A Journey
Tari

1 – Let's Begin

Clear night skies above the ward of Nerima were rarities, but it was under one such sky that a teenaged boy lay. He was staring tiredly at the stars that shone high above him, idly tracing constellations with a finger. After a few minutes, his hand fell to the roof by his side and he let out a small sigh as he stood up.

It was probably time to head back in, Ranma figured. What time was it? He'd come up at around ten or so, and he'd been stargazing for a while, so maybe eleven? So everyone had probably already gathered in the living room...

There was the quiet sound of disturbed grass as Ranma landed from his hop off the roof, but none of the house's residents paid any attention to it if they had heard it. The boy let out another sigh as he slowly pushed open the patio door.

His hour of respite was up, it would seem. He cast a final glance over his shoulder at the twinkling, clear sky, then turned and trudged into the house.

The boy's black pigtail vanished silently through the doorway and the door slid shut with a quiet click.

It was time to face the music.

To most people, the many strange occurrences that permeated the ward of Nerima were things that simply did not, could not, happen. But happen they did, at least in Nerima. The citizens were used to it after having been exposed to it for years and went about daily business without a second thought. A few went as far as the watch the daily occurrences for easy entertainment, though these were the braver of the people.

However, for one night, the people of Nerima were worried. The streets were oddly silent, shops had been closed and locked, and not a soul was out roaming.

As peaceful as the area seemed to the outside observer, to those who lived within the ward's boundaries, a horrible tension was building in every corner, every nook, of the small town, and they cowered from what it might precursor in the place they called home.

In one house, a family lay in bed, parents with their young children gathered to them, quietly, dreadingly, waiting. In another, an old woman sat in her rocking chair staring at a small photo in her hands, noiselessly trembling, just waiting. In a last house, a small distance away from the first two, a single mother sat with a bawling infant held close to her bosom as she worked in vain to hush it. The child's sobs gave way to silence all too soon, and both mother and child raised their heads to stare out one of the house's small windows.

A footstep echoed loudly the quiet town. A dog somewhere nearby let out a bark, then whimpered and scurried away. Another footstep echoed, and the mother and infant sank back into their chair, trying to get further away from the street in which something now moved.

The footsteps echoed slowly around the petrified town, but it was obvious to those in the houses it passed as to where it was eventually going to end up: the Tendo Dojo--the one place that hadn't completely succumbed to the blanketing silence that suffocated the small town.

"Hey," Ranma said, glancing about the living room at the faces of all his official fiancees, rivals, and prospective in-laws. He'd called for them all an hour earlier, and now here they were, sitting in front of him. "I..." he trailed off and heaved another sigh.

"If it's as serious as you say, you can't sugarcoat it, Saotome," Nabiki chimed in quietly, almost sympathetically. "Just... tell us."

Ranma nodded and blew out another puff of air. "Right," he began. "Right." His eyes darted around the room quickly, landing briefly upon all the guests, most of whom simply shot him a glare or seemed indifferent, before alighting upon Kasumi's. She offered him a small, sad, smile from her position, sitting on a backpack near the kitchen door, then motioned for him to continue. Another sigh escaped his lips, and Ranma began to wonder how many times he would end up sighing that night. "Alright," he began again, raising his right hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Well... this isn't going to pretty, but you're all gonna have to sit through it, 'kay?"

A chorus of quiet 'okay's and nods reached his ears, and Ranma nodded back. "Okay, so, well... it goes sorta like this... uh..." He groaned and rubbed his nose a bit before dropping his hand. He steeled himself and straightened up, though his head hung low, then proclaimed quietly, "Kasumi's sorta dead."

"Oh, gods, Ranma," Nabiki said, her normal smirk replacing her serious facade as she leaned back in the couch, "You got us all serious for a joke like that?" A chorus of agreement sounded from all the other guests, along with a few relieved sighs. Ryoga stood up and began to make his way over to Ranma, his fist raised. Only slightly behind him was Mousse, and behind him were the fiancees, some preparing to help their love, others to help injure him.

"It isn't a joke."

The room froze again as all but one head turned to stare at Kasumi as she stood up. "Explain," Nabiki said, simply, once again serious.

"I was cleaning the attic yesterday," Kasumi said, lightly clutching the front of her apron, which she had yet to remove, "and I found something that Grandfather was going to throw away. I didn't know he was going to get rid of it or what it was, so I dusted it off and once I finished cleaning it, it disappeared."

"When the ol' letch got back," Ranma picked up, "he freaked out and ran away. He left something behind, though." The teenager paused as Kasumi quietly pulled something out of the apron pocket. She took a few steps and softly set an old scroll on the floor before Cologne.

"I don't think I can really explain it," Ranma said, "so I sorta told you guys what'll happen to Kasumi if the scroll isn't lyin' or anything." He motioned to Cologne before he spoke again. "The ol' gho--" he broke off as Kasumi sent him a disapproving look, and he sighed, before picking up again. "Cologne," he began, "should be able to explain it better than me or Kasumi."

The Amazon elder slowly picked up and unrolled the small parchment. She glanced over it quickly and frowned, then looked to Kasumi. "When did the mirror you cleaned vanish, exactly?"

"I-I'm not sure, Elder Cologne," Kasumi managed. "My memories are a bit fuzzy, but it was definitely sometime two days ago."

Cologne's frown deepened, and the numerous wrinkles upon her aged face contorted into a mask of most grim seriousness. "Son-in-law," she said, turning to Ranma, "you aren't planning to let this happen, are you?"

"No way!" Ranma shouted, forgetting his previous discomfort. "I was gonna tell you guys about this thing and then get Kasumi the hell away from here!"

"You may be too late, Son-in-law," Cologne intoned, turning to face the front of the house as the sound of footsteps became audible.

Kasumi and Ranma stiffened as the rest of the group looked on, confused. "Shit," Ranma cursed, "Shit! This ain't happenin'!" He quickly turned to Kasumi. "Did ya' get all your stuff together already?" The frightened older teenager nodded to him and he nodded back before spinning to face Cologne. "Can you delay 'er for a bit, ol' ghoul?"

"Possibly, Son-in-law." Cologne raised an eyebrow at Ranma, then asked rhetorically, "Are you really going to try running when she's less than a few minutes away?"

"Damn straight," Ranma replied tersely. "Ain't gonna let her take Kasumi cause'a something the freak shoulda dealt with way back whenever."

Cologne nodded in understanding. "Get going, then." Ranma nodded back, then hopped over the assembled group and landed by Kasumi. There was a hushed, mostly one-sided conversation that ended with Kasumi quickly running into the kitchen and returning with a small suitcase. Ranma shouldered his backpack and gathered Kasumi in his arms before once again hopping over the assembled group.

The sliding door slid open with a bang as Ranma kicked at it, and then the two teenagers had vanished into the night, Ranma's leaping bounds taking them further and further away.

Cologne gazed at the open door for a moment, then turned back to the somewhat stupefied crowd. "All right, children," she said, slipping the scroll into a subspace pocket, "I'll explain things later, but for now, get ready for the fight of your lives." None of the gathered group moved. "I mean NOW!" Cologne barked.

The group started, then slowly stood up and looked around. "What?" Ryoga asked, intelligently.

Cologne groaned, then looked him in the eye. "It doesn't matter, really." She pointed a hand at the door. "Just get ready to fight the thing that's coming here." She spun to face everyone else. "Did you all hear me!? Get ready to fight!" The group looked at one another, then nodded slowly and began to ready themselves while the non-combatants slipped quietly upstairs.

A final footstep echoed outside the house's front door, then silence fell upon the Tendo Dojo. For a single moment, the entire ward of Nerima was silent.

A chime rang quietly by the door, then it exploded inward, demolishing part of the property's front yard with it. A young girl, dressed in an oversized simple black dress with dark hair that hung freely to the back of her knees, stepped through the hole in the wall. A strange, noxiously glowing verdant lance was in her right hand, a small bell in her left.

"Oh, one last thing," Cologne said, suddenly. "If you're injured or hurt, back out. We only need to delay her. We have little hope of actually defeating her."

The crowd barely registered what the Amazon elder had said before the young girl spoke up.

"Where," she said, slowly, "is--" She broke off in a small series of coughs that left the group of gathered martial artists to wonder how exactly she was a threat to them. She raised her left hand, and the bell vanished and was replaced by a canteen of water that she brought greedily to her lips.

A moment later, the canteen had disappeared as well, and the girl was wiping her mouth on the back of one of her dressed sleeves. "Right," she said, "Sorry. It's been a decade since I've actually had to speak."

"Now then..." She slowly raised her lance to point at the gathered group. "Where," she began, dropping into a loose ready position, a vicious smile alighting upon her face, "Where... is Kasumi Tendo?"

Author's Notes:

Okay, I'd like to state that I'm still working on AMR. I have the next chapter drafted and stuffs, but I haven't really finished it and I don't think it's good enough to publish yet.

Then again, this is the first draft of this chapter of this tale, but I'm still posting it, so I dunno.…

Unlike my other stories, this one has no outline. I wanted to try writing this way again (it's how I used to write stories), just to let the story and characters lead me wherever they may. I have no idea where this is going, hence the title.

This part's been typed up in one shot, and this is probably how all the other parts will be typed as well. This means they might all be under 2000 words, or some could be a thousand words long and some other over ten thousand. It all depends, 'cause I have not a clue.

Anyhow, though, I've been, uh, delayed in working on stories due to a need to fill out college applications and from taking the SAT tests. Mostly, though, I've been delayed because I've drafted up about twelve other crossovers (all but five or so have been scrapped) including ones with, but not limited to, Suzumiya Haruhi (this one took a while to work out), Shakugan no Shana, Abenobashi Magical Shopping Arcade, and Black Lagoon. I think one of the others was a cross with Grenadier, but I don't remember too clearly right now.

Anyhow, I'll get back to all this stuff soon, I should hope.

'till then,

Tari

PS: I am aware that "dreadingly" is not a word. I think everyone knows what it means, though.