Lost in Infinity

A Ranma 1/2 - Naruto Crossover
Chapter 2 : What is Ninja Academy?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, and Ranma belongs to Takahashi. So there.

Ranma awoke to a smell that was quite alien to his senses. Never before had his nose been assailed by such a fragrance so early in the morning. Food was something that he and his old man had always had to fight for, and although they had never really had to starve, such a beautiful smell was never they had the luxury of experiencing.

He opened his eyes, and realized that he was not in his room at Ucchan's place. With that epiphany in his mind, he jolted awake, and looked around the room cautiously. Once his brain had woken up, it registered the situation, and all the memories of the night before returned. He relaxed then, recollecting the events that led him to this point, sitting up on a bed, in a house that was not his own, and in a world that he had barely spent a day in.

He rubbed his eyes, brushing all traces of sleep that had not escaped when he jolted awake, and slowly got to his feet, the fragrance of breakfast once again taking top priority in his hierarchy of actions. He put his clothes back on, since he had taken them off before sleeping, and due to the fact that the only clothes available in the home of his benefactors were meant for the opposite gender, he would have to live with what he had on his back, at least until they went shopping to get some new ones.

As he walked down the stairs, he thought about his current benefactors. The Yamanaka family of Konohagakure no Sato were a very generous couple, and they were quite nice to him. Although he was somehow indirectly involved with the disappearance of their six-year-old daughter, they still treated him like a member of the family, like he had been there all his life. Even as he missed his father, and the memories of his mother, the pang of loss was somewhat alleviated by the feeling or welcome that he felt.

"Good morning, Midori-san, Inoshi-san," Ranma called out as he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Ranma-kun. Have a seat, I hope you like pancakes," she said cheerfully with a smile. It seemed as if the events of the past few days had never occurred.

Ranma had a seat as Yamanaka Inoshi greeted him as well, though the emotional toll was more apparent on his face. One thing Ranma noted was that either Inoshi had a very unique sense of fashion, or it was some kinda of uniform. The loose black pants and green jacket that he wore over a fishnet shirt were definitely among the top ten list of unusual clothes for Ranma, and he had definitely seen some weird looking clothes during his time in China.

His introspect was broken however, as Inoshi addressed him.

"Ranma-kun, since you're going to be staying in Konoha for a while, the Hokage has asked me to help you get settled in, and by this, he meant to enroll you in either the local school, or the Ninja Academy."

When the word "school" hit Ranma, he was ready to try and wiggle his way out, but before he could begin processing the various excuses that had been drilled into him by his father to deter truancy officers, curiosity overwhelmed him when he heard the words "Ninja Academy."

"Basically, it's your choice, but it would be better if you had something to fill your time with. I assume that it is normal for children your age to go to school in your world?" Inoshi continued. He had been informed of most of the findings that Sandaime Hokage had come up with through the questioning of Ranma two days before.

"Er...yeah...I suppose..."was all that Ranma could stammer out. "Inoshi-san, did you just say Ninja Academy?"

"Yes, I did. Let me briefly tell you about this village. You see, Konoha is actually a ninja village, in fact it's the largest ninja village on the continent," he said, "and because of that, we have a Ninja Academy to train those who wish to walk the shinobi path." Inoshi had an air of pride as he finished, and he had good reason too. The village of Konohagakure was well known across the continent not just for its size, but for might of its shinobi force.

"At the academy, students learn various ninja skills, including genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu," Inoshi continued.

"What exactly are those?" Ranma interrupted.

"Genjutsu are illusionary skills, where you force your opponent to see reality as you wish him to see. Ninjutsu refers to the various skills, elemental or otherwise, that can be used to attack your opponent. Taijutsu are fighting disciplines, like martial arts," Inoshi explained.

The key word had been sent. If Ranma wasn't sold before, he was now. Martial arts was the one thing that could separate Ranma and food, and up till now was his life. His eyes lit up, and it looked as if he was completely recharged.

"When do we start!" he shouted, surprising the Yamanaka couple.

"First things first young man, I think you should finish your breakfast. It wouldn't do to for a growing boy to run around on an empty stomach," Midori chided, though she smiled as if she was joking.

Ranma's stomach seemed to agree with her, and growled loudly. Ranma blushed slightly as both adults gave him a dead-panned look, the broke out in laughter. He took to the pancakes soon after, and finished them up as fast as he could. It was a sight that left both adults with an awed expression.

"Er...Ranma-kun, have you ever heard of table manners?" Inoshi questioned, somewhat wide-eyed, wondering if he was trapped in some sort of genjutsu rather than reality.

"Farfel Faffers?" Ranma replied, a composite of pancakes and syrup spurting out of his of oral cavity.

"Never mind," Inoshi said, holding his hand to his head, while shaking it. Midori laughed at the spectacle.

Seeing that Ranma had finished with his pancakes, she moved to collect his plate. As she reached out, she accidentally knocked the glass of cold milk that she had left for Ranma onto said boy.

"I'm so sorry Ranma-ku..." she began, but stopped when she saw the cute red-headed girl sitting in the same chair Ranma was in just a moment before, wearing the pig-tailed boy's clothes as well. "W-who a-are yo-u?" she stammered, wondering where the boy had disappeared, and where the girl had come from. Inoshi on the other hand, was wondering when the boy performed the henge, since he saw no hand seals. Then again, how could the boy know the seals, since he wasn't of this world? Did they have ninja there as well?

Ranma-chan sighed. No matter how many times she did it, the explanation never became any easier. Not to mention all the junk that Genma had filled her head with made her rather embarrassed every time she had to do it.

"Er...I can explain, but I need two glasses of water, one hot, and one cold."

Inoshi was the first to respond, since he was quite used to henge techniques, and while Midori knew about them, she rarely had the opportunity to see it first hand. Inoshi had her sit down while he approached the sink to retrieve the cups of water. He then set them cups down on the table, in front of Ranma-chan, and sat back in his chair.

After a brief explanation of the curse, both adults were quite perplexed by their charge.

But all in all, living in a village full of ninja that could do many interesting, and sometimes down right weird things, made one able to accept things of a weird nature quite easily.

"Well, if that's all it is, maybe we should see Hokage-sama later on to see if there is anything he can do. But think about it! You have a 'skill' that requires absolutely no chakra! This curse, as you call it, could even make you a candidate for ANBU," Inoshi exclaimed loudly.

Though Ranma-chan was lost, and quite surprised that they took it so easily, she decided to just go along with it.

"Well, let's get going, maybe we can squeeze in a visit to Hokage-sama's office before signing you up for the academy," Inoshi said, as he stood up and collected his flak jacket which he had hung on his chair. Together, both he and Ranma-chan said their goodbyes to Midori, and left.

--

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'GO AS A GIRL'!" Ranma-chan shouted, nearly shattering both Sandaime's and Inoshi's eardrums with the sheer intensity of her voice. She couldn't believe them! They actually said it would be better for her to go to school as a girl, so that her curse wouldn't be detected. If there was ever a time that Ranma-chan really thought of it as a curse, this was such a time.

"Ranma-kun," Sarutobi said with a slight chuckle, "I didn't say that I wouldn't look into this. I'll see what I can dig up. Since it is a water based curse, perhaps we can devise some water element seal to help with it. Just try to go with the plan for now, it can't be that bad, can it?"

Ranma-chan seethed silently in her chair. What Sandaime said made sense, and it wasn't ALL that bad. He sighed, and nodded his wordless agreement.

"Well, if that's all settled, you should head on to your class, while Inoshi-san should report for duty. I will inform your teacher of your admission," Sarutobi said, dismissing them both.

Inoshi bowed, and both he and Ranma-chan walked out of the room. Outside, he gave Ranma-chan directions to the academy, and then went off on his own, leaving Ranma-chan by herself.

Ranma-chan decided to at least check out the academy, because it was definitely possible that she could learn something there, and since it wasn't normal school, but a place for training ninja, it would definitely be interesting. A smile crept onto her face as she walked onwards, according to the directions she was given.

--

As Inoshi walked off, he thought over the meeting he had just left. Some of the things they went over had reopened the emotional scars of that fateful evening, two days ago. But one thing was certain. If anything, Ranma was in just the same situation as his daughter, and if it came down to anything, he would look after the boy; hopefully, there would be someone kind enough to do the same for his daughter.

He knew that whatever pain he was feeling would definitely be mirrored in the hearts of Ranma's parents. Both he and his wife knew from what the Hokage told them that, the chances of Ino coming back were quite slim, and they should be prepared for that outcome. It would definitely be much the same for Ranma going home. He had decided then that he would help the pig-tailed boy to fit in with this new world. It was the least he could do. But there was another thing that flew about in his mind.

"Why exactly did Hokage-sama also want him to start classes at the Ninja Academy so early?"

Although it wasn't unusual to have children younger than 7 joining the academy, it was definitely a rare occurrence. What had the boy done to make the Hokage want him in the academy as soon as possible?

He laughed though, when he thought about the next thing Hokage-sama had said. He shared the opinion that Ranma would be better off attending the academy as a girl, at least until they can find some way to stabilize his curse. The boy couldn't really last more than 15 minutes at a time before he became the target of some unnatural water attack. It was a miracle that he had managed to keep himself dry during the time he had arrived till today at breakfast.

His introspect was interrupted as he realized that he was late for work. He broke off in a run, hoping not to incur the wrath of his team.

--

"Class, we have a new student with us, and her name is..." the chuunin teacher said, pointing to Ranma-chan to introduce herself.

"Ino...Inozumi Yamanaka," she said, in a slight growl. It was the name her cursed form had been given, especially since she was staying with the Yamanaka family.

The teacher did note the growl, and decided that he better be careful with this one. "Why don't you take a seat, Ino-chan?"

Ranma-chan nodded her agreement, and planted herself next to a weird looking boy with white eyes eyes, and long black hair. He paid her no heed, and she did the same. The teacher started on with the lesson, and soon Ranma-chan found herself half asleep, as the theory parts were very boring.

'Did I even think about what I was getting myself into?' she lamented to herself, as she was starting to regret signing up for the academy. 'Seems just like school back at home.'

Suddenly the teacher's voice broke through her monologue. "Okay class, let's head out to the training field for target practice and some practical taijutsu, to see if you can apply what you've learned today." The whole classes erupted with noise as the students talked quite loudly while they departed from the class to their next destination. Ranma-chan watched them, and then saw that his pupil-less 'companion' had yet to move either. She decided to move and follow the rest of the class before she was left behind completely.

--

By the time they reached the field, she was surprised to note that the white-eyed boy was already there. Before she could invest any more 'thinking' into it, the teacher started with the training line-up for the day.

"Everyone, please line-up in two rows, we will start with shuriken throwing, once you are finished, move over to the sparring area for some taijutsu practice," the teacher said, as he started to walk around and see how his students were faring. When his eyes stopped on Ranma-chan, he stepped over to her. "Since you're new, and you've started quite late into the year, why don't you watch the other students first, then join in when you're comfortable, Ino-chan?"

Ranma-chan nodded, and moved into a better position to observe her classmates. She spied the white-eyed boy in one of the lines, and decided to check him out. She was getting a weird feeling from him, and if there was one thing she was certain of, it was to follow her instincts. She watched as one by one, the students took hold of their shurikens, and hurl them towards a bunch of target dummies with bull's eye nailed at several locations, indicating a part of the human body. Many of the other children were not bad, but most were not consistent. They would hit the bull's eye once, then miss a few times, get close, and continue to miss.

Then came the white-eyed boy's turn. She noticed that he had a bandage on his forehead, wrapping around his head. He took aim, and swung his hands gracefully, allowing the shurikens to arc through the air, hitting the targets with pin point accuracy. It was then that Ranma-chan realized that the boy's eyes were closed! It was quite a shock to her. But nonetheless, watching that boy perform had given her all the information she needed. If there was one thing she prided herself in, it was her ability to see fights once, and be able to emulate, and ultimately master, moves that she had never seen or used before.

She then walked forward and picked up some shurikens from the basket the teacher had prepared for them to use. Quite a number of students had applauded once the white-eyed boy, Neji, she heard some of them call him as they cheered him, had finished, and most left to start with the taijutsu practice. Ranma-chan stood at the line, and focused, breathing in, and suddenly, she whipped out. Although her movements were slightly jerky, the shurikens cut through the air, finding all their targets. The few who were still there watched in amazement, and suddenly cheered her. She smiled at them, and headed towards the taijutsu practice area. It was then that she noticed that Neji was staring at her from the taijutsu practice area.

"You used my technique," he said, in a matter-of-factly manner.

Unsure how to answer, Ranma-chan merely stared at the boy.

Seeing no response, Neji set his gaze back unto the taijutsu sparring area. The teacher was now pairing up the students for sparring.

"Well done, Ino-chan, that was very good for a first timer," he said, smiling.

"Thank you sensei."

"Why don't we test your combat prowess now, so we can come up with a fitting training schedule for you, ne?" he said, "Neji-kun, would you spar with Ino-chan, so that I can gauge her ability?" he asked Neji.

"Yes, sensei," was Neji's reply. The children faced each other, and slipped into their respective stances. Neji's was a basic taijutsu stance, with his left hand held out in knife-hand, and his right hand held closer to his chest, while his legs were about shoulder width apart. Ranma-chan just stood there, her Anything-Goes casual stance, meant to catch opponents off-guard.

Seeing that Ranma-chan wasn't going to attack any time soon, Neji took the initiative to burst forward. He charged with a kick, only to find his target missing from his frontal view. However, Neji knew where she was. The moment he landed, he sprung again towards the direction he had come from earlier, this time with a heavy punch. Once again his target was missing. This cycle repeated itself, until a few minutes later, when Neji had lost his patience. He ran through some hand-seals, and instantly, several veins around his eyes bulged, as his eyes transformed. With his Byakugan, he found his target within his range of divination.

Ranma-chan on the other hand, was having quite a bit of fun. She jumped, and dodged, enjoying the gain in speed this body of hers gave her. When she sensed something different in the ambiance, she realized she ought to get serious. Neji looked quite pissed, not to mention those bulging veins.

'Don't these things only happen in cartoons?' she thought to herself, as she jumped out of the way of the next punch aimed at her. However, her path was already blocked by a swift kick to her midsection, and she pulled back, breathing a little heavier.

"Within my divination, there is no where you can hide," Neji said, a slight smirk on his face, as he slipped gracefully into the forms of Jyuken, a form of taijutsu exclusive to the Hyuuga clan. His legs were spread at shoulder width, and his hands were open palmed, both facing inwards, one in front of him at chest level, with the other behind him, over his head.

"Whatever, let's get this over with," Ranma-chan said, seeing that she would have to pull out the stops to end this. It looked like Neji didn't like being played with. Then again, who would? 'I knew I shouldn't have listened to Pops. All his lame-brained ideas always backfire on ME, and it never ends. Got to stop following his advise, or I'm definitely going to die young'.

As Neji attacked, Ranma seemed to disappear from sight. One thing she noted was Neji was no longer using fists, but rather open-palmed strikes. Not to mention the force she felt when she grazed past him. Luckily it was not a direct hit, since the indirect hit already cause such a sting. 'Is he hitting my pressure points?' was the question running through Ranma-chan's mind as she prepared to launch a counter assault.

Neji strikes were getting closer and closer, as Ranma-chan spun to face him. His palm struck her right chest, while her finger-strike hit his solar-plexus. Both impacts jarred the combatants slightly, but they stood generally in the same position. The fight at this point had garnered the attention of the rest of the class, since their sparring was never usually this intense.

Blue eyes locked with white. Then, both collapsed on the ground. The last thing Ranma-chan saw was the teacher's rushing form picking her up, and yelling to another student to call someone, and the rest was black.

--

Ranma awoke for the second time that day, but this time to a smell far less pleasant that the one in the morning. The scent of ointments, oils and other various oddities filled the room. She got her bearings, and realized she was in her room at the Yamanaka house, and standing in the doorway was Inoshi, and her teacher from the academy.

"Thanks for your help, Umino-san," Inoshi said, wrapping up their conversation.

"No problem, Yamanaka-san. I have to go and check on Neji-kun now, but I think he should be okay. I was more worried about Ino-chan, since she just started today," the man called Umino said, and he waved as he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Inoshi turned to see Ranma-chan awake, staring at him. "Well, quite a thing to do, on the first day of school," he said jovially. "Pushing a member of the Hyuuga clan to a draw, no wonder Hokage-sama wanted you to start. Oh, there is a glass of warm water on the cabinet, if you want to change back," he mentioned.

Ranma-chan nodded, still dazed from the encounter this afternoon. He noticed the sky was dark, as he peered through the window next to the beside cabinet. He took the water, and poured a little on his head, and felt the now familiar change overcome him.

"It's getting late, Ranma. Midori saved some dinner for you, so you might want to finish that up and take a shower, and head to bed to recover. I'm actually quite surprised to see you awake so soon, especially since you took a direct hit from a Jyuuken strike."

"Thank you, Inoshi-san. I think I'll go with your plan, it sounds good."

Inoshi smiled at the blue eyed boy, and turned to leave the room. Ranma decided food should come first, and headed over to the kitchen to enjoy the meal prepared. After cleaning up, he decided to stay with the plan, and went to sleep.

OLD A/N: Well, thats all I've written for now, will start work on the next few chapters soon. Please give me your feedback, if you have any.

Updated A/N: This is another rewrite, merely adding in details here and there, since I couldn't really find a way to fix much. Although the Neji fight was a little stupid, I just couldn't figure out how to fix or delete it properly. In any ways, it does have bearings on future Ranma/Neji interaction, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Another thing, will probably do the same later as with the last chapter, which is to edit one last time for bold and italics. Sumimasen.