Hey everyone!~
James again. I sent out the first copy of this prologue just a few hours
before the FFML shut down, so I don't think anyone was able to read it. Then
I sent it out again, but to the wrong address! Confident that I have the
correct address now, I'm sending this out a third time. I sent out the draft
of this a very long time ago, so I doubt anyone remembers it ^^;; It's a
massive crossover, loosely influenced by Miles "Miko" Davis' Muyami Academy,
a wonderful, well written story. The main titles in my fanfiction will be
Ranma 1/2, Oh My Goddess!, Soul Calibur, Tenchi Muyo!, Rurouni Kenshin,
Gundam Wing, and otheres as they come along and weave themselves into my
story ^_^ Well, enough of my rambling and onto the fiction!
thanks!
James
--------------------------------
As always, C&C, flames, questions, and whatnot is readily accepted. You can
send it to Rurouni143@aol.com, or just click your reply button, thanks!
Also, if anyone feels like doing a MST3K on this, I would be much obliged.
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine in any way, shape or form nor
do I hold any rights to them. They are all the property of their respective
creators and owners and I am borrowing them without permission for solely
nonprofit entertainment purposes.
Seta's section is mostly comprised of text from the manga to set the timeline
of that part of Sanuma and to add atmosphere ^_^
_______________________
Sanuma Academy
Prologue: Destined
The sun slowly began to sink below the distant horizon in a ritual older
than time itself. Nerima, a small district of Tokyo, Japan, was beset under a
mottled sky of navy and violet, it's skyline reflecting the calm serenity of
the millions of sparkling stars above. A crisp, chill breeze whispered
through the bare branches of the trees as it stirred the brittle dead leaves
along the ground. The full moon slowly came into full view, casting it's
silvery light down upon the earth. Quietly, a taxi cab slowly trudges up the
street, looking for a particular address. It slows to a squeaking stop in
front of a particularly large residence. It was a vast fenced compound,
consisting of two large yards, a koi pond, a low flat building immediately
joined with a second building of two stories. Hung on the outer paper wall of
the low building was a plain wooden dojo sign, scarred and singed from many
conflicts.
Tendo Dojo: School of Indiscriminate Grappling.
Within the small automobile, the driver rechecked the address, and gave a
small sigh.
From what he'd heard from his buddies at the terminal, it was going to be
a long night.
He shattered the night's calm serenity with a screaming blast of the
taxi's horn, announcing his arrival. Lighting a cigarette, he propped it in
his mouth and waited for his attendees.
Suddenly, the porch light flared into life as the large front door
suddenly slid open.
"Coming!!" yelled Ranma Saotome, sticking his head out of the front door.
"Yeesh, ya gotta be so damn loud about it..." he mumbled as he walked outside
into the crisp autumn air, lugging two large suitcases at his sides. Akane,
the rest of the Tendo family, as well as his own mother and father were close
behind.
"WAAHH!!" wailed Soun as he ripped a handkerchief to shreds in his grief.
"My little baby is leaving home, I'll never see her again!!!" he blew his
nose loudly as he continued to sob, completely breaking down.
Kasumi, who was by her father's side, picked him up from the ground and
consoled him. "There, there, father." she said soothingly, "Akane and Ranma
are only going to a boarding school in Tokyo, we'll see them when they come
back home for holidays and such." she reminded him.
Nodoka walked over to her only son and hugged him tightly. "Make me
proud, Ranma. Have a good time while you're at Sanuma. The rest of your
belongings should be at your dorm along with Akane's by the time you reach
Sanuma." she reminded him.
Behind her, Genma slowly moved from his station at the Tendo porch and
cleared his throat, racking his brain for something to say.
"Listen boy..." he began slowly in his gruff voice, "All that tuition
money for Sanuma could have gone for something worthwhile . . . like food."
he lamented. "If you made me and your mother waste our hard-earned yen I will
go to the Academy and beat you senseless-" Genma would have continued, but
found it difficult to speak when Ranma's fist was stuffed in his face.
"Yeah, can't wait to get away from you too, Pops." Ranma offered, sending
his father flying into the koi pond.
Akane handed the last of her bags to the driver to put away then walked
back to her father.
"Don't worry, daddy. I'll be fine, I'll study hard and visit during the
holidays like Kasumi said." Akane said cheerfully as she hugged her father
tightly. His sobbing ceased for a few long seconds then came back full force
at the touching father-daughter moment.
Nodoka walked over and bid farewell to the young girl she often looked
upon as a niece, if not a daughter.
"Thanks for everything, Auntie Nodoka." Akane said as she squeezed the
motherly woman in a tight embrace.
"It was nothing, Akane. Treat each other well, I hope you have as much
fun as Nabiki is having at Harvard in America." Nodoka replied, smiling
through light tears.
"Y'know..." spoke the cabbie suddenly. "I hate to break up this family
moment, but the crap's in the trunk, the meter's running, and the car's been
warmin' for twenty minutes, so can we get a move on?"
Ranma and Akane said a few quick last good-bye's and then climbed into
the taxi cab. The driver walked over to his side and slammed the door in a
huff. Everyone remained on the edge of the drive and waved farewell to the
young couple as their vehicle slowly disappeared from view, stirring up waves
of brittle auburn leaves in it's wake.
______________
It was an hour into the ride. The small car bounced along the empty
lanes, sharing the open road with only a few other driver's who dared to be
out at this hour. Ranma stifled a yawn and looked over at Akane sleeping next
to him. Her head was resting on his shoulder as she clutched his sleeve in
her sleep, her mind far elsewhere from the small car in her dreams. He was
tempted for the shortest second to remove her head from his shoulder, but
decided against it. Instead, he smiled softly as he brushed a few loose
strands of ebon hair from her face and rested his head on the frosty window.
He needed some time to sort out his thoughts, these arrangements had only
been made last week.
He let out a deep, relaxed sigh as he gazed out the window. Only a week.
And only two weeks ago had been their failed wedding! And less than a month
later, Akane and he were starting over. Letting his eyes wander, he found
himself staring at a bright spark in the sky shimmer a bright crimson as it
flashed across the clear autumn sky and disappeared beyond the horizon.
"Hey," he mused to himself, "A shooting star..."
Looking back to the sleeping form beside him, he too rested his head on
the stiff head rest and slowly drifted off into a deep slumber, the full moon
shining brightly overhead upon the young couple.
_________________
Far away from the quiet scene, deep in a wooded forest in the mountains
of Northern Europe, sat a small, squat concrete building. Surrounded from all
sides by towering pine trees, it lay hidden in the wilderness. Atop the
structure sat a massive radar dish that turned and pivoted at regular
intervals, beeping softly as it tracked the heavens.
Inside, two unlucky officers sat at the command terminals, the 'Oz'
armband they wore on their uniform glinted dully in the dim light. They
chatted nonchalantly as they waited for something to turn up.
"So... how's the missus, Toji?" asked one to his partner.
Toji shrugged, his stiff Oz uniform rustling in unison. "She's doing
pretty good, you know, same 'ole same 'ole. I am so tired, Asaharu, we have
to be the most friggin' unlucky bastards in the entire world to have this
job."
"Oh well..." lamented Asaharu, "complaining won't get us anywhere under
Treize's command. Did you see the game last night?"
"Yeah man, taped the entire thing."
"Could you believe that one basket that he made?"
"Nope, but it was amazing, I'll give you that. Three pointer right at the
buzzer."
Suddenly, the console before the two, previously dark, now sprang to life
as windows and readouts popped up onto the screen. Red lights flashed as the
entire room was filled with an urgent beeping.
"What do you have on the main dish?" asked Asaharu.
"It's another one of them, mobile suit transport pod," he stated. "Its
trajectory is headed for South-eastern Eurasia, sector forty zone two.
"Sector forty zone two... eh?" Asaharu repeated. "That's Japan, Tokyo if
I'm not mistaken."
"You have to admit though, it was a stroke of genius on the colonies part to
conceal the mobile suit pods as 'Shooting Stars' to fool the general public
and Oz radar. But why they would do it a second time I don't know..."
commented Toji.
"So that's one tonight..."
"Five total."
"Looks like they've all returned for one reason or another."
"Get Commander Treize on the line." commanded Toji, there was a nervous
strain in his voice. His partner was about to object but he interrupted. "I
know he said not to disturb him while he's in Tokyo at that school, but this
is important."
Asaharu put on a headset in a huff, crumpling the delicate blue hat that
graced his head.
"Very well, what should the message be?" he asked.
"Tell Commander Treize..." Toji gulped out, "Tell him they've returned...
we have five Gundams confirmed..."
______________
Heero Yuy glanced through the thick sheet of tinted Perspex that covered
his helmet. The bright starlight illuminated the small cockpit of his Gundam,
bathing it in an eerie sapphire light. The gentle hum of the tons of
machinery and circuitry he was sitting upon provided a suitable background
lulled him to a state of near sleep. But years of militant training had
taught him never to sleep. Never to rest. Never to stop, when there was a
mission to be accomplished. It was for this reason he was returning.
Returning to Earth.
The fleecy swirls in the upper atmosphere and the shimmering sapphire
oceans grew near as the mobile suit began to shake and vibrate as it entered
the Earth's stratosphere. After nearly four months of peace and the
destruction of Oz and the Romafeller Foundation, he had been called upon once
again. What the other Gundam pilots were doing, he didn't know.
"Zero." he commanded in a low voice that belied his appearance. "Display
mission specifics."
The small screen in front of him blinked to life as scrolls of text
flashed on the screen. An automated voice began to read the text, it's voice
transmitting directly into Heero's helmet.
"Mission code name: Shadow War. Target Destination has been specified,
Tokyo, Japan. Subject, Sanuma Academy." chimed the feminine voice. "Mission
specifics. Large shipments of Gundanium alloy and materials of unknown
metallic and organic origins have been reported to being transported to a
large underground facility beneath the school grounds. Mission objectives,
infiltrate the underground facility and destroy all constructs that are
comprised of said materials. After objectives are completed, pilots may o as
they wish."
Heero's grip tightened around the interface controls.
For the first time in his organized and planned out life, Heero Yuy did
not care about the mission.
His body moved in a single fluid motion, his left hand moving the control
forward as his feet depressed the pedals.
The mission, Sanuma, Tokyo. All had taken a second priority to finding
her...
Outside, the mobile suit shed it's transport facade and stretched it's
wings, glorifying in it's freedom. Once the transformation to bird mode was
complete, Gundam Zero One gently glided through the atmosphere towards it's
destination.
"Relena..."
_______________
Far away, deep in the mountains of central India, was a vast, glittering
lake. It's surface reflected the night sky like a flawless mirror, the copy
of the star studded darkness rippled and waved with the ebbing of the
current. It was surrounded by steep cliff and jagged drop-offs, closing the
lake off to any outsiders that dared to enter. The only light besides the
moon and the stars came from a small hut on the edge of the vast lake. Calm
voices could be heard inside the hermitage, discussing matters of fate and
destiny.
"Kilik... it is time." Edge Master said slowly, his quiet voice filling
the room.
"For what, sensei?" asked Kilik, thoroughly mystified.
"Kilik, I order you to your final trial." he said calmly.
Kilik leapt up from the table, his Kali-Yuga clattering hollowly to the
floor in his haste. Outside, the surface of the vast lake exploded as herons
and cranes flapped wildly as they took haste to flight, having been scared to
death by Kilik's screaming voice bouncing off the canyon walls.
"WHAAATT?!?!! he continued to scream. "I already accomplished my final
trial!" he argued. "If this is my real final trial than what the hell was the
entire Soul Edge journey for!?"
The old hermit's expression didn't change. His eyes twinkled a cold,
steely sapphire in the dim light of the single candle, his eyes seeming to
hold deep secrets locked behind the depths of his ancient, penetrating gaze.
"Think of this as round two." he mused. Kilik face-faulted onto the rough
wooden floor.
"Very well, what is it this time?" Kilik asked as he retrieved his rod
from the floor, plucking wooden splinters from his face. The scar on his left
cheek twinged slightly in uncertainty.
"Your mind is filled with unanswered questions, this I know, Kilik." Edge
Master replied. "But they will not go unanswered for long, Kilik. The
arrangements have been made, go East, Kilik. Go forth...
"... To Tokyo..."
"Yes, sensei." Kilik answered obediently. He didn't have a single clue of
what was going on, but he wasn't about to argue with a man old as time itself.
"...Destiny and Soul will meet as one, bound by Fate, guided by Light...
Your adversary more powerful and evil than your darkest dreams..." he
continued in a low, cryptic voice, "Survive, Kilik. I shall be watching..."
The old hermit silently closed his eyes gazing at his pupil sitting
across from him. He quietly whispered in an unknown language, the tongue of
the sun and the stars, the dialect of the elements and the animals. The
twisting celtic emblem adorning his wrinkled brow began to glow a faint
emerald as he whispered. He slowly opened his eyes as he came out of his
prayer.
Kilik was gone.
______________
The calm morning sun treaded across the early autumn morning. A small,
old fashioned tea stand stood quietly on the city limits of Kyoto, the
weathered wooden planks that made the walls of the small shop had seen many
seasons, weathered and splintered with age. On the small bench that comprised
the entire front of the tea shop sat a young man, no older than twenty years
of age. He was dressed in a blue shirt covered with a navy hakama, his brown
eyes twinkling through his black bangs. His small hands plucked the last
piece of dango from the small plate beside him and he popped it into his
mouth, savoring the delicate flavor. Taking a sip of barley tea, he stood up
from the splintered bench and stretched his limbs. A slight movement caught
his eye and he whirled around, his hands were on the hilt of the katana at
his waist in an instant. He immediately calmed down when all he saw was the
terrified old tea lady who had served him.
He bowed graciously to her as he dug several coins from his purse. "My
deepest apologies, grandmaster." he apologized as he handed the coins to the
still recovinrg old woman. "I ought to be on my way, grandmother, thank you."
She responded only after the initial shock had worn away. "Where are you
headed?" she asked as she tucked the coins into the folds of her apron.
As he thought of a suitable response, he absently flashed the old woman a
curious smile...
A smile learned not from happiness or joy, but of pain and strife; the
smile that Seta Soujirou was famous for.
"Where indeed." Seta replied. "I don't have any particular destination. I've
decided to wander for ten years."
The tea lady nodded in amazement. "Ten years, now."
Seta nodded solemnly as his gaze turned and followed the narrow dirt path
leading away from the tea stand.
"There were two men--they walked the same road, but after ten years they
discovered completely opposite truths." he explained calmly. "So I think if I
wander for ten years, I'll be able to find my own truth." he said. "But let
me ask you, grandmother, where does this road go?"
The old lady thought for a moment before she replied.
"I'm not really sure, but it heads north." she replied. "It also leads to
a private school in Tokyo eventually, but I doubt that would be a choice
destination for you."
Seta smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. "North. It's getting warmer. North
might be good." he stated. "And this school you spoke of, I never received
proper schooling in my short-lived youth, now might be the time to make up
for that."
"So you're going to continue your life as a rurouni?" asked the tea lady
as Seta got up to leave.
Seta shook his head. "No, not as a rurouni..." he began calmly, his hand
coming to rest around the finely carved hilt of his katana, one that would
never have the crimson sheen of blood adorning it's blade out of thrill or
servitude ever again, "...There is one who already walks that particular
path..."
_________________
Well? Whaddya think? I think it's passable for a draft. The timeline for
everything is as follows:
Ranma 1/2: One month after the wedding fiasco.
Gundam Wing: Four months after the downfall of the Romafeller Foundation, or
in other words four months after the ending of the Cartoon Network version of
the anime.
Soul Calibur: Two months after the second quest for the Soul Edge has been
completed or two months from where the arcade mode in the game ends.
Rurouni Kenshin: Immediately following the Shishio Arc.
C&C ME!
Thanks!
James
Rurouni143@aol.com