Disclaimer: You know the drill: this is a work of fan fiction. I don't
own Ranma. I don't own Exalted. Don't beg your Exalted GM to let you get
away with any of this. In the interests of telling a good story, rules
will be broken, canon material will be kapowied, and ideas will be mangled
in the rotating teeth of a handy dandy plot device. C&C accepted. Flames
will be used as a scratching post by my cat.
Cestus Sol
A Ranma/Exalted RPG crossover courtesy of the MadPanda
Prelude
Urvasi the Apsara, known as the Qiling for no reason that any mortal savant ever learned, looked down upon the gradually congregating youth of this odd place and grumbled to herself about the injustice of life. She was footsore, weary, tired, dirty, frustrated, and at the end of her patience. Eight months she had been abroad in search of the mortal man who had laid low Lord Saffron of Phoenix Mountain. Eight long unproductive months wasted chasing after a mere mortal who clearly did not want to be found...and all so that he could be given a token he would not recognize as his, possibly not even want. "Mother and her stupid plans and silly promises," the girl thought bitterly. This "Furinken High" place would be the final straw—if her quarry was here, she would do as she had been instructed. If not, she was going back home, and her mother could just find another errand girl! Perhaps one of her older sisters would have better fortune out here in the new age.
The students below were now stepping clear of one of their number—a tall and arrogant young man with a wooden practice sword gripped in his hands. He was proclaiming something at the top of his lungs and gesturing to two new arrivals: a boy in a bright red shirt and black pants, and a girl in the same uniform worn by the other students. From up here on the roof, Urvasi could only make out a few words. From sheer boredom, she paid attention to what reached her perch on the rooftop. It was some long- winded garbage about a foul sorcerer holding a fierce tigress and a pigtailed goddess in bondage mixed in with declarations of the slow but sure vengeance of the heavens. The little god-blooded girl giggled to hear that: slow and unsure was more like it.
Just then, the boy in the red silk shirt must have tired of the stick- wielder's speech. He moved. The other boy flew back, hit the wall, and collapsed. The boy in red stepped over his opponent's fallen form and walked into the school, leaving the girl to follow.
Urvasi blinked. That martial artist looked familiar, somehow.
"Ranma, you jerk!" The shorthaired girl now chased after her companion. She too trampled the fallen figure. Nobody had moved to help him, so Urvasi guessed that this was either a common occurrence, or the pompous fool deserved his beatings.
Ranma. That was the name of the mortal who slew Saffron, according to his people. Pulling back from the edge of the roof, she opened her satchel and rooted around for the memory crystal. Finding it, she spoke the words that activated its latent magic. For some time she stared at the image it projected. There was no mistaking the resemblance: he was the one she sought.
For the first time in eight months, Urvasi laughed in genuine joy and relief. Her work was nearly finished. A delivery, an explanation, and then...then Mother had promised Urvasi the one thing she truly wanted. She knew what to do now. She would follow him, find an appropriate moment, and deliver both the token and the stolen destiny she carried. Mother would be pleased with her. Her sisters would have to respect her. And the mortal would no doubt be thankful. They always were.
Slipping away across the roof, Urvasi decided to go and try this 'ice cream' stuff about which she heard so often. She would easily be back in time to catch her quarry on his way home after school, and there would be time enough later for work.
End Prelude
Continued in Chapter One
Author's Notes: 1. Urvasi is the name of one of the Apsaras, or Dancers of Joy, in Hindu mythology. The epithet Qiling has no connection to her beyond being interesting: as near as I can tell, Chinese unicorns have nothing to do with Hindu goddesses. 2. My Exalted RPG players know this little lass and her mercurial mother all too well, and Ranma has their full sympathy and support for what he is about to undergo. 3. I have no idea how far this is going to go before I run out of steam, but there are a couple of side stories that already wrote themselves.
Cestus Sol
A Ranma/Exalted RPG crossover courtesy of the MadPanda
Prelude
Urvasi the Apsara, known as the Qiling for no reason that any mortal savant ever learned, looked down upon the gradually congregating youth of this odd place and grumbled to herself about the injustice of life. She was footsore, weary, tired, dirty, frustrated, and at the end of her patience. Eight months she had been abroad in search of the mortal man who had laid low Lord Saffron of Phoenix Mountain. Eight long unproductive months wasted chasing after a mere mortal who clearly did not want to be found...and all so that he could be given a token he would not recognize as his, possibly not even want. "Mother and her stupid plans and silly promises," the girl thought bitterly. This "Furinken High" place would be the final straw—if her quarry was here, she would do as she had been instructed. If not, she was going back home, and her mother could just find another errand girl! Perhaps one of her older sisters would have better fortune out here in the new age.
The students below were now stepping clear of one of their number—a tall and arrogant young man with a wooden practice sword gripped in his hands. He was proclaiming something at the top of his lungs and gesturing to two new arrivals: a boy in a bright red shirt and black pants, and a girl in the same uniform worn by the other students. From up here on the roof, Urvasi could only make out a few words. From sheer boredom, she paid attention to what reached her perch on the rooftop. It was some long- winded garbage about a foul sorcerer holding a fierce tigress and a pigtailed goddess in bondage mixed in with declarations of the slow but sure vengeance of the heavens. The little god-blooded girl giggled to hear that: slow and unsure was more like it.
Just then, the boy in the red silk shirt must have tired of the stick- wielder's speech. He moved. The other boy flew back, hit the wall, and collapsed. The boy in red stepped over his opponent's fallen form and walked into the school, leaving the girl to follow.
Urvasi blinked. That martial artist looked familiar, somehow.
"Ranma, you jerk!" The shorthaired girl now chased after her companion. She too trampled the fallen figure. Nobody had moved to help him, so Urvasi guessed that this was either a common occurrence, or the pompous fool deserved his beatings.
Ranma. That was the name of the mortal who slew Saffron, according to his people. Pulling back from the edge of the roof, she opened her satchel and rooted around for the memory crystal. Finding it, she spoke the words that activated its latent magic. For some time she stared at the image it projected. There was no mistaking the resemblance: he was the one she sought.
For the first time in eight months, Urvasi laughed in genuine joy and relief. Her work was nearly finished. A delivery, an explanation, and then...then Mother had promised Urvasi the one thing she truly wanted. She knew what to do now. She would follow him, find an appropriate moment, and deliver both the token and the stolen destiny she carried. Mother would be pleased with her. Her sisters would have to respect her. And the mortal would no doubt be thankful. They always were.
Slipping away across the roof, Urvasi decided to go and try this 'ice cream' stuff about which she heard so often. She would easily be back in time to catch her quarry on his way home after school, and there would be time enough later for work.
End Prelude
Continued in Chapter One
Author's Notes: 1. Urvasi is the name of one of the Apsaras, or Dancers of Joy, in Hindu mythology. The epithet Qiling has no connection to her beyond being interesting: as near as I can tell, Chinese unicorns have nothing to do with Hindu goddesses. 2. My Exalted RPG players know this little lass and her mercurial mother all too well, and Ranma has their full sympathy and support for what he is about to undergo. 3. I have no idea how far this is going to go before I run out of steam, but there are a couple of side stories that already wrote themselves.