Title:

1/2 Blessing, 1/2 Curse

Author:

3D Master

Feedback:

3d.masterchello.nl

Website:

http:members.chello.nl/jg.temolder1/

Rating:

R

Keywords:

X-Over Ranma ½ / Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Action, Humor, Drama, AU.

Summary:

In between Buffy S1/S2 Xander's father sells him to the Chinese mob, then he returns with a blessing and a curse.

Disclaimer:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters do not belong to me, but Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions. Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

1/2 Blessing, 1/2 Curse

by 3D Master (3d.masterchello.nl)

website: http:members.chello.nl/jg.temolder1/

Willow Rosenberg was bored, and depressed as she walked along the street in Sunnydale - at night. Why she had decided to walk around, was completely forgotten. She was trying to dredge up the reason, but couldn't. It was one monumentally stupid decision in hindsight. Her brain must have fried during the summer, that had to be it. It was the most hellish two months she could remember all her life. One of two of her best friends since childhood had been killed several months before, although she got a new, and her first real female friend - one Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer - in return, it still pained her. That very same female friend had left with her father for the summer only a few days after its start. Then, another few days after that, her other best friend, /the/ best friend - one Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris - had disappeared. The next week or so had been an emotional roller coaster ride from boredom, concern, grief, to terror and back again. Finding his mutilated body had woken her up out of nightmares, imagining a vampire version of her friend coming after her had kept her from falling asleep. Then just over a week after his disappearance a letter came from him, in which he explained he was fine. /That/ had been the happiest event in all her life, the relief had almost been overwhelming. After her first happy had died down, she'd been afraid her parents were going to send her to a mental institution seeing the looks they gave her, but luckily they had just continued ignoring her. The relief had died down quickly though, into boredom, desperately waiting for the next letter Xander sent . . . and why in hell didn't Buffy send any letters? One postcard was all she got from her. Even practicing her hacking skills couldn't keep her sated, she was desperately counting the days till school would start again and her friends returned, which incidentally would be tomorrow. So now she was walking around, wishing tomorrow was now.

Yep, it was official, she mused. Willow Rosenberg really had lost her mind. There was a sudden growl, and the petite redhead twisted around in its direction, seeing the vamped out face of a vampire that considered her lunch, or breakfast . . . or perhaps diner. Stop analyzing, start screaming! Willow screamed, shrieked was more like it. Terror went through her entire body, and she backed up . . . exactly two steps when she bumped against a low wall. The vampire advanced, and Willow stopped her screaming long enough to pull out a wooden stake, and say, "I know how to kill you."

The vamp laughed. He bared his razor sharp teeth and fangs and said, "And I know how to kill you."

"EEP!" Willow screamed out and lunged. The vamp easily deflected the lunge, and disarmed Willow.

"Oof!" the vampire called out, as a blonde whirlwind flew past a still terrified, but now surprised Willow, and knocked the vamp on his back. A moment later a stake moved down, and with a 'poof' the vampire turned to dust.

Buffy Summers turned around, slightly out of breath - apparently she had to hurry to get to Willow on time, and said with exasperation, "Willow! How can you be out and alone at night!? You know what's lurking in Sunnydale, and why didn't you bring a cross!?"

A very relieved Willow slowly got her breathing back under control. She shook her head and said, "Buffy, thank god! We're Jewish remember, mom and dad won't let them in the house, and I couldn't sneak one past them tonight."

"Couldn't you have gone out with Xander?" Buffy asked concerned.

Willow shook her head, and answered, "Xander isn't here, he's . . . I better show you the letters." Buffy frowned, as Willow smiled and pointed in the direction to her house. Willow started to walk, and then paused. So did Buffy and she looked confused at the hesitating Willow. Suddenly the redhead flung herself at her blond, super hero friend, and hugged her tightly, "I'm so glad you're back, Buffy. I was bored to death, almost literally."

"I'm glad I'm back too, Willow" Buffy said, smiling and fiercely returning the hug.

"Buffy," Willow croaked out, "Slayer strength!"

Buffy let go embarrassedly, and said, "Sorry."

-----

The two hurried along to Willow's house, making Buffy concerned over what these 'letters' entailed. On their way they came past one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries, Buffy's superior vision and hearing picked up something. She halted Willow and turned to her right, looking into the cemetery. There a raven-haired girl walked, wearing a tight mini-skirt, and a revealing top, a purse slung over her right shoulder. Buffy, and even Willow, could clearly see three vampires sneaking up on her from behind tombstones. Buffy could see three more in the far reaches of the cemetery in the bushes. One vamp made his move, jumping high, intending to completely take the girl by surprise. Buffy and Willow both were about to shout a warning, and Buffy - stake out already - was ready to go rescue the defenseless girl, except . . .

With a sudden rapid movement, the girl dropped her purse, pulling a stake from it with her left hand. At the same time she twisted underneath the airborne vamp, and perfectly staked the vamp in his heart, making him look surprised and then dust right there. The other vampires jumped out and attacked en masse. The girl twisted around, and landed a perfect roundhouse kick on one of them, making him stagger back. She switched the stake to her right arm, in time to stake an advancing vamp. She crouched low, and kicked the legs out from under the still staggering vamp, smoothly ducking underneath another vamp's onrushing punch. She jumped up, smashing her elbow in the punching vamp's chin, even as the other vamp dropped unceremoniously to the floor. The vamp she elbowed staggered back. Another vamp threw a charging punch with his right, and she grabbed his arm. She twisted it, as she went underneath. The vamp still going forward was yanked up off his feet, going horizontal a meter above the ground. The girl let go, and continued her twisting motion and added a kick, slamming her foot in the still airborne vamp's face, sending him flying in the direction he came from. He landed and tumbled onward, even as the girl put her right foot down, jumped up with it, and made a twisting airborne kick with her left, catching a vamp across its face, and launching him off his feet. The vamp flew a good two meters through the air before it landed painfully against a tombstone. The vampire she had roundhouse-kicked earlier and then dropped on the floor had recovered, and attacked while the one she elbowed was busy recovering. Again the girl crouched beneath the vampire's clumsy attack and swung her right leg around in a vicious kick at knee height. The kick hit, followed by an audible snap, and the vampire cried out in pain as it dropped to one knee, a piece of bone from the knee the girl kick sticking out. Kneeling like that, with its chest put forward was an inviting target. A moment later it was dusted by the girl, and then she jumped high into the air backward. She twisted her body in a back flip.

The vampire that she had elbowed, stopped its advance and looked up stunned. The girl grabbed his head, her entire body vertically above him, and she suddenly violently twisted around. The vampire's neck snapped audibly, and it sank to its knees, unable to make any nerve connection until months later when his spine and nerves would be healed, except it would never get that far. The girl rapidly twisted onward and down. She landed on her feet, and the vampire crumpled forward, into a quick upthrust stake and it turned to dust. The vampire that had tumbled backward attacked her again. She blocked his first punch, and second and moved into his defenses. A moment later the stake did its work.

That left only the vampire the girl had launched off its feet, and she turned to it. "Slayer," the vampire whispered in shock, and quickly fled. The girl however didn't let him go. She ran after him, jumped, and gave him a flying kick in his back. It gave a painful yell, going rigid with the pain and shock to its back, at which time the girl's stake penetrated its heart, and it too turned to dust. The girl then looked around, satisfied at a job well done, and made several quick back flips back. She went smoothly into a sideways flip, picking up her purse, made two steps putting her stake back in, and then jumped onto a two-meter high tree branch, before disappearing into the foliage.

Buffy and Willow were stunned, and still looked at the last position they had seen the girl. Buffy had her stake still futilely in hand, as the two turned their heads as one to the now empty graveyard. "Whoa," Willow was the first too speak.

"Yeah," Buffy confirmed putting her stake back.

"She was even better than you are, Buffy," Willow said in wonder, looking at her friend.

Buffy whipped her head around at Willow, and said, "She was /so/ not better than I am."

"Yes, she was, didn't you see the back flap on the vamp's head, and then snap?" Willow asked excitedly.

Buffy folded her arms across her chest, and said, "I can do that too, if I want too. She's just showing off, it'll get her killed."

"She took on six vamps, Buffy, and they didn't lay a finger on her," Willow explained in wonderment, and excitement.

"She's good, but she's not better than I am," Buffy sulked, and then suddenly realized something. "We should report this to Giles . . . Giles is still in the library, right?"

"I don't think he's been in the library /all/ summer, but he should be back there now, tomorrow school stars and all," Willow answered her only girl friend.

"Good, let's go," Buffy said.

-----

A short while later in the Sunnydale High library

"A girl, you say? Taking out six vampires with ease?" Giles said with cultured British voice, filled with intrigue. "Interesting."

"She was better than Buffy," Willow answered, nodding her head in excitement.

"She was /not/ better than me. Granted, she comes close, but I'm the Slayer, she's /not/ better than me," Buffy said with a childish pout, her arms once again folded defensively across her chest.

"Hmm," Giles said, cleaning his glasses thoughtfully, and in some frustration at the girls' over emotional behavior. "Now that I think about it, she /could/ be a Slayer, if you . . ." Giles looked carefully at Buffy, who looked somewhat pained at him. ". . . clinically were not amongst the living long enough, it might have triggered the activation of another Slayer." Giles put his glasses back on, and added, "But I would think the Council would have given me word of such a staggering development, unless . . ."

"Unless what?" Willow asked Giles her patience running dry. Buffy stayed watching.

"Unless like you, Buffy, it was a Slayer the council hasn't found," Giles told the girls with revelation. "That seems highly likely, because even if the Council didn't send me word, and the Slayer and her watcher are here, I would have gotten word from her Watcher, so she probably doesn't have one . . . if she /is/ a Slayer of course. Well, I'll give the Council a call."

The two teenagers stayed standing and silent for a few moments, and then Buffy asked, shaking her head slowly from left to right, "Soo . . . we can go? No research, or more patrolling, or anything?"

"You can leave if you want to," Giles confirmed, and Buffy immediately bolted, pulling Willow along. Giles sighed.

Outside of the library, the two walked to the exit of the school. "Where were we going again?" Buffy asked frowning.

"Oh! Xander's letters," Willow exclaimed with a big smile. "Come on!"

-----

"Here," Willow said, handing the letters over. After taking the letters out of her desk she sat onto her bed, next to Buffy. "They're in order."

Buffy looked at the stack of envelopes, concern growing when she noticed the writing on the stamp was some Asian iconography script. Buffy quickly opened the top envelope and took out the letter, written by hand of all things. She noticed the date, and the place: Jusenkyo, China.

"Jusenkyo?" Buffy said with a frown.

"It's somewhat in the middle, I looked it up," Willow answered, and then gestured for Buffy to continue reading.

Buffy felt somewhat relieved that Willow too had to look this up, for a moment there, she had a rather huge attack of feeling stupid. She took Willow's suggestion, and started reading.

Willow Rosenberg

6305 Westminster Place

94148, Sunnydale, CA

United States of America

Jusenkyo, China, June 10, 1996

Hey, Will,

It's me, Xander. I'm in China, can you believe it? And I'm still alive, so don't worry, not a vampire either. Ok,

Wait, you probably want proof, huh? Two words: yellow crayon!

Buffy looked up from the letter, and asked of Willow, "Yellow crayon?"

Willow smiled shyly, and blushed somewhat as she remembered herself from back then. "It's how Xander and I met, I'll tell the story some other time, read on," Willow answered her.

Buffy smiled at her friend, and indeed looked down, to read more.

Ok, proof delivered, time for the lowdown. So, there I am, just coming home one evening, when these Asian dudes in suits stand in the hallway. They probably shot me with tranquilizers, cause the next moment I know, I collapse, and wake up in this cage in a cargo hold of a plane. Some Asian dude strikes me with a whip, and puts some disgusting food in the cage after I flinch backwards. Bastard.

Some time later one of the dudes in the suits comes up to me, and you know what he told me? They'd seen my father's opinion of me, and gave him an offer he couldn't afford not to accept. My nice, sweet, father that drunken, son of a bitch, assh sold me into slavery! That's right, they were planning on training me to be a sex slave for some filthy rich non-white woman or gay man!

And you know what's really evil? I'll never enjoy watching Orion slave girls again!

Buffy looked up, "Orion slave girls?"

"Green alien scantily clad girls, who are bred and raised as sex slaves by the males of their species on Star Trek," Willow explained to her friend.

"Oh," Buffy said, thinking over the letter, shocked, and smiling despite it. Albeit struck through, it still had been readable. Drunken? Opinion? Sold into slavery!? The picture of Xander's home life changed radically; to a drunken, verbally - and physically? - abusive father, and a mother that couldn't be much better if she had let Xander be sold. And yet, despite all of it, he joked about it, like all of it didn't mean a thing. She could see her best male friend watching scantily clad green women on tv, and damn, she felt sorry for him he couldn't enjoy it anymore, and much more so she reflected upon her own past months. First there was guilt that she wasn't there to protect him, and second . . . shame. She had died before vacation, and Xander had used CPR to bring her back. Then there was the souled vampire Angel, and she really didn't want to think about him, or whatever it was that was between them. In response, she had spent the last months depressed, pained, hurt, irritable and bitchy to her father. Xander's experiences had to have been as bad, or worse then hers, and here he was joking about it, seemingly taking life head on, not letting it get him down for even a moment. Her opinion of him changed drastically. She read onward.

On the plus side: I'm hot enough to be a sex slave!!! So there, take that! Doing the Scooby dance!!

Buffy couldn't help it, she laughed out loud. Willow joined her, but more subdued. Suddenly it came out. How it happened, Buffy couldn't grasp, but the tears jumped from her eyes. Still laughing, she somehow managed to cry audibly at the very same time, for him, and for herself. She felt Willow's arm circle her waist and hug her close, the redhead's head rested on her shoulder, and instinctively she rested her own on Willow's. After a few minutes of crying, in which Willow had joined in, Buffy slowly stopped.

"What was that about?" Willow asked very softly.

"I died," Buffy whispered, shocked at how good the laughter and crying had done her, "Xander saved me, I haven't even thanked him yet, and now this, he was sold into slavery . . . god, I've been feeling so . . ." Willow hugged her close again, she didn't need to explain. Buffy felt grateful and went back to the letter.

Let me tell you, Will, the Chinese mob has nothing on praying mantis ladies. Four days, and the first chance I got, I took. I escaped, and ran like hell. And ran, and ran, and hid. The bastards came after me, and then the best thing that ever happened to me, happened right then, when I needed it most. Almost a full day after I took off, with the Chinese mob right behind me, shooting at me, and barely missing, I ran into these Japanese martial artists on a training trip through China : Genma and Ranma Saotome, father and son. With the Chinese mob right behind me, and me breathing like a dog, I scream for help and explain : 'Chinese mob, behind me, kidnap, slave, me.'

They understood! Both them, and some guy that was a guide to the Jusenkyo training grounds that I found myself at that moment - although I wouldn't find that out until later - had some very rudimentary knowledge of English. You should have seen them, Will! They kicked butt! I wouldn't be surprised if they could beat, Buffy, that's how good they were. They disarmed the thugs in no time, they even bent the barrels with their bear hands, and proceeded with an asskicking I won't ever forget, and neither will the bad guys! They notified the Chinese cops - by telegraph, no phone! - I told them where they had kept me, and one Chinese mob operation shut down! Yay for me! Yay for my rescuers!

Now comes the best part! Get this : Genma took me under his wing, he's training me in the 'Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts'! We found out my hyena possession and living on a mystical convergence all my life increased my chi - whatever that is, but apparently it means there is some serious possibility I could be good at this stuff.

Well, that's all for now, Genma is calling for me to get my lazy ass in gear. I just wanted to let you know I'm fine, and that you don't have to worry about me. I'll be back in good old Sunnyhell for the next school year - oh! with a surprise you wouldn't believe if I told you!

I'll write more soon. Take care, and don't forget to have fun, even if it is without me.

Your bestest friend forever and ever,

Xander.

PS: They don't have Twinkies over here!! Aaaarggghhh!!