[Ranma/SM][FanFic] Destiny's Child, Chapter 10
Fire
The characters contained within this story are owned by Takahashi
Rumiko or Takeuchi Naoko. No infringement of copyright is intended.
This work to be distributed for free, unchanged, crediting the current
author.
This is a crossover between Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon. To make the two
stories fit together the way I wanted, I needed to shuffle the dates at
which a few things occur within the main timeline of Sailor Moon. I bow
my head in shame: please forgive. We also have guest appearances by
Slayers and 3x3 Eyes.
Die hard fans of Ranma may also notice a very subtle change to it's
story timeline...
This story is dedicated to the letter B and the number 5.
Visit my website at
dzil...@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire
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| Destiny's Child |
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What has gone before:
While on a training trip with his father, Ranma fell into the spring of
the drowned young girl. Unfortunately, his curse can only be changed
back with _very_ hot water, which means he spends most of the time in
his cursed form. Not only that, but since the spring was drowned young
girl, he turns into a 12 year old girl who never ages.
Through almost four hundred years of history, Ranma has endured. He has
been a husband to Akane and a second mother to children in the
Joketsuzoku. From monk to revolutionary, Ranma has travelled much of
Asia and Europe. At long last he has returned to Japan. While Ranma's
curse is being cured by the spirit woman called Mistress 9, he attempts
to fit into modern society, learning Shinto from a certain temple
maiden. While Ranma faces his own problems, the ranks of the Senshi
grow as the Outers are introduced to their powers and destiny.
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Ryoga, The Eternally Lost... Pig?
---------------------------------
Ranma had been back to see Rei twice in the last week since they had
met. It was amazing really, he could not remember anyone he had gotten
on so well with in a long time. It seemed that from the moment he
stepped through her door to when he left at nightfall, they would be at
each other's throats. At least half their conversations degenerated
into shouting matches, and mindless name calling. Last time she had
even started to throw things at him.
It was great fun.
Every time he saw her they would compete drawing wards, or showing off
their mystical talents. Rei had an edge on him in some of the pure
learning associated with Japan and the local regions, but he could
always simply outdo her in terms of shear spiritual power and the speed
he could deliver it.
Today, before she had thrown him out of the shrine, they had held a
competition. Each had a small candle, endowed with the power she used
in fire readings. Then they set about extinguishing that power,
banishing it using wards or holy incantations, while at the same time
the other was trying to block using the same means. It was an exciting
way to practice, and great for developing speed and power.
While they played at it, and Rei knock up ward after ward, Ranma
thought back to how he had played this against Mahidmaja in the late
1600s. The wrinkled old man had been a master, truly one of the
greatest of the age. He hardly concentrated on Rei, thinking of the
good times he had, learning at his master's feet. Ranma simply sat
there, smiling calmly, occasionally bothering to make a few marks on
the paper in front of him, delivering just enough power to deflect or
oppose whatever attack Rei would launch.
Rei just kept getting more and more frustrated. 'What am I doing wrong?
Is he reading my wards while I'm preparing them? All right, this time
for real!'
In a blur of motion, she scrawled out a mighty channelling, enough
power to seal a demon, and directed the ward at the candle. With
something like this, she had freed people who had been possessed by
youma, and no upstart boy was going to beat her. To her shock, Ranma
held out one palm, and calmly deflected the spiritual energy into a
bright flash.
What happened next defied her experience. Pointing at her candle, Ranma
whispered the words "Moko Takabisha" and a tiny little ball of
spiritual energy emerged from his hand. She could feel it's power as it
sailed through the air and snuffed her candle.
"Wow, you're pretty good."
"Sorry about that, Rei-san. A lady called Deodorant taught me how to
focus my Ki for Martial Arts a long time ago. If you can knock down a
wall, it gives you a little edge in a competition like this."
'Such power! Even though he's lying about knocking down walls.' She had
never realised it was even possible for someone to do that, and he had
done it so casually. He was not just some student, he must be a fully
fledged master! "Oh, so you come here and play with me? Try and make me
look bad? You insensitive jerk! Take this!"
Throwing her now unlit candle, she bonked him on the head, and started
chasing him around the shrine courtyard, yelling insults and trying to
catch him. After a while, Ranma jumped straight over her, doing a
pirouette on her head with one finger. Before she could turn he was
past her, running outside, laughing at her.
"Come back here, you jerk!"
"Stand still and get what's coming to you."
When Rei reached the entrance to the shrine, Ranma turned and stuck his
tongue out at her. 'Blargh!' He laughed all the way home. Rei-san was
so much fun!
"Ohhh, I hate that boy!"
Ranma was almost home when a cry rent the air. "Tendo Ranma, prepare to
die!!!"
Jumping back, he narrowly avoided being made into mincemeat by the
crushing impact of an umbrella driven into the ground. Looking down
into the three meter wide crater in the road, he saw a boy who looked
around his own age. He had wild black hair tied back with a yellow and
black bandanna. When he looked up at Ranma, he also looked really mad.
"Um, do I know you?"
"You dare to mock me? I shall destroy you!"
Swiping his umbrella through the air, the boy tried to smash his
opponent again, but Ranma leaped back, putting some distance between
the two of them. "Listen, pal, I'm sure we can work this out."
"Tendo Ranma, because of you I have experienced the worst hell has to
offer! I shall destroy your happiness!"
Once again the bigger boy closed in for a fight. With lightning
strikes, he whipped his umbrella around, attempting to flatten Ranma.
Once he got close enough worry the martial artist, but Ranma dodged
under the blow, and planted a foot in the boy's face. "Feh! I didn't
even know I was happy."
The big boy began a dazzling array of strikes, each one lightning fast,
and judging by the damage that they were doing to the ground and nearby
walls, they were not short on power either. Finally he got close enough
to worry Ranma, and Ranma struck back. In the blink of an eye, Ranma
had struck the boy almost a dozen times, pounding on his torso and
knocking him back through a concrete wall.
Shaking his hand in pain, Ranma admired his knuckles. 'What was that
guy wearing? A steel plate under his shirt?'
Ranma had just started to move off when the pile of rubble stirred and
the dust covered boy emerged. "Truly pitiful, Tendo. I'll crush you
like a bug!"
Barely dodging under the deadly umbrella strike, Ranma back pedalled
frantically. This guy was inhuman! Ranma had destroyed concrete
buildings with weaker punches, and he got up, looking none the worse.
Sighing, Ranma decided he had better take him down quickly. Hmm,
nothing too dangerous, just something to persuade him to settle down so
we can talk. "DIGGER BOLT!"
The magic blast left his palm, striking the boy in the chest, knocking
him to the ground, where he slid along until he knocked over yet
another wall. Ranma was wandering up to the resting place to dig him
out when the debris flew everywhere. Standing there with a faint red
glow surrounding him was the boy. Glaring at Ranma, he bared his fangs
and brought his hands together: "FIRE BALLLL!"
"Wharg!" Ranma jumped aside, but only just, and the fireball smashed
into the house behind him, setting it alight, and throwing bits of
brick and glass over the street. By the time Ranma was back on his
feet, his inhumanly strong opponent was readying another spell. "Ha! I
see now I should have expected so little from a second rate sorcerer as
you! If you can stuff up a simple summoning, how could you get combat
spells right? FIREBALL!"
Expecting this one made it easier to dodge. While Ranma was unharmed,
the neighbourhood was definitely looking the worse for wear. Suddenly
it all clicked into place. The single minded hatred, the fangs, the
magic, the fangs, the inhuman strength and endurance, and especially
those FANGS. "Ryoga? Hibiki Ryoga? Is that really you?"
Giving up on the fireballs for the moment, Ryoga closed in for another
attempt to pummel Ranma into a fine paste. "Of course it's me! How many
other demons have you tortured this way?"
"Hey <dodge> I only <dodge> summoned you the <jump> once! <Hop, hop,
roll> I held that circle open for you for three days, but no, you were
off raiding villages or something."
Ryoga had paused momentarily. "I was trying to find my back to the
summoning circle! Four days of pure torture it was! If you only waited
for me, I could have gone home then! Ranma, I shall destroy you!"
Ranma took off, leading Ryoga in a chase around the city. If Ryoga felt
a need to break things, perhaps he would go easy if his target was out
of reach. Maybe. Or maybe not. "Look, Ryoga, if you want to get home, I
can create a portal for you in a minute, just stop attacking me."
Running along behind him, Ryoga had started slinging his headbands,
breaking parts of roofs and chopping electrical poles and trees down.
"I got home, some nice young Mamono Hunter was kind enough to send me
back. It's what I found when I got there that made me so mad. Now stand
still and die!"
Seeing Ryoga was preparing another fireball, Ranma charged in. Locked
in close combat, the two slugged it out. In their fight they almost
levelled an entire residential block before Ranma could disengage
enough to try and talk again.
"What's so bad about being home? You belong in the hell of wild boars!"
"I know, but you didn't cast a summoning, you cast a binding. While you
live, I share your curse!"
Ryoga threw a massive punch at him, cracking the pavement. Damn, I
think I see those Girl Guides coming. "What?"
"That's right, I'm locked in this pitiful form until your death. No
more can I be Ryoga, the mighty raging boar, terror of all who dwell in
forests. Now I become, Ryoga, the insufferably cute little baby piggy.
Blargh!"
"Water activated?"
"Yes, but..."
Moving faster than Ryoga could react, Ranma tackled him, throwing them
both through a burst water main. Even as he felt Ryoga's massive arms
preparing to crush the life out of him, the change occurred, and cute
little Hotaru stood up with her pet pig in hand. Oh, oh, Girl Guides
approaching at ten o'clock. Deep in his heart, Ranma felt a sudden urge
to speak with them, but to do so would mean the certain death of his
friend.
Turning his back on the approaching girls, Hotaru sprinted down an
alley and ran off into the city. Ryoga was biting her the whole way,
but even he was smart enough not to call attention to himself while the
Sailor Senshi were around. Some people liked to send you back to the
darkest pits of whatever hell spawned you, but the Senshi had a nasty
reputation for killing demons first and not bothering to ask questions
later.
Sailor Mercury held up her computer and turned around in the ruins of
the house. "This is definitely the right spot. I have readings of
magical residues from those fireballs, and this is the last spot that
demon was."
Even as Sailor Moon tripped over the one piece of loose brick in the
entire street, Sailor Mars was looking like she wanted to throw some
fire of her own. "Disappear? How could it just disappear? Demons
magically appear, they don't just vanish. Where can it have gone?"
Everyone shrugged their shoulders. They picked over the remains of the
house for a moment, looking for some indication of a dimensional portal
or the Daimon eggs they had been seeing recently. Nothing. Venus
eventually spoke up. "Well, if it's not here, it must be hiding
somewhere. Lets split up and look for it. Don't look for too long, but
we might be able to find it this way. Stay in contact."
With that the pretty soldier, Sailor Venus, ran off down a street,
searching for a demon she was not destined to find.
Somewhere near the Tomoe family home, little Hotaru stopped and looked
down at her cute little pet pig. Sitting down on the curb, she placed
the pig between her feet and frowned.
"Ryoga, since you can't attack me now, I've got to say that it really
is just a big mistake. I never wanted to hurt you, I was just
practising the spell. Now, I really don't plan on staying cursed like
this forever, and I sure don't plan to let you kill me, so you better
get used to the curse for a bit longer.
"I'm sorry about all the problems I've caused you. I swear on my honour
that I will not tell anyone about you being a demon, or about your
curse, so just stay calm for a while. OK?
"The good news is that I'm getting closer to a cure than I ever was
before. In a few months, we should both be free men! How's that sound?"
Judging by the way the psychotic black piglet was trying to gnaw off
her leg, it still didn't sound too good. Pulling Ryoga off by his
bandanna, she looking into his big piggy eyes. "Perhaps I should put
that another way. Which would you prefer: you wait patiently till I'm
cured, or I have bacon for breakfast?"
The frantic struggles ceased. "I knew you'd see it my way. Come on,
follow me and we'll get some hot water at home."
It was only three blocks to her home, but by the time she reached it
and looked for her travelling companion, there was no sign of the pig.
Heading inside, she set about getting some dinner. Apparently one of
her father's assistants was actually the housekeeper, but these days
Kaolinite seemed to be out doing odd jobs more than she was home.
Cooking up some stir-fry from the assortment of vegetables in the
refrigerator, she headed down to her 'father's' lab. Knocking on the
door she opened it with one foot and carried the food in.
Souichi was sitting at his workbench, a massive quantity of concoctions
bubbling and boiling away in front of him. He was staring intently at
one of the containers, watching a particularly nasty looking black mass
bubble and boil, and failed to see her come in. She placed a meal
beside him, and watched quietly for a moment as he consulted a
thermometer and tapped the side of the beaker a few times.
The food seemed to catch his attention, and be reached down and placed
her on his lap. Mistress 9 had warned Ranma that this sort of thing
might occur occasionally. Souichi actually thought that Ranma really
was his daughter Hotaru, who had died tragically. Something about a lab
explosion... Lots of strange chemicals... bubbling and boiling... Ranma
began to get a little nervous.
"Just a moment. Any second now... Done!"
With that, the elder Tomoe whisked the beaker off with a pair of heat
tongs and poured it's disgusting, thick black contents into a pair of
smaller beakers. Taking one of them, he lifted it to his nose and
inhaled deeply. Taking a sip he smiled and gestured for Hotaru to join
him.
She looked at the beaker and wondered how she could get out of it. The
smell of chemicals in the lab was overpowering, and she hesitated to
think what sort of combination could have caused such a disgusting
looking mess. After a few gentle nudges, she picked up the warm beaker
and closed her eyes.
Bringing it to her face, she silently reminded herself of the horrors
she had suffered in her life. The medicinal infusions which Tomoe had
prepared for her to help Mistress 9's work were far from the worst, but
this mess seemed to rival even Akane's capabilities. With one last gasp
she put the glass to her lips and took as large a swallow as the
temperature would allow.
As soon as it his her taste buds, her eyes flew open and she stared at
her 'father'. With a wink he touched the side of his nose. "Don't tell
Kaolinite. If she knew I was using all this stuff to make the ultimate
cup of coffee, she'd have a fit."
Relaxing onto his shoulder, Ranma reconsidered her opinion of the man.
He might be a bit odd, he might see her as his dead daughter, and he
might have vats of distilled evil stored under the floorboards, but
anyone who can make coffee this good can't be all bad.
As Hotaru lay in her bed that night, the nightmares began again. Ever
since the day she had seen those girls at the ticket office, they had
been getting worse. Strange dreams, sometimes she could remember them,
other times just the feelings of fear, danger and sadness.
He was walking through the halls of Akane's home. It was the third time
he had come here, and he had yet to see another soul. As he looked
around, he admired the paintings on the wall, and wondered what he
could fetch for such items. In his dream, Ranma looked down and saw his
black clad feet stepping lightly on cold stone floors.
'Stone floors? What stone floors?' As he looked up again, he could feel
the anger in him, rising again. What gave them the right? What allowed
them to live like this while he was forced to live on the road, and
fight for everything that he ever desired?
For a time he held his anger in check, but as he walked through the
halls of the castle, it just kept rising. 'Castle? Akane didn't live in
a castle.' When he reached the main dining hall, it was all too much.
There was a feast laid out, on a large oak table. Enough food to feed
half a dozen, and just the one small woman eating. How could she?
He marched forward, yelling abuse at her, and she kept her head
lowered, her short, dark hair falling forward and covering her face.
Felling he was being ignored, he yelled again, hurling insults. Evoking
no response, he struck the table, shattering the expensive hardwood,
and sending the food to the floor.
"Do you know how I feel? Can you even imagine? To be hated by your
mother? To be nothing more than a pawn to your father? To be looked at
with fear and hatred? Do you know?"
Finally he had her attention. Slowly her head rose and he looked into
her eyes. Bright purple eyes, so deep and perfect that you could fly
forever in their depths. And as he looked into those eyes, he saw his
own pain mirrored.
"Yes, I do."
It was all she said. So simple, so quiet. But she may of been the one
person in the whole solar system who could have said such a thing and
been believed. Looking into her face, he saw his own needs there, saw
his own desires. Here was someone who finally understood. She spoke
again.
"Do you want to be friends?"
Ranma awoke bathed in sweat. It wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.
Besides, Akane had brown eyes. Big, beautiful, perfect brown eyes. He
didn't know any girls that had purple eyes. Shuddering she lay back on
the bed and tried to get some sleep. Please, no more dreams tonight,
just let me rest.
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End Of Chapter