Lost and Found! (Multicross)[Hiatus]

At first, the young man feels like he's floating in the air while being immersed in a sea of darkness, but soon the weightless sensation ends, and he opens his eyes. He is in his own room, and everything appears normal, except his surroundings are colored in a black-and-white gradient.

Something felt wrong for the young man beyond the strange color the world took.

"What's going on?"

"Greetings", a mysterious voice calls from a corner, and the young man almost jumps in fright.

"What-"

"I'm afraid to say I have terrible news to you," the voice suddenly interrupts the young man's question, much to his surprise since the sound came from an empty corner of the room.

"You're dead."

Any tirade the young man built halts from the sound of this mysterious voice, and soon a new figure steps into sight - suddenly appearing from one moment to another. The entity in front of the young man is garbed in a long, tattered black cloak with a hood obscuring the face, with a twin pair of glowing orbs as eyes, and the white skeletal hands under his sleeves confirm its identity: it is the Grim Reaper.

In contrast to its frightening appearance, the Grim Reaper's voice is pleasing to the young man's ears as the deep, soothing tone helps the listener to calm down.

"How do you wish for me to address you," he politely asks, "I have your name on my files, but if you wish to be called something else you're welcome to ask."

"L-lee sir," the young man replies nervously, several emotions showing on his face at the moment, after all, he has the Grim Reaper right in front of him.

"Lee then."

Taking a scroll from under his sleeve, with a practiced motion, he unrolls it to read.

"The first thing I must address is your manner of death, as I'm certain you're wondering about it. According to my files, you had an epilepsy episode during your sleep with further complication, leading to your eventual demise due to lack of oxygen to your brain allowing you to pass away in your sleep without noticing; I assure you your death was natural and no 'foul play' from the higher powers were involved."

"So I died in my sleep, huh," Lee said more to himself to digest the news.

'Well, at least I died peacefully.'

With emotions all over the place, he takes a moment to regain his composure, and the Grim Reaper patiently waits for him to put his feelings back in order before continuing.

"Right, I'm dead now. What happens next?"

"Typically you would be assigned to an afterlife that matched your religious belief, according to the four cosmic divisions in the cosmos: the Monotheistic, Polytheistic, Animist and Ideological factions."

"That would be the case under normal circumstances, however, your situation is unique since your soul was traded by the Powers with those from another reality, as a form of 'exchange program' to allow you to reincarnate in a new world. Certain interested parties wish to see how well someone like you will perform in your new life, hoping that a new perspective will bring a breath of fresh air to their own domains."

"I understand being taken away from your future afterlife might be distressing, thus I am willing to grant you a personal boon as a token of apology."

Putting away his scroll, he takes two fruits from under his sleeve, one apple, and the other a peach. There is nothing unusual with those two fruits, except they maintain their customary color differently from everything else in the room.

The Grim Reaper first raises the peach on its hand, "this is the Fruit of Life and will increase the boons you will receive several folds, but your memories will be lost with the transition."

Raising the apple on his other hand he continues, "this is the Fruit of Knowledge, and with it, I will give you a deeper understanding of your boons, your personal fate, and allows you to keep your current memories once you're reborn; unfortunately, I only have enough authority to grant you one boon or the other, so choose wisely."

'This sounds way too much like an Isekai anime plot, or the typical fanfiction and forum quest Omnipotent Being set up.'

"When you say, reincarnate into a different world, are you talking about an alternate Earth or a fantasy world like in a manga or comic book?"

"I can't confirm it yet, but the possibility exists. Please keep in mind that most works of fiction are inaccurate representations of the world they depict, filtered by the author's bias and writing style." Pausing for a moment to consider its next words, the Grim Reaper adds: "reality can be stranger than fiction, however, and some people might not behave in a way you consider sensible."

Nodding in understanding, Lee asks his final question before making a decision.

"I was supposed to go towards an afterlife based on what kind of religion I believed. When I die again, what happens to me? Do I return here?"

"The new Powers that govern your new world will decide your final destination, as sadly you will be outside my jurisdiction due to the transaction of your soul was a full trade instead of a loan."

"Thank you, I decided now."

He reaches for the Fruit of Knowledge since the Grim Reaper told him to choose wisely, after all.

"A wise choice, as you already know. Ignorance is often the source of suffering for mortals."

"Thank you, uh, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name? What is your role in this game between higher powers?"

Fortunately for Lee, the Grim Reaper wasn't someone to take offense to such innocuous questions.

"The first name humans gave me was Hha, symbolizing the last breath you take before your death. As for my interests, they are already taken care of young Lee, and regardless of who wins the cosmic battle, I will already be set up for the next."

With a wave of Hha's hand, the room dissolves into ash, leaving behind a world of darkness with only the Grim Reaper and Lee facing each other, but slowly streams of light emerged from all directions, fusing into a crystal ball in front of the two.

"Watch."

The image of a familiar boy appears on the screen, a boy Lee was familiar with.

"His name is Hibiki Ryouga, rival to Saotome Ranma and known as the Eternally Lost Boy. This will be your new incarnation."

'The Lost Boy?'

Inwardly Lee attempts to picture himself in the world of Ranma 1/2 as Hibiki Ryouga. He watched this series when he was younger and new to anime, but he didn't get engaged in the show until he turned eighteen.

During his musings, several lines of data appear on the side of the image, describing some of his innate capabilities.

Martial Arts Talent, Grade Three, which makes him a one in a million talent in a world full of martial artists, being able to reach incredible heights with the proper training and dedication.

From his family, he inherited a special bloodline named Wild Primal Bloodline, Grade Two, bringing them closer to the Primordial Man. They naturally grow stronger, tougher, with greater stamina, and sharper senses than a modern-day human even without training besides granting them an innate talent for survival and tracking.

The trait that stands out the most is absolutely the last entry, called Blessings of the Fool, Grade Four, several blessings to the Hibiki bloodline granted by various different deities of travel, roads, and luck as a reward for previous aid given.

Through these blessings, any member of the Hibiki bloodline is capable of reaching any location in the world they desire by going through a long, adventurous path, and the divine nature of this power allows them to reach secret places in the world, some members even being able to travel between worlds with this power.

During their travels, the members of the Hibiki family will find plenty of opportunities to amass wealth, gain power, influence, and meet interesting people, a fitting blessing for the founder of the family.

"Those traits were his from birth, either thanks to his family or his own fate. He also possesses certain traits that are unique to him as a person, reflecting his choices and the environment he lived in. Watch."

The display changes to a new set of lines.

Lonely, Grade Three, a degree of isolation, making him desperate for any form of human contact, whether it is positive or negative, so long as it is reliable.

Brashness, Grade Two, childish impulsiveness he never grew out of, thanks to lack of guidance and enough skill to ensure he wouldn't learn the right lessons while growing up.

There are other traits listed, and they are all characteristics that can be prevented from developing with enough human interaction, such as proper parenting and proper friends.

"Once you're reborn, your life will be your own. How you will shape your life as Hibiki Ryouga will be up to you."

"Now, the world you will reincarnate."

With a wave of Hha's hand, the image in the crystal ball changes, showing a copy of Earth.

"This world is a mixed battleground between several Powers, with their champions fighting against each other for supremacy in this contested ground."

Lee nods uncertainly, having no idea what to think of the situation other than being a warzone.

With a sigh, Hha elaborates.

"It's a crossover universe."

"Ahh, I get it now."

"Is there something else you want to know before leaving for your new world?"

"I guess the maximum grade for a trait is five? Or am I missing something?"

'If Ryouga is considered a three, does that mean Ranma is grade four, or even higher?'

"Every trait is graded from one to five, however certain traits can evolve into advanced forms which in theory raises the base trait above the five grade limit."

'So it's not a hard limit on my capabilities,' Lee inwardly sighs in relief, 'and this brings a unique possibility for me. I always wanted to live by Bruce Lee's philosophy as a martial artist.'

As a huge martial arts fan when growing up, it was only natural for Lee to become a huge Bruce Lee fan at some point, and according to the famous actor 'true martial arts are the art of expressing the human body, and to fully express oneself, one must have no limitations.'

'I guess this is it, there's nothing else for me here. I already learned everything important for my next life, now all it takes is for me to go.'

Taking one last look at his room, Lee takes a deep breath and firmly stares at the Grim Reaper.

"I'm ready."

"Farewell, Lee, and good luck in your new life."

Ribbons of light come from all directions, before wrapping themselves around Lee, forming a cocoon, and he unconsciously sits in a fetal position until all lights dim to nothing.

He loses all of his five senses, eventually becoming unable to sense the passage of time.

Eventually, his senses slowly return one by one as if slowly waking up from a dream, until he feels warm and blinding light.

The third thing he feels in his new life is a pain in his lungs since this is the first time he's breathing.

"He has strong lungs, dear."

A tall man watches over his wife after she's done with labor, staring at his wife and newly born child with love. "You wanted to name your first child, didn't you? What are you going to call him?"

The new mother looks exhausted, but also incredibly happy to hold her child in her arms.

"Let's call him Ryouga, my little, precious Ryouga."

"That's a good name," the husband nods in approval, "it's too bad he wasn't born in Japan."

The mother isn't concerned, however, "I'm sure he can make use of a Chinese passport."

Oblivious to the world around him, Ryouga quietly enjoys his first meal in this new world.