The characters in this story belong to their respective creators and rights
holders. Ranma 1/2 is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon is the
creation of Naoko Takeuchi. All original content is the creation of Samuel
Phoenix. Recognition is given to Harold Ancell who has been a near constant
source of input, information, and ideas.

 Circumstance and Consequence
Prologue: Happy Birthday to Me...
PsyckoSama (syp104@psu.edu)

>From the roof of the Tendo Dojo, Saotome Ranma gazed at the sunset and
basked in his own self-pity. In his hand was a single blue frosted bakery
cupcake crowned by a single small candle. It was the solitary marker he had
seen all day to commemorate the date of his birth, and he had bought it
himself.

This really irked him. Everyone else had birthdays. The Tendo sisters had
rather garish affairs. Shampoo and even Mousse celebrated the Amazon way.
Hell even Ryouga got a happy birthday and a pat on the when he showed up.

What did Ranma get? He got nothing, absolutely nothing. Not a celebration,
not a cake, and even a single utterance of "Happy Birthday, Ranma". It was
like the didn't care. He was the center of the all the chaos in Nerima. They
had all done crazy things, life altering things directly because of him. He
couldn't leave or escape, because they would hunt him down to the ends of
the earth just to start the same crap all over again.

Did they care? That was the question, and in his his mind all signs pointed
to no. They couldn't give a damn about him, or what he felt. If they, did
this chaos, the madness that was slowly draining his confidence, his very
will to live, would have ended long ago.

These people were going to be the death of him. It was starting to wear him
down. He was tough, but he was only human. Never a moments peace, just
constant anarchy with no respite. No matter what he did it was never enough.
He couldn't get rid of them, but he would rather die then forsake any one of
them. It pained him to admit it, but they were his only friends. That is
what made it just that much more pathetic. With friends like his, you'd
rather have enemies.

Part of him wanted it to end, but he could only see one out, Seppuku, and he
really couldn't consider that an option. That would be giving up, and
Saotome Ranma *never* gives up. No matter the odd, no matter the situation,
no matter how many times he falls on his face, he always wins. That is what
has kept him alive, the hope of a brighter tomorrow where he could be happy
and at peace. Unfortunately, hope can die... and his was slowly waning.

"Oh, fuck it," grumbled the disgruntled youth as he cast away the cupcake.
He was not Ryouga. He was not the type to sit around and feel sorry for
himself. He was not a victim, he was a fighter, and tonight he would do
something to fight this crap! But first, he really needed a drink...

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

Ranma looked at the place where he would get his poison. The guys from
school were always acting as if this place was something special because
they carried lots of imported liquor. Of course, at his college, there were
to damn many Americans, and they probably just appreciated the reminder of
home.

Ranma could not see the appeal. A bar was a bar. You went there to get
drunk, not for silly nostalgic reasons.

He looked at the place for a moment. It was nothing special. A normal out of
the way hole in the wall with a large neon sign simply labeled "Jack's" in
English.

"Oh well," remarked Ranma. Time to get smashed.

The youth slowly slipped through the door and looked at the interior.
Someone had gone to a lot of effort to make this place look like an old
American style tavern. With a shrug he walked over to the bar and sat down.

"Hey, gimme something strong!"

The barkeep, a graying Gaijin in his mid fifties turned to the martial
artist. "How old are you, kid?" He asked with a very heavy American accent.

"Eighteen... No, wait. I'm Nineteen." mumbled Ranma, wondering what this was
about.

The man behind the bar gave Ranma a dirty look, and said, "Kid, you do
realize the legal drinking age is twenty. Come back next year."

Ranma sighed. This was wonderful! He was old enough to go through daily
hell, be forced into marriage, and kill a fucking god, but he could not get
a drink. "I'm sorry for bothering you, sir."

With a scowl on his face, he started back outside, pushing his way through
the crowded bar. He never got a break.

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

Setsuna sighed to herself as gazed across the bar of Jack's, her personal
haunt. It was the best place in the area to get imported liquor. She really
hated Japanese booze. She guessed her centuries of traveling the world had
given her a sensitive pallet.

She looked down at her whisky shot. Was this her tenth or her eleventh? Oh
well. She gulped it down, then thought about the travesty that was her life.

Oh, how she longed the travel the world, to once again visit the avenues of
Paris, the fast paced bustle of New York, the classical charm of Rome and
Athens, or one of a thousand other location she had been in her life.

She had always relocated at least one every ten years. It spared her the
pain of watching friends and lovers grow old and die before her eyes. The
rebirth of the Senshi was both the best and worse thing that had happened to
her in many, many years.

They gave her both hope that her ten millennia of suffering would come to a
happy conclusion, and a connection to the long dead civilization of her
birth.

She had been in Japan twenty years, ever since the rebirth of Neptune and
Uranus. For the first time in thousands of years she was not able to run
from death. Once again she had to watch friends and lovers, people she knew
and cared about slowly rot away with the passage of time.

Her immortality was a dire curse. Most people would love to live forever,
but they did not understand the cost. You were doomed to be alone. Everyone
you would ever meet was doomed to die in what amounted the blink of an eye.
What was a human lifespan to a person who lived outside of time?

That is why she was heading to this bar. To drink away her pain, and maybe
find someone special for the night, so that for one moment she could have a
connection with another human being. She just wanted a split second where
she was not alone in the world.

Setsuna was thrown out of her emotional monologue by a sharp impact as some
one knocked into the shoulder. The impact upset the balance of her barstool,
and sent her flying backwards. She winced as she prepared for the impact
with the cold hardwood floor, but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes,
and looked directly into a beautiful pair of gray-blue orbs. Eyes which
mirrored her own suffering.

"Err... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over," muttered the
blushing young man who own the eyes, as he helped Setsuna back to her feet.
"I'll be going now." He murmured as he walked away.

Setsuna smiled. The boy was very handsome, and she could tell that there was
something special about him. She was not letting this one go that easy. She
grabbed the young man's arms "Wait a second, at least let me buy you a
drink. Most people would have just let me fall on my ass."

"Sorry. I'm not old enough," he replied with a nasty expression. "The guy
behind the bar refused to serve me. Guy can't even get a drink when he's
having a bad day..."

Setsuna shrugged, sat back down, and pulled Ranma onto the stool next to
her. "Don't worry, I'll handle it." She turned to the barkeeper and said,
"Hey, Jack! Two shot of Whisky. One for me, and one for my friend here."

The old gaijin shot Setsuna a sour look. "Setsuna, you know how I feel about
serving those damn ignorant college kids..."

"Jack, just shut up and give me my drinks," replied Setsuna in a sarcastic
tone.

"Fine... but if this brat drinks himself into a stupor, it's your problem,"
grumbled the old bartender.

Setsuna just glared at the man, who sighed  and poured the drinks.

"Drink up, kiddo!" said Setsuna jut before choking down her shot.

Ranma looked at the miniscule glass. The only alcohol he had ever had was
sake and maybe some beer. He slowly lifted the glass and swallowed brown
liquid with in.

He gagged. This stuff was nasty!

"I take it you don't drink much," commented the green haired beauty who was
sitting at his side.

Ranma shrugged, "Not really... What's your name anyway?"

The woman smiled and replied. "My name is Meiou Setsuna, and you're..."

"Saotome Ranma," replied the young martial artist.

"So Saotome-san, fancy another drink?"

"Sure, this time I'll cover it," he said as he pulled out his wallet.

Setsuna chuckled to herself. "Buying a lady a drink... what a gentleman!"

Ranma couldn't help but laugh with her. It was not all that funny, but her
laughter was infectious.

The barkeep quickly refilled their drinks and was on his way. Almost in
unison, they gulped down the hard liquor.

"So, why are you so glum?" inquired Setsuna.

Ranma sighed and looked down at the empty shot glass before him. "No one
remembered my birthday..."

"Well, then... Happy Birthday, Saotome Ranma!"

Ranma blushed slightly, and looked down. "You, a perfect stranger, are the
only person who wished me a happy birthday. Not my friends, not my enemies,
not my fianc�es, not even my damn parents. They didn't give a damn...."

Setsuna blinked and gave Ranma a funny look. "Fianc�es? Plural?"

Ranma looked turned his head to the woman. "Yeah, I got three of em... It's
all my old man's fault. He would engage me to lots of girls then run off
with the dowry, and not I'm stuck with his mess."

"That man should be shot on general principle."

"Yeah, I almost agree with you," chuckled Ranma. He paused for a moment then
said, "Most people don't believe me when I tell them that."

She replied with a shrug. "I've seen a lot in my day, and you seem like the
honest type. Just call me jaded."

"Well, at least there is one person in the world who is not out to get me! I
swear, everyone I ever meet is out to kill, marry me, or possibly both!"
exclaimed the pigtailed youth. He then paused for a moment, and turned his
head to Setsuna. "So, what's your story."

Setsuna froze for a moment, lost in though. "I... I'm a wanderer, a person
without a place to call my own. I travel the world, never allowing myself to
get tied down."

"Why."

"I... I don't want to talk about it. It's painful."

Ranma nodded. "I understand."

Setsuna chuckled lightly and shook her head. "No, you don't."

Ranma's eyes narrowed slightly, and he replied. "Yes, I do. I am, or at
least was a wanderer too. I spend ten years on the road training to be a
martial artist. I had no friends, no family, and no roots. Just the Art and
my baka old man." He paused, then continued, "And at least you can run from
your demons. Mine will hunt to the end of the earth, and maybe then some."

Setsuna slowly cracked a dour smile. "So, maybe you do."

It was at that moment that their drinks were refilled. With a smile, Setsuna
slowly lifted her shot, as did Ranma. The green haired Senshi held her drink
toward Ranma, and with a look of irony on her face she said, "Here's to
misery and the good company it brings!"

Ranma chucked and bumped his glass against hers. "Cheers!"

The two continued to drink and talk for over an hour. After about ten or
twenty more shots Setsuna's alcohol resistance began to where down while
Ranma's superhuman constitution began to give up.

Through slightly hazed vision, Setsuna looked over the young man at her
side. Damn, he was cute. He was nice too, and they could actually sympathies
with each other's problems. That in its self was something rare. He might be
just what she was looking for...

"Ranma?" asked Setsuna.

The pigtailed youth smiled stupidly at the woman by his side. "Yeah,
Set-chan?"

Setsuna blinked. "Set-chan."

The drunken teen shrugged. "Hey, you look like a Set-chan to me."

"Okay, fine. But if you call me Set-chan, I get to call you, Ran-chan."

Ranma winced a little. "If you gotta... but I got some rough memories of
that nickname."

Setsuna shrugged. "Fine them I guess we'll have to add some good ones to it,
eh Ran-chan?"

"Fine with me!" laughed Ranma. "so, what ya wanna ask me."

Setsuna's eye narrowed slightly, and she smiled seductively. "So, Ran-chan,
you wanna stop by my place, hang out for a while, maybe have some fun?"

This invite shocked Ranma clear out of his drunken haze. "Hey, Set-chan, the
last think I need is another girl out to marry me!"

Setsuna laughed. "I never mentioned anything of the sort. All I'm asking is
for you to be my friend. Someone I can talk to. A best friend with 'benefits
'."

Ranma gulped. "Yeah, but sex don't got nothin' to do with that!"

"Oh my naive little Ran-chan. That is the 'benefits'. All I want from you is
friendship, and maybe some casual sex, and nothing more. I'm not going to
try and kill you or marry you," commented Setsuna.

Ranma looked at the beautiful woman who was offering herself to him. His
mind was in conflict. His warning signals were glairing. This could mean
nothing but trouble. To do so would be betraying his fianc�es. His fianc�es?
What they hell did he care about their feelings? They just showed him how
much they cared him. They never listened to him, they always hit him, they
treated him like a piece of meet, and they didn't even care enough to even
say Happy Birthday!

On the same note, Setsuna's offer sounded great: a real friend to talk to,
and someone to help blow off three years of sexual tension. That he could
work with.

The looked of panic on Ranma's face slowly rose into a sly little smile. In
a low, sure of himself voice he said, "Sure thing."


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