Title: Warriors of Light and Shadow; Chapter 1: Ronin

Author: Storm Bringer

Rating: PG 13

e-mail: the_storm_bringer@hotmail.com

Author’s Notes: This is a Ranma, Sailor Moon crossover… I decided there just weren’t enough of these out there. The time line is as follows: For Ranma, the end of the series although this will have little bearing on the story. For Sailor Moon it’s at the very end of SMS when Neptune and Uranus challenge Sailor Moon’s claim as Princess.

Disclaimer: …What am I supposed to say here, I forgot. Let’s see…This can’t kill, so I don’t have to warn people against that. It’s not flammable. It’s not dangerous if ingested. Hmmm… Oh yeah! I don’t own the characters! Duh, stupid me!

* * * * * *

Lead gray clouds filled the sky, obscuring the sun and casting a dark pall over the city of Tokyo. The distant rumbling of thunder seemed like an ominous tiding to many who heard it on that bleak, dreary day. It was like the voice of some divine being giving warning to the inhabitants of the great city that the end was near. Or perhaps the words were for the entire world, but whomever they were for, no one listened so in the end it did not matter.

That was not entirely true, there were two people who heard the words rolling along with the thunder. They heard them, but knew not what they portended. It was only a feeling deep in their bones, a feeling that something dark and ugly was approaching. But as of late their lives had become dark and ugly things, so they chose to pay the warning no heed. If death came, they both believed they would welcome it with open arms.

One of those two people was a young man who stood on the bank of one of the many canals running through Tokyo. In one hand he grasped the hilt of a broken katana, the blade having been snapped off a little over halfway to the tip. It was a blade of exquisite quality and there were few things in the world that could have broken it, but break it had. The deep crimson of dried blood marred its fine, silver sheen.

To the young man, that broken blade represented an ending. The life he had known was over, he had nothing left except the broken katana and the clothes on his back. He did not even have a name any longer.

The over laden clouds hanging in the sky finally chose to drop their heavy loads. Rain poured down over the city, soaking the young man in seconds, changing him from he to she, and matting his long hair, changing it from black to red. She seemed to take no note of it though. She just held her broken sword and stared into the murky waters of the canal as though they held the answers she was desperately seeking.

They did not.

* * * * * *

-One day earlier, Nerima district-

"Ainen!" Ranma tried to dodge the flying figure of Shampoo, but she was already on top of him. "Wo ai ni!" She held him tenderly, but tight enough that he couldn’t get away. She snuggled up next to him, slowly moving closer to his face.

"C’mon Shampoo! Get off a me!" She responded to his protests by trying to plant a kiss on his lips. He managed to turn his head enough so that she only caught his cheek. "I said knock it off!" he shouted forcing her arms from around him.

"Ranma Saotome how dare you take advantage of my Shampoo!" Ranma looked from Shampoo to Mousse and back again, and realized that the hold he had on her wrists made it look like he was forcing her into something she didn’t want.

"Oh C’mon! It’s not what it looks like!"

"Silence user of woman!" Mousse sent a volley of sharp pointy things flying at the pig-tailed martial artist. He dodged the weapon master’s attack and used it as a barrier to distance himself from Shampoo as well.

"Will you stop already! I told ya nothing happened!" Something large and hard came out of nowhere and slammed into the side of Ranma’s head. He was sent reeling and bright spots of color danced across his eyes. When his vision cleared he found himself on his knees staring at Ryoga’s feet.

"How dare you cheat on Akane, Ranma!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I wasn’t doing nothing!"

"So you say, but the mark of another woman’s lips upon your cheek says otherwise." Ranma suddenly remembered Shampoo’s kiss. Damn! She must have been wearing lipstick. Before he could explain what had happened, though, Ryoga’s foot connected with his face.

Ranma slammed into a wall leaving a rather large impression in it as he slid to the ground. He was getting sick and tired of this. Not just this fight, but all of the fights. It was like this every day. He’d do something completely unintentional and end up fighting half of Nerima. He didn’t mind fighting occasionally and a daily sparring match between someone could be fun, but this was ridiculous. The only thing that could make today worse would be the arrival of Ukyou or Akane.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, several of the okonomiyaki chef’s spatulas imbedded themselves in the stone next to his head. This day just kept getting better and better. "I see you’ve taken to cavorting with Shampoo now Ranma honey. Looks like I’m going to have to make sure you remember who your real fiancée is."

"You no is Ranma fiancee! Shampoo is only woman for Ranma."

Ukyou shot Shampoo a fiery glare. "We’ll just see about that sugar." The two girls began fighting, but Ranma wasn’t able to take advantage of the situation because now Mousse and Ryoga were splitting up to try and catch him in a pincer attack. Realizing that this was going to be a very long day, Ranma jumped to his feet and prepared to defend himself.

* * * * * *

Late that evening a very tired, very hurt Ranma arrived at the Tendou dojo. His fight with Ryoga and Mousse hadn’t gone very well. They seemed to be getting better and better and he seemed to be losing his edge. He knew the reason he was losing his fighting instinct was because he was tired of it all. Tired of the never-ending battles, tired of the challenges he was constantly receiving from people wanting to fight the best, tired of all the women who seemed to think he belonged to them. He just wanted to rest.

He stumbled through the door and the first thing he got was an irate Akane in his face. "Where have you been Ranma?" she demanded.

"Ryoga and Mousse jumped me," he explained. "I had to dunk them in a canal before they finally gave up." Feeling he had fully explained his tardiness, Ranma moved to go around Akane. He stopped when he noticed she had the ‘I’m going to hit Ranma’ look in her eyes. He wondered what he had done this time.

"So you were out fighting huh? Then what’s that on your cheek Ranma?"

Ranma groaned. He had completely forgotten about Shampoo’s kiss and apparently the lipstick hadn’t come off in the fight. "I can explain that. You see Shampoo—"

"So it was Shampoo huh!" shouted Akane, cutting him off. "One of your cute fiancee’s! Why didn’t you go to her with your injuries and story of being picked on by big bad Ryoga and Mousse?"

Normally Ranma would have hit back with something sarcastic and rude, but

tonight he just wasn’t in the mood for the bickering he and Akane were constantly engaged in. Looking down at her, he wondered if she truly thought so little of him. It wasn’t like he had gone out of his way to attract fiancees and enemies, and he certainly hadn’t encouraged them once they had shown up. Without saying a word, Ranma simply limped past Akane.

"Where are you going now?" Akane’s tone had lost a bit of its edge and was now tinged with confusion. It wasn’t like Ranma to simply ignore her barbs.

"To take a bath," he responded in a weary tone. "I’m tired and I hurt, so I’m gonna take a bath and go to bed. Good night."

Once in the bathtub, Ranma felt the aches in his muscles dissipate and the knots in his shoulders fade away to nothing. The warm water relaxed him, made him forget about the day’s events. For a time he was able to soak peacefully, his mind drifting off to places where life was not a constant battle. But inevitably his mind returned to reality, to the difficult task of finding a solution to his current problems.

Despite what many people believed, Ranma was not in fact stupid. He was simply ignorant of a great many things. Since the day of his birth, Ranma’s life had been laid out before him by his parents. He was to be a man among men, a warrior whose skills and abilities would be unrivaled. He would marry the daughter of his father’s good friend Soun and carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. He would bring great honor to both families. No one had ever bothered to ask him if this was what he wanted.

Ranma was a fighter because he had never been given the chance to be anything else. Fighting and the martial arts didn’t necessarily disagree with him, it was just the constant fighting that he disliked so much. His knowledge of things other than fighting was limited due to the nomadic like lifestyle he had lived for a good ten years of his life. Being dragged from place to place and being enrolled in a ton of different schools had done little to help his education or social skills.

And now he was here in Nerima, considered by many to be either an enemy or the love of their life. This was where he was supposed to spend the rest of his life, happily married to Akane. Yeah, right.

Ranma pulled himself out of the tub with a sigh, wrapping a towel around his waist in case someone decided to blunder in as they often seemed to around here. He had the solution to his problem, had had it for some time actually. He just had to implement it, and tonight was as good a time as any. It was time for him to take back control of his life.

But, like many things, that was easier said then done. Ranma had faced many challenges throughout his life, many of them requiring great courage. Courage was something Ranma had plenty of, but even he had to wonder if he had enough to get himself through what had to be said tonight. In the end he supposed it didn’t matter. If he was going to ever be happy then it would simply have to be said.

Ranma dressed hastily and went downstairs where he found everyone gathered in the dining room as he knew they all would be. His father and Soun were playing shogi, his mother was talking quietly with Kasumi, Nabiki was going over the dojo’s financial records, and Akane was reading a book. Everyone but Akane looked up as he entered the room and stopped just inside.

Taking a deep breath, Ranma said, "I’ve got somethin’ I’ve gotta say." Everyone just stared at him and for an instant, with all those eyes on him, he nearly lost his composure.

"Make it quick Saotome," said Nabiki. "I’m almost finished with this and I need to get my beauty sleep tonight."

"Um…" Nothing more came out.

"Speak up boy! What have I taught you about mumbling?"

Ranma took another deep breath. "I was thinking and-"

Nabiki smirked. "You’re just full of surprises aren’t you."

Glaring at Nabiki, Ranma began again. "I was thinking and, well, I’ve given this a lot of thought, and," a third deep breath. "I’ve decided I’m not gonna marry Akane." Silence. "Don’t get me wrong. I don’t not like you or anything Akane, I just don’t want to marry you." More silence. "Sooooo, that’s pretty much all I gotta say." Lot’s of noise.

"You will marry my daughter!"

"So you’ve decided to marry one of your cute fiancee’s then, huh Ranma!?"

"You’re not thinking this through boy! What are we going to do for food and shelter if you refuse to marry Akane?"

"Oh my."

"Well Saotome, maybe you really can think for yourself."

"This is a matter of family honor Ranma! You can’t simply walk away from your obligations."

"NO!" Silence fell once again. "No, Mr. Tendou, I will not marry your daughter. No, Akane, I’m not marrying Shampoo or Ukyou. And no, mom, this is not my obligation. This is your obligation. You and pops made the promise, not me. I’m through with it, I’m through with it all."

Nodoka’s hand strayed towards her ever-present katana. "Will you forsake honor then, Ranma? Will you stain the Saotome name? Will you go against the wishes of your parents?"

"Yes, I will go against your wishes because they’re not mine. My life is my own and I intend to live it that way."

Nodoka stiffened. "We will discuss this in the morning."

"If you want, but tomorrow I’m leaving and nothing you can say will change that." Without another word he turned on his heels and walked away leaving stunned silence behind him. When he reached his room he shut the door and leaned against it with a sigh.

It was over. He had said the words and made the commitment. No one was happy with him, but that was to be expected. Even now they were probably down there trying to come up with a plan to keep him here in the morning. Well, maybe not Akane. She was probably happy with his decision. He hoped she was, he really didn’t want to hurt her. Akane was almost like a sister to him.

The next morning Ranma felt nervous from the moment he woke up. Normally he slept late, even on school days, but today he was up with the rising of the sun. He stayed in his room for a long time, staring out the window and prepping his mental defenses. Ranma vowed silently to himself that nothing said or done this day would deter him from his chosen course.

Trepidation slowed his steps as he descended for breakfast. Food didn’t sound too appealing to him right then, but Ranma didn’t really expect that he’d be eating much that morning. He doubted they would give him a chance.

Ranma found everyone gathered in the dining room just like last night, and just like last night he stopped just inside the entranceway. Everyone but Kasumi and Nabiki gave him a stony look when he entered. Kasumi seemed to be her usual cheerful self and Nabiki actually gave him a half smile and a look of sympathy. Nodoka’s katana was lying on the table unsheathed, not a good sign.

The words ‘trial by fire’ suddenly popped into Ranma’s head.

"Good morning," he greeted, trying to keep his voice cheerful.

"Son," returned his mother without any attempt at cheerfulness. "We have something to discuss."

Ranma heaved a sigh. "No, we don’t. I told you last night, nothing you can say will change my mind."

Nodoka’s palm smacked the table and everybody jumped. Genma looked uneasy. "You know the terms of the agreement, Ranma. The penalty for breaking it is severe."

"Then you’re in real trouble aren’t ya!" he snapped. "I already told ya I didn’t agree to nothin’. This is your grave you dug, you lie in it! I’m outta here!"

"How dare you speak to me that way!" Anger smoldered in Nodoka’s eyes. "I’m your mother!"

"Feh, some mother you are!" Nodoka’s eyes widened in indignation at this statement, but Ranma went on before she could say anything. "First you make some lame ass deal to marry me off to someone I don’t even know, then you send me off with my honorless dog of a father for ten years of my life! When I finally see you again I have to hide for fear of my life, and when I finally do get to know you, all you can talk about is my duty to the family name! Well I say screw the family name!"

By this time Nodoka was visibly shaking with barely contained rage, her face mottled with anger. Everyone else—even Kasumi—was staring at Ranma with wide eyes, unable to believe that he had just said what he said. Genma’s eyes showed more than a bit of fear as his gaze turned to his wife.

When Nodoka finally spoke her voice was like ice. "You have brought so much shame upon yourself this day that I do not know if it is possible for you to remove the stain that clouds your soul." She gestured to the unsheathed blade. "You may try though."

Now it was Ranma’s turn to shake with rage. His mother still did not understand, was still locked in the past. Well then, he would make her understand.

Two steps took Ranma to the table where he snatched the katana from where it lay. For an instant relief showed in Nodoka’s features, and then she got a good look at Ranma’s face. Without taking his eyes off of his mother, Ranma raised the sword above his head, and brought it point first down on the table. With his strength and the blades razor sharp edge it passed all the way through easily, but he stopped it from going all the way to the hilt, leaving a little over half of it still sticking up out of the table.

"This is what I think of your honor and your shame," stated Ranma firmly.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, Ranma pulled the trapped katana towards himself. His intent had been to simply bend it, make it unusable by anyone. There must have been a flaw in the metal though, or perhaps he did not know how strong he had truly become over the years, because instead of bending, the blade snapped in two. Ranma stumbled backwards, staring at the jagged tip in amazement.

"What have you done!?" shrieked his mother, leaping to her feet. Holding the katana up before himself, Ranma just looked at her. "You do not deserve to be part of my family," growled Nodoka. "This day I here by strip you of the name Saotome! You are no longer my son!"

Exclamations of shock and gasps of surprise met this proclamation. Ranma didn’t understand that. They had all been expecting him to either give in or commit seppuku, and yet this act stunned them all. In that instant he despised them all for their foolishness.

"Fine," he stated coldly. Reaching up, he gripped the blade of the katana with his bare hand and drew it along his palm, leaving a streak of his own blood from hilt to jagged tip. Flinging his injured hand forward, Ranma splattered Nodoka’s face and clothing with his blood. "Take my name, but take my blood as well. Best if there’s nothin’ of you left in me."

Then, without a backward glance, Ranma left with the broken katana still in hand. He didn’t bother to retrieve any of his stuff from his room, or take any food from the kitchen. He just walked out—and didn’t come back.

The full impact of what he had done would hit him later. He finally had his freedom, but it had come at a very high price. Ranma no longer had family, or friends, or even a place to sleep at night. Now he was alone, completely alone. That thought left an empty feeling deep in his soul and he was forced to wonder if he had made the right decision.

* * * * * *

Please tell me what you think. The Sailor Moon aspect will be introduced in the next chapter, which should be out fairly quickly.