I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Bob, they are all owned by their respective creators. The World's End tavern is taken from book 8 of Neil Gaiman's series The Sandman.
Talking
Thinking
"Great!! Where am I now?"
Ranma was lost. Not in a normal "I lost my map" way, no he was his rival, "Lost Boy Ryoga" lost. While trying to find his way back to the Amazon village after the fight with Saffron, it had started to snow. After a time of wandering, the snow began look more and more like stars. As he continued to try to find his way, the light snowfall turned into a full sized snow storm.
He wearily stepped in the direction he remembered the village being in, but soon realized that the terrain was not what he remembered it being. The trees around him looked different than he remembered; these looked more like skeletal hands reaching up from the ground.
Even the air was different; it held an energy that was not present in any of the places he had been before. So, with no clue as to where he was or where he was going, Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts continued on his way.
Through the storm, Ranma thought he glimpsed a flash of light. Weary from the fight and not wanting to be out in the storm anymore than he has to be, he moved as fast as he could towards where he saw the flash. The world had gone grey now, only the static like effect of the snow remained in his vision.
Dazed and disoriented, our pig-tailed hero stumbles forward in the hope he is heading toward shelter. He continues on for a few yards but then he collapses and passes out from exhaustion and exposure. Sounds of footsteps in the snow can be heard as a person approaches the prone martial artist and studies him for a moment.
"Some times I wonder why you put people like him through so much. What have they done to deserve it? Is it to prepare them for something or just to torment them? Well, I'd better get him to the safe haven. This storm will get worse before it gets better."
The man picks up Ranma and takes him into the safe house not 30 feet from where he had collapsed. Well, I hope you find what you're looking for friend. Most people can't find this place without just cause. As he passed through the door into the building, he looked up at the sign hanging on the side of the building. The wooden sign, which hung from iron rings, read World's End a Free House.
A few hours later, Ranma woke up. After assessing his situation, he quickly recognized that he was inside and on a bed. After opening his eyes and taking a look around, he concluded that he hadn't seen this place before. Great, I have no idea where I am. Is this how Ryoga feel all the time? Them something caught his eye. A slip of paper had been left on his nightstand. He picked it up and read the note left for him.
I found you outside, didn't want to leave you out in the storm. I'll be downstairs if you want to talk.
Ranma stared at the paper in his hands for a few minutes before he got up from his bed and left the room in search of the stairs down to the main level. After a few minutes of searching, Ranma made his way down to the main room of the building. The first thing he noticed was that this building was built different than he was used to seeing. It seemed like the building should be older than it appeared.
As Ranma walked in, several people looked up and then went back to their conversations. As Ranma looked around, he saw things that he couldn't explain. Why does that man have a body of a horse below his waist? Why does that man over there have pointed ears? That one over there looks almost like he is dead. Wait, why am I a guy? The cold outside should have turned me into a girl, but I don't remember changing. Just then, one of the patrons caught the attention of our hero.
The man sat at the counter alone, while everyone else sat in groups. He wore what appeared to be European style armor that looked like it was a part of the night sky, little specks of some shiny metal placed to look like stars. His hair was short and black in color. He also wore a cape that appeared to be made out of white feathers. A sword was leaning against the bar, also European in design, a claymore if Ranma remembered correctly. This appeared to be steel and was about 3 and half feet long.
Ranma approached the man carefully and sat down next to him.
"Are you the one who brought me inside?"
The man looked at him over his mug and smiled.
"Yes, I am the one who saved you from being frozen like a Popsicle."
Ranma smiled at the small joke and looked over to the man.
"I thank you for that, but why did you do it? I have never had anyone do anything for me without expecting something in return."
The man stared into his mug for a moment before replying.
"Well, I guess you could say I need something from you, but it's not what you think."
Ranma sighed and let his head sink to the bar top. After a minute, a mug was placed in front of him.
"Here, drink this. I think you will like it. It tastes better than anything you've been around."
Ranma eyes the drink warily before he takes a small drink from the mug.
"Hey, this is pretty good."
"They make it from honey and cloves. Now that you have had something to help you relax, let me explain myself. You can call me Bob, though that is not my real name. What I need from you is a decision. Not just on your fiancé problems, but your life in general."
Bob stopped and downed what was left in his mug before ordering another.
"Ranma, to put it bluntly, your life sucks. Just about everyone in your life uses you for one thing or another. You refuse to decide anything because you don't want to hurt people. Am I right?"
Ranma nods and says, "Even though I love to fight, seeing people hurt makes me feel their pain. That's why I have let things go on as long as I have. Well that and I really haven't had anyone since me and dad left to go on the training journey. It was just me and him, I felt so alone at times. Then I get to Nerima and people take notice of me. Even though it wasn't the best, people still cared in their own way."
Bob nodded to himself as he downed another mug.
"I can understand how you would feel that way Ranma, but let me explain something to you. What would you say if I told you that your world was one of many?"
Ranma looked at Bob confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's like layers of a cake. Many of them are next to the one you are from but are as ignorant of you as you are of them."
Ranma nodded not really understanding.
"While some have figured this out, they still do not understand the nature of these other worlds. Some say that every action you didn't take is played out in these worlds, while others say that those worlds are so different that we could never understand them."
Ranma closes his eyes and tries to understand what his benefactor is talking about. Bob looks over at Ranma and sighs.
"You don't understand any of this, do you?"
Ranma shakes his head no and Bob sighs.
"It's okay my friend. Sometimes, I don't understand it either. I will say this, had different choices been made, you could have ended up with a very different life. What if Akane had abandoned you after Dr. Tofu paralyzed your legs? What if the old girlfriend you thought dead had shown up at the Tendo's door? Oh so many things can change the path we take in life."
Bob empties another mug as yet another is placed in front of him.
"But you were led to the fight of your life, against an immortal opponent and still managed to come out on top. Now what if I were to tell you I have a person here who would like to tell you his tale?"
Ranma looked up as he heard this.
"Hear my tale? What do you mean?"
Bob chuckled to himself.
"Come on boy, I know you're more observant than that. The people around you have all been telling each other the tales of their lives, and I want you to tell my friend yours."
"Okay, who is it?"
Bob smirks and says, "Oh, I'm sure you will find him if you walk around for a while."
Ranma stares at him in shock for a moment before muttering something about being worse than Nabiki and walking off. I wonder how long it will take them to find each other.
Ranma wandered around for a while, listening to the stories that were being told. He heard one of a king who fought a dark god with the sword crafted by his ancestor along with one of two stones of power and eventually defeated the god in the City of Endless Night.
Later on, he heard one about someone called the Chosen taking a journey to rejuvenate the world they lived in only to find the journey a lie. Then he heard one about a strange world where magic and science co-existed where a war was fought, over a little boy, by playing Capture the Flag.
After hearing many such stories, he came across a young boy, not much older than 12, sitting by himself. This boy was dressed in orange and had a headband with a metal plate in the middle of it. His blond hair was still unruly despite the blue headband. His eyes held a loneliness Ranma understood all too well. His face had three scars running down each cheek.
I wonder is this the one I am supposed to meet.
Ranma approached the young man and sat down next to him.
"So, why are you over here by yourself?"
The young blond looks over at our pig tailed hero and says, "I was just thinking."
Ranma noticed the look in his eyes and pressed him a little harder.
"What ever it is, let's talk about it. I might be able to help. Oh, my name is Ranma Saotome."
The young blond smiles and Ranma becomes shocked a little as it looks like half his face vanished behind that grin.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
"Well Naruto, what seems to be bothering you?"
"Well, before I came here, I was fighting my best friend. Well, he was more like my brother actually."
"Really, why were you fighting?"
Naruto looked down at the table in front of them.
"He left my village to become stronger and I was sent with a team to get him back."
"Why was it such a bad thing for him to leave the village? It's not like it's a crime to move around."
"The village where I live gets most of its income from sending it's ninja on missions. He was on my team and then left after assaulting our other member."
"Why did he assault the other member of your team?"
"She wanted him to say, because she loved him, so he knocked her out to prevent her from stopping him."
"What happened when you fought him?"
Naruto tells Ranma everything that happened at the Valley of the End. Ranma sits and listens to Naruto.
"The last thing I remember before waking up here is his Chidori clashing with my Rasengan."
"Naruto, I want to tell you my story."
And so Ranma tells Naruto the story of his life, from the start of the training trip to Nerima. After Ranma finishes, Naruto tells Ranma of his life. After hearing each others stories, Ranma says, "I wish I could go to that village of yours and give them a piece of my mind."
Naruto grins in agreement.
"I wish I could go to your Nerima and teach those people in your life a lesson too."
Ranma looks up as a familiar voice can be heard from the other side of the table.
"Well boys, that can be arraigned, but you have to understand that it would be a one way trip. You would be stuck in the others world."
Ranma and Naruto look at one another and grin.
"Konoha better get ready, Ranma Saotome is coming."
"Nerima could never be ready for the Demon Child of Konoha."
Bob smiles at both of them.
"Okay boys, don't have too much fun. Oh, and Naruto when you get to Nerima, you will be Ranma's age."
Bob then claps his hands and there is a flash that blinds both boys.
A/N: Well, here we go. I know that some of you are waiting for "Playing with Fire" but this has been bouncing around in my head for about a month now and it would leave until I put pen to parchment. I hope you all like this. Please read and review.