The Mazoku and the Maiden
A Ranma 1/2 / Slayers crossover
By Koibito

Part 1

Zelgadis sighed. It was yet another typical evening on the road with Lina Inverse. In other words, the rag-tag group of adventurers were sitting around a rough, wooden table in the inn's common room, occasionally sighting each other over the pile of rapidly diminishing food and sometimes making the effort to speak. Lina and Gourry were fighting over some especially tasty morsel, while Amelia took advantage of their distraction to help herself to it. Zelgadis had taken his usual position, in the corner farthest from the light and noise of the room, and sat watching them from the shadows of his cowl. Normally the lightest eater of the group by far, on this night he'd barely touched anything. Looking at them, he thought once again how grateful he was for his companions -- no, friends. They really were his friends, good ones for the most part. They'd accepted him, fought beside him, tried to draw him out of his shell. . .with the barest of smiles, he had to note that they seemed far more offended by his withdrawn and serious personality than by his freakish appearance.

Remembering the difference between them and himself dissolved the tiny beginnings of his smile immediately. True, the little group he owned as friends were more than he had ever hoped to have. But he still longed for something more, and he feared never finding it. He had thrown himself headlong into his obsessive search for a cure, trying to ignore any thoughts of what he would do if he didn't find it, because he couldn't face that possibility. It would have killed his friends with shock to discover it, but their reserved, brooding teammate longed for love. And Zelgadis knew. . .he knew he could never find it as he was. The smooth, hard, blue rock that made up his skin was also a wall that sealed him away from humanity. Even without the spell-made chimeric part of him, there was the part that was Mazoku - monster - to consider. But it had never been that apparent, he could pass as human if he could only break that enchantment.

And they might be close. It was probably another dead end, like all the others, but he could never really keep from getting his hopes up. If they found the Claire Bible this time, if they managed to finally acquire the legendary book of spells and knowledge that held the only key to the magic holding him prisoner -- he knew Lina could do it, could unlock the spell's secret, if anyone could. And she would, too, for him. His blue eyes rested on her and softened a little. He might easily have loved her. Gourry too. He'd had a crush on both of them for a little while. He didn't want to think about that, or about giving up.

Murmuring a quiet good night to them, he pulled his cloak closer and made his way up to his room. They took no offense or special notice. Zelgadis was always that way. Tonight he stood at the window for some time, staring out at the bright moon. It was a rare thing for Zelgadis to pray. He could barely remember that last time he had done that. Tonight, though, he found he wanted to. It didn't feel awkward or strange, for some reason. Closing his eyes and bowing his head, he prayed for the first thing that entered his heart. He prayed for happiness, to find his truest wish. He wasn't even sure how to put it in words, or what exactly it was. It was just a feeling he could reach inside himself and touch, a feeling he wanted to be real. When he went to sleep, he felt neither hope nor doubt about their quest for the first time since it had begun.

When the little band had reached their destination, they found that the old, crumbling keep's library had already been sacked. They still searched through the rubble and piles of dusty books and scrolls, scouring every nook and cranny before they gave up. Zel was the most obviously discouraged. His mood was so dark and heavy it was practically tangible, hovering over him like a cloud. Amelia, Lina, and Gourry took their minds off their own disappointment by trying to lighten his mood, but it only seemed to push the enigmatic young shaman further away. Shrugging, they turned the talk to the subject of where their search would take them next. There was a city a week's journey or so away where Lina thought they could get information (and the best roast beef for miles). Abruptly, Zel halted in his tracks and gazed steadily back at their surprised faces.

"I'm taking my own way there," he told them. "I'll meet up with you in two weeks, if you're still there."

"But. . ."

"I have business of my own to take care of."

They let it go at that, for which he was grateful. It wasn't unusual for the chimera to take his own path for a while. He often went off on his own. It puzzled them, but they had grown used to it. He was glad that they didn't know this time was different. This time he didn't have a lead of his own to follow. He wasn't looking for anything. He just wanted to get away by himself. He couldn't stand to be around them and try not to think of what he had lost, try not to let them see how deeply the failure had disturbed him this time. He knew what they would say. There was always next time. Sure. And the time after that, and the time after the time after that. . .and so on, until he'd spent his whole life searching and not really lived a life at all. At least not the life he wanted. Without any destination for the time being, he let his feet take him wherever they wanted to go. He didn't look up until the shadows had begun to thicken with the end of the day.

He had decided to walk through the night, since he was unlikely to sleep anyway. He could see well enough in the dark to make his way without any trouble as he headed through the forest. He liked the way it wrapped around him like a veil, so that he could be alone with his thoughts. So he nearly stumbled when he suddenly discovered that he wasn't alone. At least, he wasn't the only one in the woods this night. As he made his way silently toward a broad stream that ran across the path he had idly chosen, he caught sight of a form curled at the base of a large tree. Standing frozen with surprise on the bank of the stream opposite the figure, he watched it warily. It didn't feel dangerous, and it looked human, so he very quietly and carefully eased himself into the shallow water and slowly crossed to the other side, coming out not far from the sleeping stranger. Normally he would have avoided any contact with another person, but he didn't relish the thought of wandering in the forest without knowing who else was there and what he might run into.

The sight that met him brought him up short. It was a young girl, huddled without a blanket or any other belongings that he could see between the roots of a giant oak. She looked very small and lonely and lost. And as he stood there gazing down at her, she stirred and opened her eyes. Reflexively, he leapt back, cursing himself. A girl, alone in the forest in the middle of the night, and waking up to a sight like him. . . it was something out of a fairy tale. He winced, bracing himself for the screams. Instead, she sprang to her feet and stood as if ready but not eager for a fight. She didn't seem inclined to run or screech her head off. And he realized as he watched her carefully that she was beautiful. Her thick black hair hung past her tiny waist and fell into her wide green eyes. She was so delicate and tiny that the tunic she wore fell off one shoulder, and her pants were obviously far too large for her -- she had tied the legs up with leather laces to keep from tripping over them.

"What do you want?" she finally asked in a low, hesitant voice. That surprised him. Not 'what are you' or 'please don't eat me' or 'back, demon'? Thrown off balance, he struggled for something to say.

"I was walking past," he offered, never taking his eyes from her. "I wondered who would be sleeping in the forest alone without a camp."

"What are you doing here?" she tried again.

Zel shook his head. "No. I already answered your question. What are you doing here?"

She seemed to relax a little, completely dropping whatever suspicion she'd had of him when he didn't make any move to attack her. She lowered her head and turned away. "I'm. . .I'm lost." She didn't elaborate, but Zel immediately recognized the sadness that settled over her. She was lonely. A sudden pang of conscience went through him. This young girl was curled up sleeping by herself in the middle of the forest, lost and alone and probably cold and hungry. And so far all he'd done was try to frighten her to death and harass her. Although she didn't really seem at all frightened anymore. He sighed. If his friends ever heard about this, he'd never live it down, but. . .

"You shouldn't be out in these woods alone. Are you hungry?"

She glanced back up at him in surprise. "Well, yes, but. . ."

"Then let's build a fire and have something to eat. I haven't eaten since last night anyway."

"But. . ."she started to protest. Zel waited. He should have known she wouldn't want to stick too close to a creature like him. That's what he got for trying to be chivalrous for once. But instead she smiled tentatively. "Okay."

Zelgadis stole little glances across the fire at his new companion while he prepared the meal. He'd learned her name while they gathered wood together. Ryoga. It was strange to him, and his name had come haltingly to her lips as well. He didn't have any idea where she had come from, or where she was trying to go, and it seemed that neither did she. After she'd nearly wandered away a few times, he had begun to realized that it wasn't intentional, and that if he wanted company he'd better keep a close eye on her. He'd never met anyone with a sense of direction so bad -- it was no wonder she was as lost as she seemed to be. But since she seemed to be embarrassed by it, he didn't say anything. He intended to offer to travel with her, at least until they reached a relatively civilized area. Maybe she would accept, and maybe she wouldn't, but at least if he offered he'd done all he could to protect her. He'd never felt particularly protective of anyone before, but then again, he found himself getting very comfortable with her presence. She wasn't loud and demonstrative like Lina, or a chatterbox like Amelia. More quiet, like himself, and maybe a little naive, like Gourry.

Zelgadis didn't usually keep many supplies with him. He didn't need as much food as most people would have, and he was used to gathering or hunting if he needed to. He was stung when she refused half of the meager meal.

"I'm just glad for the fire," she said firmly, shaking her head. "I can't take your food."

His gaze darkened and he looked away. "Just because I look like a monster doesn't mean I'd poison your food, you know."

"What?" she replied, looking at him blankly. Then understanding dawned in her sad green eyes. "No, that's not the reason," she reassured him. "I just. . . I wasn't even thinking of that," she confessed. "I was more afraid of what you were thinking about me." He looked up at her, puzzled.

"I don't have any money to pay for the food," she added, looking at him desperately to realize what she was trying to say, but she was only confusing him. "I don't want you to pay for it," he responded, still clearly in the dark. Flustered, she tried again to explain.

"I won't. . . if you give me the food, I can't. . ." she flushed and lowered her head. "I know I look like a. . .but I'm not. . .I'm not a prostitute," she finally whispered.

Zelgadis was too shocked for a minute to say anything. He wondered if other people treated her that way all the time. He'd certainly never entertained any such thoughts, and he hadn't said anything to give her that idea, either. "No. . ." he finally managed to say, summoning an unusual smile for her benefit, "No, I wasn't thinking anything like that. Consider the food an apology for startling you awake, all right?"

He was gratified to see her lift her head and look at him timidly. The smile obviously won her over, and she answered with a shy one of her own, still blushing. "All right," she agreed, and accepted the bowl that he handed her at last.

Zelgadis watched her eat, obviously trying not to act as if she were starving, although it was plain to him that she was. He resisted the urge to brush her hair out of her eyes and turned his attention to his own food so that he wouldn't be caught staring. She was so pretty, and so strange. . .like one of the wild and shy deer in the forest. He'd never met anyone like this before, and he was looking forward to finding out more about her and where she had come from. For the first time in ages he hadn't thought of his quest for the Claire Bible and a cure all evening.

Part 2

Ryoga finished her meal thankfully. She had been so hungry, and it had been so hard to sit by the fire seeing and smelling the food as Zelgadis-san prepared it, and know that she couldn't accept it. She watched him as he put the camp to rights before they both went to sleep. He was self-contained and gruff, but he'd proved he had a kind and honest heart. Ryoga liked him immediately. Part of it was the loneliness Ryoga always felt, and that she recognized the same in her new traveling companion. And of course, there was the fact that Zelgadis had shared his food without expecting any form of payment and refrained from commenting when she got lost looking for firewood. She wasn't used to strangers, or anybody for that matter, showing her such kindness and consideration. Usually they ignored her, made their annoyance plain, insulted or teased her, and sometimes. . .sometimes they were just plain cruel to an outcast. She was grateful beyond words to have his companionship, at least for a while, until he had to go and she was alone again, like always. Seeing him lay down across the dying embers of the fire, she bid him good night, hearing him answer in a slightly startled tone before she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

It wasn't easy. Tired as she was, she was disturbed by some of the things they'd talked about when they'd agreed on their traveling plans. Like the fact that he'd never heard of Tokyo, or Japan. Either she'd managed to get herself more lost than she'd ever been before, and find a place so far away and backward that the people barely knew of anything beyond their own borders, or something else was very strange and very wrong. Hearing him speak a little of his own plans for the journey, she didn't think that he was exactly isolated. So where was she? The thought of never finding her way home again filled her with a kind of cold hollowness. Not that she missed her house, or needed her family, since she hadn't seen them in years. And she didn't really have friends, except for Ranma. . .which was just a pipe dream, anyway, she thought bitterly. He didn't love her. She'd finally managed to let her own feelings be known, in a roundabout way, and he'd made it plain enough in the same roundabout way that he didn't feel that way for Ryoga. Shivering, she pulled the blanket Zelgadis-san had given her tighter and fought back the same broken-hearted tears she'd struggled against for months. All that time, she'd followed Ranma around; for years she'd been in love with him. And he'd only strung her along, like the others. No, he hadn't even shown her as much kindness and interest as he'd shown the others, but he hadn't needed to. She'd been an utter fool for him, and even though she knew it now, somehow she couldn't stop. She wanted to go back to where he was and be near him, even if it was only as his friend, if that was the only bond she could claim -- she'd take whatever she could. "Ranma. . ." she whispered, biting her lip at the longing she felt. To never see him again. . .it was too terrible to think of. And maybe he would relent, and understand why she'd gone back to Jusenkyo. She didn't want the last words she'd ever heard from him to be the insults he'd casually tossed at her about her quest for a cure.

Ranma just couldn't understand, Ryoga tried to reason with herself, what having a curse like P-chan was like. He had no idea how it felt to be in a strange place most of the time knowing that at any minute you could lose all of your clothing and belongings and maybe never find them again, just because someone had been careless when throwing out some water. To be suddenly so very small and helpless, to be -- she shuddered -- food. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be unable to speak. Ranma had thought Ryoga was completely insane to envy his curse. But what was so terrible about becoming a girl? At least now a cursed Ryoga was still a human Ryoga. One who had clothing, and could speak and fight. She sighed. Maybe this form wasn't as strong, and there were difficulties she hadn't really fully considered. Like the propositions, and the fact that since she was unused to being a girl, she had trouble recognizing certain situations and problems caused by the differences in peoples' perceptions. It was true, people showed her more attention in this form. It just wasn't respectful or welcome attention. But she'd managed to get along this far, and she could honestly say that there was no comparison. She couldn't really consider this a curse. Unless it turned Ranma completely away from her. She could still see the disgust in his face as he'd witnessed Ryoga's excitement over the plan to return to Jusenkyo and find the Spring of Drowned Girl. He'd said he didn't want a pervert like that for a friend. . .she felt the tears welling again and tried to fight them down. He'd berated Ryoga for willingly accepting such a form. He just didn't understand!

Ryoga had gotten tired of being P-chan, of constantly competing for Ranma's attention while being the pet of his rival. He'd hated watching Ranma with Akane all the time, hated how badly that had hurt, hated inadvertently triggering her explosive temper, hated that temper altogether. And his honor had prevented him from retaliating against the girl who was making the man he loved miserable. He finally couldn't stand it any longer. He had determined to rid himself of P-chan at all costs. Then the idea had come to him like a thunderbolt. The location of the Drowned Man spring was unknown -- but there was no reason he couldn't visit the Drowned Girl spring and accept a female counterpart. The more he'd thought about it, the more the idea had appealed to him. Ranma's words had hurt, but he'd reasoned that Ranma would come around once Ryoga returned and he saw how much better everything could be. Once he saw how wonderful they could be together. . .

Now she'd spent several more months wandering, months away from Ranma, and she was still so far. She had never in her wildest dreams anticipated help, though, and Zelgadis had renewed her courage. As exhaustion finally began to overtake her and close her eyes, she promised herself that she would find some way to repay him before their paths were forced to separate.

"Dinner's ready, Zelgadis-san!" Ryoga called to the young man who was hunched nearby, engrossed in whatever it was he was whittling. Glancing up, he tucked away the knife he had been using and quickly scooped up the wood shavings from his work, sprinkling them in the fire before lowering himself into place and looking over at her. Neither of them noticed how quickly he had grown comfortable with her presence; a day ago he would have been startled at the sound of another voice, especially one speaking his name. Ryoga did note the openness and quiet eagerness of his face as he watched her bring his meal, and it both pleased her and made her a little nervous, intensifying the roses in her cheeks from working over the fire to prepare the food. She knelt down beside him and offered him a bowl of fish and vegetables, along with an apology. "I hope its enough. I usually only cook for myself." Truthfully, she'd been thrilled to have the chance to catch some fish and contribute something to their meal this time. Not only because of his generosity to her. She also relished the rare opportunity to cook for someone. A sudden fear fluttered in her heart. No one had ever eaten her cooking before -- suppose it was terrible? Suppose she was no better than Akane? Almost sick with the thought, she tried not to stare at him while he began eating. Instead, she picked idly at her own food, waiting fearfully for a cry of disgust or the sound of Zelgadis being choked by poison. . . but instead, a soft murmur of pleasure and approval made her turn to look at him anxiously.

His eyes were closed, and at first she was terrified. Then they opened and fixed on hers, crinkling just a tiny bit around the corners with his small but real smile. "This is delicious, Ryoga," he told her earnestly. "Where did you learn to use this combination of herbs? And how did you manage to get the fish so tender over a campfire?"

Nearly giddy with delight over his compliments, Ryoga flushed and stuttered, although she didn't look away for a moment. "I. . .I've had a lot of time to experiment, when I can't find. . .when I travel." She looked back up at him as he continued savoring his warm meal. "You really like it? No one else has ever tried my cooking before." Instead of answering her question directly, Zelgadis leveled a brief gaze at her before he went back to his food. "You'd better eat, too. And I elect you to do all the cooking from now on." Agreeing happily, she finally took a bite of food, vowing to keep an eye out for apples the next day so that she could pocket a few and bake them in the embers of the fire for a special treat. Or maybe some pears -- they could be especially sweet. It felt so good to have someone else to share the fire, the meal, and the time! And she was glad that Zelgadis seemed to feel the same way. She'd expected to be seen and treated as a burden, just as she usually was. Even by Ranma. . .she blinked. She'd barely thought of him all day, and now the thought seemed to dampen the warm and comfortable atmosphere of the evening. So she resolutely pushed aside any memories of the pigtailed martial artist for the moment and basked in the sweet moment of the present night. Ranma and thoughts of returning to Tokyo didn't even invade her peaceful sleep for once.