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Armor of Balance: Part 1
A Ranma Nibunnoichi/Ronin Warriors crossover by Ami-chan
"I still say this whole trip was a waste of time," Kento grumbled as the group walked along the busy street. "I mean, if it's just a couple martial artists running around, can't the police handle it? S'not like they're that incompetent, are they?'
"Kento!" Sai admonished. "You know it's our duty, whether we like it or not. The people in this ward have been reporting this type of thing for awhile now, and what with the rumors that the Dynasty's regaining power, we can't afford not to check this out."
"Sai's right, Ken," Ryo said, scanning the people nearest him as the populace flowed and eddied around the Ronins like a slow-moving river. "Besides, it might be worth your while; heard there's some really great restaurants here." Kento brightened a little at that.
It hadn't exactly been good news when Kayura contacted the five Troopers with reports that there had been some major activity in the Nether Realm lately; the last thing anybody wanted was another invasion by the next Warlord who got it into his head that the mortal world was a ripe fruit just waiting to be plucked. Add to that the incidents of major property damage, fighting, and other supernatural whatnot that seemed to happen frequently around this place and it made for a very tense household in Toyama, enough that Sage and Rowen had suggested checking it out. The others had readily agreed but now even Ryo was beginning to have second thoughts. It seemed quiet enough here in Tokyo. After all, this place was considered a residential section, save the occasional small business, so what was there to be worried about?
Nope, all seemed perfectly fine and peaceful in the Nerima ward.
==========
"Son-in-law."
Ranma gave a snort of disgust at the ancient Amazon's term for him. "I'm not your son-in-law, old ghoul, and I don't plan to be." He glared at the withered old crone. "So no more of this son-in-law stuff, got it?"
Cologne shrugged easily, an impressive feat while balancing on a four-foot tall stick. "We'll bicker later, son-in-law—" Ranma growled, which she ignored "—but for now, let's get to the main reason I called you here."
"And that would be . . .?" Ranma asked, his voice bored as he leaned against the wall of the restaurant. It wouldn't be the first time Cologne had tried to pull something over him.
Nor would it be the last.
"That I have found a possible cure for your curse."
Ranma blinked.
"Follow me out back."
==========
In the small space behind the Nekohanten, Shampoo already stood there, her usual happy/airhead smile on her face. "Airen!" Immediately she leaped forward to give Ranma another one of her bone-crushing glomps, but for once he managed to avoid her.
"Not now, Shampoo," Cologne admonished, coming to a stop in the middle of the yard. Shampoo looked downcast, pouting a little, but she brightened up when Cologne added, "Maybe later."
"Yeah right," Ranma muttered under his breath. Cologne whacked him over the head with her stick. "Ite!"
"Now pay close attention, son-in-law—" Ranma rolled his eyes but let her continue, "—the cure is a special type of ki-blast that eliminates the part of the curse that is triggered when you come into contact with water." Cologne paused, seeing if Ranma got it, which he did. "After this, your female form will always be inside you, but cold water won't make you change. In short, you won't be able to access it anymore."
Ranma nodded, understanding. "So what do I have to do?"
"Just stay still and let me work," Cologne told him, hopping off her staff. "It'll be over in a minute."
Ranma was about to agree when he realized something. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hey, old ghoul, aren't you going to make me marry Shampoo or somethin' in exchange for the cure?"
To his surprise, the old crone indicated a negative. "How I'd like to, but this is something you have to do with no strings attached, otherwise it doesn't work." She rolled her eyes. "It would be in my best interest if it did, but unfortunately . . ."
Ranma raised an eyebrow; it wasn't like the Amazon to do something for free. "Okay, then," he said hesitantly. "Let's do it!"
Cologne nodded once and closed her eyes. Ranma watched a ball of purple ki collect around her right hand, not wondering if Cologne had cured Shampoo first, not even noticing Shampoo sneaking around behind him . . .
==========
"There's one of those restaurants I was telling you about, Kento." Ryo pointed at the elegantly scripted sign that proclaimed the place to be the Nekohanten. Behind him, Rowen raised an eyebrow.
"The Cat Café?" he wondered out loud. "Strange name."
"It's a Chinese place, right?" Sai asked. "Makes sense, the tiger's got a lot to do with Chinese culture." It seemed like a reasonable explanation.
"So what are you all waiting for?" Kento asked. "Let's get some chow!" He practically skipped to the door, the others following more sedately behind. Sage shook his head hopelessly.
Upon entering the place, the first thing the Ronins noticed was that it was mostly empty, only a few tables being waited on by a young man wearing thick glasses. He came up to them while bearing a large tray of ramen noodles, long white Mandarin-style robes swaying gently with his movements. "Five?" Ryo nodded the affirmative.
The group was led to a table near the back of the room, next to the kitchen doors. Kento picked up the menu and started browsing through it. "Somebody will be here to see to you soon," the boy told them. Ryo blinked; even though there was an unmistakable Chinese accent to his speech, it was barely detectable in the perfectly spoken Japanese. From the glances the others exchanged, they noticed it too. Well, all except for Kento.
Ryo regarded his own menu thoughtfully, not really reading as thinking over what they had found out today. Basically nothing, if you came right down to it. About all the people they'd talked to had different opinions on what happened in Nerima, a jumbled mishmash of curses and ki-blasts. One guy even swore that he saw a man turn into a pig in front of his very eyes. It had gotten desperate enough that the Ronins had asked a little old lady watering the street for info.
She didn't say anything.
Then there was the other thing, the one the rest of the Troopers didn't know about. Unconsciously Ryo dipped a hand in his pocket, fingers closing tightly around his armor orb. His armor orb, not the one lying beside it.
Kayura had been met with blatant disbelief when she presented the sphere to Ryo, understandable, considering the sheer unlikelyness of it all. A sixth Ronin, a new armor? Yeah right.
"We all felt the call to arms when Talpa appeared the first time. If he actually did exist, don't you think we'd have discovered him by now?" Ryo had demanded of Kayura, who'd answered with a shrug.
"You're holding the evidence right there in your hand, you know," she pointed out, indicating the kanji sphere. "There's more activity going on in the Nether Realm right now than there was for the past millennium, including when Tulpa was preparing to invade. He's out there somewhere, and if worse comes to worse, you'll appreciate the extra help."
Even Ryo had to accept the practicality of that.
He'd studied the thing before they'd boarded the train to Tokyo. Just like any other armor crystal, he supposed, except in a warm golden yellow, with black slashes forming the word Honor in the middle. Honor . . . interesting. It was another aspect of the human spirit, but more like the Warlords' than the Ronins'.
A voice interrupted Wildfire's thoughts. "Hey, guys, do you think we should—" Sage started, then promptly shut up. Everybody but Sai stared at him. Being the one of the best among them with the psychic abilities granted to them by their armors, he also immediately felt the high levels of energy nearby. One by one the others got it too; as a single entity the group jumped to their feet—even Kento—and rushed toward the back door.
"I wouldn't go back there!" the waiter called after them. They ignored him.
"Must be new," Mousse muttered. "Oh well, they'll learn."
==========
It was an odd scene that met their eyes.
A boy, black hair pulled into a pigtail that stuck out from his head, was watching a glowing old lady. This two-foot tall crone was literally bright purple with crackling energy, the one that the Ronins had felt before. But that wasn't what occupied most of Sai's attention.
It was the purple-haired girl that was sneaking up behind the aforementioned boy, a determined look on her face. The caution in the way she moved immediately alerted Sai to some foul play. It turned out his instincts were right as the girl jumped straight at the boy, arms out in a possible attack. At that moment the old lady threw the ball of purple light at the pair. It hummed with psi-powers, making the Ronins' heads spin.
No time to think. Sai, being the closest, instinctively jumped at the boy, knocking him to the ground, just as the ball of light shot into his body. He screamed in pain before blacking out.
==========
Ranma noticed the group of strangers appear at the doorway into the restaurant, but at that moment, Cologne released the ki-blast. Just as his warning sense went off.
There was nothing he could do as someone crashed into him from the side, getting the brunt of the blast instead of him. The waves of crackling amethyst light washed over him, and his head exploded in stars.
==========
Kento and the rest of the Ronins cried out as Sai seemed to glow for a second, which wasn't unusual in itself, except for the fact that it was purple, not his usual light blue.
That, and his cry of agony.
And the resulting explosion that tossed everybody around the small space.
As the wind died down, silence seemed to fall on the small group. The four Troopers blinked as the girl and the old crone bent down over the boy Sai had knocked out of the way. He was unconscious, moaning softly. Sai was in a heap next to the fence; Rowen and Sage were already running toward him.
And then Ryo reacted.
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The impact was what brought Ranma out of the darkness of unconsciousness, or to be more precise, the impact of his body hitting the Nekohanten wall. Rather hard.
As his head cracked against the solid barrier, lights flashed before his eyes, and the cursed boy cried out in pain. Sliding to the ground, he blinked, trying to reorganize the images in front of him into a coherent picture.
Shampoo . . . fighting one of the strange boys, now in some sort of strange red armor. The Amazon was actually losing miserably as her opponent's twin katana clashed down on her bonbori with enough force to embed them solidly in the ground. The others, also in different types of armor, had surrounded Cologne, various weapons drawn and poised; she gazed at them with apparent unconcern.
Ranma shook his head, staggering to his feet. The old ghoul could take care of herself; right now, Shampoo needed help. Trying to ignore the dizziness that swept over him, he launched himself at the sword-wielding boy.
==========
Rowen glared at the shriveled figure, his bow out and ready. He was actually the farthest from the female, a bow not being very adequate for short-range combat, but Kento and Sage, on the other hand, were looming over her menacingly.
"What did you do to Sai?" Kento growled, brandishing his tetsubo. "What happened to him?"
In answer, the crone pointed at Ryo.
"Huh?" The Ronins spun around, staring. No, not at Ryo, at the other boy, who was engaging in combat with the bearer of Wildfire. The youth seemed to be holding out against him, blocking Ryo's every move and countering with his own attacks. A kick connected and Ryo went flying into the restaurant wall, literally smashing through. Emerging from the pile of rubble, Ryo clamped his katana together by the hilts and started whirling the newly made staff over his head. Rowen suddenly realized what he was going to do.
"Ryo, no!" The archer's warning shout stopped made Ryo hesitate enough for another blow to get through his guard, sending the katana flying. Briefly Rowen winced, but it was better that then to have Wildfire blow up the entire neighborhood with his sure-kill.
The dark look that Ryo gave him almost wasn't worth it.
Another attack, and the fight moved out onto the street, courtesy of the new doorway in the outer wall. Ryo lifted himself up out of the debris and readied himself once more. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the old lady carry the now unconscious girl back into the restaurant.
Suddenly the boy's hands shot up to his head as he cried out in pain. Ryo, faltering for a second, stopped his next attack and watched him. A swirl of yellow rose up around his twitching body, engulfing him in a pillar of light.
And then the boy fainted.
==========
Ranma had been about to throw another kick when the pain started. It felt like something was trying to force its way into his head by the means of a drill and sledgehammer, not really unlike being hit with the full blast of the Bakusai Tenketsu. Whatever it was, it was enough to make him black out, but just before the darkness overcame him, Ranma swore he felt another person nibbling at the edge of his consciousness. Five people to be specific.
And suddenly he knew he would never be alone.
==========
Ryo leaned over the boy, chest heaving with exertion. The kid had been good, even after being smashed against the wall, easily as fast—if not faster—than Kayura. More than a match for Ryo even with his katana while he'd had them. If it hadn't been for that freak . . . whatever . . . Ryo doubted he would have lasted for much longer against him.
As Ryo was about to turn away to see to Sai, another flash of yellow caught his attention. Taking a closer look at his fallen opponent, the bearer of Wildfire was shocked to see a familiar kanji symbol glowing faintly beneath dark bangs. And then the mental barrage hit him.
Pain, pride, hurt, ego, all in a swirl of emotion and images. As he dropped to his knees, Ryo dimly noticed the other Ronins with the exception of Sai, who was still unconscious, acting the same way. All the assorted kanji were glowing fiercely, throwing off a rainbow of color over the bare ground.
Including the yellow one on the boy's forehead. Honor.
Well, Ryo thought wryly as the psychic overload faded, we found him.
Just not in the way I expected.
==========
Ranma moaned and slowly opened his eyes. His head hurt like Akane had just declared fiancé season open—again—and it was hard to focus. He couldn't think straight, had only felt like this the day after Happosai switched his tea for sake.
And then focusing wasn't a problem anymore, as the martial artist realized that the thoughts jumping around his head chaotically weren't his own.
"Gods, I hurt—" The voice was "layered" with shades of dark blue and quickly fading pain. Ranma didn't know how he could tell it was pain, he just did.
"Dammit, Ryo, next time, tell us if there's something like this!" A flash of orange accompanied this one, bright with anger and confusion. "It's not like you to keep secrets—"
"Ite . . ." A soft cyan now, gentle in its very existence; somehow, even though it was more muted, Ranma received this one the clearest. The new color set off a series of varied reactions.
"Sai!" There was a scrambling sound, a clash of metal, followed by a worried voice asking, "Are you okay?"
"I-I think so." Somehow, Ranma perceived this person as the light blue of before, while the first actual speaker was the orange. "My head hurts like the dickens, though . . . what happened?"
"That's what we'd like to know," a dry voice put in. A flare of green accompanied it in Ranma's head. "That ki-blast did a number on you and that boy you were trying to protect.
That did it. Nobody said they were protecting Ranma Saotome.
A quick flip and Ranma was back on his feet, smirking at the others, who looked a little stunned to see the apparently unconscious boy standing like that. "You were talking about me?" he asked innocently, hands up in a loose guard position. "Who's going to try next?"
But to Ranma's surprise, none of the boys made any move to attack. The one who had originally battled him, still in armor, shifted uncomfortably. His katana were back in their sheaths, and he held his hands out with palms up.
"We need to talk."
"Damn right we do," Ranma snapped. "What's with you fighting Shampoo in the first place anyway?"
"Sham . . . poo?" For a moment, confusion radiated from the other's voice, then his face registered understanding and he grimaced. "Oh, the girl? Sai knocked himself out trying to get you out of the way of her attack, that's what."
Ranma blinked, then swore. "I knew there was something funny going on when the old ghoul offered the cure for free—nevermind," he said to the puzzled looks he was receiving, "just who are you and what do you want?"
"I'm Ryo, that's Rowen—"
"Hey." The blue-haired youth raised a hand.
"—Sage—"
"Hm." The blonde nodded slightly.
"—Sai—"
"Hullo!" Ranma blinked at the gentle-looking boy. He was the light blue of before, of that he was sure.
"—and Kento, our resident human garbage disposal." There were good-natured chuckles from the others as the stocky teen glared at Ryo.
"Togetha, we'a the Ronin Warriors," Rowen continued. "Saved the world multiple times, though it's a shame nobody remembahs."
Ranma decided to leave the last part alone for the moment; he'd heard stranger things in his time. "So why are you telling me this?" he asked. "It's not like I need to know this stuff . . . right?"
Ryo winced. "Actually, Ranma, you do. It turns out you're the sixth Ronin Warrior."
~owari Part 1~
Notes: This story evolved out of another crossover idea that I had, after I realized I didn't want Sai to disappear (don't ask). It's still in the process of major writing, rewriting, and editing, which is why you'll see things being changed as it evolves. Already 50+ pages, and because of that I still can't post more than this. Yet. oO;