Waters of Change : Interludes
By: Kesshi Mashin
A Rurouni Kenshin/Ranma Nibunnoichi fusion.
For entertainment purposes only. No infringement intended. Ranma 1/2 is owned by Takahashi Rumiko. Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki.
Author's Note: This isn't canon Ranma or Kenshin, you really don't need any previous knowledge of either to read this fanfiction, though it is helpful. Some ideas were also taken from Samurai X, a prequel of sorts to Rurouni Kenshin.
* *: thoughts
Any C&C is welcome at: fxffects@hotmail.com
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Portraits of the Past:
Vignette I - Beginnings
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. ~ Lao-tzu, 'Tao Te Ching'
Mainland China
Autumn
25 years ago...
The boy is talented for one so young. Cologne hobbled over towards the young boy's limp form, favoring her left side slightly. Her gray, wispy hair appeared a bit mussed, and her overall appearance somewhat disheveled, but the old shrew appeared none the worse for wear. Using her sizable staff, the ged Amazon rolled her opponent over onto his back, eliciting a slight groan from the still comatose young boy. She quickly assessed the boy's injuries before lifting the unconscious bundle and tossing him over one of her shoulders. This will prove to be most promising, she mused to herself, as the pair made their way down the beaten path towards the Amazon village.
The bundle strewn across the ancient's shoulder began to stir awake, and bright blue eyes framed by crimson locks blearily began to take in their surroundings. D-did I win? he groaned out, his voice still hoarse from before.
The diminutive elder flashed the young boy an unsettling grin, and gently patted him on the back, allowing herself a small cackle. You did well enough, Ranma my son, you did well enough.
Ranma nodded in satisfaction, and slumped back down against the downy folds of the Amazon's robes, sighing in contentment. That's... good...
~~~~~ ~~~~~
... 25 years ago...
... Shampoo stared curiously at the red-haired boy lying atop her great-grandmother's cot, and, on an impulse, extended a tiny finger to idly poke at one of the many lacerations adorning the young boy's face-
Young one, my patience wears thin. Cologne peered up from the noxious concoction she was currently tending to, and leveled her ever trusty staff at her charge. Hands to yourself, or I double your speed' training.
The purple haired young girl quickly retracted her finger at the thought of more speed' training (i.e. avoiding being bludgeoned by a certain wooden staff), and settled for merely staring at the boy before her. Shampoo called out after a few minutes of simply staring at the boy, willing him to awaken with just her thoughts (and subtle proddings unbeknownst to her great-grandmother).
Cologne let out a heavy sigh, and set down a rather interesting bowl of purplish-red liquid onto the table. She hopped down from her elevated stool and hobbled over to her great-granddaughter, towering an impressive 2 inches above the 6 year old. Impressive, indeed. My child, is it not apparent that I am busy with my work? Large beady eyes stared down at expressive purple ones, not blinking for all of two seconds before Cologne was forced to turn her gaze away from the overly... adorable sight. *That child is too damn cute,* she thought with some fondness, before turning back to face her future successor, this time with a grin crinkling her leathery face. What is it, young one?
Shampoo felt her heart skip a beat at the grotesque sight before her, but controlled the sudden urge to up and leave in a hurry; instead, she leveled the most darling smile she could muster at the gnome before her, in the hopes that her questions would soon be answered. Great-grandmother, why are you torturing the red haired girl?
The urge to face-fault nearly got the better of the matriarch. Nearly; it was undignified for someone of Cologne's standing to face-fault, no matter how merited it was, and Cologne managed to keep herself in check. Eye twitching ever so slightly, the ancient Amazon placed what passed for a hand onto Shampoo's shoulder, and gave her an inquisitive look.... well, attempted to, anyway. All that was really noticeable was the fact that her head tilted slightly to the left, but her facial features stayed mostly the same... but the narrator digresses. Now, how did you come to a strange notion such as that, my child? she asked in as soothing a tone as possible, i.e. her normally raspy voice with a disturbing lilt to it.
Shampoo seemed to mull over what she was about to say in her mind for a few moments before replying. Well... the screams at night, the sound of hissing and things breaking, all those cuts and bruises on the girl's body...
It's a boy, Shampoo.
The young girl blinked for a few seconds at that revelation, and looked back over at the alleged male with a small measure of doubt.
Cologne cackled lightly in amusement, and began to usher her great-granddaughter out of the room when she noticed that the boy was slowly stirring awake. Shampoo, dear, all that you need to know is that I am helping the poor boy, alright? She gave the young girl one final nudge and closed the door behind her, making sure that the locks were in place before turning her attention towards her newest charge. Steeling herself for what was to come, Cologne nodded towards the young boy, who nodded back, and hobbled towards a small cage in an adjacent room. She paused, and made a point of drawing the blinds closed, and smirked at hearing a small on the other side of the window.
I think I can control it better now, Ranma whispered in a low voice, as he began to brace himself for what was to come. He felt drops of sweat begin to roll down his forehead in nervous anticipation, but willed himself to stay as calm as possible. He glanced down briefly at the lacerations criss-crossing his arms, feeling the tuggings of a faint smile when he noticed that they had already begun to heal. *Almost got it...*
The matriarch shuffled back into the room, carrying a small travel-sized cage along with her. She glanced over at the still shaking redhead, and gently set down the cage. Are you ready, young one? she asked in a hushed tone, her hand reaching for the front latch on the cage.
Ranma nodded in determination, and gripped the edges of the bed tightly, as purple swirls of color seemingly drifted across the blue plains of his eyes. Do it.
With that last bit of confirmation, Cologne unhooked the latch, and watched nervously as a small black kitten crawled out from the plastic cage, eyes fixed upon a suddenly still redhead...
~~~~~ ~~~~~
... 24 years ago...
... I feel... different, Ranma thought aloud, as he gently caressed his new pet. Shinta purred in contentment, and lazily lounged in the redhead's warm lap, enjoying the attention being lavished on it.
The fear no longer controls you. Cologne shuffled over to the young boy, and peered deeply into his eyes. They no longer resembled that of a clear summer sky, the purest, most innocent blue imaginable; instead, dark, piercing magenta colored eyes stared back at the old crone, a reflection of the power now brewing within the young boy. It saddened the matriarch somewhat to see the loss of innocence in one so young, but it was unavoidable. Still unfortunate, though. You are a new person now. She scratched her chin in mock thought for a few seconds, before an idea came to her. And, seeing as how you're to be my new student-
Ranma perked up a bit at that, and stared eagerly at the white-haired ghoul, the mere prospect exciting for the young boy.
Cologne smiled a bit at Ranma's unbridled enthusiasm; it was a rare quality in young ones, these days. She paused, and carefully chose her next few words, ensuring that they meant what she wanted and nothing else. To celebrate, why don't we choose a new name for you?
The young boy seemed a bit taken aback by the odd suggestion, and cocked his head to one side, giving Cologne a curious look. What's wrong with my name? he asked, puzzled.
Cologne cursed herself at her lack of preparedness, and said the first idea that came to mind. It's just Amazon tradition, she said matter-of-factly, hoping that the boy wouldn't press the matter any further.
Ranma mulled over the given answer for a few minutes before finally nodding his acceptance of the explanation. Ok, why not. He paused. So what's my new name?
For the second time that day, the matriarch felt nervousness grip her, until her eyes spied the katana resting just above the fireplace on a modest, wooden display rack. She glanced back down at the redheaded youth, and a name suddenly came to mind. Cologne grinned widely, and patted the young boy on the head. Kenshin. Himura Kenshin...
~~~~~ ~~~~~
... 17 years ago...
... I'm not sure I'm ready yet.
Cologne patted her redheaded charge affectionately on the head, ruffling a few of his unruly bangs, and wagged a bony finger at the timid young boy. Now, now, my son, you must not shy away from this opportunity being offered to you. She finished adjusting Kenshin's hakama and reached into the sleeves of her robe, pulling out an extremely long case that, by all rights, should not have been able to fit in there, let alone be concealed from any prior detection. This is for you, she said with a smirk, holding the case above her head with both hands.
Gingerly, Kenshin extended a hand and undid the latches securing the box, and opened the cover. A small gasp escaped his mouth, as the 14 year old stared down at the contents of the box in disbelief. Finally, he found his voice and sadly shook his head, closing the box and latching it shut. No, mistress, I cannot accept these.
Take them, Cologne insisted, this time setting the case onto a nearby table. I have grown too fond of the bare-handed arts to have any desire to use these anymore. She opened the case and retrieved the contents within, holding them up for Kenshin's inspection. Take them, young one.
Kenshin looked down at the black-sheathed katana and matching wakizashi for a few moments longer before nodding and accepting the two blades, carefully tucking them into his belt. He slowly drew the katana from its sheath and stared at the scarred and weathered surface, eyes tracing every flaw in the steel, before giving Cologne an appreciative smile. These were yours, he said matter-of-factly, sheathing the weapon with ease that came only with years of practice.
And now they are yours. Cologne pogoed over towards the door atop her staff, looking expectantly at her young apprentice. Come now, Himura, we have a tournament to win...
~~~~~ ~~~~~
... 16 years ago...
... A crack of lightning briefly illuminated the area, the smell of burning flesh filling the night air. Cologne looked down into the blood stained streets from her vantage point upon a nearby roof, watching with dead eyes as the few remaining survivors carried off the dead to be buried or burnt. A few children limped about the village, seemingly in a daze as they weaved through the piles of dead bodies. A few hoarsely called out for their parents, while tears dripped down others' cheeks. She spared a glance over at her ward, who merely stood there, eyes calmly taking in the destruction that was wrought below. I didn't believe the news we had received from our sister villages until now. Cologne blinked back a few tears, and shifted her grip on her staff slightly. Perhaps I didn't want to believe...
Cologne sharply turned about in place, and began to walk away from the chaotic scene, a faint glimmer of her aura visible even in the light rain that had begun to fall. Come Kenshin, we have much work to do at the village.
The silent redhead slowly followed suit and turned to follow his teacher, sparing one last glance at the sacked village below. Are we preparing for war, Mistress?
No, Himura. Cologne's aura flared to life about her, nearly tripling in size as she prepared for flight. We are preparing for the end...
~~~~~ ~~~~~
End Vignette I
Author's Note: Well, as promised, here is the next installment. Thought it'd be nice to put a chapter (well, sorta) out on my birthday. I'm 17 today! And it snowed, to top it all off! This has been a great b-day so far... ^_^
I hope to have chapter 6 out within the month; it will pick up from where chapter 5 left off, with the Shampoo/Kenshin fight. Also, I plan on rewriting the first five installments; after rereading the prologue and the first few chapters, I find myself... somewhat displeased with my writing. The plot will stay the same, nothing important will be edited out or whatnot, I'm just doing some basic maintenance on the grammatical aspect of the story. It's kinda odd, looking back, how much my writing style has changed over the years. ^^;; Hopefully for the better... Well, thanks for reading! Ja peoples!
~ Kess
P.S. ~ Oh, and pardon the Cologne bashing. She's just such a freaky gnome!
IMPORTANT! UPDATED AUTHOR'S NOTE: On the insistence of Larry F, webmaster/maintainer of the Lost Library of Florestica, which, on a side note, can be found at http://www.rakhal.com/florestica (shameless plug...)... what was I talking about again? Oh yeah. He suggested that I put dates, locations, and whatnot before flashbacks, to make it easier for the reader to identify that particular segment as a flashback. ^^;; I dunno why I didn't think of that before. So yeah, that's exactly what I did: I went back, and put basic, basic information before flashbacks. (country, season, years from present) Hope this helps to enhance your reading experience!
Oh, and thanks go out to that anonymous reviewer dubbed Skeptic; I'm still pretty new to the scene, and appreciate any C&C I get. Anywho, I hope to get out, if not another chapter, then a second interlude out within the month. Ja peoples!
~ Kess