Chapter One can be found at
http://members.tripod.com/raye__1/different.html

Please enjoy!

Raye

=====
raye_j@yahoo.com
http://members.tripod.com/raye__1/

"I... am a... LIBRARIAN!"
     - Evelyn, "The Mummy"

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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: ADP2.txt
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A Different Path

by Raye Johnsen
raye_j@yahoo.com

*************
	'Ranma 1/2' is owned by Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Kitty
Films, and Viz Communications.
	'Bishoujou Senshi Sailor Moon' is copyright Takeuchi Naoko,
Kodansha, Mixx Enterprises, DiC Entertainment, and others.
     In other words, NOT ME. He who sues this university Arts
student is very unwise, because I have no money. 
************

Chapter Two: Now, Let's *Find* The Yellow Brick Road....


	Kuonji Ukyou gently shooed the last of the Sunday-morning
breakfast crowd out of her restaurant. It was, of course, nice
that her regulars kept turning up for their okonomiyaki fix, and
it certainly didn't hurt her purse any. She didn't run the
cheapest okonomiyaki-ya in Tokyo, but she definitely didn't serve
the nastiest okonomiyaki in Tokyo.

	(*That* particular honour belongs to Akito's Place, in the
Shibuya Ginza. Which also has its own special clientele. You know
the sort - the people who will buy the nastiest food they can
find simply because it *is* the nastiest. They never seem to
suffer from indigestion or food poisoning either.

	(No Yakuza eat at Akito's, by the way. Ukyou, on the other
hand, has a long-standing policy of not asking where her clients
get their money from as long as they pay their bill. Yakuza value
good food and their health.)

	The postman came by just as she was gently pushing old
Matsuura-san out the door.

	"Pretty girl like you, ought to be out on a date on a
Sunday," Matsuura-san was telling her. "Now, my grandson Yuu,
he's a good-looking boy and he'd make a girl a fine catch."

	"I'm sure," Ukyou agreed, with an amiability she didn't
feel. "But I thought you said he already had a girlfriend?"

	"Miki-chan? Honestly, I don't know from one week to the next
whether they're together or not!" Matsuura-san replied, waving
her walking stick for emphasis. "Still, she does keep him on his
toes, which is always good for a boy. Especially such a little
brat like Yuu-kun was turning into."

	The old woman turned and began to move down the street. "I
don't know. First they're dating and then they're not and he's
going to college in Kyoto, and now they *are* but he's *still*
in Kyoto, and I don't understand younglings these days!"

	Shaking her head at the garrulous old lady, Ukyou stepped
into the restaurant.

	"A letter for you, Ukyou-sama," Konatsu said from where he
was earnestly bussing the counter. "Not a bill, I've already
separated them out."

	"Thank you, Konatsu-san," Ukyou said calmly, beginning to
scrub her grill. Letters might come and bills would arrive, but
her grill was her life. As long as it was in perfect condition,
anything else could be cured or endured. Whichever. Her business
was her bark in the stormy seas of survival; her grill was her
sail. It had to be the best she could make it.

	When it was scrubbed to her satisfaction, she wiped down the
benches and rehung the tools Konatsu had scrubbed with the china
plates (expensive but classy, and popular with older customers).

	*Now* she could indulge her curiosity and read her letter.

	It was handwritten, confirming that it wasn't a bill. All
the suppliers she dealt with had computers.

	(Which reminded her. Ucchan's was doing well enough to keep
herself *and* a waiter *and* there was a little bit left over
each week. A computer to do the accounts on would be good - a
secondhand one would be adequate and wouldn't cost *that* much.
Less than Ran-chan's tab, for sure.)

	The thought of Saotome Ranma gave her a small pang. If only
he had chosen! If only he had chosen *her*....

	After she had been so abysmyally foolish at The Wedding, she
had sat down and taken a good, long, hard look at herself. It had
hurt to acknowledge that her actions had been wrong. It had taken
all her courage to approach and apologise to Akane and Ranma. 

	Their forgiveness had been balm in the wounds of her pride
and blindness. Akane's, especially.

	Ukyou had been stripped of her illusions as she watched the
wedding dissolve into chaos and seen how very angry all the
participants (and would-be participants, and obstacles) became.
She knew very well that Ranma had only really forgiven her her
part in the debacle because Akane had. Tendou Akane might have
been angry, but she never carried grudges; and Ukyou honestly
didn't think the girl even knew how to hate.

	Did she love Saotome Ranma? Ukyou didn't know. She had
thought she did; but the man who had stared at her with hatred
in his eyes over the wreckage in the doujou wasn't one she knew.
Nor was he a man she was altogether sure she wanted to know. Much
less marry.

	*Akane*, however, had walked over to that man and touched
his arm. *She* had known him.

	If she gave up on Saotome Ranma, though, she was truly
alone. Her family would never take her back, with or without a
husband. Her claim on Ranma was the only link to any kind of
family she had. Not to mention honour, or any kind of femininity.
But was he worth it?

	Ranma lived and breathed martial arts. And Ukyou... well...
didn't. She could *fight*, yes, but there's a difference between
those who fight and those who battle. Ukyou was not prepared to
cross that line, and Ranma couldn't see that there *was* one.

	If she let Ranma go, Ucchan's and Konatsu would be all she
had. The question was, was a small restaurant and a young 
gender-confused waitperson/companion enough? 

	For several months now, a quiet voice in the back of her
mind had been whispering that yes, it would be; and infinitely
better than anything Saotome Ranma could give her.

	Ukyou didn't know what scared her more: the fact that she'd
been having these kind of thoughts, or her growing conviction
that the quiet voice was right.

	With a sigh, she slit the envelope open and began to read
her letter. As she read it, she was glad she was sitting down.

		Dear Ukyou,
			You and I have never really spoken, have
		we? I like to think that if Ranma had really
		chosen (instead of being compelled by duty)
		or if he had never been, that you and I could
		have been friends.
			But maybe it always was impossible,
		friendship between the 'uncute fiancee' and
		the 'cute fiancee', and I'm just kidding
		myself.
			Either way, the question is now moot.
		You see, I've finally come to the realization
		that I'm not needed here in Nerima.
			I admire and respect you, for your
		strength and determination in the face of the
		world, and your refusal to give up on your 
		goals.
			I love Ranma, Ukyou. I know you do, 
		too, and honestly, he doesn't love me. I'm 
		quite sure of that. Whether he loves *you*,
		I don't know.
			You won't see me around anymore. I've
		left Nerima and I will never come back. And
		so, Kuonji Ukyou, I charge you: take care of
		Saotome Ranma. Protect him as I did not. Love
		him as I always should have. Be the 
		fiancee he deserves.
			If we ever could have been friends, 
		please, do this for me. 
			With respect and friendship,
				Tendou Akane

	Ukyou clenched her hands on the paper.

	Akane was gone? Akane had just *left*? Akane had *QUIT*?
She stood up suddenly, crumpling the paper in one fist.

	"Konatsu-san, we're going out for a short while," Ukyou told
the hovering kunoichi.

	"Ukyou-sama, where are we going?" Konatsu asked, untying his
apron strings. 

	Still clutching her letter, without bothering to take off
her apron, Ukyou reached out and gripped his wrist. "The Tendou
Doujou," she replied tersely, walking out of the restaurant.

	By the end of the block, she was running. Konatsu gave up
trying to free his wrist without breaking Ukyou-sama's fingers
(she had grabbed him rather awkwardly) and ran along. It wasn't
very fast by his standards, but then, Ukyou-sama wasn't a
kunoichi.

*********

	"The world is a dark and lonely place," Hibiki Ryouga tried
experimentally.

	It didn't work. In his current mood, there was no way he
could generate the Shi-Shi-Hokoudan.

	It was annoying but somehow cheering in a way he couldn't
quite understand. Everything was good, and the sun shone on this
bright Sunday morning as he wandered along the fenceline of the
Unryuu Pig Farm. The birds were singing, the trees were growing,
the traffic was gridlocked....

	Traffic....?

	Horns blew and people swore at each other as Ryouga stared
around him. Traffic lights flashed and neon burned on the street,
despite the fact that it was daylight.

	Ryouga spun on the spot. *Now* he could have performed a
Shi-Shi-Hokoudan without any problems at all.

	"WHERE THE HELL AM I *NOW*?!?!"

	"Nerima, Ryouga."

	The flat voice behind him was quietly familiar. "Ranma? Last
I remember I was at Akari's farm."

	Ranma rolled his eyes. Wonderful. How did P-Chan do it? Find
a girl, get the girl and *keep* the girl. You'd think it would
have been easy if *Ryouga* could do it.

	"Well, I think it's about fifty miles *that* way," he said,
arbitrarily pulling direction and distance from thin air. 

	Instead of heading off, Ryouga kept standing in front of
Ranma.

	"Didn't you hear me, Ryouga? It's *that* way. Go home, 
P-Chan," Ranma snapped, waving in an entirely different direction.

	"What's wrong, Ranma?" Ryouga asked quietly. "You're acting
really weird."

	At that point, Kuonji Ukyou ran in the gate of the doujou.
She was waving a piece of paper in her fist and dragging that
cross-dresser she had hired. "Ran-chan?!" she panted. "Is it
true?! Akane's run away from Nerima?!"

	"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?!?"

	Ranma sighed. "Hi Ukyou."

	"UKYOU, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'AKANE'S RUN AWAY FROM
NERIMA'?!?"

	"Shout a little louder, Ryouga. I don't think they heard you
in Hokkaido," Ranma interjected.

	"I just got this letter! It's from Akane! She says she's
left!"

	"Gimmie that!" Ryouga demanded, reaching for the letter
Ukyou still held. Ranma snatched it first and began to read.

	His eyes bugged at several points and as he reached the
final paragraph, he began to swear softly. Ukyou didn't recognise
some of the more obscure words, especially the Chinese ones, but
the tone he used left no doubt of the overall meaning.

	Eventually he lowered the paper. "Akane, you idiot," he
murmured, watching Ukyou grimly.

	Ukyou swallowed. She glanced at Konatsu, idly rubbing his
wrist and looking at the three friends. She glanced back at
Ranma, and then at Konatsu again. She sighed.

	"Yes," she replied. "She is." Stepping away from the two
martial artists, she moved over to her kunoichi. Taking his wrist
gently in her hands, she began to massage the joint she'd gripped
so hard. "I'm sorry, Konatsu."

	The kunoichi glanced over at Ranma and back at Ukyou.
"That's all right... Ukyou."

*********

	The girl who now called herself Kaneda stared at the ceiling
above the futon.

	Makoto-san had been extraordinarily kind, insisting on her
returning with her to Makoto-san's own apartment. Usagi-san and
Ami-san also had come with them, although the other two girls had
left after Makoto-san had rolled out the spare futon for A...
Kaneda. Kaneda. She was Kaneda, now. Not A... who she'd been. And
the sooner she got into the habit of thinking of herself as
Kaneda, the better.

	She sniffed the air and smelled frying fish. It was a
delicious scent, and her stomach informed her, loudly, that she
hadn't eaten since early the evening before, and only lightly
then.

	"Breakfast, Kaneda-san?" a voice called from the
kitchenette.

	Kaneda sat up immediately. "Oh, yes," she replied brightly.
Straightening the futon as she climbed out of it, so that it
would be easy to pick it up and air it later, she climbed out to
answer Makoto and her stomach.

**********

	Usagi felt worried as she got up that Sunday morning. Not
about school or Mamo-chan or anything else she was used to. She
almost wished Chibi-Usa were still in her home; a fight with her
'cousin' would have been familiar and reassuring.

	Kaneda-san was an enigma, and even an idiot would have seen
that "Kaneda" wasn't her real name. She wasn't a Senshi (Rei-chan
would have known), she wasn't an enemy (Mako-chan would have
known), and she wasn't ordinary (or she wouldn't be worrying
Usagi like this).

	What she was, though, was... bereft.

	Usagi blinked as the word floated into her mind. It had not
come from that part of herself that she classified as 'Serenity',
which was unusual. Usagi was used to getting images and hints
from her past self. This time, however, the idea was all her own.

	Kaneda-san had lost everything to her own insight in less
than a day. She had nothing left except a small suitcase and her
own self. So now she had to rebuild.

	Usagi decided that heading over to Mako-chan's after
breakfast might be a good idea.

***********

	Ukyou insisted on helping Ranma pack.

	"Don't you have any cooler bags?"

	"You eat off the land, Ukyou," Ryouga commented from where
he was leaning against the wall of the doujou.

	"What do you carry supplies in?"

	"You buy dry supplies," Ranma told her.

	"What do you grease your pan with?"

	"The body fat of the animal you caught to eat. Unless it's
a possum, theirs tastes horrible. Snake's alright."

	Ukyou rocked back on her heels from where she was bent over
Ranma's backpack. "Does snake really taste like chicken?"

	"Nope," Ryouga replied glumly. "Tastes like snake."

	She gave him a very flat look. "I'll go talk to Kasumi-san
about your supplies." Standing up, she walked out of the doujou.
Ranma closed the door behind her.

	"Why did you say that?" he asked. "Now she's convinced that
we're going to be starving. And that snake tastes horrible."

	Ryouga shrugged. "It got rid of her, didn't it? And it's not
like she wasn't coming."

	Ranma arched a brow at his closest rival/best friend.
"Coming? I don't recall saying anything about taking you
anywhere, *P-Chan*."

	Ryouga glared right back. "You think I'm letting you go off
to find Akane-san all by yourself?"

	"..."

	"You can just forget it. You lost her once already. Plus,
you already said 'we'."

	Ranma shook his head. "'Snot *that*. 'S just... hell,
Ryouga! She *left* me!"

	Ryouga snorted. "You think?"

	"Whaddya mean 'you think'? Nobody held a knife to her
throat..."

	"You showed me your letter an' Ukyou showed me hers. An' if
they weren't in Akane-san's handwriting I wouldn't've believed
she'd written them. They ain't 'her'."

	Ranma swung round to look at his best friend. "'They ain't
'her''?"

	Ryouga looked at him. "I've spent a lot of time with 
Akane-san," he said. "She used t'tell P-Chan an awful lot. Cried on
me too, sometimes. About you."

	Ranma looked down.

	"Anyway, Akane-san would never've said what she said in
those letters. She'd have said goodbye, but actually *admitting*
she loves you? Asking someone *else* to marry you? Never happen,
not in a million years. Not if she was saying it for herself."

	Ranma was looking at the Lost Boy with dawning
comprehension. "You think she's been kidnapped and the kidnapper
made her post these letters to put us off the scent."

	"Yeah, pretty much."

	"Dammit all to HELL!" Ranma burst out. "Who would kidnap
*Akane*?"

	Ryouga lifted an eyebrow. "Do you want an itemised list, or
can I get away with saying 'lots'?"

	Ukyou reappeared at the door of the doujou. "Kasumi-san says
that Akane had been listless all yesterday afternoon. So I think
that she probably decided to go yesterday and she just left last
night."

	"She got hypnotised on the way home from school!" Ranma
announced. "It's the only explanation! Now we just have to find
where she stopped... oh no..."

	"What? What?" Ryouga demanded.

	"Yuka-san and Sayuri-san. They're the two biggest gossips
of Furinkan High, and Akane's best friends. They'd know..."

	"... and the second we say *anything* to them, it becomes
immediate public knowledge," Ukyou finished. "But there's nobody
else to ask."

	"That's our first stop, then," Ryouga confirmed.

**********

	Meiou Setsuna paused outside the doujou, listening to the
tail end of the conversation within.

	Yuka-san and Sayuri-san... those two girls that had been
with Nadeshiko-chan. No, she was safe. They wouldn't remember
anything but a conversation between Nadeshiko-chan and a shop
assistant. One that wasn't that long, either.

	That was one of the things about being a Senshi. When you
had all your power under your complete control, it was remarkable
how little was really needed for any given task. Even one as
important as this.

	The three teenagers left the doujou, heading out of the
gate. Now was her chance to quietly slip in and pick up the book,
tying up that loose end. But before she moved into the house, she
took a moment to notice the dark green highlights in the
pigtailed boy's hair.

	Over such oversights does Destiny trip and fall flat on Her
face. For Setsuna had not heard any but the last part of that
conversation.

*********

	"Hello!" called a bright voice from the entryway.

	"Come in, Usagi-chan," Makoto-san welcomed, without turning
around from the miso she was stirring. "You're just in time for
breakfast."

	Kaneda saw a literal blur fly across the room over to the
table, resolving itself into a slender girl with long blonde
pigtails and bright blue eyes. She hadn't seen anything like that
since Ra....

	She jerked her mind away from the memories. She would not
think about it. She would not remember him, or his skill, or his
glorious blue eyes.... She would *not*. And she would *not* cry,
either....

	It was a very good thing for Kaneda that Makoto-san chose
that moment to serve breakfast. Sliding the freshly-cooked fish,
toasted seaweed and sweet rice in front of her guests and setting
their miso down before them, she sat down. "I'm sorry it isn't
very much - this is my market day," she apologised. "My pantry
is not very well stocked by Sunday."

	Kaneda nodded. "I understand perfectly," she assured her
quietly. "It was the same for...." She stopped, and took a deep
breath. "For someone I knew once," she finished sadly.

	Both Usagi-san and Makoto-san nodded calmly, knowing better
than to press her for details, and breakfast continued.

	After a few moments of awkward silence, Usagi-san decided
to try some conversation. "So, Mako-chan, are you going to the
temple this morning?"

	"Yes, I'd planned to go later," Makoto-san replied, grateful
for this opening gambit. "I wanted to ask Rei-chan about a few
things."

	Kaneda perked up a bit at this. "Rei-chan? Do you mean Hino
Rei-san, that I met last night?"

	"Yes," Usagi-san said. "She lives with her grandfather at
the Cherry Hill Temple. She's the priestess of the temple."

	"I could use a blessing, and a good-luck charm," Kaneda
murmured. "May I accompany you?"

	Usagi-san and Makoto-san traded looks that Kaneda recognised
all-too-well, saying without words that she would be doing what
they wanted her to. "Of course," they chorused, proving her
suspicions. Oh well, it wasn't like she had very much planned,
anyway.

*********

	The youma /popped/ into existence in a corner of Juuban
Park.

	It wasn't a very intelligent youma. To be fair, very few
youmae *are*. But this one was dim even by their admittedly lax
standards. As evidenced by its choice of place and time of
materialization.

	Logic indicates it needed a reason to be there, and despite
the creature's disdain for logic, it did indeed have one.
Specifically, it was there because the place was dangerous.

	As previously stated, this creature did not have much
respect for logic. It did, however, have a great deal of respect
for its superiors' abilities to keep benefits for themselves,
rather than passing them down the chain to hardworking
subordinates - such as itself. One tactic it *knew* they used was
the spreading of rumours about girls called 'Sailors' and how one
should stay away from their territories.

	Nothing so blatantly ridiculous could possibly exist, it
knew, so these 'Sailor Worlds' had to be areas kept for the
upper-ups to enjoy. Well, *it* was going to enjoy them now.

	It blinked in the bright sun. Midmorning in Juuban Park on
a Sunday was a lot sunnier than it was used to. Not to mention
louder.

	The people of Tokyo are not dumb, and the people of Juuban,
having been youma-fodder for the past four years, had become
*very* skilled at pattern-recognition. It was only those few who
had been born without any self-preservation instincts whatsoever
who did not now have the pattern 'eight-foot-tall vaguely-feminine
oddly-coloured creature = DANGER, reaction = RUN' etched on their
subconscious.

	Consequently, what had been a calm and peaceful park, if
somewhat overcrowded with young families, dating couples and
relaxing teenagers, was now a rapidly-emptying mob pit.

	The youma didn't care too much. The panic just added an
enjoyable taste to the energy...

	"What on EARTH are *you*?" a voice demanded.

	It turned to face a party of three teenagers. Two, one with
long blonde pigtails and one with a high, brown ponytail, were
backing away. The third, with short black hair, was watching it
curiously.

	The youma roared - it had never managed to get the hang of
speech - and charged.

	That was its fourth mistake.

*********

	Kaneda had been walking across the park with Makoto-san and
Usagi-san, watching curious children embarrass all the courting
couples and asking Makoto-san about the flowers in the
flowerbeds, to stave off less pleasant topics of conversation.

	People suddenly panicking and sprinting for the exits wasn't
what she'd call common Sunday-morning behaviour. Moving against
the tide, she pushed her way towards the source, half-noticing
Usagi-san and Makoto-san following her. 

	The tall blue woman with neon orange hair and electric pink
clothing was not what she was expecting. So she asked what was,
to her, the obvious question.

	"What on EARTH are *you*?"

	The woman swung round. Her eyes, Kaneda noticed in passing,
were neon green. She growled and charged.

	There was no way to dodge that charge. It was fast and it
was hard, and Kaneda braced herself for the impact, readying her
fists. At the last second, she thrust out a fist, aimed at the
creature's solar plexus. 

	/Ranma would have seen that a mile away and moved,/ she
thought, dazed, from her seat on the ground where the force form
the youma had knocked her. The youma itself lay on the ground in
front of her, apparently unconscious. Kaneda shook her head and
started to get up....

	... only to have her feet knocked out from underneath her.

	/Huh?/

	The youma staggered to its own feet, a triumphant grimace
twisting its features, despite the fact that one of its arms hung
uselessly by its side. Kaneda stared, dazed, up at it.

	The youma punched at her again, with its good arm. Kaneda
woke up from her daze in a hurry and rolled to the side, dodging
the youma's attack. It roared in frustration as Kaneda slammed
it with a solid knee kick, and it went down like a set of
skittles.

	Kaneda gave herself a small grin. Knee kicks weren't
glamorous, and weren't often used, but there was no way to stop
going down if you were hit by one. And if it hit you the wrong
way (or the right way, depending upon your opponent), it'd crush
your kneecap and you *couldn't* get up again.

	Kaneda sincerely hoped that she'd hit the monster the wrong
way.

	Unfortunately she was out of luck. The youma staggered to
its feet, roared again, and started a limping charge towards her.

	Grinning, Kaneda waited till the creature had come too far
to stop, and then stepped to the side. Whereupon she got clocked
by the youma's fist and sent spinning into a tree.

	Usagi and Makoto ran over to her. Kaneda-san was dazed and
seemingly unconscious. They looked at each other, and at the
injured youma. "No powerup and no special powers, and she badly
hurt that youma," Makoto breathed. "What *is* she?"

	"Our friend," Usagi replied. "MOON ETERNAL POWER, MAKE-UP!!"

	Makoto shrugged. "JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!!"

	The youma swung around, to be confronted with two girls,
dressed in skimpy leotards with extremely short skirts and lots
of ribbons, with sailor collars.

	Over under the tree, Kaneda opened her eyes. The picture
before her swayed blearily.

	"You monster! You have attacked a girl with no provocation,
causing her to be injured! I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of
Justice, and for this crime, in the name of the Moon, I will
punish you! MOON FRISBEE!"

	Kaneda watched, somehow unable to disbelieve her eyes, as
Sailor Moon took off her tiara. It shimmered into a glowing ring,
which she then flung at the monster. With its first touch, the
monster shivered and then transformed into a shape made of
silvery powder, which then lost its cohesion and fell to the
ground. /Pumice stone,/ she thought for no apparent reason. /Like
the dust on the Moon./

	Sailor Moon and the other Sailor walked over to her.

	Kaneda blinked. "Makoto-san. Usagi-san. I don't feel so
good."

	Sailors Moon and Jupiter looked at each other.

*********

	"Hold, foul cur! What is this tale that hath reached mine
ears? Is it true that the beauteous Akane hath shed thy spell and
fled thy side, even unto the howling wilderness?"

	"Hello, Kunou," Ranma said flatly. "Somebody's stolen Akane
again. We're hunting him down. Feel free to get lost."

	The dark-haired boy with the bokken waved said bokken in the
air dramatically. Alas for the sake of melodrama, none of his
audience were of a disposition to appreciate it. "The tale that
was carried to me stated that the fair Akane had fled of her own
accord."

	Ryouga, who had only encountered Kunou in passing and in the
usual 'get-Ranma-NOW' mobs, poked Ukyou. "Who's *he*?" he hissed.

	"Hold, but who is this? A stranger, who has not yet had the
pleasure of meeting my noble self? So then, I shall introduce
myself to thee! I am Kunou Tatewaki, scion of the noble House of
Kunou, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School, aged seven - no,
eighteen, for I celebrated my natal day last week. And thou,
sir?"

	Ryouga blinked. "Uh." he began intelligently. "Um, I'm
Hibiki Ryouga, um, of the, um, well, of the Unryuu Sumo School,
I guess."

	Ukyou blinked. "The Unryuu Sumo School?" she said
incredulously. "You do sumo?"

	Ryouga gave her a flat look. "No, I defeated Akari's
Katsunishiki, and *he* was the champion. So when I accepted
Akari's hand, I became the head of the school."

	Ranma tilted his head to one side. "So you're *really*
engaged?"

	Ryouga sighed. "I love Akari," he said humbly. "And she
loves me too. I'm very lucky."

	Kunou, meanwhile, had been processing the information. "So!
Thou hast a betrothed, one Akari, also of thy School?"

	Everyone jumped at this sudden reminder that Kunou was still
standing in front of them. 

	"Yes," Ryouga replied, and then his eyes narrowed. "You're
not going to fall in love with *her*, are you?"

	Kunou looked down his nose at the shorter Ryouga. "Nay, good
sir, for the Pig-Tailed Girl and the fair Akane-san hold all of
my heart. Besides, I can see that thou art a doughty warrior,
well-deserving of the heart of a maiden, unlike that cur Saotome.
I could well believe that the sweet Akane-san hath fled from
*him*, forasmuch as he hath held her *and* the the Pig-Tailed Girl
by his side in durance vile, bound by his enchantments. I wept
full tears of joy when I did hear from wise Nabiki-san that
Akane-san had shed her chains and flown from his side and e'en
now I search for her, that I might shelter her from the storm in
my arms - and the Pig-Tailed Girl, too, for the kindhearted 
Akane-san would not leave her sister in torment to the cruel attentions
of that vile enchanter."

	Ranma, Ryouga and Ukyou all stared at Kunou. Finally, Ukyou
pulled herself together. "Great lungs he's got," she muttered,
saying aloud, "Ah, well, I'm not sure where the Pig-Tailed Girl
is, but we're pretty sure that Akane-san was kidnapped. There
were signs in her bedroom -"

	"Kidnapped? She did not flee, but someone wrested her from
the Sorcerer Saotome's side?!" Kunou demanded, his eyes alight.
Ranma groaned and covered his eyes with his hand.

	Ukyou ignored the warning signs. "Yes, she -"

	"She lies in the hands of a greater evil than Saotome, who
for all his faults at least never denied me the sight of my love!
Fear not, my sweet Akane-san! I will find thee and free thee, and
when thou art finally free of all enchantments and durance vile,
shalt thou give thyself unto me, and I shall bend myself ever to
thy happiness! I swear it!" Kunou shouted, gesturing at the
heavens with his bokken. On cue, his trademark thundercloud
appeared, crackling with thunder and lightning and dripping rain.

	Ranma and Ryouga ran for a nearby storefront, narrowly
escaping the rain and activation of their curses. Ukyou, slightly
slower on the uptake, stared at Kunou for a stupefied second, and
then sprinted after the boys. The three sixteen-year-olds peered
out from under the awning at the rain and the maniac yelling how
he would save his Akane-san.

	"Ukyou, what were you *thinking*?" Ranma demanded. "*You*
know what he's like!"

	"He's got money," Ukyou argued. "Kunou on our side equals
a secure financial base."

	"You know, like this he looks a lot like that Kodachi girl
who attacked Akane while she was learning rhythmic gymnastics,"
Ryouga commented.

	"He's her older brother."

	"Oh."

*********

	Kaneda, Usagi-san and Makoto-san climbed the steps to the
Cherry Tree Temple.

	Makoto-san had been rather dismayed to find that Kaneda had
recognised them. Apparently it wasn't common.

	"But you look the same," Kaneda had argued. "Your hair's the
same, the colour of your eyes and skin doesn't change, and you've
got the same figures. Surely lots of other people have noticed!"

	Usagi-san had smiled suddenly. "No, they haven't. But don't
worry about it. Come on, Makoto. Let's *all* go to the Temple."

	So they were all walking up the hill, when Kaneda looked up
and saw Rei-san sitting on the top step, watching them. "Sailor
Mars...." she said softly. 

	Rei-san stiffened. Makoto-san and Usagi-san exchanged
glances.

	"Rei-chan," Usagi sang, "can we come in? We've got something
I think we need to tell you...."

*********

	"She's not a Senshi," Rei declared two hours later.

	"But only other Senshi have ever been able to recognise us
in our transformations and disguises," Usagi maintained. "She
recognised Mako-chan and I in our transformation. She recognised
*you* from newscasts! Kaneda *has* to be one of us!"

	"I have to agree with Rei-chan, Usagi-chan," Ami chimed in.
"I've scanned Kaneda, Rei-chan's purified her with the Fire, and
Michiru-san's viewed her with the Mirror. Kaneda is an
extraordinarily pure soul, on a level with one of us, but she is
*not* a Senshi. She's just an ordinary girl."

	All of the Senshi, except for Pluto, had heeded Usagi's
request to come by the Cherry Hill Temple and help her work out
this puzzling new problem.

	"No," said Haruka quietly, watching out the door, where
Kaneda was sitting behind the counter of the fortune-selling
booth. She'd volunteered for it when Rei had said she was
supposed to be looking after it that afternoon. With Kaneda
behind the counter, all eight of the Senshi and Mamoru felt free
to sit in the Fire's chamber and discuss her. Dressed in one of
Rei's priestess-robes, nobody knew she wasn't a priestess
herself. "Kaneda-san is *not* 'just' a girl."

	"I agree with Haruka-papa," Hotaru added quietly. "She isn't
a threat, but she isn't 'normal' either." She frowned. "Her aura
feels like Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa's auras."

	Minako lifted her head. "Like Senshi?" she asked.

	Hotaru shook her head. "No. Like - I don't know how to
describe it. Like someone prepared to - no, who *expects* to
endure pain. Someone who works for the best but expects to pay
for it, and the payment is going to hurt forever. I think that's
what I mean. I don't know the word I'm looking for -"

	"It's 'warrior', Hotaru-chan."

	Everyone looked up to see Setsuna standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry I'm late; I had some errands to run," the senshi of
Pluto said easily, slipping into her place in the circle. "It
*is* Sunday, and the traffic was horrendous."

	"Do you know -"

	"- about our visitor out there? Yes." Setsuna smiled
enigmatically.

	"So what is she?" Makoto burst out.

	"Hotaru told you. She is a warrior." Setsuna sighed. "She
is a warrior from a line of warriors, and she is not the best of
her line. She is adequate, even excellent, but she was among
extraordinary warriors, and her skills were negligible in
comparison. Nor did she feel cared for, which might have
compensated - all people need to feel that they are important,
needed, or at least valued." Setsuna smiled. "The story that she
told you last night is true - she does have a temper and she does
jump to conclusions very easily. She does feel alienated from all
her previous friends."

	Mamoru stared over at Setsuna's carefully blank expression.
/'*She* does', hmm. What about what those friends think?/

	"She's got a kind heart," Makoto said quietly. "Maybe she
does have a temper, but she volunteered to do Rei-chan's job
without a second thought."

	"She can stay here," Rei said firmly. "I saw her fend off
Grandpa, without hurting his feelings either. And Grandpa and
Yuuchirou-san are used to a girl with a temper around the place -
another won't be any adjustment at all."

	"Or with me," Mamoru volunteered. "I think I'd like a
younger sister."

	"She can't stay with you, Mamoru-san!" Ami interjected.
"You've only got a studio apartment!... or so Usagi-chan says,"
she added, blushing, when everybody stared at her.

	"How about Mamoru-san adopts her, legally, and she lives
here with Rei-san?" interceded Michiru.

	"Why don't we see what Kaneda-san thinks?" asked Usagi.

	At that point, Kaneda knocked on the door. "I'm sorry to
disturb you, but I don't think there's going to be any more
people for a while, and I'm very curious. What am I?"

	"An ordinary girl, apparently, who puts two and two together
correctly," Haruka told her. "I'm -"

	"Sailor Uranus, right?" Kaneda smiled. "I've always thought
you were really cool, the way you could just kick all those
monsters' butts."

	"How could you tell?" Haruka asked.

	"Well, it's lots of little things," Kaneda said
consideringly. "For one thing, your hairstyle's the same - not
many girls wear it *that* short. And you're tall, which is also
unusual. You stand like Uranus, with your arms like that. Also,
the way you're standing next to Saturn - you *are* Sailor Saturn,
right? - you stand that way a lot too. It's no one thing, it's
every thing. You're Uranus. And if you throw that punch, you're
going to be off-balance and I could break one of your ribs on my
retalitory strike. So please don't, okay?"

	Michiru giggled.

	"Michi!" Haruka protested, and turned back to Kaneda. "How
could you tell I was preparing to slug you?"

	Kaneda shrugged. "Your stance. You were shifting your
weight, tensing your arm and swinging your shoulder back a bit.
When you know what to look for, it's easy to see. Kind of like
the way I can see that you're all the Senshi, and he's Tuxedo
Mask."

	Makoto brushed froward. "Can you teach me how to do it?"

	"Of course, if you really want me to. I'm not *really* good,
not like -" Kaneda paused, swallowed, and continued, "- some
other people who do martial arts, but I can teach you the
basics."

	"May I, too?" Mamoru joined in. "We were discussing your
future, and I think I'd like it a lot if you'd let me adopt you
- little sister."

	Kaneda blinked up at him. "You want *me* for a little
sister? But you don't know me! You don't know a thing about me!
I could be an axe murderer!"

	Everyone laughed. "I'll take that risk," Mamoru replied. "So
you'll be Chiba Kaneda?"

	"No." Looking out the window, the girl suddenly smiled and
then looked back at everyone around the room. "I'll be Chiba
Nadeshiko. If that's okay."

	"Why 'Nadeshiko'?" Ami asked.

	Nadeshiko reached over the porch and pulled up two weeds
that had taken root between the cobbles of the courtyard. They
were pink nadeshiko. Smiling at the rest of the room, she
replied, "Because I believe in omens."

	Setsuna nodded calmly, and pulled a bundle of official forms
out of her purse, putting them down on the floor. The first was
a notice of an official name change, that Tendou Akane was now
legally known as Chiba Nadeshiko. The second was a copy of the
family register, registering Chiba Nadeshiko as a member of the
Chiba family, and Chiba Mamoru's younger sister. The third
portion was paperwork relating to the closure of Tendou Akane's
bank accounts and a new one belonging to Chiba Nadeshiko.
Finally, the last bundle were transfer forms from Juuban High
School, registering Chiba Nadeshiko as a new student.

	Usagi looked at them, and then at Setsuna. "Setsuna-san!"
she said reprovingly.

	Setsuna lifted an eyebrow. "I *told* you I'd had to run some
errands," she replied. "What took the time was making sure the
records were untraceable. As it is I've had to leave shopping for
Nadeshiko's new uniform and schoolbooks to you." She rose to
leave. "Nadeshiko-chan?"

	"Y-yes, Setsuna-san?" Nadeshiko replied shakily, staring at
the papers on the floor.

	"I, too, should like to attend those martial arts lessons."

	"You will be welcome," Nadeshiko replied.

	"Thank you." And she was gone.

*********

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

1. I prefer the manga ending of Marmalade Boy to the anime ending.
Although similar in outcome, the major difference relevant here is
that in the manga, Yuu went to Kyoto, not America.

2. While I am not nor claim to be any kind of an expert on the
Shinto religion, my research indicates that while priests can and
do perform many of the ceremonies of the religion, the primary
religious personage is the priestess of the temple. A fully-trained
priestess will perform all the ceremonies a priest can as well as 
several that only the priestess is allowed to perform.
	Therefore, a Shinto person would be more concerned with the
presence of Rei at the temple, and *her* expertise, than with her
grandfather and his. She is the priestess of the temple, and as
she is fully trained, her grandfather is, in religious matters,
her subordinate.

3. Yes, I know it sounds even sillier than 'Moon Tiara Magic',
but 'Moon Frisbee' *is* what Sailor Moon calls her thrown-tiara
attack in Japanese.

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