"Is there something we have forgotten? Some precious thing we have lost, wandering in strange lands?"

-Arna Bontemps

Chapter 2

Strangers In A Strange Land

Normal.

This single word defines what Life is supposed to be like.

Marry a nice girl/guy, get a good house, a good job, have kids named and and retire, and spend the rest of life in leisure. Buy a dog, get a car, don't stray too far from the middle path.

Which is incredibly boring and utterly ridiculous, and plus, who really wants something that easy anyway.

Normalcy, however, is defined by each place. To each society, to each culture, what is normal is different.

And in Nerima, Nerimian normalcy is about as far from Anywhere Else's normalcy as possible.

Which is why no one is ever surprised to see teenagers soaring through the air at incredibly high altitudes, nor do they complain when martial artists run amuck on top of their rooftops, or wonder at the immense devastation dealt out on regular basis.

That's just how things are in Nerima, they say.

It's also why the only out of towner's who come to Nerima happen to be involved in these events.

Nerima, some have speculated, is a focal point of chaotic events and strong emotions that end up causing a great deal of property damage when acted upon.

Residents have simply become accustomed to the incredible amount of devastation and sheer insanity that takes place in their neighborhoods, and treat it as everyday life.

So when Ukyo Kuonji, after a long day at school, went out to throw out some garbage and found a pair of legs sticking out of the pavement, she didn't act the least bit surprised and instead, sighed in a resigned sort of way and pulled the legs from the man shaped hole they were residing within.

"Ranma honey, what'd you do to piss Akane off now?"

---

Sakura Haruno sighed, kicking up a small bit of dust with her shoe, not caring if it was scuffed or not, her pink hair swishing to and fro in the breeze. Despite herself, she had chosen to wait for Naruto and Sasuke at the one place she was most familiar with them in- the meeting bridge where Team Seven had met for so long.

There were plenty of things going through her head at the moment- a confusing mix of anger and love toward Sasuke for leaving and for thanking her, admiration, respect, and a few unidentifiable feelings towards Naruto for his promises and his strength, and a deep self hatred for herself and her own weaknesses.

She was a remarkable kunoichi, Sakura knew. She had the brain and the drive to use it, but she had gotten distracted by her crush and softened because of Sasuke and Naruto's strength. Because of that, she had been almost useless in battles that were far too close for comfort.

And when Sasuke and Naruto fought...

Sakura shuddered. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have tried some sort of jutsu to stop them- not throwing herself between them. If Kakashi-sensei hadn't been there...

Sakura did not want to be weak or helpless. In the past, she had reigned in on Sasuke and Naruto with words, but now words weren't enough. They wouldn't reach them. She needed strength if she was going to be the balance in the team.

But that was for another day. Right now, right here, this was where she would wait until Naruto and Sasuke returned. Then she could move on.

There was a figure approaching the bridge, slowly, carefully, with spiked hair-

-For a brief moment, Sakura hoped, hoped and wished with all her might-

And it fell apart as Kakashi-sensei came into view, his silver hair looking haggard from a sudden, fierce rain, and his lone eye was telling her all she needed to know, and the fact that he wasn't cheery, nose buried in his Icha Icha book was even more telltale.

Still, the Copy Ninja said it anyways.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura."

---

Akane Tendo probably should have been used to the weirdness that centered around her and Ranma on a daily basis by this point.

Boys turning into girls, girls turning into cats, giant ghost cats, cross-dressers, perverts, just about anything and everything had happened to Akane Tendo.

Still, she was rather shocked that the capitol city of Japan, whose name was one of the most famous cities in the world, right alongside Paris, London, New York, was completely unknown to two twelve year old boys.

"You mean you two have NO idea where Tokyo is?" Akane said, dumbfounded as she stared at Naruto first, and then at the pale boy, Sasuke.

Naruto shook his head. Sasuke merely grunted in what Akane translated as a yes.

"You two are from another world then, I suspect." Cologne's wizened murmur cut in through the silence, and the tiny elder hopped into the room on her staff. Her large eyes studied the two curiously.

"Gah! What is that thing!" Naruto shouted, scrambling backwards in his bed and pointing in shock at the Amazon elder.

Cologne frowned and bopped the blonde boy on the head with her staff. "Show some respect for your elders, whelp." She chided, glaring at him.

Sasuke snickered snidely, smirking at the blonde. "Nice one, dead last. Even old hags beat up on you now."

A second later, roles were reversed and Naruto was guffawing, pointing breathlessly at the annoyed Sasuke who now sported a brand new bump on his head.

Akane couldn't help but smile a little. The whole thing just seemed too absurd not to laugh at.

Shampoo stared openly, realizing something was amiss. Most people, when hit by her grandmother's staff, would go down and fall unconscious. Only people like Ranma and a few others could still be standing after a blow from the Amazon elder.

Cologne seemed to notice too, but filed it away. They were injured, and they weren't ready to fight just yet. She could watch them, gauge them, until she figured out what they were all about.

"Oh, I see we have guests." Doctor Tofu's genial, warm voice broke in, and he smiled widely at the two Amazons, who greeted him in turn. The doctor was a healer, and healers were given respect.

"What was that you said about another world?" Akane asked, remembering the Amazon elder's words before the interruption.

Cologne nodded crisply, turning herself toward the two boys, who were looking rather distracted. "Well," she began, but was cut off by a sudden arrival.

"Akane, did you have to hit me so far!" Ranma's voice broke in, annoyed.

Cologne's face flashed annoyance. "Son-in-law, we're currently trying to explain a situation here,"

"Ni hao Ranma!" Shampoo squealed, and leapt onto Ranma, practically attempting to smother him with her lithe, curvy body.

Naruto was having flashbacks to that blonde girl Sakura fought, who was always squealing and doing the same thing to Sasuke. And, just like when it happened to Sasuke, he was both annoyed at the attention others got from pretty girls, but he was also amused at the panicked look Ranma was sporting.

Akane, on the other hand, was more than annoyed, and growled dangerously. "Would you two knock it off!" she snarled, glaring with an intense fury. Ranma withered under the deadly look, and Shampoo huffed as Cologne pulled her away from the pig tailed boy.

Cologne's voice was thick with irritation and annoyance as she continued, "Now then, as I was saying, we are explaining a situation-"

"What situation?"

The person who stepped in behind Ranma was probably the weirdest girl Naruto had ever seen before, even discounting Hinata's Byakugan eyes and Haku (who wasn't really a girl).

She had her long brown hair done up in a boyish ponytail, and was wearing a boy's deep blue jumpsuit type of uniform. A belt of spatulas (Naruto did a double take to make sure he was seeing that correctly) wrapped across her torso like a bandoleer of grenades, and across her back was a massive spatula (even Sasuke had to double back and make sure he was seeing things correctly).

However, her features, while cute and feminine, had a certain masculine quality to them, most likely the result of a tomboy lifestyle. The only absolute way Naruto was able to tell she was a girl was the lack of an Adam's Apple, a lesson taught by the embarrassing incident with Haku.

Sasuke, unfortunately, had never learned to check an Adam's apple on androgynous looking people.

"Who's he?" the Uchiha prodigy asked bluntly, staring straight at the spatula wearing newcomer.

Ranma shivered a little, and backed away slowly from the enraged girl. "Hey... Ucchan... calm down..." he said slowly, but it was to no avail.

Ukyo Kuonji's eyebrow twitched, and she raised her shaking fist.

Naruto was reminded of Sakura's violent rages, and his lips quirked into a grin.

"I'M A GIRL YOU JACKASS!" she roared, and swung down with her massive battle spatula, coming down hard on Sasuke's skull.

The result- an unconscious Sasuke Uchiha and a Naruto Uzumaki who was doubled over on the floor, laughing like a maniac.

Akane sighed, rubbing her temples, feeling the onset of a headache coming on. "I get the feeling things are going to get weird... weirder than usual, anyway."

---

The Godaime Hokage, leader of the Hidden Leaf shinobi, Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin... was irritated. And more than a little hungover. And generally just pissy. Her blond hair was in disarray, her eyes bloodshot, and she just generally felt the need to snap at people because of that.

"Please repeat that, Kakashi." Tsunade said slowly, staring at him with a piercing gaze.

Hatake Kakashi knew when he was on thin ice, treading dangerous ground, etc. This was most certainly one of those times, since the Godaime's legendary strength could break him in two without any effort at all.

"I arrived at the Valley of the End, after the flash of light. Evidence of a battle, presumably Naruto and Sasuke's, was everywhere." That was a bit of an understatement, Kakashi thought. Craters strewn everywhere, holes busted into a cliff side and riverbanks, a river flow disrupted, it looked like a battle between gods, not a duel between two genin.

Tsunade motioned toward the gathered kunai and shuriken that the Copy Ninja had collected as evidence, and probably mementos.

"And this is all you could find of them?" the Hokage asked quietly, the worry in her voice evident over Naruto. Despite himself, Kakashi noted the symptoms that were subtle in her body- the veins that were pulsing, the tenseness in the wrists, the tightness around the corners of her eyes and jaw line- all signs of an increasing amount of anxiety.

The Sharingan was a great teacher, if you were willing to indulge in subtleties.

Kakashi swallowed, his throat tight. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. His first genin team... he had grown very fond of them. He felt like he had been doing something right for a change, just once, making the right choices.

And now his team was in pieces, scattered and broken and divided.

Frowning, Kakashi realized that he probably didn't look much better than the Hokage.

"Yes."

Tsunade paused for a moment, and finally sighed, leaning into her chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She needed to return to the hospital soon enough- Shizune wanted her to check in on the Hyuuga and Akimichi boy's injuries.

"I guess the mission was a failure." Kakashi said slowly, softly, his voice betraying nothing. Not the angry grief that was roaring in his heart, not the deep, unsettling depression of failure, nothing showed through the mask on his face.

Tsunade looked up sharply, her gaze hard and acute, like a gleaming enemy kunai. "No."

Kakashi blinked, not certain he heard right. "No?"

"The mission is to be placed on Uncertain status. We'll decide if- when," Tsunade's voice quivered as she corrected herself, "Naruto comes back."

Despite a very cynical part of his mind caustically delivering a scathing rebuttal in his skull, Kakashi nodded, and, just for a moment, dared to believe the same thing.

---

"Well, although he seems to be unconscious, there's no really permanent or severe damage. He'll be fine." Doctor Tofu said, after a quick examination of the unconscious boy.

"Sorry." Ukyo said, embarrassed and blushing badly, wringing her chef's outfit nervously with her hands. After posing as a boy for most of her life, her femininity had become something precious to her.

Plus, the boy's attitude was something she really didn't like.

"That one might not be able to answer, but perhaps you can." Cologne said, hoping that there would be no more interruptions in this questioning session. "Tells us how you came to arrive here, if you have no idea where here is?"

Naruto shrugged, scratching the back of his head nonchalantly. "I dunno, grandma. Last thing I remember was a big flash of light." He said, not really eager to delve into the last moments of his battle with Sasuke. It had been... intense, to say the least.

Especially when the Kyubi no Youma stepped in and supplied him with that power, that raw, unrelenting, awful power... but what was worse was the rage, the barely controllable and suppressed fury that boiled and churned in his blood.

He could control that power and that hatred, but just how much more could he have drawn upon? That was one tail- what about if it had been two or three, or even the full nine?

Naruto shuddered. He didn't want to ever come into a situation where he needed the power to level mountains and summon up devastating tsunamis with the barest of effort.

"I remember that."

"Yeah, me too."

"It happened while I was cooking, so I only caught a glimpse."

"Shampoo remember too!"

Ranma, Akane, Ukyo, and Shampoo all nodded, remembering that brilliant, but terrible white light that felt like it was breaking the world open.

Cologne pursed her lips together and stared at Naruto with a hard, questioning look. "What happened before that?"

Naruto bit his lip. He didn't want to talk about it. The battle, the emotions, everything that they said to each other... it was private.

"Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine." Akane said gently, placing her hand on his shoulder and smiling, disregarding Cologne's annoyed look.

"Yeah, you just rest up for now, you and your tactless friend over there." Ukyo added, shooting a small glare toward the still unconscious Uchiha. The blonde found it a source of amusement that at long last, he'd found a girl who actually disliked Sasuke.

But past the amusement, Naruto fought a battle with himself. Regardless of his feelings about the battle, he desperately needed and wanted a way off of this world, so he could bring Sasuke back to Sakura, so he could become Hokage...

Cologne took the decision away from him when she gave a reluctant nod toward Akane and Ukyo. "The day is growing late. Rest up for now. But you will have to tell us sooner or later."

---

Ino Yamanaka was a gossip, a well known fact among most of the social circles in the genin and even a few chuunin circles.

Thus, when news of the genin who had gone to retrieve Sasuke, all of whom were either part of the Rookie Nine or Team Gai, Ino's connections had her hearing about it almost the moment they brought the first of them back.

No one had much detail, but Ino figured it couldn't have been that bad, seeing as how the families had gone to the hospital in worry, not in grief.

Deciding that, as a sign of their mended friendship, she would inform Sakura of it as well, she hurried over to where she had last been seen, the bridge where Team Seven had regularly met.

As she reached the bridge, however, Ino heard the sound of wracking, heartbroken sobs.

And knew something was terribly wrong.

Ino ran, ran faster than she had ever really tried pushing herself before, ran until she reached the bridge. There stood Sakura, looking more alone than ever before, her face puffy and red and streaked with lines of tears that wouldn't stop.

"Sakura..." Ino whispered softly, her steps hesitant and slow, but strong. She remembered another time, another situation that looked very similar to this.

"They... they're gone, Ino." No nickname, no teasing. Sakura was in bad shape, and her voice was barely holding itself together, quivering like the last pillar in a collapsing building.

"Who's gone?" Ino said quietly, placing her hand on the pink haired girl's shoulder. "Who?"

"Naruto and Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered softly, their names drifting into the wind and out of her reach. "They left me alone! Naruto promised me! He promised me!" she shrieked, and, on pure instinct, Ino grabbed Sakura and pulled her into a fierce, sisterly embrace.

"He promised me... he wouldn't ever let me down... he told me he'd bring Sasuke-kun back..." Sakura's voice was muffled and hysterical against her chest, and there were going to be tear stains all over her clothes, but Ino disregarded that, remembering a time when a pink haired girl was the best friend she ever had.

Despite her own annoyance of Naruto's loud, obnoxious antics and his bravado, she had to admire the boy's sheer determination- after all, he was the dead last of their year, supposedly the worst out of the Rookie Nine- but he beat up last year's Number One Rookie, the Hyuuga prodigy Neji.

But even knowing that Naruto was probably the most tenacious one of the genin, it was still Sasuke Uchiha he was up against- the last of what was arguably the most powerful clan in the Hidden Leaf, and a wielder of the infamous Sharingan.

"Kakashi-sensei... he... he said..." Sakura's voice was quieter, but no less hysterical, no less heart wrenching for Ino to hear. "He said they were just gone... gone!"

Ino said nothing still, deigning to hold Sakura tighter, trying to show the other girl that, despite the times they had argued and bickered, they were still friends.

So she held the pink haired girl, and looked up into the endlessly blue sky.

"Naruto Uzumaki... if you can hear me, you'd better get Sasuke-kun back as soon as possible." Ino whispered softly, too soft for even Sakura to hear.

"If you break that promise, then you'd better pray that you never come back, cause I'll kill you myself if you do."

---

Mousse sighed, feeling the hot water beginning to turn cold on his skin, a familiar, and altogether unpleasant feeling. Once again, Shampoo rushed off, probably to do something Ranma-related, while he was stuck at the Cat Café to feel miserable.

"Damn you Ranma Saotome!" the black haired Chinese boy cursed, fist clenched tight, his glasses pushed up with the tenseness in his body. It was bad enough that Saotome was learning Amazon techniques- but the pig tailed boy's skills were beyond his.

As Ranma fought more and more enemies and adapted, evolved his style and refined his techniques, Mousse relied upon his same old tricks and weapons to do the job.

Perhaps it was time for change.

A memory trickled into the back of Mousse's head, playing back like a distant echo.

"Wait, Mu Tzu. Before you leave, it may be wise to take this."

"What is it? It feels kind of warm."

"That's my hand, you blind idiot. This is what you're supposed to take."

"It's... a scroll?"

"If you find your own skills insufficient in Japan, and are truly ready for the next level, then open this scroll. But only, only if you truly possess the determination to use what's inside."

"Well, Master... its time to find out." Mousse said quietly, and reached into his robes, randomly naming off the items he pulled out. "Kettle, knife, katana, boomerang, rubber band, toilet paper, last week's newspaper, boxers- whoops, apple, textbook- Aha! There we go!"

He removed the bound scroll with gentle reverence, a maniacal glint in his eyes.

"Ranma Saotome... just you wait. I'll defeat you yet."

"Mousse? You here?"

The scroll clattered to the floor and the door opened with a bang as Mousse rushed out to greet his beloved with a large hug. "SHAMPOO!"

Of course, it would have helped if he could see his beloved more clearly.

"SHAMPOO NOT A TABLE, STUPID MOUSSE!"

The blue haired Chinese Amazon scowled and huffed at the twitching, unconscious body, and gave him a kick in the ribs for good measure.

---

Sasuke Uchiha did not like waking up with a splitting headache. He disliked it even more when he realized why he was waking up with said headache.

Now, Sasuke wasn't sexist, for the most part- he knew that kunoichi's could be just as deadly as shinobi- no, it was because his pride refused to believe that a girl with a giant spatula had just knocked him unconscious with one blow.

Frankly, it was just too embarrassing.

Unfortunately... Naruto had been there. And if there was something that Naruto loved almost as much as ramen, it was having some dirt on Sasuke.

So, after waking up with a headache and realizing that his body was still sore and hurting from the battle- Damn you Naruto, when the hell did you learn to hit so hard- he was then treated to the sound of Naruto's chuckles, directed at him.

"I can't believe that just happened." Naruto said breathlessly, grinning like an idiot. "Wait till Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan hear about this."

"Tell them and I'll kill you." Sasuke said darkly, glaring at the blonde.

Almost immediately, Naruto's good mood vanished and suddenly Sasuke could almost feel the sheer tenacity and fury that was suddenly building within the other boy.

There was a time when that would have simply made Naruto angry but not mean anything, not really a threat-

But that was before their battle. Before Sasuke really would have killed Naruto, if given the chance. Before he almost did, and only some unnatural healing power saved the blonde's life.

Sasuke broke eye contact, and looked away, trying to deny the fact that he felt guilty about saying that.

Naruto turned away, and rolled into bed again, burying himself in the white sheets.

After a terse, endless silence, Naruto finally spoke again. "How do you think we got here?"

Sasuke shrugged, and winced as a bit of pain shot through his left arm, the one he had used Chidori with, three times in a single day. The Uchiha felt a small bit of satisfaction at knowing he had exceeded the limit Kakashi-sensei had thought he had. "That blast from my Chidori and your attack-"

"Rasengan." Naruto said defensively, feeling a bit put out that Sasuke had never heard of his attack. Then again, most people didn't know he had mastered the Rasengan anyway.

Mentally filing away a note to find out about that technique (a powerful jutsu like that, and one that couldn't be read and copied by Sharingan was worth looking into), Sasuke continued on, "Must have sent us here."

"So... do you think if we fight again, we'll be able to get home?" Naruto asked quietly, turning back over, looking at Sasuke with a serious look that did not fit well with Naruto's normally cheery face.

"Not in the shape we're in." Sasuke said, and fell back into bed. It would be awhile before he was up to fighting again, he understood, and he didn't want to risk activating the curse seal until his body was back up to its full strength.

Naruto nodded, and rolled back over so that he wasn't facing the other boy. "'Night bastard." He grunted.

Sasuke made a small "tch" noise that probably counted as a goodnight.


Author's Notes

If some people complain that Ukyo shouldn't have been able to hit Sasuke, let's remember he was still sitting on a hospital bed after his intense fight with Naruto. Doctor Tofu's normally has one bed, but they towed in another (they made room somehow).

I've decided I'm going to keep a few of the honorifics, namely, "Sakura-chan" with Naruto and "Sasuke-kun" with Sakura. And probably "Tsunada-sama " and maybe "Tsunade-baba" too, since those seem especially important. I read the translated scans of the manga, and so I'm used to those honorifics, but not with others. I know it's weird, but... eh.

On to an important topic- power levels.

Remember, Sasuke's fully matured Sharingan puts him equal to Curse Seal Level 1. That's important to note.

And as one astute reviewer pointed out, the Ranma ½ characters are a great deal stronger and tougher, though probably not as fast. Ninjas tend to have speed and flash- the Ranma character are mostly all like Rock Lee, using fists and feet.

Some people in Nerima (Ukyo, Kuno, Mousse, Shampoo) are not at Sasuke or Naruto's level yet- but I'm going to work out those deficiencies over the course of the story. As you've read, Mousse is already on it.

Normal Sasuke (without Sharingan)- Probably a little above Mousse's level. (Note: I consider Mousse just a tier or so below Ranma and Ryouga- he does give them a run for their money at times.)

Normal Naruto (no Kyubi chakra)- Same, maybe a little less. Sasuke does show a small edge in the Hospital fight, since he's always countering Naruto's strategies and forcing Naruto to counterattack.

Sharingan Sasuke- Ranma and Ryouga's level. He's about as fast as Ranma, but not nearly as durable as Ryouga. Still, he can predict and counter moves, and has more strength and speed than in his normal form.

No tail Kyubi Naruto- Ranma and Ryouga's level. He's also about as fast as Ranma in speed, and below Ryouga in endurance. He's freakishly strong though, and probably just a little stronger than Ryouga.

I'll not go any farther than that, purely because to tell you who matches Curse Seal Level 2 Sasuke and One Tail Naruto and why is a possible spoiler. Same thing about the Hiryu Shoten Ha ideas.

Another reviewer commented that Sasuke seems rather casual with Naruto- well, he's Sasuke. Even in the battle with Naruto, he always treated Naruto with the same arrogant aloofness that Sasuke always has, up until the final moments of the battle.

Around other people though, he's putting up a front, acting like everything's normal, when it's not.