Disclaimer: None of the characters from Ranma ½
or Sailor Moon belong to me. I am merely borrowing
them for this fiction.
Twin Dragons under Moonlight
A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon X-over
Chapter 3
To Cologne's ancient eyes, the Tendo Dojo
appeared even more patch worn than ever this rainy
afternoon. She glanced around the yard from her
vantage point in an attempt to judge how badly Akane
was affected by the drug Shampoo had used on her
almost a week earlier. The old woman grit her teeth
slightly as she remembered what her great-
granddaughter had done. The effects of that powder
could last weeks, even months. Although Cologne
wasn't too fond of Akane, she was concerned about how
it was affecting the rest of the Tendos, not to
mention Ranma. The method she had used to cure
Shampoo doesn't work after a half-hour, and she had
had her hands full dealing with Shampoo. Now it was
up to her to try some damage control.
She noticed that the area of the yard near the
Dojo itself was littered with scraps of lumber and
shattered brick. Cologne smiled slightly to herself
as she hopped onto the roof of the house. Akane, it
seemed, was even more destructive than ever but was
limiting herself to practice dummies and bricks.
Since Cologne could not find any recent holes in the
roof, she had to assume that despite all the odds
against it, her Son-in-law had somehow managed to stay
on Akane's good side.
A single person under a plain white umbrella
approached the dojo at this point. Cologne flattened
herself against the roof tiles and waited to be able
to identify the person. Uncannily, the person stopped
in their tracks, and Cologne could swear that who-ever
it was looked right at her. After a moment, the
figure below continued into the house and Cologne
could hear Nabiki announce that she was home.
::Good, it always has been faster to speak with
her,:: Cologne smiled in anticipation of matching
wits with the mercenary middle daughter. With a grace
born of long practice she leapt off the roof to land
in front of the porch. Nabiki was just inside the
doorway and looking right at her with no indication of
surprise on her face.
"I was wondering how long it was going to be
before you made an appearance, Granny," Nabiki said
in a neutral tone.
Cologne raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Then you may
already know what I want to ask you then."
"Possibly," Nabiki smiled then, "Come in out of
the rain and have some tea while we talk about it."
"Well now," Cologne commented as she stepped
inside and dropped the small cloak that she was using.
"I thought Kasumi was the only one here with manners."
Nabiki sniffed in disdain, "I have manners when
I'm talking business. You happen to be my client
right now."
Cologne cackled at that as she followed Nabiki
to the dinner table. Although she seemed relaxed, her
eyes were taking in every single clue she could.
There was evidence of a lot of recent repairs in the
living room, and one or two holes in the walls that
were most likely made by Akane's fists.
"Hey, Kasumi!" Nabiki called into the kitchen.
"Would you bring some tea for me and Granny?"
"Coming right up!"
Nabiki turned towards Cologne and assumed her
most business like manner, "What do you want to know?"
"As direct as always, I see," Cologne nodded to
Kasumi as she served the tea. Kasumi smiled in a
silent response before sitting herself.
"Has anything unusual been happening here
lately?"
"The usual fee?"
"Naturally."
Nabiki sipped at her tea for a moment before she
spoke again, "Things haven't been unusual, just more
intense."
"Meaning?"
"Akane's been angry a lot more often lately over
the smallest things. She tries to hide it, but she
goes through more and more practice dummies and bricks
every night. She came very close to yelling at Kasumi
yesterday."
Cologne's eyebrows shot up, "That bad? This is
worse than I thought. I have not seen Son-in-law for
nearly a week, did she put him into the hospital?"
"No," Nabiki said in the most level tone she
could manage, "she hasn't."
"Where is he then? Not to mention his poor
excuse for a father."
"Double fee, Cologne," Nabiki said in a flat
tone.
"I see that I am nearing the crux of this
problem. Very well then, Miss Tendo, here is my
offer. I will give you four times the usual if you
will tell me what happened last Sunday."
"Deal," Nabiki actually smirked. "Last Sunday
Ryouga's cousin showed up. For some reason, Akane
blew her top at his girlfriend but nothing came of
that. Here's where it gets interesting. When
Ryouga's cousin invited Ryouga to his place, Ranma
asked if he could tag along for a few days. Mr.
Saotome didn't like that and thought that if he could
get Mamoru to leave the yard, it would be weeks before
he found his way back again."
"That makes very little sense, and I do not see
the relevance," Cologne said with a slight edge to
her voice.
"Trust me. Anyway, Ryouga defended his cousin,
but got splashed with water from the pond in plain
sight of Akane."
"I see."
"When Ryouga turned into P-chan, something in
Akane's head snapped and she tried to pummel the
little porker to death. Mamoru's girlfriend, Usagi,
tried to defend Ryouga from Akane then. Ranma tried
to tell Akane to calm down as well, but you know how
he is with words."
"Yes, go on."
"To make a long story short, Akane got even more
angry and called off the engagement and Ranma left
with Ryouga's cousin. Mr. Saotome couldn't keep him
from leaving either. Akane has been difficult to live
with this last week and every time daddy tries to talk
to her about Ranma, she just reaffirms what she said
Sunday and then starts breaking things."
"I see," Cologne said, deep in thought. "Where
is Son-in-law now?"
"I'm working on that."
"No, child," Cologne chuckled. "You already
know. I can see it in your eyes. Let me guess, he
asked you to try and cover for him for a while, didn't
he?"
Nabiki looked down and for the first time that
Cologne could remember, she blushed in embarrassment.
"I should have known I couldn't fool you for
very long," she said ruefully. "Yes, he did ask me
to cover for him as long as I could. I really don't
know exactly where he is, but I know which town."
"Very well then. What is the price of that
knowledge?"
"Your silence."
"What?"
"Look, Granny, Ranma's been being pushed and
pulled from so many directions for so long he doesn't
really know how to live for himself anymore. This is
his chance to grow up and to hell with his
engagements!"
"Nabiki!" Kasumi sounded shocked.
"Sorry Sis," Nabiki said almost absently as she
concentrated on the old woman across from her at the
table. "You think I'm cold hearted and will sell
anything for a price, and you may be right. But this
time I need your solemn oath that you will tell no-one
where he is."
"You are giving me very little in the way of
options young lady, but I shall have to accept. I
swear upon the grave of the first Matriarch of the
Joketsu and the graves of every single one of her
successors that I shall not reveal to anyone else
where Son-in-law is."
Nabiki nodded with satisfaction, "I'll hold you
to that, Cologne. Here," Nabiki slid a small, folded
piece of paper across the table to Cologne. "That has
the name of his new school on it. Destroy it once
you've looked at it."
"Of course. If you will excuse me, I need to be
going. I will tell Shampoo to not come here again
until Son-in-law returns."
Nabiki looked chagrined, "Can't she at least
deliver here? I'm not that fond of walking to the
Nekohanten every time I want good ramen."
Cologne cackled as she pogoed off on her staff.
Nabiki sighed and leaned back a little before she
caught the look her sister was giving her.
"What is it, Kasumi?"
"I'm surprised, Nabiki," Kasumi said softly.
"You do know how much the engagement means to Father."
"Yeah, I know. I also know that neither of them
are ready to get married yet," Nabiki placed her
hands on Kasumi's. "It's up to us to try and look out
for Akane, she's just too violent for her own good."
"Poor Akane, she's been so upset since Ranma
left. Do you think she might actually love him?"
"I thought that once, but now I really don't
know. She does need to learn how to be less
possessive, though. She can't expect everyone to live
their lives to be at her pleasure."
Outside, Cologne glanced briefly at the note
Nabiki had given her.
"Juuban, huh?" Cologne's eyes crinkled with
amusement as she recalled all the news stories about
the strange happenings there.
"Ranma would fit in just fine there."
Ranma-chan grumbled to herself as she walked
through the rain back to where she and Ryouga were
camped. A small sigh escaped her lips. Ryouga had
warned her that morning to take an umbrella with her,
but once again she failed to listen to good advice.
She had nearly made it to the park when her stomach
began to growl in complaint. A quick check of her
pockets revealed that she had maybe enough for one
small bowl of ramen. Although she had a fair amount
of cash hidden in her tent, she would prefer to keep
that money for emergencies.
"Time to get a job, I guess," Ranma-chan said to
herself as she leaned against a tree and pulled out
the list of jobs that Setsuna had given her a while
back. After looking at the list for a few minutes she
very nearly crumpled it up in disgust. The pamphlet
contained more information on the rules pertaining to
students than actual jobs allowed and the bulk of the
jobs listed tended to be in food service.
"I ain't gonna waitress ever again," Ranma-chan
swore as she glared at the offending pamphlet again
before she shoved it into her pocket and headed for
the campsite.
As she walked through the park, the rain began
to let up before it stopped just as suddenly as it
began. As she approached the camp, she found that
Ryouga and Minako had beaten her there. Ryouga, it
seemed, had erected a sort of cover for the fire using
some poles and canvas. A quick glance around found
that Usagi and Ami were there as well.
"Oh well... Maybe I'll be able to convince them
that I ain't me," Ranma-chan muttered to herself
before she approached the camp. As she drew closer,
she saw that Ryouga was looking more depressed than
usual.
"Hey there Ryouga," Ranma-chan waved as she
approached the camp. "How'd that test go?"
Ryouga muttered something before turning back to
the fitful fire in front of him. Minako patted him on
the back before facing Ranma-chan.
"He's not very happy about the results, Miss?"
Minako waited politely for Ranma-chan to identify
herself. It took every ounce of her control to keep
from calling the redhead in front of her 'Ranma' and
reveal her identity as one of the Sailor Senshi.
Minako had a small smile of satisfaction as she
congratulated herself on covering up so well. Out of
the corner of her eye, she saw Usagi almost say
something, but Ami pinched her before she could speak.
Ranma-chan blanched slightly at being called
'Miss', "Ran...ko, pleased ta meetcha!"
Ryouga gave Ranma-chan an odd look, but
wordlessly placed the teakettle next to the fire.
"It is nice to meet you," Ami said with a
smile.
"We're going to the Crown Arcade to try and
cheer up Ryouga," Usagi said brightly. "Do you want
to come with us?"
"Nah, I promised Ranma that I'd get some stuff
to him when he gets back from school. I'll tell him
to meet up with ya though."
"OK!" Usagi nodded vigorously before giving
Ranma-chan directions to the arcade.
"Come on, Ryo-chan," Minako said as she stood
and started tugging on his arm. "I'm sure a game or
two would cheer you up!"
"Games?" Ryouga said absently. "How could
games cheer me up?"
"Well, games are supposed to be fun, right? So
let's go have some fun so you'll stop moping."
"I guess," He sighed as he shouldered his pack.
"Make sure Ranma puts the fire out before he leaves
camp," Ryouga said to Ranma-chan as he followed the
girls away.
Ranma-chan waited until they were out of sight
before splashing herself with hot water from the
kettle. After a quick change of clothes, Ranma began
to walk towards the arcade as well.
Professor Tomoe's underground laboratory was a
dark and dismal place to be. A perpetual mist seemed
to hang just above the floor and various pipes loomed
out of the shadows in odd places. Even the
professor's worktable was lit only by a single bunsen
burner. Witch Mimet shuddered slightly as she
approached. She knew he was upset over her failure,
but he had been strangely silent since he had learned
of the powerful martial artists that had nearly
defeated the daimon on their own.
"Professor?"
"Mimet... Another failure?" The professor sounded
only mildly upset, causing Mimet's hope to rise.
"Yes, but I have more information regarding our
enemies now."
"It doesn't matter."
"Sir?" Mimet was stunned. She had expected a
tirade, some maniacal laughter and a command to not
fail again, not a simple acceptance of what had
happened.
"One daimon, one heart crystal. That was the
plan," he turned slightly, the light reflecting from
his glasses the only detail visible on his face. "The
plan has failed every time! Daimon after daimon has
been born here and for what?" he screamed in rage as
he flung a beaker full of a strange red fluid at
Mimet.
"Professor!" Mimet screamed as she ducked the
beaker. "Get a hold of yourself!"
"Those annoying Senshi have the grail, not one
of the heart crystals we've taken have ever made it
back here! All of this," He waved one arm
expansively at the rows of test tubes containing the
essence of distilled evil waiting to become daimons.
"Will mean nothing if we cannot get Mistress 9 the
power she needs to awaken as our messiah!"
Professor Tomoe stuck his hands in his pockets and
walked slowly towards Mimet as he continued, "I read
your report on those two boys. Martial artists of
unbelievable skill, I believe you had written.
Whether or not they are working directly with the
Senshi is irrelevant. If our enemies are of greater
numbers, what can we do to even the score?"
"Send out more daimons?" Mimet asked in a small
voice.
"Almost right," Tomoe had stopped walking and he
leaned forward so that his face was inches from
Mimet's. "Yes, more daimons, but at the same time!
Can they deal with two daimons at once? Let's find
out."
He turned with a dramatic swirl of his lab-coat
and placed a small toy airplane into the daimon fusion
machine. "You're next target was a stunt pilot, was
he not? This daimon is for his crystal. This," he
held up a glass jar containing a daimon egg, "is to
fight those cursed Senshi and their martial artist
allies while Divebomber acts without interruption!
It's perfect!" He began to laugh maniacally as the
machinery in front of him was surrounded by arcs of
electricity and thick red smoke streamed from the edge
of the closed door.
"Now, Mimet," He whispered as the machine
opened to reveal a silver briefcase, "Go! Return with
the heart crystal!"
Mimet picked up the briefcase and took the
daimon egg before she began to walk briskly away, the
professor's laughter echoing eerily through the dark
passageway before a large steel door slammed shut
behind her.
Ryouga stopped just inside the glass door of the
Crown Arcade to allow his eyes to adjust to the
slightly dim interior. Noises from the various game
machines seemed deafening to him, but the girls with
him took no note of the volume. He glanced around the
arcade and found that there were very few people
there, but the ones that were there gathered around
one machine in particular.
"I wonder why they're all gathered at one game?"
he asked almost absently. Minako took one look at the
crowd and smiled.
"There are only two reasons people gather like
that in this arcade. First," her voice took on a
lecturing tone as she spoke, "someone is getting close
to beating a record score that has stood for a long
time. Second, there is a new game."
Usagi hopped up and down a little and squealed
with delight, "Minako-chan! It's the newest Sailor V
game!"
"Sailor V? Who's that?" Ryouga asked. He was
stunned by the sudden shocked looks he got from Minako
and Usagi.
"You never heard of Sailor V? She fought the
Dark Syndicate in England for a while before Sailor
Moon and the Sailor Senshi showed up here in Japan!
Some people even say that she's working with them as
Sailor Venus!" Usagi exclaimed.
Ryouga grunted as he recalled that the Senshi
with the orange skirt had also asked him if he knew of
Sailor V. ::I guess she's Sailor Venus,:: He thought.
"C'mon! Maybe playing that game would help
cheer you up, Ryo-chan!" Minako giggled as she pulled
on his arm.
"But, there's a line!"
"Not really," Ami said. "Most of them are
merely looking at it, waiting for someone to play it
so that they can see what happens. That way when they
play, they know what to do before hand and can get a
better score."
Ryouga gave her an uncertain look before he
approached the game. He was slightly surprised when
the crowd around the game machine parted just wide
enough for him and Minako to approach the controls.
He glanced over the text surrounding the screen to get
an idea of how to play before he placed a single coin
into the slot.
"Well, here goes nothing..."
Ranma was whistling to himself as he strolled
along the top of a fence on the way to the Crown
Arcade. Although the sky was still overcast, he felt
he had little to fear from any additional rain that
day. Even though he appeared to be totally relaxed,
he had a nagging feeling that something was going to
go terribly wrong. He paused to take note of a small
crowd of people near a hobby shop.
Ranma smirked to himself when he saw that it was
for an autograph session with some stunt pilot.
Unimpressed, Ranma continued on, not noticing the pair
of young women that gave him more than a passing
glance.
"Is that him? The one Setsuna was talking
about?" Michiru asked her slightly taller companion,
her delicately crafted brows arching as she looked at
him carefully.
"I think so," Haruka responded quietly.
"Handsome, isn't he?"
"He's skilled," Haruka continued as if she
hadn't heard Michiru's comment. "I'm not sure if I
can walk on top of a fence like that without
transforming. I seem to recall seeing him briefly
during one of our fights not that long ago. If I
didn't know better, I'd think he was trying to fight
daimons on purpose."
"What if he is? Would we have any luck
convincing him to stay out of our way?" Michiru asked
worriedly.
"Maybe," Haruka said simply before turning her
attention back to the autograph signing stunt pilot.
They had had a feeling that the dashing pilot may be
the next target for the deathbusters, and they were
keeping a very close eye on him.
Ranma spotted the arcade and hopped down off of
the fence. As he walked, he noticed a small sign next
to an overly large and colorful poster. Curious, he
peeked at the sign before he smiled to himself.
"Help wanted, huh?" He said to himself as he
stepped up to the automatic door. "I wonder what
kinda work you do in an arcade?"
He walked into the arcade and stopped
momentarily when he noticed the crowd in front of him.
He glanced around and found the rest of the games were
sitting unplayed and ignored while everyone seemed to
be crowding around one machine in particular. Ranma
began weaving through the crowd to see what had
everyone's attention. When he finally worked his way
to the front of the crowd, the sight that greeted him
nearly made him lose his footing.
Ryouga was standing in front of a brightly
colored machine that had way too much pink on it for
Ranma's tastes. Usagi and Minako were on either side
of him and seemed to be intently watching the screen
while Ami was slightly behind him. She was on her
toes trying to watch over his shoulder.
"Hey, Ryouga!" Ranma said in greeting, only to
be hushed by the crowd around him.
"Don't distract him now!" one boy told Ranma in
a fierce whisper. "He found a secret level! I wanna
see what's in there before I try the game."
"It's just a game," Ranma snorted as he walked
up behind Usagi so that he could see the screen.
Ranma shook his head a little when he say that the
character in the game looked vaguely like a super-
deformed Sailor Venus, but with certain key
differences in the uniform. Ranma glanced at Ryouga's
face and saw the beads of perspiration from his
concentration.
A few minutes after Ranma started to watch,
Ryouga finally lost his last life. He stepped back
from the machine slightly and stretched.
"That was amazing, Ryo-chan!" Minako exclaimed
as she attached herself to his arm. Usagi giggled
when she noticed the goofy expression Ryouga seemed to
affect every time.
"You in a better mood now, man?" Ranma asked as
they began to back away from the machine.
"There you are, Ranma," Usagi smiled up at him.
For some unknown reason, Ranma suddenly felt nervous.
"Uh, yeah. I'm here," he rubbed the back of his
head a little as he did his best not to look as
nervous as he felt. "One of the guys in the crowd
said Ryouga'd found a secret level or somethin in the
game."
"Oh, he did that all right," Usagi giggled.
"He got lost on the second level and found it that
way."
"You got lost in a game?" Ranma asked in
disbelief.
"Shut up, Ranma!" Ryouga snapped.
"Geez, I knew you were bad but that's just plain
ridicules!"
"Leave him alone, Ranma," Minako said. "He's
had a rough day."
"Why don't you try it, Ranma?" Ami asked.
Ranma looked down and scuffed his feet a little,
"I can't. I don't have any money."
"I can pay for your game," Usagi offered some
coins to Ranma.
"Hey, tha..." Ranma stopped his hand a short
distance from Usagi's. ::Wait a sec,:: he thought.
::If I take her money, I'll just start freeloading
again. Job, gotta get a job!::
"Ranma?" Usagi asked worriedly when she saw the
pained look on Ranma's face.
"You in there man?" Ryouga asked as he knocked
his knuckles against Ranma's forehead.
"That's my line," Ranma muttered as he jammed
his hands into his pockets. "Look, I appreciate it
an' all, but I gotta make my own way this time. I saw
a help wanted sign out front, I'm gonna see the guy
here about gettin' a job."
"I can't see what anyone would do here," Ryouga
gave him an incredulous look as he spoke.
"Well, Motoki gives us change for the machines
and cleans up after they close," Usagi said. "Maybe
he needs someone to help him clean."
"That doesn't sound too hard," Ranma said with
a smile. "Heck, after working fer the old ghoul,
that'd be easy!"
"Old ghoul?" Ami asked, her eyes wide.
A pained look crossed Ranma's face as he turned
to walk away. Usagi started to go after him, but
Ryouga caught her arm and shook his head.
"What is it, Ryouga?" Usagi asked.
"Let it lie," he said softly. "Trust me,
sometimes just mentioning her causes her to show up.
Besides, it's a painful topic for him."
They stood there in an uncomfortable silence for
a few minutes before Ranma returned.
"I filled out an application, let's see what
happens," Ranma said as he stopped in front of them.
"Hey," Minako said as she looked intently out
the front window of the arcade. "Isn't that Mamoru?"
she asked as she pointed.
The others looked outside as well and saw that
Mamoru was indeed standing uncomfortably outside of
the Arcade, apparently trying to decide whether or not
to go in. Usagi unconsciously held her breath,
waiting for him to come inside so that they could make
up. When Mamoru turned and started to walk away from
the door, she let her breath out in a half strangled
wail and ran for the door.
"Usagi!" Minako called as she dragged Ryouga
with her in pursuit. Ranma cocked an eyebrow before
he too joined the chase.
Tears ran freely down Usagi's face as she pushed
her way through the crowded sidewalk in search of her
Mamo-chan. When she reached the corner, she looked in
every direction, but there was no sign of him. She
sank slowly to her knees and began to cry as the
others caught up with her.
"I can't believe that jerk," Ryouga growled.
"There's no way he could have missed seeing her!"
"Come on, Usagi. Let's get you home," Ami said
gently as she knelt next to her friend.
"I've got to find him! I want things to be the
way they were!" Usagi cried, resisting her friends'
efforts to get her to stop crying.
Ranma let out a small sigh and jumped to the top
of a nearby lamppost. He looked around from his
vantage point for a few moments before jumping back
down.
"No luck," he said as he landed lightly. "I
couldn't see him from up there. Does he disappear
like that often?"
"Sometimes," Minako answered evasively as she
thought of all the times that Tuxedo Mask had vanished
right after a fight was completed.
"Why won't he just talk to me?" Usagi demanded.
When no one answered her, she stood shakily. "I'm
going home. Tell Rei-chan that I couldn't make it."
"Wait up!" Ranma said as he walked quickly to
stand in front of Usagi. "We'll walk ya home."
"You don't have to do that, Ranma," Usagi said
quietly, but her slow, shy smile said that she was
glad that he had made the offer.
"Yeah, I do," he said firmly. "I ain't gonna
let you walk around all spaced out 'n stuff. You
could walk right into traffic."
Usagi gave him a hard look. "Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it," Ranma smiled, apparently
not noticing the look on her face. Despite herself,
Usagi began to giggle as they started off down the
street.
Mamoru peeked out of the store he had ducked
into and saw that Usagi and the others were walking
away. He closed the door and let out a gusty sigh.
"That was too close," he said to himself.
"What was too close?" an angry voice demanded
from behind him. He spun around and found himself
face to face with Rei.
"Rei! You startled me!" he complained as he
held one hand against his chest in a futile attempt to
slow down his heart.
Rei ignored him and opened the door to take a
look for herself. When she turned back to Mamoru, he
could swear that he saw flames dancing in her eyes.
"Do you enjoy hurting her?" she demanded
bluntly. "Do you get some kind of sick thrill out of
watching her cry in heartbreak over you?"
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me!" Rei angrily stabbed her
finger into his chest as she advanced on him. "You
know exactly what I'm talking about! Usagi told us
everything, you know. I can't believe you are so
insensitive as to ignore her attempt at making up with
you just for the sake of your stupid pride!"
"She's the one that was wrong," Mamoru
protested.
"Maybe, maybe not. That's not my point. She
tried to make up with you, but you ignored her
completely. Is that any way for you to behave?" She
paused slightly, but she continued before he could
even draw a breath to reply. "Now, you are going to
come with me and you are going to apologize to Usagi
just as soon as we catch up with her."
"But..."
"No buts!" Rei snapped as she reached up and
grabbed his ear in a fierce grip. "You are coming
with me, right now!" She glared at him as she dragged
him out onto the street by the ear, ignoring the
comments from the other people on the sidewalk and
Mamoru's attempts at freeing himself from her painful
grip. Rei set off at a brisk walk, lecturing Mamoru
mercilessly. Although he didn't say a word, he
seethed at the indignity of her treatment.
By the time Mamoru and Rei caught up with Usagi
and the others, Mamoru was ready to do just about
anything to get Rei to let go of his ear and stop the
unending lecture. However, his nerve nearly failed
him when he realized that Ranma was still walking with
Usagi. He almost growled in irritation, he did not
want to have to apologize to Usagi in front of that
boy!
"Usagi!" Rei called out and waved to get the
blonde's attention.
"Rei-chan," Usagi greeted her almost listlessly
as she turned to face her but she gasped in shock when
she saw them. "Mamo-chan," she whispered.
Minako tugged urgently on Ryouga's arm and
gestured that they move away slightly. Ryouga nodded
and followed her to stand near a bench. Ami followed
them over, but Ranma stayed where he was, his arms
crossed and a slight scowl on his face as he regarded
Mamoru. He couldn't quite clear his head of the
thought that the was Rei was managing Mamoru resembled
Akane.
Rei let go of his ear after one final tug, "I
think Mamoru has something he wants to say to you,"
Rei said in an overly sweet voice, "Isn't that nice of
him?" she half growled up at him.
"Uhm... Usako, I'm..." Mamoru stammered as he
sheepishly twiddled his fingers in front of him,
studiously ignoring how much his ear hurt and doing
his best to not take note of the expression on
anyone's face but Usagi's.
"Yes?" Usagi clasped her hands in front of her
and leaned forward. Her eyes were sparkling in
anticipation.
"I'm sorry, can you ever forgive me?" he mumbled
as he bowed to her.
With a squeal of delight, she caught him in a
fierce embrace. "I knew nothing could keep us apart
for long, Mamo-chan!" She laughed right before she
engaged him in a passionate kiss.
Rei walked up to Ranma, and with a quick jerk of
her head, she indicated that they should join the
others. When he didn't move, she literally pushed him
over to where the others were waiting.
Ranma gave Rei a fearful look as he edged away
from her. Rei noticed this and turned on him with an
exaggerated stomp of her foot.
"And what's your problem?"
"Ah, are you sure you don't have a mallet hidden
away somewhere?" he asked nervously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rei demanded.
"You really reminded me of Akane just then."
Rei glared at him for a moment before she began
to laugh. "Oh, no Ranma. I wouldn't dream of hitting
you with a mallet."
"That's good," he said with an exaggerated sigh
of relief.
"I'd just curse you instead," Rei finished with
a smile. Her smile faded as Ranma and Ryouga flinched
violently at the word 'curse'. "Oh, sorry. I was
only joking."
"You know?" Ryouga asked in a pained voice.
"Not really," Rei lied easily. "Usagi told us
that both of you got cursed in China and that you
would rather not talk about it."
Ranma and Ryouga breathed a quick sigh of
relief.
"You have no idea," Ranma muttered as he
glanced back to where Usagi was still kissing Mamoru.
"Shouldn't someone tell them to break it up or
somethin'?" he asked. "They're makin' a scene."
"After all the trouble I went through to get him
to make up with her?" Rei asked incredulously. "Not
on your life."
"It'll be nice to have our happy, smiling Usagi
back, won't it?" Minako asked as she snuggled up to
Ryouga. Ranma concealed a smile as Ryouga turned just
as red as his umbrella.
"Yes, she will be able to concentrate more on
her studies now," Ami said seriously while the others
gave her an odd look.
A sudden peal of evil laughter caught their
attention and their heads turned to track the sound.
"That almost sounded like Kodatchi," Ranma
grumbled.
"It's that witch!" Ryouga yelled as he dashed
off. "Come on! We've got to stop her, Ranma!"
"Not that way, you idiot!" Ranma shouted as he
bopped Ryouga on the back of the head. "Just follow
me. Chiba, get the girls outta here! Ryouga and I'll
hold 'em off!" He yelled as he ran off down the
street with Ryouga right on his heels.
"Right," Mamoru nodded his head as he moved as
if to usher the girls out of danger before they ducked
into a nearby alley and transformed. He watched as
they leapt off to battle before he transformed himself
and followed at a discreet distance. He smiled as he
thought of how dazzled his Usako would be when he made
his grand entrance again.
Witch Mimet laughed heartily as Divebomber began
to suck the heart crystal out of its target.
"Finally, no-one to interfere!" She laughed.
"That's what you think!" Ranma yelled as he
shoulder-checked the daimon, forcing it away from its
intended victim.
"Not you again!" Mimet growled. "Charm
Buster!"
Ranma dodged away from the deadly energy that
streamed from the staff. He gaped for a moment at the
furrow that was carved into the concrete where he had
been standing. Mimet laughed as she began to track
him with her staff, forcing him to continue dodging.
"How long can you keep it up?" she taunted.
Without warning, her staff was snatched from her
grip.
"I normally don't like fighting girls," Ryouga
said as Mimet turned to face him, "but with you, I
think I'll make an exception!" He yelled as he flung
her staff away, causing it to stick in a concrete
wall. Mimet ducked away from Ryouga and pulled a
glass jar seemingly from nowhere as she ran away.
"You leave me no choice! Divebomber, you know
what to do!" She yelled as she ducked into an ally.
She peeked out a moment later to see that Ranma and
Ryouga had turned their attention to Divebomber. She
smiled wickedly as she opened the jar and released the
daimon egg.
"Now, daimon," She said as she held her hands
around the egg and forced it towards a broken
sledgehammer that was leaning against a wall, "it's
time for you to take care of them!" She laughed as a
new daimon began to form.
Ranma and Ryouga stood and faced off against the
odd looking daimon that Mimet had called Divebomber.
It almost looked like a stewardess, not counting the
stiff metal wings that resembled that of an aircraft
that protruded from its back. Each wing was mounted
with a jet engine and an impossible number of bombs
and missiles.
"Just great, we get a reject from a mecha
anime," Ranma growled as he mentally prepared himself
for a mouko takabisha.
"Why isn't it attacking like the others?"
Ryouga asked.
"It's almost like it was waiting for something,"
Ranma said as his aura grew. Without any preamble,
Divebomber flew to the top of a nearby building and
out of sight.
"What the? It's running?" Ranma asked in
surprise as his aura winked out.
"Not quite!" A new voice called out from behind
them. Ranma and Ryouga spun to face the new threat
just in time to get a brief glimpse of a daimon with
large sledgehammers for arms before they both were hit
and sent hurtling down the street by the daimon's
attack.
"Sledging!" the daimon crowed its victory.
"After them, Sledging!" Mimet commanded. "Kill
both of them!"
"Stop right there!" A clear voice called out.
Mimet looked about and found some of the Senshi
standing in a picturesque pose on top of a nearby
store.
"For disturbing the peace and ruining this
perfect afternoon," Sailor Moon said as she and the
other Senshi leapt from the building.
"In the name of the Moon, we will punish you!"
They said in unison as they pointed at her.
"Not this time! Divebomber!" Mimet called. At
her prompting, Divebomber flew out of its place of
concealment and flew straight at the Senshi while
Sledging dashed off in the direction that Ranma and
Ryouga had been sent.
"Target locked!" Divebomber announced as two
bombs detached themselves from its wings and dropped
amongst the Senshi. They barely managed to dodge the
tooth jarring blast.
"Why you... Burning Mandala!" Sailor Mars
launched her attack as she scrambled to her feet.
Divebomber merely swerved slightly and dodged the
incoming circles of fire.
"Arm missiles!" it yelled out a split second
before a yellow sphere of magical energy slammed into
its side causing it to spin out of control and crash
into the street.
"What the...? Who's there?" Mimet asked as she
glanced around the battlefield. Her eyes came to rest
on a pair of figures walking towards her from across
the street through the cloud of smoke.
"Guided by a new era, Sailor Uranus acts with
grace," Sailor Uranus spoke as the smoked thinned
just enough to see her.
"Likewise, Sailor Neptune acts with elegance,"
Sailor Neptune announced as she and Uranus stopped and
surveyed the battlefield.
"Uranus, Neptune!" Sailor Moon yelled as
Divebomber pulled itself out of the rubble, "There's a
second daimon this time, can you deal with this one?"
"No problem," Sailor Uranus smirked as she
cracked her knuckles, "go ahead and find the other
one. We'll deal with this one and Mimet."
"Thanks!" Sailor Moon gave a kind of half
salute before she ran off down the street after
Sledging with the other Inner Senshi next to her.
"Kill them!" Mimet screamed at Divebomber
before she beat a hasty retreat.
"Engaging enemy!" Divebomber yelled as multiple
missiles launched themselves from its wings and spun
towards the Outer Senshi.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Sailor
Neptune smiled as she and Uranus dodged the missiles
and closed in for hand-to-hand combat.
Ranma's breath was forced from his lungs as he
painfully impacted the street. He lay still for a
moment, struggling to breathe.
"Pull yourself together, Ranma," Ryouga said
urgently as he pulled himself out of his crater.
"It's coming our way."
"I'm up," Ranma grunted as he hauled himself to
his feet. "It just knocked the wind out of me for a
moment."
The young martial artists spread out slightly
and took up their stances as they waited for the
daimon to get a little closer. As it approached, it
lashed out randomly at the fleeing people. When Ranma
and Ryouga noticed that, their vision seemed to turn
red.
"Daimon! Prepare to die!" Ryouga roared as he
leapt forward with his umbrella at the ready.
"Damn it Ryouga! Be careful!" Ranma shouted as
he charged as well. He knew only too well how sloppy
Ryouga could get if he was too angry. Ryouga did not
appear to hear Ranma's shout, but when he engaged
Sledging, his attacks were tightly controlled and
showed no viable openings to Ranma. With a small sigh
of relief, Ranma moved to attack the daimon as well.
Sledging snarled at the two martial artists
facing it as it raised its hammer ended arms in
defense. Ryouga feinted with his umbrella and then
struck Sledging low in the abdomen with his foot,
sending the stunned daimon flying into a plate glass
window across the street. With a whoop, Ranma leapt
at the daimon fully intent on pummeling it into
submission. Before he could cross the distance,
however, Sledging stood and pointed its arm at Ranma.
"Blazing Hammer!" A raging magical fire
surrounded its arm before it swung the arm at Ranma.
Ranma dodged the strike nimbly and tried his new ki
charged kick. Sledging screamed in agony as the
attack smashed through its defenses and launched the
hapless daimon back towards a waiting Ryouga.
"Take that!" Ryouga grinned ferally as he
unleashed a flurry of bandannas. A few of the wildly
twisting bandannas hit, but seemed to have little to
no effect other than causing the daimon some pain.
The signs and storefronts along the street weren't so
lucky. The bandannas shredded almost everything they
came in contact with.
"That does it!" Sledging screamed as it stood
and crossed its arms in front of it. "Prepare
yourselves for my ultimate attack!"
"Uh oh..." Ranma muttered as he rejoined Ryouga
in the street. "This don't look good."
"So we hit it now, before it's ready!" Ryouga
yelled as he snapped his umbrella open and sent it
spinning towards the daimon. Sledging affected a look
of disdain as it swung its arm at the umbrella to
knock it away. Instead of hitting the umbrella away,
it found its arm painfully knocked back and the
umbrella's course continued, unaltered by the contact.
"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma let loose with his ki
strike while the daimon was distracted. Unconcerned,
Sledging leapt out of the way.
"Not good enough!" Sledging taunted, and then
blinked when it suddenly found Ranma right up in its
face.
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma's fists
blurred as he pounded the daimon mercilessly. Despite
the blows he was raining down upon it, Sledging
slammed Ranma away with a brutal backhanded blow, his
attempt at blocking the strike futile.
"Damn it!" Ranma growled as he flipped to land
on his feet. "We need to beat this thing quickly and
get that witch and that other monster!"
"Leave that to us!" Sailor Moon said as she and
her friends ran towards the daimon.
"Great! Take care of this one while we go after
that witch!" Ranma said as he leapt to a rooftop.
"C'mon, Ryouga!"
"Right behind you!" Ryouga replied as he
scooped up his umbrella before leaping after him.
"Wait! That daimon is already being taken care
of!" Sailor Mercury yelled after them, but to no
avail.
"Stubborn, aren't they?" Sailor Mars commented.
"Is anyone else here getting a sense of deja-
vu?" Sailor Venus asked as she warily watched the
hammer armed daimon.
"Don't you dare ignore me!" Sledging yelled as
it charged the Senshi, both of its arms held wide as
flames sprung from the hammer hands. The Senshi
spread out and surrounded the angry daimon.
"Which one of you pests wants to die first?"
Sledging asked as it surveyed the Senshi arrayed
around it.
"Venus Love Me Chain!" Sailors Venus lashed her
chain at the daimon like a whip. Sledging dodged as
the golden chain struck the ground hard enough to
break concrete time and time again.
"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury launched
her ice attack at the daimon, but Sledging countered
with a wall of solid flame.
"That thing's tough!" Sailor Mars growled as
she held a ward up between two fingers. She ignored a
warning shout from Sailor Moon and ran straight for
the daimon. Sledging simply stopped and raised both
flaming arms above its head.
"Ultimate Bludgeoning, Wheel of Flame!"
Sledging cried out as it brought both arms down to
slam into the concrete in front of it, leaving trails
of flame behind. Those trails quickly converged into
a giant disk of flame and rolled quickly towards
Sailor Mars. Sailor Moon dashed towards Sailor Mars,
intent on keeping her friend safe.
"Oh no you don't!" Sledging screamed. "Hammer
Swarm!" with an exaggerated gesture, a veritable
storm of hammers flew towards Sailor Moon. Sailor
Moon ignored the hammers as she ran towards the
frantically backpedaling Sailor Mars. She clenched
her teeth as several of the hammers hit her in the
side and her head. Fighting the blackness that
intruded on her vision, Sailor Moon leapt towards her
friend.
Sailor Mars cursed under her breath when she
realized that she simply didn't have enough time to
dodge out of the way. A split second before the disk
had a chance to hit her, Sailor Mars was roughly
tackled out of the way by Sailor Moon. The flaming
disk sped past them, leaving a trail of melted
concrete behind it until it slammed into the side of a
store, demolishing the building.
Sailor Mars struggled to regain her feet, only
to find that Sailor Moon was unconscious.
"C'mon! Wake up!" Sailor Mars yelled as she
shook her unresponsive friend. She glanced around and
saw that Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury were doing
their best to keep the daimon away from them, but were
being hard pressed by the unusually effective attacks.
Sailor Venus's previously pristine uniform sported
several scorch marks and she was rubbing at her eyes,
while Sailor Mercury was limping slightly as she
dodged another flurry of hammers.
"You're all dead!" Sledging laughed as it
knocked aside Mercury and Venus and turned its
attention on the downed Sailor Moon. "But she dies
first!"
"No!" Sailor Mars yelled as she struggled even
more frantically to get out from under Sailor Moon.
::I can't let it hurt her!::
Sledging ignored the panicked outcries from the
Senshi as it prepared to unleash its Flame Wheel
attack. It slowly raised its arms, intent on savoring
the moment of victory, when a dark cloaked figure
landed directly in front of it and hit it hard in the
abdomen with an extending cane.
"This special day has been ruined by your
uncouth noise. Flee now, evil one," Tuxedo Mask
spoke with an angry voice, his eyes as hard as granite
behind his mask. ::Curse it! She's out cold!::
"Fool!" Sledging tried to swat away his cane,
but he retracted it and left the daimon to fall off
balance. He turned to where Sailor Mars and Sailor
Moon lay. Gently, he lifted Sailor Moon and laid her
down next to Sailor Mars.
"Watch over her for me," He said simply before
he spun on his heel and rushed the daimon with a
fistful of roses in one hand and his cane in the
other.
Sailor Mars watched in disbelief as he proceeded
to batter the stunned Sledging with his cane. Its
attempts at blocking were fouled each time by a rose
sticking into it at a vulnerable point.
"He won't be able to hold it off for long,"
Sailor Mercury said as she limped over to Sailor Mars.
"Go help him, I'll take care of Sailor Moon."
"What about Venus?" Sailor Mars asked as she
stood.
"She was temporarily blinded by smoke from the
daimon's attacks. I've hidden her behind some rubble
until she can see again."
Sailor Mars nodded before the pulled out another
ward and prepared to attack the daimon.
"Aku Ryo Taisan!" Sailor Mars shouted as she flung her
ward at the daimon. The ward struck Sledging in the
middle of the forehead and crackled with spiritual
energy. Sledging screamed with pain as the ward froze
it in its tracks.
"Hurry up, Mercury," Sailor Mars said as she
lifted her fingers and began to chant, "I don't know
how long I can hold it!"
"Let me help! Venus Love Me Chain!" Sailor
Venus called as she stepped out from behind some
rubble. Her face was smeared with soot, but there was
no mistaking the determined gleam in her blue eyes.
The chain wrapped tightly around the immobile daimon.
Venus snapped the chain tight and held on.
"Curse you!" Sledging yelled as it struggled
against the combined power of Mars's ward and Venus's
chain. Sailor Mercury turned her attention on waking
Sailor Moon.
After shaking her for a few moments, Sailor
Mercury decided that something more drastic would be
needed. She reached into a subspace pocket and pulled
out a small stick of smelling salts. She broke the
stick and carefully held it under Sailor Moon's nose.
Almost as soon as Sailor Mercury had held the salts
under her nose, Sailor Moon leapt to her feet with a
startled shout.
"Pheww! That stinks!" Sailor Moon complained
as she rubbed her nose. She glanced around and took
in the scene of the fight. She only barely glanced at
the daimon, but rather looked carefully at her allies.
Sailor Venus's uniform was badly scorched, and her
face was smudged with soot. Sailor Mercury had an
ugly bruise on her left leg, and while Sailor Mars
appeared to be unhurt, she wasn't very steady on her
feet.
"Hurry, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask said from
where he stood with his cane at the ready. "I don't
think they can hold that daimon for long."
Sailor Moon nodded and began the spiral to
charge up her attack at the same time Sledging broke
free of Venus and Mars.
"Moon Spiral..Ouch!" Sailor Moon cried out in
pain as the Daimon hit her squarely in the stomach
with one of its hammer arms. Sailor Moon folded over
Sledging's arm and gasped for breath as Sledging
raised its other arm for the kill.
"Oh no you don't!" Sailor Jupiter yelled as she
arrived on the scene. Sledging looked her way just in
time to see the bottom of Sailor Jupiter's boot.
Sledging staggered away from the gasping Sailor Moon
and covered its face with one arm. Jupiter didn't
even wait for her foot to come back down before she
threw a Sparkling Wide Pressure at the Daimon.
Sledging fell backwards, arcs of electricity playing
across its twitching body.
"Good timing, Jupiter!" Sailor Mars gave her a
thumbs up.
"Can you finish it, Sailor Moon?" Sailor
Jupiter asked without taking her eyes from the daimon.
"Yeah, I think so," Sailor Moon gasped as she
raised the Spiral Heart Moon rod again.
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!" This time her
attack went uninterrupted and it destroyed the prone
Sledging, leaving behind a sledgehammer with a broken
handle.
Tuxedo Mask was pleased with himself as he
mentally reviewed the fight. Not only had he engaged
the daimon with his cane rather than his usual rose
from the sidelines, he had even held the daimon off
long enough for Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus to
contain it until Sailor Moon could be roused. Best of
all, Ranma wasn't there to dazzle _his_ Usako.
Smiling, he turned to Sailor Moon.
"Another fight won in the name of love and
justice," he said as he bowed to her with a dramatic
swirl of his cape.
Sailor Moon smiled for a brief moment before her
hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh no! We've
got to help Ranma, Ryouga and the Outers to fight
another daimon!"
Without another word, Sailor Moon dashed off
down the street with the rest of the Inner Senshi
right behind her. Tuxedo Mask watched her run for a
moment before he turned his back. With shoulders
slumped in defeat, he shuffled off to the shadows to
transform back into his civilian form.
::What good is it to be a prince when your
princess is ignoring you?:: he thought glumly to
himself. Sudden determination filled him as he
straightened his shoulders and turned back around.
"I haven't lost her yet!" He cried out as he
dashed off down the street to rejoin Sailor Moon.
Sailor Uranus swore under her breath as
Divebomber launched another wave of missiles at her
and Neptune. Her uniform bore evidence of a number of
near misses and the exposed skin was reddened from the
heat of the explosions. A quick glance at Neptune
only made Uranus grit her teeth that much harder.
Sailor Neptune was staggering, gasping for breath as
she dodged missile after missile. "Deep Submerge!"
Sailor Neptune desperately launched her attack at
Divebomber, but the swiftly flying daimon easily
dodged around the blast. Exhausted, Sailor Neptune
slumped to the concrete.
"Damn it! Look out Neptune!" Sailor Uranus
screamed as she dashed towards her partner. Sailor
Neptune looked up just in time to see the incoming
missiles before explosions enveloped her.
Sailor Uranus squinted and ran directly into the
smoke left by the explosions and crouched next to the
unconscious Sailor Neptune. She coughed a few times,
realizing now that running full speed through the
searing hot smoke was not a good idea.
"Target locked," Divebomber said
dispassionately as another volley of missiles launched
towards the battered Outer Senshi. Before the
missiles had even gotten halfway across the
battlefield, a veritable storm of bandannas spun into
them, causing a gigantic explosion in mid-air.
"What the? Who's there?" Divebomber demanded.
"Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma yelled his attack,
sending a bright blue sphere of Ki into Divebomber.
Sailor Uranus looked up as Ranma and Ryouga
landed in front of her and Neptune.
"Sorry, no speeches," Ranma quipped as he
fell into his stance. "You two alright?"
"Get out of here, this is our fight!" Sailor
Uranus snarled at the pigtailed martial artist in
front of her.
"Yeah, that's why yer gettin' yer butts
whooped," Ranma quipped as he agily dodged another
missile from Divebomber and moved to lead it away from
the Outers.
"C'mon, Ryouga. Let's show these two how to
really fight that ugly thing."
"How dare you? Evil Vulcan!" Divebomber's left
hand disappeared up its sleeve and shreds of dark
energy began streaming into the hole.
"Right behind you Ranma!" Ryouga bellowed as he
ripped a nearby telephone pole out of the ground.
Divebomber lifted its arm to aim at Ranma, an evil
grin spread across its face.
Sailor Uranus watched wide-eyed as Ryouga leapt
with the pole and swatted the daimon out of the sky
with it. Divebomber's aim was spoiled by the hit, and
the bolt of dark energy it was aiming at Ranma sped
towards the winded outer Senshi. Unable to gather the
strength to dodge, Sailor Uranus covered Neptune's
prone form with her own and squeezed her eyes shut.
She never felt the impact, but she heard a voice
cry out in sudden agony. She opened her eyes and
found Ranma standing over her and Neptune, glowing a
bright blue with his arms crossed in front of his
face. He was smoking slightly and panting for breath.
His formerly sky blue shirt was black and charred, and
Sailor Uranus would swear later on that a few of his
ribs were broken by the hit.
"Now you've done it," he growled at the stunned
Daimon, "You've gone and ruined my shirt!" Ranma's
aura suddenly shifted from a bright blue to a sickly
green color as he concentrated on the most depressing
things he could. ::This is easy,:: he thought,
::when it looks like yer gonna die that is...::
Ryouga's eyes widened and then narrowed when he
saw what Ranma was doing.
"Run! Get out of here while you can!" he
yelled to Sailor Uranus as he too began to gather in
his own green aura as he moved to stand next to Ranma.
Sailor Uranus took hold of Sailor Neptune and dragged
her off as quickly as she could. She could feel the
life energy the two of them were gathering, and did
not want to be nearby when they did whatever it was
they were going to do.
"FULL SHI SHI HOKKOUDAN!!" Ranma and Ryouga
roared in unison. The combined pillar of their ki
shot into the sky and for a brief moment, hovered
there like a sickly green moon just above the Juuban
skyline. The low-lying clouds swirled from the heat
being given off by the giant ball of ki. Blocks away,
a wrinkled old woman took note of the phenomenon and
began moving in that direction as quickly as she
could.
"You missed!" Divebomber yelled as it shot
toward the motionless pair of martial artists. For a
moment, it appeared that victory was in its grasp, but
it was then that the giant sphere of ki fell back to
the earth, the blast concealing the trio from all
observation.
Sailor Uranus turned her face away from the
explosion and raised an arm to ward off the bits of
concrete that the blast sent her way.
When the dust cloud cleared, Sailor Uranus could
only stare in shock. Where they had been standing,
there was now a crater of crushed concrete and mangled
metal. The surrounding store fronts had been
shattered by the shockwave, but amazingly the
buildings were still standing.
The daimon was flat on the ground and twitching
as if in great pain, while Ryouga was continuing to
pound on it with his telephone pole. Ranma had
stepped away from the fight and was in a half crouch,
breathing heavily and holding his ribs with one hand.
"Uranus!" A single clear voice called from
behind her. She turned and found that Sailor Moon was
running towards the fight as quickly as she could with
the other Inners and Tuxedo Mask right behind her.
She frowned slightly when she saw that Sailor Jupiter
was half carrying Sailor Mars.
"You're hurt!" Sailor Moon gasped when she saw
the tattered condition of her uniform.
"I'll be alright," Sailor Uranus claimed as she
turned resolutely to the battle. "I have a fight to
finish."
Sailor Moon opened her mouth to protest, but
clamped it shut again as Sailor Uranus charged her
attack.
"World Shaking!" Sailor Uranus practically
screamed as she slammed her fist into the ground.
The yellow ball of energy sped through the ground and
raised ever so slightly to impact the daimon directly
in the head.
"Watch it!" Ryouga yelled as he leapt away from
the magical explosion.
"Moon spiral heart attack!" Sailor Moon
unleashed her attack at the stunned daimon without any
prompting.
"Lovely!" The daimon screeched as it was
pulverized by the heart shaped magical blast.
Ranma and Ryouga staggered towards where the
Senshi had gathered. Ranma idly noted that the Senshi
with the dark green dress was conspicuously absent.
Even as they approached, Sailor Uranus stood with
Sailor Neptune cradled in her arms. She shot a glare
at Ranma that stopped him in his tracks.
"What?" Ranma demanded pugnaciously.
"..." Sailor Uranus continued to glare for a
moment before she looked down with a little smirk.
"Thanks. Next time, though, stay away. These fights
are too dangerous for you."
"Feh, nothing I can't handle," Ranma smirked as
he studiously avoided thinking about his bruised ribs.
Uranus continued to smirk as she leapt off. It
was only after she was out of sight that Ranma allowed
the pain he was feeling to show on his face.
"Ranma?" Sailor Moon said softly as she
approached. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be ok," Ranma forced himself to smile
cockily. "Just a few bruises."
"We appreciate your help," Tuxedo Mask said
sternly, "but I think it would be better for everyone
if you just stayed out of it from now on."
"Tuxedo Mask?" Sailor Moon looked up at her
protector with a stunned look.
Ranma and Ryouga scowled at him. "Look, Tuxedo
boy," Ranma growled. "It's a martial artist's duty to
protect those weaker than themselves. Those monsters
are attacking people left and right, and your sayin'
you don't want our help?"
"You could die!" Tuxedo Mask countered.
Ryouga shrugged. "That's a risk we'll just have
to take."
"C'mon, Ryouga. Let's get outta here It's
almost time fer your study group, ain't it?" Ranma
asked as he turned to leave.
Ryouga nodded and followed Ranma away. The
Senshi watched them leave with stunned expressions on
their faces. Unnoticed, a small dark shape bounded
after the two martial artists.
"They get into a fight with two daimons,"
Sailor Jupiter sound amazed, "and they're more worried
about being late to the study group than dying in a
fight?"
"We'd better hurry if we want to get back to the
temple first," Sailor Mercury said. The other Senshi
nodded in agreement and ducked into an alley to
transform back into their civilian clothes.
Cologne was more than a little impressed with
the battle she had witnessed. Who ever her son-in-law
was fighting against was using magic of a high order
indeed. Cologne smiled faintly, Trust Son-in-law and
Ryouga to find yet another powerful enemy to face just
as soon as she let them out of her sight. She hadn't
expected to find them so easily, but the full shi shi
hokkoudan was unmistakable. That pillar of ki had led
her straight to the site of the battle. She had
arrived just in time to see Sailor Moon finish off the
daimon with the most ridicules looking attack she had
ever seen. Ridicules or not, she could feel in her
ancient bones the sheer power of the attack.
Cautiously, she followed the two young men into
one of the parks that dotted this area of Tokyo. It
wasn't long before she had pinpointed their
campsite. As silent as a cat, she approached Ranma
just as he had started pulling a new shirt over his
head. With a large grin, she reached out with her
staff and poked him in the small of the back.
"Hello, Son-in-law."
"Gyaaah!" Ranma screamed as he leapt straight
into the air. He spun around and landed in a stance
even as Ryouga burst out of one of the tents with his
umbrella at the ready.
"Dammit, you old ghoul!" Ranma shouted, "Don't
sneak up on me like that!"
"Is that any way to say hello?" Cologne
cackled.
"Geez, Granny," Ryouga muttered as he lowered
his umbrella.
"Hello to you too, Ryouga," Cologne said
blandly. "I see that the two of you have been keeping
busy since you left Nerima."
"What are you doing here? How did you find us"
Ranma demanded.
"I came here to check up on you, Son-in-law. As
for how I found you, let's just say that the full shi
shi hokkoudan makes a very good beacon."
Ranma sat down on the turf in front of his tent
and placed his face in his hands.
"Just great. Now that you know where we're at,
it won't be long before Shampoo shows up, and from
there everyone will be coming here. I don't have the
energy to deal with all of that and these monsters."
"I understand, that's one of the reasons why I'm
not going to tell Shampoo."
"Figures... What?" Ranma's head snapped back up
and he gave Cologne a hard look. "What d'ya mean by
that?"
"I saw the tail end of your fight with that
monster," Cologne said as she lit her pipe. "You
might be in over your head this time."
"We figured out how to hurt those things,"
Ryouga said. "We just need to train more with our
ki."
"Ki strikes are effective against them?"
Cologne asked in amazement. "Most of the magical
creatures I've read about in our ancient texts
describe them as being nearly immune to that kind of
attack."
"Tell that to the one whose arm Ryouga ripped
off while his battle aura was blazin'," Ranma
smirked.
"Really? Interesting..." Cologne appraised the
two young men in front of her. "What do you know
about those girls that were fighting it with you?"
"Not much really," Ranma shrugged. "They call
them selves the Sailor Senshi or somethin', and they
depend on their magic a lot."
"Yeah, come to think of it, I don't think I've
seen any of them engage in hand to hand before,"
Ryouga said with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean
they don't," Cologne admonished him.
"Whatever," Ranma said as he stood. "Ya got
anything else to say? We gotta get Ryouga to his
study group soon."
"Ryouga? In school?" Cologne laughed for a
moment at that. "That's a good one, Son-in-law. Your
sense of humor is improving..." She trailed off when
Ryouga's green aura sprung up around him and flared
like a torch.
"So I'm not the smartest guy on earth," Ryouga
growled angrily. "But at least I'm trying, damn it!"
"Chill, Ryouga!" Ranma almost shouted to get
Ryouga's attention. "You never did tell me how that
placement test went."
Ryouga's aura brightened for a moment before he
grit his teeth and willed himself calm. "Ninth
grade," He muttered.
"What?" Ranma and Cologne asked in unison.
"They put me in the ninth grade, alright?"
Ryouga growled.
"I'm sorry man," Ranma said consolingly, "How
are you gonna get back and forth to school? I'm not
fast enough to get you to your school and get across
town to Juuban High every morning!"
Ryouga turned a bright red and muttered
something under his breath.
"Speak up, boy!" Cologne said as she rapped him
on the head with her staff.
Ryouga frowned at her as she rubbed the top of
his head. "I said that I'm in the same class as
Minako, alright?"
"Minako?" Cologne asked as Ranma collapsed,
howling with laughter.
"They put you in the same class as her? Neither
of ya will learn nothin' that way!"
"Shut up, Ranma!"
"Who is this Minako, Son-in-law?" Cologne asked
seriously.
"Her name's Minako Aino. She kinda latched onto
Ryouga shortly after we got here," Ranma explained.
"Really?" Cologne asked, a mischievous smile
split her face. "Does she know about his curse?"
"Yup! She found piggy here in a rainstorm the
same day they met, and took him into the bath with
her!" Ranma chuckled while Ryouga turned a bright red
at the memory.
"Goodness," Cologne laughed. "And she isn't
bothered by the curse?"
"Doesn't seem like it. She calls him Ryo-chan
all the time," Ranma said. "She's also gotten into
the habit of grabbing onto his arm every chance she
gets."
"Well now, Ryouga," Cologne said seriously. "I
take it that you are completely over the Tendo girl?"
She was a bit taken aback by the looks she got from
the two young men. Ranma's face was contorted with
anger, and maybe regret, while Ryouga's face was a
mask of pain.
"Look, ghoul, if all you want to do is hurt us,
yer doin' a damn fine job," Ranma snarled.
"Nabiki told me about the falling out the two of
you had," Cologne said apologetically. "I didn't
realize that it was hurting you this much."
"C'mon Ryouga, let's get you to the temple for
your study group," Ranma said as he started walking
off.
Ryouga nodded as he shouldered his pack. He
gave Cologne a startled look as she leapt on top his
bag.
"What? Can't an old woman ride along and
continue to talk to you two?"
"Do what you want, granny," Ryouga sighed as he
started following Ranma out of the park.
"I want to ask you something, Son-in-law,"
Cologne said when they had caught up with Ranma.
"What is it, Old Ghoul?"
"You and Ryouga have your hearts set on fighting
those monsters, right?"
"Yeah, you ain't gonna talk us outta that."
"Granted, but you two could use more training
with your ki. I'm willing to help you two in that
fight by training you."
Ranma gave her a suspicious look, "And just what
do you get out of this?"
Cologne cackled for a moment before she
responded, "What do I get out of this? I get a chance
to say that I trained two of the people that saved the
world! It'll prove that the Amazon techniques are the
greatest in the world!"
"One condition then," Ranma said seriously,
"You don't tell anyone in Nerima where we are. It's
hard enough fighting worryin' about the people on the
street without having to worry about the others.
They'd wanna fight too, and they just ain't good
enough."
"Are you trying to say that my Shampoo isn't
good enough for this fight?" Cologne asked in an acid
tone of voice.
"Ah, well... No, she ain't good enough," Ranma
finally said.
"I'm glad we agree then," Cologne smirked at
his stunned expression. "Besides, she did something I
didn't approve of not that long ago, and I'm still
punishing her for it."
"Oh? What did she do?" Ranma asked curiously.
"That is none of your business," Cologne said
firmly. "All you need to know is that if she was
still in the village, she could have been executed."
"She must have done something downright
terrible," Ryouga remarked.
Cologne hid a smile behind her sleeve. This
promised to be even more fun than watching her great
granddaughter's attempts at winning Ranma. To someone
of her age, new experiences were to be treasured.
::The chance to train two martial artist of their
caliber at a time is a once in a life time experience,
and bother the old saw about training the weaker
sex!:: Cologne thought to herself.
Cologne then proceeded to question the two of
them very thoroughly about what moves worked, what
kind of moves each daimon they had fought used and so
on. By the time they reached the Hikawa Shrine, it
was apparent to Cologne that each daimon was
different, and flexibility with their moves would be
their greatest asset.
"Look, Ghoul," Ranma said once they reached the
stairs leading up to the shrine. "Could ya make sure
Ryouga makes it up there? I gotta get a job so I can
buy food and stuff."
"You could always come work for me again,"
Cologne suggested with a smile.
"No way! I ain't going through that again!"
Ranma shouted.
"Calm down, Son-in-law, it was a joke. Well,
not really. I could have trained you at the same
time."
"It's not a bad idea," Ryouga said half to
himself. "But wouldn't that cause a problem with
Shampoo and Mousse?"
"Don't even mention Duck-boy to me right now,"
Ranma made a gagging sound.
"Heh, at least here you don't have to worry
about Kuno chasing you all over the place."
"Yeah. I'm outta here. Just get him to the
study group, Old Ghoul. Minako'll take over from
there," Ranma waved as he bounded off in search of
employment.
"Well then, Ryouga," Cologne said gaily, "Let's
see how many times you get turned around just trying
to go up these stairs."
"I'm not that bad," Ryouga protested mildly.
"No?" Cologne smirked, "I seem to recall you
getting lost in my home the first time we met."
Ryouga flushed as he started up the stairs while
Cologne merely laughed at his embarrassment. When
they reached the top of the stairs, Cologne looked
about the grounds. She had been around long enough to
truly appreciate the beauty of the temple and the
meticulous care that maintained it.
"Very nice. Is Minako a shrine maiden then?"
She asked.
"Ah, no. Her friend, Rei Hino is though,"
Ryouga answered as he walked towards one of the
buildings.
"Hino? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Cologne said to herself as she absently guided Ryouga
away from the temple itself and to the nearby house.
She smiled to herself when she heard the girlish
giggling inside. When Ryouga opened the door, she was
mildly surprised. She had expected one or two girls
in there, not four of them.
"Who's your friend, Ryouga? Your Grandmother?"
Makoto asked.
"Ah, no. Her name's Cologne, and she's the
matriarch of the Chinese Amazons," Ryouga said before
he introduced each of the girls to Cologne. Once he
was finished, Cologne hopped down off of his pack and
settled onto the table.
"Chinese Amazons?" Ami asked with some
interest.
"It's an honor to meet you, ancient one," Rei
said formally.
"Aren't you a proper young lady?" Cologne
chuckled. "Please, just call me Cologne, or Granny
like Ryouga usually does."
"Pleased to meet you, Granny!" Usagi gushed as
she held her hand out. Cologne gave her an odd look,
but shook her hand anyway.
"What a charming child," Cologne smiled as she
looked over Usagi. At this point, Minako entered the
room carrying some drinks.
"Ryo-chan! You made it!" She exclaimed as she
put the drinks on the table and glomped onto him.
Ryouga's mind seemed to shut down on him as he blushed
furiously and tried to stammer out some kind of
greeting.
"And you must be Minako," Cologne said. "I've
heard quite a bit about you."
Minako loosened her grip on Ryouga just enough
to lean back a little and look at the ancient woman
sitting on the table. "Oh, hello. Are you Ryouga's
Grandmother?"
"No, child. I'm his trainer," Cologne smiled
as she listened to the various gasps of shock around
the room.
"Impossible! How could an old woman like
yourself possibly keep up with him?" Makoto asked.
"Even if I couldn't keep up with him," Cologne
smiled, "he could still benefit from my experience.
He has a monumental task ahead of him, and wisdom from
the ages may just help him prevail."
"Huh? What did she say?" Usagi asked in
confusion.
"She said that he has a big job to do and she
can help him," Ami said to her friend.
"Oh."
"Besides, she can still beat me," Ryouga said.
"No way! No-one can beat you, Ryo-chan!"
Minako said fiercely.
` "I'm sorry, but Ryouga's right. I can still
beat him, quite easily in fact. Ranma is another
martial artist that can beat Ryouga one on one,"
Cologne said calmly.
"Well, Ranma I could believe, but you?" Minako
said skeptically.
"Trust me, Minako," Ryouga said sternly.
"She's way too skilled for me to beat right now."
"Ryouga, you need to get your stitches looked at
after our study group," Ami reminded him.
"Stitches?" Cologne gave Ryouga a hard look,
"You were careless enough to get hurt that badly?"
"It's nothing, Granny," Ryouga muttered. "It
caught me with a special sword technique."
"I see that I'll have my work cut out for me.
I'll be back tomorrow to begin your training,"
Cologne said as she turned to leave the room. "Good
luck with your studies."
Ryouga sat heavily at his place at the table and
let out a gusty sigh.
"What a strange old woman," Makoto said.
"You don't know the half of it," Ryouga
growled. "Now I remember why Ranma calls her 'that
old ghoul'."
Ami gave him a sharp look. "Old Ghoul? You
mean she's the old ghoul that Ranma mentioned at the
arcade?"
Ryouga nodded as he fished his books out of his
pack.
Haruka Tenou scowled slightly to herself as she
brought a bag of ice to where Michiru was resting.
The two of them were bruised, battered and humiliated.
It was bad enough when the inner Senshi involved
themselves in their fight, but now two boys with no
magic to aid them had involved themselves. If that
wasn't bad enough, those same two boys did more damage
to the daimon in less time than both she and Michiru
did.
Haruka carefully erased her scowl as she placed
the ice pack on a nasty looking bruise on Michiru's
shoulder. Michiru gently held Haruka's hand before it
could be withdrawn.
"I'm worried, Haruka," Michiru said softly.
"Hush, rest now," Haruka admonished her. "I'm
going to find Setsuna and get some answers. We need
to know about those two boys, they are way too
powerful to be normal."
"She might not answer you," Michiru winced
slightly as she shifted her shoulder. "Setsuna always
has been a little on the evasive side."
Haruka snorted, "A little? More like she keeps
secrets just for the fun of it."
"No," Sailor Pluto said mildly as she stepped
out of the shadows. "Not for the fun of it, for
necessity." Without fanfare, she shifted back into
her civilian form.
"Damn it, Setsuna! Don't do that!" Haruka
complained.
Setsuna merely raised an eyebrow at her as she
pulled up a chair and sat down across from them. She
crossed her legs and steepled her fingers as she
waited expectantly for Haruka to speak.
"What do you know about those two boys that got
involved in today's fight?" Haruka asked. "There's
no way that normal people could have that kind of
power."
"Oh? Do you consider yourself abnormal then?"
Setsuna asked with an arch smile.
"You know what I mean," Haruka mumbled as she
blushed slightly. "People that don't have blood from
the Silver Millennium."
"Everyone in this world has blood from the
Silver Millennium," Setsuna replied calmly. "The
eons have weakened it surely, but it's still there."
"Stop evading the question!" Haruka snapped.
"Haruka..." Michiru said soothingly as her
lover seethed. Michiru looked over at Setsuna and
smiled herself. "How did those two in particular get
to be so powerful?"
"Training," Setsuna said.
"Training?" Haruka and Michiru echoed her.
"Yes, training. From the time the two of them
could barely walk, they have been training in the
martial arts. They studied two different schools, but
each of them has their own strong points."
"Speaking of strong," Haruka interrupted, "How
did that one with the bandanna around his head,
Ryouga, rip a telephone pole out of the ground? It's
not humanly possible! And that blast they did!"
"I'm not entirely sure how they managed that
blast today, it was much stronger than anything they
had done before," Setsuna actually looked worried as
she spoke. "I am not equipped to judge how powerful
that blast was, but judging by the damage on the
street and what it did to the daimon, I would have to
say it is on not on par with a Senshi's attack.
Possibly even as powerful as my own Dead Scream."
"I don't believe it. So, how do they fit into
the picture?" Haruka asked. When Setsuna looked
troubled over the question, they knew they were
starting to get to the heart of things.
"They are... For lack of a better term, the
wildcard," Setsuna sighed. "They are the unknown
factor. I cannot even figure out what they are going
to do in the future because their threads are so
chaotic. There is no way of being able to tell what
they may or may not do."
"Let's push the future to one side for the
moment," Michiru said as she forced herself to sit up
straight, ignoring Haruka's worried look. "I think
what we really need to know is this: Are they an
enemy?"
"I expected that question to come from Haruka,"
Setsuna smiled.
"We have our duty to defend this world. Are
they a threat?" Michiru said sternly.
Setsuna leaned back in her chair and sighed.
"You do know that that's a loaded question, don't you?
Of course they could be a threat if they decide to
work with the enemy. As it is, they are working
independently. They are willing to help us, although
they could use a few lessons in courtesy."
"No argument there," she muttered as she thought
back to the fight, and remembered the almost casual
way Ranma had dismissed her fighting ability.
"What drives them right now, I believe, is the
challenge. Daimons are the most powerful enemies the
two of them have ever come across, aside from each
other that is," Setsuna smiled briefly. "Until they
came to Juuban, they fought amongst themselves and
other martial artists of their caliber."
"You mean," Haruka began.
"There's more of them?" Michiru finished for
her.
Setsuna nodded gravely. "Ranma and Ryouga are
two of the best, though. I'm doing what I can to keep
an eye on Ranma, but their presence alone already has
had an effect on the Inner Senshi."
"Let me guess, they're fighting over them?"
Haruka said with an exaggerated sigh. She remembered
all too well how she had first met Usagi and Minako in
civilian form, and how the two of them had pursued her
across town thinking that she was a guy.
"Actually, no. Mamoru seems to be getting
jealous of Ranma's abilities, and he's taking out his
frustration on Usagi. At the same time, Minako seems
to have fallen in love with Ryouga."
Michiru frowned slightly while Haruka blistered
the air with her curses.
"Of all the stupid idiots! If he hurts her, I
swear I'll..." Haruka broke off at the startled looks
she was getting from Michiru and Setsuna. "What?"
"My goodness, I think you actually care for our
intrepid little Sailor Moon," Michiru smiled.
"Are you jealous?" Haruka teased.
"Maybe."
"I'm hurt."
"The both of you are getting off topic,"
Setsuna said, a faint trace of a smile touched her
lips. "I'm watching the splinters in the time stream
very carefully. So far, the time stream is showing
only minimal effect from this," Setsuna hedged
slightly, purposely not mentioning the alternate
future she had seen. It wasn't solid enough for her
to see many details yet, but from what she could see,
evil was still in that future.
She stood and began to walk away from the other
Outer Senshi. They gave her a startled look.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Haruka asked.
"I need to finish researching Ranma and Ryouga,"
Setsuna sighed slightly. "The more I know about them,
the better I will be able to judge what they may do
next."
"You're not telling us something," Haruka
accused.
Setsuna looked over her shoulder and gave Haruka
a condescending sort of smile as she faded from view.
Michiru giggled slightly as Haruka vented her
frustrations loudly before grabbing her helmet.
"I'm going for a ride to clear my head. For
some reason, trying to talk to her gives me a
headache."
Ryouga grimaced to himself as Minako and Ami
escorted him into the hospital where Ami's mother
worked. He hated hospitals. The sterile, unfeeling
look of them seemed to make his blood run cold. For
someone used to open countryside, it was almost like
being in hell. He sat heavily on a couch and grumbled
as he waited. Minako seated herself right next to
him.
"Don't tense up like that," Minako whispered to
him.
"What makes you think I'm tense?" Ryouga asked.
Minako merely pointed at the armrest he was mangling.
Ryouga turned a bright red as Minako giggled.
"That's cute. Tough guy martial artist hates
hospitals."
"I'll go let Mother know that you're here," Ami
announced as she left the cubicle. Ryouga barely
acknowledged her departure, but Minako smiled slyly to
herself.
::Now's my chance,:: She thought triumphantly to
herself. She scooted a little closer to Ryouga and
leaned on his shoulder.
"Thank you," She said dreamily.
"Huh? What for?" Ryouga asked, stunned.
"You know. Fighting Imotoku for me this
morning, and then fighting off that monster this
afternoon."
"Ah," Ryouga blushed as he twiddled his fingers
nervously. "It was nothing." His pulse raced as
Minako gently took hold of his hand.
"Such powerful hands," She murmured in his ear
as she caressed his hand. "They seem awfully rough
and course. Can they be as gentle as they are
strong?"
Ryouga seemed to flinch slightly as he
remembered the incident with the waterproof soap. He
had scared Akane away from him by being too muscular
in his attempts at showing her the depth of his
affection. Minako waited patiently for him to
respond.
"I, I don't know," He said finally.
"Ok, then," Minako said with a small smile.
"Start off by holding my hand."
Ryouga swallowed nervously and grabbed her hand
with a minimum of fidgeting.
"Ease up!" She gasped as he applied a crushing
grip.
"Sorry," Ryouga mumbled as he loosened his grip
on her hand.
"A little softer, Ryo-chan," she sighed with
relief as his grip slowly became gentle. "There. You
see? That's not too difficult, now is it?"
Ryouga didn't answer, but instead he was staring
at the front of the cubicle and blushing furiously.
Minako turned her head and blushed as well when she
saw both Ami and her mother standing there.
"Well now, if you're done teaching him the right
way to hold hands, would you mind too terribly much if
I took a look at his stitches?" Ms. Mizuno said with
a slight note of amusement in her voice.
The entire hospital heard Minako's scream of
pain as Ryouga's grip came back full force.
As the sky darkened, Ranma could be found
whistling happily to himself as he walked along the
fences towards the park. After he had left Ryouga
with Cologne at the Hikawa shrine, he had returned to
the Crown Arcade and spoke at some length with Motoki.
By the end of the interview, Ranma found himself
employed. The rest of the afternoon had been spent
hammering out his work schedule and what his duties
would be. It seemed easy enough, giving change to
anyone who needed it and cleaning up the arcade from
time to time. He was a little startled at how much he
was going to be making, but he accepted the offered
wage with a small smile. He had even worked things
out so that he was working while everyone else was at
their study group.
Even though things seemed very peaceful, he was
still very much alert. Thus, he wasn't startled when
a motorbike roared past and then skidded to a stop not
very far in front of him. Unperturbed, Ranma
continued to walk along the fence until the rider of
the motorcycle said something that he couldn't quite
hear.
"What?" Ranma asked as he crouched on the fence
to look at the motorcyclist.
"Excuse me, but didn't I see you near the hobby
shop about the time that monster attacked?" Haruka
said as she smiled to herself. ::Who knew I would
have run across him like this?::
"Yeah, so?" Ranma replied disinterestedly as he
stood to continue his walk.
"I saw you fight," Haruka said as she smoothed
out her school uniform and locked her helmet to her
bike. "It was pretty amazing."
"Thanks man."
Haruka arched an eyebrow slightly as she
regarded him. "I saw the hits you took, how did you
manage to survive?"
"Training," Ranma shrugged.
"Training? How do you train to fight monsters?"
"Heh, you can't really. Ya just gotta keep
fighting with people that are almost monsters.
Ryouga's so strong, I'm surprised he ain't been
mistaken for a monster yet."
"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.
Haruka Tenou," She held her hand up to Ranma.
"Ranma Saotome," He responded as he leaned down
to shake her hand. "Why are you so interested in that
fight?" He asked, a note of suspicion finally
entering his voice.
"I was there," Haruka replied calmly. "I saw
the things you and your friend did and frankly, I'm
impressed."
"Heh, it was nothin'," Ranma smirked as he
continued on down the fence.
"I do kinda wonder why one of the Senshi was
talking with you though. I wasn't close enough to
hear what she said, and I'm curious," Haruka chuckled
inwardly, she knew exactly why she had spoken sharply
to him earlier, but this was a good way of judging his
character.
Ranma chuckled. "She tried tellin' me to stay
outta her fight. As far as I could see, she and her
friend weren't doing too hot when Ryouga an' I got
there."
"You took a pretty bad hit protecting them
though."
"Had too," Ranma shrugged, then winced and
clutched at his side.
"Are you alright?"
"Just bruises," he grunted. "They'll heal in a
day or two. Anyways, those two were not in any shape
to dodge that blast and I wasn't quite fast enough to
be able to grab 'em both and dodge. Not with both of
them kissin' the dirt."
"So, you are on their side?" Haruka asked with
a slight edge to her voice. The pigtailed martial
artist irritated her with his arrogance, but the
information she was gleaning from him could be useful.
"Kinda. It's like this, part of the code says
that it's our duty to protect those weaker than
ourselves. I think that those monsters go outta their
way to attack people that can't fight back, so it's
kinda my job to fight 'em off."
"Really? Did you ever manage to kill one yet?"
Ranma blanched at that question. "Kill? No,
those Sailor girls always end up killin' them. Ryouga
an' I just try to knock 'em out, we ain't too keen on
just killing them."
"These are monsters we're talking about!"
Haruka snapped. "They aren't human; why should you
hesitate to kill them?"
Ranma glared at her then. "Look, Haruka, have
you ever killed? Other than something you intend to
eat or a bug?"
Haruka narrowed her eyes before she answered.
"No," She said as honestly as she could. She hadn't
yet killed a human, but she wouldn't hesitate if it
meant saving the world.
"I'm not sure if I want to know what it feels
like to kill with my bare hands. I don't mind if
those Sailor girls kill them, I'm just not sure if I
can deal with killing. If I kill a monster, what if I
like it? What if I lose control in one of my fights
and kill my opponent?" Ranma sighed. "The art was
made to protect life, but at the same time it can be
used to end it."
"What if these monsters weren't really alive in
the first place, but merely objects fused with pure
evil to become these creatures bent on killing?"
"I... I don't know," Ranma jammed his hands in
his pockets. "I just ain't comfortable with the idea
of killin'. I mean, if I kill the next person I fight
with, how am I gonna make them into a friend, or at
the very least an ally for my next fight?"
"You make that sound like you've done it
before," Haruka laughed. She stopped laughing when
she saw the serious look on his face. "What?"
"Ryouga."
"Huh?"
"Ryouga and I used to fight each other all the
time. If I had killed him back then, would he be here
now to help me fight these monsters off? Would he an'
Minako had met? What would that have meant to Minako?
Would she have found someone else to fall in love
with?"
"I see," Haruka hummed a little. "You have
thought about it quite a bit, haven't you?"
"Kinda. It's somethin' ya gotta realize when
you train in the martial arts. It's a heck of a lot
easier to kill than to just knock them out," Ranma
sighed. "Now you're makin' me feel as depressed as
Ryouga. Later," he gave a cocky wave and sprinted off
faster than Haruka could hope to follow.
"I thought I was fast on my feet..." Haruka
muttered as she turned to walk back to her bike.
Luna knew something had happened that she had
missed when Usagi practically danced into her room
that night. After several failed attempts at getting
her attention, Luna resorted to jumping onto Usagi's
head.
"What is it, Luna?" Usagi asked as she took
Luna off of her head and held the black moon cat in
front of her.
"You seem to be very happy this evening, Usagi.
What happened? Did you make up with Mamoru?"
Usagi giggled. "Oh Luna! Yes, we did make up,
but almost right after that two daimons attacked!
Ranma and Ryouga were there and they got knocked
around a little before we could transform and help.
The Outers showed up and started fighting with one of
the daimons, while we attacked the other one."
"Were Ranma or Ryouga hurt at all?" Luna asked.
"Not that I could see," Usagi said after
pausing to look up in thought. "Anyway, when things
started to go wrong in our fight with the second
daimon, Mamo-chan actually attacked the daimon with
his cane! He held it off for a little bit while the
other could recover and Ami-chan held some stinky
stuff under my nose!" She stuck out her tongue as she
remembered that awful smell.
"Smelling salts, I believe," Luna surmised.
"Anyway, Mako-chan showed up just in time to
keep the daimon from really hurting me, and I blasted
it. When we ran over to where Ranma, Ryouga and the
Outers were fighting, we saw this huge blast! It must
have shot at least ten stories high before it crashed
back to earth. Poor Rei-chan collapsed when it
happened. Mako-chan carried her most of the rest of
the way, and when Rei-chan came to, she kept saying
things like 'The world is a dark and lonely place',
and stuff like that."
Luna looked worriedly on as Usagi hurriedly
described the remainder of the fight.
"Sounds like you had another exciting day,"
Luna said as she stretched. "I'm curious though, how
exactly did you make up with Mamoru?"
Usagi blushed a little and hung her head. "Rei-
chan, Rei-chan forced him to apologize. He was trying
to avoid me, but she found him and dragged him to
where I was walking home with everyone else and made
him apologize in front of everyone."
"Oh dear," Luna sighed. She knew that
something like that would have been a very bad blow
against his already bruised pride. "How did he take
it?"
"He didn't seem to mind too much after the fight
with the daimons, but he kept glaring at Rei-chan,"
Usagi sighed. "I'm worried, Luna. I'm beginning to
feel like I don't really know him anymore. I..." She
broke off as her door cracked open. She turned her
head sharply and saw that Chibi-usa was peeking
through the door.
"Usagi? Can I talk with you?" The small girl
said almost hesitantly.
"Sure, come on in," Usagi said as she patted
the spot on the bed next to her. She knew from Chibi-
usa's tone of voice that something was troubling her.
"Usagi," Chibi-usa said seriously once she had
seated herself on the bed. "Have you and father made
up yet? Your latest fight has me worried."
"Oh?" Usagi asked with a note of mock concern
in her voice. She smiled inwardly as she thought
about how she could make Chibi-usa squirm for a few
minutes.
"Yeah. If you and daddy really don't get
together, what will happen to me? I mean, I'll never
exist!" When Chibi-usa looked up at Usagi with tears
in her eyes, all thoughts of tormenting the little
girl fled from Usagi as she engulfed her in a gentle
hug.
"Don't you fret none," Usagi whispered as she
rocked the softly crying Chibi-usa in her arms.
"Mamo-chan and I have already made up and forgotten
what we were fighting about. There's nothing to worry
about."
Luna padded out of the room softly, not willing
to voice her own private doubts that Mamoru really
hadn't forgotten. ::I must keep an eye on the two of
them,:: She thought to herself as she let herself
out. ::I don't think Mamoru would forget about that
slap to his pride that he was forced to take.:: The
chilly night air was invigorating as she bounded off
in search of Artemis.
Minako sighed as she leaned her head against
Ryouga's firm shoulder as she walked him back to the
park he was camping in. Poor Ryouga had almost jumped
out the window after Ms Mizuno and Ami caught them
holding hands. It took the combined efforts of Ami
and her mother to convince him to let go of Minako's
hand and to stop running aimlessly around the room.
Unfortunately, when he had finally reacted to their
presence, his grip had re-tightened on her hand,
bruising it. She fidgeted with the bandage a little,
trying hard to do it so that Ryouga wouldn't notice.
"I'm really sorry," Ryouga said in the most
apologetic tone of voice Minako had ever heard.
"Really, it wasn't your fault," Minako sighed.
"I shouldn't have tried having you hold my hand when
you were already nervous."
"Still..."
"No, not another word about it!" Minako said
firmly before she changed the subject.
"So, Ryo-chan, you and that old woman are going
to be training here tomorrow?" She asked.
"Yeah. Ranma'll be here too."
"Great! I think I'll call Makoto when I get
back home and let her know, we'll come over and watch
you guys train!" She enthused.
"Uhm... Ok."
Unseen nearby, Artemis crouched in the bushes
and followed as quietly as he could. He knew Ryouga
was dangerous, the bandage on Minako's hand was proof
enough for him. Near as he could tell, though, Ryouga
hadn't done anything to harm her on purpose. That was
what worried him. If he was causing this much damage
without trying, what could he do if he was? He crept
closer as they stopped next to Ryouga's tent and
exchanged a few soft words before Ryouga disappeared
into the tent and Minako turned and started walking
home, a happy little smile on her face.
"Minako," Artemis said softly as she neared his
position. She stopped and looked down at the white
moon cat as he emerged from the bush he was hiding in.
"Oh, hello Artemis!"
"Are you sure he's safe to be around? I mean,
eventually he may hurt you even more seriously without
even realizing it."
"Oh Artemis, is that why you've been sneaking
around me lately? Are you really that concerned?"
Minako asked as she crouched next to him.
"I just don't want you to get hurt again, in any
way," Artemis said softly. When a flicker of pain
crossed her face, he immediately regretted his words.
"I get it. It's ok to risk my life almost every
day fighting daimons, but it's not ok for me to risk
my heart once in a while?" She stood as she
continued. "I know he's not the most ideal man out
there, but he has a good heart. I think he really
wants to be happy too, and we can do that together!"
"What if a daimon attacks him?" he asked
worriedly. "Would he be able to fight it off for a
while? Would you be able to sleep worrying if he'll
be all right all the time?" He opened his mouth to
ask another question, but whatever he said was drowned
out by peals of laughter from Minako.
"Me, worry about Ryouga in a fight?" She
laughed even harder. "Honestly, Artemis, where have
you been? I haven't had a chance to tell you about
the incredible things I've seen him do in a fight."
"What?"
"I don't know how, but he and Ranma are almost
as effective against the daimons as we are! He's
incredible!" Minako sighed again as she clasped her
hands together and looked back in the general
direction of Ryouga's tent.
"I give up," Artemis sighed.
Minako giggled as she scooped him up in her
arms. "You know, it was really sweet of you to worry
about me like that."
"Then you won't mind if I continue to keep an
eye on you two then?"
"I don't need a chaperone!" Minako snapped as
she moved her hands ever so slightly, as if she was
about to drop him.
"That's not what I meant!" Artemis said
quickly. "I just meant that, you know, I should be
around just in case he gets too enthusiastic again and
you need someone to bail you out."
"Sounds like a chaperone to me," Minako said
in a mock stern tone as she continued on to her home.
"There you are!" Luna called as she leapt out
of a tree to land in front of Minako and Artemis.
"Hi Luna!" Minako smiled. "Is everything
alright?"
"For the moment at least," Luna frowned.
"Would you mind too much if I spoke with Artemis for a
bit?"
"Not at all," Minako said as she put him down.
"I'm heading home. See you in the morning, Artemis!"
She waved to them as she walked off, softly singing a
song that Artemis had only heard her sing back in
England. Tears stood in his eyes as he watched her
walk away.
"What is it, Luna?" Artemis asked once Minako
was gone.
"We need to keep an eye on Mamoru. Rei
embarrassed him badly when she forced him to apologize
to Usagi. This could mean trouble," Luna said
worriedly.
"That is bad," He nodded in grim agreement.
"I've got my hands full making sure that Minako
doesn't get hurt dealing with Ryouga."
Luna looked at him in surprise. "You think he
may break her heart?"
"...Or her ribs," Artemis grumbled.
"What?" Luna's voice shook as she digested that
comment.
"He's too strong for his own good," Artemis
growled. "He nearly broke her hand just trying to
hold it. Imagine if he gave her a hug!"
"You've got to get Minako to teach him to be
gentle, that's all," Luna snorted.
"That's easy for you to say," Artemis grumbled.
"All she ever seems to talk about anymore is Ryouga
this and Ryouga that. I worry for her you know. She
may get so caught up in finally truly falling in love
again that she may inadvertently get hurt again in the
process."
"There, there..." Luna patted him on the
shoulder with one paw. "I'm certain you can figure it
out."
"Luna..." he gave her a look with stars in his
eyes.
"Besides, if you mess it up, I'm sure I can take
care of it as well."
"Thanks," Artemis muttered sourly.
The pre-dawn peacefulness was shattered in the
park as Ranma gleefully dragged Ryouga from his tent.
"C'mon, pig butt!" He grinned. "Let's get a
warm-up in before breakfast!"
"Damn it, Ranma!" Ryouga roared as he launched
himself at Ranma. "You'll die for ruining my dream!"
Ranma laughed as he danced around Ryouga's
attempts at hitting him. Ranma knew that just as soon
as Ryouga was fully awake, he'd have to pay more
attention but for now, it was enough to dodge.
Ryouga snarled as he backed away from Ranma and
his eyes adjusted to the gloom. As he tried to figure
out which way Ranma would dodge next, he remembered a
snippet of conversation from a few days ago. Ranma
had wanted to train first thing in the morning, but
had held off because of the stitches that had been
removed the previous day.
With a smirk that bared one of his fangs, Ryouga
feinted with his left fist convincingly enough for
Ranma to start dodging the blow. With a resounding
yell, Ryouga kicked with his right hard enough to send
Ranma stumbling.
"Heh, you're getting slow, Ranma!"
Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Who're you callin'
slow? Enough of this play stuff, Ryouga. Let's get
some serious sparring in."
"Bring it on!" Ryouga chuckled, but immediately
regretted the slow jibe. Ranma was all over him like
a rash at that point, moving just fast enough to make
it apparent who was the faster of the two, but not so
fast as to overwhelm him. Ryouga struggled to block
the blows, and was starting to get angry.
"Don't get mad!" Ranma cautioned. "I'm
purposely going after yer weak area, blockin'! C'mon,
ya know how to do this, ya just got outta practice
since you learned the baksai tenketsu." Ranma said as
he pulled away from Ryouga for a minute.
"What?"
"Yer blocking used to be really good, until
after the Ghoul taught ya the baksai tenketsu. Now
yer relyin' on the extra toughness that gave ya. Now
it's time fer you to block and keep that toughness in
reserve for when they do manage to hit."
Comprehension dawned on Ryouga's face as he fell
back into his stance. "Alright, come at me then."
Usagi yawned hugely as she staggered down the
stairs from her bedroom and into the kitchen. She
glanced about sleepily and wondered where everyone was
until she saw a note taped to the fridge.
Recollection of what her parents had said the
previous night flooded back to her. Her parents had
taken her little brother with them to visit her
grandparents the previous night. Usagi had wanted to
go as well, but she was rather sternly reminded that
she had to study for the placement test.
"Now what?" She asked as the phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked as she answered.
"Good morning Usagi-chan!" Makoto's voice
through the receiver.
"Good morning Mako-chan!" Usagi smiled, even
though she knew Makoto couldn't see her. "What's
going on?"
"Well, Minako and I were going to watch Ranma
and Ryouga train with that old lady this morning.
After we got talking about it a little, we decided to
make a picnic out of it."
"Really?!?" Usagi squealed with delight.
"Yeah, I spoke with Chibi-usa last night after
you were already asleep, and she said she was going to
bring Hotaru as well. Ami and Rei are also going to
be meeting us there in a half hour," Makoto said
cheerfully into the phone, right before wincing at the
noise of the receiver being dropped. She listened for
a moment to the panicked preparations of her friend
and smiled indulgently before hanging up the phone.
She knew Usagi well enough that if she said a
half hour, it would more likely be an hour and a half
before her she would even be ready to go. She
hesitated for a moment as she considered calling
Mamoru, but decided against it. She remembered that
there was bound to be a bit of resentment between him
and Ryouga left over from their argument.
"No use causing avoidable incidents, right?"
She said philosophically as she gathered up the last
of the things she needed for the picnic, including a
humongous basket of food, and left her apartment with
a leisurely stroll. She felt she had plenty of time
to get there before the others and be able to have
Ranma mostly to herself.
The sun had fully risen by the time Usagi had
finished getting ready and dashed for the park. As
she approached the large, wooded park, she glanced at
her watch.
"I might actually make it on time," she said to
herself as she ran through the park to where she knew
Ranma and Ryouga were camped.
She burst through the underbrush that bordered
the clearing they were camped in and stopped short.
The only people there so far was Ranma and Ryouga, and
they were cooking something over their campfire while
a pot of rice cooked over Ryouga's portable stove.
The smell of their breakfast reminded her that she
hadn't stopped to try and make herself something to
eat.
She stopped and brushed the loose leaves off of
her yellow sweater and her jeans before she approached
their camp.
"Good morning!" She called cheerfully and
waved. Ranma and Ryouga looked up and smiled at her.
"Hey, Usagi," Ranma said as he flipped another
egg into the frying pan. "What brings you here this
early?"
"Well, Mako-chan called and said that she and
Minako-chan were coming here about now to watch you
train with Cologne," she said as she looked around.
"I think I beat everyone here."
Ranma nodded and patted the ground next to him.
"You're just in time for breakfast. Have a seat."
"Wow, thanks!" Usagi smiled as she sat down.
"Better cook those last few eggs, Ranma,"
Ryouga said as he stirred the rice a little before
turning back to his own pan. "They'll go bad soon."
"Right," Ranma said as he grabbed the last two
eggs from the carton next to him and began cooking
those as well.
Usagi boggled a bit at the large bowl of
scrambled eggs that was next to him. "Is some of that
for your lunch as well?" She asked as Ranma and
Ryouga began tossing a bowl back and forth, filling it
with various foodstuffs with each toss.
"Ah, no," Ranma rubbed the back of his head.
"It's breakfast. Here," He said as he handed the
bowl to her with a pair of chopsticks.
Usagi looked in the bowl for a moment before she
began to eat ravenously. She almost stopped when she
realized how rude it must have seemed to the boys, but
they were eating just as rapidly, if not faster. Her
slight apprehension mollified, she ate with much the
same gusto as before.
Makoto smiled to herself as she approached the
part of the park that Ranma and Ryouga were camped in.
She knew they would be grateful for the food she
brought them for breakfast, and for waking them up.
Her smile faltered only slightly when she heard their
voices as she got closer. Waking them up was only a
small part of her plan though, and she continued on.
When she heard Usagi's voice, though, she did stop in
her tracks.
::How on earth did she beat me here?:: She
thought to herself as she tried to adjust to the idea
of Usagi being on time. Her face took on a determined
cast as she stepped into the clearing. She still had
the food, and even if everything else had failed, they
would appreciate her cooking. When she saw them
chatting cheerfully as they cleaned the dishes from
their breakfast, she sighed.
::So much for that idea,:: She thought ruefully
as she approached their camp. Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw Minako and Ami arrive in the clearing
with Rei, Chibi-usa and Hotaru right behind them.
Usagi waved enthusiastically to them as they
approached.
"Hey everyone! I was beginning to wonder where
you all were," she said as he stood to greet them.
"Ah, well..." Makoto grinned down at Usagi. "I
told you an earlier time than everyone else."
They giggled at that for a moment. Hotaru sat
down near the fire and held her hands towards the
flames.
"Are you alright, Hotaru?" Usagi asked.
"I'm just a little cold this morning," she
replied as she looked at the tents in interest.
"Hotaru, Chibi-usa, this is Ranma and Ryouga,"
Ami said as she gestured to each one in turn.
"Are you camping here to toughen up for your
training?" Chibi-usa asked Ranma as she walked up to
him.
Ranma shook his head. "Nah."
"This is where we live, right now," Ryouga
explained patiently to her.
Chibi-usa's eyes widened in shock as she
digested that piece of information.
"Isn't it hard to live in a tent all the time?"
Hotaru asked softly. "I mean, don't you have to be
strong to be able to deal with it being cold every
night?"
The girls' eyes softened as they took in the
plaintive note in Hotaru's voice, while Ryouga gave
her an indulgent look.
"Well, not necessarily," he said. "If you have
a good, stout tent and a nice warm sleeping bag, you
barely realize that you aren't sleeping in a bed. It
doesn't hurt to have a blanket or two with you as
well."
"Really?" Hotaru asked as she stood to examine
the weathered material of their tents. She ran her
fingers down the side of Ryouga's tent. "It feels
really rough."
"Does it? Lemme see!" Chibi-usa bounced over
and placed her tiny hand on the tent as well. "Wow,
that is rough!"
"It's canvas, so it'll last a lot longer than
those fancy nylon tents. If I treat it right, it will
last another year or two," Ryouga said before he
began to patiently explain the fine art of camping to
the two interested girls.
"Wow," Minako sighed, "he's even good with
kids."
"Lucky you," Makoto grumbled.
Minako giggled as she smiled nervously. "Ah,
yes well..." She broke off and walked over to where
Ryouga was to stand next to him.
"When are you and Ryouga going to start
training?" Makoto asked Ranma interestedly.
"Whenever the Ghoul gets here," Ranma shrugged.
"We already had our morning workout."
"When did you get up?" Rei asked.
"Before dawn. We gotta get used to it, 'cause
we're gonna be doing it every morning before school."
"At least the activity will ensure that you will
be fully awake for your classes," Ami said.
Ranma had the good grace to blush guiltily as he
remembered all the times he had fallen asleep in
class.
As the morning wore on, Hotaru found herself
coming to like Ryouga more and more. He seemed
nervous and very shy whenever Minako said something to
him, but was warm and gentle. He seemed to go out of
his way to ensure that she and Chibi-usa were
comfortable, even to the point of getting a blanket
from inside his tent to place around their shoulders
when he thought that they might be a little cold.
"He's really nice, isn't he?" she asked Chibi-
usa.
"Ryouga? He seems so, nervous though," Chibi-
usa replied. She didn't dare mention to Hotaru how
ferocious he looked when she saw him fight a daimon.
She shuddered as she recalled how he had torn its arm
off and had chuckled about it to Ranma.
"You're still cold," Ryouga said as he placed a
kettle next to the fire.
"Oh, no I..."
"I'll make you two some tea, alright?" Ryouga
said gently.
"Ain't you the nice host?" Ranma quipped.
"Someone needs to be, Ranma," He half growled
in response.
"Tea sounds like a wonderful idea," Cologne
said as she landed in their midst, startling everyone.
"Don't do that, you old ghoul!" Ranma shouted
"Be quiet. I don't have much time, so listen
close as I explain what I want you to do," cologne
gestured sharply at Ranma and Ryouga before she leapt
into a tree. Ranma and Ryouga followed, leaving the
girls to watch in amazement.
"That old woman can jump like that?" Chibi-usa
whispered to Hotaru. When she heard a soft sigh in
response, she looked at Hotaru in concern.
"Hotaru?"
"They're all amazing, so full of energy," Hotaru
said as she pulled the blanket a little closer around
her shoulders and wished once again that she had
brought her jacket.
They stayed in the tree for a full half hour
talking in low tones before Cologne leapt off. Ranma
and Ryouga dropped out of the tree with understanding
looks on their faces.
"I never looked at it quite that way before,"
Ryouga said as he clenched his fist.
"Ya wanna give it a shot? I'll try the blocking
technique she explained, while you try an' hit me,"
Ranma said as they moved away from the campfire,
totally engrossed in their conversation.
When Minako moved to follow them, Rei reached
out and grabbed her arm.
"Don't," She cautioned. "I can feel the Ki
they are gathering. I don't think it would be very
safe if you went near them right now."
Minako nodded her understanding and turned to
watch as Ranma and Ryouga's auras sprang up around
them, only to be sucked inside them leaving their
fists glowing. Rei clenched her teeth in
concentration as she attempted to block the storm of
emotions coming from the still martial artists. After
finally shaking off the effect the full shi shi
hokkoudan had on her, she was determined to never let
anything through her guard again.
After some unseen signal, Ryouga let loose a
loud shout and punched at Ranma who raised his glowing
arms in defense. He blocked the blow, but a small
explosion sent both of them flying to opposite ends of
the field. Rei reeled from the psychic backlash, but
she remained conscious.
"Ryo-chan!" Minako screamed as she ran towards
him. Unnoticed behind her, Ami was following close
with Chibi-usa and Hotaru right behind her. Makoto,
Usagi and Rei rushed to where Ranma had fallen.
"Ryo-chan! Speak to me!" Minako wailed as she
cradled his head in her lap. His once yellow sweater
was charred black, and there was a visible redness on
his hands.
"Calm down, Minako," Ami said as she started
examining his wounds. "He just seems to have been
knocked unconscious and burned slightly."
"Is he ok?" Chibi-usa demanded as she and
Hotaru caught up with them.
Ami looked up and smiled. "He'll be just fine,
I have to go take a look at Ranma now. Why don't you
get a towel and soak it with some water and place it
on his forehead?" Ami said as she stood and walked
briskly over to where Usagi was wailing over Ranma's
still form.
Makoto and Rei had straightened out his crumpled
form, but Usagi had latched onto his chest and was
crying while demanding that he open his eyes at the
same time.
"Usagi-chan," Ami said reasonably. "Let me see
him. Ryouga seems to be fine, but I need to make sure
Ranma isn't hurt as well."
When her calm words did not get through to
Usagi, Makoto and Rei gently disentangled her from
Ranma to give Ami a chance to examine him. After a
moment, Ami sat up and gave them a smile.
"He seems to be in pretty much the same
condition as Ryouga. A little burnt and unconscious,
but otherwise alright."
"Ya fergot the headache," Ranma groaned before
he sat up.
"Ranma!" Usagi cried as she broke free of
Makoto and Rei to kneel next to him. "What happened?"
Ranma grimaced as he held his head. "I dunno.
I think I know, but I won't be sure until I try it
again."
"Don't you dare!" Usagi almost screamed. "You
could get hurt!"
Ranma gave her a funny look before he smiled and
started to laugh. "I ain't talkin' about doin' what
Ryouga and I just did, I'm gonna try it by myself,"
He said as he flipped to his feet and walked up to a
nearby tree. He concentrated for a moment and punched
towards the tree. His fist blazed with his blue aura
only after he had actually started his swing.
Usagi, Makoto, Rei and Ami clapped politely from
where they were watching, nodding a greeting to the
others as they approached. Usagi smiled slightly when
she saw that Minako was supporting Ryouga on one side,
while Chibi-usa and Hotaru were making an effort to
keep him on his feet on the other.
Ranma ignored them while his aura blazed across
his whole body before focusing down to his fists. He
launched another punch, and this time there was a
small explosion as his fist impacted the tree. He
smiled with satisfaction.
"Heh, I was right. Get this, Ryouga. When we
concentrated our whole aura into our fists and arms, I
think we let loose a small ki-blast at the same time.
What knocked us silly were the combined explosions."
Ryouga nodded and sat heavily as he felt the
back of his head. "How come I'm hurting more than you
then?"
"I was trying ta make the ki shield, stupid,"
Ranma sighed. "It worked, to a point. Then it kinda
backfired on me. The right way to do it is to not
give it a chance to build up. That way, the attack is
still charged up, but not explosive."
"I think I like the explosive one better,"
Ryouga grinned crookedly. "But, those would wear us
down faster."
"Right, we can save the exploding fists for
emergencies," Ranma agreed as he held out his hand to
help Ryouga to his feet. "C'mon, that's enough of a
rest break, let's get back at it."
Ryouga grunted as he took Ranma's hand and
hauled himself to his feet.
They spent the rest of that morning practicing
their ki charged attacks and blocking. The girls had
watched with great interest as the day had grown
warmer, and Ranma and Ryouga had shucked their shirts
and continued to train in their undershirts.
"Wow... Look at them," Makoto sighed as she
watched Ranma and Ryouga start to argue about some
nuance of the move.
"Keep your eyes off my Ryo-chan!" Minako said
sternly.
"Hey, a girl can always admire, right?" Rei
said defensively.
Usagi ignored their comments as she felt her
heart leap in her chest like it has never leapt
before. Her cheeks reddened as she watched Ranma
argue with Ryouga, his muscles rippling as he made
expansive gestures to help him make his point.
"Usagi," Chibi-usa growled under her breath.
"Don't you dare."
"What?" Usagi said distractedly, never taking
her eyes off of Ranma.
"I said don't you dare!" Chibi-usa hissed as
she yanked one of Usagi's ponytails so that her head
was next to Chibi-usa's.
"Don't I dare what?" Usagi whispered.
"Don't look at him like that. It's making me
nervous," Chibi-usa said softly.
Usagi giggled wickedly as she gave Chibi-usa a
sidelong glance. "I have the best, but that's no
reason I can't check out the rest," she said
philosophically.
After arguing for a while, Ranma and Ryouga
picked up their shirts and walked over to where the
girls were watching them.
"I still say that yer doing that wrong!" Ranma
snapped at Ryouga as they got closer.
"Shut up! I just have to do it differently than
you, that's all!" Ryouga snarled before he sat down
and began to rummage in his pack.
"What are you getting?" Makoto asked.
"Lunch," Ryouga muttered as he pulled out a
small plastic bag of rice.
"Put that away!" Makoto commanded as she held
out her basket. "I've got lunch handled."
"Wow, look at all that food!" Ranma said
appreciatively as Makoto pulled the cloth covering off
of the basket with a flourish.
"Look's good," Ryouga agreed as he put his rice
back into his bag.
Makoto smiled to herself as she passed the food
out. She knew her cooking would definitely give her
an edge over her friends in this competition. She
almost laughed out loud as she thought that her
biggest competitor had already claimed second prize,
while she homed in on the grand prize.
"Well then, let's... eat?" Makoto's eye's
boggled as she saw Ranma and Ryouga practically inhale
the food in front of them, and she could almost swear
that Usagi was doing her best to keep up with them.
Hotaru smiled to herself as she nibbled at her
sandwich. It was so funny to watch them eat! With a
content sigh, she finished the one small sandwich she
had and leaned back a little before a second sandwich
appeared on her plate.
"Huh?" She said quizzically. She looked up and
saw that Ryouga had stopped eating and was watching
her intently.
"You know, part of the reason people get weak is
that they don't eat enough, or they eat too much." He
said in a kind voice.
"But... You and Ranma eat a lot!"
Ryouga shrugged. "That doesn't mean much. It
takes a lot of energy to do what we do."
"He's right, ya know," Ranma cut in. "Food is
what fuels your body, allows it to grow and get
stronger. Without enough fuel, it'll slow down, try
and save every bit it can. But, if you give it more
fuel, you have ta burn it as well, which means doing
more stuff. It's all about a balance."
Hotaru smiled suddenly as she picked up the
sandwich. The earthy, common sense approach that
Ranma and Ryouga took seemed to warm her, and even
spark her appetite as she thought about what she could
do if she were just a little stronger.
For the first time in over a century, Sailor
Pluto felt like crying after looking into someone's
life. She had finished watching Ranma and proceeded
from there to follow Ryouga's life. At first, it was
a terrible headache to follow the lost-boy's thread,
but she eventually got the hang of it. What she saw
from there was one day after another filled with
misery. From the day he could walk, Ryouga pretty
much had to look after himself. From a parentless
childhood to a lonely adolescence, she followed Ryouga
through his wanderings. He never seemed to be in one
place long enough to make any friends until the
fateful day he met Ranma almost two years ago.
What really startled her, though, was the fact
that Ranma had taken the time to guide Ryouga to and
from the school every day, despite their lunch time
war. The subsequent year or so was still a battle
against depression, but for some reason, the challenge
of fighting Ranma seemed to bring something out of
Ryouga, something more human. Even the dip he took in
Jusenkyo, the challenge of dealing with being small
and edible, was taken on with a sort of grim
determination. The same sort of grim determination
that he had in every subsequent battle he had with
Ranma, or any of the other martial artists from
Nerima.
With an audible sigh, she fully realized how
formidable those two were alone, and how much more
powerful they were whenever they worked together.
They were like an immovable mountain and the
irresistible river, each an overwhelming force by
themselves, but together... She shuddered at the
possibilities. She felt a shudder again and realized
that it wasn't her personal reflections that were
causing it. She gazed at the time gates and shunted
them forward to look again at the future, no futures,
which were there.
The alternate future was starting to clarify
ever so slightly, as if more and more events were
falling into place, and the thread leading back from
it had almost stretched to the point where she could
determine exactly what would happen to cause it. She
watched the threads stretch and intertwine with baited
breath. This was what she needed to know, this was
how she could save Crystal Tokyo!
When the view did finally solidify, she fell
backwards in shock.
"No!" She screamed. "This cannot be!"
End Chapter 3
What did Pluto see in the gates? You'll find out
next time... Maybe.
All previous chapters can be found at
http://www.okami-san.net
