The following manga and anime used in this fanfic each belongs
to their respective creators.
Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Sailor Moon belongs to
Naoko Takeuchi and AMG! belongs to Kosuke Fujishima.

Thanks to Tannim for hosting this fic. http://tannim.anifics.com

And now On with the Show!

A Different Path
Chapter 2 - Revelations 
By Draknor

*******************

"WELCOME MY CHILD. ITS GOOD TO SEE YOU." 

Kami-sama smiled warmly as His newest goddess walked into his office 
accompanied by the Norns.

They had earlier shown her around the place and she was awestruck by how 
vast Heaven really was. They had even shown her Yggdrassil the World Tree 
and how it worked. 

"Um thank you Kami-sama." Ranma-chan replied in a timid voice.

"THERE'S NO NEED TO BE SO FORMAL CHILD. LIKE I SAID YOU ARE WELCOME IN THIS
PLACE. OH AND YOU NEED A NEW NAME. HOW DO YOU LIKE THE NAME SAKURA REIKO?"

The newly named Reiko nodded in acceptance and looked at the three goddesses.

She is very nervous, thought Urd. Better do something. 

"Father Reiko had taken a tour just before we bring her here to see you."

"THAT'S WONDERFUL! SO HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS PLACE?"

"It's huge Father! I am begining to like it here." Reiko replied excitedly.

"EXCELLENT MY CHILD. NOW BEFORE YOU GO TO YOUR TRAINING THERE'S A FEW 
THINGS I WILL LIKE TO TALK TO YOU IN PRIVATE. THANK YOU DAUGHTERS FOR 
BRINING HER TO ME."

With that the Norns took their leave. 

Alone now with the Almighty, Reiko swallowed hard before a chair appeared 
before her. 

"TAKE A SEAT CHILD AND RELAX. NOW BEFORE WE BEGIN I WILL GIVE YOU THE 
GODHOOD. BEHOLD THE FINAL UNDERSTANDING."

Reiko felt her whole being ripped apart like being in a Hiryu Shoten Ha.
At the same time she felt love and warmth like she never felt before 
except when her mother held her long ago. She didnt want to give up on 
that feeling. Before she knew it, it was over. 

"HOW DID YOU FEEL CHILD? YOU DID VERY WELL. MOST OTHERS WILL FAINT WHEN
UNDERGOING THE FINAL UNDERSTANDING."

"I felt like i was whole and loved and then i feel myself again. Humble 
again. Once being held high above the rest now brought down to my feet."

"GOOD. YOU REALISED IT. NOW THERE'S A FEW THINGS I NEED TO DISCUSS WITH 
YOU. FIRST YOU HAVE POWERS WHICH COULD BE USED FOR GOOD OR ABUSED WITH A 
TEMPTATION TO MISUSE."

"I ALSO HAVE SOMEONE WILLING TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME MARTIAL ARTS SCROLLS
LONG LOST AND ONLY KEPT SECRET. HE WILL BE TEACHING YOU. YOU WILL BE 
OPENING A NEW SCHOOL OF MARTIAL ARTS CALLED THE SAKURA SCHOOL OF HEAVEN'S 
WAY. A FITTING DESCRIPTION NE?" 

"NEXT THERE'S A EMPTY DOJO SITTING RIGHT IN JUUBAN. YOU WILL BE IN CHARGE 
OF IT AND WILL BE ATTENDING SCHOOL IN JUUBAN HIGH. DESPITE YOUR NEW 
KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES WITH THE GODHOOD, YOUR EDUCATION LEAVES NOTHING TO 
BE DESIRED."

"BELLDANDY AND HER SISTERS LIVE IN JUUBAN SO ITS CONVENIENT. ALSO THEY
WILL BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR TRAINING IN NOT ONLY GODDESS TRAINING BUT ALSO
FEMININE TRAINING." Kami-sama finished. 

"Yes Father. I will do my best and not disappoint you or your faith in me."

"GOOD. I AM BECOMING RATHER FOND OF MY NEWEST DAUGHTER. WELL THEN OFF YOU 
GO. I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN SOMETIME. GOODBYE DAUGHTER."

"Goodbye Father and Arigato Gozaimasu." Reiko left Kami-sama's office. 

The three Norn goddesses were waiting for her. 

"Hi. I am Urd, Norn Goddess of the Past. 2nd Class 2nd Category Limited. 
Pleased to meet you." The tall platinum blonde beamed at her. 

"And i am Skuld, Norn Goddess of the Future. 2nd Class 2nd Category 
Limited. Welcome Reiko-neechan." The young dark haired girl smiled. 

"Reiko-neechan eh? Well looks like the squirt likes you."

"Who are you calling squirt you old hag?"

"OLD HAG? Why you little cabbage!" Urd began glowing, dark lightning 
forming on her hands.

"You insult me first you old witch!" Skuld took out her bombs and prepared 
to throw them. 

"Sisters please. Reiko-chan is watching us. She is waiting for us to 
brief her on her training schedule. I am sorry Reiko-chan. They had gone 
back to their usual fight." Belldandy interceded. 

"Heh it brought back some memories of the fights i used to have with Akane.
Now that i think of it, most of the fights should not happpen if we were
thinking rather than trashing." Reiko mused.

"Well i guess we better get going and welcome to the family kiddo." 
Urd laughed nervously. 

"Thanks Oneechan." Reiko smiled beautifully. 

==================

Meanwhile at the Tendou Dojo the next day, Ranma was crying with joy as 
he jumped around and kept splashing himself with cold water. Not seeing any
change, he cried out "Never going to be a girl, never going to be
a girl. I am cured! I AM CURED!" repeatedly. 

Akane looked at him in disgust. So the pervert got himself cured. Why, that
will make the fathers happy and leap for joy. She thought of the previous
day's events and found herself wishing that it was the girl instead of the
boy who is here now. She would miss the red haired girl who smiled and 
apologised to her something Ranma-kun would NEVER DO. 

Nabiki looked on sadly. She had hoped that Ranma wasn't cured. She hung 
her head as she thought of the friendship she had developed with the 
redhead. She had found a kindred soul for only a short time and now she 
was gone. Forever. She would cherish the happy memories they had shared.
Nabiki found it suspicious and vowed to get to the bottom of the matter 
even if it cost her everything she owned. 

Kasumi was a little sad too. She found herself getting fond of the girl
who pulled her out of her shell and helped her straighten out her 
relationship with Dr Ono Tofu. A strong willed girl and a role model for 
her. 

Soun and Genma were too estatic to speak other than "The families are going
to be joined" and waving victory fans. 

That was when the chaos began.

Ryouga showed up earlier than expected due to the wrong directions Reiko 
gave him. Neither did he know that it was his last gift from her. 
Shouting the P-chan battle cry of "Ranma Because of you i have seen HELL.
Prepare to die!" he attacked the pigtailed boy. 

Next Kuno arrived followed by Kodachi yelling "foul sorcerer. Today the 
heavens have decreed that i the Blue Thunder shall smite victory and 
free the beautous Akane Tendou and the pigtailed goddess from your evil 
spells!" Brandishing his boken he joined Ryouga in a double team. 

"Give it up Kuno and P-chan! The pigtailed goddess is no more. She is 
gone so give it up."

"OOOHOHOHOHOHO! So the pigtailed harlot is no more. Oh my Ranma-sama this
is a wonderful day for us!" Kodachi swooned.

"Son in law is cured? Oh now he can marry Shampoo." Cologne seemed a little
disappointed. Truth is she was fond of the red haired girl who chose to 
oppose her. A little rebellion is what is needed at the Amazon Village.

"Shampoo so happy Airen cured of curse. Airen bring Shampoo to date now
yes?"

"Saotome how dare you get cured without sharing it with us? Prepare to die!" 

The blind weapons expert grabbed Genma's gi. After realising he didn't have
his spectacles on, he slipped them and turned towards the fight, 
unleashing his numerous weapons from his voluminous sleeves.

Ukyou arrived a second later and heard Mousse's angry yell. "Ranchan, you
are cured? Yay! Now we can go on dates without the changing!"

Then all began to ask him. "How did you get cured?" 

Shrugging his shoulder, he could only reply he didnt know. The rest as usual
didn't believe and started chasing him. Well the boys and Akane chased him
brandishing their trademark weapons while the girls tried to glomp him 
while fending off each other. 

In all what could be worse for Ranma Saotome? 

==================

It was only evening that a tired, battered and bruised pigtailed martial 
arts returned to the Tendou Dojo. He was about to enter the living room 
when a familiar voice called out, "Ranma is that you?"  

"Au-Mother? Mom! I missed you so much!" Ranma quicked ran to Nodoka and 
hugged her fiercely. 

"My son i missed you too. Now let me look at you. You looked every bit the 
man amongst men your father promised. You are so manly. I am happy my 
baby have returned to me." Tears of joy flowed down Nodoka's cheeks. 

She looked around the family as if searching for something. 

"Ano have you seen Ranko around? I have bought some presents for her." 

Everyone stayed frozen for a while. Gathering up her wits, Kasumi decided to
answer. 

"Well Auntie she left a few days ago saying she needed to search for a life
of her own. I doubt she will be coming back. She did say she would contact 
us from time to time to let us know she is ok." An ironic statement even from
Kasumi.

Sighing, Nodoka nodded quietly. Deep down, she had been close to the girl. 
A rather tomboyish girl with a spirit like no other and a heart that could
contain the whole world. A little disappointment marred her otherwise happy
face. A blink from Nabiki told her she needed to talk. Nodding again, she 
directed the middle Tendou to the guest room. Making sure nobody followed,
she motioned for Nabiki to sit and sat facing the girl.

"I hate to do this Auntie but i must confess the truth. Now that Ranma is 
a full man again, no one is willing or bother to tell you the truth. Genma 
especially will try all means to hide this from you."

At the 'a full man again' comment, Nodoka raised an eyebrow. Then there's a 
knock on the door. She went to open it and found Kasumi and Cologne in the 
corridors. Inviting them to enter, she closed the door again before 
continuing the talk. 

"As i was saying, Genma was afraid of the seppuku contract he signed with 
you. He was trying to keep a secret from you even though Ranma is cured.
You see Ranko Tendou is no cousin. She is Ranma in cursed form. Genma 
tried to escape the contract by hiding him in cursed form." 

As Nodoka heard this, she began to lose her cool. Composing herself, she
asked icily. "Is Genma cursed too? How did it happen?" 

"They went to Jusenkyo Valley of Accursed Springs. Whoever fell into a 
spring will take the form of whatever drowned there. Cold water activates 
the curse while hot water reverse it. Genma fell into the spring of Drowned
Panda." Cologne picked up from where Nabiki left.

"And you helped my husband do this to me and my son? Why?" Nodoka was on
the brink of tears.

"Genma was afraid you will force him to commit seppuku if you know about 
the curse. The man amongst men position had cost Ranma-kun a lot of 
problems. His father apparently declined to teach him social skills. 
Because of that Ranma-kun had difficulty making friends."

"Ranko was a different personality. She had tried to help his friends and 
Akane but Ranma remained inert socially. She was a nice and kind girl. 
She helped me get free of the housewife role and Dr Tofu of his inhibitions
whenever he saw me. Because of what she did i am happy and engaged to him." 
Kasumi smiled sweetly at the memories.

"I am proud to have called her my friend. When i was at my lowest, she 
stumbled into my life and made friends with me. My first true friend in 
years. She is the best friend one could ever met. It's a pity Akane and 
the rest will not see her beautiful soul. Arigato Ranko-chan for being 
my friend." Nabiki gave her thanks silently to wherever her dearest 
friend is.

"An excellent revelation Nabiki. Hai. I do acknowledge that Ranko and Son in
Law are two different people. When i saw her patting a black cat secretly,
she was trying to get rid of the Neko fear. And i must indeed commend her
for having the courage to face the darkness. She passed the test she set 
herself admirably. I had seen her crying silently and convulsing in secret
exercises where she faced a few cats and tried to stood there without 
running. A tremendous willpower the girl packed, not even Ranma could match.
That girl is definitely many times better than Son in Law."

"But she is gone now. Before i even know her better. I really must see what
i can do to Genma to punish him for all the lies he told me." 
Nodoka mused darkly. 

"Is she really gone forever? From what i know of Jusenkyo curses, there's no
cure. So Ranma couldn't have been cured." Cologne stated. 

"Wait a second Hibachan. You dont mean..." Nabiki gasped. "Chikusho! Why
didn't i think about that?"

Kasumi gasped while Nodoka looked confused. Cologne then explained the magic
urn and how it worked.

"You don't mean Ranko split away from Ranma and went away not wanting us to 
know and letting us think Ranma was cured do you? Oh my, the poor baby. We
got to find her!" Nodoka exclaimed.

"I dont think we should tell anyone else about this. They might not like it.
Let's keep it to ourselves. Nabiki can you find out where she is? Kasumi 
you can ask the shopkeepers whether they had seen a red haired girl. 
Nodoka i think you should talk to your husband about the engagements. I 
will try to find her by spiritual means." Cologne took charge. 

With a nod, the four women went on their tasks.

==================

Genma was sitting on the porch playing shogi with Soun and both drinking
sake in celebrations of Ranma's 'cure'. A spray of water suddenly came from
nowhere and splashed Genma. Looking around for the culprit, he saw Nodoka 
with a bucket and an angry look on her face. I am a cute little panda,
Genma signed. 

"Well well what have we got here husband? You don't mean to keep me in the
dark about the curses do you? You dont mean to hide from me when i came
here everytime hmm? Or you dont mean to lie to me about 'Ranko' eh?
We need to talk!" 

Grabbing his paw, she led him to the dojo to discuss and the people from 
the living could hear screams of pain from the dojo. Sweatdrops appeared on 
the heads of those in the living room. A couple of moments later, a 
bruised and battered Panda with scratches cuts and slashes all over its body
stumbled clumsily before falling down on its face, out cold. 

"Ranma, why didn't you tell me the truth?" Nodoka stepped in.

Ranma began his explanations and all the engagements and nonsense his 
father put him into.

"Son i am sorry for getting you into this. I never should have let Genma 
take you away." Nodoka said emotionally and silently added, well its a
good thing too. I now know i have a wonderful daughter to love now wherever
she is. 

**************

Next Chapter: Reiko goes to Juuban High School! The new Sakura Dojo opens!
Training begins!

Author's Notes:
Another chapter completed. Hope you like it. Some side stories about how Reiko helped
Cologne, Kasumi, Nabiki and Nodoka will be added depending on ideas. 


Comments or critique are welcome. 

Draknor
jumeau@pacific.net.sg