The second part of chapter one is printed below. 
I would like to re-iterate the standard disclaimer
at this point - the characters that belong to other
people don't belong to me, and please don't sue me,
I have no money.


                      Desert Moon
                A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
                 By Valandar the Red

                      Chapter One
              Haven't We been Here Before?
                        Part Two

     Walking down the halls of their alma mater brought
back memories to the three who actually graduated from
there, as well as a few for Shampoo and Ryouga. They could
still make out the scars in the wall where the purple-
haired amazon would burst through, and from the occasional 
imbedding of Kuno into the cinderblock. They wound their
way towards the Principal's office, approaching the
secretary when they reached it.
     "Pardon me," began Ranma, "Is Hinako-sensei in her
office right now?"
     The man behind the desk glanced up. "Actually, she 
is. If you could wait here a second, I'll see if she's
available."
     "Thanks."
     After a moment of consultation on an intercom, the 
man looked up at the seven of them. "She'll see you, go on 
in."
     They walked past the only remaining plastic potted
palm, a holdover from Headmaster Kuno's tenure, and into
the office. Inside, a fourteen-year-old girl sat behind
a desk, signing a stack of papers in front of her. "Oh, 
Ranma, Akane, hello ! Um... did I call you about Akemi
or Kenchiro? And Ukyou, you don't have a child here, do
you ?"
     "No, ma'am. We're here to say hello. After all, our
twenty-fifth reunion is tomorrow." Ukyou smiled at the 
child-like teacher. "Also, our friends here never went 
to Furinkan, but were kinda friends with the crowd here, 
and we would like to know if it would be okay for them to
come to the reunion."
     Miss Hinako stood. "Well...I seem to remember you,
young lady," she said, pointing at Shampoo, "and you,"
she added, referring to Ryouga, "but I don't seem to be
able to remember the two of you very well." This last was
directed at Mousse and Akari. She squinted at them, and
grinned. "You two aren't delinquints, are you?"
     Mousse and Akari had heard the stories about this
young ( or not-so-young) lady, and immediately began 
holding their hands in front of them, and denying being
a delinquent, ever having been a delinquent, or even
considering ever being one. She laughed, "No, don't worry.
I don't do that much, any more. Since I only age one year
in four right now, I still look young. Maybe in another
forty or fifty years, I'll look like I did after draining,
but if I drained right now, I'd look well over fifty. Not
exactly great for the ego.
     "As for the reunion, I don't have a problem with it.
Just promise that you'll keep things quiet...and keep me
away from some of the cuter seniors. If I don't keep my
concentration, I'm just like the typical teenager."
     Ryouga raised his hand. "We promise."
     She winked at him, then began to giggle. "Good." She
blinked up at him. "You're not married, are you?" 
     Ryouga just stood there, stunned, and let Akari lift
his hand with hers, to show the ring. "Oh, well, you're
too old for me, anyway," pouted Miss Hinako.
     Ranma chuckled. "Please, it's not like it's our
fiftieth class reunion. And, weird stuff or no weird 
stuff, you're still older than all of us. Anyways, we
gotta go. By the time we get back to the dojo, it'll be
time for my first class of the day. We'll see you at
the reunion tomorrow."
     "Goodbye!" she said, beaming a smile that almost
advertised to the world that her brains were on hold
until she drained chi. The crew thanked her, and left the
office, to continue the day back at the dojo.

               ********************

     The shades to Tokugawa Akihito's office were closed,
and the lights were off. He was far more comfortable in
the darkness, where the light of day could not summon the
memories of a brighter past. In one hand, he held a small,
framed photograph, while the other simply rested on his
desk.
     "They found it, my love. If it works, then we will
be reunited in this world. Then, we shall attain total
control over Japan, as my ancestor did." He placed the
photo back on the desk, and stood, slowly. He walked out
into the middle of the floor of his office, and sat down
in the lotus position. Hands folded, he began to slowly
work them through a pattern of mudras, sacred hand
positions. 
     When he first began his search into esoterica,
he had dismissed it all as superstition hiding a reason-
able truth. That is, until he beheld a certain monk
performing the mudras. The monk workd his way through a 
pattern, ending in the Second Mudra of Unmoving. To 
Akihito's surprise, the monk actually transformed, though
temporarily, into an unmoving, stone statue. When the
monk reverted, Akihito had begun to beg him to teach him
the mudras. The monk refused, at first, but relented after
a year of the younger man pestering him about it. It
turned out that the corporate manager had little talent
for things mystical, but enough to eventually enable him
to render his chi visible.
     With the glowing hand as a threat, though none ever
learned it did little more than glow, he rapidly moved
up the heirarchy, eventually to President of a certain
zaibatsu. Then, he began to gather around him those who
had resources, or talents, he could draw upon. Shortly
after he began this proccess, he beheld a duel between 
two powerful martial artists, several of which were said
to dwell within Nerima prefecture. A water main was burst,
spraying the two. One transformed into a smaller, red-
headed version of himself, while the other transformed
into some sort of tentacled, winged oni.
     No one he consulted knew anything about trans- formations by water.
Finally, seven years ago, a young 
woman named Kyoko informed him about certain legendary
springs. Called Jusenkyo, they could bring about the
changes he had beheld. What is more, one spring was said
to have been where an Asura had drowned, and a vague hint
suggested that Jalamdhara, a demon who once threatened
even the hindu gods, themselves, may have fallen into one
of the pools at his death.
     Going to the library, Akihito was amazed at what 
this demon was said to have done. It was born of Siva's
anger, made manifest, to take vengeance on Indra and the
other gods for a presumptuous wish. He could fly on the
winds, float on the oceans, and command the fiercest of
beasts. What really caught the businessman's attention
was the statement that Jalamdhara was said to be able to 
raise the dead. He skipped over how the demon was
defeated, and realized that he had to find Jusenkyo.
     With Jusenkyo, his beloved wife could return. With
Jusenkyo, he could conquer the world. With Jusenkyo, he
could even conquer the gods.
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