Disclaimer: Ranma and related characters were created by Rumiko
Takahashi. Characters from Sailor Moon were created by Takeuchi Naoko.
Gunnm created by Yukito Kishiro. All series are owned by their creators
and several large corporations.
This is just something I write for fun. For anyone who's worried,
despite a mild case of writer's block, the first chapter of A Fresh
Start is almost ready. As always comments are welcome. Enjoy reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Unlikely Couple: Chapter Three
Ryoga frowned angrily. If he couldn't find the Crown Arcade soon,
he'd be late for his date with Minako, which meant that he wouldn't be
around to protect Ami if monsters showed up again. Growling in
frustration, he lashed out, putting a sizable crater in a nearby wall.
"My, you are a strong one, aren't you? I think you'll do just
fine." The heavy bruising on Argentite's face only served to accentuate
the cruel smile she wore.
Ryoga spun on his heel, ready for a fight. His eyes widened as he
took in the sight of the silver haired woman hovering in mid-air.
Despite her battered appearance, she somehow seemed to radiate
malevolence. Skipping several cognitive steps, Ryoga immediately leapt
to the most convenient conclusion. "I won't let you hurt Ami!" Ryoga
shouted, as he pulled a handful of bandannas loose and began to twirl
them.
"Another crazy one? Zaariki, subdue him." Argentite tossed a
small metallic globe to the ground and then teleported away a split
second before half a dozen razor sharp bandannas passed through the
space she'd been occupying.
Ryoga looked at the armored figure that arose in her place with
grave misgivings. He didn't really care that the monstrosity was over
twice his height. What he wanted to know was how something with two
chain saws in the place of hands expected to subdue him. His question
was soon answered, as the creature swung one arm in a sweeping arc
towards him. He easily ducked underneath the blow, but couldn't
suppress a shudder as the blade dug into the wall behind him and sprayed
him with fragments of brick.
Looking down into the alley, Argentite winced as the strange boy
she was supposed to be capturing knocked Zaariki through the side of the
building she was standing on. Randomly kidnapping martial artists was
far too dangerous she decided. If Zaariki captured the boy she'd be
happy to take credit. If not, she'd come up with a different plan.
After the last time, she wasn't going to involve herself directly.
=================
Once more the Hino shrine was the site chosen for a meeting of the
Sailor Senshi. However, this meeting wasn't in response to some attack,
but had instead been called by Ami, who claimed to have important news.
"I think we have a clue as to what our enemy's after." Seeing that
she had the attention of the other Senshi, Ami continued, "Minako
noticed that most of the attacks so far have involved martial artists.
So when she saw an ad for a dojo that was offering free lessons, she
asked me to help check it out."
"And you found something?" Makoto asked bluntly.
"Not exactly. I, ah, did detect some unusual readings, but nothing
definite." Inwardly, Ami debated telling the others about Ryoga, but
Minako was right. She only had suspicions that he was connected with
the Dark Kingdom and there really wasn't anything they could do even if
he was.
"How do you know that the Dark Kingdom's behind it then," Haruka
questioned. "A lot of the attacks have occurred around dojos, but
that's not proof."
"There's more," Minako burst into the conversation, ignoring
Artemis' warning glare.
"That's right. Several martial artists have disappeared in the
Nerima district. We already know one attack took place there."
"How could I forget?" Usagi groused. Mamoru's unwilling
entanglement with the girl he'd saved was still a sore point for her.
"That's right. That girl the youma was attacking did seem to be a
martial artist," Rei commented.
"This isn't good." Seeing the curious looks that the other senshi
directed at her, Makoto elaborated, "Somebody's going to have to go to
Nerima to stop whatever is going on there and I'll be one of them. I
have relatives living there."
"I thought you didn't have any family."
"Yeah, how come you never mentioned them?"
"Everyone quiet. I can feel something." Quickly rising, Rei
hurried to the door of the shrine and stepped outside, the other girls
following.
"What is it, Rei?" Usagi, asked steeping up beside the shrine
maiden and ignoring the drizzle that had begun to fall.
"I'm not sure. I'm sensing some kind of powerful energy, but it
seems to be heavy, almost oppressive."
"Could it have something to do with that?" Michiru asked, pointing
at a blue-green column of energy towering hundreds of yards into the
sky.
"Well, maybe."
=================
Ranma scowled in frustration as he wiped the first drops of rain of
his forehead. Using a bike to patrol Juban had seemed like a good idea
and it certainly was far faster. However, that didn't mean that he'd
found anything, and now the rain was threatening to transform him.
"I suppose a giant sign lighting up the sky is a bit much to ask
for. Or maybe not" Ranma's eyes widened slightly as she glimpsed a
distinctive pillar of ki rising over some distant buildings.
Pausing only momentarily to fix the direction in his mind, Ranma
began pedaling furiously towards it. He barely noticed as the rain
finally changed him.
=================
With a helpless roar, the armored behemoth soared across the width
of the alley and crashed through the far wall.
Grinning widely, Ryoga leapt forward to press his advantage before
Zaariki could regain his feet. Unfortunately, although he was able to
easily dart past the twin blades that served in place of Zaariki's arms,
a blind sweep of the youma's arm knocked him sprawling backwards.
"Die!"
Ryoga ignored his opponents bellowed pronouncement. Despite his
superior skill, the fight wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. He was
winning, but not fast enough. He hadn't fought anyone this tough since
Lime and one mistake could be fatal. It was time to change tactics.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga resisted the urge to celebrate as the
bluish blast of energy slammed into Zaariki, causing him to howl in
pain. Instead, he began to draw on his inner reserve of despair once
more. Unnoticed, a single drop of rain fell from the sky.
=================
"This must be where that light came from," Sailor Moon stated.
The other Senshi ignored her comment as unnecessary. A deep
crater, partially filled with rubble from collapsed buildings, stretched
across the alley.
"It looks like whatever caused it has already left." Stepping down
into the crater, Sailor Uranus began to inspect the debris. "There must
have been some kind of fight here."
"I think you should be care-," The rest of Sailor Neptune's
warning was cut off as a battered monstrosity lurched upright, throwing
off a pile of wreckage.
With a snarl of rage, Zaariki brought his remaining arm down in a
wide arc, aiming directly at the startled senshi in front of him.
"Fierce Tiger Shot!" A bright yellow sphere struck Zaariki's arm,
deflecting the blade at the same time as Sailor Uranus dove to one side.
While shouted attacks indicated that the other six senshi were
directing their power at the hapless youma, Sailor Mercury turned and
began to search for the source of the attack that had saved Uranus. It
wasn't hard to find. Mercury recognized the petite red-head from both
Uranus and Neptune's descriptions. Neither of them had mentioned the
fishnet stockings or the high heels, but then they had glossed over a
lot of details. Before she could speak, the mysterious figure leapt
away and darted out of sight at breathtaking speed.
=================
Blocks away, Ranma halted her blind flight and rebuked herself
mentally. Running away just because there were a couple of mangy cats
around wasn't going to impress anyone. Still, she'd been the one to
come to the rescue, not that tuxedo wearing pretty boy that Akane liked.
As she fished her backpack out from its hiding place, Ranma glanced
around to ensure no one was watching. "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken
Revised: Saotome Quick Change Technique!" Being out of her embarrassing
"costume" was nice, but there was still one more thing to take care of.
Chuckling happily, Ranma unscrewed a thermos of hot water and poured it
over her head.
Retrieving his bike, Ranma began to pedal back to Nerima, when a
though suddenly struck him. He was going to have to keep doing this.
That girl might have died if he hadn't been there. Not only that he'd
have to maintain his disguise. If the senshi met him while he was a
guy, his incredible good looks and natural charm would cause more
trouble than he cared to thing about.
=================
"Are you sure it was her?"
Sailor Mercury looked up at Uranus and shrugged helplessly. "I
don't know. That was the first time I saw her and I didn't get a chance
to scan her either."
"Look what I found, Mercury."
"Oh, you poor thing. Did you get hurt again?" After a hurried
inspection of the small black form held in Sailor Venus's arms failed to
reveal any injuries, she reached out and cradled her missing pet against
her breasts. "You shouldn't run off like that, Aristotle. It's really
dangerous."
"Oh no! I forgot all about Ryoga. Bye everyone. I gotta go."
Sailor Venus spun on her heel and dashed out of the alley, transforming
back to her civilian identity as she did so.
"We all should go as well. We don't want to draw too much
attention."
=================
Luna looked with distaste at the small animal sleeping on the
center of Usagi's bed. It wasn't that she had anything in particular
against pigs or even that it was dirty or poorly behaved. It was just
the way it seemed so smug and self-satisfied while Usagi and the other
girls fussed over it. If she'd been an ordinary cat it wouldn't be so
relaxed.
If Luna could have smiled she would have. Maybe it wasn't nice to
mistreat dumb animals but the pig deserved a little scare. Crouching
slightly, Luna silently leapt onto the edge of the bed and began to
creep towards the center.
Ryoga quietly fumed. Ami's mother was having guests over, so Ami
had asked Usagi to look after him for the night. That was just a minor
part of him being stuck as a pig though. The worst of it was that he
wasn't strong enough. Even the Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan hadn't been
enough to finish the monster off. Ranma would have been able to defeat
it, Ryoga realized. But then, Ranma's ability to create new techniques
on a moments notice had helped him to defeat Saffron. Pausing, Ryoga
turned the thought over in his mind. New techniques. He wasn't strong
enough but that would change.
With his decision made, Ryoga abruptly became aware of another
presence. Snapping his eyes open; he found himself face to face with
Usagi's pet. Since he'd had the misfortune to visit Jusenkyo, he'd run
from many things. A house cat, even one that could talk wasn't going to
added to the list.
Luna paused nervously. She didn't have much experience with this
sort of thing, but she had an idea that this wasn't the usual course of
events. Firstly, she never even known that pigs could growl.
=================
"I can't tell you how glad I am that you guys are coming with me?"
"Come on Makoto. These people are your relatives. They can't be
that bad."
Makoto stared at the gates that seemed to loom before her and then
glanced back at Haruka. "Tatewaki isn't so bad as long as you've got
something heavy to hit him with when he gets out of hand, but you've got
to be careful with Kodachi. Don't eat anything she's cooked, don't
accept any gifts from her and if she offers you flowers run."
"You've got to be exaggerating."
"Not really. In fact-,"
"Cousin Makoto, I welcome you and your companions to the noble Kuno
estate. I hope you find the accommodations to your satisfaction."
Makoto regarded the familiar figure in kendo garb with a mixture
of exasperation and affection. "Hello Tatawaki. This is Michiru
Kaioh-"
"A name worthy of such a fair blossom," Kuno interrupted, offering
Michiru a wide smile.
"And this is her _good_ friend Haruka Tenoh," Makoto continued.
"Of course." Kuno inclined his head as if in apology. "Shall I
show you and your friends to your quarters?"
"I think that would be best."
=================
Usagi hummed happily to herself as she opened the door to her
home. The rest of her family would be busy for the evening so she'd
have the house to herself. She was just beginning to review her plans,
when a black streak impacted with her chest, knocking her to the
ground. Stunned, she watched another streak run past her and out into
the street.
"Luna?" Usagi stared incredulously at the small body lying on top
of her.
"Your finally back! That pig's a monster. You wouldn't believe
what it tried to do to me. Why, it chased me all over the house."
Usagi climbed to her feet and cautiously peered into the house.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the over turned furniture and the
wreckage strewn across the floor. "You did all of this?"
"I told you it was the pig's fault," Luna commented crossly.
"You can't be serious. Aristotle is barely half your size."
Usagi's expression hardened as she stared down at Luna. "I bet you were
chasing him. That's probably why he ran off. Ami's going to be really
disappointed."
"Chasing him? I already told you it was the other way around."
"I can't believe that you'd try to blame Ami's pet for this. Next
you'll be saying that he's an agent of the Dark Kingdom."
"We never did find out what happened to Jadeite," Luna muttered
under her breath.
=================
Makoto looked around as she emerged from her new room. One
advantage of staying with her admittedly crazy relatives was that they
had plenty of room. They might be a little strange, but she'd dealt
with worse since becoming a senshi. So had Haruka and Michiru for that
matter. Everything would be fine. In fact, Haruka was just coming out
of the room across the hall, she'd already lasted longer than the music
teacher Kodachi had when she was seven.
"I knew that you were exaggerating when you told us about your
relatives, Makoto."
"Well, you just don't know them as well as I do," Makoto stated
grimly.
"You're being absurd. Kuno's a bit stiff, but aside from that he
isn't bad. In fact he took me on a tour of the estate. This place is
amazing. I think you could land an airplane in the training hall."
"Yeah. It is pretty big." Makoto paused for a moment as she
realized something. "Kuno took you on a tour? Where is Michiru
anyway?"
"Kodachi is showing her around. Something about feeding her pet
turtle."
By the time Haruka realized that Makoto was moving she'd already
turned the corner.
=================
Argentite drew a deep breath and wiped the perspiration off her
face as she materialized in Nerima. Her master was not tolerant of
failure. If the senshi had beaten her, he might have been more
understanding. He'd fought them himself. Unfortunately, she'd failed
to capture what were supposedly ordinary humans.
Well, she didn't intend to fail again. Her early successes might
not have yielded what she'd sought, but they'd provide excellent raw
material for her new plan
End Chapter Three.