Raiders of the lost stone.
Part 2: Nerima, and the beginning.
Rated PG-13, or TV-M V/A/S/L; go buy a TV guide if you don't know what it
means.
Nerima Japan, 1986.
Eighteen year old Ranma Saotome walked calmly towards the gates of
Furinkan High school along the sidewalk next to his fianc�e. He wore a
school uniform and smiled a little as the sun gently warmed the cool air
of the autumn season. His life had settled down quite a bit over the past
year and he finally had the opportunity to relax and enjoy his youth.
It had been almost two years since the estranged wedding disaster; so
much had changed since then, Shampoo was the only girl still in active
pursuit of him now, even though she had lost much of the passion she had
once had about the whole affair. Cologne and Mousse largely left him
alone, Ryoga barely set foot in Nerima any longer; The Kuno's where a
different story, they never let him be; fortunately he no longer had any
daily contact with them, Kuno had graduated and Kodachi was at a boarding
school on the other side of Tokyo; the only time he ever had to deal with
either of them was during a holiday or a school break.
Ukyo was an unusual matter as far as the aftermath of the whole mess
that had been his life was concerned, she still offered him a smile when
he came to her restaurant; but she never really spent time with him any
longer; no more free meals, no more chasing him down, and no more calling
him Ranchan; He was just Ranma to her now. He felt a small tug at his
heart when he thought about it, but she was still friendly and always
willing to talk about old times; with a little work, she would be his
best friend again instead of another reason for him to be wary of the
female race in general. Things where finally settling down, but that's
when everything usually went to hell and blew up in your face.
Akane walked next to Ranma, she had grown her hair out again and her
figure had slimmed quite a bit, she looked mature now. She looked at her
fianc�e and swallowed, it was still hard to be around him on occasion;
every now and then he had to be beaten back into his place, or even just
to deflate his ego in general; On the whole though he was much easier to
get along with over the last two years, they both knew how the other felt
about each other and neither would voice it aloud unless they where
positive they where alone; Still, everyone knew. Akane had grown into a
beautiful woman and Ranma was becoming a handsome man in his own right.
"Is this going to be the rest of my life?" she wondered idly. "It's so
peaceful and quiet, I don't think I can remember a time like this. It's
nice." Her smile widened as she took Ranma's hand and pulled him along at
a slightly faster pace, he made no move to stop her and complied moving
into the lead again.
"There goes the happy couple." said Kunoichi as he swept the front
doorway to the Ucchan, his dress ruffled slightly in a dramatic yet some
how romantic looking wind that swept by Akane and Ranma as they moved
across the low morning sun. He turned to see Ukyo staring at them from
the doorway.
"It won't last, it never does." she smiled and turned back to the few
remaining breakfast customers. "He said he'd be here tonight for dinner,
I think she's coming with him this time."
"Peace like this is fragile and fleeting." agreed the Ninja as he
adjusted the sign. "I suppose you want to remind you they're coming
later."
"You probably won't have to, but don't let me close early tonight." Ukyo
leaned against the grill and started to scrub at it with a scouring pad.
"Are you feeling sick?" Konatsu turned and looked at her with a little
concern.
"No, just tired; all this inactivity is making me a little lazy." the
girl scratched at a particularly bad spot on the grill surface with the
pad and frowned. "I'm gonna need a new grill soon."
A wet and female Ranma slammed into the restaurant and skidded face
first through the door all the way to the counter. "Ouch." she grumbled
as she sat up and rubbed a sore spot on her head.
"Hey Ranma, I thought you weren't coming by until later." Ukyo handed
him a tea kettle from behind the counter and smiled wryly.
"I tripped on some old lady's broom and fell into a puddle, Akane was
holding my hand and she fell on top of me; I tried to help her up and
grabbed the wrong thing I guess." he shook his hair out a little after
emptying the pot over his head and sighed. "If she's still mad later it
might just be me tonight."
Kunoichi smiled slightly and leaned between them. "If she's feeling bad
about it she may try to cook you dinner tonight; better hope it's curry."
"Nah, she knows I promised to come by here tonight, I can get out of it
if she tries it." Ranma smirked and attempted to fix his hair again with
his fingers.
"Well, I promise I won't close early tonight Ranma, bring her if you
can; I need the money." Ukyo adjusted the grill temperature and turned
around to see him standing there still.
"Well, I'll be sure to let her know."
"Your still here? Don't you have school?" Ukyo laughed as he hit the
side of his head and dashed out the door with a frustrated grimace.
"Stupid Akane!"
"I guess even peace won't change some things." Kunoichi tied an apron
around his waist and pushed his hair back over his shoulder lazily.
"Speaking of which, aren't you going to be late too?"
"Nah, I know that idiot principal will be so wrapped up in Ranma that he
won't even notice I've come in late; my first period teacher eats here
anyway and I give him free meals to let me in class late."
"Genma, I worry about our son." Nodoka stopped her work in the kitchen
and sighed as her husband rummaged through the icebox in search of a few
beers to accompany the Shogi game currently in progress; his bag of tiles
was securely tucked inside his belt to prevent the theft of his better
pieces.
"Eh? This again? I told you, Ranma is fine." Genma popped the lid off
his prize and turned to face his wife.
"I know, but I worry still; What if he can't control his urges until the
wedding? Akane might be angry with him. He is very manly, I've seen him
peeping into her room and watching her with such a manly desire in his
eye; why I've even caught him alone in the furrow playing with his
little..."
"Nodoka!" cried Genma as he almost dropped the bottles in shocked
disbelief. "Ranma is fine! Please leave him be, everything is going well!
The wedding has been planed already and both of them have agreed to it!
The last thing we need to do is stir up more trouble; This is exactly
what happened last time!"
"I know that husband, and Ranma and Akane should be having a normal
relationship! If she does not get over this unusual shyness; why I'm
afraid my poor Ranma won't be able to contain himself!" Nodoka brought
her hands up to her eyes without realizing the cooking knife was still in
her hands, it slipped away and flew by Genma's head sticking into the
refrigerator.
Genma breathed a sigh of relief and glared at his wife, the peeping had
been set up by him and Soun as a way to keep her quiet; but Ranma's
reaction to the solution was something he didn't care to hear about; even
if it didn't surprise him. "Relax honey! Ranma is a strong man and a
disciplined martial artist; he could hold out for years if he had to!"
"But that isn't very manly of him!" Nodoka started crying even harder.
"Ah! But it is! If he would hold out on his sexual desires a bit longer,
he could have a lifetime of enjoyment; hardly something to risk the
pleasure of the moment! He is wise to realize this."
"You...are right husband, I am proud of my son!" Nodoka turned and
returned to her cooking with a new flame of passion burning in her soul.
Faint cries of "He's such a man!" could be heard by Genma as he snuck
back to the living room.
"What took you?" asked Soun as he looked up at his old friend.
"Tendo, I think we should tone down these peeping sessions of ours to
once a week instead of every day." Genma sat down quietly and looked at
the board. He was ahead in the game when he left, strangely the tide
seemed to have turned in favor of Soun.
"Why? Ranma and Akane don't seem to mind our little ruse, besides it's
not like Akane is really undressing; I think this idea of yours is quite
clever." Soun accepted the beer and took a swig from the bottle absently,
he stopped and noticed that the neck of his bottle seemed to have been
cut off; he quickly dismissed it and turned his attention back to Genma.
"Besides, the master has been getting along with him much better since we
started this."
"I know, its a good thing Nodoka never bothered to see if Akane was
really changing or this never would have worked. We shouldn't stop; but
she's under the impression that Ranma might be a little too manly and
lose control." Genma coughed and turned his head in a slight blush.
"That's understandable, let's make it three times a week. We wouldn't
want her getting too suspicious." Soun gazed at the board lazily and
noticed he was losing again; and they hadn't even started to play.
"It's agreed then; three times a week." Genma smiled broadly and placed
a piece on the board.
Mousse coughed as he received another face full of dust as he rummaged
through the huge stacks of books with a small oil lantern in his hand.
"Ack! Stupid slave driving old monkey! How am I supposed to organize all
these cookbooks!? I can't even read what most of them say the print is so
small." a pot clanged noisily on the back of his head as light peered
down into the basement through the now open trap door; the boy's lantern
clattered across the floor noisily.
"Mousse keep quiet down there! Shampoo trying to work!" the door slammed
shut causing another dust cloud.
"Yes my darling Shampoo!" cried the boy happily. "I knew she'd come down
to check on me; now where's that lamp?" he felt along the floor in the
darkness for the small metal lantern he had brought with him to light the
small room, assorted books lined several book cases along the walls, most
of them where cook books; but a few where ancient spell tomes and Chinese
legends. He lit a match and saw the brass handle of the lantern shine
slightly.
"There it is!" he reached over and picked it up; after turning it over a
few times in his hands he saw it was undamaged and lit it again before
rising back to his feet. His head caught one of the shelves on the way up
and he muttered angrily. "Stupid shelf, I hate this job." Almost in
answer to the insult the shelf started to creak loudly, "No I didn't mean
it I love this job really!" the whole shelf fell noisily on top of him.
"Ouch."
"What is that useless fool doing down there?" said Cologne as she
hobbled into the kitchen and looked to Shampoo.
"Mousse so stupid, he making bigger mess than when started!" the girl
giggled a little and returned her attention to the stove.
"Well, there's no hurry, he'll just stay down there until it's
organized; I'm sure he'll find it relaxing once things start to go his
way. It'll be a welcome change to cleaning tables and doing dishes."
Cologne smiled at her granddaughter.
"Why you being so nice Mousse Great Grandmother?" Shampoo seemed
confused by the answer.
"Even the best dog will stop obeying you if you treat it cruelly all the
time, if you reward it on occasion it will do as you say no matter how
you beat it." she cackled cruelly as she bounded off into the front of
the restaurant.
"I heard that you dried up old mummy!" called a tiny voice from the
basement.
Cologne tapped the floor with her cane lightly and a loud crash could be
heard below; followed by a cry of pain.
Under the kitchen Mousse stood up in the mess of books and the remains
of the shelf painfully, luckily the lantern had not gone out. He dusted
himself off and removed the open book that sat on top of his head in
disgust. He glanced around and frowned, "I'm taking a break." he plopped
down on a particularly large pile of books and lay on his back. The book
that had been sitting on his head was still in his hand and he adjusted
his glasses and looked inside at the dusty old pages. "Ancient Joketzuko
treasures and legends? This could be interesting." he sat upright and
flipped through the pages, a picture of the Reversal Jewel that Shampoo
had tried to use on Ranma a few years ago caught his eye, as well as the
Naniban Mirror; something else caught his attention more than anything
else, it was a part of the Reversal Jewel legend, a much larger stone
that the jewel itself had been cut from; The book said it was just a
legend, but he had seen the reversal Jewel and it's power for himself.
Suddenly he found himself very interested in this stone, after a little
reading his eyes went wide and he gasped in shock. "If this is true, I
could be..."
Meanwhile, in Chicago...
Lara Croft sat at the bar lazily, the diamond she had acquired during
the noisy affair last year was being shown in the museum just across the
street. She frowned slightly, they had been making an exhibit around the
period and hadn't even known the diamond had been found yet; until she
offered it for a short showing. "I'm still not sure why I bothered to do
that, I do hate these kinds of affairs." she was dressed in a slinky and
simple black dress and had her hair pinned up over her head lavishly,
slight color could be seen on her lips and a few sparkling gems hung
around her neck and adorned her fingers. It was good to remind herself
why she hated this kind of life, a few high class bar flies floated
around the room trying to catch her attention, the bolder men she had to
wave away; she wasn't really in the mood for company at the moment, just
a quiet drink. Sitting in front of her on the bar was a rather large
glass of brandy she lifted it to her lips and downed almost half of the
glass in one swift motion.
An elderly man entered the room and was given a wide berth as he
strolled casually across the room with the aid of a black cane, he pulled
an old brown hat off his head and placed it next to Lara on the bar only
to relax lazily beside her. "I'll have what the lady is drinking."
Lara smiled slightly and did not turn to face the man. "It's been a
while professor."
"Well, not long enough Miss Croft." the man looked her up and down
distastefully. "You haven't changed much I see."
"Neither have you, still the crotchety old man I remember from my
college days." she finished her drink and started to stand when the old
man forced her down into her seat again.
"What are you doing in Chicago old man?" asked Lara lazily.
"I went to college here, I'm visiting an old friend." replied the man
gruffly; Lara gave him a distasteful stare and he sighed. "Giving a
lecture on Egyptian mummification, yourself?" the old man returned her
glare before turning his attention to the drink.
"Showing off a cheap rock from my collection."
"Your still the same fortune hunting fool I tried to teach how to hunt
for real treasure; this isn't about money Croft, you never did understand
that. Sit down and let me scold you, show a little respect for the old
man who still can claim more than you've ever found." She complied
reluctantly.
"I found Atlantis, you found a few baubles rotting in the museum." Lara
was not in the mood, but she still had some semblance of respect for her
old teacher. Despite his attitude towards her, his class was the only
college education she could sit through, she continued to sit through it
after she dropped out for almost two months. That was when her career
really started all those years ago.
"Hold your tongue you little whelp, I didn't bring back half of what I
found! I sank more than half of Atlantis myself fifty years before you
ever set foot on it; Don't think you're the only person who's risked your
life in such affairs. The only difference between you and me is the
reason why and what we did with what we brought back."
"I earned everything I've got old man, it wasn't handed to me." Lara
snarled at him, but he merely sat back lazily.
"You think I didn't toil for those dusty baubles your talking about.
Those pieces you hoard away are important artifacts, they belong in a
museum." He snorted again and downed all of his drink in a single gulp.
"The difference between you and me Miss Croft is that I do things for the
research, for the importance of the find. Not for adventure or fortune!
If I happened to come across them on my finds I accepted this, you've
just turned my life's work into some sort of sick sport."
"I seem to recall a few stories surrounding a certain artifact..." Lara
gave him a wry smile.
"That was different! It was a race against evil, and when I got it back
I turned it over for study, I didn't hoard it for myself in some sick
trophy room."
"Then where is it?" she smiled coolly and the man sat back and eyed her
darkly.
"I don't have it." he snorted. "I'm warning you now Croft, If I ever get
my hands on those pieces of yours; the next place you'll see them is in a
museum display case."
"But you won't get your hands on them, they are safe where they are and
it isn't your style to steal them is it?" she turned away from him and
grabbed her purse before storming away from the bar.
"No, no it isn't." the old man said quietly from his seat. "I'm too old
for such things."
"Good day professor." she said calmly as she walked out the door, a
strange smile was on her face.
The old man stood and grabbed his hat off the bar before placing a few
bills down on the counter. "I never liked her, she failed my class." he
said to the questioning look on the bartender's face.
"I can't see how anyone could hate her." commented the man with a rough
snort.
"Believe me she's more trouble than she's worth." the old man walked
away calmly and twirled the cane in his hand easily as he walked; it was
obvious it was nothing more than a show piece.
Outside the bar he placed the hat back on his head and adjusted it
lazily, he turned in time to see Lara disappear into a long black limo
surrounded by black suited men. "Good luck kid, you're gonna need it." he
commented dryly.
A small weasel looking man scurried up to him and smiled giving a
relieved smile. "Your going to be late for you lecture, we only have a
few minutes." he rubbed his hands together absently as he spoke.
The old man sighed, he never liked the little man much, his predecessor
was an old friend though. "I just ran into an old acquaintance."
"A friend of yours?" asked the skinny man with a look that said he
wasn't really interested, well not interested in his relation to her at
any rate.
"No, I like her even less than I like you."
"Ha ha ha, very funny; now if you'll follow me please; there are very
important people waiting." the small man grit his teeth through his smile
and ushered the old man away.
"Yea yea, the only reason they are important is because they are paying
you money right?"
"Only if they like you doctor, that's why we have to hurry..." the pair
vanished into the crowd at the doors of the museum.
Lara relaxed slightly, they had not checked her for weapons; she had a
pistol in her purse and one strapped to the inside of her leg, she was
fairly certain one of the guards had seen it from the way he was watching
her. "What can I do for you?"
"Hello Mrs. Croft, you may call me Stanton. I am interested in hiring
your services." the woman on the other side of the cab was dressed in a
tight fitting leather dress that resembled the gown she was currently
wearing, her raven colored hair was cut shoulder length in a perfectly
even length; and her skin was almost completely white.
Lara raised her eyebrows and put on her sunglasses lazily. "I must get
the name of your tailor."
"Here is his card." said the woman with a completely straight face as
she handed a German business card to her.
"Well, I do like your style Stanton, now lets get down to business."
said Lara as she accepted the card and tucked it into the front of her
dress.
"Of course; Now, I know of your considerable skill. I was able to
witness your procurement of the piece you are showing in the French
countryside last year; exceptional work." the woman smiled, the black
lipstick she wore gave an almost demonic appearance to her smirk.
"Thank you, It was one of my better moments." Lara seemed undaunted by
this revelation and continued to listen with interest.
"Gaust was a necessary evil, he performed well and got results. That is
the only reason I put up with his pompous arrogance. Now you, are a
little different, I know of your terms Croft. I'll pay your travel
expenses and one million dollars when you find my prize, all I want from
you is the location; report to me and your job is finished. Simple no?"
the woman's gaze made Lara's flesh crawl slightly, she remained calm and
smiled back at her coldly.
"What is it I'm looking for?" she accepted the champagne offered to her
by the strange woman; she cautiously inspected it and dipped her fingers
along the inside contours before taking a sip.
"A large stone with magical properties located somewhere in central
China." the woman sipped at her own glass and Lara followed suit.
"What leads have you got so far?" she did not want to sound to eager,
but the offer was intriguing.
"A temple in Japan, no one is sure where it is though, all that is known
is that it was abandoned in the sixteenth century and no one has found it
since. A few people have even disappeared looking for it." the woman
seemed a little too excited about her story and leaned forward with a
greedy look in her eyes.
Lara frowned, "Not much to go on is it? There isn't a whole lot of
unexplored territory in Japan, none if I can recall, almost as much
wilderness."
"It's probably right under our noses, I may have an interesting way of
finding out. You see a few members of the tribe where this stone
originated have settled in Nerima Japan; the Temple itself is on
Hokkaido. I believe they may know where the stone is located, at least
they may be able to supply a few clues to it's whereabouts."
"I'm not a strong arm Mrs. Stanton." Lara's gaze turned into a scowl.
"And I am not Gaust, do not worry. I will not pressure you in how you
find it and I will only pay you if you do. It is the same deal I made
with him." the woman leaned back in her seat and smiled at her again.
"You mean when you were searching for the diamond?"
"I wasn't looking for this diamond you speak of, I thought it might be a
piece of this stone; it is rumored to have several pieces floating around
with magical properties. If just a piece is this powerful, strong enough
to change a human heart; imagine then how strong the stone itself would
be!"
Lara frowned again, it sounded like another mystical artifact that was
falling into the wrong hands. "Tell me, if you don't mind of course, what
do you plan to do with this stone if you find it?"
"Why, turn myself into a woman of course." answered Stanton with a
slight color appearing on her face. "It is said that this stone can do
such things, but it is a dangerous artifact. There is much risk
involved."
Lara's eyes went wide as she realized what was going on. "Pardon? Did
you just say?"
"Yes I know, but surgery can only do so much for someone such as myself,
the pain I would endure from that operation is a little much for me, I
would rather use a mystical stone than go under the knife again." Stanton
smirked and turned her attention towards the door of the limo. "I wish to
have children Croft, something a man like me cannot do. Your hotel I
believe? The tickets will be in your message box tomorrow morning, good
luck Croft, do not think that it will not be dangerous; there are other
interested parties, all of them much more sinister than I."
Lara exited the limo and staggered towards the door, she wasn't quite
sure if it was from the combination of brandy and champagne, or the
unusual experience she had just had. "I guess I'd better start packing."
she muttered as she held her forehead up with her palm.
TBC...
Ha ha ha, that was just more evil fun on my part there. Next time Mousse
shares his revelation, why? Because there are things that tell him he
can't do it alone, a duck traveling across China isn't exactly safe
either. You'll just have to wait, besides he doesn't really hate Ranma
anymore anyway. [Also why I made Ranma older, and set it after the
Manga.] Ryoga shows up and things start to stir a little.
Lara goes to Japan and tries to decide if she really wants to help
Stanton, or if she should simply try to stop the 'other factions' from
reaching their goal, she also has her first run in with team Ranma and
the mighty Happosai!!
Cologne and Shampoo discover Mousse's plan as well, but the thing is she
knows things they don't about the stone and it's power; realizing she is
too late to stop them after a run in with Lara she calls in the help of
an old friend who seems to have followed his student from Chicago. Also a
connection between the Naniban mirror and the reversal jewel is revealed
as well as an important clue to the whereabouts of the temple they all
must find in order to continue. The legend behind the reversal stone is
also told, a vague tale that reveals that the stone might have dangerous
powers.
Until next time! Ja ne! BWAHAHAHAAHAA!!! [I know all your really
interested in is Lara meets Happy.] "Bwahahahahahaa!!! What a haul! What
a..." BLAM BLAM BLAM!!
"Those are mine I believe."
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