Okay! I'm in my new apartment, I love it! ^_^ and I've actually found time
to work on ReGenesis along the way. (Granted, a little *less* time since I
actually have a Suncoast nearby and loaded up on anime yesterday...)
Anyway...I'm reposting the entire previous release of the story, with minor
revisions such as elimination of most typos, etc. I've removed the JIS
coding entirely at this point: what I'll do is, upon completing this fic
and getting my new web site established (working on it!), I'll place two
versions on the page: the plain-vanilla version below, and a "director's
cut" including the JIS-coded titles.
Now, as for the *new* material...as it says above, this is up through 3:1,
and some weird crap is going to start happening. The story has reached the
point at which it is about to get incredibly surreal. Also, a "new"
character is emerging in chapter 3. The alternate-universe school of theory
comes into play heavily here.
Well, I've rambled too much. The fic awaits beyond my .sig. Enjoy, and
please C&C.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Eternal Lost Lurker
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
"God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Eternal Lost Lurker (EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net)
ReGenesis: Half Impact
A crossover of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ranma 1/2 by The Eternal Lost
Lurker
Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned by GAINAX.
Ranma 1/2 is owned by Takahashi Rumiko.
Used without permission.
0:0 Prologue
The towering golem known as Evangelion Unit-01 tumbled errantly through
the upper layers of Earth's rapidly decaying atmosphere. The great
construct vainly struggled to shed an unwanted skin it had picked up: the
tattered remnants of that which had almost been the final form of the
eighteenth Angel.
The wisp of an Angel was determined that with this great beast, the events
which occurred on Earth would be able to happen somewhere else where a
civilization was prepared to evolve to its next stage.
Neither being was prepared for the sudden opening, like a great chaotic
maw, of a dimensional vortex in the upper limits of Earth's gravity well.
Before Angel or Eva could react, the gaping portal swallowed them up into
its depths, and closed, as far below, the Earth began to calm from the
forces of an extraordinary birth.
As suddenly as the portal had devoured the biomech and its parasite, it
belched them out above a vibrant landscape, dominated by a chain of
majestic peaks.
Eva Unit-01 was, miraculously, still conscious as it plummeted towards the
rocky spires. It was aware of a number of things: it was falling extremely
fast, it had no AT Field, and its structural integrity had been severely
weakened by the stress of its journey through Earth's gravity well and the
oppressive energies of dimensional travel.
The Evangelion had only a brief moment to register something akin to the
human emotion of panic as it slammed into the high mountains. As opposed to
exploding, as many machines would, Eva Unit-01 shattered, twisted fragments
of its body flying in various directions, landing in valleys and crevices
between the cliffs. The shredded Angel was thrown a great distance by the
force of the collision, and found itself plunging into one of a hundred or
so springs in a valley nestled deep within the mountains. Some strange
magical force within the water set to work on the bedraggled, incomplete
creature.
If the Guide who watches over the Jyusenkyou springs hadn't been
enraptured by the sight of some enormous machine crashing into the cliffs
of Baiyankala range, he would have noticed that one of the cursed pools had
begun to shimmer, as a ghostly bluish-white cross blazed just beneath the
surface. Then, it was gone.
1:0 Liberation
The Guide smiled for his new customers, a middle-aged, stocky man with
wire-rimmed glasses affixed to his head with loops, and a kerchief covering
a bald head, and a teenage boy with black hair in a ponytail and sharp grey
eyes. Both wore white training gis and bore heavy wilderness packs on
their backs. "Welcome customers, to ancient training ground of Jyusenkyou,
valley of cursed springs. Come, I show you valley now."
The two travelers shucked off their packs and took in the sight before
them: a mist-shrouded valley, dotted with dozens of clear, unpolluted
springs, most with bamboo poles jutting from their depths. "Man, this place
don't look dangerous," the boy said.
"Oh, Mister Customer, no underestimate valley of cursed springs like
that," the Guide began. "There over one hundred spring here, each with own
tragic legend and..."
"Let's go, Ranma!"
"Right behind ya, Pop!"
The two Japanese men sprang onto the bamboo poles, adapting ready stances.
The Guide panicked. "Customers! What you doing? Is very stupid to go on
poles before you hear my tragic story!"
"I won't go easy on you, boy," the elder said, pushing his glasses onto
the bridge of his nose.
"That's just the way I like it!" The two leapt at each other, rapidly
exchanging blows in midair, and nimbly landing upon the poles again. The
Guide's panic was not diminished in the least by this feat. "Customers,
please come down from there! Is for own good!"
The pair began dueling again. The boy pulled a quick move and slammed his
father straight down, where the older of the two splashed down in one of
the springs. The boy landed on his pole, arms crossed, smirking arrogantly.
"Yo Pop, we done yet? ...Pop?"
"Aiyah..." the Guide said, as a giant panda surged from the spring,
landing on the pole opposite the boy and assuming a ready stance.
The youth began to freak out, waving a trembling index finger at the beast
as he shouted at the Guide, "Wh...what the hell *is* that?"
The Guide sighed. "Customer fall spring drown panda, Shonmaoniichuan. Very
tragic story of panda that drown in spring two thousand year ago. Now
whatever fall in spring take body of panda."
"Hey pal, you ain't said nothin' about that to us! ...Pop! No!
AAAAAHHHH!!!"
The Guide winced as the boy splashed down. Rushing over to the side of the
spring where the lad had fallen, he crouched down. The panda landed on a
pole above the spring, guffawing. The laughter quickly died, both at the
panda's realization of its own altered voice, and at what the Guide said.
"Customer fall spring drown girl Nyanniichuan. Very tragic story that one.
Girl drown there one thousand five hundred year ago. Now whatever fall in
spring take body of young girl."
The panda's eyes widened in horror as a slim, small form half-emerged from
the spring. It was a girl, about the same age as the boy who had fallen in
the spring, perhaps slightly younger. Her skin was eerily chalk-white,
ghostlike. Her hair, tied at the nape of her neck in a loose ponytail,
would have been completely white, if not for the slight cyan tinge to it.
There was almost no color at all to her crystalline grey eyes. Her face was
virtually devoid of expression as she glanced down at herself. An
ill-fitting gi top clung soggily to her frame, doing little to conceal her
healthy pulchritude.
"See?" the Guide said. "Now you is young girl."
"I see," the girl said, her voice flat and emotionless.
The girl and the panda were escorted by the Guide to a small cottage at
the edge of the valley. "Very sorry customers, but you should have listened
before you do stupid thing," the Guide said.
"What is this place?" the girl asked in her toneless, quiet voice. The
Guide blinked. "You lose memory? That not happen often. It shock of curse,
you get memory back." Taking a deep breath, he said, "This Jyusenkyou,
pools of sorrow, where springs have curse magic."
"Curse...magic?" the girl asked curiously.
"Over years many thing drown in spring. Thing that drown in spring, its
soul trapped by the waters. When other thing fall in spring, take on body
of what drown."
"What about the souls?" the girl asked.
The Guide shook his head. "Souls not leave pools ever."
"I...see," the girl said. "This...is China, isn't it."
The Guide nodded. "Yes, you in China." He poured some water from a bottle
into a kettle and set it on a wood stove. "I heat water. Curses affected by
water. Cold water now turn you into girl. Hot water turn you back into
boy."
The albino girl blinked at that, but said nothing. After a few minutes,
the Guide removed the kettle from the stove, and poured some water over the
panda. The girl watched impassively as the panda shifted, shrank, and
became a stocky, bald man. The man grasped her by the shoulders worriedly.
"Ranma? Are you okay, boy?"
The girl blinked, but said nothing. "Mister customer, you son still in
shock. Happen sometimes. Perhaps better if turn back first. Then maybe get
over shock quicker."
"Yes, yes, you're right. Go ahead."
The Guide poured the hot water over the girl. Both watched in anticipation
as the curse was reversed. After a moment, their jaws hit the floor in
unison. The former girl looked down at himself, and blinked twice.
"Aiyah..." the Guide said.
Where once sat an expressionless albino girl, now sat an expressionless
albino boy, taller, broad-shouldered, well-muscled. His skin was still
chalk-white, his eyes were the same crystalline grey, and his hair was
tinged only the faintest shade of blue.
"Ranma! Boy, what..." The middle-aged man turned to the Guide, who looked
on in abject horror. "You! What did you do to my son?"
"I...this no ever happen before. I not sure what went wrong..."
"Fix this! You did this to him, fix it!"
The boy spoke. "Don't blame him for your mistake," he said, his voice
utterly devoid of emotion. "You did this to us. To me."
The two middle-aged men stared at the boy in shock. "Ranma...?"
The boy shook his head. "Don't call us...me...us...Ranma. It's not
our...my name anymore." He stood, and walked out of the cottage.
Genma found Ranma sitting on a rock outcropping, chin resting on his
hands, staring out at the springs of Jyusenkyou. "Ranma? Son?" he asked
concerned.
The boy shook his head. "Ranma isn't here anymore. I'm not Ranma."
Genma gripped his son's shoulder. "Boy...I know, this is a shock...I'm
sorry...I know this is all my fault..."
The boy shook his head again, and spoke in that maddeningly calm voice.
"There is no blame in this. We're better off this way."
The elder Saotome didn't know what to do. He knelt before his son, concern
evident on his weathered face. "What's going on? Talk to me..."
Without warning, a spark, an angry fire, flared into the boy's colorless
eyes. Genma backed up nervously.
The boy didn't understand it. There was a memory that wasn't his, yet it
was, yet...
Gendou
No, that's Genma. Saotome Genma...
Ikari Gendou
The boy which once thought he was Saotome Ranma peered intently at the
face before him. As he did so, somehow the features shifted, adding hair
where there was none, filling in a light scruff of facial hair, darkening
the glasses.
Gendou
And as the image in his mind completed itself, the boy who was and was not
Ranma became angry.
1:1 Retribution
The boy stood up, a cold hatred smoldering in his eyes. Genma gulped, and
leaped backwards warily. "Ranma...?"
Before he had a chance to react, the boy was upon him. Roundhouse, jab,
uppercut, sweep...attack after attack, which Genma found himself unable to
block. The middle-aged martial artist cried out in pain as his son tore
into him.
The Guide, attracted by the noise, ran towards the site, and stopped
several meters away, watching in fascinated horror as the boy landed blow
after blow upon his father. "Mister Customer! Calm down! What you doing?"
What are we doing?
Retribution
Why? This is wrong...
No it isn't. He caused this
He didn't know
He knew
He's our father
This excuses nothing
Stop this, it's crazy!
No
You're killing him!
He deserves it
One final kick resulted in a sickening snap, as Genma's head lolled to the
side at an unnatural angle. The boy, breathing raggedly, stepped back from
the corpse, sweat dripping from his brow, plastering his pale cyan hair to
his forehead. The Guide's face was blanched, his expression one of pure
shock and horror.
Recovering from the one-sided battle, the boy once again resumed his
expressionless demeanor, and said, "I'm leaving. Do whatever you want with
this." With that, he went into the cottage, and moments later, emerged with
one of the traveling packs, which seemed a bit fuller.
We can't go alone
Yes we can
Why must we?
We don't need anyone
Where will we go?
Japan
Where in Japan?
Nerima
Why?
He was going there
Since when do you care what he wanted?
It's better than roaming China
Who are you?
Who are you?
Saotome Ranma.
No you aren't
Huh?
We are not separate, we are one. You are me, and I am you.
So who are we?
... I don't know.
You don't...?
I was once known by a name
What was it?
Ayanami Rei
Is that who we are then?
No
Why not?
Not in this form. I was a girl
Oh.
...
So who are we in this form?
I don't know, you tell me
How about Ayanami Rui?
Fine
Ayanami Rui checked his compass, and headed east.
1:2 Self-identity
Ayanami Rui pitched his tent in a clearing in the middle of a forest on a
hillside. As he made a fire and began to prepare dinner, a now familiar
internal conversation was once again initiated.
How did we become this? I don't understand.
I don't know
That helps a lot.
No, it doesn't
Sarcasm is lost on you.
Yes
Who are you anyway?
I am you
Don't start that again. I mean, where did you come from?
Someplace else
That's not an answer.
No, it's not
How about telling me about your life? I'd like to know something about you
at least.
You wouldn't want to know
Try me. It ain't good to keep secrets now.
Very well.
Cold. So cold.
Sterile room. Bandages.
A smell. Strong, comfortable, terrifying.
LCL
Surrounded by a warmth, thoughts one with another.
Prototype Unit-00
Who am I?
Rei
Who am I?
Yui
Who am I?
Lilith
I don't understand.
Angels
Angels?
Who am I?
Rei
Yui
Lilith
Angel
Kaworu
Loneliness...
Ikari-kun
What is my purpose?
First Children
I pilot Eva. Is that who I am?
Ayanami Rei. First Children.
Eva Unit-00
Is that all there is?
Yes
Am I really alive?
...
For several minutes, a whirling tempest of images, thoughts, barely
existant emotions raged in the mind of Ayanami Rui. When it ended, he was
stunned, and more than a little confused.
What was all that?
That was me. My life. My past.
Nothing made sense. Evangelion? First Children? Angels? Tokyo-3? I don't
understand.
Your world has not seen what mine has
My world?
Before I was here I was somewhere else
Somewhere...another planet?
No...another Earth
Another...I don't understand...
More images.
Swollen seas, burying once-thriving lands.
A world in turmoil. So many dead.
Second Impact.
Things. Giant things. Things that could not be stopped.
Angels.
NERV. Evangelion. Absolute Terror Field.
First Children. Ayanami Rei. Third Children. Ikari Shinji. Second
Children. Souryuu Asuka Langley.
Pain. Loss. Torment. Loneliness.
Death. Rebirth. Death. Rebirth.
Evolution. Third Impact.
Resistance. Failure.
Decaying...
Eva Unit-01. Space.
Portal.
Chaos.
Light. Sky. Mountains.
Crash. Destruction.
Water. Strange force. Imprisonment.
Release. New life. Coexistence.
Eighteenth Angel. Ayanami Rei. Saotome Ranma. Ayanami Rui.
Indeterminate future.
Rui was speechless. He had just witnessed the entire life history of
Ayanami Rei, this time in a clear, understandable fashion. It didn't make
it any less bizarre.
So you came from another dimension.
Yes
You're not entirely human.
No
Why are you here?
I don't know
It was an accident? A mistake?
Yes
What are you going to do?
I don't know
What would you like to do?
...Like?
You must have some hopes, dreams...
My dreams frighten me.
...there's nothing you want to do with your life?
My life was never my own
It is now. What do you want to do with it?
...I don't know
Would you like to live a normal life?
...normal...life...
...
...
...
We'll get back to Japan, maybe go to school...
School. I remember school.
Sure, and make friends...
Friends...
...Ikari Shinji-kun...
He's gone. If what you told me is right, everyone where you came from is
gone. You need to move on.
...
...hai.
Ayanami Rui doused the campfire, and settled in for the night.
Their dreams didn't offer them much comfort.
1:3 Journey
Several days passed. Ayanami Rei shifted her backpack and trudged downhill
to the beach. Sitting beside the lapping waters, she paused to catch her
breath. As she did so, she turned her focus inward, to the other within
her.
He had changed. She had changed. Their minds, personalities, souls were
merging, forming one.
Soon there would be no distinction between them.
But she still knew absolutely nothing about him. The former Saotome Ranma.
You know my life. Please tell me yours.
...I'd completely forgotten about that. Alright...where do I begin?
Wherever you'd like.
Hmm...
Mother. Crying.
Backpack. Father. Leaving.
Mother. Leaving Mother.
Traveling. Training.
Ucchan.
Ucchan crying. Leaving Ucchan.
Traveling. Training.
Cats. Cats. Father, no. Father, please. Cats...
Cats. No. No. Cats. No. Father, no. Cats...
Traveling. Training.
School. Lunchtime. Cafeteria.
Ryouga.
Challenge. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Father coming. Leaving.
Swimming. China. Traveling. Training.
Valley. Springs.
Training.
Panda. Shock. Falling.
Shock.
Death. Rebirth. Confusion.
Revelation. Acceptance. Rebirth.
Moving on.
So you have spent your life learning martial arts.
Yeah. It's all I've ever known.
What do you want to do now?
I'm not sure. I really don't know what Pop had in mind next.
I do. I went through his backpack.
When were you planning to tell me?
Right now.
So what's up?
He was going to Nerima, to the Tendou dojo. His old training partner owns
it.
I see. Why was he going there I wonder?
...to engage you to Tendou-san's daughter.
WHAT!?
To engage you...
...I heard you. No way. We ain't going there.
Tendou will not know you. I have a plan.
Huh?
Ayanami Rei pulled out a folded sheet of paper, and a fresh postcard.
Studying the paper carefully, she began to scribe on the postcard.
Whatcha doin?
A postcard for Tendou, from Saotome Genma. Detailing the death of Ranma.
...!?
You are Ayanami Rui now. There will be no engagement. We pass ourself off
as a student of Saotome. Tendou will probably take us in. We will have a
place to live.
...Hey, not a bad idea. You're smart.
We're smart. You could have thought of this, in a day or so.
...You know, you're right. Somethin's different now.
We're becoming one. Our minds and souls are merging. By the time we reach
Japan, we will be one person.
...I see.
It can't be avoided. There is no other way.
I know. I got no problem with it.
Good.
Ayanami Rei carefully placed the folded letter and the postcard in her
backpack, hoisted it onto her shoulders, and continued walking along the
seashore.
I:1 Intermission: Jyusenkyou, China
"Get back here! You disrupt Amazon fighting tournament! No get away! You
die!"
The Guide's head snapped up as two young people charged full-speed into
the valley. He yelled out a warning in Chinese. The girl snapped back
something about Amazon business. That was enough to shut the Guide up.
The boy wore a sleeveless dark blue shirt, black pants, an enormous
backpack, and a yellow bandana. He was casting glances over his shoulder at
the purple-haired girl with the sword who was screaming at him in broken
Japanese. "I'm sorry!" he shouted. "I didn't know!"
"No is excuse! You die now!" The girl raised her sword, intending to lunge
in for a good strike. The boy dodged, pulling the bamboo umbrella off his
backpack, and swinging it around as though weilding a cudgel.
"Enough is ENOUGH!" he yelled, parrying another thrust with the umbrella.
Miraculously, it held. The girl became angrier, and attacked again.
The Guide was becoming concerned. They were too close to the springs.
As the boy fought, he bellowed in rage, "Dammit, Ranma, this is ALL YOUR
FAULT! I'll KILL YOU WHEN I FIND YOU!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" As he blocked
another strike from the purple-haired girl, getting in a good whack to her
ribs in the process, the boy lost his footing on the slippery grass, and
splashed into one of the springs. The girl, surprised at the power of the
umbrella blow, was knocked halfway across the valley...where she too
plunged into a spring.
The Guide dashed around in a mad panic. "Oh no! Is tragedy! Boy fall in
spring of drowned spa penguin! Girl fall in spring of drowned black piglet!
Very tragic stories!"
From one of the springs emerged an irate, meter-tall bird with a red crest
on top of its head and a yellow bandana around its throat. It squawked
angrily.
From the other spring emerged an equally irate black piglet. It squealed
in rage, and leapt at the penguin. The bird gave an angry squawk and pecked
the piglet, hard. The small pig shrieked and retreated behind a boulder.
The penguin seemed to actually snort, then waddled over to the boy's pack
and umbrella. Somehow, it managed to get a good enough grip on the umbrella
with its beak and stubby wings to put it back under the straps of the pack.
Then, impossibly, it grabbed the pack by the straps with its beak, and
began dragging it slowly out of the valley. The piglet waited until the
penguin was out of sight, then made its way to the mountain trail.
2:0 Arrival
Nobody was around to witness a most unusual spectacle upon one of the few
isolated beaches on the west coast of Japan, which was probably for the
best. A young, slender girl with pale hair wearily dragged herself out of
the ocean, trailing a large, watertight backpack behind her. The soaked gi
she wore revealed more of her pale body than it concealed. She collapsed
wearily to her knees and panted for breath. "I'm...glad that's...over," she
gasped out between breaths. Wearily, she dragged a blanket out of her pack
and wrapped it around herself, then began unpacking her camping gear. She'd
just swam all the way to Japan from the mainland, and after a little rest,
and a dry change of clothes, she'd be on her way to Nerima.
Saotome Nodoka shifted uneasily as she approached the entrance to the home
of her husband's old friend and partner, Tendou Soun. She'd been feeling
uneasy the last few days; she was certain something terrible had happened
to her husband, and to her son. Finally she had decided to drop in on
Tendou, to see if he had heard any news of them. She could have called,
certainly, but she decided she'd rather handle this in person.
The door slid open, and a young woman greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hello, may I help you?"
Nodoka bowed. "Pardon the disturbance. I am an old friend of Tendou-san's,
and I wish to speak with him. My name is Saotome Nodoka."
The young woman bowed, and inclined her head, motioning her guest to
enter. "Welcome to our home, Saotome-san. My name is Kasumi."
Nodoka blinked. "Kasumi-chan? I wouldn't have recognized you..."
Kasumi looked confused. "Have we met?"
Nodoka laughed softly. "When you were very small, yes. I believe you were
about two when I last saw you."
Kasumi giggled. "Oh, I see! Well, let me go find Father. Please, make
yourself at home. I'll bring some tea out shortly."
"Thank you, Kasumi-chan." Nodoka seated herself carefully at the tea
table, and waited. A few moments later, a girl, slightly younger than
Kasumi, with short brown hair arranged in a hairstyle which framed her face
smartly, entered the room. "Well hello," she said to the older woman, a
trace of amusement and a note of calculation in her voice. "Who might you
be?"
Nodoka wasn't sure she particularly cared for this girl's attitude. Then
she chided herself about first impressions. "Saotome Nodoka, and old
acquaintance of Tendou-san."
The girl nodded, as if expecting such an answer. "Tendou Nabiki. Nice to
meet you." At this point, another girl entered the room. The youngest yet,
she was clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt and appeared to have recently
returned from a workout. "Tadaima!" she called as she stepped into the
room, breath still coming in ragged gasps from what was probably a late
morning jog. "Oh, we have a visitor!"
Nodoka smiled. "Saotome Nodoka. And you are?"
"Tendou Akane." The girl bowed politely. "If you'll excuse me, I need to
go wash up. I've been jogging for about an hour now."
Nodoka nodded, and Akane vanished up the stairs. A moment later, Kasumi
reentered the room from the staircase, followed by an older gentleman, clad
in a dark gi, with long black hair and a heavy mustache. He brightened at
the sight of the woman seated at the table. "Nodoka-san! It has been far
too long."
Nodoka smiled. "Hello, Soun-kun. You're looking well."
Soun seated himself across the table from Nodoka. "So, what brings you
by?"
Nodoka sighed. "I wish this were a simple social call. I was...actually
wondering if you had heard any news of my husband and son."
Soun blinked. "No, I can't say that I have. Is something wrong?"
Nodoka shook her head, frowning. "I can't explain it, but I've been having
the strangest feeling lately. Like something terrible has happened."
Soun rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "They left on a training expedition
quite some time ago, am I right?"
Nodoka nodded. "That's right. They've been away from home for ten years
now."
"Wow, ten years? Why would they do that?" Nabiki interjected.
"My husband wants to ensure that the family school is never lost," Nodoka
said. "I tried to convince him that he could train Ranma just as well at
home in our dojo, but Genma can be so stubborn..."
Soun grinned. "Yes, I remember how Saotome-kun gets at times."
Nabiki had become fairly interested in the conversation at this point, and
sat down. Kasumi entered the room bearing tea. Nodoka took a sip of tea,
and continued, "The last few days, I have felt uneasy. I know it's
irrational, but I can't shake the feeling that Genma and Ranma are in
trouble."
"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Soun asked.
Nodoka pulled a postcard from her kimono. "The last time I heard from
them, they were crossing into China."
Nabiki examined the postcard. "Hmm...this is dated over six months ago."
"Hai." Nodoka frowned. "After that, I heard nothing."
"Goodness. Do you know where in China they were headed?" Kasumi asked.
Nabiki spoke up. "Says here they were hunting down famous training
grounds."
Akane entered the room, and sat down. Nodoka continued, "I was fairly sure
that perhaps you had heard from them, Soun-kun. Especially considering..."
she trailed off and looked around at the three girls.
"Considering...what?" Nabiki asked, a sudden hint of suspicion in her
tone.
Soun sweated. "Ahhh...a little matter of a promise between my old training
partner and myself, before you were born," he said.
Nabiki smirked. "Let me guess. Something to do with an arranged marriage?"
Soun paled. Nodoka raised an eyebrow. This Nabiki girl was very sharp.
Akane scowled. "Dad! You didn't!"
Kasumi asked, "Father, is it true?"
Soun nodded nervously. "Hai. You see, other than ourselves, the only other
family in the world that practices the Anything-Goes school of martial arts
is the Saotomes," he began. "We did it as a way to ensure that the school
would continue."
None of the girls looked too pleased. Nodoka sighed. "So you've heard no
word from them?"
Soun shook his head. "I'm sorry, Nodoka-san."
Nabiki spoke up. "Saotome-san, do you have a photo of Ranma?"
Nodoka frowned. "Not a recent one, why?"
Nabiki's brow furrowed. "That will make it tougher..."
Akane gave her sister a look. "Nabiki? What are you plotting now?"
Ignoring Akane, Nabiki said, "Well, Saotome-san, I have some favors due
from the administrations office at Furinkan. I can use that to get access
to the school system network. If Ranma's been enrolled in a Japanese school
within the last year, I might be able to dig up a forwarding address or
something. Or at least a recent photograph."
Nodoka smiled at the girl. "Nabiki-chan, thank you very much. I appreciate
it."
Nabiki shrugged. "Hey, if one of us is going to wind up marrying him, we
have a vested interest in finding out where he is, ne?"
Clad in an ill-fitting red Chinese shirt and dark blue silk pants, with
soft black slippers, Rei walked briskly through the countryside. She had
already managed to cross a third of the island, and it was only now
approaching sunset. She appreciated the strength and energy in her new
body.
The sun began to dip towards the horizon, and Rei stopped, pitching her
tent. After a quick meal of ricecake and cup ramen, she began a light
workout. Slowly stretching and flexing her exhausted muscles at first to
loosen them up, she began to do a light, slow kata. The fluid motions would
at one time in her life have been completely alien to her. Now she moved
with a grace and rhythm that suggested she'd been doing this her entire
life. Speeding up the kata slightly, and adding to its complexity, she
continued her workout for half an hour, before bowing in the direction of
the setting sun, and climbing into her bedroll.
Nodoka had spent the night at the Tendou residence, and was now seated
across from Soun, a shogi board between them. Soun had lamented about the
lack of a shogi partner, and having seen her own husband play so often,
Nodoka offered to play a few games while they waited for word from Nabiki.
The middle daughter entered the dojo, face blank. However, her father knew
her well enough to know that something was disturbing her. "Nabiki?
Anything?"
Nabiki nodded numbly. She dropped a manila filing folder onto the shogi
board. "Ranma's records from his last school, west of Tokyo. Also a
newspaper clipping from some martial arts tournament which he won." Nodoka
and Soun pored through the folder, reading the school records, and the
clipping. Nodoka smiled at the black-and-white photo of her son. "Look at
him, Soun-kun."
"He seems to have turned out to be a fine young man," Soun commented.
Then Nabiki dropped the postcard on the table. Soun looked at it, and
raised a questioning eyebrow at Nabiki.
"That came in the mail today," she said. Soun nodded, and read it. As he
read, his eyes widened, his face paled, and he began to weep.
"Soun-kun? What's wrong?" Nodoka asked. Soun numbly dropped the card and
pushed it towards Nodoka, who read it, and turned completely white in shock
and horror. She dropped it, staring at it as though it were an oni.
Akane walked in, took in their expressions, and took Nabiki aside. "What's
wrong with them?" she whispered to her sister.
Nabiki sighed. "We found Ranma."
Akane blinked. "And?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Saotome-san sent a postcard from China. Ranma died
in a training accident."
Akane's eyes widened. "Oh kami-sama...what could have happened?"
Nabiki shrugged. "The postcard didn't say. We'll probably find out though.
Saotome-san mentioned a student that he's sending back to Japan."
"Student?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Nodoka-san...I'm terribly sorry. This is a terrible thing for you to have
to deal with."
Nodoka's shoulders shook as she sobbed, burying her head in Soun's chest.
"I can't believe...Ranma...my son is gone..."
Rei polished a dented old urn she'd haggled from a junk dealer in a small
village. It was early morning, and she would make it to Nerima before noon
today. Setting aside the urn, she put a tin of water over the fire. After a
few moments, she upended the hot water over her head, reverting to her male
form. Setting the tin aside, Rui dashed the fire. Drying out the tin, he
carefully scooped up the ashes of the fire, pouring them into the urn. He
managed to dig out enough ashes to fill the urn. "Perfect," he mused. "That
should do it." He set the urn in his backpack, next to a similar one, and
broke camp.
The mood in the Tendou household was somber, as the three daughters tried
to comfort the grieving woman and their equally grieving father. Shortly
before noon, there was a visitor. "I'll answer the door," Kasumi said,
rising from the table.
"May I help you?" she asked the person standing at the entrance. It was a
young man, about sixteen or so, with skin the color of chalk, crystalline
grey eyes, and pale blue hair in a short ponytail. He was dressed in
Chinese clothing and carried a large backpack. His face was devoid of any
expression, as was his voice as he said, "I was asked by Saotome Genma to
speak to Tendou-san on his behalf."
At this, the entire household gathered around the doorway. Soun and Nodoka
stepped forward. A faint flicker of surprise graced the youth's face at the
presence of the Saotome matriarch, but it vanished quickly. "You said
Saotome-kun sent you."
The boy nodded. "Hai. I was a student of his, until the accident."
Nodoka paled at the mention of the accident, and the use of the past
tense. "Is Genma alright? Where is he?" she asked.
The boy bowed his head, and shrugged off his backpack, producing from it
two slightly dented urns, which he placed on the floor before the
kimono-clad woman. He bowed low to the ground in an expression of sincere
apology.
Nodoka looked at the two urns, and burst into tears.
Remarkably, at least to the three girls, Soun was remaining calm. He
addressed the boy quietly. "It is good of you to so trouble yourself with
being the bearer of such tragic news. I thank you sincerely."
The boy nodded. "It was no trouble."
Soun examined the urns, and asked, "I trust there is a reason they were
cremated before being brought back?"
"Hai, Tendou-san. They were mauled by mountain lions in Qinghai. The
bodies were..." he trailed off. Soun nodded, indicating he understood
perfectly.
"Mountain lions...what a way to go," Akane said. Nabiki nodded.
"I'm sorry, please do come in," Kasumi said to the youth. As he entered,
Soun found the presence of mind to ask, "By the way, I didn't catch your
name."
"My name is Ayanami Rui," the pale youth said.
2:1 Utter Defeat
"So, you trained under Genma for a while?"
"Yes," Rui said. "I met Ranma at an all-boys' junior high school. I was
looking for a sensei to train under, and I was impressed by his fighting
style, so I asked to train under his father. I found out they were going to
China, and I agreed to go along."
"Your family didn't object to that?" Nodoka asked.
"I have no family," Rui said. Everyone blinked. "I've been alone for most
of my life," he continued.
"Well then," Soun said, "since you have no family, and since you were
Saotome-kun's student, I think it's only reasonable that you stay here with
us for a while."
"I wouldn't want to impose," Rui said.
"No imposition," Soun said. "Nodoka-san, the offer extends to you to. You
shouldn't be alone at a time like this."
Nodoka smiled at Soun. "Arigatou, Soun-kun. It's very kind of you."
Akane turned to Rui. "Hey, you want to have a little sparring session?"
"Huh?" the pale boy said.
Akane smiled. "It'll be nice to have someone around here to spar with.
I'll try to go easy on you," she added, winking.
Rui shrugged. "Alright."
The pair entered the dojo. Akane adjusted the belt on her gi, and bowed to
the dojo as well as to Rui, before assuming a ready stance in the center of
the floor. Rui returned the bow, and stood opposite Akane, arms behind his
back, face impassive.
<Is he just going to stand there?> Akane wondered. <Oh well, if he wants
to be an idiot...here I come!> Akane propelled herself forward, aiming a
roundhouse into Rui's gut. But, his gut wasn't there. Akane yelped as her
feet were taken out from under her. She felt strong hands grip her
shoulders, and then felt the sensation of flight for a moment before
slamming into one of the walls with a loud thud. Groaning, she rose to her
feet. Rui was in the same position as before, arms behind his back, no
readable expression on his face. However, he had clearly just thrown Akane
across the room.
Akane didn't like being thrown across the room. With a fierce kiai, she
launched herself into the air, angling for a kick to the pale boy's neck.
He brought his hands up to deflect the kick, but instead of blocking, he
caught Akane's ankle, and used her momentum to catapult her towards the
floor. Akane hit with a loud grunt. Rising, she spun angrily on Rui. "Hey
you! What do you think you're doing!?"
Rui shrugged. "Sparring."
Akane growled. "Why you...!! Alright, no more kid gloves!" Akane dashed
forward, launching a powerful haymaker. At this distance, Rui couldn't
possibly dodge, and even blocked, this punch was intended to *hurt*.
Rui sidestepped, but caught Akane's fist in the shoulder. Akane swore she
felt some kind of tingling sensation when her fist slammed into the
boy--almost painful, definitely unsettling. She overextended, and toppled
over. Rui turned back to face her. She slowly dragged herself to her feet
and looked at him. If that punch had hurt him at all, he wasn't showing it.
<What the hell *is* he?> "Hmph. I think we've sparred enough," Akane said.
She stormed out of the dojo.
Rui blinked. "What's her problem?"
2:2 Cross Dressing?
Akane stormed up the stairway, past her eldest sister. Muttering things
completely inappropriate for a young lady, she stalked into her bedroom,
and slammed the door so hard that the small wooden duck with her name on it
rattled despairingly for a moment before clattering to the floor. Kasumi
blinked. "Goodness," she said, "the sparring match must not have gone very
well."
Continuing down the stairs, Kasumi came face-to-face with Rui, who was
standing at the bottom, arms behind his back, face impassive. "Hello,
Rui-kun!" she said brightly, smiling at the virtually emotionless boy. "Did
the sparring session go well?"
"Akane needs to work on her focus."
Kasumi mentally frowned at the boy's rather blunt evaluation of the
youngest Tendou's fighting skills. Outwardly, she smiled sunnily. "I see.
Well, would you like to take a bath now? I'm sure with the traveling you've
been doing, and the workout in the dojo, you could use one."
Rui nodded. Kasumi handed him a bucket full of bath goods, and he shuffled
off in the direction of the bathroom.
Akane stalked down the stairs, washbucket in her hands, scowling. How dare
that...that...BOY show her up?
Nabiki, seated on the living room sofa, debated whether or not to inform
her little sister that the bath was already occupied. As Akane entered the
changing room, Nabiki grinned. "This could get *very* interesting," she
remarked to nobody in particular.
Rei shivered as she shook droplets of ice-cold water from her hair. She
began to soap her body, contemplating the sparring match which had ended so
badly.
As if summoned by the albino's unspoken thoughts, the changing room door
slid open. She heard mutters from the other side of "jerk" and "stupid
boy". Then, the inner door slid open. Rei looked up to see Akane standing
there, wearing a towel over one shoulder, holding her washbucket. Akane
blinked at the girl. "Who the...!?"
Akane stood staring at the latest mystery to plague her house today.
Before her in the bathing area sat a slight, slender girl, attractively
built, with the same skin, hair, and eye color as Rui. The girl barely
acknowledged Akane's presence, and continued her bath. "Who are you?" Akane
asked.
"Ayanami Rei," the girl said.
Akane shook her head. "Ayanami? Like that...boy that's here?"
"Yes," Rei said simply.
"Figures. You look just like him," Akane groused.
"That's because we're the same person," Rei said matter-of-factly.
Akane blinked. "What!? What do you mean...?"
Rei rinsed her body and stood. She walked over to the furo, and lowered
herself in. As Akane watched, her facial features blurred and shifted, and
her form became larger. A moment later, Rui sat in the furo, blinking
impassively at Akane's naked body.
Akane stared in total confusion for a while. Then she realized the
position they were in, and attempted to cover herself with her towel.
"PERVERT! Stop LOOKING!" Akane grabbed the largest bath towel she could
find, wrapped it around herself, and ran out of the bath, screaming at the
top of her lungs.
Nabiki, Kasumi, Soun, and Nodoka looked up as Akane charged through the
house wearing only a towel and screaming at the top of her lungs. "I'LL
KILL HIM!!!!!"
"Kill who, Akane-chan?" Nodoka asked.
"That pervert Rui! He was in the bath!"
Kasumi covered her mouth. "Oh my. I suppose he forgot to put out the
sign."
"Yeah! And he disguised himself as a girl so he could get a peep at me!!
That stupid lech!"
Silence met this last comment. Nodoka frowned. "Akane-chan...it would be a
little difficult for a boy to make himself look like a girl in the bath."
Soun began to weep softly. "My poor daughter is losing her mind!"
Nabiki snickered. Kasumi gave Akane a motherly look.
Akane huffed. "Baka! All of you! Take his side, for all I care!"
As the family continued to stare at the fuming Akane, another girl stepped
into the room, and coughed slightly. Everyone turned to look at her, and
gaped. Standing there was a girl who for all intents and purposes could be
Rui's twin, dressed in his clothes. Soun blinked. "Who're you?"
Akane screamed in rage. "IT'S THE PERVERT!!!! I'LL MURDER HIM!!!"
Nabiki smirked. "Sis...that's a girl."
"I'm telling you it's that pervert RUI!"
The middle daughter got up and walked over to the new arrival.
"Hmmm...'scuse me for a second," she said, before unbuttoning the girl's
blouse. Everyone except Akane and the girl herself gasped. "Mmm
hmmm...looks female," Nabiki said.
"Nabiki-chan! That's rude!" Kasumi said.
Nabiki ignored her, and tugged on the front of the girl's pants, peeking
inside. "Nothing male in there," she said, letting go and standing up.
Turning to the rest of the group, she said, "I pronounce this person
female."
Nodoka blanched. "Nabiki-chan! Don't you have any manners?" Nabiki, for
her part, just smiled cutely. The expression didn't work too well on her.
The enigmatic girl showed no reaction to Nabiki's antics. Instead, she
merely said, "My name is Ayanami Rei."
Soun raised his head, having averted his eyes while Nabiki was
demonstrating the gender of the new houseguest. "Are you related to Rui?"
Rei nodded. "I am him."
"See? I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!" Akane shouted, raising her fist and shaking
it triumphantly. Everyone facefaulted, except for Rei.
I:2 Intermission: Qinghai
A purple-haired teenage girl, wearing a heavy backpack, walked alongside a
large penguin with a red crest on its head and a yellow bandana around its
throat. The bird had a bamboo umbrella strapped across its back. "You know
where going, airen?" The penguin shook its head and squawked. The girl
smirked. "Stupid bird-brain! Shampoo no can believe you beat in fight.
Admit you good fighter, but no want stupid with brain like panda poop." The
bird shot her a nasty look, and raised its wing in a sad approximation of
the traditional gesture of disrespect. Shampoo stuck her tongue out at it.
"Stupid Ryouga. So where to we going now?" The bird shrugged. "You no big
help. Shampoo lead way from now--aiyah!! What that?"
The pair stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep ravine. At the
bottom of the ravine was a mangled mass of metal. "Hmmm...this thing that
make big crash long time ago," she mused. "Great-grandmother warn Shampoo
stay away from it, say it probably dangerous." The penguin squawked
inquiringly. "Oh. Some year ago, thing fall and make big crash in
mountains. Amazons no investigate because elders say thing had strange
chi." She looked down in the ravine and made a face. "It metal. How metal
have chi? Shampoo go take look." Shampoo leapt from the cliff to the wall
of the ravine, and rappelled down to the base. She examined the machine.
"Is strange. Is purple. Look like piece of robot thing."
The penguin felt a strange sensation from this wrecked construct, and
squawked excitedly, trying to warn Shampoo away from it. "Is okay,
bird-boy. It smashed good. It no can do anything." She began tapping her
bonbori against the plating of what appeared to be its head. A large
section of the metal fell off, clanging loudly against the rocks. Shampoo
leapt back in surprise, and yelped.
Beneath the metal had been something truly bizarre, and very ugly.
Whatever it was, had at some point been alive, and was badly scarred. There
was heavy blistering and puckering around a long crease in one section of
it. As Shampoo moved in for a closer look, the flesh around the crease
began to boil, and with a loud, wet hiss, the seam popped open, and a huge
green eye lolled out of the opening. Shampoo screamed, and leapt as far
from the creature as she could, bonbori at the ready. The eye rolled lazily
from side to side, before swelling. There was a sickening popping sound as
the peeper burst, spraying its vitreous gel all over the base of the
ravine. The shredded tissue of the ruptured organ splattered against the
twisted metal shell that had been encasing the head. The penguin up above
had unslung its umbrella and was shielding itself from the biological
onslaught.
A moment later, Shampoo uttered sounds of disgust as she wiped thick slime
from her bonbori and shirt. The thing's empty eye socket begin to fill with
a bright, neon-lavender radiance. The Chinese girl blinked and took a few
steps away.
Suddenly, there was a tremendous explosion, as a great blast of light tore
from the ruined creature, erupting high into the clouds. The spa penguin
above was thrown backwards, squawking in terror as the blazing lavender
column rent the heavens asunder. Shampoo's screams were drowned out by the
roar of the explosion.
The Guide and his daughter raced from their cabin at a maddening pace,
stopping at the trail road leading down into the Jyusenkyou valley. "What
could it be, Father?" the young girl asked.
The Guide stared at the blinding light. "A lot of trouble," he replied.
The earth began to tremble, and the Baiyankala mountains began to crumble,
raining boulders down all around the valley. One mountain exploded,
spraying dust and stone into the air in a great geyser. A penguin and a
teenaged girl flew through the air, landing roughly on the grass alongside
the trail. The Guide and his daughter checked on the pair, who seemed dazed
but otherwise fine.
In the sky above them, the intense light continued to pulse, a blazing
lavender cross rising to the heavens.
The trembling of the earth subsided, and all around them lay the remains
of the great Baiyankala range.
A range of majestic mountains which had just been completely leveled.
3:0 Suspicious
The Tendous, Nodoka, and Rei sat around the dining table, eating
breakfast. The previous night had been tense, in between Akane's raging at
Ayanami, and the albino's explanation about the curse (with tactful detail
alterations)...
"So, you say this spring you bathed in, was cursed," Soun said.
Rei nodded. "Hai. Spring of drowned boy. I entered the spring as you see
me now. When I emerged, I was male," she explained. Rei had decided that
things would go more smoothly around here if Akane and the Tendous believed
her "true" form to be her female form.
"How horrible," Akane said, staring with pity and sympathy at the slim
girl. "Rei...I'm sorry for the way I acted towards you."
Rei shrugged. "It was understandable. I should have warned you
beforehand."
"How do you stand it?" Akane wondered.
"It's not too bad. I'm used to it now," the albino said. "I chose a name
for my male form, and adapted to it."
Now, the household chatted about school as they ate breakfast. "Akane and
Nabiki attend Furinkan," Kasumi said. "Would you like to register there,
Rei-chan?"
Rei nodded. "That would be fine."
"We'd best hurry and get going then," Nabiki said, rising from the table.
Akane and Nabiki grabbed their bookbags, and with Rei in tow, set out for
Furinkan.
3:1 Parallels
"...our top international story this morning. Yesterday, in the Baiyankala
range of Qinghai, China, at the site of the mysterious space junk crash of
three years ago, a massive explosion occurred. The cause of the explosion
was never determined, but its impact was devastating: the explosion leveled
the entire Baiyankala range, and created a massive debris cloud which is
still hovering over the area, and slowly expanding. Scientists report that
this cloud could become mobile and may possibly affect other parts of the
globe. We have this footage, captured by a tourist's video camera, of the
event."
A sixteen year old boy with short black hair stared at the television as
the images of the giant lavender cross blazed bright enough to overshadow
the setting sun. "Interesting," he commented. Leaning forward against the
breakfast table, he reached up with one hand to push his glasses up onto
the bridge of his nose. "Most interesting."
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he stood, straightening his school
uniform, and picked up his school transfer papers. He scowled at them. Why
on earth did he have to go to Furinkan of all places? He'd heard some weird
things about that school.
Sighing, Rokubungi Gendou grabbed his bookbag and headed for the school.