(Finally fixed up this one. C&C would be nice. ^_^)

Private Bet #3-Shadow�s Stone(Rewrite)
by Shade

Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to whoever owns them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 1:Be He Ever So Blind That He Could Not See

�Amateurs.� Shadow was disappointed by the stones
cast so far, this was hardly going to be a challenge for him.

�I suppose you can do better?� The Bard was still
peeved at the treatment his neck had received from 
the arrogant cynic 

A gesture from within the folds of Shadow�s cloak
dissolved the view of the last entry.

�Remember the rules! No blatant darkfics!� 

�Would I do such a thing?�

�In a heartbeat.�

�Just watch.� A small flick of Shadow�s wrist
sent the marble-sized pebble into the still waters.

�Hah! you only got one ripple!�

�One is all I need.�

~~~~~~~~
Eternal Night -A Private Bet entry
by Shade

1a: Genma no Baka!

A distortion briefly shifted .0000517 cubic
inches of relative space-time.....

A horrifying cry of pure agony.....

Genma knew something was very wrong the
 moment he drew back the cover to the pit.
 
It was suddenly quiet inside....too quiet......

After a few moments his eyes adjusted to the lack
of lighting, despite  the cover being off the bottom
of the crude hole was still not illuminated.
Then Genma saw what had happened 
to his son, the damage that he had 
inadvertently inflicted on his sole heir.

Nodoka was going to kill him.

�RANMA???!!! NO!!!!!!!�
~~~~~~

�Ugh....u...h....� The Bard had turned a
faint shade of green after seeing what
Shadow�s change had done and was now
making a heroic effort not to be very, very
sick all over the pool.

�This had better be good Shadow, inflicting 
something like that on Ranma ..�

�Relax, you�re too uptight Rowan. You seem to
forget that my sphere of influence is darkness 
and conflict, Ranma is definitely going to be 
heavily involved with both in this time-line.�

�We shall see....�

�Trust me. I know exactly what I�m doing.�

�That�s what I�m afraid of.�

~~~~~~~

At the hospital Doctor Mizuno broke the bad news to Genma.

�BLIND?!?!!!!!?!?!?!!�

�Yes, I�m afraid that the damage to his 
optic nerves was too severe, although
the cosmetic surgery will probably repair
his eyes the boy�s vision is permanently gone.
He�s lucky to be alive all things considered, 
I�ve never seen such a vicious animal attack
on a human body in all my years practicing 
medicine. Have you any idea of how such a 
thing could have happened?� She gave him a 
direct stare, suspecting that this weasely man 
knew more then he was letting on.

�Uhh...no..I just found him like that
and brought him straight here.� Genma sweated,
he didn�t think that a mere doctor(and a woman at that)
would understand the importance of the Art or the
sacrifices involved. But this was unacceptable, Ranma
would never be able to become the world�s greatest 
martial artist with a disability like this! 

�Surely you can do something can�t you? He has a duty
to carry on the Saotome School of Anything Goes School 
of Martial Arts! You�re a doctor, fix him!!�

�MR.SAOTOME!!! THIS IS YOUR SON WE ARE
TALKING ABOUT HERE!!!! NOT SOME TOY 
THAT CAN BE PUT BACK TOGETHER AFTER 
YOU BREAK IT!!!!! WHAT KIND OF A FATHER 
ARE YOU?!!!� With Mrs. Mizuno being only a normal
human it was rather amazing to see her do a Flaming 
Demon Head impression that Soun would envy at the 
now cowering Genma.

�I�m sorry, I�m sorry, I�m SORRY!!!� 

No matter what else could be said of Genma Saotome,
he sure knew how to grovel.

�.....You sir, are simply pathetic.�

~~~~~~~~~~~

In the intensive care ward 8 year old Ranma
Saotome was crying. His father had told him
that crying was weak and unmanly, but that
didn�t matter anymore. After all he couldn�t
even see his own tears anymore and if there
were no tears then he wasn�t crying. 

His last memory was of being tossed into
the dark pit with the hungry eyes. Then the
sharp scratches, a white-hot pain in his eyes 
and after that....nothing. 

He had awoken in this strange place. 
It smelled kinda like that nice old lady�s 
home he and pop had been living next to, 
waxy clean with a faint tinge of medicine
in the air. Without his eyes Ranma had 
been forced to explore with his other senses,
his hands told him he was in a bed, with 
bandages around his eyes and on his
body. He could hear a steady roaring in the
background as the hospital�s staff attended 
to the multitude of patients.

 And now he could hear the footsteps
 of someone coming towards him.

�Who�s there?!�  Ranma asked, quelling 
the slight quaver in his voice.

�A martial artist never shows fear�, the 
lesson had been drilled into him relentlessly 
and it was strangely comforting right now.

�hello.� It was a girl�s voice, Ranma could
barely make her words out.

�Who are you?�  

�My name�s Ami, Ami Mizuno. 

�....I�m Ranma...Ranma Saotome.�

�You want to be friends?�

�Sure.�

~~~~~~~~~

-A few weeks later

�Hahahaha! I beat you again Achan!

�I�ll get you Ran-kun!�

And thus a beautiful friendship was born, with 
Ranma learning to take life more seriously and
Ami learning to relax and let her cares go....

Alas, this happy time was not to last.

~~~~~~~~~~~
-A couple months later

�Bye bye Achan.�

{Why do I always have to leave my friends behind?}

Ranma did his best to hide how much this departure hurt him, 
he wouldn�t shame his friend by breaking down crying like a 
little kid. But it hurt so much, the next few nights would be ones 
with damp pillows and cold sheets......

�Bye Ran-kun.�

She was glad her friend couldn�t see her tears,
this was hard enough already.

Though she had only known him for a few months Ami
knew she would never forget her special friend. Ranma 
had shown her a whole new side to life that she had never 
knew existed, for the first time Ami had played with someone
in her age group and enjoyed it. She�d learned how to have fun 
for the sake of having fun instead of always using it as a learning tool. 
Ran-kun had become her pet name for the both brash and shy boy that
had stolen her heart with his openness and his sincerity. He was simply 
so innocent, always happy to just be with her even if it was just to talk 
or simply sit next to each other in enjoy each other�s company in silence.

{I hope to see you again someday.....Ran-kun.}
~~~~~~~~~

�If only she knew....�

�Don�t spoil it Bard.� Shadow gave him a warning glance.

�Sorry.�

~~~~~~~~~

*Smack* 

The sound of flesh striking flesh was unnaturally loud 
in the normally peaceful forest.

�Oh the shame!!! Why am I cursed with 
such a weak good for nothing son!? WHY?!�

*Slash* 

The tiny drops of crimson that fell were absorbed 
by the dry ground leaving no trace of their existence.

�Papa that hurts!� A weakening voice cried out to no avail.

*Whack*  A finger cracked as the joint bent in a 
direction it was not meant to go.

�Quiet you weakling, a real man can deal with a little pain!�

Ranma bit on his tongue in order to prevent the 
scream that threatened to escape his lips as he 
was hit by another one of those strange vacuum
blades his Father was throwing at him. He couldn�t
hear them, since they weren�t solid he didn�t feel 
the air that would normally forewarn of such an 
attack pushing against his skin. Ranma�s lack of
sight had never frustated him as much as it did now.

�These techniques will make you stronger.
 Now get up and try again! �

Slowly the bruised and bleeding 
pigtailed boy struggled to his feet.
The first dark seeds of bitterness were 
beginning to implant themselves within 
a heart broken time and again by friends 
lost and betrayals most foul. If something was 
not done soon the poisonous flower of hate 
would soon gain root and pervert Ranma�s 
shining heart forever....

A brutal blow to the ribs sent him back down, 
this time unconsciousness mercifully claimed the child.

�Get up!�

*KICK*
~~~~~~~~~~~

Several dozen battle auras lit up the 
dusky plain as the spectaters watched
Genma beat up his boy�s limp body.

A lot of the beings gathered here were either
directly or indirectly linked to protecting children. 
Needless to say, they were NOT happy about this.

�That�s it, he dies!� A healer cried out.

A loud chorus of agreement came from the crowd.

�Tear him limb from limb!!!� suggested a pacifist.

�Burn him!!!� This came from a naiad.

�Lock him up in a room with the Samurai Showdown dub!�

The suggestion came from an anonymous voice in the restless crowd.

Everyone shuddered at that one.

Some fates are even worse then death.
~~~~~~~~~~

�I�m old!! Take my son instead!!!�

Morrigan looked at the old fool before
her and sighed in disgust, not even she
would stoop so low as to take one 
so......pathetic. The boy on the other
hand, now he had potential.

�Very well, your son for your wretched life.�
 Her crimson nails pinched harshly on Genma�s exposed jugular.
�I will come for him when he reaches his prime.�
The succubus slowly licked her lips as she imagined
 how tasty the �beef� would be once it was properly aged. 

 �Now begone from my sight mortal before I change my mind.�

Genma tore out of the castle like a bat out of Hell, vowing to 
never again tamper with the forces of darkness in his quest to 
make Ranma the ultimate martial artist.
~~~~~~~~~~

�So in exchange for his immortal soul I get the 
chowmein, eggrolls, and TWO fortune cookies?

�Yes.� Surely no mortal was this stupid.

�It�s a deal!�

Then again, maybe he was.

Mara was ecstatic, at this rate she�d 
make demoness first class in no time.
This was simply too easy.

{Absolutely nothing can go wrong!}

As an agent of Chaos and Misfortune she really
should have known better.
~~~~~~~~

�He�ll be perfect for Yohko when she�s grown.�

�Is it agreed then? Your daughter will be 
engaged to my son Ranma.�

{Finally boy, you�re becoming useful.}

Two innocent children played happily in the grass, 
unaware and uncaring of the plots and plans for 
the future hatching in the house behind them.

Each new friendship he made Ranma treasured, they were 
all that kept him from succumbing to the bitterness
dwelling within the farthest recesses of his much abused heart.
Even though the pain of leaving them behind was great, the sheer 
joy he felt whenever he was with the other kids was worth it.

Yohko Mano smiled cheerfully at her new playmate. 
The Saotome charm struck again and young 
Ranma gained yet another ally.
~~~~~~~

�Engage him to my Ayohko. I�ll pay double what she did!�

�Sold!!!�

{Heh, this is too easy. I should do it more often.}
~~~~~~~

�Oooo, he�s cute.�

�He�s a bargain for just that bottle of sake.�

�...okay!�

{Hah, what a sucker. Foreigners are so gullible. After
all what were the chances of this girl ever showing 
up in Japan again?}

A wiser man would have been warned 
by the ominous rumble of thunder that
followed that thought. 
~~~~~~~~~

�......This Genma is a complete and utter moron.�
The Bard made the understatement of the year.

�He doesn�t actually believe he�s going to get
away with all of that does he?!�

�C�mon Shadow, do something about this!�

�Wait for it.�

~~~~~~~~~~

�Who are you?�

Genma looked suspiciously at this
stranger who claimed to be a Shao Lin Priest.  
In his experience priests were to be avoided at 
all costs since they tended to disagree with the 
Genma Saotome philosophy. This consisted
of theft, gluttony, and enough sake to kill
an elephant.....twice. 

�My name is Kaine and I am here to help.�
~~~~~~
-A couple months down the road

Kaine smiled upon his young pupil, the lessons 
had purged much of the stagnant bitterness from 
the boy�s soul. Ranma had been tempered by the 
fires of adversity and survived with his conscience intact.
He�d never have believed it if he hadn�t seen it with his own eyes, 
the boy was a sponge who absorbed everything he was shown 
and made them part of him.The wise monk knew that there was 
nothing more he needed to teach the little rascal, already Ranma was 
displaying the first hints of the mastery he would eventually attain 
after years of training.

But there was one last thing he could help with......

�I can not restore your son�s lost sight, but I have a 
friend who may be able to show him the Warrior�s Vision.�

�Who is he and where do I find him?!� Genma didn�t even bother 
asking what this technique was, if it could make Ranma a 
better fighter then no sacrifice the boy had to make was too great. 

�His name is Yosho, he is the priest of the Masaki Shrine.�
~~~~~~
-Masaki Shrine

�Trying to take something that doesn�t belong to you?�

Genma swallowed nervously as he froze in mid theft.

Yosho�s glasses flashed as a stray beam of 
sunlight struck at just the right angle.

The overweight fool got the feeling that he and his 
son were going to be staying here awhile, whether 
they wanted to or not.

For once in his life, Genma was right.
~~~~~~~~

�Who are you?� Ranma was curious about this presence,
Yosho�s lessons had begun to sharpen his already impressive 
ability to sense Ki and ever since Ranma had arrived he�d 
been picking up this strange aura at the edges of his perception.

{You can sense me?!} Ryoko�s astral jaw dropped.

�You feel real nice.�

The astral projection facefaulted as this new 
shock to her system proved too much for her.

The most feared and dastardly space pirate in the quadrant 
was being called....nice?!!

A lonely imprisoned being several hundred years old
was up against an adorable 10 year old pigtailed boy.

Ryoko never stood a chance.

*$*$*$*$*

"Hope springs eternal in the Human breast: 
Man never is, but always to be blest."

-Alexander Pope

Readers and listeners praise my books;
You swear they're worse then beginner's.
Who cares? I always plan my dinners
To please the diners, not the cooks.

-Martial

In Difficult Ground, Keep moving. 
In Pressed Ground, Make stratagems.
In Death Ground, Fight.

-Sun Tzu "The Art of War"

The Private Bets now have an archive!

Rowan's Sanctuary http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/Ranma_Tenchi/main.html
(It's rough but it's up!)


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