Of Curses and Rebirth

Part 4

The Past:

The Present:

Lina walked to the Tendo Residence in silence. She, Kuno, Kodachi, Xellos, Valgrav, and Faria had just returned from Wolf Pack Island. School would start again in a few days, and she didn't look forward to it. Being a Sorcery Genius didn't do much good in the modern world.

Also they had been gone all summer. The Tendo's would want an explanation, and so would Ucchan. Shampoo already knew where she had been, her 'Great-grandmother' had explained about extra training. But the others, well it was liable to get ugly.

On the up side, Kuno was as good a swordsman as Gourry, and Kodachi was showing a lot of promise. She had gotten her Talismans back from Xellos, and the others of their group showed they were still a force to be reckoned with.

Reaching the front gate to the dojo, Lina took a deep breath and entered.

"Ranko dear! Where have- what are you WAIRING?!"

Lina looked up to see Nodoka Soutome standing on the walk. "Hi auntie Soutome. These are just some clothes I bought in Africa."

"You will change them now."

Now, Lina was feeling very stressed by the close proximity of all the Mazuko in the area. Their numbers had been steadily rising in her absence. Between that and the stress of facing Akane, a girl that Lina had never liked, and the chaos that would soon become her life again… Well, it's surprising how well she took the order.

"Bite me." With that she walked into the house, past a thoroughly stunned Nodoka, and said to Akane as they came face to face in the living room, "Shut up, Tendo."

With that she went to her room.

Akane stared at the back of her fiancée as she went up the stares. Her brain just couldn't process what had happened. Ranma had called her 'Tendo' and told her to 'shut up'. Something was very wrong with this. 'I'll bet he's hooked up with that Kodachi bitch,' she thought. 'Well, if he thinks he can get away with that, he's dead wrong.'

With these thoughts, she stalked up the stares, and headed to Ranma's room.

"Ranko. Just where the hell do you get off…" she trailed off as it registered that a) Ranma was topless, b) there was a man she didn't recognize in the room, and c) Ranma was still female.

"What do you want, Akane? Can't you see I'm busy?" Lina asked as she dug through her closet for a change of cloths. "Damn it, Xellos. Did you have to get that ice cream all over my shirt? If it stains, I'm taking it outta your ass."

The purple haired man didn't turn around to face her as he spoke, "Sorry, Ranko-chan. It was an accident!"

"Uh huh, I'll bet," she said as she pulled on a sports bra and a T-shirt. (hay, have you seen how stacked Ranma's girl form is? Bouncing when you work out SUCKS!)

"Well, Akane? What did you want?"

"Who the hell is this? And how did he get in here?" she demanded.

"That's a secret!" the two said as one.

Now dressed, Lina left with Xellos.

Cat Café:

'Cologne' sat across from her 'great granddaughter'. It was common knowledge in the village that the elder had no children, she was 'great grandmother' to all the warriors of Shampoo's generation.

"Child, do you know the story of how our people came to be?"

"Yes, great grandmother. Great warrior survive destruction of homeland. Come to China. Gather widow, orphan, and outcasts together. Make village. "

"Yes. There was a reason for this. She was chosen by the Golden Lady to create a tribe of fierce warriors, to one-day stand beside the champion of the human race, during a time of great darkness. You are her last living descendent."

Shampoo blinked at that. She had not known that. It was thought that the Blood Line had died long ago.

"How is possible?"

"For three generations, the blood line survived through sons. That was over a thousand years ago."

Shampoo nodded. It made sense. "Great Grandmother, what Shampoo need do? Must be bad if you tell Shampoo this."

Cologne nodded and told her what was to come.

Ryouga hated his life. First he stumbled upon Jensinkio again, then he fell into the WRONG spring, causing him to take on the form of a stone skinned man, then he looses his pack, and now his cloths were torn up, and the only cloths in his NEW pack were IVORY! Not only that, but they looked like something that should come out of mid-evil Europe! The Lost Boy sighed and bound the pant legs around his calves, and stowed the gloves away. At least the cape would keep him warm. There was even a hood on it.

He resumed his trek soon after, determined to find the Tendo Dojo and Akane. That thought made him pause. It felt… WRONG some how. He didn't understand where these strange feelings were coming from, but he was sure his confusion was all Ranma's fault. It had to be. Preoccupied with his internal musings, he failed to notice that the trees around him had given way to a small clearing. He also failed to notice the metal object that glinted on the ground before him. At least he didn't notice it until he tripped over it.

Ryouga went sprawling across the ground, landing in a most undignified manner. As he dragged himself to his feet, he let loose with a string of curses that would have embraced a drunk sailor anywhere in the world. With a sharp twist, he jerked around to glare at what he had tripped on, and froze.

It was a sword. The hand guard was crafted in gold, and there was a small jewel on the pommel. Carefully he picked it up, and regained his feet. He pulled it from the sheath, and dropped the leather casing to the ground. Holding the sword up before him, he admired the way the light danced across the hand-forged blade. Gods, it was the most perfect blade he had ever seen!

(A HREF= https://www.angelfire.com/nm/SonKai/images/slayers/ryogaaszel.jpg> click here to view the pic Ronda did for this scene)

As he stood there holding the blade aloft, he got the strangest feeling. For a moment he could have sworn he saw a small girl with red-orange hair who looked surprisingly like Ranma's girl form. Beside her stood a blond swordsman and a girl with a bubbly expression dressed in white. He felt an overwhelming amount of happiness as the redhead said, "Come on Zel! Don't give up. I'm sure we'll find your cure."

He shook his head and the image faded. What the HELL was that he wondered.

Two days later an ivory clad figure walked onto the Tendo grounds and came face to face with a slightly damp, and very female, Ranma. His face was obscured by the shadows cast by his hood, and a mask covered the lower portion of his face, making it hard to make out his features. The rest of his appearance was hidden by an ankle length ivory cloak, but one could see what appeared to be a sword strapped to his side.

He looked at the redhead for a long moment, and whispered in a stunned voice, "Lina? By the gods, is that you?"

'Ranma' looked at him carefully, taking in the blue cast to his skin and the slightly darker blue splotches on his face, and gasped. "Zel?"

Tears slid down the redhead's face as the two embraced for the first time in several thousand years. "By L-sama! Zel, I thought I'd never see you again," Lina sobbed as she clung to him.

"Shh, love. I'm here now, and I'll never leave you again. I swear it."

Nodoka walked out side to find Ranko, and saw this strange man holding her. She drew her katana and called out, "Leave her be, stranger."

Lina groaned and said against Zel's shoulder, "I don't care if she IS Ranma's mother, I'm going to KILL her."

"Allow me, Lina." Zel lifted his head and called out, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't hold my betrothed. And who are you to order us around?"

Nodoka opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. The one thought that ran through her mind was, 'Ranko's ENGAGED?!'

At this time, Akane came out side to see what was going on, just in time to hear Zel's proclamation. She froze in horror. Ranma COULDN'T be marrying a guy! It had to be some sick joke! He was making fun of her like always, and, thus, had to be punished.

With a cry of, "Ranma no BAKA!" Akane attacked. With all her strength she swung the mallet at the two, and missed!

Looking around in fury, Akane spotted the two landing a fair distance away. The man had drawn his sword, and taken a ready stance. The actions spoke of long familiarity with the blade, and confidence in his skills. Just one look clearly showed that he was by far Kuno's superior. Ranma on the other hand, was holding some kind of glowing red orb in her hands. It looked like a Moko Takabsai, but the coloring was wrong.

Both looked pissed to say the least.

The man in Ivory growled, "I don't know WHO you are, but attacking us, when we weren't causing you any harm, was a mistake."

In a rare moment of common sense, Akane backed down.

Nodoka was frowning. Why had Akane called Ranko 'Ranma'? Was the girl delusional? Couldn't she tell the difference between her son and this red haired girl? Or had she been talking to this hooded man? Could he be her son?

"Nodoka, Akane, I'd like you to meet my fiance, Zelgodis Greywers," Lina said smugly. "Zel, meet Akane Tendo, the most violent girl in Nerima, and the worst cook in the world, yes she's worse than Amelia. And Nodoka Soutome, Ranma's mother and the most judgmental person you'll meet today, though there are others in the area who are slightly worse."

She led him inside as the shock rendered the other two women immobile. Once inside, they met Kasumi and Nabiki. They sat and had tea while Lina explained that she and Zel had been engaged for a while.

The stunned look on Nabiki's face was well worth the explaining she would have to do before the crisis was over. It was truly priceless.