A Tail To Remember

By: Gie (phowah@cs.com)

An Alternate Universe Continuation--Ranma 1/2 and Dragonball Z Crossover

Saotome Ranma, Tendo Akane and their familiars are not Mine.
They are Hers, Takahashi Rumiko-sama.

Son Goku, Vejiita-oujisama and their familiars are not Mine, either.
They are His, Toriyama Akira-sama.

But hey, if they want to come over and visit, party, get wasted and
fall asleep on my couch, that ki-draining chain holding them down is
not Mine, either.

Really, it's not.

This story, and any new characters, though, are MINE, not Hers, or His. That should
make the lawyers settle back in their cages.

Timeline: In Ranmaverse, this is a few years after Saffron and the wedding disaster. They've graduated from high school. Convenient, ne? In DBZ, this is a few months after the defeat of Garlic Jr.

I will be creating my own timeline, so some things will differ in both worlds. Especially DBZ. That's what 'Alternate' means. It is a good idea to be familiar with each storyline up to the points I mentioned. But I will be going slightly in-depth into the characters below, so that should help.

Warning: I will be using quite a bit of Japanese throughout the story. Reason? Well, I think of Ranma and his universe in English, because that is all I have seen of the show. But I have saw, and learned the characters of DragonballZ and such through subtitled episodes, making me think of those characters in their Japanese rolls. Hence, the steady flow of Japanese. Included within is a fairly detailed
dictionary/glossary that I use. Since this is a Crossover/Fusion/whatever you want to call it, I will give a little explanation of certain names/families/relationships.

To get in contact with me, please email: phowah@cs.com Or on ff.net, use that nifty box provided on the bottom of the page. I'd love to hear from you, whether it be good or not-so-good. I'd prefer it to be good. *grin* Along with this disclaimer, for those already familiar with my story, I'm reloading the chapters, taking out all of the author notes and other disclaimers and such. It'll be a much cleaner, neater looking story. The chapters will still be numbered and labeled as they are, but won't have
the mess at the beginning or the end.

Glossary:
First, characters: Names are in Japanese style, so family names are first, and proper names are last. There will be more added as the story goes on, but to be safe, and have no spoilers, they will not be mentioned within.

Ranma 1/2

Saotome Ranma: The star/hero of the series. A water transsexual resulting from a Jusenkyo curse; ie: he changes sexes with water. Born male, he turns female, a red-headed, busty, female when hit with cold water. Hot water reverses the curse. Ranma was on a Martial Arts training trip for ten years with his father, Saotome Genma, who has a curse of his own: he changes into a Giant Panda. His mother, Saotome Nodoka, was left at home with a seppuku (ritual suicide) pledge, stating that Ranma would be raised as a 'Man among men;' or both father and son would honor pledge. Nodoka knows about Ranma's curse now, and accepts him for it. She dissolved the pledge. Ranma is known as the best martial artist of his generation, and is well aware of that fact. Heir to the Saotome Ryuu no Musabetsu Kasabuto...or the "Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling." Viz translated it as 'Anything Goes.' And, that's prety much true. Has an ego the size of the Pacific Ocean. Also, due to unfortunate circumstances beyond his control, mainly his father's, he has three legitimate fiancees, and countless admirers and rivals.
Tendo Akane: Has no curse, unless you count a bad temper as one. (Ranma does, by the way. For it is usually directed in his direction.) Heir to the Tendo Ryuu no Musabetsu Kasabuto, or the Tendo School of Indiscriminate Grappling. Was the best martial artist in Nerima before Ranma arrived. Resented that fact for awhile. Akane is also Ranma's first fiancee. Arranged by their fathers, Genma and Tendo Soun, they were destined before birth to unite the two branches of Martial Arts and lead the school into greatness. Has two older sisters, Tendo Kasumi and Tendo Nabiki.
Kuonji Ukyou: An okynomiyaki (a Japanese pancake/pizza) chef. And Ranma's second fiancee. A cute girl that Ranma thought was a boy. But they were only six at the time when Genma asked Ranma what he liked better: Ukyou or okynomiyaki. Ranma chose the food, and Ukyou was left in the dust. She was shamed by her father and village, and threw away her femininity for a masculine identity, and a hard and long lasting grudge against both Saotome. Ukyou promptly forgives Ranma when they meet up again, when he calls her cute. She also like to rub that fact in Akane's face, calling herself the kawaii iinazuke, or the 'cute fiancee.' Runs her own resturant.
Hibiki Ryouga: A young male, and Ranma's greatest rival. Has the world's lousiest sense of direction. Were friends/rivals in middle school. They were to have a battle in an abandoned parking lot about 500 yards away from Ryouga's house. Ranma waited for three days, but Genma forced him to leave. Ryouga arrived on the fourth day, and followed the pair to China, and consequently, Jusenkyo. He gained a curse as well, and now changes into a small black piglet with a bandana tied around his neck, nicknamed 'P-chan' by Akane, who adopted him as her pet, much to Ranma's red-hot ire. Ryouga blames everything that goes wrong in his life on Ranma, and sometimes...he may be right. Is rather protective of Akane, who he has fallen in love with. He is always going after Ranma for something 'he did to Akane.' "Ranma, prepare to die!" is a battle cry heard fairly frequent in the Nerima air.
Shampoo: A purple-haired Jogetsoku, or commonly known as a Chinese Amazon. Ranma's third fiancee. She earned that title when Ranma and Genma wandered into her village during a tounament, and he defeated Shampoo, who happened to be the village champion, for her prize--which Genma happened to have eaten already. But at the time, Ranma was in female form. An ancient Amazon law stated that a menber of the village defeated by an outsider female would have to hunt said outsider down and kill her known as the 'Kiss of Death'. If male, then she would have to marry him--called the 'Kiss of Marriage'. Shampoo, believing Ranma to be female, did hunt her down, and found her/him in Nerima. But it was revealed that Ranma was indeed male, so she became the third fiancee. Although, according to her laws, they are already married. She returns home to China, but soon come back to Nerima with two other Amazons: Cologne, the 300 year old Martiarch of the Amazons, and Mousse, a male, Master of the Hidden Weapons technique, and Shampoo's devoted admirer. Shampoo does have a curse--she becomes a pink & purple kitten. Mousse becomes a duck. Cologne does not have a curse. The three of them run the Nekohanten, or Cat Cafe, a ramen joint.

DragonballZ

Son Goku: The 'star' or hero of the series; he is an alien known as Kakarotto, a Saiya-jiin from the planet Vejiita. The Saiya-jiin are known as the greatest warrior race in the universe. Their appearance is fairly reminicent to a large, muscle-bound human; the only obvious difference is the long tail that protrudes from the lower back. Kakarotto arrived on Chikyuu (Earth) as an infant. His mission: To eliminate the Human race to make Chikyuu ready for the highest bidder. But, after being found by a kindly old man named Son Gohan, who took him in as his grandson, he fell down a ravine and bumped his head. This lucky act made Kakarotto, or now known as Son Goku, lose his memories of anything Saiya-jiin. The only things that separated him from appearing like a normal human was the abnormal amount of strength he held in his small body, and the addition of his tail. Later, Goku married ChiChi, and she bore him a half Saiya-jiin son, named Gohan, after his 'grandfather.' He did not know of his Saiya-jiin heritage until one day when a space pod came to Chikyuu and bore a senshi (warrior) named Radiitzu: Kakarotto's older, Saiya-jiin brother. He unveiled his story to Goku: his heritage, and the news that he was one of four Saiya-jiin remaining in the universe--for their home planet, Vejiita, had been destroyed by meteors. Goku denounces his Saiya-jiin heritage, and through a short, but nasty fight, gets killed, along with his brother.
Briefs Bulma: A mechanical genius, and heir to the Capsule Corporation, a company founded by her father that supplies the world with a device known as Hoi Poi Capsules, little thumb-sized objects that can hold *anything* inside. Bulma was the one that brought Goku out of the woods where he lived as a child and into civilization. A rather bossy and arrogant female, she has beauty to match her brains, and was well aware of that fact. She was the one that was on the hunt for the Dragon Balls, the basis of the entire series, and hence its name. She created the Dragon Radar, a device that sensed the small, distinct energy the seven orange-starred balls radiated. Both her and Goku, who she discovered had the 4-star ball, went off on an adventure to collect all seven of the magical orbs to make a wish. For the legend stated that when all seven of the starred balls were gathered, the mystical dragon, Shenlon, could be summoned to grant any wish within his power. She has no other siblings, only her father, Dr. Briefs, and her mother, Mrs. Briefs.
Vejiita: The Saiya-jiin no Ouji (Prince of the Saiya-jiin.) Named after his planet, Prince Vejiita is an arrogant, prideful male that has the power to back up his boasts. He may be rather short for his race, but he more than makes up for it with his attitude. He arrives on Chikyuu searching for the lost Saiya-jiin, Kakarotto. What he finds is an alive Son Goku, coutesy of a convient wish via the Dragon Balls. After a hard and bloody battle between the two Saiya-jiin, a battered Vejiita leaves Chikyuu, tail-less and angry. He becomes hell-bent on defeating 'that Third-class tail-less bastard of a Saiya-jiin.' He later, after dying himself by the hands of a ruthless killer named Friezer, is resurrected and brought to Chikyuu. Bulma offers to let him stay at Capsule Corp, supplying him with the infamous 'Gravity Chamber,' a device that allows the user to be within different levels of simulated gravity. There were many versions of the chamber, for Vejiita, in his quest to 'become stronger than Kakarotto and kill his sorry hide,' pushed its limits, destroying it.
Z Senshi: The Z Senshi, or Z warriors are comprised of the humans/others Goku called friends--most were enemies at first, but moved to his side after the Saiya-jiin befriended them. They include, in no particular order: Yamucha, Kuririn, Tenshinhan (Tien), Chao-tzu, Kamesen'nin(Master Roshi),and Piccolo. Each one of these warriors have their own special talents that were handy in fighting to protect Chikyuu.

Glossary of Japanese Terms:
I defined some as I went along above, but I will include them in my lists below.

Articles
-san This article is used to denote respect, and/or unfamiliarity. Piccolo-san would be the same as Mr. Piccolo.
-chan This article is used in strong familiarity, between close friends or family members. Mainly used for affection, and in romantic relationships. Females addressing other female friends usually use the -chan suffix. Although, the term can be used with sarcasm. ChiChi calls her son, Gohan, Gohan-chan.
-kun This article is used in place of addressing a younger person, or colleague. This is a more familiar suffix than -san, but not as familiar and personal as -chan. Genma sometimes calls Akane, Akane-kun. This article is generalized in male to male relationships, and female to male relationships, but usually never female to female, or male to female.
-sama This article is only used for dieties, or royalty. It is rather scandalous in Japanese society to call someone else with the -sama suffix if they do not deserve it. Vejiita-sama, since he is a Prince, is acceptable, and desired. Kami-sama is right--there is no Kami-chan, or Kami-san.
Royalty suffixes
Since there are a few members of royalty around, their appropriate suffixes are used, as well.
Ou--King
Ouji--Prince
Oujo--Princess (sometimes -hime is used, but for all intents and purposes, I am using Oujo)
The article 'no'
This article usually means 'the' or 'of the'. Saiya-jiin no Oujo--Princess of the Saiya-jiin
Other general suffixes
-sei This stands for planet. Chikyuu-sei--Planet Chikyuu
-jiin This stands for people. Nameksei-jiin--The people from the planet Namek.
-tachi This stands for 'And the rest,' as in the rest of the group. Goku-tachi went to the park--Goku and the rest went to the park.
-ke This is the suffix for home. At the Tendo-ke, Ranma and Akane slept.--At the Tendo home, Ranma...

Family Names
Otousan--Father Can be shortened to 'Tousan
Okaasan--Mother Can be shortened to 'Kaasan
Obaasan--Aunt 'Baasan. This is also used for a stranger (female)
Ojisan--Uncle 'Jisan. Also used as a name for a stranger (male)
Oneechan--Older Sister, 'Neechan Oniichan--Older Brother, 'Niichan
Imoutochan--Younger Sister Ototochan--Younger Brother
Obabasan--Grandmother Ojiisan--Grandfather
Masume--Daughter Musouko--Son
With these names, the dash usually used with the -chan or the -san is dropped, but when used with a proper name, the dash is after the proper name. Ex: Nodoka-obaasan--Aunt Nodoka

Some General Words
Hai--Yes Iie--No
Arigato--Thanks Domo arigato gozaimasu (formal) Thank you very much
Doo itashimashite--You're welcome
Kon'nichi wa--greeting, hello! Konban wa--Good day, hello!
Ohiayo gozaimasu--good morning
Ja ne--good bye sayonara--Good bye (more formal, permanent)
Ja matta ne--see you later
Nani--what (usually used as a question. Nani?)
Onna--female (Vejiita uses this as his 'name' for Bulma, so it means more like, Woman)
Otoko--male
minna--everyone minna-san/minna-chan--my friends, etc.
kawaii--cute kawaiikune--uncute
sugoi--incredible, awesome
aishiteru--'I love you.'

Swears
Even though Dragonball Z is targeted toward a younger audience in America, it was not so in Japan. There was swearing and cussing--mainly from Vejiita, who had a potty mouth on him. But during the big battles, they razzed each other big time. Most have the same meaning, like all explicitives, but it just depends on the use of the word. Ranma 1/2 did have some, but most were fairly tame. Mainly Akane yelling at Ranma. *grin* Ranma no baka! (Ranma, you idiot!)
baka--idiot, dummy The most tame word used--also the most common.
bakayaro--bastard
shimata--damn
kuso--sh*t/*uck kusotare--*ucker/*sshole
*********

There are more...I know that, but I'll add them as I go along, or as I remember them. If you have any suggestions to anything I've put here, or you see an error, or think something should be mentioned, let me know by review or give me a holler at phowah@cs.com. This is just meant as an overview of the Japanese and the main characters in both Ranma 1/2 and Dragonball Z, and subsequently in 'A Tail To Remember'--nothing too in-depth. It gives you the readers a little bit of information to familiarize yourself with, well, unfamiliar characters. Hope this helps! Ja matte ne, minna-san!