Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, or Tenchi Muyo. Life would be much easier then.

'thoughts'

Ranma and Tenchi are both seventeen, and Nodoka has recently appeared, forcing Ranma and Genma into their Ranko, Mr. Panda states. Ranma is not really happy with this but deals.

Soul's Destiny, Blood's Inheritance Chapter 1

It was close to three am, the rain beating hard on the small figure that crept in the shadows. It was amazing to the police, how she could creep around ever watchful guards without being noticed, though she generally stood out with her flaming red hair and noticeable assets. The chief chuckled slightly through the seriousness of the situation. Not really a girl he remembered, but a seventeen year old young man cursed to take the body of one when splashed. The entire police force of Jubaan had been surprised when this young man came out of nowhere and single handedly took out a dozen bank robbers, handing them over to the cops and saving a young woman with an odd hair style.

After taking the gang of robbers to the prison, they gave the young man the bounty for them, 1 million yen. Looking surprised at the reward, the young man's face lit up and grinned, then stepping out into the sudden downpour and transforming. He had turned around with a sheepish grin and asked for hot water to transform back to his true form. Everyone who had seen that transformation had demanded an explanation and Ranma gave it, and the entire story of his life. Many of police officers were sympathetic, especially the female ones. They were ashamed, they said, of how the women were acting.

Enjoying the first real company and friends he had had in a while, Ranma offered his services as a handyman or backup man to the whole force if they needed it. Knowing of the young lad's skills, from the tales from his brother in Nerima, the chief offered Ranma a job as an officer. If Ranma could get all the gang members alive, he would get the bounty, and the small paycheck that the rest of the officer's got for paperwork.

That had been going on for two months now, and Ranma had become quite popular among the Jubaan police force. Crime had been coming to an all time low, and Ranma appeared to be happiest among his older peers, looking up to them for the honor he never seemed to find in his father. The chief was quite fond of the boy, and the entire force was planning to celebrate his birthday tomorrow with a grand party. He hoped Ranma would love his gifts.

Suddenly a shot and a high pitched scream shook the chief out of his reverie, and he waved all his forces on. That had been Ranma's scream, and the chief was going to kill the man who had shot him. The force ran into the room the scream had come from and noticed at least fifteen bodies on the floor, and Ranma-chan clutching her left shoulder. "I got all of 'em," she said, grinning, "But I let my guard down just a bit. I'm ok."

One of the female officers went over to Ranma, and peeled away the clothing, grimacing at the blood. "You need to get to a hospital," was her only quiet remark.

Ranma nodded, and looked to the police chief. "Let Shannon give you a ride. I'll meet you at the hospital. I want the whole story for my report."

Ranma grinned. "You just want the whole story so you can write it down for your book! See you at the hospital chief."

Ranma and Shannon left for the hospital and Chief Kino shook his head. Ranma was like a son to him, especially after his wife died in that plane crash. He would have had his daughter, if she had not disappeared, believing them both dead. Shaking his head from such thoughts, Kino surveyed the arresting and depositing of gangsters into squad cars, and then left for the hospital himself.

At the hospital..

At the hospital, Chief Kino quickly found that Ranma was in the emergency room. Going to Shannon outside, he looked at the woman's sad, thoughtful expression.

"What's wrong Shannon?" the chief asked, concerned.

Shannon looked up and a contemplating look crossed her face. "His grades have been at an all time high, and we've helped him with getting rid of the amazons, pity they stayed. Shampoo continues to hound him, though. This Akane girl keeps pounding him and Ukyo won't give up chasing him. Ranma has just gotten SHOT, chief. Even with his extraordinary healing abilities, he will need time to recuperate without getting beat on, or else the wound will reopen and cause problems. What are we supposed to do? We promised to keep this job a secret his family and friends, and have gone as far as detaining all his followers so that they would not interfere with his job. This needs to be told to his parents, yet somehow I doubt his father would see fit to leave him be and let him heal, not to mention his ex and legitimate fiancées fighting over him all the time. Even elder Cologne has yet to control Shampoo enough to leave Ranma alone as a husband."

The chief looked thoughtful as he contemplated this newest problem. "We could try talking to his mother, yet she doesn't know about his curse. Maybe we could try kidnapping him, and hiding him away until he heals. I've got a friend that now lives in the mountains that could probably take him in for a few weeks."

"You mean Katsuhiko?? Didn't he say his grandson was having trouble with a couple of very violent women also vying for his attention??" Shannon asked.

Suddenly someone cleared their throat behind them. "Actually, Tenchi is also here, suffering from wounds he got in one of the girls' fights. Maybe he and Ranma should get kidnapped and hidden together."

Shannon and Chief Kino turned around to see Katsuhiko, Tenchi's grandfather standing there. "Katsuhiko! Good to see you here. If what you say is true, then we had better get this planned tonight and get the kidnapped notes sent off. We'll have to figure out what kinds of things could kidnap them first though."

"Ranma could be kidnapped by the Phoenix people of the God he recently defeated. They might be strong enough if there are enough of them," Shannon suggested.

"No. When he returned, they'd expect Ranma to be completely battered. What would we say for Tenchi also, if Ranma mentions him??"

"Pity they can't stay here in Jubaan. What with the monsters that have been recently appearing, they'd want to do something about it, and help the three sailor scouts that have appeared," the Chief chuckled.

"I know of a fabulous hot spring far from here that they could go to. We could say that Tenchi was kidnapped by aliens from outer space, as there are many who would try to exact revenge on the Jurai family," Katsuhiko said, "And then we could go to Ranma's family and say that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and while trying to rescue my grandson, was kidnapped also."

Both Shannon and Chief Kino blinked at this as it registered, both knowing of the Masaki's strange heritage. Then they both grinned. It could work, no, they would MAKE it work!! All they had to do was convince Ranma and Tenchi, which shouldn't be hard. Both always seemed to have the worse women trouble and most interesting lives.

Then Shannon looked down a bit. "What about Ranma's party? What do we do with that?"

"I'm sure Ranma won't mind his surprise party a week late," the chief said kindly, "I doubt he even remembers that its his birthday."

Shannon nodded and pulled out the small package she was carrying, studying it for a bit. "I'll give him this tonight anyways, as soon as we can see him."

Soon the doctors for Tenchi and Ranma came to tell their respective representatives the condition of the boys. Ranma would need at least a week's worth of rest and relaxation with no strenuous workouts, even with his amazing regenerative abilities. It would also help if he didn't transform to a girl, as he was returned to a guy to deal with the pain better.

Tenchi would need at least five days worth of rest to recover, but a week wouldn't hurt anything either. The men and woman gave a sigh of relief and a grin. It was time to get their plan into action. All they needed to do was to tell the boys and make the reservations. Plans laid, Katsuhiko told Shannon the name of the resort and she went to make the reservations and note while the chief and eldest Masaki pulled the boys out of the hospital.

Ranma and Tenchi were quick to agree with the plan as soon as they heard it. Ranma was a little leery of leaving his job, but the doctor's warning and Kino's assurance that the force would be alright without him for a week helped Ranma with that. Before leaving, however, he received Shannon's gift, and a happy birthday. Opening it, he found two crystal, ice blue bracers, not unlike the ones from his dream. Thanking her with a one armed hug, he left with Tenchi to get ready for his trip.

After getting out of the hospital, Ranma and Tenchi made it on the noon train to the Mystic Cure hot springs, after some quick shopping for clothes and small pieces of luggage.

On the train, Ranma and Tenchi got acquainted with one another, as they would be room mates on this mission to get better. Ranma was glad he had his wallet and credit cards with him, as Nabiki was sure to go through his stuff. Ranma and Tenchi were quick to share tales of their lives. They shared the other's pain when it came to women troubles and laughter when it came to the oddest memories. Tenchi was a little surprised to hear about the curse, yet was not disgusted and did not tease Ranma about it, for which Ranma was glad.

The fast friends soon found themselves at their stop and quickly found their way to the resort, each helping the other when it looked like their wounds were getting the better of them.

Walking to the front desk, Tenchi and Ranma were intercepted by a girl with the oddest hairstyle running up to them. "Hi!!! I recognize you! You were the guy who saved my life at the bank robbery two months ago! My name's Usagi. It must be karma that I saw you today, and here of all places! What's your name?! Are you staying here too?"

A blue-haired girl came up to pull Usagi away as Ranma chuckled, "I recognize you. My name's Ranma. I'll be stayin' here with my friend Tenchi."

Tenchi said hello and then told Ranma he would go get the keys for their room.

Ranma was about to ask the girl how she had been over the past two months when he was interrupted. "Gee odango atama," came a male voice, "what'd you do? Run into one of the poor customers like a freight train like you always do?"

Usagi's face turned a deep red as Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Odango atama??" Ranma asked, "You really shouldn't be interrupting other people's conversations with insults like that. That one was really poor. Not to mention you directing it at a lovely girl here who doesn't deserve such a comment from what I've seen."

Usagi blushed, and her smile returned. "Thanks Ranma!!" she said hugging him. Then sticking her tongue out at the man behind her, "What are YOU doing here Mamoru?!?"

Just then Motoki walked up, "Hi Usagi! Mamoru and I came down here for a quick vacation from everything. I see you Ami and Rei are here also."

The blue haired girl then spoke, "Hello Mamoru-kun, Motoki-kun."

The raven haired girl who had followed Ami over then made her voice known, mainly to Ranma, "Did you REALLY save Usagi-chan??"

Ranma raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Robber was holdin' a gun to her head, askin for more money and an escape car for him and his comrades. Would you have wanted her to die??"

Rei looked down, her face slightly red and she turned to Mamoru and Motoki, to say hello to them. Ranma looked up at the man who had insulted Usagi, listening to the said girl with half an ear. He had black hair and blue eyes, much like his own. Mamoru looked worried for a second when Ranma mentioned the robbery Usagi had been in, and then looked from Usagi, who was talking animatedly to Ranma and Motoki, to Ranma himself, and his expression changed to one of jealousy for a split second and then settled on a neutral expression. Ranma saw this and snickered. Mamoru obviously liked Usagi a lot just had too much pride to admit to her or himself. Either that or he was hiding from himself and her, a definite fear of getting hurt.

'It's odd' Ranma thought, 'how much those two look like Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion from my dream.'

Ami's voice then startled Ranma out of his reverie, "Ranma-kun, what happened to your shoulder?"

Looking down, Ranma saw his shoulder had started bleeding again. He sighed in annoyance. He wasn't used to a wound reopening on him. "It's alright," he said to the group's concerned look, "I've had worse, I just need to go change the bandage."

Calling out to Tenchi, Ranma bent down and picked up his bags, to find Mamoru picking them up for him. "I'll carry these, you really shouldn't make that worse than it already is," Mamoru said, turning, "What's your room number?"

Just then Tenchi came back with the keys, and saw the trouble. "Geez Ranma, you can't even go on a vacation without getting into trouble. Come on, our room's on the second floor," he said picking up his own bags. "Don't offer to help me either, I can handle my stuff. You got shot so you deserve a break."

Ranma rolled his eyes but didn't argue. His shoulder was being a rather large pain at the moment anyways. He was rather surprised to find Usagi and the rest of the group following him. When he turned around to question them, Ami answered, "We already got our key a while ago, we were just in the lobby to see if there were any brochures out."

"Same for Mamoru and I," Motoki said, "There were maps of the springs out front that said what kind of healing powers they supposedly have."

Ranma raise an eyebrow at the other guys chuckling. "Mind if I see that map?"

Motoki nodded and pulled it out of his pocket. Opening it up, Ranma scanned the map and studied it. His eyes, fell across one spring in particular, The Spring of Seperation. He looked down at the caption providing the description of the spring. 'This spring seems pretty normal to those with out Jusenkyo curses, however, if one should have a Jusenkyo curse, the spring will separate the bodies and the souls of the thing that drowned there and the poor soul that fell in. If one likes their curse, one should not go near this pool.

Seeing what Ranma was reading, Motoki laughed, saying "Yeah can you believe it? I doubt Jusenkyo really exists, or if it does, its not cursed."

"It does exist," Ranma said slowly, "I've been there. The curses are real too."

Rei, Ami, and Usagi shared looks, and then Rei spoke up, "You've got to be kidding."

Ranma shook his head. "Nope pop turns into a panda with cold water and is returned to himself with hot. Result of falling in one of the springs. Each spring has a legend of something that drowned, and whoever falls in, takes the form of whatever drowned there."

"Did you fall in, Ranma-kun?" Ami asked.

Looking at the girl, all he could do was nod. At the girls' questioning looks, Ranma sighed and then followed with, "I turn into a girl."

Up ahead, Mamoru chuckled causing Ranma to frown. "Look I really appreciate you helping me with my stuff and all, but if you're going to laugh at my misfortunes I'd rather you just drop my stuff and let me carry it the rest of the way."

"Don't bother Ranma, we're here," came Tenchi's voice.

Unlocking the room, Tenchi allowed them all in, and set his stuff down. After Mamoru dropped his luggage, Ranma went in and got out the pain medication and the bandages he would need. Taking off his shirt, Ranma heard the girls gasp, and shook his head. 'They act like they've never seen a guy half naked before. I haven't even shown them the wound yet.'

To his surprise, Ami came over and helped him get the dressing off. "Here, I'll help you with that. Raye? Would you get me some hot water from the bathroom? Usagi, get him a new shirt and put this one to soak in the sink."

Both girls went to do what they were told, and Mamoru looked around the room. "Geez, this one is larger than ours."

Tenchi grinned. "Well the Jubaan police force and my grandfather are sharing costs for a large room so Ranma and I can recuperate. We both ended up getting the short end of the stick, so now they're making sure we have the best."

Ranma nodded, wincing slightly as Ami pulled the gauze away from his wound. Hearing a gasp from behind him, Ranma turned his head slightly to see Usagi pulling something out of his pack, something vaguely familiar. "Oh how pretty!" she exclaimed. Bringing them to Ranma she asked, "Are they bracelets?"

Seeing them, Ranma chuckled, "No they're bracers. Martial artists use them to protect their fore arms in battle. You put them on like this." Taking the ice blue bracers, he held out his uninjured arm, and snapped it on, the seam disappearing almost instantly.

Usagi traced where the seam had been surprise showing on her face at the softness of the crystal like bracers. "You can't even feel the seam anymore," she said softly.

Ranma nodded and Ami said, "There, all done."

Nodding his thanks Ranma went back to his luggage and put a shirt on. He heard Rei sigh in disappointment and raised an eyebrow. 'What is it with girls and wanting to see me with my shirt off?' he thought.

"Thanks for your help. Tenchi and I have ta unpack now though so I'll see you around, k?"

Usagi nodded, extremely cheerful once again, "Yeah!! We should have dinner! You think you can meet us around six? Rei, Ami and I found this great restaurant in one of the brochures! You two can come too!" she exclaimed, turning to Mamoru and Motoki.

Ranma and Tenchi nodded. "We'll meet you in the front lounge," Tenchi said.

"Us to," said Motoki, "This will be great."

With that, the group left, allowing Tenchi and Ranma to unpack.

So what do you think? I hope that this is better. Let me know what you think Ranma's soul mate's name should be. I could use a few suggestions. She will still have her powers, but like I said, her planet is now the asteroid belt. Thanks! ^_^ Ja ne 0: ) kokatsu na tenshi