The idea for this fic still won't leave me alone, so I decided
to go ahead and rework it. Honest C&C is requested, while
flames are not requested (as if they ever are). I'm looking
for advice on grammar, and keeping dialogue relatively in 
character (it IS 26 years after the manga/series, after all).



Standard Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this 
fic are the property of their respective creators. 
Please don't sue me, I have no money. 



                     Desert Moon
                A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
                 By Valandar the Red

     Time is inexorable and incapable of stopping, or 
even slowing down, no matter how we wish it would. 
The traveller thought back to his youth, and pondered 
how that first year, when he had first arrived here,
had seemed like forever. But it wasn't forever, it 
was merely a point in his life where everything shone 
the brightest, no matter how he thought of it at the 
time. Adventures seemed to find them, catching them 
off guard, until none of them were surprised when a 
prince of one sort or another would kidnap one of the 
girls, or some weird monster would attack. Even on 
the quiet days, they would challenge and fight one 
another, unconsciously keeping in shape for the times 
they needed their martial prowess.
     As he walked, he unconsciously fingered the two 
devices he kept in his pockets now. One was a cell 
phone, so his wife of nearly tewnty years could get in 
contact with him no matter where he was. The other 
was a tracking device, which he carried for much the 
same reason. The decades had not changed his horrible 
direction sense, nor had they changed the orange and 
black bandannas he still wore.
     Ryouga sighed. Nerima had changed far less than 
he had. He still could see familiar buildings, and 
over there was the fence Ranma would walk on to 
travel to school. He laughed aloud at the idea of a 
fifty year old Ranma trying that, knowing full well 
that his old rival probably still could. Standing 
lost in thought, he did not hear the person behind 
him until she spoke.
     "Excuse me, sir, do you know when the train from 
downtown Tokyo is ariving? I have some friends coming 
into town."
     The voice was so familiar, it almost sent him 
into shock. As unchanged as Nerima, itself. He 
turned, and smiled at her. "Hello, Kasumi."
     Her hair was still in her gentle ponytail, but 
time had taken its toll. As strong and vibrant as her 
voice was, she appeared even more so. Her pure spirit 
shone from her clear eyes. Happiness dwelt there as 
well, as she smiled at the eternaly Lost Man. "Ryouga-
kun, it's been ages!" She bowed slightly at him, which 
he awkwardly returned. "Oh, look at you! You're 
actually wearing a suit and tie?"
     He blushed."Uh, yeah. So, Kasumi, who are you 
waiting on ?"
     "Well, Mousse and Shampoo are on their way from 
China. They heard about Ranma and Akane's twenty-fifth 
class reunion, and decided to come up here to 
reminisce for a while. Would you care to join us? I 
could call Akari for you."
     He smiled, and drew out his cell phone. "No 
need, Kasumi."

                 ******************

     Twenty minutes later, Kasumi, Ryouga, Shampoo, 
and Mousse showed up on the doorstep of the Tendo 
Dojo. Kasumi opened the door, and announced her 
presence. A hunched, tottering figure wandered into 
view, wearing a loose-fitting brown gi. His face was 
like fine parchment, folded into a map of decade on 
decade of intense sorrows, and intense joys. "Can I help 
you?" came the querulous voice. The old man blinked 
three times, then leaned in closer. "Oh, Kasumi, 
you're back."
     "Yes, Father. I'm sure you remember Mousse, 
Shampoo, and Ryouga." She waved at the three who 
stood behind her.
     "Ha, ha, ha, of course. How could I forget two 
of my son-in-law's rivals, and one of his former 
fiance' s. Come, come here, let me see if you've 
gotten as old as me, hee-hee." He hobbled over to 
Mousse, leaning extremely close to him. "Um...which 
one are you? I can't really see too well."
     The middle-aged amazon male laughed. "I never 
could, myself, Mr. Tendo. It's Mousse, and thank you for 
welcoming us into your home." He still wore a white robe,
which now was covered in intricate embroidery, as befits 
the husband of an Elder.
     "Then this must be Shampoo," said Soun, pointing 
at Ryoga. "But why is she wearing a suit?"
     Mouse, fully appreciating the irony of the 
situation, grabbed Soun by the shoulders, and turned 
him slightly, to face his wife. "Actually, this is 
Shampoo. That's Ryoga."
     "Um, heh, good. Hate to have seen her turn out 
looking like that, wouldn't we? How have you been, my 
dear. We haven't seen you since the incident with 
Taro and the Seven Rings of Destruction." He bowed 
slightly, then stopped before getting back up. 
"Urk... K-kasumi, it happened again..."
     Shampoo laughed, and bowed, as the ancient Tendo 
patriarch was guided over to a large cushion by his 
eldest daughter. He eased down on his side, as 
Shampoo said, "You remind me of Papa, his back does 
that as well. Then again, so does Mouse's, at times." 
After over twenty years, she had finally mastered 
Japanese. In spite of her age, she still looked great, 
and could give most thirty year olds a run for their 
money.
     Their discussions were interrupted at this moment, 
as a loud commotion began upstairs. The word, "baka", 
could be clearly understood, and footsteps raced towards 
the stairs.
     Ryouga sighed. "After all these years, and they're 
still fighting."
     Soun grinned at him. "Wait and see, boy."
     At tha moment, Ranma burst into view. His hair was 
iron grey, and he seemed to have gained a little weight, 
but he was moving as fast as ever. He bounded onto the 
bannister of the staircase, and slid down like a twenty 
year old snowboarder. Before he could reach the bottom, 
though, he was dive-tackled by a flying shape. As they 
tumbled, the shape resolved itself into Akane, also looking 
much younger than she had a right to. "Alright, Ranma," she 
growled, sitting on his chest. "Time to face the ultimate 
Anything Goes Problem Solver!"
     'The mallet?' wondered Ryouga, briefly.
     "The Saotome Akane Tickle Torture!" Her fingers were a 
blur, and Ranma could do nothing but lie there, helpless and 
laughing. 
     Finally, he caught sight of his friends, and struggled 
to point them out. "Ry-ry-r-BWAHAHAHA!" was all he could 
squeeze out before the laughter overtook him again.
     "No fair trying to distract me, Ran...Ryouga?" She 
happened to glance towards the door, where Kasumi, Soun, and 
the three confused visitors stood. Locking eyes with Ryouga, 
she squealed, and dove. "P-Chan! It's been ages!"
     "WHOUFF!! Ak-Akane, I know you forgave me twenty y-years 
ag-go, but are you....SURE... you're not a little angry, still? 
I think I've got a couple broken ribs, now." He had broken 
free of her hug at the word 'sure', and stood there, rubbing 
his sides. 
     "Hey, buddy, it's been a few years. Whatcha been up to?" 
Ranma picked himself up off the floor, and walked over to the 
Lost Man. 
     "Well..." he began. "Tell you what. Akari is going to 
meet us over at Ucchan's - you know, her first place - in about 
half an hour. Why don't we talk about it there?"
     "Sounds good to me. By the way, Kasumi-chan, Tofu-sensei 
called about five minutes ago, and said he'd be home early for 
dinner."
     She smiled. "Good. Father, you stay here and keep me company 
while I cook. The rest of you go on to Ucchan's. I'll see you 
when you get back."

                 ******************

     The Ucchan's had grown considerably since they were teenagers, 
from a single, struggling store, to a chain of thirty across 
central Japan. Kuonji Ukyou, the proprietress, had always felt 
closest to the site of her first shop, and could usualy be found 
there. Unlike most of her friends, she had never married, but found 
her strength on her own, with the help of her closest friends. 
Sometimes, she would regret never finding a husband, but her work 
kept her too busy to ever linger on that regret.
     On this particular day, she was wearing her usual cook's outfit, 
changed only in style from twenty five years ago, and her hair was in 
a high french braid. The restaurant was quiet, so when she heard the 
bell on the door chime, she turned to greet her customers herself. 
"Welcome to the Ucchan's, how may I...huh? Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryouga? 
Ran-chan and Aka-chan, where did you dig up all the old fossils?" She 
crossed the floor to hug her old friends. Then she smacked Ryouga on 
the back of the head. "What's with you? You and Akari haven't been 
around in over a decade! I've missed you guys." Before he could get 
a word in edgewise, she punched him again, this time in the shoulder. 
"And where is she, anyway? You didn't come all the way to Nerima for 
this reunion and leave her behind, did you?" Her eyes bore into him 
like laser beams.
     "Um...no... I kinda got..."
     "Lost," she finished for him. "Well? Is she going to show up, 
herself?"
     Once again, the bell chimed. This time, it was Akari, right on
time. Everyone stood up, and hugs were exchanged all around. Ukyou
excused herself, and turned the sign on the door to 'closed'. Walking
back to the center of the room, she pushed several tables together 
for them all to sit together. Quickly, the subject turned to something 
common between four of those gathered, the Jusenkyo curses.
     "So is there anyone left who hasn't figured it out?" asked
Mousse.
     "Figured what out?" asked Ryouga.
     Eyes bored into him in shock. "You're still cursed?" asked an
astonished Ranma.
     "Um, actually, no. About ten years ago, it started taking colder
and colder water to spark the change. Now, I could sit in ice water all
day, and I don't change. I figured maybe it was growing up that did
it." He shrugged, and bit his lower lip, one fang poking out.
     "Well, in a way," said Ranma. "We found out that once someone who's
cursed learns whatever lesson he was supposed to, the curse starts to
fade. Mousse, here, was the first of us."
     "Lesson? What lesson did you need to learn from being a duck?"
     The male amazon smiled. "When to keep my beak shut, of course."
     "As for me, I had to learn to take life as itcomes, like cat does. 
Not plot, and plan, and cheat." She fiercely grabbed her husband's hand. 
"Never expected he so good as husband." Her Japanese began to slip, as
it did when she was thinking about those times.
     "I guess mine is pretty obvious, huh. I mean, I was such a
chauvanist, an' then, splash, I'm a girl half the time." Ranma grimaced.
" 'Course, for some reason, I almost missed the curse when it finally
was gone."
     Ryouga looked at him. "Kinda like how it felt after a tooth fell 
out as a little kid? You know, your tongue keeps looking for it before
the new one grows in?"
     "Yeah, just like that. Anyway, any idea what lesson you hadda 
learn?"
     "Um, I guess it would be that I can't go through life relying 
on brute strength, and that there are times I can accomplish more by
letting people see...well, another side of me." He seemed clearly 
embarrassed by this admission, and was glad it was among such good
friends. "Speaking of curses, how is your father? Did he ever learn
what it was he had to?"
     The tables grew silent, and Akane clutched Ranma's hand. "No,"
he whispered, voice thick. "He...he's...Akane, you tell him."
     His wife nodded. "About two years ago, Nodoka was hurt very
badly in a car accident. She...she survived two weeks, in a deep 
coma. Both Genma and Ranchan spent every waking moment at her bed-
side, hoping she'd wake up, but...she never did."
     Ranma took a deep breath, and took over the story. "Pops still
had his curse, and Mom's death hit 'im hard. He... he spent the next
year in panda form. He stopped eating anything but bamboo, and even
stopped writing those signs. I tried getting him to spar, but he
wouldn't even do that. Not quite a year ago, he just, well, he gave
up. He gave up, he didn't care anymore, he didn't..." Akane gripped
his hand tighter, and he stopped to catch himself.
     A moment of tense silence later, and he continued the story. "I
guess he really loved Mom more than I gave him credit for. He died,
as Tofu-sensei said, of a broken heart. His last moments, he faded
back to human, and then said first my name, then hers. He was smiling.
We... we tried to get in touch with you, but that was during the height
of sumo pig competition, and you weren't home."
     Ryouga looked at Ranma for a long time, as the table remained
silent. He knew Ranma had trouble expressing how he felt, and he knew then
that he could best do it through insults. As often as he insulted Akane,
and his father, it was the only thing he could do. That's when the Lost
Man realized just how much Ranma considered him a friend, as the pigtailed
boy had never let up teasing him, even after his secret was out.
     "Well, anyway, Pig-boy, what have you been up to?" Ranma had his
usual cocky grin on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes.
     "I'm..aprfssrofntrntnlstds," he mumbled.
     "Huh?"
     "I'm, well, I'm a professor of International Studies at Kobe 
University." Ryouga had one hand behind his head, and a sheepish grin
on his face.
     An observer could have counted clearly to five, before the entire table 
erupted into laughter. "Oh, that's too rich! That's too much!" chortled
Ukyou. "I gotta hand it to you, sugar, that's the perfect job for you.
But how do you keep from getting lost during the semester?"
     Akari smiled. "I take him to and from class. During the breaks, like
now, he does his wandering, and then I come and get him, wherever he is,
in time for the next series of classes." Ryouga reached into his pocket,
and held out the tracker, anticipating the next question, that is, how
she would find him.
     Hours passed, and they relived their adventures in the stories they
told. Where, once, the cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!" would have been 
followed by crashing noises, now it was followed by laughter. Those absent,
like Kuno and Kodachi, were toasted, while those fallen, like Genma, were
saluted. The sun fell below the horizon as they relived their youth, and
the stories grew more and more exaggerated.
     "I swear, those stones were forty feet wide!" declared Ryouga. "That
Breaking Point training was sheer torture. Cologne is a slave driver. How 
is she doing, anyway?"
     "Just as old as ever," quipped Mousse. 
     Shampoo responded by swatting his shoulder.  "Don't talk about Great-
Grandmother that way! Oh, Ranma, she also tell us to tell you she figured 
out why the pervert-master died when he was  splashed with Nyannichuan water."
     "Oh?" The incident had happened during the incident with Taro, ten years
before. "Why?"
     Shampoo looked at Mousse. He may have been a subservient Amazon male, 
but he was still more expressive than his wife was. "It seems that he had
extended his life by splitting his life-force and chi into male and female
polarities. He used his male energies, while using the female to keep him
alive for three centuries."
     Ranma's eyes opened wide. "I see, it makes sense! He'd get more female
energies from glomping women, and stealing their panties, to keep himself
alive. And when he was splashed with the water..."
     "...His female energies were thrust onto the surface, and he couldn't 
keep them internalized to keep himself alive. He aged three hundred years
in an instant," Mouse finished.
     "Well, how does the old ghoul stay alive?" His face no longer held the
disgust that used to fill it at the mention of that nickname.
     "She holds her lifeforce so pefectly in balance, it can't change. So,
she stopped aging. But, if she ever lost control, she'd age just as fast 
as Happosai did."
     "Grmph," grunted Ryouga. "Well, here's to the Old Pervert - may he be
in the hell of No Panties for all eternity!"
     Glasses clinked, and voices laughed, and the party wound down into
the night. 


- Valandar the Red
_____________________________________________________________
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