For this revised edition most of the changes are at the end of the
Chapter. This was originally sent out as chapter five cause I made a
mistake in my numbering. I did change the ending quite a bit, so you
should at least read that if you already read this one before.
Sailor Ranmoon
Part 4
Moussequerade.
Ranma Saotome walked out of the Tendo home lazily. It was late afternoon
and his stomach was leading the way. He turned to his companion and
looked at her quizzically. "Ramen?"
Akane stopped for a minute and sighed. "I guess we can go to the Cat
Caf� and see Shampoo and Cologne for a little while."
"I'm just glad that cat hasn't bothered us in a while," commented the
pigtailed boy with a relived look on his face.
"Well, it's not like we get attacked by monsters everyday Ranma,"
replied his fianc�e coolly.
Shampoo was gazing longingly into the pages of the paper when they
walked into the door.
"Hey Shampoo, what's up?" said Ranma cheerfully.
"Aiya! Is Airen!" squealed the violet haired waitress as she bounded
over to him and grabbed his neck.
"Hey! Cut it out!" snapped the boy nervously.
"I knew it! You just wanted to come here and grab Shampoo!" snapped
Akane as she punched him across the room.
"Violent girl get good distance, almost hit wall," said the Amazon girl
as she watched him sail across the room.
"What are you looking at Shampoo?" said Akane as she noticed the girl's
interest in the paper.
"Is big story, Tuxedo Mousse gallant and brave man who doing very heroic
thing," said the girl in reply.
"Tuxedo Mousse?"
"Yes, is said he is strong fighter, very handsome too!" squealed the
girl as she hugged the page to her chest.
"So I've heard," commented the shorthaired girl dryly.
Mousse was cleaning tables nearby and ignoring the girlish conversation.
Shampoo had the look that most teen girls have on their faces when
talking about a hot, young, male movie star or singer. "Maybe he come
steal Shampoo away from Ranma?"
Akane giggled slightly at the thought of it and turned to see her
fianc�e was standing next to Cologne.
"Are you jealous Son in Law?"
"Huh? Why? I could take that Tuxedo Mousse guy any day of the week,"
replied the pigtailed boy indignantly.
Shampoo sighed, "Is true, Ranma very strong! Tuxedo Mousse mysterious
and handsome though."
"Whatever," snorted the boy in reply.
"Saotome, you've come to steal my Shampoo away from me haven't you!"
snapped Mousse as he noticed his rival was in the vicinity.
"Calm down Duck boy, we just came to eat," replied the boy.
Akane sighed as Cologne hit Mousse in the head with a pail of water.
"Get back to work Mr. Part time. We don't have time for such foolishness
today!"
"Stupid Mousse," commented Shampoo as she walked by with a pair of menus
for the two teens.
Mousse quacked and waddled off into the kitchen in search of hot water
dragging his clothes behind him.
Cologne looked over her Great Granddaughter's shoulder and snorted.
"What is the world coming to today? All these masked vigilantes appearing
all of a sudden." She whirled around on her staff not noticing the three
teens become very uncomfortable for a moment.
"Ranma, you think Tuxedo Mousse is handsome?" asked Shampoo.
"That flaky jerk?" replied the boy. All of a sudden he felt very cold
and looked around the room. Every girl in the room save Akane and Shampoo
was giving him an icy stare. Even Shampoo looked slightly annoyed.
"Maybe he come steal Shampoo away from you, yes?"
Ranma crossed his arms and looked away. "Not likely, I can only hope."
Cologne watched the exchange carefully. "If this is played out
right...It could be the reversal jewel all over again. With the ball
landing on our side this time." She hopped away smiling to herself as the
pair sat down to eat.
Akane picked up another section of the paper and handed it to Ranma. "Is
this what father was talking about?"
The pigtailed boy blinked and looked at the page. "Yeah, some stupid
ball. We got to go and protect some princess and her treasure while they
are in town."
"I wonder how he managed to pull that off?" wondered Akane.
"Your Pop seems to know somebody that works for the royal family in that
country. Something about meeting them on the training voyage. I don't
remember exactly what he said because he was crying the whole time."
"D Land?" I've never heard of that place.
"Not surprising, they are a small country that supports itself with its
rich diamond mines. I've dealt with them before while in China," said
Cologne as she hopped over to them.
"I'll have to protect that treasure from Pop more than any thieves that
might show," commented Ranma lazily.
"That wouldn't surprise me," agreed Cologne. "Be cautious Son in Law,
these monsters seem to be attacking precious gems for some reason. You
may have your hands full tonight."
"Nothin I can't handle," boasted the pigtailed boy.
"We'll see," said Cologne as she hopped away again.
In the shadows Mousse stood listening into the conversation. "D Land's
treasure? Could it be the Silver Imperium Crystal I've been searching
for?"
Meanwhile, in the exact opposite corner Luna sat listening in as well.
"D Land, the treasure and the Princess? Could she be the one we're
looking for?"
A short time later, at a familiar arcade...
"How dull, why must I be a Sailor Scout? It's true that it is a position
worthy of a Kuno, but I have things to attend!" said Kodachi snobbishly
as Ranma in his female form and Akane sat across from her at a small
table near the back of the room.
"Hey, who is this stupid princess anyway?" said Ranma as she leaned back
in her chair.
"I was kind of wondering that myself," agreed Akane.
"Who are you? Tell me how it is that you can order a member of the noble
Kuno clan about?" snapped Kodachi.
Luna sighed from the other end of the watch radios. "I can't tell you
yet. You wouldn't believe me."
"She don't know either," commented Ranma.
"I could come and tell you," said the cat in reply.
"Heh! No that's all right," retorted the pigtailed girl nervously.
"It's the enemy that worries me, I don't know who they are or why they
are here," said Luna absently.
"Hey! I thought we were supposed to fight these stupid things!" snapped
Ranma.
"No! You were chosen to protect the princess! That is your mission,"
said the animal sharply.
"Where the heck is she? I'll protect her on my own then," snapped the
pigtailed girl.
Akane glared at him angrily for a moment and Ranma simply looked back in
confusion.
"What did I say?"
Moments later Akane's fist was planted in his face. "Dope."
"We have to find her, the reason we can't is because she was kind of
sealed away," said Luna.
"What for?" asked Ranma.
"Probably because she has the crystal with her, the Silver Imperium
Crystal is a source of unbelievable power. We can't let the enemy get
their hands on it."
"Just leave that to me," said Ranma with a smirk.
"I wish that I could, but you don't have your full scout powers yet. We
have to find the other members of the team in order to complete them.
Then the princess will become unsealed."
"Complete? How do we do that?" asked Akane.
"It will come from your memory."
"Memory! Vile creature! How dare you say that the great Kodachi Kuno
might forget something! My memory is perfect! Why, I remember the first
time my Ranma held me in his arms, the first time he kissed me, even the
first time we..." About this time she started blushing demurely and
looking away in shame. "Isn't that right Pigtailed Harlot?"
"What is she talking about?" snapped Akane as she shoved her fist into
the redhead's face.
"False memories! She can't even remember my name, much less something
like that!" retorted the girl.
Genma Saotome sat in his room holding a photo of a young girl with
glasses almost as thick as Mousse's. "Ranma, tonight the Saotome legacy
will be secure! I'm sorry Tendo, but I cannot pass up this opportunity.
Ranma will leave that party as royalty!" He stood tall and allowed his
aura to burn around him brightly.
Within seconds Soun was standing at his side. A dark shadow crossed his
face. "Saotome, what are you doing in here with that picture?"
"W-why Tendo! I was just memorizing the princesses face so that we might
protect her better!"
"That sounds like a good idea!" agreed the man cheerfully. "Here, let me
hold onto that for you..."
Pantyhose Nephrite stood impatiently as Happosai stared into his crystal
ball with a very serious look on his face.
"Well old man?"
"Just a minute hold your horses!" snapped the short man as he continued
to stare.
Pantyhoes blinked and walked up to the crystal peering over his
shoulder. Happosai was humming to himself and muttering to the image in
the smooth surface.
"That's it girls! Lift those legs! One, two, one, two!"
"You're supposed to be looking for the crystal! Not watching aerobics!"
snarled the man as he grabbed the little old man by the top of his head.
"Hold your horses! It's over now anyway!" He waved his hands over the
clear surface again and another image appeared. It was a young girl with
remarkably thick glasses. "Here, this could be it. D Land treasure or
something. Go check it out and leave me alone."
Akane sighed as she watched the three men stand proudly in front of the
door.
"Well, see ya later Akane," commented Ranma.
"Do behave yourselves girls!" agreed Soun a little too dramatically.
"Come on boy," said Genma as he pulled on his son's shirt.
"You do realize that this is going to be some party," said Nabiki from
her seat at the table.
"I wonder if Ranma will hurt uncle Saotome too badly when he tries to
steal the treasure?" said Kasumi sweetly.
"That dope, he'll probably make a mess out of the whole thing. It's a
wonder people keep hiring them to do things like this," commented Akane.
At the party Ranma stood in the middle of the crowd dressed in his
normal Chinese clothes and frowned. "I hate stupid junk like this."
Nearby Soun and Genma stood near the doors with serious expressions on
their faces. They were both dressed in dogi.
"Relax son, just enjoy the party. I doubt anything will happen,"
comforted Soun.
"Great, now I know everything's gonna go to hell," muttered the
pigtailed boy. At that exact moment a woman walked by and bumped her arm
against him sending a spray of champagne into his face and shirt.
"Oh! I'm sorry young lady! I didn't see you!"
"See," muttered Ranma under her breath. She turned to walk away from the
crowd and found herself swept up in a familiar pair of arms.
"May I have this dance?"
Ranma froze for a moment and then sent Mousse to the floor with several
pronounced lumps on his head.
"What the heck are you doing you jerk?"
"Saotome? What are you doing here?" said the blind boy in shock as he
shook a nearby turkey he had picked up off the buffet.
"You dope! That's my line! What the heck are you doing here?"
"Looking for the Silver Imperium Crystal," said the boy with a shrug as
he dropped the dead bird on the ground in disgust after realizing his
mistake.
"You know about that?" said the pigtailed girl in surprise.
"Yeah, with an engagement ring like that there's no way Shampoo will
turn me down!" said Mousse dramatically to a fern.
"Whatever, it'll take a lot more than a big ring to get her to marry you
duck boy."
Mousse suddenly became very serious. "I know that, something inside me
is telling me to search for it. I think I can fix my eyes if I get my
hands on it."
Ranma paused and looked at him. "What about our curses?"
"It's possible, know this Saotome, if I get my hands on it you'll never
find it again!"
Ranma clenched her fists and growled. "You've got to get to it first
duck boy."
Genma pulled her aside by her arm ending the conversation with the
tuxedo clad Mousse. "Come on boy."
"Where the heck are we goin?" snapped Ranma.
"We've got to find you some hot water before the princess shows up! I
want you to stay with her tonight and let her know that you'll protect
her with your life...for the rest of your life!"
"What?" said Ranma in confusion.
"It's just a figure of speech boy! I said the same thing to your mother
when I met her!" whispered Genma.
"Oh, I guess that's ok then," replied Ranma obliviously.
"SAOTOME!" said a familiar voice from behind them. "What was that you
wanted him to say to her?"
"Uhh, relax Tendo. I just wanted him to make her feel safe..."
Ranma scurried away from the scene as Soun pulled her father off to the
side for a 'little talk between men'. She froze when a familiar face was
looking her up and down.
"Well, if it isn't the little pigtailed hussy. Working security like a
good little peasant?" Kodachi Kuno emerged from the crowd with a
self-righteous smirk on her face.
"What the heck are you doing here?"
"What? Me miss the social event of the year? I think not! The Kuno
reputation would not suffer such a slight!" She gave the girl an
appraising gaze and noticed that she was looking around nervously. "Don't
worry little girl. My brother is not in attendance, he finds such matters
rather mundane."
Ranma relaxed visibly and turned on her heels. "Well, see ya."
"Scurry off to the corner like a good little trollop! Ho ho ho ho ho ho
ho!"
Princess D looked around the room and noticed the tall and rather
handsome man standing in front of her. "You there, take me to my room.
I'll get lost otherwise."
Pantyhose Nephrite turned slowly around and smiled. Under the young
girl's arm was a large box. "Huh huh."
Moments later the party was disrupted as Pantyhose charged through the
room with the box under his arm. "Out of my way!" he screamed as he
knocked several partygoers aside easily.
"Hey! You jerk!" snapped Ranma as she rushed to intercept him. The odd
thing was, instead of running to the window where he could easily escape,
he charged for the champagne table.
She caught up with him just as he reached it. Pantyhose slammed into the
table sending drinks in every direction. He was covered in alcohol and
turned to face his pursuers.
"Son, I leave this to you!" cried Soun as he and Genma turned away from
their intercept path as the man started to grow extremely large.
"Stupid jerks!" screamed Ranma as she jumped towards the thing that
Pantyhose had become. It was a huge minator like creature with wings on
its back and an eel for a tail. She found herself knocked out of the air
easily by a simple swipe of its massive hand. She sailed over the balcony
and attempted to right herself in midair, she wobbled slightly as she
tried to shake off the blow before she landed.
Ranma blinked in surprise after she corrected her decent and found
herself wrapped in lengths of chain and ropes. "Mousse?"
The boy stood looking down at her with a smirk on his face. "Hurry up
and get back up here! He's getting away!"
"So stop him idiot!" snapped Ranma as she climbed back up from the
tangle of ropes.
"Hurry up and change! He's too strong for you to fight as you are!"
cried Luna from the two-way watch.
As much as Ranma hated to admit it, she was right. "Moon Prism Power
Makeup!"
Pantyhose paused as something flashed on the other side of the balcony.
Moments later a strange figure stood on the rails with her fists at her
sides. "I'll make you pay for making me wear this getup!"
The tiara on her forehead glowed for a moment causing the beast to
shrink back. Ranma shook her head for a moment and noticed a nearby
mirror.
The beast chuckled to itself and spread it's wings to fly away. It
paused however when it realized that it could not move them. Nearby
Mousse stood with a smile on his face and several lengths of rope tied to
the thing's wings.
"Huh?" The pigtailed girl saw that the design of her tiara had changed.
A large crystal sat in the center. She jumped back to the ground and
realized that the monster was ignoring her and had managed to get the
ropes off its back. Mousse had vanished, and the beast was casually
draining the guests of their energy.
Kodachi stood nearby in her own senshi uniform and was blasting at it
with fire unsuccessfully. "Aku Ryo Tai San!"
The beast easily sidestepped the attack. It turned and glared at her for
a moment and she stepped back nervously. "Foul creature! How dare you
ruin such an event as this! Sailor Mars shall punish you! Ho ho ho ho ho
ho!" A whip of flames erupted from her hands and she slashed down forcing
Pantyhose to step back and stop draining the guests of their energy.
"Keep him busy!" cried Ranma as she jumped up and kicked the thing in
the face. It brushed the attack off as if it was nothing and snorted in
disgust.
"Take this beast!" cried Kodachi as she slammed the whip into Ranma in
what looked like an attempt to attack the creature again.
"Hey! Watch it! You're supposed to be helping me!" Ranma didn't realize
that Kodachi was referring to her when she said 'beast'.
"Ho ho ho ho ho ho! Foolish girl! You should know better than that! I
Kodachi Kuno shall free my darling Ranma from your evil grip! You are a
beast as evil as this one!" She pointed at Nephrite and the thing
narrowed its eyes at her.
"Brother!" muttered Ranma as she dodged another snap of the whip and
rolled away with Pantyhose hot on her heels. Both of them looked at the
insane girl nervously as she lashed the whip around the room
indiscriminately.
Finally Pantyhose snorted again and lifted up a large statue over his
head. Kodachi was gleefully laughing and slashing at guests while
pretending to attack the monster. After all, there were several young
girls who dared to buy a better dress than hers for the occasion. She
couldn't stand for such insubordination.
After a moment of staring at the scene in dumbfounded wonder, Pantyhose
tossed the statue catching Kodachi directly in the head. She crumpled to
the floor unconscious.
"Well, that's the end of that," muttered Ranma lazily. She jumped away
as Pantyhose's fist slammed into the ground where she stood.
"Hey, I almost forgot about him," thought Ranma as she leapt away from
the destructive beast nimbly. She scooped up the still sleeping princess
from the ground as the monster came close to crushing her. Unfortunately
she also noticed that she had run into a corner in doing that.
"Uh oh," said Ranma out loud as she spun around to face the beast and
gently put the young girl down behind her.
"Bu fu," chuckled Nephrite as he closed in on her.
Ranma looked up and around for an escape and found none that would save
herself and the princess. Pantyhose punched her in the stomach and lifted
her into the air throwing her over it's head and away. She landed near
the balcony again.
The pigtailed girl wavered as she stood up again and took up a martial
arts stance. "Ok you stupid cow! Let's go!" The pair circled each other
several times looking for an opening.
"Sailor Ranmoon! Use your tiara!" cried Luna from the other end of the
watch radio.
"Hey! Ugly!" the pigtailed girl adjusted the large crystal and it caught
a moonbeam and shined it into the creature's eyes.
Pantyhose roared in rage and pain at the sheer amount of light that was
forced into his pupils. He dropped the treasure and backed over the edge
of the balcony falling over the edge.
The pigtailed magical girl rushed over to the edge and glanced around in
search of her opponent. All that she saw was a small teakettle resting in
the middle of the ground. Nothing but bushes and shadows could be seen
other than that.
"Hey, I did it," commented Ranma lazily.
The crowd slowly began to recover and Ranma backed away into the
shadows. Princess D stood groggily and glanced around for a moment.
The princess stood up and blinked. "Where are my glasses?" she muttered
and felt around on the ground. Unfortunately they were on the other side
of the room as Ranma had carried her quite a ways away from where she had
originally passed out in order to keep Pantyhose from crushing her.
Genma blinked from his spot on the sidelines and sneaked over to where
Pantyhose had dropped the treasure. He tucked it under his arm and turned
towards the balcony.
Unfortunately he tripped as he neared the edge and fell flat on his
face. After a moment he glanced up and saw his son in male form with his
foot extended out at his feet.
"Where do you think you're goin with that old man?"
"Curse you boy! Show some respect to your father!" snapped Genma as he
tried to rush off again.
Ranma merely grabbed him on the back of his dogi and tossed him over his
shoulder into the surviving punch bowl. A large, wet, and red stained
panda sat up and glared at him. The pigtailed boy merely twirled the
small treasure chest on his finger and turned back towards Princess D.
Genma blinked and pat down his fur, he hadn't even seen the boy take it.
The girl was still searching for her glasses when someone placed them in
her hand. She looked up at the boy in gratitude, her face was beautiful;
amazingly well hidden by the glasses. Unfortunately, the beauty was lost
on this boy.
She focused her lenses and saw a teenager with glasses thicker than hers
resting on his face, he was dressed in Chinese clothes and had long dark
hair. "Here, I know what that can be like." With that said he turned away
and vanished into the shadows.
Ranma jogged up to her and handed her the box. "Here you go, safe and
sound just like we promised." The boy paused and looked at the lenses.
"Hmm, I wonder if she's related to Mousse or something," he thought
privately.
"I guess we might as well unveil this thing now," she commented as she
accepted it.
Genma appeared nearby all of a sudden and scowled. Until she pulled out
a statue of her mother made out of diamond. He got a sick look on his
face and sighed. "No real loss there I suppose."
"Well Tendo, I guess we can go home now."
"Quite so Saotome."
About an hour later at the Tendo home...
"Ranma! How dare you let a girl beat us to that! We didn't even get paid
because she meddled in our business!" cried Genma angrily.
"They didn't pay you because you ran away old fool!" retorted the boy.
"Besides, I got paid."
"Show your father some respect and lend your old man a few yen!" cried
Genma bitterly as he kicked Ranma into the yard for a sparing session.
"Heck no old man!" retorted the boy angrily as he leapt into the air to
meet him. "I got debts I got to pay off with that!"
Nabiki smirked to herself at that comment and said nothing.
"Boy, I'm glad I decided to stay home," grumbled Akane to herself.
"I think it would have been quite entertaining," commented Nabiki
lazily. She gave Kasumi a knowing wink and turned back to the television
again.
Luna sat on the windowsill and watched the family carefully. "Tuxedo
Mousse? Who is he? Is he the enemy also? We need to find out what he
wants." She jumped away and disappeared into the night.
TBC...
Next time: Sailor Jupiter! Should be out within the next couple of days!
C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com
Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/