[Ranma 1/2] [AU] Of a Different Breed

[Gryphon Aerie]

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or
situations in the series Ranma 1/2. Nor do I claim
ownership over any other series, in part or in whole, that
might appear at any time in this story.

   Claimer: I do, however, own the computer I am
writing this on. I can also claim that I did not copy this
idea from any other writer and, to my knowledge, this is a
rather original idea.

   At least, original enough not to have been killed
and beaten into the ground with repetition thereof. And
that's all I ask from myself.



   Of a Different Breed
   A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction
   By: Gryphon Aerie

   Chapter 1: Introductions



   The Jusenkyo guide stared in shock, his jaw hanging
slack and forgotten.

   His mind almost refused to accept that what he was
seeing was real, despite the fact that his job was to
oversee an ancient cursed training ground, in which a
single splash of water can cause an entirely new, and often
unwanted, outlook on life.

   No, even with this prior mental hardening against
surprise, denial, and otherwise unusual goings on, what he
saw now was still shocking.

   Mister customer had arrived alone to the training
grounds. His clothes were obviously well-worn, both from
constant travel and heavy physical exertion. His traveling
backpack, a massive affair strapped to his back with heavy
leather straps, also showed the same signs of long use.

   He walked with the easy grace of one trained long
in the art, his feet seeming to glide along the ground
instead of merely stepping upon it. His gait spoke of many
years on the road, and many long hours spent practicing the
arts Martial.

   This, in and of itself, was not shocking. Many of
the poor fools that came to this valley showed these same
marks of wear and practice.

   To see one obviously well versed in said martial
arts arrive at this 'training ground' was not something
that would surprise him. He had watched for many years as
people just like him came and went, each with their own
'gift' to take with them.

   One souvenir, just add water.

   No, it was not the man's appearance there at the
training ground that surprised him, it was the man's
training companion.

   Now, right about now, one could easily point out
that this man arrived alone, and this is duly noted.
Indeed, when he first arrived, his companion was quite
unseen, as his companion's method of travel does not lead
to one noticing his presence.

   For, you see, his companion was a cat.

   A cat that, upon the man's arrival at the training
grounds proper, leapt out of the top of the large
traveling pack, making itself be known.

   And now, the Jusenkyo Guide stood, staring in
shock, as this medium-sized mottled gray housecat did
something completely illogical and, quite honestly, not
really feasible for a cat.

   It stood, balanced on one of it's hind paws on top
of one of the bamboo poles, it's stance a horrible mockery
of the well-known crane stance.

   The fact that the cat had a strange golden marking
on it's forehead resembling a crescent moon was lost to the
guide, the sheer audacity of the situation causing him to
forget everything but the eternal moment.

   And then... things got weirder.

   "So this is the place, huh?" the cat spoke.
"Doesn't look like much to me."

   The guide passed out, even as the large man
replied, acting as if nothing was unusual about a small
mammal standing in a crane stance, balancing on the end of
a bamboo pole, speaking as if it were, itself, a human.

   "Foolish boy!" the man shouted in reply. "You of
all people should know not to judge by appearances alone!"

   "Heh, you're right," the cat smirked. "Then again,
one out of a hundred isn't that bad for you, is it?"

   "Heh," the man smirked back. "Are you ready?"

   "As you'll ever be."

   "Well then..."

   The two leapt at each other, the light of the mid-
day sun glinting off of the man's glasses for a moment as
they neared, as if hinting as some greater plot that he has
yet to have revealed.

   Then again, we *are* talking about Genma Saotome
here, let us not forget.

   The two combatants clashed over the frighteningly
calm pools of water, their forms blurring as they moved at
insane speeds, their attacks blending into one another in a
fast-paced dance.

   The man, Genma, opened up with a swift kick to his
furry sparring partner, and followed it up with a series of
quick punches and chops as he tried to fend the little
beast off of him.

   Despite his valiant effort, the gray tom managed to
claw it's way up his opponent's leg and, with a quick
gouging spin of his body, landed a well-placed mule-kick to
the man's solar plexus.

   Had it been any other housecat that was doing the
kicking, Genma would not have received more than a slight
scratch from the blow. Unfortunately for him, this was no
ordinary housecat.

   He was able to get his legs beneath him just in
time to catch himself on one of the bamboo poles, a trickle
of cold sweat making it's way down his temple as he caught
his breath.

   "I >puff< can see >huff< that you're >pant< getting
>wheeze< better at this, boy," Genma was able to get out.

   The cat smirked from it's perch on another one of
the poles, himself having come out of the quick spat with
nothing more than a little messed up fur, and some small
pieces of cotton beneath his claws that he would probably
have to bite out later.

   "That's what you say every time, Pops," the cat
replied. "And for some reason you still act surprised when
I kick your butt. Honestly, you'd think you would have
learned by now."

   "Heh," Genma grinned an evil grin. "There's still a
few tricks left in this old man yet, boy. Don't ever forget
that. I may have taught you all you know, but I haven't yet
taught you all that *I* know."

   "Whatever," the cat shot back. "Taught me all that
I know? You know damn well that I have learned more schools
of martial arts than you have. Give it a rest, old man."

   "Well, if that's all the thanks you have to give
me, then I'll just have to... TEACH YOU ANOTHER LESSON!
HIAA!!"

   And, with these words, the large man leapt once
again to the attack, his blows even faster this time than
before. He foiled his opponent's attempt to land once again
on his leg, instead whipping the leg back and out of the
way.

   His follow-through attack came in the form of yet
another kick, one that landed with a faint thump on the
cat's ribs.

   Said cat flew through the air for about a dozen
feet before once again finding purchase on one of the
poles, his face obviously scrunched up in pain as he tried
to ignore his rapidly-bruising ribs.

   "I guess that will teach me to expect a pattern
like that again," the cat admitted.

   "That's right, boy," Genma smirked. "You would do
well to learn from you betters."

   The cat smirked, an evil glint passing across his
pale yellow eyes. If Genma had been well-versed in feline
body language, he would be breaking out in a cold sweat at
that very moment.

   Unfortunately for him, he wasn't.

   "So would you, Pops," he muttered, before leaping
back into the fray.

   The guide awoke again, snapping up into a sitting
position even as he heard the loud splash. In a display of
deeply-ingrained practice and training, he whipped out a
wooden sign, on which the words "Spring of Drowned Panda"
were clearly painted.

   "Oh, too bad, you fall in 'Spring of Drowned
Panda'," the Guide began. "Legend say that panda drowned in
spring over three hundred year ago. Now, whoever fall in
spring, take body of panda!"

   The cat blinked owlishly, staring in shock at the
large, furry, and overall black-and-white beast erupted
from the spring that he had drop-kicked the old man into,
giving credibility to the guide's insane ramblings.

   "What the he--" was all he was able to get out
before the panda returned the favor, drop kicking his small
feline body into another one of the springs. He was given
just enough time to note how much he hated getting wet
before he landed full-force into the pool.

   A cold, tingly sensation traveled over his body as
he tried to reach the surface for air. A tingly sensation
that he hadn't felt since he was seven, when one of his
feet had fallen asleep on him as he sat seiza.

   ***

   Silence reigned at the Tendo dojo.

   The small cat, now having turned from a gray tom
with a crescent-moon mark to a black queen with a crescent-
moon mark, shook the cold water out of it's fur. A general
air of irritation and physical discomfort passed across the
cat's features as it tried valiantly to dry itself off.

   Genma sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose
from where they had slipped. He knew, just knew, that the
Tendo family wouldn't understand.

   Any minute now, one of them was going to shout that
Ranma was a freak of nature, and he and his son--er,
daughter... whatever--were going to be on the road once
again.

   It always happened that way.

   >Thump< came the sound of Soun's head hitting the
floor behind him with a hauntingly hollow tone. The
combination of factors once again causing the poor man to
fain dead away.

   "Well, that was expected," Genma deadpanned.

   "Do you honestly expect us to believe this?" the
middle Tendo daughter asked. "I mean, you come here looking
like a panda, then you introduce your pet cat as your son,
and then try to convince us by using some handy
ventriloquist act.

   "If you think you're going to pull one over on us,
you got another thing coming, Mister Saotome. We're not so
easily fooled."

   It was obvious that Nabiki wasn't accepting this
'insane story' as even having the remotest chance of being
true. It was also equally obvious that her younger sister
shared that opinion.

   Kasumi, on the other hand...

   "Oh, you poor thing!"

   On the other hand, Kasumi accepted it as gospel,
and was currently scratching 'Ranma' behind the ears. Much
to her delight, one can be assured. The purring could be
easily heard from Nabiki and Akane's side of the table.

   "I can't believe this!" Akane shouted.

   "It doesn't matter wither you believe it or not,"
Genma replied. "The fact remains that my son is now a cat,
who has been cursed to turn into a female cat. Neither of
which are easy on the poor boy."

   "Oh my," Kasumi said with a slight frown. "How is
it that your son got turned into a cat?"

   Genma shifted around uncomfortably, trying to look
everywhere but at his audience. A light sweat started to
bead up on his brow, even as his hands subconsciously
grabbed a hold of the cloth on his thighs.

   "Ah... well... that is..." Genma started.

   "I died," Ranma said calmly, reluctantly removing
herself from Kasumi's ministration.

   A quick splash of hot tea later proved the effects
of the curse once again, turning Ranma's fur from black to
mottled gray.

   Silence reigned for a few moments more.

   "Boy..."

   "No, Pops," Ranma snapped back. "They deserve to
know the full truth, and you know it."

   Genma sighed.

   "Very well, boy," Genma admitted. "If you think
that it is for the best, I won't stop you."

   "Thanks, Pop," Ranma said, turning his pale yellow
eyes to the confused audience.

   "This had better be good," Nabiki said with a
slight scowl. "Otherwise you're wasting my time. And to me,
time is money."

   And we all know how Nabiki is about money.

   "Right," Ranma replied. "Well, it all started back
when I was eight years old, and Pops found a training
manual for some 'ultimate technique'..."

   ***

   An eight-year-old Ranma looked at the covered pit
with a general sense of trepidation. It was quite obvious
to even the most casual of glances that he was not looking
forward to whatever it was that required a pit filled with
starving animals.

   "Now son, in order to become the greatest martial
artist in the world, you must be willing to undergo the
fiercest of training regimens," Genma explained, wrapping
his son up in fish sausage. "And you do want to be the best
martial artist in the world, don't you boy?"

   "Y-yes, daddy," little Ranma stammered. "But do I
have ta go in there again? It hurts!"

   "Ranma, the path of a true martial artist is
fraught with great peril. The only true way to get better
is through pain and adversity. Without constant challenge,
your skills will never grow!"

   "*Sniff* Okay, Daddy."

   "Now get in there, boy!"

   *Boot*

   ***

   "So, in other words, you tossed your own eight-year-
old child into a pit filled with starving cats?" Nabiki
drawled, wanting to disbelieve what she was hearing.

   "Oh my," Kasumi said with a faint frown. "That
isn't very nice."

   "As if," Akane muttered in turn.

   Genma, for his part, decided that silence was the
best answer he could give at the moment. After all, his son
was better at explaining these things than he was.

   "Well, that wasn't exactly the only time, you
know," Ranma softly stated. "I didn't learn it on the first
try, so we had to repeat the training until I got it right,
or died trying.

   "Unfortunately, I didn't get it right..."

   ***

   Little Ranma lay in the pit, piteously trying to
cover his head with his arms.

   His gi, once pristine white, was now covered with
splotches of bright red and rusty brown from where his own
blood had stained the cloth. Large portions of the gi were
torn off, and what remained lay in tatters around his small
frame.

   The cats, now delirious from being in the pit for
so long without water, were avidly lapping at what open
wounds they could get at. Desperate, they tried their best
to assure their own survival, as was the law of nature.

   One cat, irritated that it's own source of fluid
had dried up, clawed at the back of the boy's ankle, by
chance opening up one of the child's main arteries.

   Screaming in pain, Ranma's back arched in a bow,
exposing the front of his body once again to the fevered
attention of his tormentors.

   A coincidental flash of claws across his throat
opened up the right side of his neck. Weakened from blood
loss, Ranma was unable to even scream as the last of his
blood drained unto the hard-packed mud beneath him.

   As the light finally faded from his eyes, one cat
appeared from the darkness. A cat who hadn't participated
in the boy's torture, or subsequent death.

   This cat, a smallish-sized gray tom with a golden-
yellow crescent-moon shaped mark on it's forehead, gaped in
horror at the scene before him.

   Despite the fact that he had been in the pit the
entire time, he hadn't thought that it would all end like
this. He had expected the boy to get hurt, yes, as there
was nothing that he himself could do to stop the other cats.

   He had refused to believe that the boy would die,
though. Every fiber of his being told him that the boy's
father would never let his son die. He had believed that
the man would save his child at the last moment, as he
always had before.

   He was wrong.

   And so, he had to do something. He had to somehow
save the life of this little boy, even at the cost of his
own existence.

   A bright flash of golden light filled the pit, even
as the small boy died. This light centered on the two of
them, cat and boy, for the merest of moments before fading
away.

   The cat had done the only thing that he could do to
save the boy. The boy's body was too damaged to sustain
life, so a new body needed to be attained.

   It was freely given.

   ***

   "He gave up his life, so that I could live on,"
Ranma finished. "Because my own body had died, he gave me
his own, which is now the me that you see sitting before
you."

   Ranma looked at each of the Tendo girls in turn,
his pale yellow cat's eyes gauging their reaction to his
story.

   Akane, the youngest of the three, was obviously
going through a continuing cycle of denial and anger within
her mind. Even though she was not looking at anything in
particular, the glares that she was giving towards the low
table were quite forceful.

   Nabiki, who considered herself the paragon of logic
and intelligence, was working it over in her mind. Her face
held no outwards expression other than the light gracing of
disbelief.

   A rather screwed woman, that. One that he would
have to keep on constant guard against, lest she take
advantage of him in his moments of negligence.

   Kasumi, the eldest of the three, held his eye for
the longest. There was something about the young woman that
demanded his attention, even though she subconsciously
tried to place herself in the 'backdrop' section of
people's minds.

   If he hadn't been paying such close attention, he
would not have noticed the quick glance that she gave to
his father. A glance that, denying her peaceful nature, was
filled with anger and contempt.

   But only for the briefest of moments, the memory of
which was almost lost in the blinding purity of her follow-
up smile. A smile that was aimed at him.

   A groan was heard from nearby, breaking the
tableau. Everyone's attention shifted to Soun Tendo, who
was just now waking up from his shock-induced slumber.

   "Oh my," Kasumi said, moving to her father's side.
"Are you well, Father?"

   Soun groaned again, opening his eyes.

   "Tell me... was it a dream?" he asked. "Was it a
dream, that my old friend showed up, bringing with him a
strapping young lad that could only be his son?"

   Kasumi paused, a pregnant silence, and spared a
glance in Ranma's direction. He could see a look of unease
pass across her face, but was unsure wither it was at him
not being so, or having to tell her father of that fact.

   Or both.

   "I'm sorry, Father," she said with a downcast gaze.
"Your friend did arrive, but there is something that you
should know about his son..."

   Soun shot up into a sitting position, launching the
wet cloth that had rested on his forehead across the room.
His dark eyes, deadly serious, locked with his daughter's.

   "Tell me," he simply said.

   "Well... He's..." she visibly swallowed. "He's
dead, Father. He died in a training accident many years
ago."

   Soun closed his eyes and laid back down.

   "Is this true, old friend?" he asked softly, not
even bothering to look over at the stock man that he had
seen in the corner of his eye as he had talked to his
daughter.

   "Yes, it is," Genma sighed. "And it was my fault..."

   "And so, the promise to join our two schools...
What of that, my friend?" Soun asked. "How can we fulfill
our pledge of honor, if there is no boy-child for one of my
daughters to marry?"

   "There's no easy answer for that, old friend,"
Genma admitted.

   "But there are some things that you are not aware
of," Ranma broke in. "Many things were said while you slept
that have vast importance."

   Soun sat up, and glanced around the room, trying to
place the origin of these words. His dark eyes pierced all
corners of the room, and tried to probe past the rice paper
walls, looking for the speaker.

   Finding none, he looked at his old friend, noticing
for the first time the man's nervousness. It was doubtful
that the wrinkles the man was creating in his gi pants
would disappear with a mere washing.

   "Who... who said that?" he asked nervously.

   "That would be me," said the same voice.

   Even as he realized that it was indeed the small
gray cat that had spoken, his mind refused to believe it to
be so. All logic dictated that cats did not speak, despite
the evidence to the contrary that now sat before him.

   "W-w-w-w-wha..."

   "Daddy," Kasumi rebuked. "Now is not the time for
another nap."

   "Y-yes, Kasumi," he admitted. "But tell me..."

   "Yes, Father," she nodded. "He is a cat, and he is
speaking. He explained it all to us while you took your
nap."

   "I... I see..."

   "Tendo, old friend..." Genma sighed, finally
releasing his death-grip on his pants legs. "I'd like you
to meet my... son."

   "I'm Ranma Saotome," Ranma said with a short cat-
bow. "Sorry about this."



   To Be Continued...



   Now, right about now, you're all thinking to
yourself 'what in the hell is this man thinking'. Or,
perhaps, something even more negative in origin.

   To this, I merely reply that I am writing this for
my own enjoyment and, if others find enjoyment from reading
it, all the better.

   If you have any constructive criticism, something
along the lines of pointing out problems that I might have
missed, I will gladly accept them.

   If you have suggestions on where to go with this
story, I will accept them, but I give no promise that I
will use them.

   Thank you.

[Merc]

"Heh," Genma grinned an evil grin. "There's still a few tricks left in this old man yet, boy. Don't ever forget that. I may have taught you all you know, but I haven't yet taught me all that *I* know."

I know that's a typo, but it's amusing as hell hearing that from Genma. ^_^

Anyhow, on the story itself. Interesting read, and pretty amusing mental image to have a cat beating up on a martial artist. I'm hoping to see more of this, mostly cause I'd once considered writing something like this just to see if it could be done.

And now it has, and I honestly like your version of this more. And hey, it means I can continue being a lazy ass about writing if other people write what I'd have liked to see. ^_^

One thing I do hope for though, is that Ranma immidiately learn to turn humanoid in appearance, as the Mau are capable of, otherwise it'd just feel like an extended, alternate version of Kenko's 'Ranma/Akane are mau' spamfic.

Also, even if you don't include Sailor Moon later on as an x-over/fusion and are just using the Mau from the series as a concept in this fic, you probably should still include something in the disclaimer about SM.

[Gryphon Aerie]

Heh, thanks for the heads'up on that typo. It is now fixed.

Oh, and as for him being able to turn into a human-type... I was thinking on having it so that he can, he just doesn't like to. It's comfortable being a cat, his father doesn't try to marry him off nearly as much, and he can fight well enough in that form as it is.

[Dracos]

Just glancing over it.  Nabiki's attitude annoyed me.  It didn't make sense, greedy or not she'd be flustered by the appearence of a talking shape-shifting cat.  The lines seem posed just to make her come out bad, and aren't really funny in context.

To me the premise isn't interesting, but then I told you that beforehand.

Dracos

[Lufio]

EDIT:  Added new twist with Kuno family.

Previous Posting:
Claimer: I do, however, own the computer I am
writing this on. I can also claim that I did not copy this
idea from any other writer and, to my knowledge, this is a
rather original idea.

Well...  I wouldn't say that other people haven't had that idea before, but I'd agree I haven't seen anyone else actually write the story out.  That I recall off-hand.  Then again, you did use the too-too-familiar Tendo family / Jusenkyu intro, so that's quite indicative that you're not quite sure where to go with it.  On the other hand, you did tweak the cliched intro enough to make it interesting.  I'll give you that.  

The narrative twist that Artemis was one of the cats in the nekoken training and had melded with Ranma because both were dying is something that popped into my head before from reading stuff where one of the mooncats became Ranma's companion/guardian after separating from Genma during said training.  For my idea, though, the plot outline focused on the Sailor Moon elements.  Main plot involved Artemis disappearing from time to time, getting curiousity of other cast members piqued.  Mystery of little boy/teenager that pops from time to time after the Dead Moon arc.  Flashbacks of rookie Sailor V and eccentric Artemis.  Blah blah blah.  

Anyways, since you're focusing on Ranma elements with your story, you need to decide how much Sailor Moon stuff you're going to include in your story.  Periodic attacks on the populace by monsters?  Is that why there are so many martial artists in the area?  Not everyone is interested in becoming the victim.  Some of the cast being magical girls/devil hunters?  Are you going to have Kuno siblings as self-proclaimed eradicators of evil?  Will you have them pursue Ranma in order to have him as their mascot?  You really ought to create more major divergences from the canon storyline as soon as possible.  It'll help you come up with new ideas as to where to take the story.  Otherwise, you'll just have a generic Ranma as a cat story.