Okay, here's Desert Moon Prologue: Part II. 
This finishes telling the tale of what happened
in the decades since Volume 38, and sets the stage
for the actual plot, focusing on the grandson of
Ranma and Akane, and the granddaughter of Ryoga
and Akari. Here goes.


   Disclaimer: None of these characters belong
to me, and I hope the Divine Takahashi-sempai
does not deign to try and sue me.


                    Desert Moon
                Prologue, part II

   "So, then this guy in a military uniform just
starts yelling at me. He's kind of chubby, with
a thick mustache, and I recognize he's yelling in
Farsee. I think over what he just yelled, and I
realize that I'm in the middle of Baghdad, and
this baka is Saddam Hussein." I paused, to take
a drink of water.
   "Wait a minute," interrupted Ukyo. "Didn't you
say this was in late '98 ?"
   "Yes, I did. Right about this time, one of those
missiles the Americans launched struck right near
the bunker. I knew I had to get out of there, so
I used the Breaking Point to blast a hole in the
wall. Needless to say, everyone in there thought
that the blast was from a missile. As soon as I
stopped to get my bearings, I looked around, and
I was back in Nerima." Everyone laughed, including
me.
   It was later that night, and we had gathered at
Ucchan's. That is, the first Ucchan's. It was simply
amazing how well she had done. Her restaraunts now
dotted the countryside all over southern Japan, and
she was rolling on money.
   Kuno piped up at this point. "I remember that. I
happened to be the first unfortunate you encountered
that day. My back still aches on cold days." He spoke
with a smile, something that never would have 
happened in the old days. Nabiki sure was good for
him, once she managed to get through his family
madness.
   "So," said Akane, "has anyone heard from Mousse
and Shampoo, lately ?"
   "Actually, they visited my franchise in Nagano
last year. I happened to be there, so we sat around,
talking about old times, just like we're doing now."
She gestured around the table. "They have grandkids,
now, but their oldest granddaughter is only four, no
make that five, right now."
   I looked rather guiltily at her. When Ukyo married
Kanzaki Mikaru, she found out that she was barren.
It nearly destroyed her, but Akane and Ranma helped
her through it. She and Mikaru responded by adopting 
three children, including the child of an Ainu who
had been raped. I just felt guilty that I wasn't 
there for her during that time; I was too busy
starting my family with Akari to even think about
going visiting, and I hadn't heard about it until
she adopted the first child.
   "Hey, whatever happened to the old lech, 
Happosai, anyway?"
   >crack!<
   I rubbed my jaw. Ranma's punches hadn't lost any
speed or force in five decades. "What was that for?"
   Nabiki speared me with a glance. "Happosai. He
gave his life for Akane."
   "What?"
   "Somebody who was after Akane summoned some sort
of demon. None of my best attacks even fazed it."
Ranma looked around briefly. "The Old Ghoul," his
personal name for Khu Lon, or Cologne,"couldn't
affect it either.
   "Eventually, it confessed that it could only be
satisfied by either the death of Akane, or the
willing sacrifice of a more powerful soul."
   "Of course, you volunteered," I said, knowing
Ranma as well as any here.
   "Of course he did," snorted Kuno, of all people.
"I may not have realized it at the time, but Ranma
really is a noble man. However, it said something
that shook everyone. It said it wanted a more
powerful soul, not one equal in power."
   Nabiki took over the story. "Happosai scribbled
something on a piece of paper, and handed it to me.
He then muttered something about paying for his sins,
and approached the demon. He simply said, 'Take
me, instead'. And the demon did."
   I stared at them in horror. "So he is now in one
of the Hells, suffering eternal damnation for the
sake of Akane."
   "Now you know why I hit you. He may have been
twisted for most of his life, but, in the end, he
was a true master. And, you may not believe this,
but Cologne, of all people, broke down into tears
when the demon left." Ranma shook his head. "She
claimed it was tears of rage that she couldn't
beat the thing, but we later saw her looking at
old photos of a young 'Happy'."
   Something still had been left out. "So, what was 
on the paper ?"
   "His Last Will and Testament. He left all his 
frilly things to the women of Nerima, the rest of his
worldly goods to Soun, and a message to Tarou."
   "Well, Ranma, what was the message ?"
   "It simply said, 'I rename you Jubei Tarou'. About
a week later, Tarou shows up, and we hand him the 
paper. He didn't believe it, at first, until Kasumi
confirmed it."
   "I wonder where he is now ?" I wondered.
   "Well, last we heard, he was acting as a bodyguard
to the Jusenkyo Guide, and was keeping everyone
away from the springs. I don't know if he has been
cured like us, or not."
   The conversation turned from that to laughing
about old misconceptions and misadventures. We told
our own points of view about the Infernal Weakness
Moxibustion, the Phoenix Egg, and then, finally,
the Phoenix Mountain story. When Ranma told about
how he had thought that Akane was dead, he actually
began to manifest a battle aura. The memory of that
emotion was enough, on its own, to spark it. Akane
took hold of his hand, and he visibly relaxed. 
   Finally, there were two people left unaccounted
for. "Ranma....you told me about your dad, but not
your mother."
   Ranma and the rest grew wistful smiles. "She 
passed away in her sleep two years ago. That evening,
she told me that the greatest honor of her life had 
been being my mother, and Akane's Mother-in-law. It
was her death that hastened Dad's decline."
   I closed my eyes, then raised my glass of sake.
"Then, to Nodoka, foster mother to half of Nerima!"
We all clinked glasses, and took a moment of silence
for those who were no longer with us.
   Then, Kuno raised his glass. "And...and to my 
sister. May she find the peace beyond that she never
found in life." He raised his glass, unshed tears
dancing in his eyes.
   Everyone looked at him, and I knew part of the 
story. She was dead, too. Once more, we toasted.
Nabiki simply leaned over, and tenderly lowered her
head onto his shoulder. Well, I was not going to
bring up any more sad memories, but sat quiet, and
tallied up the dead. Genma, Nodoka, Happosai, and
Kodachi for certain, and probably Principal Kuno, and
maybe even Miss Hinako. The miracle was that so
many of us were still alive. I sighed, perhaps a
little too deeply.
   "What's got you thinking so deep, P-chan?" asked
Akane.
   "Umm, just thinking about my job."
   "Oh, What do you do ?"
   "I'm, well, a Professor of International Studies
at Fujisawa University, in Kobe." I shrugged, not
expecting the response.
   The table erupted in laughter. Even Kuno lost it.
I just sat there patiently, and waited for them to 
calm down.
   Ukyo was the first to stop and regain composure,
probably because Ranma saw no reason to even try. 
"How...>snicker<...how do you manage to keep going
to work without getting lost?"
   "Well, two ways. One, Akari drives me. Two, she
also gave me a worldwide beeper, and a tracking
device. Now, if she needs me, she can get to me
anywhere in the world." I shrugged, and patiently
waited for the rest to calm down.
   We continued the conversation for hours. Finally,
at nearly five in the morning, we split up, and
went our separate ways. We drove back to the dojo,
with Akane driving, while Ukyo, and Nabiki and Kuno,
went to their respective homes. When we got home,
Kasumi was already fixing breakfast, and both Ranma
and I were slightly drunk. I had enough time to
thank Kasumi for a plate of breakfast, before, at
least according to her, I passed out into it.
   Ah, Nerima. Even though I am here, for now, I miss
it. Just a little, that is.

 - Bil





===

Life is short.  Play naked.



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