Ranma 1/2: Ranma No More Alternate History By: Dani Yanega yanega@mindspring.com (please respond to this e-mail address) Chapter Ten In the morning the crew finds a male Ranma doing his kata at the bow of the ship, with Ryoga by his side, both were drenched, and did not seem to mind. When they finish with their sparring, they sit down at the bow to watch the horizon and to discuss what to do when they get back to Japan. "Well first, I will do as great grandmother suggests, I will train in the Bakusai Teknetsu; then train you in it before we go to mom's. I also think I will scout out a location for a new laboratory." Ryoga nods, then asks. "What does the training consist of?" Ranma shrugs as he explains the training. "I am put in a harness with only my one arm free, and one index finger extended. I am then hit with one ton boulders. This will toughen me up because this technique explodes the rock and you get hit with lots of sharp debris." Ryoga gulps and shivers at the thought, then he asks. "I'm gonna have to do that to learn this Bakusai Teknetsu?" Ranma nods, while watching the horizon. "Ok, after I learn this, then what?" Ranma takes a deep breath. "We go see my mom and I tell her about the curse." "But _why_ tell her? Now that you can control it, you shouldn't need to say anything to her." Ranma looks to the horizon, then turns to face his friend. "You know, I thought about doing just that, not tell her I mean. Then, what happens, when she accidentally sees me change? What if oyaji comes back and asks why I am not cursed? Do you know how she would feel if I kept that from her?" Ryoga thought; how would he feel if a child of his kept something that important from him. "Yeah, I think I can, which means when I see my family again, I will have to tell them too." He sighs, as he starts getting depressed. "Hey cheer up man, we got each other for support. Although, I think your family may be more forgiving then my mom." Ryoga raises an eyebrow questioningly at Ranma. "Well, pop couldn't be all wrong about mom, after all she did accept that stupid contract from a five year old child to commit seppuku." Ranma states flatly. "What are you going to do if she demands you uphold the contract?" "It has already been fulfilled. I am now Takashi Ranma, Saotome Ranma died at Jusenkyo, if that is not enough for her, then I will leave and she will never see me or mine again." Ryoga looks sympathetically at the gender-changing boy, as he stares out over the bow of the ship. Then, he asks his next question. "What are you going to do if she does not except that Saotome Ranma is dead and demands honor be satisfied." Ranma sighs, as his shoulders droop. He then looks up into the eyes of his friend. Ryoga shrinks back a little from the pain and depression there. "Then I will be dust and have no one." "No, Ranma you will never be of the dust! You will be a Hibiki or, if you choose, you can return to the Amazons." Ranma looks at Ryoga with a sad smile, as he nods his head. He then turns back to watch the horizon. /*\*/*\ The days on board the ship pass quickly. When the cursed friends are in their cabin, they practice changing their shapes. Working on making the change quicker and more of an unconscious act. Therefore, they would not be vulnerable as they concentrate on shifting their shape. Ranma and Ryoga continue to cross train each other and at night when Ranma goes to visit his grandmother, he now takes his friend with him. Ra Koh enjoys this, it is like she now has two grandsons and has even insisted Ryoga call her great grandmother as well. They can not understand why they were changed or who the monks are, but they did find some of the benefits, during their training. Their speed, agility, strength, and senses were heightened. Ra Koh believes that this is from the Neko-Ken. It seems, whatever the monks have done to them, has brought the Neko- Ken into conscious use, and seems to have shared it with Ryoga. What really surprises them is when Ranma first meets the ship's cat. He finds he is no longer afraid of them, but the cats still seek him out and now they tend to seek out Ryoga as well. What they didn't expect, is to be able to communicate with the cat. When they try to communicate with a seagull that landed on the ship's mast it didn't work. Ra Koh also believes this to be a by- product of the Neko-Ken merging. They also found out the hard way, during a training session, that they also have the Neko- Claws, just not as long. Their power level will have to be tested once they get to the training grounds. Ryoga and Ranma work on their daily training, of controlling their curses, while strengthening their ability to communicate with cats. All the while Ranma is enjoying not being afraid of them. When the ship finally lands in Japan, they can, at a blink of an eye, shift to their alternate forms. They also find they can communicate telepathically with any cat within five hundred yards of their location. Now that they are now in Japan, they hope to increase that range. They find that cats know a lot about what is going on around them. With their help, the cursed boys can know of any happenings that might effect them. As they leave the ship, they telepathically say goodbye to their new friend, the ship's cat, Shiroki.