On Thu, 30 Mar 2000 00:07:25 -0500 "matthew lewis"
<mal@bulldog.georgetown.edu> writes:
"Ranma Saotome, I hereby challenge you to a battle of
honor, your
cowardly ways shall come to light as my mighty and swift justice
comes
upon you. Meet me tomorrow on the field of battle as I show you the
might
of a true samurai of noble blood. I shall meet your challenge with
steel
and a noble heart. Come prepared. Yours truly, Tatewaki Kuno, the
True
Battosai of Furinkan High."
Honestly, I don't think that Kuno would take another's
nickname. He's always been to arrogant to do it. It would be like
a ball
player calling himself the sultan of swat 2. He'd probably call
himself a
hitokiri (sp?) instead.
I'm not sure I'll even include the existence of the Hitokiri yet. The
war did take place in China after all, the group Ranma fought with might
not have a name at all. That's one of the reasons Kuno chose Battosai
instead. Besides, even Kuno can have a hero. It's suggested later on that
he thinks of himself as equal if not superior to Battosai, thus calling
himself the 'True' Battosai.
"Ranma, he's going to use a real sword! One of you will be
killed!"
gasped Nabiki with a horrified look on her face.
Ranma blinked and looked at her. "Oro?" He took the letter
back
and read
it again. "So it seems, don't worry Nabiki, I cannot kill him."
seems; don't
"What?" said Akane in confusion. "You'll get yourself
killed!
Kuno might
not be much of a fighter, but his kendo skills are exceptional.
Especially when facing a male opponent!"
"I fought in a war where the weapons were blades and fists
Tendo,
I do
Shouldn't this be at least Tendo-san if he's not using her
first
name. For that matter, since this is a Kenshin fusion, Tendo-dono
would be
good.
I thought about using the Japanese, San, Kun, Donno and such. In the
end I decided against using them. I just like the way the story flows
better without them. The same kind of respect can be sensed for English
readers by using the last name of the person he's speaking with. Soun
tends to do the same thing with Ranma.
know my way around a battle such as this," replied Ranma simply.
"What's
with this Battosai thing anyway?"
Akane gasped in shock and looked at the boy oddly. "You
killed during
the war?"
"That is what one does in a war Akane, I have a lot of
blood on my
hands," replied the boy simply.
This, along with Ranma's later speech about cowardice, his
actually dueling, and the way he talks about not killing again tend
to
convey the impression that Ranma's oath was taken more out of
vainglory or
a sense he ought to do that than out of regret. He doesn't display
any
regret or much maturity about it. Remember, Kenshin has conceded
fights
before they started and was willing to be arrested or killed rather
than
fight (at least until Kyoto). Ranma lacks that sense his life isn't
worth
saving or the need for redemption. Of course, this may be what you
want to
do. Ranma's growth to understanding what he has done and why he
would want
to keep his oath would be a good thread through the story.
Ranma does have his own reasons for making the oath. I haven't gone into
them yet though. As for conceding fights, you have to Remeber that this
is Ranma we're talking about here after all. He's a lot more mature, and
most of his personality is Kenshin now; but he's still Ranma deep down.
I'm still learning to write Kenshin, so when I hit a place I'm uncertain
about I fall back on Ranma's personality. This coupled with the fact that
I'm using the Characters from Ranma 1/2 helps things along. Most of the
really drastic changes that will make this more Kenshin esque haven't
happened/been explained yet.
"Tell me, what is this True Battosai nonsense Tatewaki is
going on
about?" repeated Ranma.
"You of all people should know that, you said you met this
Battosai
character," replied Nabiki.
"Oro?" said Ranma as he blinked at them.
Akane sighed, "Kuno thinks of himself as a samurai, a
noble. So
naturally when a real samurai becomes a legend in a war like that
he
makes him his hero."
"He thinks of Battosai as a hero?" said Ranma in
confusion.
Akane seemed quite miffed at this insinuation. "Battosai
was a hero,
people still talk about him today when they hear about him fighting
against the Musk during the war."
I always got the impression that to the common people, the
battosai was not a hero, but a dark and scary character that might
have
done good, but is better off gone.
Well, this is a martial artist family, they would be a little more
excepting of someone like Battosai. A boy who wishes to be a samurai
would probably think along those lines as well. I haven't gone into what
most of the people think about 'Battosai'. I doubt they'd be afraid of
someone like him since he fought in a foreign war for the ideals of
Japan. [Or so it seemed.] He'd probably get a hero's welcome, he wasn't
exactly a butcher in their own back yard as Kenshin was. I would think
the public would have a high opinion of someone like Ranma; even if they
didn't exactly want him around anymore deep down.
Ranma seemed a little upset by this. "I always thought he
was the
kind
of guy who faded away and never made it into the history books. A
shadow
assassin, who was never really known," he looked oddly thoughtful
for a
moment. "Hero huh? Weird."
"Well, normally I suppose he would, but he was a major
player in an
important war, and also one of a very few Japanese nationals
involved
with it." Nabiki shrugged her shoulders and went back to her bag of
chips. "I guess it's just circumstance."
"Quite so," agreed Ranma as he went back to studying the
letter. "But
what to do about this fool?"
I'm assuming Ranma is supposed to be arrogant, like Kuno in
his
own way? That goes well with his attitude about killing and his
oath.
As I said before, he is Ranma after all. His attitude should become more
like Kenshin as the story progresses though.
<snip>
"You have insulted my honor, and interfered with my sacred
battle
with
Akane Tendo," replied Kuno angrily.
"These are killing offences?" said Ranma in a questioning
voice.
"I would choose the honorable path, such is the way of a
samurai,"
replied Kuno with a shrug. "My honor must be avenged."
"The one you chose to name yourself after, never believed
that.
There is
no justice in killing over such foolishness. Besides, I never
stopped you
>from facing her; I merely pointed out that it was dishonorable to
have
others attack her before you merely to wear her down. Such an act
is
cowardly." Ranma met his gaze coolly and smiled. "So let's just
forget
This fits with the character you've shown so far. Taking
the form
of trying to defuse the situation, but actually fanning the flames
to a
fight (to mix metaphors)
I thought it seemed a little appropriate.
this all right?"
"I cannot allow this transgression to continue, have at
thee!" roared
Kuno as he charged forward and drew his blade. Ranma merely
sidestepped
the strike and stepped away from him as he staggered for a moment
after
missing his strike. "You have good technique, but your killing
power is
extremely lacking, I bet you've never taken a life before have
you?"
"So, you say my sword ki is low?" replied Kuno with a
chuckle,
tell me
knave how would one such as yourself know of such things.
Ranma merely smiled and got into a low stance with his
hand on
the hilt
of his sword. Kuno froze in place with a look of terror crossing
his
features as he simply gaped in awe at the strange boy before him.
"This
is... it is impossible! No man could be stronger than I with the
blade!
It is not possible to exceed perfection!"
You might want to give a little more explanation that Kuno
is
feeling Ranma's battle aura.
That's a good idea, I wasn't really satisfied with this scene when I
went back and read it again.
Ranma smiled at this; "There is no such thing as
perfection in battle
fool. There is always a way to defeat even the strongest of
opponents, it
is one of many hard lessons I had to learn in my life."
He's remarkably arrogant for one who learned that lesson.
Kuno seemed to snap out of his trance and pulled the blade
up right
before charging again. "You speak wisely; however, I shall not lose
today!" He rushed forward sending the blade towards Ranma hundreds
of
times in the space of a few seconds. "As with the mighty Battosai
of
Japan, my kendo is unrivaled!"
Ranma ran backwards avoiding the strikes easily with a
firm look
on his
face. "The one you call Battosai does not use kendo, he uses Hiten
Mitsurugi style Batojitsu."
Not that Ranma intends to keep it a secret. Kind of a
chatty
fight, isn't this?
Ranma's fighting Kuno, Kuno talks a lot. It's a plot device more than
anything else. Kenshin also gave this away to the false Battosai in RK
cannon. Kuno didn't realize his hints being Kuno and wasn't smart enough
to figure out that Ranma is Battosai. Kenshin was never secretive about
his art and what it was, he just refused to teach it.
Kuno blinked in shock and staggered for a moment, just
long
enough for
Ranma to jump comfortably out of range. "How do you know of such
things?
Do you take me for a fool! Everyone knows that kendo is the
strongest art
of Japan! Only Sumo Wrestling comes close to it's mighty power!
What else
would the great hero of Japan use against her enemies?" He charged
again
bringing his sword down in a wide arc towards Ranma.
The ponytailed martial artist merely stepped back as his
hand flew to
the hilt of his sword. He thrust out in an upward cutting motion
and
Kuno's blade was stopped cold and thrown up leaving his belly open
to
attack. Ranma wasted no opportunity to strike and Kuno fell to his
knees
clutching his wound.
"So, this is how it ends, a noble death for one such as I.
I am
pleased
to have died in battle against a fellow samurai," Kuno coughed and
fell
forward onto the ground as his belly burned in pain.
"You've obviously never had a sword wound before, you
aren't dead
fool.
I cannot kill, not ever again," Ranma was standing with his sword
draw at
his side with his back turned towards Kuno in a rather dramatic
pose.
You know, Ranma reminds of Saitoh more than Kenshin. He's
got the
attitude and willingness to pound his superiority into those that
don't
listen. Except Saitoh has that maturity and acceptance of his path.
Really? I always thought of Saitou as more like Taro than anyone else.
[Hint hint]
"What?" Kuno reached down to his stomach and felt the
blow. It
was badly
bruised, but there was no cut. He coughed again and struggled to
rise to
his feet only to fall again as he turned to see Ranma placing his
sword
back in the scabbard. He gasped as he saw the blade just before
Ranma
finished sheathing it "A Sakabato?"
"Yes, a reversed blade. I swore I would not kill once the
battles
ended
in China. I will only use my sword to protect those who need it.
Akane
But I provoke people into fights and call them fools.
Ranma is protecting Akane, even if she doesn't want him too. He intends
to show Kuno the error of his ways in basically the only way the boy
seems to understand anything. Using his warped sense of Bushido against
him.
Cannon Ranma isn't near as smart as Kenshin Ranma and never thought much
of this angle. Kuno doesn't listen well anyway and Ranma using the kind
of speech he's using would probably sit better with him. Much more than
Ranma's macho/sloppy speech.
Tendo does not need your idle threats or your love, go and find
another
passion for your heart," the boy turned away and started walking
off into
the darkness as the sun finally fell, leaving the night sky behind.
"China? Battles?" he pushed the thoughts aside for the
time being. "I
cannot give up my love for her, it shall burn eternal!"
Ranma turned back and glanced at him with an odd look on
his
face. "So
be it, but I suggest you find another way to prove your affections
to
her."
Kuno finally found the strength to rise to his feet as he
watched the
boy walk away. He looked down at his blade and noticed a chip fall
away
where the Sakabato had struck it. "A very strange man indeed." He
fell to
quiet musings and put the blade away before walking towards his
home.
Ranma entered the Tendo house and smiled as Kasumi walked
out of the
Kitchen with a pan in her hands. "Oh, Ranma! You're just in time
for
dinner!"
"Oh good," said the boy pleasantly. He sat down with the
family and
looked around when he noticed no one had started eating yet. "Oro?"
I'm getting much better at my use of 'Oro', I can tell cause no one's
corrected me in a while. ; )
"Well?" said Nabiki excitedly; there was a hint of
nervousness in her
voice.
"Well what?" asked Ranma seemingly oblivious.
"What happened dolt?" screamed Akane in frustration as she
slammed her
fists on the table cracking it down the middle.
Akane's getting really one-sided here. I can understand
that she
may not be a main character in this story, but there has to be more
to her
than a bundle of anger to be a foil for other's tolerance and
level-headedness. Maybe it only bothers me because it's such a
cliche.
Akane's grasping at straws trying to stay angry at Ranma. He hasn't
insulted her and is very polite. Mostly a pretty likeable guy who's a
little muddled and arrogant at times.
Here she's frustrated because Ranma is avoiding the conversation and she
knows it. They all are [a little] worried about what happened to Kuno
since Ranma came out OK. None of them know about the Sakabatou after all.
"Saotome, I'm not going to get a call from the police
about this
later
am I?" asked Soun with a slightly worried tone.
"Police? About what?" asked Ranma in confusion.
"Ohmygod! He killed Kuno!" screeched Nabiki.
"You bastard," said Kasumi sweetly. Everyone looked at her
and she
blushed.
This made me smile.
I've always wanted to use this line.
"Kuno is fine," replied Ranma simply as he continued to
give Kasumi a
slightly odd stare. "Well, not really, but he isn't dead at any
rate."
"That is a relief to hear," said Soun a little more
relaxed. The
family
settled down for the evening after that and enjoyed themselves.
After the meal was over, Ranma stood up and grabbed some
of the
dishes
off the table. "I'll help you with this Kasumi."
"Oh, don't worry about it Ranma, I can handle it," she
said sweetly.
"I insist, I don't want to be a dead weight around here,"
replied the
boy firmly.
"Oh, all right, you can help dry them off. How's that?"
Ranma
nodded at
her suggestion and smiled.
"That pervert had better stop hitting on my sister,"
growled Akane
angrily as she cracked the table under her grip.
"Why not? If you don't like him what's wrong with Kasumi
taking him
instead? Did it ever occur to you that he might want to earn his
keep
around here?" replied Nabiki with a small smile on her lips.
"No," snapped Akane as a huge blush crossed her face.
The next morning Ranma whistled to himself as he walked
towards
Furinkan
High in his brand new school uniform. "I hate new clothes, the
fabric is
all itchy." He scratched at his back lazily and stayed fairly close
to
Akane as she walked despite repeated attempts by her to move away
from
him.
"Aren't you gone yet?" she snorted lazily. "Stop following
me!"
"I said I'd give it a month and that's what I meant,"
replied Ranma
dryly as he put his hands behind his head and looked away from her.
"Don't worry, you've only got three and a half more weeks to put up
with
me."
Akane seemed to turn to stone on the spot as a single tear
fell
down her
face. "Three weeks?"
Um.... I assume there's going to be an explanation about
this later?
It was explained in part 2; Ranma was going to leave to prevent the
forcing of himself on one of the girls and Soun begged him to stay,
asking that he give the engagement one month before he left. He agreed to
the terms.
"It's not that bad!" snapped Ranma before he walked away
in a huff.
Once they reached the school grounds Akane froze as she
saw... no
one.
There were no boys waiting for her in a huge mob. Something had
happened.
She turned towards Ranma and frowned. "What did you do to them?"
"Do?" said Ranma looking completely oblivious once again.
Akane almost jumped when a rose flew from behind a tree
and landed in
her palm. "Eeek!"
Kuno emerged from behind the tree and smiled at her. His
bandages
showed
through his shirt easily and he leaned against his bokuto as he
stepped
towards her. "Akane Tendo, I have revoked my challenge. From this
day
forth, no man shall lay a hand upon the head of Akane Tendo without
facing the wrath of the True Battosai of Furinkan High. This is my
gift
to you," he bowed dramatically and strolled away leaving Akane in
shock.
"That was certainly nice of him, of course it would have
been
better if
he never issued the challenge in the first place, but..." Ranma was
cut
off as Akane became angry again.
"I don't need you to protect me you jerk!" she screamed as
she
charged
and performed a flying sidekick that hit Kuno in the back of his
head and
dropped him like a rock.
"Oy?" said Ranma as he poked at the boy lightly as he lay
on the
ground.
"You ok?" He looked up at Akane and smiled. "A very independant
woman."
Kuno appeared to be crying tears of joy. "Such ferocity.
Surely she
intends to show her spirit and true love for me by continuing our
honorable combat even though I can no longer partake in it with
her!"
Ranma blinked. "Orooro?"
TBC...
Next time: Ranma's secret. Someone finally finds out about
Ranma's
curse, but who? And how will they take it?
Not too bad. Ranma doesn't come as too likeable, but we're
still
setting things up. I look forward to seeing more
Orooro? Ranma, not likable? I thought so... not so much in the fight,
but most people seemed to like him other than Akane; who is actively
trying not to like him right now so he'll go away. He was much closer to
Kenshin in this ch than any of the others I though. Live and learn I
guess.
Ja ne!
Carrotglace@juno.com
Http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/fountain/3203