No wonder you're having problems completing it!  You're trying to
rewrite "Shogun" (one of my favorite books, btw).  The amount of stuff
you're trying to plot makes me tired just thinking about it.

*blink* The irony of it is I never read Shogun. :)

It all sounds very good if you can bring it all together.  I wonder if
it's too intricately plotted for a "script" style story.  Is there any
rule against writing the "normal" way in Elsewolrds?  You may want to
consider it, to get rid of some of the awkward scenes you have to create
to convey the plot.  It'll only get worse.

What's the normal way? I remember Stefan Gagne used prose. I  KNOW Jeff Hosmer
suggested I do it prose because the plot was too... complex. Unfortunately, I
already had over 1500 lines and didn't really want to start it all over again.

Dang, now *I* want to start writing it.  (This happens to me.  An idea
gets into my head, reverberates, and won't let me alone until I do
something about it.  This usually means that either I hit myself over
the head with a large blunt object, or I write a fanfic.)  I won't,
though, because of course it's your story.  Besides, I'd write too much
of that angst you're trying to avoid.  :)

Well, the PLOT isn't the problem I'm having, obviously. All these battles,
though, aren't really my forte.

I wish I could offer something more constructive.  I think the scene
with Sasuke and Kuno at Furinkan was overdone a little.  Kodachi saying
"I don't like Sasuke" is a tad too obvious; she'd undermine him in more
subtle ways.

I'll consider it, but since I haven't written those scenes where she undermines
him...

Are there to be no curses in this story?  I kinda think the idea of
Ranko being Ranma would be neat - what better way to learn about your
enemy than to become his servant?  (Dang it, there goes my mind again. 
Buzzing with ideas.  Stop it!  <bap>  Ah, much better.)  Of course, this
would just add yet another plot element, and you have so many already.

Two factors:

A) Kunou doesn't know about the curses. Hence, his world doesn't have curses.
(Actually, I wonder if Kodachi's world had curses. I remember John saying
something about vampires.)

B) As you said, that adds yet ANOTHER dimension to write.

Grr, I want to be more helpful, but I can't.  Just write it, dang it! 
If you can bring all the plot elements together without getting bogged
down in heavy dialogue, and with just the right touch of humor, this
will be a good story - certainly better than "Nail".  Go at it, and
write write write!

*blargle*

Maybe I SHOULD read Shogun after all.

-D.