Disclaimer: You know the drill: this is a work of fan fiction. I don't own Ranma. I don't own Exalted. Don't beg your Exalted GM to let you get away with any of this—she has enough to worry about with the new magic supplement. In the interests of telling a good story, rules will be broken, canon material will be sent on a brief flight via trebuchet, and ideas will be mangled by my cat, who is really more of a wolverine disguised as a housecat. Signed reviews or C&C accepted. Flames will be sent to the 'No SASE' ogres who used to work for TSR.
Cestus Sol A Ranma/Exalted RPG crossover from the MadPanda
Chapter Two: Strangely Met By Starlight
Several hours later, Ranma found a few moments of badly needed refuge up on the roof. Gazing out at the stars, he mulled over the evening's madness. He could almost imagine a vengeful kami somewhere, waiting to throw a ready list of rivals and other problems his way.
"Whichever one of you I ticked off, enough already, I'm sorry..."
First thing in the door, the two old fools had bombarded him with demands and accusations—where was Akane? Why was he ignoring his true fiancée? How dare he leave her behind? And so on, and so forth. Did they listen to him explain that she was studying? Ha! Then his mother started up her 'that's not very manly' crap again. He hated it when she did that, but what could he say?
Maybe an hour after that, Ryoga had ambushed him, frothing at the mouth about Akane crying because of him. He'd heard it all before...and just didn't feel like arguing with the navigationally challenged boy. Genma suddenly found himself placed in the way of a descending umbrella strike, which put the balding man through the shogi table and into the floor.
"Good shot, Porky. But I'm over here," Ranma grinned.
"Damn you, Ranma!" Ryoga yelled, as usual, and hefted his umbrella to prepare a proper greeting for his rival and onetime friend. In that brief envelope of opportunity, Ranma decided to merely get Ryoga back out of the house...and P-chan promptly went over the wall, courtesy of a well- aimed kick to the chest.
Mousse and Kodachi showed up around the time Ryoga took his brief domestic flight. Fortunately they tangled with each other instead, and he could get them out of the yard more effectively. Their arrival had sparked another round of loud fatherly lecturing from Soun, more commentary from his mother, and snide asides from Nabiki. All of this, all from people who couldn't or wouldn't defend themselves, Ranma took with uncharacteristically stoic silence. He was so tired of this, and it did so little good to defend himself...
And the worst part of it was, none of the usuals were much of a challenge anymore. He could have beaten Ryoga without even paying attention. Mousse wasn't even close unless he kept his glasses on, which he just wouldn't do. As for Kuno Kodachi...she had never been able to keep up with him in the first place. Soun wasn't much of a martial artist, and his father hadn't won a sparring session since that mess at Phoenix Mountain. Didn't they remember what he had done to Saffron? Didn't they care that he might lose control?
Apparently they did not.
To escape from the incessant nagging, he retreated to the one place where few would follow. It wasn't much, but it was something...and besides, the stars were one constant in his life that didn't bring him trouble.
He heard the front door slam, followed by Akane's bellow of "I'm home!" What conversation followed this, he did not know, but the words 'pervert' and 'jerk' reached him just the same. So did yet another round of Soun's incessant blubbering about how the schools would never be joined. He didn't even bother to ask what the problem might be this time. It didn't matter. It was always Ranma's fault, whatever it was. He clenched his fists in frustration and silently repeated his futile plea to the kami, the stars, and the night.
"Why do you remain?"
Ranma whirled around. Urvasi sat just a little ways away from him, her spindly little arms folded in her lap, looking as if she'd been there for some time.
"Oh. It's you."
"Why do you remain here, warrior?"
"I dunno. Got nowhere else to go, I guess. Can't move back in with Momma, 'cause I'm still enrolled at Furinkan. I can't just leave, 'cause they'll come after me. And this is the closest thing to a home I've had in...hey, what're ya doin' here, Urvasi-chan? Ain't it past bedtime for little girls?"
She giggled. "Forgive my intrusion. I was curious about you, about what sort of man you have become in this Age."
"Uhm, yeah, whatever." He shuffled uneasily. "Just keep it down, though. Akane gets jealous of the stupidest stuff. If she hears ya, she'll assume you're another fiancée and that I'm doin' perverted stuff with ya."
"That would be the noisy short-haired girl?"
"That's the uncute tomboy, yep."
"She lacks discipline."
Ranma laughed. He couldn't help it—the little girl was so serious, her voice so deadpan, that he had to laugh. She joined him, clearly not knowing why, but sharing his good humor and joy in the release regardless.
"Even a kid can spot that? She's worse than I thought!"
"As a warrior? Certainly. Perhaps she has other strengths. Skill in battle is not everything." Again, Urvasi nodded solemnly. "That must be it. She tries too hard to be what she is not, and thus her anger grows. An all too common trait, and it renders most impatient and unpleasant. Most unfortunate."
"And what are you, Urvasi-chan?"
"My mother's daughter."
"Oh." Ranma thought this over. "Ya say that like it's a bad thing."
"It is not always pleasant. May I ask you a question, warrior?"
"Ranma."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My name's Ranma. I kinda like it. Way more than 'warrior'."
Urvasi grinned, and Ranma's heart sank. There was just no way, no way at all, that this little tyke with her strange wisdom wasn't somehow another fiancee! He was doomed.
"Very well, Ranma it is. If you were to be offered a place of refuge, one for your use alone, freely granted as if it were your right...would you accept it?"
He thought about it.
"What's the catch?"
"There is none, save that you should have to defend it...and those to whom you favor with your protection. But that is all part of being a martial artist, is it not?"
"Yeah, protect the weak, defend the helpless..."
"Duty and honor. To you, I see they are not mere words." She 'hmph'ed softly and got to her feet. "I cry your pardon, Ranma. I came here to observe you, to learn. I had questions that are now answered. In that, I have perhaps wronged you by acting against my own word."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Long as ya ain't another fiancee, I can live with it."
Urvasi bowed. "I have...one other item that is yours. I was going to give it to you tomorrow morning, but...here." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a small crystal globe about the size of a baseball. Light flickered wildly in the depths of the small orb. "Please, bring this with you when we meet in the morning."
"What is it?"
"Something wonderful."
"Magic?"
"If you like, then yes. It is not dangerous."
"This is mine, too?"
"Like the ring, yes."
"Even though I don't remember ever having either one of them?"
Urvasi laughed and bowed.
"I must go now. I shall see you before dawn's first light, at the north wall. All will be explained then. My word on it."
She turned to leave.
"Wait...does your momma know that you're out this late?"
"It is on her business that I have come, Ranma. It is sweet of you to be concerned for a stranger. It speaks highly of your heart. Until tomorrow."
She made it from the roof to the wall in one smooth, graceful leap. Ranma watched her small form bound away into the darkness. Nope, no way she wasn't gonna prove to be in the running. Whoever, whatever she was, Genma probably had a contract with Urvasi's mom...
He fumed silently at his father's many stupidities for a few minutes before examining the ball again. The strange flickering light seemed to react to his presence...but it didn't do anything except shimmer. Whatever it was, he decided, it seemed safe enough. On a whim, he dug the ring Urvasi had given him earlier out of his pocket...if Genma found them, they'd be as good as pawned off for booze money, and Ranma decided he wanted to at least enjoy speculating about his two new possessions.
On a whim, he slipped the plain silver ring onto his left hand. After all, if it was going to disappear once his father saw it, Ranma wanted to know what it would have looked like on his hand.
It fit perfectly. That was a bad sign, but it might just mean that Urvasi had told him the truth, that it really was his ring.
It wouldn't come off, again. That was definitely a bad sign.
Manly men don't panic, and Ranma wasn't scared of much beyond cats and that seppuku contract, but he had the sense to get very nervous at this development. In his efforts, he brought the ring into contact with the crystal ball...both of which suddenly glowed with inner power.
This was a very, very bad sign.
He sat stock still for the fifteen or so minutes it took for the glow to fade away again, senses overstrained with the effort of noticing the next incoming wrinkle in his already complex life. When nothing continued to result from the bizarre event, he gulped nervously, slipped the orb back into his pocket, and decided to sleep on it. Slipping back into the guest room, and taking great care not to disturb the drunkenly snoozing panda there, he slid into his futon and quickly dropped off.
His last conscious thought for the night was that in the morning, he would have to test the ring's stubborn hold on his girl form. Surely the ring would not stay put on 'her' finger as well...
End Chapter Two. To Be Continued.
Tune in next time when Ranma has a strange dream, Urvasi lights up his life, and the true nature of the ring gets a little bit clearer.
Author's Notes.
First, I owe Ranger5 an answer to a very good question—Exalted is a tabletop RPG by White Wolf that could best be described as 'Hercules and Xena meet Final Fantasy meet Slayers'. It's a nice little epic fantasy world, and my regular gaming group finds it far more fun than anything involving the World of Darkness. As noted earlier, they've met both Urvasi and her mother, and all their sympathies lie with Ranma.
Second, just in case it isn't starkly, screamingly obvious, I an NOT a big fan of the 'one true fiancée' school of thought. I am not necessarily anti- Akane: she has many positive qualities and is not a bad person at her core...but she isn't the best match for our pal with the dihydrate-monoxide- related gender issue. [In fact, none of the girls really qualify as a 'best' match! If any of them did, there just wouldn't have been nearly as much to the series. It works because everything is wrong...there's a nice, hefty koan for your next zazen meditation session, neh?] So Tendo Akane isn't going to come out of this in the most positive light, but that's okay. This isn't her story. Maybe some other time she'll win out. Just not here and now.
Cestus Sol A Ranma/Exalted RPG crossover from the MadPanda
Chapter Two: Strangely Met By Starlight
Several hours later, Ranma found a few moments of badly needed refuge up on the roof. Gazing out at the stars, he mulled over the evening's madness. He could almost imagine a vengeful kami somewhere, waiting to throw a ready list of rivals and other problems his way.
"Whichever one of you I ticked off, enough already, I'm sorry..."
First thing in the door, the two old fools had bombarded him with demands and accusations—where was Akane? Why was he ignoring his true fiancée? How dare he leave her behind? And so on, and so forth. Did they listen to him explain that she was studying? Ha! Then his mother started up her 'that's not very manly' crap again. He hated it when she did that, but what could he say?
Maybe an hour after that, Ryoga had ambushed him, frothing at the mouth about Akane crying because of him. He'd heard it all before...and just didn't feel like arguing with the navigationally challenged boy. Genma suddenly found himself placed in the way of a descending umbrella strike, which put the balding man through the shogi table and into the floor.
"Good shot, Porky. But I'm over here," Ranma grinned.
"Damn you, Ranma!" Ryoga yelled, as usual, and hefted his umbrella to prepare a proper greeting for his rival and onetime friend. In that brief envelope of opportunity, Ranma decided to merely get Ryoga back out of the house...and P-chan promptly went over the wall, courtesy of a well- aimed kick to the chest.
Mousse and Kodachi showed up around the time Ryoga took his brief domestic flight. Fortunately they tangled with each other instead, and he could get them out of the yard more effectively. Their arrival had sparked another round of loud fatherly lecturing from Soun, more commentary from his mother, and snide asides from Nabiki. All of this, all from people who couldn't or wouldn't defend themselves, Ranma took with uncharacteristically stoic silence. He was so tired of this, and it did so little good to defend himself...
And the worst part of it was, none of the usuals were much of a challenge anymore. He could have beaten Ryoga without even paying attention. Mousse wasn't even close unless he kept his glasses on, which he just wouldn't do. As for Kuno Kodachi...she had never been able to keep up with him in the first place. Soun wasn't much of a martial artist, and his father hadn't won a sparring session since that mess at Phoenix Mountain. Didn't they remember what he had done to Saffron? Didn't they care that he might lose control?
Apparently they did not.
To escape from the incessant nagging, he retreated to the one place where few would follow. It wasn't much, but it was something...and besides, the stars were one constant in his life that didn't bring him trouble.
He heard the front door slam, followed by Akane's bellow of "I'm home!" What conversation followed this, he did not know, but the words 'pervert' and 'jerk' reached him just the same. So did yet another round of Soun's incessant blubbering about how the schools would never be joined. He didn't even bother to ask what the problem might be this time. It didn't matter. It was always Ranma's fault, whatever it was. He clenched his fists in frustration and silently repeated his futile plea to the kami, the stars, and the night.
"Why do you remain?"
Ranma whirled around. Urvasi sat just a little ways away from him, her spindly little arms folded in her lap, looking as if she'd been there for some time.
"Oh. It's you."
"Why do you remain here, warrior?"
"I dunno. Got nowhere else to go, I guess. Can't move back in with Momma, 'cause I'm still enrolled at Furinkan. I can't just leave, 'cause they'll come after me. And this is the closest thing to a home I've had in...hey, what're ya doin' here, Urvasi-chan? Ain't it past bedtime for little girls?"
She giggled. "Forgive my intrusion. I was curious about you, about what sort of man you have become in this Age."
"Uhm, yeah, whatever." He shuffled uneasily. "Just keep it down, though. Akane gets jealous of the stupidest stuff. If she hears ya, she'll assume you're another fiancée and that I'm doin' perverted stuff with ya."
"That would be the noisy short-haired girl?"
"That's the uncute tomboy, yep."
"She lacks discipline."
Ranma laughed. He couldn't help it—the little girl was so serious, her voice so deadpan, that he had to laugh. She joined him, clearly not knowing why, but sharing his good humor and joy in the release regardless.
"Even a kid can spot that? She's worse than I thought!"
"As a warrior? Certainly. Perhaps she has other strengths. Skill in battle is not everything." Again, Urvasi nodded solemnly. "That must be it. She tries too hard to be what she is not, and thus her anger grows. An all too common trait, and it renders most impatient and unpleasant. Most unfortunate."
"And what are you, Urvasi-chan?"
"My mother's daughter."
"Oh." Ranma thought this over. "Ya say that like it's a bad thing."
"It is not always pleasant. May I ask you a question, warrior?"
"Ranma."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My name's Ranma. I kinda like it. Way more than 'warrior'."
Urvasi grinned, and Ranma's heart sank. There was just no way, no way at all, that this little tyke with her strange wisdom wasn't somehow another fiancee! He was doomed.
"Very well, Ranma it is. If you were to be offered a place of refuge, one for your use alone, freely granted as if it were your right...would you accept it?"
He thought about it.
"What's the catch?"
"There is none, save that you should have to defend it...and those to whom you favor with your protection. But that is all part of being a martial artist, is it not?"
"Yeah, protect the weak, defend the helpless..."
"Duty and honor. To you, I see they are not mere words." She 'hmph'ed softly and got to her feet. "I cry your pardon, Ranma. I came here to observe you, to learn. I had questions that are now answered. In that, I have perhaps wronged you by acting against my own word."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Long as ya ain't another fiancee, I can live with it."
Urvasi bowed. "I have...one other item that is yours. I was going to give it to you tomorrow morning, but...here." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a small crystal globe about the size of a baseball. Light flickered wildly in the depths of the small orb. "Please, bring this with you when we meet in the morning."
"What is it?"
"Something wonderful."
"Magic?"
"If you like, then yes. It is not dangerous."
"This is mine, too?"
"Like the ring, yes."
"Even though I don't remember ever having either one of them?"
Urvasi laughed and bowed.
"I must go now. I shall see you before dawn's first light, at the north wall. All will be explained then. My word on it."
She turned to leave.
"Wait...does your momma know that you're out this late?"
"It is on her business that I have come, Ranma. It is sweet of you to be concerned for a stranger. It speaks highly of your heart. Until tomorrow."
She made it from the roof to the wall in one smooth, graceful leap. Ranma watched her small form bound away into the darkness. Nope, no way she wasn't gonna prove to be in the running. Whoever, whatever she was, Genma probably had a contract with Urvasi's mom...
He fumed silently at his father's many stupidities for a few minutes before examining the ball again. The strange flickering light seemed to react to his presence...but it didn't do anything except shimmer. Whatever it was, he decided, it seemed safe enough. On a whim, he dug the ring Urvasi had given him earlier out of his pocket...if Genma found them, they'd be as good as pawned off for booze money, and Ranma decided he wanted to at least enjoy speculating about his two new possessions.
On a whim, he slipped the plain silver ring onto his left hand. After all, if it was going to disappear once his father saw it, Ranma wanted to know what it would have looked like on his hand.
It fit perfectly. That was a bad sign, but it might just mean that Urvasi had told him the truth, that it really was his ring.
It wouldn't come off, again. That was definitely a bad sign.
Manly men don't panic, and Ranma wasn't scared of much beyond cats and that seppuku contract, but he had the sense to get very nervous at this development. In his efforts, he brought the ring into contact with the crystal ball...both of which suddenly glowed with inner power.
This was a very, very bad sign.
He sat stock still for the fifteen or so minutes it took for the glow to fade away again, senses overstrained with the effort of noticing the next incoming wrinkle in his already complex life. When nothing continued to result from the bizarre event, he gulped nervously, slipped the orb back into his pocket, and decided to sleep on it. Slipping back into the guest room, and taking great care not to disturb the drunkenly snoozing panda there, he slid into his futon and quickly dropped off.
His last conscious thought for the night was that in the morning, he would have to test the ring's stubborn hold on his girl form. Surely the ring would not stay put on 'her' finger as well...
End Chapter Two. To Be Continued.
Tune in next time when Ranma has a strange dream, Urvasi lights up his life, and the true nature of the ring gets a little bit clearer.
Author's Notes.
First, I owe Ranger5 an answer to a very good question—Exalted is a tabletop RPG by White Wolf that could best be described as 'Hercules and Xena meet Final Fantasy meet Slayers'. It's a nice little epic fantasy world, and my regular gaming group finds it far more fun than anything involving the World of Darkness. As noted earlier, they've met both Urvasi and her mother, and all their sympathies lie with Ranma.
Second, just in case it isn't starkly, screamingly obvious, I an NOT a big fan of the 'one true fiancée' school of thought. I am not necessarily anti- Akane: she has many positive qualities and is not a bad person at her core...but she isn't the best match for our pal with the dihydrate-monoxide- related gender issue. [In fact, none of the girls really qualify as a 'best' match! If any of them did, there just wouldn't have been nearly as much to the series. It works because everything is wrong...there's a nice, hefty koan for your next zazen meditation session, neh?] So Tendo Akane isn't going to come out of this in the most positive light, but that's okay. This isn't her story. Maybe some other time she'll win out. Just not here and now.