[Ranma][FanFic] Another Angel
Scott Jamison
This one was inspired by "Ranma 1/2: Guardian Angel" by Chris Jones.
ANOTHER ANGEL
by Scott K. Jamison
(Note: Ranma 1/2 and its associated characters created by Rumiko
Takahashi. No infringement is intended.)
It's a good thing mortals can't see their guardian angels. Why?
Because the first thing they'd want to know is, "What the heck kind of
guardian are you?" Let's face it, pretty much everyone feels put upon.
And there are three major factors that keep us from being as helpful as
we'd like to be.
To illustrate, my current charge, Ukyou Kuonji. The early years
were pretty standard, keeping her from falling down stairs, swallowing
anything too dangerous, that sort of thing. I swear, if it wasn't for us
guardian angels, nine out of ten kids wouldn't see their second birthday.
Then her mother died, and Ukyou's father took her on the road
with him, cooking the family okonomiyaki recipe. It was interesting,
dealing with the more varied hazards of the outdoors, and Ukyou now
needed my silent support when she missed her mother. She was such a
spunky little kid!
Then the Kuonji family met the Saotome family, and the first
factor cropped up. Fate. Now, because of free will, guardian angels
only have a limited ability to see the future. Usually. Unfortunately,
Ranma Saotome had a Destiny. Yes, with a capital "D". Destinies put the
victim through physical and emotional Hell, but in the long run he and a
lot of other people are better off for it.
And Ukyou wasn't meant for that Destiny. In fact, if she stayed
with him, Ranma wouldn't fulfill his Destiny at all. And it became more
and more likely that she would. The part that really hurt was that if
she left with him, she'd be happy for years, and Ranma would be happier
too. (Ukyou's presence would have eased much of the abuse Genma put
him through.) Until the time came when he wouldn't fulfill his Destiny,
and because of that terrible things would happen to a lot of people.
So I and Ranma's angel had to provide distractions so Ranma never
learned Ukyou was a girl, and that she never actually mentioned marriage
to him. This was trickier than it sounds, since we have to work through
coincidence whenever possible. Finally, Genma, Ranma's father, pulled
his infamous scam (no inspiration from angels, let me assure you) and I
was forced to trip Ukyou at just the right moment to keep Ranma from
figuring out what was going on. That hurt me almost as much as it did
her.
Then came the second factor, the human heart. There were dozens
of ways the Kuonji family could have responded to what happened. But the
cruel comments of some local girls, and the foolishness of Mr. Kuonji,
resulted in one of the worst possible reactions. Ukyou chose (with
strong prompting) to give up being female, and become a son to her
father.
Ukyou threw herself into training, both martial and cooking, and
a combination of the two. I kept her from drowning, or smashing on the
sharp rocks of the coastline she practiced on. I gave my silent support,
and my heart broke as she refused to think of any partner save Ranma.
She was still obsessed with him as she entered high school, so I
decided to take positive action. Ukyou was well-enmeshed in her male
disguise, so no ordinary boy approached her. But I saw Tsubasa Kurenai,
and checked out his dossier. Affectionate, persistent and liked Ukyou's
kind of girl. Maybe not a true love, but a start.
So I set up a series of coincidences to introduce them to each
other. The third factor...angels make mistakes. Kami-sama we're not.
Tsubasa liked Ukyou, a lot, but the attraction wasn't mutual, especially
since Ukyou didn't realize he'd seen through her disguise. She thought
he was gay!
Instead of helping Ukyou get over Ranma, Tsubasa actually
convinced her to get out and look for her lost love. So we were off to
Nerima.
Now *that* was a mess. Such a web of misaligned love and
vengeance I had never seen before, and hope never to see again. All us
angels had to scurry constantly to keep our young charges from killing
each other or themselves in the constant battles and schemes.
Ukyou found Ranma, and fell back in love, if indeed she'd ever
fallen out of it. But that Destiny was still there, and just as obdurate
as ever. Despite how things might appear, despite common sense, Ukyou
was *not* Ranma's best choice for a wife, or even a good one. Their
mating would result in disaster for everyone.
So I had to participate in a sad dance of denial, keeping Ukyou
from her dreams. Kami-sama had given her so many gifts, yet she wanted
the one thing she must never have. My heart broke again and again as I
had to protect her against happiness.
Finally, I could take it no more, and fled to the heavens to
lodge an appeal. Surely another could be found for Ranma's Destiny, or
it could be changed to allow Ukyou her rightful place. But there I was
shown more of the Plan than would normally be allowed. No, Ranma could
not be spared, and Ukyou could not be allowed to interfere. But I did
make one important connection there.
On my return, I discovered Ukyou had nearly won Ranma, due to his
foolishness with a certain sauce container. It took a near-miracle to
convince Ukyou to let him go for a while...long enough for his Destiny to
lead him away from her again.
So we returned to battles and schemes. But while above, I had
met Konatsu Kenzan's angel. He had committed a terrible blunder himself,
and his charge had suffered greatly for it. It took quite some doing,
but we finally arranged for Ranma to cross paths with Konatsu, leading
the male kunoichi to Nerima, and to Ukyou.
This time I did my homework, and did not expect too much. Ukyou
may not love Konatsu, but she can stand him, and he will stand by her
when she needs a friend, as she will when Ranma's Destiny unfolds without
her. Perhaps, he can even help her move on.
Oh, Ucchan, please forgive me. For the happiness of many, I have
kept you from yours. Find it in your heart to seek love and joy
elsewhere, for soon you will be grown, and without me. I can do no more.
THE END
Author's notes: Yes, I know. Ukyou would do it too, if she
knew.
SKJAM!