I'm not in the habit of posting these babies more than once, but I did
some fairly heavy revising to this chapter so I felt it was needed.
Good day, and welcome to Otaku Theater.
Today's presentation is the nearly universal disclaimer.
*ahem*
Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon belongs
to Naoko Takeuchi. No money is being made from this, of course.
(Which is kind of a pity, as I'm a college student and could use
it.) Please don't sue me. I have about 32 cents to my name and
it's in Elbonian currency.
Find previous chapters @
My Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker
Tannim's site: http://tannim.anifics.com/index.html
******************
All the Small Things--Chapter 7
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover
By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org)
******************
Haruka crouched in the undergrowth, her weapon held loosely
in her right hand. She knew her enemy was close by. All she had
to do was wait and she'd have her revenge. She smirked as she
flipped her weapon to full auto.
She eased a branch of the bush she was hiding behind out of
her line of sight with the tip of her weapon. She grinned.
Wearing bright red was NOT a good idea in the woods. Not that she
was going to tell her enemy that. Oh, no. Not a chance. Not
until well AFTER her vengeance was complete.
*PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT
PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT* A stream of
paintballs shot towards the spot of red and impacted with a series
of splats. Haruka's grin grew into a smirk as she stood and
walked over.
"So, Ranko, who's gonna beat who?" Haruka called. There
was no reply. There was no movement from Ranko at all, in fact.
Haruka's brow furrowed. "Ranko?"
Haruka started to move a bit quicker. "Ranko? You there?"
<If I hit her with paintballs while she was hurt, Usagi will never
let me forget it.>
"Ranko?" Haruka dropped to the ground beside the still
figure, then dropped her paintball gun to reach out and touch it.
She received no response. She slowly rolled the body over.
And revealed Ranko's shirt, pants, and a red wig tied to a
bundle of sticks and grass. Behind and to both sides of her,
Haruka faintly heard several somethings hit the ground.
"Ah...Dammit!" Haruka managed to utter before the paint
grenades went off.
Above her in a tree, well out of the grenades splatter
range, Ranko grinned and considered.
"Add humiliation to insult?" Ranko paused. "Ah, why the
hell not."
*PHUT*
Haruka had to fight to keep from screaming in frustration as
the paintball hit her in the facemask. Ranko chuckled, then went
to get her teammate out of the other tree.
Haruka glowered at Ranko as she landed in front of her.
Hotaru climbed off of Ranko's back and giggled.
"You never said anything about grenades." Haruka ground
out.
"Hey, it was Hotaru and me against everyone else. You think
I wouldn't have given us an edge?" Ranko smirked. "At least you
didn't catch one in your chest like Makoto did. Turns out Hotaru's
got an arm on her."
"You cheated." Haruka snarled as Ranko started to put her
clothes back on.
"Losers call it cheating. Winners call it 'effective use of
unconventional tactics.' Deal with it." Ranko retorted as she
finished closing her shirt. "Shall we go?"
Haruka opened her mouth to retort with a suitably nasty
reply, but stopped when she noticed the look of pure joy on
Hotaru's face. Haruka had no compunctions about ripping Ranko a
new one, but there was no way that she would destroy Hotaru's fun
to do it.
"Yeah, let's go." Haruka grumbled.
***********************
Haruka was fully expecting to see the rest of the group
waiting for them when she stepped out of the woods. However, she
wasn't expecting to see most of them with the majority of their
bodies presented in Technicolor. Makoto was the worst, with a red
stain the covered the entirety of her front. Haruka glanced over
at Ranko.
"Let me guess. Hotaru had LOTS of grenades." She commented
wryly.
Ranko just grinned evilly.
"Thought so." Haruka shook her head.
As Haruka got closer, she was met by knowing looks from the
rest of the girls. Everyone except for Setsuna just looked at
her, then at each other and nodded. Haruka grinned ruefully.
"I swear I'll pay you back for this." She muttered out of
the side of her mouth, still grinning.
"Bring it on." Ranko calmly challenged, a small smile
playing across her mouth.
Haruka just snorted.
"Ranko? Could I talk to you for a second?" Setsuna's voice
rang out from where she was leaning against the van.
"Yeah! I'm comin'!" Ranko called as she jogged over.
"Whaddya want?" Ranma asked as soon as she got close to
Setsuna.
"The Amazon contingent is on its way to Tomobiki. I presume
the rest of your fiancees and foes are a short ways behind."
Setsuna announced calmly. Ranma paled, and then narrowed her
eyes.
"I won't ask how you got that information. Can I use your
cell?" Ranma asked. "I need to make a call."
Setsuna handed it over wordlessly. Ranma flipped it open
and rapidly dialed a number.
"Jun? Yeah, it's me. Is Ichiro there? Damn. Listen, tell
him that those options we discussed are going to have to be put to
good use. Yeah, Tomobiki's shot already. Thanks, Jun. Give your
kids a hug for me." Ranma slapped the phone shut and handed it
back. "Well, that's that."
"Who was that?" Setsuna asked, raising an eyebrow as she
replaced her phone in her purse.
"An old friend who owed me a favor." Ranma replied.
"And that's all I'm going to get?"
"And that's all you're going to get."
Setsuna considered for a few seconds, then nodded. "I can
live with that. Shall we go play some more paintball?"
"'We'? Are you getting involved?" Ranma asked.
Setsuna simply lifted her paintball gun in response. Ranma
grinned.
"Excellent."
******************
"How the HELL does she do that?" Ranko grumbled, as she
plopped down under a tree next to the rest of the girls.
"Got you too, eh?" Haruka asked from her spot by Michiru.
"Yeah. Didn't even see her." Ranko leaned her head against
the tree. "It was freaky. She shouldn't be able to do that!"
"Do what?"
"YAAAA!!" Ranko screamed and whirled to face Setsuna.
"That! How DO you do that?!?!"
Setsuna let a ghost of a smile flicker across her lips. "I
have my ways. Now, however, it's getting dark. We should be
getting home."
Ranko blinked, then stared at Setsuna's facemask. "Setsuna?
Just how did someone nail you?"
Setsuna's voice was dry as she answered. "Usagi tripped."
******************
Setsuna glanced into the rear-view mirror, then to the
passenger side of the van. "My, I wasn't expecting everyone to be
asleep THAT quickly."
Ranma didn't even look up as she spoke. "I'm not. I'm just
REALLY good at faking it. Learned in my classes."
Setsuna shot her a look. "You only pretended to sleep
through your classes? What about your grades? To be quite frank,
they suck."
"Hey, I managed passing grades after being stuck in China
for three years. Cut me some slack. Besides, I only slept
through classes I didn't need. Hell, I know English BETTER than
our teacher." Ranma retorted.
"Yes, I suppose being dragged all over the place by that
useless moron you call a father would enable you to learn a great
deal." Setsuna acknowledged.
Ranma sat up and looked over at her with a flat look.
"Look, my pops is an idiot. I'll admit that. But, he's also one
of the best fighters you'll ever meet. The techniques he invented
are so potent that not even Happosai wanted to mess with them. He
invented training methods that, while totally insane, were VERY
effective. So, while he is a moron, he's not useless."
Ranma paused for a few seconds, and then continued. "Heck,
he makes a GREAT paperweight."
Setsuna started to chuckle. "Yes, I'll admit that. Genma
Saotome would make a great paperweight."
In the very back of the van, Ami smiled slightly. She'd
been trying to do some research on Ranko, but had run into several
snags. Namely, Ranko had NOTHING to trace her by. Her history
was squeaky-clean. No fighting in school, no missed classes, no
troubles of any kind, nothing. Ami just plain didn't believe that
from what she knew of Ranko.
Now, she had a name to look for. Soon, she'd know just who
Ranko really was.
Setsuna glanced at the mirror and caught Ami's little smile.
<Perfect. That should give her enough to find what she needs to
know. Now, to deal with her thinking that she could eavesdrop on
me.>
Setsuna smiled as she subtly jerked the van a little. In
the back seat, Makoto's sleeping form slumped against Ami. And
then proceeded to wrap an arm around her and snuggle her face into
the side of Ami's neck. Ami rapidly began to turn several shades
of red.
<Okay, I can deal with this. All I have to do is push her
and she'll lean against Minako.> Ami glanced at Makoto, than
realized just WHERE she'd have to push to move her. <No way. I'd
rather she drool on me. I am NOT going to push on her...'talent'.
Nuh-uh.>
That resolve was tested when Makoto began to kiss the side
of her neck and mumble, giggling every so often.
"Iria-chan...." Makoto sighed, then fell silent.
Ami blinked. <Who in the world is 'Iria?' And why does it
sound familiar?>
******************
Tendo dojo.
Nabiki leaned back in her chair and listened to her spine
pop. She smiled to herself. Soon, her biggest moneymaker would
be back. It had been two weeks since Cologne and the assembled
fiancees had departed for Tomobiki. They should be back at any
time. The sound of a throat clearing behind her made her smile
grow larger.
She turned and smiled at Cologne. "So, how pissed was he
that you found him?"
"We didn't." Cologne did NOT look pleased.
"What?" Nabiki's smile vanished in a flash.
"He wasn't there. Apparently, someone warned him that we
were coming. So he disappeared." Cologne started to glare at
her.
Nabiki shrugged. She hadn't thought he could make an escape
with the time he had, but she was flexible. "I owed it to him.
Suffer."
"You seem awfully calm about this." Cologne remarked.
"I'm your best bet of finding him again. What are you going
to do to me?" Nabiki grinned.
"I could give you explosive flatulence."
"Excuse me?"
Cologne just smiled and continued. "Given that your
information was incorrect and Ranma was NOT in Tomobiki upon our
arrival, I believe you owe me your services until he is located."
Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "Try again. I told you his
CURRENT location. I made no guarantees as to how long he would be
there or where he would go next. In addition, I was paid to warn
him when his hiding place was discovered. That means if you want
me to discover where he is currently, you'll need to convince me
to find him." <And I don't like it when you try to threaten me.>
Cologne raised an eyebrow, then reached into one of her
sleeves. She pulled out something and tossed it on Nabiki's desk.
It impacted with a dull *thunk*.
Nabiki casually glanced over at it, then did a rapid triple-
take. Her eyes widened. "Is that gold?" She attempted to
casually ask. The fact that it came out as a squeak kind of
ruined her attempt, however.
"Yes. I believe that will be enough to ensure your best
efforts at hunting down Ranma?" Cologne asked needlessly.
"If it proves to be real." Nabiki managed to get out.
"It is. Just find him. Quickly." Cologne commanded as she
hopped over to the open window and exited silently.
Nabiki eyed the rather large nugget of gold resting on her
desk. <Hmm, that is a LOT of yen. Why is she in such a hurry to find
Ranma?>
******************
The Neko-hanten
"Great-grandmother talk to Mercenary Girl, yes?" Shampoo
asked as soon as Cologne entered the restaurant.
"Speak a civilized language, girl. I'm not up to listening
to you slaughter a language." Cologne commanded.
"But you have to admit, it makes the others underestimate
me." Shampoo remarked in their village's dialect then mumbled
under her breath. "And it's not like you've ever bothered to
tutor me in the damn language or anything."
"That is true." Cologne answered in the same tongue. She
decided to ignore the mumble. "However, their opinion will no
longer matter if we don't find Son-in-Law in the next few months.
It's almost been a year since I became involved, remember."
"I remember. Don't worry. With Nabiki on it, we'll find my
husband soon." Shampoo calmly replied.
"We'd better." Cologne declared. "If we don't, the only
other option will be to offer him full membership in the tribe."
"But-"
"Don't 'But' me, child! I will have him in the tribe! I
will take whatever steps are necessary, even offering him full
Warrior status!" Cologne snapped.
"The Council will never approve that!" Shampoo protested.
"Don't be stupid. I trained you to think. Try to use that
training. Remember, the Council is fully aware of just WHO killed
Saffron and how. Given the choice of never getting him in the
tribe or offering him full Warrior status, which do you think the
Council will take? Hmmm?" Cologne settled into a chair. "Face
it, blood of my blood. They'd drop your claim like it was a pile
of donkey manure to get him."
Shampoo slumped against the wall, tears wetting her cheeks.
Cologne moved over and embraced her gently.
"There, there, child. We'll find him. Besides-" Whatever
Cologne was about to say was cut off as someone opened the door
and stepped in. Cologne didn't even bother to look up as she
snapped, "We're closed! Can't you read the sign?"
"I apologize, Honored Elder. However, Potion was most
explicit about what would happen to me if I failed to deliver her
message as rapidly as possible." A melodic voice answered.
Cologne jerked upright, leaving Shampoo to wipe her cheeks
off and compose herself.
Cologne regarded her visitor. She looked like a small girl
dressed in a light green shirt and matching pants. Her iridescent
green hair, slight body (under two feet tall, in fact), and the
way she seemed unable to stay in one place for more than a few
seconds all clearly spelled out her true nature.
"You're one of Potion's transformed hummingbirds, aren't
you." Cologne stated.
"Yupyupyup!" The girl paused in her exploration of the
underside of one of the tables long enough to hand Cologne a small
gem.
Cologne regarded it coolly. "Are you supposed to wait for an
answer?"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Then...shouldn't you be returning?" Cologne asked pointedly.
The girl stared at her for a few seconds, then gasped and
took off running. As she exited the building, a pair of wings
emerged from under her shirt and carried her off.
Cologne sighed. Potion's hummingbirds were wonderful
messengers, but their attention span was almost non-existent after
they had finished their tasks. She turned her attention to the
gem in her hand. A quick application of chi unlocked the message
held in it.
An image unfolded in the air above it. A feminine figure,
enshrouded by her robe to the point that it was hard to determine
even that much, bowed towards Cologne.
Cologne sighed internally. Potion and her blasted
'mysterious mage' impressions.
"Greetings, Elder. I hope this finds you in good health."
Cologne sighed again and settled in for a long wait. Whenever a
message from Potion began like that, it meant she was about to
pontificate.
"I am sending this message to you in order to alert you to a
vision I had recently. As I was exploring the far reaches of the
Spirit World, at a great danger to myself I should add, I happened
to meet a spirit......"
Cologne set the gem on a table and went to get some tea for
herself and Shampoo. She decided to brew it the long way. She'd
have the time before the message got to the point.
It takes at least two hours to PROPERLY make tea, in
Cologne's opinion. She decided to take a bit longer. She carried
out two cups when she had finished, giving one to the busily
cleaning Shampoo. On the table, the image was saying something
about 'facing the Gates of Perdition and Evil Incarnate.'
"Why can't she include a fast-forward feature on those
things?" Shampoo muttered.
Cologne shook her head. "I don't know. But it's been a few
hours. She should be getting to the point soon."
"....And that was when the TRUE form of the vision made
itself clear!" The image announced triumphantly.
"Finally!" Cologne sighed.
"The vision was simple: A stallion changed into a warrior
with an old soul. He faced a great darkness, ancient and evil.
At his right side walked a woman of great power and knowledge. At
his left, a child who could destroy all that is. Behind him, a
group of warriors, prepared to give their all to defeat the
darkness." Potion's image paused. "To be perfectly frank, I
don't know the exact meaning of the vision. I tried to find out
more, but failed. All I could discern was the fact that it
involved you. Also...whoever the horse warrior is, his heart and
soul belongs to an Amazon."
Cologne and Shampoo shared a look and a smile. Perfect.
For all of her other faults, Potion NEVER got a vision
interpretation wrong. Ever. Ranma was theirs.
******************
Setsuna's house.
Ranma dropped into bed and sighed. The last two weeks had
been fun. He was with people who didn't try to kill him,
manipulate him, or force him into things. Admittedly, he wasn't
enjoying the MASSIVE load of schoolwork Setsuna was shoveling onto
his shoulders, but she was also tutoring him in the material.
Heck, she made it fun. She managed to find a way to relate
everything he was learning to martial arts, in one form or
another. Most evenings were spent closeted in her office, either
going over his lessons or planning what to do next in the Senshi's
training.
In addition, she was sparring with him on a regular basis,
usually every morning before he woke up Haruka. And she was good.
VERY good. She could probably give Cologne or Happosai a decent
workout. Of course, he was better. Even so, he couldn't wait to
see the looks on the Nerima crew next time he fought them.
In addition, his first students had been getting better at a
nearly unbelievable rate. In fact, if Setsuna hadn't explained
just WHY they were learning so fast, he'd have been slightly
worried. She said that his teaching was making them remember what
they had learned in their past lives.
Hell, he hadn't even known that past lives existed. You
learn something new every day.
And every night, for that matter. For the last two weeks,
he had experienced intensely vivid dreams every...single...night! It
wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the same guy
kept showing up in every last one. And he was really annoying.
What kind of a person named himself 'Nemesis', anyways?
Ranma blinked. He was standing in an empty courtyard.
Looking up, he could see the Earth hanging in the sky. He sighed,
then dropped to the ground by the simple method of doing the
splits. He ignored the leg that shot over his head and snapped
his right fist back as hard as he could.
A deeply satisfying *crunch*, a labored in-drawing of
breath, and a pained squeak resulted.
Ranma got to his feet, adjusted his pants and turned around.
Nemesis was standing in a slightly hunched over stance, trying not
to wince.
"Damn, that felt like it must have REALLY hurt." Ranma
happily noted.
"Where-" Nemesis coughed, then started again. "Where the
hell did you get brass knuckles?"
"It's MY dream, buddy. You do the math." Ranma lifted his
right hand and adjusted the brass knuckles. "And you almost
ALWAYS open with that kick from behind me."
"Right. Mind if I lay down and try to remember how to
breathe?"
"Not until I get some answers." Ranma firmly answered.
"Ah, forget it." Nemesis shook his head and straightened
out. "Nice punch."
"Thanks. I suppose you're going to attack me now?"
"Am I getting that predictable?"
"Yes." Ranma answered flatly.
Nemesis shrugged. "Oh my. That's a bad thing."
Ranma blinked, and Nemesis vanished. Ranma immediately
wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken and reached out with his chi,
but found nothing. Ranma smiled slightly. This was going to
be...fun.
To anyone watching, the fight would have been extremely
dull. A shimmer in the air here, a flicker of shadow there, and a
variety of attacks shooting out at apparently random moments.
Ranma was having the time of his life. Nemesis was faster
than he was and a nastier fighter. Ranma was quicker at devising
new tactics and had almost a decade fighting against one of the
dirtiest fighters on the planet. And fighting against Happosai
and Cologne had taught him a few tricks, too. He almost never
used them, but what the hell. It was a dream. Might as well have
some fun.
"Happodaikarin!" *BA-BA-BOOM*
"CHAOS LANCE!" *KA-ZAKT*
"Aura blast!" *THOOM*
"CHAOS FLARE!" *FWOOSH*
"You know, this really isn't doing it for me. It's rather
boring, in fact. What do you say we just go hand to hand?" Nemesis
called from a shadow.
"Works for me." Ranma said, dropping the Umisen-ken.
Nemesis smiled and stepped out of the shadows. Both of them
grinned.
"Let's rock this place." Nemesis stated.
Ranma let his body do the talking for him. He rushed
towards Nemesis and arced into his near-trademarked leap kick.
Nemesis slapped his kick to the side and responded with a punch to
Ranma's back as he passed by. Ranma hit the ground rolling and
came out of it in a ready stance facing Nemesis.
Nemesis left him no time to attack again as he charged in,
leading with a flurry of kicks and punches. Ranma deflected a
left jab, blocked the follow-up right cross, and used the
roundhouse kick that followed as an opportunity trap his leg and
nail him with a quick shot to the side of the knee. Nemesis
responded by ignoring the leg-hold and took advantage Ranma's
immobilized left arm with a nasty jab to the face. Ranma gritted
his teeth as he felt his nose reduce itself to several pieces from
the blow.
Ranma dropped the leg-hold and jumped back. Nemesis fell
back a bit as well, favoring his hurt leg a little. Ranma reached
up and shifted the position of his nose back into something close
to what it should be. Nemesis raised an eyebrow.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
"Only the first three or four times." Ranma replied
lightly.
"Well, that's true." Nemesis allowed, before running at
Ranma.
Ranma faded back, and let Nemesis throw his punch. Then he
dropped to the ground, slammed his left leg into the back of
Nemesis' calves and whipped his right leg around and into the
front of his thighs. Nemesis dropped back, rolled with the
impact, untangled his legs while rolling, and flipped to his feet
just in time to have Ranma perform discount dentistry via a
spinning back kick.
Nemesis hit the ground, then quickly rolled to the side to
avoid letting Ranma rearrange his face with a knee drop. He
continued the roll to gain distance, then regained his feet. He
turned his head to the side and spit a few small, white objects
into his hand. He raised an eyebrow, then tossed the teeth over
his shoulder.
"Okay, now I'm angry."
Ranma simply smirked and charged. His quick punch combo was
easily deflected, the follow-up kick and knee strike was as well,
but the punch to the side of the head landed nicely. Ranma
slipped his head to the side to avoid a fast jab, and responded
with a palm strike to the sternum. That earned him a snap kick to
the knee. He slid back to get out of range, then dashed in. He
wove to the outside of a left punch, slapped the elbow up with his
left hand, and unloaded an Amaguriken-level set of punches to the
ribs. A series of loud snaps resulted.
Nemesis responded to the assault with a side kick to Ranma's
sternum. The force of the blow sent Ranma skidding across the
courtyard. Ranma clutched at his chest as he stood and tried to
ignore the fact that he could FEEL several ribs shift as he moved.
A quick inspection with his fingers revealed the damages: Cracked
sternum, eight broken ribs.
<Well, breathing's gonna be fun.> Ranma thought ruefully.
<Knew I shouldn't have gone for those last few punches.>
Nemesis charged in. Ranma quickly shunted the pain to the
back of his mind and tossed a quick right jab, then a left.
Nemesis caught both and held them under his arms, immobilizing
them. Nemesis drew his head back slightly in preparation for a
head-butt, but Ranma beat him to the punch by slamming a quick
couple of head-butts in, followed by giving Nemesis a savage knee
to the groin. That earned Ranma a head-butt to his already broken
nose (which hurt like hell), but also made Nemesis let him go.
Ranma and Nemesis drew back and studied each other.
"Hey, your nose is broken again." Nemesis taunted.
"So is yours." Ranma called back.
"What?" Nemesis reached up to his face and felt his nose.
"Well, damn. You know, you usually aren't this nasty in a fight."
Ranma shrugged. "Usually, I don't need to be. Kuno,
Mousse, Ryoga, none of them are actually dangerous enough that I
NEED to get mean. Besides, you can take it. They can't."
"What makes you think I can take it?" Nemesis asked calmly.
"The fact that you're not coughing up blood. The punches to
your ribs should have punctured your lung. Considering the fact
that I FELT them do just that, I'd say you can take some serious
punishment." Ranma coldly stated.
"Good call." Nemesis acknowledged, then dashed towards
Ranma again. Ranma simply smiled and sank into a ready stance,
favoring his ribs.
******************
Hotaru snapped awake in an instant, then shot a glance
around her room. Something was happening. She could feel it.
Something weird. She could feel some kind of familiar energy, but
couldn't remember where she had felt it before.
She was about to get out of bed when the feeling abruptly
faded. She sat up, slightly alarmed by the sudden cessation of
the sensation.
"What was that? Maybe I should tell Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru
wondered and then realized what time it was. "Two in the morning? It
can wait."
If Hotaru had actually managed to follow the emanations to
their point of origin, she would have been surprised at how close
the source was. About twenty feet from her, in fact. Ranko's
room, to be precise.
If she had actually entered Ranko's room, she would have
been VERY surprised. You don't usually see someone twitching and
jerking as a corona of black energy cocooned them, after all.
******************
Ranma snarled to himself as Nemesis charged in. The fight
was about to get really nasty. With his ribs more or less reduced
to free-floating lung puncture devices, he had five minutes left,
tops. He narrowed his eyes. <Alright, let's see how you handle
some Yamasen-ken.>
Nemesis started with a nice, simple left jab. Ranma
responded with a move that was anything but nice and simple.
"FIERCE TIGER OPENING GATES BLOW!" Ranma slapped both of
Nemesis' arms out wide and slammed a foot to his sternum. Taking
advantage of the opening, Ranma stepped in and drove his stiffened
hand into Nemesis' stomach.
"WELCOME GATE IRON FAN FINGERS!" Ranma was careful not to
use full power behind his blow. He just wanted to win the fight,
not kill. As Nemesis staggered back from the fierce assault,
Ranma finished with the third move in his combo.
"ASSAULT OF THE ENRAGED BEAR!" Ranma slammed two ponderous
overhand strikes into Nemesis' collarbones, resulting in distinct
cracking noises, followed by a hard strike to each side of the
face, and culminating in a hammer fist to the forehead. The front
kick to Nemesis' right hip wasn't supposed to be in the technique,
but Ranma never could leave a technique unmodified. Nemesis flew
back and hit the ground limply.
Ranma sank to the ground. "Heh. Said it once, said it a
thousand times. 'Ranma Saotome-"
"'-Doesn't lose.' Yeah, so I've heard." Nemesis' voice
interjected. Ranma snapped his gaze to where Nemesis SHOULD have
been contemplating all the pretty stars. He was getting up,
seemingly unharmed.
"H-how?" Ranma stammered out.
"Think about it. You said it yourself." Nemesis smirked,
than continued. "All of this is just.... Come on, work with me!"
"A dream." Ranma breathed. <Of course. How the HELL could
I have forgotten that?!>
"Finally remembered that, did you?" Nemesis sarcastically
drawled. Ranma glared at him as he stood, pain forgotten and
removed in a heartbeat.
"You haven't figured it out, have you." Nemesis stated.
"Figured out what?" Ranma demanded.
"Why I'm here. In your dreams, that is. Why I keep
pestering you. Think about it. Yeah, I know it's a difficult
task. Do it anyways." Nemesis commanded.
Ranma glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Nemesis began to walk around Ranma, talking all the while.
"It's really fairly obvious, if you bother to put together all the
facts. All those dreams you have of fighting youma. Your
blackouts. Why your life is such a chaotic hellhole. Who am I.
Think. REMEMBER." The last word was spoken with intense command.
Nemesis stalked towards Ranma until he was standing face-to-
face with him. "Why do I know you? THINK, Ranma. Why do I
remember how Genma tied you to the back of a train to teach you to
run faster? Why do I know what it felt like when you broke your
arm the first time you tried to roof-hop?"
Nemesis dropped his voice to a harsh whisper. "More
importantly, why do you remember what Venus looked like at night?
Why can you remember the way Queen Serenity looked when she let
her hair down? Why do you remember Beryl? Prince Endymion?
Kunzite? Arik? Ella? Rianna? Ice? Why can you remember the
passcodes to bypass the Royal Palace's security system?"
As Nemesis spoke, images ripped through Ranma's mind like
jagged saw blades. People, places, things, occasions, none of
them his, yet he knew all of them. He reached up and grasped the
sides of his head. Nemesis continued even as Ranma started to
shake his head in an attempt to make sense of the images.
Finally, Nemesis reached out, grabbed Ranma's head, and forced him
to meet his gaze.
"THINK, damn it! REMEMBER!! Our Queen is in danger! How
do you know me?! How do you know my fighting style?! WHO AM I?!"
Nemesis finished in a scream.
Ranma stared into his eyes like a deer facing headlights.
He couldn't blink, couldn't turn away as those eyes gazed into his
soul and ripped out memories of another soul, another being to lay
them out where all could see.
"Who am I?" Nemesis whispered softly. Ranma slowly opened
his mouth. Slowly, he spoke in a thin, faint voice.
"You are Nemesis. The Senshi of Chaos. Bodyguard to the
Royal Family. Protector of Queen Serenity. Son of Arik. You
are...." Ranma's voice trailed off.
Nemesis nodded. "I am...."
Ranma swallowed, then hesitantly continued. "You're...me."
Nemesis smiled widely as he released Ranma's head and
stepped back. "Finally."
Nemesis began to laugh loudly, throwing his head back and
letting loose with a series of deep, full-body guffaws. He
abruptly broke them off and stared at Ranma with glee in his eyes.
"Do you know what this means?"
Ranma just stared at him in confusion and shook his head.
"It means it's time to wake up. I'll see you later."
Nemesis smiled and waved, then faded away.
******************
Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting
position in her bed. The black energy that was rapidly fading
away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already
faded from her memory, but something important had happened in it.
She could feel it. She could also feel that she wasn't going to
get back to sleep tonight.
Ranma shot a glance at the clock as she climbed out of bed.
<Huh. Three A.M. Weird, just two hours of sleep and I feel
fine.>
Ranma walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt and
pants. As she pulled them on, she began to plan what to do for
the rest of the night. <Hmmm, start with a quick run. Fifteen
miles should do it. Then, well...I guess I'll hit a pit fight or
two. Never hurts to keep in practice and my ready cash could use
the boost. And I'd better snag some clothes. These ones are
getting too small.>
She shrugged on her shirt and was ready to exit via the
window as usual when a thought hit her. <Wait. 'Too small'? I'm
in my cursed form. These things should be swimming on me!>
She shot over to the mirror and stared at her reflection.
<Oh...holy...kamis. I'm huge.>
Ranma had to pinch herself repeatedly before she realized
that she was indeed awake. She slowly started to take stock of
the changes. She was taller. Much taller. She could probably
look down on her un-cursed form, in fact. A rough estimate put
her at about 5'8". Her hair had lengthened to midway down her
back and was still in the pigtail, which was kind of puzzling, as
it should have grown out of it as the hair grew. Muscle tone was
a bit better, flexibility seemed to be a little higher, and sense
of balance was still exactly right. Muscle mass had increased,
but she still somehow managed to convey a look of fragility. Her
breasts seemed to be the same size, but on the larger frame they
didn't seem quite so unusual. Added to the slimmer face, slightly
thinner frame, and overall leaner look provided by the last
vestiges of baby fat disappearing, and it was likely that anyone
from Nerima would have to take a second look to be sure it was
her.
In short, she had gone from "very cute" to "stunningly
beautiful."
"Oh, man. Kuno'll NEVER leave me alone now!" Ranma
groaned, then froze. Her voice wasn't the same either. It had
deepened. Judging from her (rather limited) knowledge on the
subject, she put it at somewhere between her former soprano and a
mezzo-soprano.
A sudden fear gripped her and she ran for the kitchen. It
seemed to take forever for the water to warm up in the kettle, but
it finally did. She grabbed the kettle and rapidly returned to
her room. She stared at the kettle for a few seconds, then
steeled herself and dumped it over her head.
A familiar tingling washed over her and he sighed in relief.
Or he would have, if a sudden pain hadn't made him double over.
Apparently, his un-cursed form had gained some size too. And
shifting into too-small boxers REALLY hurt. Faintly, he could
hear a series of rips as his clothing decided that it didn't want
to hold together anymore. As his boxers finally gave away, Ranma
dragged in a deep breath and whimpered slightly.
<Okay, note to self: Never leave boxers that are a bit snug
on my female form on when changing!> Ranma groaned as he slowly
and painfully rose to his feet, shedding the rags of his clothes
as he went.
This time, it was easier to see the changes that had
occurred. The most obvious was his height. Rough estimate put
him at 6'2", which was a good two inches over Kuno and Mr. Tendo.
His musculature was a bit more defined, but wasn't insanely
bulging. His face was thinner, which gave it a more chiseled look
and made it look more refined. He had the obvious increases in
reach, stride, and center of balance, but no need to adjust his
balance, which was downright weird. It was like he'd put on a
massive growth spurt, with no advanced notice, no sudden hunger,
and no need to get used to it.
Bluntly, he'd gone from "handsome" to "grade A prime
beefcake" in the space of two hours.
"This...is weird." Ranma murmured in a baritone. <Damn it!
My real voice changed too! It's like puberty, only quicker!>
Ranma grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around
himself, and then wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken just for good
measure. He carefully walked out of the room, across the hall,
and into the bathroom to get a glass of cold water.
Ranma reached for the cup and was about to fill it when the
door opened. He immediately leapt to the ceiling and re-cloaked
himself with the Umisen-ken. He started to silently swear as
Setsuna walked in. Then he had to fight off a nosebleed as he
realized what she was wearing. It was lacey. And small. And
sheer in a great many places. And he was in just the right place
to remove what few concealing properties it might have had.
Ranma screwed his eyes shut and tried to erase what he had
just seen from his mind. He did not need another woman pissed at
him. He did not need another person wanting to kill him. He did
not need to know that Setsuna's hair color was natural. He REALLY
didn't need the last one especially.
Below him, he heard Setsuna fill a glass and drink it, then
fill it again. She silently stood there for a few seconds, then
began to mumble to herself.
"Damn it, Setsuna! Get a hold of yourself! She's your
student! No matter how much you want to go in there, rip off her
clothes, and have mad, passionate sex, you can't give in!"
Setsuna began to thump something against the wall. Her head, if
Ranma was any judge. And he was. However, her next words nearly
made him lose his grip on the ceiling.
"I must not seduce Ranko. I must not seduce Ranko. I must
not seduce Ranko. I must not cover her in honey, chocolate sauce,
and whipped cream just so I can lick it off. I must be good. I
must be in control. I will not seduce Ranko." Setsuna drew in a
deep breath, then let it out. "Okay, I can do this."
Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief as Setsuna opened the
door and left. He opened his eyes and started to climb down from
the ceiling. Luckily, he didn't let go of the Umisen-ken.
Setsuna walked back in, this time wearing a robe. Ranma froze.
Setsuna pulled a compact umbrella out of her pocket, opened it,
then reached outside the door and grabbed something. Ranma had
just enough time to wonder what was going on when the bucketful of
cold water hit him.
"Next time you hide, remember to hold your breath." Setsuna
said with a smile. She tossed him a thermos then turned and
walked out.
<How long did she know I was there?> Ranma wondered as she
climbed to her feet and chased after Setsuna. She dumped a
portion of the hot water in the thermos over her head, and
adjusted the blanket. Setsuna calmly strode down the hallway and
into her room. When Ranma walked through her doorway, he caught
several articles of clothing. In his face, to be precise.
"Those should fit you." Setsuna informed him.
"Ah...right." Ranma said, trying to juggle the clothes
without losing the blanket around his waist. "Could you...you
know...turn around or somethin'?"
Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for? After all, I
changed in front of you. Turnabout seems fair to me."
Ranma just narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just do it!
Please?"
"Oh, all right. But you REALLY need to loosen up." Setsuna
commented as she turned. Ranma sighed in relief and quickly
dropped the blanket and got dressed. The clothes fit him nearly
perfectly. Not his usually colors, but that was okay. Why did it
seem right to wear a black shirt and pants? And the silver
scrollwork on the shirt and pants seemed to fit him, too.
"Okay, I'm done."
"So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over
towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a
mirror. A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see
her, then she could....
"Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started
to blush.
"You seem to be taking this pretty well." Ranma commented
in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"I've seen almost everything over the years, Ranma.
Besides, you're not the first person to suddenly go through a
massive growth spurt in this house." Setsuna calmly answered.
Ranma snapped his head around.
"Then you know what happened to me?" Ranma asked, a bit
desperately.
"Yes, I do." Setsuna replied, as she walked over to a
blanket-covered freestanding mirror. "Brace yourself."
"Wha-?" But Ranma didn't managed to utter anymore, as
Setsuna uncovered the mirror and he saw himself. Black pants,
black shirt, silver scrollwork patterns embroidered up the sides
of both the pants and shirt, and on his forehead....
A sigil etched itself in ebon flames. An upside-down
crescent moon. Ranma stared at it. He slowly walked forward and
touched his hand to the mirror. He traced the sigil's image. The
memory hit him like a freight train.
Flash.
Jump to the left. Avoid the lightning from the Chaos storm
overhead. Jump over the Cat, fist to the spine as I go. I smile
at the sound of bone shattering under my fist. Roll under its
death-strike. Kick off the rock spire to my left, avoid the
creeper plant vines. I laugh as the vines snag the body of the
Cat.
I climb the wall to my home. I slip in the entrance. He's
there. My father. He greets me with a smile and a hug.
"Hello, Arin. How was your day?"
I am four years old.
Flash.
I place the last rock on the grave of my father. As I
ponder the grave for a few moments, I wonder at the lapse in the
omni-present Chaos storms. It's as though Nemesis itself mourns
with me. I turn and walk away. I never look back. In my brain,
I can hear his voice.
"One day, son, I will die. On that day, I want you to
grieve. Then move on. Don't worry about what might have been,
only what will be. You can't change the past. Bury me and move
forward. Never look back. Ever."
I pick up my pack and put it on as I walk. I already know
my goal. My father's ship. With it, I can get off-planet. I
have a mission. I can feel the pull. My Princess has been born.
She needs me. I will go to her. Nothing will stop me.
I am seven years old.
Flash.
I kick the panel in rage. It is totally destroyed. I
cannot repair it. Very well. I will launch without it. After
all, I don't need artificial gravity.
I walk down the hall to the cargo bay. Once there, I
prepare my meal from the small amount of supplies left.
I will be ready to take off tomorrow. Hopefully, the ship
won't break up upon exit. It holds everything I have left of my
father.
Flash.
I can feel it. A shining beacon to my senses. The
Ginzuisho. I weave the spell to teleport to it.
As my vision clears, I see her. My Queen. Father was right
about her hair. It was a ridiculous sight. I open my eyes to her
aura and am humbled. Father was right about that, too.
I kneel and present myself.
I am eight years old.
Flash.
I close my eyes and center myself. I must focus. The
Elders aren't to be taken likely. I can feel my Queen arrive
overhead. There are others with her. Very well. I can deal with
that.
I walk up the tunnel and into the Coliseum. Uranus and the
rest of the Elders are waiting for me. In my memory, I hear my
father's words.
"At times, you will face opponents stronger than you.
Tougher than you. Faster than you. Smarter than you. In order
to beat them, you must have a greater drive to live than them.
You must be willing to go farther, fight longer, and endure more.
You must never even CONSIDER losing."
I speak. "Uranus!"
Flash.
My ribs hurt. I can't see out of my left eye. I can feel
internal bleeding. It's hard to breathe.
I reach over and rip the top off of a bench. Uranus takes
an astonishing amount of damage before she goes down. Mars does
too. I hope neither of them are seriously hurt.
I walk over to my Queen and bend over her hand. I have to
force back the blackness when I straighten. After she dismisses
me, I take Pluto's hand. A shock runs through me at the contact.
To cover for my surprise, I state something trite about her hair.
I barely make it to my room before I pass out.
I am eleven years old.
Flash.
I watch my Princess fall to her knees. I force myself to
wait. After a few seconds, I go and comfort her. As she runs
off, I turn to address my Queen.
I am thirteen years old.
Flash.
I land on the dusty soil of Mimas and ensure nothing has
revealed my presence. I can feel Sailor Jupiter. I slowly unwind
the chain from my left arm.
By the time I find Jupiter, the chain is more red than
silver.
I am sixteen years old.
Flash.
I wave goodbye to my mother from my position on my father's
shoulder. We're going to go train.
Flash.
I laugh with my charges as Mercury cuts through the
brawler's guard like one of her knives goes through steel. Three
seconds later, the man is, appropriately enough, out cold.
I gather our winnings and lead the way out of the town and
into the Jovian wilds.
Flash.
I laugh with my friend as I win another okonomiyaki.
Flash.
I see the surprise on my Queen's face when I present her
daughter and her bodyguards.
Flash.
I scream as my father throws me to the cats again.
Flash.
I stare down at the black-haired bundle in my hands.
Briefly, the sigil of Saturn flares on her brow.
Flash.
I feel my body changing as I surface from the spring. A
single glance is all I need. My scream fills the air.
Flash.
I stare at the sun from the balcony of my room. Something
is wrong. Something has disturbed the prison.
Flash.
I prepare myself for Herb's attack.
Flash.
I glare at the red-head across the table from me. There's
something behind her green eyes that I don't like, don't trust.
Serenity won't listen to me, however.
Flash.
I balance on the blade and hold my mother to my chest.
Below me, I hear the sea, around me whispers the wind. I am at
peace.
Flash.
I stand on the surface of my planet and scream in rage and
pain as my own power rips it to pieces.
Flash.
I hover in the air and scream in rage and pain as my attack
freezes and shatters Saffron.
Flash.
I stare up at the sky. I can no longer see the Earth. The
entire sky is black. Mettalia is free. I can feel my Princess'
life drain away. I can feel my Queen prepare to cast a final
spell with the last of her life energy.
I have failed.
I have failed.
I have failed.
Flash. I am the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes
Martial Arts. I am Sailor Nemesis. I have many fiancees.I have
one who completes my soul. I have many enemiesI have many
enemiesIamRanmaIamArinFLASH
*STOP*
I am...myself.
I am...whole.
Darkness.
******************
Ranma opened his eyes. A face met his gaze. A very
familiar face.
"Hi. How's the head?" Nemesis asked calmly. Ranma
groaned.
"What the hell happened to me?"
"I'd guess that you received one too many memories at once.
Getting a couple of decades worth shoved into your skull in a few
seconds has to hurt." Nemesis answered as he sat down in a chair that
appeared from nowhere. Ranma sat up and looked around. As far as he
could see, there was an unending gray fog. He looked down. Ground of
the same color as the fog met his eyes.
"Wait. You'd 'guess'? I though you knew everything."
Ranma sarcastically remarked. Nemesis snorted.
"Yeah, sure. You know better. Or at least you should. Idiot."
Nemesis retorted. "I'm you. A little older, a little more
experienced, but still you. You know what I know, I know what you
know. No more, no less."
Ranma slowly stood up and sat in a chair. He wondered for a second
where the chair came from, then dismissed it as unimportant. "So, why
am I sitting here talking to myself?"
Nemesis grinned. "'Cause schizophrenia beats being alone."
Ranma acknowledged the point with a nod of his head and an answering
grin. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, finding out what happened while we were gone would be a good
idea. The Senshi are in Eternal forms. They shouldn't be. Not this
soon. And we have to find out what happened to Beryl and Metallia.
And finding whoever's in charge of the attacks on our Queen and
killing him or her sounds nice." Nemesis paused. "However, one 'To
Do' REALLY stands out. We need to check on someone."
Ranma looked puzzled for a few seconds, then he realized what Nemesis
was talking about. He smiled then slowly shook his head. "Man, that
is going to take some getting used to."
Nemesis shrugged. "At least you're not in denial."
"Kinda hard to be in denial about something I can remember in
photographic detail." Ranma answered. He frowned at the darkness
surrounding them. "So, how do we get out of here?"
Nemesis smiled enigmatically. "How do YOU think we get out of here?"
Ranma smirked. "You don't a have a clue, either."
"Nope!" Nemesis cheerfully replied. Ranma shook his head, then
winced and rubbed his cheek.
"Why the hell does my cheek hurt?" Ranma muttered angrily.
******************
Setsuna sighed and continued to lightly slap Ranma's cheek. "Come
on, wake up." She smiled as Ranma groaned and began to stir.
"Finally."
Ranma opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly. He sat up slowly and
started to rub his cheek, grumbling. "Why the hell were you hitting
me? Crazy chick."
Setsuna twitched. "'Crazy chick'? You are going to pay for that."
She mumbled under her breath. Ranma suddenly felt an unexplainable
chill, but shrugged it off as he stood up and walked towards the
door. Setsuna gracefully rose to her feet as well.
"Where are you going?"
Ranma grinned. "I'm going to check on someone. Wanna take a guess
who?"
"I don't need to. She's asleep, you know." Setsuna commented.
Ranma just grinned and walked towards the door. As he went a wave of
black energy rippled over him, transforming him to Nemesis. He walked
into the hallway and strode down it like he owned it. As he went past
the bathroom, he paused.
"You know, Uranus, I'm pretty sure that you should probably wear
clothes when you go to get a drink. Oh, you still have that birthmark
on your shoulder. Cool." Nemesis waved as he continued his trek.
Haruka burst out of the bathroom, hastily wrapping a towel around
herself as she went.
"What is he doing here?" She demanded of Setsuna.
Setsuna just glanced at her and walked past. Michiru, hearing the
noise, opened the door of Haruka's room and leaned out.
"What's going on out here? What is *he* doing here?!" She hissed
towards Haruka. Haruka just mutely shrugged and followed Setsuna and
Nemesis. Setsuna paused at Hotaru's doorway. Haruka and Michiru
joined her and looked in.
Inside, Nemesis was standing over Hotaru as she lay sleeping.
She had kicked off her covers and was shivering slightly. He smiled,
and gently drew the blankets up to her shoulders and tucked them under
her. He leaned over, brushed the hair away from her face, and cupped
her cheek. The sigil of Saturn glowed briefly on her forehead as he
drew his hand back.
"Setsuna, what is going on? What is he doing here?" Haruka softly
demanded.
Setsuna smiled slightly as she answered. "It's simple, really. He's
tucking his daughter in for the night."
End Chapter 7
TBC.....
******************
Author's notes
I had a LOT of fun with this chapter. I particularly
enjoyed the "stream of consciousness" flashback sections. I've
always enjoyed writing in that style.
Cliffhanger? Sure, why not! Heck, I LOVE those too!
As always, ANY C&C is appreciated! Heck, I even read
flames!
Ja Ne!
Slacker
(rheins@pmt.org)
Alpha draft: 06/15/01
Beta draft: 07/26/01
And, just for reading this far....AN OMAKE!
"Okay, I'm done."
"So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over
towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a
mirror. A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see
her, then she could....
"Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started
to blush. Setsuna snickered and turned away, then gasped as a pair of
arms wrapped around her waist.
"Same to you." Ranma whispered in her ear, then began to nibble on
her earlobe. Setsuna gulped as his hands began to wander.
"Mad, passionate sex sounds like a good idea right now, you know."
She stammered out.
"Mmmm-hmmm. Too bad this is just an Omake."
"Damn author."
"Yup."
OMAKE #2! (Just 'cause you guys are special! This one was written by
Tom Ladegard. Blame him, not me. Or something.)
Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting position in her
bed. Or at least tried to. The black energy that was rapidly fading
away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already faded
from her memory, but something important had happened in it. She could
feel it.
She could also feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep
tonight. While the previous feeling was somewhat vague, almost
mystical, this one seemed to come from a more definitive source.
Maybe it was her lack of clothes. Or the silk cords fastening her to
the corners of her bed. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the look on
Setsuna's face as she sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in something
that seemed mostly to be lace and imagination, and in a quiet voice
announced, "Remedial Sexual Education pop quiz."
--
***********************************************
STUDENT: Master, what is the secret of a popular fanfic?
MASTER: Child, the secret is simply this: You must serve the fans.
STUDENT: So the secret is fanservice?
MASTER: You begin to learn, grasshopper.
After finishing a story:
If you liked the story, drink a bottle to celebrate.
If you disliked the story, drink two bottles to cheer you up.
If you're apathetic, then drink till you care, dammit!
(From a Slayers drinking game.)
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators -
ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing -
ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`----
http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'