Here's the project I'be been working on recently. This is part of an
ongoing series that will take place from now until that 'way in the
future' I keep hinting about ^_^
Disclaimer: All characters portrayed in this story are owned by their
respective creators and companies. I don't own any of them.
This story draws ideas from the manga and anime of all series involved.
This story takes place within the Life and Times universe.
C & C welcome. Flames not.
A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Ah! My Goddess, Tenchi Muyo, Yu Yu Hakusho,
Darkstalkers, and Wheel of Time crossover.
First Knight: A Beginning
by
Donny Cheng
Ranma sulked. If you asked him, he would have vehemently denied it and
said that he was meditating. Akane decided to say it anyway. "Ranma,
will you just go already? You can't stay mad at your cousin forever. I
don't know what you guys could have argued over that could get you so
upset." Ranma didn't budge in inch. Akane gave up and left the pouting
BOY in the room.
Ranma continued to sulk. He really didn't care if he didn't talk to
his cousin again. It wasn't his fault that they got into a fight. So,
he made a few comments about girls and youmas. He might have sounded a
bit chauvinistic, but it was for her own good. Imagine a girl trying to
fight a monster twice her size and wearing only a sailor fuku for
protection.
He sighed. Who was he kidding? He knew that he was totally in the
wrong the moment their words began to heat up. He had read the
newspapers and knew that Sailor Moon has been protector the world for
two years running now. However, just the idea of his little cousin
fighting made his blood run cold. He loved his cousin. He never
thought that he would admit to loving someone other than his mother.
But, he did. She was the sister he never had. He visited her often
over the years with his last stop before they met up again two years
ago. Before she became Sailor Moon.
Back then she was always so weak. She ran at the slightest threat of
danger. Except when there was someone else in trouble. It always
brought a smile to his face when he remembered how she bullied four
tough guys for picking on a little girl. It just so happened that he
and pop were in the neighborhood and wanted the visit her and the family
before going off again. It was fortunate that he was there, or he was
sure Usagi would have been in serious trouble.
That wasn't the only instance of this. He could remember earlier
visits where his cousin displayed the qualities that made him love her
so. It helped that she worshipped him and often showed him off to her
friends. Strange how things change. She was now the protector. The
person that stood over him and the rest of the world at night. The
least he could have done was acknowledge that. Ranma decided to go and
see his cousin.
* * * * *
Usagi sulked. Rei could see that coming a mile away. It was easy. It
happened whenever there wasn't a smile on her usually cheerful friend's
face. "Usagi, just go over there and talk to him already. I'm sure he
didn't mean what he said. You know what a mouth he has."
Usagi ignored Rei and sank deeper into her sadness. She knew that Rei
was right, but she couldn't think of a way to make up with Ranma again.
Her cousin was an extremely stubborn person. Only by staying mad at him
could she prevent him from getting too close to her. She did not want
Ranma to get in to that fool head of his that she needed protection.
She remembered the fight at Furinken and the sight of his body after it.
Ranma was always that way. This was proven many times, when they were
young. Whenever she got picked on and Ranma was within the vicinity,
she immediately got rescued. She idolized Ranma because of it. Even
when she knew that once he left, she would be in trouble again.
As she grew older she found bullies were less then enthusiastic about
picking on her. For some reason she got extremely clumsy around them
and more often than not caused more harm to them than they to her. It
wasn't until she met up with her cousin again, that she learned the
reason for that. It seemed that Ranma did know that she would still be
picked on and took measures to ensure her safety. He ingrained martial
arts skills into her subconscious.
More than saving her a few times, she loved him more for the way he
took measures to protect her. It showed to her how much he cared about
her. It was for that reason alone, she knew that Ranma cracked jokes
about the senshi and youmas. Despite his rough edges, Ranma had a
deceptively soft heart. The thought of hurting that heart dissolved her
resolve to keep him away from her. She had to talk with Ranma.
Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Ami cheered for their friend's decision to
break the silent treatment they were supposed to give Ranma. It just
wouldn't do for them not to see Ranma ever again.
* * * * *
Sailor Moon wrinkled her nose and tried to stop the quelling of her
stomach. That was strange. The youma didn't vanish like it always
did. Instead, it left a corpse on the battle ground. She couldn't
believe it. They were out the door for less than an a few minutes and
some monster already attacked them.
Mercury frowned as she recorded the readings the dead body was giving
her. "This was not a youma."
"What? How can that be? It looks like a youma. It acts like a
youma. If we didn't come here in time, it would have destroyed the
entire block," Jupiter asked as she got a better look at the body.
Venus and Mars nodded in agreement. They tried to ignore their leader,
who's stomach was giving back to the world, her lunch.
"Maybe, I should explain myself better. It is not a youma in the sense
that it is of a different sort than that we are used to fighting. I
think youkai would be a better term to keep them separate in our minds.
Its body also contains large amounts of negative energy, but this energy
did not disperse upon its death like a regular youma, hence the corpse.
I've only seen these type of negative energy readings at one other
place." Mercury inclined her head towards Mars. She knew that her
friend had already figured it out.
"At the Tendo Dojo. That girl Botan's friends, Yusuke, Hiei, and
Kurama. They each exhibited high levels of negative energy. But I
could not sense any evil intent from them. Their energy is relatively
the same as this youma's, only greater," Mars explained.
"Right," Mercury nodded, "I had a talk with them after the attempt to
rescue Ranma. It seems they are from another dimension or plane of
existence if you prefer. Just as the youma we have usually battled are
from the Negaverse, they are from Makai."
Seeing their worried faces, Ami quickly explained the rest of her
findings, "Though their society tends to be evil, there are some, like
Kurama and Hiei, which are just. From what I understand the levels of
strength range from D, C, B, A, and S with D being the lowest and S
being the strongest. There is a barrier that prevents the classes of A
and S from entering our world. So this youma was probably of the few
that manage to get across and is not strong enough to worry about."
The senshi smiled in relief that it was not some major new enemy.
"Good. We deserve a rest from fighting would be conquerors. Hey, we
better get going if we want to see Ranma." With that said, Venus sped
off.
"Wait for us," Jupiter yelled as she, Mars, and Mercury raced after
their blond friend.
Sailor Moon groaned as her stomach settled somewhat. She looked around
and noticed that she was alone. "Waah! You guys left me again!"
* * * * *
Usagi paused in her running as she caught sight of Ranma walking on the
opposite direction. The direction to her house. She couldn't help but
notice he was carrying two ice cream cones. Triple chocolate, if she
was correct. Her favorite. "Ranma!"
Ranma turned his head around to see Usagi running towards him. She
didn't look too angry with him. Maybe she had already forgiven him.
That was another thing he liked about her, she couldn't hold a grudge to
save her life. Just like him. "Usagi-chan... um hi. Funny, meeting
you here. I was just walking past, on my way to... um the arcade.
Yeah, that's it."
Usagi sighed. It looked like she would have to make the first move
after all. "Come over here, you big lug and give me a hug. Be careful
of that ice cream. You got it for me right?"
Ranma gave up all pretenses and nodded. He awkwardly held his arms out
as his overly affectionate cousin hugged him. She let go after a moment
and promptly took one of the cones. The larger of the two, Ranma
noticed. "You would take the bigger one of course."
"Oh, don't be such a baby. You were going to give it to me anyway.
You're the one apologizing remember." She waved him off even before he
got a chance to deny it. She knew that if you wanted to get Ranma to
admit something, the easiest way was just assume it to be true. It
saved a lot of hassle and he never really put up that much of a fight.
Ranma gave up at the wide eyed look of innocence his cousin gave him.
He really hated when she did that. "Fine then, have it your way." He
grew more irritated when it looked like Usagi was more concerned for her
cone than the fact that he was still standing there like an idiot.
"Well? Do you?"
Usagi could her the whine in Ranma's voice. She giggled and figured
that she had punished him enough. "Yes, Ranma. I forgive you. Just
don't say that again. You're lucky the other girls didn't think you
meant what you told me about the 'weaker' sex. They figured anyone who
was half girl himself could not believe what he said."
Ranma winced. He vividly recalled how some of the more violent tomboys
in his life reacted to his jibes. Makoto used to punch him in the face
every time he forgot to watch his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, I know. So where
were you going..." Ranma stopped in mid-sentence and reacted instantly
to the oncoming rush of what was apparently a ten foot youkai with
bulging muscles and four arms.
Usagi turned her head around and caught a glimpse of a mass of muscles
rushing towards her...
...Ranma cupped his hands and prepared to fire a chi blast, but his
cousin was in the way...
...Usagi turned her back to Ranma and her eyes widened with shock as
she felt him hold her to him from behind...
...Ranma wrapped his arms around Usagi and quickly turned around so
that his back was towards the beast...
...Usagi felt a warmth radiate from Ranma and her shock grew as
she figured out what Ranma was going to do...
...Ranma expanded his battle aura just in time to feel the
youkai's hand puncture his body through the back...
...Usagi stared at the claw that protruded from the front of
Ranma's body, which came just short of reaching her.
Ranma smiled as he looked at the blood fall from his body. If he had
to choose a way to go, dying to protect his family was not a bad one.
He fought to remain conscious and gazed lovingly at his cousin. He
hoped that he had given her enough time to change into Sailor Moon. His
last thoughts before eternal darkness claimed him were of apologies.
Sorry, Mother, Pop, Akane... and Moiraine and Urd. He could already
feel the bond between him and the older women begin to fade. They would
literally feel the pain he was going through now. Sorry.
"Heh, got the wrong one. No matter, I will kill you next. This is for
killing one of us today." The youkai leapt at the girl who was cradling
the boy's head in her lap. He immediately found himself suspended in
mid-air. He felt electricity crackle around him.
Usagi gently lay Ranma's body on the ground. Her head was downcast as
her eyes never wavered from the gaping hole in Ranma's body. "Stupid
jerk. This was exactly why I didn't want to make up with you." As if
suddenly remembering that she was not alone Usagi gazed at the monster.
"You. You did this. Do you know who he was? He was my cousin, my
friend, my protector. I cannot forgive this." A tiny crystal
materialized in front of her. It's light gave off a brilliant light.
The youkai shivered as the girl's eyes finally left the body to stare
at him. The eyes were watery from the tears, but behind that contained
a fire that seemed to burn him from where he floated. He did not know
what was coming over him. Never before in his life had he ever felt
fear. Never, until today. He tried to move, run, do anything to escape
the air that was his prison. A moment later all his exertions were for
naught. His body literally evaporated from the energy that the girl
gave off.
Usagi turned her eyes back towards her beloved cousin. The power of
the silver crystal allowed her to know that Ranma was still alive. She
would NOT let her Ranma die. With a determined look, she set forth to
save her fool of a cousin.
* * * * *
Rei was the first to notice that Usagi was not behind them. So the
rest of the group retraced their steps to pick up their lagging friend.
None of them were prepared for the scene before them. The sight of
Usagi in a deep trance-like state over Ranma's body.
Ami quickly stepped in front of her friends before they could walk any
further. With her computer she knew that the power radiating from
around Usagi was too dangerous to approach. Their friend was using the
power of the silver crystal.
* * * * *
Ranma did not know what Usagi was doing, but from the incredible
amounts of strain she looked to be in, he guessed that it was not good.
Thankfully, practice with Botan had taught him some ability to fly as a
spirit. He floated down so that he was right in front of her. Even
though he had been in this position before, it still felt strange to see
his body lying on the grounds as it was.
Usagi felt the life force from her body start drain away. If it would
take her life to save another, then so be it. She could hardly
concentrate with each increasing dosage of life's energy sapped away
from her. She smiled lazily as Ranma's face came to her as if in a
dream. She reached out to touch the apparition before her. Soon, Ranma
you will be fine.
Usagi blinked in surprise as her hand felt resistance at the ghostly
image. She wondered if she was starting to hallucinate like people say
you do when you start to die. "Ranma?"
"Yes, it's me." Ranma noted the strange calmness of his own voice.
Having accepted his fate, he felt as if he no longer had a care in the
world. "Usagi, I think I have an idea of what you are doing. Well, I
won't stand for it. If you die in my place, my sacrifice will have been
for nothing."
Usagi refused to listen. "NO! I was supposed to be the one that got
killed. You just took my place. If it costs my life to save yours,
it's only fair."
Ranma frowned. "Usagi, there is no way, I am going to let a girl do
that for me. I would rather die first."
Usagi felt her cheeks dampen as more tears flowed from her eyes. "I
told you not to say that anymore! This girl is going to save you and
that's that."
Ranma stated to panic. He didn't know how much energy Usagi had
already wasted on his body. There couldn't be much time left. "Oh,
look there's what's his face." What was the name of her boy friend
again? "Mamo-chan!"
Usagi didn't even blink. She continued to pour her life into Ranma's
body. "Please, Ranma. Let me do this for you!"
Ranma grew frustrated at his cousin's stubbornness. "Listen,
carefully. If you give up your life for me, I will commit suicide right
after! I will not live with your blood on my hands."
Usagi stopped what she was doing. She could only stare at Ranma in
defeat. With a pained voice, she could only ask, "Why? Why won't you
let me save you?"
Ranma relaxed slightly with the crisis seeming to be over. "Do you
even need to ask? I love you. Along with my parents and Tenchi, you
are closer to me than anyone. More importantly, you are special.
You're Sailor Moon, champion of the people. I'm just Ranma. A martial
artist that does more harm than good most of the time. I may have joked
about the senshi, but in my heart I know that what you guys do make a
difference in this world."
He smiled at Usagi's shaking head. "It's true and I think you know
that. The world won't miss me when I'm gone, but they would have missed
you. I mean who else is there to save the world? I'm happy that my
death resulted in saving your life. I've accomplished something that
was a benefit to this world and to myself."
Usagi stopped crying. She would not let her cousin's last moments on
this world be one of sadness. "Ranma, come to me. No, don't worry, I
won't try anything stupid. You are my protector and I will reward you."
"What would your Mamo-chan say?" Ranma asked smilingly to lighten the
situation and the feeling of awe that he felt. The majestic voice of
his cousin overwhelmed him. So awed was he, he hadn't even given a
thought of not obeying her.
Usagi held a hand towards Ranma's ghostly head. "Endymion is my
husband. I will not let him be a foolish as you. Now, listen closely,
Ranma. I, Serenity, in honor of you sacrifice, hereby appoint you to be
my protector, my guardian, my knight."
Ranma blinked at the name of Serenity. When he looked up, no longer
was he seeing the clumsy teenager that he knew and loved but a woman in
full bloom wearing a dress of the purest white. In his life, Ranma had
never knelt down to any man. However, today, he fell on his knees
before his queen. "I, Saotome Ranma, am honored and accept the
position."
Serenity smiled faintly. She got him! "Done. You will do everything
in your power to come back to me and fulfill your duty. I will keep
your body alive in the meantime with my own life force. If you do not
come back in the allotted time span, my life is forfeit."
Ranma staggered back at the implications of Serenity's words. She
tricked him! He had never ever heard of anyone coming back from the
dead. Was it even possible? He briefly thought of weaseling out of it,
but the look on Serenity's face told him he better not even try it. "I
hear and obey."
"Good. You better get a good start. You don't have much time. Oh,
your ride is here by the way."
Ride? Ranma turned around and stared into the face of a cat. Or
rather a girl dressed in kimono waving to him in a catlike fashion. How
she could make her face appear like a cat, he would never know. "Botan,
you scared me half to death. I really hate that you know."
Botan blinked. "How could I have scared you half to death? I mean,
you're dead for real this time aren't you?"
Ranma sighed and quickly explained the situation to the friendly
spirit.
* * * * *
Usagi awoke from her dream to see her friends gathered around her with
concern written all over their faces. She glanced to her side and
noticed that Ranma's body was still there. "Quick, we need to get to my
cousin Tenchi's house. That friend of his is the only one that I know
of that could save Ranma. Well, the only one that I know where she
lives. Those goddesses didn't give us an address."
The senshi immediately scrambled into action. They would learn what
they needed to know when Usagi had the time to explain it to them.
* * * * *
Moiraine woke with her shift clinging to her sweating body. She could
feel her cheeks wet with tears. The bond was gone! That could only
mean one thing. Burn him! That mule headed fool. Already, she could
feel the emptiness begin to its assault on every inch of her mind. He
had to get himself killed. She heard the door to her room in the temple
slide open. It was her teacher, Urd.
Urd's eyes were bloodshot with worry and pain. "I'm going to Reikai to
have a talk with Enma. You coming?"
Moiraine only nodded.
* * * * *
"He, what!? And you let him?" Akane tried to control the tone of her
voice. But the very idea of that pervert staying at his cousin's house
with all her friends being around made her see red.
Nodoka nodded. "Usagi said that they had a lot of catching up to do
and I thought, why not? They did grow up with each other and they
hadn't really had a chance to talk since they met up again."
Akane sighed as she remembered the look on Ranma's face after his talk
with his cousin. She still didn't know what the pair argued about, but
knew that Ranma felt guilty about the entire thing. She couldn't blame
Ranma for wanting to spend some quality time with Usagi.
* * * * *
Botan was really starting to get annoyed with her record book. "Looks
like the book still won't list you as dead. In fact it still can't
decide when, if ever, you'll die. Must be those bugs around you. I
can't take you to Enma if you're not even supposed to be dead yet.
Normally when this happens we allow you to take the place of the person
that should have died in your place, but it looks like your cousin would
have survived the attack."
Ranma didn't like the sound of that. "Does that mean I'm going to be a
ghost forever? I need to see Koenma. I have to get back to my body
before Usagi uses all of her energy and dies."
"Hmm... You're body is still alive? That's not fair. Sometimes, I
think you do this just to tease me, Ranma. Oh well, I guess I'll have
to wait a few more years."
"What!? You think I want to keep seeing you like this? I'd rather see
you in the real world than this." Ranma, all but yelled.
"Okay, okay. Jeez, you'd think you never died before," Botan muttered
as she held her hands to her ears to dampen out some of the sound.
"Aaannnyyyway, I can't take you to see Koenma. Enma got mad at him the
last time he brought a human back to life with that weird experiment. I
mean how was Koenma supposed to know that Yusuke would turn out to be
descended from Makai."
Ranma frowned. That didn't sound good at all. Well, who else can I go
to? I don't know how long Usagi can last."
Botan thought for a moment before her eyes brightened up. "I know. If
your cousin can heal you body well enough, we can put your soul back
into it. Because you're not really dead. Right now if you jump back
in, you'll only die from your injuries. But, I really don't know how
they can repair a gaping hole in you body, especially with the heart
mostly ripped to shreds.
Ranma smiled and shrugged of Botan's comments. He remembered the look
of confidence and determination in his cousin's eyes. "I trust her.
So, I guess all I can do now is wait. You doing anything today?"
Botan blushed. Another day with Ranma to herself. "Well, I was going
to see a tournament in Makai, but I guess I could stay... urk!"
Ranma's eyes suddenly shone. "A tournament? A martial arts one? I
talked with Yusuke for awhile that time you guys had a big party without
telling me. I don't know why you guys didn't invite me. Didn't have to
make up that story about trying to rescue me. Anyway, the moment I saw
him, I knew he was a great martial artist. He told me about the
tournaments he's been in. Too bad he wouldn't spar with me, but now's my
chance to spar with the people he's fought before."
Botan groaned inwardly. She had a big mouth, she thought to herself.
She thought of telling him that she only had one ticket, but then she
looked into his eyes brimming with excitement. Her cheeks reddened at
the intensity of his gaze. "Er... okay."
Ranma couldn't believe his luck. Well, other the fact that he was
dead. Ever since being bonded to Moiraine, none of his rivals stood a
chance against him. He hadn't fought good battle in weeks. He was so
desperate, he seriously considered going to China and find Herb or Taro,
just to see how high a power boost he got. Then, he thought of
something that sank his hope. "Damn! I don't have a body, how can I
fight?"
"Don't worry about that. Now that you're a spirit, it means your world
is Reikai. I can transform myself a body that resembles a human. I can
do it for you too. But some of your skills will be a little different.
You're not really alive so you won't be able to use your life force,
your chi. But you should be able to use reiki or your spirit force. In
some ways it's more powerful than chi because it's purer and doesn't
depend on any certain emotions. Try it. Just focus you energy into
your finger and shoot."
Ranma smiled. Already he was learning. He imagined himself performing
the moko takabisha technique, only this time he didn't try to think of
anything that would boost his ego. He grinned as he looked down at his
finger. A small glow of reiki. Aiming at the ground nearby he let it
loose. He was immediately rewarded with the result of a small crater in
the ground.
Botan marveled at Ranma's skill. "Wow! Usually, when a human first
develops this skill, they can only use it once a day at most. As they
gradually use it, it becomes stronger and they can use it more often.
Your training with chi and the all the times you spent in spirit form
because of you close calls with death must have strengthened you reiki."
Ranma nodded at Botan's explanation. The bond between him and Moiraine
was still there, but very faint. If he didn't look for it, he probably
would have missed it. That meant he the strange boost he got from that
was also with him. He looked within himself and summoned all the reiki
he could find. It was easier now that he knew where to look. Four more
times, he should be able to use it. "Let's get going. I want to get a
few fights in before, Usagi pulls me back."
* * * * *
Tenchi found it strange as he hugged Usagi in support. He never really
got along with her. The two of them were always competing for Ranma's
attention. But, he did love his cousin. The rare times he, Ranma, and
Usagi got together were some of the best moments of his life. Even
better, when it was only him and Ranma, he had to admit. "Usagi, don't
worry. Washu can help him."
Usagi squeezed Tenchi's hand. Strange, how times of crisis brought
people together. She smiled as she looked at her friends surrounding
her in a circle formation. Each of them wanted to help her sustain
Ranma's body. They each fed into her a portion of their life force
while she in turn kept Ranma's body from deteriorating.
Washu frowned at the softly beating heart barely holding itself
together. It was going to take awhile to regenerate damage of that
caliber.
* * * * *
Mukuro gazed at Kurama thoughtfully. "Please, continue. I would like
any help that you can give me."
Kurama found it hard to pay attention to the ruler of Makai. His gaze
wandered once or twice to his short friend. Hiei appeared to be
sleeping and didn't give a damn about him being here. He still found it
hard to believe that he would come back to this place so soon after
leaving it in favor of the human world. But something kept pulling him
back. Or someone to be specific. He finally turned away from Hiei and
answered his friend's master. "I remember Demitri from a long time ago,
before he decided that he like the human world better. If I remember
correctly, he and Yusuke's ancestor, Raizen, were once rivals and
sparring partners. However, Raizen would eventually fall in love with a
human and refuse to eat humans ever again. Demitri did not like that.
He has a craving for female blood. He decided to weaken himself to that
of a B class youkai in order to keep having his special appetite
satiated. Now that he's decided that he's had enough to the world, he
has come back."
Kurama didn't quite know how to phrase his next words. "I would hazard
to guess that his strength is returning back to old form. He no longer
has to worry about Enma discovering him in the human world. In Makai he
is free to use his power as he sees fit. As with all of Raizen's
sparring partners, I gather that Demitri is also a high level S class
youkai. He has the strength necessary and the influence to control a
major fraction of Makai. There are many youkai that are greedy and lust
for power. He will draw them to him. I estimate that within the next
few years his power will rival yours and this world will be at war.
There is one way to halt this war. And that is to return to the three
kingdoms that kept the peace for thousands of years."
Mukuro frowned. She had thought that her power over Makai was near
absolute. She knew there were a few dissenters, but she never gave them
any thought. However, with a leader as ruthless as they are to lead
them, she knew that it was going to become a problem. Youkai as a whole
are not as righteous as Kurama and his group friends. There are those
that like to rape and pillage. Demitri could easily gather them
together. "Who do you think will be able to control the third faction?"
Kurama smiled as he remembered his confrontation with Morrigan after he
discovered that it was her that had kidnapped Botan's boyfriend. She
still hadn't changed in the slightest since he took the identity of
Youko Kurama all those years ago. He had been surprised that her master
had died, from what, he didn't know. However, the point of the matter
was that a whole kingdom in Makai lay open for claiming. True it was in
the borderlands, but it kept itself together for thousands of years even
with the likes of Mukuro at their doorsteps. "Morrigan."
Aesland. Mukuro had a hunch it would be that succubus. Right now,
both she and Demitri were frantically recruiting the followers of
Morrigan's former master. Morrigan did not take her role as heir to the
throne seriously. She, like Demitri, preferred the taste of humans.
"If she were brought into play, she might be enough of a threat to
prevent either of use gaining too much control. This might force
Demitri to abandon his plans and accept the tournament as format for
being ruler of Makai. Do you know where she is and if she will do it?"
Kurama smiled. "She is holding a tournament in her kingdom right now.
It seems she loves the art of fighting as much as we do. She will not
agree to talk with us. She really doesn't care for ruling a kingdom. A
little bit of knowledge came to me an hour before I came here. A human
male has died or rather came close to dying and now resides as a
spirit. I think he should be able to persuade her to our thinking.
Before Botan, a friend of mine and also a spirit guide for Enma, could
leave to guide his soul, I had given her tickets for the tournament.
I've only met the boy for but a moment, but I think I have a pretty good
grasp of his personality. He will try to go to the tournament and
compete."
Mukuro raised an eyebrow at this. The mind of the Youko Kurama was
clearly a sharp one. "A human male. I had met Morrigan Aesland a few
times when I visited her master in hopes of getting him to join me. She
doesn't look like the type that would fall for a mere mortal."
"Mere? I wouldn't quite say that," Kurama replied cryptically.
* * * * *
"Eek! What is it!" Botan jumped out of the way as a head suddenly
emerged from Ranma's body.
"It!? I'm a full blooded woman!" Mini-Urd yelled back at the spirit
guide.
Ranma stared at the little version of the goddess. "Urd-chan, what are
you doing here. Didn't you go and remerge with Urd?"
Mini-Urd turned her attention back on Ranma. "Silly, I'm a part of
your soul as much as I am a part of hers. That's why you feel a bond to
Urd. I couldn't let you die alone, so I jumped back into you by
following the link."
Ranma patted the little woman's head affectionately. "How is Urd
taking this?"
"Badly," Mini-Urd grimaced. "I can feel her going towards Reikai now.
Probably going to harp on Enma. If he were smart, he'd leave and let
Koenma face her instead."
"Eek!" Botan cried out again as another head popped out of Ranma's
body. This was getting just a bit weird. With her being a guide for
the dead, that was saying something.
"So, that's how you get of there. It's pretty stuffy in there. Too
bad Neko-chan won't come out and play," Mini-Usagi said as she stretched
out to relieve some to the cramps in her muscles. She then looked at
Ranma and gave him an enthusiastic, "Hi!"
"Usagi?" Ranma couldn't believe his eyes.
"Yep! Well, a part of her at least. I don't know how that works.
But, I'm here to keep your link to your body going."
Mini-Urd fumed at no longer being the center of attention. "Look!
Beat it pipsqueak! I can do that for Ranma too. A little spell should
do nicely."
Mini-Usagi frowned as she looked at the miniature goddess. "Bleah!
Too bad. Ranma wants me here. Isn't that right Ranma-kun?"
Mini-Urd was about to blow her top. The little brat just gave her the
tongue and Mini-Usagi actually had the gall to glomp onto Ranma's leg
like that in front of her. "Well, Ranma? Tell her to leave!"
Ranma stared wide eyed at the two bickering souls of the women in his
life. "Urd-chan, I can't do that. Usagi-chan is trying her best to
save me right now."
"Hehe! Bleah!" Mini-Usagi cheered and then stuck her tongue out at
Mini-Urd.
Mini-Urd scowl deepened considerably. "Using Ranma to pick on me will
you. Let's see what you say when I get my apprentice to help me. Come
out Moiraine-chan! I know you're in there."
Botan decided then that she would just not look at Ranma's chest
anymore no matter how pleasing it was. She turned away from them and
looked for a nice place to sit down until Ranma got everything sorted
out.
Mini-Moiraine softly drifted down to the ground where Mini-Urd and
Mini-Usagi argued. She ignored them. Instead, she turned around to
look at the boy from where she came from. She smiled and waved shyly at
him.
Ranma found himself unable to resist waving back to demure little
version of the Aes Sedai. She looked rather like what Moiraine would
look like if she scrunched up into the body of a toddler only with the
curves that made her a woman still there. In other words, like Mini-Urd
and Mini-Usagi were to their respective counterparts. "She seems
different from Moiraine."
"That's because she's not really a soul like us. She's the
personification of the bond between you and Moiraine. She doesn't
really have much of a vocabulary. It because of how young she is in
this world. She was only created recently. Also, her personality is
somewhat limited to the types of feelings you and Moiraine passed on to
each other from the first time you bonded to now." Mini-Urd paused long
enough in her glaring match with Mini-Usagi to explain the differences
between her and Mini-Moiraine.
Ranma frowned. The bond had been very recent. Most of the emotions
that he got from Moiraine had been grief over her previous Warder Lan
and the rest she kept to herself. He hadn't learned how she did that
yet, so he still passed every emotion to her. They were mostly of
concern for the very depressed Goddess-in-training. Later when she had
gotten over the missing bond between her and Lan, Ranma had felt relief
for her and happiness that she could get on with her life again. What
kind of personality would come from that?
Mini-Moiraine finally turned away from Ranma as her sensei kept on
prodding her to help her with Mini-Usagi. She smirked as she thought of
just the thing. She felt the flows of air around her and started to
weave. In a moment she got her result.
Ranma scrunched his face in an effort to contain his laughter.
Mini-Urd and Mini-Usagi couldn't talk! He remembered when Moiraine once
gagged him with nothing but air. He caught Mini-Moiraine's sly wink and
wondered how much of his own personality rubbed off on the little
woman. "Okay, you two. Calm down and stop looking at Moiraine-chan.
If you promise not to argue anymore, I'm sure she'll take the gag off.
Do you agree?"
Both girls nodded quickly, while still glaring at Mini-Moiraine. The
Aes Sedai aloofly ignored them and kept her attention on Ranma. With a
nonchalant wave she allowed the other two to talk again.
Botan, seeing that everything was finally settled, got up and walked
over to Ranma. "So are they all tagging along? A tournament isn't
exactly the place for little girls."
"I can't exactly explain it, but they're a part of my soul. I guess
where ever I go, they go. Come on you three, let's get going. Do you
want to jump back inside or walk with me and Botan?
For once all three girls were in complete agreement when the looked at
the spirit guide standing way too close to Ranma for their liking.
Mini-Urd spoke for the three of them. "Uh... we want to stay outside.
It is pretty stuffy in there."
Ranma frowned at the term 'stuffy' again being used to describe his
soul. It was NOT stuffy. "Okay, whatever. Let's get going. We've
wasted enough time."
The five of them quickly made way to the coliseum, not far from their
current position. The three little women slowly found themselves losing
any animosity towards Botan. It was hard to be angry with a woman who
babied you. The three of them took turns either riding on her shoulder,
since Ranma's shoulders could only hold two of them at any given time.
Botan for her part was very nice about the whole situation.
* * * * *
Koenma breathed a sigh of relief, "You can stop pacing around Urd.
He's not dead. Yet."
Urd stopped in the the middle of the room and turned to glare at the
junior God of Death. "I think I would know if he's dead or not. Only a
small piece of my soul is missing after all."
Koenma winced at the angry goddess's tone of voice. "Have you ever
considered that maybe he's not on the same plane of existence anymore?"
Where was George when he needed him?
Urd looked at Koenma as if he really was the five year old he appeared
to be instead of a few hundred. "That's the same as death isn't it?
Now where have you got him hidden. I'm sure he's not supposed to die
yet. Why don't you try that test on him like you did with that
half-youkai, Yusuke. I'm sure he'd be glad to be a spirit detective.
Come on! Bring him back to life."
Koenma wished he had some earplugs. One of the reasons he didn't
really want to see Urd was that she was probably one of the best whiners
in existence. He would never say that to her face though.
Also, the fact that she was one of the all time absolute best in
getting revenge. He remembered once when she complained about a former
lover of hers dying. He couldn't do anything about it. After that he
kept having a different disposable diaper company come by the office
asking to pick up his dirty pairs each month, much to the office worker
demons' delight. This went on for about five years. Who knew that
there were so many of them in the land of spirits? How a Goddess could
be so vengeful, he never understood.
"Urd, leave the poor boy alone. I think what he meant to say that
Ranma is in a different plane other than death. Didn't you teach me the
planes in of existence in this world? Heaven, Hell, the youkai world,
the spirit world, and the human world," Moiraine intervened calmly. She
had been quietly sitting in the corner ever since they first barged into
the office. At first, she had be a little shocked to see that a little
boy was in charge of where souls went after the body died. But, she
later discovered that his youth hid a quiet competence.
"You mean, you think Ranma might either be in Heaven, Hell, or the
middle worlds Makai, Reikai, and Ningenkai? There's actually more than
that, but those are the main ones. So, is she right, Koenma? Is that
what you meant? If so, that means he must be in Makai. I can't sense
him here or on the human world and he can't get to Heaven or Hell unless
he passes through Reikai. So that leaves only Makai, the demon world."
Koenma nearly dropped his pacifier as his chin dropped and his mouth
hang open. "You CAN'T be serious. You're a goddess! Makai is too
close to Hell. What if HE finds out? HE is going to speak to my father
if HE knew that I gave you the information. I do not want another
punishment."
"Oh, keep your diapers on. Nobody is going to find out. Here watch
this," Urd said. She moved to the center of the large office. Closing
her eyes she let a beautiful smile play across her face. Very slowly,
her wings sprouted from her back. She flapped them lightly relieve some
of the stiffness from lack of use. She looked at them briefly in wonder
before closing her eyes yet again. This time a smile not at all
pleasant formed on her mouth.
Koenma gasped in shock as the color of Urd's wings changed from white
to black. They did not, however, turn to bat wings like he would have
thought. In some ways black feathers on a goddess scared him even
more. "You can't be serious. Doing this is even worse than going to
Makai!"
"Don't worry. Now that I know that Ranma is alive, I know that my part
of the soul is alive with him. The Yggdrasil won't notice the
difference. Well, what are you standing there gawking at Moiraine? You
coming or not. I haven't upgraded your registration with the Yggdrasil
as a full goddess yet, so you can technically go where you want," Urd
was pleased to note the wide eyed look in her apprentice's face. She
normally had a hard time to get the Aes Sedai to react to anything that
she did.
Moiraine recovered enough to regain her composure. She searched within
herself and affirmed Koenma's comments. She could feel the bond. It
was so faint, almost as if it were cut off. If she didn't look for it,
she would never had known it was still there. Mentally she grasped that
faint wisp of the bond. She held it fast, not daring to ignore it
again. "Yes. I will join you. Maybe, teach the young Saotome about
his responsibilities to those alive."
Urd smiled secretly as she noticed happiness flicker lightly over the
other woman's features. She must have tried to find to link to Ranma
too. She herself had went straight into herself looking for it the
moment she learned Ranma might be alive. If Moiraine was anything like
her, the Aes Sedai was probably holding onto that link as tightly as she
was. "Now, Koenma. Where is he?"
Koenma gulped. Urd's tone made it clear to him that she knew that he
knew where Ranma was. He silently cursed Kurama for bringing him into
this plot of his. "We've recently learned that Demitri is building an
Army in Makai. Since he wasn't there when they established the
tournament for ruler of Makai, he won't accept it. We hope to slow his
growth down by introducing a third power in the fold. It appears the
only one qualified is Morrigan."
"And of course she wants nothing to do with it. But if a certain boy
were to ask her, she might reconsider. Am I right? No, don't answer
that. I know I'm right. Well, I still remember where her castle is
from the last time I went there. Let's go, Moiraine."
Koenma stared in wonder as Urd flew into his big screen monitor with
the other woman holding on. "The last time she went there?" he asked
himself wonderingly.
* * * * *
Washu pulled Tenchi aside, away from the ears of Usagi and her
friends. "I'm worried. I'm going to have to shut down the heart for a
moment. There are some places I need to go that would not be wise if
his already badly damaged heart was still beating. It'll only be a few
seconds, but I don't know what that will do to your cousin. She's
holding a direct link between Ranma's body and his soul. If I shut down
the body with her in her weakened state, she might not be able to take
it. It would be better if she let go at that time and I try to find
Ranma's soul again when I restart his heart."
Tenchi could hear Washu's voice trail off with that last sentence.
"You're not sure are you? You don't know if you can find him again."
Tenchi sighed as Washu nodded reluctantly. He knew his cousin's
personality very well. "No, please don't tell her. If she thinks for
one moment that Ranma may be lost to us forever, she might try something
drastic. We can only hope for the best."
"Tenchi," Washu whispered as she watched the boy leave to rejoin his
cousin in their wait for her results. She knew how much it must have
hurt for him to make that decision. How alike the two cousins, who
claimed to dislike each other, were. Both would rather give up their
lives rather than see one that they loved die in front of their eyes.
Her face set with determination, she proceeded to prepare for the time
when she would shut Ranma's heart down.
* * * * *
Ranma ignored the stares he was getting from the various youkai around
him. His focus was entirely on a little booth near the arena. He
couldn't contain his excitement. Now that he had harnessed his reiki,
he found that his awareness of the battle aura all around him was more
acute than usual. There were some very strong youkai in this place.
Botan sighed in exasperation at Ranma's very restrained glee. You'd
think that he never he was a little boy in an amusement park the very
first time. "Go ahead, Ranma. I'll keep the girls with me while you
sign up over there. Right by the side of the arena."
Ranma nodded absently. He patted each of the girls head before he
left, much to the four girls delight. It looked like most of the fights
were already finished. The winner was accepting anyone who would
challenge him. Who was the winning right now anyway? Oh, the current
champion is ready for another match. Time to check out the competition.
* * * * *
Morrigan sighed as she dispatched another youkai quite easily. Was
there anybody in her kingdom that could fight worth a damn? She
seriously considered restricting her powers to the level she usually
kept it at on earth. Anything for a little thrill. She hadn't had any
fun since the last Darkstalkers tournament. She had to restrict her
powers then, maybe she should do so now.
"Morrigan? I should have known that the castle looked familiar.
You're the champion? I can't fight a girl," Ranma said as he got into
the ring.
Morrigan stared at her new opponent. She rubbed her eyes in
disbelief. How did Ranma get down here? A quick scan of his aura told
her the answer. "You're dead, Ranma? That's wonderful. I was
wondering how long I would have to wait for you to die so that you can
join me here."
"No, I'm not dead. Jeez, two girls in one day happy that I'm dead.
Well, isn't there anyone else I can fight?"
Two girls? Morrigan looked around the arena and noticed an apparently
human girl waving at them. Make that four girls as she looked down a
little lower. One of which she recognized. Urd, or a piece of it at
least. "Not dead? Don't tell me that Kurama sent you here to get me to
join with Mukuro. I swear that bloody fox is going to get it."
"Kurama? Yusuke's friend's here? I always wanted to spar with one of
them. Maybe I can get a fight with him."
Morrigan watched Ranma's expression closely. He didn't even blink at
Mukuro's name. She shouldn't have doubted him. Well she would just
have to apologize her way to him. She slinked slowly and suggestively
towards the pigtailed boy. How cute! He was backing away from her and
blushing. "Why would you want to fight someone else, when you can
'spar' with me?"
Ranma didn't know what Morrigan had in mind, but the way she emphasized
'spar' left no doubt in his mind it wasn't a fight. "Er... I really
don't have much time. I'm going back to my body soon. I want to get a
fight or two in before I go.
Morrigan pouted seductively. "Oh, that's no fun. I'm sure I can think
of better things to do while you're here."
"Oh no you don't!" A voice shouted out. A shadow descended upon the
arena. That was when the chaos started.
* * * * *
Botan gaped at the blank winged angel that emerged from the big screen
TV that stood in front of the arena. She couldn't believe her eyes as
she took in the sight before her. The deepest blackest wings, tan skin,
and platinum colored hair? It was Urd!? Looking down in front of her
quickly, she gasped. The girls were out of their seats. Turning her
eyes further ahead she caught a glimpse of three girls jumping over the
railing that separated the crowd from the arena. Getting out of her
seat she ran after them.
Mini-Urd scowled as she took in the awful sight before her. The
Almighty was not going to like this. Black? What was she thinking!
Mini-Moiraine was calm as she raced after her teacher. Her face
expressionless as she gazed upon the face of her mother. The woman was
looking right back at her with recognition. They would have words with
each other before the day was through.
Mini-Usagi focused on breathing as she kept up with her companions.
Something was happening to Ranma's body. Was Usagi losing strength
already?
* * * * *
Morrigan looked right at the goddess. "I see you've reverted to your
true colors. What are you doing here? I thought HE didn't like it when
you visit here."
Urd grimaced at Morrigan's subtle accusation. "That was a long time
ago. No need to drudge up the past. I'm here for Ranma. You know what
it feels like to wake up one morning to find yourself a little dead
inside?"
"Actually, I do. That happened surprisingly the same time you left
Makai all those years ago. Anyway, like you said, no time to drudge up
old grievances. In case you haven't noticed, he isn't exactly dead.
Can't I have a little fun with him before he leaves or are you going to
take that away from me?"
Urd flinched inwardly. Jeez, she just had to get back to heaven that
time so long ago. She had already put off a ton of work from her days
as system maintainer. She had no idea it would take a hundred years to
sort it all out. "I know he's okay now. I just wanted to make sure.
Anyway, what's going on? You joining with Mukuro or what? I hear an
army is building up."
"That's none of your business so bud out. I'm about to have a little
sparring match with Ranma before you showed up. If you'll just excuse
me, I've made him wait long enough."
"I think young Saotome has started without you," Moiraine commented as
she watched Ranma take advantage of the distraction to pick fights with
some of the youkai near the arena.
"Ooooh! That jerk! Never lets me have any fun." Contrary to her
words, Morrigan smiled as she looked admiringly at Ranma's skill. She
would rank him at about upper B class youkai level. Not bad for someone
just learning to fight in spirit form for the first time.
"By the way Urd, your little soul is running towards you. Along with,
I might add, a little girl that resembles me. What is it?"
Urd wanted to applaud Moiraine's steel control. Her dry monotone voice
gave not hint as to what she was thinking. "Oh that? I wasn't sure, so
I didn't tell you before. That's the personification of the bond
between you and Ranma. She has the characteristics of her parent,
meaning you and the person you bonded with, Ranma. The Yggdrasil was
having fits as it tried to process the bond between you and him. I
think it just decided that it was a combined soul and left it at that."
Moiraine nodded to herself in confirmation of what she already
surmised. The girl was currently glaring at her. When Mini-Moiraine
finally reached the arena, the girl immediately went right over to stand
right in front of her. "What do you want, little one?"
Urd could hardly contain her laughter as she watched the stare down
between the two Moiraines. She then noticed her shin being kicked
hard! "Ouch. You little brat. Why'd you kick me for?"
Mini-Urd angrily pointed at the obscene wings on the larger Urd's
back. "That's what for! You're a goddess. You can't go around doing
that. What will the Almighty do if he found out."
"Oh, what would you have me do? I was worried sick. You could have
just popped back to me and told me that Ranma was all right. I had to
see him. You can't believe how painful I was to not feel him there! It
was worth what ever price to make sure he was okay," Urd snapped.
Mini-Urd cooled down slightly. Everything Urd said was true. "I'm
sorry about that. But just like you, anything was worth jumping back
into him to be there when he nearly died. I would do the same thing all
over again. We did promise we wouldn't let him ever be alone. Not even
death will stop that."
Urd smiled affectionately at the little piece of her soul. She held
out a hand and Mini-Urd took it. A moment later they were one again.
Moiraine finally gave up and broke the silence first. "You don't want
to break the bond. You know this is for the best, don't you? If I
were to die or he were to die, either of us would feel excruciating
pain. I don't want Ranma to go through what Lan is probably going
through right now. If you leave his body and join up with me, it will
not hurt as much as having myself or him die. It's in both our best
interests if you leave him."
Mini-Moiraine didn't even blink. She reached out and touched her
mother's hand. Closing her eyes, she passed onto Moiraine the emotions
of her short life.
Moiraine relived the pain and sorrow that she felt when she first
discovered the bond between her and Lan was gone. She felt the concern
Ranma felt for her during those first few days. After she had regained
control over her rampant emotions over Lan, she had reverted to her old
Aes Sedai training and kept everything to herself. During that time
span, only Ranma sent to her his feelings. To Mini-Moiraine, he was as
much a part of her as she was a part of Moiraine. "I see."
Mini-Moiraine smiled as the two of them came to an understanding. She
then turned and watched Ranma's fight.
Moiraine couldn't help but look at the little hand that lay in her
own. Mini-Moiraine had not pulled her hand back yet and somehow she
didn't want to let go either. It was strange seeing a part of herself
standing beside her. She felt guilty knowing that all the sadness she
passed onto her little self probably stunted Mini-Moiraine's development
somewhat. Sighing, she let go of her defenses. She did not have to be
an Aes Sedai all the time.
Secretly Mini-Moiraine cheered as new feelings flooded into her.
Mostly wonderment at the bond, this new world, and what it means to be a
goddess, messenger of the Creator. Like a baby that had first woken
up. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
* * * * *
<Clap> <Clap> <Clap>
"Quite impressive boy," Demitri applauded as he emerged from from the
billowing cloud of fog that sprung up from nowhere, "but these fools are
hardly worth your effort."
"What is he doing here?" Urd growled at the man facing Ranma. "I
thought he's busy at war."
Morrigan shrugged. "He comes here all the time. I made some offhand
comment that the only way I would join him is if he could beat me. Ever
since Lilith merged with me, Demitri hadn't even been able to put a hand
on me. So I let him try. He's the only one here that can provide me
with at least a decent work out."
Ranma didn't know what it was about the vampire, he just knew that he
hated that tone of voice. Was the freak challenging him? "Oh? You
think you can do better? I'd like to see you try."
"Uh oh! Demitri is an upper S class youkai. There's no way, Ranma
could beat him," Morrigan said as she prepared to jump into the arena
and stop the two before any serious damage could be dealt.
Urd put a hand on Morrigan's shoulder. "No, you're wasting you're
breath. You see that look in Ranma's eyes? Nothing short of a friend
dying can take him out of the battle."
It was then that Morrigan first noticed the strain in her former
lover's eyes. The goddess really had been through a hard time. She
couldn't imagine what it would feel like to lose Lilith now that they
were one. At the thought of the child, she felt Lilith start to stir.
"You finally awake? Ranma's here. I thought you might like that."
"Wow? Is that the Urd you keep moaning about? She looks cool. Hey,
you in there? Want to play?" Lilith blabbed out as she emerged from
Morrigan.
Mini-Urd came out of Urd's body to smile at the friendly little girl
standing in front of her. "Sure. My name's Urd-chan? You must be
Lilith."
Morrigan stared in wonder at the rapid exchange and the quick
friendship between Mini-Urd and Lilith. She was beginning to wonder if
Lilith really was the dark and evil side of her soul.
Urd also gaped at the exchange between the two souls. She watched them
join up with Mini-Usagi to watch the beginning of the fight. "Weird,
huh? How they seem to get along when we don't anymore."
"Yeah," Morrigan replied softly. After a moment of silence, she
decided enough was enough. "Truce?"
"Truce."
* * * * *
Ranma flipped out of the way immediately as the kick came within inches
of going through his chest. So much for preliminaries. Demitri started
right after the fight was agreed upon.
Demitri smiled evilly at Ranma's evasion of his attacks. Time to make
it a little more interesting. A feral growl unconsciously escaped from
his lips as his clothes began to bulge with his muscles beginning to
expand. He sighed deliriously at the power channeling through his
veins. Hair began to grow over his upper chest and his face soon
followed suit. When the transformation was complete, he ran his tongue
over his teeth. He needed as snack.
Ranma stared that the man turned beast. He felt his opponent's battle
aura increase ten fold after the transformation. A slow smile crept
upon his face. This is going to be interesting. Ranma decided to take
the initiative and lunged at Demitri with a flying jump kick. He fully
expected a block or a dodge on his opponent's part. Which was why he
was surprised when the vampire disappeared.
"Above you," Demitri said as he reappeared up in the air. His foot
came down hard on Ranma.
Ranma quickly rolled away before Demitri could follow up with another
assault. Let's see how he likes a taste of reiki.
Demitri pulled his foot from the crater it created in the stone floor.
The boy was fast for a human. He turned his head just in time to see a
glowing ball of energy hit him in the chest.
Ranma frowned at the still standing vampire. It seemed Botan was right
about how weak it would be the first time a human used it. He quickly
pressed the attack while Demitri was still stunned.
Demitri merely gave a soft grunt as Ranma came in close raining a fury
of punches on him. He moved his hand in a sweeping arc which Ranma
flipped back to avoid. "Pathetic. You dishonor the person that
developed the reiki techniques. Let's see how you like youki, its
counter part. Chaos flare!"
Ranma landed on his feet as he came out of the flip. No sooner
said than done, a bat surrounded by a flaming aura ran smack into his
side. It took all of his strength not to faint. It felt as if a huge
chunk of his reiki was eaten away. His side burned. He went on the
defensive as he tried to figure out a way to lessen the pain.
Demitri smirked at the obvious pain Ranma seemed to be in. This really
was the boy's first fight as a spirit. A spirit body was composed
mainly of reiki rather than mass. Energy blasts did more damage than
any physical attack ever could. With that thought in mind, he flared
his up his youki so much so that it gave the appearance that he was on
fire. "Demon Cradle!"
Ranma literally flew up into the air from Demitri's last attack. A
long gash appeared over his chest where the youkai's bat wings grazed
him. He didn't know what would happen if he died as a spirit. He
didn't want to think of that, especially with Usagi's life on the line.
Desperately, he thought of a way to control the pain somewhat. If reiki
was the energy his body now used, maybe if he were to concentrate reiki
into those areas that hurt it would help. Much like what he usually did
with chi during a fight.
Dimitri looked at Ranma faintly glowing body in surprise. Already
figuring out a way to use the new energy. Clever lad. Too bad even
with Ranma enhancing himself with reiki, it really was no match for a
youkai of his class.
Ranma cursed as Demitri pressed the attack. Even with his newfound
speed and strength from reiki, it still wasn't enough. He had never
feared an opponent in his life, be it Herb, Taro, or Saffron. This case
was no exception. Instead, he could only feel exhiliration. His reiki
blazed throughout him in concert to the tempo of the battle. Do it, IF
you can, he silently thought as he looked into Demitri's eyes.
Demitri scowled. He did not like the wild look in Ranma's eyes.
It was time to finish it. With inhuman speed he reached out and grabbed
Ranma's body by the shoulders.
He groaned as he felt himself fly up into the air. His head swam
with dizziness, but that would not matter as it was soon replaced with a
massive headache. A head crushed into the ground did that to a person, he
found out. He then heard the deaf-inducing wail of a soul dying.
Mini-Usagi!
"Arrghh!" Mini-Usagi clutched at her chest. Ranma's body was dying
back in the human world. The link was severed. Slowly she felt herself
begin to fade. It took all strength to stay in physical form.
Mini-Moiraine immediately ran to Mini-Usagi's side. Moiraine was right
behind her. The both of them immediately began to weave strands of
spirit and water around the dying soul. Botan held the little soul's limp
body in her arms.
Ranma's only thought was of his cousin back in the human world, as he
pushed himself up and out of the ground. He flung Demitri off of him
and ran straight to Mini-Usagi. "Jump back into me now! I know Usagi
wants to bear the brunt of it all, but I won't take it. Urd-chan and
Moiraine-chan please take her inside of me now."
The two girls nodded and quickly helped Mini-Usagi to her feet and the
three of them float back into Ranma's body. Ranma started to feel the
death of his body the moment Mini-Usagi came back into him. He could
feel his cousin through the link slowly begin to die. He softly
whispered 'sorry' to Urd and Moiraine and closed his eyes to wait for
the final moment. It never came.
Urd blinked. "You didn't die. I guess you're heart must have stopped
or something."
"If you're done, will you please get back here so I can pound on you
some more," Demitri said irritably. How Ranma was able to stand after
that last technique, he would never know.
Three heads popped out of Ranma chest to give the glowering vampire the
tongue. That done, the went back inside.
Ranma bigsweated. "Er... I'm coming." Ranma prepared to flare up
his reiki again when she suddenly felt a wealth of energy hidden with in
him. He couldn't understand the power he now had. Those girls. Their
reiki was now a part of him. It still wasn't enough to win, but maybe it
would be if Demitri wasn't prepared for it.
Demitri laughed as Ranma pointed a finger at him. "What are you going
to do? I already proved that it doesn't hurt me. All that will do is
lessen your own energy..." Demitri didn't get a chance to finish as his
world blackened out from the reiki that slammed into him. Ranma would
pay, was the last thought that crossed his mind before oblivion claimed
it.
Ranma couldn't believe Demitri fell for it. He soon found himself
surrounded by Urd, Morrigan and Botan gushing over him. He smiled as he
felt Moiraine probing his body with one power to find out if he was
alright. "I can hear Usagi call me. I guess it's time to go home."
Morrigan openly pouted and made Ranma promise to visit them when he
died the next time. Next time!?
Urd looked over at Morrigan before she left. "If you're not doing
anything sometime later..."
"Whatever. It'll give me a chance to kick you're sorry behind. I
really wanted to have a fight with Ranma," Morrigan replied in a seeming
indifferent voice.
Urd grinned. Her expression was not one you'd expect to find on a
goddess. "Hold onto me, Ranma. You too girls." She then flew up into
the air and through the TV screen.
* * * * *
"You finished looking?" Hiei asked in a bored voice.
Kurama smiled at his short friend. "Jealous? Just kidding. Let's get
down there with our proposal. I'm sure she's in a great mood now and
after what Demitri tried to do, I don't think it would be too hard to
convince her to our plan."
Hiei sniffed at Kurama's comments. "No, I was thinking rather of that
look on that boy's face. Even when Demitri had him beat, he was still
smiling. If doesn't control himself, he will end up dying because of
his personality. Reminds me of Yusuke."
Kurama frowned. He had noticed Ranma's joyous expression also.
Ranma was infatuated with the thrill and heat of the fight. Not many
people overcame the obsession with the battle. It was that same obsession
that forced Yusuke to Makai. He hoped for Botan's sake that Ranma would
survive his ordeal.
* * * * *
"I'm doing it!" Usagi cried out. As soon as the girls learned that
having Ranma back into his body was not enough. He still needed a
breath of life to get him started. Coincidently, this breath of life
could be administered with a kiss. "I was the one that kept him alive."
"No, I am," the rest of the senshi shouted out. Ami was a
little quieter. Only slightly.
"Hey, I was with Ranma this whole ordeal."
"You're not really alive, Botan. You can't breath life into Ranma if
you're not alive," Moiraine said calmly. "I can weave spirit into him.
I'm sure that will revive him."
"That's no fun. Here let help," Washu said. She then typed a few
commands over on her computer. A straw with dozens for mouth pieces
appeared. "There now we can all do it."
Urd shrugged and reached for a mouthpiece. The rest of the girls
grudgingly did the same. "All together now," Urd said and started the
count down with her fingers.
Ranma awoke to see a straw in his mouth and a dozen girls on the
other end. Jeez, only a minute alive and he was in trouble again. Well,
only if the girls from Nerima didn't find out about it.
* * * * *
Epilogue
Usagi ignored the glares from her friends as she waved Ranma
goodbye. She couldn't help it if Mini-Usagi liked Ranma's soul better
than her own.
* * * * *
"You know Moiraine-chan can't really do anything to stop you. It
would be painless too. She would gradually forget Ranma the longer she
stayed with you," Urd commented as they returned to the temple.
Moiraine said nothing.
* * * * *
It was a rare occasion to see Happosai and Genma sitting side by
side and in good terms yet. "Is he ready?" Happosai asked as he smoked
on his pipe.
Genma took a sip of his tea before answering. He then poured some
more for himself and his master. "Almost."
* * * * *
The End. (maybe)