Author's notes:
Konnichi wa! Shin-Chan again, writing another long story that all of my friends are going to pester me about when I don't finish it as fast as they want. As the title suggests, this is a YST / Ranma crossover. Now, this is set in its own story line, which makes three distinct universes I am currently working on. It takes place after the events from Kikoutei Dentsu OAV. The Troopers are sixteen to seventeen years old in this story line and they still have their personal armor, and they have learned a few other tricks as well . . .
As usual, most every character belongs to someone else. Yoroiden Samurai Troopers belongs to Sunrise Inc. and Ranma belongs to Viz Communications, Rumiko Takahashi and whatever company in Japan. I am not sure who holds the rights to YST in America at the moment. No harm is intended in my usage of these properties.
*Prologue*
Off in the remote wilds of China, is a place shrouded in mystery. Nestled in the high reaches of the Tsinghai region a small valley exists. Within this valley is a collection of small springs. For countless centuries, these harmless looking springs have been surrounded in myth.
It has been said that an ancient curse was laid upon these springs by unknown Gods to protect a sacred site. It has also been said that a death curse was placed here by a sorcerer of unknown origin in the distant past. No writing exists to prove or disprove either story.
It is known, however, that over the centuries the legend of these cursed springs has endured. Many have come to this valley for numerous reasons, and all have discovered the validity of the legend for themselves.
Now, in this modern age of man and machine, magic and myth seem to have no place in the world. Legends are no longer believed in, and curses scorned.
In the far distant land of America, a rich individual with unknown motives has come across an ancient document concerning this cursed valley of springs, Jhusenkyo. Unlike his contemporaries, he believes. This is the beginning of our story.
*Chapter 1*
The two men cautiously stepped away from the small spring. Unlike the rest in the valley, this spring had no bamboo poles protruding from it. Instead, it was marked off with an old rope with white paper streamers hanging from it.
With a triumphant smile, one of the two men held up a quart sized plastic bottle of water. He was a rather tall man, skinny with short lank black hair and an olive complexion. "We did it Sam, we did it!"
The second man, identified as Sam, nodded his agreement as he watched the first man push a stopper in the bottle and put it into his grungy backpack. Sam was a short man, on the chubby side with long straight blond hair. "A cool two mil. And all for a stupid bottle of spring water. What will those rich snobs think up next?"
The two men stepped over the rope, neither had any idea what it was there for, and started for the far side of the valley. As they wove their way through the many springs, the first man, his name is Rich, looked back the way they came.
"I just don't understand rich people. What is so important about water from that spring? Why would anyone pay so much for it?"
"I dunno. Maybe it keeps you from aging or something."
Rich frowned at Sam. "The fountain of youth is supposed to be in Florida, idiot. But," he looked around the valley. "Why that spring in particular? I mean, look around, there are dozens of springs in this valley. Wouldn't water from any of them work just as well? They are all fed by the same underground water source."
"I have a better question." Sam stopped and looked at one of the springs. "Why stick all of these stupid poles in them?"
Rich cuffed Sam. "Weren't you listening? The Boss said this was some sort of martial arts training ground."
"Martial arts? Like that kung fu stuff on late nite TV?"
"That's right." Rich turned away and started to make his way through the springs. Sam bent over and peered into the spring. "Come on, lets get out of here. The sooner we get this bottle to the Boss in Japan, the sooner we go to the Riviera." His eyes glazed over at the thought. "Busty girls with no tops on . . . " what a pleasant thought.
Sam looked up and saw his partner leaving him behind. "Hey!" he whined. "Wait for me!" Samstarted after Rich. He had just set his foot down when he heard a sudden squeak from the region of his feet. Looking down, he saw some small brown furry animal of the rodent family run across his foot.
With a startled yell, he jumped backwards, away from the innocent animal, who had stopped running and was looking at him with vast curiosity. Sam continued stepping backwards, and then the ground disappeared. With another startled yell, this one more panicked than the first, Sam fell into one of the springs.
Rich had turned around at Sam's first yell, and had started to laugh at him when he saw the cause. The sight of a grown man running from a mouse was highly amusing. But when he saw Sam fall backwards into the spring, he had stopped.
"Moron," he muttered and walked to the spring. "Now we are going to miss our bus while you get dry cloths." He bent down and peered into the spring. Now, where was Sam? "Hey Sam, you okay?"
A dark form swam to the surface of the spring. Frowning, Rich bent over further. Whatever was surfacing looked a lot smaller than Sam.
The dark form surface and Rich jumped back. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Shin and Shu were sitting in the subway station waiting for the rest of their friends to show. Due to a major explosion in the chemistry lab, cause currently unknown, and the resulting smoke and fire damage, they were out of school for the next week.
"Ya know," Shu leaned back with his arms behind his head and watched all the busy people running back and forth. "I still feel a bit uneasy down here. I keep thinking that one of those stupid trains is going to attack me."
Shin laughed softly at his friends discomfort. "Not unless Arago is controlling it. And he and the Evil Empire are long gone." Shu did not look comforted. "Besides, this is the fastest way to Nermia."
"Yeah," Shu sighed and reached out to snag one of the duffel bags. Pulling it toward him, he shot Shin an amused look. "I'm kinda surprised Touma's uncle invited us along. Not many people would want six total strangers crashing at their place, even if they are their nephew's friends."
Shin snorted as he watched Shu dig through the duffel bag and pull out a packet of mini donuts. "I am surprised he even mentioned the invitation to us, considering how you reacted when his mother came to visit that first time. You went way overboard."
"Come on, I wasn't that bad. Besides, his mom is cool."
"Stuffing your face as usual, eh Shu?"
"Shan Lai," Shu bounced up and smiled at her, then looked behind her. "Where is everyone else?"
The Chinese girl reached over and swiped a donut. She was the only person who could get away with it without censure. "Coming. Touma is making a phone call . . . "
"And Seiji is asking a girl for her phone number. He'll be here in a couple of minutes." Ryo dumped his duffel bag in the growing pile next to Shin.
"And Arial? Where is she?"
Shan Lai swallowed her donut and reached for another, then she turned to Shin. "She said she was running a bit late. Not sure why, sometimes getting a straight answer out of that girl is impossible."
"Uh, well . . . " Shin began. He was interrupted by the arrival of Seiji and Touma.
Shu eyed the bags Seiji was carrying. "Seiji, how long do you plan on being gone?" He had brought one bag, all the cloths he needed were in it. Shin and Ryo had also brought one bag. Shan Lai and Touma had each brought two. Touma's second bag held books, and Shan Lai's held important girl stuff. Seiji was carrying three bags.
Seiji carefully sat his bags down, and his eyes roved over Shu, taking in the faded jeans and the T-shirt he was wearing. "Unlike some people," he gave his blond head a derisive toss, sending his wavy hair flying, "I cannot get along for a week in a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts."
"Beats being a stuffed shirt," Shu muttered under his breath. Shin heard him and gave him a sharp jab in the ribs.
Ryo glanced over at Shu. "Did you say something?" Shu was holding a hand over his ribs and was glaring at Shin in a threatening manner.
"No," he mumbled.
While Shu wasn't paying attention, Touma quickly snagged a donut from Shu. "Arial isn't here yet, is she?" Shu rolled his eyes. "How long are we going to wait for her?"
Shin glanced down at his watch, and then at the station's clock. "Well Touma, if the train is on time, we can wait for five minutes. All of you were cutting it close."
"What if she doesn't make it on time?"
Sighing, Shin propped an elbow on the arm rest. "I'll stay and wait for her, the rest of you should go on ahead. It is the Tendo Training Hall, right?"
Touma nodded.
They sat around for five minutes. No sign of Arial. All of them with the exception of Shin stood up and began to gather their bags.
"Weeel Shin," Shu smirked, "see ya there."
"Gomen!" A voice called out over the noise of the crowd. They turned and saw a petite blond run up to them. "Last minute chores at the shrine. I thought I would never get out of there!"
"You got her just in time," Seiji casually buffed his fingernails against his shirt and smiled innocently. "You were so late, we were going to leave you behind."
"Sha right," she said, glaring at him. "You are such a jerk sometimes Seiji." She turned to Touma. "Does he have to come along?" she whined.
"Will you two knock it off?!" Shin shook his head in exasperation and walked over and took Arial's bag from her. "Quit picking on Arial. Just because she doesn't treat you the same as all the other girls you know . . . "
"Hey!" Seiji protested as the rest of the gang started to laugh. "It is not like she counts any," Arial's face turned an angry shade of red and she started to approach Seiji, "I mean," he quickly held up his hands to ward her off, "you aren't like other girls . . . " he sputtered. The others hid their smiles as Arial glared at her cousin.
"Stop while you are ahead Seiji," Ryo told him, looking up from the manga he was stuffing in his bag. "At this rate, we are going to miss the train while Arial kills you."
Arial stopped and adopted an injured look. "Seiji," she sniffled, "you are so mean!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Seiji rolled his eyes.
"Arial," Shin placed his hand on her shoulder. "We don't have time for this. We are going to miss the train."
Like magic, Arial stopped crying. "Okay," she said on a sigh. She turned to Seiji. "We can continue this conversation later. Just because you are my cousin doesn't mean I have to take that from you." Her eyes narrowed, and then she smiled. "One of these days, some girl is going to get you good, and I hope I'm there to see it."
"What? A girl getting even with Playboy Date?" Shu placed a hand over his heart in shock. Shan Lai smothered a laugh with her hand. Ryo lifted up the manga so no one could see the look on his face.
"Are you guys finished?" Touma asked them testily. He grabbed his bags and started toward the platform without waiting to see if they were following. After a quick look at his rapidly receding back, the rest of them grabbed their bags and followed.
The seven teenagers stood on the train platform at the Nermia station.
"So Touma, was someone going to meet us here?"
Nodding, Touma looked around. He was busily scanning the milling crowd for a familiar face. "That is what Uncle told me. My cousin Akane and her fiancé were supposed to meet us here."
Arial was standing next to Shin. "So, this is Nermia," she said to him in a low voice. "You know, I have heard that strange things happen in this town."
Shaking his head, Shin gave her and indulging smile. "You listen to rumors and gossip way too much. Nermia is probably no different from Shinjuku. Besides," he sighed. "You told us all about what you heard on the train."
She arched an eyebrow. "Now, refresh my memory," she said in a dry voice, deciding to ignore that last bit, "Tell me once again what happened there during the last two years. Does the word 'demons' ring any bells?"
Shin tapped her on the nose. "That was uncalled for," he said lightly. "You are being a real brat today." In response Arial smiled and then stuck her tongue out at him. "Nyaaa."
Unnoticed by them two Americans, one tall and skinny, the other short and chubby exited the train behind them and disappeared in the crowd.
"Hentai!"
"Kawaiikune!"
Everyone on the platform turned toward the upraised voices. A young couple that had been approaching the platform had started to yell insults at each other.
While the rest of the group was staring at the two teenagers, Touma smiled and picked up his bags. "Well, there they are, lets go." He once again walked off, this time toward the couple who were now screaming insults at each other, without looking to see if he was being followed.
"He is not serious, is he?" Ryo turned to Seiji. "He is joking, right?"
Seiji shook his head. "Touma? Joking? No, he is serious. That is Akane." Seiji looked at the arguing couple again. He could not believe they were still at it. Akane and Ranma had been engaged for months now, not that one would notice from the way they acted. "This is going to be a long week," he sighed. The rest of them nodded.
Touma smiled to himself as he approached his cousin and her fiancé. They did look good together, he thought, and he personally couldn't believe that two people could fight like they did, unless they really cared for each other. After all, Shu and Shan Lai argued all of the time. Now if only they could keep the volume down.
"Konnichi wa Akane, Ranma. Thank you for meeting us."
Akane and Ranma stopped arguing, much to the relief of the other people on the platform. "Konnichiwa Cousin Touma," Akane said smiling. "I am so glad you could come for a longer visit than last time."
He nodded. "And it was so kind of Uncle to invite my friends as well. It was unexpected."
Akane laughed weakly and shot Ranma a nervous glance. "N-no problem. It is always nice to have people visit. Right Ranma?"
"Yeah right," Ranma muttered silently under his breath. Seven people, staying at the dojo, for one week. He brought a hand to his head. How was he going to keep them from finding out?
Akane and Ranma watched as a mixed group of teenagers approached them. They only recognized one of the teenagers.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Akane." Seiji gently took her hand and kissed it. Akane blushed and placed a hand on her cheek in embarrassment.
Ranma glared at Seiji and clenched his jaw. <Why that . . . Who does he think he is?>
Touma blinked once, and then brought a hand up to his forehead. Oh just great! Just what was Seiji thinking?
"Seiji!" Arial placed her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin. She hadn't seen that sly look he had directed toward her before he kissed Akane. "She is engaged! And right in front of her fiancé. How could you?!"
"Hey Akane," Ranma whispered in her ear as Seiji valiantly defended himself to Arial, "didn't you once tell me a girl could always avoid unwanted kisses?"
"Now that was an interesting move," Shu commented to Shin in a dry voice. "I have never seen anyone get elbowed in the head like that before."
"How much further?" Shu whined.
"Shu! Stop being such a baby." Shan Lai rolled her eyes. "A little walking won't hurt you."
"That is right," Seiji stated. "But just out of curiosity," he looked up at Ranma, who was walking on the fence with his hands in his pockets. "Just how much further is it?"
Ranma glanced at all the bags Seiji was carrying. He didn't seem to be having carrying them, though. "Not much further, just a couple more blocks."
Seiji nodded, and readjusted his shoulder bag. The last time he visited the Tendo Training Hall, he and Touma had traveled by bus, and they had brought no luggage.
Behind Shu and Shan Lai, Shin and Arial were talking.
"Shin," Arial had been looking curiously around the quiet streets of Nermia. "Maybe you are right."
He cocked an enquiring eyebrow at her. "Right about what?"
"Nermia. It seems like a quiet town."
"See, I told you. Now if you would just stop listening to rumors . . . "
"SAOTOME!"
Shin stopped speaking and looked away from Arial. Everyone stopped and looked ahead.
"Oh great!" Ranma muttered and jumped off of the fence. Just what he needed today.
The Troopers and the two girls looked from Ranma and Akane to the rapidly approaching young man. No explanation was forthcoming.
Arial studied the young man. He was wearing a blue practice gi and was holding a bokkan above his head as he approached.
"Fall, foul lecherous cur!"
The strange young man attacked Ranma. Without seeming to be overly concerned by this unprovoked attack, Ranma easily jumped up and over him, twisting in midair so he was facing the young man's back. As he landed, he kicked the man in the back, sending him flying forward and into the Troopers. He had kept his hands in his pockets the entire time. They immediately scattered, and the young man hit the sidewalk, his bokkan flying from his hand.
"Uh, Akane," Touma cautiously slid over to his cousin. "Who is that?"
She gave a resigned sigh. "Upperclassman Kunou."
"Why you . . . " Kunou growled and started to get to his feet. "You shall pay for this . . . " He looked up, and saw the most beautiful pair of startled purple eyes he had ever seen gazing down at him. Slowly, with newly reestablished dignity, he got to his feet.
"Pardon me," he said to the beautiful young girl. She had to be new, he had never seen her about before. "Please excuse my entrance."
Before a shocked Arial was aware of what he was doing. Kunou took one of her hands in his. "I am Kunou Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High." He bent down to kiss her hand.
"Excuse me," a cold voice interrupted. The bokkan suddenly came between Kunou and Arial. "And what do you think you are doing?"
Kunou straitened up and glared at the young man holding his bokkan. "I am apologizing to this young girl for my rude entrance. Who are you to interfere?"
Shin glared at the handsome young man with cold eyes. "I am Mouri Shin, Arial's fiancé. Now," he brought the bokkan down so it tapped Kunou's wrist with each of his next words. "Let. Her. Go."
"Hmph," Kunou released Arial's wrist and she scooted behind Shin. This Kunou guy gave her the creeps. Kunou casually raised his hand and brushed the bangs out of his face. " Mouri. Of the noble house of Mouri?" he inquired. Shin nodded his head. "It is unseemly for two gentlemen such as ourselves to brawl in the streets for the hand of a lady." He turned. "We will see each other again." Shin lowered the bokkan in surprise. What was this guy talking about?
Kunou walked past Ranma. "This is not over Saotome," he growled.
"Does this happen often?" Ryo asked as they watched Kunou walk down the street.
"Yes."
"Does he ever make any sense?"
"No."
"Idiot!" Ranma said to himself, not quite sure who he was referring to, and then turned to Shin. "That was a dangerous thing to do. Kunou, believe it or not, is a skilled martial artist."
"Really?" Shin juggled the bokkan from hand to hand, showing Ranma and Akane that he at least knew how to handle swords. "I'm not too bad at the martial arts myself." The rest of the Troopers, Arial and Shan Lai all grinned. "Might have been interesting."
Ranma shook his head. Poor guy, he really had no idea how good the idiot was. Then Ranma recalled something Shin had said. "Uh, you two," his finger waved from Shin to Arial, "are engaged?"
Shin turned and placed the bokkan on a nearby mailbox. He was not going to carry it around with him. And if that idiot Kunou wanted it, he should have taken it with him. "Yes, we're engaged." Ranma was giving him an incredulous look. Shin glanced over at Akane. She was wearing a similar look.
"Ah, something wrong with that?" Both Ranma and Akane shook their heads.
They continued on their way to the Tendo Training hall. As they turned the corner, Arial happened to look back down the way they had came. The mailbox that Shin had placed the bokkan on was walking away. She blinked a couple of times, she had to be seeing things, and looked again. It was definitely moving. As she watched in wide-eyed amazement, the mailbox went around the far corner.
"Arial, what is the matter?"
She looked at her cousin and Shin. "I don't suppose the two of you would believe I just saw a mailbox walk off?" she asked hopefully.
Seiji blinked at her, glanced over at Shin, and then put the back of his hand on her forehead. A moment later he placed his hand on her cheek. "No temperature Shin." Seiji peered closely at her. She had been acting a bit touchy all day. "Arial, are you feeling okay?"
"I'm serious!" she replied, stomping one foot on the ground.
"Are you three going to stand there all day?"
"We are coming Shu!" Shin put his arm around Arial. "Come on, we should get you inside."
Arial thought about protesting, but quickly figured out it would do no good. She leaned her head against him. Besides, she liked being this close to Shin. Why argue?
"What is the matter?" Shan Lai asked Seiji when they caught up with the rest of the crowd.
"I think Arial has been out in the sun too much or something. She is starting to see things."
"Like what?" Shu asked.
"She said she saw a mailbox walk off. Now isn't that the silliest thing you have ever heard?"
No one noticed Akane stiffen up slightly in front of them.
"Yep, that is silly." Shu cocked his head. "I wonder, maybe she hasn't eaten today. Don't people start to see things if they don't eat?"
"That is if they are starving themselves Shu. I don't think that counts." Shan Lai saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw a cute little lavender point Siamese cat approach. "Oh look at that cute kitty."
Akane froze. <No, it couldn't be. She promised Ranma . . . >
"Meow!" The Siamese jumped up and grabbed Ranma's arm (he was back on the fence again) before he knew she was there.
"CAAAT!!!!!" Ranma waved his arm frantically, trying to dislodge the cat.
The cat snuggled against his arm and meowed happily.
"Shampoo!" Akane growled. Ryo and Touma both gave her puzzled looks.
A moment later the commotion was all over. After having jumped off the fence and running around in a blind panic for several minutes, causing everyone too once again scatter, Ranma ran head on into a telephone pole, knocking himself out. While the cat sat on his chest, staring at him in a concerned manner one does not often see on a cat, Akane walked over and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
"You promised you would behave!" The cat hissed at Akane, and a moment later Akane drop-kicked it into the stratosphere.
As the rest of them tried to adjust to what they had just seen (with the exception of Touma, who just seemed to be taking it in stride) Akane bent over the prone form of Ranma. "Ranma no baka," she whispered to herself.
"Uh, let me guess." Everyone turned to look at Shu. "Ranma is afraid of cats, isn't he?"
Arial rolled her eyes. That was obvious to the dumbest person in the world. "Oh no Shu, really? I would never have guessed."
"Shin, Seiji, Arial is picking on me!"
"Leave her alone Shu, she is not feeling well." Shu glanced at Arial. Despite what Seiji had been saying, she looked fine to him.
"Honestly Shu," Shan Lai shook her head. "You are such a child some times."
While Shu was trying to think of a suitable remark to make to his girlfriend, Ryo and Touma went to help Akane, who had Ranma's limp body draped over hers.
"Here Akane, let us carry him."
She nodded and her cousin and Ryo propped Ranma up between them. "Lets get him home."
Arial and Shan Lai were in the room that Akane's elder sister Kasumi had shown them, unpacking and talking.
"Shan, don't you think that things are, you know," she waved a hand in the air, "a bit . . . not right here?"
Shan Lai sighed. She had heard Arial's talk about Nermia earlier, on the train and on the way to the dojo, and did not want to go through it again. "Arial listen, there is nothing strange about Nermia, okay. It is a normal town."
Arial gazed at her friend, eyebrows arched, a silent message in her eyes.
"Okay, okay," Shan Lai broke down in defeat. "I'll admit it, that Kunou guy was strange, and maybe Akane kind of overreacted about the cat. But everything else is normal."
Shaking her head, Arial sat on her bed. "No, it is not. The way how everyone is acting, it is as though they are trying to make us think everything is normal, but they are trying too hard. Did you see Akane's face when that old lady nearly splashed Ranma after he came to? I thought she was going to have a stroke."
"Now that you mention it," Shan Lai sat on her bed as well and crossed her legs. She started to tap a finger thoughtfully on her cheek. "Ranma kind of overreacted as well. From the way he was acting, you would think she was trying to throw acid on him. Think he is afraid of water as well as cats?"
"Dunno. And did you see the looks on Saotome-san and Tendo-san's faces when we came in? And why was Saotome-san dripping wet in the family room?" Arial threw herself backwards on the bed. "I did not by that 'fell in fishpond' excuse. There was no sign that he dripped water across the floor."
"Oh Arial, you are reading too much into things. A couple strange incidents, and you act as if Nermia was the center of weird happenings."
"No, that is Shinjuku," she sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "It is just that, all my instincts are screaming at me. 'Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!' they say. I can't ignore it."
After a moment of thinking about what Arial had just told her, Shan Lai shook her head. "Just relax Arial, I'm sure it is nothing. Your nerves are probably strung out from having to watch Seiji act like an idiot. I can't believe how he is flirting with Touma's cousins, especially Akane. It is enough to get on anyone's nerves." Shan Lai laid down on the bed and propped her cheek on her hand. "Let me tell you, some girl needs to land a palm against his cheek, hard. I don't see why none of the guys have done anything about him. He is getting impossible!"
Arial rearranged herself so she could see Shan Lai. "Ah, it is not any big deal."
Shan Lai jumped up. "What!"
"He doesn't mean anything by it. It is kind of like a hobby, like Shin's cooking and Touma's reading. Something to occupy the time." <And it keeps girls from getting too close.>
"That is not the impression I got at the station earlier."
"Oh, that. I like teasing him, that's all. And he liked to tease me back. He does have a superior attitude, I'll be the first to admit to that. Future head of the Date family and all. It needs knocking down every now and then, and as his cousin, it is my duty and pleasure to do so."
At that, Shan Lai flopped onto her back and began to laugh. "Oh Arial, Shin is right. You are a brat!"
Arial giggled softly. "And proud of it."