Here's another edited chapter!
C&C PUBLIC and (private) welcomed.

Thanks to pre-readers: Mike Koos, Chad Walker, Fire, Louis-Philippe Giroux,
Bryan Neef, and Andrew Norris.

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

A pounding on the door awakened Ranma. A glance at the clock showed it 
was time for training. Ranma hurried to the bathroom then threw on a gi. 
Kikuko went out to train with her friends, knowing the Art would give 
her *some* peace.

***

There was an unexpected visitor *this* morning. It seemed little Hotaru 
had come to train as well...

When the workout was finished, all five found it invigorating. Even 
Hotaru had been convinced to try some simple exercises she thoroughly 
enjoyed. It was then time to prepare for their trip to Nerima. All 
Kikuko's guests had brought a change of clothes. At 7:30, all four were 
prepared for their duty to their new friend, to honor a man they had 
never met. Kikuko wore a white silk shirt and white pants, a gift of the 
Joketsuzoku Amazons. She carried a small vacuum bottle that she could 
use to change once safely out of the area. Haruka wore a white suit, and 
the other three wore dresses, all in white.

***

Ranma 1/2 Honor and Love
(Yet Another) Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover 

Episode 03: Beginnings

By Kevin D. Hammel

Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publication Rights are held 
by Viz in The US and Shogakukan in Japan. Sailor Moon is property of 
Naoko Takeuchi. Publication rights held by Kodansha Ltd. in Japan and 
Mixx Entertainment in the US. My purpose is to honor these creators and 
their works. No infringement intended.

***

Ranma hoped the address was right, but this house DID look like it had a 
dojo in front. He went to the gate with Makoto at his side, a man with 
fairly long black hair and a black moustache visible on the other side. 
The man seemed to be crying rivers of tears, pausing to ask, "Are you 
Genma's son?"

Ranma bowed, "Yes, I am Saotome Ranma. Would you be Mr. Tendou?"

"Yes, I am Tendou Soun." The man motioned to Makoto, "and this is?"

Makoto bowed, "Ranma's friend Kino Makoto."

Soun grasped both Ranma's shoulders, "May I talk with you..." He turned 
to Makoto, "alone?"

"Alright," Ranma turned to his friend, "see you soon, Mako-chan."

"Okay, Ranma. We'll try to find your mother."

Soun turned and called into the dojo, "Kasumi, could you show Ranma's 
friends to his mother?" Turning, he escorted Ranma inside.

A tall girl with long brown hair gathered with a white ribbon, came out 
of the dojo, with a grim expression.

The youngest spoke first. "Hello, my name is Tomoe Hotaru. " She said 
with a bow. "And you would be?"

"Tendou Kasumi. I'm pleased to meet you." She looked up at the other 
three girls. "Are you all Ranma's friends?"

"Yes, I'm Ten'oh Haruka"

"Yes, Mizuno Ami"

"Yes, Kino Makoto."

"I'll take you to his mother."

Without further delay, the four guests were taken into the dojo to meet 
with Nodoka.

***

Soun and Ranma had adjourned to the former's bedroom. "So, Ranma, did 
your father ever tell you about the plans to unite our two families?"

"Nah, we never talked about stuff like that."

"Well Genma and I agreed that his son would be married to one of my 
daughters, so... you, and the wife you chose from among them, could 
operate the dojo."

"Well, in case you didn't notice, Mr. Tendou, my pop is dead, so I don't 
think your agreement means much anymore."

"And you would not only forsake honor, but deny his final dream, destroy 
his greatest wish?"

"I don't see what any of this has to do with MY honor, besides, I've 
found a girl I really like, and I don't love her or nothin, but who 
knows?"

"Does the honor of the Saotome name mean anything to you?"

"I wonder if it meant anything to pop? It seemed we were always on the 
run from someone."

He clapped Ranma's back, hard. "At least let me introduce you to them, 
Ranma. Let's go see them."

***

Ranma followed Mr. Tendou downstairs to the family room. "Kasumi, 
Nabiki, Akane, please come inside for a moment."

It seemed from three different directions, came a cry of "Coming!"

>From the dojo came a tall girl with dark brown hair, she spoke "Yes, 
father."

"Ranma, this is Kasumi. She's 19 and a excellent housekeeper."

Kasumi bowed. "I am sorry about what happened to Uncle Saotome."

A fairly tall girl, though shorter than Kasumi, with short brown hair 
came down the stairs. "Okay, daddy, what is it now?"

"Ranma, this is Nabiki, age 17."

Nabiki arched an eyebrow, then showed a concerned expression. "Sorry 
about what happened to your dad, Ranma."

"Thanks, Nabiki."

The third, shortest, and youngest Tendou sister entered the room. She 
had long hair like Kasumi, but it was black. "What is it now, dad? I was 
trying to get ready and you called me in here!"

"Ranma, this is Akane, age 16. Please get to know each of my daughters." 
Soun said, then left.

"So, Akane, do you know what daddy wanted?" Nabiki asked

Akane looked cross, "I don't know. Oh well..."

Ranma spoke at last. "Well your dad was talking to me and said that he 
and my dad had agreed to join our families by me marrying one of you." 
Ranma looked down. "But I've already found a girl I like. We're not 
really in love, but..."

Kasumi looked at Ranma, concern evident in her face. "Follow your heart 
Ranma. Don't let anything father says concern you."

"Yeah, arranged marriages are a thing of the past, Ranma." Though Nabiki 
DID think he was cute.

Akane's face went from calm to angry. "I... HATE... BOYS!" Was all she 
could say before she stormed out.

Ranma realized where Akane was coming from. He (or was it she?) didn't 
think much of them either...

"You'll have to forgive Akane, Ranma, she's a little high-spirited! 
Would you like to see your mother?"

"Yes, very much! About your younger sister, though... Actually, I 
understand *exactly* what she means, boys can really be jerks to girls 
at school." Ranma replied, following Kasumi into the dojo.

Akane wasn't quite out of earshot when Ranma made his comment. She had 
never heard a boy say that! She wondered how he *knew* what she meant.

***

Ranma was finally able to embrace his mother. "Mom, I'm sure glad to see 
you! It seems pop and Mr. Tendou cooked up some scheme to marry me off 
to one of his daughters."

Makoto's looked down and shook her head. "Not again!" she whispered. It 
seemed it was her lot, the promise of love, then nothing.

She felt a strong pair of arms embracing her. "Uh, I, um won't hurtcha, 
Mako-chan I promise. You're the best friend I've had in ten years an I'm 
not gonna let you go! Except like this!" Ranma broke the embrace, his 
smile returned by Makoto's.

"Son, make your own decisions, don't let a dead man's dreams ruin your 
life." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You won't find too many 
girls like Makoto, Ranma. Remember." She *would* have to investigate 
this pact, however...

Just then, they all heard a terrible noise coming from the street. Ranma 
trotted out of the dojo to the front of the house, followed by Makoto. 
Hotaru, Ami, and Haruka hurried out of the dojo in pursuit of the other 
two.

***

The three Tendou sisters came out of the house to see what the commotion 
was about.

Ranma emerged from the front gate of the Tendou compound, astonished at 
the sight in front of him. A large... thing in the middle of the street 
was advancing on the Tendou home. It was an awful fusion of monster and 
mechanism... tentacles, eyes, arms, and metal combined to paint a 
picture of horror. The worst thing about it was it was heading his 
way...

It appeared that Mr. Tendou had preceded Ranma to the front of the 
house. He had sunk to his knees in tears at the horrible sight.

The other students from Juuban ran out the gate behind Ranma. "Hey, 
Ranma, over here!" Makoto shouted to get his attention.

Ranma glanced his friend's way, noticing she was motioning toward the 
dojo. He had a good idea why.

As he hurried back into the compound, he thought he saw symbols flare on 
the foreheads of the three Tendou girls. He recognized the symbol for 
Jupiter on two of the girls, Akane and Nabiki, while the Kasumi showed a 
different sign. Perhaps his teammates would be interested...

***

Running into the dojo, Ranma noticed that his four friends had already 
adopted their Senshi guise. He looked at Jupiter with shock and a little 
fear. "Jupiter, two of the Tendou daughters had the symbol of Jupiter on 
their foreheads. Do you know what *that* might mean? The oldest... 
Kasumi... had a different symbol on *her* forehead."

Jupiter looked puzzled, but only for a moment, a smile appearing on her 
face. She turned to the smallest of the Senshi. "Saturn, let's find out 
what's going on. Ranma, you'll have to help Uranus and Mercury with 
that... thing."

Ranma recalled the device of his change, as Jupiter and Saturn ran out 
of the dojo.

***

The Tendou daughters could only stare at the creature.

Kasumi swallowed. "What can we possibly do to that thing."

Akane looked at her sister in agreement. Her expression changed to... 
hope "Maybe *now* is the time for us to get our powers, big sister."

"Hey, you guys!" a girl called behind them.

The sisters turned. Akane and Nabiki *knew* she was Sailor Jupiter.

Nabiki couldn't even *imagine* doing this, but she didn't want the see 
the house destroyed either... A lot of money and all of her records were 
in there. She *had* to look into off-site backups if *monsters* started 
calling! She joined Akane and hurried over to Sailor Jupiter.

Saturn wondered if *her* new Senshi might be here too, so she glanced at 
the three girls. For some unknown reason, the symbols flared anew. The 
tall girl, Kasumi, had *her* symbol on her forehead. "Kasumi!" She 
shouted. Saturn smiled, Kasumi seemed like such a *nice* girl.

Kasumi was scared... this thing threatened her home. She knew her first 
duty was her family, but there was nothing she could do about it, 
unless... She heard a girl shout her name. Looking at the small girl who 
shouted at her, she *knew* who she was, and ran to her. Could she do 
this? She *had* to, her family needed her now!

***

Io was excited to join Uranus and Mercury in battle. "So, what's the 
plan?" She asked with a smile as they ran into the street.

Uranus returned her grin. "Ta ice this thing!"

Io looked a little upset. "Yeah, that's the idea, but *not* the plan!"

Mercury looked thoughtful. "Let me see if I can find a weakness..." She 
seemed to stare at the visor which covered her eyes, Io figured it must 
be some kind of computer display, as numbers seemed to be flashing.

After a few moments, Io gave Mercury a glance bordering on disbelief. 
"Uh, Mercury, that thing looks like its going to charge! So let's do 
something!"

The monster *did* charge, or at least slither, slide, and slurp 
rapidly...

***

Back in the dojo, each new Senshi candidate looked at her henshin pen.

Kasumi looked at Saturn and smiled. She raised the device and spoke the 
words she *knew* she had to... "Titan Lumina Power! Make up!"

A bright, white light engulfed her... became purple... then faded, 
leaving Sailor Titan. One phrase came to her lips as she tugged on her 
awfully short skirt. "Oh my!"

Sailor Saturn smiled at her Senshi and offered her hand. "We need to 
help the others..." A slightly reluctant Sailor Titan accepted it and 
followed her new Sensei out of the building.

If *Kasumi* could do it, Nabiki knew she could, too. She swallowed and 
raised the Henshin pen, whispering "Callisto Lumina Power... Make Up..."

Blackness consumed her. After a few moments, the blackness cleared, 
seemingly sucked into the gold circlet that adorned her chest. Callisto 
smirked at the power she could feel she now possessed. She almost 
smiled, knowing both her home and cash were safe. "Let's go!" She was 
*ready*. But... what was with Akane?

Callisto stared at her little sister, arms crossed and impatiently 
tapping her foot. "Well, Miss Tendou?"

Akane gave her sister a quick nod. "Europa Lumina Power! Make Up!" she 
shouted.

A geyser of ice crystals hid her from view. When it receded, Sailor 
Europa stood ready to defend her home. She looked at Jupiter. "Let's do 
it!"

Jupiter led her two neo-Senshi out of the dojo, leaving one occupant. 
Hidden in the shadows, Saotome Nodoka had seen everything. She had heard 
about the legendary schoolgirl vigilantes of Juuban, but had dismissed 
them as myth. She had seen and felt the power they possessed, even 
legend had not done them justice. Ranma certainly had interesting new 
friends. It seemed the Tendou daughters were more than they had appeared 
as well. Makoto was a wonderful girl... Nodoka hoped honor would allow 
Makoto and Ranma a chance at happiness, but honor cared not for 
happiness, only duty...

***

Io noticed Mercury was still analyzing the monster when it tried to swat 
her with a tentacle. "Mercury!" She shouted with real concern.

Mercury's quick dodge impressed Io. She smiled at her student for an 
instant, then had to dodge another of the beast's arms.

Instead of a simple dodge, Io executed a flip and touched down for a 
moment on the beast's... head? Well, at least a flat spot on top. She 
figured a "Tempest Flare!" on its top might give it a headache.

The redheaded Senshi flipped away from the creature and landed on her 
feet. She noted a bit of yellow-brown ichor where a few of the eyestalks 
had been. Io wished Mars could see *that* one! The rookie Senshi should 
have been paying more attention, this time an arm connected, and the 
girl was hurled back toward the dojo.

"I would have expected *her* to pay a bit more attention." Uranus 
whispered to herself, then smiled for a moment. <But she must be fairly 
excited about her new abilities.> Obviously the martial artist needed 
some Senshi training... She summoned her sword and wondered how this... 
thing would look with a few less of those arms.

***

As the Jupiter's neo-Senshi ran out of the dojo, all three girls noted a 
redheaded warrior flying overhead, then heard a crash as she impacted. 
Jupiter cast a quick look around to see Io shaking a few cobwebs out of 
her head, then turned to lead her students into battle.

***

Nodoka noticed a diminutive redhead hit hard just in front of the dojo. 
Though she couldn't see her clearly enough to identify her, she was 
fairly certain she could *guess* who the girl was. She smiled as the 
Senshi got herself up and hurried back to the fray.

***

The monster was looking rather ill after a slash from Uranus' starsword.

>From behind the tall Senshi, an unfamiliar voice said "Mr. Monster sir, 
you were *not* invited to this house! In the name of the great moon 
Titan, I will punish you! Flash Point!" A beam of light shot from an 
outstretched arm of the neo Senshi of Titan, the impacted with a bright 
flash in the midsection of the creature. It seemed stunned for a moment. 
Sailor Titan found it hard to suppress a giggle. She'd wanted to do that 
to pushy salesmen *many* times... But it wouldn't be right to use her 
Senshi abilities on ordinary people.

Finally Jupiter's ragged crew made it to the battle. Callisto had an 
idea... Raising both her arms and looking at the creature, she shouted 
"Hour of Darkness!" A thick black cloud now surrounded the monster. 
Callisto felt a finger tapping on the back. She turned to see Sailor 
Europa.

Europa gave her teammate a superior look "Uh, that was real bright! Now 
we can't *see* the thing!"

The look was returned in spades. "But it can't see us either, plus I 
have the strangest feeling it's a bit confused right now..."

Europa looked determined. "I think I'll teach that thing some manners!" 
She could *feel* Europa's power sing within her. "Pressure Wave!" In the 
direction its mistress pointed, a wave of water bearing great blocks of 
ice crashed into the darkness. Simultaneously...

Io had run back to the scene of battle, then stopped for a moment. It 
seemed The Tendou sisters had been Senshi. She added a quick "Tempest 
Flare!" to the other Senshi's attack.

After the two attacks, Titan decided to throw some light on the 
situation... "Flash point!" dissipated the darkness, and revealed a pile 
of... something where the monster had been. Stranger still, was the 
translucent blue sphere that stood over the mess. The sphere shrank to a 
point, and was gone.

Io spoke first. "What the heck was that?" She turned to Mercury. "Any 
ideas?"

Sailor Mercury was engrossed in the numbers flashing in front of her 
face. "Amazing... The power levels on that sphere were almost off the 
scale. And then... hmmm..." She looked thoughtful for a few moments.

"How powerful was it?" Jupiter asked.

Mercury looked very concerned. "I didn't know there was that much power 
in all of Japan! At least it's gone..."

"For now." Uranus concluded.

The eight girls headed back to the dojo.

Soun stared in awe at the girls. The *Sailor Senshi* had saved his 
home... Too bad his daughters weren't here to see it...

***

Back in the dojo, seven of the eight Senshi quickly reversed their 
transformations. Io seemed to have disappeared somewhere...

Kasumi *tried* to summon a cheerful look. "Well, let's all go inside and 
freshen up!"

Nodoka wondered where the *other* girl had disappeared to... Why would 
Ranma choose to hide his curse *now*?

Nabiki gave voice to Nodoka's question. "I wonder where the redhead 
went?"

Makoto looked concerned. Why hadn't Ranma come back with them? Obviously 
he didn't want to explain his story to the others right now. She smiled 
for a moment. Io transforming into Ranma would have taken a *lot* of 
explaining. Glancing at her schoolmates, she noted Haruka returned a 
raised eyebrow and a smile... and was probably sharing her thoughts.

Makoto spoke at last, fleeting smile gone again.  "Yeah, Kasumi. That's 
a great idea."

Seven sober girls walked back to the house.

***