You'll See IV




Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko, Ranma ½, 
characters, and plot devices are all copyright of Shogakukan, Kitty Animation 
Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. 
This story copyright 1999/2000 - Rebecca A. Catanzaro 

 
Genre/Rating: Welcome, Ranma fans! This is a short teaser for Chapter 4 of 
"You'll See." The rest will follow soon, (or so Becka sincerely hopes o.o;;). 


***** ## *** ## ***** 

Ranma 'girly' Saotome sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the 
cold metal wall. It had been a long day, just like always. For some ungodly 
reason, he had chosen to join the EARTH: Elite Active Regency of Thannie 
Hunters. EARTH was a group a fighters who protected this galaxy from all Thannie 
attacks. 
The Thannies were, of course, the greatest threat the universe had ever faced. 
Towering, dark skinned, humanoid barbarians, they were both a cruel and 
brilliant race who picked galaxies at random to destroy. Their reason? They 
needed to fight, to kill, to destroy, just as humans need to breathe or eat. 
Ranma had been so absorbed in the idea of glory and respect that he'd enrolled 
himself against his mother's wishes. Shipped off to EARTH's base on Mars, he'd 
discovered something about himself. He was a coward. Plain and simply put, he 
feared pain and death, and because he was so disgustingly craven, the other 
braver, better members of EARTH put him down. They assigned him to the most 
tedious and terrible tasks they could think of. His informal title aboard the 
station, even to some of the teachers, was shit-sweeper. 
He was currently contemplating how he could get out of work and earn a little 
shuteye when sleep suddenly became less important. Because Ranma 'girly' Saotome 
ceased to exist. 
Ranma Saotome opened his eyes. 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
From what he gathered from his surroundings and what his mind told him, he was 
not on Earth anymore. That feeling in and of itself was disconcerting. Sure, 
he'd been in places that most normal humans had never seen, but never before had 
he left the safe and protecting arms of his home, Earth. 
Quickly scanning his memories, he had to smirk. He found it hard to believe that 
he'd never taken the Arts in this reality. Standing, he glanced around to make 
sure that no one was watching, then executed the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken. His 
body was stiff and tight, as though he had never used those particular muscles 
so strenuously before, but he was able to complete the move. That was all that 
mattered. 
He looked down at the mop and pail which rested on the floor by his feet. 
Shrugging, he lifted the pail and quickly finished cleaning up. If dying had 
taught him one thing, it was the difference between pride and honor. Knowing 
that, he could live with a little humility. 
His mind knew its way around the station, so when he was finished his job he 
replaced the mop and bucket in the appropriate closet then made his way to his 
room. 
It couldn't exactly be described as his room, because all of the other recruits 
shared it. Large, with beds lined up along each wall and bunks above each bed, 
it was a communal sleeping place. There was a small trunk beside each bed which 
was shared between the bottom and tops bunks. 
It was fairly late at night, so everyone else was already asleep. Silently he 
slipped into the room and onto his bed. Sleep should not come easy to someone 
who knows he will die, but for some reason Ranma, despite this knowledge, could 
and did. He closed his eyes to enjoy the time that he had on this mortal plain. 
The next morning found Ranma still sleeping quite peacefully. The boy who he 
shared a bunk with, Ryoga Hibiki, lifted one hand and yanked Ranma out of bed, 
pulling him roughly to the floor. 
This was a common enough sight that no one took any notice. Each morning Ryoga 
would wake Ranma by pulling him out of his bed or kicking his bed out from under 
him. Ranma would slowly haul himself to his feet, get pushed around a bit by the 
guys, then leave the room after everyone else. Of course, it wasn't quite the 
case this particular morning. 
Ranma was perfectly aware of the other dark-haired boy even before his rude 
awakening and as soon as he was yanked onto the floor he bounced lightly onto 
his feet. Flicking the braid back over his shoulder, Ranma walked unconcernedly 
by Ryoga and pulled out a fresh pair of clothes: camouflage pants and a white 
shirt. This was the traditional outfit for all recruits. 
With that task done, Ranma took a moment to stretch, then turned back to the 
boys who were blinking in confusion at him. He offered a smile and a half wave. 
"Mornin'," he mumbled sleepily, then sauntered out the door and towards the mess 
hall. 
Ryoga stared after the retreating pigtail and for what would be the first of 
many times that day, he felt something, some strange and unknown emotion, 
loosely defined as confusion, and perhaps bordering on the lines of… fear. 
Down the hall, Ranma mentally examined his schedule. All recruits, as well as 
officers and station personal, sat down in the morning and ate together in the 
mess hall. Officers would return to their stations after that and recruits would 
begin a day of rigorous training. Ranma had to smirk. His first class was 
something called 'General Science,' which included mathematics, quantum theory, 
spacial theory, engineering, as well as several other related and not-so-related 
subjects. It lasted for five hours straight. Following that was a short break, 
then he would go to his more physically related classes. Well, it was definitely 
going to be an interesting day… if he lived through it. 
Ranma entered the mess hall, attracting little attention. Slipping into a seat, 
Ranma found himself at the same table as Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, Akane, Shampoo, 
and Ukyo. Conversation was sparse as their table waited to be called up for 
food, but more eyes were centered on the normally uninteresting pigtailed boy. 
He seemed completely oblivious to everything around him. Leaning forward on the 
table, one elbow resting on the cool metal surface and his chin perched on that 
hand, Ranma made a picture perfect silhouette. 
The girls, for some reason they couldn't fathom, actually began to discreetly 
examine him. Having never paid much attention to him before, due to his 
unfortunate tendencies to attract trouble, all three young women found 
themselves somehow drawn to him. Noticing that he was rather cute, even 
handsome… well, more than that, he was… something that they couldn't quite put a 
name to, but something that they all found appealing. 
The guys were eyeing Ranma as well, though certainly not for the same reason. 
Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno were noticing subtle differences in Ranma that made him 
seem… different, dangerous, someone they wouldn't mess with. This left the three 
of them puzzled, and as their table was called, they wondered why they'd never 
noticed it before. 
Ryoga, after some thought and a lot of looking, actually managed to pinpoint 
what was different. His eyes. They didn't look like the eyes of a coward any 
more. Clear, calm brown eyes, hard, they were the eyes of someone who'd seen too 
much. It was… disconcerting, to say the least. 
As they sat back down again, Ranma changed from pensive-boy to human-vacuum as 
he packed away the exceptionally big plate of food he'd taken. 
Mousse blinked, "Hungry, Saotome?" 
Accompanied by a barely adequate nod, Ranma 'muhmfed' in response. 
Kuno stared, surprised and unable to find a quote that suited the particular 
mood. Ryoga on the other hand, had a plan. Ranma was acting entirely too… too… 
too -not- Ranma. The Ranma he knew was a wimp; nothing would change that. This 
new found composure went against everything Ryoga believed Ranma stood for. So, 
it was time to reinstate the little boy recognized to his place. 
Ryoga stood, walking across the hall to get a second helping of food. Yup, he 
had a plan all right. Let Ranma try and look 'cool' after this. 
Ryoga was, of course, using one of the oldest tricks in the book. Spilling a 
food tray on someone in front of the entire assembly. Though not particularly 
original, he knew it would work. It had to work. After all, he'd done it before 
to Ranma and the results had been rather satisfying. The pigtailed boy would 
blush and stutter and run out of the room, making himself look like a total 
idiot. 
Walking back to the table, Ryoga carefully calculated where he would 'trip'. 
Back at the table, unnoticed by all, Ranma's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. One 
hand reached out and lightly touched his food tray, his fingers tightening 
imperceptible on its metal rim. There was a cry from behind him, the sound of 
someone tripping, and the almost inaudible sound of something being flung 
through the air. Ranma spun, holding the tray in front of him and blocking the 
globs of brown, green, and white food. His momentum flung the food back into the 
tripper's face. 
A very messy looking Ryoga blinked. Ranma grinned, "Oh, sorry 'bout that, Ryoga. 
You okay?" 
The rest of the table blinked. Ranma continued, "Ack, you're a mess. Want me to 
come with you to help you get that crap off your clothes?" 
The tables around them blinked. Undaunted, Ranma offered a brilliant smile, took 
the confused boy by his arm, and guided him out of the mess hall. 
The room blinked. 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
Not too far away, Ryoga yanked his arm away from Ranma. "What the hell do you 
think you're doing, baka?" he yelled. 
Ranma shrugged, "Nothin', Ryoga. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute…" 
"I'm listening." 
The pigtailed boy laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure you are. Anyway, you're not too 
bright…" 
Ranma caught Ryoga's fist. 
It didn't take a lot to set of Ryoga's temper. Being called 'not too bright' was 
one of the many things that just really ticked him off. Now, Ryoga's thoughts 
traveled through his mind pretty quickly. First was a kind of emptiness, like 
one who has heard something that's been said but doesn't quite believe it. Then 
came anger, anger at being told off by someone weak. Following up that anger was 
power, power that launched his fist straight at Ranma's face, not caring what 
the consequence of striking a fellow recruit would be. And when Ranma caught his 
fist without blinking, without wincing, without even looking the slightest bit 
concerned, there was another emotion that began to seep through Ryoga's head. 
Fear. 
Ranma smirked, and Ryoga wisely remained silent. "You didn't let me finish, 
Ryoga. I was gonna' say 'you're not to bright if you think that I'm gonna' put 
up with your… pranks.' Now, I just wanted to warn you to knock it off, all 
right? There's something that's makin' my hair stand on edge… something big is 
happening, Ryoga… and it's gonna' happen soon. So… just look out for yourself, 
ne?" 
Ryoga blinked, letting his hand drop to his side, "That a threat, Saotome?" 
Ranma looked away for a moment, then back, and the expression in his eyes was a 
dangerous one, "That's not a threat, Ryoga. It's a promise." 
Ranma turned around and walked off in the direction of the classrooms. It was 
almost time for lessons to start. Ryoga looked after him for a minute, then 
hurried to get changed into something a little less dirty.