All Ranma characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, first published by
Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by Viz Communications.


        A Different Viewpoint: Curses and Demons:
                Chapter 28 

It was a little past noon when Nodoka, Kasumi and Genma arrived at the Tokyo
Zoo. Much to Genma's dismay, Nodoka insisted on paying for their tickets.
While the sky was clear, Kasumi still carried an umbrella, just in case.
Nodoka's kimono and Genma's gi got a few looks, but generally they went
unnoticed as they walked through the crowd, following the signs towards the
big cat exhibit. 

As they walked, Kasumi was looking through the map of the zoo that they had
gotten with their entry fee. "Auntie, I don't believe they have a panther
exhibit here at the zoo. See? They have tigers, lions, some cheetahs, and a
pair of spotted leopards, but no panthers." 

Nodoka looked thoughtful. "I believe panthers are a type of leopard, dear.
Perhaps they would put her in with them?" 

Kasumi blinked. "I didn't know that, Auntie but I'm sure you're right. We
should check the leopard cage first." 

Nodoka blushed slightly. "Well, it has been a long time since I was in
school, so I'm not absolutely positive about it... but there aren't too many
pens in this area. I'm sure we will find your friend soon enough." Before
toolong they had arrived at their destination, and while there were indeed a
beautiful pair of large spotted cats in residence, there was no sign of any
black panthers. The trio made their way around the entire big cat area, but
there was no sign of the Senshi of Mercury. Kasumi consulted the map once
again. 

"It shows that the zoo offices aren't too far away, Auntie." Kasumi
suggested. "Why don't we try there and see if we can find out where
Mercury-san might be?" 

Nodoka nodded. "Alright." She turned to Genma, who was nervously looking at
anearby Giant Panda exhibit. "Husband, are you looking at that large female
panda? She is quite cute, isn't she?" 

Genma's eyes went wide and he waved his hands in denial. "What? No, no, of
course not! I was looking at those... er... those lovely palm trees...
really." 

Nodoka looked thoughtful. "I hear the zoo has been trying to find her a
compatible mate for some time...." Genma blanched, and Nodoka winked at
Kasumi where the large man couldn't see. "If you really like her, I won't
stop you. Pandas are an endangered species after all, and it wouldn't be
right to deny such a national treasure a mate." Genma started turning
purple,while Kasumi was blushing bright pink and trying not to giggle.
Nodokawinked at the eldest Tendo daughter again. "Nabiki-chan was right.
ThatWAS fun." 

As Genma boggled at his wife, Kasumi started to giggle, still blushing. "Oh
Auntie, that was simply terrible!" 

Nodoka nodded, chuckling a bit herself. "It was, wasn't it?" The two women
continued walking toward the zoo's central offices, Genma wandering along
behind, a disgruntled look on his face. 

Meanwhile, at the offices in question, a tall bishoten looking man with long
white hair walked out of the building's front door, shaking his head at an
attractive young woman in a yellow dress. "It's no good, Luna, she's already
gone." 

"You can't be serious!" Luna blinked in astonishment. "How can that be? Ami
was brought in only last night. How can she already be missing?" 

Artemis shrugged helplessly. "They told me that all the paperwork had been
filled out correctly for her to be transferred to another zoo as part of the
world wide "Captive Breeding Program". Apparently there have been several
zoos that have been waiting for a healthy female black panther to show up,
and she's already been shipped out." 

Luna shook her head. "Bureaucracies didn't work that fast even in the Silver
Millennium. There's something fishy going on 

here." 

Artemis's stomach growled and he sighed. "Don't say fish, Luna, I'm starting
to get hungry. Anyway, you're right. The people at the office there are
pretty confused about it too, but apparently everything was in order. It
camefrom the highest levels or something... they weren't really specific
about it. I figure someone pretty powerful pulled some strings for some
reason... and I'm afraid to guess who it might be." 

Luna frowned. "You think it might be Mara?" 

Artemis shook his head. "I don't know what to think, but it's certainly
within her power. I tried to find out what zoo Ami had been sent too, but
they wouldn't tell me. They were getting pretty suspicious about me at the
end there, so I cut things short and left. In fact, I think we should get
moving before they think to call the police. If I recall that press
conference, the police are still looking for whoever let a panther into the
middle of Juuban like that, and I wouldn't like to have to answer too many
questions." 

Luna nodded. "You're right, let's get going. Perhaps we should slip into a
bathroom and change forms as well. That should throw off any pursuit." The
two transformed moon cats turned to go, then stopped a moment later, both of
them spotting three familiar faces. 

"It's Kasumi, and the Saotomes." Artemis said in surprise. "What are they
doing here?" 

"Probably the same as us." Luna answered matter-of-factly. "They probably
sawthe news and put two and two together and are here to help. We had better
tell them what is going on." 

Artemis hesitated. "Are you sure about that? They don't know us in these
forms, and we don't know how much the Saotome's know about the Senshi." 

Luna raised an eyebrow, looking a bit condescending. "Obviously they've
figured out enough to get them here. As Ami said at the meeting yesterday,
they will figure out all of it given enough time, and it's better if they
areinvolved in helping us keep the secret then having them continue and find
out things on their own. I think now is as good a time as any, don't you?" 

Artemis sighed. "You're right as usual, Luna. We'd better stop them quick,
before they go into the office." The two guardians walked quickly over to
intercept Kasumi, Nodoka and Genma, stopping them before they could go into
the zoo offices. 

"Hello, Kasumi." Luna said with a small bow. "And greetings to you, Nodoka
and Genma Saotome-san." 

The three from Nermia stopped, turning to face the young woman who had
addressed them. "Oh! Hello...?" Kasumi began with a bow as well, looking
slightly confused. "Please forgive me, but I'm afraid I can't place your
faceat the moment..." 

Nodoka bowed a moment later, never losing her serene expression. "Hello. May
we assist you in some way? I don't believe we've been introduced." 

Luna hesitated, then nodded. "You would not recognize us in these forms, but
you do know us, especially you, Kasumi. I am Luna. This is my human form...
or rather my REAL human form. As you are aware, I also have a Jusenkyo
cursedform as well." 

Kasumi blinked, then smiled. "Oh! I thought you sounded familiar. And this
must be Artemis?" She turned to the white haired man. "This is a new power?"


Artemis looked sheepish. "As you know, our memories of the past are... were,
quite sketchy." He winced. "We just recently recalled this ability." 

Nodoka blinked in mild confusion. "I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure I
understand...." She blinked. "Wait a moment... Artemis... and Luna? Weren't
those the names of the cats that my son was...?" Nodoka's eyes widened. "Was
that really you?" 

Luna nodded, bowing deeply. "It was a privilege to assist such a worthy and
honorable man as your son, Saotome-san. Ranma was very brave in overcoming
such a great trauma, and it was a pleasure to assist him." 

Genma was gaping in astonishment at the two transformed moon cats. "But...
you... you were cats... house cats... how... how can you...." 

Artemis shook his head, smiling smugly. "We were never normal Earth cats,
Saotome-san. We are Moon cats, and Luna and I have been around for a very
long time. We are the Sailor Senshi's advisors and guardians, and we agreed
to help Ranma at Johnathon Dwire's request." Artemis glanced around, looking
a bit worried. "But we shouldn't be talking of all this out in the open.
Let's go somewhere more private and talk." 

"Can you please come with us?" Luna chimed in. "We have much to discuss." 

Kasumi glanced at Nodoka, who for once seemed at a loss. "Alright." The
elderTendo daughter answered quietly. "I think that would be best. We came
because of... well, because of Mercury-san. Is she...?" 

"She's gone." Artemis answered tersely. "But let's find somewhere out of the
open before we say any more." No one had any objections to that, and the
small group headed off together to find a quiet place to converse. 

Sitting perched in a nearby tree, a simple spell concealing her presence
fromanyone who might chance to look her way, a six inch tall woman with long
blond hair and a black leather dress rubbed her hands together in
anticipation. "Ho ho ho ho ho!" She chuckled gleefully as she watched the
small group walk away. "You're too late!" She gloated to their backs. "And
your every move gives me more opportunities to destroy you." Mara watched
them go as she formulated her next move. "I shouldn't show my hand with
anything extravagant... not yet... but perhaps I can arrange for a little
accident... just to see how they handle it." 

The tiny demoness nodded thoughtfully and stood up on her branch. "I know
just the thing... I just need to make a few calls first, and set things up
properly." Gathering her cloak, Mara vanished in a tiny puff of smoke. 

Artemis and Luna had led the others to a relatively deserted area of the
zoo,off to one side of the big cat house near some large dumpsters, and away
from the crowd. "There." Artemis said in satisfaction. "This should be
private enough." 

"I agree." Luna said with a nod, then turned to Kasumi and the others. "I
assume you heard about... Mercury being brought here on the news?" 

Kasumi nodded. "We caught it on the morning news. It really was her, then?" 

Luna sighed. "Unfortunately. Even more unfortunately it seems we came here
too late. Sailor Mercury has already been moved to another zoo, and at this
point we have no idea which one. I appreciate you coming to help, but I'm
afraid there's nothing that can be done at this point." 

Nodoka smiled slightly. "I think we might surprise you, Luna-san. My husband
should be able to help us find out where Mercury-san has been sent too...
can't you, husband?" 

Genma sweated a bit, but nodded. "I should be able to retrieve the
records...although it might be best to wait until dark." 

Luna glanced at the large man in surprise, then nodded. "You did train
Ranma-sensei after all, did you not? We would appreciate any help, of
course." She frowned in concern. "I'm afraid, however, that there might be
more to Mercury's transfer than meets the eye. Perhaps, if you won't mind
thesuggestion, you might want to work with the Senshi on this... just in
case." 

Kasumi looked worried. "Oh my! Do you think that Demoness had something to
dowith this?" 

Artemis nodded. "It's a concern. We had better be on our guard." 

Genma swallowed, then nodded quickly in agreement. "Yes, best not to take
anychances!" 

Nodoka suddenly heard the quiet sound of approaching feet coming from
somewhere, but wasn't quite able to place where. As the footsteps stopped,
she finally placed the sound on the rooftop of the big cat house nearby.
Looking up, Nodoka spotted a zoo worker with a rake and hose, apparently
getting ready to clean off the roof of the building. He was too far away to
be overhearing their conversation, and Nodoka relaxed, turning away from
him.Several moments later, however, a thought struck her. 

"Excuse me." Nodoka interrupted quietly. "Has anyone noticed that man up on
the big cat house?" She pointed helpfully in his direction. "He has a hose,
and I believe he might be about too...." She trailed off as the sound of a
hose being started at high pressure made what she had been about to say
rather obvious. "Oh dear." 

Against all odds, only moments after turning on the hose, the man somehow
tripped over the rake he was carrying and stepped on it, causing the rake to
to tear hose out of his hands and somehow sending the stream of water
directly towards the large collection of Jusenkyo cursed people nearby.
Despite Genma's years of martial arts experience, and Luna and Artemis's
supernatural senses, Nodoka had been the only one to notice the potential
danger in time. The normally demure housewife was far from slow to act. In
aninstant she brandished her umbrella, bringing it to bear only moments
before the water struck. 

The medium sided purple umbrella opened an instant before the water struck,
but Nodoka had no time to choose who to shield. Genma made the choice for
her, diving into the minimal cover provided by the umbrella in the last
possible instant and nearly knocking both Nodoka and Kasumi over in the
process. Only moments later, a small horde of people in zoo uniforms came
barreling around the corner, holding nets and tranquilizer guns. 

"Where's the Panda?" One of the zoo people started to ask as the threatening
looking group came closer. "We were told that there was a wild Panda on the
loose back here and... what in the world...?" The whole group came to a halt
as a loud tearing sound preceded the sight of a large white and brown pair
ofwings sprouting rather explosively from a young woman's back. Kasumi's
quiet cry of pain was nearly drowned out by the gasp of astonishment at the
sight, and Luna and Artemis's transformation's went entirely unnoticed by
themesmerized crowd. 

Genma, facing one of his worst fears in the form of a panda hunting mob of
zoo workers, reacted rather predictably, grabbing Nodoka, who was currently
sheltering him from the hose, and attempting to flee as unobtrusively as
possible. Artemis and Luna had both attempted to dive clear of the water a
moment too late, and were sprawled on the ground several feet away, both
girls looking back at Kasumi in shock. Nodoka found herself being pulled
awayfrom Kasumi but was too stunned to react at first. 

Before Genma could get her more than a few steps, however, Nodoka started to
struggle. "HUSBAND!!! Put me down!" She insisted angrily. "What do you think
you're doing?" 

Genma put his hand over his wife's mouth as he hustled her away from the zoo
workers, trying to keep from looking suspicious and not doing very well.
"What in the world is going on here?" He said, trying to look confused as he
made his escape. Despite the poor quality of his performance, the zoo
workerswere still too stunned by Kasumi's transformation to pay him much
attention, and Genma managed to get his wife around the corner before anyone
could think to question them. 

Nodoka kicked and squirmed, finally winning free of her husband's hold.
"Genma!" She screeched angrily. "How could you just leave Kasumi-chan like
that!" 

Genma looked at Nodoka with a serious expression. "I could only save one of
you, Nodoka, and as your husband I naturally chose you." 

Nodoka looked suspicious. "You mean as the one with the umbrella you had to
chose me. You heard those men yelling about an escaped panda and you ran for
your life, leaving poor Kasumi behind!" 

"It was a trap for me!" Genma insisted. "But Kasumi will be fine. They're
looking for a panda after all, not a girl with wings." He held up a hand.
"Ifshe gets into trouble we'll be able to rescue her, but I couldn't do that
if they locked me in the Panda cage." 

Nodoka sighed. "I suppose you're right, husband, but this hardly seems to be
an honorable way to behave." 

Back behind the big cat house, Kasumi backed slowly away from the small mob
of people in zoo uniforms staring at her, holding the front of her dress up
with her taloned hands. "Oh my." She said quietly. "This is going to be
difficult to explain...." 

The group of net and gun wielding zoo workers started slowly coming after
her. "What is it?" The man in the lead asked, staring at her in confusion.
"Some kind of Angel?" 

"It's some sort of monster." A second man responded, pointing his
tranquilizer rifle at Kasumi with a worried expression. "Look at those
claws." 

"Those are talons." A third man added helpfully. "She looks like she's part
raptor...." 

Kasumi swallowed nervously, continuing to back away. "Oh my. I'm not a
monster, really! I would never hurt anyone." 

The man in front frowned doubtfully, getting his net ready. "It's trying to
trick us." He told the others, unconsciously repeating the words of the tiny
invisible demoness that was currently sitting on his shoulder. "We should
catch it quick, before it gets away!" 

The second man nodded, a second tiny demoness also whispering instructions
into his ear. "It's dangerous... I've got a clear line of fire...." He aimed
with his tranquilizer gun and started to squeeze the trigger. 

"Wait!" A small white haired girl in oversized clothing ran into his line of
fire. "Don't shoot!" 

The man with the tranquilizer gun frowned and tried to aim around her, but
the white haired girl kept getting in his way. "What are you doing? Get out
of the way!" 

The white haired girl thought fast, waving her hands wildly in front of her.
"Um... it might be dangerous! If you shoot it, it might attack... if it's a
monster you should wait for the Sailor Senshi to come take care of it. We
should all run away!" 

On the sidelines, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Luna groaned.
"Oh that's good, Artemis. That should help a whole bunch." Quietly she
started slipping around behind Kasumi, trying to think of something she
coulddo to help. "We've got to get her out of there before someone does
something rash." 

Kasumi was feeling a bit bewildered by the hostile stares she was getting
from the zoo workers, never having been the subject of so much suspicion and
fear before. At the same time her face was flushed with embarrassment at the
state of her clothing. Her dress was ruined. The back and shoulders were
destroyed and the only thing keeping it from falling down around her ankles
was the firm grip she had on it with her now rather threatening looking
taloned hands. Glancing nervously behind her, Kasumi realized that she was
backing towards a fence and there was no place for her to run, save past the
nets and guns. 

"Run away?" The man in front of the group said disdainfully to the small
white haired girl trying to bar their path. "We can handle this monster
ourselves. We don't need some little girls in mini skirts to help us." 

Luna hesitated, then realized that there was no way to get to Kasumi without
going through the men around her. "Hot water.. but what could I carry it
in...? And do I even have time?" 

Despite Artemis's efforts, the mob drew closer and closer to Kasumi, and the
winged girl found herself backed against the fence with no place else to go.
"Please...." Kasumi began. "Can't we talk about this? I can explain... I
think." 

Artemis frowned as she felt a strange energy from the unreasonably
belligerent mob. "Where...?" It was so faint that she could barely detect
it,especially in her cursed form, but there was something there, an angry,
dangerous feeling filled with threat. "They're being controlled, Kasumi!"
Thewhite haired girl shouted, leaping upon the man in front carrying the
tranquilizer rifle. "Get out of here! Fly!" 

Kasumi gasped in shock as the rest of the men rushed her, readying their
netsfor capture. "Fly? I can't...." She blinked. "Or can't I?" Kasumi gave
her wings an experimental flap, accidentally knocking over the two nearest
men as they closed to grab her and causing the first thrown net to catch one
of the zoo workers instead of her. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, dodging a second
net and flapping harder. Her wings were creating a good down draft, but
therewasn't enough room to spread them out fully from where she was. The mob
staggered back from the rapidly flapping wings, battered by the sudden
breeze, and Kasumi flapped harder, trying to lift straight up off the ground
for lack of any other way to go. Her exertions caused the small mob to take
another step back to get clear of her wings, and raised a rather respectable
cloud of dust, but failed to lift Kasumi fully from the ground. With a great
effort, Kasumi found her toes leaving the ground, only to fall back to earth
a moment later. 

"Quick!" One of the men shouted. "The tranquilizer! Before it gets away!" 

The zoo workers had come equipped with not one, but two tranquilizer rifles,
and the second man raised his rifle to shoot. Luna, having abandoned her
search for hot water, jumped him from behind a moment later, knocking him to
the ground and wrestling for the weapon. Artemis was doing much the same
withthe man she had jumped, and it looked like she might succeed at any
moment as she put her recent training to good use. The other men started
closing in on Kasumi again, trying to restrain her wings with their nets and
poles. With no where else to go, Kasumi turned to the fence and grabbed on
with one hand, pulling herself up in an effort to escape them. 

One of the men managed to grab hold of one of her wings and Kasumi reacted
instinctively, her wing automatically throwing him away from her with a
powerful shove but losing several feathers in the process. Desperately,
Kasumi started to climb the fence with one hand, digging her taloned feet
into the mesh and still trying to keep her dress up with her other hand.
Another man managed to grab her legs, and started pulling her back down.
Kasumi kicked out at him and barely managed to knock him loose, then started
to climb again, this time with both hands, choosing escape finally over
modesty. With talons on her 

hands and feet, Kasumi found it remarkably simple to climb the fence,
although just before she reached the top one of the men managed to grab the
remains of her dress, which was still hanging on around her waist, and tried
to pull her back down. 

Kasumi held on for dear life, not able to make any further progress upwards
under the strain. With her temporally immobilized, several of the other men
gathered their nets for another attempt at capturing her. As they threw the
nets once more, Kasumi's dress finally gave way, the already strained
side-stitching tearing apart the rest of the way under the pressure, ripping
away from the winged girl and causing the man holding it to fall on his rear
end, the remains of Kasumi's dress slapping him in the face. Kasumi felt the
nets going over her wings a moment later and beat them strongly, throwing
thenets off as she made one last 

lunge to reach the top of the fence. 

Kasumi perched on the top of the fence for just a moment, not pausing to
marvel at the ease that she was balancing there, then gathered herself to
jump. "Oh my." She muttered quietly to herself. "I really hope this works."
With a jump that surprised even her with its power, Kasumi sailed clear of
the fence, wings flapping powerfully. For a moment the ground rushed at her,
and she was afraid she would crash right back down to earth in the middle of
the small mob trying to capture her, but her wings caught the air before she
could fall more then half way down and bore her back up again. With a rush
ofwind Kasumi swept 

over the mob and flapped off, flying in a larger and larger circles overhead
as she slowly gained altitude. 

"Now where should I go?" Kasumi quietly asked herself, looking around the
zoofor some place to land. "I don't know how long I can keep this up, but if
I land they'll just try and catch me again...." Shouts from below caught her
attention and Kasumi flushed in embarrassment as she noticed more and more
people in the zoo looking up in her direction, pointing and shouting. She
covered her breasts with her hands self consciously, having left her most of
her clothing in the hands of a rather overzealous zoo employee. One voice
sherecognized, and Kasumi glanced back to spot Artemis, standing on a rather
bruised looking man 

in a uniform and brandishing a tranquilizer rifle. 

"Get out of here! Hurry!" Artemis yelled up at the flying girl, and started
to run herself, tossing her captured weapon into the big cat pen as she
passed it. Luna wasn't quite as fortunate, as two other zoo employees had
jumped in to help their companion in restraining her. The third man finally
managed to pull himself free of Luna as his co-workers held her down, and
brought his rifle to bear on the circling Kasumi. The girl in question
seemedto finally pick a direction, and started flying away in a straight
line, heading out of the zoo by the quickest route. With his target moving
ina relatively straight line, the man carefully aimed, and once again
startedto pull the trigger. 

Just as he fired, a large man jostled him from the side, rushing forward
towards the girl that was struggling to get free of his friends. "Hold her
steady!" The stranger cried, slamming into the two men holding Luna. "Don't
let her get away!" The large man somehow managed to knock Luna free from her
two captors in the process and accidentally tripped one of them into the man
with the rifle as he tried to line up a second shot. Luna sprinted away as
the large man wearing the bandana tried to help up the men he had supposedly
been trying to assist, clumsily managing to knock them all down again in the
process, bowling over the rifleman as well. Before they could get themselves
untangled, the bird woman had flown out of sight. 

Bowing and scraping, Genma helped the three zoo workers to their feet.
"Terribly sorry about that, I thought she had a knife! Here, let me brush
youoff...." The three men Genma had so thoroughly "helped" started glaring
athim in suspicion. 

"Hey, wait a minute...." One of them started. "Weren't you with those other
girls a minute ago?" 

Genma blinked, trying to appear innocent. "Who, me? Just an innocent
bystander, really!" Suddenly looking into the sky behind the other three
men,Genma looked astonished, pointing into the sky. "Look! That bird girl is
flying this way!" 

The three men glanced behind them, but of course saw nothing. "Hey, there's
nothing there, what are you trying to...." The three men blinked at the
suddenly empty space where Genma had been standing a moment before. "Hey...
where did he go?" 

>From several dozen meters away, Nodoka couldn't help but smile. "Well, I
guess I can forgive him." She murmured quietly to herself, turning to go.
"Hecame through after all... in his own way." 

"Don't I always?" Genma asked innocently from directly behind her. 

Not turning around, Nodoka continued to walk toward the exit of the zoo. "Do
you really want an answer to that question, husband?" 

Matching strides with her, Genma sighed. "No, I suppose not." 

Nodoka nodded in approval. "You are who you are, husband, but there may be
hope for you yet." 

Flying higher and higher above the city of Tokyo, Kasumi noted thankfully
that no one outside the zoo grounds had spotted her yet, at least not as far
as she could see. She was rapidly starting to get the hang of flying, much
toher surprise, but at the same time she was really starting to get tired.
The ache coming from her wings was a unique sensation, and not very
pleasant.From the growing discomfort, it was obvious that she would have to
land soon, but it was hard to decide where. It was a typical Tokyo
afternoon,which unfortunately meant a crowd of people practically everywhere
the eye could see. 

"I wish I could just fly all the way home." Kasumi said wistfully. "I have
tofind someplace to get some hot water... and some clothing." The normally
demure woman glanced down the length of her body and couldn't help but blush
clear to her waist. "At least I wore a clean pair of panties...." Going back
to scanning the surroundings, Kasumi frowned worriedly. "But where on earth
can I land without someone seeing me?" Quickly starting to tire, Kasumi
looked around desperately, when a simple solution came too her. "I can land
on top of one of the taller buildings." She realized. "No one will be able
tospot me up on 

top of one of those." Kasumi went into an upwards spiral, spotting an
appropriate building almost immediately. A new apartment building caught her
eye, towering stories over any of its nearer neighbors. 

"That should do nicely." Kasumi decided, gliding in that direction in
relief.In a gratifyingly short time she reached the rooftop, then suddenly
realized that she didn't really know how to land. Kasumi winged to a frantic
halt only feet before going off the far side, tripping as she hit the ground
and slamming into the small wall boarding the edge of the roof with a crash.
"Ouch." She slowly sat up from where she had ignominiously come to a halt.
Kasumi winced as she carefully brushed small pieces of gravel off her
shoulder, which started to bleed slightly from the laceration she had
inflicted on it. One ginger inspection later, she was able to determine that
aside from her shoulder and a shallow scrape on her left leg, she was
uninjured. 

"I suppose for my first landing, that could have been much worse." Kasumi
reasoned with a sigh. She glanced around the roof for something she could
useas a bandage, but the only pieces of cloth in the area appeared to be the
remains of her socks from where her feet had turned into talons, and her
underwear, which she was extremely reluctant to sacrifice for obvious
reasons. Kasumi pulled one of her socks up from where it hung around her
ankle until she had it in place over the scrape on her leg. The elastic fit
snugly over the wider expanse of her upper leg, and Kasumi was relatively
confident that it would stay in place long 

enough to get a real bandage. Carefully pulling what remained of her right
sock off over her taloned foot, Kasumi slid it over her left arm and up to
her shoulder using it as an improvised bandage as well. 

"Well that works nicely!" Kasumi smiled pleasantly. "I should have thought
ofthis use for torn socks before this. Johnathon has gone through more than
enough pairs by now. I'll have to remember this trick." She frowned
slightly."Still, I hope I don't injure myself any more trying to get home."
Her injuries cared for, Kasumi headed over towards the small doorway on the
roof. She was grateful for the scales on her taloned feet as she crossed the
rough gravel that covered the surface of the rooftop. The doorway,
unfortunately, was locked from the inside. 

"I'm not getting in this way." Kasumi said resignedly. She glanced around
theroof again, and wasn't really surprised not to see anything helpful. "I
suppose I can just rest here awhile until my wings feel better." She
reasonedcalmly, sitting down on the concrete porch in front of the rooftop
door and draping her wings over her shoulders. "I hope Auntie and
Saotome-sanwon't get too worried about me." 

******************* 

Luna and Artemis got to zoo's exit just moments before Genma and Nodoka, and
quickly joined the Saotomes as they exited the park. 

As they got outside and well away from anyone that could overhear, Nodoka
turned to Luna and Artemis, fixing them with an intense look. "Now then. We
must find Kasumi as soon as possible. Can the Senshi help us?" 

Luna hesitated. "Most of them are in school right now... save Pluto... and
she's often difficult to find." 

Nodoka nodded, unfazed. "Then we'll have to do it." She sighed, shaking her
head. "I should have realized the danger Kasumi's curse puts her in. I
shouldhave never let her come with us." 

Artemis shook her head. "I'm sure Kasumi understand what risks she was
taking. She's had a Jusenkyo curse for a while now, after all. She's
probablyhalfway home by now." 

Luna frowned. "We should be careful, those men were under an evil influence.
Something was controlling them." 

Genma nodded. "It was a trap for me!" He declared knowingly. "Did you hear
them? They were looking for an escaped Panda! Someone must have sent them
after me." 

Artemis nodded. "I agree, there's no doubt we were set up. Someone who knew
about your curse, Saotome-san, and who could control those men." 

Luna frowned. "The demoness Mara. It has to be. She must have seen the same
news broadcasts that you did, Saotome-san, and waited at the zoo to ambush
us. She probably had something to do with Mercury being transferred to
another zoo so quickly as well." She looked concerned. "I'm worried about
what she might be planning." 

Nodoka hesitated. "What should we do? If this Demoness is about we should
warn as many people as possible, shouldn't we?" 

Artemis spoke up. "I don't think that Mara is really ready to attack yet, or
she would have done more than just sic those men on us. We should let
everyone know what's happened so far. I think we should get everyone
togetherin one place so we can make plans, however." 

Luna nodded. "That is probably a good idea. I think Artemis and I should try
and contact the Senshi, and we will meet you at the Dojo when we have
locatedall of them, and you can inform Ranma and the others." 

Nodoka nodded. "I will be sure to inform my son." She sighed. "I hope poor
Kasumi is alright." 

Genma put a hand on his wife's arm reassuringly. "Kasumi-chan can be quite
resourceful when she needs to be. I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, she can
fly now. She's probably halfway home already. We should go to the Tendo
houseand tell Soun and Misty-chan what is happening. Kasumi would check
therefirst, anyway." 

Nodoka frowned. "I certainly hope you're right, husband." 

Genma crossed his fingers behind his back. "I'm positive. Now let's go." 

*************************** 

Their first day back to school at Furinkan was turning out to be rather
calmer than expected. When they had gotten to their homeroom period with
MissHinako, Ranma, Akane and Ukyo had taken their seats near each other as
they usually did, while Miss Hinako addressed the class. 

"Attention everyone!" The childlike teacher said loudly in her pixie like
voice, getting the entire class's attention immediately. (No one made the
mistake of ignoring Miss Hinako anymore, except, of course, for Ranma.) "We
have two new students today. Please give them a warm welcome, everyone!" She
turned to the two new students and the class finally noticed exactly who had
walked into the room with Miss Hinako's introduction. "Now please introduce
yourselves to the class." 

"I'm Ryoga Hibiki." The muscular young man wearing the black and yellow
bandana said with a nervous smile, hand behind his head as he looked around
the room warily. The sudden burst of whispers that started up after he
introduced himself did little to reassure him. 

"Hi." The short red haired girl said after the class had quieted down a bit.
"I'm Ranko Saotome. I guess you're all going to have a whole lot of
questions, so I'll try and answer most of them right now. I used to be
Ranma's girl side, but now we're separated permanently. If you want to know,
yes, I'm really a girl, and no, neither of us change anymore. I have the
samememories and stuff up to the point where we got split, so I know
everyonehere... and I am not married to Akane, Ranma is. We're different
people, even if we started off as the same one." This series of revelations
had stunned the room into silence, but the peace was extremely short lived.
The room erupted in voices after several moments, the entire class erupting
with questions for the new girl. 

Miss Hinako, however, was not about to let her class get too out of hand.
"That's enough, everyone!" She stated loudly, her childlike voice cutting
through the babble remarkably effectively. "If you have any further
questionsfor Saotome-san, please save them until your next break period."
Sheturned to Ryoga and Ranko. "Now you two, please find your seats." 

Under Miss Hinako's watchful gaze the class was remarkably well behaved, and
even when the childlike teacher lost her concentration and started behaving
more like the age she appeared, the class stayed relatively calm. No one,
after all, wished to risk being drained by the little chi vampire, not even
the boys who otherwise would enjoy seeing Miss Hinako's other form a 

bit more often, as it wasn't anywhere near as rewarding to see her grow into
her adult form when it was you that was supplying 

the chi. 

Ranko had taken a seat behind Ukyo, Ryoga had found a chair in front of
Akane, and all five young martial artists tried to behave as normally as
possible. In other words, Ranma and Ranko both tried to keep from falling
asleep, Akane tried to pay attention to the lecture without getting too
annoyed at her husband for goofing off, and Ryoga tried to figure out what
the teacher was talking about. Ukyo was the most relaxed of the bunch,
havinglong since learned that it was a lot easier to just read the text
aheadof time than to try and make sense out of Hinako's lectures. The
diminutive teacher often went off on tangents during class, but her tests
usually followed the material in the book closely enough that it wasn't too
hard to stay ahead, 

even if you had as little free time as Ukyo did. 

When the first break did come, all five of them were swamped with questions
from their fellow students. The day before, Nabiki had been
uncharacteristically free with her advice, and it was easy enough advice to
follow, at least in theory. 

"Just tell the truth." Nabiki had told them seriously. "It'll all get out
eventually, and it's better if you tell it your way then having it get all
blown out of proportion. You don't have to mention everything that happened
in China, certainly, but other then the Senshi stuff, there isn't any reason
you can't just tell the truth about what's happened. If you are all telling
the same story, everyone will get bored with talking about it in a week.
You'll see." 

Ranko wasn't extremely surprised when half the guys in class, including her
nominal friends, Hiroshi and Daisuke, came over to her desk as soon as the
break started. She started with the most annoying questions first, being
alsothe ones most frequently asked. 

"My three sizes are none of your business, unless you're planning on buying
me stuff." She answered firmly. "And my fiancee might not like it if I get a
bunch of presents, alright?" She glared a bit balefully at one particularly
forward questioner. "And no, I do not plan on dating anyone. I am engaged,
soobviously I can't go on a date with someone else." 

"Fiancee?" Hiroshi asked curiously. "You're still engaged? To who? You said
that Ranma... er... the other Ranma was married to Akane now.... Who are you
engaged to?" 

Ranko nodded over at Ukyo with a smile. "To Ucchan, naturally. That's the
only engagement left. With Ranma married to Akane, and me marrying Ucchan,
wecan keep all the promises my dumb pop made, without having to throw what's
left of our family name away." 

Daisuke nodded in understanding, giving Hiroshi a slightly superior look. "I
thought so. Who else would Ranma... Ranko... be engaged to anyway?" 

Ranko rolled her eyes. "Don't ask. I'm sure my pops could think of someone."


Hiroshi looked confused. "I don't get it. How can you marry Ukyo? I mean,
sure, she dresses up like a guy and all, but she's really a girl. How can
youget married if you're both girls?" 

Ukyo spoke up. "I'm officially registered as a boy, so it's technically
legal. As for the rest... well, we love each other. That's all that
matters."

The boy that had wanted to know Ranko's measurements spoke up again. "So
doesthat mean you're both lesbians?" 

Ranko started to protest. "I am not a...!" 

Ukyo raised a hand to stop her from protesting further. "Technically yes, we
are. Ranko here is only interested in girls, and I'm only interested in my
Ranchan, so yes, we are lesbians." She looked coolly around at the boys
gathered around them. "None of you have a problem with that, do you?" 

Ranko winced slightly at being described as a lesbian, but had to admit that
the label fit. "I am a girl now, for good it looks like, and I don't like
guys any more than Ranma does... so I guess that does makes me a lesbian."
She glared around the room threateningly. "But all that means is that me and
Ukyo are engaged for real... and I won't appreciate anyone trying to get
between us, got it?" There was a quick burst of nodding from the boys
groupedaround them. This wasn't a side of Ranma that they were used to
seeing, but it was still Ranma, or at least a version of him. Watching Ranma
or Akane beating the heck out of all comers was Furinkan's favorite
spectatorsport, but no one in the room was interested in becoming the next
Kuno. 

Akane and Ranma had an easier time. Their relationship had been the talk of
the student body for so long that there was little new for anyone to bring
up. In fact their wedding had put them well into the realm of becoming
boring, at least in most of the student's eyes, and mostly the only
questionsthey had to field were about Ranko and Ukyo. 

Ryoga was close to panicking, despite the fact that he was surrounded by
mostof the girls in class. Actually, that was precisely the reason he was
close to panicking. On the positive side, however, there was no way he would
be doing a Shi Hi Hokodan any time soon. 

The story had spread throughout the school by midday, and the whole school
was abuzz, but the furor was already dying down by the end of the day. It
wasstarting to seem like Nabiki's advice had actually been good. The school
had already seen so much strangeness that Ranma getting split into two
peopleseemed relatively tame by comparison. 

Arriving home, however, things started to go downhill almost immediately. 

"Kasumi's lost!?!" Akane yelled for the third time, causing her father to go
into yet another crying fit. "How could this happen?" She turned on Genma
angrily. "Why didn't you protect her, Mr. Saotome?" Genma rolled on his
back,playfully holding a tire, somehow having transformed in the middle of
the living room without anyone noticing. Akane rose to her feet, her aura
glowing brightly. "Why you... lazy... good for nothing...." Genma held up a
sign stating that he was just a innocent panda, which only served to incense
the girl even more. "IDIOT!" Akane punted her pandified father-in-law over
the outer wall of the Tendo home, then sat down in a huff. 

"There, there, Akane-chan." Nodoka said soothingly. "I'm sure your sister is
alright. I admit my husband isn't perfect, but he did keep those men at the
zoo from capturing Kasumi, and I'm sure we'll hear from her any time now." 

"We can't count on that!" The youngest Tendo insisted angrily. "We've got to
go look for her!" 

"Look for who?" Johnathon Dwire/Tendo came into the living room looking
slightly worried. "And what did Genma do this time? I just saw him flying
over head...." 

The whole room went quiet, and the tall English teacher stiffened. "Oh...."
He glanced over at Misty, who was looking back at him in concern, and
sighed."So... Kasumi's missing? What happened?" 

Misty nodded, looking grave. "Auntie just came back a little while and told
us. Kasumi was splashed while they were at the zoo, and she had to fly away
to escape. We don't know where she's gotten to yet." 

Johnathon blinked, then blinked again before responding. "She flew...? At
thezoo? Why was Kasumi at the zoo?" Nodoka took over, explaining the news
report they had seen earlier that morning, and everything that had followed,
and Johnathon kept his peace until she had finished. "I see." He said
finally, as Nodoka wrapped up her tale. "Well at least she was able to get
away. But why wouldn't she have contacted us by now?" He answered his own
question. "She must be hiding somewhere until it gets dark.... Akane's
right,we should go looking for her." 

Nabiki spoke up. "Yeah, but how? She could be anywhere! If she really can
flynow, she's probably hiding up on a rooftop or in a tree or something...
what good would it do us to search on the ground?" 

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself, Sis. I certainly don't plan on
staying at ground level." 

Nabiki blinked, then slapped her forehead. "Right, silly me, I keep thinking
like a normal human being. Most of you can hop rooftops, naturally." She
shrugged. "Well, representing a member of the land bound brigade, I believe
I'll stay here by the phone in case Kasumi calls home. The rest of you can
golooking for her." 

Johnathon nodded, standing up suddenly. "Let me get a map so we can organize
this properly...." He left the room at a jog and returned with a large map
ofTokyo. Studying it for a minute, he opened it to the correct section and
laid it down on the table. "OK, the zoo is right here... so we can start our
search there and spread out...." 

Nodoka looked over the map and pointed. "Kasumi headed that way after
leavingthe zoo, perhaps you should start your search in that direction?" 

Akane frowned. "We need more people. Only Ranma, Ryoga and myself can really
go where we'd need to look for her." 

"I can roof hop pretty well in my cursed form." Johnathon reminded her.
"Let's contact Ukyo and Ranko. They should be at the Ucchan by now." 

Nodoka looked up from the map suddenly. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Luna-san
said that she would have the Senshi come here to the Dojo so that we could
make plans." 

Johnathon shook his head. "They have Mercury to worry about. We'd better get
started on our own. I don't want to leave Kasumi out there any longer than
necessary. Ranma, Ryoga, Akane and I can start searching now in pairs." He
pointed at the map. "We can start here, and here, and move block by block
this way...." The phone started to ring and Misty went to pick it up as her
husband continued to plan. 

"Hello?" Misty answered brightly. "Ah, Setsuna-san! Yes, that's right. Do
youwant to talk to Johnathon? Yes, Ryoga, Akane and Ranma are here too. Hmm?
Alright." She handed the phone to her husband, who had come over to the
phoneupon overhearing her conversation. 

"Setsuna?" Johnathon said quietly into the phone. "It's me, Johnathon Dwire.
Is this about Kasumi and... and Ami?" 

Setsuna's voice was cool over the line. "Yes. We both have a missing person,
Tendo-san. It would best suit our purposes to pool our resources. Can you
meet us downtown? I believe by now you have determined the general area your
wife must have flown to?" 

He nodded to himself. "Yes, we can meet you there." 

Setsuna smiled slightly at her presight. "Good. We can meet safely at 103
South Takaoka. We will search out your wife first, then you will be free to
aid us in our search." 

"Thank you. I know you want to find Ami as soon as possible...." 

Setsuna interrupted him impatiently. "You ever state the obvious Johnathon.
We will be there when you arrive." 

"Thank you. We'll come as quickly as we can. Did Luna tell you which way she
went?" He paused at her annoyed silence. "Right. We'll meet you on the
rooftops there in... half an hour. See you then." Johnathon hung up the
phoneand returned to the living room. "OK, we should have plenty of help by
the time we get downtown. I'm going to call Ranko and Ukyo and let them know
what's happened, and then we'll have to run. Alright?" 

Ranma, Akane and Ryoga nodded quickly, and Johnathon returned to the phone.
Aminute later they were headed out the door, Johnathon grabbing a canteen of
cold water and a thermos of hot from Misty on the way. 

Misty put her hand over her husband's as he took the thermos from her.
"Please be careful out there, Johnathon." 

"We'll be OK." Johnathon reassured the feliniod woman. "I'm actually more
worried about you. When Genma gets back, make sure to ask that he and Nodoka
stay the night. I don't think you'll be safe here with just your father to
protect you . Not with Happosai and that Demoness about." 

Misty nodded. "I understand, Johnathon. When do you think you might be
back?"

Johnathon shook his head. "I can't say, perhaps tonight, but possibly not
fora few days. I agreed to help search for Ami after we find Kasumi, and
thatmight take awhile. I just wish you could come with us...." 

Misty pushed her husband away gently, an understanding expression softening
her furred features. "Go. You have to save both of them. You couldn't be the
man I married and do anything else." 

Johnathon sighed and gathered her in for a hug, kissing her gently on the
forehead before releasing her. "Be safe. We'll return as soon as we can."
Thetall English teacher turned to the door, nodding to Ranma, Ryoga and
Akane, who were waiting patiently for him. Without another word the four of
them loped off at a pace just under a dead run. 

Just outside the dojo proper, a dangerous looking woman with long blond
hair,black leather clothing, and some rather sinister looking markings on
herforehead perched in a tree, and watched the four Martial Artists leave.
"There they go." She whispered quietly to herself, smiling nastily. "With my
shields up too full there's no way they detected me, and now, with all the
strong ones gone, I can do whatever I like to their loved ones." Her eyes
glinted brightly from an internal fire, and her face turned grim. "No mortal
should dare to challenge a demon first class, and tonight they'll find out
why." 

            End Chapter 28 

You can find almost all the previous Chapters to this at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/fanfics.html[1]

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