Many times over the years did Mamoru Chiba wonder exactly
why his parents had gone over the edge of a cliff in their car.
He also wondered constantly about his lack of other relatives.
That was why he had hired a private investigator years ago to
try to dig up his past and maybe find a relative or two. After
he had become Tuxedo Mask and met Usagi, he had forgotten the
investigation into his past. That is, until now...
Twin Dragons Under Moonlight
A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon X-over
Mamoru practically staggered up the stairs to his
apartment. It had been another late night fighting one of the
Daimons that the Witches Five never seemed to run short of. It
didn't register immediately that there was someone waiting for
him by his apartment until a polite cough caught his attention.
"Excuse me, but are you Mamoru Chiba?" The man asked.
When Mamoru finally saw him, he found an unshaven man wearing a
tan trench coat.
"And you are?" He asked flatly.
"My apologies, I should have introduced myself." The man
bowed briefly and handed him his card. "Ichiro Yamada, private
investigator. You hired me to find out what I could about your
family quite a few years ago." Ichiro gave him a wry smile;
"I'm not surprised you had forgotten, seeing as how I couldn't
find anything until recently. May I come in and share my
findings with you?"
Mamoru was shocked fully awake by this revelation. "You
mean, you found something?"
Ichiro smiled and held up a manila envelope, "Mostly on
your Mother's side of the family."
Mamoru led the man inside and quickly prepared some tea.
When he returned to the living room, Ichiro was looking about
with a fair amount of interest.
"You got some pretty nice digs here. Not too fancy, but
not shabby at all."
Mamoru frowned slightly as he placed the tea on the
table. "I believe you are here to talk about my mother, not my
lifestyle."
"Of course." Ichiro sat heavily and then opened the
manila envelope. He overturned it onto the table causing a few
pieces of paper and a single photograph to fall out. "Your
mother's maiden name was Yuriko Hibiki."
"Yuriko Hibiki?"
"Yes. Once I had her maiden name, I was able to locate
one of your cousins." Ichiro picked up the photo and handed it
to a stunned Mamoru. The photo showed a young man with a wild
shock of black hair held out of his eyes with a yellow and
black spotted bandanna. A small smirk held his lips, causing
one of his prominent fangs to peek out from behind his lip.
His hazel-green eyes seemed to be narrowed slightly, as if
challenging the person taking the photo. Well-muscled arms
were crossed and a large pack was on his back.
"His name is Ryouga Hibiki. He's about sixteen years old
and has been seen a lot near a place called the Tendo Dojo.
It's amazing really..."
Mamoru looked up curiously, "Why is that?"
Ichiro shrugged and leaned back into the couch, "The
Hibiki families' lack of a sense of direction is legendary.
Heck, they have a standing account with my office for finding
members of their family, usually from people that married into
the family of course."
"Wow." He murmured, "I wonder how I was spared?"
Ichiro shrugged, "No idea. I did find out one other
thing that you might not want to hear..."
"Go on."
"Well..." he fiddled with his hands for a few moments
before he continued, "Your mother was the one driving the day
your parents died. I'm sorry."
"My parents were killed... because of her bad sense of
direction?"
Ichiro only nodded as he stood. "I'm sorry Mamoru.
Here, this is the address for the Tendo Dojo. If you want to
find him, that's the best place to look." He handed a folded
slip of paper to Mamoru before he headed towards the door. He
paused when he had the door half-open. "Mamoru?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful when you go to Nerima. It may not have
monsters like we do here in Juuban, but they have a lot of
crazy martial artists running around there and Ryouga is one of
them."
With that parting statement, Ichiro left and softly
closed the door behind him. Mamoru looked again at the photo
he still held in one hand and then the slip of paper he held in
the other.
"Family..." He said softly to himself.
The next day was a Sunday, and the morning light found
Mamoru browsing through a store looking for a frame for the
photo. He finally found a fairly plain oak frame that was the
right size. As he left the store he clutched the newly framed
photo to his chest as if it was more precious than anything
else in the world. He was so lost in his thoughts; he didn't
even notice when Usagi tried to wave him down from the other
side of the street.
"That's strange," she said to herself, "Mamo-chan usually
sees me first." With a determined nod, she crossed the street
and continued to try to catch his attention as he walked along.
After trying for almost five minutes to get his attention, she
finally ran up to him and clutched onto his arm.
"Mamo-chan!" She almost wailed, "Why are you ignoring
me?"
Mamoru practically jumped out of his skin when he finally
noticed her. "Usako! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you
it's just..."
"Just what, Mamo-chan?" She asked, a hint of growing
irritation invading her tone.
"It's just that, I finally found a relative."
"Really?!" She squealed, "I'm so happy for you Mamo-
chan!"
"Thanks. Here, this is a picture of him." He offered
her the framed photo.
Usagi looked at the photo for a few minutes before she
looked back up at Mamoru. "Wow, he looks kinda mean, doesn't
he?"
"Well, a little," He rubbed the back of his head.
"But, there's this sadness in his eyes, like he's not
really happy or maybe even really lonely." She finished a bit
sadly.
"I plan on finding out. Do you want to come with me to
Nerima today to try and find him?"
"Sure! Let me tell the others where we'll be real quick,
I was going to go shopping with them today." She giggled as
she pretended to use the phone and used her communicator to
contact the rest of the inner Senshi.
"Hey Ami-chan! Mamo-chan and I are going to Nerima to
see if we can find his cousin there! Would you tell the
others?"
"Of course, Usagi-chan," Ami frowned slightly, "Nerima?"
"Yeah!"
"Be careful Usagi-chan," Ami cautioned her, "There's
enough strangeness in Nerima to make me wonder why the
Negaverse decided against starting their attacks there."
"Oh?"
"Yes, things like Youma attacks might have actually gone
unnoticed until it was too late." Ami sighed, "Promise me that
you'll be careful."
"Alright, Ami-chan. I promise. Bye-bye!" She shut off
her communicator and latched onto Mamoru's arm.
"Ok, let's go Mamo-chan!" She enthused as she
practically pulled him to the train station, still clutching
the photo tightly in her hand.
Some time later found Usagi and Mamoru wandering around
Nerima. Even during their short walk away from the station
they had born silent witness to a short battle between a few
martial artists that resulted in mutual knockout.
"Mamo-chan, where are we going?" Usagi asked as she hung
off of his arm.
"Some place called the Tendo Dojo." He replied without
looking down at her. "We'll ask about it at that police box up
there." He pointed up the street.
Shampoo-neko would have smirked to herself as she crept
into the Tendo home if cats could smirk. Held gently in her
needle sharp teeth was a small bag. She watched from the
shadows as Kasumi placed lunch on the table. Shampoo-neko
tensed, knowing she only had a few seconds from the time that
Kasumi announced lunch before Ranma would arrive with Akane in
tow. The two of them were getting too close, and it was time
for some action.
Grateful for the fact that they always sat in the same
seats, she sprung into action the very second Kasumi left the
table to get the rest of the family. Once she reached Akane's
seat, she carefully poked one claw into the bag and let a small
amount of a strange smelling brown powder fall into Akane's
tea.
Her mission accomplished, she scrambled for the door and
barely made it away without being seen.
"Today very happy day, Great Grandmother!" Shampoo
giggled upon her return to the Nekohanten.
"Oh?" Cologne turned her wizened face away from the soap
opera she had been watching. "Why is that, child?"
"Today is day Shampoo make violent girl hate airen!
Shampoo use this on Akane." She held out the small bag to
Cologne.
Cologne's eye's widened and she knocked the bag away from
Shampoo. "Wash your hands now child! Quickly!" She poked
Shampoo with her cane a few times when she failed to move fast
enough for her.
"What for? Powder is having no effect on Shampoo." She
said defiantly.
"Listen to yourself child." Cologne sighed, "The powder
is working. That is it's most insidious effect, the victem has
no idea that their perceptions have been scewed to the point of
being constantly confrontational." She sighed again, "This
could be disasterous for the Tendo girl, she has enough trouble
with her anger as it is."
"So? Is good thing. Violent girl hate Ranma, and then
Ranma come to Shampoo."
"She may lose herself in her anger so totally that she
may become a danger to her own family. They have nothing to do
with this, Shampoo. I think you need to learn to be more
careful with your tactics, this is a very sloppy move on your
part."
"Shampoo not care for tone, old woman!" Her eyes flashed
dangerously as she reached for her bon bori.
Cologne merely tapped a pressure point that caused
Shampoo to stiffen like a board. "Lucky for you, I know you
are under the effects of the powder. Another elder might have
killed you on the spot." Cologne growled as she pogoed up the
stairs into her room.
A few minutes later, she returned with a small part of a
leaf held very carefully between some chopsticks.
"Be brave, child. This cure is much worse than the
diesease, but it doesn't last long."
Shampoo's eyes widened in fear as Cologne slowly brought
the leaf fragment towards the paralyzed Shampoo. With one
wizened hand, Cologne cupped Shampoo's jaw and forced her mouth
open.
"What are you doing to Shampoo, you ghoul!" Mousse
demanded as he walked into the room.
"Shut up and help me, boy!" Cologne snapped, "She's been
poisoned and I need you to hold her."
"Shampoo! I'm here for you!" Mousse said in all earnest
to a nearby potted plant.
A quick rap on the head caused him to face in the correct
direction.
"Hold her mouth open and keep a wooden spoon on her
tongue." Cologne demanded.
Once Mousse complied with her orders, she very carefully
brushed the leaf against Shampoo's tongue. Almost instantly
the amazon girl began to thrash and convulse. Cologne pulled
the leaf safely away from the thrashing girl.
"Don't let her swallow her tongue!" She admonished
Mousse.
After a few minutes of convultions, her body became
totally limp. Her sweat covered skin was flushed and very hot
to the touch.
"That's all we can do for her. Take her upstairs."
Cologne sighed, for once feeling her age as she watched a
worried Mousse carry out her command. "Dear child, have you
any idea as to what you've done?"
Lunch was begining to wind down at the Tendo Dojo and
Akane was leaning back a little and siping at her tea while
enjoying the pleasant weather. She frowned slightly after one
sip.
"Hey Kasumi, does the tea taste a little... I don't
know... Odd to you?" She asked suddenly.
"Not at all, Akane." Kasumi smiled as she gathered the
dishes, "It's just a different brand of tea."
"Oh. Ranma?"
"What?"
"Do you want to spar in a little bit?"
Ranma gave her a funny look and then shrugged, "Yeah,
sure. I could help ya train fer a bit."
"Really?" She asked with a mild blush. She sat there
for a moment, waiting for Ranma to say something, but no answer
came. When she looked around, she found herself alone in the
dining room.
"Honestly..." She muttered to herself as she stood.
Inexplicably, she found herself getting upset about it.
Akane faced off against a bored looking Ranma some time
later in the Dojo. He had dodged each and every one of her
attacks with the most negligent seeming moves he could think
of.
"Come on, Ranma! You said you'd train me!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll train ya as soon as you're ready."
"And just when will that be?" She asked dangerously.
"When you're ready." He shrugged, "Right now, I don't
think your ready."
"Alright then. What do I need to do to be ready?"
"Take the Art seriously. I can't train ya seriously
until you take the Art seriously yerself." Ranma paused for a
moment and watched her face slowly turn red. "Let's face it
Akane. You're always yellin' about how your a martial artist
too, but you don't have enough focus to do a quarter of what I
do. Heck, half the time your too angry to do anything but
brawl."
Akane almost visibly deflated. "But, Ryouga's always mad
at you..."
"Mad? Mad ain't the word. Thing is, he's learned how to
focus past his anger. Most of tha time anyways, you can see it
when his anger gets the best of him. You ain't ever gonna be a
martial artist until you can learn how to do that."
"But I'm a martial artist!" She protested angrily.
"Yeah, your martial arts are about as good as your
cooking, or maybe as good as your swimming."
"What did you say?" She screamed.
"I said you can't cook, can't swim and can't do the
martial arts right!" He yelled.
"Why you...!" She growled.
"Oh, sure Akane, get angry. Fat lot of good it's gonna
do ya ta help change my mind." He crossed his arms and looked
away with the most bored expression he could come up with on
his face. He saw her hand coming and sighed inwardly.
::Here we go again...:: He thought.
"RANMA, YOU JERK!!!" Akane screamed as she slapped him.
Ranma slowly turned his head to face Akane directly
again. "Ya see what I mean? No focus, no control, just yer
stupid anger."
"So I'm stupid now too?" Akane growled
Ranma slowly turned his head to face Akane directly again. "Ya
see what I mean? No focus, no control, just yer stupid anger."
"So I'm stupid now too?" Akane growled, "Anything else,
o' great and wise one?" She asked sarcastically
"Now that ya mention it," Ranma smirked a bit, "Bein'
angry like that ain't helpin' yer looks none." He peered
closely at her face, "I think it's givin' ya wrinkles."
"What?!"
"Heh, an uncute macho chick with wrinkles that can't even
kick... This has gotta be a first."
Akane's face nearly turned purple from her rage and she
picked up a cinder block and prepared to pound Ranma with it,
but before she do anything else, her father and Genma burst
into the Dojo.
"That's quite enough of that!" Soun said sternly, "I've
told the both of you before that this dojo is for training, not
brawling!"
"You worry me, boy. I taught you better than this."
Genma said as Ranma and Akane knelt in front of their fathers
in preparation for another lecture.
"Ranma, Akane, I know that the two of you have had your
many differences, but don't you think that it's about time the
two of you stop fighting and finally get married?" Soun spoke
carefully as he knelt across from his daughter and soon to be
son-in-law.
"No way! No way am I going to be married to such a
pervert!" Akane snapped.
"Like I want some uncute tomboy like yerself!" Ranma
half yelled back, a flaring red handprint on his cheek a silent
testament to the reason behind this attempt at peacemaking.
"Be quiet!" Genma roared. "Ranma, you should know
better than to argue with your elders and to give them the
respect they are due!"
Ranma smirked, "Sure I do, Pops, that's why I ain't got
no respect fer ya!"
While Genma struggled to keep his cool, Soun made his
move. "Akane, I know you want to do the right thing. I'm
certain that the two of you can work out your differences after
you're married."
"There's too many differences Dad!" Akane retorted.
"No kidding, you're a klutzy, uncute tomboy that can't
even boil water without written directions and close
supervision!"
"That's it! Die, Ranma!" Akane screamed as she leapt to
her feet and grabbed a nearby bamboo practice sword. Ranma
dodged the wild swings and waggled his tongue at her as he ran
for the yard. Soun sighed and held his face in his hands as he
retreated back into the house with Genma.
"What's the matter? Truth hurtin' ya too much?" Ranma
taunted as he continued to dodge her attacks. His attention
wandered for a moment when he noticed a bewildered looking guy
at the gate with a younger blond girl with the weirdest hairdo
he'd ever seen. He barely noticed himself breaking the
practice sword Akane was wielding as he searched his memory for
whether or not he knew either of them.
Akane stared in shock for a few seconds at the broken
bamboo sword in her hands before she finally noticed the two at
the gate. Without even thinking about it she stormed up to
them.
"And just who are you?" She yelled in Usagi's face.
"Usagi Tsukino, it's nice to..."
Akane cut her off, unable to stop the rising tide of
anger. "Are you some new fianc�e for Ranma?! Let me guess,"
She turned and poked at Mamoru's chest, "Ranma's dad made some
sort of deal with your dad and now your here to marry your
little sister off to him?"
"Well actually..." Mamoru started.
"I knew it! She'll just have to get in line then,
because he's engaged to me and several other girls!" Akane
yelled, not letting him finish.
Mamoru began to look annoyed. "Now look here, why don't
you try and calm down for a second and let me explain!"
"Calm down?!?! Calm down?!?!" Akane screeched.
"Yeah Akane, chill out and let the guy talk." Ranma
quipped.
"Shut up Ranma!" She yelled as she turned and slammed
him with her mallet. "Serves you right!" She snorted at his
twitching form.
Usagi gasped and held her hands in front of her mouth in
horror. Mamoru took advantage of her lapse of attention and
moved between Akane and Usagi. When Akane turned back around
he swore he could see flames burning in her eyes.
"Get out of my way!" She yelled as she roughly shoved him
to one side.
Ryouga sighed to himself. He knew he was somewhere in
Nerima, but he couldn't seem to find the Tendo Dojo anywhere.
He passed through another intersection and he could swear he
heard Akane's voice.
"Oh, Akane. Will I ever be able to tell you how I feel?"
He asked himself as he stared at his feet. "Can I possible
calm my heart down enough to even speak to you?"
"Calm down?!?! Calm down?!?!" His head snapped up as
Akane's screech roused him from his daydream.
"Akane?!?" He said to himself. "Akane!" He yelled as
he ran the short distance to what he now recognized as the main
gate for the Tendo Dojo. "Ranma is probably being a jerk once
again, and now Akane is angry with him." A snarl grew on his
face as he neared the gate, "Ranma! You will pay!" He yelled
as he turned to go through the gate, but skidded to a dead stop
as he saw Akane push some older guy into the wall and start
yelling at a younger girl with blond hair.
"Akane?" He asked nervously as he approached, "What's
going on?"
"Butt out!" She screamed at him before she turned back
at the blonde girl and continued to yell at her. Ryouga began
to frown when he noticed that the girl was getting ready to
cry.
"What did Ranma do this time? Is he engaged to her too?"
He tried asking in a calming tone.
Akane half whirled on him, "I thought I told you to butt
out Ryouga!"
"Ryouga?" Usagi asked suddenly. She took a quick glance
at the photo she had in her hand and then a searching one up at
Ryouga's face. "Ryouga Hibiki?"
"Uhm... Yeah?" He said cautiously.
"We found you! Oh Mamo-chan, we found your cousin!" She
gushed as she gave Ryouga a nosebleed-inducing hug. "Mamo-
chan?" She disengaged herself from Ryouga for a second and
looked about the yard for Mamoru. She found him in a crumpled
heap by the wall.
"Mamo-chan!" She rushed over to him, totally ignoring a
shell-shocked looking Akane and a flustered Ryouga. "Are you
alright?"
"I will be once you get the number of the Youma that hit
me..." he muttered as she helped him to his feet.
Ranma regained consciousness to find the blond girl
helping the man he saw earlier to his feet while Ryouga and
Akane seemed more like statues than people.
"Hey P-chan, when did you get here?" He asked as he
flipped to his feet.
"A cousin..." Ryouga muttered.
"Huh?"
"That guy's my cousin..."
"Whoa." Ranma rubbed his head for a second. "I guess
they came here lookin' fer ya, not me. That's a new one"
"I'm Mamoru Chiba, and I'm your cousin, Ryouga." He said
as he bowed.
"Uh, hi?" Ryouga stammered as he returned the bow.
"You mean, you didn't come here for Ranma?" Akane said
quietly, for some reason her mood had swung around
dramatically. Usagi threw her a quick look.
"You never gave us a chance to explain." She stuck her
tongue out at Akane before she smiled brightly and bowed to
Ryouga, "My name is Usagi Tsukino, I'm Mamo-chan's girlfriend!"
"Hey Ranma," Nabiki said as she exited the house, "looks
like there's at least one girl out there that doesn't
automatically fall down and worship the ground you walk on."
"Ha ha, Nabiki." Ranma deadpanned.
"So, what's with blondie?" She asked.
"Don't call me that!" Usagi pouted.
"Well now, guests." Soun smiled as he joined Nabiki in
the yard, "Please, come in and have some tea."
"Thank you sir!" Usagi gushed, "Come on Mamo-chan! You
can tell them all about how you and Ryouga are cousins!"
Quite some time later, Mamoru finished telling everyone
how he was related to Ryouga, and what happened to his parents.
"So," Ryouga said sadly, "Aunt Yuriko died a long time
ago. Mom always did wonder why she stopped writing."
"I'm so sorry, Ryouga." Akane said.
"Man, what a bummer." Ranma muttered, "It musta sucked
for ya, livin' by yourself for so long."
"Yeah." Mamoru looked down for a moment, "It was
difficult with no family." He glanced at his watch and stood
up. "It's getting late, we should be going."
"You're more than welcome to stay for dinner." Kasumi
smiled up at him.
"I appreciate your hospitality, but we should be going.
Ryouga?" He turned a hopeful gaze on the young man, "Would you
be willing to come and stay with me at my apartment for a
while? It would be nice to spend more time with the only
family I can find."
"I, what can I say?" Ryouga stammered.
"Please say you'll come with us Ryouga!" Usagi turned
her most pleading look on the flustered lost boy.
"I guess so... Sure."
"Yay!" She gushed.
"I'm happy for you Ryouga! I know you haven't seen
anyone in your family in years." Akane smiled at him. Ryouga
didn't seem to notice, however.
Ranma perked up suddenly as an idea hit him. "Hey, mind
if I go with ya and keep my old buddy from getting too far out
of shape?"
"What?" Ryouga asked, totally confused by Ranma's change
in attitude.
"You'd dare to leave Akane here alone?" Genma demanded.
"Feh. The way I see it, I'll be able to live fer a while
without gettin' pounded every time I turn around!"
"Is that so, Ranma?!" Akane demanded angrily.
"Yeah! Not to mention I'll be safe from your cooking for
a while at least!"
"DIE!" Akane yelled as she leapt after him. Usagi
watched them for a few minutes before she purposely placed
herself between Akane and Ranma.
"Wait a second, Akane!"
"WHAT?"
"I thought you two were engaged? Don't you love each
other?" Usagi asked with an intent expression on her face.
"Me, love that pervert? Never!"
"Yeah, well who would want an uncute tomboy like you
anyways?" Ranma taunted.
"Why can't you ever do anything the way I want you to?"
Akane demanded.
"Why should I?"
Usagi looked between the two of them and then slowly sank
to her knees and began to cry.
"It's so sad!" She wailed, "People who are engaged should
really love each other with all their hearts! They shouldn't
be arguing like this!"
"My sentiments exactly, young lady! Well said, well
said." Soun said cheerfully. Genma crossed his arms and
nodded sagely.
"Usako..." Mamoru said softly as he moved to comfort the
distraught girl.
Ryouga looked over at where Akane and Ranma continued to
argue until she finally pounded him into the floor. "Well, it
would be good if he came along to keep me there for a while."
He admitted haltingly.
Ranma sprang up, "Great, I'll go get my pack!"
"Don't do this boy!" Genma warned.
"Who's gonna stop me? You? Don't make me laugh Pops."
Ranma said as he dashed upstairs to pack.
"So, you're really gonna just leave like this?" Nabiki
asked from the doorway to the guestroom. Ranma looked up from
his packing.
"Yeah, well... I just want to get away for a while,
maybe let things settle for a bit." He grunted as he closed the
pack and threw it onto his back.
Nabiki looked thoughtful as she followed him back down
the stairs.
"Have a good trip, Ranma. Please remember to write us."
Kasumi said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, thanks Kasumi."
"You ain't going nowhere, boy!" Genma yelled.
"And how do ya think you can stop me?" Ranma retorted.
"Simple! I get rid of him!" Genma replied as he leapt
to attack Mamoru.
Usagi screamed as she was pushed roughly aside. "Stop
it! What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm ensuring the future of our schools!" Genma replied
as he attacked Mamoru with a fierce combination of punches and
kicks. Mamoru's limited skill enabled him to dodge or block a
few of the blows, but more and more hit home and he was
beginning to wear out.
Ryouga watched from the side for a few moments when he
saw that Mamoru had some skill, but it quickly became evident
that he was way overmatched.
Genma smirked to himself. The young man he was facing
had nowhere near the skill that even Akane had. Just as he was
about to land a devastating punch intended to launch his
opponent over the wall, he found his fist intercepted by
Ryouga's open palm. Mamoru fell unconscious as his cousin
faced off against the bald martial artist.
"What do you think your doing?" Genma demanded, "This
has nothing to do with you!"
"Weren't you listening?" Ryouga snarled as he began to
attack, "He's family!"
Genma groaned to himself as he tried to defend himself
against Ryouga's furious attacks. Everyone else there gaped as
the furious lost boy shrugged off the few punches that Genma
managed to slip in and continued to pummel him. Finally,
Ryouga picked up his opponent and threw him, aiming for the
tree on the other side of the pond. In a desperate attempt at
a counter, Genma grabbed Ryouga's wrist and managed to pull him
forward a few steps before he lost his grip. Ranma saw what
was going to happen a split second before Ryouga did and he ran
forwards, even though he knew he was going to be too late.
With a great splash, Genma landed in the pond, soaking
Ryouga. With a despairing squeal, P-chan worked his way out of
his clothes.
"R-R-Ryouga?!?" Akane gasped, "You, you're... P-chan?!?"
P-chan warily backed up a step as Akane continued to
stare in shock. Usagi shrieked when she saw Genma-panda rise
out of the pond, but calmed down slightly when she noticed that
no one else had reacted.
"What's going on here?" She asked, her confusion showing
as she looked rapidly between P-chan and Genma-panda. "Did
Ryouga just turn into that pig?"
"Ranma," Akane growled as she clenched her fists, "You
knew. That's why you always teased P-chan. You knew and
didn't tell me?!?" She shouted as she spun to glare at Ranma
the look of death in her eyes.
"Lemme explain..." Ranma said quickly as he backed up a
few steps.
"No! No way!" Akane screeched as she turned her back on
Ranma and started stomping towards P-chan. "First things
first, I need to get rid of Ryouga for good, then I'll take
care of you!"
P-chan merely hung his head and waited for the
inevitable. He could feel the raging anger that swirled from
Akane's aura and he couldn't help but shiver in fearful
anticipation as her shadow blocked the light of the sun. That
was the last thing he noticed before pain obscured everything
else.
Usagi looked on, horrified. She couldn't believe that
Akane was kicking the poor piglet. One particularly powerful
kick sent P-chan hurtling into her chest, knocking her off her
feet. She looked down at the battered form of P-chan and held
him protectively as Akane walked over.
"Give him to me, now!" Akane ordered.
"Chill out Akane!" Ranma said as he picked up Ryouga's
stuff. "He can't even defend himself when he's like that!"
"I don't care! I'll kill him!"
"No!" Usagi said as she rose to her feet, a determined
look on her face. "I won't let you hurt him anymore!"
"Do you have any idea what he's done!" Akane screeched.
Usagi shook her head and backed up a step, ready to run if she
had to. "He's been pretending to be my pet! He's snuck into
my bed, heard all my secrets and even watched me change!"
Akane screamed, "I _trusted_ that little swine, and this is how
he repays that trust, with deceit! That pervert!" Akane made
a grab for P-chan but Usagi pulled him out of her reach.
"Give him back!" Akane snarled.
"No!" Usagi half turned away from her, "You haven't
heard his side of the story yet! It sounds bad to me, but
everyone deserves a chance to explain!"
"What is there to explain?!? He used his curse to get
close to me, to _sleep_ in my bed, to watch me get changed! He
deserves to die!" Akane yelled as she lunged towards Usagi,
fully intending to go through her to get at P-chan. Usagi
screamed and tried to dodge but Akane still managed to slam
into her shoulder and send her sprawling across the lawn.
Usagi curled protectively around P-chan.
"I won't let her hurt you anymore," she whispered, "No
one deserves to die like this."
"Now! Give him to me!" Akane demanded as she stood over
the fallen girl.
Usagi looked up with a tear-streaked face, "I can't
believe you, can't you just stop and listen to what he has to
say?"
Akane stopped and looked bewhildered for a moment, but
the anger returned to her just as quickly.
"Chill out Akane!" Ranma said as he moved between them.
"The way I see it, it was you who decided that Ryouga was going
to be your little pet piggy!"
Akane turned her glare towards Ranma. "And just why
didn't you tell me about this? You're just as bad as he is!"
"Man, what is it with girls? Do they always get like
this before... um.. er... never mind... Uh oh..." Ranma winced
as he saw Akane go from volatile to full-blown fury.
"Get out!" Akane yelled as she swung a vicious kick at
his head, "I never want to see you again! We aren't engaged,
we aren't anything! Never come back here ever again!"
"Oh my. Akane, are you sure?" Kasumi asked.
"Well, Ranma. Looks to me like she means it this time."
Nabiki smirked from where she stood.
"Oh stow it Nabiki!" Ranma said as he dodged another
kick, "Fine then, I'm outta here!" He jumped over Akane's head
and landed next to where Mamoru had fallen and threw him onto
one shoulder. "Alright... Usagi right? Let's get outta here."
He held out one hand as he moved to help her up.
"Don't forget to write us, Ranma!" Kasumi called as
Ranma turned for the gate.
Nabiki ran up to him and poked him in the chest a few
times. "Don't think I'm going to forget about your debt!"
"Yeah, good-bye to you too Nabiki." Ranma ignored his
father's signs and paused in his walk to the gate only long
enough to kick him back into the house.
As Ranma and Usagi walked out of the gate, Akane merely
stood there and shook her fist at them and yelled. "Don't you
dare ever to show your face to me again! You don't even exist
to me!"
"Do you think he will come back?" Soun asked Kasumi.
"I don't know, Father, I don't know." She sighed.
"I, for one, don't think he'll be back," Nabiki said as
she sat down at the table, "After all, how much more could he
have taken before he left on his own?"
"Nabiki! Don't even think that way!" Soun half yelled.
She regarded him with a raised eyebrow before she rested
her chin in her palms. ::Well Ranma,:: she thought, ::Looks
like its time for you to grow up. I hope everything I've done
keeps you from getting suckered too often.::
Mamoru awoke to the slightly swaying motion of a train.
He found his head in Usagi's lap and Ranma sitting next to her.
She was holding a battered looking black piglet and was gently
treating its cuts and bruises.
"Mamo-chan! You're awake!"
"Usako..." He looked around the bus as he sat up,
"Where's Ryouga?"
Usagi held up the piglet, "He's right here."
"Wha... What happened?"
"He's cursed." Ranma said grimly. "Every time he's hit
with cold water, he turns into that little black piglet. Hot
water will change him back."
"Oh no... How did this happen?"
Ranma sighed and began his explanation about Jusenkyo.
"In the mountains of China, there's these springs that change
whoever falls in to change into whatever drowned there a long
time ago. Ryouga fell into the spring of drowned black piglet.
Pops fell into the spring of drowned Panda."
"That's terrible!" Usagi gasped, "Did you fall into one
as well?"
Ranma looked out the window and crossed his arms, "I
don't wanna talk about it."
Usagi placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "It's ok,
you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
Ranma nodded and stuck his hands into his pockets, only
to pull a note out. "What the...?" He muttered as he unfolded
the scrap of paper and read the note.
Ranma,
Good luck out there. Get away from our fathers for a
while and grow a spine. Remember that Kasumi and I will always
be willing to talk to you about your problems, even if Akane is
too stubborn to realize what a catch she had and let slip
through her fingers by grasping too tightly.
Always, Nabiki
"Heh, I didn't know she knew how to care." Ranma
chuckled.
"What is it?" Mamoru asked.
"Just a good-bye note that Nabiki must have slipped into
my pocket before we left." Ranma looked out the window for a
moment, "It's going to be difficult for a while. I ain't got a
place to stay. I guess I could camp out fer a while."
"Maybe we can help, after all it is kinda our fault for
getting you kicked out like that." Usagi looked down sadly.
"Naw, don't sweat it." Ranma smiled, "Actually, the
peace and quiet'll be nice fer a change."
The train lurched to a stop and announced they were at
Juuban. They got out and began walking towards Mamoru's
apartment building. Ranma looked around and smiled.
"I think I'm going to like Juuban."
Inside Mamoru's apartment, he and Usagi sat down on the
couch while Ranma took P-chan into the bathroom to get him some
hot water. Ranma threw his clothes at him once he was changed.
"Well, P-chan, looks like you've got some explainin' to
do."
"Shut up, Ranma." Ryouga said halfheartedly, "After I
tell them everything I've done as P-chan, they'll hate me."
"Geez, ya gotta chill out man! They ain't gonna get near
as mad as Akane. Hell, Usagi saved your bacon at the Dojo by
keeping Akane away from ya."
"Well, I guess I better go out there and face my cousin
and Usagi." Ryouga hung his head and walked through a door.
Ranma slapped his forehead and reached through the door and
grabbed Ryouga by his collar.
"That's the shower, Ryouga."
"Shut up!"
Guided by Ranma, Ryouga entered the living room and knelt
in front of Mamoru and Usagi. "Uhm, about P-chan..."
"Usagi has been telling me what happened while I was
unconscious." Mamoru said coldly, "Care to explain why you were
masquerading as that girl's pet pig?"
"Mamo-chan..." Usagi said softly.
"Yes, well... I've been living as her pet pig P-chan for
quite a while now. Used to be that just seeing her face was
enough to make me happy."
"So, you turned into a pig to spy on her as she changed,
pervert!" Mamoru snapped.
Ryouga looked hurt, "I wouldn't dare!"
"No kidding, if he did something like that, he'd die of
blood loss!" Ranma laughed.
"What?" Usagi went from upset looking to concerned.
"If he saw so much as a hint more than anyone else does,
he'd get a nose-bleed and pass out!"
"Shut up, Ranma!" Ryouga growled.
"I still think he's a peeking pig! I'll bet your just
waiting for the chance to change again and follow some other
unsuspecting girl home and then watch her get changed as well."
Mamoru snorted.
Ryouga's face suddenly turned bright red, "I couldn't
possibly do something like that! You have no idea! I grew up
basically on my own on the road. Akane was the first person
other than my family that ever showed me even the slightest bit
of affection." He looked away as he spoke; "Now, thanks to
this curse, she wants me dead and my cousin thinks I'm some
kind of pervert. I'm totally alone..."
"Don't talk like that!" Usagi said, "But what do you
mean by you grew up alone on the road?"
"I... have trouble getting where I'm going..."
"You mean you have no sense of direction whatsoever, you
can't read a map, don't even realize that the sun rises in the
east..." Ranma cut in.
"She gets the point!" Ryouga snarled at him before
subsiding. "Now, I just want to try and get back to a normal
life, maybe go to school again."
Usagi looked up and placed a finger on her chin, "Well,
tomorrow after school, a few of my friends and I are going to
be getting together for a study group. You could study with us
for a few days and then take the placement test!"
"A study group?" Ryouga asked uncertainly.
"Sure! There'll be Mako-chan, Minako-chan, Rei-chan and
Ami-chan! Ami-chan is so smart! I'm sure she could tutor you
in no time!"
"Lucky you, piggy," Ranma snorted, "You'll need all the
help you can get to keep out of elementary school."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?!?" Ryouga half rose from his
seat, his face turning red from his anger.
"Well, duhh!"
"That's enough, Ranma!" Usagi scolded as she walked to
where Ryouga was, knelt and hugged him from behind, "Can't you
see the pain he's in?"
Ryouga turned an even brighter shade of red before blood
shot out of his nose and he collapsed.
"Eeeeeeeeeeee!" Usagi jumped straight up and clasped her
hands into little fists under her chin, "What's wrong with
him?!?"
Ranma laughed as he flipped Ryouga onto his back, "I'd
say he thinks your cute, he doesn't usually get a nosebleed
that easily. That does show ya what I was talkin' about
though." He gestured to the bloodstain on Ryouga's shirt, "If
that's what happened when you just hugged him, what d'ya
think'll happen if he sees a naked girl?"
"Will he be ok?" She asked tentatively.
"Yeah, just give him a few minutes and don't stand over
his head while you're wearing that dress."
Usagi eeped and jumped backwards into the wall, her
ponytails sticking almost straight up. Mamoru grumbled as he
fetched a mop and bucket to clean up the blood.
"By the way Ranma," he asked as he worked at cleaning up
the blood, "Why the hell did your father attack me to keep you
from leaving?"
Ranma shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe he thought that if he
got rid of ya, I wouldn't leave or something."
"Ok, why didn't you help me out then?"
"Because you know how to fight, a little." Ranma
shrugged, "If he had attacked Usagi, I woulda been all over him
in a heartbeat. By the time it was obvious that you weren't
luring him into a false sense of security or nothin', Ryouga
was already in there taking over fer ya."
"What are you going to do now? Seems to me that you
can't go back to the Dojo anymore." Mamoru sighed, "I guess
you could stay here for tonight if you want."
Ranma shook his head, "The sooner I start doing things
fer myself the better. There's gotta be a park or a vacant lot
or somethin' around."
"There's a park near my house, you can camp out there if
you want!" Usagi said, "It's getting really late and my
parents'll kill me if I'm gone too much longer."
"Sounds good ta me. Lead the way." Ranma grabbed his
pack and gestured towards the door. Usagi gave Mamoru a quick
hug before she left with Ranma in tow.
"Well Ryouga," Mamoru spoke to his unconscious guest,
"Looks like it's going to be just us tonight." He looked
towards the closed door and sighed, feeling just a little upset
that Ranma was walking Usagi home. Not jealous, but angry that
the younger martial artist did not seem to care about the fact
that he was walking someone else's girlfriend home.
Sailor Pluto frowned as she looked through the Time
Gates. The vision of Crystal Tokyo seemed to be wavering more
and more rapidly. Without warning, the edges of Crystal Tokyo
frayed and broke away. Sailor Pluto could only watch in shock
as the future she had labored so hard to protect and nurture
simply crumbled and split into many different possible futures.
"No..." She breathed, worry marking her features until
the vision of Crystal Tokyo solidified again, but now it wasn't
quite as certain. "What could have caused this?" She asked
herself as she delved into the timeline, following the
splinters back to their origins. Sailor Pluto frowned when she
saw Ranma or Ryouga at the pivotal point in each split. She
remembered her future counterpart's warning too late.
'Under no circumstances, if you want this to be the
future, should you allow the princess to meet the wild horse
with the lucky fang!'
"How was I supposed to know I meant their names
literally?" Sailor Pluto sighed, "Now, what can I do to
salvage this?" She sat and considered her options for a few
moments before she decided to see what kind of effects they had
on the timeline. She focused on Ranma first, but found to her
surprise that she could not follow him more than a few minutes
into the future without encountering a multitude of alternate
possible futures. Curious, she followed the course of the most
probable future and only got a few hours more before there was
another split.
"Amazing! His ability to alter the time stream is
unbelievable!" She sighed as she pulled out of the time stream
again and gazed at the visual representation of the future. It
was frayed around the edges, but still quite solid. Some of
the alternates that had spun off were very similar, only fairly
minor changes from the original, but there was one that worried
her. It showed no sign of Crystal Tokyo at all, in fact it
showed no life left on Earth. She stepped into the time
stream, fully intent on warning Usagi about the dangers of
associating with Ranma.
Even as Sailor Pluto appeared concealed by some trees,
Ranma's ears caught the faint sound of displaced air. He
glanced around, slightly annoyed that Usagi was humming to
herself as they walked into the park near her house.
"Shh. I thought I heard something." Ranma hissed.
Usagi stopped humming and looked at him curiously. "What
is it?"
Ranma didn't say anything, but turned and faced the tree
that the now untransformed Setsuna was hiding behind and took
up a defensive stance.
"Is someone there?" Usagi asked, just a little
frightened. She almost fainted with relief when Setsuna
stepped out from behind the tree. "Setsuna! You scared me!"
Ranma relaxed slightly, but keep a wary eye on the
elegant woman that was approaching them.
"Usagi," She said in greeting, "may I speak with you for
a moment?"
"Sure! This looks like a good place for you to stay,
Ranma! Setsuna and I are gonna go to my place! See you
tomorrow at the Hikawa Shrine!" She waved happily to him as
she and Setsuna walked off.
Once they were well away from Ranma, Setsuna turned to
Usagi seriously. "Usagi, there may be something wrong."
"Hmm?"
"The time stream is, for lack of a better term,
splintering."
"What? What do you mean?" Usagi was shocked.
Wearily, Setsuna tried to explain, "The time stream has
been splitting, and the chances of Crystal Tokyo forming are
shrinking ever so slightly... So far. If things don't change
soon, it may not come to pass at all."
"But, we've been there! We've seen the future! How can
that change?"
"Every time someone makes a choice, it causes several new
threads of possibility in the time stream. For most people,
it's fairly harmless and has no real effect on the outcome of
Crystal Tokyo. Now, say you make a different choice." Setsuna
stopped to pick up a short stick. "This stick will represent
your thread in the time stream, showing that you've been making
the same kinds of choices you normally make, thus leaving a
fairly straight path. Then something happens to cause you to
make a different kind of choice," She snapped the stick and
held the splintered end up to Usagi, "Suddenly there are
hundreds of new paths, some showing a higher potential of
happening than others. So, if something like this were to
happen, the chance that Crystal Tokyo will be founded would
shrink each time this happened until it became just one remote
chance amongst thousands, even millions of different futures,
with no way of telling which one will become reality."
"I don't understand!" Usagi sniffed, "What could I have
done that would cause something like this?"
Setsuna sighed. "Today, you met someone who could best
be described as chaos incarnate. Not the being Chaos, but the
principal. Ranma Saotome."
"Ranma? But he's nice... Well, when he's not being a
jerk to Mamo-chan's cousin, Ryouga."
"That may be so, but I can't follow him or Ryouga more
than a short time forward in the time stream before their path
splinters much like this stick." She holds up the stick again
to emphasize her point, "Just being near them can be dangerous.
They may unwittingly destroy Crystal Tokyo, maybe even the
Earth."
Usagi looked scared at this revelation, "That's terrible!
What can we do?"
"The best way to remove their influence from the timeline
is to kill th..."
"No! Absolutely not!" Usagi interrupted. She glared
angrily for a moment before she regained her composure before a
slightly ruffled Setsuna. "We are supposed to protect
everyone! If we start killing people just because they may
change the future, how much better are we than the Death
Busters?"
"Then don't talk with them or hang around them, for the
sake of everyone in Crystal Tokyo!" Setsuna said sternly.
Usagi shook her head, accidentally hitting Setsuna with
one of her ponytails. "I'm already friends with them, and
Ryouga is Mamo-chan's cousin. I'm going to be introducing them
to the others tomorrow. Ryouga's gonna be studying with us
after school so he can take the placement test!" She smiled,
"It's gonna be fun!"
Setsuna sighed. "Please be careful, Princess. I don't
want to lose everything again."
"You worry too much!" Usagi giggled, "What could go
wrong?"
::Everything,:: Setsuna thought darkly as she watched
Usagi skip the rest of the way to her house.
It wasn't long before Usagi had firmly closed herself and
Luna into her bedroom and was getting ready for bed.
"Ami told us about how you and Mamoru were going to go
look for his cousin. Did you manage to find him?" Luna asked
as she hopped onto the dresser in front of Usagi.
Usagi giggled for a moment, "Yeah, boy did we find him!
He showed up just in time to try and stop a mean girl named
Akane from yelling at me."
Luna looked startled, "What did you do to make her so
angry?"
"I'm not sure, something about taking Ranma away from
her, but she doesn't seem to like him anyway." Usagi's eyes
suddenly started to water, "Oh, Luna, I saw the most saddest
thing ever today! Akane and Ranma are engaged to each other,
but they don't seem to like each other at all! She's always
yelling and hitting him and stuff!"
"Slow down Usagi!" Luna said as Usagi suddenly began
crying, "Usagi?"
After crying for a few minutes, she straightened up and
wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry, but it's just so sad!"
"What about Mamoru's cousin?" Luna asked patiently.
"Oh yeah!" She seemed to cheer up instantly, "He's a
martial artist and he's staying with Mamo-chan right now. He's
got this weird curse that turns him into a little black piglet
whenever he gets wet. Apparently, Akane kinda adopted him as
her pet, and he was too embarrassed to tell her the truth. You
shoulda seen how angry she was when she found out today." She
began to look sad again, "It's all our fault! If Mamo-chan and
I hadn't shown up, Akane wouldn't have found out about his
curse, and she'd still be engaged to Ranma."
"Who's Ranma?"
"He's another martial artist! He and Ryouga don't get
along too well, but they could be such good friends if he would
just stop teasing Ryouga for a minute." She giggled again,
"But Setsuna doesn't like them at all, and she's saying that
they are causing the time line to splinter or something. She
wanted to just kill them, but I told her no 'cause it's our job
to protect people and stuff."
"I'm sure that that was a tough decision to make." Luna
said sagely, "It could have had disastrous consequences for all
of us."
"I don't care!" Usagi snapped, "I'm not going to allow
any of the Senshi to kill an innocent person just because they
may harm Crystal Tokyo just by living!"
"I'm not arguing that at all!" Luna gestured with her
paw for Usagi to calm down and then began pacing back and forth
as she lectured, "I was merely saying that most other people
would have found some excuse to kill them just to make their
life easier in the long run. A true ruler would be find a way
to work with them or around them to gain the goal they desire.
I'm proud of the way you are maturing, Usagi. Usagi?" Luna
looked over to the bed when she didn't get a response from her
charge and smiled slightly when she saw that Usagi was sound
asleep in bed.
"Sleep well, my princess." Luna whispered as she settled
in as well.
The next morning found Ranma outside the gates of
Furinkan High once again. This time, however, he was there
long before Akane or any other student was due to show up. He
had a mission and he wanted no distractions. Confident smirk
in place, he made his way to the administration office.
"I wanna transfer outta here." Ranma announced to the
receptionist.
"What school are you going to transfer to?" She asked
with only a hint of elation in her voice as she pulled out the
transfer forms.
"Uhm... Juuban High."
The receptionist fed the forms into a typewriter and
typed rapidly for a second before she asked the next question.
"What is your new address and phone number?"
"Uhm... I'm kinda camping in a park." Ranma admitted
while rubbing the back of his head.
The receptionist gave him an odd look, but continued
typing. "I'm going to put on here that your address has not
changed. Just make sure you get to school everyday."
"Alright."
"Ok then, all we need now is your father's signature
right down here and you'll be all set!" She handed him the
forms and smiled, "Good luck at your new school."
"Thanks." Ranma sweated a little as he took the forms.
::How am I gonna get Pops to sign this?:: He thought glumly as
he wandered the halls, ::Maybe Nabiki can help me out.::
Ranma watched from the rooftop for Nabiki to show up.
Not surprisingly, she was among the first students through the
gate. She didn't make her way inside immediately though, but
rather worked her way around to the side of the building among
some trees before she sat down and pulled out a notebook and
began writing in earnest. Rather than loose sight of her by
going through the school, Ranma clambered down the wall a short
ways before jumping down to land right in front of her. Nabiki
shot to her feet with a half-strangled shout as he landed.
"Don't you dare do that again!" Nabiki said as she held
one hand over her rapidly beating heart, "You nearly scared me
to death!"
"Sorry 'bout that," Ranma said, "but I need your help."
Nabiki cocked an eyebrow at him, "What can I do for you
today?"
Ranma handed the transfer forms to Nabiki, "I need my old
man's signature on these so I can transfer outta here."
Nabiki looked appraisingly at the papers. "Shouldn't be
too hard, but how are you going to pay for this?"
"How's about I keep your gettin startled this mornin' a
secret?" Ranma asked hopefully.
She pretended to think it over for a few minutes before
speaking, "Is that all?"
"Well, that and this note ya slipped me before I left
yesterday. I'm sure Mr. Tendo would love to see that."
Nabiki actually laughed, "Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. You'd
never make it as a blackmailer. Just leave that kinda stuff to
me. I'll take care of it right now." She turned to leave the
school grounds, "Ranma," She looked over her shoulder, "You
stay in that tree right there so I can find you."
Ranma nodded and leapt into the branches and seemed to
disappear. Nabiki smiled as she hurried past the early
students.
When Nabiki got back to the Dojo, she ran into Akane as
she was leaving.
"What's wrong, Nabiki?"
"I forgot something, you run on ahead."
"See you later!" Akane said before she walked off.
Nabiki smiled viciously as she looked around the house
for her target. She found him moping by the koi pond. She
pulled a piece of carbon paper and another contract out that
happened to have the signature block in the same place as the
transfer forms and put them all together.
"Mr. Saotome, I have a proposition for you," she said in
her most businesslike voice. He looked up, his face a total
blank other than the silent tears rolling down his face.
"I'll do everything I can to locate Ranma for you if
you'll just sign this contract saying that in return for my
services, you will give me a thousand yen a week."
Genma snatched the contract and signed it without
hesitation. "Just find my son, without him, the Saotome School
of Anything Goes Martial Arts is doomed." He said as he handed
the contract back to her.
"Nice doing business with you, Mr. Saotome. I'll let you
know once I find anything." Nabiki didn't allow herself to
smile until she was back out of the gate.
When Nabiki made it back to the school, the bell was
about to ring. She hurried to the tree where she had left
Ranma. "Ranma?" She called softly, "Are you still here?"
Ranma dropped out of the tree and landed in front of her.
"Did you get it?"
Nabiki flourished the papers, "Was there ever any doubt?
I can assure you that no one will find out from me where you're
going to be for at least three months. After that, I'm going
to have to let it slip to keep my reputation."
"Well, it's better than nothing I guess. Thanks Nabiki."
He said as he took the papers.
"Kasumi and I will do everything we can to stall your
Dad. Daddy isn't going to be a problem at all, but it's
Shampoo and Ukyou that are the most likely to find you. Be
ready for them." She warned as she headed for the building.
"Thanks again!" Ranma called after her before dashing
back to the administration office. He handed the papers to the
receptionist with a smirk on his face.
"That was quick," she commented idly as she filed a copy
and gave two more to Ranma, "The top one is for your new
school, and the other one is for your records. Have a nice
day, Mr. Saotome."
Ranma practically danced all the way back to Juuban.
When Ryouga woke, he found that a blanket had been placed
over him as he slept. He sat up slowly and looked around.
Mamoru's apartment looked no different than when he had seen it
last, but there was a sheet of paper taped to his chest. He
pulled it off and read the note on it.
Ryouga,
By the time you wake up, I'll probably already be at class.
For goodness sake, don't leave the apartment! Usagi will be
coming by this afternoon to take you to a study group. Do your
best with the placement test!
Mamoru
Ryouga glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly
noon.
"Geez, I can't believe I was out that long!" He muttered
to himself as he started going through his kata. Soon, he lost
himself in the bliss of the exercise, forgetting for a moment
that Akane hated him now.
After nearly an hour, he decided that he would need to
get cleaned up before Usagi showed up. After grabbing some
clean clothes from his pack he began his search. He shook his
head when he found that the front door had a note on it saying
'Do Not Open!'
"I'm not that bad." he muttered as he continued looking.
A few minutes later, he found the bathroom.
After showering and getting dressed he made his way back
into the main room just in time to hear knocking on the door.
"Coming!" He called out and then promptly walked into
the bathroom. He swore under his breath and stalked back into
the main room. After a few minutes, he finally found the front
door and opened it to reveal Usagi and a few of her friends.
"Hi Ryouga!" Usagi said cheerfully, "Sleep well?"
"Yeah, I guess I did."
Usagi gestured to her friends, "Ryouga, I want you to
meet Ami Mizuno and Makoto Kino! They're really good friends
of mine."
Ryouga bowed deeply. "I am honored to meet you both. My
name is Ryouga Hibiki."
"There is no need to be that formal, Ryouga." Ami
smiled.
"Yeah, you need to loosen up a little." Makoto waved
over her shorter friends,
"Come on, we're going to have to hurry if we want to get
to the study group on time." Ami admonished them.
"Let me grab my pack." Ryouga said as he walked back
into the apartment. When it seemed that he was going to head
back into the bathroom, Usagi gently guided him back to where
he had left it.
"Ah, heh... Sorry 'bout that." Ryouga said, a slight
flush creeping to his face from his embarrassment.
"So, you're into martial arts?" Makoto asked as they
made their way to the Hikawa Shrine.
"Yeah. The Art has been the one thing that has kept me
from giving up all hope."
"Really?" Ami asked, "How long has it been since you were
last in school?"
"Some time in junior high. It was a few years ago..."
"Don't worry! I'm sure that with a little help you'll do
just fine!" Usagi said cheerfully.
"See if you can't apply that same enthusiasm to your own
studying, Usagi-chan!" Makoto quipped. Ami giggled a little
as Usagi fell over.
"Not you too, Mako-chan?!?" Usagi half wailed.
"It just takes a little dedication." Ami tried to
encourage her friend before turning to Ryouga. "I've looked
into the placement test, I think that things like Math and
Social Sciences would be the areas that you need the most help
with."
"I guess... I'm pretty good with local history from all
my travels."
"You travel a lot?" Makoto asked a bit wide eyed, "Wow,
that's so romantic!"
Ryouga rubbed the back of his head a bit nervously.
"Uhm... I guess you could say that... It was more like an
extended training trip."
"So you left school to become a wandering martial
artist?" Ami asked curiously.
"You could say that..."
Usagi giggled a bit, "Wouldn't it be so romantic is Mamo-
chan took me on a trip around the world going to all of the
most romantic spots? Not to mention all that time spent with
just him and me together with nothing around but our tent?"
She sighed.
"I wouldn't reccomend it," Ryouga snorted, "Walking all
over the place isn't as fun as it might sound. For one thing,
it's sometimes weeks between baths and you need to know how to
live off of the land. There's no way someone can carry all the
food they need while traveling by foot."
Usagi facefaulted while Ami and Makoto laughed politly.
"No fair, Ryouga! You ruined a perfectly good daydream!" She
mock punched his shoulder, but ended up holding her hand in
pain. "Owwie..." Tears began formin in her eyes.
"Geez Usagi-chan. How can you hurt yourself that way?"
Makoto asked as Ami took a quick look at Usagi's injured hand.
"He's like a rock!"
Ryouga rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I learned
this technique that makes it hard for people to hurt me... I
didn't realize how tough it made me."
"Right..." Makoto drawled as they started walking again.
They walked in almost complete silence then, the only
sound that could be heard was an occasional whimper from Usagi
as she massaged her bruised hand.
"Here we are!" Makoto gestured at the stairs leading up
to the shrine. "Our friend Rei lives here, and her place has
the most space for our study group."
"Wow." Ryouga looked stunned as he took in the view of
the temple. He followed the others up the stairs almost
mechanically. He looked around the grounds with a certain
amount of awe. "This place is beautiful."
Minako Aino sighed as she made her way up the stairs to
the temple. She had missed out on going shopping with the
other Senshi on Sunday thanks to her parents and had barely
escaped detention for being late that morning.
"Why can't anything go right for me?" she asked Artemis
idly. "Is it too much to ask to be happy?"
::Uh oh,:: Artemis thought, ::She's in that mood again.::
"Cheer up, Minako! Things can't be that bad."
She smiled down at the moon cat, "Thanks for trying,
Artemis," she sighed as she neared the top of the stairs, "Why
can't I meet... a... cute... guy...?" Her voiced trailed off
to a whisper as she reached the top of the stairs and saw
Ryouga talking with Usagi and Makoto. He was holding his pack
in one hand, causing the muscles on his bare arm to ripple.
She blushed so hard that her neck had turned red as well.
"Wow..." She breathed before she swallowed hard and
willed herself to be composed. She had barely managed to get
herself under control and had started to take the last step
when Ryouga turned his head and looked straight at her. Minako
swore her heart had stopped in the instant that their eyes met.
Artemis shook his head and decided that now would be a good
time to try and figure out where Luna was. Without so much as
a goodbye, he ran off in search of the black moon cat.
::Kami-sama, he's cute! What a hunk!:: Minako thought
as she walked up to them. She didn't even notice Makoto
talking to her until she started waving her hand in front of
her face.
"Hello? Minako? Are you in there?" Makoto joked before
she leaned closer to her friend and whispered, "I saw him
first!"
That snapped Minako out of her trance like state. She
glared for a second at Makoto before she introduced herself to
Ryouga with a quick bow. "I'm Minako Aino, it's a pleasure to
meet you."
"Ryouga Hibiki."
"He's Mamo-chan's cousin! He hasn't been to school in
ages, so we're going to help him study for the placement test!"
Usagi said happily while Ryouga merely rubbed the back of his
head nervously. Minako barely heard any of it, she was too
busy gazing at him with stars in her eyes.
"Hey! Are you going to stand out here all afternoon?"
Rei demanded as she came out of the house next to the temple.
"We just got here!" Usagi protested, "Besides, Ryouga
was just admiring the temple."
Rei's attitude visibly shifted when she finally noticed
Ryouga. ::There's something about him...:: She thought as she
stretched her senses towards him, only to recoil when powerful
waves of depression, loneliness, anger and sadness washed over
her. Her eyes widened when she saw that his outward bearing
showed no sign of his internal struggle. She bowed to him to
cover her shock at that discovery as she introduced herself as
well.
"Rei Hino, I apologize for my rudeness."
"Uhm, no problem. Ryouga Hibiki." Idly, he wondered how
many more friends Usagi had. He sighed a bit sadly to himself,
::If only I could make friends that easily...::
Makoto rolled her eyes a little and looked back towards
the stairs just in time to see Ranma bounding up the stairs.
"Oh my goodness... Check out that hunk!" Makoto sighed.
The others turned and followed her gaze.
"That's Ranma Saotome, he's kinda Ryouga's friend."
Usagi said.
"What do you mean by 'kinda'?" Rei asked.
"Well, Ranma teases Ryouga a lot." She ventured.
"He's no friend of mine!" Ryouga snapped as he crossed
his arms.
"Nice to see you too, pig butt." Ranma said pleasantly
as he walked up to them, "Hey, Usagi, I got my transfer
paperwork done. I'm gonna be in Juuban High startin'
tomorrow."
"That's great, Ranma!" Usagi enthused.
"School... That reminds me, I need to study for the
placement test! I want to take it this Friday." Ryouga
clenched his fist, "I will make it into High School, just you
watch Ranma!"
"Geez, it ain't like it's a fight, P-chan."
"Stop calling me that!" Ryouga snarled.
"Don't blow an artery man! Look, I'll come back when
you're done so we can spar a bit before turning in. Maybe
that'll help ya relax a bit." Ranma gave a careless wave as he
turned to leave. "See ya!"
"What a dream..." Makoto and Rei said at the same time.
"That shirt looked awfully tight..." Ami trailed off and
blushed as the other girls gave her a questioning look.
"He looked like my old sempai... Who am I kidding? My
old sempai never looked that good!" Makoto giggled.
"Well, I think Ryouga's cuter!" Minako declared as she
hugged his arm.
Ryouga's face turned beet red and he struggled to keep
himself conscious. ::She thinks I'm cute! Cuter than Ranma!
Now what do I do?:: He thought frantically. Slowly and
shakily, he turned his head to look down at Minako who was now
resting her cheek against his shoulder.
Rei smiled and whispered to Makoto, "Looks like Minako-
chan is laying it on a little too thick for him."
"We're starting to run late for our study session, so
let's get started." Ami announced to a short chorus of groans.
"Come on, Ryouga. Let's see how much you need to do to
catch up!" Minako smiled cutely and walked backwards while
gently pulling him into the house.
"O-oh kay..." Ryouga said in a weak voice as he allowed
himself to be dragged into the house. Usagi giggled at that
and tried to pick up Ryouga's pack to bring it in as well, but
ended up falling on her rear when she couldn't budge it at all.
"What's wrong, Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked as she turned
to see what was keeping her friend.
"I can't pick up his pack!" Usagi said as she tried to
just drag it to the house, with no success. Makoto smiled and
shook her head.
"You're just a little weak. Here, let me help you." She
grabbed the other strap and pulled hard, fully expecting to
lift it. When the pack didn't even budge, she too lost her
balance.
"What the? This thing weighs a ton!"
"What's wrong you guys?" Rei asked as the rest of them
came back out of the house, "We almost started without you!"
"We're having a little trouble getting Ryouga's bag into
the house." Makoto explained while Usagi nodded vigorously.
"Yeah! It's really really heavy!"
"Oh come on you two. How heavy can it be?" Rei asked.
"About a hundred kilos." Ryouga said calmly.
"A HUNDRED KILOS?" The girls exclaimed and stared at him
in shock.
"Uhm... Yeah. For just the pack anyway. I'm not sure
how much the umbrella weighs." He rubbed the back of his head
as he picked the bag up with his left hand. Minako clasped her
hands and watched him with starry eyes.
"You're really strong, Ryouga!" Minako sighed dreamily.
The study session seemed to last forever to Ryouga. Ami
seemed to take a personal interest in his study habits while
Minako spent most of the afternoon staring at him. There were
short spurts of quiet before Rei and Usagi would begin arguing
over something trivial again. By the time Ranma showed back
up, Ryouga was more than ready for the respite.
"How's the studyin' comin' along?" Ranma asked as he
peeked into the room they were studying in.
"Fairly well, actually." Ami smiled up at him, "Your
friend, Ryouga, is doing very well all things considered."
"I did start to study for this test before," Ryouga
admitted reluctantly, "But something came up and I got
distracted."
Ranma let out a short bark of laughter, "Wasn't that the
time that the old lech tried dressing up as P-chan?"
Ryouga crossed his arms and nodded solemnly while the
girls looked at each other in shock.
"Some time soon, you two are going to have to sit down
and tell us about your adventures." Makoto said firmly.
After a few minutes worth of clean up, they left Rei
behind and headed off into the evening.
"Ya get lost yet?" Ranma asked suddenly. Ryouga grumbled
something unintelligible while all the girls except Usagi
looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.
"Ryouga's totally clueless when it comes to maps and
directions and stuff like that."
"Shut up, Ranma." Ryouga growled.
"No, Ryouga, he has a point. If you are really that bad
with directions, maybe one of us should keep an eye on you so
that you don't get lost." Ami pointed out.
"I'll do it!" Minako said as she raised one hand into
the air and latched onto Ryouga's arm with the other. "I won't
let him out of my sight!" She declared.
::Won't let me out of her sight?:: Ryouga thought as his
face turned a bright red, ::But, that would mean...::
Ranma noticed Ryouga's eyes roll back into his head as
his face turned bright red. His hand flashed out with blinding
speed to pinch Ryouga's nose a split second before it started
bleeding.
"What are you doing?!?" Minako demanded when Ryouga
suddenly went limp and crashed to the ground at her feet, a
small trickle of blood coming out of his nose.
"Keepin' bacon breath from bleedin' on ya." Ranma said
as he stuffed a tissue into each of Ryouga's nostrils.
"I thought the blood was supposed to rush elsewhere..."
Ami commented before suffering the startled looks of her
friends. She looked away, her face as red as a tomato. They
leaned him up against a fence and stood around talking while
they waited for him to come around.
"So, Usagi says that you're a martial artist. How good
are you?" Makoto asked with a gleam in her eye.
"I'm the best there is." Ranma stated with pride.
"Do you want to have a match sometime?" She asked.
Ranma looked embarrassed for a second, "I don't fight
girls."
Makoto stifled her anger at that chauvinistic statement.
"Why not? Are you saying that girls can't be martial artists
too?"
Ranma held up his hands as if to ward her off, "That
ain't it at all! I just don't like it. Training an' stuff
don't bug me, but I really don't wanna hurt no girls." He
thought back to all his fights with Akane and he suddenly
looked depressed.
"Ranma," Usagi said softly, "You shouldn't get yourself
down over what happened at the Tendo Dojo." She placed her
hand on his shoulder, "No matter how you may have felt about
her, she didn't care about anything other than what you or
anyone else could do for her."
"Thanks, Usagi."
"Now I'm curious. What happened to you in Nerima, Usagi?
How did you meet Ryouga and Ranma?" Minako asked.
Usagi spent the next few minutes recapping the previous
day for her friends, but left out the part where she learned
Ryouga's curse for some reason. When she finished, both Makoto
and Minako looked very angry.
"Maybe we should go back to Nerima and teach this Akane a
lesson in courtesy!" Makoto growled as she cracked her
knuckles.
"I can't believe her! Doesn't she know that a bird in
the hand should be taken to the bush?"
They sweatdropped as Ami politely corrected her. "That is
supposed to be a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
"Oh."
Without warning, the girls' communicators all started
beeping at the same time. They looked nervously at Ranma for a
second.
"Uhm... Oh no! I forgot, we were supposed to meet Naru-
chan at the mall! Could you get Ryouga back to Mamo-chan's
apartment?" Usagi sounded rather lame.
"Sure, no problem." Ranma said and threw Ryouga onto his
shoulder and walked off. As soon as he was out of sight, the
girls opened their communicators.
"Hey! Where are you guys?" Chibi-usa demanded, "There's
a Daimon attacking near the movies!"
"We're on our way!" They said as one and dashed off down
the street.
Only a short time after leaving the girls, Ryouga woke
up. "You can put me down now, Ranma." He said half heartedly.
"Ain't you grumpy when you wake up." Ranma smirked as he
dropped the lost boy. "Hey, ain't you lucky. One day away
from Nerima and you already have a girlfriend! A bit of an
airhead, but at least she's cute."
"Shut up! Minako isn't an airhead!" Ryouga blushed,
"Besides, I haven't known her long enough for her to be my
girlfriend."
"That ain't stoppin' her from hanging all over you!"
"Shut up!"
"Is the li'l' piggy embawwassed?"
Ryouga's aura sprang to life, "Ranma Saotome, prepare to
die!" he yelled as he attacked Ranma. Laughing the whole way,
Ranma led him to the park that he's staying in before engaging
the enraged lost boy.
"I can't believe these daimon!" Makoto muttered as the
girls walked together back towards the park they had sprinted
away from only minutes earlier. "It's getting to the point
where we can't have so much as one night in peace without an
attack."
"I agree, this is getting to be too much!" Usagi yawned
loudly.
A beeping noise from the Mercury computer interrupted
them. Worried, they gathered around Ami as she began taping
away at the keyboard.
"There's an unusually high amount of energy being
concentrated nearby. It's impossible to tell if it's a daimon
or not, but the readings are very close to the energy that
Beryl was so desperate to capture."
"The Negaverse is back?" Minako asked, a slight frown
creasing her forehead.
Ami shook her head. "I'm not detecting any evil energy
yet, but I think we need to check it out."
"Can't we just go home and go to bed?" Usagi whined a
little.
"Grow up Usagi!" Chibi-usa snorted before turning to
Ami, "Isn't this the kind of thing that we should check out?"
Usagi glared at her future daughter as Ami nodded. "Fine
then! Let's go." Usagi stomped off into the park with the
others right behind her.
As they walked deeper into the park, they could hear some
shouting and heavy impacts.
"It almost sounds like a fight, if bulldozers were being
used." Makoto said softly.
"The air is thick with emotions here," Rei said, "It
feels familiar though, at least part of it."
"You're just imagining things, Rei," Usagi tried to
laugh it off as she pushed her way past some bushes. A split
second later she came crashing back through with one hand on
her locket.
"What's wrong, Usagi?" Minako asked, her henshin rod
firmly in her hand.
"OhmygoditsRanmaandRyougatheylookpossessed!!" Usagi said
as quick as she could, "Moon Cosmic Power, Make Up!"
The other Senshi transformed as well and followed Usagi
into the clearing ahead.
Ranma smirked as Ryouga charged at him again with battle
aura that was practically a bonfire of aggression. More than
once he found himself starting the spiral, but broke himself
out of it every time. ::I don't need to use the Hiryu Shoten
Ha for this fight!::
"Wait just a moment!" A clear voice rang across the
battlefield just before they clashed. Without thinking about
it, they both stopped and turned to face the voice. The bushes
seemed to part dramatically to reveal five rather shapely
silhouettes and one much shorter one.
"Who on Earth?" Ryouga asked as he fell into a defensive
stance.
The silhouette in the middle began to go into several poses
while speaking. "For love and justice, the pretty soldier in a
sailor suit! Sailor Moon!" Sailor Moon stopped posing for a
moment to cross her arms, "For possessing young men dedicated
to the martial arts there can be no forgiveness!"
Ranma and Ryouga looked at each other, dumbfounded as
Sailor Moon went back to posing and her speech.
"In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
"You've got to be kidding!" Ranma burst out.
"Possessed?" Ryouga said as he grabbed Ranma's head and
began to examine it, "I don't see any horns..."
"Right!" Ranma grabbed and twisted Ryouga's wrist,
forcing him to release his grip. He then vaulted over Ryouga
and landed with Ryouga in a choke hold, "I ain't seeing any
horns on him either!"
"Let go of me!" Ryouga yelled as he began running
backwards towards a fairly large tree, fully intent on smashing
Ranma against it.
The Senshi stood and watched as Ranma nimbly dodged out
of the way at the last second, leaving Ryouga to smash into the
tree and knock it over.
"Ouch! That had to hurt!" Sailor Venus winced in
sympathy. All of the Senshi sweatdropped as Ryouga rose from
the splintered tree and leapt at Ranma without any apparent
injury.
"What's going on, Mercury?" Sailor Jupiter asked, "I'm
pretty good at martial arts, but this looks like it's straight
out of a kung-fu movie!"
"It's unbelievable!" Sailor Mercury gasped as she
watched the readings scroll across her visor, "These two have
enough energy by themselves to almost match the total amount of
energy the Negaverse tried to steal!"
Sailor Mars looked grim, "It's a good thing the Negaverse
never went after these two then. They wouldn't have had to
make attack after attack, those two would've supplied all they
needed."
"What do we do about those two?" Sailor Chibi-Moon asked
as she pointed at the furiously fighting pair, "They'll kill
each other at this rate!"
"I'll try talking to them again!" Sailor Moon said as
she strode out into the midst of the battle, purposely placing
herself between Ranma and Ryouga who were in the middle of a
head to head charge.
"You idiot!" Sailor Mars yelled and tried to grab Sailor
Moon's collar and yank her back, but just missed. The Senshi
could only watch paralyzed as Ranma and Ryouga hurtled towards
the point where Sailor Moon stood to intercept them. A great
cloud of dust rose from the point of impact, obscuring them
from the Senshis' worried gaze.
Sailor Mercury was the first one to break out of her
paralyses and she rushed towards the dust cloud, fully
expecting to see a smashed Sailor Moon at the feet of the still
fighting Ranma and Ryouga. What she did see when the dust
cloud cleared caused her to stop in amazement.
Ranma had picked up Sailor Moon and twisted halfway
around and seemed to have kicked at the same time. Meanwhile,
Ryouga's legs had ploughed a furrow in the dirt up to his
ankles and he was firmly holding onto his opponent's foot.
"Geez, what d'ya think yer doin'?" Ranma snapped, "You
coulda gotten hurt gettin' between Ryouga and me like that!"
Ryouga dropped Ranma's foot. "He's right! If we had
seen you a second later, I'm not sure you would be ok."
Sailor Moon seemed to be at a loss for words as she
stared up at Ranma's face. Ryouga shook his head slightly as
he pulled his feet out of the ground.
"Uhm... You ok?" Ranma tried asking again.
"Oh, yes! I'm fine thank you!" Sailor Moon blushed a
bit, "Could you put me down now?"
"Oh, sure." Ranma placed her back onto her feet and
stepped back to stand next to Ryouga as the other Senshi
gathered around Sailor Moon.
"Excuse me, but just who the heck are you guys supposed
to be?" Ryouga asked as he crossed his arms.
"You've never heard of the Sailor Senshi?" Sailor Mars
asked. When the two boys shook their heads, the Senshi gave
each other blank looks.
"Not even Sailor V?" Sailor Venus asked hopefully. Her
hopes were dashed when they merely shook their heads.
"Well, we're the pretty suited warriors of love and
justice!" Sailor Moon announced proudly.
Ranma and Ryouga looked at each other blankly for a
moment before Ranma fell to the ground laughing.
"You've got to be kiddin' me! How can ya be warriors
with outfits like that?!?" He gasped out.
Ryouga nodded solemnly, "You have to admit, those
uniforms of yours are really unpractical. Whoever heard of
fighting in heels?"
"I'll have you know we've saved the world a number of
times already!" Sailor Mars retorted. The other Senshi nodded
in agreement
Ranma snapped back to his feet, "Sorry, but ya gotta
admit, ya wouldn't exactly think that a bunch o' girls wearing
the funkiest set of fukus would be some kind of warrior team.
I'd expect cool lookin' armor and stuff."
Anything else that might have been said was interrupted
as Sailor Mercury's computer started beeping urgently. After a
quick check she looked up at her teammates. "There's some sort
of evil force in the park. It's still too small for a daimon
though."
"We have to find it and get rid of it!" Sailor Jupiter
declared, "Any idea as to where it is?"
Sailor Mercury tapped at her computer while the others
waited impatiently. Ranma sighed and looked up.
"Man, this is unreal. Check out that little floating
white rock." He pointed at a slowly moving daimon egg.
Ryouga looked at it as well. "I dunno.. that thing gives
me the creeps."
Suddenly, the daimon egg turned and flew quickly towards
Ryouga's pack. Ranma and Ryouga watched as it slowly merged
with the weathered material.
"Uhm... I think that's your evil over there." Ranma said
to the Senshi.
"What?" The Senshi turned just in time to see Ryouga's
pack reform into a vaguely female shape. The daimon appeared
to be covered with bulging pockets and had a huge deformity
that resembled a back-pack.
"Packin!" The daimon declared before it pointed at them.
One of the pockets on its arm opened and a glowing rope snaked
out towards them.
Ranma and Ryouga leapt out of the way, but the Senshi
were caught and bound quickly.
"That's a cheap shot, pal!" Ranma snarled as he landed
and charged the daimon. Ryouga pulled his belt and infused it
with his ki and ran for the rope.
"Keep it busy! I'll see if I can get the girls free!"
Ryouga called out.
Ranma didn't bother to answer as he engaged Packin. He
quickly found himself on the defensive though. ::My punches
and kicks aren't having an effect!:: He thought as he leapt
backwards to gain some space.
Meanwhile, Ryouga was hacking at the magical rope that
had bound the Senshi.
"Rrrgh... This ain't working..." He grunted. Rather
than giving up, he began to use more and more strength until it
finally severed.
"Thanks!" Sailor Venus gave him a quick salute before
she fired her Love-me Chain, forcing the daimon to dodge away
from Ranma.
"Leave this to us now!" Sailor Jupiter said as she
charged. "Sparkling, Wide Pressure!" She threw the ball of
electrical energy at the daimon, only to have it suck the
attack into one of it's pockets. Packin grinned nastily and
re-opened the pocket to release a veritable storm of lightning
bolts. They dodged the wildly arcing bolts, but Sailor Moon
tripped over a tree root.
"Hey! Look out!" Ranma yelled as he ran through the
hail of lightning and picked her up a split second before a
bolt struck where she had fallen. He put her down next to a
tree and turned to face it.
"Now you've gotten me mad..." He growled as his battle
aura flared.
Sailor Moon was speechless as Ranma charged in again to
the attack, only this time his punches seemed to be having an
effect.
Sailor Mars began to charge up her attack, but Sailor
Mercury grabbed her wrist.
"Don't! It will just suck the attack in and send it back
at us!" She cautioned.
"It's distracted by Ranma right now, it might be our only
chance! Let's double team it!" She declared. Sailor Mercury
thought about it for a moment and nodded once she saw that both
Ranma and Ryouga were harrying it.
"Ok, just be careful not to hit Ranma or Ryouga."
"Burning Mandala!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
As the two blasts of energy neared the daimon, Ranma and
Ryouga managed to dodge out of the way.
"Watch it!" Ranma yelled as he rolled back to his feet.
"That things' still standing!" Ryouga yelled as he
cupped his hands, "Shi Shi Hokkoudan!"
The Senshi watched wide eyed as Ryouga's aura coalesced
into a green ball and shot towards the daimon. Sailor Mars
clutched her head in pain as the ball of angst laden ki
exploded against the daimon.
"My turn! Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma's blue ball of ki
shot forth from his hands. The remnants of Ryouga's blast
mixed with Ranma's leaving a bluish green circle of flames
around the daimon.
"What was that?" Sailor Venus demanded of Sailor
Mercury.
"I'm not sure, but it was almost as if they concentrated
a portion of their life energy into an attack."
"Emotions..." Sailor Mars gasped, "Such overpowering
emotions!"
Ranma and Ryouga warily approached the fallen daimon.
"Did that do it?" Ranma asked warily.
Before Ryouga could respond, the daimon shot to it's feet
and grabbed Ranma and Ryouga by their necks.
"Foolish children! Did you really think that you could
hurt a daimon?" Packin taunted them.
Ranma kicked ineffectively against it's chest while
Ryouga had grabbed the hand holding his neck and began to pull
on the thumb and forefinger.
"Let them go!" Sailor Moon yelled as she rushed towards
the daimon, her tiara in her hand. "Moon Tiara Action!" She
yelled as she threw it and without waiting for it to hit she
dived at the Daimons legs in an attempt to tackle it.
Packin screamed in pain as the glowing disc cut into it's
arm a split second before Sailor Moon hit the back of it's
knees, forcing it to fall backwards. Ryouga spun around so
that one leg was on either side of the arm that was holding him
and he quickly pulled it down as hard as he could. He was
rewarded with the sound of breaking bone and a shriek of pain
from the daimon. He didn't stop, though, but rather continued
pulling on the arm while kicking it in the face.
Ranma managed to pull himself free a slit second after
Ryouga had broken it's arm and he pulled Sailor Moon away from
the flailing daimon.
"That's it!" Packin screamed as she pulled a cord that
was connected to the back-pack like protrusion on it's back.
Without warning, there was an explosion that sent Ryouga flying
into a tree.
"Ryouga!" Ranma yelled as he leapt to where the lost boy
had fallen. Ryouga sat up and grinned toothily.
"That move cost it an arm." He deadpanned as he held up
the dismembered limb. Ranma laughed at that, sure that the
explosion had killed the daimon as well. Unseen behind them, a
very burnt looking Packin was walking out of the swirling smoke
left after the explosion.
"Look out! Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury yelled.
Packin jumped up over the attack and let it fly straight at
Ranma and Ryouga. They barely dodged out of the way and they
watched dumbfounded as the entire tree was frozen solid.
"Geez..." Ranma breathed, "They can dress any stupid way
they want to if they can do stuff like that."
Ryouga nodded as he fought to stand. Ranma helped him to
his feet as three more sailor suited girls joined the fray.
"World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
"No! Don't!" Sailor Jupiter tried to warn them too
late. Packin grinned nastily as it sucked in both of the
attacks and re-released them tenfold back at the Senshi and the
boys.
"Ah crap." Was about all that Ranma and Ryouga could say
before a Deep Submerge hit the ground right in front of them.
The backlash of magical water obscured them from the Senshi for
a split second, but not before they saw Ranma change.
"What happened?!? Ranma turned into a girl!" Sailor
Moon asked incredulously.
"Never mind that! We have to defeat this thing quickly!
I couldn't see what happened to Ryouga!" Sailor Venus said as
she dodged a World Shaking and ran towards the daimon. Once
she was right in front of the daimon, she feinted once to her
left and then circled around Packin to the right and twisted
its remaining arm behind its back.
"Now! Sailor Moon!" she called as she struggled to hold
the daimon.
"But..."
"Just do it! Don't worry about me!"
Sailor Moon nodded and reluctantly began the spin that
charged up her attack. "Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
Sailor Venus grit her teeth and closed her eyes as the
heart shaped attack sped towards them. ::This could hurt...::
She thought right before a pair of strong arms pulled her away
from he daimon. She opened her eyes and saw that Ranma-chan
had pulled her to safety just before Sailor Moon's attack had
destroyed the daimon.
"Ya gotta learn to dodge that on yer own." Ranma-chan
said as she turned to watch Ryouga's pack expel the daimon egg.
A gentle rain began falling as the Inner Senshi regrouped
around Sailor Venus and Ranma-chan while the Outer Senshi made
a discreet departure.
"Excuse me," Sailor Mercury said as she walked up, "But
how did you change into a girl?"
Ranma-chan made a face. "It's a curse. If ya don't
mind, I gotta find Ryouga before he wanders off." She leapt
off before they could protest or stop him. She landed long
enough to grab Ryouga's pack before leaping off again.
"I'm not even going to pretend that I understand what
happened tonight!" Sailor Jupiter declared as she helped
Sailor Mars stay steady on her feet.
"Are you alright?" Sailor Moon asked.
Sailor Mars nodded. "Yeah, I just wasn't ready for those
two to be projecting their emotions around like that. I could
feel the ego that Ranma used for his, just like I felt the
pain, suffering and depression that Ryouga forced out of
himself to do his attack. I'll be better prepared for the next
time though."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help..." Sailor Chibi Moon said, a
bit shame faced. Sailor Mars smiled and patted the top of her
head.
"Don't worry about it."
"Yeah," Minako chimed in, "there's always next time."
"Let's go home..." Sailor Moon sighed. ::Why didn't
Tuxedo Mask show up like he usually does? We really could have
used his help on this one.::
After they had transformed back into their civilian
clothes, they split up to head back to their homes. Minako
shivered as the rain picked up.
"This is just what I need." She grumbled as she made her
way out of the park. A soft squeal caught her attention and
she looked around only to find a small black piglet balanced
precariously on a tree branch next to her.
"What's this?" Minako asked as she picked up the little
black piglet, "A piglet? Are you someone's pet?" She asked.
She giggled as P-chan shook his head.
"What a smart little piggy! Come on, let's get you home
and out of this rain." Minako began to run for her home.
Once she was home, she headed straight for the bathroom.
"Ok, piggy, let's get you warmed up!" She smiled as she wrapped
him up in a towel. P-chan sneezed a few times as he was being
dried off.
"You're still cold, aren't you?" Minako asked sweetly
before she sneezed herself, "I'm cold too, piggy!" She stood
and shed her soaked school uniform. P-chan squealed and turned
away, somehow managing to blush through his black hide. He
didn't move a muscle as Minako picked him up, at least not
until he saw the steaming furo.
"Stop squirming, that tickles!" Minako giggled as she
stepped into the bath, holding P-chan firmly. She sighed as
she sat down and then smiled at the frantic pig in her hands.
"Ok, it's you'r turn! In you go!" She said as she
brought the pig into the water. She had barely put the pig
under the water when it suddenly started to grow. Startled,
she pulled the pig back above water, at least she thought it
was the pig. In her arms was a very naked and very embarrassed
Ryouga. They sat there for a second, staring at each other's
face.
A small trickle of blood started to run out of Ryouga's
nose as Minako screamed.
"Pervert!!!" Her voice hit a painfully high octave as
she proceeded to flail at him. The small trickle of blood
coming out his nose suddenly turned into a steady flow as his
eyes rolled back into his head. He collapsed backward into the
furo, small bubbles trickled out of his mouth.
Minako jumped out of the furo and grabbed a towel and
wrapped it around herself before she pulled his head out of the
water.
"Ryouga?!?!" She gasped as she finally recognized his
face. She spun around as she heard loud footsteps in the
hallway, "Oh no! Daddy'll kill him if he sees him here!" in a
panic, she yanked him all the way out of the tub, knocking over
a bucket of cold water. She watched in wide eyed disbelief as
he shrunk back down to the little black piglet she had found
earlier.
"MINAKO!!!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!!!" her father yelled as he
burst into the bathroom wielding a golf club. "Where's that
pervert?!?"
::I hope my acting is up to par..:: she thought as she
put on her most frightened face, "There was a peeping tom in
the window!"
"I'll kill him!" her Father declared as he ran out of
the bathroom and headed for the back of the house.
Minako gathered P-chan up in her arms and made for her
bedroom. ::I gotta hear his story!:: she thought as she closed
the door. ::Let's see, what caused him to change...:: She
paced the room for a while, pausing only to deal with her
overwrought Father who tried awkwardly to comfort her. After
she got him to leave, she finally remembered that he changed
only after he had been dunked in hot water. She quickly got
into a nightshirt and went to kitchen to get a cup of tea.
When she got back to her room, she found P-chan awake and
watching her with a rather dejected look.
"Ok Ryouga, let's hear what you have to say for
yourself." She placed him on the floor and dumped the hot
water over him. She blushed, but did not look away as the
transformation took place and he desperately tried to cover
himself.
"Could I have that towel please?" He asked in a very
small voice. Without ever taking her eyes off of him, she
fumbled for the towel for a second before handing it to him.
"How did you do that?" She finally asked after he had
covered himself with the towel.
"It's a curse," he looked up as he recalled what had
happened, "Almost a year ago, I was travelling in China looking
for Ranma to finish a duel when I fell into Heituenniichuan,
Spring of Drowned Black Piglet. Now, whenever I get splashed
with cold water, I change."
"And you didn't tell us about this while we were
studying?"
"It's not the kind of thing you tell anyone!" He snapped,
"What am I supposed to do? Walk up to someone and say, 'Hi,
I'm Ryouga Hibiki and I turn into a little black pig'?"
Minako thought back to what Usagi had said right before
the Daimon attack. "Wait a second, is your curse why, what's
her name? Akane, was so mad at you? You never told her did
you?"
He looked down in embarrassment, "No, I never did tell
her. It was too embarrassing."
"Not as embarrassed as she felt when she found out one of
her so-called friends was peeping at her!" Minako retorted
angrily as she put her hands on her hips.
Ryouga turned red. "I couldn't possibly... I meant I
wouldn't... I couldn't.." He babbled on like that for a few
minutes before Minako interrupted him.
"OK, so you didn't peep at her, but it doesn't change the
fact that you slept with her as a pig." She scowled as Ryouga
winced at her words
"I...I'm sorry." He hung his head, "I'll be going now, I
won't bother you again." He stood to leave only to get pushed
back down.
"Oh no you don't!" She said firmly, "You're going to
stay right there while I talk to Usagi and see what she says
about all this!"
Ryouga sighed as Minako stomped off to supposedly use the
phone. ::Now she hates me too...::
Usagi wearily lifted her head from her pillow as her
communicator started beeping.
"Hmmm?" She blinked at the tiny picture of Minako on the
screen. "Minako-chan? Don't tell me it's another attack!"
"No, nothing like that," Minako reassured her, "It's
just that, well, did you know Ryouga has a curse?"
"Yeah," Usagi yawned, "Turns into a little black piglet.
Why?"
Minako blushed rather fiercely at this point, "I kinda
picked up his cursed form and then..."
"And then?"
"I took a bath with him. I thought he was just a lost
little piglet that was really cold from the rain!"
Usagi stared at Minako's blushing image in the
communicator for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.
If it was possible, Minako blushed even harder.
"It's not that funny! Why didn't you tell us about
that?"
"I thought that he'd tell everyone else once he was
comfortable." Usagi sighed, "How's he doing?"
"He's sitting in my room with only a towel on."
"Ooooooh! Don't stay up all night with him!" Usagi
teased.
"Oh be quiet!" Minako snapped.
"You've got him in your room already? You little vixen
you!"
"It's not like that at all!" Minako protested as she cut
the connection.
When Minako re-entered her room, Ryouga looked up at her
like a condemned prisoner would look at his jailers. Despite
her already fading outrage at him seeing her in the bath, the
look of total dejection and depression tugged at her heart.
"Look, Ryouga, Usagi said she knew and thought you would
tell us when you were ready. I, I guess I can't really blame
you for not wanting to talk to anyone about it."
"You, you aren't going to hit me?" He asked with a bit
of trepidation in his voice. Minako gave him a startled look
before she started giggling.
"No, silly! I only hit you in the bathroom because you
had scared me!" She gave him a vicious look, "If you had asked
to join me though..." She trailed off and gave him a wink.
Ryouga's nose seemed to explode with blood. Smiling, Minako
pinched his nose shut. "I was only kidding with you!"
"You... You don't hate me? For being a pig?" He
stammered.
"Of course not!" She sat down on the bed and put her
hands on her hips, "It doesn't matter if your cursed at all!
One shouldn't judge a book by it's words!"
Ryouga sweatdropped. "Uhm... Isn't that 'Don't judge a
book by it's cover?"
Minako looked up, "I guess you could say it that way
too..." She looked back at Ryouga and smiled again, "Not that
it really matters. What we need to worry about now is what we
are going to do with you."
"Me?"
"Well, I can't just turn you out into the rain, you'd
just become a piglet again. She held up her now cold cup of
tea, "I think I have a solution. But you gotta promise me one
thing!"
"What?"
"That you won't climb into my bed in the middle of the
night and start pawing around or I might decide to just throw
you out the window."
Ryouga turned beet red and waved his arms in front of
him, "I promise! I promise!"
"Good!" She splashed him with the cold tea and watched,
fascinated by the transformation. She dried him off with the
towel and then put one of her spare pillows on the floor for
him. "G'night Ryouga."
"Bwee." P-chan settled into the pillow and was fast
asleep in a few seconds.
Minako smiled at the sleeping piglet before jotting down
a quick note to Artemis about P-chan. She left the note on her
desk and settled in for bed herself.
::I wonder where he is anyways...::
Outside, a thoroughly drenched white moon cat shook his
head at what he had seen through the window.
---------Notes:
Many thanks to those of you that sent me the invaluable C&C!
I hope you like the changes that were made.
Comments are always welcome, even if someone else said it
before you... I only change stuff if enough people say something about
it.
Ben Bradley
http://okami-san.megami.net
"Never give up on your hopes and dreams, for the moment you do is when they
are forever out of your reach" ~Ryouga Hibiki, A Feather in the Wind
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