Tears of a Forgotten Yesterday
A Ranma Nibunoichi x-over
by Matthew Talbain (formerly Kitsune Saotome)
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma Nibunoichi, The Legend of Dragoon, or Slayers. Thanks goes out to all authors who've provided my brain with food for thought on this little project.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would like to thank all of my reviewers for their support, especially a certain few I would like to note and make note on:
Materia-Blade - You don't have to wait long. Thanks for your ....unique way of showing you liked my fic.
Wonderbee31 - Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, and yes, Ranma won't take crap from anyone.
Dave - First, I'm going to try to be civilized about this. I HAVE watched the series and read all the manga, and I know they're going to end up together. But I hate Akane and respect Ranma. If YOU loved someone, would you not give them a CHANCE to explain themselves before beating them? Akane doesn't. If YOU loved someone, would you always be defending someone who, in FRONT OF YOU, starts a fight with the person you love? Akane always defends Ryouga, even when he's beating Ranma and RANMA DOESN'T FIGHT BACK. Then again, would YOU insist on trying to be friends with two guys who want to KILL you because they don't understand that women aren't PROPERTY? Would you take your father, day in, day out, whining about you being a girly girl for not marrying the girl he arranged for you so he could live off of YOUR money? Ranma does. For that, I respect him. He takes that crap, AND his fiance getting kidnapped REPEATEDLY by people who could KILL HIM EASILY....and he never once fails to smile in a day. While Akane RARELY gives that smile that Ranma fell in love with, most of the time its a SCOWL that means she THINKS Ranma's done something PERVERTED when he doesn't even know what that is, ranma ALWAYS manages ONE smile and ONE good-humored joke or one good thing to say about ANYBODY! This is my fic and I'll do with it what I want, 'cuz that's what FANFICTION is for! So back off! -huffs and wheezes-
There, that's done. Now, let's get on with the fiction!
-----Chapter One: From The Ashes-----
The portal swirled and twisted before them, the one in red armor looking back to the people behind him. Rose walked up and tried to take his hand, to squeeze it gently and reassuringly, but Ranma pulled away to bury his hands in his face just a second too soon...
"There was nothing we could do, Ranma. We didn't know...we COULDN'T have known Melpu would do that...."
Ranma looked down at her and nodded once, tears escaping his normally cheerul facade. A booming voice echoed around them within the volcano.
"DO NOT FEAR, RANMA. THIS PORTAL SHALL TAKE YOU HOME. ALL IS NOT LOST. GO, AND TAKE THE DRAGOONS WITH YOU. YOU SHALL BE CALLED WHEN THERE IS NEED OF YOU AGAIN, WHEN OUR WORLD NEEDS YOU AGAIN."
Ranma nodded once, shaking his head at the thought of going to a home that he could barely remember. He took up his bastard sword and walked forward, the portal enveloping him and the rest of the party as they, too, entered it. Green Syuviel was the first, followed by white Shirley and gold Belzac. Dark Rose and blue Damia came next, as purple Kanzas tried to put up a token fuss before the portal swirled and took them, collapsing around them.
With an acrid crack and a burst of white light, the Dragoons appeared in a sterile white room, several young women and a couple of young men stood before them. Instantly a smile replaced the scowl on Ranma's face as he recognized the two women he was closest to, his mother and Kasumi Tendo. His party studied the opposite party, and Ranma wondered how much time had passed here briefly before Kasumi ran into his arms and clawed at him, as if to see if here were real.
"Ranma, oh, Ranma! Don't scare me like that again! Oh, kami-sama....thank the heavens you're alive, oh, kami-sama, you're alive!"
Rose, scowling slightly at this, stepped forward and eased the sobbing girl into a chair. She then looked up at Ranma, who, as usual, was oblivious to anything other than a glare levelled at him. She sighed, just as a young woman screamed out and rushed forward, a large hammer in her hands.
"RANMAAAAAA!!! HOW DARE YOU COME BACK FROM THE DEAD!?!?!"
The next five seconds happened in one instant. Ranma leaped forward, severing the head of the mallet with his sword before kneeing the girl in the chest, sending her sprawling as he levelled his sword at her throat.
"I don't know what's happened since I left, Akane, but if you attack me for no reason again, make no mistake, I WILL kill you."
Everyone in the room stared in shock. Ranma attacked Akane? Physically?! Ryouga was about to jump forward to her defense when the seldom-used voice of reason asked him if Ranma were attacking Akane or defending himself. And didn't Akane deserve that, after all, she DID kill Ranma barely five minutes ago. Ryouga nodded once to himself before stepping forward, bowing lowly to Ranma.
"It's good to see you're okay, Ranma....I mean....I..."
Ranma grinned broadly before clapping Ryouga on the shoulder. He turned to the other armored people and nodded. Instantly, in a show of multi-colored lights, the armor and wings disappeared, and the weapons in the group's hands were suddenly much more plain. Ranma's bastard sword was now an ordinary bastard sword that was soon in its scabbard, and the others' weapons, too, were sheathed where possible. Ranma turned to the dragoons and motioned for them to step forward.
"Mother, everyone, I'd like you to meet my partners and friends. The man in green here is Syuviel, my best friend. The girl in the dancer's outift is Damia, and the woman in the blue armor is Rose. The giant in the gold cuirass is Belzac, the girl in white armor is my adopted sister, Shirley, and the man in the purple monk's robe is Kanzas, my mentor and friend."
Everyone nodded when they were named, except for Kanzas, whose scowl deepened. Ranma brightened and performed the introductions for the Nerima crew, as well, beginning with Mousse and ending with Akane. Everyone, even "oblivious" Kasumi, noticed that Ranma practically spat Akane's name as one would spit venom, as quickly and hatefully as possible, and that he introduced Mousse and Ryouga as friends, both instances of which surprised the Nerimans greatly.
Ending the introductions, Ranma sighed and sat down on the floor, rubbing his knuckles nervously. A voice outside the clinic, however, drifted through the demolished wall.
"Quiet, Soun! With the boy in his weakened state, we can force him to marry Akane easily! Then my retire-err....our legacies will be ensured!"
"Quite right, Saotome! WAAAHHH!! MY BABY'S GOING TO BE MARRIED!!! WAAHHH!!!!!"
At this, both men walked into the room, expecting to find a convalescent Ranma, and instead found a group of warriors, Ranma at the fore, and the Nerimans, all of them, except Akane, glowing with a fierce, angry aura. Akane was glowing with just an angry aura. Rather surprisingly, Nodoka was outshining them all.
Nodoka Saotome was no idiot. She had, during Ranma's training trip, taken correspondence courses with Tokyo University and gained quite a wealth of knowledge, and more, of common sense. She had heard Genma, and knew, once and for all, that he was just a greedy pig who'd thought she'd had access to her parents' money when he married her.
She unsheathed her katana a moment too late. Ranma's bastard sword was already levelled at Genma's throat, his body glowing once more in the fiery plate mail with wings. Ranma's eyes were glowing with an innate fire, and everyone could see he was taking no shit from anyone. That much became very evident when he grabbed Genma, flung him out the space Doctor Tofu once called his wall, and followed slowly, hovering two feet off the ground.
Genma landed and took up a fighting stance, intent upon teaching his "wayward" son a lesson, conveniently forgetting, once again, that Ranma had never failed to best him ever since the Jusenkyo incident, unless Genma had gotten the drop on Ranma. Which, Genma also failed to note, was an advantage he did not have this time. Naturally ignoring these two factors, Genma leaped forward, tapping into his ki reserves for a special technique.
"SHOOTING STAR KICK!"
Ranma grinned maliciously as the kick met his armor. Genma fell to the ground, clutching his ankle as he rolled away. Standing upon one foot, Genma jumped at Ranma again, hitting him as many times as he could as fast as he could.
Ranma yawned boredly, brushing the dust off of his armor as Genma screamed piteously at his bloody knuckles. It was then that Genma removed the last bar from Ranma's already-fragile self-control.
"Oh, woe that my only son will not allow me to beat him the way he deserves. Why was I cursed with such an ungrateful son? All I ever did was teach him the art in the only way that would get through his thick, uncultured skull!"
Genma, this whole speech, did not see Nodoka's aura glowing even more brightly. Nor did he notice Ranma's eyes glow more fearsomely as he threw his bastard sword into the air, his aura forming intoa fireball before him. Charging the fireball, he dropped back and slammed his shoulder into the fireball, sending it flying forward at a rapid pace.
"FLAAAAAME SHOT!"
The blast of fire met Genma, torching his gi and burning his body badly. The martial artist, naturally assuming his "weak son" could do nothing to hurt him, the man who had given Ranma his whole life by his good graces, fell down, barely conscious after two minutes of burning, writhing pain.
Ranma caught his sword and changed into his non-Dragoon form. This time, everyone paid atention to what he was wearing. Plate mail, seemingly similar to what he'd just changed out of, covered his chest and his left arm, but his right was free to move and swing his sword. He wore a pair of blue jeans and combat boots, a red bandanna holding his hair back from his eyes. He walked forward, kicking Genma once in the ribs, before looking up at his mother, who was busy berating the semi-conscious martial artist.
"...and if you think, Genma Saotome, I'm going to let you try to rule his life like this ever again, I will cut off your head! I am declaring a fulfillment of the Tendo-Saotome marriage agreement with Akane unmanly! You hear me! I'll kill you if my son marries that uncultured, violent, spoiled BRAT! I want a divorce, Genma, and I am getting the whole story of the training trip out of Ranma! I will NOT stand for you being in my family anymore. Goodbye, Saotome-san."
She turned to her son, grabbing him by his arm to let him know that there was nothing he could do to resist her.
"Son, come on. You and your friends are coming to live with me in my father's home in Juuban. There's enough room, and I think you'd like your ancestral home. I won't let you sleep another night under the roof of that violent maniac. And I would absolutely LOVE to know where you started swordsmanship, yours is impeccable!"
And so, as Ranma and the dragoons were wheeled away by an irate mother, they were followed by Kasumi, Ryouga, Mousse, and Shampoo, all of whom wanted to hear about Ranma's new abilities. They had just seen him throw a fireball powerful enough to burn a building to cinders and act as if it were nothing.
None of them noticed the two, short, gnommish figures hopping along the rooftops in pursuit, so absorbed were they.
It was sunset when they arrived at a large, European style mansion, Ranma and his mother standing side by side as Nodoka fished out an old, heavy iron key. She inserted it into the lock on the heavy oak double doors, and the party entered. Nodoka led them into a large, ornately decorated room with plush, though rather dusty, sofas and a love seat. Ranma waited until everyone else was situated befors itting alone in a comfortable, thick chair made for one. Rose, Kasumi, and Shirley took up one sofa while Ryouga, Mousse, and Syuviel sat on another. Damia and Belzac had a sofa to themselves, and Nodka sat with Soun and Kanzas on either side of her. Doctor Tofu remained standing, as he'd merely followed the party after they'd left the clinic.
Nobody noticed the two shriveled figures standing just inside the entrance to the room.
"Ranma, you ARE, are you not, going to tell us about your journeEEK!"
The source of Nodoka's fright, and a great deal of commotion otheriwse in the large, intircately decorated room was obvious within a mere minute. A flash of light erupted rather explosively above the party, a whirlwind of light hanging above the room. A figure fell from within the whirling light, landing right in an unattentative Ranma's lap.
Trust Ranma to have fallen asleep the moment he landed in a plush, enjoyable chair for the first time in Soa knows how long. Of course, he was awakened right away by something landing rather forcefully in his lap.
"What the he-....kawaii....."
Ranma's eyesight was filled with the glorious image of sad, longing sky-blue orbs framed by crimson hair, set under a gold circlet of some sort. But Ranma seemed not to notice. He was entranced by the fear, the longing, and the pain hidden in those robin's-egg eyes. For a long, agonizing eternity that lasted only an instant, Ranma had the strongest urge to kiss the young woman in his lap. Realizing his position and audience, as well as the near-tears maiden was still on his thighs, he shook it off and helped the poor girl off his lap.
My name's Ranma. Erm...hi."
"H-h-hi...m-my name's L-lina Inverse. Where am I?"
--------------------Author's Corner-----------------------
BWAHAHA!!!!! Fear the wrath of another cliffhanger!
Oh, and a minor note, I'll be trying to keep the chapter's short. There's too much that can happen in this fic, so I'll keep them short for expediency's sake.