Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy : Chaotic Legacy ❯ The Story Begins ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't claim the rights to Ranma ½ nor Final Fantasy. Anything original, including, though not limited to, characters, items, places, events, and the story, are copyrighted to me, all rights reserved. If anybody has a problem or question, feel free to email me at darthjenova@hotmail.com and please be polite about it.

Author's Note: I would simply like to take the time to point out that this is not a true crossover or fusion with any Final Fantasy. It's rather like an original Final Fantasy, but using Ranma ½ characters. Many things from various Final Fantasies will make appearances, such as character classes, items, monsters, and other such things. In addition, I'll be trying to bring the Final Fantasy "feel" to this fanfic. Please feel free to review and tell me if I succeed, or to drop comments or criticism. I'll also make a plea that if anything about this fanfic seems wrong, please review me so I'll know what I'm doing wrong. Likewise, it'd be nice if I knew what I was doing right...

"Heard anything new?" a young man inquired, taking a seat at the nearest bar stool, propping his lance up against the bar.

The bartender finished wiping down one of his mugs before turning to face the man who spoke. Man didn't quite describe him, he was only in his mid teens, although he was well developed and had the look of one who had seen many battles. His hair was worn in a loose ponytail reaching just past his shoulders, and his red brest plate shone from its constant care. His clothes were a matching red, even his armor-like boots and bracers. He also wore strange fake ears, which resembled fins, over the upper part of his ears.

The bartender put the glass he had finished cleaning away before speaking. "Nothing much, I'm afraid," he spoke with a sigh. "A few rumors here and there, but they all seem to contradict themselves. I can't tell which, if any, are true."

The pigtailed man gave a disappointed sigh. "That figures," he mumbled to himself. Then, louder, he spoke to the bartender. "Can I get a drink, then?"

"Sure thing, Ranma," the bartender said with a smile. He walked over to grab a bottle, then hesitated before turning around. "The usual, right?"

"Yeah. The usual, Cid."

Cid nodded, picking up the bottle and taking it over to Ranma. He set it down, and when he saw Ranma starting to pull out some gil, he immediately shook his head. "No, Ranma, this one is on the house."

"Thanks," Ranma responded with gratitude. Truth be told, he didn't have much gil to spare. He put it back in his pouch before reaching for his drink. He took a few sips, allowing his mind to wander off in thought.

"So," Cid began after a moment of silence had passed, "where are you off to next?"

Ranma put down his drink and looked up at the brown-haired bartender. "I really don't know. I was hoping you'd have a solid lead for me to follow."

Cid grimaced. "Sorry about that. I wish I had more to tell you, but I only hear so much in this old, run-down pub."

Ranma waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, it's all right. I can probably find an inn and stick around Ramadia for a while, then I'll head up north to Claire." Ramadia was the capital of the country, and Claire was along the northern boundry, nestled in the mountains.

"I see," Cid replied, tapping his fingers on the bar in thought. He was about to say something else, but then he noticed the pub door opening. He didn't have many customers this early in the day, most of them came around night, so he made note of it when the girl entered the almost empty bar.

The girl was wearing blue robes, with long draping folds, though no emroideries or extensive decoration to make it look expensive. She wore a pointed straw hat, from which her thick bluish-black hair fell. Her eyes darted across the pub, taking note of everything, clutching a staff with a blue jewel, possibly a sapphire, at the end. The staff was rather expensive looking, although still quite bland, as was the rest of her outfit.

She walked over to the bar and took the seat to the right of Ranma. She eased her grip of the staff, feeling slightly more at ease when she realized that the two men and herself were the only occupants of the pub.

"Can I help you, miss?" Cid asked politely, trying to sound as non-threatening as he could. The poor girl seemed to be frightened of something, and he didn't want to compond on her troubles.

The girl looked up at the aging bartender. "I'll take a tonic, please."

"Coming right up," Cid said with a smile. With practiced ease, he turned and grabbed a bottle off the shelf in the back. He quickly shook the contents before gripping the cork with his hand and pulling it out. He set it down in front of the girl, who took it with a nod of thanks and began to drink it.

Ranma watched the girl out of the corner of his eye while he sipped his drink. She drank her tonic much faster than he was doing. Perhaps she needed the energy boost that tonics gave. He also couldn't help but notice how cute she looked, with that hat and her hair and...

"Is there a reason you're looking at me like that?" the girl asked, putting down her drink and once again clutching her staff tightly.

She must have noticed him looking at her, Ranma surmised. He shrugged noncholantly. "Not really. Just wondering why you came here is all. I've never seen you here before, and I frequent this place." It wasn't exactly a lie, he had been wondering that when she had walked in.

"A girl can't try out a new place every now and then?" she retorted, turning back to her drink and deciding to ignore the man.

Ranma simply shrugged and went back to his own drink.

The silence seemed to stretch onward after that. Until it was broken once again by the door opening, with much more force than the previous time.

Two men, dressed in white and blue uniforms with swords hanging by their sides, stood in the open doorway. They both stepped inside and, when their eyes landed upon the blue-haired girl, they both seemed obviously relieved.

The girl with the straw hat, however, seemed less than pleased to be seeing them.

"Finally, we've found you, Miss Tendo," the first man said. He stepped forward. "Our master has been searching for you all day. Please, allow us to escort you back to him."

The girl, whose last name was obviously Tendo, stood up and tipped her hat back. "You can go back and tell him that I'll not be going, if you please." She seemed confident in speech and manner, but there was a host of small signs that a good fighter and observer, such as Ranma, could perceive to tell that it was only an act.

The second guard stepped forward, ahead of the first, and gripped his sword. "I'm afraid not, ma'am. The master would be most displeased if we were to show up without you." He partially slipped his sword out of the scabbard, giving an easily percieved threat behind his message.

Ranma took that as his cue to step in. Grabbing his lance from beside him, he casually jumped from his seated position and did a backflip, landing behind his stool and in front of the girl, facing both men. He rested his lance against his shoulder and smirked. "The girl said she didn't wanna go, and I'd suggest you listen to her."

The ponytailed youth's words and arrogant attitude seemed to anger the first man. He fully drew out his sword, a standard double-edged blade, and stepped forward. "If you are to come between-" He stopped when he felt the other man's hand on his shoulder.

"Enough, we shall leave them here," the second man told the first. He glared at Ranma and the girl behind him, then spoke, more to them than to the man's cohort, "We'll go and inform the master of this."

The first man seemed placated by his words, and sheathed his sword. Without another word, the two men turned and left.

Cid was the first one to speak. "What was that all about?"

"I'm sorry," the girl replied softly. "I didn't mean to make any trouble. I'll be leaving now." She tried to step around Ranma, but he simply stepped into her way. She tried stepping around in the other direction, only to be stopped again. "Will you let me through?" she asked, irritation leaking into her voice.

"Nah," Ranma replied simply, a smug tone in his voice. "I still wanna know what that was about, Miss...?"

"Tendo. Akane Tendo." The girl leveled a glare at him. "And you really shouldn't be getting yourself involved in my affairs."

Ranma smirked, putting his lance to his side and leaning upon it. "Look, Akane, I've been involved since I stepped up, and now they're on their way back to whoever the hell their master is. I think I do have a right to know."

The two men who had accosted Akane in the pub stepped into a dimly lit room, whose only source of light was an oil lamp in the exact center of the room. The knelt down on one knee, bowing their heads.

A young man, with unruly brown hair and dressed in a much more elaborate version of the uniform worn by the two men, looked up from his meditative position at the other side of the room. "Why do you return to me without Akane Tendo?" His voice was level, but held an undertone of aggression that the two men didn't miss.

The first man was getting pale-faced, so the second one spoke up. "She was refusing cooperation," he began, but the rest of his sentence was cut off from his superior.

"Then why did you not take her back here yourselves?" he demanded, his voice rising. He stood up and clenched a sword, which had already been drawn by his side while he had been sitting.

The first man paled even more, looking horrified. The second man, however, didn't even flinch. "Sir, we would have done that, as our orders were, but it seems she has hired a protector. We didn't wish to fight both of them, and he looked like an able fighter, so we came back to you for new orders, with this man in consideration." The response was given with a practiced tone, making it obvious this wasn't the first time he had been forced to explain something to the young man they called "master".

Their employer seemed appeased by those words. He nodded, and spoke, once again in an even tone, "Very well. I give you permission to take one of our special troops with you. Kill the man, this vile sorcerer who has dared to enslave my woman, and bring Akane back to me alive." He turned away from them, indicating the conversation was over.

"Yes, sir," both men said. They quickly rose and left the room.

The young man put the sword upon a sword rack on the wall. "You had best not fail me, Biggs, Wedge."