Subject: [FFML][Fic][Ranma/SM] Shadows of the Moon: Prologue & Chapter I
From: Pinoyeva00@aol.com
Date: 8/5/1999, 5:31 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com


Shadows of the Moon

Prologue

   Light...no, it was energy, enough to remake an entire galaxy. It was 
blinding, awesome in its enormity. Soon, it would expand faster, 
engulfing the other planets in its power, stripping them of their energy 
to fuel itself. It was glorious in its destruction. 
   A cloaked man and a girl stood at the fringes of the approaching 
sphere, both staring at it.
   Something flared around them when the globe hit, crackling and 
straining underneath the power. The man spoke a few words, and the 
shield that had erupted to protect them became stable. He glanced beside 
him, and looked into the determined eyes of the New Queen, staring 
defiantly at the blinding light. "Would she be strong enough to carry the 
new galaxy into a new age?" he asked himself.
   He leaned down and hugged her warmly, whispering into her ear. She 
nodded, and backed carefully away from him. There were tears in her 
eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.
   "I know it must be done," she declared softly and unfurled the 
ribbons holding her hair together. He accepted the gift graciously, and 
carefully tied them around his wrist. He looked back at the surrounding 
energy. She was there he knew, standing somewhere in the midst of the 
storm, her body dissappearing from the power she was channeling. He could
not save her, but he would try his best. 
   He had lost her again. He had broken his promise. 
   Sweat broke out from his forehead as the shield began to waver. His 
hands clenched into fists, and he used whatever power he had left to 
make sure the girl beside would survive. The shield shrank until it only 
encompassed the girl, becoming brighter. The man dissappeared into the 
blinding light, but not before an even brighter light flared along his 
body.
   The girl cried loudly, mourning the loss of her mother, and now...
   "Goodbye Ranma," Serena whispered, and kneeled down at the ground in 
front of her. 

FOR CHAPTER I, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE TEXT ATTACHMENT. 


-- Listar MIME Decryption --------------
-- Name   : SOTM1.TXT
-- Decoded: quoted-printable

Ranma 1/2 is pirated from Takahashi Rumiko, while SailorMoon officially 
belongs to Takeuchi Naoko. My apologies to Takeuchi-sensei for mangling 
her characters (name and personality sometimes) and the plot. The same to 
Takahashi-sensei, whose series of amazing works has inspired countless
authors to try their hand at developing her universes. Please don't sue!

by Rafael

Shadows of the Moon

Prologue

   Light...no, it was energy, enough to remake an entire galaxy. It was 
blinding, awesome in its enormity. Soon, it would expand faster, 
engulfing the other planets in its power, stripping them of their energy 
to fuel itself. It was glorious in its destruction. 
   A cloaked man and a girl stood at the fringes of the approaching 
sphere, both staring at it.
   Something flared around them when the globe hit, crackling and 
straining underneath the power. The man spoke a few words, and the 
shield that had erupted to protect them became stable. He glanced beside 
him, and looked into the determined eyes of the New Queen, staring 
defiantly at the blinding light. "Would she be strong enough to carry the 
new galaxy into a new age?" he asked himself.
   He leaned down and hugged her warmly, whispering into her ear. She 
nodded, and backed carefully away from him. There were tears in her 
eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.
   "I know it must be done," she declared softly and unfurled the 
ribbons holding her hair together. He accepted the gift graciously, and 
carefully tied them around his wrist. He looked back at the surrounding 
energy. She was there he knew, standing somewhere in the midst of the 
storm, her body dissappearing from the power she was channeling. He could
not save her, but he would try his best. 
   He had lost her again. He had broken his promise. 
   Sweat broke out from his forehead as the shield began to waver. His 
hands clenched into fists, and he used whatever power he had left to 
make sure the girl beside would survive. The shield shrank until it only 
encompassed the girl, becoming brighter. The man dissappeared into the 
blinding light, but not before an even brighter light flared along his 
body.
   The girl cried loudly, mourning the loss of her mother, and now...
   "Goodbye Ranma," Serena whispered, and kneeled down at the ground in 
front of her. 

Chapter I: Imperial Gardens

Part I: 'A Thorn Among Roses'   

   Serenity stared out of her window and looked at down at what she 
considered an enigma. He was diligently working on the perimeter of his 
garden, the only time a person could actually see him. The rest of the 
garden was covered by a wall of bushes, each bush sporting a multitude 
of roses. The wall hid the inside of the garden, and even from a bird's 
eye view the inside seemed fuzzy, unclear, a chaotic painting of the 
colors of nature. She did not think that anyone besides herself, her 
husband, and the mysterious gardener himself had actually seen the 
inside of the garden.
   The outside looked breathtaking, and you could smell the scent of the 
roses from afar. She had often, in the past, tried to ask him if she 
could look in the garden, for surely if he could do this with the 
outside, the inside must seem even more miraculous. Her advisors though, 
warned against it, "We cannot trust that man, who knows what he could be 
hiding behind that overgrown wall? Even your magic cannot fully 
penetrate the inside!" they had all clamored. She consented, but only 
because the majority would be unhappy if she had not. Truth to be told, 
her magic could penetrate even the immense interference generated by the 
magical flowers he grew that seemed to be flourishing there. Although it 
would not give her a clear indication of what was going on, it did not 
have the scent of evil.
   She had even asked the moon herself, or rather, asked for its power 
to help her. All she gained from the request was a lesson taught to her 
when she was young, 'nothing evil will the Moon allow to grow.' Her 
council would not listen though, as all they saw was the mysteriousness 
of the stranger, and that they would only see him sporadically, as he 
would often retreat inside his garden, sometimes for days.
   She remembered when she had first met him. It was surprising, 
considering it had been almost three years ago, when she was still 
barely pregnant with Serena. 
   He had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and had asked for a job as 
a gardener in the palace. She had found out later that he had taken a 
ship from Earth to here, and she had tried to find his records. 
Unfortunately, Earth's technology was still budding and she could not 
find any clear records of him. 
   He himself was mysterious about his past, never fully answering her 
questions. In the end, she had found out only that his name was Ranma, 
and that he had lived in a small island country. He would not answer her 
other questions clearly when she asked, and when she demanded, he would 
smile and give an answer. Those times however, she would not remember 
what he had told her, only that it satisfied her questions.
   She had secretly asked several of her more powerful mages to sit 
concealed near her and examine the boy when she grilled him. They had 
found out nothing either. Whatever he was doing to evade her questions, 
it was not magical.
   His appearance and bearing were even more startling. Physically, he 
seemed androgynous, and she could not tell whether he was sixteen or 
twenty-six. Sometimes, a sliver of white hair could almost be seen in 
his pigtail, but she quickly dismissed that as a trick of the light. She 
knew he had to be older though, mentally if not physically. His manner, 
even when addressing her, was always calm and collected. He had hidden 
his eyes beneath his long hair, and she would only catch glimpses of 
them as he would move, a sparkling blue she had remembered, but filled 
with something else, something that even she could not understand.
   She had scanned his mind during their first meeting, trying to 
discern his past, and had met a seemingly impossible wall to break 
through. She had tried to probe further, to see if the wall was one that 
he had unconsciously created, but was gently rebuked. His focus was 
amazing, and even though she tried repeatedly to scan his mind every day 
she had seen him, the gentle rebuke always remained the same, and she 
was reminded of the scent of blue spring flowers, and of deep brown eyes 
crinkling in apology. She did not know why she glimpsed brown eyes, only 
that it was comforting, and full of peace.
   It was because of this that she had agreed to hire him as a gardener. 
Even the most trained spy's malice would have eventually been found out 
by her single intentions in mere hours. Her power on the moon was that 
absolute. She had detected though, a lack of malice toward her, and 
instead a sort of fierce sense of protectiveness. She found it strange 
that the intentions she felt from this man calmed her more than the 
multitude of guards stationed to 'protect the royal heir' while it was 
still in her.
   "Pick any of the fields that have not been taken, that will be your 
garden, "she had told him. It had not really been a surprise when he 
picked the only section that even her experienced gardeners would not 
work in. It was a little out of the way of the normal gardens, although 
she could still see it clearly through the back windows of the palace. 
It was located behind the palace, almost in its shadow and had thick 
concrete wall, as well as a magical one around it. Guards were stationed 
around the clock in each corner of the section, and two were stationed 
at the entrance. 
   The garden was still clearly visible from the palace windows though, 
its high wall not able to hide the plants from the towering palace. 
Large gray looking plants grew everywhere, and they had to regularly cut 
down the thorns that grew over the wall. The trees were leafless and 
sagged amidst the dark weeds, and no creature could be seen in it. She 
did not think there was a single bug living in the section. In the 
middle was a small cottage, dilapidated after years of desertion. It was 
originally her great great grandmother's, before she had died, seemingly 
from an unknown illness. They had found her body, staring up at the 
clouds, as if her closed eyes could see something they could not. The 
king in his distress ordered the plants to be cut down where she had 
died, so that, 'no life may teem where hers had ended.'
   His grief and misery grew, and the gardens withered further. 
Finally, they had worn down to the misery that it was during his reign, 
and when he had died, no one had bothered to revive it, instead erecting 
a wall and stationing guards so that none may accidentally enter and 
injure themselves upon the many thorny plants that grew within.
   She had told him the story, but he had insisted again that it was 
the garden he wanted. Reluctantly, she let him go, despite the adviser's 
warnings that the 'boy' was just trying some foolhardy task as the young 
always do. 
   He had surprised her, and later them. Every day, he could be seen 
working outside in the fields, ripping out the weeds methodically and 
quickly. She had marveled at his endurance. He never seemed to slow 
down, not even to wipe the sweat of his brow, although for some reason, 
she found that it was hard to believe he would find any work hard. For 
an entire week he had worked most of the day, tearing the weeds from the 
ground. His bound hair would wiggle at the constant stooping, as if 
there was a snake lying on his shoulder. She could even swear that she 
could hear him, carefully picking up weeds at night, the constant 
ripping noise easing itself into her dreams.
   He had shunned the rest of the gardeners, not even eating with 
them. Instead, he would take his food and go back to the garden, eating 
near the ruined cottage. 
   At the end of the week, he had managed to weed almost the entire 
section. She had, during what free time she could afford, stared out her 
window, and watched him cut down certain plants and trees with a large 
blade he had gotten from the tool shed. His swipes were sure and steady, 
and he never failed to take down a tree or bush with one slash. She had 
marveled at his skill, and noted that he would probably make even her 
sword masters jealous.
   When he had finished cutting, she could not remember how much time 
he had spent on the project, then that was when the miraculous seemingly 
happened. She was sure only she had noticed at first, since the wall hid 
whatever work he had done, and nobody bothered to look out the back 
windows of the palace anymore, their curtains forever shut.
   She had spent a month or two on Jupiter, a friendly cordial visit 
to the gassy planet. When she came back, she had retreated to her 
quarters in need of rest, and opened the back windows, more out of 
reflex than anything else, and checked on the young gardener and his 
progress.
   Her mouth had fallen open at the sight of a multitude of budding 
flowers near the walls, and of the low rose bushes, climbing almost 
halfway up the wall itself. In place of the empty cottage, there was now 
cleared land, and what she could see was the basic foundation for a new 
cottage. What was in place of the empty fields however, was incredible.
   In some sections the flowers were more abundant, and she could 
easily tell which section he had started first, and which he had planted 
the last seed. The gray land that was seemingly infertile had been 
tilled so thoroughly that it practically shone a deep brown, and the 
dirt around the flowers seemed to be teeming with new life, the 
occasional bugs and butterflies fluttering out as he went to work on 
that section. The flowers were arranged in a seemingly strange order, 
some twining about the young saplings that were beginning to grow, and 
some in small geometrically shaped clusters. She had the peculiar 
sensation to land painfully on her face when she saw what he had done.
   The fields made the real family crest of the moon kingdom, a 
surprisingly complex series of intertwining shapes, mostly of the moon's 
phases, that only extremely talented artists could even attempt to copy. 
The moon crests they usually showed in public was only a font, for the 
real crests would take years to pound ornately on jewelry. Yet this man 
had designed a garden so that it followed the pattern precisely.
   He had caught her looking down at him, and her eyes had locked 
with his when he brushed his bangs aside to see her more clearly. She 
remembered seeing a sea of blue, and a seemingly endless ocean of 
knowledge and experience behind it. She shuddered and then closed the 
blinds, more confused than frightened. She had seen an air of caring in 
those eyes, and that same protectiveness, this time more intense.
   She had not dared to look out for more than a week, and when she 
had, the sight inside was the same as now, a seemingly fuzzy, endlessly 
shifting picture, never quite revealing what was really in it. When the 
roses had climbed over the walls, he had taken a sledge hammer, and with 
one stroke, destroyed the magical barrier that encased the garden. The 
rose vines curled in and out of the holes he had made in the wall, and 
in those three years, had grown so that they now encompassed the entire 
thing and left only a small section of the wall, the archway the 
heralded the entrance, peeking out.
   He had been investigated by her mages, for flowers, not even on 
the moon kingdom, grew that fast. They had felt something indescribably 
uncomfortable when they had tried to confront him, and when one of her 
mages had demanded that he escort him inside, she almost had to result 
in pointing the moon scepter at him, so great was the fury in his eyes. 
   The mage had been frightened, and had insisted again, but he 
simply shook his head and stood in the gateway, daring the scared mage 
to try something. She had put a stop to it, and forced him to grudgingly 
admit a magical scan, although he would not let anyone enter. They had 
found no evil in the place, and she assured them that the moon would 
never allow any evil to grow on her surface. The mages and advisors had 
been reluctant to agree, but faced with the choice of trying to confront 
the mysterious man again, or accepting her confidence in him, they 
grudgingly did the former.
   About seven or so months after she had hired him, and few months 
before Serena's birth, he had surprised them all again when he brought 
to her a basket of fruit from the garden. With the intention, he had 
announced, of cooking a feast for the queen to thank her for his job.
   She had been delighted, if a little puzzled, as he never seemed to 
be overtly happy, or she noted, interested in the pay as a gardener. She 
estimated though, that even a gardener's wage would be huge if one 
didn't spend it for several months. Her cabinet of advisors of course 
had all been against it. The only reason they allowed it was that 
Hisakawa, her husband, and silent co-ruler, supported it. He rarely 
spoke in council, leaving almost all the decisions up to her, a fact 
that she tended to resent and enjoy, depending on the situation. When he 
did speak though, it was always heeded. He stood up in front of the 
council and simply declared, "I would like to try a feast from this so 
called mystery man," before throwing a slight smile at her and then 
leaving. 
   They had accepted then, but she could almost see the countless 
tests they would put the food through in their eyes. She never minded 
though, their concern was a comforting, if annoying thought, that she 
was well loved by her people.
   As with the garden, he would barely allow anyone to enter the 
kitchen section he was working in, and he only went out once, and that 
was to untangle a guard, who overly curious tried to sneak into the 
garden. His armor had caught on a multiple of twigs, branches, and 
thorns, and he lay there, a bawling mess of plants. Ranma had carefully 
untangled him, the vines seemingly sliding off the armor as he touched 
them. He explained to the suspicious mages and guards, that the magical 
nature of the plants he grew inside gave them an almost conscious 
thought, and that they would not let anyone in whom they deemed a 
threat, or perhaps even an insult. He explained the last part very 
slowly, and looked around the assembled guards and advisors. When they 
could not meet his eyes, it simply confirmed that they had sent the 
guard to check on the garden and to warn them if any evil was afoot on 
it.          
   From that day on, no guard would be seen near the garden, although 
the entrance was covered with spells and runes from the mages that would 
prevent anything unholy from coming out. Ranma's reaction had been calm 
enough. He simply stared at them as they defiantly tried to stare back 
when they told him of their intentions and walked back into the kitchen.
   The day had come when he had finally finished cooking, and had 
shown them the feast. It was full of unknown foods she couldn't 
recognize, though she recognized most of the dishes were adorned or made 
out of the fruits he had grown himself. The dishes were huge and 
plentiful, and she had a hard time believing that he had managed to cook 
so much. A strong aura of magic surrounded it, a residue, Serenity had 
realized, that came from the tests they had done on it. The level of 
magic they had used astounded even her, as even the most powerful food 
poisoning detection spell barely left an aura.
   She had taken the first bite of the meal and stared in shock at 
the lightly smiling man. The taste was absolutely incredible. She had 
tasted countless dishes from all over the galaxy, but none could match 
the flavor of what she had tasted. It definitely had something magical 
in it, she felt light, and energetic after just one spoonful, and all 
her senses were seemingly heightened, although she knew it was a simple 
illusion on her part. None of the food could have been magical in 
nature, the spells her mages had cast would at least insure that.
   Her husband had also been affected and seemed to want to scarf 
down the food, nobility aside. She felt his pain as she too, ate slowly 
and carefully, the way she was supposed to eat. He had to retire though, 
when he had eaten his third dish, although it was fairly obvious to her 
that he wanted to eat more. She though, continued eating, giving the age 
old excuse that, 'she was eating for two.' Her husband stared at her 
jealously as he watched her eat. After half an hour or so, he gave up 
and retired to his quarters. The advisors, seeing that their queen was 
in no danger left too, but not before checking on Ranma, who was seen 
heading back into his garden.
   She had never really been picky about her food when she was 
pregnant, and only needed the occasional rare treat besides her usual 
dishes to satisfy her, but she began to crave his more and more. The 
leftovers from the feast were enough to supply her for almost a week 
before they ran out. When they did, her advisors did everything they 
could to please her, even resorting to showing her the dishes of Pluto, 
hard as it was to acquire, in an effort for them to do anything but ask 
for the stranger to cook again.
   One day, after eating a particularly rare, and to her mouth, a 
little strange, dish of some faraway moon of Neptune, she decided that 
enough was enough, and went down to the walled garden. Her guards and 
advisors all warned her, but she silenced them with a look that 
suggested she would eat THEM for dinner, if they wouldn't let her go.
   She stood near the entrance of the garden, and looked inside. The 
view was as it was from atop, fuzzy. The plants though, seemed to sense 
her impregnated condition and the thorns that would have caught on her 
dress or body seemingly disappeared. Within moments she could actually 
see into the archway, and met the arched look of Ranma standing a few 
feet in, the smell and sight of flowers just beyond his back.
   He bowed deeply and reverently, and looked up again. "Has the 
Queen and King decided to visit my humble abode?" he asked, a small 
smile on his lips. She met his question with a confused look, her 
husband was nowhere near the gardens. 
   The voice coming from behind her answered her question. "Very good. 
It is rare that one can even sense my presence, especially with the 
power of the staff." She turned around, and met the twinkling eyes of 
her husband. "What?"
   He smiled apologetically and cleared his throat, "I used to watch 
you all the time staring out at his garden. So, to placate your 
advisors, I brought this." he held up a large black staff, adorned with 
a rose on top. His personal staff, rarely seen by the public, the 
catalyst from which he could summon his powers. Her advisors simply 
gaped in astonishment, and Serenity hugged him.
   With the king at her side, they both stepped into the garden, with 
her assembly looking on, carefully watching the two. The garden was what 
she always expected it to be, and more. The king simply sat dumbfounded 
as he looked around the place. 
   She thought she saw a smile on Ranma's face as he bent down and began 
working on a section of the garden that was amazingly still bared. He 
turned the earth over with his hands, and seemed to be in deep 
concentration.
   She ignored him for a moment and she and her husband explored the 
gardens. It was almost maze like, though the careful placement of low 
hedges and flowers made navigating through a breeze. Everywhere she 
looked she marveled, even the birds, common specimens in the moon 
kingdom seemed somehow more magnificent.
   She did not know how long she spent, only that they had tried to 
explore all of the garden, and succeeded in barely scratching the 
surface. They returned to where they had last left him, and they found 
him there, still carefully tilling the soil, an almost reverent look on 
his face. After a while, he looked up and asked them to join him for a 
light snack. They agreed, and he led them through a grove, they could 
have sworn was never there before and lead them to the center, where he 
had rebuilt the small cottage.
   The cottage was strangely built somehow, although she did not know 
why, and seemed to blend in with all of the garden. What was in front of 
it though, drew her attention. Carefully fenced in and cared for, 
several plants bearing fruits and vegetables were planted row after row, 
yielding the biggest fruits she had ever seen on these plants. She made 
her way to a strawberry patch and gently plucked a strawberry from it. 
She popped in into her mouth, and her eyes opened wider as the familiar 
taste filled her mouth. It was similar to the dishes he had made her, 
but the taste was wild, untamed, and it gave a new feeling into her 
limbs.
   She could hear her husband and the gardener chuckle, and blushed, 
embarrassed at her reaction. "I think, " Ranma declared in a teasing 
tone, "that I know why the moon royalty has decided to pay me a visit."
   After that he came every weekend, bearing a small basket of 
whatever fruits had grown and would cook for her. It was never as much 
as the first one, but they did become her favorite and she often used 
them as desserts, since he could only cook two or three dishes. He never 
complained about the extra labor, and much to her embarrassment later 
on, she had realized that she never really paid him for it.
   Several months passed this way, and soon Serena was ready, and the 
galaxy rejoiced as the new heir to the throne was born.


Part 2: Stallions and Rabbits  

   Serenity sighed as she finished reflecting back. That was over two 
years ago, and a lot had changed since then. Her council grew more 
accepting of Ranma, and even toned down their checks on her food.
   The garden continued to grow, and she often visited it when she 
had the chance, although it wasn't many since the birth of her daughter. 
Her council insisted that it was not safe with the future heir and the 
queen of the Moon Kingdom to be at that place. They had grown out of 
their mistrust of Ranma, but did not know what the magic of the plants 
would do her baby. Perhaps, they had voiced, when she was older she 
could visit the gardens.
   She still asked, although with the tone she had given him, more 
like insisted, that he cook for her, although not as often. He would 
come into the kitchen, once every odd occasion in a month and cook. The 
dishes would be covered in a wrap and labeled with the sign of the moon.
   She would usually save these up, and try to hide them from her 
husband, who seemed to get a thrill out of seeing how much he could eat 
without her noticing. Finally she had given up on hiding it from him in 
the private kitchen and resorting to putting it into the main kitchen's 
magical 'ice boxes' that kept food preserved with the express orders to 
the cooks that nobody but her would touch it.
   Thankfully, her husband did let up on his game, although she would 
catch him sometimes, childishly trying to argue with the cooks to let 
him in. When caught, he would stutter in guilt, and the cooks laughed at 
the playful smacks she gave him.
   She slid away from the window, her dress making soft noises on the 
carpet. Serena was now two years old, and was the most precocious child 
in the palace. She would get herself in a huge amount of scrapes and 
adventures, and would often slip away from her guardians, much to her 
councilors' dismay. Serenity wasn't worried though, as long as she 
stayed within the palace, she would be safe. 
   A scream of frustration broke her out of her thoughts, and she 
sighed as she heard several of her baby-sitters calling for the girl. 
Once again, she had managed to disappear and would more than likely be 
found, a scraped and dirty mess from all the places she had been.
   Serenity had marveled at the girl's persistence, she would fall 
almost half the time, and would always get up, even though she did it 
amongst loud crying from her. The baby-sitters had found the solution 
though, and could easily placate her by either offering her , her 
favorite food, Ranma's cooking, a choice not entirely desirable to the 
queen, or telling her a story. 
   The stories were the most interesting part, and Serena had heard 
almost every kind of story from the baby-sitters, and looked to be going 
to hear every variation of every kind of story before she was three.
   Serenity wandered down the halls, letting her instincts guide her. 
She could always tell in what direction her daughter was, and had 
berated her many times when she tried to leave the palace grounds. Now, 
she was slowly making her way to the kitchen. Serenity sighed, she was 
probably arguing with the cooks, a trait she had picked up from her 
father, and was trying to get the last of the desserts.
   The kitchen however was empty, with only a lone maid sweeping the 
floors. She continued to follow the trail, and came out the back of the 
palace. Serenity's eyes widened as she realized where her daughter would 
have inevitably wandered to and rushed over, seeing if the rose bushes 
had entwined her in their embrace.  
   She had found nothing of the sort, but did find a tiny slip of her 
daughter's gown, snagged on one of the thorns. She slowly entered, and 
the roses parted away, allowing her to view the inside. She made her way 
to the secret grove that he had shown them and peered through. 
   Ranma was there, slowly tilling the vegetable garden he had 
planted with his hands, and Serena was nowhere to be seen. Then 
suddenly, Serenity saw a movement out of the corner of her eye, and 
turned. Serena was there, eyes wide after exploring the garden. Serenity 
was about to break her cover when Ranma looked up, and spotted the small 
child.
   She decided to remain hidden a little longer, to see what would 
happen. At first there was silence, and then Serena timidly came forth, 
smiling at the dark haired stranger. To Serenity's surprise he smiled 
back, a warm and inviting smile that she had seen on him only a few 
times. "So has the little rabbit come to steal my carrots?" he asked in 
a playful tone, still tilling the fields.
   Serena laughed and nodded, making her way over to where he was 
working. It was not long before she tripped over an exposed root, and 
banged her shin on the ground. Serenity began to rise to try to calm the 
crying girl but was surprised to see Ranma already beside her. She 
hadn't even seen him move.
   Serena was bawling, and Ranma had a look of confusion about him, 
one that Serenity had never seen before in his usually stoic face. 
Abruptly though, a serene look formed on his face, as if he remembered 
something from long ago, and his entire manner changed. Instead of the 
mysterious and threatening air he had around him, it was replaced 
instead by an almost physical sense of calm.
   Even Serena was calmed by the smiling face. "Who are you?" she 
asked, her tears forgotten.
   "Ranma." he replied, still smiling at her.
   Serena laughed, "What a strange name!"
   "Well, its mine, and I can't do anything about it now can I? Why 
don't you go run back to the palace, I'm sure your attendants must be 
worried eh?"
   Serena wrinkled her face and stuck her tongue out, and instead 
began to pester Ranma, whose air of deadly calm had managed to melt into 
something undefinable in her presence.
   Serenity continued to monitor them, and noted that her daughter 
seemed to be interested in the plants. Ranma would simply look up at her 
occasionally and nod, a light laugh coming from his mouth. Seeing the 
two together was charming, and soon, Serena was kneeling beside Ranma, 
trying to imitate his movements.
   Serenity watched them a little longer, then turned back toward the 
exit of the garden, missing the small glance that Ranma gave to her 
position. She returned to the palace with a light heart, and determined 
that she had found a new baby-sitter. Her advisors had found out soon 
enough, and merely threw their hands up in defeat, for Ranma had long 
ago earned their trust.
   From then on, Serena would spend more and more time in the garden, 
and Serenity would occasionally spend time in the gardens with them, 
seeing Ranma patiently trying to teach her daughter the finer points of 
gardening. It was not a total success, sometimes, Serena would get 
frustrated, but Ranma would set her down and they would talk, about what 
Serenity never knew, but she had a feeling it was a story. Ranma would 
wave his hands in the air, and Serena would laugh and listen in wonder 
at whatever he was telling her.
   Serenity sighed in contentment. Her daughter seemed to be 
flourishing under Ranma, even though his flowers did not. Even her 
tutors observed a difference, the normally bored look on her face 
replaced by a more thoughtful one, though she still didn't pay enough 
attention to them.
   Smiling, she turned away from the window, and strode over to her 
dressing room. She had a conference with Setsuna, a very rare 
occurrence. It had something to do with a time disturbance somewhere on 
or near the moon. Setsuna had seemed somewhat tense when she had 
mentioned it, and Serenity wondered what could possibly stump the 
guardian of time.


Authors Notes...

Errr....you've probably already figured out this is my first fanfic. I've 
written several other chapters after this, and looking back I can see 
SOME of the akwardness of writing for the first time present in it. So I 
appreciate any sort of criticism whatsoever, though if you're flaming me, 
please do not use too much innappropriate language.
   
   Anyway, this is also my first time in posting a fic. I hope I didn't 
screw it up. I've been having trouble subscribing to the ffml (probably
because I've been bothering them too much TRYING to subscribe...oops.)
I'm using my brother's SN at this time, but its okay to mail comments 
there. It's gonna get a little crowded with all the ffml mail though, so if
it is a private one, it may take a day or two for me to acknowledge it- if 
you really want to contact me urgently use my real sn - Manotomo@aol.com)
If I do manage to get subscribed on my own SN, I'll send my posts
from there. 
   
   And yes, I do know the prologue doesn't seem to make 
sense...but it is what I made it, a tiny snippet of the past. (Mysterious
huh?)

   I've tried to make this crossover somewhat original, but that is hard 
to do with the large amount of Ranma/SailorMoon crossovers. If you've already  
read a story like this...well, I guess I'm sorry for making you 
read through a similiar one. Thanks for reading until the end though.

   Oh by the way, if you're wondering- NO, Ranma was not sent by Sailor
Pluto, some other guardian of time or anything as original as that. Sorry.

   Again, c&c is appreciated.