Ranma 1/2 - Yuu Yuu Hakusho xover
"Are we there yet?" Inquired the little girl. She stood by
his side, holding on to a leg possesively, reluctant to let go.
"We're almost there. This stop is only to freshen
ourselves up, and eat some snacks. Pretty soon, the town will
be visible," he answered, smiling at the expression she had
at the mention of food.
The twosome settled alongside the forest path and laid a
blanket, placing assorted foodstuffs above it. The bundles
were set, and soon they were ready to eat.
Oddly, the man kept his hood down, content to hide his
face in the shadows. The little girl, who looked no older than
5 years old, snorted at this display in a most adult manner. She
seemed to take this event as nothing out of the ordinary,
preffering to consume her food at full-speed.
The hooded man silently ate his own share, somewhat
distracted at the task at hand. He shoveled food and chewed
almost mechanically, deep in thought. Whatever was inside
his mind took up most of his concentration. His half-hearted
actions irritated the little girl to no small extent.
The girl decided to break the ice. "Fuu's still asleep.
What was he doing last night, anyway? Chase some mice?"
She heard only a grunt of acknowledgement.
She continued blithely, her eyes sparkling with mirth, "The
lazy furball does nothing but loaf around, day and night. You'd think
he's a pet or something, the way he expects food to be handed at every
corner!" The girl snorted roughly, managing to sound cute as she did
so. "Maybe we should cut off his 'dietary intake' for a while, until he
learns to do something useful, like guarding our stuff..." At the end of
her little reverie, she grinned, hoping for the usual laughter she would
hear whenever he heard her complaints.
She was rewarded with another grunt.
"Hey! What's with you today?" She cried out, red
pig-tail bouncing. "You're still not upset about the Nikuman-
dangos, are you?"
His smile could be seen under the hood's shadows,
but the little girl could tell that the expression did not reach his eyes.
"No, of course not. I don't eat as much as I used to, you know. That
doesn't mean I have to like it everytime you filch off my plate,
though."
"Hah! I only do that to test your reflexes. Besides,
you do practically nothing to defend your own plate. One
would think that you're intentionally allowing me to scarf
from your share." came the indignant reply.
This time the smile was geuine, but dissappeared all
too soon.
"I knew it! So, you were only humoring me, weren't
ya?" She glared at him, azure orbs flashing. "What have I
told you before about you patronizing me?"
"That I shouldn't?" he deadpanned, hiding a grin.
"Damn straight! Then why do you keep doing it, again
and again? You still treat me like a porcelain doll... and
I hate it!"
"We were talking about food. Why did our conversation
descend into another topic?"
"I don't know," she said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of
her voice, "Maybe 'coz you're not paying any attention to what's
around. Honestly, how in the name of the Three Worlds am I going
to entertain myself? If I can't even hold a decent conversation
with you, I might as well be talking to a rock, for all I care."
His shoulders shook as if to dismiss the matter entirely.
"You talk enough for the both of us." He straightened,
gathering their stuff from the ground. "Come. We go now."
The girl snorted once again.
"Yeah, yeah. I heard ya." she took her own bundle,
shaking it hapharzardly. She was rewarded with a faint squeak
of indignation from somewhere inside the cloth bundle.
"Quit yer whinin', lazybones! Were goin already!"
She patted herself free of dust, little hands beating
on the rumpled folds of her clothes. Satisfied of her state,
she turned back to her companion.
"I'm ready now. Let's go, it's gonna be dark soon."
She found the hooded figure back in his previous pose
of contemplation, ignoring his surroundings. This time, the
little girl knew something was up.
She kicked his shins to get his attention, determined to
get at the bottom of things. As he turned to face her, she
grabbed the straps underneath his cloak and, surprisingly,
pulled to tall man to face her eye to eye.
"You better tell me what's going on, Bright-boy, or
I'm going ta make you sorry. Either you spill the beans, or
I spill your guts!" she tried to end the threat with a glare,
but the result made her look like an adorably pouting child.
Trying to stave off the cavities forming, he tried to
explain his actions in as few words as possible, without
alarming her with his own suspiscions.
"It's nothing really. Maybe its just the weather."
'Maybe she would accept this excuse...'
She didn't budge an inch.
'Yeah, right. And maybe the moon's made of green cheese.'
He sighed. "Alright. For the past few weeks, things have
been getting a lot heated around this region. I've been fighting
too many malcontents than I care of. There shouldn't be this
many at one time, especially in such an isolated part of this
world..."
She nodded. His assessment was accurate, as far as
things went. The raiders they met were usually composed of
ill-tempered individuals that tried to buck the system because
things didn't swing their way, buit lately they've become
more organized at late, and in larger groups. Something was
up, and she didn't like the look of things.
"You're right. We've had more distress messages asking
for help from the other settlements in a month than an entire
year. Something's not right."
He nodded.
"This could tear apart all that we've worked for.
Dammit, this isn't fair!"
"I know."
"That's it?" disbelief was plain on her cherubic face.
"Things are falling apart and all you can say is 'I know'?!"
"We can do nothing about certain events until we can
gather more information about the status of the region.
Perhaps the village we will visit hold some news, eh?"
"Alright, I get the hint." she held out her hands, and
the hooded man enfolded her in his embrace. She sighed
longingly as she burrowed deeper into the enclosure.
"I wish I could stay in your embrace forever..."
He was silent. She knew would not answer that, at least
not now. But soon, he will have to.
But she could wait. She was very patient. Already, 1500
years had passed before she got the first part of her wish.
What was a few years more?
Everything had been secured. They were ready for the
journey once again.
"Ranko?" The name was spoken with tenderness and love.
Ranko shivered at the rush of emotions that assaulted
her senses. Yes, she could wait. She had all the time in the world.
She stuck her tiny head once again, pointing out a
fact that occured to her. "You know, despite being 'Born'
here, Makai isn't really my home, isn't it?"
"I guess so."
"Where is our home? Do we even have a home to
return to?" her voice sounded tiny and plaintive, full of
anxiety and hidden fears. He instinctively clutched her tighter,
trying to give Ranko what comfort was available.
How best to answer her? He tried to come up with a
suitable response. He remembered a phrase he heard long
ago...the events seemed so dim on his mind.
"Home is where the heart is, Ranko." he answered finally.
"As long as I'm with you, and you with me, we'll always have a
home..."
There was no answer. A quick glance showed Ranko in the
earliest state of sleep, a gentle smile on her face. He smiled
too. Yes, this was his home.
In a blur of motion, he dissapeared from the glade.