Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild Stallion and the Drow ❯ Master and Student Meet Again ( Chapter 2 )

Standard disclaimer:  Ranma ½ is from the mind of Rumiko Takahashi, and distributed in the US by Viz.  The elven gods and other visitors from Toril are all from the equally fertile minds of Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb as well as all the other writers who work for TSR.  That means I don't own any of them, and are just perverting them for my enjoyment as well as yours, I hope. 

This story is a continuance based on Elle ½, an omake by Greg Sharp (AKA Metroanime), based on an idea he found at http://addventure.bast-enterprises.de

That's done, now on with the story

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The Wild Stallion and the Drow

Chapter 3

Ranma sighed as he dusted himself off and prepared to reenter the Tendo house.  This day couldn't get any worse.  He'd rescued Nabiki from falling debris, courtesy of one of Ryoga's Shi Shi Hokodans.  So Akane got pissed and switched the engagement back to her sister.  It didn't help that fathers were saying it was all his fault, parroting Akane.  He was ignoring her, which was why he'd gotten a short ride via Air Akane.  "Stupid, built like a brick, uncute tomboy," he muttered as he walked back to the house.

"Do you remember, Ranma?"

He blinked, and a cloaked form seemed to materialize out of the shadows.  "Who…?"

The cloaked form pulled down her hood, revealing a mane as white as snow and skin as ebon as coal.  Her yellow eyes held the hint of amusement in them.  "Be at peace, Saotome Ranma.  Do you remember the woods of mist and shadow?   Where you learned the bow and sword?"

Ranma looked at her pointed ears and a dim memory of cool woods and of laughter with a good friend, and the sadness and disappointment when he left.  "Um, yeah.  That was where…"

"You and I were engaged."  Eilistraee said softly, but her voice carried.

"Engaged?!"  Akane snapped the pair of chopsticks in her hands.

"Um, excuse me, but *what* are you?"  Nabiki asked, as this girl didn't fit the standard Tokyo resident.

"Forgive my sudden lack of manners.  My name is Eilistraee, the Dark Maiden.  Patroness of Good Drow; elven goddess of the dance, swordsmanship and…" Her voice trailed off for a moment.  "Are you challenging me?"

The youngest Tendo suddenly realized she was stalking towards them, but remembered that she had given Ranma to her sister.  "See if I care!  This is *your* problem Nabiki."

"Hey, wait a minute!  This ain't my fault!"

"You have been treated as a prize, Ranma.  At first, I didn't think you were that much of a potential mate.  But there is a saying on this world that is very appropriate: 'Longing makes the heart grow fonder.'

"Even though it was the mere blink of an eye for me, I have missed you for these past twelve years.  Granted, our engagement was my father's deal with *your* father."

"GENMA!"  Soun raged at the now wet panda sitting at the table.

"You have seven fiancée's Ranma-all but two arranged by Genma," said the drow.  "You should consider your choices carefully."
           ;  "Seven," Ranma yelped.

"Seven?"  Soun began to get angrier, his battle aura beginning to manifest itself.

"Seven," repeated Nabiki, as she considered methods to profit from this.  Wait, rewind, replay.  "You're a goddess?"

"Hah," snorted Akane.

*crackle* *crinkle* *BOOM*

"Akane!  Your skin!  Your hair!  Your ears!"

Akane blinked.  "What about me?  Look at you, Nabiki!"

"Oh my; oh my, oh dear!"

"I do not I do not care for people calling me a liar.  This is just a helpful lesson.  When deal with a god or goddess, even if you disagree, you should be more polite."

Nabiki was looking at herself in a mirror.  "What the…"

Ranma just stood there, shaking his head.  He'd seen such displays of power before, as his memories of Arvandor slowly coming back to him.

Eilistraee, purely out of courtesy, explained while looking at the Tendo girls.  "You are all elves now.  I *could* have made you all drow, but the drow get a poor reception in certain areas.  Therefore, one wood elf, one sea elf, and one winged elf; a nice matched set, don't you think?"

"K-K-Kasumi?"  Soun stared as his eldest experimentally flapped her wings and began flying around the yard.  He turned on the stranger.  "How dare you!"

"How dare I?  It is because I am a goddess of the drow that I did this.  But do not worry, it's temporary."  Eilistraee turned to her fiancé.  In a tone that brooked no argument, she said, "We are going on a date tomorrow.  Be ready at eight."

"Wait a minute!"  Said Akane the sea elf.  "He's my fiancé!"

"Only by a verbal agreement, whereas my father has a written agreement that includes a clause to negate all previous and future engagements."  Eilistraee pondered the two newly created elves.  "Now don't you think that this is better than starting some pointless martial arts battle?"  She smiled inwardly as she watched the third enthusiastically take to being a winged elf.

Akane stood; a green flush on her skin.  "Go ahead, see if I care!"  Eilistraee cocked an eyebrow.  "You want to go out with that kuronin tramp, Ranma?  Have a…Urk!"

"The 'blackskin' I'll admit to, Akane Tendo.  'Tramp' I do not."  Eilistraee's eyes narrowed, the yellow changing to lavender.  She stepped back, having just gotten in Akane's face.  "As I understand it, in this land it is customary to challenge those who besmirch your name in battle.  I therefore challenge you."

"Fine, we'll settle this now," said Akane.  She chose to ignore the little voices in her head saying that this wasn't Ranma's fault and this was a *really* bad idea.  Not that she ever really listened to them anyway.  "'Goddess' my foot.  You're just another Amazon bimbo I'll bet."

With a flourish, Eilistraee threw back her cloak and drew her sword.  If Ryoga were around, he'd probably gotten a nosebleed from the drow's outfit.  "Fine then, shall we dance?  If I win, you shall retract your words."  She stood in an easy stance, one capable of moving from offense to defense with ease, the blade spinning slowly.  "And quite to the contrary, I am not a bimbo."

"Akane," Ranma said, "I wouldn't fight her if I were you."  He was promptly ignored by his erstwhile fiancée.

"Hah!  And when I win, you'll pack up and leave," Akane said confidently.  This girl wasn't even in a kendo or fencing stance.  This would be easy.

"B-b-b-but…"Soun began to look at the two girls ready to fight, and then up at where Kasumi was cleaning out the eaves of the house, her wings holding her airborne.

[I'm just a cute little panda.]  Genma-panda's sign said.  He flipped it around [Soun, should Akane win, let's get our children married tonight, then toast our children's marriage and uniting of the families.]

"Akane, Ranma's right.  You *might* want to reconsider this fight."  Nabiki wasn't too sure that this girl was a megami.  But if she *was*, then this fight could be short and extremely one sided.

"Yaahhhhhh!"  Was Akane's answer as she rushed forward, ready to smash the goddess's face in.

Ranma had seen Eilistraee's stance before-was even taught it, though he hadn't really practiced it-and was ready to rush in between them and stop this.  She moved her blade with practiced ease, the wind keening a mournful dirge.

Eilistraee stopped her blade's spinning, quickly saluted, brought the tip of her longsword up, and thrust.  All very quick and *very* precise.  All before Ranma could even react.

Time seemed stopped as Akane saw the blade plunge into her chest, felt the cold steel blade of it, felt the torn back of her gi as it was penetrated as well.  Everyone stared, as she stumbled to a halt, knowing full well she was dead.

Eilistraee withdrew the blade, and her opponent slumped to her knees.  "Well, Miss Tendo?"  Soun began started up with the waterworks, threatening to flood the yard.

Akane's hands went to the neat slice in the front of her gi, then checked the back.  Confirming the holes, she turned her attention to her unbroken flesh.  "What?  I'm not dead yet?"

"Would you rather I have killed you?  This is a far simpler thing.  Will you now retract your words?"  Eilistraee waited a moment for an answer, the tip of the sword grounded.

"What exactly did you do?"  Nabiki asked.

"I have taken her life," answered the drow.  "Unless I receive an apology or a suitable substitute, she will become my handmaiden in this world.  You don't seem to have any sort of elves and that's really not good.  Besides, part of the deal that Saotome Genma signed was for the establishment of a race of good-aligned drow here."

"Good?"  Akane lifted a tearful face up.  "You call *this* good?"

"Child, you could have simply apologized.  My chief opponent would have eaten your liver after killing your loved ones in front of your very eyes."  Eilistraee let out a deep breath that sounded almost like a sigh.  "I do wish I could find a better handmaiden."

"I'll do it."  Nabiki probably had an ulterior motive, but since Akane was thinking with her pride instead of her brain, she'd never apologize.

Eilistraee considered it briefly.  "You're a bit more on the mercenary side than I'd prefer, but done."  Nabiki's skin darkened, her hair turned white, changing from a wood elf to drow.  Soun wailed that his daughter had turned into an oni.

"How many more, baka oyaji!"  Ranma was chasing his panda father around the yard.  With a sword…a particularly sharp and ancient elven longsword that he had started his training with, one that he'd drawn from a chi created subspace pocket, similar to Mousse's Hidden Weapons technique.  The Tendos eyes widened when they saw him with the sword.  Eilistraee merely smiled.

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Ranma sat in the quiet darkness of the Dojo, thinking about what Eilistraee had said.  The women that supposedly loved him had all treated him more as a prize than as a person or fiancé by.  And the worst thing about it was they were all possessive.  Akane, Ucchan, Shampoo, Kodachi, Eilistraee, and even two more that he didn't even know about.  "Hello Eilistraee," he said quietly.

His elven fiancée emerged from the shadows and sat close to him.  "I never could sneak up on you, Ranma."

"Not since Fenmarel taught me how to extend my senses further than with just chi alone.  He still annoyed at the world?"  Ranma smiled at that remembrance.  His smiled faltered though.  "Is it true about what said earlier this evening?  That your father agreed to wed you to me?"

Eilistraee nodded.  "It is."

"Then I *am* nothing more than a prize."  Ranma said.  "Damn panda selling me off for his needs and wants."

Eilistraee looked at her fiancé.  Just by reading his emotions, she could tell that Ranma was upset.  "Ranma," she said quietly, "you are *more* than a prize.  Any one of these human suitors of yours should have been able to see it."  Eilistraee placed her hand on Ranma's face.  Despite the calluses from training with the sword, her skin was still as soft as it was when Ranma was five.  "Ranma, I am not some hormone-driven youngling afraid of my own emotions, despite that I am called the *Dark Maiden*.  Nor am I some 'uncute tomboy' with an attitude problem."

Ranma could feel his emotions running wild.  Akane didn't trust him, abused him, and called him a pervert.  Ukyo, he still considered a friend, as he did Shampoo.  Kodachi was just too freaky for words.  He didn't even know the other two.

"Ranma, you need to start making your own decisions.  Your father is not going to be around forever."

"You know, I hated when you used to say 'I told you so', in your roundabout way.  But you're correct.  Eil-chan, you do realize that I have a curse like oyaji?"

The drow nodded.  "I was always taught that it's not what matters on the outside, Ranma, but what is on the inside.  When you get hit with water, that doesn't change who you are on the inside.  Just like Ryoga.  When he gets hit with water, he's still the same person who wants to kill you."

"You know about Ryoga?"  Eilistraee nodded as Ranma stood.  "I will think about what you've said.  I gonna need to sleep on this."

Eilistraee nodded.  "I understand, Ranma.  Just remember that we do have a date tomorrow night.  And I mean to keep it."

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Morning broke over Tokyo as it normally did.  In Nerima, however, there were none of the usual morning battles.  For the residents of this fight-plagued ward, this could have been taken as a sign that Judgment Day was fast approaching.  At the Tendo Dojo, the elves Kasumi and Akane were waking up in their normal forms.  Outside in the yard, there were thunks of arrows hitting wood as Ranma practiced the bow, and remained utterly calm as he did it.  His target though was shivering from fear.  No one ever said Genma was a brave man, but having your son use you for a target was quite unnerving.  In fact, if Genma were in his regular form, there might have been a yellow stain on the front of his gi.  [Do you have to use me as a target?]  The sign Genma-panda held asked.

"It's because of you, Oyaji, that I'm in this mess to begin with.  Besides, I need to sharpen my archery.  That's why you're standing there."  Ranma plucked an arrow from the ground, drew back and took aim at the apple sitting on his Panda father's head.  "Now hold still.  I'm sure you don't want me to miss."  He released the arrow, and it was quickly followed by three more.

Genma felt the juice of the apple drip on to his head and promptly passed out.  Four arrows had neatly pierced the apple, coring it.

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Breakfast was a subdued affair.  Kasumi had fixed her usual breakfast, but there was something missing, a joy that had been there yesterday.  Akane was still looking a little green under the collar as she ate her breakfast.  Nabiki looked like the black sheep in the family-literally.  Genma-panda had recovered from his near-death experience and was back to trying to steal his son's food, as usual.  Ranma was nonchalantly defeating the old fool's attempts.  The Tendos were trying to cope with the sudden changes with Nabiki and the revelations about one of their boarders' fiancées.

When the kids left for school Soun looked at his friend.  "Genma," he asked, "are there any other surprises I should be made aware of?  After all, my middle daughter now looks like an demon."

Kasumi poured a kettle of hot water on her father's friend.  Genma looked at his old training partner.  "Soun, I don't believe that there will be any more surprises.  Tell you what Soun, as soon as Ranma and Akane get home from school, why not have them married?"

"An interesting idea, Genma.  I'll call the…" Soun paused as a dozen arrows whistled through the door, and embedded themselves into the table.  There was a note attached to one.  The head of the Tendo Clan retrieved the note.  "'Those who live in paper houses should be careful what they say.'  It appears, my friend, that someone else has other plans for your son."

"Bah.  That shouldn't have any bearing on our plans, Soun."  Genma looked around.  "We'll figure something out, my friend, to unite the clans.  We can figure out how over a game of shogi."

"A good idea, Saotome.  I'll go set up the board."  Soun said, implementing Tendo Anything Goes Shogi tactic #29- set the board up first so it's in your favor.

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Furinkan High School
Same time

"So the true depths of Tendo Nabiki have been revealed!  It is my duty as a noble samurai to remove this scourge from our school."  Three guesses who said that and the first two don't count.

Nabiki looked at Ranma.  "Ranma, do something.  And quickly."  Kuno drew his bokken and began to move relentlessly towards the new drow.  *You get me out of this, Saotome, and forget about your debt.*

"Of course, I should have realized that the foul sorcerer would be with her.  Surely this must be some plot to spoil the sweet flower that is Tendo Akane."

"Kuno, leave Nabiki alone.  She's not a martial artist," Ranma growled.

"Very well then, sorcerer.  Have at thee!"  Kuno charged the pig-tailed martial artist.  Ranma flew back, weaving and dodging the wooden blade.  "Hold still knave, so that the Blue Thunder of Furinkan can hit you!"

"Now why would I want to do something like that," Ranma asked, as he weaved between the blows.  He then leapt up on to the school wall.  *Time to do something about this.*  Smiling, Ranma reached into weaponspace and pulled out a training sword.  "Now, let's see who the better swordsman is, Kuno."  Ranma's blade began to whirl, as he maneuvered the bundled lathes in such a way that it made an almost keening sound.  He jumped down and continued to warm up.

"So, the evil Saotome Ranma believes himself to be a noble samurai?  I shall end this fallacy right now.  I strike," Kuno shouted as he charged elven-trained martial artist.  Bokken met training sword with a series of clashes.

Despite Nabiki's new appearance, the other students began clamoring for information-Why Ranma wasn't with Akane this morning; why Ranma was using a weapon for the first time and why is he so good with it.  "Kuno," Ranma shouted, while Nabiki looked on, "why don't you just admit that I am just better than you are?"

"Never, demon.  You are an abomination on the honor of this fine learning institution and the enslaver of my fierce tigress and my pig-tailed goddess.  For that, I will smite thee."  Ranma easily parried the insane kendoist's attacks.

"You couldn't before, Kuno, and you still can't."  With the ring of the first school bell, Ranma disarmed his opponent, and let Kuno run into the guard of the training sword.  The True Blunder proved once again just how fragile his glass jaw was as Ranma headed into class.  Nabiki pondered whether or not to drag Kuno to infirmary as usual.  She picked up the kendoist and dragged him to the infirmary to recover, adding the charge to his tab.
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"Ms. Tendo, you are late," her teacher said.

"Hai, sensei.  I was bringing Kuno to the infirmary."

"Very well then."  He adjusted his glasses, not noticing her changes.  "Now then, class…" and proceeded to drone on about the Meiji Restoration.  The class, of course, ignored their teacher and stared at the Drow in their presence.

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The day quickly settled into a semi-normal routine.  Kuno would attack either Ranma or Nabiki, thereby forcing Ranma into fighting the kendoist, who would inevitably wind up back in the infirmary.  Akane kept quiet whenever she was around Ranma.  Lunch, normally Ranma's preferred time of day, was as hectic as the morning.  Kuno just wouldn't or couldn't leave well enough alone, and after a brief fight, wound up being dragged back to the infirmary. 

For the Nabiki, it was even worse.  For the Ice Queen of Furinkan, she was normally in the background, never at the forefront of the Wrecking Crew's attacks on Ranma.  But with her transformation into a Drow, Kuno felt that it was always his duty to defeat this minion of the foul Saotome.  This, of course required Ranma to protect his one fiancée's priestess.  Nor was she ever the center of attention for the student body at Furinkan.  Being gawked at while trying to conduct business was not exactly conducive for running the betting pools and information services.  Nor was having Ranma hover around her.  "Ranma, back off!" was heard at various times of the day, usually quickly followed by "Ranma, I need your help!"  Suffice to say, this made Ranma rather gun shy around Nabiki.
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