Legal: The characters of Ranma 1/2 were created by the great Rumiko
Takahashi.
The characters of Gargoyles are the creations of Disney.
I am using them without permission, hopefully for the purpose of
entertaining someone. If anyone who has a right to sue me has that
desire, I have almost no money.
C&C is appreciated, you can contact me at brenda02@sprynet.com
--------
What has happened so far: Ryouga and Ranma got into a fight, and Ranma
was put in the hospital in order to keep Fox Xanatos and her son
Alexander from being hit by some of Ryouga's attacks. When Akane heard
about this she decided that she had to put an end to the feud between
Ranma and Ryouga. In the hospital Akane demands that Ranma tell her
the reasons behind his and Ryouga's rivalry. Ranma evades answering by
telling her that Ryouga has two reasons for fighting him, and gives a
quick explanation for why he can't tell her either. Ryouga had
overheard her decision to end his and Ranma's feud, and left after
leaving her a letter. He wound up at Ucchan and on learning about what
Ranma had told Akane decided to tell her his feelings. Akane was angry
with him for treating her like an object to be won, but told him she
still wanted to be friends. When she questioned him about the second
reason Ranma spoke of for the feud between the pair; Ryouga bolted with
the promise of resolving it with Ranma, and promptly wandered to Avalon
and met the Wierd sisters. They gave him the power to transport to
other places when he REALLY wanted to go there. And after discovering
that Akane knew about P-chan Ryouga really wanted to be anywhere far
away and found himself in New York. Demona sensed his teleportation
and is planing to learn more about him.
Ranma, the Time of Changes
By Brendan O'Donnell
Chapter Six
Ryouga sat in the back seat of the police car, wrapped in a
tablecloth. *I sure hope he did say something about getting me
clothes.* Ryouga thought to himself. He slumped, letting himself
collapse into the seat. *I'd better not fall asleep.* He thought. To
distract himself he thought of how he had gotten where he was.
*Akane knows. She was holding me talking about what she wanted
to do in retaliation, then there was a flash of light and I'm falling
onto a table.* He had glanced off the edge of the table, however the
impact had overturned a pot of hot water siting on the edge. A quick
splash and he had been a naked man in a small restaurant. Naturally
his first instinct was to grab a tablecloth and cover up.
Unfortunately for the coffee shop owners the disorientation of
teleportation, the noise of New York city, and the way people screamed
around him in a language he barely understood combined to scare the
young martial artist silly. When the waiter approached, Ryouga had
shifted into a fighting stance, however as he lost his balance and fell
on his back he had realized that he was too tired to fight anyone. He
used this feeling of helplessness as a focus to gather his
Shishi-Hokodan. Fortunately for the people in the coffee shop, Ryouga
recognized that they weren't directing any hostility against him. So
he had released the energy he had gathered in the only direction he was
sure it wouldn't hurt anyone, straight up.
Elisa Maza walked toward the doors of the precinct. Her shift
was over.
">Morning Maza.<" Morgan called to her as she walked toward
him. He was walking just behind a young man with a white tablecloth
wrapped around himself.
">Hi Morgan, who's he?<"
">Oh, weird thing, according to him one second he was in Tokyo
the next he was standing naked in a coffee shop downtown. Do you speak
any Japanese? He's not that comfortable with English.<"
">Sorry Morgan, can't help.<"
Ryouga was siting on the floor leaning back against the wall.
*Ok, this is New York City, which means I traveled almost halfway
around the world without walking a step. Of course walking to New York
would be real unusual for me. I mean New York isn't Honshu, or
Okinawa, or Hawaii, was that place Texas...?*
">Hey Hibiki, your lawyer's here.<" Said the guard as he
walked up to the cell and opened the door.
">Lawyer?<" Said Ryouga as he rose to his feet. He was
wearing a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans with blue canvas sneakers.
">Well, she says she's working for you. She was even ready to
pay your bail if that Cafe's owner wanted to press charges.<"
">He didn't want to press charges though, so you have no reason
to hold my client.<" Said a serious faced brunette as she walked past
the guard. ">Shall we be going Mr. Hibiki?"
Ryouga looked at her, then sighed and said in Japanese "It
doesn't matter," as he walked out of the cell.
Cologne sat in a room beneath the Nekohanten writing a letter
to her daughter.
Channel,
Thank you for telling me what Perfume is planing. If she
attempts to act I grant you this proxy to oppose her with my full
backing and authority. As for the question of my return, I consider
the Saotome boy a prize of great value, but the cost of making him part
of the tribe has been enormous, and we still have no assurance that our
goal will be achieved. Failure is unacceptable, however I have
recently found a possible alternative. It will take several months to
explore the possibilities, during that time I will continue aiding my
granddaughter in her pursuit of Ranma. Should she continue to fail
however, I shall accept it and return home.
Ryouga walked down the steps of the police station following
the woman who had arranged his release. She glanced back at him.
"This way sir. My client wants to talk to you." She led the
way to a limousine and opened the rear door.
The red haired woman inside smiled at Ryouga. ">Come in, we've
a lot to discuss Hibiki-san.<"
After hesitating a moment Ryouga entered the Limo.
">An associate of mine saw that energy display you put on last
night, I was very impressed by what I heard.<"
">Uh, thank you...<"
">Destine. Dominique Destine.<"
Ranma walked into the Tendo home and shut the door behind him.
"I'm back." he announced.
"Ranma," Nabiki said as she walked out of the main room. "You
said something about Ryouga appearing with some flash of green light,
didn't you?"
"Was he here?" Ranma responded looking Nabiki in the eyes. She
looked calm and collected as usual, but here and there the mask was
slipping revealing the uncertainty she was feeling.
"Well P-chan was."
Ranma scowled.
" Akane and I were scaring him a bit when he started glowing
green and vanished. Now you've seen this, do you think he's OK? I
mean Akane's scared that he might have really hurt himself because of
her."
Ranma shifted to a thoughtful look. "Hmm, the last time he
didn't seem to be hurt by that green thing, just tired. And part of
that could have been from walking for however long he walks. Still we
can't be sure till we get some sort of confirmation. Hmm." Ranma
thought a moment, then walked to the phone and dialed a number.
"Who?"
Ranma raised his hand. "Obachan? Yes it's me Ranma... No
he's not here... Well you recall how I saw him appear the other
day?... Yes the green light... Well Akane made him disappear while we
were talking... I don't know, I guess she was getting back at him for
P-chan and he got scared... Ok thank you." He hung up the phone.
"Who was that?"
"Mrs. Hibiki. She promised to call us when she hears from
Ryouga. And Ryouga always sends her postcards whenever he has the
opportunity."
Nabiki looked at the phone a moment then said, "Akane's in the
Dojo."
"Akane."
Akane turned to look at her fiancee standing in the doorway of
the Dojo. "What do you want Ranma?"
Ranma entered and looked around. There was a pile of smashed
cinderblocks visible through a hole smashed in the floor. "Nabiki said
that Ryouga teleported again." *I'd better not give any indication
that he might not be ok.*
"Ranma... What if whatever that green light was hurt him.
What if he's... It'll be all my fault!" She roughly wiped away the
tears from her eyes.
"Akane, there's no way of knowing where Ryouga is so we should
just assume that he's somewhere he can handle. Anyone who can give me
as good a fight as he can is pretty well prepared for most situations."
"But he was a pig when he disappeared."
"He's been a pig almost as long as I've been a girl. He knows
how to handle himself. And when he gets the chance to mail his mother
another postcard she'll tell us."
"His mother?"
"So he can't see his mother because he's scared how she'll
react to the curse?" Fox said to her husband.
"It seems that when Genma left ten years ago on his training
trip ten years ago he swore an oath that Ranma would grow up to be a
'Man among Men' If Ranma failed to measure up he and Genma would have
to commit sepoku. Ranma and Genma will use Tanto to slice open their
stomachs, with Nodoka decapitating them once they've cut deeply enough.
Once she ends their suffering she would be obligated to use the sword
on her own throat." David Xanatos replied. "It's a question of honor,
and here in Japan it's counted as more important than life. Especially
for a martial artist like Ranma."
"'Man among Men', that leaves some room for interpretation."
Fox thought a moment then turned back to David. "We're treating the
Saotome and Tendo family's to dinner in two days right?"
"Indeed Mrs. Xanatos," Owen replied.
"Good." she said as she opened her cellular phone
"It's all Ranma's fault." Ryouga said as he looked out the
windows of the limousine.
">Ranma?<" Dominique asked.
Ryouga blinked a moment and glanced at her. He scowled a
moment. ">Ranma is... Ranma is son of a thief and coward, He's
dishonorable, cowardly,<" Ryouga slipped back into Japanese as he
became more caught up in his explanation, "He, he has three fiancee's
and is always after more! One of them is the sweetest woman in the
world, and if it wasn't for him she might want me like I want her!
RANMA!!"
"RYOUGA!" Dominique's sharp statement drew the lost boy's
attention back to his host. Who was now looking at him with an annoyed
expression on her face. "You break it you bought it." She gestured at
him and Ryouga realized he had manifested a fairly strong aura as he
went on about Ranma.
">Gomen, sorry Destine-san.<" He said, dimming the aura to
nothing with feelings of calm and embarrassment. Then he blinked and
looked at her. "You speak Japanese?"
">Not in a while. And I think you'd better practice your
English unless you're planing on leaving soon.<"
Ryouga looked at her a moment. ">Nowhere to go.<" He looked
out the window. "There's nothing for me anywhere."
">What are you moaning about. After hearing what you did in
that coffee shop I've come here because you're going to be swamped with
job offers and I want you working for Nightstone Unlimited.<"
Ryouga looked at her a moment then asked ">Uh, you offering a
job?<"
Dominique grinned at Ryouga. ">I haven't decided on a position
yet, but anyone with your abilities would be an incredible asset,
especially with all the industrial espionage to deal with.<"
Ryouga thought. He thought of Nerima. *I wanted to distract
myself from Akane. Maybe I can forget about her here.* ">I accept.<
Xanatos rolled across the floor again, then with a shift rolled
to his feet instantly pivoting where Ranma had stood before he threw
him across the Dojo. The Dojo was empty.
"Ok, not bad," came Ranma's voice from above him. Xanatos
looked up as Ranma jumped off his head. Xanatos looked at him with a
slightly annoyed expression. Catching it Ranma replied "Hey you are
improving pretty fast, it's just that there's no way you could train up
to my level in only a week."
"I know," Xanatos replied, looking annoyed. "It's still
annoying when you do stuff like that."
"Well let's call that enough for today." Ranma said walking
toward the entrance to the Dojo.
Xanatos stared at him. "Are you sure?"
Ranma turned and looked at him.
"Not that I'm questioning your judgment, it's just a real
change to stop before all my limbs are feeling numb."
"You have to be careful about getting to attached to any
patterns."
"And when the body is falling asleep the Chi flow in these
meridians diminishes while it increases in these." Cologne said,
indicating several lines on a human shaped doll.
Dr. Sevarius clicked the trackball on his laptop a second then
sat back and took a sip from a glass of water. "Yes..." He peered at
the screen. "Yes, I think I've got it! I'll have to custom build
those completely new biosensors, and figure out a way to get him to
wear them, but it looks like it can work."
Cologne smiled as she looked at the Laptop's screen.
"Excellent."
Nadoka Saotome was walking along the stream that ran though the
park. The Saotome sword was wraped up and tied to her back. She
glanced at the flowers, turned to look at the stream, then sighed and
just looked down at the path. "Ranma," She wispered. *My son how are
you? Has Genma succeded? Will honor force me too... NO! You are
manly, you must be...* She blinked as she felt a presence right beside
her.
"Nodoka Saotome right?" The presence asked in american
accented Japanese. Turning her head Nodoka looked at the woman who had
just spoken. She was about her height, dressed in a red and green
Kimono. Her long Red hair fell freely down her back, and there was a
blue tattoo around her right eye resembling a geometric representative
of a canine head.
"Yes, how do you know my name?" Nodoka responded.
"Actually your son told me about you, I'm Fox Xanatos." she
replied with a grin.
Nodoka looked at her a moment. "You know Ranma..."
"I met him a few days ago." Fox responded with a grin. "You
must be very proud."
Nodoka lowered her head and sighed. "I haven't seen him in a
long time. I want to feel proud of him, but I don't know if I can
yet."
"I think you can, but since the first thing Ranma did when I
met him was save my life I'm a little biased."
"Ranma saved your life? How manly of him!" Nodoka replied
with a happy expression on her face.
"Oh yeah, that promise. I don't know how Ranma can handle it,
knowing that his entire life is entirely dependant on the subjective
judgement of one person." Fox shook her head. Taking a step along the
path she added, "Walk with me for a bit and I'll tell you some of what
I've seen about Ranma." She slowly walked down the path, her natural
agility only partially making up for her unfamiliarity with traditional
Japanese wooden footwear. Noticing Nodoka effortlessly keeping pace
with her Fox smiled and began talking. "You see I came here on
business and I wanted to just relax and take Alex for a walk."
"Alex?"
"My son." Fox smiled, then added, "It still feels so
incredible to say, My son Alexander."
Nodoka smiled. "I remember when Ranma was born."
"Right, Speaking of Ranma I was walking along this Canal when I
managed to stumble onto a fight between Ranma and one of the folk who
are regularly trying to kill him..."
"Well David's no slouch when it comes to Martial arts, but he
tells me that Ranma is deliberately reigning himself in dramatically
and he still gets clobbered thoroughly in their sparing matches."
"Well, then Genma was able to train Ranma well." Nodoka said
quietly.
Fox looked at Nodoka, "Ranma is a great fighter, but he misses
his mother. Still his life is entirely dependant on your personal whim
so it'd natural for him to be hesitant."
Nodoka stopped and glared at Fox. "You think I would�" She
said angrily.
Fox looked at her with a slight smile. "I know you're not like
that. The thing is I learned that something happened to Ranma in
China. It's temporary, it was unintentional, it's curable in theory at
least, but because of it, Ranma has a lot of fear that meeting with
you could mean the end of the Saotome family." Fox sighed. "But
that's not the only thing there is for him to be afraid of. He hasn't
seen you in years, and he wants to see you again. But more than that
he wants you to feel proud of him. The thought of you being
disappointed in him is what scares him more than anything."
"From what you have said, I can't see how he could disappoint
me." Nodoka replied.
"If you'd like to meet him David and I are taking them all out
to dinner tomorrow night. I'll send a driver to pick you up, OK?"
Demona sat at her desk, drumming her fingers and looking out
the window. *A little more than an hour and a half till sunset.* She
thought as she looked up at the fiery orb. *This human body�* The
distaste she felt for humanity surged into an anger against Puck for
giving her humanity during the day, then the anger faded as she looked
at the sun again. *I have wondered what the sun looked like for so
long�* She glanced at the clock in her desk and frowned. *I set
Ryouga up with that tailor in the room down the hall 45 minutes ago.*
Demona frowned to herself.
There was a knock at the door of the office.
Dominique Destine looked at the door and said ">Enter.<"
The door opened and admitted a secretary with Ryouga in tow.
">Pardon me for disturbing you Ms. Destine, but this guy was
wandering through our offices three floors down looking for your
office. After he asked me where it was the third time I decided he
needed to be taken here personally.<"
">Thank you, I can take it from here.<" Dominique replied.
The secretary opened left closing the door behind her. Dominique
looked at Ryouga. ">Hibiki-san, you're now my employee. Is there
anything I should know that will affect how you work?<"
Ryouga looked down. ">Well� I kind of� It's a family
problem�<"
">Look me in the eye and talk plainly.<" Dominique's voice
was calm no louder than before, but it had a tone and force that
resonated stronger than the loudest shout.
Tearing his eyes from the floor Ryouga looked at his new boss
and said, "I get lost and I turn into a pig!"
">Good, now say that in english.<
">Gomen, sorry I said�<" Ryouga thought of his language a
moment.
">That you lose your way and turn into a pig.<" Dominique said
calmly.
Ryouga blinked.
">I think you'd better sit down and explain this to me in
detail. And you can explain about that energy attack and any other
tricks you know.<"
Demona walked into the hidden room behind her office, closing
and locking the door behind her. She glanced out the window. *From
the outside it's black as obsidian, but from inside�* She looked at
the sun, it's lower half concealed by the buildings of New York.
Demona hated humanity with an intensity that had grown over the
millenium she had walked the earth. She felt a constant sense of
self-loathing and revulsion throughout the day. Except for the times
she saw the sun and felt it's warmth on her face. This was when she
simply felt envious of the human who knew this wonder all their lives.
The sun had dropped even further behind the buildings, and was
coming into contact with the true horizon. Demona calmly walked over
to a nearby wardrobe and began carefully removing her suit. *Just
because I can afford to buy a new suit every day doesn't mean I have
to.*
Akane stood in front of the mirror in her room. The Xanatos's
had decided to take the Tendo's and Saotome's to dinner that night, and
since they had chosen a fancy restaurant, they bought everyone a new
set of clothes. Akane was wearing an exquisitely crafted light blue
silk dress; pulling on the long gloves she contemplated her appearance.
Raising the hem of her skirt she curtsied slightly, then spun into a
quick piroet and thought about the live band and dance floor Fox had
mentioned. She frowned as she heard Ranma screaming about something in
his room. *What is he up to?* She thought as she walked to the door.
Traveling down the hall to the Saotome's room she listened at
the door a moment.
"Chikusho, goddamn, sulfurous felgercarb!"
With a slight grin she knocked on the door as she opened it.
"What?!" Ranma declared as he turned to the door, dropping his
hands from the worst attempt at knotting a tie that Akane had ever
seen. He froze, staring at his fiancee.
Akane smiled. "Trouble, Ranma?"
"uh," Ranma shook his head, then turned away from the door,
reaching for the tie as he attempted to mentally force the blush from
his cheeks. "Nothing I can't handle." Ranma stated distractedly, as
he began loosening the bizarre variant of a sheepshank he had tied
around his neck.
"Honestly Ranma, why can't men ever admit when they need help?"
She said as she walked in and pushed his hands away from the tie and
eliminated the knot.
"I don't need help." Ranma commented in a surly tone, glancing
away while crossing his arms across his chest. "I just haven't had
much practice with this sort of thing."
"Don't make such a big deal out of it. I haven't had much
practice either, but it's easier to do this for someone than to do it
on yourself." Akane responded as she precisely tied the tie, and
tightened it to his collar. For a second she considered pressing the
knot upward a little farther, then she dropped her hands to her sides.
"There, all better."
With a slight grumble Ranma turned away, then paused. Looking
back at her he said, "Thanks Akane."
Ranma looked at the limos that had pulled up before the Dojo.
Such cars were rare Japan where space was so precious, and the
Xanatos's had commissioned two of them. "Ranma!" Xanatos called as he
stepped from the first limousine. "I see the tailor did a good job."
He commented as he looked over Ranma's suit. His gaze moved to the
three sisters. Nabiki was wearing a deep red low cut gown, which made
her confidence in her looks very clear to everyone. Kasumi on the
other hand was dressed much more modestly, yet her yellow dress was
strapless. "Well, always a pleasure to see money well spent." He said
with a smile on his face. Glancing at the two fathers's in their own
formal outfits he added, "Excuse me," and walked over to the pair.
"Xanatos-san?" Soun commented as the billionaire simple
draped his arms around the two men's shoulders.
"Oh nothing to worry about, I just wanted to mention that I've
heard about some of your matchmaking attempts with Ranma and Akane,"
Xanatos commented with a grin. Shaking his head he continued, "I would
prefer if you took the night off from doing that sort of thing, I would
hate to have to make the effort to avenge myself if you abused my
hospitality." He squeezed both men's shoulders then released, walking
to the limo that he and fox were sharing with Ranma and Akane.
"Um, what sort of vengeance would he have in mind, Saotome?"
Soun commented to his friend quietly.
"I'm not sure. He's an American so it's probably�" Genma's
mind conjured up an image of Xanatos in a pinstriped suit, hat pulled
down to shade his eyes, and his mouth curled into a smirk as he pointed
a tommygun at him. "Let's not find out."
Soun thought of Xanatos sitting in an expansive office, then
with a gesture sending a hoard of ninja's with cowboy hats and old west
pistols descending on him and his family. "That's probably a good
idea, Saotome."
Ryouga sat on the roof of Nightstone Unlimited's New York office
contemplating the stars. He glanced at the handcuffs attaching him to
a Rooftop vent with a frown. *">Sorry, Miss Destine says this meeting
has to be alone, and without me or someone else there you have to stay
in one place<."* The guard who had locked it on had been leading
Ryouga around the entire day, even in the bathroom. Ryouga was glad to
finally have a brief period of oh so familiar solitude; however the
comforting embrace of quiet couldn't diminish the anger gnawing at his
insides. He hated the way no one trusted him to find his way only
slightly less than he hated the fact that they had good reason to
expect him to get lost. *Dominique-san said that someone she knew who
had studied Magic would meet me here to study my curses.* He frowned
and looked around. *Why here!*
"Ryouga Hibiki," A voice proclaimed from behind him. Leaping
to his feet and pivoting to face this potential threat, Ryouga barely
noticed himself tearing the handcuff free of it's anchor. As he saw
what stood behind him he took a step back, dropping into a defensive
posture almost as an afterthought.
She was a full foot taller than he was, the black wings rising
unfurled from her back towering over a foot higher still. Her skin was
a dark blue, and her feet and hands sprouted ferocious looking claws.
A bat shaped headband held her fiery hair out of her face, and her
loincloth and small top would have provoked a sever nosebleed in Ryouga
if they had been worn by someone less intimidating.
">I am Demona, young human.<"
"Wha� Wait ok," Ryouga lowered his hands, and forced himself
to relax slightly. ">Are you sorcer Dominique-San know?<"
Demona considered Ryouga for a moment, looking at him
appraisingly. ">You of course are the boy I pointed out to Dominique.
She understands the power of Magic, she knows how valuable my aid has
been to her.<" Taking a step forward she added, ">You've never seen a
gargoyle before, have you?<"
">Uhh, no have not.<" Ryouga replied, forcing down his fear.
*It's not even her appearance that has me spooked; She shouldn't have
been able to sneak up on me like that!*
Demona pulled a golden cup from the satchel she wore across her
body. She poured the contents of two separate bottles into the cup.
Speaking a sharp Latin word she made a sharp circle above the cup with
her left hand. A bright flame, green capped with blue rose ignited in
the cup. ">Hold still,<" she stated as she walked around Ryouga,
spilling a trickle from the cup to form a circle around him. When the
circle was complete, she held her left hand above the flame and spoke
three Latin words. The flame became a rising plume of translucent
smoke, shimmering with ever changing colors. Demona brought the cup
before her and looked through the smoke at Ryouga.
Ryouga waited.
">Quite the jumble.< Demona commented as she lowered the cup.
She poured the remaining contents of the cup onto the circle, which
evaporated instantly. ">You are saturated with a great deal of magic,
much of it the work of the children of Avalon. Dealing with is will
not be easy.<"
">Children of where?<"
">The third race, beings of pure magic. Japan's legends of the
Oni and more are based upon their existence.<" Demona stated. ">Their
magic is powerful beyond description, and countering it is not a simple
thing to contemplate.<"
"If you can't help me why am I here!" Ryouga responded with a
scowl.
Snarling Demona grabbed Ryouga by the collar, raising him so
that he could look directly into her blazing eyes. ">I care nothing
for what you want, Human! I am here for my own reasons, and if you
give me cause I will turn you to stone and shatter you into dust!<"
The crimson light faded from her eyes, and she lowered him to his feet,
releasing him. ">I do intend to help you however. Dominique and I
have exchanged favors at times and her aid is very useful to me. Now,
you will tell me about your curse.<"
">R-Right. There's a place in china called Jusenkyo�<"
A somewhat disheveled Fox and David walked into their suite.
Fox walked to one of the recliners, and collapsed into it. David
simply leaned against the wall and contemplated the mirror. ">That was
an unusual experience.<"
Fox looked at him. ">Didn't you encourage those labor unions
to use the Ucchan and Nekohanten for dinner tonight?<"
David Xanatos shrugged. ">Of course darling, but you know
there's always a chance of a plan going wrong.<"
">Not as wrong as this plan.<" Fox responded sourly. She
thought of the girls chasing Ranma, the fountain, the can of fabric
dissolver... *In all a plan completely shot to hell.*
">Well at least everything worked out.< David commented
shrugging his shoulder.
Fox remembered Nodoka's reaction as everything fell completely
apart. ">David, if I ever show any willingness to let Nodoka Saotome
discuss Manliness with Alex, please kick me in the shins.<"
Grinning David replied, ">Only if you do the same for Me.<"
------
Note: I apologize for not describing the evening out, but I am no good
at thinking deviously so I couldn't really envision a plan worthy of
Fox. If you can and want to try writing it be my guest.
Anyway, the next part takes place a couple of months later and
brings Ranma Company to New York.