OK, so apparently I fail email attaching. It figures >_>
Once more with feeling (no attachment this time):
--- Nothing Lasts Forever ---
A Ranma � / Sailor Moon crossover (with minor cameos etc. from other places)
By TheFluff (thefluffmeister at gmail dot com)
Ranma will NOT become a Senshi. Ranma will NOT be discovered to be a reborn
something-or-other from the Silver Millennium. Ranma will NOT be super-powered,
hyper-intelligent and able to defeat everyone easily. The Senshi will NOT try to
kill Ranma (at least not most of the time - read and find out). Pluto will NOT
be a bitch (again, at least not most of the time). Akane will NOT be a violent
maniac.
This story probably should have a PG-13 rating or whatever it's called, but I
don't care much for such stuff (among other things, I have the benefit of living
in a country where censorship is frowned upon). If you enjoy the story, read it
and be happy. If you don't, either tell me why or keep silent.
Timeline stuff: the Ranma timeline and backstory is based purely on the manga
and branches during the Hiryuu Shoten Ha story arc - during the final battle
with Happousai, to be exact. More details in the story - read and find out. I've
watched the anime too, but to make things easy for me (and to avoid
contradictions) I'm not going to mix them except for on one point - Ranma's girl
form has red hair. This timeline means that at the beginning of the story, Ranma
has learned the Kauchuu Tenshin Amaguriken and the Hiryuu Shoten Ha but not much
else, beaten Cologne with the Neko-ken, and that all the (major) fianc�es has
been introduced. A list of important characters that hasn't been introduced at
this point includes (but isn't limited to) Nodoka, Konatsu, Hinako-sensei, Herb
and Tarou. Of course, there might be in-story modifications to Ranma's
background, but you'll have to Read and Find Out by yourself. Ranma has just
turned 17 when the story starts, which probably is half a year older than he
theoretically should be according to the canon manga.
The Sailor Moon stuff has some (read: many) resemblances to the canon manga, but
it's going to be twisted for my own evil purposes. You'll have to read and find
out here too.
Just for your information, the inner senshi are all 15 at the beginning of the
story, while the outers hasn't appeared yet.
Setsuna is... old. It's rude to ask a lady's age; didn't your mother teach you
that?
Disclaimer: I'm not claiming "ownership" to any of the characters herein. Not
even those invented by myself (if any).
Major props to Takahashi Rumiko and Takeushi Naoko, the creators of
Ranma � and Sailor Moon respectively - nice work there.
Bottom line: feel free to use and abuse any and all of the characters in this
story. Write a novel, claim you invented them, sell them as action figures, do
what you want, I don't care (although Takahashi Rumiko, Takeushi Naoko and/or
their respective publishers might). No rights reserved.
On with the story...
---------------
Prologue: Spirited Away
It was raining.
The world seemed almost totally devoid of colors, as if the water had washed
them all away and left only a dull gray.
A smallish female figure with a long staff in her hand and a big backpack on
her shoulders, hair a deep shade of red, made darker yet by the dripping rain,
steadily made her way down the almost deserted street. A closer look revealed
that while her movements were graceful and fluid, her whole demeanor radiated
fatigue, and her face, while pretty, was an expressionless mask. Her blue-gray
eyes seemed almost lifeless. It seemed as if she was totally unaware of her
surroundings, ignoring the rain, the raw, cold air, and the few people passing
her.
Pluto sighed. It was now or never. The redhead, if left to her own devices,
would probably commit suicide or simply starve to death within weeks, or she
could be captured by some of her would-be fianc�es.
That was why Pluto had to do what she was about to do, even if she disliked
using people - especially when they had no other choice but to let themselves be
used. But duty was duty and oaths were oaths, no matter how much she disliked
them at times. She summoned her staff, schooled her features with an ease
practiced over millennia, took a deep breath... and disappeared.
The view of street somewhere in Tokyo, Japan, lingered for a few moments
before silently dissolving, leaving the Gates in darkness and silence.
***
Saotome Ranma never lost. That was a well-known fact among all those who knew
him, friends and enemies alike. Sure, he might be temporarily halted, but he
always came back with a new technique or another trick.
Therefore, when Happousai had sapped his strength, he was sure that there had
to be a way to defeat him. No martial artist was perfect, after all, and if
there was a weakness, Saotome Ranma would be the one to exploit it. And sure
enough, the old ghoul had taught him a technique for which his strength was not
needed. It seemed perfect, but there were, as he had been forced to discover the
hard way, no such thing as a perfect technique, just as there were no perfect
martial artists.
When he finally managed to use it against the old pervert, it had turned out
that the only one that was strong enough to truly defeat Saotome Ranma was
Saotome Ranma himself.
Ranma silently pondered this irony of fate as she steadily walked on down
the street. She silently cursed destiny, the kamis, chance, all martial artists
in general, and Happousai in particular.
She looked up briefly, noted that she didn't recognize her surroundings at
all, and then shrugged and continued. Where she were was not important, and
neither was where she was going. She had lost all reasons to go on when the
Hiryuu Shoten Ha disintegrated the old parchment. She had lost the Way, and her
Art. They defined her, gave her a place in life. Once she had thought that the
curse was the end of her Way, but it had turned out that she, or rather her
foolish father, had been wrong. There had been a time when she would have done
anything for a cure, but now it seemed to lack significance, considering her
current situation. Without strength, there could be no martial arts, and what
was the Path of the Martial Artist without the Art? When all else failed, when
she had felt lonely and sad, there had always been the Art. She could always
find comfort in it, knowing that she had dedicated her life to something
meaningful. But now it was all gone.
Lost in her downward-spiraling depression, she almost didn't notice the tall,
green-haired woman until she was practically on top of her. She was about to
make an excuse and move on when the woman spoke.
"Saotome Ranma, I presume?" she said, her voice calm and soft.
Ranma, startled, looked up and examined the woman a bit more closely. She was
tall and slim, wearing a nondescript business suit, had a black umbrella in her
right hand, and if it hadn't been for the green hair and the red eyes, she
wouldn't have stood out much in a crowd of salarymen. Ranma automatically
assessed the woman's stance and posture and decided that she probably weren't a
threat, not even for Ranma in her weakened state. The woman seemed to have had
some training, but she didn't have the aura of a fighter, and she didn't seem at
all aggressive.
Ranma abruptly halted her examination when her conscious mind told her that
she probably didn't have any use for the information. Her days as a martial
artist were over, and she had to find a new Path. Saotome Ranma had lost, but
she would never, ever give up, she decided with sudden resolve. There had to be
another Path to walk, somewhere, something new to dedicate her life to. She just
had to find out what it was.
She suddenly realized that she had been staring at the woman, whom patiently
was waiting for an answer.
"Er... yeah..." she managed to get out. "Whadda ya want with me?"
"I'm here to make an offer," she answered, seemingly unfazed by Ranma's less
than tactful manners.
"An offer? Like, offering to marry me or something?" Ranma said wearily.
"Sorry, not interested."
"No. It's a job offer," the woman told her, her face still tranquil. Her
voice possessed a gentle strength, and a soft, subtle, but nonetheless
noticeable accent that Ranma couldn't place.
"I believe that you lost something very important to your particular way of
life a short while ago, is that correct?" she continued before Ranma could
answer.
"Eh? How did ya know that?" Ranma asked, startled. "Oh, never mind, Nabiki
has probably sold the news to half the martial artists in Tokyo by now..."
"No, I have my own... sources," the woman said, her red eyes fixing Ranma
with a piercing stare. "I believe it would be in your best interest to at least
listen to what I have to say. Let us discuss it at a more... comfortable place,"
she went on.
"Sure... it's not like I have anything better to do," the redhead sighed.
"What kinda place did ya have in mind?"
"There is a small caf� nearby," the green-haired woman said, turning around.
"It offers some privacy, as well as protection from the rain. Let us discuss it
over a cup of tea," she said and started down the street.
"Right..." Ranma replied, her curiosity roused. She followed the woman down
the street, water dripping down into her face from her wet hair. Redeyes might
actually have something interesting to say, and if she didn't, well, then at
least she would get something hot to drink.
***
The small caf� was comfortable, had a distinctly western design with small
round tables and tastefully designed chairs, and it was almost empty. The last
fact suited Setsuna's purposes perfectly - the less attention they attracted,
the better. She turned around to face the thoroughly soaked redhead, who had
entered just behind her.
"Please have a seat while I order tea and something to go with it," she told
the girl politely. "Would a sandwich suit you?"
"Yeah, that's fine with me," the former martial artist answered, and walked
over to a table in a corner, near the window.
Setsuna walked over to the counter and ordered a pot of jasmine tea and two
western-style sandwiches. After paying, she brought the tray over to the table
Ranma had taken, and sat down.
"Now, I believe an introduction would be in order," she began, pouring tea
for them both. "My name is Meiou Setsuna. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meetcha too... I'm Saotome Ranma, but you already knew that, didn't
ya?" Ranma replied, as she wiped her wet face dry with a paper napkin.
"I did," Setsuna admitted. "I beg you to forgive my bluntness, but let us get
down to business" she continued without pausing. "There's not much time."
"Hey, no problem," the girl said, nibbling on her sandwich. "What kinda
business is this offer of yours?"
"I think it is the kind of offer you can't refuse, Saotome-san," she said,
allowing a small smile to touch her lips. "As I said earlier, you recently lost
something very important to your Path, correct?"
"Offer you can't refuse? Sounds like something Nabiki might have said..."
Ranma mumbled through a bite of her sandwich. "Wasn't that from some American
movie or something? Anyway, yes, I sure as hell can't do martial arts anymore,
if that's what's ya mean," she continued, bitterness in her voice. She put down
the sandwich and sipped her tea.
"So I had gathered," Setsuna nodded. "What would you say if I told you I
might be able to help you to get back on your chosen Path?" Ranma choked on the
tea.
"Are you serious?" she exclaimed as soon as she recovered. "You know how to
cure the strength-sapping stuff?"
"Actually, no." Setsuna admitted, and Ranma visibly sagged. Setsuna almost
frowned before stopping herself - the girl definitely needed training in the
delicate art of concealing one's thoughts and feelings. "However," she
continued, watching Ranma perk up slightly again, "I have reason to believe that
I can get the information without too much trouble, and it's here the offer
comes into the picture..."
"Oh, I see. Just great," the redhead cut her off. "The only person that seems
able to cure that crap turns out to be an older version of Nabiki! Whadda ya
want?" she asked, hostility in her voice.
Setsuna sighed inwardly at that. It would probably take a long time to win
the young martial artist's trust, but if there was something she usually had
plenty of, it was time. The problem was that she didn't have any of it right now
when she needed it!
"Again, please excuse my blunt manners," she apologized aloud. "I realize my
behavior is improper. But time is running out, and I need an answer now. Please
listen to what I have to say, Saotome-san," she continued, her voice sharpening
towards the end.
"Well, speak," Ranma said shortly, and picked up her sandwich again. "I've
never cared much for formalities anyway..."
"Thank you," Setsuna sighed, sipping her tea. "My offer is as follows: you
agree to work for me for a period of three months, starting from today. I will
do my best to search for a remedy for your... condition, but I can't promise
anything. I'll provide room and board for you during the period."
"What kinda work are we talkin' about here?" Ranma asked suspiciously, eyes
narrowing.
"I can't tell you the details right now, but I can tell you it won't be
against your principles or an exploitation of your body..." Setsuna assured her,
pleased that the girl at least had picked up something from Tendo Nabiki. "In
fact, it will be something more along the lines of school, or training - both
teaching and studying."
"School? Training?" the smaller girl blinked, bewildered. "Alright, what are
the catches? Out with 'em. There's no such thing as a free lunch, Nabiki taught
me that."
"No catches. There are a few rules, however," she told diminutive redhead.
"The first is secrecy. You might see and hear some very strange things during
the... assignment. Every such thing, in fact everything you see and hear during
those months, is absolutely and totally confidential. You are not allowed
discuss it with anyone," Setsuna said, her eyes locked on the redhead's over the
rim of her teacup.
"The second is obedience. If you accept, you will have to obey me as if I
were your liege lord," she continued, "and I trust that you are sufficiently
educated in the old ways to know what that means."
"The third and final is isolation. You are not allowed to contact your
friends, relatives or fianc�es without my express permission," she finished.
"And this is for three months, you say?" Ranma mused, and finished off her
sandwich with a quick and vicious bite. "Sounds more like a vacation to me...
Are ya sure ya mentioned everything? If I accept this, swear an oath on my honor
and all, and there turns out to be something ya missed, the oath will be
invalid."
"Well, there's one more thing. Since you'll be my vassal, you'll be given an
allowance - call it a fief if you like," she told the younger woman.
"Allowance?" the redhead blinked. "This definitely sounds way too good to be
true. How do I know that you're not fooling me about the cure and just are
taking me for a slave for three months?"
"You can't know that, you'll have to trust me," Setsuna sighed. "But I assure
you, I have very good reasons to believe I can find it, or I wouldn't be making
this offer."
"Trust you..." Ranma trailed off. She examined Setsuna, doubt in her blue-
gray eyes.
"We're running out of time, Saotome-san," Setsuna told her, making a slight
hint of impatience evident in her voice. Next I'll start to sound like Gandalf,
she thought. 'For twelve thousand years I've walked the lands of earth and
space, and now I'm running out of time...' She almost chuckled aloud, but hid it
behind her calm mask. Control. She was in control, and everything would go as
planned.
"Geez, I don't see where the fire is," the redhead complained. "Calm down,
will ya? This is a long-term commitment I'm considering here."
"I'm well aware of that, Saotome-san," Setsuna patiently replied, "but you'll
have to decide about your future now, or someone else will decide for you.
Aren't you sick of that already?" She finished her tea, and put the cup down on
the table.
"Don't talk about it... between my stupid pops, that old bag Cologne, Tendo-
san, and about everyone else, it's a wonder I've got any future left," Ranma
sighed. "Everyone seems to want a piece of it. Anyway, I'll go along with it. I
can't see any other ways outta this mess, except for starting a new life from
scratch..." She bent her head and stared at the table.
"Thank you for trusting me, Saotome-san," Setsuna sighed, relieved. She bowed
slightly to the younger girl. "I assume you don't have anything you want to pick
up?"
"Nope, everything I have is in the backpack..." the girl replied. "It's not
much, but it was all I could carry..." she trailed off. Setsuna thought she saw
a hint of wetness in the corner of girl's eye as she turned to pick up her
backpack, but when she faced her again, her blue-gray eyes were clear.
"Good. Let us proceed to my home, where I'll explain things about your new
commitment," Setsuna said briskly. "Follow me, please. It's not far."
"Whatever you say..." the redhead murmured as Setsuna got up and started for
the door.
***
What have I gotten myself into this time? Ranma had been asking herself that
question at least fifteen times during the last three minutes, but no answer was
forthcoming. She followed Setsuna through the caf� door, into the rain outside.
"Please, Saotome-san, I don't want you to get even more soaked than you
already are," the older woman told her. "The umbrella is large enough for two."
Ranma blinked.
"Eh... sure. Thanks..." she said, and walked in under the shelter of the
umbrella, acutely aware of how close this brought her to the other woman. Ranma
silently wondered what there was about the older woman that made her so hard to
ignore - Shampoo often got much closer, with a lot less clothing on, without
making her this uneasy.
"Don't mention it," Setsuna told her absently, her red eyes scanning the
surroundings, as if she was looking for something.
Ranma nervously walked beside her, her gaze fixed on the pavement. It hadn't
felt like Redeyes had been trying to trick her, but she couldn't be sure. The
woman was much too good at controlling her own body language to be easy to read.
But she had chosen this, and she intended to see it through. Saotome Ranma would
never give up, she thought, clenching her fist. She couldn't give up when there
actually was something to work for. Now she had a purpose again - at least for
the moment...
"We're here," Setsuna said abruptly, startling her. She looked up, and found
herself in a small alley, high walls surrounding them on all but one side. The
only door she could see was made of steel, barred, and with a sturdy lock - it
seemed to be the back door to a warehouse of some sort. She threw the older
woman a confused look.
"Here?" she asked. "What're we supposed to do here?"
"You'll see in a moment," Setsuna replied, closing the umbrella and leaning
it against a wall. She pulled something that resembled a pen out of her left
sleeve.
"Pluto planet power, make up," she stated matter-of-factly, and Ranma's jaw
dropped.
***
The young couple exited, their hands intertwined under their shared umbrella,
leaving the caf� empty except for the middle-aged woman behind the counter. She
picked up a rag and went over to the table where the young couple had sat, and
started to clean up. She was on her way back to the counter with the teacups
when the door banged open and five teenagers with umbrellas poured in. The woman
blinked and was about to greet them, when one of them, a rather pretty boy with
long, chestnut hair and something very large, covered by black cloth, strapped
to his back interrupted her.
"Excuse me, but have you seen a small, red-haired girl with a pigtail around
here?" he inquired politely. "She was probably wearing Chinese clothes and a
large backpack." The woman blinked again.
"Yes... she left not five minutes ago," she replied. "What..." she started,
but was interrupted again, this time by a girl with long, purple hair.
"Where she go? Quick! This important," she snapped.
"Th... that way," the woman stammered and pointed.
"Good, we're catching up with him!" another girl, this one with short black
hair, exclaimed. "Let's go!"
The group disappeared as quickly as they had entered, leaving the woman
gaping like a fish on land.
Him? I must have heard wrong, she thought, then shrugged, putting the teacups
on the counter.
***
"Quit gaping and get moving!" Setsuna snapped at her. "We don't have all
day."
"Wha... what was that?" Ranma stammered, staring and pointing at the now
seifuku-clad woman.
"I'll explain later, but for now, remember to call me Pluto when I'm like
this," Pluto replied impatiently. "Now, we have to get out of here quick, before
someone finds us..." She raised her hand, and a long steel staff, resembling
some kind of monstrous key, materialized in it.
"Hey, that's a neat trick," Ranma exclaimed, quickly recovering from her
shock. "Beats the hidden weapons technique. Could ya teach me?"
"Not right now I can't," the red-eyed woman told her sharply. "Grab my hand
and hold on." She offered Ranma her gloved left hand. Ranma stared at it for a
second, shrugged, and took it.
"Good. Now, let's split," Pluto said, her slim hand gripping Ranma's tightly.
She raised the staff. "Recall."
And the world went black.
***
"I don't get it," Akane said, confusion in her voice. "That old man said that
he saw Ranma enter this alley not two minutes ago, but he's not here, there's
nowhere to hide, and I can't see any way out of here except for the way we
came..."
"Violent girl just stupid," Shampoo sniffed. "He must have gone through that
door," she continued, pointing at the barred steel door.
"That one?" Ukyo asked. "I doubt it. It'd take at least five minutes to
unlock that monster..." She took another good look around the alley.
"And jumping is out of the question in his state," Ryouga added.
"Where did he go, then? And I'm not stupid, Shampoo!" Akane snapped. "It's
not like he can disappear into thin air, is it?"
"Maybe we misunderstood something," Ukyo mused. "We were in a hurry. Let's
backtrack and ask someone else. We'll find him, sooner of later." There was a
general murmur of assent, and the five martial artists turned and left. Mousse
stopped and took a last peek through his thick glasses. The alley stayed empty,
nothing moving between the high walls. He shrugged, and followed his beloved
Shan Pu.
***
"Whoa, that was intense," Ranma managed to get out. "Warn me before you do
that next time, will ya?" She straightened her back and took a look around.
There was not much to look at, except for a really big gate standing by itself
about a dozen meters away. She couldn't see anything else, except for Setsuna -
or if it was Pluto - and a lot of mist.
"Sorry about that," Pluto sighed. "I had to get us out of there before
someone found us." Ranma glared at her.
"Who would have searched for us in that abandoned alley?" she growled. "I
think you'd better start explaining yourself, Meiou-san, or Pluto, or whatever
you chose to call yourself." Pluto sighed again, and bowed to her.
"Again, I apologize," she said, almost meekly. "I will answer any questions
you might have, to the best of my knowledge."
"Great..." Ranma muttered. "For starters, where the heck are we?"
"This is the Gates of Time," the older woman responded promptly. "This place
exists outside the normal three dimensions of space. Rest assured, no one can
follow us here." Ranma blinked.
"That physics stuff was never my strong point," she said. "Always made me
fall asleep... but then again, most of school did." She smiled a bit sheepishly.
"I know," Pluto stated, her voice calm.
"Whaddaya mean, 'I know'?" Ranma asked irritably. "How come you know
everything about me? Did Nabiki sell you the information?" Pluto shook her head.
"No, she didn't," she assured Ranma. "As I told you earlier, I have my own
sources, this place being the most important." Ranma blinked at that.
"How can a big door and a lot of mist be an important source of information?"
she asked, puzzled. The other woman was about to respond, but Ranma interrupted
her and continued.
"No, don't answer that now," she sighed. "I probably won't understand it
anyway. But I have another question. Why was it so important to get here? Who
was following us?" Pluto seemed to hesitate for a second.
"Both your fianc�es, your friend Ryouga, the Chinese girl Shan Pu and her
companion Mu Si," she answered, and Ranma paled.
"Were they following me?" she asked, aghast. "I had no idea... although I
certainly should have," she mumbled to herself before speaking up again.
"There's no way I could face them like this." The green-haired senshi made a
small smile.
"So I had gathered," she said dryly. "It was important to get you here, since
this is one of the few places where I can guarantee that no one will disturb us.
I have a lot of things to explain, and I couldn't do it if your normal fan club
was around. They tend to make it difficult to have undisturbed conversations
longer than five minutes..." Ranma sighed at that.
"Tell me about it..." she said. "Not that I like having a boring life, but
sometimes I just want to have two minutes for myself, ya know?" Pluto nodded.
"I can understand that," she said. "Do you have more questions?"
"Lots," Ranma said wearily. "Who exactly are you, and what is this job you
have for me? And how do you plan to find a cure for my... condition?"
"This might take some time to explain," Pluto told her, "so let us make
ourselves comfortable."
She made a small gesture with her free hand, muttering something Ranma
couldn't make out, and suddenly something that looked like some kind of
translucent computer terminal appeared in the air before her. The staff
disappeared as the fuku-clad woman released it, and she quickly typed in a
series of commands on the terminal.
Ranma was about to ask what she was doing, when suddenly she was swept from
her feet by something hard. As she started to fall, she automatically began to
adjust herself for a proper landing, but the short drop was abruptly stopped
when she landed with a bump, sitting in a comfortable, western-style armchair.
Looking up, she saw Pluto sitting down in an identical chair on the other side
of a small tea table, the computer terminal gone. Ranma threw the other woman an
irritated glare.
"Please, Meiou-san," she growled, "warn me before dropping me into stuff,
will ya? It doesn't matter if it's other dimensions or armchairs, it really
frays my nerves!" The other woman gave her a small, enigmatic smile, and ignored
her complaints.
"It's Pluto when I'm like this," she reminded Ranma absently. "Where to
begin... ah. The Court of the White Moon should be a good place to start."
And she talked, and Ranma listened, and for a while the empty, silent place
was filled with the sound of voices.
To be continued...
-----------
Author's notes (MORE non-story stuff; I'm much better at writing this than
writing prose... -_-;):
Don't judge it yet, everything will be explained in due time. The other senshi
won't be showing up for a while - many things will have to happen before that.
Yes, I know Pluto doesn't need to say anything to get to the gates, but like I
said, the SM stuff is twisted for my own evil purposes.
Also, unless you've noticed it by now, English is only my second language (the
first being Swedish, and the third Chinese), so please don't
bash my grammar. Feel free to correct it, though...
A note on Shampoo's and Mousse's names: I've chosen to write them as Shampoo and
Mousse when someone says their names in Japanese. When someone says it with the
proper (Mandarin) Chinese pronunciation, I write Shan Pu and Mu Si respectively.
Shan Pu shouldn't surprise many readers, but why Mu Si instead of the more
common (in fanfiction at least) Mu Tsu or Mu Suu? Because Mu Si is the way
Mousse's name is written in the Chinese translation of the manga. Mandarin
Chinese doesn't really have a good "su" or "tsu" sound, so I've gone with the
Chinese translation here (this is all a bit stupid, since the pronunciation in
the remote areas of Qinghai isn't likely to sound anything like Mandarin at all;
heck, the Shanghai dialect sounds more like Korean than like Mandarin to the
untrained ear - and I have no idea what the Amazon dialect might sound like...).
Incidentally, Shampoo's name (as written in the Chinese translation) means
something like "Jade Coral" (the character used for "shan" doesn't really mean
anything by itself, but when combined with another it means coral - "pu" means
"stone containing jade" or "uncut jade"). Mousse's surname ("mu") really is a
proper surname (it doesn't really mean anything when used as a surname), but
when used as a verb it means "to wash hair" (gee, I think it'd fit Shampoo
better... :P). The "si" in "Mu Si" means "silk".
One of the most difficult things about this fic was coming up with a plausible
reason to separate Ranma from the ordinary Nerima Wrecking Crew. I needed
something drastic, but killing them all off seemed a bit over the top (the
Shadow Chronicles did it (and did it good, which I doubt I could), and look what
happened to Ranko), and anything else short of divine intervention (not gonna
happen - this is NOT an Oh! My Goddess fic) seemed insufficient to get the whole
mess out of the story, given the average level of obsession in the NWC, and
Ranma's obvious attachment to some of its members. The alternate-universe thing
was too ridiculous (again, the Shadow Chronicles can do it, and do it really,
really good; but I can't - at least not good enough) and had been done to death,
so I settled for a separation on Ranma's own initiative during the Hiryuu Shoten
Ha arc. This had the nice side effect of powering Ranma down to reasonable
levels (since he hasn't learned most of the special techniques yet), especially
before he gets rid of the strength-sapping stuff (yes, he will get rid of it,
eventually - the point of this story isn't to make Ranma into something
completely different (like a violinist... *coughgenmasdaughtercough*)). Also,
Nodoka won't be a problem in this story, since she hasn't appeared yet. She's
too strong-willed to deal with easily, in my opinion. Anyway, her character
isn't really a favorite of mine, and I doubt that I could write her good.
OK, enough of this. Hope you enjoyed it.
TheFluff
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