Disclaimer:

Characters and settings from Ranma 1/2 are property of Rumiko Takahashi and 
are used without permission.

Characters and settings from Sailormoon are property of Takeuchi Naoko and 
are used without permission.

Song Zhu Shu is property of L.S.Mcgill



Prologue:

Zhu Shu was Mandarin Chinese, the sole heir to the ancient Clan Dragon's 
traditions and school.  She had been raised by her Aunt and her Grandfather, 
her parents having died in one of the occassional fevers that sprung up in 
the cold winters of their mountain village.  It wasn't Zhu Shu's fault her 
father had died young, leaving her, a daughter, as the Clan's sole heir.  
Nor was it Zhu Shu's fault that her husband, whoever that might be, would 
inherit her Clan's sole remaining wealth, the inn she had grown up in, and 
the family's shrine, but her Aunt had seemed to treat her as if it were.  No 
matter how hard Zhu Shu tried to please her, nothing ever seemed good 
enough.  It hadn't stopped her from doing her best to excel, if anything, it 
had ingrained the need to do her duties faultlessly deeply into her.  No 
matter how hard her training had been, she'd striven to not only do well, 
but to exceed the standards her Aunt had set, desperately trying to earn the 
slightest bit of approval from the stern woman.

Her ancestors had once served the Imperial family in every capacity from 
cooks to chamberlain, and Zhu Shu had been trained from birth in all the 
duties of an imperial servant.  Her Aunt had been a harsh taskmistress as 
she taught her all the arts of serving, but at last had admitted to her 
grandfather that Zhu Shu could serve the Emperor without bringing shame to 
the family, however much she disapproved of her in other ways.

Zhu Shu could still feel the bitterness her Aunt had felt at having to give 
that approval and the sad look on her grandfather's face at his daughter's 
behavior.

Zhu Shu's other failure had only confirmed her Aunt's opinions.

Her grandfather had been kinder and far more accepting of Zhu Shu, if no 
less demanding.  Over her Aunt's protests, he had accepted the fact that his 
only heir would be female, and had given her all the training he would have 
imparted to a grandson, teaching her the Arts of the families techniques, 
lest they be lost for all time.  As hard as she trained to learn the 
domestic arts from her Aunt, she strove even harder to please his exacting 
standards.

Because of her grandfather's care, Zhu Shu had spent her childhood fairly 
happily, despite her Aunt's resentment.  She had learned her duties from her 
Aunt as she helped in the inn, practiced with her grandfather in the 
evenings, fought occasionally with one of the twin girls from a neighboring 
village, spent the occasional free afternoon listening to the wandering, 
blind storyteller from the Amazon village, or just got into mischief with 
her best friend, Cherry Blossom.

In truth, the only bane of her existence during childhood had been Sung Li, 
the son of the local magistrate.  His father, Sung Po, was the sole 
representative of the communist government in the entire province, and spent 
much of his time away from the village, keeping the Communist government 
from prying too much in the provences affairs.  Her grandfather had often 
praised Sung Po for keeping the communists from disrupting their province 
too badly, but as a result, Sung Li had spent too much time fending for 
himself.  He had taken for granted that Zhu Shu would be his wife and 
treated her accordingly.  All Li could seem to see Zhu Shu as was an 
inferior, a woman worth only his baser desires.  As they had gotten older, 
his attitude had only gotten worse.  Despite her mothers dismissal of her 
complaints as unbecoming, Zhu Shu found his attitude degrading and hated 
him.  When puberty gave Zhu Shu a figure more like an American model than a 
normal Chinese girl, she had had to defend herself more than once from his 
too free hands.  Her only escape had been when she could get away from town 
with Cherry Blossom to their private cave in the cliffs above town.  Sung Li 
was much too lazy to make the climb, and safe in their haven she and Cherry 
Blossom spent hours talking.

Then, when Cherry Blossom had had to move, she had been numb, the happiness 
in her life gone like a snuffed flame.  In time, she had learned to hide it, 
but Sung Li's continued attentions became even more of a torture.  Only in 
the Shrine was she safe.

But when she had found out her Aunt had begun making arrangements to marry 
her to Sung Li, Zhu Shu had been a little desperate.  She had approached her 
grandfather...



The small pagoda was ancient; the oldest building in the village, but few 
people used it beyond Zhu Shu and her grandfather.  Most of the village was 
Buddhist and went to the temple on the slopes outside, but Zhu Shu had 
followed the ancient family beliefs and the Shrine of the Dragon felt more 
like home than the inn.  Whenever she was here, she had always felt like her 
family's guardian deity surrounded her and watched over her.  She prayed he 
was with her today.

She bowed to the carved doors before entering the shrine, her bare feet 
making no noise on the intricately tiled floor.  She stopped silently at the 
edge of the Dragon Mandala that filled the center of the single room and 
waited until the elderly man at the altar finished his meditations.  He 
looked up shortly and smiled.

"You are early for your lessons, Little Mouse."

Zhu Shu bowed.  "I have come to ask a question, Revered Grandfather." She 
hoped the butterflies in her stomach did not show.

Her grandfather raised an eyebrow.  "So formal, Granddaughter?"  He folded 
his hands into the sleeves of his robe.  "It must be important indeed if you 
feel the need to approach as a supplicant."  He bowed at her.  "I will hear 
you, Granddaughter."

Zhu Shu took a deep breath as she straightened.  "I have heard my Aunt 
talking to the revered magistrate."

He nodded.  "Go on, Little Mouse."

"Sung Li is unworthy of me." She said, head bowed.

"He is the son of the wealthiest man in the village.  His bloodline is pure. 
  His father is honored at the thought of joining his house to Clan Dragon.  
How is Sung Li unworthy?"

Zhu Shu took another breath to calm herself and hoped her grandfather would 
be willing to listen.  "He is lazy and lustful.  He has treated me as if I 
am already his and has laid hands on me in familiar ways.  I despise him."

"It is not necessary for you to love him to do your duty.  What would you 
have me do, Little Mouse?  He is the only eligible boy in the village.  Had 
your father left you a brother, you would be free to follow your heart, but 
you are the last Dragon.  You must bear an heir."

Zhu Shu reddened in shame at her grandfather's implied disapproval, but 
forced herself to go on.  "I would quest for a husband who is worthy of me, 
Grandfather."

Her grandfather looked at her for what seemed like an eternity.  "You have 
been listening to the Amazon storyteller again, haven't you?"

Zhu Shu bowed.

"Would you quest as they do?  Seek a husband who can defeat you in battle?"

"I would."

"And would you insist that the man who defeats you marry you as they do?  
Whether they wish to or not?"

"No, Grandfather."

"Then what would you desire, Little Mouse?"

"A husband who loves me."

Her grandfather strode across the Mandala to cup her chin in one strong hand 
as he searched her jade green eyes for a long moment.  Finally he closed his 
eyes and in a barely audible whisper spoke.  "So, it has finally come, as 
she said it must."  He turned away without explaining the remark.

"This quest may break your heart, beloved Little Mouse."

Zhu Shu said nothing.

He sighed heavily and looked at the scarlet and gold Dragon that formed the 
altar.  "A suitor who can best you in combat would indeed be worthy of the 
name Song, and a husband who loves you would treat you as the treasure you 
are, Little Mouse..." The tone of resignation in his voice surprised her.  
"I would see you happy, Granddaughter.  Perhaps it is true that only in this 
way may it be found..."

He turned to her again.  "Go.  Fulfill your quest.  I will pray that the 
Dragon guides you to the happiness you will not find here..."

Zhu Shu bowed and turned to go, but as she was leaving, she caught a glimpse 
of her grandfather before the shrine doors closed.  The joy she felt at the 
approval of her quest was tempered by that glimpse.  Her grandfather had 
always been the strongest man she had ever known, always full of life and 
vitality despite his white hair.  Age had never bowed his shoulders...

Yet for that brief instant, he had seemed...  old and frail...



Her Aunt had been furious of course, but could not deny her with her 
grandfather's permission.  Sung Po had even wished her luck after he had 
talked with her grandfather, to show he had no ill feelings.

Unfortunately his son had not been so gracious.  Li had demanded her as his 
due and her grandfather had told him calmly that if he could pass Zhu Shus' 
two tests, he was welcome to request her hand.  He had swaggered confidently 
into the challenge ring; sure no "girl" could possibly beat him, and wanting 
to put Zhu Shu "in her place".  But in a formal challenge, Zhu Shu had not 
had to be polite and had returned the years of humiliation with interest.  
After Zhu Shu showed him exactly how little chance he had of besting her, he 
had left the village, swearing he would return to claim what was rightfully 
his.  Zhu Shu had considered it good riddance, and on the morning of her 
sixteenth birthday, had set out on her quest.

That had been just over a year ago.  Since then, she had traveled the length 
and breadth of China.  She had fought more opponents than she could 
remember, and her skills had increased immensely, yet her quest was still a 
failure.  She was wiser in the ways of the world and had learned how little 
the traditions she cherished meant to the more "civilized" population of the 
cities, but had found no-one worthy of her hand.  Many had sought to bed 
her, and she had had to forcefully dissuade a couple, but love had been 
elusive.  Nor had all of her matches been purely in a formal challenge ring. 
  Some had sought not just her body, but her life, and she had learned to be 
wary of revealing too much of herself outside of her own province...

It had been after another of her "suitors" had tried to be too forward that 
she had begun wandering back towards Quihuang province.  She had failed, and 
as much as she hated it, she had been on her way home in disgrace, when the 
storyteller in a small village on the edge of the province had told her of 
Jusenkyo...


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