As the young martial artist buried his head within his hands, an elderly voice spoke out, "What is a martial artist?"
The gender-cursed boy turned quickly to face a gnome of a man smoking a pipe. The Grandmaster of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū appeared nothing like his normal self. The usually hyperactive and above-all perverted Happosai was sitting quietly with a look of deep contemplation upon his face.
"What is a martial artist?" the elderly man repeated, blowing a little smoke.
Ranma eyed the grandmaster with a look of distrust, but spoke his mind, "A martial artist is someone that gathers his skills to defend himself and others. A martial artist is not one to attack, but to defend. It is a person that physically seeks to better him or herself."
A sage-like nod sprang from the perverted elder's head. "What does it mean to be the heir of a school of martial arts?"
The younger man pondered this question for a moment and gathered his thoughts. "The heir is a person that is most capable within a school and constantly seeks to better or surpass his or her own abilities. The person seeks to learn all that the school may teach while adding on to this knowledge."
"What would you say should happen to an heir that was not physically up to the challenge of performing martial arts?" Happosai queried, getting closer to his point.
Ranma was a bit taken aback by Happosai's question and shook his head. "Obviously, such a person could not be called the heir and the position would pass to the next available person."
"And if such person does not exist?" the old man pushed.
"Then it would be up to the master of the school to find a new heir," the younger man said resolutely.
The old pervert nodded his head at the answers and took another puff of his pipe. He turned his head away from the younger man and gazed up at the stars.
The younger martial artist followed the example of his older counterpart, and for a long while the two stared up into the night sky.
"What does it mean to join martial art schools?" asked Happosai, breaking the silence.
The gender-cursed man closed his eyes for a moment as a million images of pain flashed through his eyes culminating in a failed wedding. "A master from one school could pass on his knowledge to a pupil of another, or the two heirs of a school could marry one another and pass on their abilities to their children."
"Now. What should happen if all possible heirs to a school succumbed to the same fate as your father?"
As one, the pair of martial artists turned themselves to one another once more as Ranma began to assimilate all that had transpired between the two of them.
"You don't mean...?" the younger man trailed off as he reached a startling conclusion.
"Tendo has three possible heirs and all lack the desire to become more."
"Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane. There are still other problems," Ranma muttered.
The elderly man gave a chuckle.
"I suppose you mean the Amazon and the Chef? Did you know that the Amazon Laws only pertain to the warriors?"
A sparkle lit up in the younger man's eyes. "And a warrior that cannot be a warrior, will not be a warrior."
"Exactly, my boy. You seem to understand the truth."
Realization dawned on the young martial artist. No matter the claim. No matter the person. If he could accomplish such a feat, then he would truly become free.
Ranma turned to the man that was still enjoying his pipe and together they knew what had to be done.
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