All right.  Here is what I've done so far of chapter 8.  It's nowhere
near finished yet, so keep that in mind, okay?  I realize there are going
to be lots of people who would have treated the beginning of the chapter
differently, but unless I have a *really* good reason, I won't change it.

   I'm sending this to my pre-readers *and* the FFML.  Further updates will
only be sent to my pre-readers until I finish the chapter.

   Phoenix (Geez, who thought I'd be able to write 200 Kb of text before
getting to the main point of the story?)

*******************************

   Lines Of Destiny

   A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2  Crossover

   By Louis-Philippe Giroux
   <Phoenix@upc.qc.ca>

   Thank you for all your comments!  Keep'em coming!
   C&C is always welcome!!!  

   Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko
Takahashi.  Please don't sue me.

*** I should mention that I've done a somewhat important rewrite of the
first seven chapters.  You can find the updated chapters at
http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/phoenix.html.  This chapter takes some of
those changes into account.  A read-me concerning the changes is available
at WWW adress above.***


Chapter 8

   Sailor Moon and the other Senshi took a step back and looked on as Ranko
(and her protests) vanished from their sight in a whirlwind of colors.
The rainbow-colored storm lasted for a few seconds and suddenly, the
ground started to shake and seemingly exploded upwards, though the
shrine's courtyard itself remained undamaged.  Just as fast as the
transformation had started, it stopped, leaving a newly awakened and
wide-eyed Sailor Terra in its wake.
   The Senshi got their first look at Sailor Terra.  The Earth's Senshi had
the standard white bodysuit, but had a dark blue fuku with a gold trim at
the bottom.  The bow on her chest was golden-colored with a dark
caramel-coloured jewel in the middle.  She sported dark blue, flat-soled,
laced boots that reached just below her knees.  A yellow tiger's eye
graced her tiara, which could be seen through her mane of red hair, which
now hung loose.  Her whole body was also covered with golden aura.
   Sailor Terra blinked and looked down at herself.
   She tugged at the fuku and blinked again.  

   Sailor Terra's thoughts were in turmoil.  *This can't be happening to
me!...* she franctically thought.  The foreign images that were dancing in
the back of her mind did nothing to reassure her.  *What did I ever do to
deserve this kind of crap all the time?* she asked herself.  She needed to
get away, to think, alone.  And for that, she decided to put as much space
as she could between herself and the Senshi and especially Endymion. 

   The Sailor Senshi were all surprised when Sailor Terra suddenly whirled
around and dashed back through the entrance of the temple.  Endymion
reacted first.  "Akana!  Wait!" he shouted, then ran after Sailor Terra.
Sailor Moon, of course, wasted no time and quickly ran after her beloved.
The other four Senshi blinked and stood there, surprised by yet another
unusual turn of events.
   "What are you girls waiting for?  Go after them!" yelled Luna from the
bushes.
   The four remaining Senshi needed no more prompting.

   Sailor Moon was running as fast as she could, but she quickly lost sight
of  Endymion and Sailor Terra.  Stopping at an intersection, she looked at
her surroundings and quickly realized that she couldn't see them anymore.
"Great!  Now I've lost them!" she nearly wailed.  She turned around to see
the other Senshi catching up to her
   "No we haven't.  I can still track them with my computer," said a
slightly breathless Sailor Mercury.
   "All right , Mercury, where are they?" asked Sailor Moon.
   Sailor Mercury tapped a few keys on her computer and her eyes widened.
"How can Endymion be catching up to her at the speed she's moving?!" she
said incredulously.
   "What do you mean?" asked Sailor Venus.
   "Let's just say we have a long run ahead of us if we want to catch up
with them," she said with a sigh.  "Lets go!"

   *ARRRGGH!!!!*  Sailor Terra thought in frustration, as she took a quick
peek behind her.  She noticed that Endymion, who had somehow managed to
keep up with her, was also starting to glow with an aura like herself, only
his was dark blue instead of golden.  She had considered using the rooftops
early on, as she was used to, but glowing as she was, she would undoubtedly
attract even more unwanted attention that way.  Besides, if Endymion could
keep up with her at the speed she was going, she didn't think he'd have any
problem following her and they'd attract even _more_ attention that way,
something she most definitely didn't want.
   *What do I have to do to lose this guy?* she thought angrily.  Endymion
was gaining on her despite her best efforts to lose him and she was
starting to suspect why.  Each time she turned around a corner to try and
lose him, she felt a tingling in the back of her head and a few seconds
later, Endymion was back on her tail.  He was obviously using some mental
trick to home in on her, but how did he do it?
   #You seem to have forgotten that it was one of Endymion's favorite
tricks!  You never _could_ hide from him if he tried to find you,# said a
voice in the back of her mind.
   Sailor Terra almost lost her footing in shock.  The voice had been her
own, but tinted with something that sounded like... amusement?  She shook
her head.  *Great!  Now I'm hearing voices!  My own, no less!  Maybe I
_am_ going insane!*
   #Well, you _are_ talking to yourself, in a way, but you're not going
insane, Ranma,# said the voice.
  Terra had no time to think about what the voice meant by that as she
sensed Endymion getting closer.  *If I talk to him, maybe I can persuade
him to leave me alone!* she thought hopefully.  She then noticed she was
getting close to a very busy neighbourhood.  Not wanting to get caught
dressed (and glowing) as she was in public, she saw a building and decided
to jump to the roof using the window ledges.  Terra got another surprise
when she realized that a jump that should have put her on top of the
building sent her a few dozen extra meters over the roof and in the air
instead.  *What the hell?* she thought.
   #Have you also forgotten the advantages of being a Senshi?# asked the
mysterious voice.
   "Who the hell are you?!" said Terra angrily, as she finally came back
down on the roof.
   If she didn't know better, Terra would have sworn that she heard the
voice had raised an eyebrow.  #I'm you, of course.  Or at least, a part of
you were, anyway,# said the voice. 
   That particular statement did nothing to reassure Terra.  She tried to
ignore the voice (quite unsuccessfully, too) and to concentrate instead on
the matter of Endymion following her.  She could feel him coming closer.
She didn't notice her aura slowly diminishing into nothingness.

   Sailor Terra had obviously tried to lose him a few times, but Endymion
had quickly found out he could tell approximately where she was when she
wasn't in line of sight just by thinking about her.  How he had managed to
figure out _that_ little trick, however, was still beyond him.  The fact
that she was glowing like a street lamp also made her rather easy to track.
He had noticed a few moments earlier that he was starting to glow with a
dark blue aura as well, but he figured that if it didn't hurt him, he
didn't mind.  At least not right now.
   Endymion was surprised to see her nearly lose her footing in
startlement.  He was just about to catch up to her when he saw that she
was about to dash through a crowded street.  *She's going to cause an
accident at the speed she's going,* he thought (of course, it didn't occur
to him that he was also  moving at an equally dangerous speed).  He
suddenly gaped when he saw her leap up the side of a building,
overshooting the roof.  Automatically, he shifted to his Tuxedo Kamen
costume (hauling his armor and sword would slow him down) and followed her.
He noticed that his aura winked out the moment his armor vanished.

   When he finally reached the roof of the building, he saw Sailor Terra
waiting for him in a combat stance, her aura dissipated. 
   "Stay right where you are, Endymion!" she warned him.  *Why's he wearing
that tuxedo again?* she thought puzzled.
   Tuxedo Kamen stopped his advance.  "What's the matter?" he asked slowly,
unsure of which approach to take.
   "Why are you following me?" she asked.
   The question nearly stumped Tuxedo Kamen for a second.  "I followed you
because I don't understand your reaction.  Why did you run away, Akana?"
   "Don't call me Akana!!!"  Terra shrieked.  "I am not Akana and I am not
your sister so leave me the hell
alone!"
   Tuxedo Kamen started to get nervous.  Aka... er, Ranko was obviously not
reacting well to her transformation.  *But why?* he mused.  *She wasn't
anywhere _this_ hostile towards me before.*  He became careful.  "If you
weren't my sister, then you would not have been able to transform into
Sailor Terra."  He saw Terra blink absently and look down at herself.  When
she looked up, her eyes were vacant for a few seconds.  If Tuxedo Kamen
did not know better, he would have sworn she was listening to somebody,
but there was no one except himself on the roof.  
   Suddenly, Sailor Terra shook her head and looked once again at Tuxedo
Kamen.  "I don't care!  I'm gonna make one thing very clear to you:  For
years I've had to put up with people wanting to kill me or marry me and
all sorts of weird stuff happening to me.  Now, for the first time in a
long time, I feel like I've got some resemblance of control over my life,
so I do _not_ need this shit right now."  She stopped for a brief moment,
her eyes lost focus again for a while, then added:  "And I am _not_ your
sister!  I'm no one's _sister_, got it?"
   Tuxedo Kamen started to become weary of the slightly manic expression
painted on Sailor Terra's face.  He decided to try another tactic.  "What
kind of weirdness?  Maybe we can help," he said.  "After all, we've
battled our share of strange creatures as well."
   "He has a point, you know," said a new voice.  
   Sailor Terra and Tuxedo Kamen looked in surprise as Sailor Moon and the
other Sailors made their appearance, if slightly out of breath.
   Sailor Terra' eyes drifted back to Sailor Moon.  Once again, her eyes
lost focus for a while and and when she came back to, her eyes widened in
awe, but she quickly returned to a somewhat annoyed expression.  "You,"
she said in a disgusted voice.  "Why did you give me that rod in the first
place?"
   Sailor Moon looked a bit more composed now.  "Beause it's yours," she
said matter-of-factly.
   "No it's not!" protested the blue-and-gold Senshi.  "Look at what it did
to me!" she said testily, fingering her fuku.
   Sailor Moon was now Officially Confused.  "What do you mean?"
   Sailor Terra's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.  "I'll tell you the same
thing I told him," she said, pointing at Tuxedo Kamen.  "For a long time,
I've had weirdos out for my blood.  I've fought people who could kill you
quite easily..."
   "Hey!" interrupted Sailor Jupiter, sounding annoyed.  "We've fought
demons, invaders from the future, even alien entities who wanted to
destroy the planet!  You name it, we fought it."
   Terra turned to face Jupiter and looked at her with an expressionless
gaze.  "You say you've fought beings who could destroy the world?" Terra
asked flatly.
   "Yeah!", vigorously answered the ponytailed Senshi.
   "Then what do you need _me_ for?"
   Sailor Jupiter blinked, speechless.  She had expected a lot of different
rebukes, but not _this_ particular one.  
   Sailor Mercury saved Sailor Jupiter from potential embarassment by
entering the conversation.  "The monsters always become stronger after a
while.  You could be a great addition to the team since you're an
extremely strong fighter.  We found out that in our previous life, you
were second in power among the Senshi."
   "I'm just a martial artist," protested Terra.  "If you'd spent your
entire life training like I did, you'd be able to do what I do..." she
trailed off, becoming quiet.  She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
When she reopened her eyes, she looked at Sailor Moon and spoke in a steady
voice.  "There are several reasons why I won't fight with you.  Most of
them, you wouldn't understand, but there is one you will: I promised
someone I hold very dear I would no longer willingly try to get into
fights.  Joining you would violate this promise and if there's one thing I
still have after all this time, it's my honor.  _That_ is why I want you
to leave me alone; you'll just get me into trouble."  She sighed.  "It's
bad enough I have all those memories and voices in my head that I can't
make sense of."
   "Maybe I could help you with that," said Sailor Mars.  *Voices?* the
young priestess thought, puzzled.  *She hears voices?*
   Sailor Terra looked at the red-clad Senshi suspiciously.  "Can you take
the memories away?"
   Mars shook her head.  "I can't take those memories away, nor would I
want to if I could, but I can try and make it so that they'll at least
make some sense."
   Sailor Terra looked pensive.  "I'm not sure I _want_ those memories."
she said at last.
   Sailor Moon spoke with a soft voice.  If anything, it made her sound
more mature.  "If you really want nothing to do with us,  we will respect
your wishes, but at least let Sailor Mars give you peace of mind."
   The other Senshi, including Tuxedo Kamen, were silent.  The lack of
sound was becoming almost unbearable.  At last, Sailor Terra spoke:  "All
right, but she'd rather not try to change my mind while she's playing with
it."
   Sailor Mars scowled.  "I wouldn't manipulate someone's mind like that
even if I could.  You're family, in a sense, because of Ranma and I
wouldn't want him angry with me."
   Sailor Terra had the grace to look sheepish for a while.  "Gomen nasai,
but I've had _really_ bad experiences with mind-altering stuff before,"
she said in a weary voice. 
   *That sounded like a loaded remark,* thought the young spiritualist.
"Apology accepted," she finally said.  That done, she came to stand in
front of Terra.  She put a gloved hand on Terra's head, just above the
tiara.  "Try to go in a meditative state, if you can."  Terra nodded and
both Senshi closed their eyes.  The two Senshi spent two whole minutes
standing still.  Sailor Moon was about to go nudge Sailor Mars to see if
everything was alright, but Sailor Mars' eyes suddenly snapped open and
she took a step back.
   "Is everything okay, Mars?" asked Sailor Moon.
   Sailor Mars waved her hand.  "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired.  It
was just harder to do than I'd thought, but I think it worked."
   At those words, Sailor Terra then opened her eyes.  She blinked a few
times, putting her hand to the side of her head.  She slowly turned to
Sailor Mars.  "I do think it did, but..." she turned to Sailor Moon,
"...this still doesn't change anything about my wanting to help you.  I'm
sorry."  Suddenly, a faint golden glow surrounded her and Ranma-chan
reappeared in her old clothes, hair back again a ponytail.  "I won't tell
your secret, Sailor Moon, but I would like it if you didn't come after me.
 You really don't need me anymore than I need you."  She took a long look
at her henhsin rod, and handed it to Sailor Moon.
   Sailor Moon shook her head vigorously, her ponytails swishing back and
forth.  "I won't take it back.  It's yours by birthright, no matter what
you might say."
   Ranma-chan frowned and shook her head.  "You only _think_ it's mine
because of a chance resemblance."  She tried to give it again to Sailor
Moon, who steadfastly refused it.
   "If you don't want it, then throw it away, for you are the only one on
this world who can use it," said Sailor Moon.
   Tuxedo Kamen watched, as Ranko finally put the henshin rod back in it's
subspace pocket.  "Ranko..." he started, but Ranma-chan raised a hand to
interrupt him.
   "Im sorry, Endymion."  As she moved towards the edge of the roof, she
added: "Please don't use that little trick to find me again.  Trust me;
it'll be better that way for both of us."  Saying no more, the redhead
jumped off the roof.
   Tuxedo Kamen rushed to the edge of the roof, but saw nothing, even
though there was still a lot of light outside.
   Sailor Jupiter broke the silence that permeated the atmosphere.  "Well!
That didn't exactly go as you planned it, eh, Usagi-chan?"
   Sailor Moon looked where Ranma-chan had leaped.  "I need to call
someone," was all she said.

***

   Akane was walking through a busy neighbourhood.  She had finished
touring the university and was on her way back to the Hikawa Shrine to
meet up with Ranma, although she was taking a different route, hoping to
spot a potential apartment.  She was walking in front of a school which
had just let out when a scene caught her eye.  There were several kids,
boys, by the look of their clothing, who seemed to be harassing someone.
As she walked closer, she heard one of the kids shout.
   "You're a freak and everybody knows it!"
   "Yeah!" jeered another.
   Akane frowned, her temper rising.  *Bullies.  I think they need to be
cooled off.*  A few quick strides and she was hovering over the small
group.  She immediately lifted two of them off the ground.  "What do you
think you're doing?" she asked in a dangerous tone of voice.
   The other kids, seeing their friends lifted up so easily by this older
girl, reacted predictably.  That is to say, they ran away in fright.
Akane shook her head and dropped the other two on the ground.  "You'd
better behave yourselves from now on..." but her warning was lost on deaf
ears as the two kids were already running away.  
   Sighing, she turned to the kid they were harassing.  "They won't be
bothering you again..." she started, but then stopped, surprised, when she
realized just _who_ she was talking to.
   "Hotaru-chan?"
   "Akane?" came the purple-eyed girl's startled reply.  "What are you
doing here?"
   "I was on my way back from the university, but...  what was happening
here, Hotaru-chan?  Why were those kids bullying you?"
    Hotaru lowered her head.  "It's nothing.  They've been doing it for a
long time.  I'm used to it, don't worry," she said in a low voice.
    Akane felt her temper rise again, but in sympathy to the young girl's
premise this time.  She lowered down until she was  at eye level with
Hotaru.  Gently, she raised Hotaru's chin so that the girl would look in
her eyes and was once again surprised by the feelings that were stirred
within herself at the sight of those purple eyes.  "Hotaru-chan, why were
they bullying you?" she asked again.
   Feelings were running rampant within Hotaru's mind.  She was very happy
that Akane had come to her rescue, but it saddened her as Akane's
mannerisms reminded her again of Kanma.  More than ever, she wished she
could tell Akane everything, but she couldn't, at least not yet.
   Akane's insistant question finally reached her mind and wordlessly, she
took Akane's hands and looked them over.  She soon found what she was
looking for: a small cut that had barely begun healing.  She pointed to
the wound:  "Do you see that cut?" she asked Akane.
   "That little thing?  I cut myself yesterday; it's nothing.  What does it
have to do with those kids?" asked Akane, a bit confused.
   Hotaru simply concentrated on the wound and let her healing power
manifest itself.  Three seconds later, there was absolutely no sign there
had ever been a cut.
   Akane's eyes widened.  "How did you do that?"" she asked in a soft, yet
surprised voice, as she inspected her hand.
   "I have the ability to heal people at a certain degree," answered Hotaru
simply, who was looking at Akane in the eyes, not knowing what kind of
reaction to expect.
   To Hotaru's joyous relief, Akane's reaction was not one of disgust, or
fear.  Quite the contrary, Akane was smiling widely.  "That's great,
Hotaru-chan!  I think it's a wonderful ability!"  Her mood suddenly
darkened a little.  "Is that why they were bothering you, Hotaru-chan?
Because you can heal?"
   "Hai," answered Hotaru quietly.  "One day, one of my classmates got hurt
outside and when I went to see what had happened, I just touched her and
the bruise she had healed up by itself."  She deliberately left several
details out, such as the fact that her healing ability used to leave her
exhausted until she was reborn a while ago when fighting Pharaoh 90.
   Akane smirked.  "Then the other kids are fools if they can't realize how
lucky they are to have you around."
   Hotaru looked a bit puzzled.  "You don't find it strange at all that I
can heal people just like that?"
   Akane grinned.  "Hotaru-chan, compared to what I've been through because
of Ranma these last few years, this is perfectly ordinary for me."  She
gave a short laugh.  "You'll have to do a lot better that that to surprise
me!"
   Hotaru couldn't help smiling.  Her curiosity was also aroused as to what
kind of adventures Ranma and Akane had had.  Hotaru then noticed the time.
"I have to get back home.  My parents will be waiting for me."
   "Do you want me to go with you?" asked Akane.  She wasn't exactly
worried about more bullies, but ever since she'd met Hotaru, she felt an
inexplicable urge to find out more about the young girl.
   Hotaru was about to decline the offer when she realized she didn't want
Akane to go just yet.  "I'd like that," she said, "But aren't you supposed
to be somewhere else?"
   Akane waved her hand dismissively.  "I told Ranma I'd meet him back at
his cousin's temple, but I can spare the time for now.  Don't worry."
   And so, the pair started walking towards Hotaru's home.  After a little
while, Hotaru asked what should have been a simple question, yet was
anything but.  "How did you and Ranma get together?" she asked innocently.
   Akane started to sweat.  _That_ was a complicated story.  She knew she
had told Ranma to be careful when recounting the story of their
relationship, and she didn't intend to tell Hotaru about Ranma's curse,
even she liked the girl.   On the other hand, she saw an opportunity to
rationally explain Ranma's abilities and behaviour at the train station (if
such a thing could be done), since she remembered Hotaru being there.
"Well, it all started one day when my father called me and my sisters for
a meeting..." she started.  *I'm going to have to do a lot of editing...*
thought Akane.  It should be noted here that it never occured to Akane to
make up a lie for simplicity's sake.

   "... and we finally got married two days ago.  Rei was kind enough to
let us stay at her place until we could find one of our own," Akane
finished.  She had managed to tell Hotaru a near-exact history of her
relationship with Ranma, although several parts had been altered to remove
any evidence of the curse.  She had had to alter the reason of Ranma's
confrontation with Herb, for example.  She had made the Musk prince just
another challenger (albeit a strong one) seeking to defeat Ranma.  She had
skipped the encounter with Saffron entirely, judging Ranma's last great
challenge as far too unbelievable, especially considering what had happened
to herself.  Akane was surprised to realize she'd told Hotaru that much,
considering how much she had herself berated Ranma on the subject.  She
didn't know why, but she felt comfortable around Hotaru.
   As for Hotaru, she had a hard time believing everything Akane had told
her.  For someone who wasn't a Sailor Senshi, she and Ranma had surely led
strange lives.  Arranged marriages, multiple iinazukes, high-powered
martial artists seeking to challenge Ranma at every step, the techniques
he learned as a result of those challenges and the list went on.  *Well,*
she mused, *Now at least I know why Ranma was so flippant with the daimon
at the train station yesterday.  From what Akane tells me, Ranma had this
kind of fight nearly every day.*
   "Hotaru-chan?" asked Akane.
   "Yes, Akane?"
   "I'd like it if you didn't go talk about this to everyone you know,
okay?"  Akane's voice was hesitant.  "Trouble has a nasty way of finding
Ranma wherever he goes and I'd like it if things could be quiet, now that
we've moved out of Nerima."
   "Hai," answered Hotaru distractedly.  Not only had what Akane told her
bordered on the unbelievable, but she knew she had witheld several
details.  There was one easily recognized constant between Kanma and Akane
(whom Hotaru was by now convinced beyond doubt were one and the same) and
it was that they were both lousy liars.  Looking up, she noticed that they
were now approaching the apartment.
   She turned to Akane.  "Well, this is where I live.  Thank you for
accompanying me," she said, bowing slightly.
   Akane smiled.  "It was no trouble at all, Hotaru-chan.  I hope I didn't
bore you too much with my story."
   Hotaru blinked.  *Bore me?  Anything _but_,* she thought.  She was about
to go in when the door opened up to reveal Michiru.
   "Ah! Hotaru-chan!  Haruka and I were wondering when you'd be back..."
Michiru trailed off and blinked as she realized who was with Hotaru.
"Akane-san?" she asked, surprised, "What are you doing here?"
   Akane couldn't help staring in surprise for a few seconds and then shook
her head.  "Michiru-san!?  I was... accompanying Hotaru back from school.
She had a bit of trouble with bullies..."
   Michiru frowned slightly and turned to Hotaru.  "Again?"  Her frown was
quickly replaced by an expression of worry.  "They didn't hurt you, did
they?"
   Hotaru shook her head.  "They didn't, thanks to Akane."
   Michiru looked questioningly at Akane, who had a weak smile on her face.
"I tried to make sure they won't bother her again," she said.
   Michiru saw an opportunity to learn more about this mysterious person
Hotaru thought was her reincarnated brother.  "Would you like to come in?"
   "Ahh, well..."  Akane turned to Hotaru, who was looking at her with
something that could almost have passed as a puppy-dog look.
   "We could always continue yesterday's conversation," Michiru offered,
seeing Akane waver.
   Akane gave in.  "All right, I guess I can come in for a little while,"
she said.
   As they walked inside, Akane turned to Hotaru.  "Is Michiru-san your
sister?"
   "Ahh, no," replied Hotaru, a bit embarrassed with Akane's assumption.
"She's my adoptive mother."
   Akane's eyes bugged out slightly at that particular piece of news.  She
then noticed for the first
time that Michiru was wearing a school uniform.  Since she and Ranma were
first-year university students, thus they no longer had to wear uniforms
(not that Ranma had ever worn his), she came to the suprised conclusion
that Michiru was younger than they were.
   The group made it's way to the living room, where Haruka was reading a
sports magazine.  The sandy-haired woman blinked and almost did a
double-take when she saw Akane.
   "Haruka, I hope you remember Akane Saotome?" asked Michiru, as if this
was nothing out of the ordinary.
   "Uh, yeah, I do," replied Haruka, not sure what had warranted this
impromptu visit.
   Michiru quickly saw Haruka's confused expression.  "Akane helped Hotaru
with her bully problem this afternoon and she accompanied her back here.
I thought we might continue our conversation where we had left off at the
cafe."
   Haruka's face immediately darkened.  "Bullies?  Again?"
   "It's all right, Haruka-papa, Akane took care of them," Hotaru quickly
reassured.  She knew that Haruka was very capable of going to try and find
who had done it and give them a lesson.
   Akane, on the other hand, was a bit surprised at Hotaru's appellation of
Haruka, since the latter was not wearing one of her more "manly" outfits
today and her figure was quite apparent.  *Haruka-san's a woman?*  She
remembered Ranma-chan's comments from yesterday at the cafe about "that
Ten'ou guy".  She quickly repressed the urged to snicker; it just wouldn't
be polite with Haruka within earshot.  *And he calls _me_ a tomboy?  I'm
going to have a lot of fun teasing Ranma about _this_!*
   "Please, sit," said Michiru, indicating one of the couches.  "I'll go
get some tea."
   As she sat, Akane examined the apartment.  It was very spacious, almost
like a small house, and the furniture seemed to be of high quality.
Obviously, Haruka and Michiru were obviously well-off on the financial
side, a thought which caused a stab of envy.  Ranma and herself would never
likely be so rich.  She turned to Hotaru.  "Why didn't you tell me you
were living with Michiru-san?  That you were her adopted daughter?"
   "You never asked," the purple-eyed girl said a bit sheepishly.
   "True," admitted Akane.  "But what about your family name, then?  You
said it was Tomoe, not Kaiou or Ten'ou."
   "That's a... complicated story," Hotaru said hesitantly.
   The phone suddenly rang.

   Michiru, standing in the kitchen, was whithin hands reach of the phone
and answered first.  "Moshi-moshi?" she asked.
   #Michiru?# came a familiar voice.  #Is Setsuna around?#
   "She's not here, Usagi," replied Michiru.  "She's been gone for a few
days now.  Why did you want to speak to her?"
   #Don't you know what happened at school today after class?# asked Usagi,
sounding surprised.
   "We left as soon as school ended.  Why?  What happened?" asked Michiru.
   On the other end of the line, Usagi thought about it for a couple of
seconds.  #Did Hotaru-chan tell you what happened when we went to greet
Mamo-chan at the train station yesterday?#
   Michiru was a bit puzzled by the non sequitur.  "You mean about the
daimon that attacked?"
   #Yeah, and about who defeated it?#
   "Yes, and I must admit we were quite intrigued by all of this.  Did
Rei's cousin really kill that monster all by himself?  I wondered if
Hotaru-chan was making some of it up."
   #I was there, Michiru; I know what I saw.  But this isn't about Ranma.
Do you know his wife has a cousin who looks a lot like Ranma?  Her
name's...#
   "...Ranko Tendo," finished Michiru.  "We know that already."
   There was a short silence.  #How did you know that?#
   "Haruka and I met her and Akane-san yesterday at a small cafe.  She
caused a small commotion and when I tried to find out more about her with
the Mirror, I only got a bunch of confusing images involving her,
Mamoru-san and a young man with black hair who looks like her.  I drew a
picture and Hotaru sayd it was Ranma."
   #You used the Mirror on Ranko?#  There was a small pause as Michiru
heard Usagi talking with some people.  When the voice came back, however,
it was no longer Usagi's, but Rei's.
   #Michiru, we all have to talk.  Lots of strange things have happened
since Ranma arrived, and we need to put what we know together.  I have a
strange feeling about all of this.#
   #What kind of strange things happened?" asked Michiru, growing slightly
worried.
   There was a pause.  #Michiru,# came Rei's voice, #Ranko is a Senshi,#
she said in a weary voice.
   "Nani?!" exclaimed Michiru, a bit too loudly.  "What are you talking
about?!"
   #Ranko is Sailor Terra,# said Rei.
   "How did _that_ happen?" said Michiru, unvoluntarily raising her voice.
   #Long story; that's why it would be better if we talked to you about
what happened today.  We also need to talk to Setsuna.#
   Michiru's mind was a whirl.  "She's not here.  As I told Usagi, she
hasn't been here for a while."  Michiru paused for a second, thinking
about the images the Mirror had given her.  "Rei, I have hundred
questions..." she started, but was interrupted.
   #Save them for the meeting.  We all have questions that need to be
answered.#
   Michiru was still far too surprised to comment on Rei's apparent
rudeness.  "I assume you want to meet
at the temple?" asked the turquoise-haired woman.
   #No!  Ranma and Akane will probably be there.  I was thinking that we
might come over to your apartment.#
   "Well," said Michiru, "It so happens that Akane-san is here right now."  
   There was yet another silence.  Michiru could almost hear Rei blink.
#Too many coincidences...# she heard Rei mutter on the phone.  #Why is she
at your place?# asked Rei in a tired voice.
   "She came back with Hotaru-chan," said Michiru.  "I'l see to it that
she's gone when you arrive, so it's no problem."
   #All right, we'll be along shortly,# said Rei.
   "Wait!" exclaimed Michiru.  "Is... Ranko coming?"
   There was an audible sigh.  The kind you hear when a person had more
than they could take. 
#No, she's not coming,# said Rei.  #We'll explain why when we meet later,
all right?#
   "We'll be waiting," said Michiru, who then hung up.  She turned around
only to find herself facing a worried-looking Haruka.
   "Is everything all right, Michiru?  I heard your shout in the living
room," said Haruka.  Michiru had a self-control that nearly rivaled
Setsuna's (although less cold).  Whatever had caused her to shout like that
a few moments ago must have been important.
   Michiru started relating her conversation.

   Back in the living room, Akane was talking with Hotaru.  Akane found
herself warming up even more to the young girl.  She listened as Hotaru
told her some stories (altered, of course).  She didn't notice when Hotaru
stopped talking.  Akane just kept looking at the young girl, spaced out.
   "Is something wrong, Akane?" asked Hotaru, wondering why Akane kept
staring at her silently.
   Akane shook her head slightly.  "It's nothing, I guess.  It's just that
I keep imagining I saw you someplace before; I just can't remember where."
   *Not where, but when,* thought Hotaru, who found herself repressing the
urge to tell Akane the truth again.  It wasn't easy.
   Akane looked at a clock and her eyes widened slightly at the time.  She
hadn't realized it was getting so late.  Turning to Hotaru, she had an
apologetic look on her face.  "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan, but I seem to have
misdjudged the time.  I really should get back."
   "Oh," was all Hotaru said, looking a bit dejected.
   Akane turned around and walked to the entrance of the kitchen, where
Michiru and Haruka were in deep discussion.  "Ah?  Excuse me, Michiru-san?"
   Haruka immediately shut up and Michiru turned around, a slight widening
of her eyes as the only indication of her startlement.  *I must be more
worried than I thought if she snuck up on us so easily,* she thought.
"Yes, Akane-san?" she asked out loud.
   "I apologize, but I really need to leave.  I told Ranma I would meet him
at the temple soon," said Akane.
   Michiru was somewhat happy and disappointed at the same time.  She
wouldn't have to think of an excuse to get Akane out of the house before
Rei and the others arrived, but she hadn't had time to speak with her
either.  "All right," she said,  "But you'll have to come back someday."
   "I certainly wouldn't mind," said Akane, meaning every word of it.  She
liked Hotaru and was eager to learn more about the purple-eyed child.

***

   Rei hung the receiver and leaned back against the phone booth.  She then
looked up to the others.  "All right.  Michiru has agreed to the meeting at
their place.  It seems as though they have several questions of their own
about Ranko and Ranma."
   "Why do you think Setsuna chose to vanish _now?_" asked Usagi.  "If she
monitors the timeline as she always does, I'd imagine she'd want to be
around to 'supervise us', as it were, especially now."
   "Maybe she is and we just don't know about it," interjected Ami.
   Makoto harrumphed.  "It _would_ be just like her to do something like that."
   "Maybe one of us should go to the temple and get Artemis and Luna before
Ranma and Akane get back there," said Rei.  "They must be tearing their fur
out right now."  She sighed.  "They're not going to like this."
   "None of us like how this is turning out," said Usagi.
   "I'll go get Luna and Artemis," said Minako.  "I'm a fast runner..."
   "No wonder with all the practice you get each morning," snickered Makoto.
   Minako glared briefly at Makoto.  She was tempted to retort, but decided
she'd get revenge somehow, later.  "I'll brief them on the way."  With
that, Minako transformed back into Sailor Venus (for extra speed) and
sprinted back towards the temple.
   "Meet us at Michiru' and Haruka's apartment!" Usagi called out.  She
then turned towards Mamoru, who was being grilled by a very curious Ami.
   "Are you absolutely _sure_  you don't know how you managed to keep up
with her?" insisted Ami.
   Mamoru took a step back, as if to ward off Ami.  She had kept asking him
about that for the last five minutes.  "I told you already!  The only
unusual thing I noticed during the chase was that I started glowing dark
blue for a while."
   Ami blinked  "You were _glowing_?"
   "Well, kinda like Terra was, right after she transformed."
   Ami shook ker head in disappointment.  "Mamoru, do you have any idea how
fast you two were going?"
   "Fast?" Mamoru hazarded, trying to get Ami off his back.
   "Mamoru," began Ami flatly, "You and Terra were running at speeds
approximating 40 miles per hour!"  The last part was almost shouted.
   Mamoru stared at Ami.  "What?...  How?!"
   "That's what _I_ want to know!" returned Ami.
   Usagi shook her head and decided to rescue her love from Ami's
questioning.  "Mamo-chan, were you able to find out why Ranko reacted like
she did?"
   Mamoru shook his head.  "I don't know.  When I spoke with her yesterday,
she was nowhere like this.  Today, though, she became almost crazy when I
told her she was my sister.  I thought she was going to fire something at
me before you guys showed up."
   "She was confused and afraid of something," said Rei, slowly.  When the
others looked at her questioningly, she elaborated:  "When I jogged her
memories, I was able to get a few feelings from her."
   Mamoru's eyes widened slightly.  "Were you able to read her thoughts?"
he asked a bit nervously.
   "No," said Rei, shaking her head.  "I can't read minds.  As I said, I
could only get a few feelings.  One of the most vivid was confusion, which
is quite understandable considering the circumstances.  The other was...
fear.  Not the fear you experience when you face a monster, but a different
kind of fear.  Almost... as if she feared what her memories would tell
her..."

***

   If you had the opportunity to talk to Ranma Saotome on a normal day, you
would quickly realize that he was not someone who is easily cowed (unless
you happened to have a cat or a new fiancee with you, of course).  As a
highly skilled martial artist, he could not allow feelings such as fear
rule his behaviour.  Ranma Saotome hated the idea of openly showing such
emotions.

   Ranma-chan was scared and confused, and it showed on her face.

   The nervous redhead was currently leaning on a wall, some distance away
from the Hikawa Shrine, trying to figure out what had gone wrong in the
last few hours.  Of course, she wasn't in an exactly objective state of
mind...
   "Okay," she muttered.  "Let's see.   All I wanted to do was find out
why I had strange dreams about Endy...  no, Mamoru!" she corrected herself.
*So what the hell went wrong?*
   It all started to come back to her.  *It started going wrong when Mamoru
came up with this stupid idea that I'm his long-lost sister.  As if!  I'm
not even a girl!*
   Then what had happened?  Ah, yes...  *Then he goes and tells me that I'm
supposed to be descended from some royal family that used to protect the
Earth.*  Ranma-chan thought.  *I could still have salvaged the situation if
it hadn't been for what had happened next...*
   She remembered the five girls transforming in front of her.  The
mysterious Sailor Senshi, and Rei, her very own cousin, was one of them!
Then, Sailor Moon tossed her that accursed rod.  *She tricked me into
saying that stupid trigger phrase, too!*
   She remembered...
   Realizing too late what was the rod's function.
   The explosion of power.
   The fuku.
   The tumbling memories.
   The need to get away, to think.
   Endymion following her.
   *I still don't understand how he followed me*, she thought in a dazed
haze.  *And I heard my own voice backtalking to me, too!  It's probably
Sailor Moon's fault, too...*
   She remembered refuting Endymion's claims only to be faced with Sailor
Moon's speech about her birthright.
   She remembered the voice backtalking to her during all that time as
well.  *It must be that stupid fuku that made me hear the voice.*
    Rei... No, Sailor Mars' offer to sort the fleeting memories.  Why _had_
she taken Sailor Mars' offer?  Ah yes, she believed that she would then be
able to ignore the memories instead of them dancing in the back of her
head.  She didn't _want_ to think about the result.  She had to admit,
though, that there had been two good things that had come out from this
mental wake-up call:  the voice had stopped talking since then and she had
figured out how to get out of that embarassing outfit.  She'd have to find
some way to thank her cousin for that, if nothing else.
   And then?  She had tried to give the rod to Sailor Moon, but she had
refused it.  Told her it was hers by birthright!  *Right!* mentally snorted
Ranma-chan.  After that, she'd managed to get away from that insanity
without Endymion following her.
   At this point, if someone had been observing Ranma-chan's recollection
of the events that had led to the present situation, that someone would
have noticed several discrepancies in her recollection.  Self-denial and
selective memory can sometimes be wonderful things, eh?
   Ranma-chan sighed.  *All I have to do is avoid cold water like never
before until Akane and I find a place to live and try to act as if nothing
happened around Rei.  That shouldn't be too hard.*
   Ranma-chan started heading back to the Hikawa Shrine.  *If Rei and the
others are still over there, I should be able to get hot water without any
problems.*  As she walked, she tried to think of something good about the
whole situation.  Only one thing came to mind: *At least, they didn't
connect my male form to this one,* she thought.
   She was near the temple gates when she sensed someone approaching.
Hiding around a corner, she saw a white and orange figure streak through
the entrance.  *Sailor Venus?!* thought Ranma-chan.  *Are they already
back?*  Edging near the entrance, she listened for any signs of
conversation.

   Sailor Venus looked around inside the temple grounds.  No one appeared
to be in yet.  *Good,* she thought.  *This way, I won't attract attention.*

   "Sailor Venus!" said a relieved voice behind her.
   Said Sailor spun around to see Artemis rushing towards her, Luna
following closely.  As soon as he was close enough, Artemis jumped in her
arms.
   "Venus!  We were getting worried!  What happened?" asked Artemis.
   "Long story," replied Sailor Venus.  She quickly scooped up Luna, who
was starting to show obvious signs of impatience.  "I'll tell you all about
it on the way."
   "What do you mean?" asked Luna.  "Where are we going?"
   "We're going to Haruka and Michiru's apartment to have an emergency
meeting."
   "Why would we be going there?  Why don't we just have the meeting here
as we always do?" asked a puzzled black cat.
   "Because Ranma and Akane might be back soon and we don't want to talk
about Senshi buisiness around them, you silly cat!  Now let's go!"
   Sailor Venus quickly sprinted out the temple gates, never noticing a
reheaded girl who had quickly run around the corner.

   Ranma-chan wearily looked at Sailor Venus' departing figure.  Ranma-chan
was both intrigued and scared by the last part of the conversation the
orange Sailor had with her mysterious interlocutors.  *She called the voice
'silly cat'.  Does that mean the voices were... talking cats?!*  She gulped
loudly, fear already invading her mind at the mere thought of a such a
concept.
   She shook her head and tried to make sense of the rest of the
conversation.  *Haruka and Michiru?  Aren't those the names of that couple
Akane and I met yesterday?*  She shook her head.  *And why do I have this
nagging feeling that I'm going to be the subject of this meeting?*
   She waited for a few more moments and then went inside the shrine.  Once
inside, Ranma-chan found the hot water tap and quickly turned back male.
It was almost as good as when he had been able to change back for the first
time after the Chisuiiton incident.
   "Much better!" he said, relieved.  He turned around and looked at the
empty rooms.  "I guess Akane isn't back yet," mumurmed Ranma.  He
considered just waiting for her, but he was starting to miss her badly.
*She's the only sane one around here,* he thought.
   Without giving it another thought, Ranma left the Hikawa Shrine in
search of Akane.

   Two minutes after Ranma left, an old man dressed in Shinto robes
accompanied by a younger man with a mop of unruly hair crossed the temple
gates.

***

   While Ranma was looking for Akane, the Inner Senshi were now in front of
the Outer's apartment, waiting for the last members of their little group.
Minako (her Senshi form no longer necessary) soon made her appearance,
carrying the two cats.  The first thing Luna did upon arrival was go
straight to Usagi.
   "Minako told us what happened.  Are you all right?"
   Usagi looked down sadly at Luna.  "I'm confused, more than anything.  I
don't understand why Ranko reacted like she did.  She nearly acted as
though we were enemies and she even threatened Mamo-chan!  She almost
attacked him!"
   "But she didn't," interjected Mamoru, who had been unusually silent
since Ranko's disappearance.  "I've been thinking about something Rei said."
   "And what is that, Mamoru?" asked Rei.
   Mamoru turned to the young priestess.  "Remember when I asked you if
you'd been able to read her mind when you jogged her memories?"  Seeing Rei
nod, he continued:  "You said you'd gotten an impression, as if she was
afraid of her memories."  Mamoru then turned to Usagi and Luna.  "Maybe
that's just it.  Maybe she was afraid of all of this."
   Makoto shook her head.  "I don't buy that, Mamoru.  You saw how she
attacked that pervert this afternoon.  She doesn't act like the type who's
easily afraid...."
   "I think you're mixing physical strength and emotional strength,
Makoto," said Ami softly.  "One does not necessarily imply the other."
   Minako sighed.  "Listen, we can talk about this for as long as we want
later.  Right now, I think we have a meeting to attend."
   They ringed the doorbell and were answered by Michiru.  "Come on
inside," she said.  "Akane left shortly after you called, so there's
nothing to worry about."  Once inside the living room, they found Haruka
and Hotaru sitting in chairs.
   As soon as the whole group was in the living room, Hotaru nearly jumped
up from her chair.  "Is what Michiru told us true?  Is Ranko really Sailor
Terra?"
   Usagi glanced at Mamoru, who sighed, before answering.  "Yes... she is,"
she said wearily, "But she..."
   "Usagi?" interrupted Ami.
   "...Yes?", answered Usagi, a bit suprised at having been cut off by Ami,
of all people.
   "Before we start on _that_ particular segment, I believe it would be
slightly more helpful if each person recounted what they know.  We may be
able to fill some gaps more efficiently that way."
   Usagi looked at her friends, who merely shrugged.  "Okay, then.  I guess
it all began when Minako, Ami, Hotaru, Luna and I went to greet Mamoru at
the station.  I barely had time to hug Mamoru when some monster, a leftover
daimon if what Ami told us is correct, popped out of nowhere and started
doing its usual stuff.  We were about to transform, but Ranma and his wife
beat the monster easily with some super martial arts moves and energy
blasts..."
  "Chi-blasts," corrected Rei.
   Usagi merely shrugged.  "And before we can find out who he is, he and
Akane vanish."
   Rei took over.  "Makoto and I got to meet Ranma and Akane before Usagi
and the others came back to the Hikawa Shrine," she said.  "He mentioned
there had been a fight at the train station, but he didn't elaborate."
   Usagi spoke again.  "It was when we arrived at the shrine that we
finally found out that it was Ranma who had beaten the daimon."
   Haruka interrupted Usagi.  "I's just like to put in that we met Ranko
and Akane at a coffee shop yestersay late afternoon.  Some bozos tried to
pick us up and she helped us get rid of them; she's a very good martial
artist."
   "You have _no_ idea how good," said Makoto, shaking her head.
   Haruka blinked, but continued.  "We talked with them, but I _think_ I
made her suspicious of me."  No one heard Michiru sigh very softly at this
point.
   Usagi nodded.  "Then that would mean that your meeting with them was
just before they came back to the shrine, because we had a rather... short
encounter with Ranko and Akane yesterday evening.  That's when we learned
Ranko was Akane's cousin."
   Michiru noticed Usagi's pause.  "Why was it short?" she asked.
   Usagi squirmed a little in her seat before answering.  "Well, Akane
asked us not to tell anyone, but I think she'll forgive us this time."
   Haruka and Michiru looked at each other and frowned questioningly.
   Seeing Usagi waver, Minako explained.  "Ranma and Ranko are deathly
afraid of cats,", the blonde supplied.
   Haruka looked at Luna and Artemis and immediately started to snicker.
"She's afraid... of cats?"
   Usagi's tone became just harsh enough for Haruka to stop from laughing
out loud.  "It's not funny, Haruka.  Ranma told us what he and Ranko had
been through when they were just children and it it's not anything to laugh
at."
   "Oh?" said Haruka in a challenging tone.  "And what exactly _did_ they
go through?"
   Makoto took over at this point and described as best as she could the
Neko-ken training Ranma and Ranko had been put through.  At the end,
Michiru simply looked appalled while Haruka looked slightly digusted.
   "I've got half a mind to go pound this Genma into mush because of what
he did to her," said Makoto, a hard edge in her voice.  "You didn't see her
expression when she saw Luna and Artemis, Haruka.  She was terrified."
   "That's a horrible thing to do to a poor child!' exclaimed Michiru.
   Haruka just shook her head.
   "And now that you know that," said Usagi, "You'll understand that Ranko
didn't stay very long at the temple when she finally saw Luna and Artemis.
We didn't see her again that night, but Ranma came back shortly
afterwards."  Usagi stopped to take a breath and Michiru took the opening.
   "As I told Rei, I used the Aqua Mirror yesterday evening to find out
what I could about Ranko, since she had piqued our curiousity at the cafe.
The images I had of her were either with Mamoru or Ranma.  I also caught a
glimpse of a valley filled with springs, but that was all."
   "The connection between Ranko and Mamoru I can understand," said Rei,
"But the connection between her and Ranma is what intrigues me.  They look
alike, dress the same, speak the same way and they're both martial artists
of nearly superhuman level.  Ranma told me they were raised together, but
this is getting ridiculous!  There's something going on and I don't know
what it is," she finished with a frown.
   Michiru shook her head.  "I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but the
Mirror just won't let me see any more than that."
   Rei waved her hand dismissively.  "I'ts not your fault.  I'll confront
Ranma if I have to, but one way or another, I'll have my answers."
   Usagi, seeing they were finished, decided to continue.  "The next time
we saw Ranko what this afternoon."
   Haruka immediately leaned forward, an intent look in her eyes.  "Michiru
told me there was a battle at school today?"
   Usagi nodded.  "It probably began shortly after you left..."  She didn't
finish as Makoto and Ami cleared their throats.  Usagi looked at them
questioningly.
   "Maybe it would be best if Ami and I were the ones who told this,
Usagi-chan," said Makoto.  "We were there from the beginning."
    Usagi shrugged.  "Go ahead," she said.
   And so, Makoto and Ami recounted the events of the afternoon, starting
with the commotion at the bathroom, the short, fruitless fight against the
old gnome they thought was a perverted youma, Ranko's intervention, the
following battle and concluding with Ranko's departure.
   To say that Haruka and Michiru were suspicious of Ranko's abilities
would be an understatement (especially when the girls described the Hiryuu
Shouten Ha), but once Ami swore everything was true, they were inclined to
believe it.  Strangely, Hotaru did not appear to be bothered by it all.
   "It was when Ranko saved Minako and me that her sigil showed, along with
Mamo-chan's," said Usagi.  "That's when we became almost sure she was a
Senshi."
   Michiru and Haruka looked at each other.  "What _was_ Ranko doing at
Juuban High, anyway?" asked Michiru.
   "I saw her at Mizuharo today," answered Mamoru.  "Ranma had apparently
told her that I wanted to speak with her, so we made small talk together
until we happened to walk near Juuban.  We heard a commotion, so we
investigated.  We arrived just as Jupiter and Mercury were trying to get
rid of Happosai."
   Usagi, Ami, Minako and Makoto blinked together.  "How did you know the
pervert's name?" they all asked as one.
   Mamoru shrugged.  "Ranko told me.  Apparently, it wasn't the first time
that she's had to fight him."
   Everyone blinked at that, and Usagi took the opportunity to continue.
"Well, after the battle was finished, Ranko started searching for
Mamo-chan, so I told her he'd be at the Hikawa shrine later today."  She
paused, and Luna took over.
   "Usagi had managed to come up with an insane plan to confront Ranko at
the temple.  She convinced me to give her Terra's henshin rod.  Suffice it
to say that nothing worked according to plan."
   Usagi scowled.  "My plan was _not_ insane, Luna.  How was I supposed to
know Ranko would react like that?"
   Mamoru coughed lightly.  "Luna, Usagi?  Maybe I should take over from here?"
   Usagi nodded while glaring at Luna and said feline bowed her head in
acquiesence.
   And so, Mamoru told Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru what had happened since
Ranko's arrival, all the way through the confrontation with Terra on the
roof, which resulted in her departure.
   "So she just _left_?" exclaimed Haruka.  "She can't just _walk_ away!"
   Michiru put her hand on Haruka's arm to calm her.  "There's obviously
more to this than meets the eye."  Haruka grumbled, but settled down.
Michiru turned to the others.  "I'd like to talk to Ranko if it was
possible."
   "How?" asked Mamoru.  "I'd like to do just that myself, but she doesn't
seem to want to have anything to do with us anymore and we have no idea
where she lives either, so we can't look for her.  This whole mess is why
we were looking for Pluto; maybe she could give us a hint about what to do."
   Ami shook her head from where she was sitting.  "I'm beginning to think
that this whole situation is the exact reason why Sailor Pluto hasn't been
seen recently.  It would seem she wants us to figure out the solution by
ourselves."
   Haruka and Michiru nodded reluctantly.  "Yeah, that could be it," said
Haruka.
   Mianko, silent until now, took the following silence as a signal to
speak.  "Michiru?  When we called you, you said that Akane was here.  What
_was_ she doing here?"
   Hotaru spoke up:  "She happened to pass by my school this afternoon and
she helped me with a... problem."
   "What kind of problem?" asked Usagi.  Michiru and Haruka tensed slightly.
   Hotaru squirmed a bit before answering.  "Some bullies were picking on
me..." she said softly.
   While Haruka's eyes merely flashed with anger, Makoto's reaction was far
more obvious.  "You've got bullies picking on you?!" she said out loud.  I
should find them and pick on _them_ for a while!"
   "Makoto!"  The sharpness of the voice brought Makoto back to her senses.
She turned around to find Michiru frowning at her.  "You're behaving almost
exactly like Haruka.  The best solution isn't always to go pound someone.
There are other ways of dealing with a problem."
   Hotaru intervened before things could get any uglier.  "As I was saying,
Akane scared off the bullies before they did anything."  Seeing Makoto and
Michiru relax a little, she continued.  "There's something you should know,
but I want everyone's promise that this will not get out of this room.
Akane asked me not to tell nyone, but I think this is a bit too important."
   She waited until everyone in the room gave their assent, then continued:
"When accompanied me back here, we talked on the way.  I asked her how she
met Ranma and she gave me a rundown of how their relationship."  Hotaru
went on relating what Akane had told her about her history with Ranma.  Ami
hung on to every word, as she finally began to have some explanation for
Ranma's mysterious abilities.  The others listened, slackjawed, as Hotaru
related events that would have made a very good manga storyline.
   When she finished, everyone was looking at Hotaru with some degree of
disbelief.  Seeing their faces, Hotaru shrugged.  "That's what she told me.
It's also the only explanation we have for Ranma's... exploits at the train
station."  She didn't mention her growing suspicion of Akane's true
identity.
   Ami spoke first.  "I _have_ to speak to him."
   Everyone looked at Ami with a questioning glance.
   Ami sighed exasperatedly.  "Don't you understand?  If he's managed to
get abilities like that through training alone, imagine what he could teach
us!"  She stopped for a beat.  "I also want to run him through a battery of
tests," she added, as it it was no more than an afterthought
   "You're assuming he'd be willing to teach us in the first place,"
pointed out Makoto.
   "Actually, he very well might," said Mamoru.
   "How do you know that?" asked the brunette.
   "Ranko told me that Ranma is the heir to a family dojo.  She said he's
stydying Physical Education in preparation to become a sensei.  If he's
studying to become a sensei, it would make sense that he will be willing to
train people, right?"
   Rei, who had remained silent for a long time, spoke up.  "Michiru, can
you make me a rough sketch of the valley with the pools you saw in the
Mirror?"
   "I guess I can, but why?"
   "I'm going to ask some things to the sacred fire and it helps if I have
an image to focus on."
   As Michiru left to get a sketching pad, the group kept discussing Ranma,
Ranko and Akane.

***

   It was actually Akane who found Ranma first on her way back to the
Hikawa Shrine.  She was walking down the street when she saw Ranma walking
on the other side of the street, lost in thought.
   "Ranma!" she called out to him, waving her hands to get his attention.
   Ranma looked up and saw Akane.  Moments later, they were walking back to
the temple hand in hand.
   "So, Ranma, anything special happen to you today?" asked Akane with a smile.
   "You could say that," answered Ranma.  *Talk about the understatement of
the century!* he thought privately.  He then realized that there _was_
something she needed to be made aware of.  "Actually, something _did_
happen.  I ran into Happosai this afternoon."
   Akane groaned loudly.  "That's just great.  Just great..." she said, not
meaning a single word.  "Okay Ranma, give me the details."
   Ranma sighed, but gave a detailed accounting of his encounter with
Happosai.  When he was finished, he watched Akane's reaction.
   His wife was not wholly pleased.  "Ranma!  You promised you wouldn't get
in trouble on purpose!"
   Ranma put up his hands in a placating gesture.  "What was a supposed to
do?  Let the old lech molest those girls?"
   "You could have let someone alse take care of him!" Akane shot back.
   "Like who?  Even the Sailor Senshi couldn't stop him!" said Ranma, who
immediately regretted it.
   Akane looked at him oddly.  "The Sailor Senshi?" she said.  She then
remembered the blurry picture Ranma had shown her back at the train
station.  "What were they doing there?" she asked, curious.
   Ranma cursed himself silently.  Talking about the Senshi had brought
back unpleasant memories he'd been trying to forget.  "When I saw Happosai,
he was squaring off against two of the Sailor Senshi; he'd already managed
to grope one.  One tried to freeze the lech and the other tried to fry him
with a lightning bolt.  I stepped in to help and you know the rest."
   Akane leaned against Ranma's shoulder.  "I just wish we could be left
alone," she said softly.
   "I know what you mean, Akane," said Ranma wearily.  "I wish everyone
could just leave us _alone_"
   Akane frowned inwardly.  Ranma didn't usually sound like this; he
sounded as if he was bothered about something.  Before she could ask what
was the problem, Ranma changed the subject.
   "So, did you see anything you liked at the university?" he asked in a
cheery voice.
   Akane told him of the clubs she found interesting and of how she had
spent the afternoon.  "Oh, by the way, Ranma," she said with a smile.  "I
saw Hotaru-chan again today!"
   "Who?" asked Ranma.
   "Hotaru Tomoe.  She was the little one in the group we met at Rei's
temple yesterday evening!"
   Ranma tensed when he heard that.  The other girls in that group had
turned out to be Sailor Senshi.  *Is that little one a Senshi too?* he
wondered.  He then promptly gave himself a mental slap.  *Don't get _too_
paranoid, stupid.  They'd never let a little kid like her fight alongside
them...  Right?*  "So, um, what happened?"
   "She was being bullied by some kids.

   [Rei coming back]

   [the dreams]

   [morning]

   [the counselor]

   [Juuban]

   [1st demon]

**********************
* The Phoenix Reborn *              Jordanite and Mystical
**********************                  Freak at Large

Louis-Philippe Giroux
Phoenix@upc.qc.ca

Phoenix's Den at http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/phoenix.html
Or http://pages.upc.qc.ca/phoenix/phoenix.html