After 6 months of waiting... Part 10 of Lines of Destiny is here, and
it's a friggin' biggie! (Well, by *my* standards anyway. My top record so
far is DP 1 at 133 Kb.)
Also, as promised, there's a *big* battle scene in this part... So stop
bugging me about it! ;)
FYI, if I'd gone as far as I'd originally planned, I can truly say I
would have reached *at least* 150 Kb, if not 175 Kb, but you wouldn't have
gotten it before a long time... so enjoy this!
*********************************
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.
The latest versions of the previous chapters are always the ones on my
WWW page at http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/lines/lines.html
Chapter 10
While Akane was soundly dreaming up memories of her previous life, Ranma
was still awake, thinking about what had happened in the last two days. He
had been so sure he would finally be able to relax with Akane, to have a
chance to live a normal life and now, because of the curse, he would have
to be extra careful around his cousin during the next few days.
Disgusted by it all, he closed his eyes, trying one last time to find
the sleep that had eluded him so far.
The next thing he realized, he was standing in a forest clearing. He
looked around, not recognizing where he was. He knew this was a dream, so
at some point his mind would release him to where he wanted to be. At any
rate, it was peaceful here, and peace was something he had little of in his
life.
He sat down and prepared to meditate for a while when a voice from
behind him said, "I hate to disturb you, but could we talk for a little
while?"
Ranma spun around, startled. Standing a few feet away, was a girl who
looked exactly like his female side, except for her hairstyle and clothing.
Instead of a braid or a ponytail, her hair hung loose and came almost
completely down her back. Her outfit was stranger than most Ranma had seen
so far, although it seemed to tickle his memory for some reason. What she
was wearing was analogous to a blue bodysuit with a long, knee-length skirt
that parted up the front. On her forearms were bracers, similar to the
ones he usually wore, but made of leather, and from them, leading up to her
shoulder, were translucent ribbons that twisted upward. On her feet were
white boots with a strange arrow-like design which was also familiar for
some reason. But what caught Ranma's eye was the dark blue cloak that was
tossed back over her shoulders, or rather the pin that closed the cloak
above her breasts. It was a symbol that he would recognize anywhere now.
A symbol which held both a mixture of pride, fear, and strangely enough,
longing.
It was a quartered circle.
The symbol of a kingdom long dead, a remnant the past.
A symbol worn only by the Royal Family of that kingdom.
The symbol for the planet Earth
"Who're you?" he asked warily.
The girl did not answer as she sat on a tree stump. She looked at him
with a secretive smile. "This clearing used to be our favourite hiding
spot when we played hide and seek with Endymion. Don't you remember it?"
Ranma became nervous. "I don't know what you're talking about," he
said, slightly backing away. "Who're you?" he repeated.
The girl took a deep breath. "I'm you, or at least part of who you used
to be. I can give you a formal introduction, but I'm fairly sure you know
who I am."
Ranma started. The first part was exactly what the voice had said when
he had first transformed into... *NO!!!" he thought. *That's over!*
The girl sighed, shaking her head. "I'm afraid you're not quite right,
Ranma. Nothing is over yet."
"Hey! How'd you know what I was thinking!?" Ranma protested.
"Why wouldn't I know what we're thinking?"
Ranma blinked, unsure of what to say.
The girl smiled slightly. "It's so confusing to you, isn't it? You
don't even want to consider the truth."
Ranma felt a cold shiver go down his spine. "What truth?"
The girl had an expression of sympathy on her face that was almost hard
to look at. "What I mean is that you and I are the same person. We always
have been and always will be."
"NO!" Ranma snapped, suddenly angry. "I know who you are! You're the
stupid girl who drowned in the damn Jusenkyou Spring 1500 years ago! This
all your fault!"
The girl suddenly looked introspective. "Maybe in a way it is," she
said in a soft voice. She shook her head and turned once more towards
Ranma, suddenly looking tired. "It was as much my fault as it is yours,
Ranma. In some ways you're still as stubborn as we ever were."
"I wasn't the one who drowned at Jusenkyou!" Ranma snapped.
The girl shook her head. "Maybe it would help if you remembered..."
Ranma backed away without realizing it. "I remember everything about my
life just fine and I know you weren't anywhere in it before Jusenkyou!"
The girl said nothing. She just looked at him, pity evident in her eyes.
And he Remembered.
Ranma remembered Atlantis, the beauty of it, and the place where she had
grown up.
He remembered her parents and Aunt Yonagi playing and being with her as
she grew up.
He remembered laughing and playing with Endymion when she was a child.
Remembered the trusted friendship of the Guardians, who she considered a
part of her family.
Remembered how they trained her to fulfil her destined role as Terra.
Meeting with Serenity, whom she loved with all her heart.
The Oath she gave to Serenity.
Joy.
Sadness.
Love.
Death.
The Truth.
"NOOOOOO!!!" Ranma screamed, falling to his knees. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
I'M RANMA SAOTOME! I'M A MAN, YOU HEAR ME?!!" Ranma eventually collapsed
to his knees. "Please stop it, stop it, stop itstopitstopit..." he begged,
his eyes shut tight. He stayed that way until he felt someone put an hand
on his shoulder and a soft voice speak.
"Please, Ranma. You'll never be able to face the future if you don't
accept your past."
Ranma's eyes opened and he saw that... her. But he knew who she was.
Who... he... had been. *NO!!!* a part of him still protested. He pushed
himself to his feet.
"Why?" he asked in a hoarse voice. "Why do you do this to me, Akana? I
did nothing to you!"
Akana smiled. "So. You've finally admitted to yourself who I am and
who you were. It's a beginning."
But Ranma kept going. "It makes no sense. How could we possibly be the
same... You lived so long ago!" But he knew, the memories had come back
and this time, there was no escaping them.
She closed her eyes. "You and I represent the ultimate form of what you
know as Ying and Yang. We are two halves of the same soul, split apart by
an incident almost 1500 years ago. An incident where I lost my life, and
my fiance to those I trusted with my life."
Ranma did not want to remember, but he did. All those memories... And
the worst of it was that he could hear the Jusenkyou Guide's voice: *Very
tragic story of young girl who drown in spring one thousand five hundred
years ago. Now whoever fall in that spring...*
Akana continued: "1500 years ago, we were Akana, Princess of Atlantis,
First Princess of Earth, the younger sister of Prince Endymion. The world
we lived in was peaceful and I was fortunate enough to be born to a loving
family. It was divined very early in my life that I would one day inherit
the mantle of Sailor Terra, Senshi of Earth."
On cue, Akana's clothes shifted to her Sailor Terra fuku. "Being named
one of the Senshi was one of the greatest honors and also one of the
greatest responsibilities in the system. I clearly remember the first time
I met Princess Serenity. She truly deserved her name. As time went on, I
met the other girls who would become Senshi as well and we became close
friends. I had a very good life... until the day we died."
"You still haven't told me what you want," asked Ranma, oddly calm.
Akana took a deep breath. "When I was dropped, nearly dead, in a pool
at Jusenkyou, my last thoughts were about Serenity. When I felt the magic
ripping my soul out of my body, I tried to hold on as long as I could...
but..." Akana paused and closed her eyes. "To this day, I'm still not
sure what really happened, but I had given up when I heard Queen Serenity's
voice telling me I would someday be reborn, along with the princess and the
other Senshi. It's probably the only thing that has kept me from going
completely mad, being trapped within that cursed spring for so long."
Ranma listened and against his will found himself remembering every
detail Akana spoke of. He remembered his final struggle with Nephrite and
Zoisite. He remembered dying.
"And then," Akana continued. "I felt it, eighteen years ago. Our
rebirth. It filled me with a happiness you couldn't possibly understand.
It also meant the Princess would also eventually be reborn. But something
went... wrong. We were reborn as a man."
"And what's wrong with that?" asked Ranma menacingly.
"In itself, absolutely nothing," replied Akana, nonplussed. "But you
couldn't access your Senshi abilities with half your soul missing, among
other things. There was still a chance, though. By that time, many
travellers had been to Jusenkyou and I had figured out how the springs
worked."
"Which reminds me," Ranma interrupted. "I know for a fact that the Musk
Dynasty used the Nyannichuan to make wives out of animals. Lots of other
people must've fallen in the Nyannichuan along the years. If you're the
one that drowned in Jusenkyou, does that mean you possess everyone who's
cursed?"
Akana shook her head. "They never gained my soul; the pool gave them
a... rough approximation of my shape. I've told you that when I died,
something really strange happened. I have the feeling that my soul was
supposed to have been completely sealed in the spring. Forever."
Ranma shivered. No matter how he might feel about the entire issue,
that was not something he would wish on his worst enemy.
As if reading his thoughts, Akana continued. "Fortunately, part of it
was... rescued by Queen Serenity. If my soul had been completely trapped,
who knows what might have happened. But the fact is that my soul _hadn't_
been completely trapped. It had been broken into two pieces like a puzzle.
It could only be complete if the two pieces were reunited. _That's_ why I
was so happy when we were reborn; not only because of the Princess, but
also because it meant a chance of finally being complete once more."
Ranma's eyes narrowed at that point, but Akana continued.
"I've always been half-aware of what you did throughout your childhood.
Kind of like a vague dream... or nightmare, depending on the times. I must
say I was... surprised at times to see how differently you were raised from
the way we were."
"Stop that," Ranma cut in.
Akana blinked. "Stop what?"
"This 'we' stuff. As far as I'm concerned, we're talking about you, not
about us."
The redhead shrugged. "I'm you. In the past, we were Akana, but now,
we're also Ranma."
It was Ranma's turn to blink in confusion, even as his Shinto beliefs
told him this was perfectly believable.
Akana paused a moment, and then continued when Ranma did not say
anything more. Wincing slightly, she said. "I feel sorry about the
Neko-Ken training by the way. We used to love cats, especially the
Advisors to the Court. All things considered, I think that Endymion was a
much better father than Genma ever was or could be."
Ranma gave up trying to convince her not to use 'we'. He then blinked,
something she had said coming back to him. "I thought you said that
Endymion was your brother..." he trailed suspiciously.
Akana gave a short, heartfelt laugh. "Think about it Ranma. You've got
our memories, use them!"
Ranma frowned, unsure, but almost instantly, the answer came to his
mind. He remembered his... _her_ brother, Endymion and his... _her_
father, also named Endymion. *Aghh!* thought Ranma, exasperated. *Gotta
get those damn memories outta my head!* When he looked at Terra again, he
noticed she was frowning slightly for the first time since he'd encountered
her.
"Ranma, why do you keep fighting the memories?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Because they're not mine!" he snapped, not thinking about what he was
saying. "I don't care who you are or who you were, but I'm not going to
let you take over my mind!" He stopped ranting and looked at Akana,
waiting for her reaction. So far, she'd only raised her eyebrows
questioningly.
She snickered.
Then she laughed.
Ranma braced himself for an attack, then realized that Akana's laughter
wasn't maniacal, but rather mirthful. Akana was almost bent in two, as if
she was laughing at the greatest joke that had ever been said. Ranma
wasn't too sure what to make of it, though. Eventually the laughter
subsided some.
"You... (snicker) You think that I'm trying to take over our mind?"
she asked, trying to choke back the urge to laugh some more. "That's the
silliest thing I ever heard!"
Ranma found it hard to remain angry against his redheaded counterpart,
but he still managed to look it. "If you're not planning to take over,
then why are you shoving all those memories inside my head?"
Akana shook her head, still smiling widely.
*Because we are the same person, Ranma.*
Ranma took a step back, surprised. Where had that thought come from?
"So stubborn," said Akana ruefully. "Let me finish our story, okay?"
she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "As I was saying
earlier, I've been half-aware of everything you did when you were young.
Until you left on your training trip, however, I wasn't sure there would
ever be a way for us to be reunited once more. But then you came to
Jusenkyou."
"Wait a minute," said Ranma, interrupting her. "Coming to Jusenkyou was
Pop's stupid idea, not mine." His eyes suddenly narrowed and his tone
suddenly became threatening. "Did you manipulate Pop into coming to
Jusenkyou?" he asked, almost snarling.
Akana did not seem to take offense at the change in tone. "I appreciate
your faith in my abilities, but no, I couldn't have influenced your father
any more than I could have gotten out of that spring by myself. It was
fate that drew you to Jusenkyou, not me."
"Fate?" Ranma scoffed. "Yeah, right!"
Akana shrugged. "Believe what you will, but I can see no other reason
why you wound up at Jusenkyou." She then paused, eyebrows furrowing in
concentration. "Well, there _is_ someone who _could_ have interfered,
but..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I'm getting sidetracked.
Anyway, to make a long story short, so to speak, when you fell in the
spring, you became my salvation. For the first time since my death, I was
at peace. We were complete, at long last... Or so I thought."
"What do you mean, 'or so I thought'?" asked Ranma. "You still haven't
explained why I've never had these memories before today or why you never
spoke to me before. It's not as if you haven't had time."
Akana looked introspective. *I thought we became complete when you fell
into the spring, but a few moments later I found out that we weren't. At
least not entirely. I could see out your eyes, feel everything you felt,
and know who you were completely, but I couldn't get through to you or let
you know I was there. You have a _very_ formidable will Ranma, and I think
that, and certain other factors, prevented us from fully rejoining. We
became one being once again, yet still two separate ones, if that makes any
sense. Perhaps because your will was stronger, or perhaps a side effect of
Jusenkyou, or maybe even because of the time we spent apart, but I became
devastated, and let myself reside into the background. Over the years, as
you became less stubborn about things, a few memories started to return,
but it wasn't until we transformed back into Sailor Terra that the final
barriers broke down."
Ranma was at a loss. All the memories said that Akana was speaking the
truth, yet there was still some part of him that stubbornly refused to
believe he and the girl were in any way related.
Akana took his indecision as a sign to continue. "When that happened,
all of our memories flooded into you. I think it came in too fast, because
you were in shock when I tried to talk to you and let you know I was here.
Seeing as my talking to you was making you hysterical and that you weren't
going to listen to me anyway, I temporarily... hid away until you and I
could talk about it. Mars helped the process along when she... well,
cleaned up in here." Akana frowned slightly in confusion. "It's still
hard to think of Mars as our cousin in this life, and not to be directly
related to Endymion but... Oh well, once our cousin was done, I decided to
wait until you fell asleep, since I figured it would be easier for us to
talk like this."
"I wish I'd never turned in to Sailor Terra, then," Ranma muttered. He
looked at Akana and blinked when he realized that she looked as if she was
about to cry. "Err... What'd I say?" he asked, unintelligently.
Akana's voice was thick with emotion. "I'm stuck in a spring for who
knows how long, missing a part of my soul, always conscious, never sleeping
and when I finally get a chance to meet myself again, he treats me as a...
a _curse_ and wishes he'd never seen me," she said, bitterly. "How am I
supposed to feel? Elated? I realize you haven't been real happy about
your trip to Jusenkyou, but I thought you'd at least I thought you
appreciate learning that the form that you view as a curse _isn't_ one,"
she finished nearing tears. Apparently, the redhead had been pushed a
little too far.
Ranma felt ashamed of himself at that moment. Partly because he knew
that Akana wasn't faking her emotions. He tried to apologize. "Look, I'm
sorry, but I thought you were trying to take over my mind..." he never
finished as Akana suddenly looked at him, pleading him to understand.
"I don't _want_ your body, Ranma! Haven't you figured that part out
yet? I've already lived my life and it would be selfish of me to try and
deprive you of yours. Besides, I'm not heartless. I know you're married.
I would never try to break you and your wife up. I happen to know through
how much you went for her in the last two years."
Ranma was beginning to feel like a complete jerk. She hadn't lied about
this either. He was about to try apologizing once more when Akana
continued.
"Besides," said the redhead in a subdued tone, "I like Akane. She looks
a lot like Kanma, and seeing you with her helps me imagine what life could
have been like if Kanma and I hadn't paid the price for my foolishness."
*Kanma?* Ranma thought, puzzled. "Your fiance, right?" Akana nodded.
Ranma blinked as an image came back to him. *He _does_ look like Akane...*
Ranma shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was remember being
engaged to a man. He noticed that there was a point she had avoided
discussing, though. "What about the Senshi? I can't take up the mantle of
Sailor Terra with my promise to Akane, and I don't want to. Would it be
too much to ask for some peace? What we knew in our past life?"
Akana sighed. "No, it isn't too much to ask." Her tone became
pleading: "At least help them to train, teach them what you know. In an
emergency become Sailor Terra and help them. As a martial artist you know
the code as well as I do, and you know the oath we swore. An oath that
transcends our lives."
*She just had to say it,* thought Ranma, feeling trapped. The oath
played itself in his mind. 'As a martial artist I will always help those
who are in trouble, in need of help, or in need of a friend. I will not
turn my back on duty or honour, and will not forsake those whose needs
outweigh my own. I will fight and die for what is right and honourable,
and I will defend the Lords and Ladies to whom I am sworn.' Ranma looked
askance at Akana. "I don't think they really need my help, though," sad
Ranma, trying to salvage the situation. "They've seemed to have done
rather well so far," he remarked.
Akana took a deep breath and sighed. "Ranma, do you remember the other
Oath, the one we swore so long ago?" she asked.
Ranma did not answer.
"I know you remember it. Are you so afraid to speak of it?"
"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ranma snapped.
Akana looked at him expectantly.
Ranma squirmed for a few seconds under Akana's gaze before finally
answering in a distant voice: "Princess Serenity, this I swear to you.
>From this moment on, my life is yours. For you, there is no task that is
impossible and no threat that I cannot conquer. I will fight for your
happiness and die for your survival. For as long as my soul lives on, this
I swear to you."
There was silence for a few, heavy moments. "Serenity hated that Oath,"
said Ranma absently.
A faint smile crossed Akana's lips. "Yes, she did, didn't she? She
always cared more about others, about us, than she did about herself. She
would have made a great queen. She can still be one."
Ranma stayed silent.
"There's another thing I wish to speak of with you," added Akana in a
subdued voice.
Ranma masked his surprise. He had been sure she would try to hold him
to the Oath. Why else would she have made him say it? He cut that line of
thoughts as he saw that Akana was waiting for him to answer. "What is it?"
he asked neutrally.
"Endymion."
"What about him?" he asked, his tone still neutral.
"Why won't you acknowledge him?"
Ranma turned away from Akana. "He's your brother," he said softly.
"Not mine." He had hoped to avoid this. She hadn't really talked about
Endymion so far and he had hoped she would keep it that way.
"Why do you seek to avoid him so much?" Akana persisted.
"Because he thinks he's found a sister. I'm not a girl." He said the
last with soft determination.
Akana took a deep breath to calm herself. "That... that's your
decision, I guess." She sighed. "If you won't acknowledge him as your
brother, why won't you at least explain things to him? Tell him about me!"
"NO!" Ranma roared, suddenly shifting emotions. "There are too many
people on this planet who know about the curse already. I'll not disgrace
myself further!"
"And what will you do about your link with him?" she said softly.
Ranma chose not to answer, but Akana would not let him go so easily.
"The psychic abilities you had in your past life are reemerging, Ranma.
They're weaker than Endymion's, but they're still strong enough to
reestablish the link my brother and I had so long ago, even if only
partially. Endymion already used it unconsciously to find you when you
first tried to get away. Soon, you'll be able to tell where the other is
and perceive the other's feelings. You won't be able to ignore him for
long."
Ranma stood still.
It was a while before Akana spoke again. "I know you'll do the right
thing," she said quietly.
*The right thing?* Ranma wondered. *I'm not sure what the right thing is
anymore. I can't acknowledge him, or let the others know about the
curse...about Akana. But what do I do?* He then remembered something
important. "So, what happens to you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Akana looked at him, sadness still present on her features. "I stay
here, within your mind. It's not as if I can go elsewhere, you know."
Ranma nodded absently and turned around, as if to leave, when he heard
Akana's voice once more.
"Ranma?" she said softly, "Thanks for not calling me a curse... At least
not in the end."
Ranma's reply was lost as a strident sound pierced the air.
***
Ranma opened a bleary eye to look at the alarm clock in front of him
that was currently emitting a _very_ annoying beeping sound.
*Kami-sama,* he thought. *Already morning?* He blinked. *I can't
believe an alarm clock actually woke me up!*
Besides him, he felt Akane's arm trying to reach over him to shut the
alarm clock. Smiling, he shut the alarm clock and proceeded to rouse his
wife to wakefulness by gently shaking her.
"C'mon, Akane-chan, wake up," he said, a bit puzzled. *Jeez,* he
thought, *_I'm_ supposed to be the heavy sleeper here.*
"Ranma?" came Akane's sleepy voice. "What time is it?"
"It's a quarter to seven."
"Lemme sleep some more..." she mumbled.
Ranma smirked. "I thought you wanted me to train you," he said slyly.
Akane's eyes snapped open. "I'm up!" she said, suddenly alert. She
looked around and saw Ranma smirking at her. "You tricked me!" she accused.
Ranma shook his head. "I didn't trick you, Akane-chan. You wanna
practice or not?"
Akane smiled widely. "Sure!" she said happily. "Now shoo! I've got to
get dressed."
Ranma looked hurt. "I'm your husband!" he protested. "Why do you want
to send me away?" *Especially now,* the dirty part of his mind added.
Akane's smile suddenly became sultry. "Oh, you'll see it all, don't
worry," she said coyly. "But I'm keeping it all as a surprise for when we
move out of here."
Ranma started sweating. "That's cruel, Akane," he said, pained.
Akane couldn't help giggling a little. She did, however, point him to
the door of their room.
Ranma resignedly padded out of the room, swearing silently to himself
that they would move out _today_.
As soon as Ranma left, the smile left Akane's face, as she sat on her
futon for a few minutes, thinking about what had happened last night. She
could still remember her dream very clearly, and the more she thought about
it, the more she remembered things that _hadn't_ occurred in the dream,
such as fragments of Kanma's childhood and more memories about Verika.
Verika... or Hotaru?
Hotaru... or Sailor Saturn?
*I've got to find out what that was all about,* she thought. *Rei said
she'd unlock memories, but I certainly don't remember ever being a guy,
doing magic or fighting people in grey uniforms.* She shook her head.
*Probably just some weird dreams. _Really_ weird dreams.*
As she dressed in a practice gi, though, her curiosity kept increasing.
When she left her room, she was headed outside to join Ranma when she
nearly bumped into Rei.
"Oh! I'm sorry" they both said at the same time. They both blinked and
looked at each other with a curious expression, then both started giggling.
"So," began Rei, "Did you have a good night's sleep?" Her pleasant tone
hid the sick feeling she had gotten when she had tried to get some
information on the pool-filled valley Michiru had drawn for her. Before
she could get precise answers, she had been staggered by the amount of
magic and death that emanated from that place. Rei had had goosebumps
until she had fallen asleep. Whatever that place really was, she now knew
it was most definitely _not_ a vacation spot. What had Ranma been doing
there? And what about Ranko, the mysterious cousin Ranma seemed to forget
half the time? Rei gave herself a mental shake. She would have time to
think about all these things later.
Meanwhile, when Rei had asked her question, Akane had stopped giggling
and her features had become hesitant. "Well... Now that you mention it, I
had really strange dreams, last night."
Rei tried to school her features as best she could. This could get
interesting. "What kind of dreams?"
"Well, first of all, I'd like to know if your, ah, hypnotism could have
had side-effects?"
Rei blinked. "I'm not sure... Maybe, I guess. Why do you ask? Do you
remember where you saw Hotaru before?" she probed.
"I dreamt about Hotaru-chan all right, but it didn't make any sense!
None of it made any sense! It was as if it was another life!"
*All right!* thought Rei. *This is almost perfect proof! Now, all I
have to do is decide whether to tell Akane now or wait until she can speak
with Hotaru.* She took a small breath and decided. "Well, it _might_ have
been brought on by my technique yesterday. What I _do_ recommend, though,
is that you go find Hotaru and talk it over with her. She'll probably be
able to make some sense out of all that."
Akane frowned slightly. "What are you talking about, Rei? What would
Hotaru-chan know about my dreams?"
Rei smiled slightly. She had decided to let Hotaru take over. She
could probably break it more easily to Akane than she ever could. "She
knows more than you realize about what you may think are just dreams," the
priestess answered mysteriously.
Akane looked at Rei in mild confusion. "What?..." she said eloquently.
Rei gave Akane a pat on the shoulder. "Trust me on that, just go speak
to her." And with that, the priestess headed outside. Rei _would_ need to
speak about this to Hotaru and the others, though.
Akane wondered about what had just happened for a few moments before
running after Rei. She found the Ranma's cryptic cousin on the porch,
gawking at something in the courtyard. As Akane moved closer, she finally
saw what Rei was gawking at. Ranma was standing in the middle of the
courtyard, glowing a bright blue. What startled Akane, though, wasn't
quite the fact that Ranma was currently emitting a battle aura, but rather
that he was standing besides Rei's grandfather, obviously straining to
contain a two-feet wide, crackling ball of chi...
A few minutes earlier, when he was still on his way to the courtyard to
start his warm-up exercises, Ranma had found himself wondering about the
previous night's events. Now that he could finally think about it, he
started dwelling on the most peculiar dream he had last night.
*Was it a dream?* he wondered. *It felt so real...*
He noticed he'd arrived in the courtyard. Looking around, he decided to
try something. He sat down cross-legged and began to concentrate.
*Akana!* he silently shouted. *Are you there?*
However, there was no response. Ranma tried several times, but without
success. For a moment, he had thought he might have heard something, but
he deemed it as wishful thinking. After his last try, Ranma stood up, a
pensive look on his face. *Maybe... Maybe it _was_ just a dream,* he
thought.
But if it _had_ been only a dream, why was he feeling so...
disappointed? He began toying with his hair, which he had taken time to
tie back into a braid when he left his room, but still no answer came.
He shook his head and began a warm-up kata, losing himself in the
dance-like ritual. He was well on his way to relaxing completely when he
heard an aged voice call his name. He opened his eyes and saw his
grandfather looking at him curiously. "Did you say something, grandfather?"
The old man smiled. "I called your name several times, but you didn't
seem to hear me. I was watching you throughout your kata; you seemed very
intent on something."
"Just trying to get rid of a few bad dreams," said Ranma, shrugging.
The old priest walked down the steps, a strange look crossing his face.
"Ranma," he started, "I spoke for a while with Akane yesterday, after you
left."
Ranma began to frown. "Please, grandfather, don't get me started on
that again..."
The diminutive priest waved his hands. "That's not what I wanted to
talk to you about."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "What about, then?"
"Akane was kind enough to tell us a general history of what happened in
Nerima since you arrived there."
Ranma blinked. *Wait a minute, I thought she didn't want people to know...*
Seeing Ranma silent, the elder Hino continued. "She told us, among
other things, that you knew how to manipulate your chi. Is this true?"
*Oh, that.* Ranma relaxed muscles he did not remember tensing. "Um,
yeah, I can. I showed Rei yesterday. Why do you ask?"
Rei's grandfather appeared slightly puzzled about Ranma's rather
cavalier attitude towards his ability. "Ranma, I don't think you quite
realize how few people can manipulate their chi. Most of those who _can_
use their chi usually spend most of their lives training to do so. Rei can
use it in her fire readings, and even though it's an astounding
accomplishment at her age, the amount of chi she can draw is rather
limited. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like you to show me what you can
do."
Ranma couldn't see the harm in that, so he agreed. Holding his hand
palm up, he concentrated, and just as he had done almost two days before
with Rei, a baseball-sized sphere of blue chi formed over his hand.
The old Shinto priest's eyes widened in shock. "Unbelievable," he
breathed. He quickly picked himself up. "Very impressive, grandson."
Ranma shrugged, dissipating the small sphere. Even though he'd been
doing this for long, he still felt somewhat flattered by his grandfather's
words.
"So how did you end up learning how to do this?"
Ranma briefly told his grandfather about how Ryoga had learned the Shi
Shi Hokodan and how it had forced him to come up with a counter-technique.
The elder Hino's mind boggled. "You mean... You learned how to do a
chi blast just because someone else could do it? You learned it just like
that?"
Ranma slightly winced at the casual way he'd described the learning
process. He supposed his grandfather had expected something a bit more...
spiritual?
"So..." said the old priest after a while. "Just how big can you make
them?"
Ranma smirked. "I can make them _very_ big, but I can't hold them very
long in place. The bigger they are, the faster I have to shoot them off."
"Can you make a big one you can hold in place? I'd like to get the feel
of it."
"All right, if it means so much to you. But don't stand too close,
'cause if I feel it slipping away, I'll have to shoot it off." He looked
around. "Are you sure this won't attract attention if I _do_ have to shoot
it?"
"I don't think so. Strange things have a way of happening around here.
I don't think anyone would investigate." Suddenly, grandfather Hino
grinned and pointed towards a large rock, perhaps six feet large, sitting
in a corner of the yard. "As a matter of fact, I would be very be glad if
you could aim it at that rock over there. I've been meaning to get rid of
it for a long time now, but I never got around to it because it's so big."
"All right," Ranma nodded. He took a step back and began concentrating.
He put his hands in front of him as his battle aura slowly became visible.
A ball of chi appeared between his hands. Ranma then closed his eyes and
began the now-automatic mental kata he went through to create a chi blast.
"Mouko..." he whispered, and the ball of chi started to grow. When the
sphere reached a size of approximately two feet, he realized that the
strain in keeping the sphere in place was taking its toll on him.
"Grandpa," he hissed through clenched teeth. "I don't think I can hold
it for very long."
There was a pause of a few seconds. "All right, you can let it go now."
Ranma's eyes snapped open and he aimed towards the rock in question and
finished his mental kata. "...Takabisha!" he shouted, releasing the chi
blast. The blue energy sphere blazed its way to the rock and slammed into
the target, flinging stone fragments everywhere. When the dust cleared,
there was no longer one big rock, but several, smaller rocks, the biggest
one being a little over one foot wide.
Ranma turned towards his grandfather. "How was that?"
The elder Hino's left eye twitched. He shook his head and turned to
Ranma. "Confidence?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
Ranma blinked. "You could tell?"
The aged priest snorted. "With that much of it floating around? How
could I not? I may be old, but I'm not senile."
"Ranma, that was amazing!" said a voice behind them.
The two men turned around to see Rei running towards them. "Good
morning, Rei," said Ranma. "I hope I didn't wake you up or anything."
Rei shook her head. "You didn't wake me, but I saw your little
demonstration just now. That was fantastic, Ranma! Very much more so than
the little one you showed me when you arrived."
"So Grandpa told me. He wanted me to show him my chi abilities and
since you'd already seen what I can do, well..." he shrugged. *Maybe she
can get the other Senshi off my back now that she knows how strong I am.*
"All right, Ranma. Can we practice, now that you've finished showing
off?" asked Akane from somewhere behind him.
Ranma winced. Akane was probably going to lay it on him because of his
little demonstration. When he turned around, though, he noticed that she
wore a small, secretive smile. He blinked, puzzled.
"All right, then. We'll leave you to your practice," said the old
priest, dragging his distracted grand-daughter with him.
Akane watched them leave and started a warm-up kata of her own. Ranma
cautiously approached her.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked, trying to figure out whether she'd hit
him or not.
Akane paused in her kata and looked up at the sky for a few moments.
"No, I'm not," she finally said. "I'm the one who told your grandfather
about the fact that you could do chi blasts. I kind of figured out he'd
come around to asking you to show him."
"That's another thing. What *did* you tell them yesterday? I thought
you didn't want anyone to know what happened to us..."
Akane finished her exercises. "I didn't tell them everything. I just
told them you attracted a number of challengers and fiancees, that's all."
She turned to Ranma and adopted a ready stance. "So, do we talk or
practice?"
Ranma grinned, troubles momentarily forgotten. "If that's the way you
want it!"
Rei and her grandfather stood on the porch, watching the two martial
artists spar. The elder Hino whistled appreciatively.
"Ranma's very good, isn't he? I'm sure his dojo will be an outstanding
success when he finally takes up teaching."
The young priestess thought about Ami's words. *If he's managed to get
abilities like that through training alone, imagine what he could teach
us!* Rei shook her head. "I wonder if he'd be willing to teach me how to
manipulate my chi like he does?"
Her grandfather shrugged. "He might if you ask him nicely enough." He
paused for a moment. "Rei-chan, why would you want him to show you
destructive techniques?"
Rei winced internally. *I really shouldn't underestimate him.* She
carefully chose her reply before answering. "That wasn't what I meant,
Grandpa. I'd just like to learn how to channel as much chi as he does. It
would help a lot with the fire readings."
The elder Hino was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Rei couldn't help frowning inwardly. *Does he know?...* she wondered.
She left the thought hanging and went back to her previous concerns. She
considered calling Hotaru to tell her about Akane, but then decided to wait
until after school. After all, it was unlikely Hotaru and Akane would meet
during the day.
***
Half an hour later, a happy couple was on its way to the university.
"So what kind of lectures do you have?" asked Akane.
"I'm not sure. I haven't really checked my schedule so far," admitted
Ranma.
Akane shook her head. "I _still_ don't understand how you managed to
get admitted to university with that kind of attitude."
Ranma managed to look offended. "Hey, it's just that I have an
appointment with a counselor before the first lecture starts. I was
thinking about that instead."
"A counselor already?" Akane asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought
you'd last longer in your program," she said, a hint of mischief in her
voice.
"Ha, ha, ha..." said Ranma sarcastically. "Remember what I said
yesterday about my seeing a job offer as a P.E. assistant? It was written
that we had to work through a counselor to get the job, so I'm going to see
a counselor to know more about it." Akane nodded absently. A few moments
passed in dead silence passed before Ranma spoke again. "Akane, is it me
or did you seem a little... distracted during our sparring session?"
Akane blinked several times, as if shaking herself from a daydream.
"Oh, sorry, Ranma. What did you say?"
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I was commenting on the fact that you looked
a bit distracted during training this morning."
Akane bushed slightly. "Sorry. It's just that I had a really weird
dream last night."
Paranoia reared its ugly head.
"What kind of dream?" Ranma asked, a bit nervous.
"Ah, well..." Akane started sweating. She wasn't sure she wanted to
share her dream with Ranma. He'd probably call her a tomboy because of it.
"It's... nothing bad, Ranma. Don't worry; I'll be fine!" she finished
cheerfully.
Ranma became slightly suspicious. *Did she have the same dream I had?*
he wondered. He began to panic. *I hope she didn't. She'd call me a
pervert forever! And she could be right.*
And so, both continued on their way, happy that the other one wouldn't
press matters.
***
Hotaru left the apartment where she lived with Haruka and Michiru at the
same time they did that morning. As she walked to school, she thought
about the previous day's events. While the business with Sailor Terra was
important, finding out whether Akane was in fact Kanma was more important
to her.
*Maybe I should have called Rei before leaving to ask her if she tried
to jog Akane's memories yesterday,* the smallest Senshi thought.
When she finally arrived at her school, she noticed that the gates were
closed and a lot of students were milling around outside, some of whom were
fellow classmates. There were even a few teachers present. Wondering what
was going on, she approached one of the students, a classmate by the name
of Hiriko.
"Why are the gates closed?" Hotaru asked.
"They won't let us inside because there's been a flood inside," replied
Hiriko.
Hotaru blinked. "A flood?"
Hiriko shrugged. "That's what Sakura told me. Apparently, several
water pipes broke last night and now, there's water everywhere."
"How did that happen?" asked Hotaru. *I hope it's not a monster,* she
thought.
Hiriko did not get a chance to reply. A teacher suddenly raised his voice.
"Your attention please! Due to the water damage, classes will be
suspended for today." A loud cheer went off from amidst the crowd of
students. The teacher went on a if nothing had happened. "Before you can
return to your homes, though, you will be given extra homework to do today
and you will be quizzed on it tomorrow." A groan replaced the cheer in the
crowd.
Hotaru's expression brightened at the news of having no classes. *Maybe
I'll be able to see Akane today!* she thought happily.
***
Elsewhere in Juuban, Mamoru was eating breakfast, thinking about more
questions than he'd had when he'd gone to sleep the day before. He'd woken
up with even more knowledge of the past this morning.
"Why is it all happening now?" he wondered out loud. Was it because of
Akana, or Ranko, as she liked to be called now?
Thoughts of his reincarnated sister almost made him want to cry. Since
the childhood car accident which had claimed his parents' lives and his
memory, he had spent his life alone, as an orphan, never truly understood
by anyone, until he met Usagi. Despite the rocky start of their
relationship, they had gotten closer until they had finally learned who
they really were. At last, he had someone to trust, to fall back on in
times of need.
But it still wasn't enough. Mamoru loved Usagi more than anyone else in
the world , but there were some things he just couldn't tell her sometimes.
What was he supposed to do if he wanted to discuss some issues about his
relationship with Usagi? He very well couldn't talk to _her_ about it.
The other girls? No, it would eventually get back to Usagi, even if it was
by accident. He always wanted someone he could just talk with, without
having to worry about whether Usagi would hear it or not
And now, he had a sister. A sister who did not seem to like him a lot,
which honestly confused him. The memories he was regaining of his past
existence showed him that they had been much closer than most siblings. He
remembered playing in the palace gardens with Akana. He remembered playing
jokes on the Guardians with her help...
The glass of water Mamoru was drinking shook and he immediately started
coughing. *The Guardians!* he thought, dazed. *Maybe _they_ can help me
figure out what's the problem!*
Coughing one last time he quickly walked to his room, looking for a
rectangular glass case he had kept with him for a very long time. When he
found it, he held it up and looked at its contents. Nestled inside were
fragments of four minerals he could now identify with his eyes closed:
jadeite, nephrite, zoisite and kunzite.
The stones were all that remained of the four men of the same names who,
a long time ago, had been Endymion's bodyguards before they were subverted
by Beryl.
Mamoru had been able to speak to them once before, for advice against
the Black Moon family. He wondered if he could do it again. He took the
glass case and brought it to the living room. He put the case on a table
and gently opened the top. He then sat on a couch, closed his eyes and
concentrated. A blue aura began emanating from him, like tendrils of smoke
surrounding his body.
The four mineral shards began to glow and there was suddenly a bright
flash of light.
***
Meanwhile in Nerima, Katsunishiki, Akari's gigantic pet sumo pig, was
making its way to a well-known dojo, ignoring the occasional odd looks the
pedestrians gave him. Compared to some other places where people screamed
in fear when they saw him, Nerima was paradise.
Finally stopping at the Tendo Dojo's door, the massive porcine squealed
loudly. The door opened to reveal Kasumi.
"Yes?" the eldest daughter said. "Can I help..." she trailed off when
she saw who at the door. Kasumi blinked once in confusion before
recovering. "Katsunishiki-chan!" beamed Kasumi. It's been a long time
since we've seen you here." She looked around the sumo pig. "Are
Akari-chan and Ryouga-kun with you?"
Katsunishiki shook his head.
"Oh my!" said Kasumi, a hand going to her cheek. "Is there something
wrong?"
Katsunishiki shook his head again, but then raised it so that Kasumi
could see his neck.
Kasumi blinked again when she saw the "necklace" he wore. "What's
this?" There was a thick ribbon around the giant pig's neck, and attached
to this ribbon were two items: a small flask and a letter. Kasumi turned
the letter around and saw that the letter was addressed to Ranma and Akane,
at the Tendo Dojo.
Kasumi took a few steps back so that she could talk to the giant porcine
without straining her neck. "I'm afraid they live elsewhere now,
Katsunishiki-chan," she told the pig.
Katsunishiki began to whine as only a giant sumo pig can.
Upon hearing the sound, Kasumi immediately took pity on him. "I can
tell you where they are if you want?"
Katsunishiki seemed to consider this and nodded, but Kasumi was now
stuck with trying to tell a sumo pig how to navigate through Tokyo. Not an
easy task.
Then, the proverbial lightbulb appeared over her head. She turned
around and walked back inside the house. "Auntie Saotome! Uncle Saotome!"
***
"How may we be of service, Prince Endymion?" asked Kunzite's ghost.
Behind it were the other Guardian's ghosts, all smiling at Mamoru.
Mamoru smiled, glad of the spirit's words. It had been easier to summon
the four spirits of his friends this time. He briefly wondered why, but
shook his head and took a deep breath. He knew from experience that he
wouldn't be able to talk to them for long.
"I want you to tell me about my sister," he told the white-haired ghost.
Kunzite's eyebrows rose. "You remember Akana?"
Mamoru favoured him with a flat stare. "I only met her by accident a
few days ago. It would seem that you didn't bother to tell me about her
when I last spoke to you."
Kunzite winced. "Not by choice, my liege. We were bound."
Mamoru was puzzled by the ghost's answer. "Bound by whom?" he asked
curiously.
"Better that you don't know, my Prince," answered Nephrite, looking a
bit uncomfortable.
Mamoru gathered his thoughts. He could investigate _that_ later, but
now... "I want to know why Akana, or Ranko as she calls herself now, seems
hates me," he asked.
The four ghosts looked at each other uneasily, Nephrite and Zoisite
sharing a guilty glance.
"My liege..." Kunzite began hesitatingly. the white-haired ghost seemed
to be struggling with himself over something. "It is not you she hates,
but who she was."
Mamoru frowned. Ranko hated herself? That didn't make sense. Why
would she hate knowing she had been Akana? She'd been a perfectly normal
and happy girl back in the Silver Millennium. "What do you mean, Kunzite?"
"We cannot answer that question. Not now," answered Jadeite in
Kunzite's stead. "But if you must have your answers now, you can try
asking the Guardian of Time."
"Pluto?" asked Mamoru, confused by the change of subject. "What does
she have to do with this?"
"She had a part in creating the current situation. We cannot say more,"
answered Jadeite.
Mamoru sighed. "Can't you even give me a hint?" he said. He got up and
began pacing. "I need to know why she hates the very idea of being my
sister." He stopped pacing and frowned slightly. "Come to think of it,
she only went really crazy when she transformed into Sailor Terra..." he
trailed, trying to think. His musings were interrupted when he felt his
link to the Four Guardians fading.
"We cannot stay in this plane any longer, Prince Endymion," said
Kunzite, his ethereal form wavering like smoke. "Still, it was good to see
you again, even if we could not help you in the way you wanted."
Before Mamoru could say anything, Zoisite forestalled him. "Prince, if
you see Akana again, please tell her I'm sorry for what I did. I was not
in control of myself."
Mamoru blinked at the odd request, but nodded his head in consent
anyway. "Goodbye, my friends. I hope we can speak again one day."
The fading ghosts smiled. "She will not be angry forever, Endymion,"
said Nephrite, his voice already far away. "Remember that."
Mamoru found himself smiling at the departing ghost's comment. He
wished it could be true. The four ghosts' shapes became like smoke and
Mamoru blinked when he realized that the "smoke" was rearranging itself to
form a word in kanji.
Jusenkyou.
*What is Jusenkyou?* thought Mamoru, now alone again.
***
Once they had arrived at Mizuharo University, Ranma and Akane told each
other goodbye and said that they would meet at the shrine in the afternoon
after their classes. While Akane was headed for one of her acting classes,
Ranma realized it was time for his appointment with the counselor.
Making his way through the maze of corridors, he came to a stop in front
of a door onto which a small plaque was affixed.
A plaque to the name of Setsuna Meiou.
Ranma knocked on the door, waiting for an answer.
"You can come in, Saotome-san," came a woman's voice from the other side
of the door.
Ranma blinked in confusion and opened the door. Inside the office was a
dark-skinned woman with long, flowing dark green hair, sitting in front of
a large, ornate desk. Looking around, he found the office lined with
ancient-looking wooden bookshelves which looked as if they had been crafted
with painstaking precision. They were completely filled with books, some
new, some seeming very old. Ranma suddenly had the impression he'd gone
back in time. He had never seen any teacher's office decorated like _this_
before. He was still looking at his surroundings when he heard the
counselor's voice.
"You can sit down, Saotome-san," she said. Was that a hint of amusement
in her voice?
"Uh... Hai," mumbled Ranma, making his way over to a chair by the desk.
Once he was sitting, he looked questioningly at the counselor. "Excuse me,
Meiou-sensei, but how did you know I was the one at the door?" She looked
at him, her face solemn, but Ranma was sure there was something else behind
those piercing red eyes.
"Simple," said Setsuna, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. "You are
the only person who made an appointment with me this early today."
Ranma almost frowned. There was something suspicious in what she had
said, but since it was more a vague feeling than anything else, he decided
to leave it alone.
"So why did you request this appointment, Saotome-san?" asked Setsuna.
The question brought Ranma out of his musings and back to reality.
"Um, yeah... Yesterday, I saw a job offer for a physical education
assistant at a high school. It didn't mention where, but it said we had to
ask a counselor about it, so that's why I made an appointment. I was
wondering if my being an expert martial artist could be worth something
here? Could I get a course credited or something?"
Setsuna's lips quirked, almost too fast for an eye to see. "Actually,
it is not a permanent job, but more like a stage. But still, let me
see..." she trailed off, reading some of the documents on her desk. A few
moments later, her eyes came back to Ranma's. "According to your file, you
are studying to become a certified sensei. Is this correct?" she
questioned. Ranma nodded. "Then it is safe to assume that you plan to
open a dojo if you complete your course?"
"Hai," said Ranma proudly. "I'm the heir to the Saotome Musabetsu
Kakuto Ryuu."
Setsuna looked at Ranma for a few more seconds, then nodded. "Very
well. In that case, I approve."
Ranma's expression brightened considerably. _That_ had certainly been
fast. He had thought he would have to do a whole lot more arguing.
"Would it be credited?" he thought to ask.
Setsuna nodded. "If you do a good job, yes."
"All right!" Ranma enthused. "Where would it be?" he asked eagerly.
"At Juuban High school," said Setsuna, smiling a bit again.
Ranma's smile faded slightly. He could have sworn he'd seen or heard
the name before. But where? He gave up after a few moments and shrugged
mentally. It didn't really matter. He would rather teach high schoolers
than sit in a class and listen to boring lectures any day. "So when would
I start?" he finally asked.
"This morning, in one hour," replied Setsuna calmly.
Ranma's eyes bugged out. "Th... This morning? One hour?" he stammered.
"But... I... I have courses this morning!" he managed to get out, despite
his surprise.
Setsuna waved his concerns away almost negligently. "Today is special.
It would only be until this afternoon. I can assure you that you would not
miss much this morning." She tilted her head slightly. "Or are you not
ready for this responsibility?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
That seemed to shake Ranma out of his daze. "Of course I'm ready!" he
protested.
"Good," said Setsuna, now smiling again. "I will give you directions
for the school," she said, writing something on a piece of paper. "You can
start heading there right away. Tamura sensei, the head physical education
teacher, already knows of your arrival and is expecting you this morning."
She handed Ranma the piece of paper. "Do you have any other questions?"
Ranma looked at the piece of paper in his hands. There was an address
and a few instructions on them. He tilted his head slightly. "Just what
will I be expected to do there anyway?"
"Tamura-sensei will tell you the specific details. Today, you will
probably do nothing more than observe, and maybe help if he thinks it is
needed."
Ranma nodded. "In that case, I should probably be going, then." He
stood up and bowed to Setsuna. "Thank you for your help, Meiou-sensei."
As he turned and was about to leave, though, he got a good look at the
bookshelves again and found himself unable to contain his curiosity.
"Excuse me, Meiou-sensei?" he asked, a bit hesitant.
"Yes?"
"Sorry if I'm being impolite here, but I was wondering... Why are there
so many books in your office?"
Setsuna shrugged faintly. "They're all mine. I like to read."
Ranma turned towards the nearest bookcase and read one title out loud:
"The Theories of Reincarnation." He gave Setsuna a slightly puzzled look.
"I have... odd tastes, as far as reading is concerned," replied Setsuna,
smiling openly now. "I like to read books about what people call
'paranormal phenomena'." She looked at Ranma, tilting her head ever so
slightly. "Do you believe in reincarnation, Saotome-san?" she asked in a
curious voice.
Ranma looked nervously at Setsuna and was struck by how old her eyes
looked. Eyes that had seen a lot, much more so that could be accounted by
her apparent age. The only other person he had known to have old eyes like
these was Cologne, but at least in the old Amazon's case, her body matched
the look in her eyes.
"Well, do you?" repeated Setsuna.
Ranma was shaken out of his observation. "Um... Well..." he hesitated.
"I'm not sure," he finally said. "I've never really had the time to think
about it," he lied.
Setsuna's expression changed from curious to slightly disappointed.
"Oh. Maybe we could have had a good discussion on the subject," she said,
sighing slightly.
Ranma desperately wished she would drop the subject; he was definitely
not comfortable talking about it. If it had been anyone else, he might
have suspected the person was in league with the Senshi, but this was
simply happenstance. Besides, she was _way_ too old to be a Senshi.
"Um, Meiou-sensei," he said, edging towards the door, "All this sounds
fascinating, really, but I do have to go," he said.
Setsuna looked at him for an instant, then nodded thoughtfully. "Very
well," she said. "Far be it from me to make you late on your first day. I
hope you enjoy your first teaching experience."
Ranma bowed, somewhat nervously, and tried not to appear in too much of
a hurry when he closed the door behind him.
Once outside, he breathed a sigh of relief. *That could've gone
better,* he thought wearily. He started down the hall, wondering how
someone could touch what was a sensitive issue with him by pure
happenstance.
As soon as Ranma left, Setsuna almost laughed. *Perhaps I shouldn't
have done that,* she thought, feeling slightly guilty for enjoying what had
just happened. *It could have made him suspicious of me.*
She got up and walked around her office. *I guess teasing him like that
wasn't nice but I just couldn't resist.* She sighed out loud. *Living for
so long does strange things to your sense of humour.* She looked out the
window, gazing at the white, puffy clouds outside. *I just hope everything
goes according to plan,* she thought more seriously.
The timeline was now at a critical junction. If everything went
according to plan, the Senshi would be able to avoid a battle that would
bloody the entire world, but at what cost? *There are so many variables,*
Setsuna thought glumly. *So many things that can go wrong and I can do
nothing to prevent them. The Circle must be restored at all costs.*
The Guardian of Time shook her head. She had manipulated events for a
long time and she knew that if Ranma ever found out about what she had done
in the past, he would not forgive her anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Mamoru was walking towards the university's library, intent
on finding out as much as he could about "Jusenkyou". The Guardians had
obviously tried to bend whatever rule which prohibited them from speaking
freely and he intended to make the most of it.
*Maybe I should ask Ami if she's got anything on her computer,* he
thought while turning a corner. His inattention to where he was walking
cost him as he suddenly slammed into someone.
"Hey, watch it!" the other person said.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't watching where..." Mamoru blinked. "Ranma?"
Ranma's eyes narrowed slightly. "You again?"
Mamoru blinked again. Ranma did not look pleased to see him, but what
had he done to Ranma? Oh wait. Ranko. Had she told him anything? He
took a nervous breath. "Say, Ranma, you wouldn't know where Ranko is,
would you?"
Ranma merely looked at him. "She was rather distressed when we saw each
other last night, although she wouldn't tell me why. She also said she
didn't want anything to do with you ever again." He tilted his head. "I
wonder why?" he asked rethorically.
Mamoru adopted a pained expression. "There was a... misunderstanding
between us. Apparently, she didn't take something I told her very well."
*Now there's an understatement if I ever heard one!* thought Ranma.
"And what exactly was it?" he asked aloud.
Mamoru's expression became defensive. "_That_ is between me and her,"
he said curtly.
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Is it? Well then, I don't know why I should
bother trying to help you find her."
Both young men stared at one another before Ranma moved around Mamoru
and headed past him.
Looking at the back of the retreating martial artist, Mamoru decided to
try one last thing. "What about Jusenkyou, Ranma?" he called out loud.
Ranma stopped dead in his tracks. A few tense moments later, he turned
around, slowly, deliberately. "What about Jusenkyou?" he asked flatly.
Mamoru's mind was racing. Whatever Jusenkyou was, the word had
definitely had an effect on Ranma. He had replied so flatly he might as
well have screamed it. There had to be some way he could take advantage of
this. "Look," he said calmly. "All I want is a chance to talk with Ranko,
okay. Just talk, nothing else. I won't even any mention of...
relationships of any kind." he finished hesitatingly.
Ranma slowly raised an eyebrow. "Relationships? That's my cousin
you're talking about."
This time, it was Mamoru who gave him the flat look. "Not like that!"
he said, annoyed. "I already have a girlfriend!" He passed a hand through
his hair. "Look, she'll understand what I mean. Just tell her I want to
talk about... about Jusenkyou and the Four Guardians. Tell her that." He
still didn't know what Jusenkyou was, but if Ranma knew about it, Ranko
probably did.
Ranma's eyes widened at the mention of the Four Guardians, but he stayed
silent, now eyeing Mamoru somewhat nervously. After a long, silent pause,
Ranma turned around and left. "I'll tell her," was all he said.
Mamoru silently watched Ranma leave, hoping he would get one more chance
to set things right with Ranko. He did not try to pursue Ranma. After
all, it just wouldn't do to antagonize the only person who could find Ranko
for him.
Although that wasn't strictly true. He could use that little mental
trick to home in on her again, but Ranko had told him not to use it and he
did not think that using it to seek even reconciliation would endear him to
her.
He thought about Ranma's reaction when he said the word Jusenkyou and
tried to figure out what it could have meant. Ranma had been shocked, that
at least was sure. He had tried to hide it, but Mamoru was good enough at
reading people that he knew he'd hit an important nerve.
But what was it?
With a shake of his head, Mamoru resumed his way to the library, more
determined than ever to get answers.
Ranma waited until he was out of the building before stopping. He
leaned against a brick wall, trying to regain control.
*That was even worse than that little 'discussion' Meiou-sensei tried to
have with me,* he thought warily. He tried to think about what Mamoru had
told him.
He knew about Jusenkyou.
Or did he really?
Mamoru had tossed the name like that in the air, but hadn't followed up
on it. If he knew what Jusenkyou was, why had he simply stopped there?
Unless... unless he had only happened to have heard the word before. But
who could have told him? How could he know what the word meant to Ranma?
And he wanted to talk to him. Her. Ranko.
He wanted to talk about the Four Guardians.
Ranma tried to ignore the memories associated with that name. Akana and
Endymion had grown up together, watched by four men whose duty was to
protect them at all costs. They had been like brothers to the two siblings.
And they were responsible for the murders of Akana and her fiance Kanma,
the male Akane look-alike.
He still couldn't remember that part very well, nor was he sure he
wanted to. After all, those were Akana's memories.
Ranma's thoughts began heading in a different direction once Ranma began
thinking about the girl who claimed to be his previous incarnation. He
hadn't been able to contact her this morning. He'd almost felt something
shortly before he had spoken with his grandfather, but it had vanished as
quickly as it had appeared.
Why would that be? Had the entire thing been a dream? A part of him
steadfastly refused to believe so, and he wondered why. His thoughts
drifting in yet another direction, Ranma thought about Akana's request
concerning Endymion. She wanted him to know the truth.
The problem was that the feeling wasn't exactly shared by Ranma.
Several reasons for this came to the surface, but strangely enough, none
seemed to hold any real weight.
Ranma shook his head and tried to forget all of this as he began walking
towards Juuban High.
It didn't really work.
While all this was going on outside, Akane was having trouble
concentrating on the lecture the teacher was giving in front of the class.
For some reason, her thoughts kept wandering to the dream she had had last
night.
*But was it really a dream or something else?* she thought to herself.
Rei's explanation this morning, or rather the lack of one, still puzzled
her. Rei had obviously known something, but had directed Akane towards
Hotaru for answers.
And Akane was beginning to seriously hope that Hotaru would have
answers. The memories from the dream had not faded. Just the opposite, in
fact: the longer Akane thought about it, the clearer they became. More
than once, she had had to slap down the urge to try one of the spells Kanma
had used in the dream, just to see if they would work.
Giving herself a mental shake, she focused on something else. Something
that troubled her greatly whenever she thought of it. Whoever Kanma had
been, he had created two staffs she remembered well, and not from the dream
this time. The dreaded Kinjakan, whom Akane had had a most unfortunate
encounter with, and the Gekkaja, its magical counterpart. When she tried,
she could remember bits of the staff-crafting itself, she could remember
melding her power with...
Akane blinked. Her power? She had to shake her head at that. It had
been awfully easy to think that she had been Kanma in that dream.
Her thoughts wandered back to the previous subject. Kanma was the one
who had created the two staffs which had been an integral part of Ranma's
latest adventure, an adventure which had so nearly claimed her life twice.
Once when she had been used in the creation of the Akaneniichuan and again
when her mishandling of the Kinjakan caused her to transform into a
dehydrated doll. She should have seen that last one coming. After all,
she had incorporated very intricate and powerful spells in those two
staffs. She should have remembered that using them without basic
precautions could be deadly...
*I've done it again!* she thought, annoyed. She had once again assumed
a personal perspective with the dream memories. Strange thing was the she
didn't seem to mind, though.
Forcing herself to listen to the teacher, she hoped she would be able to
talk with Hotaru soon.
Ranma's left eye twitched.
*Of all the high schools in Tokyo, it had to be this one?* he thought
incredulously. *If I'd known, I would've asked for another school,* he
finished morosely.
Following the directions given to him, Ranma had soon found himself
standing in front of Juuban High School. The name had not rung a bell when
Meiou-sensei had told him about it, but now...
It was not that Ranma had a grudge against this school in particular,
but more the fact that he suspected that the Senshi might be going to that
school. He wanted as little interaction with them as could get away with,
because the longer he stayed near them, the more probable it became that
they would see the curse eventually and who knew what would happen then?
That was a question Ranma wished he would never have to answer.
Walking towards the main doors, Ranma could still see part of the crater
he had created when he had first tried to hit Happosai the previous day.
The wall he had been punched through, on the other hand, had already been
repaired.
The interior of the school looked similar enough to Furinkan's that it
did not cause Ranma any great surprise. Following the directions on the
piece of paper, Ranma quickly made his way to an office with the name
"Hidoshi Tamura" written on a small plaque besides it.
"Come in," he heard a deep voice say when he knocked on the door.
Ranma opened the door to reveal a spartan-looking office, quite unlike
the counselor's. Tamura-sensei was a man who looked to be well into his
mid-forties, but who still looked in top shape.
Ranma bowed to the man. "Tamura-sensei? My name is Ranma Saotome. I'm
a new student at Mizuharo university and I..."
"Ah yes!" interrupted Tamura. "Meiou-san told me you'd be coming by
anytime now. Take a seat," he said, indicating a chair in front of his
desk. Once Ranma had sat down, Tamura-sensei smiled at him. "I've heard a
lot about you, Saotome-san," he began conversationally. "Some of it even
good," he added with a smirk.
Ranma blinked, although he wasn't sure if it was because the man had
already heard of him or if it was because someone had actually said good
things about him. "You have?"
"Yes," said Tamura, nodding with a smile on his lips. "The good things
came from Meiou-san but the rest I heard by reputation."
Ranma blinked again. *Meiou-sensei told him good things about me?* he
wondered, puzzled. *But she doesn't even know me. How could she have
possibly?...* And then, the second part of what the man had said trickled
through. "Reputation?" he asked out loud, almost wincing. This could be
bad.
Tamura nodded. "At first, when Meiou-san told me your name, I wasn't
sure you were the same person I thought, but when she sent me your file, I
saw that I was right."
"Right about what?" asked Ranma, if a bit weakly.
Tamura kept smiling enigmatically. "Ranma Saotome, the apparent heir to
the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu, a style known by very few people and also
rumoured by many to be one the best martial artists in Japan."
*Well,* thought Ranma, *That ain't so bad. At least he didn't hear
rumours about the curse.* He looked inquisitively at the man in front of
him. "Um, if you don't mind my asking, Tamura-sensei, where did you hear
all that?"
The teacher shrugged slightly. "I follow the news in the martial arts
community, Saotome-san. People who have seen your fights speak highly of
your skill. In a way, I'm honoured to have a martial artist of your
caliber come here, of all places, for a stage."
Ranma sat there, surprised by the turn of events. It wasn't everyday
his skill was recognized by someone other than a super martial artist with
a grudge. And the best thing was that it felt good because it tended to
boost your ego, not something Ranma needed greatly, but still...
Something popped in the middle Ranma's self-congratulation session.
Something which had bothered him slightly on the way to Juuban High.
"Tamura-sensei? Was there anyone else who applied for this stage?"
Tamura winced slightly, his good humour fading a little. "Not many
people applied, and most of those who did didn't have the qualifications
for it."
"Why so few people?" asked Ranma.
"Well," said Tamura hesitatingly, "This neighbourhood has a reputation
for having... odd occurrences happening in it."
Ranma looked puzzled. "Odd occurrences?" he echoed.
Tamura sighed. "Monsters, Saotome-san. There are tales of monsters
rampaging regularly through this district, several of them near here.
That's what scares people away."
"Oh that?" Ranma waved his hands negligently. "Don't worry, I can take
care of myself, if it comes down to that."
Tamura's smile came back. "I like your attitude, Saotome-san," he said,
getting up.
*You're probably the only one in the city who does,* finished Ranma
mentally.
"In any case, I'd like to see firsthand how good you are. Would you
mind sparring a little before class begins? We've still got about fifteen
minutes."
Ranma nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the same school as courses were finishing...
"Usagi-chan?" asked Makoto, waving a hand in front of the blonde girl.
"Are you there?"
Said girl blinked a couple of times, then blushed slightly. "Sorry,
Mako-chan, I wasn't really paying attention."
"You're lucky Haruna-sensei didn't catch you daydreaming again, Usagi,"
reproached Ami, shaking her head. "You should really pay more attention in
class. Not only would the teacher leave you alone, but you would also
probably get better grades that way."
When Usagi didn't answer, even to whine about the unfairness of life in
general, Makoto and Ami looked at each other worriedly.
"Usagi-chan, what's wrong?" asked the tall brunette. "You're even more
spaced out than usual."
Usagi sighed. "I just keep thinking about yesterday, Mako-chan. I
mean, what did I do wrong? She hates us and I don't even really know why."
Ami and Makoto flashed each other a concerned look. The entire Sailor
Terra issue had been a sore point since the meeting yesterday and worse,
Usagi seemed to think it was all her fault somehow. They had all tried to
convince her otherwise, but without much success.
"It's not your fault, Usagi," repeated Ami tiredly. "None of us knew
she was going to react like that."
"Yeah," chimed Makoto. "Maybe Rei will have answers for us after school
this afternoon. After all, she was supposed to do a fire reading."
Usagi sighed and got up. "And you know what's even worse? Mamo-chan
won't even speak to me about it. He's all closed up about it. He didn't
take what happened yesterday well at all."
Makoto winced. "I think I might have an idea how he feels. I don't
think I'd take it very well if I learned all of a sudden that I had a
long-lost brother or sister who acted the way she did." She shook her head.
"But you see," insisted Usagi, "That's where I know I was the one who
goofed up. Mamo-chan said she acted pretty much okay before I gave her the
henshin rod, so that makes me the one responsible for the whole mess!" she
finished, depressed.
The two other girls sighed. Of all the times Usagi could have chosen to
become responsible, this was not one of the best.
"Come on," chided Makoto. "It's not so bad. I'm sure we'll find an
answer to this whole mess soon." She straightened up. "Now get up,
Usagi-chan. It wouldn't do to be late for the next class, now would it?"
Ami rolled her eyes. Of course. Physical education. Aside from home
economics, it was probably the only other class Makoto liked. Too bad it
wasn't the same for Usagi, who groaned painfully at the prospect of another
torture session.
A dozen minutes later, the three were finishing dressing up for P.E.
class when one of their classmates, who had already left the locker room,
came back in a rush.
"Hey everybody!" she almost squealed. "You gotta come see this!
There's this really cute hunk sparring with Tamura-sensei in the
gymnasium." Most of the girls responded to the statement by hurrying out
of the changing room.
Usagi turned to Makoto. "Hey, Mako-chan, maybe you..." she trailed off
when she realized Makoto wasn't there. Looking around her, she saw that
the brunette was already pushing her way out of the changing room. Usagi
blinked and turned to Ami, who shrugged.
"Sometimes, I think she has bloodhound ancestry for that sort of thing,"
deadpanned the shorter-haired of the two.
Usagi giggled at the comment.
Making their own way out of the changing room, they stopped and stared
when they realized just exactly _who_ was the "really cute hunk".
"Ranma?" chorused a surprised Usagi and Ami. Glancing at each other
wonderingly, the made their way towards Makoto, who was standing a few feet
away, just as surprised as they were.
"Wow, he's good," said a girl besides Makoto.
"He's playing with the sensei," replied Makoto absently.
The other girl stared at Makoto. "What?"
Makoto blinked herself out of her daze and turned to the girl. "I saw
the guy fight before..."
Usagi and Ami shot each other a worried glance.
"And I can easily tell he's not giving his all," the brunette finished.
Usagi and Ami sighed in relief.
The other girl went back to watching Ranma. "He's really handsome... I
wonder if he has a girlfriend?"
"He's married," said Makoto, depressed.
"NANI???" came the surprised shout from several girls.
Ranma and Tamura were startled out of their sparring session when the
heard a shout coming from the knot of assembled students. Moving away from
each other, they bowed and turned to the crowd.
"All right! Silence, please!" ordered Tamura. When the crowd settled
down, he tried to locate the source of the shout. "All right," he said.
"What was all the shouting about?"
The crowd was silent.
Tamura shook his head and sighed softly. *Out-of-control gossiping
again, I'll bet,* he thought wryly. "Now that I have your attention, I
want to introduce you to Ranma Saotome," he said, gesturing towards Ranma.
"He's an excellent martial artist, as you've just seen, and he'll be coming
here regularly at Juuban High to help me teach for this semester." He
clapped his hands together. "All right now, take your positions."
As the students began moving, Ranma suddenly noticed who was heading
towards him, and whatever good mood he'd managed to acquire after his
sparring match with Tamura suddenly went out of the window. It didn't take
him long to recognize Usagi, as her hairstyle was pretty much unique. He
recognized the two other girls as Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury. He
was about to scowl at them and tell them to leave him alone when he
remembered that his male form was supposed to be unaware of what had
happened yesterday. He settled on gritting his teeth instead.
*I just _had_ to fall on a class with three of them in it,* he thought,
depressed.
"Ranma-san? What are you doing here in Juuban High?" asked Ami. "I
thought you went to Mizuharo University."
Ranma shrugged. "You heard Tamura-sensei. I'm doing this so I can get
a course or two credited at the university. I won't always be here, don't
worry."
Usagi blinked at the last comment, but quickly asked a question that had
been on her mind since yesterday. "Ranma, do you know where Ranko is? I'd
like to speak to her."
Ranma couldn't help the tightening of his features. Was everyone going
to hound him with that for the rest of his days? "She went back to
Nerima," he said. "She didn't seem happy about what happened yesterday."
Ranma was surprised at the expression that crossed Usagi's face. It seemed
like sadness, or maybe regret.
"I know," she said quietly. "I wanted to apologize for what happened
yesterday."
Ranma blinked, perplexed. This, he hadn't expected. She did seem
genuinely remorseful about something, but what about, exactly? Was she
sorry about giving him the henshin rod? He idly wondered how much would
they reveal to him. "Apologize about what?" he hazarded.
"Um, well..." she started to say, but was interrupted by Tamura's cough.
"Tsukino-san? Mizuno-san? Kino-san? Would you please take your
positions?"
"Hai!" responded all three girls, moving away.
Tamura approached Ranma "Problems?" he asked.
"No," the pig-tailed martial artist. "Happenstance. We met before and
they were wondering how come I was here." And looked at Tamura. "Why did
you think I had a problem?"
Tamura raised an eyebrow. "You didn't see your face, Saotome-san."
*Was I that obvious?* wondered Ranma.
"Anyway," said Tamura, waving the matter away, "I wanted to thank you
for the sparring match," he raised an eyebrow, "Even if I know you were
holding back," he finished wryly.
Ranma grimaced. "Tamura-sensei..."
Tamura, seeing the expression, laughed. "Don't take it the wrong way,
Saotome-san. I know I wouldn't hold out for long against someone of your
caliber. I'm not angry over it." He clapped Ranma on the shoulder. "Now
come on, we have a class to teach."
Ranma looked at Tamura's retreating back. *He sure is easygoing,* he
thought. *Maybe this won't be so bad after all.*
While all of this was going on in Juuban High, Akane was fidgeting more
and more at Mizuharo. She had just finished attending a lecture and was
now on a break for a few hours. Unfortunately, the break was anything
_but_ relaxing. With free time on her hands, she found herself thinking
more and more about Hotaru and the dream she had had the previous night.
She was presently sitting at a table, trying to make sense of the notes
she had scribbled during the lecture. The problem was, of course, that her
mind was completely elsewhere at the moment. Namely, she was still trying
to decide whether the dream had been effectively that, a dream, or
something else.
Frustrated at her lack of concentration, she got up and decided to go
take a walk. Maybe it would help her clear her mind.
As she left the university campus, she wondered how Ranma had fared in
his meeting with the counselor. *He probably breezed through it,* she told
herself reassuringly. *He doesn't have a dream bothering him.*
She was walking aimlessly in the streets, preoccupied with her thoughts,
when she heard someone shout her name.
Blinking out of her trance, she looked around her for the source of the
voice and quickly located it.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Hotaru standing on the other side
of the street, waving her hand. She stared for a moment before rushing
across the street, heedless of the shouts directed at her by the angry
cyclists she almost bowled over in her haste to get across the street.
"Hotaru-chan!" said Akane merrily, scooping the young girl up in her
arms. "It's so good to see you again!"
Hotaru stiffened in anticipation, her greeting frozen in her throat.
Had Rei done as she had asked her yesterday? Akane had seemed awfully
enthusiastic in her greeting. Did that mean she remembered? Before she
could voice a comment, though, Akane put her down and looked at her
quizzically.
"Say, Hotaru-chan, how come you're outside of school at this time of day?"
"There was water damage at our school last night," answered Hotaru,
shaken out of her thoughts. "They closed the school down today for
repairs."
Akane nodded, almost absently. She was looking at Hotaru, tilting her
head slightly, a considering expression on her face.
"Akane?" asked Hotaru, worried. "Are you all right?"
The older girl shook her head, smiling. "Yeah, I am, Hotaru-chan.
Don't worry." she looked around. "Let's walk, okay?" She looked around,
an uncertain expression on her face. "There are a few things I'd like to
talk to you about."
Hotaru's heart suddenly tripled its current speed, which already wasn't
anything to laugh at. "Um, sure!" she said happily. *Oh! I hope this is
about what I think it is!* she thought, fighting the urge to tell Akane
everything right away. A dark corner of her mind reminded that there was
still a possibility that Akane wasn't Kanma reborn.
They walked in silence until they reached a small public park, where
they found a bench to sit on. The park was surprisingly quiet for this
time of day. The only other occupants of the park were the birds, who were
chirping away their own business in the surrounding trees.
It was Akane who broke the silence first. "Hotaru-chan," she began
hesitatingly. "Are you sure you didn't see me anywhere before?"
Hotaru's good mood faded slightly. "Well..." she hesitated. She knew
that Haruka or Michiru would not appreciate her spilling the beans about
their secret identities to Akane for no good reason, so it meant that Akane
would have to take the first steps. "You seem familiar, yes," she finally
said. It would have to do.
Akane looked at Hotaru again and tried to figure out what she had meant
with that comment, but couldn't make out the expression in the young girl's
face. She was about to prod further when she stopped and asked herself if
she really wanted this. Was it really all true? Magic, reincarnation and
all that? Had there really been a thriving civilisation that spread
through the planets thousands of years ago? Other things came to mind.
Had she really been a man in a previous life? Would embracing memories she
was unsure of turn her into some kind of deviant?
Maybe she had just badly interpreted a dream, although a part of her
refused to believe so. And in the event that it _should_ all turn out to
be all true, was she really ready to deal with everything that would
follow? She had a good life, now. The fiancee business was over, Ranma
didn't have anyone out to kill him. No risks. Just living happily ever
after, just like a fairy tale.
Akane let out a small, almost inaudible sigh. Did Hotaru even remember
the same things she did? She had said that Akane looked familiar. Just
how much familiar? Did the young girl remember herself as Sailor Saturn?
_Was_ she really one of the Sailor Senshi? Ranma had said that they
existed for real; they weren't just vague urban legends.
It would be so easy to just remain good friends. But if Hotaru really
was her younger sister... Akane almost sighed wistfully, letting the
tantalizing dream memories come back up to the surface.
Akane looked back again at Hotaru, who seemed to be watching her
anxiously. Why didn't she say anything? She took a deep breath.
"Hotaru-chan, last night, I spoke with Rei, at the shrine. I told her that
I thought you looked familiar and she offered to... well... help me
remember. I'm not sure what it did, but last night..." she trailed off.
She took a deep breath and looked Hotaru in the eyes. "Hotaru-chan, where
exactly do you remember seeing me before?"
Hotaru had to tell herself several times that Akane had to make the
first move before she answered with a vague: "I'm not sure... It's like a
dream." She saw Akane's pensive look and couldn't help adding softly: "A
good dream."
Akane smiled thinly. "Do you..." she trailed off. *Argh!* she thought
a little angrily. *How do I say this without sounding like an idiot?* An
idea suddenly came to her. *I've got it!* She dug in her bookbag and
retrieved a sheet and a pen.
"Akane?" asked Hotaru, puzzled by Akane's behaviour.
"Just a moment, Hotaru-chan," said Akane distractedly. *I can just draw
something and ask her if it reminds her of anything. If not, then no harm
done and if it does, well... I'll deal with it when and if it happens.*
The only problem was that she didn't know _what_ to draw. She thought
about a picture of Kanma's staff, Mjollnir, but then decided against it.
It should be something she could recognize from _her_ past.
If any of it was true.
Then it dawned on her. She began to draw an object she remembered
clearly from Verika's life. If something could get a reaction out of
Hotaru, _this_ would. Once she finished, she handed the sheet to Hotaru.
"Does this remind you of anything, Hotaru-chan?"
Hotaru eagerly took the piece of paper, and saw. It was a drawing, done
in haste, but it showed something she could never, ever forget.
The Silence Glaive.
Akane carefully watched Hotaru's reaction, as it went from hesitant to
joyful. *Does she know what it is?* she wondered.
Hotaru was more than happy. She _had_ been right all along. "Hai, it
does." She looked Akane in the eyes. "That's the Silence Glaive, the
weapon of the Senshi of Saturn."
Akane stood still in shock for a few moments. "V... Verika?" she
stuttered. "Saturn, the past... Was it all real?"
Hotaru dropped the sheet and quickly threw her hands around Akane's neck
and hugged her as tightly as she could. "I hoped so much you were Kanma
reborn! I've missed you so much!" she said, surprisingly softly.
Akane was still reeling. "How, Verika... I mean Hotaru-chan... How is
this possible? What happened?"
Hotaru reluctantly let go of Akane. "That's what I'd like to know. I
thought you'd died with all the others on Saturn. When I came back,
everything had been destroyed."
"No," said Akane, shaking her head, trying to remember everything all at
once. "I wasn't on Saturn, I was on Earth. A... diplomatic mission, I
think." She was silent for a moment then frowned. "Hotaru," she said,
embarrassed. "Was I really, I mean... Oh how do I say this... Was
Kanma..."
Hotaru giggled as she realized what Akane was driving at. "Hai, Kanma
was a guy." She hugged Akane again. "But I don't mind a sister at all."
Oddly enough, Akane's first thought was along the lines of: *If Ranma
finds out, he'll tease me about being a tomboy for the rest of my life!*
"Hotaru-chan, we've got a _lot_ to catch up on," finally said Akane.
The answer came as a giggle. "We've got a lot of time... Oneesan."
Despite the weirdness of the present moment, Akane couldn't help
smiling. Big sister. She had never been called that before. She liked it.
She decided she had made the right choice.
The mood was suddenly shattered when they heard several people screaming
outside the park. They both looked at each other with puzzled expressions
before wordlessly getting off the bench and walking to the edge of the park.
"What the..." echoed Akane and Hotaru, finally seeing what was causing
all the screaming.
It was big, it was black, and it looked mean. _Real_ mean.
It could have passed as a man, if you could find a twelve-foot tall
individual with ebony skin, an ugly face, viciously clawed hands and
muscles that would make Silvester Stallone look like Gosunkugi. It also
had, strangely enough, two long, spiked tails.
Akane frowned when she realized that the thing not only looked meaner,
but seemed a lot more dangerous than the bug-like monster that had attacked
at the train station. It was practically oozing with malice. She was
still staring when all of a sudden, the thing flexed its two huge legs and
leaped away. It left behind screams, a flattened car and a broken water
fountain.
"I have to go after it." The sentence was out of Hotaru's mouth before
she could stop it. She didn't know whether Akane had realized that she was
Sailor Saturn in this life as well.
Akane looked at her oddly. "Go after it? Hotaru-chan..." she trailed
off and blinked in confusion. "Oh, right. Sailor Saturn, right?" she
added sheepishly.
Hotaru breathed a sigh of relief. "Hai," she answered. "I'll call the
others as well." She looked around to see if there were any people aside
from Akane watching her and found none. She took her henshin rod out of
its subspace pocket.
"Saturn Planet Power, Make-Up!"
A deep violet light covered Hotaru and was subsequently absorbed in her
body without the slightest sound. The fuku automatically formed around her
and the Silence Glaive's deadly shape materialized in her right hand.
Akane watched the whole proceeding, fascinated. When the transformation
was finished, she looked at Sailor Saturn and frowned. *Awfully short
skirt,* she thought. "Won't people recognize you like that, Hotaru-chan?
I mean, you don't even wear a mask or anything."
"We don't need to," answered Saturn. "The transformation includes a
disguise field that encourages people not to recognize us. You didn't fall
for it because you saw the transformation occurring." She tilted her head
slightly. "And call me Saturn when I'm like this, not Hotaru. You
wouldn't want to blow my cover now, would you?"
"Oh," was all Akane said. She blinked and thrust a hand over Sailor
Saturn's shoulder. "I'm coming with you," she said decisively. "I'm not
letting you go alone after that thing."
"You can't!" protested Saturn. "You don't have any protection!..." she
trailed off and looked at Akane. "Or do you?..." she asked wonderingly.
"What are you talking about?" said Akane. "You're not making any
sen..." she cut her protest short when she understood what Sailor Saturn
was talking about. "The Knight Guard armour?"
Saturn nodded enthusiastically.
"You gotta be kidding!" said Akane, dismayed. "That armour was designed
for a man!" she added, almost embarrassed.
Saturn shrugged. "It was a magical armour. Maybe it'll adapt
differently this time."
Akane reddened slightly. "But still..."
"Look," added Saturn, something coming back to her. "You're going to
need a weapon, no? Kanma couldn't cast spells very well without his
staff."
"The staff," Akane murmured, lost in thoughts. She held out a hand in
front of her. "How did that go?" she muttered. "Oh, yes..." Her eyes
narrowed. "Mjollnir!" she said, but nothing happened. She frowned.
"Maybe if I..." she muttered again and took a deep breath. "MJOLLNIR!" she
shouted and a hammer-headed staff that hadn't been used in over a thousand
and a half years suddenly materialized in her hand.
Saturn and Akane couldn't help staring at it.
"Oh my god," Akane breathed. She looked at it again and realized that
it was indeed the same staff she had used as Kanma so long ago in the past.
"That thing brings back so many memories," she said softly.
Saturn was becoming impatient. "Akane! The monster's getting away!"
Akane shook her head. "Oh, right." She took a deep breath. *If that
thing turns me into a man, I swear I'll scream,* she thought grimly and
raised the staff.
"Knight Guard Power!"
Back in Juuban, P.E. class was drawing to its end and Ranma was glad
that he had managed to avoid the three Senshi for most of the class.
Looking at Usagi, he couldn't help wondering how someone who was so
uncoordinated could end up as the leader of a bunch of super-powered
vigilante schoolgirls.
"All right!" yelled Tamura-sensei. "Gather around, I've got a few
things to say before class finishes."
Ranma ignored the bustle. Something was coming this way. Something
that definitely wasn't nice. He began frowning. He could feel it already
from here. That was bad. It was coming closer.
"Tamura-sensei?" said Ranma, out loud.
Tamura turned from where he was speaking. "Yes, Saotome-san?"
"Get the students out. Now," he said, frowning even more and looking at
one of the walls of the gymnasium as if he could see through them. Oh yes,
it was evil and it was getting closer. This could get messy.
"What?" asked Tamura, bewildered. "What are you talking... about?..."
he said, frowning towards the end.
*He's starting to feel it too,* realized Ranma. It would be here any
moment. There wasn't time. It _was_ going to be messy. His danger sense
was screaming. He turned towards the assembled students. "Get out of
here! Now!" he shouted. The students began milling around and murmuring
among themselves, unsure of what to do.
"Do it!" shouted Tamura. "Everyone out! Now!" There was fear in his eyes.
The wall at the far end of the gymnasium suddenly exploded towards the
inside of the room, showering bits of cement, wood and plaster everywhere.
As soon as they saw the creature, most of the students began screaming
and running. Fortunately, there was an exit close by and the students
didn't need to go anywhere near the monster.
"Tamura-sensei!" shouted Ranma over the frightened shrieks of students
trying to leave. "Help them get out. I'll draw that thing away!"
Tamura looked at him, then nodded. "Don't get yourself killed, Saotome!"
Ranma nodded, idly noting the slightly more familiar form of address.
He turned to the thing... a demon he decided by its looks, and began
running towards it. He could feel its hate getting stronger as he moved
closer. Whatever that thing was, he had to take it down. Now.
Less than ten feet away, he jumped in the air and brought his hands
together as fast as he could. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" he yelled, throwing a
gigantic chi-blast straight at the demon. The being in question merely
stood there and let the attack hit it, pushing it back a few feet, but
doing no appreciable damage. Ranma used that time to vault over the demon
and stand in the hole it had made on its way in.
"Come on!" he taunted. "You wanna fight? I'm the best there is!"
The demon turned around and smiled. Ranma decided he didn't like that
smile. It seemed, well, a bit too sadistic for his tastes. "You are Ranma
Saotome?" it asked in a voice that sounded like rotten leather crumbling.
Ranma blinked, and narrowed his eyes. "So what if I am?" he said defiantly.
"Greetings from Happosai," the demon replied with a grin.
*Happosai?* Ranma thought in shock. *_He_ summoned this thing?* He
shook his head. He could deal with the pervert later; right now, he had
more pressing business.
That was the last thing he thought before the demon performed an
inhumanly fast kick that sent Ranma flying out of the school grounds.
When the students had begun rushing out, Makoto had had enough luck to
hold on to Usagi and Ami both and push them back in the changing room,
instead of letting herself be carried by the human flood.
"Did you see that thing?" said Makoto. "We gotta change and kill that
thing, right Usagi?"
Usagi nodded, a shaky smile on her lips. "And I was wondering why Ranma
had suddenly gone crazy."
"Ranma probably felt it long before we did," said Ami, shaking her head.
"He was trying to warn us."
Makoto sneaked a quick peek out the door and her breath caught. "Kuso!"
she swore.
"Mako-can? What's wrong?" quickly asked Usagi.
Makoto closed the door. "Bad news. Ranma just got kicked out of
school. Literally."
Usagi's answer was to go back to where she had stashed her clothes and
dig out the Ginzuishou. "Come on!" she said in a uncharacteristic show of
bravery. "We have to help him!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the school, Michiru and Haruka had been bored.
Of course, Michiru had not shown any signs of it, unlike Haruka, and had
quietly endured the lecture. However, as it progressed, the
turquoise-haired Senshi began to grow nervous. She had almost risked a
look with the Mirror, but didn't want to be stuck answering delicate
questions from the teacher if she happened to be caught.
As it was, she was only slightly less surprised than the others when she
heard the gymnasium wall collapse and the wild screaming that ensued.
Their teacher immediately stopped the lecture and opened the door to see
what was happening and was almost bowled over by the flood of students
trying to get away.
"There's a monster in the gymnasium!'" shouted one of the fleeing students.
Haruka and Michiru looked at one another and nodded.
Ranma impacted painfully against a wall on the other side of the street
in front of the school. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the
cobwebs when he saw the demon running towards him.
*Damn it's fast!* thought Ranma. *I need some breathing space.*
He waited until the demon was almost on top of him before slashing his
hands apart as fast as he could. KIJIN RAISHU DAN!!" he yelled, sending a
vacuum blade right in the demon's face, who screamed in pain from the
impact. Ranma quickly got behind the demon and looked around. By now,
everybody had fled the street, which was now empty except for the
combatants.
The demon turned around, no longer smiling. "That hurt, you little
fool," it snarled.
"Oh yeah?" Ranma shot back. "Well how about this!" he said, forming a
giant chi-sphere in front of him. Predictably, the demon lunged at Ranma,
who smirked. "Sucker! RENSHA HAPPA-DAN!" he cried, releasing the storm of
miniature chi balls. Unlike the last time, however, he was ready for the
recoil and successfully directed the entire storm on the demon... who
wasn't there anymore. The technique reduced the wall he had impacted into
to so much rubble, but there was no trace of the demon.
*What the...?* was the last coherent thought Ranma had before he was
caught by a blow on the back which sent him collapsing on the pavement.
"Looking for me?" said the demon, amused. "I don't make the same
mistakes twice." It was already raising its taloned foot above Ranma's
head when a voice caught its attention.
"Harming those who would teach others is unforgivable! In the name of
the Moon, I will punish you!
The demon blinked at Sailor Moon. Ranma, who was getting up on his
knees, groaned in disgust. *Do they have to make speeches, too?* Although
he had to admit that the demon's now unprotected back was a golden
opportunity.
"ROGA SHUHAI TAI!" he shouted, using his fingers to make bloody gashes
in the demon's skin. The demon roared in pain and whipped around to pound
Ranma in the pavement and received a Haku Dato Shin Sho to the chest for
its trouble. Ranma then crescent-kicked it as hard as he could in the face
and jumped over the stunned demon.
"What are you waiting for?!" he yelled to the Senshi. "Hit it!"
Sailor Jupiter was the first to take up the offer. "Sparkling Vital
Pressure!" she shouted, throwing the lightning ball at the demon, who
dodged.
"You fight well," said the demon. "But I'm better," it finished, and
Ranma and the Senshi watched as it healed all traces of damage done to its
body.
*This... might take a while,* thought Ranma, glumly.
He quickly dashed towards it, trying to render it unconscious by hitting
it at Amaguriken speed, but received another shock as he saw that his blows
did not seem to have any lasting effect. An instant of distraction was all
the demon needed to snake one of its tails around Ranma's legs, lifting him
up helplessly.
"Thank you so much for coming to me," said the demon, holding Ranma
upside down at face level with itself. It was about to cave Ranma's face
in when all hell cut loose.
"Rainbow Moon Heart Ache!" Sailor Moon yelled at the same time as
Neptune and Uranus showed up.
The demon, still holding Ranma, leaped over Sailor Moon's attack, but
that only served to put it straight in Sailor Neptune's sight.
"Deep Submerge!" she cried, aiming a water globe at the airborne demon.
It reacted by tossing Ranma straight into Neptune's attack. Seeing the
demon's move, the aqua-haired Senshi tried to cancel the attack, but it was
too late.
The Deep Submerge, a magical water-based attack, was more than enough to
trigger Ranma's curse and render him almost unconscious from the pain.
The Senshi watched in shock as Ranma's figure became smaller and his
hair changed colour. The demon seemed to be more confused than anything
else.
"Ranko?!" came the incredulous comment from several throats. Seeing
Ranko fall bonelessly to the ground seemed to galvanize every player into
action.
"A shapeshifter?" the demon wondered out loud. "It matters not." It
raised a hand to punch the immobile redhead into the ground, but never got
the opportunity to do just that as a bright, golden chain wrapped around
its wrist. It turned its head around, just in time to glare at the latest
newcomer, Sailor Venus.
"What is this farce?" it growled. It turned around completely to face
Venus and forgetting all about Ranma. "If you want to make such pests of
yourselves, then I will be glad to deal with you as well."
"Oh yeah?!" came a voice behind it. "Deal with this!"
The demon turned around just in time to get a slash to the chest,
courtesy of Sailor Uranus' Space Sword. Uranus managed a shaky dodge under
the return strike and shouted "Now!"
A Crescent Beam Shower and a Supreme Thunder immediately hammered it
from different directions. It was followed shortly afterwards by another
attempt by Sailor Moon with the Rainbow Moon Heart Ache. This time, the
demon barely dodged around it.
"Burning Mandala!" came a new cry from behind it. It felt mystic flame
sear its back and whirled around, snarling from the pain. Another girl had
arrived, this one with a red outfit. It regenerated its wounds once more.
It needed to end this soon. Despite appearances, it wouldn't be able to
regenerate itself forever.
The demon was so busy evading strikes that it never noticed Sailor
Neptune sneaking Ranma-chan away from it.
Once Neptune had Ranma-chan in her grasp, she immediately carried the
redhead over to Mercury. She gently deposited her on the ground. "Is
he... she all right?" she asked.
Mercury activated her visor. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not even
sure I understand what happened here. Ranma turned into Ranko?" She shook
her head in confusion.
"We'll figure it out later," said Neptune quickly. "Can you take care
of her? The others need my help. It's all we can do to keep that thing
from regenerating itself long enough for Sailor Moon to correctly aim her
attack."
Mercury nodded. "I'll be okay." As Neptune left, her visor delivered a
diagnostic: mild shock and three broken ribs. Mercury was surprised in
more ways than one. Not many people would be able to stand getting hit
with a Deep Submerge and walk away with just a few broken ribs. She turned
her attention to that problem. *Unless Saturn arrives, he... she will have
to go to the hospital,* thought Mercury. She silently shook her head.
*Ranma or Ranko, whoever you are, you have a lot of explaining to do.* She
looked at the latest Senshi to arrive. *Especially to Rei.*
Suddenly, Ranma-chan's eyes snapped open.
Ranma had very closely lost consciousness when the Deep Submerge had hit
him. He had not even had time to form a defense.
As he changed to female, one thought in particular that stood out was
that the Senshi now all knew of her curse, and that didn't make her happy
at all. She was trying to go back to full consciousness when she heard a
familiar voice.
*Ranma! Can you talk to me?* Akana spoke urgently into her mind.
Ranma-chan would have jumped in surprise if she had been enough in
control to do so. *Akana? Is that you?*
*Who else would talk to you in your head?* she replied, not unkindly.
"Listen to me carefully...*
Ranma-chan cut her off. *Where have you been? I tried to contact you
all morning long. I was starting to think that you'd been nothing more
than a dream!* Another part of the redhead's mind wondered why she was so
happy to hear about Akana.
*I'm not sure,* replied Akana's voice. *I tried to talk to you this
morning as well. It looks like we can only speak when you're female for
the moment. Maybe it will change later.*
*Yeah, well later is for later. Sorry to step out on you like that, but
I gotta stop that thing.*
*Ranma!* she heard Akana's shocked voice. *We've got several broken
ribs! We can't go back out there!*
Ranma-chan did the equivalent of a mental snort. *Watch me,* she told
Akana flatly. *Besides, I fight with odds like these all the time.*
*I know,* said Akana tiredly. *And sometimes, it makes me wonder if you
have a death wish.* There was a short pause. *If you're going to do
something as stupid as that, at least turn into Sailor Terra!* insisted
Akana.
*Why should I?* she asked defensively. She was surprised to notice that
Akana had changed her form of address. She had addressed her personally
this time.
*For once, could you be a bit more reasonable? The outfit isn't only
for show, you know. The bodysuit is like armour. If anything, it will
help stabilize your ribs.*
*I'm not letting _anyone_ see me in that thing!" said Ranma defiantly.
*RANMA!* Akana's voice screamed in his mind. *Please let go of your
stupid pride! This is more important! They all saw you change a few
minutes ago. They know you were Terra the other day! What's it going to
change?* There was short pause. *Besides, I remember you wearing
something similar when you fought that cheerleader Mariko. You didn't
whine about it too much then, did you?*
Ranma-chan stayed silent at Akana's outburst. This was the first time
Akana had lost her temper like that. *I wouldn't be able to turn into
Terra even if I wanted to. I threw the henshin rod away the other day.*
*Not exactly,* said Akana's voice. *I triggered the storage command
when you threw it away. It's still there in the subspace pocket.*
There was a long silence.
*Ranma!* pleaded Akana. *You have to help them! The _Princess_ is
fighting along with them and you have to protect her! She is the most
important!*
The Oath.
Ranma-chan felt something brush her mind. *Endymion,* she thought.
*He's coming to help her.*
*Not just her,* Akana said. *He felt you being in danger as well.
Remember the link?*
*I told him not to use it to find me!* snarled Ranma-chan.
*He didn't do it on purpose,* said Akana. *You're attuned to one
another. He couldn't help sensing you get hurt anymore than you could if
_he_ was injured.*
More silence.
*All right,* said Ranma-chan. *But _only_ for this time, understand?*
She could feel Akana's joy. *Thank you, Ranma.*
Ranma-chan woke up.
Mamoru had been in the library, researching all he could about Jusenkyou
when he felt Usagi being in danger. He quickly dashed out of the library,
nearly shoving several students away in the process. As he ran towards the
exit, he cursed the fact that there hadn't seemed to be much information
about Jusenkyou, or at least not in what he'd checked so far. There were
still quite a few books left to check.
Once he got outside, he quickly located an empty spot and shifted into
Tuxedo Kamen. After that, he quickly took to the rooftops and leaped away
towards Juuban High.
When he was a few blocks away, he spotted two other roof-hoppers.
Sailor Saturn's Silence Glaive was unmistakable, but he didn't recognize
the other who was with her. He angled his trajectory so he would meet up
with them.
"Sailor Saturn!" he called out. Both figures turned towards.
"Tuxedo Kamen!" shouted Sailor Saturn in return, waving a hand.
Tuxedo Kamen quickly joined up with them. "I suppose we're going in the
same direction?" he asked her.
"Looks like it," said Saturn. "I called Neptune and Uranus, but they
were already at the site and so were the others. Mars is on her way."
Tuxedo shifted his attention and looked at Saturn's companion. A young
woman with short black hair held back by a yellow headband, she was decked
out in an odd set of grey and gold armour that tickled Endymion's memory.
The upper half of the armour consisted in slightly oversized shoulderguards
and a shield-shaped breastplate with the sigil of Saturn. Hip guards on
each side rested against tight black pants. She was wearing grey boots
with golden knee guards and the whole outfit was complimented by a grey
cape with a golden trim that was attached to the shoulderguards.
She was also carrying what Tuxedo Kamen personally thought was an
oversized hammer with a long handle. A hammer that was pointed on one end,
too.
"Who are you?" asked Tuxedo Kamen. It had only taken a moment to look,
but he was in too much of a hurry to be polite.
"Why don't we just keep going," said the young woman. "I'll explain on
the way."
Tuxedo Kamen nodded and soon, they were back on their way.
"So," said Tuxedo Kamen briskly. "Explain."
"She's my reincarnated brother, Tuxedo Kamen," said Saturn happily.
Tuxedo Kamen almost fell flat on his face. "B-Brother?" he stuttered.
"Saturn-chan, remind me to teach you something about tact," said the
young woman with a sigh as they jumped another roof.
Sailor Saturn blushed. "Ah... Um, sorry,Akane. It just sort of slipped
out."
"Akane?" said Tuxedo Kamen, remembering the name. "Ranma's wife?"
Akane blinked. "You know me?"
"Yes, but I didn't recognize you before. You must have a disguise field
like the Senshi."
Akane brightened. "Really? I didn't remember that. Well that helps!"
She thought for a moment. "Maybe I should call myself Saturn Knight, then.
That used to be my title."
Just as they were getting closer to their goal, Tuxedo Kamen suddenly
stopped and clutched his head.
"What's wrong?" asked Saturn, kneeling beside him.
"She... she's been hurt!" he panted. He could feel it in his mind now.
"Sailor Moon's been hurt?" asked Saturn, horrified. "Come on, then! We
have to get there now!"
"No," said Tuxedo Kamen, getting up. "Not Sailor Moon. Ranko."
Akane's eyes bugged out. "Ranko? As in the redhead that looks like Ranma?"
Tuxedo Kamen nodded. "Hai. I found out two days ago that she's my
reincarnated sister." He looked at Saturn. "Maybe its reincarnation season
or something. Anyway, we seem to be sharing some sort of mental link. All
I know is that Ranko's just been hurt badly."
Akane didn't know whether to stare at Tuxedo Kamen, tell him he was
completely insane of just fall down laughing her guts out. Ranko was
Ranma. Ranma was his reincarnated sister? No wait, that wasn't right. It
didn't make sense. Well, then again, she _was_ Saturn's reincarnated
brother. Maybe that was why he'd been acting so weird this morning. *This
is making my head hurt,* she thought numbly. She shook her head when she
saw Tuxedo Kamen leaping away once more. "Wait! There's something you
should know!"
"Later!" said the masked man.
Akane turned to Saturn. "I think he's got it all wrong, Saturn."
"Not likely," answered Saturn, following Tuxedo Kamen. "We found out
something rather interesting about Ranko yesterday."
"What?" asked Akane, following Saturn. *This just keeps getting better
and better!* she thought wryly.
"That's not for me to tell," replied Saturn.
Akane would have pried further, but they arrived at the battle site, and
the scene wasn't pretty. Over two-thirds of the street was nothing more
than rubble and the Senshi were obviously getting tired of fighting the
monster Akane and Sailor Saturn had been following.
Tuxedo Kamen looked around and quickly saw that Sailor Moon was
unharmed. Neptune and Mars were currently protecting her, but Uranus,
Venus and Jupiter looked as though they were running out of steam. He saw
Mercury kneeling at Ranko's side and it confirmed the gut feeling he had
had that Ranko had been hurt. He turned to his two other companions. "All
right. I strike first and help guard Sailor Moon so the others can go
closer to that thing. Saturn, you strike second and go help Ranko right
after." He turned to Akane. "If you can fight, we could use it."
Akane's face was a stony mask. "If it's that thing that hurt Ranma,
then it's dead," she said flatly. She deliberately left out the fact that
she hadn't had time to try out any magic so far. How hard could it be?
After all, she did have Kanma's memories. Well, some of them at any rate.
"Ranma?" said Tuxedo Kamen, puzzled. "Oh, nevermind." He turned towards
the monster, who was now stalking towards Sailor Moon and threw an entire
garden's worth of roses into its back.
The demon roared in pain, allowing Tuxedo Kamen to jump in front of
Sailor Moon, catching its attention. Seeing that the demon was not looking
in their direction, Saturn's brow furrowed in concentration she and hefted
the Glaive.
She jumped off the roof she was standing on and slashed down at the demon
with a resounding cry of "Silence Glaive Surprise!". The enhanced slash
from weapon made a deep cut in its back, amidst the impromptu rose garden.
Seeing that her attack worked, she quickly moved towards where Ranko and
Mercury were sitting. It looked as if the redhead was beginning to get up.
Akane had blinked Tuxedo Kamen's somewhat unusual attack. *Roses? He
attacks with _roses_?* was her incredulous reaction. But after witnessing
the demon's pained reaction, she had to admit that however silly the attack
might look, it sure seemed to work. She had then watched Saturn attack,
surprised at her newfound sister's skill with the giant weapon. And now it
was her turn.
Unfortunately, the demon had turned around once more and was now
watching her wearily. Mars, seeing the problem, shot a Fire Soul at the
demon, who was forced to turn towards her to avoid the attack. Akane gave
Mars a quick nod in thanks. Hefting Mjollnir, she took a deep breath and
leaped, hoping she would get the spell she was thinking about right.
"Shirak Tabris!" she shouted, swinging her staff at the demon. There
should have been a shockwave - that much Akane remembered from Kanma's
memories, but nothing happened.
Well, that wasn't strictly quite true. She did manage to hit the demon
with the pointed end of the hammerhead, catching its attention.
She suddenly wished she hadn't, because the demon now looked even more
ready to kill than before. Its two tails lashed out, trying to bat Akane
out of the way, but she barely parried the strikes at the last moment with
Mjollnir's haft, her arms smarting from the shock. *Why didn't it work?*
she thought frantically. She had to get out of reach before that thing
impaled her.
Oddly enough, the demon just stood there for a second, unmoving, before
howling "ENOUGH!!!"
Unaware of the new arrivals, Ranma-chan had begun getting up, clutching
her ribs, despite the repeated protests of Sailor Mercury.
"Stop it!" said Mercury, futilely trying to stop the redhead from
moving. "You'll aggravate the injury"
Ranma-chan pushed her away. "It's nothing, I can deal with it. I gotta
go kill that thing," she said, coughing up some blood.
"The others can handle it," said Mercury, glaring at the redhead. "You
may be strong, but you aren't invulnerable, Ranko. You go out like this
and that demon _will_ kill you."
Ranma-chan sighed. "The name's Ranma, not Ranko. Don't pretend you
didn't see it on _my_ account."
Mercury's glare faltered. "So you _are_ Ranma? You're the same? How..."
Ranma-chan didn't answer as Saturn rushed towards them.
"Saturn!" said Mercury, surprised. "When did you get here?"
"I just did," replied the smallest Senshi. She turned to Ranko.
"Tuxedo Kamen told me and... ah..." she faltered, unsure of what to say,
"... and the Saturn Knight that you'd been hurt, so hold still," said,
immediately pressing her hands just below the redhead's breasts. Now was
perhaps not the best time to tell her about Akane.
Before Ranma-chan had a chance to protest about anything, she felt soft
warmth spreading through her body. A moment later, it vanished. She
reflexively took deep breath and immediately braced for a pain that didn't
come. She was about to ask Saturn how she had done that when she heard
Akana's shocked voice inside her head.
//Saturn Knight? Kanma?? How...?//
Ranma-chan found herself looking towards the battlefield where a young
woman in gray armour had just barely blocked a rather vicious strike from
the demon.
*She doesn't look like a Senshi,* thought Ranma.
//That's because she isn't one!// replied Akana, still shocked.
*Then who...* Any further questioning was put on hold when they all
heard the demon howl a loud "ENOUGH!!!"
The cry was so loud that all the fighting stopped for a moment. The
demon growled and began radiating darkness, as paradoxal as it might seem.
Its wounds healed once more and it turned towards Ranma-chan. It started
running towards her.
Ranma-chan was about to meet its charge when Saturn stepped in front of
her, holding the Glaive as if she was about to parry a strike with it.
"Get out of the way!" said Ranma-chan, but Saturn paid her warning no
heed. The demon was practically on top of them when Saturn shouted
"SILENCE WALL!" There was a shimmering in the air and the demon crashed
head-first into what Ranma-chan realized was an invisible wall. "Whoa..."
she said amazed.
"Get away, quickly!" said Saturn through clenched teeth. The demon was
now punching the Silence Wall as fast and as hard as it could. "I won't be
able to hold this for long!"
"No way," said Ranma-chan. "That thing is after _me_. It wants a piece
of me? He's gonna get one." She reached behind her in a gesture that felt
hauntingly familiar and came back with the henshin rod. She looked at it
for a brief moment, feelings of longing and revulsion coursing through her.
Ranma-chan closed her eyes and raised the rod. "Terra Star Power,
Make-Up!" she whispered.
And the Power coursed through her. She hated it. She revelled in it.
She was betraying herself. This was who she was. Never again. Always and
forever. And as quickly as it began, it stopped.
And she felt wonderful.
Automatically, her subconscious came up with a speech, but Terra was
unable to stop it in time. "Creating chaos and hurting innocents who come
to school is unforgivable!" she said out loud. Inside, she was cringing.
They were all looking at her, too. She had barely managed to stop herself
from posing when she decided that if she was stuck saying a speech, at
least it would be _her_ speech. "In the name of the Earth," she said,
moving her arms in front of herself, "I'm gonna kick you straight back to
HELL!"
The demon's assault on the Silence Wall had faltered when Ranma-chan had
transformed. Therefore, it was still a bit puzzled by its quarry's new
physical appearance and had dismissed the speech as unimportant when it
realized something.
It had left itself wide open for an attack.
Saturn, sensing what had happened, quickly dropped the Wall and ducked
aside, just in time to hear a resounding "MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!"
The chi-blast, which would have made a Saiyajin proud, tossed the demon
a good forty meters away blown the street in a cloud of smoke, despite its
attempt at a block. Sailor Terra lowered her arms and smirked. *Take
that, you stupid demon.*
The smirk wore off and was immediately replaced by a stunned expression
when she saw the demon running right back right at her. *What the hell
does it take for that thing to stay down?!*
*Use your power!* interjected Akana.
*My power?* wondered Terra. She blinked when the knowledge came back to
her. *Oh right.* She turned towards Sailor Venus, who was gaping at her
from a dozen meters away. "Toss me your chain, now!"
"W-What?" Venus stammered, confused.
"THE CHAIN!" Terra yelled, the demon getting closer by the second.
The yell shook Venus out of her trance. "Venus Love-Me Chain!" she
shouted, sending the golden heart chain towards Terra, who casually caught
it with her left hand. Something unexpected then happened. The chain
suddenly winked out of existence, much to Sailor Venus' confusion. She
tried to warn the red-haired Senshi when she noticed that the yellow trim
of Terra's fuku had just turned a bright orange, like her own fuku. She
blinked.
Terra smiled. She had the power now. The demon was almost on her. She
moved to meet its charge and yelled: "TERRA MIMIC! LOVE-ME CHAIN!" She
evaded the demon's initial charge, but immediately swung back around it,
the Love-Me Chain back in her hands.
Two eyeblinks later, the demon's arms were pinned to its body by a
bright, golden chain. Sailor Terra was behind it, holding the end of the
chain in her hands. "Gotcha!" she said brightly.
"Not quite," snarled the demon, twisting around and using Terra's hold
on the Love-Me Chain to toss her into a wall.
Terra shook her head. "What are you waiting for?" she yelled to the
other Senshi. "Hit the damn thing!"
"Right!" said Sailor Moon, who began charging up for the Rainbow Moon
Heart Ache.
Of course, the demon saw this and immediately tried to move out of
range. It didn't get the chance as it realized its legs were now also
tangled up in a golden chain. It looked at Terra, who was smiling smugly.
"Going somewhere?" taunted Terra.
The demon would have snarled if it wasn't rapidly scared at the moment.
It turned around, feeling an energy surge and the last thing it saw was the
sight of Sailor Moon's attack headed straight for it.
It didn't even have time to scream.
Sailor Terra winced as the attack completely disintegrated the demon.
*Usagi may be a klutz,* she thought, *But that attack more than makes up
for it.*
She then realized everyone was staring at her. Tuxedo Kamen, the
Senshi, even the girl in the gray-and-gold armour.
*I think they're going to want explanations, now,* commented Akana from
the recesses of Terra's mind.
Terra buried her face in her hands.
Author's notes
- First of all, chapter 10 was _not_ supposed to be this bloody big. You
can be sure that the next chapters will be shorter.
- If you've got better ideas for the first part of Terra's opening speech
at the end, I'm open for suggestions. I would've used "I'm gonna kick your
ass" at the end, but RPM beat me to it with Sailor Hellblazer (a
masterpiece, I must admit - it's just too freakin' funny).
- The "Oath" isn't completely original. I remember reading something
*very* much like it in an another Sailor Moon fanfic *very* long ago...
Can't remember where, though. My apologies to the author who came up with
it.
- Thanks to Hitomi for her comments and suggestions for the dream scene
dialogues.
- Remember that for this story, I put Minako in the same school as Usagi,
Ami and Makoto. I said that waaayyy back in chapter 1 (a year and a half
ago).
- For those who don't get it, I use * * quotes when Ranma and Akana
converse inside a dream (they're both thinking) and // quotes when Ranma is
awake.
- The bit about talking to the Guardians? Taken from the manga, Vol. 5
(I'll put a scan on my Web site). In the manga, Sailor Mars killed
Jadeite, Jupiter killed Nephrite and Venus killed Zoisite. I don't quite
remember how Kunzite died, but after the whole mess, Mamoru kept four
stones - it was all that was left of the men who were once his protectors.
Mamoru "talked" with their spirits shortly after he used the Tuxedo Smoking
Bomber attack for the first time (Black Moon incident).
- And lastly, for the poor people out there who *still* don't know,
Zoisite *was* male in the Japanese version of Sailor Moon. It was DIC who
made Zoisite a girl since they couldn't accept the apparent Kunzite/Zoisite
relationship. And also, by the way, there's *nothing* that proves that
they were like this before Beryl twisted them.
**********************
* The Phoenix Reborn * Jordanite and Mystical
********************** Freak at Large
Louis-Philippe Giroux
Phoenix@upc.qc.ca
Dragon@anime.usacomputers.net
Phoenix's Den at
http://www.upc.qc.ca/~phoenix/phoenix.html
Picture and Fanfiction Gallery
http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~dragon/
(Currently down due to the server being moved)
"The nameless are like dust. No one shall come to lay flowers by their
grave. Only those who earned their names are ever remembered."
- Woodchuck, Records Of Lodoss War