[FFML] [FFML][Fanfic][Ranma/SM] Hailstorm

Hailstorm - Chapter 2

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1098190
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php?id=28098

Inspired by Jonathan Ford' story, "Who's Your Daddy?"
http://tannim.anifics.com/Daddy/Daddy.html

C&C welcome at laqjr_200@hotmail.com

******************
Chapter 2
************

Disclaimer

I do not own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon or Ranma 1/2. Characters used
without permission.

Acknowledgements
The original idea behind Who's Your Daddy and Hailstorm is courtesy of
Rift120, from the Delphi Boards.

************
Hypothesis
******************

Ami woke up slowly as her mother shook her lightly. Being the Senshi of
Mercury could be very taxing, and Usagi's absence in their last battle
certainly did not help matters. Her body cried out for sleep, and her
eyelids made as to droop as she opened them to see her mother standing
next to her bed.

"C'mon, Ami-chan. Time to get up. You need to hurry if you want to be
ready for school." Atsuko stood there a moment longer, and Ami wished
she hadn't opened her eyes, for they were a sure signal to the other
woman that Ami had awoken, meaning there was no way she'd get any extra
sleep.

Looking at the clock, Ami saw that her mother woke her an hour earlier
than her alarm was set for. She turned on her side to face the wall.

"Oh no you don't," said Atsuko. Ami felt her mother lightly grab her
arm and turn her back around. She covered her face from the light in the
hall.

"Mother, I still have another hour before I need to get up. Could I
please just go back to sleep?" It was a hope beyond hope, really. Atsuko
never let her go back to sleep once she woke up unless Ami was too sick
to go to school. Of course, with her better-than-average immune system
and there being a greater number of lymphocytes in her blood, sick days
were a very rare experience for her.

"Ami, if you want to keep on being a Senshi and fighting monsters,
you're going to have to show me that you can handle a fight. Today, I'm
going to start training you in some martial arts techniques so you can
handle yourself easier in a fight. We'll start out slow, no one ever
gets things right the first time. After that, I want you to swim a few
laps in the pool before getting ready for school. Now come on, get up so
I can make your bed while you find some workout clothes." Atsuko made a
few motions to gather her blankets, and Ami, resigned to fate and her
mother's whims, lifted herself out of bed and gathered a pair of
sweatpants she hardly used anymore and a comfortable t-shirt, as well as
her grey sports bra, before heading toward the bathroom to wash up.
She'd grab her bathing suit on her way out.

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

"Mother," Ami spoke while drying off, getting the attention of her
mother who was just exiting the pool. "Why did you tell him about my
identity?"

"Who did I tell?" her mother asked, genuinely confused by the question.

"My father. He showed up at the last battle, and mother, I could tell he
knew my identity. Why else would he have watched over me so carefully?"
She stood up then and handed her mother the other towel.
"He wasn't really watching you, you were just the closest to the
battle," replied Atsuko, more focused on drying herself thoroughly than
their current conversation.

"You did tell him! How else would you know about what happened, or that
he even tried to protect me? Why did you tell him? You weren't supposed
to tell anyone!" Ami kept her voice low enough to not be overheard, but
her tone was still fierce as she questioned her mother's actions.

"What? Hey! I didn't tell anyone anything! Whatever you think happened,
it didn't happen."

"I know what I saw. He looked at me, he recognized me. He knew who I
was! Who else could have told him?"

"Look, Ami, I know that your secret's important, and I'm sorry, but I
can't keep anything a secret from your fath-"

"But why? You didn't have to tell him anything. Or is it part of the
fact that you don't trust me to fight? I don't need his help. He's never
been here for me before, and I don't need his help now."

"Ami, please, just lis-"

"You told him, didn't you? I trusted you with my secret, and then you
went and told him. I'm sorry I trusted you." Ami turned and entered the
apartment complex, headed up to their apartment.

"I'm sorry, Ami," Atsuko said once she'd disappeared. "It just isn't
that easy anymore."

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

Ami tried not to let her weariness show as she walked into the classroom
two minutes after the late bell rang. Thankfully, the teacher, Haruna-
sensei, hadn't arrived yet. She walked to her desk, overhearing Usagi's
rather loud conversation as the girl consulted with Naru and Umino about
'Love Bracelets' and 'Promise Rings,' the newest trends with which
people showed how much they cared for others. The idea entranced her
friend and leader greatly, and Ami worried briefly whether Usagi's heart
would be broken once again when she tries to win back Mamoru's love with
the love charm. Such a practical device as one which inspires love
simply could not exist.

Haruna-sensei arrived just as she sat down, and class began as usual.
Ami rubbed her tired arm to accelerate the blood flow, and her mind
wandered toward her mother's peculiar fixation on helping her improve
her fighting capacity. When Ami inquired about it before they began, her
mother simply explained how she once fought monsters, and when Ami was
born she earned the right to teach at a dojo nearby where they lived,
and it would make her feel better if Ami fought monsters with some
knowledge of martial arts. Ami didn't really believe her mother fought
monsters when she was younger, but agreed that knowing how to fight
would make fighting in bad situations much easier on her.

It's just that Makoto made everything look so easy!

One of their recent Senshi gatherings had concluded early, and they
didn't feel like going home. After some conversation, Makoto had gone
outside and began mock-fighting in the yard. Curious, Ami asked her what
she was doing, and Makoto explained that she was practicing her fighting
style, which included a few attacks she'd learned from Tai-Kwan-Do and a
lot of her own improvising from street fighting. It reminded Ami of when
her mother once tried to get her interested in martial arts, and Ami
made a comment about how dedicated Makoto must be before heading back
inside.

If she could move so gracefully and with such ease through the moves
that Makoto could perform, Ami would have no problems convincing her
mother she knew how to fight. Oh, to be in Makoto's shoes at a time like
this...

Time passed much slower that school day, and by last class, Ami sat
anticipating the final bell of freedom.

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

Entering the house quietly, Ami looked carefully for any sign of her
mother. Atsuko had been surprising her almost daily now with different
ideas of 'training,' and after her own outburst earlier that morning,
Ami thought it would be in her best interest if her mother did not find
her.

To her relief, a note sat on the counter saying she would be home late
again. Ami let out a quiet sigh, then headed to the kitchen for a snack
before going to find Makoto and Usagi at the crafts store.

The last few days after the droid attacked the sweets and cake shop had
quickly passed, and during that time, Ami had not once remembered to
question Usagi as to why she had never shown up for their last battle.
On the good side, there had not been a droid attack in a few days, so
she and the other Senshi had a chance to recuperate. Unfortunately, that
also meant Usagi had plenty of time to see Mamoru, and Usagi's wail had
become a near constant sound at their Senshi meetings.

Okay, so that was an exaggeration of the situation, but the girl was
simply too deeply affected by Mamoru's callous rejection. Ami would
never let herself act that way because of a boy. Just the thought of
dating flustered her too much to even continue the line of thought.

Ami quickly changed out of her school uniform, siphoned a few hundred
yen from her savings, then walked out of the apartment and locked the
door behind her.

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

"Thanks for coming with me, you guys," Usagi said as they walked toward
the crafts room.

>From Usagi's other side, Makoto said, "No problem, Usagi, and besides,
with these Love bracelets, maybe Ami and I could catch ourselves some
good looking guys. What do ya say, Ami? How about we test them at the
mall later on to see if they work?"

Ami blushed heavily at Makoto's suggestion, but before she could reply,
Usagi spoke up.

"Hey, we're here!" she said, just before opening the door to the
classroom.

What followed was an amusing turn of events as Ami, Makoto, Naru, and
Umino (they were both attending the class, as well) attempted to help
Usagi create a trinket with at least a vague resemblance of the Love
Bracelet. Even the crafts leader could not help her overcome her
clumbsiness.

"Usagi, no, the thread goes through here."

"Here, see? Twine the strings like this."

"The shape's wrong, Tsukino-san, here, use this one and try it again."

"Usagi, wait, that's not gonna work!"

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

After two long hours, the class finally ended, leaving them to split
their separate ways. Makoto excused herself, saying she had things to
take care of at home, and Ami used that time to sneak away toward the
library. After reading a few pages of a book on projective geometry, she
decided that the day was late and her mother would be home soon. So
saying, Ami left the library and walked toward home.

Taking one of the shorter routes toward home, Ami happened to pass by
Mamoru's apartment complex, where she saw Chibi-Usagi waiting outside
and sitting at the fountain of water with Luna-P, her little all-purpose
cat-ball device.

"Hey, Chibi-Usa, what are you doing here alone at night? Isn't Usagi
supposed to be watching you?"

"Hmm? Oh, hi, Ami. I followed Usagi here, she's trying to talk to
Mamoru. She says she's finally figured out what's wrong, but she
wouldn't tell me what it was. She's been up there a long time, though.
Maybe she was right this time."

"Hey, what's that on your wrist?" Ami asked. Usagi just came into her
view from the building, and it looked like she was crying again.

"It's a promise ring, like the one Usagi's trying to make."

"I thought they were called Love Bracelets. Isn't that what it's
called?"

"No way! It's just called a love bracelet because couples give them to
their dates as a gift. Mine is a Promise Ring because I got it from
a-'hhhaaaa'!"

As Ami watched, the bracelet became wringed with dark power and sucked
away at Chibi-Usagi's energy. Taking hold of the decoration, she pulled
at it until it came off, then threw it into the fountain. Usagi ran up
to them just as the bracelet fully submerged.

"What happened? Are you okay? Chibi-Usa, what happened to you?"

"It's the bracelet," said Ami, cutting the younger girl off before she
could speak.

"The arts class!" Usagi shouted, before breaking out into a run for the
school. Ami followed quickly behind her, while Chibi-Usagi left to tell
Mamoru.

Arriving on the roof of the school only a few moments after Usagi, she
quickly transformed and prepared to battle the droid creating the
crystal point.

"Hold it right there!" shouted Usagi, already transformed into
SailorMoon. "Promise Rings are for showing your respect and love for
others, and to show them how much you care for them! For daring to use
them to create dark energy, in the name of the moon, I will punish you!"
Ami stepped forward, as Sailor Mercury, and said, "Arts and crafts are
fun ways to learn how to build trinkets and to spend time with friends!
For defiling this class of arts and crafts, I, Sailor Mercury, will
punish you!"

The droid made no speech for itself that Ami could recall, but it did
attack them with energized rings. Dodging to the side, Mercury watched
them fly past and tear a chunk out of the wall of the school. Usagi
tripped backward in her haste to avoid the projectiles, and the ring
sailed over her head, disappearing beneath the building.

Its next projectile shattered from the rose which imbedded itself in the
ring, and they all looked over to see Tuxedo Kamen standing there ready
to make a speech.

"Promise rings represent the purest form of love in a girl's heart. For
tampering with a heart's purity, I, Tuxedo Kamen, will not forgive you!"

The droid wasted no time in sending projectiles his way, but Tuxedo
Kamen had no problem in avoiding them. These projectiles were different,
though, as they glowed with gathered energy before disappearing, then
turned in the air and headed back toward the roof. Ami tried to freeze
them with her attacks, but could not get them all.

A Fire Soul from SailorMars saved Tuxedo Mask from harm, and between
Usagi, Tuxedo Kamen, herself, and the three newly arrived Senshi, they
were able to surround and weaken the droid with their attacks.
SailorMoon blasted the droid with Moon Princess Halation, and the droid
was destroyed.

"O-hohohohoho! Do you really think you can stop me from activating the
Black Gate and releasing the zyakozushou?" said Esmeraude, the green-
haired woman identified as their newest foe. "It is only a matter of
time before the power of the black crystal is freed, and then the world
will be filled with evil, and Crystal Tokyo will never come to exist!
This is not over yet, Sailor Senshi!" Esmeraude vanished.

"Do not lose heart, Sailor Moon," said Tuxedo Kamen, once they were sure
Esmeraude was gone. "Though there are many problems still ahead of you,
it is your duty to protect this city, as well as the future of Crystal
Tokyo. I, too, will be a grand participant in the many events to
follow." Tuxedo Kamen walked away, fading slowly into the night.

"What are you waiting for, meatball head?" Rei asked after they de-
transformed. "Haven't you figured out what's wrong between you yet?
Hurry up and go to him, before he's gone! He wants you to go to him
just as much as you want him to come back, so just go!"

Ami and the others shared a smile as they watched Usagi, their leader
and best friend, run off to make up with the man that she loves.

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

Author's Notes:

C&C welcome at laqjr_200@hotmail.com

2425 words in Chapter 2.Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com