Standard Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this fic are the property of their respective creators. Please don't sue me, I have no money. Desert Moon A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction By Valandar the Red Time is inexorable and incapable of stopping, or even slowing down, no matter how we wish it would. The traveler thought back to his youth, and pondered how that first year, when he had first arrived here, had seemed like forever. But it wasn't forever, it was merely a point in his life where everything shone the brightest, no matter how he thought of it at the time. Adventures seemed to find them, catching them off guard, until none of them were surprised when a prince of one sort or another would kidnap one of the girls, or some weird monster would attack. Even on the quiet days, they would challenge and fight one another, unconsciously keeping in shape for the times they needed their martial prowess. As he walked, he unconsciously fingered the two devices he kept in his pockets now. One was a cell phone, so his wife of nearly twenty years could get in contact with him no matter where he was. The other was a tracking device, which he carried for much the same reason. The decades had not changed his horrible direction sense, nor had they changed the orange and black bandannas he still wore. Ryouga sighed. Nerima had changed far less than he had. He still could see familiar buildings, and over there was the fence Ranma would walk on to travel to school. He laughed aloud at the idea of a fifty year old Ranma trying that, knowing full well that his old rival probably still could. Standing lost in thought, he did not hear the person behind him until she spoke. "Excuse me, sir, do you know when the train from downtown Tokyo is arriving? I have some friends coming into town." The voice was so familiar, it almost sent him into shock. As unchanged as Nerima, itself. He turned, and smiled at her. "Hello, Kasumi." Her hair was still in her gentle ponytail, but time had taken its toll. As strong and vibrant as her voice was, she appeared even more so. Her pure spirit shone from her clear eyes. Happiness dwelt there as well, as she smiled at the eternally Lost Man. "Ryouga- kun, it's been ages!" She bowed slightly at him, which he awkwardly returned. "Oh, look at you! You're actually wearing a suit and tie?" He blushed. "Uh, yeah. So, Kasumi, who are you waiting on ?" "Well, Mousse and Shampoo are on their way from China. They heard about Ranma and Akane's twenty-fifth class reunion, and decided to come up here to reminisce for a while. Would you care to join us? I could call Akari for you." He smiled, and drew out his cell phone. "No need, Kasumi." ****************** Twenty minutes later, Kasumi, Ryouga, Shampoo, and Mousse showed up on the doorstep of the Tendo Dojo. Kasumi opened the door, and announced her presence. A hunched, tottering figure wandered into view, wearing a loose-fitting brown gi. His face was like fine parchment, folded into a map of decade on decade of intense sorrows, and intense joys. "Can I help you?" came the querulous voice. The old man blinked three times, then leaned in closer. "Oh, Kasumi, you're back." "Yes, Father. I'm sure you remember Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryouga." She waved at the three who stood behind her. "Ha, ha, ha, of course. How could I forget two of my son-in-law's rivals, and one of his former fiancee' s. Come, come here, let me see if you've gotten as old as me, hee-hee." He hobbled over to Mousse, leaning extremely close to him. "Um...which one are you? I can't really see too well." The middle-aged amazon male laughed. "I never could, myself, Mr. Tendo. It's Mousse, and thank you for welcoming us into your home." He still wore a white robe, which now was covered in intricate embroidery, as befits the husband of an Elder. "Then this must be Shampoo," said Soun, pointing at Ryoga. "But why is she wearing a suit?" Mouse, fully appreciating the irony of the situation, grabbed Soun by the shoulders, and turned him slightly, to face his wife. "Actually, this is Shampoo. That's Ryoga." "Um, heh, good. Hate to have seen her turn out looking like that, wouldn't we? How have you been, my dear. We haven't seen you since the incident with Taro and the Seven Rings of Destruction." He bowed slightly, then stopped before getting back up. "Urk... K-Kasumi, it happened again..." Shampoo laughed, and bowed, as the ancient Tendo patriarch was guided over to a large cushion by his eldest daughter. He eased down on his side, as Shampoo said, "You remind me of Papa, his back does that as well. Then again, so does Mouse's, at times." After over twenty years, she had finally mastered Japanese. In spite of her age, she still looked great, and could give most thirty year olds a run for their money. Their discussions were interrupted at this moment, as a loud commotion began upstairs. The word, "baka", could be clearly understood, and footsteps raced towards the stairs. Ryouga sighed. "After all these years, and they're still fighting." Soun grinned at him. "Wait and see, boy." At that moment, Ranma burst into view. His hair was iron grey, and he seemed to have gained a little weight, but he was moving as fast as ever. He bounded onto the banister of the staircase, and slid down like a twenty year old snowboarder. Before he could reach the bottom, though, he was dive-tackled by a flying shape. As they tumbled, the shape resolved itself into Akane, also looking much younger than she had a right to. "Alright, Ranma," she growled, sitting on his chest. "Time to face the ultimate Anything Goes Problem Solver!" 'The mallet?' wondered Ryouga, briefly. "The Saotome Akane Tickle Torture!" Her fingers were a blur, and Ranma could do nothing but lie there, helpless and laughing. Finally, he caught sight of his friends, and struggled to point them out. "Ry-ry-r-BWAHAHAHA!" was all he could squeeze out before the laughter overtook him again. "No fair trying to distract me, Ran...Ryouga?" She happened to glance towards the door, where Kasumi, Soun, and the three confused visitors stood. Locking eyes with Ryouga, she squealed, and dove. "P-Chan! It's been ages!" "WHOUFF!! Ak-Akane, I know you forgave me twenty y-years ag-go, but are you....SURE... you're not a little angry, still? I think I've got a couple broken ribs, now." He had broken free of her hug at the word 'sure', and stood there, rubbing his sides. "Hey, buddy, it's been a few years. Whatcha been up to?" Ranma picked himself up off the floor, and walked over to the Lost Man. "Well..." he began. "Tell you what. Akari is going to meet us over at Ucchan's - you know, her first place - in about half an hour. Why don't we talk about it there?" "Sounds good to me. By the way, Kasumi-chan, Tofu-sensei called about five minutes ago, and said he'd be home early for dinner." She smiled. "Good. Father, you stay here and keep me company while I cook. The rest of you go on to Ucchan's. I'll see you when you get back." ****************** The Ucchan's had grown considerably since they were teenagers, from a single, struggling store, to a chain of thirty across central Japan. Kuonji Ukyou, the proprietress, had always felt closest to the site of her first shop, and could usually be found there. Unlike most of her friends, she had never married, but found her strength on her own, with the help of her closest friends. Sometimes, she would regret never finding a husband, but her work kept her too busy to ever linger on that regret. On this particular day, she was wearing her usual cook's outfit, changed only in style from twenty five years ago, and her hair was in a high French braid. The restaurant was quiet, so when she heard the bell on the door chime, she turned to greet her customers herself. "Welcome to the Ucchan's, how may I...huh? Mousse, Shampoo, and Ryouga? Ran-chan and Aka-chan, where did you dig up all the old fossils?" She crossed the floor to hug her old friends. Then she smacked Ryouga on the back of the head. "What's with you? You and Akari haven't been around in over a decade! I've missed you guys." Before he could get a word in edgewise, she punched him again, this time in the shoulder. "And where is she, anyway? You didn't come all the way to Nerima for this reunion and leave her behind, did you?" Her eyes bore into him like laser beams. "Um...no... I kinda got..." "Lost," she finished for him. "Well? Is she going to show up, herself?" Once again, the bell chimed. This time, it was Akari, right on time. Everyone stood up, and hugs were exchanged all around. Ukyou excused herself, and turned the sign on the door to 'closed'. Walking back to the center of the room, she pushed several tables together for them all to sit together. Quickly, the subject turned to something common between four of those gathered, the Jusenkyo curses. "So is there anyone left who hasn't figured it out?" asked Mousse. "Figured what out?" asked Ryouga. Eyes bored into him in shock. "You're still cursed?" asked an astonished Ranma. "Um, actually, no. About ten years ago, it started taking colder and colder water to spark the change. Now, I could sit in ice water all day, and I don't change. I figured maybe it was growing up that did it." He shrugged, and bit his lower lip, one fang poking out. "Well, in a way," said Ranma. "We found out that once someone who's cursed learns whatever lesson he was supposed to, the curse starts to fade. Mousse, here, was the first of us." "Lesson? What lesson did you need to learn from being a duck?" The male amazon smiled. "When to keep my beak shut, of course." "As for me, I had to learn to take life as it comes, like cat does. Not plot, and plan, and cheat." She fiercely grabbed her husband's hand. "Never expected he so good as husband." Her Japanese began to slip, as it did when she was thinking about those times. "I guess mine is pretty obvious, huh. I mean, I was such a chauvinist, an' then, splash, I'm a girl half the time." Ranma grimaced. " 'Course, for some reason, I almost missed the curse when it finally was gone." Ryouga looked at him. "Kinda like how it felt after a tooth fell out as a little kid? You know, your tongue keeps looking for it before the new one grows in?" "Yeah, just like that. Anyway, any idea what lesson you hadda learn?" "Um, I guess it would be that I can't go through life relying on brute strength, and that there are times I can accomplish more by letting people see...well, another side of me." He seemed clearly embarrassed by this admission, and was glad it was among such good friends. "Speaking of curses, how is your father? Did he ever learn what it was he had to?" The tables grew silent, and Akane clutched Ranma's hand. "No," he whispered, voice thick. "He...he's...Akane, you tell him." His wife nodded. "About two years ago, Nodoka was hurt very badly in a car accident. She...she survived two weeks, in a deep coma. Both Genma and Ranchan spent every waking moment at her bed- side, hoping she'd wake up, but...she never did." Ranma took a deep breath, and took over the story. "Pops still had his curse, and Mom's death hit 'im hard. He... he spent the next year in panda form. He stopped eating anything but bamboo, and even stopped writing those signs. I tried getting him to spar, but he wouldn't even do that. Not quite a year ago, he just, well, he gave up. He gave up, he didn't care anymore, he didn't..." Akane gripped his hand tighter, and he stopped to catch himself. A moment of tense silence later, and he continued the story. "I guess he really loved Mom more than I gave him credit for. He died, as Tofu-sensei said, of a broken heart. His last moments, he faded back to human, and then said first my name, then hers. He was smiling. We... we tried to get in touch with you, but that was during the height of sumo pig competition, and you weren't home." Ryouga looked at Ranma for a long time, as the table remained silent. He knew Ranma had trouble expressing how he felt, and he knew then that he could best do it through insults. As often as he insulted Akane, and his father, it was the only thing he could do. That's when the Lost Man realized just how much Ranma considered him a friend, as the pigtailed boy had never let up teasing him, even after his secret was out. "Well, anyway, Pig-boy, what have you been up to?" Ranma had his usual cocky grin on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm..aprfssrofntrntnlstds," he mumbled. "Huh?" "I'm, well, I'm a professor of International Studies at Kobe University." Ryouga had one hand behind his head, and a sheepish grin on his face. An observer could have counted clearly to five, before the entire table erupted into laughter. "Oh, that's too rich! That's too much!" chortled Ukyou. "I gotta hand it to you, sugar, that's the perfect job for you. But how do you keep from getting lost during the semester?" Akari smiled. "I take him to and from class. During the breaks, like now, he does his wandering, and then I come and get him, wherever he is, in time for the next series of classes." Ryouga reached into his pocket, and held out the tracker, anticipating the next question, that is, how she would find him. Hours passed, and they relived their adventures in the stories they told. Where, once, the cry of "Ranma! Prepare to die!" would have been followed by crashing noises, now it was followed by laughter. Those absent, like Kuno and Kodachi, were toasted, while those fallen, like Genma, were saluted. The sun fell below the horizon as they relived their youth, and the stories grew more and more exaggerated. "I swear, those stones were forty feet wide!" declared Ryouga. "That Breaking Point training was sheer torture. Cologne is a slave driver. How is she doing, anyway?" "Just as old as ever," quipped Mousse. Shampoo responded by swatting his shoulder. "Don't talk about Great- Grandmother that way! Oh, Ranma, she also tell us to tell you she figured out why the pervert-master died when he was splashed with Nyannichuan water." "Oh?" The incident had happened during the incident with Taro, ten years before. "Why?" Shampoo looked at Mousse. He may have been a subservient Amazon male, but he was still more expressive than his wife was. "It seems that he had extended his life by splitting his life-force and chi into male and female polarities. He used his male energies, while using the female to keep him alive for three centuries." Ranma's eyes opened wide. "I see, it makes sense! He'd get more female energies from glomping women, and stealing their panties, to keep himself alive. And when he was splashed with the water..." "...His female energies were thrust onto the surface, and he couldn't keep them internalized to keep himself alive. He aged three hundred years in an instant," Mouse finished. "Well, how does the old ghoul stay alive?" His face no longer held the disgust that used to fill it at the mention of that nickname. "She holds her lifeforce so perfectly in balance, it can't change. So, she stopped aging. But, if she ever lost control, she'd age just as fast as Happosai did." "Grmph," grunted Ryouga. "Well, here's to the Old Pervert - may he be in the hell of No Panties for all eternity!" Glasses clinked, and voices laughed, and the party wound down into the night.