Survival Instincts
A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon Crossover
By Seraphilim
Author's Notes: Nothing to say here, except enjoy the fic.
(Chances are that this fanfic will have inaccuracies, mostly concerning that of the Sailor Moon continuity, which I am somewhat less familiar with than that of Ranma. Please do not hesitate to point out any massive inaccuracies in reviews.)
Chapter Four – End of a Grudge
"Get down!"
The cry, it's owner unknown in the panic of the moment, rang out across the yard as the boomeranging blade flew towards Kai's back, fully intent on impaling him from behind.
It was not going to happen, of course. Gira, who was standing closest by, suddenly disappeared with a whoosh. In the briefest of seconds, the snow-haired woman imposed herself between Kai and the lethal weapon, and stabbed her hand towards the blade. There was a quick burst of black that erupted from her palm, and the spinning blade was ripped apart by the blast.
Ranma stared, his mouth slightly agape, as miniscule shards of metal scattered to the ground. 'What was that…? I didn't feel any ki from her…'
Kai turned slightly, with a look that seemed to disapprove of what had just happened. "Gira, I advise that you be more careful with using your power like so. A blast any more powerful than that might have attracted the attention of… unwanted guests."
"Sorry…"
"But… Thank you, anyways. Though I could have dealt with that myself."
After dealing a quick kick to Mousse's head, knocking him down for the count, Ranma sped on over to his teacher.
"Mr. Kai, are you…?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for the concern, Mr. Saotome."
With that said, Kai turned and began to leave, Gira along with him. Ranma was about to ask about that black energy, but a familiar wooden cane interceded his path.
"Ranma… I suggest you stay out of the business of those two. Something is not quite in place here, and it may not be wise to wallow in territories unknown."
Turning on the old Chinese woman, Ranma gave her a look of curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
Cologne shook her head and took her leave, dragging Mousse's limp body with her. Ranma was left alone on the field, everyone else having already left – even Akane. Oddly, he'd been feeling somewhat distanced from her lately, possibly due to them not living under the same room anymore.
"Damn… My life just gets more weird…"
As he said that, he felt a few droplets brush against his nose, and those droplets were increasing in amount and intensity. Cursing as the rain triggered his transformation, Ranma made a mad dash for home, making sure to snatch up her book bag from the ground.
"Jeez, maybe I should pull a Ryoga and start carrying an umbrella with me everywhere."
As she felt the increasing rain begin to soak through her red shirt, Ranma saw a massive rucksack lying on the sidewalk up ahead. She muttered, "Ask, and ye shall receive."
Nearing the giant pack, she heard the oh so familiar squealing of her porcine-cursed eternal rival and sometimes friend. Without breaking a step, Ranma snatched up the cursed Ryoga and his pack.
"Come on, I'll take you to my place, Ryoga. Long time no see, by the way."
Judging by the way Ryoga was only half-heartedly gnawing at her hand, Ranma took it that he was, or had been, in a good mood. Slinging the heavy pack over her shoulder, she whipped out the bamboo – rather, metal or SOMETHING that made it so heavy – umbrella and opened it up. Carrying it over herself to keeping from getting even more thoroughly soaked, Ranma headed home.
---
Upon reaching home, Kai made it a point to check in with Crys about Lazuli. As Gira continued on to her own room, he made his way up the polished hardwood stairs to the second floor. He entered the room of his second-most-trustworthy follower, which was situated on the second floor of the mansion between Lazuli's and Jual's rooms. Dropping his "disguise," General Kyanite inquired, "Crys, what problems has Lazuli caused today?"
Crys, in her youma form, was the oldest looking of the five survivors Kyanite and Gira had gathered from D Point. Her hair, long, straight and crystal blue in color, was kept bound (though seemingly without the use of a hair-tie or other binding item) behind her in a ponytail. Her skin was also blue, a lighter shade than her hair, blatantly exposing that fact she wasn't human. Spaced apart and imbedded in her skin were multiple dark blue crystals that reflected the light in the room. As Kyanite spoke, she turned from the window to face him, her sea green eyes meeting his briefly.
"The young troublemaker has not gotten into any severe problem today. Only spitting at an elderly human that didn't clear her path quickly enough. And killing a stray cat with a energy blast. Oh, she also scared off some children with the remains of said cat. And she joined up with a bunch of schoolgirls in beating up some little old man who supposedly was stealing underwear. Well, that last may not be so bad…"
As Crys ended her report, she touch her hand to her cheek, cocking her head slightly as if in thought. Kyanite took that moment to rub his temples in frustration. "I'm serious, that girl is likely to get the entire demon-hunter community raining down on us. But it's equally a waste to simply kill her, especially since we're so terribly few in numbers. Gods, I wish Kunzite at least was still alive. It's really trying having to deal with this alone."
"Um, General, I think I'm the one who's dealing with this alone…"
Crys's voice halted, as she realized she was bordering on defiance. She knew what had happened to those of her brethren who defied the likes of the other Generals. Kyanite's expression eased her worries, though.
"I understand. You are, after all, making sure that reckless sister of Gira's doesn't screw up anything. If you wish, I could have Jual or Lapis take over for you."
Crys shook her head. "No, that's all right. I'm not sure Jual has the patience, and Lapis is more likely to join Lazuli in her trouble-making, especially considering they're sisters…"
"Oh, that's right, Lapis and Lazuli are sisters also, not just Lazuli and Gira… Gira mentioned different parents, though she never elaborated on the fact."
---
The aforementioned Gira was currently engaged in doing something the young Sailor Senshi would have never expected of a youma.
She was cooking.
Cooking dinner, to be more precise. One of the things Kyanite had made strictly clear was that NONE of the youma were to drain humans for energy. Such action would inevitably bring the Sailor Senshi and possibly other demon-hunters busting down the front door. So, the youma had to resort to more mundane, and – for them – more troublesome sources of energy. One such source was food.
Thankfully, since they barely needed to use any of their dark energies except for maintaining their human disguises (and creating chaos, in Lazuli's case), food was a sufficient source of energy for them.
Of course, obtaining the money to BUY the food was a little tougher. Kyanite had his job as a teacher. Jual, the only other male in the group, did physical labor with a building repair company (This sort of business thrived in places like Nerima or Juuban. Places like Tomobiki or the residential area near Nekomi Tech also had the occasional customer). Lapis was currently searching for a job at Crys and Gira's insistence. Lazuli, obviously, refused to resort to such "human" efforts. In retrospect, Gira figured that was a good idea. If Lazuli were to be working amongst humans, there would be definite problems. So, Lazuli was left to do whatever she fancied. This usually resulted in her rampaging across Nerima, causing grief and chaos to humans. Crys was always nearby to make sure the hotheaded youma didn't do anything drastic, like draining humans or killing them.
Stirring the almost boiling curry with a ladle, Gira sighed. While she didn't exactly love the human style of life, it was actually better than back in the Dark Kingdom. Back there you were liable to get disintegrated for just a casual remark or hesitation on carrying out an order from Beryl or her Generals. It had been especially harsh for Gira at first, considering she wasn't entirely…
Her golden eyes blinked as Gira suddenly realized she had gotten idle, and the curry was beginning to boil over! Panicking slightly, she quickly turned the stovetop's heat down, and the curry settled down into a simmer.
"That was close…"
Setting down the ladle, she stepped over to her left to check on the rice that was in the steamer. It looked about ready. As she moved back to the stove, she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the window. She was in her youma form, and her ruby red skin contrasted with the pale blue apron she wore around her waist. She let a giggle escape from her mouth.
"Jeez, I look kinda ridiculous…"
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the pot of curry.
---
Upon arriving at home, Ranma ditched the umbrella and the bags he was carrying at the front, and gave a quick "I'm home!" before running to the furo (Japanese-style bath, somewhat different than contemporary bathtubs). After the water grew hot enough, Ranma tossed the little piglet she was carrying into the water. Back to normal, Ryoga's head broke the surface of the water, and he wore his usual serious expression, though it seemed to break as he muttered out, "Ranma… Uh… Thanks."
Ranma grinned, and began to strip off her wet clothes. Ryoga's face flushed red.
"R…R…Ranma! What are you…!?"
As she tossed aside the red Chinese shirt and black pants, Ranma snorted. "What? We're both guys, Ryoga. It's not like you don't got something I ain't seen before. Besides, I'm soaking wet here! I'm gonna catch cold if I don't get outta these…"
As Ryoga's face continued to flush red (Since he knew Ranma was really a guy, he didn't think he'd have a nosebleed… hopefully) Ranma tore off her white tank top and the yellow boxers she was wearing. Ryoga had the decency to look away just before then, although it was more for his sake than Ranma's. He sat in the furo, idly twiddling his thumbs.
"So, Ryoga, how's it been? You still getting' lost all the time?"
Ryoga growled slightly as Ranma brought up one of the points he was touchy about.
"I'm… doing better. I think. Why do you care?"
Ranma crossed her arms across her bare chest and looked pointedly at the back of Ryoga's head.
"What's the matter? I can't care about a buddy of mine?"
"When the hell did you ever care about what happened to me?"
Ryoga's voice started growing somewhat nasty, and Ranma hoped Ryoga wasn't prone to breaking anything now. Especially not in his mother's house.
"Well… there was Horai Mountain. I had this really bad feeling that you… well… And I did give a damn when you told me how you got cursed… especially since that… was my fault…"
Ranma leaned forward to prop herself on the rim of the furo, her arms now crossed under her chin. Ryoga turned slightly, enough so he could look Ranma in the eye.
"Did you… just say what I think you said…?"
The malice in Ryoga's voice was gone, and Ranma blinked up at him, confused. She nodded slowly and said, "Yeah. It was my fault. Sorry." She ended by looking down into the water. It was silent for a few moments.
"Ranma."
Looking up, Ranma saw Ryoga extending a hand towards him. For a handshake.
"Let's… let… bygones be bygones. Truthfully, I don't really hate you much anymore."
Ranma shot up to a sitting position, her legs crossed and her hands planted on her shins.
"Whoa! Are you actually… letting go of the grudge!?"
Concentrating to keep himself from losing it at the sight of a nude female body, Ryoga grinned a little.
"Well, yeah. I'm over my love for Akane, and you just admitted you were at fault for my curse, hell, you apologized! So, I don't really have any more reason to hold a grudge against you."
"Well, damn, I'll be. This is a day to remember! Ryoga Hibiki let go of his grudge! Whoo!"
Ryoga "sweatdropped" at Ranma's cheering before he slapped a hand down on the furo's rim.
"Ranma… If you don't accept my offer, maybe I will FIND something ELSE as reason to hold a grudge against you!"
"Oh, er, sorry."
Ranma quickly extended her hand to grasp his larger one, and they shook twice. Then, Ryoga gave a fanged grin as he yanked Ranma into the furo headfirst.
Sputtering, the now male Ranma shot to the surface as Ryoga laughed.
"Hey, you were planning that!"
"What, you didn't want to change back? My god, Ranma's a pervert after all!"
"Better'n being someone's dinner!"
"So you admit it!"
"Sh… shut up!"
As the two boys began tossing taunts back and forth, Nodoka smiled as she watched past the slightly opened sliding door. After a few moments, she headed back to the kitchen, preparing to make dinner for three.
---
End Chapter Four
A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon Crossover
By Seraphilim
Author's Notes: Nothing to say here, except enjoy the fic.
(Chances are that this fanfic will have inaccuracies, mostly concerning that of the Sailor Moon continuity, which I am somewhat less familiar with than that of Ranma. Please do not hesitate to point out any massive inaccuracies in reviews.)
Chapter Four – End of a Grudge
"Get down!"
The cry, it's owner unknown in the panic of the moment, rang out across the yard as the boomeranging blade flew towards Kai's back, fully intent on impaling him from behind.
It was not going to happen, of course. Gira, who was standing closest by, suddenly disappeared with a whoosh. In the briefest of seconds, the snow-haired woman imposed herself between Kai and the lethal weapon, and stabbed her hand towards the blade. There was a quick burst of black that erupted from her palm, and the spinning blade was ripped apart by the blast.
Ranma stared, his mouth slightly agape, as miniscule shards of metal scattered to the ground. 'What was that…? I didn't feel any ki from her…'
Kai turned slightly, with a look that seemed to disapprove of what had just happened. "Gira, I advise that you be more careful with using your power like so. A blast any more powerful than that might have attracted the attention of… unwanted guests."
"Sorry…"
"But… Thank you, anyways. Though I could have dealt with that myself."
After dealing a quick kick to Mousse's head, knocking him down for the count, Ranma sped on over to his teacher.
"Mr. Kai, are you…?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for the concern, Mr. Saotome."
With that said, Kai turned and began to leave, Gira along with him. Ranma was about to ask about that black energy, but a familiar wooden cane interceded his path.
"Ranma… I suggest you stay out of the business of those two. Something is not quite in place here, and it may not be wise to wallow in territories unknown."
Turning on the old Chinese woman, Ranma gave her a look of curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
Cologne shook her head and took her leave, dragging Mousse's limp body with her. Ranma was left alone on the field, everyone else having already left – even Akane. Oddly, he'd been feeling somewhat distanced from her lately, possibly due to them not living under the same room anymore.
"Damn… My life just gets more weird…"
As he said that, he felt a few droplets brush against his nose, and those droplets were increasing in amount and intensity. Cursing as the rain triggered his transformation, Ranma made a mad dash for home, making sure to snatch up her book bag from the ground.
"Jeez, maybe I should pull a Ryoga and start carrying an umbrella with me everywhere."
As she felt the increasing rain begin to soak through her red shirt, Ranma saw a massive rucksack lying on the sidewalk up ahead. She muttered, "Ask, and ye shall receive."
Nearing the giant pack, she heard the oh so familiar squealing of her porcine-cursed eternal rival and sometimes friend. Without breaking a step, Ranma snatched up the cursed Ryoga and his pack.
"Come on, I'll take you to my place, Ryoga. Long time no see, by the way."
Judging by the way Ryoga was only half-heartedly gnawing at her hand, Ranma took it that he was, or had been, in a good mood. Slinging the heavy pack over her shoulder, she whipped out the bamboo – rather, metal or SOMETHING that made it so heavy – umbrella and opened it up. Carrying it over herself to keeping from getting even more thoroughly soaked, Ranma headed home.
---
Upon reaching home, Kai made it a point to check in with Crys about Lazuli. As Gira continued on to her own room, he made his way up the polished hardwood stairs to the second floor. He entered the room of his second-most-trustworthy follower, which was situated on the second floor of the mansion between Lazuli's and Jual's rooms. Dropping his "disguise," General Kyanite inquired, "Crys, what problems has Lazuli caused today?"
Crys, in her youma form, was the oldest looking of the five survivors Kyanite and Gira had gathered from D Point. Her hair, long, straight and crystal blue in color, was kept bound (though seemingly without the use of a hair-tie or other binding item) behind her in a ponytail. Her skin was also blue, a lighter shade than her hair, blatantly exposing that fact she wasn't human. Spaced apart and imbedded in her skin were multiple dark blue crystals that reflected the light in the room. As Kyanite spoke, she turned from the window to face him, her sea green eyes meeting his briefly.
"The young troublemaker has not gotten into any severe problem today. Only spitting at an elderly human that didn't clear her path quickly enough. And killing a stray cat with a energy blast. Oh, she also scared off some children with the remains of said cat. And she joined up with a bunch of schoolgirls in beating up some little old man who supposedly was stealing underwear. Well, that last may not be so bad…"
As Crys ended her report, she touch her hand to her cheek, cocking her head slightly as if in thought. Kyanite took that moment to rub his temples in frustration. "I'm serious, that girl is likely to get the entire demon-hunter community raining down on us. But it's equally a waste to simply kill her, especially since we're so terribly few in numbers. Gods, I wish Kunzite at least was still alive. It's really trying having to deal with this alone."
"Um, General, I think I'm the one who's dealing with this alone…"
Crys's voice halted, as she realized she was bordering on defiance. She knew what had happened to those of her brethren who defied the likes of the other Generals. Kyanite's expression eased her worries, though.
"I understand. You are, after all, making sure that reckless sister of Gira's doesn't screw up anything. If you wish, I could have Jual or Lapis take over for you."
Crys shook her head. "No, that's all right. I'm not sure Jual has the patience, and Lapis is more likely to join Lazuli in her trouble-making, especially considering they're sisters…"
"Oh, that's right, Lapis and Lazuli are sisters also, not just Lazuli and Gira… Gira mentioned different parents, though she never elaborated on the fact."
---
The aforementioned Gira was currently engaged in doing something the young Sailor Senshi would have never expected of a youma.
She was cooking.
Cooking dinner, to be more precise. One of the things Kyanite had made strictly clear was that NONE of the youma were to drain humans for energy. Such action would inevitably bring the Sailor Senshi and possibly other demon-hunters busting down the front door. So, the youma had to resort to more mundane, and – for them – more troublesome sources of energy. One such source was food.
Thankfully, since they barely needed to use any of their dark energies except for maintaining their human disguises (and creating chaos, in Lazuli's case), food was a sufficient source of energy for them.
Of course, obtaining the money to BUY the food was a little tougher. Kyanite had his job as a teacher. Jual, the only other male in the group, did physical labor with a building repair company (This sort of business thrived in places like Nerima or Juuban. Places like Tomobiki or the residential area near Nekomi Tech also had the occasional customer). Lapis was currently searching for a job at Crys and Gira's insistence. Lazuli, obviously, refused to resort to such "human" efforts. In retrospect, Gira figured that was a good idea. If Lazuli were to be working amongst humans, there would be definite problems. So, Lazuli was left to do whatever she fancied. This usually resulted in her rampaging across Nerima, causing grief and chaos to humans. Crys was always nearby to make sure the hotheaded youma didn't do anything drastic, like draining humans or killing them.
Stirring the almost boiling curry with a ladle, Gira sighed. While she didn't exactly love the human style of life, it was actually better than back in the Dark Kingdom. Back there you were liable to get disintegrated for just a casual remark or hesitation on carrying out an order from Beryl or her Generals. It had been especially harsh for Gira at first, considering she wasn't entirely…
Her golden eyes blinked as Gira suddenly realized she had gotten idle, and the curry was beginning to boil over! Panicking slightly, she quickly turned the stovetop's heat down, and the curry settled down into a simmer.
"That was close…"
Setting down the ladle, she stepped over to her left to check on the rice that was in the steamer. It looked about ready. As she moved back to the stove, she caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the window. She was in her youma form, and her ruby red skin contrasted with the pale blue apron she wore around her waist. She let a giggle escape from her mouth.
"Jeez, I look kinda ridiculous…"
Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the pot of curry.
---
Upon arriving at home, Ranma ditched the umbrella and the bags he was carrying at the front, and gave a quick "I'm home!" before running to the furo (Japanese-style bath, somewhat different than contemporary bathtubs). After the water grew hot enough, Ranma tossed the little piglet she was carrying into the water. Back to normal, Ryoga's head broke the surface of the water, and he wore his usual serious expression, though it seemed to break as he muttered out, "Ranma… Uh… Thanks."
Ranma grinned, and began to strip off her wet clothes. Ryoga's face flushed red.
"R…R…Ranma! What are you…!?"
As she tossed aside the red Chinese shirt and black pants, Ranma snorted. "What? We're both guys, Ryoga. It's not like you don't got something I ain't seen before. Besides, I'm soaking wet here! I'm gonna catch cold if I don't get outta these…"
As Ryoga's face continued to flush red (Since he knew Ranma was really a guy, he didn't think he'd have a nosebleed… hopefully) Ranma tore off her white tank top and the yellow boxers she was wearing. Ryoga had the decency to look away just before then, although it was more for his sake than Ranma's. He sat in the furo, idly twiddling his thumbs.
"So, Ryoga, how's it been? You still getting' lost all the time?"
Ryoga growled slightly as Ranma brought up one of the points he was touchy about.
"I'm… doing better. I think. Why do you care?"
Ranma crossed her arms across her bare chest and looked pointedly at the back of Ryoga's head.
"What's the matter? I can't care about a buddy of mine?"
"When the hell did you ever care about what happened to me?"
Ryoga's voice started growing somewhat nasty, and Ranma hoped Ryoga wasn't prone to breaking anything now. Especially not in his mother's house.
"Well… there was Horai Mountain. I had this really bad feeling that you… well… And I did give a damn when you told me how you got cursed… especially since that… was my fault…"
Ranma leaned forward to prop herself on the rim of the furo, her arms now crossed under her chin. Ryoga turned slightly, enough so he could look Ranma in the eye.
"Did you… just say what I think you said…?"
The malice in Ryoga's voice was gone, and Ranma blinked up at him, confused. She nodded slowly and said, "Yeah. It was my fault. Sorry." She ended by looking down into the water. It was silent for a few moments.
"Ranma."
Looking up, Ranma saw Ryoga extending a hand towards him. For a handshake.
"Let's… let… bygones be bygones. Truthfully, I don't really hate you much anymore."
Ranma shot up to a sitting position, her legs crossed and her hands planted on her shins.
"Whoa! Are you actually… letting go of the grudge!?"
Concentrating to keep himself from losing it at the sight of a nude female body, Ryoga grinned a little.
"Well, yeah. I'm over my love for Akane, and you just admitted you were at fault for my curse, hell, you apologized! So, I don't really have any more reason to hold a grudge against you."
"Well, damn, I'll be. This is a day to remember! Ryoga Hibiki let go of his grudge! Whoo!"
Ryoga "sweatdropped" at Ranma's cheering before he slapped a hand down on the furo's rim.
"Ranma… If you don't accept my offer, maybe I will FIND something ELSE as reason to hold a grudge against you!"
"Oh, er, sorry."
Ranma quickly extended her hand to grasp his larger one, and they shook twice. Then, Ryoga gave a fanged grin as he yanked Ranma into the furo headfirst.
Sputtering, the now male Ranma shot to the surface as Ryoga laughed.
"Hey, you were planning that!"
"What, you didn't want to change back? My god, Ranma's a pervert after all!"
"Better'n being someone's dinner!"
"So you admit it!"
"Sh… shut up!"
As the two boys began tossing taunts back and forth, Nodoka smiled as she watched past the slightly opened sliding door. After a few moments, she headed back to the kitchen, preparing to make dinner for three.
---
End Chapter Four