Saint Akane by Gregg Sharp ===== A Bet fic, as promised... --------------------------------------------- pond by Takahashi-san stone by some Akane fan --------------------------------------------- Toltiir was busy. He watched as a number of entries were cast into the Bet. Here, one of Magneto's plots worked, and the number of mutants increased dramatically worldwide. Akane Tendo, as Reflex, who could imitate any non-chi martial arts technique or manuever after watching it once. Kasumi Tendo, as Kasumi, the broadcast empath who projected niceness. Nabiki Tendo, as Mercenary Girl, able to read auras and probability lines. Ryouga Hibiki, the living chi battery, and Ranma Saotome, with the mutant ability of an incredible learning curve. Here, a demoness named Marller killed a young man named Keiichi Morisato and retreated back to Hell with his soul. She learns why you do not want to piss Belldandy off, and Belldandy's version of the Shishi Hokoudan is sufficient to permanently dissipate one of Marller's Analogues. Here, a young woman named Rei Ayanami makes a decision. Awakening feelings for the boy named Shinji Ikari thrusts the two into a very different scenario. Here, the internationally known master thief Arsene Lupin III steals the Yagami and the heart of a space pirate named Ryoko. Here, Tenchi Masaki finds out that the Juraian wedding night includes such things as candlewax, whips, chains, and leather. See Tenchi run. Run Tenchi run. It was because Toltiir was so busy that a few timelines got altered by nonauthorized personnel. One tiny rock was thrown by an apprentice troll. Here is his ripple. ------------------------------------------------- "Aaaakaaanneeee!" Kasumi stood with Nabiki and her father, calling out for their lost sister. "How could she just have wandered off like that?" Soun Tendo sighed. This trip to Ryugenzawa was beginning to look like a bad idea. Now his youngest daughter had wandered away from their campsite and gotten lost. //A ripple formed, the timeline altered.// "You two stay here," Soun announced. "Kasumi, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on your sister. Blow this signal whistle if your sister shows up. I'm going to find Akane." "Okay, father," came the reply from the precocious elder daughter. "I'm sure you'll find her soon." -------------------------------------------- Saint Akane? a look into an alterniverse by GreggSharp -------------------------------------------- Akane stretched and put on the traditional clothing of her job, the red and white of a Shrine Maiden. She was getting up extra early today because she had much more to accomplish than usual. Her chores were done quickly and efficiently, having been done for so many years now that she was now quite efficient in their execution. Prayer, breakfast, then off to the first duty she had on this day. Uncle Matsuyuki and her cousin Mamoru Tendo watched her, but knew how busy Akane would be today, and so kept a respectful silence. She could always count on them and Aunt Yuki, anyway. The markers read Tendo, and Akane settled herself before them, lowering herself into the proper position of respectful prayer. "Well, mother, I'm turning sixteen in a few months," Akane's said, her soft voice carrying across the stillness of the morning. "I know, it hardly seems any time at all since you died of the cancer. I hope you're proud of how I turned out. "Father," Akane faltered for a moment as an image came to her of her father carrying her back to their camp, and of him setting her down, yelling at her not to follow as he rushed back to the campsite. Of her looking anyway, to see the giant weasel, and what was left of her sisters. Another image came to her, of her father dying of the wounds he'd received, and of Soun Tendo's final request. "Father," resumed Akane. "I am almost ready now to find the son of your friend Genma Saotome and to respect your pledge to your friend and your last request of me. My studies in the Art go well, though my other duties and training don't leave me with nearly the time you would prefer. "Kasumi, Nabiki, as I do every year, I apologize. Had I not acted so irresponsibly, had I not gone wandering off by myself...If I could change places with you, so that I had died and you and father were alive today, I would do so without hesitation. Take what comfort that you can that your sister has indeed gotten over such behavior as caused your deaths. "My studies and duties as a Shinto shrine maiden have given me a calm and understanding that the child I was may never have reached." Akane's eyes swept the names engraved in stone before her. Regret filled her eyes as her eyes lingered on the marker for Soun Tendo. "When I marry the son of Genma Saotome, all this shall be brought to closure, I shall cease to be a Tendo, and you can rest at last, father. I shall not fail!" Akane paused, but apparently neither Kasumi nor Nabiki were speaking today. ------------------------------- Akane's eyes widened as she came out of a mountain pass and beheld the large number of springs before her. "The spirits here are VERY restless," she stated aloud, then cocked her head as if listening to a reply. "Yes, I understand. You don't want to enter. Neither do I, this site is very powerful. I'd feel a lot better if I could erect some spirit wards around the whole place." Akane paused again, listening to a voice that no one else could hear. "I'm not sure, it doesn't seem evil, per se. More like a fundamental force of chaos." Her eyes caught the cliffs. "Those look like a good vantage point. I ought to be able to see the whole valley from there. Maybe I can find Mister Saotome and get back to school soon." A woman's faint voice seemed to whisper in the breeze that there wasn't much chance of that. -------------------------------- "Come back here, old man!" A girl's voice surprised Akane and she turned to see a panda knock some strange boy into her. She reached for the cliff, but the boy was tangled up with her. Gritting her teeth, Akane pushed away from the boy, as landing in a heap with him would only cause both of them more injuries. She caught a glimpse of some girl continuing to pursue the panda. Akane looked down at the rapidly approaching pool and hoped this wouldn't be TOO bad. ------------------------------ Akane trudged into town, weary from her journey. She'd almost caught up with them at that Amazon Village, then almost caught up with them again at some cafe. Both times they'd been chased off by some purple-haired girl who'd been ranting about how she was going to kill Ranma. Now she found herself in Nerima, staring at what used to be the Tendo Dojo. Her ancestral home had been bought, cheap, and was now... Now it was a boarding house in Nerima called Maison Tanoshii, having been bought by a young businesswoman who'd then turned it into lowrent apartments. This was where the trail ended, according to school records. For some reason the two Saotomes had come here instead of going to their own homes off in Juuban. "Hah! Ranma, you come back here!" Akane's head jerked up, as the name she'd uncovered had been Ranma Saotome as the son of Genma. She looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her promised fiance. A young man in a pigtail, grinning ear-to-ear, wearing Chinese clothes almost ran over her before jumping onto the roof of the house and running across it. A young woman in a local school uniform glared up at where the boy had just vanished. "Ranma! You can't get away that easily!" Watching the woman run behind the building, Akane sighed and went in search of someone who might be a panda at the moment. ------------------------------------------ "You're a TENDO!?" The old man sat back and stared. "B-B-But I thought that..." "I am a Tendo. The last surviving daughter of Soun Tendo, and the one promised to marry your son." Akane was calm, using her meditation techniques to reduce her anxiety level. "Uh-oh," Genma managed after a moment. "Uhm, there's a little problem with that." "Well, I wouldn't call Ukyou here little..." Ranma began, only to be cut off as a spatula slapped down on his head. "Whattaya mean by that?!" Ukyou glared at Ranma briefly. "I'm sorry, sugar, but Ranma's already MY fiancee. His dad and my dad arranged it when we were kids." Akane was completely calm, merely raising an eyebrow at the display of violence. How...unenlightened. "Yes, but the agreement to marry a Tendo to a Saotome has been in existence since their before any of us were even born. In terms of time and arrangements of honor, my claim has a higher priority. I am sorry about this, but your own engagement to Ranma is therefore invalid." "Hey, waitaminute!" Ranma protested. Everyone ignored him. "I ain't a piece of meat to get passed around, y'know!" "Besides," Ukyou said with a glare at Akane, "I've known Ranchan since we were kids! Sure he had to leave for his training journey, but we're not only engaged, we're friends!" "Ranchan," Akane mouthed in disbelief. How cutesy could you get? "Honor demands that I marry Ranma. It isn't something that particularly intrigues me, either, but it is something that must be done." "Well, that is true," allowed Genma as he recovered from his shock. "The Tendo claim IS more valid..." "WHAT?!?" Ukyou and Ranma exclaimed in unison, staring at Genma as if he suddenly grown horns and a forked tail. -------------------------------------------- There you have it: an Akane who is kind, patient, intelligent, forgiving, honorable, honest, and possessed of the maturity and wisdom that is often attributed to her by numerous Ranma Critics. What does Akane change into? It ain't a pig. For that matter, neither is Ryouga. I leave this open for anyone who wants to take it over. Imagine if Ryouga turns into a tiger, or Akane turns into a wolf... C'mon, one of you Akane fans can easily take this story and make Akane a wonderful foil for the usual Ranma insanity. Akane's skills? She's not quite as good at martial arts, but has the traditional anime abilities ascribed to being a Shinto Shrine Maiden. This includes her "spirit advisors" - her dead sisters who may get drawn into the insanity. She may have a guardian spirit as well, again i leave the details to anyone who wants to take it over. The Boarding House notes I've worked out are: *the young, ditzy, inexperienced apartment manager - Mihoshi. This could be the Mihoshi of Tenchi Muyo, or just a similar character. *the weird and somewhat mysterious college student Jiro Kyofu, whose career choice is apparently mad scientist. *Orphan girl Kimiko Nogiwa, is she a mutant, an esper, or a space alien? Maybe she's just a normal girl....nah. *around chapter 4 or 5, Shampoo becomes a boarder, so as to be close to her airen, keeps trying to get even closer... Ranma and Ukyou were engaged back when they were kids. Both have known about the engagement for years (Ukyou longer than Ranma) and have gotten used to the idea. The yattai never happened as it wasn't necessary to get Genma's agreement. Akane's got her work cut out for her, ne? ---------------------------------------------- oh well, considering doing something with the Jusenkyo pools like Chris Angel is doing with the various martial arts. a list of all the various pools that appear in the fanfics, and the variant Jusenkyos. may be a massive project, but could be amusing, ne? ja ne, gregg metroanime@aol.com http://members.aol.com/greggsharp/index.html