Disclaimer: All Anime Characters and concepts are the property of their
respective creators. The same is true of any references that might be
applied in this fanfiction. This is strictly a work of fanfiction and is
by no means meant to be taken literally.
Spoiler Warning: This fanfiction will definately include spoilers of events and characters that appear later on in these Anime Titles. Technically these characters have already appeared, they just haven't appeared in the English version of the series.
------Distant Memories------
The sun rose over the horizon. The rays of light stretched into the distance in waves that couldn't be stopped. Crystal was not bothered by the sudden arrival of morning, for she had been awake the whole night. The world basically moved around her like she wasn't even a part of it and she herself made it clear that she did not plan on acting like part of the world she was living in.
Crystal was up in yet another tree, sitting cross-legged while leaning her back against the trunk of the tree. One might have believed she herself wasn't even aware that the morning had come, because of the vacant, distant expression she had on her face. Normally her thoughts weren't so hard to reach into, but she was trying to reach memories she hadn't visited in years. She was determined to remember something, anything that might rationalize the results of the testing Washu had performed on her.
It occured to her during the night that she had never actually tried to do something like this and that it would probably take a great deal of time and effort to reach into past memories. She had not been prepared for the strange complex that existed within her mind. It was like she had two different sets of memories, one of which was surrounded by a barrier. She was convinced that the memories she was unable to reach were her true memories and that the other set that was simply floating around in her mind was a fake of some kind, left to make her confused. Whatever the reasoning behind this was, it had obviously worked.
How long had her mind been like this? She didn't know that either, but she imagined it had to do with something important that had happened in her past. It was probably something that happened more recently, but she could not remember what this event could have been. The whole situation was starting to bother her more and more, but she couldn't understand what she was meant to do about it.
Crystal clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration. She had spent the last week trying to understand herself and she had become more confused than when she had started. Not only was she more confused, but she was also getting increasingly frustrated. She had managed to catch some holes in the barrier around her true memories and she had recalled a few foggy memories that she intended to hold onto.
*~*~*~* Flashback *~*~*~*
A much younger version of Crystal was in the middle of what could only have been a very thick forest. There was someone else there with her, someone who was probably several years older than her, but their image was clouded and it was impossible to read the details. Whoever this person was, Crystal had definately known them at some point in time.
"What is it you wanted to show me?" asked the clouded figure, who definately had the voice of a young boy.
The young version of Crystal removed the Dragon Blade from its sheath and pointed it at a nearby tree. The figure seemed to be watching her closely as she raised the sword over her head and gave it a nice vertical slash towards the tree while shouting, "Ryuu Douryokuha!" causing a blade of something that looked like metallic purple fire to shoot out at the tree.
[Dragon Power Blade]
The tree dissolved into a smoldering pile of molten wood on the forest floor. Crystal sheathed the sword and folded her arms in front of her.
"The Dragon Blade is a good weapon, isn't it?" asked the young version of Crystal.
"Is that what you've taken to calling that sword of yours?" asked the clouded figure.
The young version of Crystal nodded with a smile on her face, "It seems like a fitting name." She was indicating the hilt of the sword that was carved in the form of a dragon's neck and head, with the odd purple gem in its mouth.
"It seems like a good weapon for you," said the clouded figure.
*~*~*~* Present *~*~*~*
"What's on your mind?" asked a voice.
Crystal didn't imediately recognize the voice as she was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality. She blinked several times, almost as though she had been sleeping, although that definately hadn't been the case.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" asked Crystal in surprise.
Inuyasha was sitting up on a branch a short distance above Crystal, in the same tree. In her state of deep thought, she hadn't noticed his arrival, but he obviously hadn't been there very long.
"You have been radiating a very distressed aura," noted Inuyasha.
"Why would my problems matter to you?" asked Crystal, attempting to keep the surprise out of her voice and doing a reasonably bad job of it.
Inuyasha decided to turn this into a sort of challenge, "I could have cared less, but the others wanted me to talk to you anyway."
Crystal jumped up higher into the tree so that she was facing Inuyasha and gave him a glare. It was a reasonably pathetic attempt at a glare really and even though it was by no means intimidating, Inuyasha still managed to get the message.
"Do you have a problem with people being concerned about you?" asked Inuyasha, deciding to change the subject back to something that wouldn't result in him getting knocked out of the tree.
It worked, because stopped attempting to glare at him. She returned to the neutral expression she had been using for the last several days since Washu's revelation. An unskilled person would have had no idea something was bothering her from this expression, but Inuyasha found it easy to read what Crystal was really thinking.
Crystal finally answered, "I just haven't gotten used to the aspect of people being worried about me. If I hadn't settled down in Nerima, I wouldn't even have friends. I'd still be looking for someplace to call home."
"Does that mean you don't trust anyone?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal hadn't really thought about that. She enjoyed spending time with her friends and talking to them when she did, but did she really trust them? Did she believe they liked her for who she was? Could they be counted on if times turned hard again?
Crystal sighed, "I guess I'm still having trouble trusting people..."
Inuyasha actually smirked, "And why are you telling me all this?"
Crystal blinked and attempted to sort the matter out, "That is a very good question. I honestly don't know."
For the most part Crystal didn't tell anyone what she was thinking. Shiva always had an easy time of getting information out of her and now Inuyasha was having a similar effect. She couldn't figure out why, but for some reason it didn't bother her that she was talking to them. Then it hit her, she really didn't mind that she was talking to Inuyasha, the one who only a few days before had still been calling her "dragon-girl".
Inuyasha managed to figure out what Crystal was thinking from the shocked expression that had appeared on her face. At least that annoyingly neutral expression was gone. In his opinion, the depressed attitude didn't suit her at all.
"Why did you come to this era anyway?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal shrugged at that one, "I didn't really want my friends from Nerima to find me while I was trying sort out my own thoughts. Come to think of it, I like it in this era. You can really see the stars at night, there aren't as many people, there aren't all those huge buildings all over the place, and it is the perfect way to find a quiet place to think."
"Aren't you afraid of being attacked?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal shrugged again, "You've seen for yourself that I can handle myself against most of the things that pop up in the forest."
"You look like you haven't slept all week," noted Inuyasha.
Crystal sweatdropped, "That's probably because I haven't."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Does anyone else find it weird that Furinkan has been destroyed by the same "Giant Monster" every day this week and we still haven't seen a sign of it?" asked Ukyo.
Ranma nodded, "That really is weird, even for Nerima."
Reiya added, "And Crystal didn't come back after she visited that Washu person. What do you suppose is up with that?"
"I wouldn't worry too much about Crystal," noted Akane. "She can handle herself just fine."
Reiya shrugged, "I guess so, but she seemed really down when she left."
Ranma said, "She usually gets like that when she has something serious to think about."
"Aren't you curious about what could be so serious that Crystal has been gone for a whole week?" asked Akane.
"Not particularly," replied Ranma. "You said yourself that she can handle herself."
Reiya said, "She could have at least left a message or something."
Ukyo said, "Crystal isn't big on letting people know exactly where she is going."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Did you gather anything from speaking with her?" asked Miroku.
"She's fine," replied Inuyasha.
"Did she say anything interesting?" asked Shippo.
Kagome asked, "Are you sure she's alright?"
"If you're all so damn interested, why don't you go talk to her yourselves?!" demanded Inuyasha.
"She is rather high up in that tree," noted Sango.
"Yeah," agreed Shippo.
"Has it occured to you that maybe she doesn't feel like talking?" asked Inuyasha.
"She talked to you though," noted Kagome.
Inuyasha shrugged, "Yes, she did talk to me. That doesn't mean anything."
Miroku asked, "Does anyone besides me think that there are too many similarities between the way these two act?"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "And just what are you talking about?"
"Oh nothing," said Miroku.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun was just starting to set as Crystal jumped up into a new tree for a slight change in scenery. She blinked as a bright light started coming from the main pocket in her backpack. Then memory hit her like a nice heavy sack of bricks.
Crystal unzipped the pocket and removed the Pokemon Egg that had started glowing a bright yellow color. She re-zipped the pocket and hung the bag from another hook-like branch, while holding the Pokemon Egg in her right hand.
"It must be close to hatching," Crystal thought aloud.
A small pillar of the bright yellow light shined from the Pokemon Egg. Crystal was reasonably certain she had been holding the Pokemon Egg, but suddenly it seemed to vanish into thin air. Crystal shrugged this thought off as a small figure appeared in front of her, standing on the tree branch.
It was a small yellow mouse with ears that were definately too big for its head. There were black patches on its ears and around the area beneath its neck. It had beady little black eyes and little red pouches on its cheeks. It also had a little black tail that was shaped, roughly, like a bolt of lightning.
The creature looked up at Crystal and said, "Pichu!"
Crystal smiled, "Kawaii!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Be Continued...
Spoiler Warning: This fanfiction will definately include spoilers of events and characters that appear later on in these Anime Titles. Technically these characters have already appeared, they just haven't appeared in the English version of the series.
------Distant Memories------
The sun rose over the horizon. The rays of light stretched into the distance in waves that couldn't be stopped. Crystal was not bothered by the sudden arrival of morning, for she had been awake the whole night. The world basically moved around her like she wasn't even a part of it and she herself made it clear that she did not plan on acting like part of the world she was living in.
Crystal was up in yet another tree, sitting cross-legged while leaning her back against the trunk of the tree. One might have believed she herself wasn't even aware that the morning had come, because of the vacant, distant expression she had on her face. Normally her thoughts weren't so hard to reach into, but she was trying to reach memories she hadn't visited in years. She was determined to remember something, anything that might rationalize the results of the testing Washu had performed on her.
It occured to her during the night that she had never actually tried to do something like this and that it would probably take a great deal of time and effort to reach into past memories. She had not been prepared for the strange complex that existed within her mind. It was like she had two different sets of memories, one of which was surrounded by a barrier. She was convinced that the memories she was unable to reach were her true memories and that the other set that was simply floating around in her mind was a fake of some kind, left to make her confused. Whatever the reasoning behind this was, it had obviously worked.
How long had her mind been like this? She didn't know that either, but she imagined it had to do with something important that had happened in her past. It was probably something that happened more recently, but she could not remember what this event could have been. The whole situation was starting to bother her more and more, but she couldn't understand what she was meant to do about it.
Crystal clenched and unclenched her fists in frustration. She had spent the last week trying to understand herself and she had become more confused than when she had started. Not only was she more confused, but she was also getting increasingly frustrated. She had managed to catch some holes in the barrier around her true memories and she had recalled a few foggy memories that she intended to hold onto.
*~*~*~* Flashback *~*~*~*
A much younger version of Crystal was in the middle of what could only have been a very thick forest. There was someone else there with her, someone who was probably several years older than her, but their image was clouded and it was impossible to read the details. Whoever this person was, Crystal had definately known them at some point in time.
"What is it you wanted to show me?" asked the clouded figure, who definately had the voice of a young boy.
The young version of Crystal removed the Dragon Blade from its sheath and pointed it at a nearby tree. The figure seemed to be watching her closely as she raised the sword over her head and gave it a nice vertical slash towards the tree while shouting, "Ryuu Douryokuha!" causing a blade of something that looked like metallic purple fire to shoot out at the tree.
[Dragon Power Blade]
The tree dissolved into a smoldering pile of molten wood on the forest floor. Crystal sheathed the sword and folded her arms in front of her.
"The Dragon Blade is a good weapon, isn't it?" asked the young version of Crystal.
"Is that what you've taken to calling that sword of yours?" asked the clouded figure.
The young version of Crystal nodded with a smile on her face, "It seems like a fitting name." She was indicating the hilt of the sword that was carved in the form of a dragon's neck and head, with the odd purple gem in its mouth.
"It seems like a good weapon for you," said the clouded figure.
*~*~*~* Present *~*~*~*
"What's on your mind?" asked a voice.
Crystal didn't imediately recognize the voice as she was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and back into reality. She blinked several times, almost as though she had been sleeping, although that definately hadn't been the case.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" asked Crystal in surprise.
Inuyasha was sitting up on a branch a short distance above Crystal, in the same tree. In her state of deep thought, she hadn't noticed his arrival, but he obviously hadn't been there very long.
"You have been radiating a very distressed aura," noted Inuyasha.
"Why would my problems matter to you?" asked Crystal, attempting to keep the surprise out of her voice and doing a reasonably bad job of it.
Inuyasha decided to turn this into a sort of challenge, "I could have cared less, but the others wanted me to talk to you anyway."
Crystal jumped up higher into the tree so that she was facing Inuyasha and gave him a glare. It was a reasonably pathetic attempt at a glare really and even though it was by no means intimidating, Inuyasha still managed to get the message.
"Do you have a problem with people being concerned about you?" asked Inuyasha, deciding to change the subject back to something that wouldn't result in him getting knocked out of the tree.
It worked, because stopped attempting to glare at him. She returned to the neutral expression she had been using for the last several days since Washu's revelation. An unskilled person would have had no idea something was bothering her from this expression, but Inuyasha found it easy to read what Crystal was really thinking.
Crystal finally answered, "I just haven't gotten used to the aspect of people being worried about me. If I hadn't settled down in Nerima, I wouldn't even have friends. I'd still be looking for someplace to call home."
"Does that mean you don't trust anyone?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal hadn't really thought about that. She enjoyed spending time with her friends and talking to them when she did, but did she really trust them? Did she believe they liked her for who she was? Could they be counted on if times turned hard again?
Crystal sighed, "I guess I'm still having trouble trusting people..."
Inuyasha actually smirked, "And why are you telling me all this?"
Crystal blinked and attempted to sort the matter out, "That is a very good question. I honestly don't know."
For the most part Crystal didn't tell anyone what she was thinking. Shiva always had an easy time of getting information out of her and now Inuyasha was having a similar effect. She couldn't figure out why, but for some reason it didn't bother her that she was talking to them. Then it hit her, she really didn't mind that she was talking to Inuyasha, the one who only a few days before had still been calling her "dragon-girl".
Inuyasha managed to figure out what Crystal was thinking from the shocked expression that had appeared on her face. At least that annoyingly neutral expression was gone. In his opinion, the depressed attitude didn't suit her at all.
"Why did you come to this era anyway?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal shrugged at that one, "I didn't really want my friends from Nerima to find me while I was trying sort out my own thoughts. Come to think of it, I like it in this era. You can really see the stars at night, there aren't as many people, there aren't all those huge buildings all over the place, and it is the perfect way to find a quiet place to think."
"Aren't you afraid of being attacked?" asked Inuyasha.
Crystal shrugged again, "You've seen for yourself that I can handle myself against most of the things that pop up in the forest."
"You look like you haven't slept all week," noted Inuyasha.
Crystal sweatdropped, "That's probably because I haven't."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Does anyone else find it weird that Furinkan has been destroyed by the same "Giant Monster" every day this week and we still haven't seen a sign of it?" asked Ukyo.
Ranma nodded, "That really is weird, even for Nerima."
Reiya added, "And Crystal didn't come back after she visited that Washu person. What do you suppose is up with that?"
"I wouldn't worry too much about Crystal," noted Akane. "She can handle herself just fine."
Reiya shrugged, "I guess so, but she seemed really down when she left."
Ranma said, "She usually gets like that when she has something serious to think about."
"Aren't you curious about what could be so serious that Crystal has been gone for a whole week?" asked Akane.
"Not particularly," replied Ranma. "You said yourself that she can handle herself."
Reiya said, "She could have at least left a message or something."
Ukyo said, "Crystal isn't big on letting people know exactly where she is going."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Did you gather anything from speaking with her?" asked Miroku.
"She's fine," replied Inuyasha.
"Did she say anything interesting?" asked Shippo.
Kagome asked, "Are you sure she's alright?"
"If you're all so damn interested, why don't you go talk to her yourselves?!" demanded Inuyasha.
"She is rather high up in that tree," noted Sango.
"Yeah," agreed Shippo.
"Has it occured to you that maybe she doesn't feel like talking?" asked Inuyasha.
"She talked to you though," noted Kagome.
Inuyasha shrugged, "Yes, she did talk to me. That doesn't mean anything."
Miroku asked, "Does anyone besides me think that there are too many similarities between the way these two act?"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "And just what are you talking about?"
"Oh nothing," said Miroku.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun was just starting to set as Crystal jumped up into a new tree for a slight change in scenery. She blinked as a bright light started coming from the main pocket in her backpack. Then memory hit her like a nice heavy sack of bricks.
Crystal unzipped the pocket and removed the Pokemon Egg that had started glowing a bright yellow color. She re-zipped the pocket and hung the bag from another hook-like branch, while holding the Pokemon Egg in her right hand.
"It must be close to hatching," Crystal thought aloud.
A small pillar of the bright yellow light shined from the Pokemon Egg. Crystal was reasonably certain she had been holding the Pokemon Egg, but suddenly it seemed to vanish into thin air. Crystal shrugged this thought off as a small figure appeared in front of her, standing on the tree branch.
It was a small yellow mouse with ears that were definately too big for its head. There were black patches on its ears and around the area beneath its neck. It had beady little black eyes and little red pouches on its cheeks. It also had a little black tail that was shaped, roughly, like a bolt of lightning.
The creature looked up at Crystal and said, "Pichu!"
Crystal smiled, "Kawaii!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Be Continued...