Sorry for the long wait. Things simply took longer to hash out in this chapter. More
comments are found after the fic, for now please enjoy. PLEASE. :)
Destiny of Sol: 02: Grand Schemes
>>>File name: DOS02.TXT<<<
<version .50 finished March 18, 2000>
<version .75 finished April 1, 2000>
<version 1.0 finished April 2, 2000>
email: verrier@avana.net
www: http://www.avana.net/~verrier/fanfic/
Note: This fic is just something I came up with in one of my
many endless musings. I have lots of stories on tap but I'll stick to
this one for as long as I can so I don't get side tracked. This fic may
contain material of a mature or offensive nature. I currently have no
plans to make this a lemon or anything but I like to warn you ahead of
time. This will not be a dark fic, I don't like 'em much so I will not
write one. Anyway this is currently a melding of Ranma 1/2 and Sailor
Moon. This story picks up before Ranma visits the Tendo Dojo in
Ranmaverse and just after Sailor Moon S in... errr Sailorverse? There
are changes made to both timelines and they will be discussed later. I'm
going to use both manga and anime aspects as I see fit but I will not
use the English Sailor Moon names. Anyway tell me what you think. As
of now this fic does not have a web site but that will probably change
soon. Enjoy the fic (please).
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or backgrounds in this
story. This is a work of fan fiction and is done without the prior
expressed written consent of the creators, owners, or licensed
distributors of these stories I have taken this information from. This is
written literature and thus does not infringe upon the rights of the
persons mentioned above or expressly stated below. The only possible
crime is to knowingly steal these ideas without giving credit to those
who created it(plagiarism), otherwise I am simply promoting the creators
work. Anyway the original creators and rights holders are Takahashi
Rumiko, Takeuchi Naoko, Kitty, DiC, Mixx, and Viz. If I did not mention
someone I do not know of them or there involvement with the stories I
have borrowed from. For all readers of this story please go read,
watch, and buy these original works.
Also a note to anyone who wishes to use any of the original
characters, situations, backgrounds, etc. of my creation please feel
free to do so, and to use my name or internet handle if you remember it,
also please tell me if you do, I'd like to read it. ThanX!
"Destiny of Sol"
written by Tin Man
Chapter 2: Grand Schemes
"people speaking"
<people thinking>
["people speaking through electronic or other means"]
{"people speaking in language other than Japanese"}
[Panda Signs]
~ = Flashback Break
= = Begin and End of Fic
* = Major Scene Change
=================================================
// Time: Present
// Place: Village of Joketsuzoku, China
Khu-Lon had lived many years in her long life and seen many
things, many things most people would think unimaginable, but the events
unfolding before her now threw even her for the proverbial loop.
Xian-Pu, the daughter of Khu-Lon's daughter's daughter, was preparing to
leave for a far away land to avenge a loss at the hands of an outsider.
While this in itself was by no means anything out of the ordinary to
Khu-Lon, the fact that the aged martial arts master was told that this
was going to happen over two hundred years ago was something quite new.
{"I am ready Great Grandmother. I will return as soon as I have
carried out the Kiss of Death."}
{"Don't be too hasty Xian-Pu, this Saotome Ranma has already
defeated you once. She is clearly no ordinary outsider. Remember all
that I have taught you and use your Amazon heritage to your advantage."}
{"I will Great Grandmother. But I'm still curious... how do you
know that Saotome Ranma is living in..."} Xian-Pu paused to remember
how to say the name of the place written on the paper she held before
her, {"Ne-ri-ma-ku... Tokyo."} Satisfied that she had pronounced the
kana correctly Xian-Pu looked to her elder for an answer, but somehow she
knew it was for naught. Her great grandmother seemed to be rather
tight lipped when it came to this area as of late.
Khu-Lon was forced to actually gave some thought to this before
answering, but in the end nothing new was to be revealed, at least not
yet. {"I have my ways Xian-Pu, do not worry yourself about that now.
There will be time later when I will tell you all you wish to know.
Now, be off with you. You have a long journey ahead of you."} With
that Khu-Lon of the Joketsuzoku ushered her great granddaughter out of
her family's home before closing the door and returning to her study.
Khu-Lon did not have to worry about Xian-Pu's safety on the
journey ahead for she was told long ago that all this was to happen.
<Ah honored Pluto, what do you have in store for my heir? Why are you
doing all this? Many years ago you told me all this was to be, yet it
would appear that I did not take heed your warnings as I should have.
Perhaps I should have watched more carefully. Perhaps I should have
planned more, learned more, prepared more. I now have no choice but to
leave everything in your hands now. Please protect Xian-Pu, she is all
that I have left.>
*************************************************
// Time: Present
// Place: Nerima Ward, Tokyo, Japan
Through the thin morning mist a lone figure was taking a brisk
jog trough the streets of Nerima ward Tokyo. Tendo Akane, age 16, was
at peace with herself. As she ran she practiced her art, shadow boxing
invisible opponents while running a kata through her mind's eye. It was
times like this that Akane almost forgot about all the problems in her
life. Almost. Today however she could not shake one problem.
Yesterday her father's friend had come to visit, stay more like, and he
brought with him his son, sort of, who Akane or one of her sisters was
supposed to marry in the name of family honor. Ranma meant to take away
her freedom. That is almost as bad as having something else taken from
her, something that she had at one point lost, if ever so briefly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Akane-chan! Akane-chan, wait up!" Akane stopped her
silent pursuit of her sister Nabiki and turned to her friend Yuka.
Recently Akane's two older sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki, have been acting
quite strange. Late night disappearances and sudden emergency trips out
of the house were just the tip of the iceberg. Many smaller, less
noticeable, things had also caught Akane's attention. Something was up
and Akane was going to find out. To this end Akane had been following
Nabiki all day and was now in a local shopping district. Yuka
unfortunately seemed go have the worst timing in the world, and no sense
of discretion.
Quickly backing away from where Nabiki had stopped and ducking
behind a yattai, Akane shushed her friend. "Quiet Yuka! I don't want
Nabiki to know I'm following her." Akane peeked around the corner and
thanked the Kami that Nabiki seemed to have stopped... she appeared to
be waiting for something.
"So that's what you're up to. I was going to invite you to join
Sayuri and me to go see that new romance movie showing at the theater.
But this seems like a lot more fun." Yuka turned and motioned for
Saruyi to join them. "So, what's Nabiki doing?"
"I don't know. She seems to be waiting for someone."
"Hey, isn't that Kasumi?"
Akane turned to look and sure enough the eldest Tendo daughter
was now talking to Nabiki. Both seemed to be preoccupied with watching
another group of people that were standing around a fountain.
Sayuri chose this moment to show up. "Hey guys, what's going
on?"
"We don't know, Akane's following Nabiki to see what she's
doing."
A smirk appeared on Sayuri's face. "Really... who's she
blackmailing now?"
"No one. She's talking to Akane's other sister, Kasumi, right
now."
"Really, I guess that counts out all things criminal."
Akane gave a cross look to Sayuri before turning back to watch
her kin.
"Well, you have to admit, Nabiki has been known to get in some
pretty shady business."
Akane turned back to Sayuri to defend her sister when Yuka
caught her attention. "Hey look, the fountain is moving!"
Both Sayuri and Akane turned to look, and sure enough the
fountain seemed to morph into a woman with stone like skin and water
nozzles on her arms. Akane's first thought were for the safety of her
sisters. When she turned back to where Nabiki and Kasumi stood however,
she could not find either of them.
"Hey, that thing is attacking that girl!" Yuka said.
"Let's get out of here!" Sayuri's plan was good. It was safe,
it was the smart thing to do, it was the exact opposite of what Akane
did. Akane went into action. She was a martial artist, it was her duty
to protect the weak. As she ran towards the fountain and its demonic
offspring she caught something out of the corner of her eye which caused
her to stop short. Akane peered down an alley where she saw Kasumi
talking to someone, most likely to Nabiki. Realizing that her sisters
were not yet out of harm's way Akane began to move in their direction,
only to be bounced around by the fleeing hordes of afternoon shoppers.
By the time Akane was able to get a clear shot to the alley her sisters
were no longer there, in their place stood two sailor suited girls.
Recent news reports of demons attacking people in the area were
often accompanied by sightings of the city's mysterious guardians, girls
wearing sailor suits. This Akane was well aware of. That two such
sailor suited guardians would appear in the same place that Akane's
sisters had just disappeared from was something new to her altogether.
After the two warriors made their way to do battle with the fountain
demon, Akane finally made it to the alley only to find it empty.
Another feature of the alley that further shocked Akane was that it was
a dead end, no way in, no way out.
"No way... Nabiki? Kasumi?!" Further speculation was put on
the shelf as Akane noticed the two guardians engaged in battle with the
demon. A small car came speeding into the shopping square nearly
hitting several frightened pedestrians before skidding to a stop. Out
of the driver side door came a red headed woman dressed in an odd vest
and short combo outfit and carrying a strange gun that looked something
like a syringe. The woman began to take aim at a small girl but was
unable to get a shot off due to the many people still in the area. One
of the guardians noticed this and signaled for her partner, the one
with short hair, to take action. While the taller of the two continued
to battle the water blasting demon, the other quickly ran to and picked
up the girl that seemed to be the target of both the demon and the woman
with the gun.
Akane noticed as the one guardian ran off to get her charge to
safety that the other was not faring so well against the demon. Putting
all other thoughts aside Akane charged into battle, looking to put the
woman with the gun into a whole new world of hurt.
Just as Akane was about to leap towards her intended target she
noticed the short haired guardian had returned. The taller guardian
also seemed to notice Akane's actions at this moment and yelled out for
her, "Akane no! Stay away from her!"
Akane was brought up short by the guardian's usage of her name.
Turning to take a closer look at the sailor suited warrior Akane never
saw the startled gun woman take aim at her.
"Kasumi? Is that y..!" What ever else Akane was to say was cut
short as a sudden jolt to her back seemed to send a cloud of light and
sparkles from her chest and into the air in front of her.
Everything slowed down as Akane felt like her very soul had been
ripped from her. The floating vaporous light before her seemed to
condense and form a crystal. The rest of the battle seemed to come to a
sudden stop as both the sailor guardians and the demon converged upon
her staring intently at the crystal.
The short haired sailor's voice seemed like it was being put
through a bad cassette recorder and put on slow as she spoke. "Neptune
look! Is that what I think it is?"
Looking down again Akane could see something else inside the
crystal taking shape and growing in size... a staff of some sort?
The voice of the other warrior somehow drifted through the haze
that was Akane's world. "A Talisman?! Put it back! Hurry!"
To counter that the gun woman's voice came from behind Akane and
caused her to struggle and turn her body to face the speaker. "Faou
Tain! Grab that heart crystal! Get the talisman!"
Akane's mind was fuzzy, she couldn't understand what was
happening. She did understand one thing though, this woman and her
monster were not to have this thing they called a 'talisman.' It was
Akane's and hers alone. No one was to wield the Gaia Driver...
<Gaia... Driver... what's that?> Turning to face the demon and the two
sailor suited warriors Akane almost giggled at how slow they seemed to
be moving. Everything was moving so slowly. At the speed they were
moving it would take... well a long time for the demon to reach her,
even longer for the two guardians. The funniest part was that once the
demon reached her it would take Akane's heart crystal and leave her to
die. <Wait, that's not very funny.> Suddenly Akane's euphoric giddiness
fled her and was instead replaced by... anger. <no... No... NO... NO!
You can't have it! It's mine!>
Akane moved as fast as she could in her confused state and
embraced the crystal with both arms, pulling it back toward her. The
demon was close, and it was getting closer. Looking down at the thing
inside the crystal Akane tried to think of something to do. Acting as
if by instinct Akane reached in and took the tiny staff from the crystal
and watched in awe as it appeared to grow in size as she pulled it forth.
Forgetting about the crystal from which she had pulled the staff from for
the moment Akane took a closer look at the meter long staff, no, weapon in
her hand. At one end of this 'Gaia Driver' there was a compact double
sided mallet head, the other end terminated in an ornate point.
While Akane was confusedly examining this hammer like device
that seemed to come from within her she almost didn't notice that the
demon was nearly upon her. "I'll take that!"
<no... no...> "no - You - WON'T!" Still acting on instinct
Akane took the Gaia Driver with both hands. Gripping it tightly near
the head she drove the pointed end down into the ground at her feet.
Akane briefly noticed that her body seemed to go completely stiff as she
did this, only able to move her eyes she watched as the demon seemed to
impact with her and... and bounced off! It was as if Akane herself had
become one with the Earth and was now immovable by any that attempted to
harm her.
Both sailor suited guardians came to a stunned halt as they
watched a particularly nasty looking smile form on Akane's face. Akane
actually slid across the ground as she rotated around the pivot point
that her Gaia Driver had formed. She gave a disturbingly promising look
to the suddenly very unsure gunwoman before once again rotating around
to look at the stunned demon, the whole while Akane's body never moved
except for her facial features. After the demon made another futile
attempt to displace her Akane removed the Gaia Driver from its hole in
the ground and took one dangerous step towards her attacker.
Raising the Gaia Driver in the air Akane spoke. "Mine!" She
then brought the head of the deadly looking war hammer down towards the
unfortunate demon. The length of the Gaia Driver actually increased as
it swung trough the air, bringing it down right on target. 'Faou Tain'
never stood a chance as she was pulverized to tiny bits by the Gaia
Hammer. The very impact seemed to shake the Earth itself and brought
about a blood curdling sound, not unlike that of a bomb.
Akane then turned to face the woman behind her only to see her
frantically closing the car's driver side door behind her and fumbling
with the vehicle's ignition. Akane was beyond talk now, instead she
simply attacked. Bringing her Gaia Driver around in a side motion, much
like a baseball player swinging for a grand slam, Akane solidly
connected with the white hatchback's rear end. The car was picked up
off the ground by the impact and sent spinning, the woman inside was also
sent flying around within the car. When the vehicle came to a rest the
woman inside was pressed up against the passenger side window looking
out, directly at Akane who now stood looking back at her just half a
meter away. Still smiling that nasty smile of hers Akane brought her
Gaia Driver up for another strike, this time to crush the car and its
sole occupant. Said occupant scrambled away and just barely avoided
being killed as the roof on the passenger side collapsed upon the seat
by the force of the blow. White as a ghost the woman quickly grabbed
for the door release and tumbled out of the car as the driver's side
door fell off its hinges. Again the woman barely avoided death as the
portion of the roof on her side too was brought in by Akane's lethal
strikes.
Knowing that she would much rather run and live to fight another
day than become a smear on the pavement, the now deceased demon's master
scrambled to her feet and fled as fast as her high heeled shoes would
take her.
Akane started out this fight, before having her heart crystal
taken from her, fighting for justice and to protect the weak. Now
however she mindlessly pounded away at the now flat car. So filled with
anger and thoughts of destruction Akane never noticed as Sailor Uranus
approached her from behind and reintroduced her heart crystal to its
rightful place within her. Having her heart crystal returned to her
suddenly brought Akane out of the haze that had surrounded her. Her
body finally having realized it had been without a soul for some minutes
more that its want gave out and Akane collapsed into the arms of a
waiting Sailor Uranus.
Still very distorted, and very tired, Akane looked up into the
eyes of her savior and seeing nothing else but those eyes thanked that
person. "Thank you... Nabiki-oneechan..." All faded to black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never would Akane allow something so precious be taken from
her by force again. Akane came to a stop and took a look around the
street she was on. She was just around the corner from her home but
there was no one on the road at this time of day. A sly smile crept
upon her face as she decided to do the one thing that just might help
her to finally forget her problems; practice her OTHER art. Taking one
last look around Akane closed her eyes and put her weight on her right
foot. Breathing in deeply Akane raised her left foot to knee level with
her knee turned out while simultaneously raising her right hand as far
as it could go and her left hand she dropped low to her stomach. With
great concentration Akane felt for the power within her and brought both
hands to level with her chest and cupped them together as if holding
something that was not there. Saying her words of power Akane thrust
her arms forward with palms out and lunged with her left foot as far as
she could manage.
"Terra Sand Blast!" As her words echoed off the walls around
her Akane was rewarded with the sight of dirt, paper, and other debris
on the street before her picked up and thrown forward by a gust of wind
not felt by anything else. While this technique was neither as powerful
nor as easy to perform it was in her Senshi form, doing it this way was
much more satisfying. Just three months ago Tendo Akane could not have done
even this much. Only the Senshi of Earth could cause such forces of nature
to react to her will like this. Now however, while not transformed
Akane could feel the power coursing through her. It wasn't as effective
and it took a lot out of her, but at least now it could be done. "I bet
none of the other Senshi can do that."
With a satisfied and confident glow about her Tendo Akane
continued on her morning run without a care in the world. This bliss
was to last only about two minutes however as upon entering her family's
property Akane was brought back to Earth. Before her was a raging
battle between a large overweight panda and a red and black blur that
could just barely be made out as a teenage boy.
"Heh, give it up Oyaji, you'll never lay a paw on me!" Saotome
Ranma shouted as he proved his point by dodging each and every blow his
father turned panda threw at him.
<The boy is right, yet I have to get him wet if my plan is going
to work... That's it!> Saotome Genma, currently a giant panda, took a
few more swipes at his son while he edged his way over to the Tendo
family's Koi pond. Faster than the eye could see Genma pulled out a
wooden sign and pen from nowhere and flipped the sign around so that
Ranma could read it. [Ranma, have you decided...], Genma quickly
flipped the sign to reveal the other side once Ranma had read what was
written on the first, [...which of the Tendo girls you like best?]
"Would you quit it with that engagement thing already? I told
you none of them are interested and I ain't gonna force anybody to marry
me." While Ranma was talking Genma finished maneuvering himself where he
wanted to be. The overgrown panda picked up a nearby bucket with his
right foot and kept it dangling behind him were Ranma could not see it.
[Look behind you Ranma, Akane-chan is home.] Genma knew that
Ranma would not be fooled and leave himself open for any kind of attack.
However due to Ranma's violent run-in with the Tendo girl from yesterday
he would have to be careful and take a look just to be safe.
Just as Genma had planned, instead of turning to look behind him
Ranma took an evasive back flip, quickly taking in the sight of Tendo
Akane watching from the gate. Then Ranma landed on his feet, ready for
any underhanded techniques on his father's part. Much to Ranma's
surprise all he could see was a fat panda calmly waiting for the sparring
match to resume. What Ranma did not see for the split second he was
inverted was said panda taking the bucket and filling it with water from
the Koi pond, then with a quick flick of the wrist the panda sent that
bucket flying across the yard where it came to a surprisingly gentle
landing behind a boulder.
"What's wrong Oyaji, too slow to pull off your 'crying wolf'
attack? Or are you just too tired to keep up the fight?"
[This old man still has much...] flip, [...to teach you,
staring...] flip, [...now!] So saying Genma charged the younger Saotome
who at the moment was still trying to figure out how one could write on
three sides of a two sided sign. Genma's advantage was short lived, but
it did accomplish his goal. As Ranma backed away from his father's
claw swipes and kicks he did not notice he was being herded toward one
corner of the yard... that is he wouldn't have noticed if he were anyone
except Saotome Ranma. With a cocky grin Ranma launched himself
backwards, hit the wall surrounding the Tendo home, and using his legs
he launched himself up and over the head of a very shocked looking
panda. Twisting in midair Ranma came down directly behind his father's
blind side where he expected to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to
the Panda's exposed flank. What he wasn't expecting was to land on top
of a wooden bucket full of cold water.
Genma took one moment to wipe the faked 'shock' from his face
and schooled his features into a neutral expression before turning to
his his son, now daughter, standing behind him with a look of confusion
on her face. Having this planned all along Genma didn't need to write
on his wooden signs as they had all the necessary phrases already on
them, [Ranma why did you do that?]
"Like I did it on purpose Oyaji! I didn't know that bucket was
there." Ranma was still confused as to how a bucket full of cold water
had ended up right under him, he could swear it wasn't there a moment
ago.
[Don't lie to me boy! You knew that bucket...] flip, [...was
there. If I didn't know any better...] flip, [I would almost think that
you did that on...] flip, [purpose. And why did you stop fighting?
Have you suddenly gone passive on me?]
While Ranma was busy reading the signs her father was showing
her, one of the spectators that had previously been standing on the
porch crossed the yard to talk to Akane. "Impressive aren't they?"
Akane gave a small flinch from her surprise at being addressed
before turning to see who it was. "Oh, Nabiki I didn't see you there.
When did you show up?"
"Just now. You're so lost in la la land that you didn't notice
me walk up right in front of you. So, what do you think of our guests'
abilities?"
"They seem okay, I just don't trust them."
Nabiki almost laughed at this, "Just okay? They seem a little
bit better than okay."
"Alright, alright, they're good." Akane could plainly see the
undisguised look of incredulity written all over Nabiki's face,
"They're VERY GOOD all right, you happy now?!"
Instead of answering Nabiki just turned back to watch the fight
that had by now descended into a verbal shouting match. Which was really
quite amusing to watch as said shouting match consisted solely of one
very high pitched feminine voice shouting out the words written on a
panda's wooden signs and then shouting again her response to it.
"Stop, co.. com.. complaining, you... you sound like a girl!"
Ranma's female voice read aloud as her panda father simultaneously
dodged her blows and wrote new signs. "I do NOT sound like a girl!"
Suddenly the fight stopped as the panda cocked his head side ways with a
look of complete disbelief on his furry face. "Okay, maybe I do, that
doesn't count and you know it. Besides right now I am a girl so I can't
help it." Ranma again read a panda sign, "So you admit that you've
become a..." Pure rage poured through Ranma as she countered a sign
sweep, "Oyaji no baka! That's not what I meant, I ain't no girl!"
Ranma now stood heaving in and out gulps of air simmering in anger as she
watched a gently panting panda scribble away on more signs. Again she
read the sign, "So you're admitting it? Oh the shame my son says she's
a girl." Ranma tried desperately to figure out how her denial could be
twisted into an admission. Not understanding what a double negative
meant or how her father was able to turn the fight around on her she
decided to solve all problems at once. Ranma began tearing into her
panda father anew sending fur flying all about the Tendo family
compound.
"She'd better keep her mouth shut. At this rate that panda is
going to have her proclaiming her femininity to the whole neighborhood,"
Nabiki commented to her younger sister as she watched the spectacle
before her.
"She.. he.. whatever, Ranma seems pretty dense to me. How did
someone so stupid survive this long. She seems to be a pretty good
fighter, but she has absolutely no skills in anything else."
Before anything else could be said Kasumi emerged from the Tendo
home ready to call everyone in for breakfast. Before Kasumi said
anything though she made quick, almost imperceptible, glance off in the
distance to her right almost like she was distracted by something. No
one else seemed to notice Kasumi's look, that is no one but Nabiki.
<Hmmm, it would appear that we have a visitor this morning.>
Coming back to herself Kasumi declined, "Saotome-san,
Ranma-san, Akane, Nabiki, breakfast is ready... oh my!" The last was
said as she noticed the red headed girl in the yard putting a half bald
panda into a very painful hold. "Ranma-chan I had no idea pandas could
do that. That's very impressive Saotome-san, but you had better unfold,
untwist, and unknot yourself now though, breakfast is nearly ready." As
Kasumi turned to walk back into the house no one saw the very satisfied
smile that appeared on her face.
"Coming Oneechan, I just need to wash up. I'll be right down."
Akane dashed into the house and up the stairs were she made good on her
word and was indeed ready as breakfast was served. A good thing too as
she saw how fast Ranma and her father could put down food.
All throughout breakfast Genma, now human, kept making jabs at
Ranma's masculinity, or lack thereof, as he stole food off his son's,
err, daughter's plate. About half way through breakfast Nabiki excused
herself stating that she had to head off to school early. Ranma
silently took all the abuse aimed at her by her father until Hotaru came
down from upstairs dressed for school and ready to begin breakfast.
"Good morning Otousan, Kasumi-oneesan, Akane-oneesan. Good
morning Ranma-oneesan. Panda-chan good morning!" Hotaru bounced
from person to person greeting each in turn until reaching Genma, at
that point she took a convenient glass of water, that Kasumi had for
some reason just set down on the table, and proceeded to make a panda
out of a fat man.
"Hotaru, I don't think my friend Genma likes being a panda dear.
You should apologize," Soun admonished his youngest daughter from
behind his morning paper.
"Otousan, Hotaru didn't mean any harm by it, I'm sure she wasn't
trying to disturb Saotome-san."
"Yes, of course Kasumi, you're probably right."
The panda in question seemed not to even notice the family
conversation around him as he furiously wrote on a number of wooden
signs. Soon all talk ended as everyone read the sign Genma had shoved
in Ranma's face. [Ranma-ONEESAN?!]
"Don't even start Oyaji!"
[Oh, so you like being called big sister?]
"Oyaji, I said don't..."
[Oh the shame! My son is now my daughter! Oh the...] "Oomph!"
The last was said aloud as the air rushed out of Genma's lungs. The
reason for this impromptu verbalization may have had something to do
with the fist now embedded in the panda's abdomen, a fist belonging to a
very irate redhead. Genma still did not know when to quite however, as
he attempted to pull himself back up he pulled out yet another sign,
[You seem to be a bit emotional daughter. Is there anything you would
like to tell me? Perhaps this isn't such a good time of the month for
you?]
Ranma held off her fist strike as she tried to figure out what
her father meant by that last remark. Eventually she simply ignored the
mysterious jibe and proceeded to throttle Genma for the jibes she could
understand. The others at the table were not so oblivious. Most of the
others that is, Hotaru seemed just as unaware as Ranma. While Kasumi
demurely covered her mouth and began to think of new sukiyaki recipes
involving grilled panda meat, Akane began to grit her teeth and mutter
under her breath about the crass nature of the male species. Soun only
hid further behind his morning paper.
*************************************************
Moments later, after chaos ensued and proceeded to spill out
into the Tendo yard once again, an observer watched all from a roof top
several houses away. Sailor Pluto knelt on one knee with her Time
Staff balanced across her other knee and her arms crossed and laying on
her trusty weapon as she leaned forward. <White. Pure unblemished
whiteness. That's all I can see when I try to see Ranma's future. Why?
Why won't the possibilities reveal themselves to me? Why is it that the
one person whose future I most care about is also the one person who's
future I can not see?>
The Senshi of Time was almost too distracted by the spectacle in
front of her to notice the approach of another person behind her.
A familiar voice called out from behind Pluto, "Hello
Otonashi-san, funny seeing you here."
<You're getting closer Tendo Nabiki, I actually know
Otonashi-san.> "Wrong again Tendo-san. That would make your sixth
guess. According to our agreement you have one more chance and then you
will not try to guess my identity again." Pluto turned half way around
to look at the second Tendo daughter out of the corner of her eye.
After soaking in the half hidden look of disappointment on Nabiki's face
Pluto once again turned back to gaze at the battle which was now winding
down in the Tendos' yard.
Nabiki was a bit disappointed, she hadn't planned on wasting the
sixth of her seven guesses today. More research into Otonashi Kyoko was
required before approaching Sailor Pluto, however Pluto's unexpected
appearance today had caused Nabiki to jump the gun, so to speak. <I
can't believe I couldn't restrain myself. I was so sure I was close
this time. Oh well, better not dwell on it.> "Impressive aren't they?"
"Excuse me, to whom do you refer?" Pluto did have to admit to
herself that Ranma was in fact great, but that could have simply been
motherly pride confusing things. No, motherly pride is an emotion.
Everyone knows The Senshi of Pluto has no emotion.
"The panda and the redhead."
"I'm sorry, panda and redhead? What about them?"
<Hmmm, something must be on her mind.> "I said the panda and
the redhead, they're impressive aren't they?"
"Yes, yes they are..."
"Pluto-san, are you all right? You seem a bit distracted."
"No, no nothing is wrong Nabiki-san, I just have a few things on
my mind right now. But yes, to answer your question they are quite
good. These are the guests you were referring to?"
Nabiki took a step closer and watched the battle next to Pluto's
own vantage point. "Yes, the panda is a freeloading parasite known as
Saotome Genma. The redhead's name is Saotome Ranma..." Nabiki took a
look down and noticed Pluto physically cringe and the description of the
elder Saotome, <Hmmm, interesting.> "Ranma is one of the best martial
artists I have ever seen, but he has a serious deficit in brain matter,
especially when it comes to social interaction."
"Truly you cannot put so much blame on a pet panda. I hear they
are slow and lazy creatures by their very nature." Whatever effect
previous comments had on Sailor Pluto were now completely invisible.
Nabiki noticed for a moment that Pluto did not seem to notice
the use of masculine pronouns to describe an obviously female Ranma but
she decided to shrug it off for now. "Anyway you didn't come here just
to watch a fat flee-infested rug get trounced by a redheaded whirlwind
did you? What's up?"
<Actually that is exactly why I came.> "Yes, you're right as
always Nabiki-san. Though I can see your sister is now preparing to
leave for school. You're going to be late if you stay here much longer.
Please give a message to Sailor Earth. Tell her to meet me in the park
near Tomobiki after she is done with her classes today."
"Does this have anything to do with the battle last night?"
"It has to do with events which have recently been set into
motion yes. I would like to talk longer, but we both have schedules to
keep." With that Pluto stood up and began walking to the edge of the
roof.
"Let me guess you don't want to be late for homeroom huh?"
"That Tendo Nabiki-san would be giving too much away, you'd best
leave it at that or risk losing your last guess. Oh, and one more
thing. Whatever you do, do not mention the name Happosai to your
father. Ja ne." With that Sailor Pluto leapt away. <What the heck was
that all about? Ah well, better get going.>
*************************************************
"Say Tendo, how about a relaxing game of Go?" Genma, who was
now severely bruised and holding his left arm quite gingerly, said as
Soun finished up his morning paper. Hotaru was dressed in an elementary
school uniform and was doing her Kanji work at her desk in the Tendo
living room. This didn't bother Genma much in itself, it was the glance
little Hotaru would give him every few minutes that always seemed to
coincide with a similar glance to a glass of water she had sitting next
to her. She never drank the water, she simply kept it near her, and
every so often she would look at him, look at the glass, and then
giggle. This was very unnerving.
"That sounds like a good idea Saotome. It has been a very
long time since I played though, so you'll have to go easy on me."
"But Otousan, two days isn't a very long time, you're too
modest. In fact I think Yuda-san is still asking for that rematch you
promised you would give him after you played with Saota-san. Oh, and
that reminds me, Abuya-san called yesterday and asked if you were
interested in playing in the summer tournament. He wishes you to call
him before Friday." The entire time Kasumi was talking Soun was
franticlly giving her hand signals to stop. It was unfortunate for Soun
that Kasumi was too busy serving drinks to notice this.
Genma was sporting quite an evil grin at this, "So Tendo old
friend. That must mean that you have gotten quite good over the years,
while I on the other hand have been too busy training my son to play
anything at all. So how much of a handicap am I going to get this time,
eh Tendo, old friend?"
As Soun busied himself setting up the Go board, giving Genma
quite a large advantage he searched for something to change the subject.
"Oh, Saotome, I notice you were quite hard on the boy this morning.
Care to tell me why?"
"Yes, I had planned on telling you that very thing in fact.
It's all part of my plan."
"Plan? What sort of plan is that?" Soun queried as he finished
setting the Go board.
"Why my plan to unite our clans of course." Genma began moving
his first Go piece into place as he waited for Soun to ask for further
details. Instead Soun simply nodded his head to continue. "Well, you
see, I must admit to making a few mistakes in the upbringing that I
gave to Ranma. I neglected to teach him the subtleties of the
relationships between men and women, I did not allow him to gain enough
experience in this area, and most of all I did not teach him how to be a
proper Japanese husband." Genma made his move quickly after Soun's own
before continuing. "Ranma refuses to take the initiative with women. I
thought that I had taught him that much, but he just doesn't seem to
understand that it is the man's duty to be the one in charge. He
understands honor well enough," <A little too well sometimes.> "but he
has some notion in his head that it would be wrong to choose the woman
he wants without the woman first giving her consent."
Genma leaned back a bit to survey the playing field in front of
him as he took a long sip from the warm tea Kasumi had brought earlier.
"Sometimes I just can't seem to get through to him. He must learn that
it is the wife who must defer to the husband. Sometimes I wonder if
this curse really has affected his mind any..."
"What was that Saotome?"
"Oh nothing, nothing, I was just thinking of my plan."
"Yes, you still haven't told me anything about that." Soun took
another move as he spoke.
"You see Tendo, there is one aspect of Ranma's personality that
I know I can use. His sense of pride. If we bring his masculinity
into question enough his sense of pride will leave him with no choice
but to respond. Soon he will claim the hand of the girl he desires most
and prove that despite his curse he is still a man among men. Soon we
well be surrounded by grandchildren and the happy couple will take the
Saotome-Tendo ryu to new heights."
"We, Saotome? You said that if WE question his manliness he
will respond. What did you mean by that?"
"Simple Tendo. You, me, even your daughters will be helping us
in our effort, and if it comes to it everyone Ranma knows will be
bringing his preferences into question."
"How do you intend to do that?"
"You and I will be easy. I continue my insults, while you, the
father of his future bride, will of course become concerned that your
daughter is married to a manly man and will state so. You will simply
demand that he show some appreciation of your lovely daughters or risk
insulting you with his 'odd ways.' Meanwhile we will also go to work on
your daughters. Even women have their pride Tendo, if Ranma does not
show any reaction to their feminine charms they will feel a bit... put
off. As they continue their affectionate assault on Ranma and still
get no response they will need to find a reason. By questioning Ranma's
preferences they will both start to help us in our plan and begin to
compete for Ranma amongst themselves. When all is said and done we will
have to work to cool down their passions instead of try to get them
together, and that is a much more satisfying job than the one we are
currently faced with."
"That sounds like a good plan Saotome. As a matter of fact I
know just how to get things moving with my daughters, but I still don't
understand how you intend to get others to help." Soun said as he made
his next move, <Funny, I don't recall those pieces being there.>
"Well Tendo, that part I don't plan on making use of right away,
at least not unless I have to. However if it does come to it that part
of the plan may be the easiest of all. A simple rumor here, a
misunderstanding there, and voila we have an instant army of
collaborators."
"Like this Oneechan?"
"No no Hotaru-chan, remember your stroke order." Kasumi was
having a hard time keeping up with both Hotaru's efforts to learn Kanji
and her own efforts to listen in on the fathers' conversation. As it
was she had just returned from serving drinks to the two clan elders but
she knew that she needed to hear what they were going to talk about.
Her father was just now setting up the Go board so talk would begin
soon.
"Oneechan... Kasumi-Oneechan!"
"Wha what was that Imoto?"
"I asked how did you know I didn't do it the right way, it looks
the same to me." The look Hotaru was giving Kasumi indicated that she
was not very happy about Kasumi's interest in other topics at the
moment. Perhaps it had a little something to do with Kasumi's promise
to the little girl that she would get to play with Panda-san after she
did her work. Kasumi had even gone so far as to give the youngest Tendo
a glass of water so she could have instant panda the instant she was
done studying. Kasumi was especially careful to put the water in a
place were Genma could see it; she felt it only fair to make the bald
man sweat a little after what he did to poor Ranma-kun this morning.
"I can tell Hotaru-chan. Remember that a proper lady must be as
graceful with the pen as she is in all other things in her daily life."
"But I don't wanna be graceful with a pen, I just wanna play
with Panda-san." Hotaru augmented her plea with the best puppy dog eyes
she could muster.
"Not until you're done studying. Now start over and be sure to
do it in the right order this time. The sooner you get it right the
sooner you can go play." No sooner was Kasumi done saying this than her
father finally asked Genma about his behavior earlier, this is what
Kasumi was waiting for. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. <Not now!> BEEP. BEEP.
BEEP. "Um, Kasumi-oneechan? Why is your watch beeping?"
<Why now? Of all the horrible timing.> "Oh my! That means
it's time for me to take care of the laundry. Keep studying Hotaru,
I'll be right back."
"Hai, Oneechan!" Sure to her word Hotaru immediately went back
to work. How long that would last was an open question.
Kasumi got up and hurried off to the laundry room, she wanted to
take care of this and be back in time to hear what Genma was up to.
Once in the small room Kasumi tapped her communicator. "Moshi moshi."
On the tiny screen a picture of Mizuno Ami appeared.
["Hello Kasumi-san, I'm not calling at a bad time am I?"]
"No no, I'm always willing to take a call from you Ami-chan."
That was no lie either. Had it been one of the other Senshi this may
not be the case, however Kasumi had always held a special place in
her heart for her fellow Senshi of Water. Perhaps it had a little to do
with the Mizuno girl's resemblance to Kasumi's own mother or simply the
fact that Ami's own gentle nature matched so well with Kasumi's. "What
can I do for you?"
["Rei had a vision last night. She's staying home from school
today because the vision was so powerful that it drained her and left
her out of it till early this morning. I was wondering if you could
check the Aqua Mirror and see what it shows you. All Rei was able to
tell me about it was that it evolved something like an emotion... no,
more like a driving force or motivation. She said the only thing she
could remember was that 'Vengeance was coming.' She wasn't able to
explain it any better than that. Just that some embodiment of revenge
was on its way. She's really shook up about it."]
"Hmmm, that's not much to go on. Could it have been the Dark
Kingdom? They are after all out for revenge."
["No, she was very specific about that one point. Every time
she has a vision about the dark Kingdom it involves hatred. Hate is the
key to everything they do. Rei was very sure that there was no hate in
this vision. That's one of the things she was most puzzled by, someone
or something that seeks revenge but does not feel hate."]
"Is there anything else?"
["She said that their was but she could not remember any of it.
She said that it was almost as if the 'The Vengeance', as she called it,
was able to 'cover its tracks' in in her mind. Whatever it is, this
thing has really got her spooked."]
"I'll see what I can find out. Perhaps I should stop by the
shrine today and see how she's doing. Let's see, I think Rei-chan likes
chocolate, so I should..."
Kasumi heard the sound of a bell ringing over her communicator.
In response, Ami said, "Sorry Kasumi-san but that was our school's
warning bell, I need to get going. Don't worry about Rei though, she's
just a little worn out. I'm sure she would appreciate it if you brought
her a treat at the next Senshi meeting though. Ja ne."]
"Bai bai Ami-chan." <'Vengeance is coming'? What could that
mean?>
*************************************************
Somewhere in Japan a young man in travel-worn clothes was
struggling to clear the last of a thick and treacherous forest. This
youth had a look of pure determination on his face. Soon. Yes, very
soon he would have his revenge. Soon he would even the score with his
greatest rival. Soon he would prove he was the better fighter. Soon he
would put Saotome Ranma in his rightful place. Soon Hibiki Ryouga would
have his vengeance on his most hated rival, the cause of his torment,
the bane of his life. Soon Hibiki Ryouga, so very soon. Just beyond
these vines Tokyo would come into view and Hibiki Ryouga would find his
hated enemy. As Ryouga finally cleared the last of the forest he looked
out at the sight before him and knew, Hibiki Ryouga knew, he knew that
this was all Saotome Ranma's fault.
"Where the heck am I NOW!!!!!!!!!"
*************************************************
"...however, that is no excuse for your being late for class.
Out in the hall both of you..."
"Baka."
"What?"
"You heard me, baka, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been
late." Due to a series of events earlier in the morning Tendo Akane and
Saotome Ranma were currently holding buckets full of water and standing
in the hallway outside of their classroom. The standard Japanese school
punishment for tardiness was normally a grueling test of endurance as the
metal pails of water wore down on one's inner strength, but for these
two young martial artists the pails of water were secondary to the
company each had to keep, namely each other. All Akane could think of
was how her current hallway tormentor was at fault for her current
situation. Unlike some people she had to actually study to get her good
grades in school.
"How is any of this my fault? It was your fight that made us
late for class."
"Yes but every day I finish MY fight and still make it to class
on time. If it wasn't for your little ACCIDENT with the water I still
would have made it on time."
"Hey! What are you trying to say, that I got wet on purpose?
It was raining for Kami's sake!" Ranma did NOT like hearing this again
after going through it all morning with his father.
"Shhh! Keep it down. I did not say that, though it was kind of
suspicious that you were able to beat Kuno so fast and still you had to
wait around just long enough to get wet."
"I didn't do it on purpose." Ranma was now speaking in a very
sedated voice like he was having to listen to a lecture given to him
time and time again.
<Why isn't he denying it more than that? Nah, there is no way
that hentai could WANT to be a girl... right?> "Well, you're just lucky
that Nabiki showed up when she did and ran interference for you. No one
got a good enough look to see you change with all that rain coming
down."
Funny thing was that Akane could swear that Nabiki had left way
ahead of the both of them. Her timing was great though, as soon as the
rain starting to come down Nabiki was there to shove Ranma out of direct
view and into the bushes around the school's yard. She then proceeded
to pick up the comatose Kendoist and slap him around until he woke up.
After making sure he was once again in the waking world Nabiki dropped
the bleary eyed youth and started laughing at something she saw on
Kuno's face. Nabiki walked under the protection of her umbrella and
laughed the whole way until she was well within the halls of Furinkan
High School.
Choosing to change the subject Ranma asked, "So, what was all
that about this morning anyway?"
"Oh that? Well, at the beginning of the semester Kuno made this
stupid speech..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Anyone who wishes to date with any of the Tendo sisters must
first defeat them in honorable combat! I Kuno Tatewaki will accept no
other terms! I assume that I have made myself perfectly clear on this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ha! You have got to be kidding! That idiot actually said
that? And those morons actually went along with it? This is just too
much!" Ranma was just loving this.
"I wish I was kidding. No one actually challenged Kasumi but
Kuno does stop by the house every once in a while armed with three
bouquets of roses. Nabiki put a stop to those challenging her quick by
threatening all comers with something. I wish I knew her secret but she
refuses to tell me. Instead she just says that I should find a way out
of it on my own. Meanwhile I've been beating the lot of them to a pulp
every morning and putting up with Kuno's poetry all day long." Akane
actually had a very tired look on her face as she said this.
"Yeah well, you handled that mob pretty easily and that Kuno was
one of the biggest pushovers I've ever seen, you should be able to take
him easy."
<Is he actually praising me? Nah, he must just think that
everyone else is so far below him... trouble is he might be right. What
am I THINKING!?> "I do. Every morning after I'm finished with all the
other boys Kuno makes his grand entrance and spouts more poetry before
challenging me. I really don't know which I'm more sick of, the
challenges or having to listen to him plagiarize Shakespeare."
"Shakespeare?"
"Nevermind. Anyway like I said, every..." Akane never got to
finish her sentence as her danger sense went into high gear... no wait,
that's her annoyance sense, false alarm.
"Never! Never shall I allow such a travesty!" Bellowed Kuno
Tatewaki as he ran down the hall carrying two buckets of his own and
toting his boken in the sash of his hakame. After hurling both of his
water buckets at a dodging Ranma he charged with a double handed Kendo
slash. Akane had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when she saw
the Kanji written on Kuno's head. Ranma was not so amused, while he
easily dodged everything Kuno threw at him he did not appreciate yet
another person trying to turn him into a girl.
"What's your problem man? Are you that eager to get beat
again?" Ranma was calm outside, inside however he was desperately
searching for dry land. The sink for the water buckets was in a mop
closet just thirty meters away, several more buckets full of cold
water lay in wait all around him, and most disturbing of all were the
fire sprinklers overhead that were sure to go off any second now.
"Never shall I allow you to steal the hand of any of the Tendo
sisters! This travesty will not go unanswered! What manner of man
engages himself to four women, nay four beautiful flowers that have yet
to even reach the full bloom of womanhood, at the same time!? I demand
that you release your hold and the gracious Kasumi, the formidable
Nabiki, the fierce Akane, and the innocent and pure Hotaru!"
Throughout Kuno's rant Akane and Ranma tried futilely to stop him from
saying any more. Unfortunately his speech was heard by all the students
on the third floor. No sooner had he finished than did all the windows
and doors burst open and the gossip mongers went to work.
Crowded by students and surrounded by water Ranma thought of the
one thing he could do in this situation. Seeing the bright sun shining
outside he made his declaration, "This is now place for a fight Kuno.
If you want to fight then follow me."
"That I shall!" Ranma immediately ran to the nearest open
window and prepared to leap out with Kuno hot on his heels.
As Akane saw Kuno leap out after Ranma amid shouts to the both
of them from other students about this being the third floor she
remembered one very significant fact about that particular window. "You
idiot that's the pool down there!" As she saw Ranma leap out of the
pool using Kuno as cover, so no one was able to get a good look at her,
she heard others around her mention how lucky Ranma and Kuno were that
they happened to jump into the pool. <Was it luck though? Or could
Ranma have done that on purpose?>
*************************************************
"Ataru-san, may I speak to you please?"
Ataru, a young man of about seventeen turned to the person addressing
him, his former 'boss' Tendo Nabiki. "Why hello Tendo-san. Or is that
the future Saotome-san? I'm afraid I'm a bit busy right now, you know
business and all, could you wait a moment please?" Without waiting for
an answer Ataru turned back to talking to his subordinates, a group of
sixteen and seventeen year old students that all looked as if they would
much rather be somewhere else at the time.
"I'm afraid this can't wait Ataru, but don't worry. What I have
to say won't take too long."
"Tendo Nabiki, I am very busy right now, the..." Ataru finally
noticed the company that Nabiki was holding. Three of the students that
originally made up the core of Nabiki's organization when she started it
after transferring to Furinkan were standing to Nabiki's left, on her
right stood two members of the school's Rugby team. The three girls,
Sakura, Yui, and Miaka had all been forced out of Nabiki's group of
associates after Ataru took over a little over six months ago. As for
Shun and Ago, the two Rugby players, Ataru had only heard rumors of...
bad rumors.
"Good, I finally have your full attention. Now then, as I
recall, when I gave you the top job as bookie and information broker here
at Furinkan High School I made a few rules quite clear. First, nothing
illegal. Second, under no circumstances do you do anything that causes
anyone any serious harm. Third, never sell any information,
merchandise, or any other form of contraband that has anything to do
with myself or my family to anyone without my expressed permission."
Nabiki took a moment to circle Ataru, bringing herself between Ataru and
his subordinates. As she looked up at Ataru's face she almost smiled at
what she saw, he was confident. Ataru was so brazenly unfased by
anything that Nabiki was saying that it was an act of defiance in and of
itself. Perfect.
"Tendo Nabiki, ah how good it feels not to have to be under your
thumb any more. Tendo-sama this, Tendo-sama that, I remember those
days. Oh what memories. However Nabiki, memories are all that they
are. I am in charge now, not you. I call the shots, and I make the
rules, and I certainly don't remember making any rules that said that I
cannot profit off of the news of the school year. Just tell me this
Nabiki, when is the wedding and how much do you think I should ask for
when I sell the pictures of your honeymoon?" Ataru let his lips curl up
into the widest grin he could imagine as he looked down at the top of
Nabiki's bowed head. This was better than he could ever imagine. Ataru
had been working on this for a long time. He took special care to
remove any of Nabiki's old influence from his organization, and he
tightened the reins on his subordinates. Unlike Nabiki he would not
allow those below him to feel as if they were equals in a little game,
and he certainly would not allow them to think he was their friend. If
Nabiki thought that bringing two toughs and a bunch of used up former
minions along was going to intimidate him Ioshi Ataru, she was wrong,
dead wrong.
With her head bowed still, to cover the smile she had on her
face, Nabiki spoke as if Ataru was no longer in the room, "Yui, you're
in charge now. Sakura, Miaka, you two go and confiscate all files
having anything to do with my family and burn them. You should probably
ask the others if they want in too, Sobi and Misao look pretty bored."
Still ignoring Ataru, Nabiki turned to the students behind her. "As for
you all, you'll have to talk to Yui if you want in on the fun, but
you've got my personal recommendation, anyone who could put up with your
former boss for six months has got to be made of something special."
"You can't do that! You have no power, do you think my people
are just going to abandon me because you said so? Ha! Don't make me
laugh! As for those files, you will never talk Kentaro into giving them
over to..." "Sorry I'm late Nabiki, I just wanted to be sure I had
everything." Moroso Kentaro, Ataru's book keeper came walking in
dragging with him two bookbags stuffed full with papers. "Oh hi Ataru,
what are you doing here? Oh well, Here ya go Nabiki." With that
Kentaro deposited his load and with a weary sign plopped down in a vacant
desk.
"Oh no Kentaro, those belong to Yui now, I just want anything
you've got with the Tendo name on it."
"Those? I burnt those things up already." Kentaro let his gaze
drift to Ataru, the look of sheer disbelief on the older boy's face was
well worth the effort it took to gather all those files and haul them up
the two flights of stairs it took to get them here.
"Thank you very much Kentaro, I would just like to say..."
Nabiki still had not acknowledged Ataru and just continued to speak as if
he did not exist.
"This isn't happening. You quit, you don't count anymore, you
can't just do this!" Ataru's great moment was turning into his worst
nightmare.
Nabiki did not like being interrupted, especially by idiots
like... what's-his-name... Ataru? Anyway, she didn't like being
interrupted, "Yui, if you would please."
"Certainly Nabiki." Yui turned to Shun and Ago and nodded her
head to the two toughs, "Gentlemen, if you please, remove the
disturbance. Thank you."
Waiting for the kicking and screaming to fade and the door to
shut with a satisfying click Nabiki returned to her original line of
thought. "As I was saying. I must apologize to you all for allowing
that lout to take over the top position. I made an error in judgment
when I gave that... mistake... any power. I am especially sorry for not
correcting that mistake sooner. I now ask for your forgiveness." Nabiki
bowed very low and held in that position for almost a full ten seconds
before rising back up and looking at those gathered around her.
Yui stepped forward and addressed Nabiki, "I think I speak for all
of us here when I say don't worry about it. There was no way you could
have known what kind of jerk that Ataru would turn out to be. He fooled
us all with that loyal servant act of his, now everyone knows him for
the baka that he is."
"Thanks, I mean it. Now I wish I could stick around for the
celebration, but I've got to catch up with my sister." Without further
ado Nabiki did just that. As she walked down the hall she could hear
the sounds of a party echoing all through the corridors of Furinkan.
<Ah, sometimes fighting evil is its own reward.>
As Nabiki walked out into the school yard amid the many students
heading home she noticed a very common sight that was becoming even more
common, the prone, motionless, form of Kuno Tatewaki. It took little
time for Nabiki to locate her sister, Akane, and their house guest,
Ranma, waiting for her near the front gates of the school. Akane looked
quite frustrated, as was her right due to her having to drag Ranma back
to school after he tried to leave earlier when he became a she. Neither
Tendo girl could afford to miss much school as their attendance records
were already in bad enough shape as it was due to their, uh,
extracurricular activities. Akane's being saddled with keeping tabs on
Ranma was no mistake, though she loved her sister dearly Nabiki also
wasn't willing to risk another mark on her record by dragging Ranma
back. Next to Akane stood a rather wet looking, though male, Saotome
Ranma. It would appear that Kuno's third nap of the day was the handy
work of the young Saotome, though said martial artist looked like he'd
rather be anywhere but at school right now.
"Hello Akane-chan, Ranma, I see Kuno-chan has been causing
trouble again. You didn't hurt him too badly I hope?"
"Nah, the moron has a head as hard as stone... musta been
dropped on the head one too many times as a kid." Ranma seemed
completely unimpressed with Furinkan's star kendoist.
"I wouldn't talk if I were you, imagine jumping out a third
story window and into the school's swimming pool. Who's the dense one
there? Now he's seen your cursed form." Akane had been harping on this
little detail ever sense returning to school during lunch break and it
appeared Ranma was beginning to tune her out.
"Yeah, yeah whatever, so now he wants to beat me up in both
forms, no love lost there. Can we go now, I'm soaking wet here and it
looks like it might rain again."
Nabiki couldn't resist, "No LOVE lost eh? Poor baby, I bet that
really hurts." Yes this was evil, and yes Nabiki enjoyed it immensely.
"Ah not you too! I'm outa here." Ranma began to stalk off in
the general direction of the Tendo Dojo.
Before going after the perturbed pigtailed youth Nabiki turned
to her sister. "Akane, P9 wants to meat P3 in Tomobiki Green after
school today." Without waiting for a response the second eldest Tendo
daughter jogged of after their errant house guest, "Hey Ranma, I was
kidding. You CAN take a JOKE can't you..."
Akane took a few moments to decode the message her sister had
given her. Honestly she had no idea why Nabiki so insisted upon using
such code words, but by now she was quite used to their meaning. 'P' as
in planet, P9 as in Pluto, and P3 as in Earth. Tomobiki Green simply
meant that the meeting place was to be the park near Tomobiki High
School. <Well, at least that means I'm off the hook for now. I'll let
Nabiki handle baby-sitting Ranma now.>
Finally catching up to Ranma, Nabiki fell into step next with
him. "Sorry for egging you on back there, I didn't think you'd take it
so harshly." Maybe there was some truth to this, more than Nabiki would
have liked, however her true reason for making peace now was to pump the
other youth for information later.
"Yeah, I understand. It's just that with Chichi doing his thing
this morning and that baka Kuno saying what he said... well you get the
idea. What you said really didn't mean much, it's just that I really
want to get back to your place before it rains again." Ranma finally
turned to face Nabiki and seemed to notice something, he looked behind
and then back to Nabiki herself, "Hey, what happened to Akane? Wasn't
she going home too?"
"She had some other things to take care of." Now Nabiki
prepared herself for her surreptitious interrogation. "So, Ranma-san,
what did you think about your first day at Furinkan High school?"
"It's about the same as all the other schools I've ever been to.
The classes are boring, the dress code sucks, the local martial artists
are pushovers. The only difference I can see is that that place has a
lot more water hanging around than the other places I've been to." This
last bit seemed to be occurring all over the place for Ranma lately, not
just at school but everywhere he went. <I wonder if this curse really
makes me a water magnet or if I'm just now noticing someth'n that's
always been there. Hopefully it's only temporary.>
"I don't see why you're complaining about the dress code, it
isn't like you are actually wearing a uniform."
"It's not like I can wear one of those things, what if my curse
decides to rear its ugly little head? I'd look pretty dumb with this
oversized uniform, and the jacket would be too constricting. Besides
those things are really uncomfortable."
Nabiki took a moment to mull this over before she got a mental
image of Ranma's girl half wearing a boy's school uniform. A moment
later another image, that of Ranma's boy half wearing a girl's school
uniform entered Nabiki's mind. Trying to contain her internal mirth at
that last picture Nabiki rushed ahead with the conversation, "So, where
did you go to school last?"
"Hmmm, now that you mention it, I forgot the name of the place.
I do remember it being an all boys school here in Tokyo."
<Can't remember huh? How convenient.> "How about before that,
did you live here in Tokyo?"
"Well, before China me 'n Oyaji never really stayed in one
place too long. That last school I told you about was one of the longer
period of time that we did sit still. I think that was because Oyaji
was too busy steal-, err making enough money so we could head to China."
<Baka Panda, always stealing from people.> "Anyway, most of the rest of
the time we'd just find a place to stay or camp out somewhere and train.
Before too long Oyaji would wear out our welcome and we'd have to move
on. My Oyaji isn't very good with people, he always says it's good
training though. Personally I just think he's too lazy to do anything
honest and too stupid to get away with anything dishonest." Apparently
Ranma did not hold his father in a very high regard, not that the
flea-trap deserved any respect.
"Sounds to me like you two have been two fugitives out on the
run all your life."
"Nah, it's noth'n like that. Oyaji would usually take me from
Dojo to Dojo where the master of the school would train me in whatever
style they knew. Before too long our hosts will get tired of Oyaji's
laziness and dishonesty and ask him to leave. He of course would take
me with him, but I wouldn't really say that I ever felt unwelcome
myself." Ranma seemed to look off in the distance, as if trying to work
something out in his head, before continuing. "There were of course
times when things would turn up missing around the Dojos. When that
happened Oyaji would usually take me and leave before our host's
questions turned to accusations."
Nabiki noticed something about Ranma's usage of tense and
decided to ask him about before continuing with her line of questioning.
"You said that your hosts WILL get tired of Saotome-san's behavior. Did
you mean to include my father in that?"
"Well, your dad and mine do seem to go way back, so he may be
used to the various things my Oyaji is bound to do. I've learned never
to get used to living in any one place for very long though. Long ago I
decided that I would never call a place home, no matter how nice it
was." Ranma seemed to be a little saddened by this but quickly shrugged
it off.
This was a perfect opening for Nabiki's next inquiry, "So, what
is your real home like? I mean you must know something about where you
started out from. Was it in Tokyo? Or someplace else, it would make
sense to be nearby though, I mean with our fathers going so far back and
all."
Ranma came to a stop and thought about the question a bit before
responding. "You know, I really don't know. From what Oyaji tells me
we've been traveling since I was about five years old. I really don't
remember anything except traveling and training. Oyaji is the only
family I've ever known, I guess that's why I haven't left the panda yet,
I mean where would I go?"
Something about the way Ranma answered her question gave Nabiki
the feeling that he wasn't telling everything. Most likely if what he
said was true he wouldn't have much of an idea of where he came from,
but something should be there. <I'll have to look into this further,
either he's hiding something or someone else is.>
Nabiki was snapped out of her thoughts when Ranma spoke up next
to her, "It looks like we're here. I wonder what Oyaji has been do'n
this whole time?"
Before Nabiki could respond, said parental figure sprang out
from behind a hedge and charged his son from out of nowhere. Ranma
easily dodged his father's clumsy attack and quickly punted him across
the yard. As for Nabiki, she calmly continued on into the house where
she slipped off her shoes and announced her return. "Taidai..."
Whatever else she was about to say was quickly cut off as Nabiki too
was attacked, this time however instead of an overstuffed maniac, she
was charged by a hyper active one... maniac that is.
"Nabiki-oneechan! Welcome home, you wouldn't believe how much
fun I had today! There was Panda-san and and Hitomi came over too and
we had cookies and Panda-san did tricks and and and... and it was really
fun!" Hotaru finally took a breath before continuing in a much less,
voluminous, manner, "What did you do today?"
"Well Hotaru-chan, I..."
"Oh! I almost forgot! Panda-san played hide and seek and I
found him every time, even when he locked himself in the laundry room!
It was so much fun!" Hotaru was clearly too excited to carry on a normal
conversation at the moment so Nabiki just kept listening to everything
she had to say. It was a few minutes longer until a wet, and female,
Ranma came trudging in muttering some very unflattering things about a
suspiciously missing were-panda.
"Ranma-oneechan! Welcome home, you wouldn't believe how much
fun I had today! There was Panda-san and and... um..."
It appeared that Hotaru's batteries were finally wearing down so
Nabiki used this opportunity to intercede, saving both herself and
anyone else in the vicinity from having to try to decipher the twelve
year old's complex and rapid fire explanations. "You can tell
Ranma-san all about it later Hotaru, right now I'm sure that..."
"Ah, Ranma, welcome ho..." The Tendo patriarch stopped short of
completing what he had to say upon entering the front room when he saw
the current state Ranma was in. Soun eyed Ranma up and down before
adopting a serious visage and continuing in a much more stern voice,
"Is there a reason why you are walking around like that Ranma?"
Confused Ranma looked down at herself before realizing what the
older man meant. "Yeah, baka Oyaji got lucky with a water splash after
I sent him in the pond."
"Luck huh? From what I saw of your spar this morning I can't
see how that could be. From what I can see it looks like this wasn't
the first time you've gotten wet today. Tell me, did you spend all DAY
like that?" The suspicious glare Tendo Soun was leveling at him made
Ranma nervous, it wasn't like anything he had seen from the man before.
"I, well, I wasn't like this all day, it was just a few times
when..."
"Not ALL day, do you intend to tell me you spent your time like
that on SEVERAL occasions?"
"Well I..."
"This had better not be a common theme with you Ranma, I'll not
marry any of my daughters to..."
"Tousan!" Everybody in the room turned to see the new speaker.
Kasumi stood in the threshold of the kitchen with a look of complete
consternation on her face, not a frown really, just a look of
disappointment. This if anything else made Soun lower his head and back
up a step. "That is not very kind to say to our guest. I'm sure Ranma
had nothing to do with her current condition. In fact I happened to be
looking out the window at the time and Saotome-san most certainly did
splash Ranma as she said he did." Kasumi's gentle visage resurfaced
before she turned to look at Ranma. "Ranma-san, I'm sure Otousan meant
nothing by what he said to you. You do look quite soaked though, the
furo should be warm if you would like to take a quick bath." Kasumi
smiled brightly before turning around and walking back into the kitchen,
a gentle humming could be heard as she left.
"I'm sorry Ranma, but I'm afraid the furo will not be very
warm, you see out hot water seems to be broken..." The rest of Soun's
explanation was cut short as again Kasumi's voice drifted in form the
kitchen.
"I fixed that earlier Otousan. The furo is plenty warm now. I
would appear that someone turned off the water heater this morning.
Though I don't know why anyone would do such a thing."
No accusation was to be found in Kasumi's kind voice but it
didn't take much thought to understand something was amiss with this.
Nabiki was starting to get cramps in the facial muscles around her right
eye as the angry twitch she had felt only seemed to increase. Calming
herself Nabiki speared her father with a dangerously barbed look. "I
wonder why someone would want to turn off the hot water Otousan, do you
have any guesses as to why that might be?" Truthfully Nabiki had no
clue as to why someone would do such a thing, with two water temperature
sensitive individuals in the house it seemed like a pretty stupid thing
to do. That didn't mean however that Nabiki was about to let her father
know of her ignorance until she got a clear answer out of him.
"Ah, hehe. It must have happened when Genma and Hotaru were
playing hide and seek... yes, that must be it. Hotaru, did you and uh,
Panda-san go anywhere near the wash room today?"
Hotaru made a big production out of answering the question, to
her this was her contribution to catching the hot water thief and she
wasn't about to let it go by without milking it first. Nabiki on the
other hand already knew the answer, Hotaru had told her that she and
Genma had gone into the laundry room while play. More likely Genma was
probably trying to escape the little girl and used the tap on the hot
water heater to change back into a human. It made sense that he could
have accidentally snuffed out the pilot flame in the process. It was not
as satisfying an answer as Nabiki had anticipated, but it did make
sense. On the other hand Nabiki had much more important things to think
about right now. <I'll leave this be for now. Probably just an
accident. Now this 'happosai' issue on the other hand, that needs to be
figured out.> Nabiki calmly left for her room with a big mystery on her
mind. Ranma on the other hand was last seen muttering to herself about
people and why they insisted on using feminine pronouns for male people.
The fact that during all this time Ranma still had not changed back into
a male never crossed her mind.
*************************************************
On an ordinary park bench in an ordinary park in Nerima ward
Tokyo sat a not so ordinary person. Sailor Pluto quietly read a small
paperback novel while she awaited the arrival of Sailor Earth. Pluto
was using one hand to hold the book while the other was draped across
her Time Staff which was laying across her lap, coincidentally making the
rest of the park bench inaccessible to anyone who may wish to use it.
This did not mean that there was anyone in the rather large crowed that
currently surrounded Pluto that would have the nerve to approach this
the least known Sailor Senshi, but one can never be too sure. The
crowd was abuzz with conjecture and rumor. Everyone wanted to know why
a Sailor Senshi was sitting in a park reading a book. This was a very
unusual thing, something must be up. No one knew for sure what the
name of this Senshi was called, though some guess quite correctly that
she was Pluto's sailor suited soldier. The simple fact that this was
Sailor Pluto was momentous enough as she seemed to be the most secretive
of all the Senshi, but this, why was she here?
"Um excuse me?" A rather worn out looking youth broke the
tableau by approaching Pluto, who until now had ignored all that had
transpired around her.
Sailor Pluto seemed to have been waiting for this very moment,
as it would appear that only a second before the youth's approach she
had finished her book and put it down next to her on the park bench.
Pluto looked through the young man, peering at all the possible futures
that would branch off from this very moment. Many of those futures
became lost to her as they intersected with another person's future, a
person whose fate seemed always impossible for her to ascertain.
Finally Sailor Pluto knew what needed to be done to set things on the
proper path, "Yes, may I help you?"
The young man, a boy of perhaps sixteen years of age placed a
hand behind his yellow bandanna clad head and nervously scratched. The
Youth gave a toothy grin, one with long sharp fangs (for extra charm)
before beginning, "I was sorta hoping you could tell me how to get to
Furinkan High School." The boy laughed nervously afterward, giving the
impression to the onlookers around him that he was not entirely stable.
"Yes. May I inquire as to your name first?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. That is my name is Hibiki Ryouga."
"Ah Hibiki-san, my name is Sailor Pluto, it's nice to meet you."
Many of the people that had been hanging on the pair's every word were
now talking amongst themselves, mainly about the confirmed identity of
the Sailor Senshi before them. Pluto continued on, not in the least
bit bothered by the whispered conversations around her, "To get where you
need to be you should follow the sun for three days."
At this Ryouga suddenly stopped his nervous scratching and
simply stared as he tried to figure out the directions given to him.
The directions were so simple, yet something about Pluto's answer
bothered Ryouga. <Three days. In three days I'll finally be there, all
I have to do is follow the sun.> "Uh, thank you Sailor Pluto-san,
you've been a great help."
"Naturally, think nothing of it. Until we meet again
Hibiki-san."
"Yea, until then... I guess... Ja ne."
Sailor Pluto smiled as she notice Ryouga take off due south
through the park. <Yes, he'll be there right on time.> Some in the
crowed wondered why Sailor Pluto had sent the young man in entirely the
wrong direction, others found them selves further confused to see the
youth charge off in neither the direction given to him, nor towards his
original destination. Further ponderings were cut off however as yet
another Sailor Senshi entered the park.
As Sailor Earth approached the crowd that had formed around
Sailor Pluto she noted the public display the normally reclusive Senshi
was putting on. Indeed Sailor Pluto had hidden her true identity from
even the Moon Princess and her closest allies, the Outer Senshi. Pluto
was normally a very businesslike individual who did nothing unless it
served a purpose. What then would this exhibition accomplish?
"Sailor Earth. Welcome." Sailor Pluto stepped out of the
parting crowed and approached Earth with the same languid grace that
always set her apart from all the others. She simply oozed an aura of
total control. No one who ever looked into the eyes of Sailor Pluto as
she approached would ever accuse her of being anything but dangerous.
<How does she do that? I must know! I want to do that!>
No one who ever watched Sailor Earth as she looked into the eyes of
Sailor Pluto as she approached would ever accuse her of being
anything but... a star struck teenage girl. All questions that may have
at one time floated around in Sailor Earth's head concerning why Sailor
Pluto was acting so differently were intantly sent on a 'three hour
tour' and have never been seen since.
"Sailor Earth this way please." Without waiting for a response
Sailor Pluto walked further into the park. Finally, having her wits
return to her, Sailor Earth gave chase to the departing Pluto. Only
when Pluto took a seat on the rim of a granite fountain was Earth able to
catch up.
"You called to meet me Pluto?" Said Earth as she too took a
seat.
"Yes, I'll get right to the point. Tomorrow night there is to be
a Senshi meeting at the usual location. Neptune, Uranus, and yourself
will of course naturally attend as will I. However changes are going
to be discussed at this meeting and I would like your full support when
the time comes."
"What changes do you mean?" Sailor Earth knew that she didn't
need to vocalize that question however she didn't believe she was doing
her part if she did not.
"Sailor Saturn will be returning soon." Pluto waited for the
shocked look to come over Sailor Earth's face. It wasn't forthcoming.
"You don't seem very surprised to hear me say that. Were you by any
chance expecting this?"
Looking down at her short pole arm, the Gaia Driver, which
rested across her lap Sailor Earth thought before answering. "Yes."
"What was it that caused you to think this?"
"I've known that Saturn would be returning to us since the time
Hotaru came to be a part of my family. I can't explain it, I've just
known. We won't have to fight her will we?"
"No no, not if we do everything correctly and at the right time.
Hotaru will still be Hotaru, nothing will change that. Unless..."
"Unless?" Sailor Earth was now looking very worried. Earth
would rather die than fight her own little sister.
"Unless we can not convince Sailor Saturn that Hotaru will be
kept safe. You see, when first Sailor Saturn awakes she will see things
through the same eyes she used in her last moments the last time we
encountered her. Her mission will be the same. Only by offering her
the possibility that we can rid this world of its evils can we hope to
prevent her form destroying it. Saturn will also want a guarantee that
if she gives herself over to Hotaru, we will protect her and not let any
harm befall her until she is once again to her full strength. To that
end Neptune, Uranus, you, and I will have to pledge ourselves to that
purpose."
"I don't understand. Why are you telling me this now? Why not
just wait and tell the others?"
"I have told the others about this. In a manner of speaking.
You see, you and the Outer Senshi will not be able to assist the Inner
Senshi in their battles for a while. During this time it may come to
pass that the Inner Senshi will need your help. You cannot give them
ANY aid whatsoever." Sailor Earth's shocked expression let Pluto know
that she did not have to further explain what she meant. "There is also
another reason for this however... a few really. The first is simple,
the Inner Senshi have become lax. They should have by now developed
the power nessessary to deal with these Dark Kingdom remnants long ago.
Instead they are just barely able to defeat the enemy, and even at that
they still require the help of others. You and the Outer Senshi have,
in the short time you were aware, both developed your powers and
utilized your talismans. The Inner Senshi have done neither. There is
an even greater danger on the horizon and to fight it we must have all
the Senshi at their fullest. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I can't say that I like the idea any, but I'll back you up as
you asked. Just one thing, will everything be okay while we are
occupied?"
Sailor Pluto just had to smile at that one. "I'm afraid that
even I do not know that. One thing at a time. First we deal with
Sailor Saturn then we can move on to other things." Sailor Pluto chose
her next words very carefully, not wanting to give anything away.
"Speaking of other things, what is this I hear about your family having
house guests? Your sister seemed very disturbed by this when last we
spoke." Technically Pluto didn't lie, Nabiki was disturbed, about a
certain overbearing panda that is.
Akane seemed not to notice that Pluto's abrupt change of subject
not only entered into areas that the Senshi of Time rarely ventured, but
that it also meant that Pluto would not be listing any of the other
reasons for the sudden change in relations between the Senshi. "The
Saotomes. A friend of my dad's named Saotome Genma and his, err son,
Ranma. It's a long story. I can sum it up easily though, baka Tousan
and baka baka Genma-san decided that myself or one of my sisters is to
marry that baka hentai Ranma." Sailor Earth was practically seething
with anger as she spoke. Pluto on the other hand, despite her renowned
ability to recognize such things, seemed oblivious to both Earth's mood
and the words she chose to use.
"You must have been quite surprised to hear such a thing. What
do you think of this Saotome Ranma?"
Sailor Earth blink blinked and looked at Sailor Pluto as if the
woman had grown another head before responding. "What do I think of
him? He's a jerk! A complete numbskull! And worst of all he's a
pervert! There is no way that I'm going to let any of my sisters get
involved with that guy! And besides... there's something... I don't
know, strange about him. And I don't mean his curse," Seeing Pluto's
strange look Earth misinterpreted and responded, "It's a long story,
let's just say he has a small problem with water. Anyway, like I was
saying, there is something about Ranma that makes me nervous. The
feeling I get when I'm around him just puts me on edge."
"Hmmm, sounds interesting. You're saying that he's a danger to
your family?"
"Um, not exactly. I mean how many families consist of four
Sailor Senshi and a martial artist. It's just that I would feel better
if I knew more about him."
Sailor Pluto let a slight frown cross her face at were this
might lead. <Everything has its time and now is not the time for this.>
"I'm sure it's nothing Sailor Earth. I don't foresee anything that
should not be."
Upon hearing this last bit Sailor Earth's face seemed to light
up as she thought of an idea. "That's it! Why don't you come and take
a look at these Saotomes and see for yourself? Just come over, take a
look around, and observe the two of them. That way you can see if
either one is any kind of threat."
<YES! I have an excuse to visit! I may not be able to reveal
myself just yet, but... Of course I will Akane-chan!> "Hmmm, I'm not
sure Earth-san. This doesn't seem to be any kind of real problem, and I
am quite busy."
"Please Sailor Pluto. I'm sure it wouldn't take very long.
Besides, isn't it part of your job to watch out for Sailor Saturn's well
being? Isn't making sure the forces of evil aren't infiltrating our
very home important?"
"Well, all right. As you say, it shouldn't take too long."
<Thank you Earth-chan.> "I'll start immediately."
"Thank you Pluto-san. I feel much better knowing that you'll be
checking things out."
*************************************************
"Obsidian-sama, all youma are now fully accounted for." A
sleek, and obviously female, youma announced as she knelt before the
last general of the Dark Kingdom, Obsidian.
After the death of Andisite, Obsidian immediately went to work
rounding up all the remaining youma and moved his base of operations to
an abandoned warehouse in the port district of Tokyo. Now, with all
preparations complete Obsidian readied to begin his campaign against the
bane of the Dark Kingdom, the Sailor Senshi. First things first
however. Obsidian was by no means the strongest of youma generals, he
was however one of the most patient. While his predecessors, Feldspar,
Pyrite, and Andisite dove head first into fight after fight with the
Senshi, Obsidian kept to the shadows and simply observed. Obsidian
watched as his fellow generals launched one pathetic attempt to crush
the Senshi after another and learned everything he needed by watching
the performances his enemies put on. Unlike those before him, Obsidian
was not one to leave anything to chance, simply coming up with yet
another transparent trap to lure the Senshi into a fight with yet
another underpowered youma was not enough. To underestimate one's
enemies in such a fashion is simply inviting death.
As Obsidian watched and waited he was by no means complacent.
As he observed the various failures of his predecessors and learned from
their mistakes he also began setting up the infrastructure necessary
for a long term campaign, one that would end with the destruction of the
Senshi. Before that could begin however a place to launch his assault
from had to be obtained. To that end Obsidian created a false trading
company with offices in Japan, China, and the United States, but until
now he purposely had no presence in Tokyo. No longer having to contend
with the other Dark Generals for control of the youma. Obsidian
gathered all the forces that once comprised the mighty Dark Kingdom and
brought them here to this port area warehouse. On the outside it was
just another unassuming metal structure. The inside on the other hand
was another story. With enough weapons and equipment to supply an army
of at least five thousand and enough scientific equipment to make any
mad scientist green with envy, this was definitely no ordinary storage
facility.
Finally all his plans were nearing fruition, all was in place,
and events were already in motion to bring down the dreaded Sailor
Senshi. Turning back to the subordinate still kneeling before him
Obsidian asked, "How many?"
"I'm sorry Obsidian-sama, we number only eighty eight."
"Are all security measures in place?"
"Yes Obsidian-sama."
"Good, now go..." Obsidian stopped as he was interrupted by a
shout from just beyond a stack of unloaded crates.
"Now where am I?!!!!!" Out from behind the wooden crates walked
a young Japanese man of about sixteen years dressed in well worn travel
clothes and carrying a huge pack on his back. The youth was carrying in
one hand a map and in the other hand a batter powered lantern with which
he was attempting to read the map.
"Excuse me?" It was all the Dark Kingdom general could say and
still keep a straight face. The young man looked up and almost smiled
when he discovered he was not alone in this dark forest.... well dark
place.
"Yes?"
"Who are you?"
"Ah, sorry. My name is Hibiki Ryouga. You wouldn't happen to
know where Furinkan High School is would you?"
"No, I'm afraid I do not know where this... Furinkan... is. I
do have one question for you, Hibiki Ryouga-san. How did you get in
here?"
"Here? Uh... hahahaha... uh, well... you see, uh, I kinda got
lost."
"Yes I can see that, what I would like to know though is how you
got into this building."
Ryouga reached behind his head and scratched at the base of his
neck nervously before answering. "I don't really know. Can you tell me
where here is?"
Obsidian searched Ryouga for a moment to see if the boy was
lying or not. "Would you believe that you just infiltrated a top secret
and totally impenetrable assault base in use by an ancient civilization
whose goal it is to conquer the whole of the universe? An act which I
might add should be impossible, especially by a mere human such as
your self."
Silence fell on the room as both men simply stared at each
other. "Hahahahaha, seriously, where am I? Or are you lost in this
maze too? It doesn't appear as if there is any way out of here."
Obsidian took a moment to look to his right, where an 'exit'
sign was mounted over an unlocked door, then turned back to Ryouga.
"There is. See that door over there?" Ryouga nodded his affirmative.
"Go through that door and past the security desk. You can't miss the
exit from there."
"Oh really? Hey thanks! Ja!" With that Ryouga proceeded to
walk further into the warehouse and away from the door indicated.
"Shall I dispose of him Obsidian-sama?" The female youma was
ready to separate Ryouga from his life with just a nod from her master.
"No. Follow him and find out how he got past security. Once
you know all you need return and report." Without waiting for
confirmation of his orders Obsidian walked off to tend to other more
pressing business.
"Obsidian-sama..." Whispered the youma before she leaped to do
as she was told.
*************************************************
"Kiyaaaa!" Wham! The all but defured panda took a right foot
to the jaw as a redheaded storm of punches and kicks continued her
relentless assault on the beast. In a scene that PETA would love to use
in a propaganda commercial, this seemingly petite girl showed no remorse
to her father turned overgrown koala.
[I almost felt that one daughter,] the panda used a wooden sign
to lie, [if it weren't for your obviously degraded skills you might have
hurt me.] In truth Genma was still feeling every strike landed against
him since Ranma got home from school earlier today. During the evening
meal Genma had continued his verbal assaults on Ranma's masculinity, the
fact that Ranma was still female only seemed to help his efforts. Soun
even joined in the attacks every now and then, he however stopped after
receiving a.... 'not pleasant' look from his eldest daughter, Kasumi.
It started to look as if Genma's plan was no longer working as Ranma had
started to bring his battle aura down to chilling temperatures and
holding in all signs of any anger he might have felt. It began to seem
as if all hope of his plan working was gone until help came from a quite
unexpected source. <It would appear Ranma no longer cares about my
opinion of him, but he does however care about what the Tendo girls
think. When Kasumi made the error of calling him 'Ranma-chan' he
dropped his guise of ignorance towards my attacks and sprang to action.
Perhaps I can capitalize on this fact and get him to marry one of them.>
"Shut up Oyaji or I'll make a rug out of ya!" Putting actions
to words Ranma drove her father into the ground and continued to beat on
him until he stopped moving. Finally noticing this fact Ranma stood up
and backed off. Once far enough away to avoid her father's inevitable
sneak attack Ranma took a moment to catch her breath and watched to
downed panda cautiously. "Come off it Oyaji. I'm not fall'n for it."
Ranma gave the panda a moment to react before she began to worry a
little. "This isn't funny Oyaji! Get up and fight me! Or are you worn
out already?" Still the Saotome elder didn't move. By this time the
rest of the occupants of the Tendo home began to get worried as well.
"Saotome-kun? Are you all right my friend?" Came the worried
voice of Tendo Soun.
"Oh my..." Kasumi seemed to sum the situation up for the rest
of the family as she clutched Hotaru closer to her side. Nabiki and
Akane simply watched and waited, hoping for the best, what the best was
was still a question however.
"Oyaji...?" Ranma took a few hesitant steps forward, "Oyaji,
stop it, this isn't funny." Still not seeing any response from her
father Ranma fell to her knees and moved quickly to Genma's side.
"No... no Tousan? Please, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry, just..."
Moisture started to form around Ranma's eyes as she edged ever closer
and closer to the only family she had ever known, family she may have
been deprived of by her own actions. "Otousan?..." When Ranma finally
touched her father she looked at the last sign he had written sometime
during the fight, still clutched in his paw and began to read it in a
voice that threatened to break any moment, "You sound like a girl Ranma.
A real man would never cry over..." Ranma choked back a sob as the sign
seemed to turn over by its self, "...his fallen opponent?" Ranma
suddenly stopped as she read the last part and realization came to her,
"Wait a minute, how?" Ranma's eyes moved to her father's open eyes only
to see them looking back at her with a look of disappointment, but also
quite alive.
[I did not raise you to be so emotional Ranma, you shame me.]
Genma's new sign declared as he raised him self up and looked down upon
a shocked Ranma. [Don't try to deny it? GIRL, you were ready to break
down in tears weren't you? Weren't YOU?!] flip [WELL?] flip [Answer
me, DAUGHTER?!] The whole time Genma signed this he kept a superior
look upon his visage... at least as supperior as a black and blue panda
could manage to look.
Looking down Ranma began to tremble. "O..YA..JI.." The fury
contained in that one word was enough to change Genma's smirk to a frown
and cause everyone else in the Tendo yard to take a few steps back.
[JOKE! It was a joke.] flip [You CAN take a joke can't you?
Ranma?] flip [Son?]
"A Joke? I'll show you a joke." Finally Ranma looked up and
met her father's eyes, in response Genma dropped his signs and started
to quickly look for an easy route of escape. Too late. "BAKA OYAJI!!"
On the same roof she used for the same purpose earlier in the
morning Sailor Pluto watched the fight as it raged on below. Even
though Pluto knew that Genma's act was just that, an act, her heart
still stopped as she saw the reaction it had on her child.
"Anata no baka..."
Sailor Pluto continued to watch as the fight between father and
child and became so mesmerized that she did not notice the population of
her perch double. The only warning Pluto had that company had joined
her was a sudden sense of peace and well being that settled over her.
What was unusual about this was that Pluto felt this while at the same
time watching Ranma's pride being torn to ribbons by Genma.
"Kasumi-san?" Truthfully Pluto should not have been surprised,
she was the Senshi of Time after all. However Kasumi was quite
a quandary to her. The eldest Tendo daughter not only had a knack for
surprising Pluto but she also seemed never to be surprised by anything
anyone else did around her, including people observing her home from
forty meters away.
"Kobanwa Pluto-san." Kasumi said as she politely bowed to the
Senshi of Time.
"Hello Tendo Kasumi-san, how long have you known I was here?"
Before answering Pluto's question Kasumi said, "I brewed some of
Okaasan's special tea, would you like some?" Sure enough Kasumi had
with her a complete tea service.
<Well, that does answer my question. Though I'm not sure I like
what it says about my espionage skills. However, tea does sound good.>
Pluto casually nodded her head and accepted a steaming cup of tea from
Kasumi then turned back to watch the fight.
"I only just now noticed you from the kitchen window while I was
cleaning up from dinner." Kasumi settled down next to Pluto with a cup
of tea of her own.
"You are too modest Kasumi-san." Both women turned their full
attention to the fight between Ranma and Genma in time to see Ranma
deliver a crushing axe kick to a downed panda thus ending the fight. As
Genma begged to be helped up, feigning great injury, everyone reentered
the house totally ignoring him. With an end to the excitement below
Pluto turned back to her companion in time to see Kasumi wipe something
from her eyes. "Are you all right Kasumi-san?"
"Yes yes, just a little dust." Kasumi continued to dab at her
eyes however, putting into question her quick explanation. " To what do
we owe the honor of having you watch over us this evening Pluto-san?"
Kasumi retuned to sipping her tea.
"I came to observe those two who were fighting a moment ago.
Saotome Genma and Saotome Ranma was it? Not much of a family
resemblance is there?" Pluto was now gently nursing her tea as she
leaned back to glance at the stars above.
"Yes, one would think that Ranma's mother must have reddish
hair, for Genma's, what little there is, is clearly dark."
At this Pluto's head snapped back to front and her eyes narrowed
attempting to penetrate Kasumi. Eventually, seeing Kasumi's innocuous
face, Pluto was forced to come to the conclusion that Kasumi meant
nothing by her remarks. <What am I thinking? She can not see my true
hair color with my guise field. I must be over reacting... still, the
way she said that...> "Ah, so I take it that Saotome-san's wife did not
come arrive with her family? Has Saotome-san said anything about his
missing wife?"
Kasumi took a sip of her tea as she thought about this. "No,
I've not heard Saotome-san speak of his wife... funny though, what sort
of person do you suppose she is?" All Pluto gave as a response was a
nod of her head and a thoughtful look upon her face. "She must be
quite strong. Or at least she would have to be. I don't have any
children yet, or a husband, but I know that having my child and husband
taken from me for ten long years... Well I guess I don't know, simply
thinking about such a thing is well, unthinkable. If Saotome-san's wife
is indeed still alive... well, I hope she's well."
"Still alive? You mean you haven't even been told if she lives
or not?..." <I know I shouldn't ask this, I should just drop this line
of conversation right here... still, I have to know.> "Does Saotome
Ranma-san know of his mother's condition? Does he ever speak of her?"
Kasumi finished her tea and began cleaning up the tea service as
she wore a pensive look. As Kasumi continued to think about Sailor
Pluto's question Pluto began to become quite agitated. Finally when
Pluto could take the Tendo girl's silence no longer Kasumi deigned to
speak. "Pluto-san. Saotome Ranma knows nothing of his mother's
existence. I do not know if he even thinks about such things. For all
anyone else knows Ranma-san may very well believe his mother is dead.
Would you like some more tea?"
Sailor Pluto did not answer, instead she simply stared off into
space. In her ever so polite tone Kasumi repeated her question,
"Pluto-san, would you like some more tea?"
"Oh? What? No, no but thank you Kasumi." Setting down her tea
cup Pluto quickly stood and turned back towards the Tendo home with her
back to Kasumi. "You can tell Akane-san that I see no threat in Saotome
Genma or his child. I'm finished here. I shall see you again tomorrow
night at the usual meeting place."
Sailor Pluto took a step towards the low end of the roof before
being stopped by Kasumi's voice, a voice deep with entreaty.
"Pluto-sama!"
"Yes?"
"Pluto-san. I would appreciate it if you would look over
Ranma-san a bit more. It would be... reassuring to me to know that my
family is safe."
"I have already told you Kasumi-san, the Saotomes pose no
threat."
"Please. Just knowing that you will keep an eye on things would
do so much to ease my worries."
Pluto took two more steps and prepared to leave the roof.
"Very well Tendo Kasumi-san. I will keep a watch. Ja ne." With no
further words Sailor Pluto leapt off into the night as Kasumi watched on.
"Ja ne, Pluto-san."
*************************************************
{"Yes miss, I'm sure this is all legitimate, but we will have to
hold onto these until we can verify that what you say is true."}
Customs agent Takeda Hiro hated the late night shift. The day shift
people never had to deal with strange stuff like this. Day guys had it
easy, drug smugglers, illegal gun importers, and you standard fare of
international fugitives. On the night shift you ended up with this.
Oh yes, day guys had it easy, they never had to convince purple haired
Chinese girls that not only could she not just carry an obscene array of
weapons into the country, but that Hiro was also having a hard time
convincing her that he, being a male, had the authority to tell her
otherwise.
{"I wish to speak to the women in charge."} Hiro's Chinese got
him this job and he was quite proud of the fact that he could pinpoint
exactly where anyone who spoke the language was from. This young girl
on the other hand was some what of a quandary. Not only could Hiro not
identify her accent, but sometimes she would use the oddest words, words
that Hiro believed to be quite archaic and quite backwards in their use.
The purple haired girls insistence on using the most honorable of terms
for females and the most debasing such words for males was just the tip
of the iceberg.
{"I'm telling you ma'am, there are no women in charge, it's the
night shift, the only women manager we have doesn't even work in this
department. Now if you'll just sign here we'll give you a call
when..."}
"YOU NO TOUCH THAT! That Xian Pu's! What you doing... bring
back!" The strange girl continued to scream at the customs workers as
they tried to haul away her weapons.
{"Xian Pu! Ma'am! Please, they are only putting it in
storage. No harm wi..."} Hiro really didn't expect to finish his
statement but he had to try.
{"I have to have my property! Here, look at this!"} Xian Pu
handed a document to Hiro which was written in Japanese.
[Martial Arts Exhibition... best from around the world...
weapons... artifacts... three days only...]
As Hiro read the note and noticed the dates a smile began to
form on his face. {"Miss Xian Pu. That exhibition isn't to be held for
another three weeks. It will only takes us a few days at most to
process your papers. You have nothing to fear. Now, if you will just
sign here please."}
Xian Pu finally gave up. She abruptly snatched the documents
from Hiro's hand and filled out all the necessary information all along
muttering some quite unflattering things about men. "Is done?! Xian Pu
go know! Male make sure noting happen to Xian Pu things. Male not like
happen if Xian Pu things damage." Grabbing the rest of her belongings,
those things not taken away by the customs agents, Xian Pu stormed off
towards the main corridor and out into the calm Tokyo night.
"Matsuhi."
"Hai."
"Make sure nothing, and I mean NOTHING, happens to that women's
belongings. Do you understand me?"
"Hai!"
Yea, day guys had it easy.
=================================================
Well, what do you think? I know last time I said that this chapter
would have more action, but it didn't work out. I was hopeing to have
some action this chapter and some the next for a particular plot string, but
it has all been bumpt to the next chapter. Chapter 3 will have Senshi fights
and a whole lot of martial arts. Genma, Pluto, Obsidian, and others who
have been schemeing will up the anty as well. Just to give you an idea of
what poor Ranma is going to have to deal with, imagine this; Pluto has
caused Kodachi to move up the match with Furinkan and Shampoo comes
searching for her rival only to find her fighting another dual, Ryouga shows
up with an old friend of the Genma and Soun. All this just so happens as
Tatewaki and everyone's favorite ice scater make their moves. Like I said,
lots of martial arts.
Anyway, I'd like to thank my Prereaders:
Pat Wilson, dude write your fic already!
Chris Moran, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! This guy is THE man.
If I wanted to I could just have one prereader just by sending
everything to him.
Joanne Wojtysiak, Thank you, Thank you, Thank YOU! This girl is THE
woman. Even though I didn't get ALL of your suggestions into
version 1.0, I will for 1.5. You gave me so much feed back that
it may take me a while to sort it all out. When your not sick in bed
you can really write. ThanX!
Demon-God Entity
James Barnhill
And anyone else that I missed. ThanX!
Joshua Myles Roy Verrier