Prince Lost, Knight Found

A Ranma Nibunoichi x-over

by Matthew Talbain

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma Nibunoichi, nor do I own Sailor Moon. Pyra (Flame), Glacia (Ice), Alundra (Lightning), Erosa (Love), Tecta (Earth), Ocea (Water), Thanata (Death), Krona (Time), and Faytha (Healing) ARE mine, though I got the idea for 'em from Jade Hunter's "Love For All Time". I don't own Fred Perry's Gold Digger characters, and I don't own Hideo Kojima's Big Boss and likenesses thereof. So leave me the hell alone, or I'll own your ass!

A/N: Sorry for the...extreme delay, everyone. My internet's down, and not likely to come back up anytime soon. Welcome to Chapter Five of "Prince Lost, Knight Found". I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading it thus far, and am glad to inform you that I have been forcing myself to come up with ideas for this and my other stories. As far as I can tell now, all of them, sans my now-tentatively-labelled-complete "When Will I Hold You", are unfinished and ongoing.

Now, on with the story.

--------------Chapter Five: You Gotta Be Shitting Me--------------

The sun rose on a bright, auspicious morning. The district was quiet, and all was well. As the light progressed into the domain of one John Doe, also known as Big Boss, it discovered several encouraging sights to behold.

In one room, a tall, graying man slept soundly, the knowledge that his once-son, now-grandson was coming into his own reassuring in his old age. In another, the mother of said grandson was rather embarassingly tied up in her bedclothes, muttering loudly (and snoringly) in her sleep about a love long past, a man whose son would likely never know him.

In a third room, four girls were giggling madly. One of them, a brunette with green earrings, was wildly gesticulating as she told her audience, a tall blonde with glasses, a taller girl with catlike features, and an even taller cheetah-girl hybrid an adventure of her brother's.

In still another room, two adults, a man in a tight suit and a blonde woman with a rapier at her side, readied feverishly for a day full of promise, a day full of the wonder of new challenges and mysteries.

The light found a young man with thick, short black hair tossing restlessly in his bed, a shredded pillow clamped in his teeth. A groan of "Beeeeeeeeeeeeef..." echoed into the torn cloth.

Yet another room revealed a young man with a long, black braid, his thumb cradled in his mouth. A thin, steady line of drool travelled from his lips to his pillow.

Finally, the light shone on the final bedroom in this mansion. A tall, well-formed young man of about seventeen was curled happily on a futon, his chest rising and falling with a deep, healthy rhythm. On a bed, clearly made for the room, lay an unbearably cute jagwere, though her face was seemingly carved in an expression of seriousness. Though, as the male awakened and noted, her lips seemed prepared perpetually to yell "Kapowie!".

Indeed, the auspicious day had begun, and the light soon saw two werecats, a half-giantess, an ex-espionage field agent, a skilled kendoka, an aura mage, a young genius, a sexaholic catgirl, a sailor scout, and three beyond-world-class martial artists-cum-Knights tear into breakfast.

"Ravyn! HEY! THAT WAS MY PICKLE!"

"DIBS ON THE MISO!"

"HANDS OFF THE RICE, PAL!"

"Hey, I haven't had ramen in a while."

"GRR! BITE ME, KOGA!"

"I'D RATHER BITE YOUR PICKLE, FOX!"

"HEY! MY FOOD...GRRR...KAPOWIE!"

"...grooooaaaaan..."

"Now, now, Sheila, no scimitars at the table."

"GIMME BACK MY EGGS, BRITANNY!"

With breakfast, and thus the day, well under way, one Nodoka Kurohyou, for she had adopted her son's new name, could relax and subtly break the news to her son and his friends.

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP! RAVYN, IF YOU DON'T HURRY, YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

There was pure silence at the table. For a few minutes.

"WHAAAAAAAT!"

"WHAAAAAAAT!"

"WHAAAAAAAT!"

Ravyn, Fox, and Koga stared at Nodoka as though something horrible were growing on her face.

"I registered you all at Juuban High School while you were out shopping the other day. Mako-chan can show you the way. One more thin-"

Big Boss stepped in, wagging his finger.

"Now. now, No-chan. Don't spoil the surprise."

Nodoka smiled slyly and went to sipping tea. Ravyn sighed and finished his plate of rice, heading for the stairs and grabbing Koga and Fox. If he were going to school, at least he was going in style...

---------Juuban High School, Ten Minutes Later---------

"Usagi! I made you a bento!"

"MAKO-CHAN! You're a lifesaver! I had to run so fast this morning, I forgot my lunch!"

"But doesn't that happen every morning?"

"Ami-chaaaaaaaan..."

"OMIGOD! It's those hot guys from the mall! Dibs on the muscular one!"

"Hey! He's mine!"

"Umm..."

"Usagi, what about Mamoru?"

"Who?"

"USAGI!"

The usual morning banter accompanied Makoto's arrival at Juuban High School, closely followed by some unusual banter about the arrival of three guys about five minutes after her own. As the three tall young men entered the school ground, the entire school hushed quickly. Eyes followed the three, men's glares full of envy, girls' eyes full of wishes and desire.

The first of the young men, full of strength and radiating vigor, wore a green silk shirt, a silver dragon wrapping around his body. His black slacks and leather belt, combined with his rough, yet attractive hair and irresistible structure set the trend.

The second earned many appreciative sighs and fluttering hearts. His brilliant white sleeveless vest, decorated by a roaring blue tiger, showed off his sleek muscles while his modest glasses left no doubt that he was indeed quick and intelligent. His dark blue silk pants and long black braid drew the eyes of all the young women, and left an impression of cleverness and hidden surprises.

The last of the young men, however, stole the hearts of the entire school. His calm, serene demeanor with the undercurrents of intensity, focus, and courage as well as his air of leadership, of sheer determination, and of born drive to succeed immediately earned him the respect and admiration of many. His cocky, confident smirk and spiky black hair, combined with his phoenix-embroidered crimson button-up and tasteful black slacks and his one visible cobalt eye burned his image irreparably into the hearts of every girl there. Including several teachers.

As they passed, time seemed to stop. Finally, when the bell rang and saw the three safely ensconced in the office to receive their transcripts, two more tall figures walked across the school field. One, a tall, rugged man with a seemingly permanent five o' clock shadow, wore olive drab over a black longsleeved undershirt. The other, even taller, bore a quiet manner, a rectangular pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and a ruby phoenix necklace tucked under the collar of his formal black shirt. He looked up and smiled, hefting his briefcase and walking towards the office with his partner.

---------Ravyn's Class, Five Minutes Later---------

"Hey, didja hear?"

"No, what?"

"Those new guys are martial artists!"

"No way!"

"Yes, way! I hear they're even better than that sword dude over in Nerima, maybe even better than Ranma Saotome!"

"Nobody's better than Ranma!"

A huge cloud of sighs rose up from every feminine mouth at the mention of the famous Nerima martial artist. A twitch was going at full speed on Ravyn's left eye.

"Motherfuggin' rasafraggin' azzbidin' sunuvagunnin'...now I'm in a competition with myself! Am I ever gonna get a break?"

Ravyn was almost biting his desk in half as he listened to the students behind him going on and one about his once-name's merits and looks. He was almost set to tears when he was reminded of his severed pigtail and his former trust for Akane Tendo. A firm hand pounding on his back quickly shook him out of his stupor.

"Hey, Ravyn. The bell just rang. It's time to head down to the gym. First class of the day's phys. ed."

Ravyn nodded and followed Koga downstairs towards the gym. Within minutes, the two met Fox, who had been seeing the counselor for a schedule revision, and were dressing in their shorts and t-shirts for the day's sport, soccer.

Ravyn had been chosen as his class' team captain, and with Koga and Fox as his forwards, it was promising to be a very uplifting victory. He was tying on a blue headband when he heard a familiar voice cheering from the direction of the main office.

"GO RAVYN! GIVE 'EM A BIG KAPOWIE!"

Ravyn turned to see Sheila's human form dressed in a tight t-shirt and jeans combo as she turned and blew him a kiss, complete with a wink. So taken by the gesture was Ravyn that he failed to wonder what Sheila was doing there. He was shaken out of his reverie by the gym teacher yelling for them to get onto the field.

Ravyn grinned, moved to the center of the field for the kickoff, and stole the ball as the ref dropped it. In two swift moves, he passed it to Koga, who swept it up and backpedaled it to Fox. A simple flip as the ball flew at him, and Fox's knee sent it flying into the goal.

The cheering from the females on the sidelines was astounding. Nobody noticed a tall redhead jumping in joy, hearts in her eyes. Ravyn assumed control of the ball once more, flipping, juking, and diving in opening in the opposition's defence. As he neared the goal, he swept his foot back, causing the goalie to dive to the left. But as Ravyn's foot connected with the ball, it flew straight up. Ravyn threw his weight, and his head, forward, colliding with the ball and sending it into the net once more.

Cheers once more, and Ravyn exchanged fives with his teammates as he took up position again. So it was for the rest of class. As the period wound down, and the group began to dress in, excited chatter pebbled through the locker room.

"Didja see that pass, man? Awesome!"

"Those guys're awesome! Wonder how they'll do in the martial arts comp!"

"No way, man! My money's on that Furinkan dude, the "Red Comet."

"Wasn't he calling himself Blue Thunder last year?"

Ravyn shook his head and pulled his shirt on, buttoning it up and taking a deep breath. He smiled as he exited the locker room, heading back to his classroom for his English class. In a matter of seconds, Koga and Fox were at his side, joking and cutting up exactly like old friends. Ravyn shook his head in the wonder of it all as he sat down in his seat, waiting for the teacher to show up and pulling out his notebook. He looked up as the door opened.

"Class, put away your books. This is gonna be a practical lesson. My name's unimportant, but you'll all be calling me Big Boss. Yes, I'm an American. Yes, I'm an ex-soldier. And I don't want to hear any of that "rise, bow, sit" crap. Now, down to business. Who's the class rep?"

Ravyn's mouth dropped wide open, as did those of his two friends. His grandfather stood before them, wearing fatigues, and bearing himself like a younger man. Indeed, he looked much younger now than he ever had back at home. His hair even seemed to darken to a rich brown color, and his eyes seemed to sharpen as time went on. As the lesson progressed, Ravyn found a new respect for his grandfather, whose leadership authority was undeniable. It was clear that he was a perfect teacher, demanding attention and respect, while giving it in return.

The vibe was briefly interrupted when Koga was called to the counselor's office for schedule clarification. With the interruption out of the way, Ravyn found himself absorbed in Big Boss' lesson, which was a retelling of a story about a Russian infiltration from long ago. As the hour wound down, and Big Boss stepped down, Ravyn smiled, glad his grandfather had become a teacher. Then a question niggled its way into the back of his mind.

Why? Why had Big Boss stepped out of retirement into a teaching position? He shook his head and remembered Sheila cheering for him during P.E. and wondered where she was right then. He shrugged and pulled out his notebook for History. Another shock struck him as a tall young gaijin entered the class, a small set of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He looked up and smiled.

"Good morning, class. I am Kohaku Sol, your history instructor. You may call me Sol-sensei, if you wish. I do not approve of the "stand, bow, sit" custom, and do not wish for you to perform it. Please pull out your history books and turn to page 319. Ah, Shiranui-dono, please sit down."

Koga bowed and looked up, shaking his head as "Kohaku" cocked his head ever so slightly.

"Yes, Shiranui-dono?"

Koga cleared his throat.

"My apologies, Sol-sensei. the counselor would like to see Ravyn."

Helios nodded.

"Shiranui-dono, please sit down. Avian-dono, please cover Kurohyou-dono's notes while he is away. Now, can anyone tell me why the Meiji era had such an impact on trade? Anyone?"

Ravyn shook his head as he entered the office. Something was up. Sheila, Helios, and Big Boss, all at his school. He knew it now, something in his bone marrow telling him something was going to happen. As he entered the office and was waved into the guidance counselor's office, his danger sense began screaming like a clarion.

As he closed the door behind him, the counselor swiveled from looking out the window to face him. Ravyn's fingers automatically tripped the lock as he beheld the sight before him.

"Suna-chan! Is...is it...it...?"

The green-haired, ruby-eyed beauty's eyes snapped open as she took him in. He hadn't changed at all. He looked so much more handsome in person. He always had. He'd spiked his hair over his eyes, and he'd filled out some in the chest and arms, but his eyes were still Ravyn's eyes, still her husband's eyes.

"Ravyn...oh, Serenity save me, it's you!"

Her base instincts at the sight of her husband briefly overruled her former determination and sense. She forgot in his presence that she was supposed to be trying to kill him. She forgot all about Crystal Tokyo. She forgot she was in a school as his teacher, forgot she was even in a time beyond the Silver Millenium. She didn't waste time talking to him at first. She kissed him instead.

It took her some time to realize what she was doing, to remember she was a teacher and he was a student.. As she pulled away, her body aching to push him to the desk, aching to hold him close and never let go, her mind forced her to step back and hide the tears of joy his nearness caused. Why now? Why him? She wondered. Why couldn't she just transform, summon her key, and blast him back to the Silver Millenium? She smiled tremulously, those thoughts already completely forgotten, and hastily sat back in her desk, steadying her hands as she pulled up Ravyn's transcript on her computer.

She looked up, her business manner more or less restored, aside from a shy smile and a twinkle in her eyes, and realized that Ravyn's eyes were fogged over and his aura uncertain. She searched around, looking for the cause, when she realized it had to be her. She giggled, quite unlike herself, at the knowledge that she'd completely unmanned him. It made her feel like a woman, like a queen, to be able to disable Ravyn, once known as the most level-headed man in the Silver Millenium.

The giggle restored to Ravyn his basic senses, and quickly following them came his steadiness. He shook his head and smiled sheepishly, sitting down across from Setsuna and feeling rather guilty. It had been so long since he could remember being kissed like that, so long since he'd felt anything resembling the pure, unbridled affection Setsuna held for him. Ravyn smiled fondly to himself and asked the heavens if this is what love is. An image of Sheila flashed through his mind and he instantly sobered up, wondering why she'd pop into his head at such a time.

"Well, Ravyn...it...it's nice to see you again. I...I didn't think you got sent forward..."

Ravyn shook his head.

"I'm not the Ravyn you knew, Suna-chan. Beryl's blood...changed me. How, I don't know. But...that's beside the point. Yeah, I'm back. And I need to get through school."

At the reminder, Ravyn tapping the desk in front of him, Setsuna jumped and quickly checked his transcript again. She secretly smiled to herself, then shot Ravyn a shy smile. He'd always been to the point, had always been blunt. His bluntness had always offset her habit of answering questions with riddles, of dancing around subjects. And it had always made feel her so alive. Mainly because they'd always had such violent arguments, but also because he was the first one to share her burden.

"Well, Ravyn, it says here that under yourprevious name of Ranma Saotome, your grades were...abysmal. You slept through all of your classes, yet your test scores are phenomenal. Given this information, I believe we need to place you...in advanced classes. Mind you, Ravyn, your behavior will be well-monitored until the school can be sure you'll be an asset. Now, I'll just print you up a new schedule. Let's see...yes, this will do nicely. You'll stop history and mathematics, you're test scores are too high in those areas. You'll be advanced to the next english class, and your physical education class will be dropped. In places of the three classes you're being removed from, you'll take an elective course each with Sol-sensei and the Big Boss. As for your physical education class, you'll take an elective from...me."

At this she smiled, and Ravyn nodded and bowed. As he stood, Setsuna stood as well. She stepped from around her desk and hugged him tight, tears threatening to overwhelm her once more. Wisely, she avoided kissing him, knowing her resolve would shatter and she'd throw him to her desk.

"Hey, Suna-chan. 'Fore I go..."

"Hmm?"

"Mind if I drop by your place later on? We uh...we need to talk."

Setsuna nodded and nuzzled into his neck before releasing him and writing down her address. As she handed it to him, she smiled that shy smile that was driving Ravyn crazy. He started to turn around as he took the little piece of paper, failing to realize the door was closed. And locked.

"Finish your classes for the day, Ravyn. I'll...I'll see you tomorrow."

Ravyn nodded and attempted to leave through the locked door. Several smacked faces later, he unlocked the door, opened it, and stumbled back to his history lesson. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand as he entered the hall.

A sigh echoed from Setsuna's lips, a broad smile on her face and in her eyes. As she turned back to her work, she resolved to look into the life of 'Ranma Saotome' using the Time Gate to see what sort of life Ravyn had led.

Suddenly, the pencil broke and a sob echoed from Setsuna's soul. Thinking of the Time Gate had brought to the fore Setsuna's vow to kill Ravyn. And now she'd gone and fallen back in love with him. She cried into her hands and a little more of her soul crept from behind the protective wall she'd been hiding it behind for thousands of years.

Her head flew up, her eyes contracting in horror, as a loud, horrible roar echoed across the schoolyard to her open window. She turned and screamed aloud as she saw the demon currently tearing a line of trenches into the school wall as it dragged its claws through them. The monster turned, catching the scent of its prey, as a certain martial artist leapt from his classroom window, followed closely by two other young men. The three faced the one, and as one they all nodded and took their individual stances.

Koga's arms spread to either side, his fists clenched and his serpentine sword appearing in his right hand. He loosed his aura, a raging pillar of brilliant green fire surrounding him. His brown eyes began to glow with a green fire, and his shadow elongated and took on a draconic appearance, his skin visibly hardening and patterning into faintly emerald scales.

Fox crouched to half his height, one leg cocked to the side a foot or so behind his left. His right hand held at eye level, his fist curled, with his left hand tucked at his left side. He flared his own aura, a bright sapphire cloud of swirling calculated emotion surrounding him, as his claws appeared. His eyes pulsed with a rich blue light as a pattern of blue stripes tattooed themselves onto his skin. He opened his mouth and roared loudly.

Ravyn leapt into the air, flaring his own aura as Phoenix's haft found its way into his hands. A blazing explosion of light seared the air around him as a screech, like that of a falcon, sliced through the air. Ravyn casually held the swallow over his right shoulder with one hand, the other hanging loosely at his side. A fiery red aura engulfed him, a crimson conflagration of confidence, determination, will, and drive pulsing in tune to his heartbeat. His eyes began to spark with the same red flames as a pair of glorious white wings sprouted from his back, as long and beautiful as the wings of any true phoenix. However, streaks of black lightning suddenly appeared in the auras of all three, though none of them noticed this.

As Ravyn finished, a loud yell arose from across the schoolyard, and suddenly, in front them stood Big Boss, a smirk on his face and an oddly shaped pack at his side. He, too, summoned his aura, the steely gray blaze of a seasoned warrior surrounding him as he drew a single pair of weapons from his pack. An M1911A1 handgun and a cruel-looking combat knife. He placed them both together and faced the creature.

It was a relatively small monster, only about man-size. It was shaped like a man in the most basic ways. It had a head, a body, two arms, and two legs. But that was where the similiarities ended. A long, curling tail extended from the bottom of its spine, and a pair of catlike ears perched atop its head. A set of long, cruel claws extended both from its hands and feet, and it bore no signs of being either male or female. Catlike features adorned its face, and long, cruel fangs crept from under its jowls.

Big Boss made the first move.

"GRANDPA! NO!"

But Jack ignored his grandson's cry, instead he tossed some sort of grenade and shielded his eyes. Instantly, the creature was engulfed in flames and blinded. Using the lapse to his advantage, Jack ran forward, grabbing the creature from behind and slamming it to the ground. As the effects of the grenade, aside from the flames, began to wear off, Jack grabbed the creature again and held it close to his chest, holding his knife close to the thing's neck. An instant later, and the thing was on the ground, black ichor pouring from a gaping wound across its throat. Jack cleaned his knife and tucked it away, tossing a grenade at the creature's remains before turning to his grandson.

"That, kids, was CQC."

Ravyn stared at his grandfather, his eye twitching, even as the grenade went off, burning the remains of the creature. Ravyn sighed in relief, almost settling down and reigning in his aura, when a loud, horrible hiss came from the pile of malformed flesh the catbeast had once been.

------------------Author's Note-------------------

DONE! FINALLY! HAHA! Yes, Chapter Five of "Prince Lost, Knight Found" is DONE! Gods, you have no idea how long this has taken. I'm sorry I haven't been able to post any of my works lately. My pop stopped paying for internet, and it's been hell for me for the last six months. Now, as a matter of fact, on a surprising note, I've had e-mails of people telling me I'd better write a fic about the "Prince" aspect of this one, about the Silver Milennium.

I'll let you guys decide. And I'm still working on my other fics, no worries. Though "When Will I Hold You" is definitely labelled "complete" and "Shattered Back Together" is just past the halfway point. This project, and "Tears of a Forgotten Yesterday", I'm still debating about on length and Ultimate Villain Bad Guy Man/Monster Thingie. And I've a new idea for a Ranma/Usagi matchup in the future, but...well, we'll see.