The Breaking

[Mitchell]

A/N: Not exactly sure where this goes but I was listening to some music and got the inspiration to write this. And yes I know this doesn't exactly conform to the characters personalities of the manga itself but is rather derivative. Its rather rushed, so Ill come back and fix spelling/grammar later. However I thought it was a rather fun scene to write so I'm putting it here.
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“SHUT UP, I’ll be the best, WHATEVER THE COST” the words were screamed, the two powerful masters glaring at each other across the yard, as the shocked onlookers looked on at what could possibly be the breaking of the most powerful school of martial arts that any of them ever seen.

“Stupid boy, don’t you know the cost of the world you’re determined to enter?” Genma growled at his son, currently daughter, his arms crossed over his powerful chest, his eyes glinting from behind his glasses. “The master told you the cost, the price you would pay, your mother…” he shut up, unwilling to say more.

Ranma stepped forward, her customary red shirt and black pants hugging her currently female form, the sword strapped to her waist a stark contrast to her usual fights without weapons. The wave of a slim hand was used to punctuate her point.

“SHUT UP OLD MAN, You know why I have to do this. I will be the best, the best, don’t you understand?! It was our dream” A clenched hand was held up, the slim digits curled into a small fist, wisps of dark golden light flowing from the hand. “Why are you giving up?” there was a note of almost disappointment in the usual brash voice of one of the greatest prodigies of the generation.

“I didn’t think you would go so far, was it really that important to you?” Genma whispered, shamed somewhat, flashes of how far they had gone in the past flashing before his eyes. “But your mother…” he whispered staring at his legacy, the near perfect living weapon he had forged over ten years of training all over the world.

“DON’T YOU BRING HER UP” The growl was almost primal, none of the others watching, almost the entire Nerima wrecking crew were watching. Most of the others save Ku Lon and Happosai were almost paralyzed by the sheer weight of the power of the two martial artists, the crushing spiritual pressure of the two almost physical gods. “I swore to you when I was five years old” Ranma said “That I would be the best, no matter the cost. You think I changed my mind?! I don’t care who I have to crush, who I have to train under. If it gets me to that peak, to challenge the gods themselves, I will walk that path.”

“I forbid it,” Genma growled at his only son, or daughter as the case could be made “Stay here” he almost begged, “You have grown here, you have friends, you have rivals, you can be the best here! Please Ranma” the words were shocking out of the usual gruff master martial artist, and many could not believe what they were hearing.

“Stay here? I do like it here” Ranma admitted, her eyes flicking to his friends, rivals and fiancés “But you know my determination. I will be the best; no matter who I have to move through, second best was never my place.” She held up her fist up, the golden flickers of light beginning to compress over the smooth skin. “There is more for me to learn, to do, to throw myself against. Move” there was no disguising the order in that word, as the two masters of the Saotome school of Martial arts faced each other, the peaking power of their combined spiritual power almost seeming to suffocate the onlookers.

“Ranma…”Akane whispered, her rivals in the other fiancé’s seeming to mirror her words as they stared at the redheaded girl.

“No” Genma crossed his hands, his powerful frame tensing, knowing what would be happening soon.

“If you cannot be moved by words” Ranma growled “Then I will use force. I will be the best.”

“Try me” Genma said, his eyes narrowing as he stared at his legacy.

There was a moment of stillness then an explosion of dirt as the two masters flung each other at each other with superhuman speed, the ground itself tearing at their passage.

There was no long drawn out fight, both being too powerful, too skilled for the fight to last for more than a moment.

The sky seemed for a split second seem to split itself, as the two flaring battle aura’s were throwing shadows of two immense titans onto the sky, the two limbs meeting in an explosion of energy.
There was a crack of lightning, a light racing away from the sky about the Tendo compound, the sky itself blowing huge echoes of thunder as a fierce wind blew back the watching onlookers, and even Soun and Ryouga were forced to take two steps back. Only Happosai and Ku Lon stood unflinching as they watched the contest that would determine the future of the world of martial artists.

The light seemed to fade for a second and then with a quiet thud one figure fell, first to their knees and then to the face.

“It is done.” Happosai whispered to his longtime friend, rival and enemy as they watched the two masters clashed.

“Old friend…” Soun whispered.

The girls stood there, quietly breathing the name of their fiancée as they stared at the aftermath.

“I will be the best,” Ranma whispered, her crackling aura seeming to be drawn back into the slim frame again. “Whoever I have to go through to get there. I swore an oath.” The last words Ranma spoke as a student of the Anything goes school before stepping forward as a master. Her long red hair, resting easily to her waist but still braded in the pigtail flapping into the strong breeze. And then she was walking away, not looking back.

Her hand rested easily on the sword at her waist, the dark wrap around the hilt comfortable for her hand as she disappeared from the Tendo compound, her footfalls not making the slightest bit of sound as the greatest martial artist of the generation walked away from her master, not looking back.

The group stood there silently, after the last visage of Ranma, a distant figure, bounding into the distant night, her red braid flapping into the breeze, a blaze of golden light appearing around her.

“Are you alright old friend?” Soun whispered kneeling next to his friend. Genma looked down at his ripped gee, the ripped fabric a testament ot the power in the blow that had felled him. A angry red impression of a line could be se running down his surprisingly muscled chest.

“I lost ...” he whispered, some unknown emotion in his voice “The boy is gone.” He slumped back from his half sitting position. “I’m sorry Soun.” He said, closing his eyes behind his glasses, unable to face his friend.

“Do not worry old friend” Soun tried to comfort Genma. “He was amazing” there was genuine awe in Soun’s voice as he sat at his friends feet.

“To amazing” Genma snorted, slumping down staring into the clouds above, still crackling with the aftereffects of the massive strikes the two masters had delivered.

“I don’t know what he is going to do now, you heard him, whatever the cost, he will be the best.”
And so Ranma Saotome entered a larger world. Still a frequent sight in Nerima but that was the true breaking point from a life as a martial artist and into the beginnings of a mystic.

AN2: Yeah rather short however I liked it. Yes it borrowed some inspiration from the marathon One Piece reading/watching I went through yesterday however I rather liked it. *shrug*. Possibly might be a crossover in this story or might stay pure Ranma with original elements.

[DCG]

Good start. Reactions from all the cast after this would be rather interesting.

How did ranma get that katana any way?

[frice2000]

Interesting. This was a really nice scene by itself. Without the framing or context or direction I'm not sure where it's going to be going though. As it stands great hook piece. The amount of questions it causes one to ask is really high. I'd put that at the start of your piece and only flashback occasionally to show how whatever happened happened. Nice hook please give me more context, I'm intrigued.

[Mitchell]

DCG: Thanks. Not sure at the moment about how she got the katana, as I mentioned, just the scene struck me, will have to actually map it out, and deal with reactions. More have to work out what the price is that Ranma would have to pay and why Genma was so against it bringing up Nodoka a couple times.

Thanks Frice2000, at the moment its a rather stand alone scene but I might link it with a Ranma/SM idea i was pushing around but might take it an entirely different direction. As I mentioned I have to work out why Ranma wants to join this 'new world' and why Genma is so against it, and how she got the Katana and when exactly in the Ranma timeline this actually happens. However I did like that scene so I will be playing with it.

[frice2000]

Really don't think you need to work on that scene much more. If I read a fic that started with that scene I'd keep reading just to find out whats going on. Like I said that beginning plus brief and obscure flashbacks and you've really got something. As a Ranma/SM cross I see Nodoka dead from a monster attack and Ranma being given the katana while she's doing the whole 'last breath choking on bloodless' dramatic thing. Making that vague and not revealing plot elements would be quite interesting to read indeed.

[Mitchell]

Yeah. Just need to do some polishing of the scene but I meant working on how it relates. The general idea of the SM plot was Ranma was actually fairly well known in the 'mystic community' by the time Usagi met Luna, as a demon hunter/sorcerer(ess). However yeah it might be Nodoka's katana, or might not be.

[Sunshine Temple]

Good start.

Nice emotional byplay.

On a stylistic note, you may want to reduce the use of all caps.

It's impact is diluted the more you use it. If you just have all caps when Ranma says "Don't you bring her up" it'll have more impact than you using all caps 3 preceding times already.

[Mitchell]

Hmm thanks Sunny, that's a good point, Ill probably go change those lines when I get around to doing a proper spelling/grammar pass.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I've noticed more repetition of words and phrases than I'd like in my writing. As an example, you say "The sky seemed for a split second seem to split itself..." That's a double use of 'seem' and 'split', and while you may be using 'split' twice for emphasis, I'd be more comfortable with "For an instant, the sky itself seemed to split..."

[Mitchell]

A fair point, Ill have to polish it up, it was written rather fast.