Ranma ½: A Live Once Lived


Ranma ½ and all its characters are created by Rumiko Takahashi. Credit
should go to her.
Spawn and all its characters are created by Todd McFarlane. Credit
should go to him.

Written by: TydRipper (watcheroftides@hotmail.com)

Credit for the title of this chapter goes to Yuffie Kirasagi (I still
remember that sig!)


			Chapter Three: Anatidaephobia

	The knock came quickly, but not totally unexpected. Nabiki turned 
to Ranma and nodded. Getting the idea, he dissappeared into the back 
room, and out of a window. Sensing it now safe, Nabiki answered the 
door.
	Standing at the door were two faces who she did not expect to see 
for a very long time. Her face lit up with a smile. "Hiroshi. Daisuke. 
To what do I owe this pleasure?", she asked.
	Hiroshi smiled and stepped into the restaurant. "Hello Nabiki. 
Long time, no see."
	Daisuke followed his friends lead. "We're actually here on 
business, not pleasure."
	Nabiki felt suspicious, but never let her smile diminish. "You're 
joking right? With you two, its always pleasure. What kind of business?"
	"Well, theres been a murder last night. And we thought that you 
may know something about it.", Hiroshi said, straight out.
	"Let me guess", Nabiki put her finger up, "Gendo Satoni?"
	Hiroshi nodded, unsurprised.
	Nabiki shrugged. "I was informed about it this morning."
	"By who?"
	"Makaro Sobaku."
	"Makaro Sobaku? As in..."
	"Yeah, his partner in crime.", Nabiki said, "But I had nothing to 
do with the murder."
	"Of course not Nabiki. What do you take us for?"
	"You really want me to answer that?", she said with a wink.
	"So this Makaro Sobaku would probably be our first suspect. 
Nabiki, if it came to court, would you testify?"
	Nabiki thought for a second. "Whats in it for me?", she said, 
knowing full well that with Ranma around, Makaro would most definately 
go to jail, or even worse.
	"You never change, do you?", Daisuke smiled.
	She thought for a moment. "Nope."

	Ranma jumped along the rooftops of the main commercial district. 
He remembered many of the places below as old haunts, and other places 
he had just passed by without giving so much as a second glance. There 
were a few new establishments below, mostly coffee shops or arcades. He 
imagined the local businessmen would come to this area for their lunch 
break.
	After jumping along the rooftops for a short while, he finally 
came to a rest. Making sure not to be seen, he found himself a good 
viewing point atop one of the many Coffee shops in the Commercial 
district. It was then that he felt a familiar, yet annoying presence.

	Tatewaki Kuno stopped dead in his tracks. Since his Kenpo training 
had begun a few years earlier, his senses had become more fine-tuned. He 
could now jump with amazing accuracy, and had started to rely more on 
his fists than his trademark Bokken, but even still, Kendo was a big 
part of his life. 'The Law of the Fist', however, was taking over.
	His senses had told him someone was watching him. Usually he would 
ignore such senses, as he recieved them often, but he also felt a dark 
presence as well. He looked towards the source.

	Ranma's eyes went wide with surprise. He spotted Kuno only moments 
earlier, and began to watch him with curiousity to see what he'd been up 
to in Ranma's absence. But what he did not expect was for Kuno to freeze 
dead in his tracks, and shift his position to look directly at Ranma. No 
looking around, just from point A, to point B.
	What surprised him even more, that even in his business suit, he 
had managed to jump up onto the roof of the building he was spying from, 
and go into a _KENPO_ defensive stance.
	"And who might you be, to gaze upon one such as I?", he asked.
	Ranma, mind still reeling at Kuno's newfound abilities, hazily 
answered. "R..Ranma Saotome."
	Kuno's eyes went wide. He seemed shocked to hear the name, which 
was expected. What he did not expect however, was Kuno's reply.
	"One such as you has no right to use the name of one so honorable 
as Ranma Saotome!"
	Ranma's mind went blank. *Honorable?*, he thought, *This _CANT_ be 
Kuno!*
	"Alas, it is with great honor that he died a warriors death, he 
and the brave soul Mousse, protecting the fair Shampoo from the likes of 
the evil Sorcerer, Kenoru."
	*Kenoru? Who the hell is that?*, he thought.
	"Listen, Kuno. It is Ranma."
	"Silence knave! For the honor of all that loved him, I shall 
avenge in his permenant absence!"
	And with that, Kuno attacked. He started with a quick crescent 
kick, followed by a barrage of various fist techniques.
	Ranma, still confused as ever, managed to block the attacks with 
ease. Moment later, without so much as a punch being issued from Ranma, 
Kuno fell unconscious.
	Now Ranma was _REALLY_ confused. He hadn't punched Kuno at all, 
not even tried to counter his attacks, but here he was, lying 
unconscious, with a bump to the back of his head. Looking around, he 
noticed no other persons nearby, and proceded to try and wake Kuno up. 
He had questions to ask. He was busily shaking the unconscious body of 
Kuno. Of a different Kuno than he had known long ago when a voice 
interupted.
	"Hey!", it yelled, "Who the hell is up there? You'd better move on 
before I call the police!"
	Ranma growled at the thought, he decided with Kuno's newfound 
skills, he could easily move to the ground after he woke up. No doubt he 
would be angry that Ranma had left, but that was to be expected. He 
needed to find out more. Ranma began moving along the rooftops once 
more.

	"Here", Makaro offered a plate of food to the masked man.
	"I am not hungry", he replied.
	Makaro shrugged and stuffed the noodles into his mouth by means of 
chopstick, he busily continued to finish the plate off.
	"When will we return to Uc--... To the restaurant?", he asked.
	"In time, friend", was the reply, "We've got to give her time to 
go to the bank."
	"Why do you not just accompany her to the bank and withdraw the 
money? It would save you the money of my accompaniment."
	"Oh, but I enjoy your company. And we just don't work like that."
	The man nodded. "I don't deal with your kind often, I usually work 
for individuals. Not organizations."
	"Well, I'm surprised. The Yakuza could make you a rich man with 
your talents. I'm surprised you're not rich already."
	"I have no need for money."
	"But you charge a bundle. Just what do you do with the money 
anyways?"
	"That is not your concern. Your concern is lies only on whether or 
not I have completed the task."
	Makaro shrugged as he downed more noodles. "Fine, if you want to 
be like that."
	The masked man mentally stroked the scar riddling the side of his 
face as he focused his vision to lie on the man in front of him. Since 
they had first met, he had immediately disliked him. He disliked all of 
his kind, even the individual clients. He even disliked himself, but he 
was not a man anymore, not a man of honor. Not even half a man. He had 
lost that five years earlier.

	The clock hit twelve-thirty and Ryoga clapped his hands. The class 
in the dojo before him immediately stopped sparring and bowed in Ryoga's 
direction. He nodded, and let them all leave. He turned around to look 
at Soun, who had apparently stepped outside a few moments earlier to sit 
and stare at the Koi pond. He joined him outside.
	"Brings back memories, doesn't it?", he asked.
	Soun nodded, aparently dazed by the view. Ryoga knew something had 
been bothering Soun all morning, but had never worked up the courage to 
ask. He decided it was best to get him speaking, before asking.
	"You remember when Ranma and I would fight, and it would always 
end up with one, or both of us ending up in the koi pond? If it was me, 
then Akane would come out and knock Ranma in for picking on 'P-Chan'." 
Ryoga chuckled at the memory. Still recieving no response from Soun. He 
was about to try again when Soun began to speak.
	"Ryoga, my boy.", he began, not making eye contact. "You know I 
respect the decision you and Akane made to get married and have 
children, right?"
	Not quite getting the idea, Ryoga nodded. "Yep."
	Soun sighed and began to tremble. "I believe the decision may have 
been a bit premature."
	Ryoga, truly confused could reply with the only thing he could 
think of. "What?"
	"Ryoga, last night I had a visitor."
	"A visitor?"
	He nodded. "Someone we haven't seen in a very long time."
	Ryoga tried to search the back of his mind. He finally came up 
with a name. "No. Not.. Happosai?"
	Soun almost laughed as he shook his head. "Ryoga. It was.. Ranma."
	"Couldn't of been. He was asleep all night, and if he had gotten 
out of his crib, then--"
	"Not that Ranma."
	Ryoga looked confused for a split second before the realization 
hit him. "R.. Ranma? You mean.. _THE_ Ranma? Ranma who died five years 
ago Ranma?"
	Soun nodded.
	Ryoga brain clicked into full overtime.

	"Here it is", Daisuke motioned towards Hiroshi. "Makaro Sobaku. 
Petty theft, Extortion, assault, accused of rape, but the witness never 
showed up at the trial."
	"So, this could be the guy then?", Hiroshi asked, hopefully.
	"If it is, the guy doesn't cover his tracks well. I wonder if he's 
got an alibi."
	"More than likely. These types usually do."
	"Not surprising though. Should we bring him in?"
	"Well, all we've got so far is a suspicion. If this was Gendo's 
partner, then there may be the friendship factor. I think we should 
question him before we bring him in."
	Daisuke nodded his agreement and began to look up for more 
information on Makaro.
	
	Kuno blinked his eyes momentarily at the sun staring down at him. 
He had aparently been unconscious for only a few minutes, at the sun was 
not much farther east than it had been when he had fought with the 
unknown man.
	He sat and and rubbed the back of his head. He silently cursed the 
man for using such cowardly methods then as to take him hand to hand. 
After he stood up he looked around, to try and get his bearings. He had 
been knocked to the ground and dirtied his business suit. It looks like 
he would have to take the rest of the day off. His employees would more 
than likely understand, and his sister could cover his responsibilities 
until the next day.
	He stood and thought for a few moments about his oppenent. He had 
said his name was Ranma Saotome. Kuno sincerly doubted that it was his 
real name, as Ranma had died five years earlier, but the actual reality 
of the matter, was that the fighting styles were very similiar. Maybe a 
few differences, but quite similiar. He even seemed to be better than 
the real Ranma, which was rather a contradiction in itself. To his 
knowledge, nobody had honorably bested Ranma in combat, not even 
himself. And even with his newfound skills, he probably still wouldn't 
be able to do it. Granted he would give him a run for his money, but in 
the end, Ranma would eventually win. He always did.
	But why use Ranma's name? What would it gain him? He remembered 
the day he had learned of his death. To that point, Kuno had despised 
Ranma to a point that had clouded his mind with false truths. Like that 
Ranma Saotome was a sorcerer who had stolen the heart of Akane Tendo and 
the Pig-Tailed girl from him. After they had gotten married, and he had 
seen to happiness of Akane, he accepted they're marriage and focused on 
winning the heart of the pig-tailed girl. It was only after Ranma had 
died when he learned the truth. The truth that Ranma and the Pig-Tailed 
girl were one in the same.
	The evidence had been so clear, since the second time he and Ranma 
had fought. They had jumped from a third story window and landed in the 
school's swimming pool. And suddenly, Ranma had disappeared, replacing 
himself with the innocent Pig-tailed girl.
	Since that time, too many similiar instances had occured. When 
they traveled to China to rescue Akane from the clutches of Kirin, 
Master of the Seven Lucky Gods School of Martial arts. Ranma had 
accompanied them, but suddenly disappeared, leaving the pig-tailed girl 
in his wake. To the time they had been stranded on a deserted isle, and 
the Pig-Tailed girl disappeared to leave Ranma in her Absence. It had 
been clear in Tatewaki's suspicions for some time, but had never 
manifested itself in his conscious memory. After his death, it had.
	Since that time he had done nothing but think of Ranma's fate. He 
had not been a sorcerer at all during the time he had known him. Not a 
practitioner of Black magic as he had originally thought. In fact, after 
thinking long anough about it, he saw Ranma as a very honorable man, who 
died an honorable death. It was himself that had been dishonorable, 
constantly pursuing that which he could not have. Akane Tendo and the 
Pig-Tailed girl.
	Since that time, Kuno had allowed himself to be taught the art 
that Ranma had followed so honorably. Learning from Ranma's father, as 
well as the friend of Ranma. Ryoga Hibiki.
	Ryoga and Genma had been hesitent to teach Tatewaki at first, but 
soon agreed after seeing the money he was willing to pay. He religiously 
followed his training, even agreeing to go on several training trips 
with Genma, Ryoga or sometimes both. However, after being lost in China 
for several weeks, he decided it would be best for him to lead the 
training trips when with Ryoga.
	His friendship grew with Ryoga, and he felt proud of the fact that 
he was considered the Godfather of little Ranma, the son of Ryoga and 
Akane.
	Kuno looked at his watch and he jumped down from the roof, 
surprising several bystanders, and walked off towards his home.

	*Five Hours Later*

	Ranma leaped from rooftop to rooftop, backtracking his steps 
towards Ucchans, casually passing over the area where he and Kuno had 
the earlier confrontation. 
	The rest of the day after that had been mainly uneventful. He had 
gone to Furinkan to discover that Ms. Hinako was still teaching there, 
and she was still as she had always been. He had the pleasure of sapping 
two young martial artist of they're battle abilities before continuing 
his survey. Aparently, principal Kuno was no longer there, having heard 
talking from several senior students that they were thankful he left for 
hawaii three years earlier, he smiled. Also, aparently the legacy of 
himself, Kuno, Ukyo and Akane were still rampant among the students. He 
smiled at that thought as he continued his way.
	The rest of the day held no more interest, and he decided it would 
be best to help Nabiki at Ucchans. He still wondered where Ukyo was, and 
told himself to ask Nabiki after the situation today was taken care of.
	Ranma swung into Ucchans moments later.
	"Are we ready?", he asked.

	Soun paced back and forth. It was 5:30, and Ryoga had left a few 
hours earlier, looking rather phased at the revelation that had been 
brought forth. Soun told him to keep it from Akane for now, until they 
could figure out what to do. Of course, it was much to late now for 
Ranma and Akane to be together again, especially with little Ranma in 
the picture.
	*Where is that boy*, he asked himself as he continued to pace.

	"Are we ready?", the figure that had just swung into the 
restaurant said. Reflexivekly, Kimiko shrieked.
	"What?", he asked.
	Whacking Ranma over the head with a small cooking spatula, she 
replied, "You scared the hell outta me!"
	"Ranma. They should be here in half an hour.", Nabiki said from 
the back room. "Can we get you something to eat?"
	"No thanks, I'm not hungry."
	Nabiki walked out of the room carrying a small case. She paused 
for a moment and looked at Ranma. "Why are you still wearing that?"
	Ranma looked himself over. "Well, I don't think I'd be very 
welcome if I took it off."
	"I think I have a box in back with some of your old clothes, you 
want me to get them?"
	Ranma recalled Soun's shocked look when he had removed his cowl 
and shook his head. "Trust me, I'll be fine in this."
	Nabiki frowned for a second, when realization hit her. "Ahh, you 
want to intimidate them eh?"
	"Something like that."
	"No problem then."
	"Nabiki, could you do me a favour?"
	"Depends. What?"
	"Call your dad, let him know I'm here so he doesn't worry."
	Nabiki nodded and stepped over to the phone after putting the case 
down.
	"Whats in the case?", Ranma asked.
	"Just a prop.", she said as she dialed.

	Soun raced to the phone as soon as it rang. "Hello?", he asked 
frantically.
	"Daddy?", the familiar voice came from the other end.
	Soun suddenly dropped his excitement, and almost sounding 
dissapointed, greeted his daughter. "Hello Nabiki. Its been a while 
since you've called."
	"Jeez, don't sound so excited to hear from me, Daddy."
	"I'm sorry, I was just expecting a call from a friend."
	"Well, your friend is here right now, doing me a favour."
	"He's there?"
	"Yep, he showed up earlier, surprising the hell outta me. Which 
reminds me, why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't mind being woken up in 
the middle of the night with news like that."
	"Well, I wasn't sure what to do."
	"And whats with sending him out this morning so fast? You'd think 
talking with your dead son-in-law would be more important than the 
morning class."
	In the background, Soun heard a brief, but firm comment. "Hey, I'm 
not dead!"
	Ignoring Ranma's comment, he continued, "I had to, I was worried 
about what would happen when Ryoga-- Oh nevermind, I'll be there in a 
few minutes!"

	Nabiki looked down surprisingly at the reciever at the fact that 
her father had just hung up the phone while she was still talking.
	"Something wrong?", Ranma asked, now reclined on a chair.
	"You break it, you buy it Ranma.", Nabiki offered, noting that 
Ranma's weight with the chains and other such decorations riddling his 
suit was probably increased a good two to three hundred points.
	Ranma nodded, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
	And with that, a knock came to the door. Nabiki didn't even have 
to say anything while Ranma quickly and quietly moved his way to the 
back room. Nabiki answered the door.
	"Ahh, Ms. Tendo", Makaro began, smiling at his victim.
	"Your money's here, Makaro.", she replied, frowning.
	"I hope you don't mind, but I brought our friend from earlier to 
ensure that our deal doesn't go sour."
	"The only sour thing in this room is your face, Makaro.", Kimiko 
pointed out from behind the grill.
	Makaro sneered. "Shut up wench before I give you the same fate as 
Gendo!"
	Kimiko redundantly stuck out her tongue.
	Makaro was seemingly easy to get angry, as he pulled out his gun a 
moment later.
	"Would you like to taste lead?", he said, stepping further into 
the restaurant, and allowing the masked man in. He took one look around 
and whispered into his ear. Makaro frowned.
	"Take care of it.", he said. "And then take care of them."
	"I will not kill women", he replied.
	"Damn you, just do your job! If you won't kill the girls, I will!"
	The man sneered under his mask and began towards the back room.
	Nabiki swallowed hard.
	"Now, Ms. Tendo. Our mutual friend here has informed me of someone 
else in the restaurant. You have ten seconds to explain before I pull 
the trigger."
	The masked man confusedly walked out of the back room.
	"What?", Makaro asked.
	"Hes gone. He must of slipped out the window."
	"Well, what are you waiting for, follow hi--- URK!", Makaro 
screamed as he was struck from behind, and sent reeling into a table. 
Behind him, Ranma rose from a crouching position.
	"Nobody hurts my friends."
	Makaro looked up at Ranma and smirked. "You're going to pay for 
that, you fool."
	Makaro pointed the gun at Ranma and pulled the trigger. The bullet 
connected with the wall where Ranma had just been standing. He picked up 
Makaro by the foot and took him to eye level.
	"You're going to leave Nerima, you understand? You are not going 
to come back."
	Makaro pulled the trigger again, this time connecting with Ranma's 
gut. He reflexivly dropped Makaro and bent over.
	"I warned you, you bastard! Don't mess with me!", Makaro screamed. 
He stopped and stared as Ranma stood back up as if nothing had happened, 
and let neon green blood flow freely from his wound.
	"What are you?", he screamed, then looked at the masked man. "What 
are you waiting for? Get him!"
	Whether out of defiance or annoyance, the masked man punched 
Makaro out of the way, and slowly removed his mask.
	"One who will see my true face will not live long.", he said as he 
removed the mask. He was looking directly at Ranma.
	Ranma was ready for a fight until the very moment the man had 
removed his mask. Nabiki had aparently seen as well, because she 
shrieked in surprise. A large burn scar ran down the side of his face, 
but it was him. It was Mousse.
	"Mousse?", Ranma asked.
	Mousse simply smiled. "Whether Nabiki has told you of me, or you 
know my name because you know me, it is no matter. It does not change 
your fate."
	"Mousse, wait.", Ranma began, but Mousse had already begun his 
attack. He first launched a Mace towards Ranma's head. He easily 
sidestepped the throw, but found that a bonbori was heading towards his 
chest. He couldn't block it with his hands, because they were too busy 
fending his fist attacks, but something unexpected happened. One of the 
chains hangin about his body had apparently become mobile in his rapid 
movement, and managed to block the bonbori from connecting to his chest. 
After it had been deflected, Mousse launched a Scythe from out of 
nowhere, but it had become entangled in another of Ranma's chains and 
was pulled from Mousse's grasp.
	Mousse stopped attacking for a moment to rethink his strategy. 
"You're very skilled," he said, "But it makes no difference, you will 
die by my hand."
	"Mousse, don't, its--" Again, Mousse was deeper into the attack, 
launching several weapons at once, Ranma felt his anger rise to a level 
it rarely ever got to. With the several projectile weapons heading 
towards him, he decided to take an old attack out of retirement. "KACHU 
TENSHIN AMIGURIKEN!!!", he yelled as he plucked each weapon out of the 
air and landed several hundred punches on his opponents person. Mousse 
was sent reeling back for a moment, but never lost his balance. he 
smirked evily.
	"So, you've got some Joketsuzoku techniques in you, do you? That 
is an interesting surprise. It looks like I'll have to use my full power 
on you."
	"Mousse. Stop, Its Ranma."
	This caught Mousse in mid attack. He looked confused for a second, 
but then sneered.
	"Ranma is dead. I saw it with my own eyes."
	"Mousse, I'm serious. I'm alive."
	"Impossible! He was burnt to a crisp. If he were alive, he would 
be burned beyond recognition."
	Ranma pulled his mask off. "Like this?"
	Behind him, he heard two distinct thumps hit the floor, while 
Mousse stared at him with wide eyes.
	"R.... Impossible."
	"Mousse, I'm alive. I don't know how, but I'm alive."
	"But.. Five years..."
	"Mousse, Its been five years, and I don't remember any of it, but 
rest assured, it is me. Ranma."
	Mousse dropped his stance and stood there, mind reeling.
	"Prove it.", he eventually said.
	"Name your test."
	"What was my biggest handicap?", he asked.
	"You mean the fact that you turn into a duck, or your eyesight?"
	"How did we come to be friends?"
	"After I married Akane, you realized I had no interest in Shampoo 
and became a good friend."
	Mousse started to let tears swell up in his eyes as he asked the 
last question. "Why?"
	"Why what?"
	"Why have I lived the past five years of my life like this, when 
you were still alive?"
	"Mousse, theres questions I can't answer. I don't even remember 
how or why I 'died'."
	"I know how. But I don't know why. I blamed myself for your death, 
Ranma. I thought you were really dead, so I let Shampoo think I was. 
After that, I realized I was not a man. Not even half a man.", he 
scoffed, "Hell I wasn't even an honorable duck!"
	"What happened to you after that?"
	"I regained consciousness. I was protected from Kenoru's blast by 
your body. You gave your life to save mine."
	"I'm still alive though."
	"Are you? What kind of a life can you live now? Not a normal one."
	"True."
	"After I buried your body, I thought about things. I couldn't go 
back to the village, I couldn't even come back here as myself. I had 
disgraced my very existance. So I soon went to Shanghai. I started to 
sell my Services to the highest bidder, and did work. At first, it was 
simple things, like a bodyguard, a courier of stolen goods. And then I 
was paid to kill a man who had raped another mans wife. I accepted, and 
soon it became second nature." He shook his head, "I sent the money back 
to the village, and never even signed my name. If only I had known you 
were still alive, Ranma. I wouldn't have stooped to such depths."
	Ranma stepped over towards Mousse and offered his hand. "Its 
alright Mousse, its not your fault."
	"My honor has been taken from me by my own doing. My life should 
be forfeit."
	"NO!", a voice came from the doorway. "You'd dishonor yourself 
further by taking a cowards death." Soun walked in. Aparently he had 
overheard much of the conversation. He placed his hand on Mousse's other 
shoulder.
	"Mousse, you can redeem yourself."
	"I have taken over 40 lives."
	"That is unfortunate, it is a tragedy. But those lives, no matter 
how important, were they innocents?"
	"No. I ensured myself of that, but by making judgements upon them.."
	"You did not make judgements on those lives, boy. You were merely 
the weapon."
	"It is still not forgivable."
	"Maybe not, but it can be redeemed, in time."
	"Redeemed? Nothing can redeem the taking of a life. Even a single 
human life!"
	"Mr. Tendo, I think we'd do best to help him."
	"Agreed. Mousse, you should come with us."
	Mousse looked Soun in the eyes, and brought his attention towards 
Ranam before deciding. "I will no longer follow this lifestyle. I will 
try my best to revive the old Mousse. I thank you, my friends."
	A gunshot fired at that moment, landing in Ranma's side. 
Forgetting about the first shot, Ranma covered the wound with his hand 
and scowled at the man who had shot the gun. Makaro, who had been 
silently listening to the conversation. 
	Before Ranma could act, Mousse had subdued him and had him against 
the wall.
	"You are lucky I will not stoop to your level again, Makaro."
	"Weakling! Coward!", came from Makaro's mouth, as well as several 
other insults and obscenities.
	"Ranma, are you alright?", Soun asked.
	Ranma looked himselfover. To his surprise the first gunshot wound 
had already healed over, and his leg was fast approaching that goal. 
Looking at the neon green fluid that flowed from his wound, he came to a 
realization.
	He was no longer human.