The characters contained within this story are owned by Takahashi
Rumiko or whomever wrote Sailor Moon. No infringement of copyright is
intended. This work to be distributed for free, unchanged, crediting
the current author.
This is a crossover between Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon. To make the two
stories fit together the way I wanted, I needed to shuffle the dates at
which a few things occur within the main timeline of Sailor Moon. I bow
my head in shame: please forgive. We also have guest appearances by
Slayers and 3x3 Eyes.
Die hard fans of Ranma may also notice a very subtle change to it's
story timeline...
This story is dedicated to the letters A, and K and the number 8.
Visit my website at
http://www.users.fl.net.au/~fire
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| Destiny's Child |
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Summary of Chapter 1:
While on a training trip with his father, Ranma fell into the spring of
the drowned young girl. Unfortunately, his curse can only be changed
back with _very_ hot water, which means he spends most of the time in
his cursed form. Not only that, but since the spring was drowned young
girl, he turns into a 12 year old girl who never ages.
It is now the mid 1500s, and Ranma must deal with the fact that Akane -
his wife of the last 50 years - has just died of old age, and he still
looks like an 18 year old.
Since Chapter 2 is so small (11k), so Chapter 3 will be posted
immediately after.
Oh, yeah. If George Lucas can get away with calling Star Wars part 4, I
can call Chapter 2 that also...
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Part IV, A New Hope
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The small girl with eyes filled with pain beyond her years descended
from the hills and walked to the coast. Wherever she went, she would
seek the best fighters and the best teachers, and learn what she could.
Medicine and fighting were the two goals in her life. With enough
knowledge, she may one day become a lady, rather than a young girl. For
if a girl can be come a lady, then a lady can become a elder, and one
day she can join her family in the heavens.
Every journey begins with but a single step. The journey to old age
begins with being a lady. Ranma's goal had always been to be the
greatest Martial Artist possible, and to be the manliest man possible.
Now he added that while a girl, he wanted to be a lady. She travelled
Japan for three years searching for knowledge when she realised that
she was looking for the end of the journey, rather than the start.
Taking a boat to China, 'Tendo Yuki' headed for Jusenkyo.
* * *
Yuki looked down on the pools of Jusenkyo and marvelled at how little
they had changed in the last five decades. All the little bamboo poles
were still there, looking as freshly cut as when she and her father had
come there the first time. Walking along the edge of the pools, she
looked down into the cursed waters and wondered what spirit dwelt
within the spring.
She was leaning over the water, trying to see into the depth when she
heard a voice from behind her. It was unmistakably the Guide, but he
sounded depressed and resigned. "Oh, little Miss. You no go near cursed
Spring, is very bad you fall in."
When Yuki turned and walked away from the spring, the Guide almost fell
over. People never heard what the Guide was saying until it was too
late. A dozen times the Guide had seen people come to Jusenkyo and had
tried to warn them away: each time they had ignored him. If a person
was doomed to be cursed, they would never notice the Guide's warnings
until it was too late. When she was next to the Guide, Yuki looked up
(compared to the massive figure of the Guide, Yuki's slender juvenile
frame made it quite a way to look up).
"Don't worry about me. From what you told me, there's no danger of me
ever falling into one of the springs."
"No! Little Miss, is very bad. You should not try. Go home now. Very
tragic if you fall in."
Yuki laughed. "Oh, something like the Nyanniichuan, a very tragic story
of young girl which drown in spring 1500 years ago?"
The Guide patted her on the back and led her into his hut. "Don't know
where you hear story of Nyanniichuan, but no risk of that. Spring of
Nyanniichuan destroyed fifty year ago. Spring dry up and vanish. No
more spring of drowned young girl any more."
Yuki sat down and gasped in astonishment. All of the healers and
priests she had spoken to over the last three years agreed on one
thing. The best chance they would have to counter the curse would be if
they had a sample of the cursed water to work with. If the spring was
gone, even that hope was dashed. Seeing his guest in such a distraught
state, the Guide took her inside, prepared tea and pressed a cup into
her hands.
Seeing the bowl of tea, Yuki looked up at the Guide and smiled. It's
been so long, he probably doesn't recognise me, time for a
demonstration. Reaching past the Guide, Yuki lifted the pot of hot
water off the stove. When she poured and shuddered in pain, the Guide
gave a short scream and stepped backwards. "No! Is not possible! Is no
Nyanniichuan! You find hot spring of drowned boy?"
Ranma looked at the Guide and he seemed to be terrified out of his
wits. "Calm down man! I've been here before, remember? You explained it
all to me: the cursed springs, hot and cold water, the spring of
drowned Jusenkyo Guide. Please, you have to remember. I need your
help."
Still breathing hard, the Guide had backed to the other side of the
room. Taking a few deep breaths, he finally managed to get himself
under control. "I new Guide, only been here six year. You too young to
have been cursed here before then. Where you get curse?"
Ranma sighed and took a sip of his tea. "I got cursed here fifty years
ago, probably just before the Nyanniichuan dried up. While I was
training with my father, he fell into the spring of the drowned panda.
I fell into the spring of the drowned young girl."
The Guide shook his head, jowls wobbling. "Is no possible. You no more
than nineteen. How you fall in spring of drowned girl?"
"Ah! There's your problem. It wasn't the spring of the drowned girl. It
was the spring of the drowned _young_ girl. Do you have any idea what
it's like to spend almost every minute of the last five decades as a
twelve year old girl?"
Turning away, the Guide busied himself getting some simple food from
the cupboard. When he had laid out a simple meal for the two of them he
motioned for Ranma to join him. Ranma was just starting on a piece of
hard cheese when the Guide spoke softly. "I... I no understand. I fall
in spring when I seventeen year old girl. Now I spend every day as fat
old man. Once... Once I great warrior. Now I nothing more than
fisherman. I collect people who fall in spring, try keep them alive.
Never... Never get to live my life..."
When the Guide began to cry, Ranma relented. Stepping around the table
he placed an arm around the Guide's shoulders and held him tight. It
didn't take long before the Guide was clinging tightly to him, crying
like the woman she was on the inside. The Guide's curse was the
harshest of all the curses from Jusenkyo. If the Guide died, someone
would quickly fall into the spring and be curse to become the new
Guide. For this reason, no one would ever try and cure the Guide. All
his food was provided, but none would stay with him, for to do so was
to court the danger of the legendary cursed springs.
Ranma and the Guide talked long into the night. While the Guide had
never heard of anyone ever being cured of their curse, he suspected it
was possible. The magic of the springs was powerful, but surely there
must be some limit. Although the hope was small, the Guide continually
clung to the hope that some day there would be a cure and he would be
changed back into a girl. Already the best years of her life had been
robbed away, and it seemed unlikely that would change.
As the fire in the hut was guttering low, Ranma spoke of his life and
his goals. All he really wanted was to be able to grow old and die, to
be with his beloved wife. He realised that suicide was possible, but
that was just a cowards way of saying that they could not fight the way
life was. Ranma was going to hang onto life until it was stolen from
his grasp. He just wanted to remove the curse so that nature could take
it's toll. It hurt to much to see everyone and everything you loved
grow old, wither and die while you watched through the eyes of a child.
Offering Ranma a place to stay, the two turned in for the night.
Tomorrow they would again pool their knowledge. Perhaps they may have a
clue to the cure that the other needed.
During the night it rained.
Needless to say, the roof above Ranma's head leaked slightly (and for
the first time in years). When Ranma awoke it was as a she, not a he.
Over breakfast, the Guide told Ranma of his village, the Joketsuzoku.
They were mighty Amazon warriors and would be happy to take in a girl
as talented as Ranma. Since they lived close to the springs, they were
also the most likely to be the ones which would have a cure. Ranma in
turn told the Guide of his life and love with Akane. It was three years
since she had died, but every day still started as a bleak and hopeless
look at the future: alone, and eternally missing the one woman who he
truly loved.
Eventually Ranma left for the Joketsuzoku. As she left the Guide's hut,
she promised the Guide: 'If I ever find a cure for the curse, I will
return here. You won't have to take the cure, but I promise you that I
will offer it.'
While he walked down the hill, leaving the valley which held the
springs, he wondered which was worse: being a man in a young girls
body, or being a girl in a man's body, and knowing you were loosing
your own life as his time ticked by.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/teahouse) (
geocities.com/tokyo)