Saint Ranma 2: Boot Camp
by Gregg Sharp

   most characters are (c) somebody else. i forget who
did Saint Saeya, but Rumiko Takahashi created the Ranma
1/2 universe, Kosuke Fujishima is responsible for the
Oh My Goddess char & situations, Naoko Takeuchi came up
with the Sailor Moon stuff, and so on. 
======================
	Ranma wondered, not for the first time, where
the passports and other documents had come from. A 
private plane had taken them from Nerima International 
Airport to a stopover first in Hawaii, then onto LAX
and finally to Sky Harbor International Airport in
a particularly barren area whose name he still hadn't
gotten. Something about the name of the city seemed
to be a private joke between Cologne and her mysterious
companion.

	The place was hot, though not nearly as humid
as Japan. That didn't nearly impress him as the view
from outside the terminal. This city, Phoenix, he 
heard the man say, was built in a sprawl. Lots of empty
lots, short buildings, and dusty as hell. What hit Akane
and the other Japanese was the horizon. There weren't
too many places in Japan where you could see clear to
the horizon in all directions, but the way the city was
built made it possible to do that here.

	Thankfully there were three air-conditioned cars
waiting, and Team Ranma boarded the second one with
the Chinese contingent in the lead car. The third was
packed with the bulk of the luggage.

	"You want stop along way," the driver asked as
they pulled out. He was a slightly built middleaged
Caucasian whose Japanese was apparently self-taught.

	"Why?" Ukyou glanced over. She felt kind of 
naked without her big spatula and the little ones were
in her luggage where they'd passed customs as "cooking
utensils."

	"At place we go, no fast food, no postcard, no
store. Understand me please?"

	"Where did they get this guy?" Ranma snorted.
Still, he had to admit the guy's Japanese was better
than his own English.

	"I live here," the driver said. As Akane had
drawn the high card and was sitting in the front seat,
he held his hand out to her. "I am Morgan Wright. I am
helping with this project, yes? Pleased to meet you."

	"Akane Tendo," she shook the man's hand, 
surprised at the row of callouses she found there. 
Determined to prove she was as good at English as any
product of the Japanese school system, she switched
over to that language. "You go we know where why?"

	Ukyou laughed when she saw the puzzled driver's
face. This just had Akane trying harder for the next
several hours, which had the driver excusing himself
as soon as possible to get something for his headache.

	A major highway took them West, where they
exited onto a two-lane road. By this time they'd gotten
used to the crazy American driving on the wrong side
of the road, but since everyone else was doing it there
wasn't an accident. They turned off the two lane road
onto a dirt road. The dirt road went on for about an
hour before the large gate became visible.

	Dusty desert had given way to rocky desert
which themselves gave way to rocky canyons. Finally
a large gate marked with "Do Not Enter- Blasting Range"
signs was passed and a set of military-looking prefab
buildings came into view.

	"This is it, New Sanctuary." Their driver said
somewhat cheerfully. In truth he was glad to get out of
the car as Akane was still trying to use her limited
command of English and making less sense as time went
on. Even worse, Ranma had somehow acquired the phrase
no driver wants to hear ("Are we there yet?") and had
been practicing it for several hours.
=======================
	The people who followed trickled in over the 
next three days. Cologne spoke of these as other 
candidates. None had as much promise as Ranma, she
confided, though some had more skill at the present
time.

	Ranma quickly discovered that, of the crowd of
people here, three outside of his group were Japanese.
One was a shinto priestess with no background in the
martial arts. The second was a young high school student
named Ryo Urawa who was apparently some cram school
nerd. The third was some massive soldier-of-fortune 
type who looked like he was capable of strength
techniques that Ryouga would have balked at.

	English, Ranma's worst subject, was the most 
common language and some of those present didn't even
have Ranma's level of proficiency with the language.

	Akane had always done well with the language in
classes at least, though it was Nabiki that had been in 
the English Club. Ukyou turned out to be at around 
Akane's level. Shampoo was at least as good at English
as she was at Japanese, and Cologne seemed to have
mastered the language at some point during her long 
life. Mousse was even worse off than Ranma.

	There were a LOT of amazons present. When
Ranma asked Cologne about it, she mentioned that she
had brought them in to do a lot of the legwork. The
amazons had been responsible for a lot of the recruits
showing up.

	"Tendo Akane?"

	Someone sticking her head in the door and
looking for Akane broke the monotony. Akane noted it
was one of the amazons, a girl with long black hair and
baggy Chinese 'workers revolution' clothes. 

	"Yes?" Akane got up from her chair, glad to
have something to break up the day. Ranma just sat
there looking bored. He'd already spent a few hours
sparring with Ukyou and Shampoo.

	"Aiya. My name is Shen Shen. I was in 'Martial
Arts Takeout Race' you won."

	Akane remembered that little fiasco. "There was
an amazon in there? What happened to you?"

	"Didn't see other girl soon enough. She use
special technique to shatter bowl." Shen Shen shrugged.
"Just another plan of Shen Shen's that go bust."

	Akane wasn't sure why, but she found herself
liking the other girl. Maybe it was the way the amazon
didn't even look at Ranma who was still in the room,
quietly observing both of them. "So why would an amazon
be in that race anyway? I'm still surprised to see so
many outside of their village."

	"Is big deal, say Elder Cologne. Concerns future
of tribe, also others, so we come. As for Shen Shen, she
exile from tribe, can no go home. Was hoping for ramen
for one whole year."

	Akane could tell Ranma's interest had increased.
The boy had no poker face. "Why were you exiled, if you
don't mind me asking?"

	Shen Shen sighed and looked sad. "Shen Shen, no,
I no good fighter. Outsider male beat me, even if by
accident. I give Kiss Of Marriage, but stupid guide
mistake for Kiss Of Death. He tell groom. Outsider male
run away before could be corrected, and I lose track of
him. Unless I marry or kill, can no go back to village."

	"I've always thought it was a stupid law."

	"Is not bad law. OLD law, but not always turn
out bad. Need outsiders for village, otherwise 
everyone related to everyone else. This bad thing. Law
there to insure that males brought into village are
strong males."

	"I still say it's a stupid law."

	"Sometimes Shen Shen agree." Shen looked sad
again. "Would have at least liked to have chance at
getting to know groom. Not even know if he married
already or where come from. Just he speak English,
cause that what he talking to guide in."

	"So when's this training supposed to start?"

	Both looked over at Ranma, this was the first
he'd spoken since the two had started chatting.

	"Aiya. Tomorrow morning somebody figure out
what special techniques we start training in."

	"We don't get to choose?"

	"No, this type choose you. You no choose it."
Shen Shen nodded. "Ah, very sorry. Shen Shen, I mean, I
got to go inform others, but wanted to say hello Akane
first. You hear loudspeakers tomorrow, meet in mess 
tent, yes?"

	"Okay, Shen Shen." Akane waved as the girl
left. "Well, she seemed nice."

	"For an amazon," Ranma shrugged. "So it's 
confirmed why Shampoo's never just given up and gone
back to China. She can't."

	Akane chuckled. "At least she's not another
fiancee of yours."

	"Praise kami for that!"
--------------------
	"Tomorrow" turned out to be 4am, when the dark
stillness of the desert was broken by the lights
snapping on and the loudspeakers started giving the
request to meet in the main mess hall. It was given
in Japanese, Chinese, English, and many more languages
that even Nabiki wasn't going to guess at.

	The mess tent was crowded already by the time
Ranma and Akane got there, Akane grumbling about the
amount of effort required to get Ranma moving in the
morning.

	There were even more people there this morning,
courtesy of the bus sitting in the compound. What 
really started a buzz of conversation were the obvious
nonhumans in the crowd.

	A short purple figure in Chinese clothing was
at the stage. One girl who was covered in short fur 
with a wolf's tail and ears. Another female, equally 
furred but more catlike, brought a predictable shudder 
from Ranma. A guy who was even bigger than Falco loomed 
over almost everyone there. The exception was a slightly
smaller humanoid dragon that seemed to be gawking at 
nearly everything present.

	"Attention, people," a short man walking with
the aid of a cane stepped to the front of the stage,
"we'll get started very shortly. What we're going to do
is have competitions to prove who is the best candidate
for the various Bronze Cloths I've been able to repair."
The man tapped one of the five elaborate boxes behind 
him.

	"And what is going to keep me from taking one
of these, if I want?"

	Ranma winced as Tarou stepped forward and 
splashed himself with a cup of water. His winged 
minotaur form reached for one of the boxes.

	"This." The dwarf raised his cane and was 
briefly limned with a golden aura.

	Pantyhose Tarou slammed abruptly to the ground,
a golden net forming around him.

	"Hmmm. A powerful curse you've got there. How
about if I turn it off," Hephaestus gestured and Tarou
abruptly returned to his uncursed form. "Then make it
something more appropriate." Another gesture.

	Tarou rolled up and away as soon as the net
released him. Grabbing another cup he splashed himself
again.

	A six year old child wearing clothes way too
big for him looked up at the man on the stage and
abruptly burst out in tears.

	Ranma blinked. He could change Jusenkyo curses?
Maybe cure them...

	Akane realized where Ranma's mind was going,
not a very difficult feat, and elbowed him. "I wouldn't
bug the man just now, if he's _really_ annoyed you'd
be worse off than you are now. Or didn't you notice that
Tarou's a little girl now?"

	"Eeewwww."

	"Now if I may continue?"

	"Akane," Ranma whispered. "Did you notice that
everyone seems to understand him, but most of these 
people acted like they didn't understand Japanese when
I tried talking to 'em..."

	Akane nodded. The same thing had just occurred
to her.

	Hephaestus thumped his cane. "Now then, what 
this will be is a round robin style match. Each of you
will be tested for compatibility and then will compete
to see who the winner shall be. Those not compatible 
with any of the available totems will be kept notified
if I can repair any other Cloths. 

	"If any of you feel anything when I manifest
the spirit, raise your hand, one of my colleagues here
will note you and contact you later." Hephaestus 
stepped to the first of the elaborate boxes. Once again
he glowed, but this time the glow spread to the box. 

	"Tiger, Leo Minor, or Lionet" he said as the 
eyes of the tiger engraved on the box seemed to flash 
green. "Depending on how the fickle cat manifests."

	Akane nudged Ranma again, Shampoo and Shen Shen
had both raised their hands. 

	"Greyhound," Hephaestus said as he touched the
second box. Neither Ranma nor Akane recognized any of
those responding to it.

	"Pegasus," the third box's eyes flashed red.

	Without realizing why, Ranma raised his hand.
Akane looked at him, startled. They both noticed that
the Really Big Guy had raised his hand as well.

	"Lynx," the fourth box. Again Ranma and Akane
did not recognize any of the individuals responding.

	"Corvus," the fifth box showed a crow. Only 
three people raised their hand this time.

	"That takes care of the first group. The second
group will be chosen personally by me later. Now some
of you already know why you're here. Some don't. Please
be patient for your less informed neighbors."

	"First off, ALL of you have had some brush with
what would be called the supernatural. Amongst your
number are a dragon, three werebeasts, four bearing the
curses of Jusenkyo, six extraterrestrials, one who is
descended from the bloodlines of the Titans, another who
is a descendent of Gilgamesh..."

	"Actually," the little purple Yoda figure held
up a hand. "The Gilgamesh descendent got lost coming 
here from his tent."

	"Sounds like Ryouga," smirked Ranma.

	"Hmph. Remind me to get him a GPS tracker," 
Hephaestus frowned. "Oh yes, there's also two beings
from alternate futures, an ancient weapon in human form,
and a Sailor Senshi who wasn't invited but is spying on
us anyway. You should wear your fuku, child, it won't
be long before you're past the age you can wear the
thing without varicose veins (or any of the other 
problems with not being a teenager) showing.

	"That being said, know ye this." The dwarf
seemed to grow in stature with a golden aura surrounding
him and a Presence manifesting. "I am known by many
names, Vulcan or Hephaestus being the most well known.
I am the smith and the crafter, and come on the behalf
of my colleague who has fallen in battle- the defender
known as Athena.

	"You who saw the fights on TV know little of it,
but that was to choose the wearer of a Gold Cloth. Now
we have to make do with Bronze. Our enemy is unknown,
but weakened from taking on those who came before. Those
of you who can attain the status of Bronze Saints can
continue the fight.

	"Those who cannot, are still welcome to train
here, but the real battle lies ahead for those who can
go beyond their current limits.

	"Welcome, all of you, to New Sanctuary."
----------------------------------
end chap 2
  end theme: "Blue Dreams"


i'm leaving this project on hold indef due to too many projects in my queue.
     we'll see if/when i get back to this. anybody else wants to take a stab
at
      this, let me know.