A/N:
Disclaimer: All characters within this fic, those being Ranma 1/2 characters and possibly some of Chrono Cross, aren't mine. So nyah!
Oh yeah, and it's written like this:
"Text." - Speech
~Text.~ - Thought
//Text.// - Telekinesis or song quotes, if I do any in this story.
~ ~ ~
Ranma, for one, was actually having fun on this trip. Sure, his life was in danger all the time, but by the way he figured it, this was going to be the closest thing he'd ever get to a vacation. And he was learning some interesting new tricks, too.
From Ukyou he had learned the trick of increasing the power of his magic at the cost of more effort. For instance, he could double the strength of his fireball spell, but it would take twice as much of his energy. And, having watched Ukyou use that Magma Bomb element of hers, he could now pull that one off with relative ease as well.
He decided to strike up a conversation with his traveling partner to see if he could find out any more about their destination. "So Ukyou, why're we goin' to 'Termina', anyway? And how do we get there?" Ukyou paused, thought about it a moment, and replied, "Well, to get to Termina, we need to go through the Fossil Valley, and then it's a clear shot straight to the town. As for why, that clown Kuno was an Acacia Dragoon, and they all hang out in Termina. Maybe we can find out what all that 'ghost-sorcerer' nonsense was." ~And the other reason you'll not hear from me,~ the girl added silently.
~ ~ ~
"You may go through if you stick to the lower pass, but our men are still exploring supernatural phenomena on the high ground," the armored Dragoon stated. The other guard added, "And watch out for any wild monsters around here."
Ukyou nodded and beamed a smile at the guards, nearly causing them to melt. "Right then, let's go, Ranma." Once they passed the two Dragoons, Ukyou wondered aloud, "I wonder what kind of supernatural activity..." Ranma, having been his world's Ukyou's best friend for years, noted the almost crazed gleam in the girl's eyes. Most anyone else would have been just slightly apprehensive, but our pigtailed hero just grinned and went along with it.
~ ~ ~
"Stupid armadillo things," Ranma muttered as he kicked another one out of the way. "This is supposed to be a monster?" Ukyou just raised her voice to be heard over her companion's mutterings. "Yes, we're here to help you with that disturbance up top."
The Dragoon blinked and replied, "You're the exorcists we asked for?" Ukyou just smiled and lied easily, "Oh yes, absolutely, hon. Can we pass now?" ~Too easy.~ Just to make sure, she upped the cuteness factor by another ten percent. The Dragoon melted like a snowball in a blast furnace.
"C'mon, Ranchan. Let's go on up." As she climbed the rope ladder, the Dragoon's eyes followed her up, and up, and up... and thus didn't see the surreptuous elbow that bashed him in the face. Ranma snickered, "Sorry 'bout that..."
The moment they got up, they heard the echoing curses and swear words that seemed to bounce off the canyon walls. The variety was impressive. A Dragoon in gold platemail stopped them. "You must be the exorcists. You hear those curses? All we want is for you to stop it. I don't believe in ghosts, but go do what you have to do." Ranma shrugged, and the duo wandered up to the massive skull that was rather reminiscent of a dragon, from which the sounds seemed to emanate.
Ukyou bashed it with her spatula, and the skull's mouth opened a bit, displaying some impressive incisors. About ten seconds later, a boy about their own age rolled through the now open mouth. He stood up slowly and stretched before exclaiming, "Thanks! I thought I'd be stuck wandering around inside that thing forever!"
Ranma sighed in exasperation. "Ryoga Hibiki. Figures." ~The boy that can get lost inside a room with one door and no windows. Although, he seems to be sporting a new look.~ Instead of his usual dark green pants and yellow shirt, Ryoga had on a suit of dark brown leather, and Ranma could see a hint of a chainmail undershirt at his collar. Instead of his usual black and yellow bandanna, he had a pure white one that trailed halfway down his back. And instead of his customary megaton umbrella, he was holding a meticulously cared-for bronze sword in an easy grip that bespoke his ability with it. Ranma also noted a cross-shaped scar on his lower jaw, and the bronze gauntlets tucked into his belt.
Ryoga looked over at Ranma and responded, "Yeah, that's me. What of it?" Ranma noted that even though this Ryoga was not the death-threat shouting, umbrella-wielding berserker that he was familiar with, he still seemed to always scowl and look morose at the same time, which only Ryoga seemed able to pull off, and his emerald green eyes were serious. ~I guess Ryoga doesn't change, no matter what happens to 'im.~ The thought was oddly comforting.
And then Ryoga shifted his gaze to Ukyou and his thought processes shut down. After the bandanna'd boy had not done anything but stare vacantly at her for a few moments, Ukyou whipped out her monster spatula and clobbered him. The Lost Boy didn't show any signs of damage, but the hit did bring him out of his stupor. Mostly. "Uh, r-right." He bowed formally. "I am Ryoga Hibiki, of the Acacia Dragoons of Termina. A pleasure to meet you both."
~Maybe these guys aren't so different from the ones I'm used to after all,~ The pigtailed boy thought with a grin.
~ ~ ~
Disclaimer: All characters within this fic, those being Ranma 1/2 characters and possibly some of Chrono Cross, aren't mine. So nyah!
Oh yeah, and it's written like this:
"Text." - Speech
~Text.~ - Thought
//Text.// - Telekinesis or song quotes, if I do any in this story.
~ ~ ~
Ranma, for one, was actually having fun on this trip. Sure, his life was in danger all the time, but by the way he figured it, this was going to be the closest thing he'd ever get to a vacation. And he was learning some interesting new tricks, too.
From Ukyou he had learned the trick of increasing the power of his magic at the cost of more effort. For instance, he could double the strength of his fireball spell, but it would take twice as much of his energy. And, having watched Ukyou use that Magma Bomb element of hers, he could now pull that one off with relative ease as well.
He decided to strike up a conversation with his traveling partner to see if he could find out any more about their destination. "So Ukyou, why're we goin' to 'Termina', anyway? And how do we get there?" Ukyou paused, thought about it a moment, and replied, "Well, to get to Termina, we need to go through the Fossil Valley, and then it's a clear shot straight to the town. As for why, that clown Kuno was an Acacia Dragoon, and they all hang out in Termina. Maybe we can find out what all that 'ghost-sorcerer' nonsense was." ~And the other reason you'll not hear from me,~ the girl added silently.
~ ~ ~
"You may go through if you stick to the lower pass, but our men are still exploring supernatural phenomena on the high ground," the armored Dragoon stated. The other guard added, "And watch out for any wild monsters around here."
Ukyou nodded and beamed a smile at the guards, nearly causing them to melt. "Right then, let's go, Ranma." Once they passed the two Dragoons, Ukyou wondered aloud, "I wonder what kind of supernatural activity..." Ranma, having been his world's Ukyou's best friend for years, noted the almost crazed gleam in the girl's eyes. Most anyone else would have been just slightly apprehensive, but our pigtailed hero just grinned and went along with it.
~ ~ ~
"Stupid armadillo things," Ranma muttered as he kicked another one out of the way. "This is supposed to be a monster?" Ukyou just raised her voice to be heard over her companion's mutterings. "Yes, we're here to help you with that disturbance up top."
The Dragoon blinked and replied, "You're the exorcists we asked for?" Ukyou just smiled and lied easily, "Oh yes, absolutely, hon. Can we pass now?" ~Too easy.~ Just to make sure, she upped the cuteness factor by another ten percent. The Dragoon melted like a snowball in a blast furnace.
"C'mon, Ranchan. Let's go on up." As she climbed the rope ladder, the Dragoon's eyes followed her up, and up, and up... and thus didn't see the surreptuous elbow that bashed him in the face. Ranma snickered, "Sorry 'bout that..."
The moment they got up, they heard the echoing curses and swear words that seemed to bounce off the canyon walls. The variety was impressive. A Dragoon in gold platemail stopped them. "You must be the exorcists. You hear those curses? All we want is for you to stop it. I don't believe in ghosts, but go do what you have to do." Ranma shrugged, and the duo wandered up to the massive skull that was rather reminiscent of a dragon, from which the sounds seemed to emanate.
Ukyou bashed it with her spatula, and the skull's mouth opened a bit, displaying some impressive incisors. About ten seconds later, a boy about their own age rolled through the now open mouth. He stood up slowly and stretched before exclaiming, "Thanks! I thought I'd be stuck wandering around inside that thing forever!"
Ranma sighed in exasperation. "Ryoga Hibiki. Figures." ~The boy that can get lost inside a room with one door and no windows. Although, he seems to be sporting a new look.~ Instead of his usual dark green pants and yellow shirt, Ryoga had on a suit of dark brown leather, and Ranma could see a hint of a chainmail undershirt at his collar. Instead of his usual black and yellow bandanna, he had a pure white one that trailed halfway down his back. And instead of his customary megaton umbrella, he was holding a meticulously cared-for bronze sword in an easy grip that bespoke his ability with it. Ranma also noted a cross-shaped scar on his lower jaw, and the bronze gauntlets tucked into his belt.
Ryoga looked over at Ranma and responded, "Yeah, that's me. What of it?" Ranma noted that even though this Ryoga was not the death-threat shouting, umbrella-wielding berserker that he was familiar with, he still seemed to always scowl and look morose at the same time, which only Ryoga seemed able to pull off, and his emerald green eyes were serious. ~I guess Ryoga doesn't change, no matter what happens to 'im.~ The thought was oddly comforting.
And then Ryoga shifted his gaze to Ukyou and his thought processes shut down. After the bandanna'd boy had not done anything but stare vacantly at her for a few moments, Ukyou whipped out her monster spatula and clobbered him. The Lost Boy didn't show any signs of damage, but the hit did bring him out of his stupor. Mostly. "Uh, r-right." He bowed formally. "I am Ryoga Hibiki, of the Acacia Dragoons of Termina. A pleasure to meet you both."
~Maybe these guys aren't so different from the ones I'm used to after all,~ The pigtailed boy thought with a grin.
~ ~ ~