A Duet of Pigtails


A Duet of Pigtails is a crossover fanfic by Libby Thomas with Rob Barba, inspired by the observation that Hikaru Shidou of Magic Knight Rayearth looks like girl-type Ranma Saotome of Ranma ½. It is incomplete, with two preludes, a sidestory, two prologues, and eight chapters.

It is not a happy story. It is, however, very much a Magic Knight Rayearth story.

During the backstory, Akane Saotome dies in a duel with Shampoo before the story begins, after giving birth to Ranma's child; this leaves Ranma devastated. Ranma learns to love again and marries Hikaru, and they have twin children of their own.

The main story begins with an invasion of Cephiro by a new force that is very German and very amoral; they think nothing of destroying an entire town as collateral damage in an intelligence action, and are eager to kill anyone who they think isn't human. After they wipe out an entire race and take Umi, Ferio and LaFarga prisoner, Fuu summons Hikaru back to Cephiro.

Hikaru, for reasons of her own, refuses the call.

Then the invaders send a strike force to Earth on the chance that she might actually answer the call, killing hundreds of innocent people when they try to kill her. This motivates Hikaru to answer the summons... but Ranma, Ryoga, Ukyo, Nabiki, Fuu's sister Kuu, and two other martial artists who were present during the massacre accompany her.

Cephiro is a land where things happen because people will them to happen. Ranma and the other martial artists have the most willpower of anyone in the story; their ki powers increase dramatically. But that isn't enough for them to be able to defeat an entire army.

Hikaru and Ranma's group head off to rescue Umi, Ferio and LaFarga; at the same time, the invaders launch a second attack on Earth to kidnap Hikaru's children. While the second invasion force is defeated, it isn't without losses, and... the story ends abruptly.

The recommended reading order of the stories is the two Preludes first, followed byThe Age of the Black Blade, then the two Prologues, then the main story.

Tropes used in A Duet of Pigtails include:
  • Dead Fic: Ending on a Cliff Hanger, no less.
  • Doppelganger Crossover: As mentioned above, Hikaru looks like girl-type Ranma, save for their eye colors and a few other small details that only an observant viewer would notice.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Nabiki Tendo gets a personality upgrade after her sister's death.
  • Humanity Ensues: Hikaru's powers as the Pillar of Cephiro are for the most part not available to her on Earth.
  • Rape as Drama: While a prisoner, Umi is repeatedly used as a "comfort woman".
  • That Man Is Dead: Michael Tseng, who was present at the massacre and joins the group that goes to Cephiro, never uses his earlier name, Mousse of the Joketsuzoku.
  • Those Wacky Nazis: If one is up on esoteric World War II history, it's pretty obvious from the first chapter of the main story that the invaders are from Nazi Germany (even their Vehicular Theme Naming is based on German autos), and it's confirmed later in the story. They have magical powers, too.
  • Year Inside, Hour Outside: While it's only been a few years for Hikaru since she last visited Cephiro, Umi's daughter (unborn when Hikaru left) is Hikaru's age, and Fuu looks much older than her elder sister Kuu.
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