Soluna – Volume One
Chapter One: A Morning in Juuban
By Saarth'ir
Based on the "Sailor Ranko" series, started by Duncan Zillman, and continued by Kevin D. Hammel, Arthur Hansen, and Rebecca Heineman. "Sailor Ranko is, in turn based on the series "Sailor Moon" by Naoko Takeuchi and "Ranma 1/2" by Rumiko Takahashi. Therefore, many of these characters are owned and copyrighted by their respective owners. So, with that out of the way, enjoy!
It was a warm morning in the Juuban ward of Tokyo. As the early morning mists began to dissipate, and the temperature warmed, many people could be seen going about their morning routines. Young children and their accompanying parents cheerfully walked to school. Groups of teenagers happily gossiped amongst themselves as they made their way to their own schools. In sharp contrast, adult men and women, clad in their business attire, hurried themselves along to their workplaces. Young adolescents, working simple morning jobs such as newspaper delivery, rushed down the streets on foot or bicycle, eager to finish their work and return home for some rest. From all the activity, one would assume that everyone in the neighborhood was already out and about. However, that was not quite true. Near the end of a small road, a lone home stood, its neighbors long since condemned. Within the walls of the quaint, yet inviting two-story home, its inhabitants worked to join the rest of the community outside. Or, at least, one did.
"Ranma, are you ready yet? If we don't hurry, we're going to be late for home-room!" Akane Saotome swore to herself that she had to hound her husband with that same remark at least four times just this morning. She waited impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, already dressed in her sailor-style school uniform.
What in the world is taking him so long? she thought to herself. Ranma was rarely punctual, but he usually wasn't this bad!
Just then, the pigtailed boy, well, currently pigtailed girl, groggily made her way down the steps. She walked with all the grace of an old man on his eighteenth beer. She wore her signature red Chinese blouse and black sweatpants. The staff at both Furinkan and Juuban high had long since given up on trying to force Ranma to stick to uniform. It just wouldn't happen.
"Good morning sleepyhead," The raven-haired girl snickered at her currently female husband. "Did you decide to go to school as a girl today? Mina-chan will be so happy!"
Ranma lifted her head to reveal her face, sporting a nasty scowl. "Shaddup. The shower ran out of hot water."
Akane couldn't help but laugh. "You're kidding, right?" She eyed Ranma suspiciously, "How could the hot water run out? Last time I checked, we paid our bills."
The ugly look on Ranma's face remained where it was. "Well, maybe if someone didn't spend thirty minutes in the shower, doing who-knows what, we'd have some hot water left for the other people living here!"
"Wha- What?" Akane nearly shrieked. She was completely taken aback by Ranma's accusation. "Are you blaming ME?" She huffed and held her nose high, "Well, maybe if someone didn't always sleep in so late, he could have the shower first!"
Ranma noticed Akane's aura begin to flare. While she was still half-asleep, the half that was awake realized that egging her wife on anymore could result in her being smashed into the ground. The red-head's eyes locked onto the boxes which she just noticed Akane was carrying.
"Are those our lunches?" Ranma asked, pointing at the bentos.
Akane looked down at the bundle in her arms. She nodded, her aura evaporating already, "Mhm. Some good stuff on the menu today."
Ranma gulped, "So does that mean you made it?" She had to be careful. The last thing she wanted to do was offset Akane's temper again with a comment about her cooking. If one could even call it that.
"Not all of it," Akane said with a neutral expression on her face. "Your mother made most of it, I just helped with a couple of things."
CHA-CHING! Saved! Ranma thought to herself. She was able to distract Akane from the previous argument, and she didn't have to insult her cooking. A win-win in Ranma's mind. She noted that she would have to carefully examine the food at lunch time to sort her mother's delicious cooking from Akane's own toxic concoctions.
Akane interrupted Ranma's thoughts, "Come on. Let's get you some hot water and get out of here. We're still late to school!"
Ranma nodded and followed her wife to the kitchen. As they waited for a kettle of water to heat up on the stove, Ranma noticed that her mother was missing. "Hey Akane, where's mom?" she asked.
Akane was carefully examining the watch on her wrist. It was a very nice watch. Not Rolex nice, but elegant none the less. It couldn't have been less than fifty-thousand yen. She received it as a gift from her friend Yuka for her eighteenth birthday. When she asked Yuka how much it had cost her, her friend merely smiled and told her not to worry about it, and that she deserved it. Akane would have to get her friend something extra nice for her birthday.
She finally answered, still staring at the face of her watch, "She said she had to head to Nerima to meet with Kasumi about something." Akane raised her head to look at Ranma. "She also said that she would be staying at the dojo late, and that we should come over for dinner if we have the time."
The prospect of Kasumi's cooking was always reason enough for Ranma to make that journey. "Sounds good to me," Ranma beamed, "We can head over after school. 'Sides, I wanna stop by Ucchan's and check up on her and Konatsu."
Ranma always tried to make time to visit her best friend. Especially ever since they got back from Jusendo. Any time Ranma would show up, Ukyo would have something new to show her. It made Ranma feel like a kid going to the circus; she never knew what to expect next. She also got a free meal out of it, so there was no way she could complain.
Once again, Ranma's thoughts were interrupted by Akane, "Don't forget though, Rei wanted to have a meeting this afternoon after school." The expression on her face turned to one of deep thought. "We may not be able to make it to Nerima today."
Ranma's dreams of okonomiyaki and Kasumi's cooking were shattering before her. "Aww, c'mon," she pouted. "Maybe we can have the meeting another day. It's not like anything's been happening that the Senshi need to worry about. It's been quiet for months now!"
It was true. Ever since the Senshi's battle at Jusendo involving the Phoenix people and Musk Dynasty had been resolved, there hadn't been much need for the Senshi around Tokyo. If nothing else, it was a much needed break for them, and most of them were happy to accept it. Even so, Rei, Ami, Luna, and Artemis still wanted to hold regular meetings. The last thing they wanted was for everyone to fall out of shape, both physically and mentally. While no one was particularly against the meetings, there were times when complaints were brought up regarding the inconvenience of some of the meetings. Most of the Senshi were in their senior year of school now, and the relentless projects and bundles of homework were wearing on them. If anything, this break in activity was a blessing for them, allowing them to focus on their civilian personas, which were about to reach crucial moments in their lives.
"I know that Ranma, but you know it's not up to me." Akane noticed the kettle was steaming and took it off the stove top. "You should contact Rei or Artemis and see if they're willing to delay the meeting." She poured some of the water into a cup to let it cool some, not wanting to afflict third-degree burns on her husband.
Ranma looked rather sullen. "I know, but I don't think they're gonna delay it just for us."
Akane grabbed the cup of hot water and splashed it onto Ranma. "Well, you'll never know until you try."
"Yeah, I guess." The now male Ranma grabbed a rag to dry his hair and the puddle on the ground. As soon as he was done, Akane grabbed his hand and began to dash out of the kitchen.
"Now come on! We're really going to be late for school now," she groaned as they rushed out the front door, into the warm outdoor air.
The walk to school, or that is to say, mad dash to school was uneventful. Nothing got between the pair's journey, which surprised Ranma. Even so, that lucky break would not be enough. By the time they reached the front gates, the school bell's loud ring announced that home-room had ended. Ranma and Akane never stopped, making their way to their first class as quickly as possible. As they ascended the stairs, Ranma considered just skipping his first class. It was math after all, and he hated math. Before he could think about it any further, Akane grabbed the door handle to the classroom and nearly ripped the door off of its slide.
As soon as the door opened, dozens of heads turned to stare at the couple. Akane noticed Usagi sitting in the blonde's usual spot. That was NOT a good sign. If Usagi got to school before you, you knew you were really late.
"Sorry we're late Mr. Inuchi! Ranma had an issue with our shower." Akane was panting as she tried to explain her excuse for being tardy. She may be fit, arguably super-human, but a non-stop multi-kilometer run at that speed was still somewhat taxing.
Soft chuckling and gossiping could be heard coming from some of the students in the classroom. They had a pretty good idea of what a "shower issue" implied for the cursed martial artist.
Mr. Inuchi cleared his throat, shushing any remaining mumbles from the back of the class. "Well Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, unless the shower head transformed into a demon and attacked you, I'm afraid your excuse is still just an excuse. Go stand in the hall." he said with a serious face as he pointed out the door the pair had just entered.
As the duo left the room, Mr. Inuchi thought he heard Ranma mumble something sounding like, "Like a shower demon would be any threat compared to all the other demons I've beaten." The teacher shook his head, then turned his attention back to his class.
After math ended, Ranma and Akane caught up with the others on their way back to their desks.
Usagi immediately began giggling after the two took their seats near her. "I can't believe you guys got here after me! Ranma maybe, but not you Akane."
"Well, I wouldn't have been late if it wasn't for 'Mister Can't Take a Cold Shower' over here," she said, pointing to her husband with her thumb.
Ranma quickly retorted. "Oh! Like it was really my fault 'Miss Takes All the Hot Water'! If you spent five less minutes in the shower, we wouldn't have had this problem in the first place!"
Ami decided to change the subject before the argument escalated any further then it already had, and what better way to derail a subject then making Usagi the focal point. "Well, I'm surprised you managed to stay awake the entire class today, Usagi," she said with a proud smile gracing her face.
Ami was trying her hardest to help all of her friends reach their full educational potential. With placement exams coming up in just a couple of months, the genius girl wanted to make sure that she, and all the others made it to the universities they wanted. She found that, while changing Usagi's lifestyle was nearly impossible, simply getting her to make it through classes awake worked wonders. So long as the double-pony-tailed girl stayed awake and wasn't distracted, she could absorb information quite well.
"Hey!" Usagi whined as she puffed up her face. "I don't fall asleep in class nearly as much anymore!"
Makoto chuckled. "Right! Now you only sleep through two out of three classes, instead of all three."
Everyone joined in the laughter except Usagi. They meant no harm by it, as they all cared for her very deeply. It was simply fun to poke at her before she became the queen that would rule over all of them.
"Guuuuuuys! It's not funny!" Usagi pouted.
Makoto wiped her eyes, which had watered from laughing. "Sorry. You're right, you've made some real progress since last year." She turned to face the rest of the group. "Anyhow, this is where I split off. I'll see y'all at third period."
The tall brunette made her way out of the classroom, towards where her morning culinary arts class awaited. At this point, nearly everyone in the school, both students and faculty, knew of Makoto's wondrous skills in the kitchen. After discovering that the girl's scores were above average, Mrs. Takamura, the school's culinary arts instructor, insisted to the school board that Makoto be allowed to attend the teacher's morning class as an aide and assistant. After much deliberation and argument, the board agreed. The promise of first dibs on whatever Ms. Kino ended up baking certainly helped them come to their decision.
After saying her farewells, Ami quickly followed Makoto's trail, heading to the school library for her tutoring sessions. Even with devoting so much time to being the Senshi of Mercury, Ami managed to get herself exempted from many of her senior year classes. While said classes were in session, she could be found in the library, either studying or helping others study. On some occasions, she would sit outside and work with Luna and Artemis on Senshi related subjects.
Minako also dismissed herself and left the room, making her way to the gym for the team's morning volleyball practice session. With the competitive season in full swing, the school's physical education and sports board insisted that their star team get as much practice in as possible; to the point of even excusing the players from some of their morning classes.
Sulking about their lack of exemptions from classes, the martial artist couple and Usagi made their way back to their desks for their second class, World History. It wasn't a subject that particularly interested the trio, but Luna strongly recommended that everyone pay attention in their history classes.
Over the years, the Senshi had gained more and more popularity on a wider level. During their initial battles, they mostly worked in the shadow of society, rarely garnering public attention. It was fitting to their title, Guardians, who worked to protect the world without the world even knowing it was in danger. However, as their adventures continued, they caught the eyes of the public. Fans and critics started appearing around Juuban. Eventually, as tales of their deeds continued to spread, they gained national fame. People all around the country knew who the Senshi were, and as such, the public transformed their images from that of warriors to something more like comic book super heroes. Within the past year, other nations began to acknowledge the existence of the magical beings. Luna believed it was only a matter of time before the Senshi would have to interact with countries other then Japan, and therefore, truly bring themselves into the eyes of the world. As such, she believed the best way to prepare was to study not only the workings of other nations, but their histories as well.
After what seemed like an eternity, the bell sounded, signaling the end of second period. Within a second of the teacher leaving the room, Ranma's eyelids collapsed. He had fought all throughout the class to stay awake, and finally, he could give way to his fatigue. Akane noticed her sleeping husband and felt both pity and humor knowing that his sleep would only last a few minutes before the next class began.
As Usagi and Akane mingled with their classmates, Ami, Minako, and Makoto returned to the room. The two girls immediately noticed the purple blotches all over the entering brunette. All three newcomers were smiling and in the middle of a discussion, which seemed to be about Makoto's new style.
"So, Mrs. Takamura started screaming 'No! No! Eiko! That's not vanilla extract!', but before she could do anything about it, the pie exploded!" Makoto let out a quick laugh, remembering the exact details in her mind. "The next thing we knew, we were all covered in pie filling."
"Sounds like something Usagi or Akane would do," Minako remarked with a big grin on her face. She purposely said it loud enough for the mentioned girls to hear.
"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?" exclaimed a duet of voices.
Minako's grin remained, "Oh, nothing." She placed her belongings on her desk and took her seat. Ami followed suit.
As Makoto placed her own bag on her desk, she noticed the pie filling stuck to her sleeves. "Well, I should go wash up. Ugh," she groaned as she touched the purple substance, "This is going to be hell to get out of this uniform."
Minako quickly jumped up from her seat, and ran over to her friend, "Let me join you! I didn't have a chance to stop for some water after practice, I'm parched."
As the blonde began to walk out of the classroom, she noticed the sleeping pigtailed boy. A devilish smirk appeared on her face. "I guess I'll grab some nice cold water for someone else too." With that, she followed Makoto out of the room to the nearest bathroom.
Ranma's pigtail twitched. His subconscious noticed the message. It kicked into overdrive to try to wake the rest of him up before the she-devil got back with the poison.
As the third-class bell sounded, a very grumpy, very female Ranma sat in her chair. Her hair was still dripping with the water which had not only just interrupted her sleep, but her manhood as well. As the teacher babbled on about some American author named Ernest Hemingway, Ranma could think of one thing, and one thing only. Sweet, sweet revenge.
After class ended, while she was packing up her belongings for lunch, Akane couldn't help but notice that Ranma was still glaring at Minako. "Looks like she really got to him this time," she thought to herself as she walked out of the room. As she walked down the hall towards the stair well, the day's events crossed her mind. A heated argument with her then-female husband regarding shower bills. Being forced to miss her first class because of said argument. Makoto being covered in pie filling. And now, Ranma most likely planning some sort of stupid revenge against Minako. It was only lunch time, and yet, the day seemed so bland. Compared to most days, today was one of the most boring Akane could remember in the Saotome's recent life. Just a... normal day in the life. Akane almost wished something exciting would happen.
With the barren realm's twin suns now at the peak of their journey, the dry earth below heated up to extreme temperatures. The many beings working on the strange construction showed obvious fatigue from the heat. Even so, they pressed on, eager to finish the monolithic object. The sooner they finished, the sooner they were able to hide from the blasted heat. This thought process seemed to grant some of them renewed vigor, and so, progress continued.
Upon a balcony adorning the side of the ebony citadel, the robed figure stood, still watching the work of those below. While the structure of the building offered a large amount of shade on the balcony, the dark metallic material did not help to alleviate the scalding temperature. Sweat adorned the woman's brow, but she payed it no attention. Her mind was set on much greater things. A new world to call home, billions of people to siphon life energy from, and of course, revenge. Revenge against those who had caused her harm in the past. Revenge against the blasted Senshi who brought her pain and suffering. Revenge against the harbinger of flames a million times hotter then the heat she was feeling now. Revenge against Sailor Sun.
"Pardon, Mistress," a voice came from within the building behind her.
"Approach," the robed woman replied.
A figure appeared in the doorway, immediately illuminated from the twin suns' light. In some ways, she appeared similar to the other woman, in others, not as much. Her form towered above that of her mistress, easily twice as tall as her. Her hair, reaching down to the small of her back, was an almost magenta color. Her stern, turquoise eyes stared into the horizon with the steely look of a veteran warrior. A black body-suit covered most of her granite-colored skin. The body-suit itself covered by a heavy silver plate armor, complete with shoulder guards as well as a cape that matched her hair. Finally, a massive sword rested, holstered on her back. The enormous being knelt before her mistress. Even lowering herself into this position, she was still as tall as her ruler.
Without turning to face her visitor, the robed woman asked, "What is it?". She continued to stare at the many workers, buzzing around like ants below her. "Do you have something to report?"
The kneeling warrior continued to stare at the ground. "Lead Engineer Moka has informed me that construction is proceeding ahead of schedule. In fact, the portal should be operational within the next couple of hours."
A sinister smile slowly crept onto the standing woman's face. The grin continued to grow until a mouth-full of fangs were visible. She finally turned to face her charge.
"Excellent! This is excellent news," the woman cackled. "With this new portal finally finished, we will be able to send dozens, no, hundreds of warriors through at once! There is no way the Senshi can stand before us now!"
The cackle escalated into full-on laughter. "Today, a new day dawns for our kind! Today, the Earth and its people belong to us! Today," she paused to regain her composure, "...Today, I will surpass both Beryl and Jadeite. I will succeed where both of them had failed."
"Tekokowa!" she called upon the prostrated servant. The armored warrior looked up at her mistress. "Assemble a shock troop of some of our finest warriors to spearhead the invasion. I want Tokyo under my control before the twin suns set. Am I understood?"
Tekokowa crossed her arm over her chest in salute, "Understood, Mistress." The soldier arose and left the robed woman alone.
She returned to face the edge of the balcony, watching the final touches be completed on the monolithic portal. Her smile never left her face as the portal's arches began to glisten with magical energies.
Author's Notes:
So here we go. Finally the story begins. Just a heads up: The story will be a little slow to get started, but hopefully it will all be worth it.
Another thing that I should mention is that Tekokowa is actually a character from the 'Sailor Ranko' webcomic. I really liked the design and idea behind her, so I decided to use her for this series. (I really hope that's okay!)
