Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Total Shock ❯ Life Stream ( Chapter 2 )

Ranma groaned and tried to stand up. His body felt like mush and his head was reeling.

 

“What the hell was I thinking?” He settled for sitting up and looking around. Behind him was a dragged-out crater, as if he had traveled for some time along the ground before stopping. Ranma tried to stand again, only to fall to his knees, and then yell in pain as he fell flat on his face. He opened his eyes to try and dull the sensations by focusing on what was ahead of him.

 

Ranma sincerely hoped he hadn't shattered every bone in his body, which he knew was a distinct possibility. “I need to get some of that toughness training that Ryoga does,” he muttered while sitting up again so he could lay on his back instead of his face. “Where am I anyway?” Ranma finally looked around and noticed his surroundings.

 

He was in a park he knew was located near the late Konoko's home. “I'll ask Touya just how it is he moves so fast,” He started. “…As soon as I can get up,” He blinked as he saw a pink haired girl approaching him from the side. “Hey, Chibi-Usa,” He said with a weak wave. The girl was wearing a black shirt with some funky anime designs on it and a pair of cargo shorts. She had black and white striped stockings and some worn out sneakers. He shrugged; the girl certainly had an odd taste in fashion…

 

“Oh, Ranma.” Chibi-usa likewise blinked as he waved. “What are you doing here? Isn't it too early for you to be pissing off violent tomboys?”

 

“Haha, never too early for that gorilla girl to get mad at anything, really...” He sighed. “But she didn't-”

 

“Why don't you ever leave them?” Chibi-Usa asked in a huff. “I'm sure once Usagi moves in with Mamoru she'll let you stay with them,” She said. Ranma blinked again.

 

“I wouldn't want to be a burden,” he said.

 

“You don't have to. She'll probably let you pay rent.”

 

“She's too nice to take money from me like that,”

 

“But Mamoru won't be,” Chibi-Usa pointed out.

 

“That's true. I could pay him behind her back…but really, I'm staying with Tendo-san because of family honor,” Ranma groused. “I can't without marrying one of his daughters or I'll be worthless,” He said.

 

“What about your personal honor?” Chibi-Usa demanded. “What have they ever done for you in the past? To what do you owe them? If anything, it seems like they would owe you!” She realized she was raising her voice and tried to calm down.

 

“They're just people, Usa-chan,” He said. “And they let my entire family bunk with them. That's something,” He reminded her. “And Kasumi has fixed my meals for the longest I can remember. I owe them for all the times I've attracted trouble, eaten their food, and stayed under their roof.” Ranma sighed.

 

“So…you intend on marrying her?” Chibi-Usa asked.

 

“I don't know…things are so confusing right now,” He said. “This has been going on for a while, but…It needs to stop sometime soon, or something really bad will happen…I just get the feeling that one day soon someone or something is going to cross the line and…” he didn't want to finish that thought.

 

“Ranma…You're unnaturally,” She said with a raised eyebrow. “Has something happened?” When Ranma only mumbled in response, she pouted. “Say it louder.”

 

“I had a strange dream,”

 

“What kind of dream?” Chibi-Usa asked curiously.

 

“…Everything felt so real, up until the end,”

 

“Really? What happened?”

 

Ranma stiffened. “I don't want to talk about it.”

 

“I see,” She looked down at the ground. “So where do you want to go?”

 

“Touya,” He said.

 

“Who?”

 

“Your new neighbor. I want to know how fast he really is,” Ranma finally stood up and flexed the rest of the pain out of his body. “That wasn't so bad,” He said finally.

 

----

 

Ryoko hummed as she watered the garden in front of the research institute. Professor Shiouji was watching from the bench. “She seems to be peaceful…She doesn't mind Umi-Kun…” He turned to watch some of the girls running by… “Maybe I should tell her that the garden has an automated system,” He wondered. When she looked at him, he eeped as she threw the pale at him. “Scratch that- she's definitely violent,” he muttered, rubbing the rapidly bruising spot on his forehead as Ryoko approached him.

 

“Maybe you should court her,” Miwa said.

 

“Mother. She's an alien.” He said as if that should answer everything.

 

“It will be a learning experience, won't it? First human to mate with her species- Oh, it'll be history in the making!” She teased. Shiouji and Ryoko both blushed. They looked at each other for a second before Ryoko turned away and crossed her arms.

 

“Mother, please…” Shiouji groaned.

 

“Yeah lady, he's not my type,” Ryoko growled.

 

Miwa giggled girlishly and sauntered away. “I'll leave you two alone,” She said loudly.

 

“Man, your mom's got some problems,” Ryoko muttered as Miwa disappeared into the building.

 

“I would like to say we all have problems,” Shiouji said in an oddly defensive way. “Not that all of us…er,” He muttered.

 

“I know what you meant,” Ryoko told him. She nodded and sat down next to him. “So when do you think someone is going to come looking for me?”

 

“Soon,” he said. “I mean, someone, somewhere out there must care for you,” he admitted. “But what I would really like to know…is why you came to earth…and if such technology exists that is greater than ours, why haven't we been overtaken by enemy forces? Are we so far from greater civilization? Could that mean you're some sort of scout?” He wondered aloud. “So many possibilities, and the best information on possible reasons for extra terrestrial visits are science fiction novels,” he sighed. “Theories, fantasies…”

 

“Reality, now,” Ryoko noted. “If we can figure it out, maybe you can write your own book,” Gojyou looked at her and snickered. She frowned. “What?”

 

“Oh, it's not you…it's just…me, writing a book…” He chuckled. “I just couldn't see it.”

 

“I certainly could. You seem like the boring type,” Ryoko smirked as she floated up and away from the bench, leaving him to wonder if she'd just told a joke.

 

“Hey…I'm not boring at all,” he said in his defense. “I've made a super android that is capable of processing the same thoughts as humans,” he started.

 

“Ropponmatsu II is nothing compared to what I'm sure I could do if I could remember anything,” Ryoko shrugged as she flew towards his house. “I'm hungry. Tell Umi to make something,”

 

----

 

Ranma and Chibi-Usa blinked as Shadow stared at them from his doorframe. “You mean he's not here?”

 

“That's right,” Shadow grunted. “He's out on business.”

 

“What kind of business?” Chibi-Usa asked.

 

“None of yours,” Shadow said, slamming the door in their faces. Ranma frowned.

 

“Well that was helpful…” Chibi-Usa grumbled.

 

“Maybe we can just wait at your house,” He sighed. He really didn't want to go all the way back to Nerima and then come back later. Chibi-Usa brightened at this, though.

 

“Sure,” she said. “I'm sure they won't mind,” they both walked into Usagi's house. After leaving their shoes in the genkan, they walked into the TV room. Usagi was watching television and lounging on the couch with her little brother watching from the floor. Both looked up to see Chibi-Usa followed by Ranma.

 

“Yo,” Ranma said lazily.

 

“Hey, Ranma,” Shingo started. “What happened?”

 

“Nothing, really. Just gonna spend some of the day here,” Ranma said, walking over to the couch. He motioned for Usagi to scoot over and sat down with her when she did. “So what's on?”

 

“There was a monster sighting last night, and the reappearance of the Sailor Senshi has everyone on edge,” Shingo said. “It's on most of the local channels, and our dish is having problems, so that's it, really.”

 

“Ah,” Ranma blinked. “You mean those girls that were fighting monsters a few years ago?” He'd heard about them before, maybe seen some of the manga based off of them…but that was it. He'd only arrived in Nerima, Tokyo a little over half a year ago, and news of the sailor senshi had dwindled down to a nonexistent state by now. Plus, most of the monster attacks were in Juuban for some reason, so most Nerimians didn't know about it either.

 

“Yeah, them,” Shingo said, turning back to the TV.

 

“Heh, I'd like to see them in action,” Ranma said with a grin as he cracked his knuckles.

 

“I don't think you'd want to be on the receiving end of a senshi attack, Ranma,” Usagi yawned. She rubbed her eyes and tried to stand up. “Oh man…” She walked upstairs to her room. “I'm going to go take a nap, guys. Take care of our guest, you two,” Usagi went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

 

“What's wrong with her?” Ranma asked. Chibi-Usa blinked and tried to come up with something.

 

“I'll bet she was with Mamoru last night,” Shingo snickered. Chibi-Usa hit him on the back after that. “Ow…What was that for?” Chibi-Usa just rolled her eyes and sighed.

 

“No, you moron,” she started. “She just stayed up late, that's all,” Chibi-Usa said.

 

“Oh, okay,” Both boys accepted that answer. After some time, the satellite service picked up a signal again, and they changed the channel.

 

[Mahora Academy]

 

A small blonde girl sat brooding atop one of Mahora's buildings. She was dressed as a student, and was currently eating a cupcake. As she pondered various things, she stopped, glared at the cupcake, and then continued eating it. “That brat and those ditzy girls of his…” She muttered with a mouth full of cake. She looked down at the people below from the roof of the building. That was when a girl with light green hair suddenly landed beside her. She looked down at the blonde girl and spoke without pause.

 

“Master, the Headmaster wishes to meet with you,” the girl said. Her eyes remained emotionless, as did her voice. The girl was inhumanly still as she waited for a response.

 

“I was expecting this sometime soon,” Evangeline said, standing up. “I imagine he wants us all to be at the World Tree,” She stated. It was in no way a question; that was the only place where he could call them the way she assumed he was.

 

“That is correct. The meeting is to start at 1000 hours.” Chachamaru jumped from the roof before her feet ignited and she flew towards a tree that could only be described as gigantic. The World Tree was huge; there were still no human constructed buildings that even neared its immense size.

 

“Hmm,” Evangeline looked at the watch on her wrist. It was 9:33. “I guess I'd better make myself presentable and go,” She muttered. Twenty-Seven minutes was enough time for her to go home and change. Going in the student uniform was totally unacceptable.

 

Meanwhile, down below, a young boy and two of his students were walking towards the World Tree.

 

“I wonder what Grandpa has to say,” Konoka said.

 

“I don't know, but he said it was real important,” Negi responded. Unlike the girls, who were dressed casually, Negi was wearing something he'd wear to class.

 

“I bet I know what it is,” Asuna grumbled. “Something so huge that it'll change our lives forever,” She said in a mock dramatic voice. Negi and Konoka looked at her uncomfortably before trying to calm her down.

 

“It can't be that bad,” Negi tried to assure her. “I'm sure it's nothing. If it was something important, why would he be calling us instead of Takamichi or Eva-chan, or someone else?” He asked.

 

“Maybe it's about Negi-kun's father,” Konoka said, putting a finger to her mouth.

 

“You could be right,” Asuna nodded. They were both making sense. They rounded a corner and the World Tree came into view. “Hey, doesn't it bother you guys that we've been walking alone for the past few minutes?” She said, looking around.

 

“You're right,” Negi said uncomfortably. The World Tree wasn't exactly a normally off-limits area, and there were usually many people around it. The group finally noticed a group of people standing around the World Tree. “Wow, who are all those people?” They joined the group, and only a few people noticed.

 

“Ah, so you're that child teacher I've been hearing so much about,”

 

They all turned around. There was a young man in his early twenties standing there with a smile on his face. “Uh…Yes, that would be me,” Negi said politely. He bowed. “I'm pleased to meet you…”

 

“Hirohata Satoshi,” The man said before returning the gesture. “You certainly know your manners, don't you?” He said with a pleased look on his face. He noticed the two girls and grinned at the boy. “I see you've been busy,” He said. Negi looked confused.

 

“Stop teasing them, moron,” a brunette that appeared to be the same age punched him in the back of the head, knocking him forward off his feet. “I'm sorry, he's just an idiot. Please ignore him,” she said.

 

“Aiko-chan…” The young man whined from the ground.

 

“Ah…who are you?” Negi asked nervously.

 

“Kimura Aiko,” She said plainly. “I'm impressed, though. Who taught you etiquette?”

 

“Ah…I had various professors before I came here, and I've known Takamichi for a while…”

 

“I see,” the girl nodded, as if that explained everything. “So,” She said, eying the girls. “These your friends?” She asked. Satoshi stood up from the ground, mumbling something about Amazon women.

 

“Er, no. They're my students. Konoka and Asuna,” Negi said. He was beginning to calm down.

 

“Hi,” Konoka said with a smile. Asuna and Aiko shared a glance, and neither said anything to the other. Aiko nodded and looked at Negi. There was an awkward silence before someone spoke up.

 

“Well, It was nice meeting you,” Satoshi smiled.

 

“Same here,” Negi said.

 

Ten minutes later, Evangeline joined the group. She was wearing an all black suit with little bat-wings on the wrists. She sat down at the base of the World Tree and waited for the old man to show while trying to ignore the various people around her.

 

“…she that vampire?” Evangeline heard some students talking about her and turned to face them. She grinned toothily and licked her lips. They kids backed away in fear while clinging to each other. A few of the people nearby chuckled at her antics.

 

At exactly 10:00 AM, the Headmaster approached the group. All fell silent and all eyes focused on him. Not wasting time, the old man started speaking.

 

“I assume some of you know why I have called this meeting.” He started. There were several nods while most of the younger people looked around in confusion.

 

“The World Tree, sir?” Negi asked. Konoe nodded. “What have you noticed about the world tree, Negi?” He asked. Negi blinked as he realized the spotlight was on him and he became serious.

 

“Well sir, the World Tree's powers are increasing. It's generating at least twice as much mana as it normally does, and even still is steadily increasing,”

 

“That's correct. It is projected that the World Tree will be emitting immense magical power by the end of the month—enough to the point where the entire world will feel it's effects,”

 

“I thought this happened occasionally,” Satoshi interjected. “The students turned it into some kind of love confession spot, didn't they?”

 

“Yes, that is correct. But it has never happened on this scale. And this is gradual, whereas before it was almost instantaneous,” Evangeline said with a half lidded gaze in Satoshi's direction.

 

“Right,” Konoe said. “This is something that has never before happened in the recorded history of the tree,” People looked around and there were some murmurs among the group as they processed the information.

 

“When you say it's going to affect the world, what do you mean?”

 

“Increased mana output will change many things. For one, the planet itself will become stronger. Mages of all types will also feel strengthened, and even those unassociated with magic will feel more in tune with nature. There are many other things that could happen, but there's no way to know them all. With the world returning to its natural state, magic or it's effects might become an everyday thing for all people of this world,” He said.

 

It was then that the gravity of the situation was apparent. “This is a matter of extreme importance. Members of other governments have been notified of this, and many people of importance are considering revealing this to the general public, so as to keep them from panicking,”

 

“Panicking? Why would they panic?”

 

“Well…as I said before, the effects of Mana are limitless. The creatures of legends could decide now is a good time to return.”

 

The murmurs started up again, and Asuna and Konoka looked around, confused. Asuna spotted Negi with a blank look in his face and looked up at the Headmaster.

 

[Unknown place in Japan]

 

Ryoga looked around in confusion as he set his huge pack down on the ground. “I could have sworn there was a crater here yesterday,” He muttered. He noticed the outline of a large circle in the ground around him, where the grass's appearance changed. “I guess it was,” He sat down, idly wondering how it'd been covered up so fast, and started setting up his tent. When he was done, he took out a portable TV and started watching it.

 

“Well, that UFO is finally not on every single channel anymore…Let's see, what channels am I getting?” He thought out loud. He rotated the a large dial some before a picture appeared. “I'm near Fukuoka,” He said, noticing the emblem of a familiar local station. “I should stop for provisions before I start on my way to Nerima.” He flipped through the channels until one came to his attention.

 

“Explosion…at a bathhouse?” He shrugged and just rotated the dial again. He'd been to Fukuoka before, and like Nerima, the City of F was prone to frequent…weirdness. Not quite as much as Nerima, but still…it was enough that a mere bathhouse-explosion didn't surprise him too much. After a few minutes of turning the dial to see what was on, he just turned the thing off and put it in his pack.

 

He stood outside of his tent and looked up at the clouded sky. “Well, now's the time to think back on those weird dreams I've been having…” He muttered. “It's weird. I don't usually dream, and these have been in the same setting for a while,” It was where he'd learned how to move as fast as he could now. Unfortunately, it wasn't perfected, as it had been in his dream…

 

The wind picked up, and some leaves flew by his face towards Fukuoka. He watched them before sitting down and drinking some water from a mug.

 

“The weirdest thing is…ever since these dreams started, I haven't been getting lost as much…” He watched the sun reach its apex in the sky and planned out the next few days.

 

Nerima, Tokyo may have been a few hundred kilometers away…but this time, when he found it, he'd be there to stay.

 

With this in mind, the future was beginning to look hopeful for Ryoga.

 

---

Akane growled as she broke the bricks stacked in the dojo. Ranma'd been missing all day, and it was making her angry. She knew there were only two other places he'd be at on this kind of day; Ukyo's or Shampoo's. How could he be so selfish? He was out floundering with those groupies of his when he should have been there, fighting with the Panda or something…

 

She could have cooked him lunch. But no, he never accepted things from her, even when she was trying to be nice to him. Always made fun of her cooking… her figure, and her fighting abilities…Her cooking wasn't that bad! Everything she did to improve her cooking, it was for him! Always adding exotic spices she thought he might have liked; after all, living as a globetrotter for ten years of your life changed your palate, she liked to think…

 

And all the boys in Furinkan had been after her since she'd started there. And now that he's come, she's less than dirt! Just how did that happen? Akane grunted as she crushed another pile of bricks in anger. She sighed when she noticed that there were none left and stomped over to the training dummy with the pig-tail. She started working on a kata, while thinking of the other injustices of her fiancé.

 

Elsewhere in the Tendo Household, Nabiki Tendo was sitting at her desk and was currently calculating the profits and losses from the previous week. She cheerfully wrote down several notes on a notepad while she tapped the keys on her calculator, adding and subtracting fees from her current total…

 

“Hmm…With this much, I'll definitely be able to hire security for Yoshida-san's party tomorrow,” She thought. “Ranma and his friends will be glad to be getting something from me instead of the other way around for once,” she said. “And with this much, I'll still have enough for that new Toshiba swivel laptop,” She sighed as she sat up in her chair and looked up at her ceiling.

 

Yes, that laptop she'd been dreaming about for the past two weeks would finally become a reality. Provided they didn't come out with a new model. Then she'd start saving up more to get that one…

 

Back in the dojo, Akane was sweating and panting as she relentlessly pounded the training dummy. She was becoming increasingly angry as the visage of Ranma dancing with Shampoo and Ukyo hung in her mind.

 

“Those little…” she couldn't bring herself to say what she truly thought of them, but the look in her eyes would have been enough for anyone to finish the sentence. Sure, they occasionally helped Ranma out of his troubles, but it was more or less because they didn't want to lose their favorite boy-toy.

 

Whenever Akane helped him out, it was out of genuine concern. The time she'd gone with him to learn the Hiryu Shöten Ha and whenever something had happened to him to hurt him, she was there to help him get over it; The Dragon's whisker, his mother, everything. And the wedding…the wedding had been completely devastating.

 

They had been so close to getting married…but that had been screwed up by the girls he was probably flirting with now. She didn't seem to notice that her punches lately had been obliterating even the Nerimian-Martial-Artist-Proof dummy.

 

And what about then..? Did he really mean what he'd said that day…that he loved her?

 

Akane stopped and finally noticed the dummy. It was smashed to bits, parts of it lying strewn across the dojo. “Why, Ranma? Why do you have to be so…difficult?” She fell to her knees and punched the ground in anger and sadness.

 

---

In Juuban, at the Tsukino Residence, Ranma was playing video games with Shingo and Chibi-Usa. He was, of course, winning. It didn't help the confidence or mood of the other two players that he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't seem to notice. After dominating the two for three fights in a row, he decided to leave on a positive note and set the controller down.

 

“Alright, that's enough kids,” he said standing up and stretching.

 

“Aww, you afraid we're gonna kick your ass this time around?” Shingo taunted.

 

“Sure, whatever. The two of you wouldn't stand a chance even if you were on a team,” he said.

 

Shingo was about to say something in retort when the door knocked. Instead, he just said, “You're up. Get the door, girly man,” he said.

 

“My girl form is more man than you'll ever be,” Ranma said with a huff as he complied to get the door. When he opened it, he noticed Touya standing there. “Oh, hey,”

 

“You were looking for me?” the blue haired boy asked.

 

“Yeah,” Ranma said. “I needed to ask you something,” Ranma stepped outside with Touya. Chibi-Usa and Shingo watched from the door as the two boys talked.

 

“What do you think they're talking about?” Shingo asked Chibi-Usa. She blinked and answered him.

 

“Ranma wants to learn how to move really fast,” she said. “He saw someone do it earlier, but he couldn't mimic it, and he thinks Touya might know how it's done.”

 

“I see,” Shingo said. After a few more minutes, Ranma turned back to look at them and shouted.

 

“Touya and I are going to go train now,” He said. “Thanks for having me over,” That was when he and Touya turned away, and both jumped up onto the house Touya lived in. From there, they both roof-hopped away from the Tsukino residence.

 

Shingo blinked, in awe as always of the things Ranma could do, and shook his head while returning to the house. “My dad couldn't take me on a ten year training trip,” He grumbled. Chibi-Usa raised an eyebrow in confusion at his logic and decided she should go out herself.

 

“Hey Shingo, I'm going out,” she said as she grabbed a snack. “If Usagi wakes up and asks where I am, tell her I'm on my way to Hotaru's,” She closed the door behind her and walked out of the house and started down the street.

 

She started walking the familiar route to her friend's house when she noticed the young man, who had earlier identified himself as Shadow, walking down the street. She idly wondered where Touya's older brother was going and shrugged, leaving on her own way. Although… “Pu says we should try to be friends with them,” she said to her self. “Hmm…” Unfortunately, while she stood there in indecision, he'd already left.

 

When she finally noticed, she sighed. “Oh well, maybe I can see where he goes some other day. And she would get worried if I never showed up at Hotaru-chan's place,” she shrugged and started in the direction of her friend's house again.

 

---

 

Negi watched the sunset from his perch on the World Tree. The wind wasn't even blowing enough to make the branches of the tree he was on sway at all.

 

“I wonder…” He looked at the wand he'd inherited from his father and sighed. “If only I could ask you what to do next,” The boy held the staff close to him when he heard a rustling from his left. He turned to see Asuna climbing up the tree to see him.

 

“Asuna-san,” He blinked. “You came all the way up here to see me?”

 

“Ahh,” the girl tried to look away from his face. “Yeah, I guess I did.” Negi, thinking she was looking at the sunset, turned to it as well.

 

“Thank you,” He said. “You were concerned for me.” He looked down at the staff. Asuna blushed and stared at the sunset.

 

“Eh, kid,” She started, standing up. “Why are you still up here? It's been a few hours already.”

 

“I don't know. I've just been thinking is all, I guess.”

 

“Oh come on, Negi. What's there to think about? So the World Tree is acting up again. The area is off-limits to the students now as it was before, so there's nothing to worry about.”

 

“Asuna-san, do you know just how powerful the World Tree is becoming?”

 

“Well…I got a pretty good idea from old man Konoe,” She said.

 

“It's not like before. This time, it won't just stop at this little area. The tree is becoming much stronger than it was before. Something is happening that will change the world.”

 

“Okay, I get that much,” Asuna grumbled as she crossed her arms. “But what does that have to do with us? It might not even happen.”

 

“It has a lot to do with us,” Negi said in surprise. “Don't you know what this means? If the whole world becomes magically inclined, then the way human kind is going will have to change. The Earth won't just sit idly by while we exhaust is resources and damage it.”

 

“Are you trying to say that the planet is alive?” She asked incredulously.

 

“It is,” he said. “In a sense. It has characteristics of being alive.”

 

“Okay...” Asuna looked down at the branch they were on. “They teach you that in mage-school or something? Because in normal school, they taught us it was just a big rock,” She said. Negi looked at her in surprise and smiled.

 

“You remember something from class,” She looked at him and blushed in embarrassment. She turned towards the sunset. He turned back to the sunset as well. “Yes, that is true. The Earth is essemtailly a big rock. But it also has lifeforce.”

 

“Lifeforce?” Asuna looked confused.

 

“Yes, Lifeforce, or better known as the Life Stream.” He said.

 

“What's that?” Asuna asked, looking confused.

 

“The Life Stream is all of the energy of the planet. Of this energy, souls are born and destroyed, as well as flesh. When dead creatures and plants decompose, they become one with the planet, as do their souls until they are reborn. It is…or was supposed to be an endless cycle. Then there was a time when people openly harnessed this power, this life stream. They called it Mako energy.” He showed no signs of pausing in his explanation and Asuna decided it would be best to join him in sitting down.

 

“The people at the time were mostly unaware of its affects on the world. They did not know that they were directly causing harm to the planet. “They found many different ways to use Mako energy. They used it for energy, for magic, and even tried to infuse it into themselves. They were basically taking souls of their dead ancestors, other creatures, basically everything that at one time lived on earth and turning it into electricity, or power.” Negi turned to Asuna's face. As expected, it was twisted in a mixture of confusion and disgust.

 

“You can not fault them, Asuna. They didn't know what they were doing; just that something was there and that it could be used.” He turned back to the sunset and started again. “The planet did not like this. Eventually, the people caused a problem that would have destroyed Earth and all sentient life on it. It was called Meteor. It was maybe three times the size of Earth's moon, and headed on a collision course with it.”

 

“The Earth struck out against Meteor using the Life Stream as a weapon. Meteor was devastated, but the Planet was not done. The people that had caused this problem became a problem for the planet, and it decided it needed to get rid of them. Many of them were struck with an odd, never before or again seen disease that is known as the Geostigma. A lot of them died because of this.”

 

“Upon realizing what had happened, the humans were angry at the planet. They tried to use the Mako they had fused into magic, “Materia,” as well as creatures that have only been mentioned in history as “Weapon” to destroy the planet.” Asuna chose that moment to interrupt.

 

“Wouldn't that have killed them too?”

 

“Yes…but these humans were completely insane. As a matter of fact, it is believed that they weren't even completely human. The details are skewed; No one alive now was around back then, and it was an unknown amount of years ago. The face of the earth has even changed since then.”

 

“You mean to tell me…recorded history goes back THAT far?”

 

Negi nodded. “ The technology was eventually lost, and this was only a good twenty thousand or so years ago…but I digress. The point I'm trying to make here…”

 

“You think the planet may be getting angry at us again,” Asuna blinked.

 

“Someone made a theory that it may happen sometime this century. Not too many people believed it at first, but recently, more and more evidence has begun to show up. The state of the world, that UFO, and now the World Tree. Nuclear weapons are serious, Asuna, and the planet knows that.”

 

“So you're thinking that we might be attacked by this “Geostigma” thing again.” Asuna and Negi both sat there in silence, as the last of the sun disappeared. She shook her head, surprised at how well she was taking this all in. Oh well, life with Negi…it was bound to show some oddities here and there. The apocalypse was a new one, but with all the things that had been happening recently, she had no reason to doubt it. “Why haven't the mages done anything about this?”

 

“What could we do, Asuna?”

 

“Well, you could tell the governments to stop what they're doing. I'm sure that your powers would be able convince them that you aren't lying.”

 

Negi shook his head. “There's too many unknowns,” he held up his wand and realized it was getting late. “For one, they could deem us all freaks and try to fight back. They might even view us as a collective country trying to take over. Our powers would do nothing but scare them into attacking us,”

 

“But—“

 

“We should go, Asuna-san. It's getting dark out,” He stood up and climbed on top of his staff and flew over to her. “Hop on. I'll take us home,” He said with a small smile.

Asuna looked at him in annoyance at not being able to finish her thought, but decided to oblige him. She climbed on behind him and put her arms around him as he flew away from the World Tree.

 

Down below, one Hirohata Satoshi sat at the base of the World Tree. His arms were crossed and one of his eyes was closed. “…Well that was interesting.” He watched them fly away.

 

Satoshi stood up and lightly kicked his sleeping companion. Aiko grumbled something about her nap being ruined while she groggily stood up to join him.

 

“You know, you're cute when you're mad,” He said with a cheery smile.

 

“I'm always cute,” the girl said in an indifferent tone as she stretched and yawned. “So he finally left?” The sky was rapidly becoming darker.

 

“Yeah. We can go now. Come on, let's go home.” He started walking away from the World Tree.

 

---

 

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru walked along the sidewalk, both returning to Chibi-Usa's house from a party they'd both been invited to sometime that week. They stopped at the base of a shrine and looked around, wondering where they were.

 

“Have you ever been to this part of Tokyo before?” Chibi-Usa asked.

 

“No. Maybe we can ask the people who own this shrine where we are exactly. They might be able to give us direction to the station.” They both started up the stairs to the shrine.

 

“Oh man, Usagi's gonna pitch a fit at me for being out so late,” Chibi-Usa whined.

 

“Well, we couldn't help it. Time flies when you're having fun,”

 

Midway up the stairs, both girls were panting. “Enough stairs, don't you think?” Chibi-Usa asked Hotaru. Hotaru nodded her agreement and they both continued up the stairs.

 

When they finally made it, the sight of a traditional shrine greeting them. There were a house and a well house as well. The only person there was an old man who was sweeping the walkway of leaves and other garbage that had found it's way into the lot.

 

“Er, Excuse me sir,” Chibi-Usa asked in a tired voice. “Do you know where the Train Station is from here?”

 

The old man looked up at them and blinked, finally noticing them. “Oh…Well, Let's see,” He leaned on his broomstick and tried to think up some directions. “Well, we're on Matsumoto street, and that down there is—“

 

“HEY! OLD MAN!” Chibi-Usa and Hotaru nearly fell over at the sheer volume of the sound. There was a loud booming voice that rang out through out the entire yard. The door to the house slammed open and a young man wearing a red Hakama walked out of the house. “WHERE'S KAGOME?!”

 

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru both stared at the boy in wonderment. The light from the house was enough that they noticed several things about him at once; 1) He had silver hair and a strange get-up that Chibi-Usa had only seen in a play before, but Hotaru recognized from history class. 2) There were two fuzzy ears on his head, and 3) He was exuding a powerful demonic energy, as was the sword attached to his waist.

 

Oh, and 4) He had a sword.

 

“Inuyasha,” the old man said calmly. “We have guests. Can you not calm down and wait for me to finish with them?” He eyed the `Boy' and turned back to the girls. “As I was saying…hey, where are they?” He growled in annoyance and turned to Inuyasha. “You scared them away! Damn Youkai!”

 

“It's Hanyou! And why should I care if two humans freak out and decide to run? All I care about right now is finding Kagome! Then you can worry about those little human girls!”

 

“…She said to tell you that she's out,” the old man returned to sweeping the trash from his yard.

 

“…Dammit, Kagome!” He decided he'd go out and look for her himself. “Some help you've been, old man. I'll just find her on my own!” He leapt off towards the city with the intent of finding one Kagome Higurashi. “I don't care how big this human city is, I'll find her and take her back if I have to drag her away!”

 

---

Chibi-Usa and Hotaru watched as the demon they were about to transform and fight flew over them towards another building. Much like Ranma and Touya had done earlier, he jumped from roof to roof, leaving them in the dust.

 

“Well that was different,” Chibi-Usa said. She and Hotaru looked back up the stairs. They both sweat-dropped.

 

“Maybe we should just ask someone else for directions.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

---

Shadow looked up at the moon with a blank stare from his perch on a boulder. He closed his eyes and reached into subspace. When he opened his eyes, a large green emerald was sitting in his hand, reflecting the light of the moon. He looked up at the moon and got a strange, foreboding feeling. His red eyes focused and he peered up at the moon when he suddenly got a strange feeling and looked in what seemed to be a random direction. He frowned and clutched the emerald, putting up a shield around himself.

 

Somewhere on Pluto, the Sailor Senshi that guarded the Gates of Time cursed.

 

Shadow stood up and started walking home.

 

---

 

In a small, but comfortable looking room, the Scientist, Gojyou Shiouji was questioning his guest again.

 

“Ryoko,” Gojyou started. “Does the name Tenchi mean anything to you?” He asked.

 

“Tenchi…Tenchi…” Ryoko stopped. There was the silhouette of a face, and some emotions associated with the name, but that was it. “I think he was a friend…”

 

“You sure he was just a friend?” Gojyou asked.

 

“No…” Ryoko blushed. “I wish I knew more about him, but…All I get are some flashes and feelings…It's very weak, so I can't say more than that,” She looked at him apologetically. “How did you know that name?”

 

“You were muttering it in your sleep.” He wanted to say they were potentially lovers, but he didn't want to offend her. And who knew, maybe friends touched each other intimately on the world she was from? “Maybe if we could see your dreams, we could find out more about you.”

 

“That would be neat,” She said. “But do you have something that can do that?” Ryoko cocked her head to the side.

 

“No…I suppose not,” He muttered. “I'm sure I could make something like that in a week, or a month…but no, I don't have one anything like that on hand,”

 

“And by then, someone will probably have come looking for me…”

 

“So it's pointless. Although I could see the uses of such a creation.” Shiouji turned to the door and walked out of the room. “We're going out tomorrow,” He said. Ryoko blushed and frowned at him.

 

“What do you mean by that?!” She asked indignantly.

 

“Ah, not like that,” He said. “You're not my type, really,” He assured her. “I need to see a few things, that's all.” Ryoga blinked and nodded. It was probably an experiment or something.

 

“Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then,” She said. He shrugged and walked out of the room.

 

“Lights off,” Ryoko said. The main computer recognized her voice commands and before she could blink, the lights were off.

 

Ryoko sighed as she slowly fell asleep. She knew, she just knew that she didn't really need to sleep…but there was nothing else to do really, and she would have been bored sitting in her room for the next eight hours…

 

---

 

Ranma slowly crept into the Tendo House under the light of the full moon. He looked around and noticed that the coast was clear. Using the stealth skills he'd learned from his father, he snuck through the house before he realized that there was a strange feeling coming from another room.

 

It was like a sound, but not exactly something he was hearing. He realized that the TV was on; for some reason, even though no one else said they could, he could just -feel- when something like the TV was on. Not even Cologne or Happosai had been able to explain it to him, so he figured it was just something unique to him.

 

He wandered over to the TV so that he could turn it off—Nabiki tended to get vicious if things like the TV or the lights were left on overnight. When he came into the room, he saw Akane sitting on the couch.

 

The poor girl was sleep with the TV still going. He almost chuckled until he noticed the tear streaks under the girl's eyes. He was shocked; Akane'd been crying? What could it have been?

 

Ranma growled to himself and swore violent retribution against who or whatever it had been that made her cry. Did she finally find out about P-chan or something? Was Kuno getting on her nerves? Had Shampoo or Ukyo come to hurt her for trying to marry him? He inspected her for injuries as gently as he could and when he found nothing, he sighed in relief.

 

“Whoever made you cry,” He thought to himself. “I'll make them pay.” He turned off the TV and went to get a blanket for Akane. When he returned, he positioned the girl over the couch and put the blanket over her.

 

Instead of going upstairs to his room, he decided to lay down on the floor and sleep close to her. When he finally closed his eyes, Akane's face was the only thing that came to his mind.

 

Needless to say, Ranma did not sleep very well that night.

 

<--->