The spell slammed into the intruder a
moment later.

Two hours later, Ranma finished
checking up on the carpet, and inspected the
campsite.

When he found the cute little plush
doll with the purple hair, Ranma sighed, put it
in his satchel for the time being, and decided to
get some rest.(1)

After seeing Shampoo shrink down
into a plush toy, none of the other amazons
decided to bother him that night.

In the morning, there was the sight
of the man, on a flying carpet, heading due East.
-------------------------------------------------
March 6, 1992
Ranma checked the compass. It was
pointing at the young girl who was having so
much trouble with the groceries. A faint glamourie,
he decided, just enough to make him seem less of
a stranger...
-------------------------------------------------
"Excuse me, miss. You look like you're
having a little problem there, may I help?"

Kasumi shifted the bags slightly,
turned to politely decline the offer, and abruptly
forgot what she was going to say. Her train of
thought had not merely derailed, it had gone
through the station and was heading for the
cliffs beyond.

He was a few inches taller than her,
built in a lean but quite muscular manner, with
hair bound back in a pony tail that reached his
mid back. Her eyes picked up the subtle fabrics
of his odd clothing. They looked durable, but were
as finely woven and looked as soft as silk. They
showed off his frame quite nicely.

"Eh, uh, ah," Kasumi managed, drawn
instantly into those eyes that seemed full of hidden
wisdom and strength. "I...yes."

There was a brief puzzled frown, but
the man took the extra bags from her effortlessly,
and added them to the burden he already carried.
He spoke to her again, the same deep rich baritone
that sent a wave of weakness through her.

"Are you all right, miss...?"

"Ka-ka-Kasumi. Tendo. Yes, that's
it, Kasumi Tendo." Kasumi blushed, she was
playing with her fingers and trying not to look
in that man's direction again. She hadn't even
realized at this point that she'd handed all of
the groceries to this stranger, and her purse.

The stranger just blinked a few times
as if trying to figure something out. "Well, my
name is Ranma. If you don't mind, why don't you
show me where you'd like these taken."
-----------------------------------------
Watching the woman continue to
dart looks his way and blush (very prettily he
couldn't help but notice) Ranma reviewed the
glamourie he'd cast but couldn't see how it
would produce anywhere near this level of
effect. It had been a simple low-power casting,
that should have just given him a slightly
familiar look.

He caught her looking at him again,
shyly. The slim smile, the faint blush, the way
she turned her head down and started studying
her hands as she walked into a utility pole...

Sighing, Ranma the mage put
everything down and rummaged in his satchel
for a healing potion.
-------------------------------------------
Akane stopped. There was her
sister, laying on the ground. Some strange
man was putting a bunch of groceries down,
then reaching into some sort of suitcase and
pulling out a vial.

She'd seen this last week on
"City Hunter" - slavers who took innocent
girls to Hong Kong slave pens, never to
be seen again. Well, he'd just picked the
wrong girl to attack!

"Hold it, you! Leave her alone!"

The man looked up and smiled at
her. "Hello. I was helping her with the..."

He was interrupted by Akane's
punch, which staggered the man as if he
wasn't expecting it.

"Get away from her!" Akane
watched the man pick himself up and launched
herself at him again.

"Be ye grasped in Morpheus' grip,
Into peaceful slumber slip."
-----------------------------------
Ranma had no idea who this
was, or why she was attacking him. He did
notice that she had a pretty good punch.
He caught her before she hit the pavement.

Now what? He decided he couldn't
just leave her on the street, but had no desire
to get hit again. He summoned magical forces
again and wove a different pattern. (2)
-------------------------------------
"Tadaima!" Kasumi brightly announced.

Ranma noted that she kicked her shoes off
onto the concrete area just before the wooden floor,
and followed suit. He vaguely remembered something
like that but was wondering how much he'd have to
relearn.

She led him through into a kitchen and
started putting groceries away with the efficiency
of long practice.

"Yo, sis. HeLLLO!" (3)

Ranma found someone new scrutinizing
him. He hadn't felt like a piece of meat being graded
to this extent since he'd last visited one of the
amazon barracks...

"Oh, Nabiki, this nice man offered to take
me. I mean, my packages, home."

This penetrated Nabiki's assessment of
the man and she took a good look at her sister.

Slight flush: check.

Unconciously nibbling on her lower
lip as she stared at her new "friend": check.

Kept constantly checking to see
he was still there and hadn't mysteriously
vanished: check.

Fretting with her hair: check.

Just put the milk in the cupboard
and the canned veggies in the fridge: check.

Guy who looked like a male supermodel
and was helping her to put away groceries: check.

Nabiki always took pride in her math
skills, her grades were much higher than Akane's
or even Kasumi's old grades in the subject. She
was quickly able to determine the equation and
carry it out.

With a sigh of disappointment, but a
feeling of happiness for her sister, Nabiki gracefully
picked up the receipt, and retreated back to her room.

A little hint of mischief showed as she
turned back at the last moment. "Oh, sis?"

"Yes, Nabiki," Kasumi's blush returned
with a vengeance when her fingers brushed Ranma's.
She kept her knees from buckling by sheer dint of
will.

"Nice catch."

"Nabiki!" Kasumi frowned slightly at the curtain
then noticed the scrutiny from her new friend. "Oh...my."
-----------------------------------
Soun passed his daughter, wondering why
Nabiki was snickering, and was about to ask when dinner
would be ready when he noticed the stranger.

Ki level: very high, but no hint of a battle aura
Overall build: strong, wiry frame.
Stance: relaxed, confident
Specifics: tightness at knuckles, evidence of
quiet strength, deep tanlines, hair bleached
slightly by exposure to outdoors conditions,
moves with fluid graceful motions.
Assessment: median level martial artist with an
unusually high ki level. No evidence of hostility.(4)

"Well, well," Soun said aloud. "Who do
we have here? A new boyfriend, Kasumi?"

Nabiki chortling out in the hall would
have been sufficient answer even if he hadn't
caught Kasumi looking nervously at the young
man trying to gauge his reaction.

"I was just trying to find my way home
when I noticed Kasumi here having some difficulty,
that's all."

Soun noticed Kasumi's disappointed look.
So did the stranger. He turned a smile on Kasumi that
seemed to reassure her slightly.

"Lost, eh? Tokyo's gotten pretty crowded
lately."

"Yes. Say, maybe you know where I can find
the Saotome residence?"

Soun Tendo twitched. No, it couldn't be. This
young man was too old, too weathered. "Sa-Saotome?
What would be...your father's name?"

Ranma noticed the reaction and frowned.
"Genma Saotome. Don't tell me he stole food from you."

Soun fainted.
-------------------------------------------
(1)- Yes, Ranma forgets entirely about her until much later.
No, this is not the end of Shampoo. Yes, she does get
turned back. It isn't that type, but can't you just picture
pulling a string and getting "Airen!" "Shampoo no like
this game." "Man who play with woman's heart go very
bad place." or "You no wants to mess with amazon woman."

(2)- No, it wasn't that kind of spell you hentai! She wakes
up, feeling quite refreshed, and realizes that her sister
and that man are gone! Oh no! Her sister is no doubt
chained up inside the hold of a ship bound for China,
disguised as a mannequin...but they left her! How dare
they! Hmmmph.

(3)- This Ranma didn't suffer from poor nutrition on that
training trip. What, you think Genma got Ranma well
balanced meals with all his vitamins? This Ranma ate
well, had magical healthcare, lots of training, etc. He's
even had enchantments on him that not only increase
his ki, but have enhanced his development. Yes, some
of this DOES carry over to his other form. He's taller,
filled out more, better built, and is practically radiating
healthy sensuality, a calm and quiet strength, and
confidence. In other words, he didn't need the glamourie
as far as Kasumi was concerned.
Nabiki, on the other hand, wouldn't exactly turn him
down if Kasumi couldn't "land him" and she's not exactly
sure how close the two are. If Kasumi catches him, well
she figures it's about time Kasumi had someone.

(4)- While Soun Tendo is ridiculously manic-depressive, that
doesn't necessarily mean he's a total wimp or doesn't know
anything about his Art.

NOTE: I didn't want to stick Ranma with Spring Of Drowned Girl,
hence the Spring Of Drowned Amazon. Said amazon not necessarily
being able to throw spells. Was going to go with an animal form, but
didn't want to leave him with something helpless (he'd devote day and
night to at least alter the curse) but more of an inconvenience. Other
possibilities: werecheetah, lynx, or something with supernatural overtones
to reflect that this is a supernatural Ranma (pegasus, elvish princess, etc.)

What's different? (A better question might be what isn't.)
Ranma has a...sister (six years younger) Hiroko Saotome.
Ranma has enemies and allies of a mystical nature.
Ranma isn't as good of a martial artist, but he kicks
serious butt as a mage.
Kasumi is interested in him. Nabiki is interested, but will
let big sister have first shot at this guy.
No bathroom scene, but Akane has a grudge against Ranma
for the scene depicted above. Ranma doesn't insult her, but he DOES
discount her.
Ranma's more mature, more civilized, more educated. He has
been wandering the multiverse, and has picked up all sorts of knowledge
in the meantime. He's also got several odd magical items, a few hightech
goodies, and some other things such as a magical tattoo.
The possibility of Nabiki and/or Kasumi finding this magic
stuff, not to mention the high tech, fascinating and trying to learn all
they can themselves.
No Nekoken. No Ryouga. No Ukyou. Ryouga would show
up eventually, getting mixed into a fight sequence with a Spriggan. Ukyou
would show up earlier, but there would be no yattai missing, no throwing
away of her femininity, and no engagement.
Spells. Ranma uses three basic types of magic, learned during
his travels. Alchemy, Chinese Sorcery (as in the original Art), and Ritual
Magic. He's also familiar (theory and how they work, even if they aren't
his style) with four other types of magic.