Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½™ or Sacrifice™ or any related characters, terms or concepts.
Author's Notes: To those who pointed it out; Kodachi's pet crocodile is indeed called Mr. Green Turtle in the manga, but in the English dub of the anime (which the source I use for all my Ranma fics) it is referred to as Mr. Scaly Green. I basically forgot the more common name. Well, look on the bright side; I could have used the anime's name for the Neko-Ken (Cat-Fu, or Freestyle Cat-Fist).
The "shocked" pun was not intentional, in fact I didn't realise I'd made a pun until Xtor49 pointed it out.
For those who asked; in the anime, it never shows the Principal retaking control of the household. The first episode of season 6, he does return to the house, making Kodachi aware of his return, but he leaves them again and is never shown to come back. This may partially be due to the fact that Kuno hates him so much, and would rather die than give up the authority he has in the household. For this fic, the Principal is considered to actually live in his office in the school and to have no authority (or at least minimal) over the family estate. I do intend to have him finding out about his daughter's engagement though, next chapter perhaps. By the way, speaking of the Hawaiian nutjob; exactly when does he show up in the manga? His entry at the Ranma FAQ said he shows up in chapter 1 of volume 11, but I went to the Manga Scan and volume 11 was about the Ryoga's Home, Happo-Fire Burst, Shampoo's Hypnotic Mushroom Buns and Super Soba stories.
Part 13: The Dragon Spooker and the Wild Horse, Part 1
"And you call my sense of direction bad! How the hell can you miss an entire world?"
"I'm not exactly experienced with dimension-jumping, it was a mistake anyone could have made!"
"What do you mean you're not experienced with dimension jumping? You leap back and forth between Nerima and Dalara Peaks all the time."
"Using my Altar. There's a big difference between jumping through the Altar-network and using a spell. The slightest mistake and it could cast it anywhere. As it has done."
Ranma glared at Ryoga, who looked sheepish in return. It was technically his fault they were… wherever they were. When Ranma's gift, a faulty teleportation ring, had accidentally recursed Ryoga with the Spring of Drowned Piglet, Ranma hadn't waited for Ryoga to somehow find his way back to Japan and seek revenge. Instead, he'd gone to the outskirts of town, summoned a flying monster and sent it to carry Ryoga back to the Tendo Dojo. Ryoga had, as was natural for him, attacked Ranma the moment the two set eyes on each other… and promptly got his butt handed to him.
Ranma had tried to console the despairing Lost Boy by offering to train him in Otherworld, an offer Ryoga had demanded that Ranma fulfil right there and then. Rather than risk upsetting Ryoga, Ranma had sent his monster to carry a message back to the Tendo Dojo and the Saotome house, then set about casting the spell that had brought him back to Nerima from Dalara Peaks in the first place. Unfortunately, impatience on Ryoga's part equals one distracted Ranma, and distracting a spellcaster in mid-spell is not a smart thing to do. This world wasn't Otherworld; Ranma would have known instantly where he was if the spell had worked.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. The reason I said we'd go to Otherworld was so that we could train without any interruptions. And, as far as that goes, this world certainly fits the bill."
Ryoga nodded in agreement, at which Ranma smirked and shifted effortlessly into a fighting stance.
"Very well then; shall we begin?"
Ryoga tossed his heavy bag to the side and then charged Ranma with a roar.
Several days laterAfter reviewing Ryoga's techniques and general skill level, Ranma had decided that Ryoga had to start working on his speed and on controlling his emotions. As such, he was currently leading Ryoga onwards with taunts and insults, effortlessly dodging his attacks in just such manner as to deliberately provoke him.
"Come on Ryoga, I've seen zombies move faster than that! And if I were going any slower, I'd be going backwards!"
Ryoga didn't bother wasting his precious breath to point that Ranma was currently going backwards, instead focussing of attempting to hit the quicksilver boy. All of sudden, Ranma stopped dead, apparently focusing on something else. Ryoga experienced a surge of elation, positive that he could finally land a blow. That elation disappeared faster than Genma or Soun when told that Happosai was after them. Even distracted, Ranma still effortlessly dodged Ryoga's attacks, then casually retaliated with an open-palmed uppercut that sent Ryoga flying through the air to land hard on his back several feet away.
"Stop it P-Chan, can't you hear that? Come on, we'd better investigate…"
Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, princess of Saillune, was not having a good day. She'd left Saillune on a diplomatic mission and had persuaded her father that she'd get there faster if she went alone, countering his warnings about bandits with reminders of her adventures with Lina Inverse, the famous Dragon Spooker, and assuring him that she'd be alright. For most of the journey, she'd been right. She'd just finished punishing a group of bandits who tried to waylay her, but as she began one of her justice lectures she'd felt an agonizing pain in the back of her head and passed out.
When she'd awoken, she found herself chained and gagged, kneeling on the floor in front of the leader of the bandits who'd ambushed her, as well as his biggest, toughest minions. The moment they'd removed her gag, she'd gotten into an argument with the bandit leader, who intended to ransom her back to her father. They were both just starting to really get into their argument when they were interrupted by the sudden appearance of another bandit.
"Boss! Boss!"
He skidded to a stop, tripped over his own feet and continued speaking, his voice somewhat muffled because his face was planted in the floor.
"We are under attack! Two strange youths have invaded our lair!"
"Then set the guards on them fool!"
"We can't! They've already defeated every guard!"
"WHAT? Come men, we'll put a stop to them! You! Guard the prisoner!"
The bandit leader and his men charged out of the room, leaving Amelia alone with her new guard. When he climbed to his feet, Amelia had to clench her jaw and firmly remind herself that she was a princess and a Warrior of Justice to keep herself from laughing at the ridiculous figure. He wasn't much taller than she was, pale as a fish's belly, skinny as a reed with black rings under his eyes and wearing gear that looked like it was at least seven sizes to big for him. All in all, utterly ridiculous. He levelled a trembling spear at her and stuttered.
"D-d-don't move!"
Amelia didn't bother to point out that she couldn't move, instead she listened as the faint sounds of battle began to filter into the room. She heard what sounded like the bandit leader voice a battle-cry, only for it to be cut off. There was a whistling sound, and the doors suddenly burst into splinters as the bandit leader literally flew through them, smashing into the wall at the far end of the room and falling to the ground unconcious. Her guard gulped and his knees began to knock together as two boys stepped through the doorway. One wore a worn yellow shirt and had a yellow bandanna with black stripes wrapped around his head. The other wore a red shirt and wore his hair in a pigtail. Both of them otherwise looked very similar.
Pigtail boy grinned a cold, malicious grin and cracked his knuckles, looking straight at Amelia's guard as bandanna boy looked shocked and muttered something that sounded like "Gosunkugi's long-lost twin brother". Pigtail boy ignored bandanna boy and continued to walk towards the guard, who looked like he was about to either wet himself, pass out, or wet himself and then pass out. Pigtail boy stopped a few steps aware from the panic-stricken bandit, apparently unconcerned with the way the bandit leveled his spear at his chest, and then spoke in a calm, casual tone.
"The way I see it, we have two options. One, you can drop the pigsticker and run away and find yourself a new line of work, or Two, you can try and fight me. Which is it to be?"
The bandit didn't answer; he simply dropped his spear and fainted. Pigtail boy smiled.
"Well, so much for those bandits. Enjoy yourself Ryoga?"
Bandanna boy, Ryoga, directed his gaze from the unconscious bandit to pigtail boy.
"Not really. I hoped that so many bandits might prove to actually be of some challenge. I've had a harder time trying to catch dinner."
Having said that, he walked up to Amelia and knelt down. Amelia swallowed a surge a fear, but Ryoga did nothing except grasp her chains- and then ripped them apart as effortlessly as though they had been made from runny butter. Pigtail boy then held his hand out to help Amelia up.
"Are you alright? We heard you yelling in the forest, and then came to investigate."
Amelia blinked in surprise at having been told that, but her courtly manners instantly clawed through her confusion to grab her attention.
"I'm fine, thank you for rescuing me. I am Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, princess of Saillune."
"I am Ranma Saotome, and this is my student Ryoga Hibiki."
Amelia watched as Ryoga began to silently splutter and mouth the word "student?" before returning her attention to Ranma, who was still speaking.
"So, your highness, what were you doing out here anyway?"
Now, contrary to popular belief, Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune is neither stupid nor incapable of suspicion. Any noble who failed to develop both the ability to judge characters accurately and the inability to treat others with suspicion would, even in as forgiving a court as Saillune, have a lifespan even shorter than that of a jellyfish in a blast-furnace. She eyed the two boys for a minute, and then, judging them to be (relatively) harmless, told them about her diplomatic mission. The sudden gleam in Ranma's eyes made her wonder if she had made a mistake.
"Well now, it seems we may be able to come to an arrangement. You see, we are strangers in this land-"
"That's an understatement."
Muttered Ryoga.
"And you seem to know your way around the territory. What I propose is this: if you will tell us the local areas of note- villages and the like- then we will escort you to this kingdom you have to visit."
Amelia said nothing, but Ranma evidentially noticed her scrutiny of their lack of weapons and armor.
"Don't let our appearances fool you; we are martial artists, amongst the best of our breed. Our bodies are lethal weapons, either one of us could annihilate an entire army of bandits. So, what do you say? Have we a deal?"
As they had been speaking, they had been walking out of the bandits' fortress. Having witnessed the unconscious bandits scattered about, Amelia was inclined to, if not outright believe Ranma, at least give him some credit. She thought about it for a few minutes, and then nodded.
"Yes, we have a deal. I really prefer travelling with friends anyway."
"Oh? You travel a lot?"
"Oh yes, I often have to go on these missions. And several times I've gone adventuring with my best friends. One of them is actually Lina Inverse, if you believe it."
"We believe, but we've never heard of this Lina Inverse."
"You've never heard of Lina Inverse? The Bandit Killer? The Enemy of All Who Live? The Doramata?"
"I'd never have figured you to be the sort who likes to hang out with criminals."
"Miss Lina isn't a criminal! She just has something of a bad reputation, that's all."
"I have a bad reputation, but I've never been called the enemy of all who live before."
Ryoga nodded in agreement with Ranma.
"You see, Miss Lina generally makes her living by shaking down groups of bandits and stealing all of their treasure. She's an extremely powerful sorceress, and not always too careful or responsible with how she uses her magic. She's blown up a few towns when she's lost her temper, and she can cast the Dragon Slave, so that's another cross against her, but she isn't out to destroy the world or anything like that, she just wants a good life."
"Can I ask a question?"
"Sure, what?"
"What's the 'Dragon Slave'?"
"It's one of the most powerful spells in Black Magic, drawing upon the energy of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo to unleash an incredibly destructive blast of magic."
"Sounds like she's one of those wizards who can't quite grasp the concept of using a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer."
"Like you're one to talk Ranma! What about that fight you had with the old pervert? You crushed him under several tons of ice!"
"I didn't notice you complaining at the time P-Chan."
"DON'T CALL ME P-CHAN!"
As Amelia watched, Ryoga charged Ranma and begin unleashing punches so fast she could barely see them, but Ranma dodged them effortlessly before delivering an eye-wateringly fast spin-kick that sent Ryoga spiralling off into the heavens. Ranma casually looked upwards as Ryoga disappeared before nodding his head and setting off again. He stopped when he caught sight of Amelia's horrified look.
"He's alright, he'll have landed back at our camp. Don't mind when that happens; it's perfectly normal for us. He won't have so much as bruise when we reach him."
Only slightly reassured, Amelia followed Ranma, beginning to wonder if she might not have been better off with the bandits.
"By the way, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What's 'Doramata' mean anyway?"
"Roughly, it translates as 'Dragon Spooker', a more direct translation would be 'Dragons step past out of sheer revulsion.' By the way, she hates all of those titles, so don't mention them to her."
"Do I look that stupid? If I was I wouldn't be here talking to you; my fiancées would have killed me by now."
"Fiancées?"
"I'll tell you on the trip; trust me, if you think your life is unusual, you just wait until you hear about mine."
All right, a short chapter I know, but I really need suggestions for events while Ranma and Ryoga are running around with the Slayers. They will get to meet the fiery sorceress genius and her other motley friends, but precisely what do you want to happen? Should Ranma challenge Lina to a match of Amateur Battle Dining? Should Ryoga and Gourry have a sword fight, with Ryoga using his Iron Cloth Belt for a sword? Should Ranma tell Zelgadis about the one thing that might be able to give him the best of two worlds; the Jusenkyo Spring of Drowned Young Boy? Review and tell me what you want please!