Sailor Ranko
A Ranma 1/2 / Sailor Moon Novel
Copyright 1999-2008, Duncan "Fire" Zillman
[email protected]
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire
Edited by Rebecca Ann Heineman
[email protected]
http://www.burgerbecky.com
All characters belong to someone else. They're not mine, so please don't
sue me, this is not for profit.
This story is set after Sailor Moon S, but prior to Sailor Moon
Sailor Stars. Assume that some time has passed, and that the Senshi have aged
to about sixteen (aside from the obvious exceptions of Hotaru / Saturn and
Setsuna / Pluto. The Ranma characters are their normal age (sixteen). This
happens prior to volume 33 of the Ranma Manga and before Ranma is revealed to
Nodoka...
Thanks go to my pre-readers:
Kevin D. Hammel
Cheb
Please distribute this work free, unaltered and crediting the author.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Chapter 1, Life In Juuban
Ranma stared out the window of the train and stubbornly refused to acknowledge
Akane's presence. Akane in turn refused to acknowledge Ranma's. Of all the bad
ideas that their parents have had, this possibly had to be the worst. Sure,
they could send Ranma off for a training trip, but why send Akane too? Ranma
thought back on just how stupid his old man was. At least he hadn't engaged him
to someone new this time.
"Boy, someday you will be the master of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial
Arts. When that day comes you must be prepared to take over the dojo."
"Sure, Pops, no problem."
Genma hit his son over the ear. "Be quiet and listen to what I'm saying. Being
able to fight is just the first step; a step that you're mastering well. But
you must be capable of teaching what
you know. And that requires brains. Brains, which you don't use."
Ranma glared at his father and prepared to hit him. From nowhere Soun appeared and
joined in on the argument. "Take it like a man, Ranma. You can fight but
you can't teach. Genma and I have made an arrangement with an old friend in
Tokyo. You will stay at his dojo, and he will begin to teach you what we cannot
about how to be a sensei."
Ranma
bowed his head. He had to admit, they might be right for once. He knew there
was a lot to know about teaching; he just assumed that he would pick it up as
easily as anything else related to Martial Arts. Mind you, Cologne had taught
him so many secret techniques, maybe their "old friend" could teach
him the secret techniques of being a sensei. Besides, some time away from high
school and that uncute macho tomboy can't hurt. "OK, Pops, Mr. Tendo, I'll
do it. Hah! I'll be back here in no time!"
Genma
bellowed as if he really knew what he was talking about. "Not so fast,
boy. Didn't you realize that to be a fully recognized fitness instructor these
days, you need qualifications? No? I didn't think so. This is why we've also
found you a tutor at your new school. She's in your class, but everybody says
that she's extremely smart, so she should have no problem teaching the likes of
you."
Ranma
jumped to his feet. I still have to go to
school? "No way! I don't need no tutor!"
Grabbing
Ranma's head, his father held Ranma's face into the report card that had come
through recently, thanks to a home visit by Ranma's pint sized homeroom
teacher, Miss Hinako. Each letter grade was covered in sad faces written in
crayon. "Look at these grades. You passed, but only just. For shame, Boy,
for shame!"
With
a flip, the elder Saotome crossed the room and slammed into the wall upside
down. "And whose fault is that? If I didn't have all these fiancées
hanging off me, bugging me all the time, there'd be no problems. But, nooooo. SOMEONE had to get me engaged five
times over. Didn't they, POP!"
Soun
grabbed Ranma's shirt and began to sob. "Waahh, I know Ranma. But that's
why we're sending you to another part of Tokyo. Get away from the fiancées; get
away from the distractions and fights. Sob, sob! Oh, Ranma. Say you'll go.
Juuban High will be perfect for you."
Pulling
away from the fountaining man before the water could trigger his curse, Ranma
gave in. "All right, OKAY
already! Just so I can get some peace and quiet."
Both
fathers cheered up and smiled, patting him on the back. "Well done, Ranma!
The next four months will pass so quickly; we'll hardly notice you're gone.
We'll just tell everyone that you and Akane have gone to Hokkaido. Take care of
my little girl."
With
a burst of anger, Ranma grabbed his father. "WHAT! If you think I'm going anywhere for four months with that
tomboy, you've got another thing coming."
"Boy,
you agreed to this, have you no honor?" SPLASH! Mr. Panda looked up from the Koi pond snarling.
"Sorry,
Pop. Were you going to say something?"
From behind Ranma, came an angry voice. "Tomboy? Ranma, you jerk!" WHAM!
Drifting
back to the present, Ranma looked around as he noticed the train slowing.
"Hey, Akane. It's our stop."
Without
a word, Akane grabbed her things and left the carriage. Ranma simply looked
around and threw up his hands "What did I do this time?"
Jadeite
smiled and looked around. While everyone thought him dead, he had been too
powerful for Queen Beryl to easily destroy. When her final attack had come, he
had moved with the power of the magic. Instead of being forever destroyed, he
had been banished to this small proto-universe. Rather than being the massive
affair he was used to, with galaxies and overlapping dimensions, this universe
had but a single dimension, and all that it contained was a single sun; a
complete, stable universe. All the mass in existence was within easy reach.
In
the years since his defeat he had spent his time and energy well. Since the
universe was completely uninhabited by any others than himself, there were
little of the life force energies needed for most magical spells. He did have
completely uncontested sources of solar, geothermal, tidal and any other form
of purely mundane power, however.
He
had taken this power and his carefully husbanded supplies of life force to
create vast machines to tap more energy. With this, he began to raise his new
army. Over the course of two years, Jadeite developed a new level of youma. His
new creations had more power, discipline and armor than ever before. He also
made them in greater numbers than the short sighted Beryl would ever allow.
Jadeite
had learned his lessons well. In the original invasion of the Moon Kingdom, the
Dark Kingdom had commanded a huge army, an army that not even the combined
might of the Sailor Senshi could fight at the peak of their powers. When Beryl
had commanded their forces to attack, they were under prepared, and the Senshi
had destroyed them, forcing loss after loss despite the best of his plans.
Now
Jadeite had an army, a secure base of operations and a place from which to
launch his strike. His only problem was that the spell needed to bridge the gap
from his universe to the one he wished to conquer required vast quantities of
life force. For now, he would send through his scouts, and then he would gather
the power from the people of Earth. Soon his army would crush all resistance
before him.
Opening
the portal, Jadeite sent through the first of his scouts. Scouts, which were
the last of the youma he had brought with him when Beryl had tried to kill him.
Ami
and Usagi walked down the street from school. They were both headed back to
Ami's place for the night. Since the defeat of Queen Beryl, the Black Moon Clan
and finally the Death Busters, attacks by demons had fallen to an almost
non-existent level. So low in fact, that Usagi had enough time to study that
she even managed to pass everything without too much difficulty. The only
problem with few attacks was that Makoto was beginning to start fighting at
school again. The Senshi managed to help this by letting Jupiter take the brunt
of the occasional demon attack whenever they could.
"Hey,
Ami! You wanna go out for ice-cream tomorrow morning?"
Ami
looked a bit down at the suggestion, "Sorry, Usagi, I can't. I'm going to
be tutoring a transfer student for the next few months, and since tomorrow is
Sunday, he's coming over."
Usagi
looked really sad for a moment, her lip trembling. She could fight youma in the
name of the Moon for all eternity, but any rejection from her friends made her
want to cry. Seeing the impending flood, Ami patted her on the back, "Come
on, I'll race you home!"
Tears
forgotten, the friends raced down the street, failing to see the light blue
flash as a youma popped into existence behind them. The youma had bigger fish
to fry than a pair of running schoolgirls. Searching for its partner, they
decided it was time to check the state of the Sailors. One youma would hide,
and then return to Jadeite after watching the battle. The other would openly
attack some people for their energy. When the Sailor Senshi arrived - as they
surely would - the scout would be killed. But to kill it, the Senshi would need
to attack, and when they did that, the youma could see what powers they had
gained in the last two years.
Akane
and Ranma were almost at the dojo where they would be staying when Akane broke
the silence. "Ranma, I'm sorry about being so cross with you all day. It's
just, well, I hate it when our fathers force this sort of thing on us."
Shocked
by her almost-apology, Ranma hesitated. When he caught her watching him, he
realized that perhaps he should respond. "Um, Yeah. Same here. Look, just
cause we’re gunna be together for the next four months, don't mean we gotta
be... um... you know... I mean, we can say we're each other's, uh, fiancée and
stuff, but, I mean, let's not go overboard."
Akane
stiffened at that. Then she calmed. She knew she liked him, but she was never
sure if he felt the same. At least he had offered to be acknowledged as her fiancée.
She thought back to some of the times Mikado wanted to kiss her: 'Akane is MY fiancée. Lay one lip on her and
I'll kill you.' This was an improvement over that, sort of. Then, he had
just been defending her and now he was willing to admit his relationship in
public. "I know what you mean. Have you decided what you're going to tell
people about your curse?"
Ranma
shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. "Nothing. I was sorta hoping we
could do the old Ranma and Ranko thing again. I just don't want to run into mom
and have people call me by my name and, well, you know. It's only gonna be for
four months... Would... would you mind helping?"
Akane
smiled. She'd have to try the cold shoulder technique more often. They had
actually spoken several whole sentences to each other without him saying
something stupid. Incredible. "Sure. But how about Mr. Miyagi? If we're
living with him, he'll find out eventually."
Ranma
grinned down at her and with a flourish reached into his pack, pulled out a
pair of small bottles. "Thermos flasks. I stick one in my room, and hide
one outside the dojo. If I top them up every day, I can get to hot water
without a problem."
Akane
was stunned. Ranma had actually thought of something like that himself. She
could hardly believe it. "Wow, that's really clever. Getting you away from
all of Shampoo's and Kodachi's drugs seems to have sharpened your mind."
Ranma
stuck his tongue out, and then ran down the street as she chased him, laughing.
Mr.
Miyagi watched his two new pupils with great interest. Both were just seventeen
and looked like the sort of impressionable kids he had been training back in
America. This was really why he had returned to Japan. Americans had no
respect. Americans had no talent. Americans had... He could go on forever. At
least these two already knew something of the Art, and if the boy's father was
to be believed, young Ranma was actually quite talented.
After
showing them where they could sleep, he took them out to the dojo for a quick
sparing session. If he could judge their fighting ability, then he could plan
how to train them. The fight went like every other session that Akane and Ranma
had. She kicked, punched, and struck at him as fast as she could. He just
dodged.
When
Akane started to get angry, Ranma simply leapt over her and touched her back.
"Come on, Akane. Your getting even slower."
They
continued in this vein for a while, until Miyagi called them to a halt. "Akane,
you're very good. Rarely have I ever seen a girl who could fight as well as
you. While Miyagi-do is a powerful Art, I can only teach you few things you do
not already know. I am afraid that most of my students have been new to the
Art, and needed to learn a great deal in a greater hurry."
Akane
smiled and basked in his comment. She couldn't remember the last time anyone
had actually said she was good at something. She began to drift off, reciting
his words to herself again when she heard him continue talking to Ranma.
"But you, Ranma. You show great talent in dodging, but you never attack.
The best defense in the world will never win you a fight. Why do you not attack
her?"
Ranma
looked at the floor. "Well, Sensei, she's a girl. And she's my fiancée. I
can't hurt Akane. I mean she might be a violent tomboy, and a macho uncute
chick, but she's still a girl."
Akane
snarled and pulled a mallet out of nowhere. While Miyagi watched, she yelled at
Ranma, chasing him around the dojo, hitting him much more often than she did
during training. Finally, she smashed his head into the wall of the dojo,
shattering the wood with his face. "Humph."
Mr.
Miyagi watched this match in much greater awe. He had seen some great fighters,
but he had never seen anyone take so much damage in such a short space of time.
If she kept this up, her fiancée would be lucky to survive a week. When Ranma
groaned and pulled his head out of the wall, Mr. Miyagi almost fell over. That was impossible. No one could receive
those sorts of hits and not be hospitalized. But there he was, standing up,
just lightly bruised. He was even apologizing for the unsightly behavior of his
fiancée.
Akane
malleted him again, knocking him to the floor. Perhaps there was hope for this pair... "Akane. I need to
speak to Ranma alone. Would you like to take a bath? We will be in
shortly."
Akane
bowed and left. When she was safely gone, Ranma stopped playing at
unconsciousness and stood up, looking for the entire world like he had just
walked in, rather than looking like an accident victim. "Ranma. This is
training. I understand that you do not like to fight girls, especially your
beloved fiancée, but this is only training. If you expect to run a dojo some
day, you must be able to fight and train the girls that you teach. Remember
this: the best way for them not to get hit in combat is for them to get hit in
training. Akane's attack is very good, but her defense is not. "You will
change this. Each day the two of you will practice in the morning before school.
When you train, you will hit her. It does not need to be hard, but it must be
serious. Some day she may need to fight for real - although I doubt it, few
people ever really need to fight. And if you do not hurt her now, she will be
hurt worse or possibly killed. Do you want that?"
For
a moment, Ranma looked terrified. Then his gaze steadied, and his facial
features firmed with resolve. "Yeah, Mr. Miyagi. I... I just don't like to
hurt her... I'd do anything so she wouldn't get hurt."
"Good.
It is like a doctor. Sometimes we must do things that hurt to make things
better. Now, before I begin to teach you to be a proper Sensei, can you show me
how to fix that hole you made in the wall?" His eyes moved toward the hole
then back to his student, and he gave a look of displeasure at the mess that
was made in his dojo.
Ranma
grinned. "Sure. We do this sort of thing all the time at home, err, Mr.
Tendo's dojo. I'll have it fixed in a jiffy."
Mr.
Miyagi held up his hand. "No, show me. I need to know this so I can fix
the dojo in the future. I am not much of a carpenter."
Ranma
looked around then waved at the hole. "Well, just get a few bits of wood,
then put them in the right place, it's easy."
Patting
the taller boy on the shoulder, Mr. Miyagi led him into the house. "Think
on it tonight. Tomorrow, you can show me."
Ranma
asked. "I was wondering something. How do you know my pop and Mr.
Tendo?"
Mr.
Miyagi replied sheepishly. "I met their master many years ago. He taught
me a technique called 'Paint Fence'. Sadly, it was used only to repay debts
that he owed to a bra factory." He added smugly, thinking about a former
pupil he once taught. "I was able to use that and other techniques like it
to much better use."
Ranma raised an eyebrow and was about to ask more, but Mr. Migayi returned a look on
his face that warned Ranma that he wouldn't speak of this again.
Rei had been feeling nervous for the last few days. Something bad was going to
happen soon. She didn't know what it was, but it was bad. Calming her mind, she
decided the best thing to do was try a fire reading. Minako was coming over
shortly; perhaps Rei could discuss whatever she saw with her teammate.
Building up the fire, Rei found her focus then looked into the fire and saw... fire.
Sighing, she tried again, but all she saw was fire. Perhaps I'm losing the ability, or maybe I'm just too worried.
Meditating for a few minutes, Rei opened her eyes and looked into the fire yet
again.
All she saw initially was the fire, but then something more. It wasn't the fire
that she was seeing; it was the image
of fire. That was what the reading was showing. Subtle hints showed other
things. Taking hold of the image, she dredged for more information. Images
moved through the flames, the first being a red haired girl. She looked like
she was fighting something, but Rei couldn't see what. Trying to remember her
face, Rei look onwards. She must be
important, but who is she?
Next came the Senshi. All of them, fighting again, side by side, all surrounded by
flames, and they looked like they were losing. The images stopped.
Breathing deeply, Rei checked the time and was startled to see Minako coming into the
small courtyard to join her. Standing, Rei quenched the fire. "Sorry,
Minako. The reading took longer than I expected."
Explaining what she saw, and her feelings of dread, Rei found that Artemis had spoken of
some strange red haired girl also. She couldn't be a Sailor, since all of them
were accounted for. Could she be the cause of the feelings of dread and fire?
After training with Akane in the morning, Ranma led Mr. Miyagi out to the dojo to
teach him about fixing walls. Repairs were something he was almost as good at
as fighting. And since he still couldn't really hit Akane, perhaps he was
actually better at fixing than fighting.
Grabbing a couple of planks he had cut to length, he placed them in the hole that he had
trimmed. Nailing them in place, he showed the old man how well they fitted.
Sitting back on his heels, he surveyed his work. Lovely.
"Not so good." Miyagi kicked his foot through the wall, destroying the repairs.
"How can I repair it myself if you plug good wood into a perfect hole?
Show me again."
After
a moderately successful tutoring session with Ranma, Ami heard Rei and Minako
arrive. While she finished up the last problems with her student, they could be
heard talking to another girl who had arrived at the same time.
Heading
downstairs, Ami introduced Ranma to her friends, and Ranma introduced Akane to
Ami. Akane was a bit mad about this. It's bad enough that he's got a girl for a
tutor, but does she have to be so cute? Smiling nicely, she began to chat, and
found that Ami was actually too nice a person to bear a grudge against.
After
chatting for fifteen minutes, Usagi arrived, late as usual. "Sorry
everybody. I tripped and hurt my knee. Are we still going for ice cream?"
Akane
and Ranma perked up at this, then Ranma looked a bit sheepish. Guys don't eat ice
cream. Seeing the look on the face of Ami's student's fiancée, Rei piped up:
"Say, do you two want to come with us for some ice-cream?" Rei added
silently to herself, why were all the
cute guys already taken?
Akane
clapped her hands and immediately nodded her head. Even Ranma wanted to nod,
but instead, he got a strange grin on his face. "Listen, I can't come, but
if you wait a few minutes, Akane's cousin will be coming here to meet us too.
She must be running a bit late. I'll head off now, and if I run into her, I'll
hurry her up."
When
the girls nodded their assent, Ranma ran for the door. As soon as he was
outside, he looked for a handy hose. Typically, there's never cold water when
you need it. After a few minutes searching, a woman wringing her washing out
the window drenched him. After growling at her to be careful, she sprinted back
to Ami's.
Stepping
into the room, Ranko looked around smiling. "Hi, I'm Ranko Tendo. Pleased
to meet you!"
Rei
simply fainted.
Ranko
stood there, nonplussed. "What's her problem?" She silently thought
to herself for a moment while the other girls woke up Rei; Oh, please don't let her be someone Pops owes money to.
At
the ice cream parlor, everyone watched in awe as Ranko shoveled away two
massive sundaes. Leaning over, Akane whispered in her ear. "You know,
Ranma, it's bad enough that you had to change to do this. If your going to look
like a girl, at least try and eat like one."
Ranma
glared back at her, obviously wanting to say something in retaliation, but the
presence of the other girls precluded that. Rei kept giving Ranko quiet
glances, and whispering to the other Senshi. They weren't sure what it was, but
this girl was more than she appeared, and there was something serious going on
here.
Akane
was almost finished her ice cream when she looked at her watch and screamed.
"Oh, my god! Mr. Miyagi will kill me! I'm late. I'm late! Ranm-Ranko, can
you pay for this? I've got to go!"
In
a blur, Akane leapt over their table and raced out of the restaurant. Ranko
merely grabbed her ice cream and made sure she got to eat it before the others.
Noticing everyone's gaze on her, Ranko looked up. "Well, if I'm paying for
it, I'm eating it!"
Ami
just looked at her. How on earth could
she keep a figure like that when she ate some much? "Where's your
cousin off to?"
"Oh,
she's got remedial lessons with our new sensei. Clumsy tomboy can't even
fight."
Everyone
just stopped and stared. Ranko was mocking Akane because she was taking
advanced classes in Martial Arts? "Are you sure it's wise to pick on her
if she's the one studying Martial Arts?"
Ranko
leaned back and laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair. "Hah! Akane
couldn't hit me on the best day of her life. That's why Mr. Miyagi is teaching
her."
Minako
nudged Usagi in the ribs. "Say, Ranko. Do you want to go for a walk for a
bit and then have dinner at my place? If we drop over to Usagi's, we can get
some stuff and then invite Akane and Ranma."
Ranko
grinned. "Hmm, dinner. OK, but... um... I think Ranma's still going to be
busy. So I'll eat his share, OK?"
Minako
grinned. Perfect. First Usagi's house to get Luna, then when she and Artemis
were together, they may be able to get some advice on Rei's fire reading. After
paying for the ice cream, the friends set off to look around the city and show
Ranko the sights. Apparently she was just visiting her cousin for a while.
They
were all walking down a wide street, looking at some clothes (much to Ranma's
disgust, but hey, this was a free meal we're talking about). A terrible scream
rent the air, and a wave of foul odor washed over them. Near the end of the
street, some sort of hideous monster had leapt out of the alley, and was
starting to hit people and destroy cars.
Ranko
immediately pushed the girls behind her. "And I wanted to get away from
this sort of thing. Go get help for these people. I'll deal with that thing."
Bounding
forward, Ranko started yelling at the youma, trying to draw its attention, and
lure it to a nearby mall. The Senshi were stunned for a moment. This crazy girl
was going to get herself killed! This thing looked like one of the youma
Jadeite used to send at them during Queen Beryl's attempt at world conquest. It
would be a challenge for any one of them as a Senshi, and this girl had just
run to attack it! Usagi took charge for a change, grabbing her transformation
brooch and running to an alley. "We can't let it kill Ranko! Let's transform!"
None
of the running people noted the flashing lights, which emanated from the alley
as the four girls called for the greater powers. Magically their clothes
changed, and the four sailor suited warriors for peace burst onto the scene.
Ranko
had successfully lured the youma to more open ground: a plaza in the middle of
the street. While the youma's four tentacles kept striking at Ranko, she dodged
and flipped under them, occasionally moving in for a few lightning quick
punches which sent the monster reeling, but accomplished little else, and
taking a few blows in the process.
When
Sailor Moon arrived, she struck a pose, and the monster briefly halted. As much
as it liked fighting the human girl, it wanted to kill the Senshi. "Stores
are there for all people to enjoy. To destroy them and hurt people is a thing
of evil. Now the beautiful sailor suited warriors: Sailor Moon."
"Sailor
Mars."
"Sailor
Mercury."
"Sailor
Venus."
"Shall
punish you in the name of the Moon!"
Ranko
took a moment to catch her breath as the stupid monster watched the Sailor
Senshi. This monster was tougher than she thought. She had seen the Senshi on
the news before, and always thought they were wimps, but if they fought this
kind of thing as often as they did, she was willing to cut them some slack for
their silly clothes and speeches. Sailor Moon seemed like she must have the
same scriptwriter as Kuno.
When
Moon was coming to the end of her speech, Ranko watched the monster turn to
face them, and ignore her completely. Fine,
then. If that's the way you like it. I'll teach you to ignore me for some silly
looking girls.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
Sailor
Mercury was just preparing to launch a Shabon Spray Freezing when a blue bolt
slammed into the side of the youma, blasting off a tentacle, and knocking the
beast to the ground. All of the Senshi hesitated for a moment as Ranko prepared
to unleash another attack.
Mars
yelled as she advanced to cast her spell: "Sailor Mercury! Find out what
that was! BURNING MANDALA!"
Even
as Mars was speaking, Mercury was dropping her hands from casting her own spell
and got out her computer. Venus immediately moved forward to guard her, and
Moon joined Ranko and Mars, then launched her own attack.
Ranko's
second attack was nowhere near as effective as her first, since the youma was
now prepared for it. By the time her third ki attack struck, the Senshi were
finishing the job. Their powers had improved since they last faced a demon of
this quality. Three to one - and with Ranko's help - they quickly defeated it.
When
the youma dissolved into a messy puddle on the street, the four Senshi
converged on Ranko, who began to look at them nervously. "Err, did I do
something wrong? Or, uh, did you want me to clean that up?" She hoped the
last part wasn't the case, since that stuff smelled really bad.
Sailor
Moon looked at the girl, who seemed a bit worried at being the focus of some of
Tokyo's most potent defenders. "Miss, we need to talk to you about what
just happened. Can you spare a moment?"
Ranko
thought for a second. She had the worst feeling that she knew these people, and
she wanted to find out more about that monster. "OK, but you'll have to
tell my friends where I am, they should be hiding in the mall, or maybe they
went to call for help."
Venus
smiled. "They ran into us. I'll go off and tell them you're OK... they
must be worried. Back soon."
When
Venus left, Moon jumped to a rooftop, and motioned for Mars and Mercury to hold
Ranko and follow her. Much to their surprise, before they could even touch her,
she leapt up and stood beside Sailor Moon. "Lead the way."
Although
they had to keep their speed down slightly, the Senshi were amazed at the speed
which Ranko could maintain as they bounced across the rooftops. Moon led the
way, with Mercury behind Ranko. The other two Senshi had headed off already and
were gathering Luna, Artemis and their teammates.
They
were headed to a small park not far from Usagi's home, and all the way Sailor
Mercury kept looking at her computer, marveling at the readings she getting.
The Senshi were magically enhanced so that they were stronger and faster than
ordinary humans, so they simply took long, fast steps. This enabled them to
sprint across the roofs of buildings, with the occasional jump over streets and
alleys.
Ranko
on the other hand showed only the slightest of magical aura, but there was
assuredly some burst of energy every time the girl launched herself off the
roof of a building. Instead of running like they did, Ranko simply bounced. Her feet hardly touched the
roof before the computer registered a brief flash of energy in her, and she
leapt to the next roof. All in all, it was a remarkable performance.
When
they arrived in the park, Ranko looked around nervously. She had been running
at her best speed - using her ki to boost her jumps - and apparently the Senshi
had been fast enough to outrun her and bring in reinforcements. Well, eight to one was a little bit of a
worry. Best to keep her avenues of retreat open until she found out what
was going on. All that Ranko knew about the Senshi was what appeared in the
news, and that wasn't much. She knew they enjoyed killing demons, and apparently
they had been involved in some sort of inter-dimensional war. Ranko was a
Martial Artist, and while she was happy to beat up monsters, she still didn't
like to kill them. As a matter of fact, she felt concerned that the monster
they fought today was the first creature that she had ever helped kill. As far
as she was concerned, there was a fine line between killing monsters and
creatures from another dimension, and killing seventeen year olds like her.
Ranko
wasn't particularly keen on the Sailor Senshi.
Landing
near the group of girls, Ranko looked them over, and they looked her over. It
was Moon who finally spoke. "I am Sailor Moon, and these are the Sailor
Senshi: the beautiful sailor suited soldiers for love and justice. We are
extremely grateful for what you did. We just have a few questions which may
help us in the future."
Studying
Moon's face intensely, she didn't look at the others directly. There was
something wrong here. She was not sure what it was, but something was appealing
to her instincts. 'Run' it was saying
quietly. Not knowing what she should be afraid of, Ranko stayed, but she stayed
tense and ready to fight or run. Spreading her palms, Ranko blinked and acted
innocent. "Ask whatever you like."
Immediately
Sailor Mercury stepped forward and held up her computer. Its screen showed an
image of Ranko blasting the youma with a Moko Takabisha. "As you realize,
the Sailors are magically endowed with our powers. My computer can detect any
form of magic, but I still don't know what it was that you did to the youma.
Would you care to explain it?"
Ranko
laughed nervously. As the Senshi gathered around to hear her answer, she felt
more and more nervous. Ranko tried backing up a step or two. "It was
nothing, just a ki manipulation technique. Anything else?"
Everyone
noticed Ranko's nervousness. She would charge a youma - a killing machine from
another dimension - but she was afraid of the good guys? Moon was about to ask
for a clarification when she felt something touch her leg. Looking down, she
saw Luna look at her. "Meow?"
Luna
was so smart. Every girl liked cats. If she showed Luna to Ranko, the girl
might relax a bit. She was just bending down when Ranko moved. Back-pedaling
furiously, her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she pointed with a shaking
hand. "C - C - C- Caaaaaaats! Caaaats!"
After
another moment's hesitation, Ranko turned and ran, sprinting across the park.
Immediately the Senshi took after her, trying to find out what the problem was,
but they could hardly keep up. She made it all the way across the park before a
building stopped her. It wasn't the concrete wall that stopped her, she just
ran straight through it. It was the steel pole behind the wall. Ranko blacked
out.
Everyone
gathered around and looked at the girl. Sailor Uranus touched the Ranko shaped
hole in the wall in shock. "She just ran straight through it! I don't
believe it! I mean, we could, because we're Sailors, but she... she just ran
through it!"
Moon
and Venus patted their cats while Sailor Saturn examined the girl. "She's
just unconscious. How about we go back to your place, Sailor Moon? Isn't it
close to here?"
Moon
nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my dad is still at work and mom and my dumb
brother are in Yokohama at some video game convention he likes. We can have
some privacy tonight."
Hefting
the unconscious Ranko, they ran. On the way, Luna made a wise decision.
"Sailor Moon, I fear that your friend is frightened of us. I don't know
why, but if you wish to talk to her in your room, then we will wait outside.
Perhaps you'll be able to get more information that way."
With
Ranko lying on Usagi's bed, Sailor Saturn placed a hand on Ranko's forehead. In
moments Ranko regained consciousness and looked around. Her fear was gone, and
Ranko felt relieved. It must have been the cats. Even if she could not see
them, Ranko could sense the presence of a cat in the same room as her. Cats
invariably could sense her too, because they would seek her out.
Sitting
on the edge of the bed, Ranko looked up at the Senshi, who had spread
themselves around the room and were relaxing on various pieces of furniture as
though they owned the place. Then she realized: they may be fighters for
justice and garbage like that, but they were still young girls. Which meant she
had been lying on some strange girl's bed! Akane would kill her! Ranko gulped.
Better not tell her about this. She didn't like Ranma having a girl like Ami as
a tutor, how would she feel knowing Ranma had woken up in a bedroom filled with
scantily clad, good-looking girls? After all, they weren't called 'Pretty
Soldiers' for nothing.
Seeing
their guest getting nervous again, Moon pre-empted her question. "We've
put the cats outside for the moment Ranko. Don't worry, they won't come
in."
Ranko
visibly sagged with relief. Then she realized: with the cats past the door, she
was trapped here! Mercury tried again. "You were saying something about ki
manipulations?"
Ranko
perked up at the mention of her favorite topic, fighting: "Yeah, it's
pretty simple. You just have to be able to focus your ki, and then you can
project it out. Of course, the better you get, the more power you can
deliver."
Sailor
Jupiter leaned forward. "I've heard of people being able to manifest their
ki, but I thought it was supposed to be almost impossible to use it as a
weapon."
"Bah,
you just need to be good. Here:" Ranko summoned a small sphere of ki. It
was similar to what she had fired at the youma, only smaller and she held it on
the flat of her palm. All the Senshi came in close, going 'Ohhh' and 'Ahhhh'.
Mercury held her computer up close and admired the results.
"Amazing!
This is just the sort of energy that Beryl was trying to harvest, but she's got
so much! We'd better hope that they never return and capture you, they could
leave most of Tokyo alone and siphon you like a tap."
Ranko
gulped again, it was not a pretty image. Dissipating the sphere, she sat back
and answered the rest of their questions. After almost an hour of talking, the
Senshi decided there was not much more that they could learn, so Mars and
Mercury offered to take Ranko home, to make sure she would not get lost in the
unfamiliar city.
As
they ran along the rooftops, Mercury bridged the question they all wanted to
know, but none had been willing to ask. "Ranko, why are you afraid of
cats?"
Stumbling,
she looked around. "Cats? Where? Where?"
"No!
There're no cats. I was just wondering what made you so frightened of cats. If
you don't want to tell me, it's OK."
Ranko
sighed and slowed to a walk. "It's OK, I suppose people would find this
out quick enough any way. Ever since I was really little, Pops trained me in
the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts. Any technique, he would teach me.
Anything that was needed, he would do. Well, one day he was reading a training
manual, and he found out about the Neko-ken. Basically it's a secret technique,
which uses the unstoppable ferocity of the cat to make you unbeatable.
Unfortunately, he didn't read the next page in the manual, which told him you'd
have to be an idiot to teach this technique... Mind you, I suppose that means
he would be able to teach it."
Mercury
nodded. "Ah, so. When you realized just how ferocious cats are, you became
afraid of them."
"Nope.
From what he told me, I agreed and wanted to learn it. Then he wrapped me in
fish sausage and threw me into a pit full of starving cats."
The
two Senshi stopped dead in their tracks. "That's awful! No wonder..."
"Nah,
that didn't do it. You see, I didn't learn the Neko-ken, immediately. So the
next day, he did it again, and again, and again... I don't know how many times
it took; I was only five or six at the time, so I couldn't really count much
then. Anyway, it ended up sort of working."
They
resumed walking in silence. The Senshi were shocked. The youma and Queen Beryl
seemed like true demons, but compared to this girl's father, they were normal.
"Ranko, this looks like where you said you were staying. If you see any
more youma, just leave them to us. We don't want you getting hurt."
As
they turned to leave, Mars offered a consolation to Ranko. "I'm sorry
about your fear of cats, Ranko. But at least you learnt the technique,
right?"
Ranko
huffed. "Sure I learnt it, but considering it drives me completely insane
every time I use it, it's not very good. Is it?"
There
was nothing they could say to that, so they left.
When
Ranma told Akane where he had been all evening, he glossed over most of it. He
just said there had been a bit of a fight, and he had been able to watch the
Senshi in action. When he admitted to being impressed by their powers, she
poked him. "Ha, Ha! There's one thing you can never do, Mr.
I-Can-Do-Anything! All the Senshi are girls! And you're a guy! Guys can't be
Senshi!"
Ranma
thought of how callously they had killed the youma. "Trust me, I wouldn't
want to be a Senshi for nothing."
Jadeite
read his report with only the slightest worry. The Senshi had become better,
but he was better still. Not only that, he was not plagued by some of the
strange ideas that Beryl held. To get energy, you don't harvest it all on the
spot, you get enough for a stable gate, and then you bring the cattle - err,
people - to you. Selecting a school on the map, Jadeite prepared one of his new
youma. A small gate initially, then it could harvest the energy from the
healthy, lively, young bodies, and afterwards the invasion could begin in
force.
Realizing
that sacrifice was a necessary part of war, Jadeite expected the Senshi to come
in time to kill the youma. That was another problem of Beryl, he thought: every
mission must be an unqualified success. Any losses meant a failure, and
punishment.
Jadeite
was more than happy to swap a single youma for the energy he would be able to
harvest in the short time. A couple of days worth of preparation, and all would
be ready. Ready for the end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end.
"All
right, Mr. Miyagi. First you cut the wood, and you clean out the hole, right?
All right, now if I place a piece of wood here, I can nail it in place. Repeat
it a couple of times, and you'll be done."
Mr.
Miyagi nodded. Then kicked a hole in the wall. "Better, but how do I cut
the wood?"
Ryoga
looked around and grabbed the man in the tartan skirt that was walking by. The
man seemed to be torturing a cat in a bag under his arm... maybe this guy had
once tried to learn the Neko-ken and was getting his revenge. "How do I
get to the Tanaka Dojo in Hokkaido?"
The
man only opened his eyes wide in non-comprehension at Ryoga's Japanese and
continued on his way with the dozens of other bagpipe players marching in the
parade.
Ryoga
growled, scaring a small child who was watching the parade and the little boy clutched
his mother in fear. "Ranma, you can't hide from me! Now, where did I put
my map?"
"Are
you thick? What do you mean you don't know how to use a saw?"
Mr.
Miyagi shook his head. "Ranma, there is no need for anger. Stay calm, and
tell me about using a saw. I came from a fishing village where I either fished
or learned Martial Arts. I didn't do carpentry. Focus. Find your inner peace...
Good. Now tell me of the saw."
"All
right. When cutting wood, you use a saw. These sharp bits are called the teeth,
and they are what do the cutting..."
Ranma
and Akane walked to school, admiring what a beautiful day it was. With this
much sun, it mean he wouldn't have to spend as much time hopping around hiding
from girls who though he was Ranko, or guys trying to find out who the hot
looking pig-tailed girl was.
Poor,
Akane... it hurt her something awful the way that most of the girls in the
school seemed to fall all over him. But one thing had come of being with Mr.
Miyagi. He may not have taught Ranma about being a Sensei yet - he was too keen
on his carpentry - but he had taught Ranma that even girls could cope with a
little pain. Ranma couldn't remember seeing Akane so happy as when he had
thrown her across Mr. Miyagi's yard and into his small pond. When she got out
of the water, she didn't attack him with her mallet as he expected, she thanked
him for finally treating her like a real Martial Artist. He just couldn't
understand the uncute macho tomboy.
He
could understand something though. That was the way that Akane hurt when the
girls launched themselves all over him. Normally he wasn't very perceptive, but
he had taken to watching her face more often. Must be because he was looking
for her to attack, he thought, or maybe
it's 'cause she wasn't cute unless she smiles. Hey, that's it! Without Shampoo
and Ukyou all over him, she didn't have to scowl so much, and she didn't hit
him!
They
entered the school gates and he saw the smile slip from her face. Oh, I want that back; just smile once more!
When the first girl ran up and latched onto him, he decided it was time for
desperate measures. Prizing her off, he dropped her on the ground and grabbed
hold of Akane. "Hey! Back off. I'm not interested. Just leave me alone!"
Ranma
almost went after the poor girl. The way she looked, so hurt and sad at his
rejection. But Akane looked at him, and he realized she hadn't pushed him away
yet. Quickly he let her go, maintaining a bit of a distance. "I... um...
it's just that... um... Hey, there's Ami and Makoto!"
Akane
almost smiled at his back. Sure he had been pretty harsh on that poor girl, but
it was the first time she could recall him ever doing something like that. I almost think he does like me... She
thought.
Joining
Ranma and the two girls, they went in to class.
At
the end of the day, Akane went back to Mr. Miyagi's dojo, while Ranma waited
for Ami to finish her gym class and get cleaned up. Bah! Tutoring again. At least she seemed pretty smart, and she was
a good tutor.
He
was wandering around aimlessly when he heard sounds of fighting. Not just
fighting, but fighting Senshi style! Sprinting around the schoolyard to where
the sounds came from, he saw most of the Senshi ganging up against a youma,
which had appeared on the school grounds. It looked like it had been attacking
a group of students that had been doing some sort of literature study in the
yard. Ranma agreed with its tastes. He hated literature too.
Looking
for a better place to watch, he saw a guy in a formal suit balancing in a tree.
Curiosity got the better of him and he silently jumped up beside the stranger,
and listened to him mumble. "Sailor Moon... you fight for love and
justice... um... these are the source of your powers... err... Now, kick its
butt... no, Now use your staff and destroy this evil..."
Ranma
looked at the guy as he took a quick drink of water from a plastic cup, and
then grabbed a rose from inside his coat. A rose?!? "Kuno, is that you
under that mask?"
Whoever
it was, he made a startled motion when he saw Sailor Moon barely dodge a blow.
Apparently he had been concentrating on the fight below or his horrible speech
because he hadn't noticed Ranma. Ranma - being the water magnet that he was -
immediately ended up with a face full of the cold water the man had been
drinking. When the man finally calmed enough and had grabbed the tree for
support, it was a dripping wet Ranko he saw.
"I'm
not sure who 'Kuno' is, fair lady, but I am Tuxedo Kamen. I am here to aid the
valiant Sailor Moon in her quest for peace and justice."
Hmm,
right script, right roses, wrong voice. "Sorry, I mistook you for another
idio... person. And if you're here to help Moon, you better get a move
on!"
As
they had been talking, the youma had successfully struck the defender of love
and justice and knocked her flying. While Moon struggled to be able to rise, the
thick, slimy arms of the creature had grabbed Mercury. Sailor Jupiter looked on
with fear. Her attack was too powerful and widespread to use now that Mercury
was in close. Hoisting her fists she charged in yelling, and began to beat upon
the monster. Gouts of slime flew everywhere, but she wasn't sure if any real
damage was being done. Meanwhile, poor Mercury was having the life crushed out
of her!
In
a flash Tuxedo Kamen was beside Sailor Moon, helping her gently to her feet,
and giving her words of encouragement. Seeing Moon safe, Ranko charged the
monster. Ranko remember what happened the last time that she mixed it up with
one of these things, and wished she could heed the warning to let the Senshi
deal with the problem. But even if they were magically powered, Ranko couldn't
let a bunch of girls get beaten up. If it were a choice between a monster dying
and a Senshi dying, she'd let the monster die.
Since
the monster held Mercury high in the air, Ranko zipped right up to its smelly
armpit, which dripped some sort of equally smelly goo. "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"
Launching a couple of hundred blows with her attack she realized that perhaps
she should not laugh at the Senshi for their silly poses and speeches. After
all, anyone who liked screaming about chestnuts couldn't really complain.
Beaten
back by the damage, the youma dropped Mercury, and Ranko grabbed her, moving
over to the side of the yard. As she placed Mercury on the ground, Ranko looked
in her eyes and checked if she was OK. Mercury merely stared. No wonder they were concerned about Ranko!
Her forehead was glowing with a symbol similar to her own. But that was
impossible! All of the Senshi were accounted for! Even Luna said that there
were never any other Senshi in the Silver Millennium. All of the planets bar
Earth had one, and the Moon did. There was no Sailor Terra, so who could this
be?
Ranko
didn't wait long. With Mercury out of the way, recovering from cracked ribs,
and Moon still concussed, it was up to her and Jupiter! Jupiter had backed off
a bit, and was hopping about trying to get space to do an attack.
"Jupiter! When I go in, you hit it from the front! I'm gunna jump when you
attack. GO!!"
With
a dive roll over a massive arm, Ranko came in close to the creature. Launching
another Tenshin Amaguriken, she mercilessly pounded the youma, buying Sailor
Jupiter the time needed to prepare her attack. "SPARKLING WIDE..."
Ranko
leapt vertically, evading the arms that were about to slam into her.
"PRESSURE!"
"MOKO
TAKABISHA!"
As
Sailor Jupiter's heavy blast hit it from the front, Ranko's ki blast took it
from above. Their efforts took the beast down, but not out. Smoking from its
wounds, it continued to fight, and they only managed to hold it at bay. Minutes
passed, and the two fighters began to weary. As their strength seemed to be
almost gone, more Senshi arrived. Under the combined assault the demon died.
With the death of the demon, Ranko's symbol also faded, leaving her facing a
crowd of very inquisitive Senshi.
"Oh,
no. I'm not staying this time! If my fiancée finds out I've been fighting I'll
be in big trouble."
Before
they could stop her, Ranko sprinted off into the school.
"Did
you see it?"
"Her
head!"
"The
mark!"
"Don't
lose her!"
Following
her into the building, they lost her briefly, and then forever. The only person
they could see in the corridor was a slightly steaming damp Ranma coming out of
the men's toilets. "No, no. I haven't seen any red-haired girls around here,
nope, none at all. Not a single one."
Leaving
the slightly panicky Ranma behind, not panicked from the Senshi, but from an
unexpected dousing of cold water properly timed for maximum embarrassment, the
Senshi continued their search. Unfortunately, they were destined to fail,
leaving them all filled with the question of just who she was. Fortunately
Ranma was so preoccupied at his tutoring that night that he didn't notice how
pre-occupied the tutor was.
Usagi
looked sternly at Luna. All the other Senshi other than Ami / Sailor Mercury
and the mysterious Setsuna / Sailor Pluto were present. Ami had a tutoring
position with the fiancée of Ranko's cousin, of all people! "Spill the
beans, Luna. We need to know who she is. All of us saw the mark on her head,
and we know she's a Senshi. Who is she?"
Luna
shook her head sadly. "I don't know! There are no more Senshi! And there
are never more than one Senshi per planet."
"Could
she be Sailor Earth?"
"No,
from what you've described, the symbol is wrong. Besides, Earth already has a
guardian, it's Tuxedo Kamen."
All
was quite for a moment, and then Artemis spoke quietly. "I could be wrong,
but I think I know who she is." He made a nervous glance at Minako and
continued. "Back during the Silver Millennium, only children of royal
birth could become members of the Sailor Senshi, and so all of the positions
were filled as time went by. But there was one young girl of common birth, and
all she wanted was to be a Sailor Senshi."
"Every
day she trained. She learned and she focused. Whenever she could she observed
the powers of the Senshi, and tried to imitate their every action and deed.
This girl was very determined and very resourceful. Legend has it that she
lived in a small orbital station close to the sun, and spent her life trying to
draw the focus of the sun for her strength, the same way you draw on the power
of the planets."
"When
the Dark Kingdom launched their attack against the Moon Kingdom, I was once
told that there was a tenth girl fighting with the Senshi. It was this girl,
who called herself Sailor Sun, which managed to defeat and destroy much of the
space fleet that the Dark Kingdom sent. She wasn't a full Senshi, so she wasn't
aided by the magic bestowed by Queen Serenity, but she had managed to tap the
powers of the sun. Her power was devastating, even then. Short of Sailor
Saturn's ability to destroy the world, she was more powerful than any individual.
It was her final self-sacrificing attack that blasted much of the Dark
Kingdom's fleet, and bought the Sailor Senshi time to recover and regroup.
After Queen Serenity heard of this, she apparently decided she would
posthumously make her a Sailor in honor of her deeds."
Artemis
paused for a moment, remembering the terrible days at the end of the Moon
Kingdom. "The only problem with this is that the Dark Kingdom's main
attack came too soon. She never had time to make her a Senshi. Queen Serenity sacrificed
herself in the same manner and bought the human race the time it needed to
prepare against their return."
Everyone
sat in silence. It was eventually Luna that broke the stillness. "Why
didn't we know this before?"
Artemis
merely shrugged. "It wasn't important then. She wasn't really a Senshi,
and because she was already dead, she couldn't be reincarnated. The girl was
only a minor character in a major production."
Putting
her arm around Michiru, Haruka caught the eye of the other moon cat. "But
what if Queen Serenity did make her
a Sailor. Wouldn't Luna be able to produce a transformation wand for her?"
Luna
thought about it for a bit. "I suppose. This doesn't explain how she is
here now... but that's not as important as gaining a new ally."
With
that, Luna thought for a moment, and then executed a complex back flip. At the
pinnacle of the arc, a small, bright pen came out. Rei picked it up off the
ground. "Well, what do you know? Now, Ranko is Akane's cousin. And Akane
has to train with her Sensei after school. What say we get Akane to invite
Ranko for ice cream? She liked that before, and after all, the poor girl must
be lonely in a strange city..."
Usagi
bounced happily, blond hair flying everywhere. "Oh, boy! ICE CREAM!"
"All
right, after you measure the wood, you place the saw on the waste side, and
gently begin to cut. In no time, we stick it in the hole, bang in a couple of
nails. Hey, Presto."
"Very
good, Ranma. But I can't remember what you told me about how to hammer it
in."
"ARRRG!"
Ranma punched a hole in the dojo wall in frustration. Teaching Ryoga which way
was North was easier than this.
Ami
approached Akane at school that day and asked her about getting her and Ranko
out for ice cream again. Akane shook her head and admitted to other
commitments, but she suspected that Ranko would be delighted. Timing was
arranged, and Akane promised to let Ranko know.
When
Ranma's tutorial was drawing to a close, both he and Ami were getting a bit
restless. More restless than Ranma normally was when he's trying to learn
something, that is. Given both their inattention, Ami finally let Ranma off
early, much to his delight. As he streaked away to change into Ranko, it dawned
on him that there actually was an upside to this stupid curse. Every grey cloud
had a silver lining. His just happened to have a really small lining: an ice
cream sized lining.
Ami
was just as expectant, but not for the same reasons. Sure, she loved ice cream,
but the prospect of inviting a new Senshi into their midst was even more
exciting. When they decided about this, she just knew they would become best
friends. All the Senshi were good friends, even if they got on each other's
nerves a bit; but Ami somehow felt she would be closer to Ranko. And they could visit her place, and meet her
friends, and her parents, and see her school, and...
Ami
slowed down her train of thought. Better not badger the poor girl too much;
it's liable to be a bit of a shock for her. Ami realized what a surprise it was
for her, but somehow she thought it was what she was destined for.
Leaving
in plenty of time, Ami met Rei and they made their way to the ice cream parlor.
The Senshi had discussed this amongst themselves and had come up with a good
plan. Rather than frighten Ranko with a whole crowd of girls powering up into
their Sailor clothes, just Ami and Rei would be there initially. When they had
told her the facts of life, then the rest of the Sailors could join them. Poor
Luna and Artemis would just have to hear the details second hand.
After
doing justice to another massive quantity of ice cream, Ranko let herself be
led to the Shrine where Rei lived with her grandfather. "Grandfather is
out for a while tonight. I asked if he would mind if I had some friends over,
and he said that the sounds of girls giggling would keep him up. So he's off to
visit some of his friends from the war."
War? Just how old is her grandpa anyways? Thought Ranko. She
looked around and admired the peace and tranquility of the shrine. It was a
lovely place. Ranko thought it would be a nice place for some Martial Arts
training. Hey, perhaps they would like to
do some training before dinner? "Hey, you two! Ever considered doing
Martial Arts? This place looks like it would be great for training..."
Ranko
took one look at the expressions on their faces and immediately realized her
mistake. "Oh, damn, I'm sorry, Rei. I just realized. If you live here, you
must be a Shinto priestess or something. You wouldn't be able to fight even if
a great slimy monster attacked you."
Ranko
watched as their expressions went from surprised to completely stunned; could she know already, and was just toying
with us? Ranko reached the conclusion that she was digging herself in
deeper, and tried to cover up. "Whoops! Just forget I ever mentioned a
slimy monster. Or tentacles, or demons and Sailors and... Ah... Um... It's a
lovely night isn't it?"
Rei
and Ami exchanged glances. Did Ranko have
a guide like Luna? But that was silly; Ranko hated cats. Rei spoke up.
"Ranko, do you know why we're here?"
"Yep,
it's your home."
"No,
I mean why are we here?"
"Err,
you wanted to pick up something."
The
girls looked relieved. Ranko did not know. "Ranko, we have some wonderful
news for you, and we need to show you something."
Ranko
watched carefully as Rei and Ami both took out small pen shaped objects.
Holding hers aloft, Rei called out. "Mars Star Power, Make Up!"
Immediately
shining lights surrounded her. Despite the fact that she was covered in an
impenetrable glow, Ranko averted her eyes as Rei's clothes vanished. When she
did a pirouette, new clothes appeared. And after a few seconds, Sailor Mars
stood where Rei had been and before the shock could settle in, Ami also
transformed into Sailor Mercury.
Ranko
began to back up. Oh, no! They've seen me
change sex! Why does this always happen to me? They must think I'm one of those
demons! "No, No! It's just a curse! I'm not a demon! Honestly! Ami!
I'm your friend! Don't do this to me!"
As
the clearly terrified girl backed up, the Sailors advanced and tried to calm
her. "Ranko, Ranko! It's OK. Don't be frightened. We're still your
friends. We just need to talk."
Making
placating gestures with their hands, the girls waited until Ranko calmed down.
"You... you don't want to kill me?" Thoughts of an upcoming wedding
taunted her mind. She quickly dismissed that idea since these girls didn't know
she was a guy, or did they?
Sailor
Mercury looked taken aback. "No! Why on earth would we want to kill
you?"
Ranko
looked sheepish. "Um... No reason. No reason at all. Ha, ha! Err... so why
have you just shown me who you are? I mean, isn't that a closely guarded secret
or something?"
Mars
smiled and held out the new transformation stick. "It is. As a general
rule, the only people who know our identities are the other Sailor Senshi. Take
this."
Feeling
bemused for a moment, Ranko took the pen, then the word sunk in. They want to make me a Senshi! Demon
hunting, she could handle, but demon killing was something she'd rather not
make her full time occupation. Ranko started to hand the pen back. "Sorry.
I realize that it's supposed to be an honor and all that, but I'm not interested."
Not interested in being a Senshi! A sailor
suited defender of love and justice! This was every girl's dream! But, Ranko wanted to
refuse. Placing a hand on Ranko's shoulder, Mercury offered her support.
"No, Ranko. It's not just that we want you to become a Sailor Senshi. The
fact is, you already are. Sailors aren't chosen; they're born that way.
Sometimes it just takes a while for them to awaken."
Ranko
looked around and noticed that while they had been talking the rest of the
Senshi had arrived. The courtyard of the shrine was filled with girls in those
tight bodysuits and teeny-tiny skirts. Sailor Moon walked over and smiled at
Ranko, trying to offer her the support of the entire team. "Ranko, you're
one of us. Just take the transformation pen, raise it up, and say the first
thing that comes into your head."
Ranko
looked at the innocent looking stick. All she could think of was the words
Akane had spoken the other day: 'All the Senshi are girls! And you're a guy!
Guys can't be Senshi!' Looking around at all the girls, she could see them
looking at her expectantly. Sighing, she raised the transformation stick and
spoke loudly. "Those dresses look really silly! I'm not gunna be a
Senshi!"
The
girls were stunned. That wasn't the response that should be on the top of her
mind! "Ranko. I understand, you might be a bit afraid, but it's OK. We're
a team. You don't have to face these things alone. Join us. We need you."
Ranko
spied Tuxedo Kamen standing behind Sailor Moon. She asked inquisitively
wondering if Akane may be wrong. "I thought only girls could be Senshi.
Are you saying that guys can be Senshi too?"
Mars
looked puzzled. "No, only girls can be Senshi. Why do you ask that?"
Ranko
was about to retort, "But I'm a g... never mind..." She quickly went
quiet with resignation. Her life never went the way she wanted it to.
Something
still didn't make sense and she pointed at Tuxedo Kamen. "What about him?
Don't tell me he's a girl too."
Sailor
Moon giggled in a childish way and grabbed Tuxedo Kamen's arm in a loving
embrace. "He's not a Senshi, he's my guardian. He's the only one and he's
mine." Ranko could almost see little hearts floating from Sailor Moon as
she hugged that uh... Guardian? Some guardian. Ranko remembered the fight at
school and all he did was give Kuno-speak and stood around doing nothing. She
wondered if that guy actually fought any of the monsters. So, he's either
Sailor Moon's husband or fiancé. Oh, no,
not that fiancé stuff again.
Ashen
at the idea of what it meant to be a male member of this group, Ranko gently
shook her head. It figures, if I got a
tux, I'm marrying one of these girls. No way! Besides, he's the only one and he
can have Moon for all I cared. Ranko looked at the pen in her hand thinking
about the mini-skirt alternative and found it not any better. Images of a
ritual suicide made up her mind as to what she had to do. She offered the pen
back to Rei. "I'm sorry, Rei. I can't. It's different for me. I'm... I'm
a... Look, what if Akane found out! What would she say? What would my mom say?
She'd kill me for sure."
Sailor
Mars did not take the transformation stick, but she did back off slightly.
"Girls, I think I need to have a little talk with Ranko for a while. Why
don't you go home? I'll call you later. Don't worry, it will be OK."
The
other Sailors headed for the exit, changing back into their normal selves when
out of Ranko's sight. If Ranko did not want to join them, perhaps it was best
that only Rei and Ami had been exposed. Rei also transformed back and looked at
the forlorn Ranko. She was standing there in the middle of the garden, head
bowed. Rei walked over, and was shocked to see the girl crying. Placing her arm
around Ranko's shoulder, Rei led her to a bench and sat down next to her.
"I'm
sor... sorry, Rei. It's bad for me. I just... I just can't take this much more.
I hate this stupid curse. It's like every day; another little piece of me is
slipping away. Akane warned me about this sort of thing, but I thought it was
just a joke. But it's true."
Grabbing
hold of the black haired girl, Ranko put her head on her shoulder, and really
cried in earnest. Rei held her tight and rocked her back and forwards. She
wasn't sure what was wrong with Ranko, or what frightened her so much about
being a Senshi or what she meant by hating a curse. Rei wondered what her
cousin could possibly have said which would make her frightened. Why Ranko's
mother would want to kill her was another mystery. Rei always thought that
being one of the chosen defenders of the earth was a great honor.
But
what Rei thought, and what Rei wondered wasn't the issue. Obviously Ranko had
some serious fears, and Rei needed to help her get past them. "Ranko.
Ranko, I know you're scared. But you don't need to be. We all want to be your
friends, and we all want to help. If you really feel that you don't want to be
a Sailor Senshi, then you don't have to be."
Ranko
stifled her sobs and looked up. When Rei started speaking, she was sure Rei was
going to badger her into joining, but then again maybe not. She started to give
back the stick again, but Rei didn't take it. "As I said, Ranko, you don't
have to be a Sailor, but we would really like you on the team. Can you tell me
what's wrong? Maybe I can help."
Ranko
sighed and sat back. She wiped her face with her sleeve, and then looked up at
Rei. "Well, what if Akane finds out. She'd kill me. Well, maybe not kill
me, but I don't think she'd ever speak to me again. I just couldn't cope with
that."
Rei
smiled. "Everyone keeps secrets. Even us. I realize that she's your
cousin, but you don't need to tell her everything. Remember, you only transform
when you want to. No one can force you, and the disguise field prevents anyone
from ever seeing who you really are."
Ranko
thought about that. She had seen Sailor Mercury several times and she never put
together that Ami and her were the same person, despite all those tutoring
sessions and seeing her almost every day. Now, after seeing them transform in
front of her, it was obvious who Mars and Mercury were. I wonder if I can use that technique in other ways? No, I'm not going
to be a Senshi! I'm not a girl!
Rei
asked gently. "And what about your mom? She wouldn't really kill you,
would she?"
Ranko
merely nodded her head. "Yes. That one I'm sure of. I... I can't really
explain it now; it's too complex. But trust me: if I became a Sailor Senshi and
mom ever found out, she would hunt me to the ends of the earth and force me to
commit seppuku. It's because of a promise I made many years ago."
That
revelation shocked Rei to the core, Ranko was so sure, so certain, she had
trouble doubting her. But what was so bad that could force a mother to kill her
daughter? She remembered she heard Ranko asking something about 'guys being
Senshi', but that didn't make any sense.
Rei
listened to Ranko's objections one after another. Each time she countered with
logic, support and friendship. When Ranko's excuses began to get thin, Rei
changed to the offensive. "Ranko, everybody has fears. There's danger in
everything we do. But facing those fears is what courage is all about. I saw
you charge in and attack that youma with only your bare hands a few days ago.
And why? To protect a few people you hardly knew? I was with you. Back then you
didn't know Ami and I were Sailor Senshi, and you put your life in danger to
save us. Why did you do that?"
The
girl just looked baffled. Batting her big puppy dog eyes, she looked the other
girl in the eye. "But it's the duty of every Martial Artist to protect
those who are weak. That monster could have killed everyone there if it wasn't
stopped. And I was the only one who could stop it. Well, I thought I was. Even that jerk Ryoga wouldn't pick on someone weak.
Ha, he's always trying to kill me, and when I was finally weak once, he
couldn't. Ryoga cried because his worst enemy had been struck down before he
could do it."
She
wasn't sure who Ryoga was, but this was definite progress. "What we face
out there is more powerful than any Martial Artist. What we face is nothing
less than a complete demonic invasion from another dimension. Once the Moon
Kingdom ruled the entire solar system. In the first invasion, they were
defeated, but at the cost of all civilization as it stood. Queen Serenity
sacrificed her life to provide the time that was needed for us to regroup. The
second time they invaded, we again defeated them, but only just. It was the
combined efforts of all of the Sailor Senshi that managed to halt the advance
of a foolish and ill-prepared enemy."
Looking
into the distance, Rei remembered all the details that her friends had been
discussing in the last week. "In the last week we have destroyed more
youma than we did in the entire previous three months. Ami thinks there's a
pattern. Sailor Moon is worried that this is just the start of something
bigger. I think that this must be another invasion. The rulers of the Dark
Kingdom are just as bad as the youma they control. If we don't destroy them,
they'll just keep coming back again and again. I have an ability to see images
in fire. It's a limited form of precognition. When I did a reading on the
weekend, I saw you, fighting some great evil. There were flames everywhere and
great suffering."
Rei
was standing now, gesturing, imploring Ranko to understand. "Ranko,
whether you like it or not, most of the people out there are weak. They can't
defend themselves against the powers of the Dark Kingdom and its armies. We
don't fight because we enjoy it. If I could give up being a Sailor Senshi, and
know that it would stop the demons attacking: I would. But it can't, so I
won't. To keep people safe, we need defenders. People willing to risk their
lives so that the people they love can continue their lives in peace. Ranko,
don't do it because you can, or what you can get from it. Do it because if you
don't, the consequences will be terrible. I know you care for your cousin, but
the demons are getting stronger, and we're staying the same. If this keeps up,
one day we will lose. We need you Ranko."
Ranko
simply sat there. Rei's impassioned speech had touched her. Sure, Ranma would
suffer from this. He seemed to suffer from all of the calamities that followed
him. But as Rei said: if not her, then who? If not now, then when?
Standing
again she looked down at Rei. "I still don't want to wear that silly skirt
and, err... leotard, but I'll do it. If you show me what to do, I'll change,
and I'll be a Sailor Senshi. But I can't stay long now. Akane will be getting
worried about me, so she's probably gunna call before I get home. Just tell
her... tell her I came asking advice. Tell her... tell her that I like her. A
lot."
Nonplussed
that Ranko could care that much about the opinion of a cousin she seemed to see
only occasionally, Rei nodded. "Just raise your hand in the air, and say
what comes naturally."
Ranko
lifted the transformation stick and hesitated. She knew the words. They seemed
natural and flowed from deep within her soul. It felt both right and wrong to
her. Holding it high, she gulped knowing this was a point of no return. She
closed her eyes and called out: "Sun Star Power, Make Up!"
A blinding light shone around her, and she felt herself float free of the ground.
While she rotated in the air, she felt her clothes change, and the power filled
her body. Even at his strongest, Ranma had never felt such power flowing
through him. But now, as a girl, he knew he had powers he only dreamed of.
Sailor
Sun stood there, looking glorious in her new Sailor suit. Her costume was
similar to that of Mars, since bright red was her primary color. Along with the
white gloves and body suit, she had a short red skirt, and knee length red
boots. Her bright red hair flowed loosely down her back, and was held in place
by a simple headband of red metal. In the center of the band was a clear jewel,
which seemed to contain a continual flame, burning deep inside. Rei clapped her
hands and looked on with pride.
Sailor Sun felt a draft. "Is there any way I can get a uniform that has pants?"
Rei and Ami looked at each other in disbelief. Rei stuttered, "P-Pants? Why? You look beautiful in that."
Sun groaned at the remark and thought of one more piece of information she had to know right this instant. "Another thing, Rei. How do I change back?"
