Finally! The first chapter is done and we hope you would enjoy reading
it as much as we enjoyed writing it. We would really like to hear your
comments/suggestions on the story so that we could make our plot better.
And it will be much more appreciated if you don't flame us! We are still
new here!
Thanks to our pre-readers : Lord Talon, Ratbat, Seratia, Kahlil Noriega,
Jonathan Lloyd, Black Ice, Skuld63282@aol.com and Ezrial1@aol.com.

Disclaimer: All Ranma 1/2  characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Co.
All Fushigi-yuugi characters belongs to Yu Watase.

Fushigi Mizu
by: Dy

< Country of Konan >

 With their hands held together in a tender gesture of love and
companionship, Miaka and Tamahome stood outside her bedchamber, dreading
the time when they have to say goodnight and part for hours until the
sun rose again the next day... or so would it seem.

 Miaka brought up her other hand and toyed absently with her ponytail.
"I failed to summon Suzaku's powers again. If I didn't know better, I
would have truly believed that I'm not meant for this task." she said
giggling a little self-consciously.

 Tamahome gave her a tight smile in reponse. "Rest and forget your
worries, Miaka. We'll all try again tomorrow."

 She immediately brightened up and nodded her assent, absolutely
oblivious of the tension around Tamahome's mouth. "Goodnight
Tama-chan..." Miaka raised herself on tiptoes and aimed for his lips as
she encircled her arms around his neck as they kissed.

 A few seconds after, Tamahome lifted his lips from hers and pulled away
from her embrace. "It's getting late..." I have to go. You need as much
sleep as you can get if we are to try calling the Suzaku again. You know
how much Konan's fate depends on it."

 "Yes, I do..." she agreed whole-heartedly. Her mind started working
overtime with visions of what will happen should she fail again, so she
vowed determinedly, "As long as it is in my powers to do so, I will help
this country, Konan, rise from despair to glorious victory." A large
flame of conviction began blazing brightly all around  Miaka, fueled by
the strong emotions racing thru her entire being.

 "Let's not get too carried away here..." Tamahome reminded, fanning
down the sudden fire in an attempt to stop the disastrous idea from
forming inside Miaka's brain. Having been the one to save her neck from
mishaps after mishaps. He knew first-hand how draining such an
experience could be.

 She smiled sheepishly and muttered an apology. "Sorry... I'll try to
control myself next time." Opening the door to her room, Miaka stepped
inside and hurriedly turned around to greet Tamahome again. "Sweet
dreams, Tama-chan. I'll see you tomorrow."

 "Right... tomorrow." as soon as he heard the unmistakable sound of the
door being shut, Tamahome released the tired sigh he'd been holding back
for quite a while now. With a distracted look in his eyes, he retraced
his steps back to the castle's main hall.

 He was so confused, but he wasn't really sure why. A part of him wanted
to believe that it was all because of the pressure his country was in...
the growing chaos, the inevitable war with Kutou... but deep inside, he
knew that it was something else...

 It was Miaka. She was so innocent, so naive... so helpless. He was
worried that she might not be able to bear all the problems they were
going thru and might suddenly break down one day. She didn't realize
that to save others, one must know how to save one's self first.

 He signed again and paused as he passed a window. How beautiful the
night was, with all the stars shining so bright. On impulse, he
whispered a heartfelt wish, "I wish our priestess was a stronger woman."
Then he continued walking thru the silent corridors of the Royal Konan
Palace, making his way to his own bedchamber.

      * * *

 In the depths of the mystical forest where the sorcerer's territory
lay, Taiitsu-kun watched the couple's exchange in his enchanted mirror.
He gave a small nod at Tamahome's little whim. How clever of him to
sense what Taiitsu-kun was about to do...

 "It is time..." his raspy voice rang out against the fortress' peaceful
walls, with a wave of his fingers, the image in the crystal ball
changed...

      * * *

 "Tama! Where are you, Tama? Chichiri's looking for you..."

 Tamahome whirled around at the sound of his name being called. Almost
immediately, he heard the sound of loud laughing and guffawing. His eyes
darkened menacingly.

 "Tasuki!!!"

 Tasuki quickly crouched down to catch Mitsukake's scampering white cat,
Tama. "Good morning, Tama! I didn't know you were there ! Up so early?"
he greeted, this time referring to Tamahome. His bright orange hair hid
his smirk from the latter's view. Tasuki decided to tease Tamahome a
little more since his friend seemed to be in a testy mood this morning.

 "Damn right you didn't!" Tamahome scowled darkly and approached Tasuki,
his intentions obviously taking on a violent turn.

 Tasuki's grin widened as he reached for his fan. "Cool it, Tama. Your
fur's getting all ruffled. Here, let me help you..." he flipped open the
iron fan and swung a wild stroke in the air, throwing hot flame all over
the place, especially all over Tamahome.

 Tamahome tried to leap out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough. In
the end though, he did manage to escape unharmed... but totally
blackened. Soots stained his cheeks and clothes. Combined with the
fierce frown on his face, he looked every bit like the orge his blazing
character branded him to be.

 Tasuki laughed harder until his sides began to hurt. He saw Tamahome
lunge at him and so he turned around to flee across the hall, but a hand
grasped his shirt collar and stopped him. Twisting around, he was
surprised to see a pair of violet eyes instead of dark blue ones.
"Nuriko! When did you get here ?!?"

 "Nice to see you, too, Tasuki. Good morning, Tamahome, did you sleep
well?" Nuriko, the strongest of the seven Seishi, smiled as she held
Tasuki off the floor with one hand and Tamahome off with the other. She
was glad she came just in time to stop another of the famous
"Tasuki-Tamahome" arguments. Hotohori-sama wouldn't have been pleased.

 "Yes, thank you. Can I get down now?" came Tamahome's reply.

 "Dammit, Nuriko! Let me go!" a struggling Tasuki shouted.

 "We have to get going. Hotohori-sama wants us to see him at breakfast."
she informed them in a business-like tone. Being one of the Emperor's
closest friends had its advantages. "By the way, have any of you seen
Miaka?"

 Tamahome felt a flash of uneasiness at the mention of Miaka's name.
"I've been to her room a while ago. She wasn't there, so I assumed she
was with you."

 "Funny... Hotohori-sama said the very same thing. He's been looking for
her since the sun came up because he wants to talk to her about the
legendary amulet that might help us summon the Suzaku." Nuriko said
thoughtfully, her eyebrows raised.  This was very unusual indeed. Miaka
was seldom  alone. Given her cheerful disposition, she usually preferred
having some company around rather than be all by herself.

 Just then, Chichiri came running out of the corner, his mask removed.
His scarred face was contorted with fear and panic as he announced, "The
castle's in an uproar! Miaka is missing!!"

      * * *

  "How can she be missing?!? I just saw her to her room last night!! Are
you sure your soldiers are looking hard enough, Hotohori?" Tamahome
demanded hotly as white fury ran thru his veins. He couldn't believe
this was happening! It was just as he feared... the minute he turned his
back, Miaka would be reduced to a helpless creature who couldn't even
defend herself.

 Hotohori gave Tamahome an intent look and decided to forgive the latter
for challenging him like that. He knew his friend needed utmost
understanding right now because the only girl he has ever cared for
suddenly vanished without a clue. "They're doing their best, Tamahome."
he said in an attempt to ease him.

 "Maybe she was captured by Nakago's men sometime during the night."
Chiriko suggested helpfully, unintentionally speaking out what the
others' most feared.

 Chichiri shook his head vehemently from where he sat near the window.
"She's gone farther away than that... I can't feel her chi."

 "Either that, or Nakago must be blocking off you powers with his own."
Nuriko pointed out, pacing worriedly just behind Hotohori's chair.

 "I say we go there and find out by OURSELVES." Tasuki stood up abruptly
and poised his hand over his hand over his fan, itching to do battle.

 "A bloody battle will do no good," Mitsukake disagreed.

 Soon enough, the whole room was vibrating with various shouted ideas to
rescue Miaka. Hotohori hit the flat of the table with a resounding thud
to get their attention. "Wherever Miaka may be, we must all remember one
thing: Nakago is never to know that she is missing. Once he finds out,
Konan is finished. We won't stand  a chance against them, especially now
that our priestess is gone. There'll  be no way to summon the Suzaku.

 "I'll issue out a decree that not a word about this should escape the
castle walls. Otherwise, the risk will be too high." he went on.

 Tamahome held up  a hand and said solemnly, "Hotohori-sama, please
allow me to search outside the kingdom. I promise to be discreet and to
take utmost care."

 Hotohori nodded his permission. "Before you do, search the outskirts of
our territory first. She could be hurt there somewhere."

 Tamahome was out of the door in the next minute, running as if his very
life depended on it.

 Nuriko coughed noisily to break the sudden silence that descended on
the room. "What do we do now?" she asked. They couldn't go on a search
of their own and maintain secrecy at the same time. Soon enough, their
tasks would raise suspicions all over town.

 "We ask for a decoy." Hotohori stated simply.

 "Excuse me?" Chiriko said, dumbstruck.

 Hotohori leaned back on his chair and rubbed his chin pensively. "A
decoy... another girl from Miaka's world. If we're to deceive Nakago,
we'll need another girl of Miaka's upbringing... and more."

 The rest of the five Seishis stared at Hotohori with the most
disbelieving expressions in their faces. They were all wondering if
perhaps their young emperor lost his mind sometime between the discovery
of Miaka's disappearance and now... considering he himself loves the
priestess, such a possibility couldn't be ruled out.

 Just then, a mysterious voice filled the room... speaking but three
words.

 "It is time..."

      * * *

< Nerima, Japan >

 The bright morning sun streamed through the wide windows of  Fuurinkan
High's school library as the whole junior class busied themselves with
their respective research projects. Study period was never spent this
wisely before, but since a good project grade ensured an examination
exemption, the students decided to be smart and grab the chance as it
passed by.

 In the farthest corner of the library, where the sunlight was weak and
the air was filled with dust, stood a girl with short blue-black hair
and angry eyes. She was infuriated beyond belief that the teacher would
assign such a hard topic for her to work on. Hell... she wasn't even
sure if their library had the book she was looking for or not! Old
legends, indeed!

 Mumbling all the while about legendary weirdoes that she doesn't really
care a thing for, Akane Tendou went on tiptoes and reached for the
hard-bound book she spotted on the top most shelf. It was very dusty,
and the pages were obviously yellowing with age, but from where she
stood, she could make out the words "universe" and "gods" on the cover.
Judging from its title, it was pretty safe to say that the book
contained something about legends.

 Her fingers inched closer and closer to the book, until finally, she
felt it against her fingertips. With a soft grunt under her breath, she
tugged hard. The book came tumbling down, landing noisily on the floor.
Along with it, Akane thought she heard the distant sound of wings
flapping.

 She took a glance around the place as if to make sure. She wouldn't
have been surprised if she saw a bird behind her. Seeing nothing, she
bent down to retrieve the book and blew the dust away for good measure.

 Just then, she heard a suspiciously familiar voice a couple of aisle
away.

 "Oh, Ryoga darling... I miss you so much! Why did you leave me?"

 Akane's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she got closer to the voice. A
few steps more and the culprit came into view.

 "Leave you? I'm sorry, but I don't even remember you... you must be
ahh... mistaken..." Ryoga was saying as he backed away, eventually
trapping himself against the bookcase.

 The voice spoke up again, her tone positively sobbing. "But Ryoga...
I'm your fiancee!... I've been following you everywhere because I need
you so..." the girl, dressed in the blue-green and white Fuurinkan
uniform, held Ryoga tightly in a passionate embrace, her abundant
breasts pressing against his chest.

 Instantaneously, Ryoga's nose began bleeding.

 Akane's temper exploded along with it. "Ranma! You pervert!!!"

 "What !?!" Ranma exclaimed, turning at the sound of Akane's voice. A
hard-bound book caught her head at mid-turn, however, forming a
rock-sized lumped amidst her red tresses.

 The book fell again , flipping open to a particular page as if directed
to do so.

 "Akane you fool! You ruined my plan!" Ranma said, exasperated. She
reached for the book and heard some wings flapping. She twisted around
to see what it was, but before she could move, a red light flashed into
her eyes and enveloped her body. "What the..."

 Then a strange voice filled her mind... "It is time..."

 In the next minute, an eerie silence surrounded them all.

 Ranma Saotome was gone.