Cut Wood, Carry Water
A Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction by Bob Barnes
Last Modified 2/5/98.
- = O = - - = O = -
Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are the property of
Rumiko Takahashi and licensees. They are used in this story
without permission.
Acknowledgements:
I'd like to thank Susan Doenime, Dave Eddy, and Chris Jones
for extensive help in pre-reading this and for giving so
many suggestions that invariably helped to make it better.
If this story is better than simply ok, a lot of the credit
goes to them. Thanks folks.
I'd especially like to thank Bill Seney for helping me avoid
an obvious boner in canon continuity in the prolog and Mark
Doherty for sharing his thoughts about Ryouga with me.
As is usual for me, much that is correct and accurate in
this story came from helpful suggestions from others.
Mistakes and inaccuracies are all mine.
Any and all responses, comments, suggestions and/or
observations (including flames) are very much appreciated.
I'll try to respond to them all and will at least consider
incorporating any suggestions for changes I receive. Despite
all the effort, I know there are still errors in
spelling/syntax/usage lurking in here as well as possible
continuity conflicts. I've tried, hard, not to violate
canon, but you should know that I have my own ideas as to
what canon actually is.
About usages:
I write in English and have only a
passing knowledge of Japanese. I will occationally insert a
Japanese honorific or term in order to give a cue that these
are Japanese people and this story could be thought of as a
translation, but it's mostly going to be in English. Since
the medium is ascii text, I've had to cheat a little on
typography. Underlines denote both _bold_ and _italic_ text.
An exception is that single quotes denote interior thoughts
when these are verbal... (should actually be italics).
Asterisks denote sound effects like *bang* and also
languages one or more of the characters in the scene don't
understand such as when Shampoo uses Chinese in front of
Akane.
******You really are a stupid and ugly girl, you know,* said
Shampoo.
*****"What did you say?" asked Akane.
*****"Shampoo say she really admire Akane," said Shampoo
with a smile.
*****Looking up from her careful study of a Japanese/Chinese
dictionary, Nabiki also smiled and thought to herself, 'I
can see we'll have to keep an eye on Shampoo.'
- = O = - - = O = -
A seeker of enlightenment arrived at a Zen retreat and was
assigned a resident to be his guide, as is the usual
practice. The seeker asked the resident how long he had been
living there.
"I have lived in this place for ten years," the resident
replied.
The seeker then asked the resident what he did there at the
retreat.
The resident answered, "My task is to cut fire wood and carry
water from the well."
The seeker asked the resident if he had achieved
enlightenment.
"Oh yes," the resident replied. "I achieved enlightenment
five years ago."
Excited to be speaking to one who had actually found
enlightenment the seeker asked the resident what he had done
since achieving enlightenment.
The resident smiled and replied, "I cut wood, carry water."
- = O = - - = O = -
Prolog -- Conversation In a Forest Clearing
*****Akane Tendo knelt beside a small campfire, gazing
contemplatively into the flames. She was rather dirty; soot
streaked around the arms and hands, and the the sleeves of
her practice gi were scorched around the ends. "This plan of
yours may be insane enough to work, but I hate it now, and I
think I'm always going to hate it."
*****Ranma Saotome pulled his eyes down from their
comtemplation of the clouds overhead and stepped away from
the tree he had been leaning against. "But you can see that
something like this has to happen, don't you? Bombs! They
actually threw bombs at that ridiculous fiasco of a wedding!
You could have been killed! Kasumi or Nabiki or my _Mother_
could have been killed! I still can't believe those maniacs
would endanger innocent bystanders like that."
*****"I can see the necessity. I'll agree with it and do
whatever I can to help make it work. I just want you to
know. I hate it."
*****"I'm not very happy about it either. I just can't think
of anything else to do." He knelt down beside her and took
her hand in his. "There has to be a way to resolve all this
the way we want. It's like Sun Tzu says, 'If the way to
triumph can not be seen, then create conditions which allow
the way to become clear.' The essence of my plan is to
change our conditions."
*****Still gazing into the fire, Akane softly said, "I
understand that part. It's just that I'm going to miss you.
A lot!"
*****"I'm going to miss you, too, Akane-san. This training
trip has been the longest time we've ever been able to spend
alone together, and I keep expecting some or all of the
others to show up. Anyway, it's been wonderful, but it also
reminds me just how nice it is to be with you, and how much
I'll miss you while I'm away."
*****She looked up at him, smiled, and squeezed his hand.
"Besides, Ranma-kun, who will train with me while you are
away?"
*****"Please feel free to beat up my father, any time you
like," he said with a crooked grin.
*****"Jeez, Ranma-kun, you know we can't let him know how
much I've improved. What was that funny expression you used?
Oh yes, I'm our 'ace in the hole.' Sounds like something the
Gambler King would say."
*****"If it's games we're talking about, I prefer to think
of you as a queen disguised as a pawn. If you can do this
last technique, you really will be ready to surprise just
about anyone who might come along. You've worked so hard on
this. I know you can do it."
*****Akane sighed. "I'm not going to give up, if that's what
you mean. I'm close... I can feel it when I try." Akane
flushed a bit, and started breathing a little faster. Trying
and failing tended to make her angry.
*****Ranma tried to distract her from her anger by bringing
up the plan, again. "Anyway, we need to do something. I'm
sure of that. We need to get this started, soon. I'm going
to see Nabiki as soon as we get back."
*****Akane stiffened a bit at the mention of her sister.
What they were going to do involved risks. They could suffer
major setbacks if it went badly. By involving Nabiki,
though, they might be risking everything on her
trustworthiness. It irritated her that they didn't really
have a choice. They needed Nabiki's help.
*****Lost in thought, Ranma forged on, "There are so many
things we don't know. For years my father has manipulated me
by hiding things from me. He actually had me believing my
mother might kill me. He fooled me! Not the Baka, but _me_,
and he was able to do it because I was too ignorant to know
better. Are there more fiancees out there? Almost certainly
the answer is 'yes'."
*****"Why does that particularly bother you, Ranma-kun?"
asked Akane.
*****"I've been thinking about worst cases. You know how
Happousai can make both our fathers fold up in a second. I'm
certain we don't know the whole story about that. Anyway,
suppose there is an unknown fiancee out there whose father
has the same kind of hold over our fathers as Happousai
does, whatever that hold really is. She'd show up. Her
father would make demands. Our fathers would fold, and I'd
be gone. Just like that."
*****Akane jumped as if she had been slapped. "Th-that
possibility never entered my mind, before this. Do you think
this could really happen?"
*****Ranma squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I don't think
it's very likely, but it's not impossible. The point is: we
don't know, do we? Our ignorance is both a weakness and a
danger for us, Akane-san."
*****"I can see why it's dangerous, but why do you say it's
also a weakness, Ranma-kun?"
*****"Others can use it to try to make us do things we don't
want by tricking us into agreements that are against our
best interests. Suppose we were to give in to our parents
and get married, now. What are the chances there are plans
for us we don't know about? Consider what Happousai did to
Pantyhose Tarou and Miss Hinako and ask yourself if he might
have plans for our children when we have them. Further, ask
yourself if our fathers would oppose him if he did have
plans like that. Would we be strong enough to stop it, if we
got into the habit of giving into coercion?"
*****This was the sort of possibility that Akane had had
nightmares about, but she had never realized Ranma might be
troubled by them, too. He sounded tired to her. Was the
unrelenting pressure starting to get to him? "Somehow, we've
always managed to get through whatever challenges have come
to us by trusting each other, Ranma-kun," she said, trying
to reassure him.
*****He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulders from
his position kneeling beside her and pressed his face into
her hair. "That's true," his whispered into her ear. "What
scares me is the trend. Things just keep getting harder and
more intense. We will only ever lose once, because after
that there won't be an 'us' anymore. Not like now. One or
both of us could die. Some damned magic spell or potion
could make one of us do something we'd be ashamed of or
change us into another person, inside. Or what if some
damned, stupid, stubborn attacker forces one of us to kill
to survive? We'd never be the same, after that." Ranma fell
silent with a sigh.
*****Hearing this litany of dooms, Akane began to worry and,
as always when troubled, began to get more angry. Especially
angry about something that was hurting Ranma this much.
Nothing was ever going to harm him, if she had anything to
say about it. She growled quietly deep in her throat as a
new conviction and feeling of commitment settled over her.
As crazy as it might seem on the surface, this plan _was_
the best way to resolve things, and they _needed_ to resolve
them.
*****Ranma saw only the troubling possibilities in his mind
and didn't notice Akane's increasing agitation. "Then there
are the hostile strangers. You know, as time goes on the
challenges get harder and harder. Saffron was the worst yet,
and who knows what's going to come up, next? That was so
close I still have bad dreams. I was almost stuck
permanently as a girl and _you_ damned near died. Will we
even live through the next crazy challenge, whoever or
whatever it's going to be?"
*****Akane's eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched at the
mention of Saffron. She felt as if a small ball of fire had
ignited in her belly when she heard the unspoken doubt in
Ranma's voice. Always confident Ranma had doubts? Her man
needed reassurance! She pushed him away and looked over her
shoulder into his eyes. She blazed with a shocking
intensity. "Yes! Yes, we will!" she snarled.
*****Ranma stepped back, surprised by her fierceness.
*****"We. Will. Never! Fail. As long as we have each other.
I'm ready! I'm going to try again!" Akane turned back to the
fire and drew a very long breath. Staring wide eyed into the
coals at the base of the flames she slowly raised her hands
above her head. She paused a moment and then explosively
barked out three words: "Katchu! Tenshin! Amaguriken!" While
the sound of the words still echoed among the trees her
hands began to flash down into the flames of the campfire
and back up above her head then back into the flames moving
far too rapidly to see clearly. This went on for perhaps
three seconds. She suddenly stopped with her arms extended
above her head, again.
*****A broad grin grew on Ranma's lips as Akane's head fell
back so she could see the dozen hot chestnuts clenched in
her fists. "Ha!" she shouted triumphantly as she tossed the
chestnuts back into the fire and leaped to her feet. "Ha!"
she shouted again as she thrust her clenched fists toward
the sky. Savoring the moment, her thoughts ran like fire
through her mind, 'Too slow. Strong, but too slow, they
said. Well, I'm not slow, anymore. Not anymore!' "HA!"
*****"Perfect, Akane-san! You did it perfectly."
*****She spun and pounced on him, knocking him down onto his
back. Kneeling over his chest she bent down until her eyes
were only a few inches from his. Her soft, slightly hoarse
voice sounded, he noted nervously, like the rumbling purr of
a contented jungle cat. "We will _never_ fail as long as we
believe in each other, Ranma-kun. Believe it! I do."
*****Ranma stared at her flushed, sweaty, soot stained face
and into her wide open, glistening eyes. "I swear, Akane
Tendo, you are the most beautiful woman on Earth."
*****With a smug grin and a throaty chuckle she leaned even
closer to him. "Naturally," she purred as she pressed her
lips to his.
* * *
*****Several miles away, in another part of the same forest,
a powerfully built young man carrying a very large backpack
with an umbrella strapped to the top struggled to plow
through a dense thicket of thorn bushes. "How could he let
this happen? I can't believe Mister Tendo let Ranma and
Akane go on a training trip by themselves! Ranma must have
tricked him, somehow. 'It will give them a chance to get
over the wedding disaster' is nonsense! Akane should be
celebrating! She was saved from Saotome! Ranma is alone in
the woods with Akane! Forgive me, Akari-chan, but I have to
save Akane from him!"
*****Grunting in pain he plucked some more thorns out.
"Ranma Saotome, what are you doing to Akane! If you touch
her, I'll kill you, you bastard!" He stopped and looked
around in bafflement. "Where in the world am I, now? This is
all your fault, Ranma! You're going to pay for this!"
*****His shouts echoed through the trees, but didn't reach
the pair by the fire. Truth to tell, they probably wouldn't
have heard him even if he stood at the edge of their
clearing. "I'm going to punish you, Ranma Saotome! Err...
just as soon as I find you, anyway." Grunting in pain the
distraught young man charged back into the thorn bushes in a
new direction. "I'm going to punish you, Ranma, and then
Akane will be free!"
- = O = - - = O = -
Author's afterword/pointless nattering/whatever:
*****At some point one or
more of you, the kindly readers, are certain to ask
something on the order of: "Why the (*^(*&^ are Ranma and
Akane acting so oddly?" The reason is all is not what it
seems to be. There are unknown forces at work in the
universe bending the flow of time and space in ways mere
mortals are not meant to fathom. Well, no. It's actually a
lot simpler than that.
*****What has gone before: everything... just as you saw it
in the Ranma 1/2 Manga and Anime. I should say that I'm much
more familiar with the Anime version of Ranma 1/2 and so I
am mostly using that continuity with some assistance from
the Manga. This version of Ranma-onna has red hair, for
example.
*****Why the difference in the main characters? Well, it
seems that neither Ranma nor Akane were the least bit
interested in being forced to marry when they first met.
Truth to tell, they were both resolute and unwavering in
their determination not to be coerced into _anything_ they
didn't freely choose for themselves. Because of the kindly
intervention of a friend of Akane's family early in their
relationship, they had a chance to reveal this determination
to each other and also to take a big risk. The risk was to
tell each other the truth and to try to get the other to
help. In short, they had a chance to risk friendship with
each other. They took the chance and became friends.
*****Together, Ranma and Akane formulated a plan. They would
act as if they couldn't stand each other in front of their
fathers and keep up the act until their fathers backed off
on the marriage demand. Naturally, they would have to keep
their plan secret from everyone, but it shouldn't have been
necessary to do this for very long. After all, how stubborn
could their loving fathers be? In the beginning, the act was
quite easy. Although they were both attracted to each other
from the beginning, they both also carried a lot of
resentment about many of the things that had been happening
to them in their lives. It was only necessary to direct that
resentment at each other and act it out. To sustain their
friendship, it was also necessary for them to evolve ways to
formally appologize to each other, and mean it; as well as
ways to formally forgive each other, and mean it.
*****The shocking arrival of a certain Chinese Amazon bent
on murdering Ranma-onna was the first, nearly fatal, strain
on their relationship. After weathering that crisis, they
began telling each other everything they could think of so
that any future surprises would be easier to handle. In
short, by necessity they tried to have no secrets at all
from each other. This still didn't protect them from
shocking arrivals, though. It seemed their fathers were
keeping many secrets from them, as well. Indeed, every
single person in this story seems to have secrets.
*****In addition, the secret of the act they were putting on
gained more and more inertia the longer it lasted. They
found themselves trapped into keeping the secret because
they had so much to loose if it was revealed. Again and
again they were forced into very weird and often dangerous
situations because of the many interlocking secrets that
were being kept, the foremost being the truth about their
masquerade. Also, again and again, the deciding factor in
winning/surviving each situation was their ultimate trust in
each other.
*****Behind the masks they usually wore they were both going
through some major changes. Ranma was Akane's first male
friend and he quickly became her closest friend. Akane was
Ranma's first true friend of any sort (Ukyou was more of a
playmate, after all.), and in fact she taught him much of
what he learned of how to _be_ a friend. They secretly
encouraged and supported each other, and each helped the
other in every way they could. In time they became close...
very, very close.
*****This story, then, is my (possibly feeble) attempt to
resolve this Gordian knot of a tale, and also have a little
fun at the same time. I keep asking myself: what _are_ the
really big secrets that seem to underlie this whole saga? Is
it possible that, just like an iceberg, seven-eighths of the
_real_ story is lurking under the surface? Am I a conspiracy
buff? You bet I am!
*****I've told most of this before in (I like to think) a
much more entertaining fashion in my story: "The Masks We
Must Wear." If any of you kindly readers would like to read
it, you can find it at David Eddy's web site (Thanks Dave!)
at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8341/
It's also in the r.a.a.c archive and you can get it through
ftp. The file name is:
ranma.the-masks-we-must-wear.gz
Or you can request it directly from me at rbarnes@moscow.com
*****Please don't spam the FFML by requesting it through the
mailing list. I cherish the FFML and I don't like spam
because I think it could possibly endanger the existance of
the mailing list. I don't respond to any requests for
stories through the list if that's all that's in the
message, and I urge others to do the same.