This is gonna be a bit wierd.  Just warning you!

Ah, good. Sounds just like my type of story. ^_^

This story begins at the start of the Ranma manga.  The setup for
Hikaru and the other MKR characters is borrowed from the OVA, with
some details being taken from the TV series.  Just take for granted
that things are pretty altered as far as the MKR and Rayearth side of
this crossover is concerned.  You'll see as you read.

Haven't seen the OVA of Rayearth yet. Any good?

Ranma opened his eyes and light stabbed its way into his skull,
punching through the other side.  "That...hurts."

GOURRY: Um, sorry... (puts away the Sword of Light)

His headache died slightly as she provided shade, his sensitive eyes
better able to adjust.  But it was still there, strong as a martial
artist panda could inflict.  "I ain't gonna marry you," he croaked.

The girl leaned back, a shocked expression on her face, and the light
and pain returned and stars blew themselves into smithereens, right up
close and personal.

HIKARU: There! That'll teach you to talk to me that way!

"Ow."

Gee, he sounds hurt. Might want to describe his speech with an adverb
there, or say that the pain is too much or he's too tired to properly
express his pain, or something like that.

Ranma leaned back slightly.  She sure was enthusiastic.  "It's getting
better."  He looked around the room and saw girl stuff.  There was a
few kendo bokkens on display in the corner, though.

There *were*. More than one. ^_^

He eyed the girl warily.  "Where is everybody else?"

She blinked, looking confused for a minute, then smiled cheerfully.
"Oh, they're out celebrating.  They'll be back in a few hours.  You
want some Tylenol or something?  I can go get it."

HIKARU: Yeah, Tylenol... and while I'm at it, I'll just shove that old
dead panda in the closet...

"No, that's fine.  I'm not marrying you."

Because it's the rule. Is she gives you Tylenol, you have to marry her.

But seriously... I know Ranma's not keen on getting married, but is he
taking EVERYTHING as a hint, or does he just enjoy repeating it at
frequent intervals?

"Yeah," Ranma said suspiciously.  She was cute, but way too easygoing.
It couldn't be that easy.

RANMA: (thinks) When does she hit me with the table?

Hikaru waited until he finished, then said, "So you do kendo, then?
You don't seem to have a very high opinion of those who practice it."

"No, I practice the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"That's not kendo?"

Ranma studied her, doubtful.  Hikaru was the daughter of his Old Man's
training buddy?  "No, it's a mix of different fighting styles,
primarily barehanded, though some weapon use is taught as well."

This scene works much better in this version.

The girl nodded.  "So are you any good?  I'd offer to spar if not for
your head injury.  I'm better than everybody I know, except my
brothers and father."

HIKARU: I'm also the most humble member of our family. I don't have a
trophy for that, though.

"Ah, I don't think that's a good idea."  Hikaru laughed nervously.
"You did get hit pretty hard and you only just now got up.  It's been
over an hour, you know, since that panda knocked you out."

RANMA: Yeah, I keep excellent time while I'm unconscious.

Hikaru's smile was strained.  "Well... are you thirsty?  I can make us
some tea and a small snack, then if you still want to spar afterwards,
we can."

Ranma brightened.  "Yeah, I'm hungry.  Lets do that."

Buying Ranma off with food... too bad Akane can't take advantage of that
technique.

Ranma kneeled in front of the table, waiting impatiently for the tea
and crackers.  Breakfast had been early that morning, his father
wanting to get back into Tokyo and to his friend's house, and they had
skipped lunch.  It was midafternoon now and he was used to eating at
set times of every day.  His stomach didn't like this whole missing
meals thing at all.

Ranma's used to eating at fixed times of day? It surprises me that Ranma
is used to eating at all, after that training trip... didn't his father
usually try to starve him?

Hikaru entered from the kitchen, bearing a tray.  The tea set was nice
but not overly formal, which was a relief.  He'd almost been expecting
the girl to try to get into the whole engagement thing right away.
She seemed far too compliant, despite her easy agreement to call
everything off when he refused to marry her.

Well... RANMA'S the one who keeps bringing up the engagement.

Ranma stuffed some of the crackers into his mouth, dropped a few cups
of the tea in to wash it down, then cleared his throat when he saw
Hikaru staring at him.

Spraying crackers and tea all over her... he should have swallowed
first.

"Oh, sorry," she said.  "I'm not used to seeing people eat like that.
It's... different."  She took a sip of her own tea.  "Is there someone
you need to call, do you need to let your parents know where you're
at?

Run-on sentence there.

"What?"  Ranma stared back at the girl, who looked as confused as he
felt.  What was she talking about?  "Isn't my Pop off celebrating with
the rest of your parents?"

"The rest of"? Are they only half there? I sort of understand what you
mean here, but I think just "with your parents" might sound better.

"So," he said slowly, "you have no idea who I am, you've never heard
of Genma Saotome, the animal clinic people hauled off the strange
panda, and I'm not your fianc�e?"

I should hope not... "fiancee" is the female version. Ranma would be a
"fiance" (e-accent, of course). Especially since, even in female form,
you refer to him with masculine pronouns.

Hikaru nodded.  "Yes.  Are you sure you're feeling okay?  Or are you a
lesbian?"

RANMA: What, can't I be a sick lesbian?

"Ah, well..."  Ranma's hand went to the back of his head and he rubbed
nervously.  "That's kinda hard to explain."  The ground shook and his
teacup bounced off the table and into his lap, flipping upside down in
the process.  Suddenly Ranma was taller than Hikaru was.

Quite a fortuitous little earthquake, there.

"It's a curse," he said simply.  "I turn into a girl when splashed
with cold water, and back when splashed with hot."  Ranma ignored her
staring and gulped down another sip of the tea.  It didn't go down
quite as easily with her looking at him like that.

RANMA: Yuck. This tea tastes like my pants.

Unless he's sipping her tea, since his spilled all over him...

"Well, but, but..."  Hikaru stepped back until she was against the
wall.  "But you were a girl!"

"Only for a bit," he insisted.  "I was a guy earlier today.  Now where
is my Pop?"

"Your Pop?"  Hikaru sank down to her knees, still staring at him,
thought she seemed to be recovering slightly.  "The panda?" she
guessed.

Well, she's taking it all well.

"Yes.  Panda's are endangered but they wouldn't let one go around
attacking people."

Pandas. Not possessive.

They walked down the sidewalk, squished next to each other by its
narrowness and the telephone poles and fences that ran along each
side.

Naturally, Ranma feels no urge to run on top of the fences when it means
he can be squished against a CUTE girl...

Hikaru had insisted on walking him, he didn't know why.  Maybe
she wanted to see his Pop, the trained circus panda, turn into a bald
and ugly old man.

Nah... she's been lying when she said he didn't have to marry her. ^_^

"That's what my Pop said.  We were fighting over it when he knocked me
out."  He still couldn't believe the old bastard was trying to stick
him with some girl he didn't know.  She'd probably be some ugly chick
who liked pokemon.

Hey! What's wrong with liking Pokemon?

Ranma was looking ahead, trying to see the clinic, but he still caught
Hikaru's gestured affirmative from the edge of his vision.  "My
brothers were saying something about you marrying another girl when we
carried you back to my house after I got the animal control people.  I
didn't believe it, though.  They talk about that stuff all the time."

How did they know?

The animal shelter wasn't too far away, and when they arrived fifteen
minutes later Hikaru was still refusing to let go of his hand or quit
hopping around like a deranged and drunken bunny.  She hopped her last
hop and came to an abrupt finish.

Well, THAT refusal didn't last long, did it?

The building was made of white-painted bricks, the floor a smooth
concrete.  It made Ranma think of some of the men's locker rooms he'd
been in, when they were empty, with puddles of uncomfortable water
stagnating on the grey slab, walls radiating coldness, and an
oppressive feeling of being naked.

He wondered why they had forced him ot leave his clothes at the door.

They went to the counter and waited while several people talked to the
receptionist.  They all talked at once and seemed to do better at
confusing the woman than figuring out whatever their problems were.
Ranma couldn't tell what was going on.

After a little while everything was figured out and the group headed
in different directions, some people following an orderly that showed
up to guide them away, some leaving, and some sitting down in the
small plastic chairs the room provided.  Ranma and Hikaru stepped
forward.

Was any of that important? Interesting ambience, but...

"Uh, yeah," Ranma said.  "I'm here to get my panda."  He gestured to
Hikaru with his free hand.  "She said you picked him up earlier."

RECEPTIONIST: Well, actually we sort of rolled him into a truck...

"*I* didn't pick anything up, so don't blame me," was her sharp
response.  She picked up a phone and dialed four numbers, then chewed
the ear off of whoever was on the other end.

The guy on the other end reached through the phone with a mallet and
smacked her.

Gotta love those cartoon conventions.

Ranma gave his own response, and then Hikaru did hers, a bit
distracted by his pop.  He guessed that was why she listed her blood
type, interests, and hobbies, anyway, all said quickly while squeezing
his hand even harder.  Maybe she'd never seen a panda so close before?

HIKARU: Since this guy won't let me marry him, I wonder if his dad's
available...?

Hikaru finally let go of his hand and walked up to the cage, ignoring
the doctor completely.  "Wow!  He's really big!"

.... is she looking in all the wrong places? ^_^

Fukima looked over at her with annoyance, then turned back to Ranma.
"Do you even have some kind of ownership papers for this panda?  I
can't release him unless you do.  The panda also needs to be picked up
with an approved transportation method, you can't just walk him out of
here on a leash, you know.  Pandas aren't allowed on the streets like
the common dog or cat, there are all kinds of rules about this."

Yep. Japan added the panda clause to its animal law statutes back in
1874, after the Great Panda Massacre of Nagoya.

"Of course he's alive!"  The man sounded affronted now.  "Look, I'm
going to have to ask you to leave.  You're obviously not qualified to
be back here looking at the panda, let alone taking it anywhere."

And yet they let him back there without asking any questions... some
security.

He grunted in response, and bent over.  One arm slid under the panda's
back as he heaved it upwards slightly to make room, and then the other
curled around its stomach.  Ranma stood, heavily, and lifted the panda
up onto one shoulder.  "Okay, let's go."

One shoulder? You are aware of the relative size difference, right? I
think even Ranma would have to use the fireman's carry.

Hikaru and Dr. Fukima both stared, open-mouthed, as he stepped out of
the cage.  Both of them just watched him walk past until he got to the
door, which the orderly had closed behind him.  The panda was too big
for him to stand close enough to the door to reach the handle easily.

I guess there's no room to put the panda down, either?

"Um, are there any bathrooms on that side?" he asked, turning slightly
to his right, where the panda blocked his view of everything.  "I
wanna dump some hot water on this guy."

"Yeah, there's one up ahead, we passed it on the way over here.  You
can't do that, though!  Your father could die!"

RANMA: That's the idea... I mean, you're right! We can't do that! ...
So... any hot water?

"Gotcha."  The turned and made their way down another hallway, and
Ranma hoped she knew where they were going.

"They turned"

"Of course I will!"  Hikaru turned around and lead the way again.  Was
this the right direction?

Is she prone to getting lost? I don't remember that from the series.

Hikaru wasn't skipping this time, but they were still getting stares
as they walked to her house.  Probably the people looking all wondered
about the crazy girl who'd gone bouncing down the sidewalk earlier.
Couldn't be because of the panda on his shoulder, of course not.  It's
not like pandas were rare or anything, right?

Ah, poor, deluded Ranma.

They arrived at the Shidou home and instead of going through the
house, Hikaru lead him through fence door on the side, directly into
the back yard.  Within was a rock garden encompassing most of the
yard, a pond and well-groomed grass pathways making up the rest of it.
At the edge opposite the house was a large dojo.

Ooh, they moved in with the Tendos!

Ranma dumped his pop on the ground beside the pond, careful to place
him in a spot where the rocks wasn't all artsy looking.

Sounds like you'se picking up a bit of an accent there.

Hikaru either hadn't noticed or didn't care, instead staring at the
panda again.  "What's he look like when he's a man?" she asked.

With hearts in her eyes...

Hikaru poked his father in the forehead.  No response.  "He was
probably taking you to the Tendous'.  They live a little ways from
here, near the school that I go to."  Hikaru moved away from the panda
and sat down on a bench near the pond.  "There are three sisters,
Akane and Nabiki both go to school with me.  Kasumi is older, I think
she's nineteen.  You'll probably end up engaged to Nabiki, since Akane
hates boys."

Right. That would happen...

Ranma stared at her.  "You challenging me?  Even knowing I can carry a
panda for a fifteen minute walk?"

HIKARU: Have you ever heard of Rune-Gods? Or escudo swords?

Ranma stood and started to walk to the dojo.  Hikaru surprised him by
heading back towards the house.  "I'm going to go get changed," she
said.  "Feel free to look around.  See how many trophies I've got!"
she called before heading inside.

RANMA: Still none for humility, I see...

In each corner of that wall was a stand with trophies, with labels
boasting the same thing.  Maybe she would put up a good fight.  She
was awfully small, though.  Then again, so was his girl form.

Time for a quick change before the fight? I thought Ranma always
insisted on being a girl before fighting a girl. Or at least, the girl
would suggest it to his refusal.

"Intimidated yet?" Hikaru asked as she stepped into the dojo.  She was
dressed in a simple skirt and short, no longer in her school uniform,
forgoing the usual protective getup that kendoist used when fighting
each other.  Made sense, since he wasn't going to be hitting her with
some stick, and it made things fair.

RANMA: (staring) Yeah... that outfit is DANGEROUS! You know that thing I
said about not marrying you... forget it!

Ranma shrugged.  "It's just like any other sparring.  You attack, and
I'll take away your stick so you can't fight anymore."

Isn't that what Loreena Bobbit said?

Ranma bent backwards and the blade past over him at chest-height,
nearly brushing against the buttons of his shirt.  Damn things stood
out like targets, they did.

Ranma was in female form the first time you wrote this, right? It shows
in the rewrite. ^_^ Buttons standing out as targets is a little hard to
picture.

"Er, right.  Pop, bad news.  Those people at the pound..."  Ranma
looked at his father with all the sadness he could muster.  He hoped
it was enough.  "The pound has a procedure they carry out on overly
aggressive animals.  We didn't get there in time."

<...>  Genma looked down, trying to see past his furry stomach.  <NO!>

RANMA: That's right... you were declawed.

<NO!>  Genma turned around and ran out of the dojo, a loud mewing,
panicked sound escaping his massive jaws.

RANMA: Pop, spit Shampoo out right now!

"He DID do that to me, only it wasn't just pretend.  What do ya think
it's like, turning into a girl all the time?"

HIKARU: Dunno. I've never been a girl before... wait...

They stepped inside the house.  The kitchen was on the left and open
to the dining room, which is where the sliding glass door they entered
lead.  Genma was in front of the stove, a teapot already heating over
a red eye.

Never knew he had laser vision... Ranma should be more careful around
him.

Hikaru turned around quickly when Genma dumped the water on himself,
blushing once again.  Ranma wondered if she'd just been traumatized
for life.

HIKARU: He's just as big in human form...

They jumped at each other and Ranma was hard-pressed to dodge Genma's
attacks, the panda with the signs having much greater range.  His
father's speed dropped in that form, though, and Ranma's increased
slightly, evening things out for the most part.  Ranma was still
unable to do much damage, though, the panda's heavy hide and thick
bones making him almost invulnerable.  He'd learned not to try hitting
his pop in the head, since the blows went completely unnoticed.

Not to mention the odd rattling sound.

"Ha!  Take that, ya bastard!"  Ranma chucked the sign at his father's
head and it bounced off, floating next to the waterlogged animal.
<Can you smell what the panda is cooking?>

It must be a heated pond...

Hikaru's father wasn't anywhere near as stunned as Hikaru and that
doctor guy had been to see Ranma pick up a panda.  The man didn't even
seem to notice, except that his target had gotten bigger.  Ranma
dodged frantically, the bokken everywhere as he tried to escape, the
kendoist flailing at him in incoherent rage.  Only the lack of control
kept Ranma from getting smacked around, with the burden on his weaker,
feminine shoulders, and even that left him running ragged.

At least he's had plenty of practice with Kuno.

<Foolish boy!> flashed before his eyes, impacted on his face, and
everything was gone.

Still not a sledgehammer, at least.

Pretty good start to the story, Thermo. Looking forward to more!

- Nidoking

DANNY: Can you see a vampire through a one-way mirror?

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