From: ranma@tass.org (Saotome Ranma) Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] The Ranma Preludes #7: Happosai What you are about to read is the seventh of a multi-part mini-series. Each part was written by a different author who chose or was assigned a character or family to write about, exploring that character's family history. It is our hope that these stories will provide a more solid foundation for the characters in the Ranma universe, and, of course, we hope that you enjoy them. ^_^ * * * * * The Ranma Preludes: Happosai by Mark Doherty A SIMPLE LIFE The rain clouds had taunted the drought-locked village for the past three days before relenting on their torture. First a drizzle, then a shower, and finally a storm; the crops would thrive, just as long as it didn't become a typhoon. The wind savagely kissed the rain, elements entwining in a lovers' embrace. The water blew more across than down as it skittered across the mud- covered streets. A figure huddled under the useless protection of a porch overhang, wet and getting wetter. He had been banished from his own home; not that he would have wanted to remain anyway. What right-thinking man would want to stick around for a child birthing? Screaming, blood, agony... if he'd enjoyed those things, he would have become a soldier. Lightning flashed nearby and the sky shouted its approval of the blinding bolt. That was enough for him. He leapt, his bare feet splattering mud, as he ran for better shelter. He ducked under the ladder that lay against his neighbour's house, using it for the split-second's worth of shelter it gave, before dashing forward again. He stumbled into the inn, tracking mud all over the entrance. Thankfully, impending fatherhood was a wonderful face-saver, and allowed forgiveness for almost any silly gaffe. A bowl of warm sake, and a ball of warmer rice settled the chills nicely. "Good fortune with the birth of your child, Fu'un!" The chills from the rain, that is. "Yes, yes," another inn-goer agreed. "Good fortune to you!" They didn't have to rub it in, did they? "A toast! First the rain, now a child; perhaps Fu'un isn't so unlucky to be around after all!" The warm laughter sent shivers through him. Fu'un: Misfortune, a childhood nickname that had stuck to him like... like... well, like a bad omen, actually. So he wasn't looked on with warmth by the lucky gods. So bad things tended to happen to him. So being bitten by a shark when you were ten miles from the nearest sea _couldn't_ just happen to anyone. So did that mean that everyone had to sit by and laugh behind their sake bowls, expecting that this would go wrong, just like everything else did for him? "Kyoko is a strong girl, Fu'un," the innkeeper's wife refilled his sake bowl, smiling down at him. "She'll give you a strong son, I'm sure." "Thank you," Fu'un raised the drink to his lips, his free hand nervously playing with a pair of chopsticks. Well, everything except Kyoko. The day he'd married her had been the luckiest of his life. The evening wore on and on, the occasional congratulations of his fellow villagers ripping through him like wet fingers through rice paper. How could they tempt fate like that, to claim the child would bring luck? He was almost considering returning to the rain when the entrance slid open. Even sopping wet and shivering, the short, matronly woman who walked in had a presence that commanded respect. "Fu'un?" "Yes Hanichi-san?" "You now have an heir. Well done." The chopsticks snapped in his hand. ++++++++++++ Ten fingers, ten toes. He checked again, just to make sure it was five to each appendage, and not six on one, or something like that. A quick peek confirmed the proper male equipment, presumably in working order for later in life. No hideous deformities, no obvious defects. Everything seemed almost unbelievably fine about the baby, except for one thing. "Isn't he a bit--" The hand shot out from nowhere, covering his mouth. Hanichi smiled, fakely reassuring, as she looked pointedly at the dozing mother. "It's just because he came a little early. Didn't have as long as other babies did to get big. I bet you'll live to see him grow into a fine, strapping young man who honours you and your wife." Her eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared, and her eyebrows waggled as she furtively whispered, "You _do_ want to live to see him grow up, right?" Fu'un looked over at his sleeping wife, understanding lighting on his weatherbeaten face, before he slowly nodded. ++++++++++++ "Husband..." He turned away from the still-driving rain, spindly limbs carrying him to his wife's side. He knelt down, taking her right hand in his, using his left hand to run through her mussed, badly cut hair. Their rough, fieldwork- hardened hands intertwined, and she smiled, her round face showing her fatigue. "I told you there'd be nothing to worry about," she whispered, voice still rough from the pain of childbirth. "Have you seen him?" He nodded, hesitating slightly. She'd known him well and long enough to interpret the meaning behind the nod. "Husband... I know the omens weren't good. I know you're not that lucky; my parents almost refused our match because of it. But you've seen our baby. He's strong, he's healthy--" "He's small." As soon as he'd said it, he felt like cringing. "He's small," Kyoko slowly agreed, "but he'll grow. There's nothing wrong with him, don't you think you should stop worrying?" He sighed. "You're right, my wife, you're right. It's just that..." "Yes?" She looked at him, her tired eyes full of love and concern. "Should he be that small?" ++++++++++++ He pulled himself out of the mud, and whirled around to face the house. "What!? What!?" ++++++++++++ She dusted her hands, ignoring her husband, as she stepped over to the straw-covered corner that acted as a crib. "Don't fret, sweet," Kyoko crooned, gently picking up the rag-swaddled baby. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw that her husband had tied a long string of charms to the infant's wrist. Shaking her head, she continued. "Your father means no harm by it. He just thinks something horrible is going to happen to you; but that's okay, my little baby-chan, because gloomy old daddy thinks something horrible is going to happen to everyone." "That's not true," Fu'un muttered, trying to scrape the mud off his clothes as he sat down, cross legged, in the doorway. "I just think something horrible is going to happen to me... and to him." The baby opened his eyes, blinked, and began to bawl. "Look what you did!" "Me!?" "You scared him with all your doom talk!" "We mustn't shield our son from the truth, wife." He ignored her response, a rude snort. "How can he grow strong and self-dependant otherwise?" "He hasn't even been out of me for a day! What can he learn as a day-old baby!?" "Best to start young." After a few minutes of gentle rocking, and listening to some not very gentle wailing, her brain was beginning to feel like it would shatter. Panic gripped her: why wouldn't he stop crying? Was something wrong? "Wait..." she looked at the child, trying to remember the less appealing parts of her bridal training. "Maybe he's just hungry." She looked at her husband, seeking confirmation. He shrugged. "I don't know. Isn't there some way to tell?" She pulled open the top of her clothes. "I guess if he isn't hungry, he won't want any..." ++++++++++++ Blessed silence permeated the small room as the baby fed from his mother. A gentle smile radiated from the new mother as she fed the child for the very first time. Finally, after a short while, it became apparent to the novice mother that it was time to switch the baby over. She gently pulled the baby away. Her eyes widened when she felt her nipple tugged. She relaxed for a moment, and then pulled the baby away again. The child hung on like his life depended on it. "Now, now sweet, there's nothing left to take down there. No point in sticking around, yes?" The baby kept suckling, his eyes half-closed, his little hands curled up into fists which rested against the lower part of her breast. She tugged again, a little more fiercely, but he didn't let go. Fu'un snickered from his makeshift seat at the entrance. "Quite a grip for something without teeth, eh my wife?" She gave him a stare that quickly killed off his chuckle. "Don't just stand there, husband; help me out." He shook his head as he stood, and ambled over. "Really, I can't believe that you can't..." He tugged at the child. "Can't..." He tugged again. "Ahem. That you can't..." He put all his strength into it, trying to ignore the sight of his child clinging to his wife's stretched breast like a leech. With a sloppy pop, the baby finally lost his death grip. As soon as he was detached, the baby started to sniffle. His eyes opened and he started to wail. "I think he's still hungry," Fu'un noted, looking down at the crying vacuum in his arms. Kyoko sighed. "Alright, give him to me, husband. Perhaps he won't be so hard to dislodge after this." With a roll of the eyes, she took the baby, and settled it against her other breast. The crying stopped immediately. ++++++++++++ "Husband..." He looked up at her. "Yes?" "He won't come off, again." She looked down, helpless. "Mother never warned me about this when she gave me bridal training." "Maybe if I used a branch as a crowbar..." Fu'un mused, rubbing his cheek. "No! Not to my baby!" "It was just a suggestion." ++++++++++++ Fu'un played mahjong like he commanded troops - which was to say, not at all. The only game he'd ever won in his life had been a forfeited match with Old Man Gao. That was if having your oppenent die halfway through the game from whatever it was old people died of could be called a forfeit. Still, he did watch the other men play at the inn, in those twilight hours between work and bed. After all, these men were the biggest gossips in the village, to listen to them was to know all that happened in the area. Wait, wait. Men didn't gossip. Well then, they talked a lot of rubbish, and boasted a lot. And they were the best in the village at it. "So how goes parenthood, Fu'un?" one mahjong player asked as he watched another player scatter the playing tiles onto the small table. "Well..." Fu'un shrugged. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. The others nodded, taking the entire tale contained within that one word. A third player patted him on the shoulder without once taking his eyes off the game. "Cheer up. They quieten down in ten years or so. Sometimes." "It's hard now," the oldest man there, the fourth player, noted. He scratched at his acne-scarred face, before continuing. "But one day, they grow old enough for you to experience the greatest joy of parenting." "And that is?" Fu'un asked, enthralled by the elder's wisdom. "Putting them to work in the fields." The others there nodded in sagacious agreement. ++++++++++++ Kyoko watched as her clique of friends gathered around her baby. They acted like most people do around newborns, which was to say like idiots. "Isn't he a pretty little boy? Aren't you a pretty boy?" one cooed. "Auntie Sayako's got a little present for you," another sang, waving a rag ball at the infant, who was starting to show the first signs of starting a world class wail. "Kyoko, dear, aren't you worried about how, well, small he is?" a third woman wondered. The others looked at the suicidal lass who had voiced that question, quietly edging away from her as they did. "No," Kyoko noted sweetly. "He seems about the right size to me." Obviously having been dropped on the head as a child, the inquisitive woman tried again. "It's just that--" "Oh look!" A brave dame cried, pointing to the baby. "He's drooling! How cute!" The others gathered again, silently thanking the woman for her selfless interruption, as they cooed over the child. ++++++++++++ Kyoko's father looked at his grandson, as his wife was entertained by his daughter. The day-long trip from their village had been worth it, to see the child. Still... "He's a bit--" Fu'un winced, darting his hand forward to cover his father-in-law's mouth. He glanced over at Kyoko; luckily, his wife hadn't heard. "A bit of a fine, healthy lad? Not a thing you'd change about him? Why, you're right Father!" An understanding nod, as he gently pushed the hand away from his mouth. "Right, right! I'm sure he'll grow into a fine man that honours you and the family." They nodded, laughing, their eyes maniacly darting between Kyoko and the child. The baby, of course, started to cry at the frightening sound. ++++++++++++ Kyoko's mother shook her head at the antics of her husband and son-in-law, who were trying to shush the baby back into quiet. She looked back to her daughter, her eyes narrowing. "Are things well?" Kyoko nodded. "Well enough." Fu'un waggled his ears, while his father-in-law stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Does your husband still think your baby's going to be devoured by an Oni, or whatever it was?" "Mother, you know my husband. Of course he still thinks something is going to go wrong." Kyoko's father changed tactics, making a bird out of his intertwined hands, wings of fingers flying over and around the infant. "What have you and your husband decided to call him?" "I'm sorry?" Finally, in desperation, the two men began to sing a lullaby. Badly. "What's his name?" her mother elaborated. "Name?" Kyoko winced; she knew there'd been something they'd forgotten. ++++++++++++ They rested, enjoying the relative quiet of the last minutes of dusk. Kyoko stirred, looking up from the baby in her arms. "Have you thought of a name for him?" He started. "A name?" She nodded. "Can't you think of one?" "You mean you haven't?" "Well, I didn't want to give the child an unlucky name..." "How about Kenji?" she asked. Her grandfather had that name. He hesitated. "Er... it doesn't seem very grand. I mean, I want my child to go through life with a good name..." She gritted her teeth. Great, now it had to be a 'good' name. ++++++++++++ Kyoko stared thoughtfully at her child as he once again attached himself to her breast like a limpet to a rock. Naming him wouldn't be easy; it needed to be something fairly impressive, to assuage her husband's inferiority problems, but not _too_ impressive, or else he'd worry that they were calling the kami's anger to them or something. "What would you like to be called, little one?" The baby whimpered, before settling himself a little more comfortably around his food dispenser. "Maybe I should call you Tatsumaki. You certainly suck things in like a tornado..." She discarded the idea; Fu'un would have a fit if she named the child after a natural disaster of any kind. "Ryu?" No, naming him as a dragon, she was sure her husband would claim, would invite one to visit misfortune on them. "How about Mikado?" She shook her head as soon as she'd said it. Calling him Emperor was far too grandiose. Argh! She'd have to get Fu'un back for this, making her think of a good name while he lay around doing nothing. Her eyes narrowed. Maybe some dry rice scattered on his side of the futon would make him appreciate that laying around didn't get anything done... ++++++++++++ Every parent reached a point where, just for a short while, they had to get away from their child. Kyoko had ran over that point several hours ago. "Husband, could you take care of the child for an hour or two?" "I suppose. But what should I do?" "He's young, he needs to learn about the world. Point out some things, and name them." ++++++++++++ Fu'un bounced the baby on his lap, sitting on the small porch of his tiny house. The sun beat down, trying its best to suck out all the water that the village had so recently been blessed with. "Look at that one," he used the baby's hand to point to a girl of sixteen or so, who was walking down the dusty street. "That's Aoi. She's a cute one, isn't she?" The baby gurgled. Fu'un nodded. "You're a fine judge of women, my son. I bet you'll be quite the lady's man when you're older." He pointed out another girl, slightly older, who was helping her grandmother walk to a friend's house. He gently bounced the baby with his knee as he quietly asked "And what about Midori-san there?" The baby cooed, before giggling. Fu'un nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. He looked down at the infant, just as the child looked up at him. Fu'un smiled uncertainly, before holding the baby up to face him. "It's not going to be easy, son." He looked into the child's eyes, blinking, before continuing. "People like you and me, we have to look after ourselves in this world. Just remember, you're never small as long as you don't feel it." He smiled, before settling back into the little routine he had been playing. "Oh look, it's Hitomi-san. She still looks quite good after two children, doesn't she?" ++++++++++++ The two combatants faced each other, their faces betraying nothing as they prepared for the war ahead. "Yoshio. It was my uncle's name." Fu'un shrugged. "Not very inspiring." With a growl, Kyoko tried again. "Kensuke. That was my grandfather." "No, I don't think so." "Kaoru. My great-uncle." "It lacks a certain something." "You'll be lacking a certain something if you don't watch out. Alright then, Yuzo." "And he was?" "A second cousin I didn't like very much." "Hmm..." "Yes? Yes?" "No." ++++++++++++ He pulled himself off the ground, and whirled around to face the house. "What!? What!?" ++++++++++++ Crickets greeted the night with their annoying creaking. The two new parents lay in their thin futon, staring at the dark-enshrouded roof. The baby drowsed in his corner, mercifully behaving himself. "Wife?" Fu'un squirmed a little, his face twisting in puzzlement. For some reason, he couldn't get comfortable tonight. "Mmm?" "When you told me you were pregnant, I worried. Something was going to happen; something always happens." "Husband..." "Wait, wait. I've been thinking about this. I'm just so used to disaster after disaster, and what greater disaster is there than a child?" "Husband..." The tone in her voice wasn't quite as warm anymore. "Wait, wait. It's just that, nothing has happened. You're right, I've been waiting for the sky to fall in when it's not going to. I was taking care of him today, while you were with your friends, and I looked at him. And I knew, my wife, we are the luckiest parents there are." She smiled weakly. After a short pause, he looked at her through the gloom. "Have you thought of another name yet?" She turned to look back at him. "...What do you think about Happosai?" He thought about it, and after a moment, smiled. "Eight Treasures? Who in your family was named _that_?" "No-one." "...Yes. Yes, I like it. Happosai it is." He sighed, contented. "Choosing a name was certainly a lot easier than I thought it would be." ++++++++++++ He pulled himself off the ground, spitting out some dust, before he whirled around to face the house. "What!? What did I do this time!?" ++++++++++++ She brushed her baby's face, touch imagining what sight could not in the night's dark. Her shadowed face lit with a smile as she ignored her husband's plaintive cries. "Sweet Happosai," she crooned to the peacefully sleeping child. "Yes, yes, I think it suits you, dear child. A grand name for a grand man. 'Here comes Happosai', they'll cry out." Her smile widened at the mother's fantasy as her head cocked in thought. "With a well-omened name like that, nothing could go wrong." There was a pause. From the doorway came the sound of a strangled sigh, and the thump of a head hitting against cupped hands. "I wish you hadn't said that, Kyoko. I really wish." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mark Doherty mdoherty@uq.net.au ----- "Ranma 1/2" and its characters Copyright (c) 1998 Viz Communications, Inc., Shogakukan, Kitty Animation, and Rumiko Takahashi. Used without permission. This story may be freely redistributed, but it may not be altered substantially or used for profit in any way.