In another world, another time, Ranma would have been a dedicated martial artist. Well, mostly. He tended to slack in that timeline until pushed by circumstances to master a new set of techniques or counter the same by a new/recurring opponent. For him to go out and try to learn a new technique on his own was much more rare.
Here, however, he had a purpose. He'd known for years that his old man had told him that Hotaru needed to be protected. That it was Ranma's purpose in life.
Ranma had since watched and read all sorts of stories that involved that very concept, as he could relate now to the events in that sort of thing. She was his princess, sort of, and he was the samurai/gunman/knight who was charged with protecting her.
Ranma therefore was not weaker for having this new focus in his life. He'd learned more at this point than he otherwise might have, and more than he thought his father suspected.
"I rescue Hotaru," said Ranma again, glaring at his father.
Genma responded in Japanese, and whatever he said did not sound at all polite.
"Son, I understand you want to go off after your girlfriend, but what can you do when we already have a military force out there?" General Hammond had been young once, in love once or twice, but the idea of a foreign national being allowed access to the Stargate - unthinkable. Even now he was still inclined to use the expedient solution of sheathing it in concrete and burying it.
"General?" An aide stuck his head into the room. "We have activity at the Stargate, it looks like the team's coming back."
"You two wait here, I'll be right back," ordered the General, following the aide. Then he stopped and looked back in the room. "Where'd the boy go?"
Genma looked around and said something else in Japanese that didn't sound polite.
Ninjitsu. Not a particularly powerful style, but effective and it had some decent special techniques.
Several times guards raised their weapons and investigated a shadow, only to miss a flitting shadow behind them.
This was the kind of task he had been raised to do, and if he had to prove himself in order to rescue Hotaru - that was what he would do.
Now let's see, if I was some 'Sta-ru-ge-to', where would I be? Probably the lowest level because they would be restricting access to it.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" General Hammond asked.
"Ninjitsu technique," grumbled the large father walking around in the General's shadow.
"'Ninja'?" asked the General, whirling on Genma. "Your son is a ninja?"
"Not ninja. Use ninja technique. Hotaru fiancee of boy," explained Genma, frowning as he dredged up his English skills. The more he used it, the more he remembered - but it had been awhile since he'd done anything like this. He'd learned it years ago at a base while studying. "Commando training. Spe-ci-a-ru O-pa-su."
General Hammond stared for a moment before continuing at a slightly faster pace down the corridor. "Special ops training on a child? Captain Tsubasa! Go over the folder on these two and summarize it in light of these new developments."
"Already have sir," said the aide. "These two are practitioners of a highly advanced martial art style whose name translates as 'Anything Goes School Of Indiscriminate Grappling.'"
"Sounds like something O'Neill would find interesting," said the General.
"It seems similar to the 'Cotton Fist' or 'Goju Ryu' styles. Use anything that is useful, adopt your opponent's moves into your own, adapt like water to any situation, and so on." Captain Tsubasa opened a small notebook which had a bright baseball logo on it. "Expert thieves though they stick to penny-ante stuff, mainly food."
"Is for Art," token protested Genma.
"You have no idea how much trouble your son could find himself in, do you?" The General glared briefly at Genma. "Tsubasa, take Mister Saotome to his room and post a guard. Harlich, coordinate the search for his son."
"You not find him," protested Genma, "he use Umisenken. Special technique. Is not ninja, is like ninja. Tell Ranma it ninja, he learn so -"
"Yes I'm sure that's fascinating but we just don't have the time now," said the General. "I'll speak to you later."
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Fri, 01 Oct 2004 21:50)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.