Lines Of Destiny
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover
By Louis-Philippe Giroux
<dragon@anime.sobhrach.com>
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 (and the ones with the
least formatting errors are always the ones on my WWW page at
http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~dragon/lines/lines.html
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- - -
First, a word about line length. It is very difficult to read a fanfic where
the line length is too long or not even wrapped at all. This case is
particularly bad since even on the web-page, the line length on the text
files is too long to fit on my computer screen.
Lines Of Destiny
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover
By Louis-Philippe Giroux
<dragon@anime.sobhrach.com>
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 timeline I use is the following:
Ranma and Akane attend university (1st year) while the Inner Senshi
are in their second year of High school. The Outer Senshi are in
their third year of High School (one year behind Ranma and Akane). I
think this screws up the relative timelines by a year or so, but it's
something I needed to do. Sorry.
It's after the Pharaoh 90 storyline and the Kaguya Snow Queen
incident (Sailor Moon Movie S, IIRC), but there are a few
modifications: since the Sailor Senshi are in High School, everyone
(except Rei), goes to Juuban High (even Minako - it's true in the
manga).
Also, Usagi can turn into Super Sailor Moon (her white outfit) if
she chooses to, but the Senshi *HAVE NOT* yet become the Super
Sailors... Just hypothesize that my timeline occurs *just* before
Sailor Moon SS occurs. The ages are as follows:
Hotaru: 13 years old
Inner Senshi: 16 years old
Outer Senshi: 17 years old
Akane/Ranma: 18 years old
Mamoru: 19 years old
Setsuna: *looks* 25 years old... :)
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Chapter 1
"When the Kin of Silence joins the Daughter of Earth, the Circle Of
Planets shall be complete once more." - Last prophecy spoken by the
Terran Royal Seer before the end of the Silver Millennium.
This prophecy does not work for me, probably because it seems rather
trivial.
Chiba Mamoru woke up with a start from another one of those dreams.
The dreams in which he was Endymion, the Prince of Earth, in the past.
These dreams had had nothing special in them until he started seeing a
certain girl in them on a regular basis. In the dreams, the young
girl, wearing a sailor fuku, ran up to him, her face shadowed and her
hair whipping in the wind, but each time he was about to see her face,
he woke up.
*She seems so familiar and yet I can't place her. Her silhouette
doesn't look like any of the Inner or Outer Senshi's. I wonder who
she is... and why she's wearing a Senshi uniform. I thought all the
Senshi had been found.*
In what way is her silhouette different? All cats are gray in the dark
you know. It might be better if he just had a firmly irrational conviction
that she wasn't a senshi he had already me. Incidentally, a sailor fuku
or a sailor senshi fuku? There is a difference.
Mamoru got up and went to his bedroom window. The air outside was
cool and refreshing. Tomorrow afternoon, he would be able to see his
Usako again. He had been away for two weeks on a special assignment
and he was sure Usagi was dying to see him again by now. He shook his
head and smiled. Usagi had thrown a fit when she had learned he would
leave for fourteen whole days and it had taken Makoto and Minako
working together (with a few cutting comments from Rei) to unlatch her
from him so he could take his train. He had promised her he would
think about her as long as he would be away.
But his thoughts drifted back to the mysterious girl of his dreams.
She was important somehow, but how could he find out who she was if
she kept disappearing all the time at the end of the dream? Was she a
Sailor Senshi as well?
Maybe he should ask Rei or Luna to help him with this. He
especially didn't want Usagi to find out he had been having visions of
another woman, even a potential Senshi; she might take it the wrong
way.
Mamoru sighed and went back to sleep. If the dream *did* mean
something, he would find out eventually, that he was sure of.
* * *
In Nerima, the atmosphere inside the Tendo Dojo was unusually
solemn and quiet, meaning there were no superpowered martial artists
seeking the death of Saotome Ranma or the hand in marriage of Tendo
Akane (or vice-versa, depending on which day you came by), and with
any luck, everything would be quiet from now on (to the great relief
of the local insurance companies), because today, Saotome Ranma and
Tendo Akane were finally getting married and thus putting a stop once
and for all to the madness which plagued Nerima. Or so they hoped.
I feel bound to point out that as long as Kodachi, Asuza, and the tea
ceremony couple still live in Nerima, it'll still have a substantial quantum
of madness.
After the first bombed (literally) attempt at a wedding over a year
ago, Ranma had finally gathered the courage to profess his love to
Akane. The riot that had occurred during this first attempt had
finally pushed a certain pig-tailed martial artist's nerves to the
limit. Ukyou Kuonji had been the recipient of a progressively colder
shoulder each time she visited her fiancee. The okonomiyaki chef
slowly began to realize she had gone too far, and slowly sank into
despair. Ranma eventually forgave the chef, but Ukyou had also
understood that by then, Akane had well and truly caught the heart of
Ranma. Ukyou met in private with Akane one day, then closed Ucchan's
and disappeared from Nerima, along with Konatsu. Not even Nabiki ever
managed to get Akane to reveal what she and Ukyou had talked about,
though Ranma had an inkling of what it might have been about.
Ryoga had been surprisingly understanding. After Akane had told
him that she loved Ranma, instead of going on a berserker rage, as
Ranma had half- expected him to, Ryoga challenged the pig-tailed
martial artist one last time. Not for Akane's hand, but rather for
one last duel. When Ranma asked him the reason for his strange
behaviour, he merely answered that since the battle with Saffron, he
had been thinking more and more about Akari and less about Akane.
Ranma and Akane's mutual declaration of love had been the final
catalyst.
"One year ago, Saotome," Ryoga had told him, "I would have tried my
best to kill you. But now I think I've finally found happiness and
for some twisted reason, I have _you_ to thank for it. I never would
have met Akari if you hadn't entered my life. If you hadn't stolen my
bread all those times when we were younger, I'd probably still be a
lone, unhappy wanderer. This last fight isn't about my finally
getting revenge, it's about two friends saying farewell to each
other."
Ranma, glad that Ryoga had finally found happiness, accepted the
duel. The fight took place in secret, with only Akane and Akari as
spectators. It was their longest battle, hands and feet flying faster
than the eye could follow, but without any weapons or Ki strikes.
A true martial arts duel.
Which ended with a mutual knockout. Ryoga strongly suspected that
Ranma had not done his best so that there wouldn't be any hard
feelings left, but couldn't drag a confession out of Ranma, no matter
how hard he tried. On the second day after the duel, Akari, with a
lot of help from Ryoga and Ranma, convinced Akane that P-Chan would
lead a much happier life with them and their pigs. Akane finally gave
up and said farewell to P-Chan. On the third day, Ryoga and Akari
said their farewell and headed out in the sunset. Being true to form,
Ryouga got himself, Akari and Katsunishiki lost as soon as they left
the neighborhood.
No one had seen them since.
Shampoo and Cologne had been another matter. Upon learning Ranma's
choice for a wife, Shampoo had made several attempts on Akane's life,
not realizing that such actions were not endearing her to Ranma.
Cologne, disappointed by Shampoo's repeated failures to eliminate
Akane had decided to take matters into her own hands. The Amazon
matriarch challenged Ranma to a duel; if _she_ won, he would become
Shampoo's husband and if _he_ won, they would return to China and the
Amazons would never bother him again. Ranma, not wanting Akane to be
hurt anymore by Shampoo and Cologne's attempts to get to him, agreed.
The minute this was done, Nabiki started selling tickets for the
fight.
What Cologne had not taken into account, however, was that Ranma
had been training extensively in the mountains since his final fight
with Ryoga, since he had been aware it would eventually come down to
this. The extra training turned out to be invaluable. On the
appointed day, Cologne found herself facing an extremely focused
Ranma.
The duel itself lasted for a savage fifteen minutes, with Ranma
using every ounce of skill he had gained and Cologne resorting to a
plethora of attacks Ranma was barely able to deflect. At the end of
the duel, Cologne, gravely wounded, admitted defeat to an even more
badly wounded Ranma. The Amazon matriarch reluctantly kept her
promise, much to Shampoo's dismay (and Mousse's joy), and quietly left
for China.
Maybe Cologne should have offered to settle for an arranged marriage
between offspring of Shampoo and Ranma since it looks like she was
winning a pyrrhic victory.
The victory had not been without its price for Ranma. Towards the
end of the battle, Cologne had managed to cripple Ranma with a
pressure point that was supposed to take half his strength away.
Fortunately for Ranma, the only thing the shiatsu technique
accomplished was rob Ranma of the extra strength he had gained during
his training. As a result, Ranma had spent the following week and a
half in a hospital, recovering from the injuries Cologne had inflicted
upon him. When he had recovered, he discovered his strength had gone
back to the level it was at the battle with Saffron, something he
deemed as an acceptable loss.
Cop-out. T'would have been better to settle it with a duel between Shampoo
and Akane since it looks like you are up-gunning Akane. That way you don't
have to hand out power and take it away arbitrarily like that.
Nothing had been heard from the Amazons since they had gone back to
China.
As for the Kunos, Ranma made sure Tatewaki was in the hospital for
the wedding day, a task he had thoroughly enjoyed, and Akane and
Nabiki had managed to convince the psychiatric hospital to have
Kodachi comitted, a task that was considerably easier than expected.
After merely a few example of Kodachi's sanity (or lack of it), the
doctors had readily agreed she was a prime test subject for the new
personality-suppressing drugs they were testing.
"By the powers vested in me... "
Ranma and Akane were standing face to face, Ranma clad in a tuxedo
and Akane in a western wedding dress. They had decided to go with a
short western wedding again because, despite the precautions taken,
both families were worried about more interruptions.
"I now pronounce you man and wife!"
To Ranma's surprise, Akane initiated liplock with him before the
priest even gave the signal, but he didn't mind and soon gave as good
as he got. They were pulled out from their dream-like state by the
whistles of their families.
"Way to go, Akane-chan!" shouted a laughing Nabiki.
Soun and Genma were dancing around. "At last, Saotome! Our
families are joined! Our dreams have come true!" Soun was wailing
tears of joy and Genma rapidly guided him outside so he would not ruin
the house with yet another teary flood.
Nodoka turned to Kasumi. "Your father is quite emotional, isn't
he?"
"Yes, he is," replied the ever-cheerful elder Tendo sister. "And
for once, I think he deserves to be. He has been waiting for this for
a long time."
Genma had just come back inside the house when Nodoka turned to
Ranma. "What are your plans now, son?"
Ranma looked at Akane with a smile. "Akane and I have decided to
go to university together. We plan to go to Mizuharo University over
in Juuban. It'll be perfect for both of us."
"And you'll be able to have some privacy, eh boy?" said Genma with
a lecherous grin plastered all over his face.
Ranma and Akane both blushed beet red.
"Uncle Saotome! Please!" said Akane, trying to sound scandalized,
and only partially succeeding.
"Now, now, dear," chided Nodoka. "Don't embarrass them like that."
She paused. "I'm sure Ranma will be more than manly enough to satisfy
Akane."
Ranma was beginning to wonder if his face was holding up all the
blood in his body. He decided to act before his mother decided to
embarrass him further, even if it wasn't intentional. "The only
problem right now is that even though we've been accepted, we don't
have any place to stay yet and we might not find a place to stay
before classes begin in a few days," said the pig-tailed martial
artist.
Nodoka looked pensive for a moment. "Ranma, do you remember
anything about your cousin Rei or your grandfather Hino?"
"Rei?... Only vaguely. Mom, the last time I saw them was shortly
after starting the training trip. I must've been barely six years old
at the time and Rei was younger than me. Why do you ask?"
"If my memory is correct, she has been training to be a Shinto
priestess for a long time. She works at a shrine owned by my father
and it happens to be located near that university. You could always
consider asking them for a place to stay until you find your own
place."
"I don't know, mom. I mean, they probably don't even remember me.
It might be a little rude for me to pop out of nowhere and ask to
crash at their place," said Ranma, unsure of the idea.
It would probably be better for Akane to be worried about the rudeness.
"Nonsense. I'll ask them myself. I'm sure they'll agree."
Ranma gave up. "All right. I hope it works."
As Nodoka moved to another room to make the call, Ranma turned
around and found Genma coming back inside the house with two thick
scrolls in hand.
"Son, as the heir to the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryuu, I think it's time
that you started having more responsibilities," said Genma solemnly.
Ranma raised a eyebrow warily. "What kind of responsibilities?"
Genma answered by offering Ranma the scrolls he was carrying.
Ranma took the proffered items and started reading them. His eyes
widened when he realized exactly what he was reading.
"Oyaji... these are the Saotome Forbidden Techniques!" he said,
rapidly looking at the long scrolls. He looked up at his father,
suspicion in his eyes. "I thought they'd been destroyed!"
Genma smiled thinly. "The originals were destroyed; these are
copies. The only copies in existence, mind you. The incident with
Ryu made me think about those techniques and I want you to have them."
He clapped a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I know you'll use them more
wisely than I did. Consider it a wedding present of sorts as well as
your first real responsibility." He looked around, and seeing that
Nodoka wasn't back yet, whispered to Ranma: "Besides, I don't want
your mother to use the last remaining copies the next time she's
writing letters... You're the only one who can keep them safe."
Ranma rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless, oyaji." He looked at the
two scrolls once more and bowed. "I nonetheless accept the
responsibility."
Genma smiled. The boy _had_ turned out all right despite
everything that had happened. He turned around and went outside to
see if Soun was done crying.
Ranma watched him go and turned his attention back to the scrolls.
He had been trying for a certain time to duplicate the Yama-sen-ken
techniques used by Kumon Ryu, which had originally been invented by
Genma. Knowing that Genma would probably disapprove of such dangerous
moves being used when they were supposed to be sealed away, Ranma had
only practiced them when training by himself in the mountains. He had
started to think he would never get them quite right, which rankled
him, even though he was not planning on using the Yama-sen-ken on a
regular basis anyway - it was far too dangerous against regular
opponents. Now, those same techniques had just been _given_ to him.
He felt like pounding his father for not telling him he had
duplicates, but then realized he had never actually _asked_ Genma if
he had made copies.
And Genma has the right to keep the techniques of his design private if
he so chooses.
He looked around, his eyes lingering on Akane, who was talking with
her sisters, and decided he was in too good a mood to pound his father
just yet. Maybe he'd just take a look at the scrolls instead.
* * *
At the same moment at the Hikawa Shrine, Ami and Makoto were
stopping by for a visit. Makoto was complaining about how her latest
boyfriend had left her when Rei excused herself to answer a phone
call. She came back a bit flustered.
Makoto noticed Rei's state immediately. "What's wrong Rei? You
look kinda strange."
"We speak for the first time in more than ten years and she managed
to have her way in less than five minutes. How did she do it?" Rei
muttered under her breath. She looked up to Makoto. "Somehow, an
aunt I hadn't heard from in years managed to rope me into providing
lodging for my cousin until he finds a place of his own."
Makoto looked at Ami, then back to Rei. "Why would he need to stay
at the shrine?"
"He's going to Mizuharo University and he still hasn't found a
place to live yet, even though classes start in a few days."
"What's he like?" asked Makoto, a familiar look to the Senshi
coming onto her features: the boyfriend-hunting look.
"Don't even think about it, Makoto; he'll be coming along with his
wife," Rei warned.
"A wife?..." said Makoto faintly, her shoulders slumping.
Ami's head slowly rose up from the book she was reading. "When's
the last time you saw him?"
"When he was about six years old. He was on a training expedition
with his father."
"What kind of training expedition?"
"Martial arts training."
Makoto looked back up. "He's a martial artist too?" She started
pouting. "Aww, why are the really good ones always taken?" Suddenly,
she stopped and considered something. "Wait a minute... his father
was training him in martial arts when he was only six?"
Rei nodded. "Actually, he probably began learning sooner that
that. He had already been on his training trip for some time when he
came here."
"Wasn't that a little... obsessive on his father's part?" inquired
a doubtful Ami.
Rei held up her hands defensively. "Hey, that's only what I
remember."
"When will he arrive here?"
"He'll be here tomorrow afternoon."
Makoto looked at Rei. "Is it going to be a problem with our...
other activities?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Rei waved her off. "It won't really, because he'll only be staying
for a little while and he'll be going to university, too. We'll just
have to meet elsewhere for a while and be sure to keep quiet around
him."
"Where is he from, anyway?"
"From Nerima."
Ami frowned slightly. The Nerima Ward had a history of strangeness
that sometimes rivaled Juuban's. She gave a mental shrug and
continued reading. Just because Rei's cousin was from there didn't
mean _he_ was weird as well.
* * *
Nodoka came back to Ranma and Akane. "It's done! I talked to your
cousin and she agreed to let you stay at the Hikawa Shrine."
"I just hope you won't start attracting any more girls now that
we're married," added Akane with a hint of her usual temper coming
back.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "How many times will I have to tell you
you're the only one for me? We just got _married_, for goodness'
sake!"
Akane surprised him by landing a wet one on his lips. "I know. I
just wanted to be sure you knew, too."
Ranma blinked, then smiled. *I could get used to this...* he
thought.
Nodoka looked at the two with a smile on her face. "You'd better
start getting ready. I told your cousin to expect you tomorrow
afternoon."
"Hai!" they both said.
* * *
Somewhere in Tokyo, a dark-green haired woman looked up from the
cup of tea she was nursing. It was time she paid a visit to two Moon
cats and to another individual. Soon, the Senshi would know more
about their past.
She smiled. There was a lot of work to be done.
The final Awakening was beginning and hopefully, the Circle would
finally close.
End Chapter 1
- The Saotome Forbidden Techniques are a dual set of thieving
techniques designed by Genma when he was younger. The moves are
divided in two main categories: The Yama-sen-ken [Mountain of the 1000
fists] and the Umi-sen-ken [Sea of the 1000 fists]. Both are actually
styled in ways similar to attacking a house. The Yama-sen-ken moves
are all highly aggressive and violent, like a violent and aggressive
thief attacking a house. The Umi-sen-ken are quiet and soft, but more
difficult. It's a higher art, like a sneak thief attacking the house
at night, while the occupants don't notice.
In the manga, Genma had "generously" given Ryu Kumon's father the
Yama scroll, to help the Kumon Dojo, which was basically falling
apart. However, after practicing on the Dojo itself, Ryu's dad pulled
the building down on top of him. His last words to Ryu were to find
the Umi-sen-ken, with which he believed the restoration of the Kumon
Dojo could be possible. Afterwards, Ryu wandered around, naming
himself "Saotome Ranma" (Ranma had doodled his name on the
Yama-sen-ken scroll), and happened to save Nodoka one day, and named
himself as "Saotome Ranma". Ryu then stayed at the Saotome house for
several days, during which he was naturally challenged by Ranma.
In a latter fight, Ranma was almost killed by one of Ryu's attacks,
and later demanded that Genma teach him the Umi-sen-ken. Genma
briefly showed Ranma some of the moves on Ranma's body, which was
enough for Ranma to understand, and then train to perfection the style
of the Umi-sen-ken. Meanwhile, Ryu was close to beating up Nodoka
because he thought she had the Umi-sen-ken scrolls - they had been
given to her by Genma before he left on the training expedition with
Ranma, though Ryu couldn't bring himself to do anything.
In the final battle, it was agreed that if Ryu lost, he would 'seal
away' the Yama-sen-ken, while if Ranma lost, Ryu would get the
Umi-sen-ken. Ryu, hoping to learn the Umi-sen-ken off Ranma,
deliberately tried to get Ranma to attack him with them, which Ranma
did so. However, Ryu could not follow the moves, and on Ranma's first
attack, he found himself lying on the ground in pain.
The battle ended with Ryu literally buried in a large mound of
dirt.
This wonderful synopsis was a courtesy of Chris Rijk. For more
information, consult the Ranma FAQ at http://www.wot-
club.org.uk/RanmaFAQ/
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Chapter 2
Hotaru Tomoe was depressed. Since Chibi-Usa had gone back to the
future, she had lost the only friend who was close to her. Sure,
Haruka, Michiru and Setsuna were far from bad company, but they were
*much* older than she was. Besides, they had other things to worry
about than play baby-sitter to a thirteen year-old girl who could
easily level the planet.
There is NOTHING more important than playing baby-sitter to a girl who
could level the planet.
She missed her brother.
Following her rebirth, Hotaru had grown up at a phenomenal rate,
though she still ended up smaller than the others (much to her
constant annoyance). Only this time, she remembered things from her
days in the Silver Millennium, eight thousand years ago. Among other
things, how everyone had different names back then; Serenity,
Endymion... One of the things she now remembered was that she had had
an older brother, named Kanma. She remembered...
<Silver Millennium, 8000 years ago>
Princess Verika was watching her older brother Kanma work the
forge. Prince Kanma, the eldest son of the Royal Family of Saturn,
was an odd person. He was not only a prince, but also a Third Circle
mage. That, in itself, wasn't strange at all since there were lots of
people who knew how to use magic. What was unusual was his choice of
pastime, which in his case was smithing. Kanma was quite skilled at
it; he could spend hours at a time in a forge coming up with a tool or
the occasional weapon. Sometimes, he infused the resulting weapon
with his magic. Such weapons were highly sought after, but Kanma did
not make too many of them, since he was not particularly motivated in
making weapons; what appealed to him was working the forge. He kept
saying pounding things made him relax. He had black hair, tied in a
braid and muscles that had made many a person envious.
The ladies of the Saturn court thought that Kanma's royal blood,
looks and magic skills made him a prize catch. Kanma was quite aware
of the situation, but he had yet to find a woman he liked. He thought
the court ladies were far too sweet-tempered (this, of course, greatly
annoyed his parents, since he was of marrying age).
He'd probably say they were too "meek" or "boring" or "lacking in
spirit". Very few men admit they are looking for a bad-tempered girl
even if that's what it boils down to.
"Did you hear the news?" Verika asked with a look of anticipation
on her face.
"What news?" asked Kanma, somewhat amused by his younger sister's
antics. "The healers finally said that you were going to gain another
inch after all?" He briefly turned towards the forge and whispered a
low-level spell to keep the forge's heat up.
Verika scowled. "I can't help it if I'm short, okay!?" she said
testily. The look of anticipation quickly came back, though. "What
I'm talking about is the nominations of Sailors Terra and Saturn! The
Royal Seer said that the girl who becomes Sailor Saturn would know it
because the sigil will appear on her forehead today!"
"Don't tell me you _want_ to be Sailor Saturn?" said Kanma
incredulously, letting his hammer rest beside the forge.
Verika was a bit miffed at her brother's comment. "Why not? Sailor
Saturn is supposed to have great healing powers. I'd very much like
to be a great healer."
Kanma shook his head. "You've never bothered to read the
prophecies, have you?"
"What prophecies?" aked Verika, frowning.
Kanma took on a lecturing tone. "Many things have been said about
the legendary Sailor Saturn." Nodding towards his sister, he
continued: "The prophecies do say she is supposed to be a great
healer, but the very fact that she will be chosen means other things."
"Like what?" asked Verika, leaning forward.
"It's said that Saturn would have more than enough power to wipe
out an entire planet if she chose to. It's also said that she would
only awaken in time to fight off the Moon Kingdom's greatest threat."
Verika paled a little and Kanma nodded. "Do you see now? Even
though Sailor Saturn is fabled to have wondrous healing abilities,
she's generally portrayed in the prophecies as the Bringer Of Silence
or even the Destroyer, not the Healer. Sorry to disillusion you like
that little sister, but you should be careful what you wish for.
Besides, don't forget there are several other girls in the Royal
Family who could be chosen to become Sailor Saturn, just like you."
After a bit, he added, under his breath: "I'm just glad I'm a guy, so
I can't be chosen."
Verika, now uncomfortable, changed the subject. "What about Sailor
Terra?"
Kanma snorted. "No contest there. It's old news all over the
kingdoms that it's Earth Prince Endymion's sister, Akana, who will be
Sailor Terra. It's always a princess of a planet's Royal Family who
becomes a Sailor Senshi and the current Sailor Terra, or should I say
_Elder_ Terra, is certain it will be Akana. It's rumored that she
will be the strongest Senshi next to Saturn."
Verika nodded absently. She had had a chance to meet Princess
Akana, once before, in a diplomatic meeting. She wasn't bad-looking,
although she had a tendency to act like a tomboy at times...
Later that day, the sigil of Saturn appeared on Princess Verika's
forehead and her life was changed forever.
<Present day>
Hotaru's reminiscing was interrupted by the sound of the
apartment's front door being opened. She got up and looked towards
the door, where Haruka and Michiru were already taking off their
coats.
"So how was the concert, Michiru-mama?" asked Hotaru.
"It was all right," Michiru replied.
Haruka grinned and put an arm around Michiru's neck. "She means it
went perfect as usual." Haruka then gave her a playful kiss.
Hotaru sighed. It was a strange relationship between those two,
but at least they had each other. She, on the other hand, didn't have
anyone close to her.
Hotaru gave herself a mental shake. She had to stop whining to
herself like that. Suddenly, she noticed something, or rather
someone, was missing. "Hey, where's Setsuna-mama?"
"She said she had some business to attend to," said Haruka. "And
you know from experience that if she doesn't want to tell us, she
won't." She shook her head. "For all we know, she's removed herself
from the time stream again and the Kami only knows when she'll be
back."
In a rare moment of peace, Luna and Artemis were asleep, while the
girls were all out shopping, so they never noticed the Guardian Of
Time stealthily walking up to them. Sailor Pluto silently raised the
Time Staff and a tiny beam of light shot from the Garnet Orb to the
cats' crescent moons. Their crescents shined, but the felines merely
stirred and stayed asleep.
A ghost of a smile touched Pluto's lips. *At least now, Luna and
Artemis will be able to deal with Mamoru and the others' questions.
Their memories will come back gradually.* The Guardian slowly shook
her head. *I doubt they realize just how hard awakening Terra will
be, but they _will_ need her power in the times to come.*
A swirling portal opened behind Pluto and she stepped inside it,
disappearing into thin air. She had one more person whose memory she
had to help jog a little. Someone who had a sister... or a brother,
depending on how you looked at it.
* * *
Akane had fallen asleep early. Whether she wanted to admit it or
not, the stress related to her wedding had taken its toll on her.
They had agreed to sleep apart for this night because they didn't want
to be tempted by anything that would require... exertion; they needed
to leave early the following morning. Besides, she knew how their
fathers were; they were very capable of trying to get _it_ on film (if
Nabiki didn't beat them to it first).
She settled for dreaming of Ranma, how they had finally admitted
that they loved each other and how they would spend the rest of their
days together. But gradually, the dream became something else; images
she had never seen or imagined before were floating in her mind.
Strangely, the face of a young girl she had never seen before often
repeated itself. The girl sometimes wore an ornate old-fashioned
dress and sometimes what looked like an ridiculously abbreviated
sailor suit. The strangest thing of all was that she felt some kind
of kinship to the girl, but she didn't know exactly what.
Soon, the images disappeared and she dreamt of Ranma again.
In his room, Ranma had his own dreams. He dreamt of college and of
his marriage to Akane, how he would make sure she was happy for the
rest of their lives. And like Akane, his dreams drifted to those of a
young girl whose face he could not see. He saw a silhouette of the
girl running and somehow, he knew her. He knew that inexplicably, he
had once been, and still was, closely bound to this girl. Suddenly,
her face cleared...
...and he was rudely awakened by an oversized panda who nearly
crushed him. Ranma cursed silently. *Damn! it's the third time in
three days I've had this weird dream and at last I was this damn close
to figuring who the hell that girl is.* Ranma got up and walked to the
window and looked out at the starry sky. *I thought I had that dream
because of pre-wedding jitters, but now I'm not so sure...* He smiled
and snorted softly. *Huh... If it gets worse, maybe I can always ask
Rei about the dream. Maybe she knows something about dreams.*
Ranma yawned and went back to sleep and to his dreams of Akane.
The following morning, Ranma and Akane had what would probably be
their last meal at the Tendo Dojo for a long while. For the occasion,
Kasumi and Nodoka had prepared a such a feast that even Genma and
Ranma could not eat everything (and perhaps most surprising of all, a
smiling Akane not passing a single comment on her new husband's eating
habits). Afterwards, Ranma and Akane finished packing their
belongings and prepared themselves to take the train.
Then came the tearful good-byes.
"Take good care of yourselves, okay?" Kasumi hugged her youngest
sister.
"We will, I promise," answered Akane.
"If you need a loan, don't hesitate to call me, okay? I have
special rates for family," said Nabiki with a sad smile on her lips.
"Uh... we will, Nabiki," said Ranma nervously.
"Nabiki, it's not so bad," chided Akane. "We'll probably see each
other at the university."
"That's true."
"Oh my daughter is growing up! She's married and going to
unversity!" Soun wailed.
Ranma extricated himself from the knot of Tendo sisters and walked
to his parents.
"Be sure to tell your cousin Rei that we're grateful for what she's
doing," Genma said, a proud smile on his lips. "And try to keep your
curse a secret, if possible."
Ranma chuckled: "It's not as if I want everyone to know about the
curse, Pop. It's just that sometimes, it's like Akane says: I'm a
water magnet; you should know that better than most. As for Rei, I'll
be sure to be careful around her. Still, we won't see much of each
other; we'll only see each other at the shrine, remember?"
"Still, do try to remember to be polite with her, son," said
Nodoka.
Genma cut in. "What does it matter, son? Just be sure to keep up
your training and come to visit us once in a while, okay?"
Ranma cast aside thoughts of his cousin. "Yeah, sure!" he said.
"We'll come back as often as we can, I promise."
Akane approached Ranma and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's
time to go if we want to catch the train, Ranma."
Ranma nodded and soon, the two newlyweds were on their way to the
train station.
* * *
Mamoru was sitting in the train, reading a magazine on the strange
and unusual. He chuckled softly. One of the magazine's top stories
this month was the popular mystery of the Sailor Senshi. As he read
the article, however, one passage caught his attention:
"... another one of the mysteries concerning the Sailor Senshi is
that every planet in our solar system apparently has a Senshi named
after it, except for Earth, where, oddly enough, the Senshi, who
happens to be the leader of the group, is named after the planet's
satellite. Is there or has there ever been a Sailor Earth? What about
the mysterious Sailor V? Was she related to this group? Only the
Senshi could answer these questions, and they have never been known to
stay around for interviews."
Mamoru closed the magazine and put it back on the tray where he had
found it. A Sailor Earth? The name sounded wrong somehow.
Sailor Dirt? Sailor Soil?
Unwittingly, he found his thoughts drifting back to the girl in his
dreams while the speakers warned people that the next stop was Nerima
station...
* * *
Ranma and Akane boarded the train along with other passengers.
Moving inside the car, Ranma caught a magazine on a tray, as did
Akane. They found seats across from a handsome young man in his early
twenties who looked preoccupied by something. For a moment, Ranma
thought the man was staring at him and Akane, but when he looked up
from his reading, he found the man looking away. Ranma shrugged and
went back to reading an article on a group of mysterious girls calling
themselves the Sailor Senshi...
Mamoru was still zoned out when two young people sat in front of
him. When he looked up, he couldn't help but stare at them in
puzzlement. He didn't understand, but the young man seemed very
familiar, somehow... almost like...
He quickly changed the focus of his gaze, when he saw the young man
lifting his head. Luckily, the young man didn't pursue the matter any
further and went back to his reading. Mamoru looked out the window
and started thinking about Usagi, who had promised she would be
waiting at the train station.
* * *
Minako (minus Artemis) and Ami arrived at the train station. They
weren't really surprised to see that Usagi and Luna were already
there; Usagi had probably arrived here a long time ago, since Mamoru's
train was due back in less than fifteen minutes. They were surprised,
however, to see Hotaru.
"Hotaru-chan! What are you doing here?" exclaimed Minako.
Hotaru turned towards the voice. "Minako! Well, I was bored
sitting around Haruka and Michiru's apartment doing nothing, so I
decided to come here with Usagi to greet Mamoru when he comes back."
Minako nodded. "That makes quite a few of us to greet him then."
"Where's Artemis?" inquired Hotaru, purple eyes searching for the
white cat.
"He stayed home," said Minako, a bit grumpily. "He said he didn't
like places where there are too many people who might step on him."
Luna gave a loud sniff from where she was standing.
Ami looked up from yet another book she was reading. "Say, isn't
Rei's cousin supposed to arrive on this train as well?"
"Cousin?" Usagi, Hotaru and Minako exclaimed in unison. Luna
wisely refrained from saying the same thing out loud, seeing as they
were in a public place, but her face clearly showed surprise as well.
Ami spent the next few minutes explaining that Rei would be housing
her cousin and his wife at the Hikawa Shrine for the next few days.
While Minako was clearly disappointed he wasn't single, Usagi and
Hotaru wondered what Rei's cousin would be like. Luna bore a look
that promised further questioning when they were in private.
Hotaru spoke up: "Why didn't Rei come by to welcome him?"
"She told me she had special shrine duties today, since her
grandfather left with Yuuichiro yesterday," Ami answered. "Anyway,
she said her cousin had the address of the shrine, so he shouldn't
have any problems finding it on his own."
"What does he look like, anyway?" asked Minako. "We could always
accompany him to the shrine instead of letting him go there on his
own."
Ami thought for a second. "Rei didn't tell me or Makoto, because
she says she was too young to clearly remember what he looked like the
last time she saw him. I don't think she could have given us a decent
description even if she had wanted to."
"Do you at least know his name?"
Ami looked sheepish. "I didn't ask."
Usagi broke into an eager smile. "We'll see what he looks like
later! The train is arriving!"
The others sighed good-naturedly. Several things had changed in
the last few weeks, but Usagi was still single-mindedly obsessed with
her "Mamo-chan."
The train pulled into the station and people started flowing out.
It wasn't long before Mamoru got out of the train.
"Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried, running into Mamoru's arms. "I've missed
you so much!"
"I've missed you too, Usako."
While Usagi was busy gushing all over Mamoru, the other girls
looked at the other passengers. Minako was trying to spot herself a
hunk and she soon found one. A muscular young man, looking slightly
older than her, who was wearing loose black pants and a red Chinese
shirt. His wild black hair was tied down in a pigtail-style braid.
*I'm in love!* Minako told herself.
She nudged Ami, and even Hotaru. "Hey girls, look at the major
hunk over there! Isn't he gorgeous?"
Ami looked where Minako was pointing, looked around the boy and
quickly brought her friend back to Earth. "Look right behind him,
Minako. I think he's already taken."
Minako shook herself out of her dreams and realized there was a
girl holding his hand. A girl who bore a faint resemblance to Ami, at
that. "Awww, it's not fair," she pouted.
Hotaru wasn't merely looking at them. She was staring at them.
*Masaka! He... she... they look so much like...* she shook herself.
*You're imagining things, Hotaru. Neither of them could be alive
today. They both died before the end of the Silver Millennium.
Besides, the genders are all...*
Suddenly, something beeped urgently in Ami's purse. Startled, Ami
took out her computer compact and her eyes widened. She grabbed
Usagi's shoulder and turned her around.
"Usagi! My computer's detected a... " She was interrupted as a
wall suddenly caved in and a monster made its appearance.
"WWRRRRAAGGHHHHHHH!!!!"
"...daimon nearby," she finished weakly.
Usagi cursed under her breath. She thought they were finished with
this. They had not had a monster attack in over a month and a half.
Much to Luna and the other girls' surprise, Usagi's grades had picked
up strength during that short time. Usagi said it was because she was
no longer interrupted by constant monster attacks. The girls had been
inclined to believe her.
And now, the attacks were starting up again. Damn.
"All right," she said, her face darkening. "Let's find a place to
transform and take care of that thing..."
Usagi got no further when all hell broke loose.
End of Chapter 2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - -
Chapter 3
Ranma and Akane had gotten off the train and were looking for the
exit. Akane noted with some amusement that the young man who had been
sitting across them in the train was being hugged to death by a girl
with uncannily long meatball-type ponytails. She frowned when her
subconscious decided to replace the young man with Ranma and the girl
with Shampoo.
She blinked. *Get a grip on yourself, Akane!* she berated herself.
*Ranma's married to you now. There's nothing to fear from Shampoo.*
She was quickly brought back to her senses when a growling monster
burst through a wall.
Ranma was getting off the train and he was still thinking about the
article he'd read on the Sailor Senshi. According to the magazine,
there had been a rash of monsters in this part of Tokyo, but the
Senshi usually took care of them. What he couldn't figure out,
though, was why his mind wouldn't let go of the Senshi's images. Why
did they seem so familiar?
His internal musings were interrupted by a monster who made its
presence known by smashing through a wall, sending people screaming
for their lives. He stared blankly at the rampaging monster for about
half a second before he took a ready stance.
"I thought I left that kind of crap in Nerima..." he muttered. He
quickly pushed Akane towards a knot of girls to keep her out of
danger.
Akane quickly found herself shoved towards a group of girls. She
managed to slow down before could ram into a girl with long, loose
blonde hair. Akane turned around to see Ranma approaching the
monster.
"What's he doing?!" shouted the girl she'd almost collided with.
Akane let out a sigh. "The baka's probably going to fight it. As
usual."
A little girl with mysteriously familiar purple eyes spoke up:
"He... he can't possibly mean to fight a daimon alone, can he?"
No one answered as the girls looked on, completely forgetting to
transform.
*God that thing is ugly,* thought Ranma absently. * Even Tarou's
cursed form is better-looking.* The monster looked roughly like an
insect, complete with a shell, clawed limbs and a collection of eyes
of various sizes. The main difference was that it was standing on two
thick legs and it was using its four other limbs to inflict damage.
It also stood around seven feet tall.
Ranma was suddenly shaken out of "analysis mode" when the daimon
suddenly grabbed someone by the throat with one its claws and lifted
the person off the floor. At that moment, Ranma lost any regrets he
might have had about hurting the creature. He was about to fire a
Mouko Takabisha when fresh memories of the Forbidden Techniques
floated to mind. *Let's see if I can get them right this time!* he
thought. He quickly called out a Yama-sen-ken technique: "KIJIN
Should start a new paragraph here. Incidentally, trying out the
yamasenken in a crowded area is stupid and dangerous. That's
_why_ it was "sealed" in the first place. Not only was it lethal, but
it was unpredictably lethal.
RAISHUU DAN!" The vacuum Ki blade sliced through the limb that was
holding the person up. The daimon roared in pain as the person
dropped to the floor and scurried away. It turned to look at Ranma
and charged him with two of its remaining claws. Ranma waited until
the monster was within range and let out an ear- deafening kiai. The
startled monster slowed just enough for Ranma to divert the incoming
limbs to each side of him, while he himself stayed in the monster's
path. "MOUKO KAIMON HA!" Ranma shouted, hitti!
Extraneous exclamation point.
ng the daimon in the face with a Ki-charged kick. The daimon's head
snapped back with a loud crunching noise. It suddenly stood still.
Ranma thought the monster dead at this point and turned around to
see if Akane was still alright. He saw her near a group of girls, but
he also unfortunately saw Luna, which caused him to freeze. The
monster, however, was _not_ dead and chose this particular moment to
hit Ranma with all its remaining strength into a brick wall. It then
decided it had had enough and tried to get away.
Akane had been watching Ranma fight and paled when she saw the
monster throw Ranma into a wall. "I've got to help him!" was all she
said.
Mamoru, Usagi, Minako, Ami, Hotaru and Luna all took a step back
and could not help but stare in surprise when the girl pulled out a
massive hammer out of nowhere and ran towards the monster.
Akane saw the wounded monster trying to get away and quickly
intercepted it. "Not so fast," she hissed, her Ki-powered mallet at
the ready. The monster, already gravely wounded from Ramna's assualt,
tried to toss her out of the way. However, the attack not only missed
by a wide margin, but was also countered with an upward swing from
Akane which would have made a professional baseball player proud,
sending it flying back towards Ranma.
If anything, his collision with the wall had quickly brought back
Ranma to his senses. Digging himself out of the rubble he was about
to start after it when he saw Akane punt it right back his way,
courtesy of Mallet Airlines. He grinned and cupped his hands. "MOUKO
TAKABISHA!" he cried, releasing a massive Ki-blast that struck the
monster in mid-air, effectively stopping its course.
The monster's charred remains hit the floor, where they promptly
turned to ash.
The MT isn't hot.
"Nice swing Akane," commented Ranma offhandedly while dusting
himself off.
"It disappeared just like that?" wondered Akane out loud, before
returning her mallet to hammerspace. "What _was_ that thing, anyway?"
Ranma pulled out the magazine he'd been reading in the train and
gave it to Akane. "I read about it in the train. Apparently,
monsters attack this part of Tokyo on a regular basis." He sighed,
then chuckled: "And I thought we were done with this kind of stuff we
moved out of Nerima."
Akane frowned. "I hope this doesn't happen too often. Who usually
deals with those things anyway? The police?"
Ranma flipped the pages of the magazine and pointed to a blurry
picture in which you could barely distinguish five young girls in
rather skimpy outfits. "Apparently, they do. They call themselves
the Sailor Senshi..."
While Akane and Ranma were discussing the topic further, Minako,
Usagi, Ami and Mamoru were alternating between staring at Ranma and
Akane and giving each other nervous looks. Hotaru, however, was
watching them intently, as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle.
"What the heck just happened, Ami?" asked a bewildered Minako.
Ami soon found herself under close scrutiny when everyone turned
towards her. "Why are you asking _me_? I know as much about this as
you do!"
"Well, you _are_ usually the one who comes up with an answer,"
replied Usagi matter-of-factly.
Luna looked clearly stunned. Silently cursing the amount of people
near them, she started scratching Usagi's socks to get her attention.
Usagi looked down and quickly deduced from her guardian cat's face
that she wanted to speak as soon as possible.
"They're leaving!" warned Mamoru.
In a rare moment of self-control, Usagi started to move towards the
two. "Come on! We have to find out who they are!"
The two teenagers had left through the exit, with Usagi close on
their heels. When Usagi went through the gate, however, she was met
with an empty street. "Where did they go?" she wondered out loud.
Akane and Ranma finished their conversation when they noticed that
the few people who hadn't left the station in fear were staring at
them. Then the whispers began.
Ranma looked around him and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to
stay here for long. He tugged Akane's sleeve. "Akane, I think we'd
better bail out of here. I think we may have made too much of an
impression already and what's worse, I think I saw a c-c-c... cat
earlier. I don't want to stay here if there's one of _them_ around,"
he said nervously.
Akane frowned and gave Ranma an annoyed look. *Again with his
stupid fear of cats!* Akane sighed. *I wish there was a way to cure
him of that.* She then looked around and saw that people were starting
to throw strange looks at them. She heard mutters of "youmas",
"monsters" and "Sailor Senshi". She nodded to Ranma, and as soon as
they made their way through the exit with their luggage, they jumped
up and kept themselves to the rooftops.
As the girls were leaving the station, the questions started flying
again. "All right, first things first," said an uncharacteristically
serious Usagi. "Ami, what exactly _was_ that monster, anyway? We
haven't had one of those for a long time, now."
"According to my computer, it was a daimon," answered Ami.
"Probably a reject from a leftover daimon egg. I'm surprised that it
lived this long without us detecting it."
"And now for the 100,000 yen question: What do you have on the guy
who trashed it?" asked Minako.
"He's quite human, if that's what you want to know. I got a few
readings on him since I inadvertently left my computer active when the
daimon attacked."
"So let's hear it," said Luna in a hushed voice.
"Well, what you saw at the train station practically speaks for
itself. First of all, he's incredibly fast and agile. His speed is
on par with, or may even surpass our own in our Senshi forms. He must
have a great tolerance to injuries, too, since being slammed in the
wall merely stunned him for an instant."
"What about the energy ball he threw?" asked Usagi.
Ami sighed and started walking again. "The computer didn't have
enough time to gather enough readings for that. I'm sorry, Usagi."
"The way he cut off the daimons's arms... Ugh! I don't _ever_
wanna get on his bad side," commented Minako, shivering slightly.
"But I don't think we should forget what the girl did either. How
many girls do you know pull out giant hammers out of nowhere and are
strong enough to punt daimons around like baseballs?"
Usagi noticed Mamoru shaking his head.
"What's wrong, Mamo-chan?" she asked worriedly.
"They were in the train with me all this time; they were sitting
straight in front of me and I didn't notice a single thing..." But
Mamoru's voice had taken an uncertain tone by the end of the sentence.
"Out with it, Mamoru", said Minako, noticing it. "What is it?"
Mamoru looked thoughtful. "It's probably nothing, but the guy
looked _very_ familiar for some reason. I can't help but wonder if
I've seen him before somewhere."
Hotaru, who had been silent until now, suddenly became aware of the
conversation. "You too, Mamoru-san?!"
Everyone stopped walking and looked at both of them. Mamoru and
Hotaru were looking at each other.
"Where do you think you know him from?" asked Hotaru first.
"I've been having strange dreams for the past few days. It's in
the days of the Moon Kingdom. I'm wearing my armor as Prince Endymion
and this girl is running towards me, but I never quite clearly see her
face; only shadows. When I saw that guy, I immediately started
thinking about that girl." He passed a hand through his hair. "I
don't really know why I should connect the both of them in the first
place."
Hotaru looked at Mamoru with what seemed like pity in her eyes.
"You don't remember her, do you?"
Mamoru felt a chill run through his spine. "Remember who?"
"I know who the guy reminds you of, Mamoru. Except for his hair
color, he looks exactly like what your younger sister would've looked
like had she been born a man."
Mamoru froze in shock. Sister?... He had a *sister*? Was the girl
in his dream his sister?... "I had a sister?..." he said weakly. He
turned to Luna. "Why was I never told this?!" he asked in a tone that
was rapidly rising towards that of anger.
Luna found herself flinching under Mamoru's angry gaze. The worst
thing was that for some reason, she now knew about Akana, something
she knew she hadn't known even yesterday. It was quite disconcerting.
How was she supposed to explain to Mamoru that she had just _now_
remembered about his sister?
Fortunately, Hotaru quickly came to Luna's rescue before the black
cat had to explain herself. "Mamoru, there's no guarantee that she
did know about Akana. Her and Artemis' memories are a bit
swiss-cheesed, remember?"
Mamoru turned to her, his cold anger fading in the light of
Hotaru's argument. "Then how is it _you_ know, Hotaru-chan?" he
asked.
"When I was reborn after the Pharaoh 90 incident, I grew up again
extremely fast, but this time, I had most of my memories of the Moon
Kingdom." Hotaru hesitated before continuing. "There's also the fact
that I don't think your sister was reborn in this time like us,
Mamoru." Seeing his questioning look, she went on: "Akana and I became
the Sailors Terra and Saturn on the same day; we were the last Senshi
to be nominated. Akana was supposed to be the strongest Senshi next
to myself, but she mysteriously disappeared at roughly the same time
Metallia attacked. I don't know what happened to her. If she _had_
been reincarnated, we would have met her already, I'm sure of it."
"How?" asked Mamoru intently. "How can you be sure we just haven't
found her yet?"
"Because I was always supposed to be the last one to Awaken. The
Senshi of Saturn only Awakens if all else fails. Sailor Terra would
have Awakened before me, and if she _had_ Awakened, she would have
been drawn to Usagi." Hotaru paused for an instant, then continued
again. "As for me, I was sent to train far away in the system because
everyone had become afraid of me, of what I meant. The fact that
there was no Elder Saturn didn't make things any easier for my
training. People were afraid of Saturn, the Bringer of Silence...
They were all afraid, save Serenity, the Senshi and my brother." She
gave a bitter smile. "The real irony of it all is that as it turns
out, they sent me to train so far I couldn't come back in time to
destroy Metallia when she launched her attack. The Silver Millennium
passed away because it was afraid of the one who was supposed to be
its protector."
Minako found her voice first, although Hotaru did not expect the
question: "You had a brother?"
Hotaru looked sad for a moment. "I had several sisters, but, I
only had one brother. His name was Kanma and he was one of the rare
people who didn't flinch when speaking to me after I became Saturn.
That's the other thing I find strange in all of this: if I didn't know
any better, I would swear that the girl was my reincarnated brother."
"Why do you think she's your reincarnated brother?" asked Luna,
curious.
Hotaru looked down to Luna with a small smile for an instant: "You
probably wouldn't understand, but it has something to do with the way
she handled that hammer of hers. Kanma was a smith, so he was always
using hammers; he used to say pounding things made him relax. She
looks so much like he did... but I gave up hope of my brother being
reborn a long time ago," she finished with a sad look.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Usagi, who had not taken her hand
away from Mamoru's shoulder since Hotaru's revelation. "My mother
managed to send a lot of people to the future when she used the
Ginzuishou to seal Metallia away. How can you be sure your brother
wasn't one of them?"
Sad purple eyes looked up at the sky. "Back in the days of the
Silver Millennium, every planet in the system had its own population.
The planets were made viable thanks to the Ginzuishou. I was on my
way back from out- system to report on the progress of my training
when I felt a massive disruption in the magical fields that kept the
planets viable. I rushed back to the Moon, fearing the worst, but I
was too late. The Crystal Palace had been destroyed and Silver
Millennium had been Silenced... without my help," she added bitterly.
"After that, I immediately went to Saturn, to try and see if there
were any survivors, but there were none. Everything had been
destroyed. The worst part is that it looked like the destruction was
old, compared to everywhere else. Metallia's troops had likely
attacked Saturn before they attacked the Moon, in fear that they would
have to fight me. By killing me first, no one would have been left to
stop them, but it turns out they didn't!
even have to fight me. The Royal Palace was nothing but ashes; there
wasn't a single soul left alive. My brother was a skilled mage, but
he could never have survived long enough to be sent into the future."
Everyone was silent out of respect for a while, digesting the new
information.
Further along the way, Ranma and Akane got back down from the
rooftops after being sure nobody had followed them from the train
station.
"I hope you're not planning on doing this on a regular basis,
Ranma. I really don't appreciate all the attention," groused Akane.
"Kinda strange, though," Ranma replied over his shoulder. "In
Nerima, Ryoga and I destroyed a lot of things each time we fought and
no one ever looked twice."
"They did look twice," Akane replied. "They were just too afraid
of doing anything about it."
Ranma raised an eyebrow, but let the matter drop. They soon
arrived in front of a Shinto shrine.
"This is the place!" said Ranma. He looked at Akane, took her hand
and went inside the gates.
End Chapter 3
Yama-sen-ken techniques from the manga (again, thanks Chris Rijk!):
Mouko Kaimon Ha [Fierce Tiger Crashing Through Gates]: Right after
shouting "Don't move!" very loudly, Ryu strikes at Ranma, throwing
both arms in a curving motion away from him (a bit like pushing
through two doors) and kicks him at the same time.
Kijin Raishuu Dan [Demon God Assault Bomb]: Ryu practiced the move
on a 5m high solid rock/metal Buddha, breaking it into large slices
with thrown Ki- blades formed by pulling his hands away so fast that
they form a vacuum. It was Ryu's favorite attack.
********************** Jordanite and Mystical
* The Phoenix Reborn * Freak at Large
**********************
* dragon@anime.sobhrach.com *
Louis-Philippe Giroux * phoenix@cephiro.com *
Phoenix's Den: Picture and Fanfiction Gallery
http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~dragon/
"Oh, it's just a bird... a *large* bird, I grant you.
A large *angry* bird - Aaaahh!"
-Phantomon, just after causing Piyomon to evolve
into Birdromon
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