RANMA 1/2 is a work by Rumiko Takahashi and owned by her and the
respective licensing and distribution companies in Japan.
BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON was created by Naoko Takeuchi and
owned by her and the respective licensing and distribution
companies in Japan.
I do not own these characters. This story is for entertainment
purposes only. Please don't sue.
BROTHER IN ARMS
(A SM/Ranma crossover)
Don't worry, it has dark tones in the beginning, mainly for some
semblance of story, but it lightens up rather suddenly. Trust me,
you'll know when it does.
:)
PROLOGUE:
AM I a monster?
I don't cry. And some, they look at me and shiver and think
'nightmare,' a cliche thing of dark dreams and desires in my
twisted form...
Perhaps they are right. I dream of death often, dreams which
stand barely on the threshold of reality. In those ones that I
do, that I allow myself to remember, I find myself staring down
from a shadowed cliff, and seeing underneath me the mute glory of
Crystal Tokyo from beneath the night stars. It is silent, as it
often is in the night, a delicious and terrifying illusion
manufactured by the crystal walls.
I see the light and the stars and they seem to be one, and I
know in that moment that it is a type of heaven, a dream of
happiness made real by the will of a single girl, and the hearts
of a billion people.
And I laugh, and stare at the moon. A single step forward, and
I fall, down and down to the jagged rocks and finally, oh gods,
finally I come to the bottom, and in that single moment of
numbness and cold that pervades the body when it dies I cry out.
I can't remember what I say, only what I am thinking.
'I'm dead! I'm finally dead!'
Ecstasy, and then the warm liquid of tears as they splash down
on my cheek and the horrible, sickening feeling of guilt. I wake
up, and outside the rain is starting again, and she is at my side
and crying over me. Her eyes are big, and bright, and a thousand
years older and wiser and more innocent than I could ever be. I
swear again to her that I would never do that, that I would never
leave her, and thinking that soon, soon I have to break my
promise.
The time has come.
My Queen. Usagi. S...Serenity
Maybe, by some chance of fate, you would hear this, and think
somewhat less of me, or perhaps... I have not been very political
in these entries, and here is perhaps a tiny window to my heart.
But I've always known you held a single foot at the door, and
when I wasn't looking, perhaps you took a peek in.
I would not put it past you, you know. You must forgive me
though, actually, anyone who hears this must. I didn't have a
choice, you see. I had nothing, no thing that I could even think
but that I must save her, -you- (are you hearing this?) again,
and this time...
This time for the last and final time.
I'm coming home you see. I'm the only one who can do it, the
only one who is not Millennium blood or powerful enough to be
noticed and can slip past their defenses.
It is my time to save the world.
My Queen. Usagi. S...Sister
I'm coming home.
-Tsukino, Shingo- Lord Protector of The Queen
- ENCRYPTED DIARY ENTRY REFERENCE FILE ID: 123A 432FGO AB00-
Dated 1000 years, 69 days, 13 hours, 8 minutes, 12.234138532
seconds after the Year of Silence. Believed to be in connection
with the massive energy outburst recorded at 1000 years, 77 days,
7 hours, 77 minutes, 77.777777777 seconds after the Year of
Silence.
- SEE ALSO: Saotome, Ranma: Master Records -
- AND Karthygia War: Records -
- AND: Royal Guard: Creation and History: Records -
PART I: Meetings, Partings, and a Spy
"Let me tell you a tale, of long ago, of yore, of the time
before the Silence and the Crystal Lives we live now," she began,
and though he had heard her stories many times, he found himself
listening raptly. She had an odd way of speaking, he thought, a
tone that caught at least half of the attention and often, he
would find himself remembering snippets of whatever story, tale,
history, she told him.
Even now he remembered that she had learned the trick from
amusing the nursery children, after all... He shook his head, and
sighed.
"Mother..."
"Shhh..." She looked down at him, and he found himself growing
silent. She had that look again, the type that he found unnerving
and exciting. It meant that this story was one about this
supposed hero of long past, and of his father.
"This, Ranma, this is important. It is the tale less than a
hundred people know, and the truth that you must keep in your
heart."
He looked up at her brightly. There was interest in his eyes,
and as she looked down she realized he looked exactly like his
father...
"Mom?"
"Oh yes, of course, dear." She gave him a wan smile. "It
began, if one can say it did not begin when the universe was
borne, in what we called the twentieth century. You have seen and
studied your history, no? There were buildings of steel and
concrete then, and people still walked in the dark, never knowing
that they just had to open their eyes. Your father, well, perhaps
a little later... What I remember very clearly was food was
expensive, yes, Ranma, we paid for THAT back then, and stop
laughing! Anyway..."
"CHINA?!? You must be insane if you think I'm going to fall
for THAT, old man! I don't really give a crap if you say we're
going to the moon, but you're not draggi'n me out of here! No
way, no how!"
"Boy! How dare you dishonor the family name with your
weakness!"
Ranma twitched, and bean to look bored.
"You will destroy us, boy! The family line will be no more!
Oh, my son!" Genma switched tactics, and began to cry on Ranma's
leg. "How can you let your poor father die! And after all I've
done for you too! Oh, the ungratefulness of today's youth! I have
clothed you-"
"YOU STOLE MY ROBE!"
"...fed you-"
"YOU LET ME STARVE!"
"...taught you the ways of the art!"
"YOU FED ME TO A PIT OF CATS!"
"Err...could you cut me a little slack here, son..."
"Yeah, I'll cut you something, old man!"
Genma began to get very worried when he saw that gleam in his
son's eyes, and backed off slowly.
"Think of it son, she'll kill us!"
Halfway through his speech, Genma noticed Ranma had paled, and
he grinned. Finally, he had gotten through the boy.
"After all, what do YOU think she'll do when she finds out her
'sweet' Ranko is actually Ranma, her cursed son, after you went
shopping with her for all that time, eh? Oh sure, I can just
imagine it now, 'Gee mom, I'm a boy who turns into a girl
sometimes, and pops over there turns into a big panda, remember,
my pet panda? Oh yeah, and please don't kill us!' Ha! Do you
think that your mother has a kind bone in her body, boy? The
moment she found out she'd-"
"Kill you?"
"Exactly. Hmph. You must be changing too much, boy, you sure
do sound like Nodoka sometimes."
Ranma took a deep breath. "Pops."
"Yes?"
"That was Mom." And at that moment, Genma heard the two most
horrible words that had ever been uttered to him. It was said by
something dark, and evil, and very, very painful when it wanted
it to be. Something that could probably inflict inhuman amounts
of pain. His knees buckled, and the words seemed to echo in his
head like the sound of the chop chop chop of the guillotine.
"Hello, dear."
The last thing Genma saw before the hilt of the katana hit his
head was the fleeing feet of his decidedly unmanly, unconcerned,
and ungrateful son.
*I'll get you for this, boy!*
Nodoka fumed, looking at his unconscious form, and began
looking for her fleeing son.
Stupid old man.
He was already out of Nerima and halfway into the Juuban ward
before he slowed down and looked back. The first thing he decided
on was that there was no way he would go back, not until he found
out what happened to pop, and that maybe mom would need some time
to...digest the information.
Yeah right, he thought, more like enough time to cool down. He
had seen the look of anger in her eyes.
Betrayal.
He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't think
about that right now, nope. Sentimentality was a weakness, his
father said, and so was crying over something that was he was
useless to prevent.
Ranma brooded, occasionally looking up and hoping for once for
a little rain to hide himself in. He did not notice then, when
the flying bundle of blonde hair drove into him at high speed.
Today was the day Ranma first met the queen, Shingo taught,
and smiled when he spied them bump into each other. Ranma
recovered in an inhuman amount of time, catching his feet, and
then pivoting forward to catch the falling girl. Ranma was
incredibly fast, he realized, even a thousand years younger and
he STILL couldn't match the speed of the dark warrior, or be a
hundred percent sure he could beat him with magic. Perhaps that
was why he seemed to be exiled. The Senshi were afraid of him, of
the power he possessed, of what he could do.
No, that was not fair to him or his friends. He exiled himself
because of what he chose to be... because of what had happened,
what WOULD happen in this time.
What was destined.
Shingo sighed sadly. He would need the help of the warrior, no
matter how much suffering he knew it would put both of them
through, and Ranma would need his in the time to come. He had
always wondered why the strange, enigmatic man had tried so hard
to become friends with him in his later years. He chuckled, and
remembered the conversation that they had yesterday morning- or
rather, a morning a millennium and a lifetime away from now.
"Going somewhere, Shingo?"
Shingo looked up, startled, and then smiled. It had been a
long time since anyone but the senshi and his sister called him
'Shingo'. Most people would not talk to him anymore. He raised a
large and callused hand, noted the scars on it, and then quickly
hid it back into his black robe.
"Ranma?"
A tall form materialized from the thin shadows of the archway
that led out of Crystal Tokyo. It was clothed in a red shirt and
pants, and though he was sure he had no cloak on, Shingo thought
he could see the black night around them shift as Ranma moved. It
was a side effect of his...condition, he supposed.
"How did you?"
"You should know by now that I'm just full of surprises."
"More like a fool with surprises," Shingo countered. He cursed
himself for being surprised. He should have been more alert, he
could spot if a mouse tried to sneak up behind him, dammit, and
even Ranma should not have been able to get past his own magical
sensors.
"Aww, be nice. You shouldn't speak to your elders that way.
Now little boy, what are you doing so late at night, eh? Nothing
naughty?" Ranma wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Shingo
felt like slamming his head against the wall. He couldn't afford
this distraction right now, although he missed his old friend. He
needed a good excuse, and fast.
"I'm just out for a walk, Ranma." Well, that was a brilliant
excuse, he thought drily.
Ranma smirk became wider. "In the dead of night?"
"I'm a sorcerer," he said briskly, "we do things like that."
Ranma laughed. "Shingo, I have more magic in my little finger
than you do at your prime. I'm disappointed in you. You should
really think up of a better excuse than that."
"Somnos!"
Ranma's eyes seemed to droop, and Shingo almost let his
composure go when he saw the shadow form sway and finally lean
against the arch, motionless.
"...Ranma?" He didn't respond, and seemed to further slump
against the wall.
"You aren't funny, you can stop pretending."
Shingo felt his half-hopes slip away when Ranma's figure
stirred, and then looked up at him.
"Heh, heh. Sorry, but man, I can't believe you actually
thought a simple SLEEP spell would work on me! ME!"
"Well, it was ancient western magic! Nobody knows that
anymore!" Shingo mentioned defensively. Ranma smiled.
"Shingo, here's an important tip for ya. All magic uses at
least one of the basic principles. Using that, its not too hard
to find out how any spell works, and which counter can deal with
it."
"I'm more than a thousand years old, Ranma. I don't need
advice like I'm a kid!"
"Hmph, you sound like one right now," Shingo rolled his eyes
when Ranma began talking in a falsetto voice, "Oooooh!
Ranma-sama's being mean! He caught me sneaking out of the palace,
and I can't handle the fact that he is sooooo much better than
me! Plus, I have like, the lamest excuse in the world for the
fact that I have six of the seven Heaven keys!"
Shingo sobered instantly when he heard the announcement, and
met Ranma's amused eyes. The joking conversation, reminiscent of
something they might have had hundreds of years ago, quickly came
to a standstill.
"You know?"
Ranma laughed, and looked up at the stars. His voice was soft,
and barely carried, a complete contrast to the loud and masculine
one Shingo had heard. "I've known for a long time. Longer, I
think, than you would ever imagine."
Shingo grimaced, and braced himself. "Are you going to stop
me?"
Ranma stared at him for a long time, and Shingo clenched his
fists, quickly running through calming exercises in his mind. It
would take every ounce of power he had to stall Ranma, he
realized, and perhaps he would not even manage that.
"How is she?"
He was caught off guard by the question, and the painful
undertones that belied it.
"Dying."
"I know that."
Shingo paused, "she misses you still."
"Oh?" It was a listless response.
"She forgives you, you know. For everything. All of us have.
Crystal Tokyo has. They know now, and they understand!"
"I haven't forgiven myself yet."
Shingo sighed at the admission. "Have you at least forgiven
them?"
Ranma blinked, hesitated, and then said softly, "I've come to
help you."
"Ranma, you can't change the topi-"
He brought his fist up, and then opened it. Shingo gasped and
forgot what he was saying when he saw what lay on Ranma's palm.
"By the Queen! The seventh key."
"Shingo," Ranma began, "Did I ever tell you how I got to be
caught up in all this senshi business?"
"No," Shingo croaked, but he knew the answer, and he knew now
that his decision was final. Ranma turned his back, and began
walking in the darkness. Shingo followed soon after, the
possibilities swirling through his mind. "No, Ranma, you never
have."
"Oh?" Ranma's voice was normal again, he noticed. The pain was
gone, the soft whisper tones of ancient wisdom and sorrow hidden
away. "Come on then, we have seven or so days left to prepare.
I'm sure I can tell you a good tenth of it before you have to
leave. Its interesting you know, it began-"
"Ranma?" Shingo interrupted in a whisper, and the suddenly
chatty warrior looked his way. Shingo was suddenly thankful the
robes hid well his deformed body and eyes. Ranma's blue eyes
seemed to bore through him, seeking something.
Finally, he shook his head, answering the unvoiced question.
"No, unfortunately not, my old friend." Shingo nodded, and waited
for his next words. "You're not coming back."
It did not crush him, nor make his duty any harder, Shingo
thought with a certain amount of pride.
He had expected the answer.
Now, don't you hate it when stories suddenly break the third
wall, change tone abruptly, and switch to a completely confusing
and unrelated first person point of view?
Oh! I can't be late AGAIN! Why does this always have to happen
to me! Stupid alarm clock! Stupid sun, stupid time, stupid Luna
for waking me up! Stupid sidewalk, Stu-
"Ooof!"
Gah! I hit someone again! Nope, I think it was a brick wall
because that really hurt and NOW I'M FALLING! Oh man is this
gonna hurt I can already taste the sidewalk, and... hey, that's
funny.
"Jeez, are you okay?"
Huh? Okay, just open you eyes, Usagi, with your luck, you
probably landed on some poor old lady and that's what broke your
fall. Okay...3...2...1...
Woah baby.
THOSE have to be the bluest, most beautiful eyes I've seen.
"Ummm... I-I ummm...."
Smooth, Usagi. Betcha you just won over him with those
remarks, eh? Oh my! Is he holding me in his arms? As in
supporting me? As in an embrace? As in *I* am getting embraced by
a gorgeous specimen of...ooooh! He's so strong!
"Are you okay?"
"Oh! Yes, very, fine, peachy, uh-huh!"
Argh! Usagi! What are you doing! You're scaring him! Slow
down! Breathe! Stop thinking in little sentences! Talk! Say
something! Wait! Don't! Act shy! Act bold! Carpe diem! Stop the
exclamation points!!!
"Oh good to hear that, you ran into me pretty hard there.
Sorry."
Oh no, I'm blushing! Eeeeek!
"Oh! Um, well, it wasn't your fault! I was just clumsy! I'm
really sorry!"
He propped me up! Hello, ground meet feet! And he's still
here! Oh, maybe he's fallen in love with me, kinda like those
destined things where one person just KNOWS they're going to be
together and everything! Please, please, please don't run away!
"My name's Ranma."
"YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!"
Oops.
"Are you okay? It looks like a pair of odango ran into you," a
deep voice commented. Usagi's eyes flashed to the person who had
so rudely interrupted, and she glared at him, "And who are *you*
mister?"
He smirked, "just an innocent bystander trying to make sure
the victim is alright, that's all. No need to go murderous,
Odango Atama."
She looked at him, mortified. "D-don't call me that you big
meanie!"
He laughed, a rich sound that made her blush and at the same
time get even more angry.
"Only when you at least -try- to notice things ahead of you
when you run, Odango Atama. A lamp post isn't as forgiving as
your friend over there."
"Oh you...you...meanie!"
Ranma meanwhile, had grown a sweat drop, and was slowly trying
to inch away from the 'battle.' He succeeded in a few steps
before he hit someone else while he was backing up. He turned
quickly, embarrassed, and prepared to apologize as the girl had.
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
"Is that really the first time you met my father?" he asked
incredulously. She looked at him in irritation. She hadn't even
gotten through half of the encounter yet.
"Well, yes and no, Ranma."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed. "We had met another time. Though neither of us
remembered, then. Eventually..."
Ranma grinned. "Eventually?"
"Well," she hesitantly said, "as you know, we didn't get off
on quite the right foot..."
PART II: A Simple Matter of Time
Crystal Tokyo had been in an uproar since two weeks ago. At
that time, news of the Queen's illness had finally leaked out,
and many flocked to the capital city to wish her well. Those that
did not have enough room went to the countryside, where they
built crude shrines that in a week, had become full fledged
buildings. The numerous prayer shrines dotting the landscape were
a testament to the general consensus that the catastrophe had
caused among the people, and everyday, more and more filled the
streets of Crystal Tokyo, and the rural area around it. Many
stayed to pray, the rest came and gave offerings, and went
reluctantly away.
It was not entirely motivated by love for their Queen, though
they did, and have loved her greatly. It was a nice fact that
no-one noticed her rulings, no-one felt affected by the hand of
royalty, and as such, no-one had reason to complain. She was in
the history as the savior of the world, and many stories, often
of ardent and fanatical supporters, were spread of her generosity
and kindness. Ironically, all but the normal ones were true.
It was also a fact, and a rather fortunate, or to a deceased
some, unfortunate coincidence that the invasion of the Dark
Kingdom had occurred almost simultaneously as a minor revolt rose
against Crystal Tokyo. Their reasons were the concern of those
who had come before them, mainly, that the concentration of power
in one figure, and one who by all reports seemed a little...odd,
was a recipe for disaster and eventual tyranny. The invasion of
the Dark Kingdom wiped them all out, and after the people of
Crystal Tokyo had been saved by the Senshi and their Queen,
albeit their past selves, and rebuilt their fair city, they had
probed into the insurrection.
The results were shocking, and broadcasted all over the
world. The leader of the group, (they called themselves the
'Senators,' an obsolete and archaic English word that had meaning
rooted somewhere in the Roman empire) was in fact, criminally
insane. In reality, as it was later revealed to the public a few
days later, he had taken control of the group the day before the
insurrection, and the real leader was actually a nice and
respectable woman who was simply a little paranoid. The damage
however, had been done, and many people often chose to ignore
that fact, immediately relating a revolt against the Queen with
big bad dark kingdom baddies and the criminally insane.
That little event and knowledge quickly put an end to all
grumbles against the Queen, much to the eternal delight of the
hard working Senshi, and the people never once again even
presumed to usurp the throne. Generations passed, each one
drilling into their heirs the lesson they had learned, and still
the same attitude of fear prevailed, and was strengthened, not
weakened as might be expected, by the preservation of the status
quo, and the spreading stories of the Queen's charms.
After all, what could one say about a ruler that was never
felt; a Queen whom one feared the absence, and subsequent loss of
protection of; and an image that everybody in the world loved?
It was a nice arrangement for the people, and for the
prosperity and peace of Crystal Tokyo. The only problem in
keeping it that way, was of course, the unthinkable eventuality
that their immortal queen might die. Her daughter would be able
to protect the people, but the Senshi, particularly the
blue-haired one, and the dying and wiser part of the population
that had lived for a few centuries, knew that it might take
another invasion to inspire the fear and love necessary for a
velvet rule.
To be blunt, the death of the queen was a very bad, bad thing.
The Senshi had mobilized for this, and pooled their resources
and considerable power in trying to find the cause for why their
queen had suddenly fallen into a mysterious comma in which the
very best of science, magic, and a mixture of both could not
affect. The answer became immediately obvious when they tried to
contact Pluto. When she answered their calls, she had, to say the
least, better days. Her hair was messy and frayed, and the short
fuku she wore was made indecent by the addition of a few holes
and long gashes.
All but Minako blushed at her attire.
Minako whistled.
The first words out of Setsuna's mouth were as dirty as her
outfit, literally and very much so figuratively, and much to the
chagrin of contemporary historians, unprintable for the general
population. The long, wildly gesticulated speech after that was
probably part of some ancient, diabolical ceremony involving a
chainsaw, two twigs, and an orange.
The problem, she explained after they calmed her down, was
that something had gotten pass the time gate once again, and she
was currently helpless to prevent it. This was followed by a
wise-crack comment made by a rather irate Senshi of Mars about
how Setsuna couldn't seem to keep her 'gate' closed, which was
immediately followed by the panicked cries of the rest of the
Senshi as they tried to pry Setsuna off Rei.
The single picture that had been taken by an attendant (after
he had miraculously recovered from seeing the Senshi of Time and
Mars grapple on the floor, with one of them being less than
clothed) was circulated around Crystal Tokyo, and then had
worldwide distribution as an underground item. Fully 10,000
posters, sized 20 by 15, and 100,000 more, life sized, were
manufactured underground and circulated.
All copies and knowledge of it mysteriously disappeared
however, when a future Pluto and Mars risked a time paradox,
descended upon the gleeful attendant as he was about to bring in
the picture for development, and promptly showed him the battle
utilities of high heels.
Spiked, of course.
But, back to the story on hand. Setsuna, after being given a
shot of modified tranquilizers, explained several important
facts. Currently, the time plane was a mass of vortexes, possible
paradoxes, and an infinite amount of collapsing realities. The
Time Key, Time Staff, and Time Gate were all currently being used
to hold this universe together. Pluto, in an effort to be
succinct, described the process as akin to fixing a submarine
which had just been torpedoed six or seven times with scotch
tape.
While still underwater.
The consternation of the Senshi was great, and a dark pallor
was cast upon the palace after that anouncement. As if to reflect
this, the people began to despair openly, and many were
half-attempting suicide by refusing to eat until the Queen had
recovered. That way of dying, it was recorded, was the Queen's
worst nightmare.
The beleaguered Senshi were filled with hope, therefore, when
they had investigated the mysterious disappearance of the Queen's
brother, and found a simple little holo message sitting on top of
his desk.
It said, simply-
"Don't try to read my diary. Won't be back. Saving sister.
Tell Setsuna to relax."
- Shingo.
(P.S. I have fish. Please feed them.)"
It was a light of hope for the Senshi, though they were a
little irritated at the note. Only one person did not feel the
dawning feeling of hope, and that was because she was too angry
to see anything but the robed and masked figure which echoed a
scene in a certain George Lucas movie except without the static
thingies and hence the copyright thingies.
"I'll KILL that boy if he does come back! He knew about the
Seventh Gate, and never told me!?! I'm gonna kill him, I tell
you! Kill him..."
They had to pry away the fingers of a raving Setsuna from the
neck of holo-Shingo, which had grown substantial and was actually
choking for some improbable reason. (Ami had deduced it was an
effect of the magic of Setsuna, who had unconsciously warped it
in her anger to create a trans-solidilucent-medigitative effect.
Minako just said Setsuna was too 'kowaiiiiiii' for the holograph
to not be affected and left it at that.)
It took a full three weeks to de-encrypt Shingo's diary.
It took another week to replace the rare fish he kept, which
had died of starvation.
Really now, you would think people would learn something after
a thousand years.
-1000 Years 77 days 7 hours after the Year of Silence -
He took in a deep breath.
"The Seventh Gate."
And behind him, Ranma looked up with hateful eyes at the
swirling vortex of power.
TO BE CONTINUED?...
Author's Notes:
There is one reference to Taoism.
Mood changes are an experimental style. I don't normally do a
'Fushigi Yuugi' in the middle of a story.
Well, there you go, just something that I decided to write and
did it. It took roughly two days, a spellchecker, and the absence
of schoolwork and sleep, so don't expect a masterpiece here.
The second chapter will be out as soon as AP's, IB's, and finals
are over, I finish looking over everything that's happened since
I vacationed from the FFML, and a big breasted girl named Muse
hits me on the head again. (Mmmm...Muse...)
Comments and Criticism appreciated.
diyos@mediaone.net