Of Curses and Rebirth

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 </A> 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 Cefied! 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 read 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 fiancé, 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.