The Taste of Battle

Chapter One: A Bitter Escape.

'Of course the world rains down on me in two ways... I can't even get a good treat.' Ranma thought as he stared at the 'closed' sign in front of the Ice Cream store's wet glass door.

It was rather unusual actually, the place never really closed...

'Maybe they ran out of money because the workers kept giving me free ice cream... Nah... Even if it was how I was supposed to pay for all that ice cream, Nabiki would rip all the yen I had directly from my hands to pay off my tab.'

Ranma shook their currently female head and walked away from the store, uncaring about the amount of water raining down.

It was a normal occurrence now. Say something dumb or easily misunderstood, get malleted into the air, walk to the store and get some ice cream after some odd event activates the Jusenkyo curse and then head home where you would get verbally slammed on for being 'unfaithful to your fiancé.

Suddenly Ranma sneezed, sniffing lightly as she rubbed her nose.

'Oh man, I hope I don't get a cold... last time I did Nabiki had me pay for her "services" and even so I was still left alone when something supposedly important came her way.'

And so Ranma walked aimlessly, hoping to find somewhere who had a boy who looked hopeful enough that they would crack under the cursed teen's 'charm' and give them free stuff.

Or at least just something that she could get out the rain.

Sadly, in some sick stroke of luck, every store she walked by was closed... maybe the weather was worse than she thought, over time you get numb to cold water when it is magically magnetized to you.

Her drifting thoughts were pulled together suddenly when she saw something that made her eyes light up with hope...

An 'open' sign on a wooden framed glass door, the light from inside cutting into the grey above like it was the eye of a storm.

Sluggishly the cursed boy shuffled to the store's entrance and opened it, a bell meeting the currently female ears as she walked inside.

That was when a sugary scent met her nose, causing a little amount of saliva to escape from the side of her mouth.

"*Cough*, didn't expect to see a customer in this weather... in fact I didn't expect to see a customer these days with all those fancy places opening up and taking the customers... *Cough*" an aged voice called from behind the old counter that took up a bit of space in the corner of the medium sized store which had seen better days.

This brought Ranma back to reality.

"Ahh... all the other stores were closed." Ranma said while rubbing the back of her head, making the old man behind the counter chuckle-cough heavily.

"No matter, just happy to see a human face these days... can I get you anything? I mean Ice Cream isn't all that good for this weather bu-

Ranma slid onto one of the creaky chairs at the counter, her eyes sparkling at the words which began with Ice and ended with Cream.

"I'll take it!"

"With that kind of emotion it's on the house." The man coughed out as he pulled out a sundae glass and opened up the freezer behind him.

An hour later a row of the sundae glasses were cleaned of cream and toppings, another one quickly being made as Ranma piled a full one into her mouth.

"Well I've never seen a girl able to clear twenty of those and want more... a-

Heavy and pained coughs stopped the smiling man's words, it also made Ranma lower her spoon.

"Ya alright, ol' man?" Ranma asked.

"Well I would normally say yes... but my days are ticking down faster than I would hope these days."

"Anythin' I can do ta' help?" the cursed individual asked, even after an hour she felt like she knew the man for a long time.

Maybe it was the stomach full of ice cream easing her mind to trust him?

"I'm afraid not."

"Okay then..."

Ranma once more started to eat the sundae prepared for her, the sound of pattering rain breaking the silence between the two.

Ten minutes later the man had another fit of coughs, this time a worrying red tinge to his hand when he pulled it back from his mouth made Ranma look at him worriedly.

"Are you sure I can't do anything? Maybe I should get you to a hospital..." Ranma drifted off when the man started laughing.

"Don't think that'll help now lass... but actually..."

Ranma stared at the man as he gained huge smile, the look on his face making him look like he struck gold.

"Say, lass... You want to try your hand at making some Ice Cream of your own? You can eat what you make after you do."

"Sure... I guess I'll give it a try." Ranma said in a confused tone.

"Get behind the counter then; let a master of the art teach you how it's done..."

And so Ranma watched and learned, soon the moon made its entrance to the sky and Ranma suddenly realised that Akane would bash him into a pulp if he didn't get back to the Tendo home soon.

But he wasn't going empty handed, she carried a tub of own creation...

She would most certainly be going back to that store; her day had been one of the best of recent time in her life.

Sadly she was right about what would happen when she got home, Akane quickly knocked the cursed boy unconscious with a swing to the head after he put the tub behind some ice packs in the freezer.

And it was about to get worse for him too... even more badly than the failed wedding that had happened a few months before.

[*A Few Days Later*]

Ranma woke up to no Koi Pond, surprising the currently female teen quite a lot. Usually Ranma's 'pops' would wake her up with a throw into the water, then they would fight and breakfast would be eaten after her victory.

She quickly made her way down the stairs and was met with the sight of her mother alone in the dining area, a look of disappointment on her face as soon as her eyes met Ranma.

"Please sit my son." Nodoka ordered, which Ranma was quick to follow as she sat on the seat opposite her mother.

"I have recently learned something which has made me question your manliness. If you confess to this yourself punishment will be lesser than it would be normally." The Saotome Matriarch said after a while.

"I have no idea what you mean, of course I am a man... well you know what I mean but I most certainly haven't done anything 'unmanly' recently" Ranma replied.

'If you ignore my Ice Cream eating, but Mom wouldn't know about that... it has to be something else.'

"Oh? Then what is this!"

Nodoka pulled out a wad of pictures from her sleeves and threw them onto the table, causing them to spread out.

Every one was of Ranma in female form, laying in suggestive poses.

"I... I don't know what this is Mom! Really! You know me; I would never do something like this."

"Clearly I don't know you... in fact, I don't think I have ever met you before... but I most certainly know a ronin when I see one."

Those words made Ranma's blood run cold.

"M-mom... I really have no idea... d-don't do what I think you're doing..."

"I have no child. All I see is a filthy wench in front of me who I suggest leaves now before I do something that I would regret for I would only ruin my Kimono with red."

Any of Ranma's integrity shattered at that moment. The old cocky martial artist melted away, how does one be a martial artist to a family art when you have no family, and all that was left was what could be salvaged, a girl who feared for her life

So she did what any scared person would do.

She ran right out the door, ignoring the Pixie haired Tendo who walked down the stairs with a sleepy look who saw the sight.

Nabiki stood there confused, but quickly filed the confusing sight for when she had some energy to function.

Nabiki would soon meet Nodoka in the dining area and question why she was there, the woman would reply "Just waiting for my husband to wake up." With a look on her face that showed none of the events that unfolded just moments before.

[*Elsewhere*]

Ranma ran into the store, the 'closed' sign not mattering as she looked for the old man who she met just days

Yet all she found was a file with a letter taped to the top.

"Dear Lass.

Remember when I said my days were numbered... well it was a lot worse than what I thought, after you left the store I realised I would need to sort out a few things before I kicked the bucket.

The only thing you really need to know is that you own this store now. the reason I asked you to make the Ice Cream was to see if you had the same spark I did when I opened up the old place... you had an even brighter one than I did.

This made you the perfect one in line to own it next, so this means as soon as you sign your name in the forms in the folder the place will be under your name.

Don't worry; this stuff has been sorted out already with the government, so even if I pass they will still know.

And also don't worry about the upkeep of the place, the next few months are already paid for so just be sure to make a little money and you should have a good run.

I'm sorry that this old man had to thrust this onto you, but I'm sure that the girl I saw eat a quarter of my daily stock in half an hour can handle the store.

Just keep the doors open and everything will be fine.

Heck, I even added adoption papers in there if your own folks didn't want you going down this path even if you wanted to.

Bo Vine.

And don't question how I got these things set up so quickly, an old man must keep his secrets."

Ranma's tears ran freer than ever before, she crumpled onto the counted and let loose a stream of loud sobs.

'I can't do this... why did you believe in my old man... I'm nothing now.'

An hour of sobbing later and Ranma looked down at the papers, almost ready to just throw them in the trash.

But for some reason... she couldn't.

Even after what she had lost, a spark remained.

She stared at the papers in front of her, a pen in her hand ready to do.

And then...

The noise of pen scratches kept on for about a few minutes later.

And mere few days after that...

Ranma the Ronin, previously Ranma Saotome, Became Ranko Vine.

WAIT DON'T KILL ME.

PLZ

ORBIT

CYA