Prince of Time.

A Ranma �/Sailor Moon Cross-over
By KPJAM



Ranma watched as the woman vanished into thin air.

One moment Ryoga knocked him against a wall, a lucky shot from the pig-boy,
the next thing he knew he was being held by someone.  He had broken free of
the hold, ready to continue fighting only to see the woman from the fight
earlier in the day.  Recognition had come to him after a moment, his sister.
Confirmation came a moment later when he heard her whisper, "brother," right
before she disappeared.

"Setsuna?"  he said softly after she had vanished.  He continued to sit on
the spot he landed on, blinking in confusion.  He noticed the darkened
street, his head whipping around again, wondering where everyone went,
especially Ryoga, they were in the middle of fight.

He realized he needed to think, and think with a clear head.  After a moment
's deliberation, he set out for the bridge under the canal, his favorite
place to ponder life.  He wanted nothing to do with the chaos that always
found him at the dojo.  He was hoping to organize his apparently fragmented
memory, fill in the huge gaps that existed.

He didn't want to ever admit a weakness, and not remembering was one.
Especially with so much that seemed to happen lately, revolving around a
pair of women and of course, himself.


----------

Chapter 4: Everyone Wants Meio.

-------

Ryoga woke to a darkened room.  He rubbed his eyes, clearing the sleepers
from them.  Giving a mighty yawn, he stretched his arms out.  There was a
thump, quickly followed by a yelp, called his attention to other side of the
bed he had been sleeping in.  Curious, he rolled over onto his side and
looked down.

"Geez.  You don't have to be so rough,"  a woman's voice said.  He watched
as she stood up and touched something on the side of the bed, illuminating
the room in a soft light.  He scooted away from the edge of the bed as she
straightened the negligee she was wearing.  He could tell she wore no bra,
and the material had clung to interesting places.  He turned away,
embarrassed, after his brain had finally processed what he was looking at.

"Ah. Ah.  You're that girl from the other day," he stammered as he wiped
away the moisture he felt trickling from his nose.

"Yes, Ryouken.  I'm Yumiko.  Geez, don't you remember anything?"  He felt
the bed lower as she joined him on it.   He was about to respond when he
felt her lean into him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm so proud of you," she gushed as he felt a quick kiss upon his neck.

"What?"  He felt his face drain of color as he racked his brain trying to
figure what he could have done to this young woman.  If he had been a little
more experienced, he would have been able to tell that nothing untoward had
occurred.

"You beat him.  You finally beat Meio," she joyfully spouted.

"Ahhh, Yeah."  Ryoga turned to face her again, breaking the contact, and
putting space between him and this crazy woman.  He was relieved to learn
she was talking about some fight, although he wondered who this Meio was?

"Meio!  You finally beat Meio.  After all those years of training, you
finally did it. I'm so proud of you."  Ryoga wondered what she was talking
about.  The last thing he remembered was beating. Ranma!  How dare he try
and confuse me by giving another name to this. _very_ nice girl!

Ryoga flinched as she again threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely.
He felt her release him slightly only to plant a kiss on the surprised and
confused boy.

"Umph," Ryoga sputtered as his mind went blank from the overwhelming
affection he was receiving from this woman.

Yumiko broke away slightly and began to happily jabber.  "With Meio gone we
can finally continue our plans.  I checked everything out earlier and the
lab is still working.  All we have to do now is contact the Senshi.  If we
can contact them maybe we can get our plans to work. While you were
sleeping, I captured some of the communications that are being sent around.
There sure is a lot of incessant chatter now.  I don't understand why people
have nothing better to do than talk about such stupid things.  Anyway, I
caught a broadcast of the Senshi fight earlier today.  I think we can find
them easily."  Ryoga was watching her talk as her lips seemed to flow
together and her hands continued to move excitedly.  He felt his mind
drifting as he found himself hypnotized by her words as they all blended
together and sounded like a bird chirping.

He began to wonder why he was in bed with this girl.  What did it mean about
his feelings for Akan. err Akari.  He knew Akari liked him, and truthfully
he did enjoy her company as well.  So why was he so captivated by the beauty
of this woman in front of him.  Was he really like Ranma, a honor-less cad.
No he was better than that good-for-nothing bastard, there was a perfectly
logical explanation for these circumstances.  Yeah, perfectly reasonable and
believable explanation.

Finally, when she seemed to catch her breath he spoke, asking about the only
thing he really understood that she had just said.  "Ah, who are the
 Senshi?"

She stopped and just stared at him for a moment before opening her mouth as
if to speak.  She closed it again and frowned as stream-loads of guilt
dumped their cargo upon the hapless boy.

"The Senshi, Princess Serenity's bodyguards," she said softly, barely able
to control her trembling voice.  "You don't remember me, either, do you,
Ryouken?"

The pout she gave hurled Ryoga into a state of panic.  Sensing she was on
the verge of tears, and not being able to stand the thought that he might be
the cause, he wracked his brain for a way to make things better.  He
attempted to put together what little he knew about women, rummaging through
the caverns of his mind for instances when he had actually interacted with
any.  He remembered the interactions between Ranma and his fiancees, trying
to determine what a woman might want to hear, and deciding that he would be
honorable, not respond the way Ranma generally did around women.

"No," he hastily said.  He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her
in the eyes.  "Of course I remember you now."  His voice was soft, firm and
sure, filled with a confidence he bought with his desire to be a better man
than Saotome.   "You're my fiancee, right?"  His voice squeaked when he said
this last phrase.

The smile that lit her face mollified his feelings for a second until her
grin grew lecherous.  He had seen that look on Happosai before; he started
to back up in fear.  He had only moved an inch before she was upon him.  He
felt her lips squashed against his, the sudden loss of breath caused him to
snort slightly out of his nose.  His felt his face became flushed, and he
was sure it was as red as the setting sun.  He made an attempt to break away
when he realized her arms held his head immobile.  He squealed when a tongue
invaded his mouth.  After a few moments his senses became transmitting
signals to his brain, telling him that what was happening felt good.  Just
before he was ready to become an active participant she broke away from him.

"I can't believe after all these years together you finally asked!  Of
course I'll marry you!"  she squealed in delight, clasping her hands
together under her chin.  He could actually see the little hearts appear in
her eyes and her smile went from ear to ear, honestly, he couldn't see one
end of it because her head was tilted slightly.

Ryoga's body froze over at those words, wondering what he had done.  He
watched as she talked about something. He was unable to make out any of the
words; his brain had shorted out, again.

A light slap across the face brought him out of his stupor.

"Well?  When do you want to get married?"  she giggled.

"Umm, well, I'm only sixteen, isn't that a little young?"  he said
hopefully, trying to delay his sentence to hell.

"That's okay, we can wait.  Just don't forget you asked, and I agreed," she
replied happily before drawing herself up and reclining against the
headboard. "Now how do we go about getting your memories back?"

"Maybe I can help," a voice spoke from the other end of the room.

Ryoga jumped up quickly taking a battle stance in response to the intruder.
Focusing in the dim lighting he saw the outline of a man. "Who's there?"

Yumiko reached above the headboard to retrieve her bow, which Ryoga hadn't
noticed hangin over the bed.  She raised it, drawing back and aiming a
translucent arrow at the intruder.

"An old friend," the man said as he stepped into the light.

"Professor!"  Yumiko squealed as she quickly dropped her bow on the bed and
ran towards the man.

"Yes, kids, it's me."


--------------------


Genma and Soun sat across from each other playing another endless game; the
only slight variation was the drinking factor.  Each piece taken was
rewarded with a double shot of sake.

"They're still not back yet, Saotome," Soun merrily slurred.  He had a smile
plastered on his face that looked permanent.

Genma glanced at his friend, carefully keeping an eye on his pieces.  "I
know, Tendo."

"Do you really believe.?"

Genma noted the hopeful edge to his friend's voice.  So many wonderful plans
had gone awry that his hope was tempered.  An excuse to add more drinking to
the game was always welcome, but he doubted anything other than drinking was
truly being celebrated.  Hope did spring eternal and he loved the idea.
"That my son has finally grown-up.  Maybe, just maybe."

"Hmm..."  Soun looked pensive at the words, obviously not expecting Genma's
less than rosy reply.

"You made the right choice, Soun.  Akane could never live up to the true
tenants of the 'Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu'.  She's just too nice a person.  The
boy has been such a disappointment like t'at, I've tried, but all my best
plans have back-fired on me."  Soun nodded his head in sympathy.

Genma really didn't believe Soun had the guts to truly teach Akane.  He also
didn't believe a woman really could be a true student of the school.  It was
a life style and a mind set that encompassed the school.  He and Soun had
finally realized all that it meant when they decided to seal the master
away.  A true master of the school did what he wanted, answering to no one
to attain his goals.

"Maybe you went too far with the engagements."  Soun had brought this up
before, and he had to admit, they hadn't turned out as he had expected.

"Hmm.  I expected the various engagements to motivate the boy, make him make
a decision, become more decisive, but all he does is curse me.  He is such a
wonder at the art, how could he be such a failure as a man."  Genma took a
short swig of sake, shaking his head in disgust again.  He slammed the cup
down and moved a piece, capturing one of his friends in the process.

"Aha!  Drink up, Tendo ol' boyo, you're 'hind again."  He said forcefully,
placing two small cups of sake in front of the other man while hoping the
conversation moved towards more enjoyable topics.

Soun took a deep breath, already having more than enough to befuddle his
less than steady mind and downed the proffered elixir.  After matters of
honor were settled, he continued their earlier conversation.  "Maybe, hic.
my friend, maybe one day he'll understand and make us proud," he spoke as
sagely as he could muster.  Genma grunted in response, not feeling the hope
that his friend was offering.  The boy was already sixteen and all he wanted
was to practice and to fight, never taking any rewards for it.  What point
was fighting except for those rewards?  The whole art was based on taking
what you wanted, and the boy just didn't do that.

He had stopped stealing when he began to understand what he was doing, and
here he had women throwing themselves at him and he did nothing.

"Maybe, Tendo, maybe.  I fear, sniff, I fear that the art dies with us."
If Ranma wouldn't start using the art for his own benefit, then it was just
another style, with the heart of it taken away.

"Have faith, old friend, have faith."  Soun slouched forward and patted
Genma on the shoulder.

"Hmm."

Just then the front door banged open, both heads looked towards the entrance
hall.  A second later they were treated to the sight of Akane Tendo rushing
into the room.

"Ranma!  Get out here!"  she bellowed.  She repeated her yell up the stairs,
and then turned on the fathers when no answer was forthcoming.

"Where is he?" Genma looked over at Soun, who clearly was deducing the same
thing he had.  Their two children weren't together and the two men's hopes
were exposed to what they truly were, false hopes.

Genma held his tongue and looked on in disappointment as his friend bumbled
out a trepid reply to his daughter, the man needed to place some discipline
on his children.

"We thought he was with you.  Right, Saotome?"  Soun looked nervously at his
friend for confirmation.

"Right, Tendo."  He turned to Akane.  "We thought it was your job to keep
track of your fiance.   At the very least we thought you were out
consummating your relationship."  Genma gleefully announced while downing
another cup of sake.

Her face went red, Genma wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger when
she shouted her reply, "What!  Me and that baka?  I've spent the day trying
to save the idiot!  And he goes and disappears."

Genma gave an internal sigh of relief when she overlooked his insult, and
answered his barb.

"Save him?" a voice asked from the stairs.  The fathers both turned to look
at the middle Tendo daughter descend into the room.

"Yes, he was frozen in time.  I went to a spaceship to find a way to save
him and he goes and saves himself," She huffed.

"Ah, Akane?  Frozen in time, spaceship, doesn't that sound awfully cliched?"

"Ask her," Akane pointed at the woman standing against the wall.  Genma
chided himself for failing to notice her before.

"And you would be?" Nabiki asked.

"Noriko," she replied simply.

Nabiki's eyebrows shot up and glanced at Genma.

"Not me!  Nope, definitely no Norikos.  Ukyo, a Tendo, A Mishimura. ahhh
that woman from Hokkaido, and. um.   I'll shut-up now."  Genma turned his
head away from the scowls the women in the room were directing at him.

"Oh! We have guests.  Why don't you all sit down while I make some tea?  Is
anyone hungry?"  Kasumi questioned from the doorway.

On cue, Genma felt his stomach growl, "That would be wonderful, Kasumi."  He
beamed, perking up as always when food was mentioned.  Noticing the feel of
the current bottle propped up on the table, he called out to the retreating
woman again, "We could also use another bottle of sake.  There should be one
heating now."

"And you're here because.?"  Nabiki left the question hanging.

Noriko sighed, meeting Nabiki's stare.  "I--" She was cut off by the sound
of the front door opening, the movements of someone in the entrance hall
ended all action in the room as everyone peered towards the entranceway,
awaiting the only person not accounted for.

-----------

Ranma entered the Tendo home quietly; he was hoping to find the house quiet
and its inhabitants slumbering.  He wasn't tired, but felt he should try and
get some sleep, he knew school was tomorrow and his father would wake him
early, regardless of what time Ranma had gone to bed.  Placing his slippers
by the door, he walked into the main room, intent on heading up to his room.

He stopped cold when he entered the main room, taking in all the people
gathered there with an eerie quiet often found before a violent storm.  So
much for slipping quietly to bed!  Ranma exasperated to himself.  His father
and Mr. Tendo were sitting at their game board looking at him with
expectation, expecting he had no idea what.  Nabiki was looking on
speculatively while Kasumi was gracing him with a warm and friendly smile.
Akane looked angry, per usual, and Noriko looked on calmly.  "Noriko!
  Crap!"  he thought, knowing that it really would be a while before he got
to bed, now.

"What?" he yelled irritably to the room in general.  His words seemed to
spark the room into action as questions were flung at him wildly.

"About time you showed up, Boy!"
"Ranma, why did you leave your fiancee?!?"
"Ranma, would you like something to eat?"
"Ranma! Where have you been?!"

He ignored the others, concentrating on one.  "Nowhere, ya stupid tomboy!"

"Don't yell at me!  You disappeared!"

"Me?  Hey, I was with _you_ fighting Ryoga, when he hits me with some
strange attack.  Next thing I know it's night and the street is empty and
_you_ are nowhere to be seen.  Where did you go?  Huh?"  He spoke
triumphantly, forcing her to answer questions for a change.

"I was looking for a way to save you, baka!"  Akane blasted the words out of
her mouth.  Steam could be seen coming out of her ears as her face was a
crimson color, challenging the fury of a raging campfire.

"Well, I guess I didn't need your help," replied Ranma, ignoring their
fathers joyful shouts about the boy being saved and imminent weddings.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Ah, Mei... Ranma.  How _did_ you get free?"  Noriko called out, distracting
Ranma.

Ranma turned to face Noriko, his face losing the color it had attained from
yelling at Akane.  He didn't know what to say.  He remembered her actions
from earlier that day when she had attacked his sister.  Those actions didn'
t make sense from the little bit he remembered from his past life.

"Setsuna saved me," he whispered reluctantly, not wanting to discuss that
which he wasn't clear on.

Noriko's face showed her surprise, while the others looked on confused.

"Why?  How?"  she asked quickly.

"Why?"  he sighed in frustration.  "I dunno.  I suppose I'd do the same for
her."

"Why?"  The repeated question stung him as he tried to reconcile his meager
memories with her current actions.

"Why wouldn't I save my sister?"  he asked again in confusion.

"WHAT?!?!"  He winced as the room exploded again, and the he felt the surge
of people confront him.

"You have a sister?!?"  Akane screeched.

"Don't be foolish, boy!  You have no sister!"

"It's a long story, pops.  She ain't yours, so don't worry."

"Well, you are _my_ only child."  Ranma froze when he heard that icy voice
coming form the stairs.  He cringed inside as he realized the situation had
probably just spiraled farther out of his control.

His hope for a relative quick question-and-answer session was now gone, as
he turned to regard the one person always tried to be respectful to, his
mother, came down the stairs.

"Why don't we all sit down for tea?"  Kasumi said cheerfully, obviously
trying to diffuse some of the tension in the room.

"That's a wonderful idea, dear."  His mother never removed her questioning
gaze when she answered Kasumi.

After everyone was settled at the table, Noriko was introduced while Kasumi
brought in and served everyone tea and some snacks.  When everyone had been
served Nodoka began.  "Noriko, how do you know my son?"

Taking a deep breath Noriko began, "My proper title was Princess Noriko
Miyamoto of the planet Vulcan."  She waited a moment, ignoring the gasps
from the others at the table.

"I lost that title during a war that took place a millennium ago, before
your recorded time began.  The planet Vulcan was destroyed during that war,
most of it disappearing in the blink of an eye, scattering a small amount of
rock and other debris between the planets Mars and Jupiter."

She stopped again abruptly and looked directly at Ranma.  He watched as her
face changed slightly for a moment, a deep sadness showing on her porcelain
like face that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Vulcan was a part of the House Kojima, whose rulers were from the planet
Pluto.  My family, my King, My Queen, my people.  All of them were all wiped
out when the planet blew-up.  My ship was badly damaged when the planet
exploded; our communications systems were trashed along with other essential
equipment.  Luckily, Prince Meio, the heir to Pluto's thrown escaped the
planets fate and made it to our ship.  He teleported onboard the moment the
planet was destroyed, dropping into a coma upon his arrival.  He had been
severely injured trying to save his parents and escaping from the planet."

"The repairs were extensive, requiring a half-year.  When we finally
completed all repairs to our ship and finally made our way to Pluto, we
learned that Meio's sister, Setsuna," she spat, looking right at Ranma,
anger and hate filled her eyes, "had taken control of the kingdom, and
surrendered."

Ranma inwardly winced when she looked directly at him.  She had his
undivided attention as he tried to remember what had happened, tried to
confirm the validity of her story.  If he had been paying more attention to
the others he would have noticed Nabiki's slightly bored and disbelieving
look, the speculative glances that his father was giving Noriko, and the
shock and sympathy Kasumi and his mother were directing towards the young
woman.

He continued to examine her as she spoke.  He noticed the steady rhythm of
her breathing; her hands were holding her teacup lightly, while her fingers
were nervously tapping it.  Her voice and mannerisms were familiar, but he
was still unable to remember her except for a few fleeting glimpses of
moments he had spent with her in places he had never been.

He remembered waking-up somewhere to her face, soft and caring, relief and
wonder inscribed on it.  He remembered her face in a rage, realizing they
were arguing about something.  Another memory was of lying down with her in
his arms talking quietly.  He had many memories of watching her intently
doing something, he discerned from the frequency of those memories that she
was a very focused woman.

"We gathered as much information as possible before traveling out to deep
space.  It was then decided that my crew and I would be put into suspended
animation until Meio had ascertained a weak point to Queen Serenity's hold
on our planets.  We were set to stay in stasis until Meio came and called
for us.  A couple weeks ago we received that call, when someone accessed
Prince Meio's time mirror."

A memory came unbidden to him, the second she mentioned a mirror.  He was
standing in a dark room gazing into a murky mirror, he watched as the image
coalesced into the dragon tap, before his memory left him.  "When exactly?"
he asked suddenly, breaking the rhythm of the story and shifting all
attention to him.

"Eleven days ago, Ranma."

"That was the fight with Saffron," Akane said.  "It couldn't be you, Ranma.
You were with people all day."

Ranma laughed nervously, "Right, Akane."

He glanced at Noriko's, she showed little, but he could tell she was pissed.
"We were woken up by activation of the mirror, and Meio was the only one who
could have activated it."

"Why did you say you had a sister, son?"  his mother asked.

Ranma head snapped towards his mother as he silently cursed himself for
having forgotten his earlier admission.  He had wanted to keep this whole
being reborn business a secret, at least until he had comes to grips with
it.  He had never been a secretive person, but he definitely did his best to
hide things that he felt wouldn't cast him into a favorable light, or be a
potential weakness his rivals could exploit.  He had no idea how everyone
would react to this.

Taking a deep breath he began, "When I saw Setsuna tonight, I remembered she
was my sister.  It's confusing to me, but I knew it was true when I saw her
and she called me brother before she disappeared. The only thing I can think
is that Noriko is right, I'm this Meio guy, reborn."

"You said Setsuna saved you?"  Noriko asked after that revelation had sunk
in with everyone.

"Ya. She did.  I felt Ryoga's attack hit, next thing I know someone's
grabbin me, and it was her, took me a second before I remembered.  What ya
got against her?"

"You don't remember your past life do you?"

"No, not really."

"Remember I told you about the war?"  Ranma nodded in response.  "Well right
after it ended, Setsuna became a Senshi.  She went over to the other side,
she betrayed our people, your parents, you."

"Some sister, Ranma, " Nabiki said while smirking.  "So, the Senshi also
come from your time?"

"Yes, they were the bodyguards of Queen Serenity and her daughter."  Disgust
was apparent on Noriko's face when she spoke of Queen Serenity and the
Senshi.

"I thought they were the good guys.  I mean they're reported as saving the
city from some weird demon's over in Juuban."

"Hrmph. I find that hard to believe, I could take em, no problem."  Ranma
folded his arms as he talked.  Shaking his head at the thought they could
actually beat a demon.  Hell, they were getting their butts kicked earlier
today and those monsters were pretty easy to defeat.

"Geez, Ranma."  Akane said exasperated.

"What!?!"  He wondered what Akane's problem was.  Did she have to contradict
everything he said?

"Like you could have done better."  He wondered about her ability to
realistically assess opponents.  He knew that he boasted, but this was no
boast, unless luck was severely slanted against him, he could take out these
girls.  He may not be able to do it with one shot, forced to pick them off a
few at a time, but they weren't martial artists.  Geez, he could tell from
the way they moved they weren't even all that coordinated.

"I dunno, Akane.  You saw 'em today.  They can't fight.  They just throw
those magic attacks around, they're slower than you."

"So you can beat them?"  Noriko interjected.

"Ya, if I wanted to.  Why?"

"Why?  They killed your parents, that's why!  They destroyed my planet, that
's why!  Don't you care!?!  Don't you want vengeance for the atrocities they
've commited?!?"  He looked into the fury of her eyes, he could swear they
were smoldering.  The rest of her face seemed, almost normal, but those eyes
bored into him, demanding.

"I a---"

"Boy, it's your duty to avenge your family.  You're a prince, you should
reclaim what's rightfully yours,"  Genma admonished his son before turning
to Noriko.  "He'll be very wealthy when he takes over his kingdom again."
Ranma felt sick listening to his father's words.

"Shut up, pops."

"Boy, have some respect for your father!"

"You don't understand anything, idiot.  She wants me to go kill a bunch of
girls who haven't done nothin to me!"   He swung at his father, hitting him
square across the jaw and sending him sprawling backwards.

"Those _girls_ destroyed our kingdom.  Took away _our_ future, yours and
mine.  Doesn't that mean anything to you!?!"

"Iya.  Noriko. I don't remember,"  he said lamely.  "I can't go kill a bunch
of girls for something I don't remember.  Maybe it's not even the same
 ones?"  he said hopefully.  He felt unsure and out of his element again.
He had felt this way all day, since those monsters had shown up.  He looked
across the table at the woman staring at him.  Her eyes were no longer
smoldering, they look deep and sorrowful.

"I'm sorry."  He jumped up and left the room with the screams of those
sitting following him.

-------------------------------

Noriko watched as Ranma left, her hopes at a happy reunion dashed.

"I'm sorry about my son's lack of manners, Noriko."  His current mother
said.  She examined the woman quickly before answering.  He seemed to listen
to her a little, more than he seemed to listen to his father.

"That's quite alright, Mrs. Saotome," she replied, even though it wasn't.

"I'll make sure the boy knows his duty," Genma said pompously as he was
returning to the table.  Noriko just nodded in response.  If his earlier
actions were any indication, Ranma wouldn't listen to this man, at least not
seriously.  She was busy thinking of what she should do next.  Nothing had
gone right today, or even close to right.  Should she continue on her own,
would it be worth anything to avenge her family without Meio's support?
Could she even do it with Setsuna supporting the Senshi?

She had hopes that Ranma's memories would be returned to him, that he would
become the Meio that she knew.  She would need to find out more about him,
but now was not the time or place.

"I think I'd better leave," Noriko said as she stood.

"May I have a word with you before you go?"  She nodded her head in
acquiescence to Mrs. Saotome request, before both women walked towards the
door.

When they stood by the front door Nodoka began.  "I feel for your situation.
My son is many things...  I'm learning he's a great deal more than I had
thought or had hoped for, but certain times." Nodoka just sighed ans shook
her head.

"I would like to help you.  I have a few ideas, please meet me for tea
tomorrow so we can discuss them."

"I'd like that," was Noriko's simple reply.

---------------------------------------------

Cologne put down the scroll she was reading when she heard her
great-granddaughter walk up the stairs.  She glanced at the clock on her
table noticing how long she had been going over her scrolls.  The dryness of
her eyes confirming that it was indeed past two in the morning.

"Shampoo, come in here," she called.  She attempted to keep her voice down,
fearful of rousing Mousse.  She had applied a shiatsu point to him a few
hours ago, removing the incessant nag from her hair.  She had made some
surprising discoveries since she had returned, glued to her scrolls as she
pinned down vague references that eventually led her to vague facts.  Some
of the scrolls she had dug up were copies of originals that pre-dated the
Amazons.

They spoke of a destroyed civilization, and its resurrection.  A time when a
threat would come to destroy the world.  When one who had lived twice, born
of another planet, and re-born of this one.  He would face great struggles
in his life until he received his inheritance, and then his former struggles
would seem insignificant.  He would be aided by those he thought his
enemies, and betrayed by those he thought his allies.  The decisions he
would make would decide the fate of the universe.  He would be aided by an
Amazon.  Cologne tingled with glee when she had found that last part.  The
one thing that bothered her the most was the reference to redeeming his
sister.  Ranma was an only child as far as she knew, although she wouldn't
put it past Genma to have been indiscrete.

"Yes, Great-Grandmother."  She noticed the young girl's downcast face
immediately.

"What's wrong, Shampoo?"

Shampoo filled her in on the events that had transpired earlier.  Cologne
listened diligently, showing her wisdom by asking an occasional question,
but really only trying to match any facts she gleamed now with those she had
learned earlier.

When she finished talking, Cologne finally spoke. "Go to bed now, forget
about Noriko.  If what I think is correct, there is no shame involved,
forget it happened."

"Why?"

"Part of the reason we have survived as long as we have has been due to
judicious retreat."

"Shampoo of Joketsuzoku, she no run away!"

"You have no business getting involved.  This has become more than a groom
hunt, more than a simple diversion."  She bopped Shampoo on the head to keep
her from interrupting.

"We'll discuss more in the morning before we go see Son-in-law.  We need to
offer him our support now, not bother him with trivialities.  Go to sleep
now!"  she barked the last out, brooking no further discussion of the
matter.

She watched as the normally vibrant young woman morosely walked out of the
room.  She stopped and reflected, it was too soon to tell if Ranma was the
one spoken of in the scrolls.  If he was, he would need help or everything
might be destroyed.  She smiled in delight at that thought.  Not the thought
of destruction, but of her good fortune for being able to play a role in
things.  She had believed her time for adventure had passed her by, but this
was one she would willingly come out of retirement for.

Tomorrow, she would find and discuss things with Ranma.  She quickly put her
scrolls away and went to bed.

---------------------------------------

"Is she still crying?"

"I don't hear anything.  I hope she fell asleep," Michiru replied.

"Are you sure about the mirror's results?"

Michiru was a little annoyed at the question.  Haruka had already asked her
five timer in the last two hours.  "No, of course not.  But I've never known
the mirror to be wrong before.  If she's not dead, she's somewhere that it
means the same thing."

"We have to find this Meio person."  Haruka said forcefully.

"I agree, but how?"  Michiru said weakly.  She was tired and worried and
lost.

They had heard crying from Setsuna's room last night and then heard Hotaru's
shout out her transformation phrase.  When they had entered the room, it had
been empty.  A few hours later Hotaru returned a mess.  It had taken a good
hour to calm her down enough to understand what had upset her so.

Michiru had decided to use the Aqua Mirror when Hotaru had finished telling
them what had happened.  The results had been disappointing.  Hotaru had run
back  into Setsuna's room and locked the door.  They heard soft crying
through the door, although they hadn't been allowed entrance.

"The mirror showed two things concerning him, some weird pools in a valley
and a high-school, Furikan."  Haruka repeated the vision again, stressing
Furinkan.

"Furikan is in the Nerima ward."  Michiru let a small smile adorn her face
as she pretty much  knew what her lover was thinking.

"It's six now.  I'm going to call the schools, let them know we won't be
attending today."  Michiru decided since Haruka was taking care of that, a
few hours of sleep was definitely in order.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Where is he?"

"I dunno, Professor.  This is where I hit him."  Ryouken pounded his fist
against a nearby wall.   "Damn you, Ranma!"  He had left Meio here, trapped
by his ultimate attack, and now he was gone.

"Tis truly a shame, Ryouken.  We'll just have to find him again."

"He should be in school later today."  He volunteered the information,
hoping he would get another opportunity to prove his superiority.

"Good.  Come, children, let's see what we can find."  Ryouken took the lead
at Professor Fujisama's urging.

----------------------

Author's notes.
Find my stuff at http://kpjam.anifics.com
E-mail me at noirchloe@nyc.rr.com

Next chapter.  What do all these people want from me?
Anime of the moment: Iketeru Futari.



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