When Two Lives Cross
chapter 6
by Rin
Name: Rin
Email: [email protected]
Page:
www.kaworu.nu/rin
Category: Crossovers
Disclaimer: YYH is not mine, it's Yoshihiro Togashi's. Ranma 1/2 is Rumiko
Takahashi's. Storyline and original characters in the chapter are mine.
*scratches head* And I guess this is the brunt of disclaimers, neh?
Chapter Six "Let's discuss this like normal, rational adults..."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-
She breathed.
Her eyes flickered open in shock and surprise. This wasn't suppose to happen;
her slumber should have remained undisturbed for the rest of eternity.
But the feeling of unconditional loss continued to assault her, along with the
realization that she was alive once more.
Ohhhh nooooo. I am going to be in SO much trouble.
The Crystal was gone. She could no longer feel it. A sudden barrier, as if there
was something that was preventing her from knowing where it was.
Someone was opening it. That was the only possible reason.
She must find it.
Like an opaque spirit, she rose up from her now-broken chamber, rising on air,
floating without wings.... and then just as suddenly, plunged back towards the
ground and banging her head against rock. "Owww!"
A few minutes later, she rose up again, hand rubbing gingerly at one side of her
face, and this time obviously struggling for control. She was out of practice.
How long had it been since she had flown? Two millenia? Three?
Stupid Ningenkai.
She began her search.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==
The Dimensional Crystal was gone.
It was a somber group that gathered together in the main dining room area that
morning, and for several good reasons. To start with, Kuwabara was sulking, the
horrible image of an overgrown tantrum-throwing baby being a good visual.
Normally, Kuwabara would sulk because Yuusuke had beaten him up again, or
because Shizuru had eaten the last bowl of his favorite Cheerios, or because Mr.
Fletcher, a giant teddy bear more than half his size, had tried to suffocate him
the night before while he slept. This however, was not a normal occasion of
sorts.
It had happened. The unthinkable, the unforseeable, the unimaginable, has
happened. It was like day without night, the world without its axis, Alex
Trebeck without an answer to some irrelevant piece of world information. It
gnawed at his soul, seared agony into his brain, and generally made him out to
be more of a fool than he normally looked.
Yukina hated him.
It beat out a steady staccato within the empty recesses of his brain, pausing
every so often to encourage a hoarse cracking sound, like that of a heart
breaking in two. His world was shattered, and he could see nothing beyond those
beautiful pair of ruby red eyes mocking his very existence.
Yukina hated him.
He couldn't cry. He couldn't scream out his frustration and pain. Instead, he
stared wordlessly at absolutely nothing in front of him, the words and voices
around him muted down to an indiscernible buzz, and then to silence. He had no
need to know of the living around him, when his life gave him nothing to live
for. Not anymore.
Because Yukina hated him.
Being the worried older sister genuinely concerned for her younger brother's
plight, a sorry sight that it was, Kuwabara Shizuru drew her hand back and gave
Kuwabara a good resounding smack on the head, causing the latter to hurtle
forward and land with a clunk on his head. "Baka. Stop moping around, we
have much more important things to discuss than your non-existent love
life." When the carrot-haired man gave neither words nor action in reply,
Shizuru cast him a quick glance. Kuwabara hadn't moved from his awkward position
on the floor, eyes glassy and mumbling something incoherent and probably
foolish. She sighed and shook her head. She didn't know what triggered the
sudden change in Yukina's attitude towards Kuwabara, but whatever the reason,
her younger brother was hurting bad.
The object of Kuwabara's pain and anguish sat on the opposite table, obviously
as far as she could get from him. With a dainty sniff and eyes of the very ice
that was the sum of her Koorime abilities, Yukina calmly listened in at the
discussion that was taking place, giving no outward sign that she cared about
the Reiken-wielding man's torment. Her fingers idly traced the outline of the
small beautiful brooch that she wore, a small trinket she had found the night
before. "I do not think it would be wise, Koenma-sama." She said
gently, an odd contradiction. "You're close to falling down from exhaustion
right now; I think you should rest before trying anything else."
Koenma, the Prince of the Dead, was in tears. His current strength and ki unable
to maintain his handsome adult form, the semi-deity had reverted once more to
his original body; a young kid who looked no older than five years, a pacifier
firmly glued to his mouth and wearing a hat three sizes too large for him.
"But it's all my fault!" He wailed. "If I had the sense to bring
the crystal back to Reikai and lock it at the space-time continuum vault there,
Genkai wouldn't be in this predicament right now!"
Genkai was an old woman, stronger than her age and even more wiser, and also the
master of the Reigun technique. One of the most deadliest fighters during her
prime, even at her advanced age, she remains a force to reckon with. Which was
why it came as a shock to all to discover that the woman had been attacked by
some unknown force during the previous night, and was now lying in an adjoining
room being attended to by Botan, in a state of comatose. Few people could face
and beat Genkai in battle, much less beat her into a near-state of death.
Genkai's one and only prodigy, Urameshi Yuusuke, listened to Koenma's fresh
burst of outburst, followed by attempts made by Keiko and a redhead to calm him
down. Kurama; that was what his name was. Yuusuke felt a fresh pang of guilt at
not being able to relate to the grief that hovered like a raincloud among the
room's occupants; though he was Genkai's student, he couldn't remember anything
about his obaasan. Having gotten himself into an accident a few days ago wherein
he had lost all his memory, Yuusuke still had a hard time fitting name to face,
though Keiko was a big help in seeing him through. The mere thought of her name
sent a strange warm glow all over him down to his toes; Keiko had once explained
to him, quite embarrassed, that they were dating. Which would explain why he
felt the way he did. The other girl had an impossibly pretty blush.
Keiko, on the other hand, was feeling much the same way.
Stop it!
She scolded herself. Yuusuke is still Yuusuke, no matter how much he had
changed. She was unused to this new caring attitude that Yuusuke was displaying
for her. The old Yuusuke was brash and arrogant, calling her names more than he
did compliments; this new Yuusuke was the perfect gentleman, the prototype of
the man of her dreams. Why was she behaving like some fool girl barely on her
first date? Just because the other man was looking at her with that soft smile
on his lips, or that heart-stopping look in his eyes......
"It's all my fault." Koenma continued to wail. "Not only did I
manage to nearly kill Genkai and allow the crystal to be stolen, I don't even
know who was responsible! Dad's gonna kill me!"
From the adjoining room, Botan winced as her boss' cries began to permeate
through the thin sliding doors. She sympathized with Koenma - if he got away
from his father, Enma-Daioh-sama, with just a spanking, she would be lucky - and
she was appalled at the very idea that someone could be so strong to easily
overpower Genkai. She applied another cooling rag to the unconscious woman's
forehead; what little healing powers she had ensured that Genkai would live, but
nothing else beyond that.
A faint shuffling nose made her head turn.
The boy Ryouga stood in the doorway, scuffling at his feet and looking
embarrassed. "Um, how is she?" He asked uncomfortably.
An unexplainable surge of dislike surged through Botan, and she didn't know why.
As the deity of Death, she had seen all kinds of people of every trait and
attitude, and she had always managed to maintain a clear sense of
open-mindedness. Her confusion regarding the lost-looking boy standing in front
of her only added to her anger.
"None of your business." She snapped, then lowered her voice so not to
disturb Genkai. "She'll be alright, if that's what you're asking."
Ryouga flinched at the blow, and it was at the tip of Botan's tongue to
apologize, but something was holding her back. It was odd, but she actually
liked Ryouga the first time they had met, when she had accidentally fallen on
top of him in the gardens. She had thought he was impossibly cute. Why the
sudden change of opinion? It must have been something in the food she had eaten
the night before; she rather thought she was imagining things, but her dislike
for the yellow bandanna-wearing boy was not as strong as it had been the night
before.
"I'm sorry to intrude on you." Ryouga said quickly, before she could
think of saying anything else. "I don't know what I did to offend you, but
I'm truly sorry for....whatever I did. I'll leave now." The door sliding
shut marked his exit.
"But the problem is," Botan spoke to the room and the sleeping martial
arts teacher, looking puzzled. "That I don't know what it was,
either."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-
While the Reikai Tantei argued and discussed matters in the most adult manner
they possibly can - which involved holding Koenma down lest he hurt himself -
the other more permanent members currently residing in the Tendo Dojo were
confused. It had been explained to them earlier that these visitors to their
humble home were actually detectives working for the Reikai, the Gates of
Judgment, but were at a loss as to how they could contribute to the ongoing
discussions, having had little experience in the area of the gods and other
legends, other than a close and painful encounter with an irritating phoenix.
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo for one, were on the verge of outright worship.
"Spare us for allowing such a transgression to happen on our very
dojo." Soun grovelled. The Prince of the Dead paid no attention and
continued to wail.
"Stop that, you two! They're not blaming you for anything." Akane
scolded her father and supposedly future father-in-law. "You're not making
things any better, you know."
Her supposedly fiance, Ranma Saotome, smirked. "As if you can contribute to
anything they're saying, pea-brain."
After ensuring that Ranma was firmly imbedded onto the granite stone wall behind
her, Akane turned to the Reikai Tantei. "I am so sorry this happened at our
dojo, and I'm afraid we don't know very much about who you people are and what
you do, but we would very much like to help in the best way we can." She
offered.
"Thank you, Akane-san." Kurama said gravely. "I'm afraid this is
a serious problem, and we would welcome any help we can get. But this is
dangerous, and we wouldn't want any of you to get hurt."
"We can take care of ourselves!" Akane boasted. "You'll be
surprised at how many strange situations we get in Nerima. We've weathered
through everything somehow, and we can do it again!"
"Of course, of course!" Soun and Genma were no longer on their hands
and knees, but on their feet in a typical Anything Goes martial arts stance.
"We'll take on all comers! We are the greatest martial artists of the
Anything Goes martial arts, and we extend our help in anyway we can!" Soun
crowed.
"Ah, well. Thank you." Kurama was discomfitted. His eyes strayed
towards Hiei's, but the other fire demon, in male form this time, refused to
meet his eye, staring out the window with his arms crossed and a scowl on his
face. He still didn't know what happened between them the previous night, and he
was going to get to the bottom of it, whether Hiei liked it or not. He sighed
inwardly. With Genkai incapacitated, Yuusuke with amnesia, Kuwabara dead to the
world, and his and Hiei's problems, things couldn't get any worse.
He realized he was wrong approximately four seconds later.
With a sudden screech of sound closely resembling the blare of trumpets and the
squelching of bagpipes, the table blew apart.
The impact sent most of the others sprawling; Soun, Genma and Koenma joined
Ranma in creating three new deep imprints on the wall. Out of instinct, Kuwabara
had snapped awake and had lunged for Yukina, protecting her from the debris, and
the latter, after a few stunned moments, had pushed him away. Hiei had started
up from where he sat, sword drawn and dark eyes glittering.
A young girl stood atop what remained of the table, hands on her hips and legs
akimbo, and glaring. Her long silvery white hair whipped forward as she turned
to level everyone with a pale-eyed stare. "O-kay. Which one of you idiots
were responsible for stealing and opening the Crystal? And would it be impolite
of me if I ask that you Give. It. Back!" Her voice rose several octaves
towards the end of her speech, and her ki was growing dangerously..
Kasumi walked obliviously into the room, as she often did, with a pot of tea and
several cups perfectly balanced on one tray. "A visitor?" She
questioned, spotting the newcomer. "How nice! Would you like some
tea?"
A long pause, as the stranger swung her eyes towards Kasumi's.
"Well, okay!" She flopped down to a sitting position, reached a hand
out for one of the cups, and beamed cheerfully, while everyone else either
sweatdropped or hit the floor. "Do you have rice cakes? I love rice
cakes!"
This, Kurama thought, was going to be a long day.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-
"So you weren't the ones who'd opened the Crystal?" The girl asked,
disappointed. What debris there had been from the table incident had been
cleared up, and the stranger was going through Kasumi's tea and rice cakes like
a lawyer on crack.
"We've been trying to find that out ourselves." Yuusuke said, a little
mournfully. "What kind of person are you, anyway?"
At that, the girl puffed up importantly. "My original name si
She-who-keeps-the-sacred-jewel-and-controls-the-pathways-of-life. But you can
call me Tammy."
"Well....uh......Tammy." Kurama said carefully, as everyone stared at
her. "What do you know about the Crystal, then?"
"Know? Know?!!" Tammy asked disbelievingly. "Why, everything! I'm
the Keeper of the tar'akransha'liel, the Dimensional Crystal; I've been there
when it was first created, slumbered with it for almost four thousand years!
There's nothing that I don't know about the Crystal!" She paused,
"Except maybe where it is right now."
"We don't know either." Akane said sadly. "And we were hoping you
did."
Nabiki leaned forward. "What type of crystal are we talking about, exactly?
These guys weren't being too specific about it. Is it valuable?"
"The most sought after jewel in the land!" Tammy proclaimed.
"It's priceless!"
"Reaaallly?"
"It's not valuable in the way you think it is, Nabiki." Shizuru
interrupted.
"That's why it's so dangerous to have it opened." Tammy continued.
"All life is within that glowing crystal. One who has discovered the
ability to control its power controls all life as we know it! That's why I gotta
have it back! Besides, I know the names of a few gods and goddesses who are
going to have my hide if I let anything happen to the world!"
"Join the club." Koenma muttered.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-
The figure in black caressed the crystal lovingly. "Very good, Mariko. Very
good." Energies crackled as hands moved through, located the small rough
edge that marred the crystal's perfection. "Shall we test what we can do
with this delightful toy?"
Slowly, he pressed a thumb into the small hard niche, heard a barely noticeable
click, and then continued pressing down. Releasing his ki through his hand and
into the jewel itself, his fists tightened around the small crystal, and then
began to go through it.
There was a loud splintering of glass, like a million mirrors shattering into
tiny miniscule pieces.
And then , all hell broke loose.
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Comments, onegai? =)
Rinnie =`^.^`=
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