The two martial artists stumbled through the wasteland, which numerous locals seemed to fear. One a stocky, middle aged man by the name of Saotome Genma, thin framed glasses adorned his features, wrapping around his ears, a white bandanna covers his forehead,
/concealing his baldness, attired in a white gi, coated in a mixture of grime, sweat and dirt, darkening it's once snowy shade to an aged grey. The second, a small framed teenage girl with vibrant scarlet locks bound into a pigtail, cerulean eyes,
/by the name of Saotome Ranma, attired in a white gi with a similar discolouring to the adult's, each bound by a black belt.
The locals had referred to the desolate wasteland as the Land of Nowhere; if Ranma's struggling mandarin was anything to go by. The duo collapsed as they stepped onto a ledge that acted as a bridge towards a demonic structure that seemed to have been
/formed from an active volcano.
"You better be right boy." Genma gasped out, that damn Amazon had chased them all over China, they had been about to leave for Japan until the old man heard of a powerful warrior, undefeated, and capable of incredible things, the duo had hoped to locate
/a cure for their curses before leaving but seeing the place Genma found himself almost trembling with fear.
"Says the oaf who came to China without a single idea on how to speak the lingo!" Ranma snapped back.
"Come on; let's just get this over with." Genma retorted, refusing to acknowledge his 'sons' complaints. Genma rose back to his feet, dragging the smaller girl to her own before shoving her forward.
The redhead stumbled briefly but soon regained her balance and proceeded to lead the way up the stone path.
Within the demonic construction; an extravagant throne, extravagant statues of jungle cats and dragons decorating the room, the ceiling for the moment depicting the night sky, numerous dark doorways lined the walls, each leading to a different section
/of this maze of a palace.
Sat upon this throne was a young, Asian man who one would guess to be in his late teens or early twenties at most, yellow, slitted eyes, slightly pointed ears, raven hair cascading down his armour. Upon his belt was his insignia; an amber eye with a slit
/pupil much like his own eyes.
He had long since sensed the intruders of his territory and had been watching them through the eyes of one of his many warriors, this one in the form of a crow. Normally he wouldn't care for such nuisances and would have sent his warriors to dispatch
/of them in whatever manner they deemed fit. But this time was different, the youth who travelled with the fat oaf, the way she carried herself, the mana that coursed through her veins. This one was interesting.
He had allowed them to reach his door without much problem, aside from the odd bolt of lightning nearly frying them or taking their heads off.
A knock sounded at his door; he barely acknowledged it, merely snapping his fingers and the door opened inwards. The two entered his home and spent the first few minutes taking in the interior. The ancient warrior noted how the oaf eyed one of his antique,
/golden, dragon statues. He'd have to keep an eye on that one, if he had been foolish enough to enter his territory and knock on his door no doubt he would be fool enough to try and steal from him.
Soon they saw him, the oaf took charge.
"So who is itwho dares knock on my door?" Chase asked, his tone calm, neutral, his features schooled. The duo seemed to share a sensation of relief at hearing their native tongue.
"We are but humble, travelling martial artists." The oaf answered "We heard of your reputation of being a great warrior and had hoped…"
Chase silenced him with a wave of his hand.
"I am never fooled oaf, that is your only warning, tell me your true purpose or you shan't live long enough to regret lying to me."
Genma felt his form stiffen. He was beginning to grow concerned, no, fearful. This boy…he gave off an even darker aura than the master.
"We heard you might be able to cure our curses." The petite one spoke up, her tone rather lacking of respect.
"And what cure is this?"
"I'm a guy and thanks to pop here, dragging me to some cursed training ground…" She began; she was silenced just as her father was, by a single wave.
"Ah, Jusenkyo."
"You know of it?" Asked the oaf.
"You could say that."
"Can you help us?" The youth asked, Chase paused for a moment, considering his options. The youth lacked any proper respect for her betters, chosen to be cursed by rather ancient magics…but, the mana that fuelled the curse that now coursed through her
/veins, it wasn't alone.
"Perhaps, but such things do come at a price." Chase answered as he stood from the throne and began to circle his 'guests'.
"What's the price?" Asked the oaf.
"Simple, the eternal loyalty of the youth and in time I shall teach her to control the curse to a degree."
"Hey, I'm a guy dammit!" Yelled the youth, her hand curling into a fist as she subconsciously took an aggressive stance, Chase paid it no mind.
"What do you mean eternal loyalty?" Genma asked.
"Simple she shall serve me, remain here, joining my warriors and I shall train her."
"I told you already! I'M A GUY!" The youth insisted.
"That may be the case but at the moment you are a female." Chase answered.
"The boy cannot remain here, the schools must be united." Genma answered on reflex.
"What are you talking about?!" Ranma's head snapped round. Genma stiffened, eyes bulging, he had wanted to wait until they were nearing Nerima before he told the boy about that.
"Yes, please explain." Chase instructed as he stepped up to the oaf.
"An old friend of mine…and I arranged for…for our children to one day marry and unite the schools." Genma stammered, stumbling back from rather intimidating individual.
"You picked my fiancé for me?!" Ranma practically screamed at her father.
"That shouldn't be a problem, she can still wed but she must return to me." Chase stated.
"What about the dojo?" Genma objected.
"Not my problem." Chase replied before turning to the youth once again "So do we have a deal?"
"You can fix me?"
"In time I will be able to teach you to control your gender, though the trigger will remain."
"Boy you can't be actually considering this." Genma objected.
"He can teach me to control the curse." Ranma stressed.
"But…the engagement."
"Would be carried out as planned." Chase input "Now do we have a deal young one?"
Genma frowned.
"The boy has no say in this, I am his father and I say no!" Genma objected.
"You're simply his guardian, you have no say in the bargains he makes of this nature, this is his future not yours." Chase answered simply.
"Yes."
Chase turned back to the youth, picking up on the small tone.
"What was that?" Chase asked, stepping up to the petite girl.
"We have a deal; in exchange for your training of me I will swear my loyalty to you." Ranma answered in a louder tone.
"But…!" Genma began only to be silenced by a well placedkick to the gut curtesy of Chase. The oaf flew back, striking the wall, gasping out in pain before falling flat.
"You will now leave my home oaf, return here at your own peril; you will see your son again in one years' time." Chase spat, turning his back on the old man, noting the shocked expression of the youth, she seemed unsure on how she should react to thescene
that had taken place.
A/N Long time since I've done anything to do with Xiaolin Showdown, tell me what you think, I'm open to requests – this includes pairings, but note I don't write yaoi, nothing against it, just not my style.
Apologies for the shortness of the chapter, hopefully the ones that follow will be longer.
Please review.
