Author's Note: Quick note here before we dive into chapter four. Timeframe for the story. For Ranma after the failed wedding and Nodoka's house is messed up by Ukyo and Shampoo. For Sailor Moon it takes place after the series and before Usagi and Mamoru marry. Will Ranma transform into an armored warrior or Sailor Terra? I'm leaning towards the first but don't rule out the suggestion of the second coming up when the curse is found out. Ranma and Akane? For now yes but at the moment I'm at the very least putting them on better terms as friends first. Character driven? To a degree. I don't want it to be a heavy piece like Empire of the Sun, an older story sitting in my list of favorite stories on .
Do I own any of this? Just the plot of the story and maybe any non-canon baddies that arise. The honor of coming up with the wacky cast of Ranma and one of the defining mahou shojo series of the Nineties go to Rumiko Takahashi and Naoko Takeuchi. They own the characters. I'm just tossing them together like a Portillo's chopped salad. That said, keep reading; keep enjoying; and I challenge you to plug the song Mother Nature's Son into Pandora and see what comes up.
The residents of Azabu-Juban were very grateful the day the Azabu-Juban station opened along both the Tokyo Metro Namboku and Toei Ōedo lines. It meant not having to take a bus to the Roppongi station to get anywhere on the Tokyo Metro and Toei Ōedo lines. It also meant that Azabu-Juban was connected to Nerima by way of an underground transfer and a weird sideways six shaped hooking loop. It was that line and that platform where Ranma Saotome would be introduced to the world in which Mamoru Chiba now resided.
Summer in Tokyo meant students from kindergarten to fourth year university and college would have two months between new term semesters to relax, unwind, and spend time with family and friends. For average everyday high school students throughout Tokyo it meant going over to friends' houses, playing video games, shopping, hanging out at neighborhood eateries, and attending festivals. However, the girls standing on the subway platform with the overly nervous university student were far from the average everyday high school students.
Usagi Tsukino and her four best friends in the world had seen death and survived several times before the end of their first year of high school. Their adventures together protecting the people of Tokyo from energy sapping demons from their past, a futuristic kingdom with a grudge, a dark demonic circus, rouge royalty, rouge planetary soldiers, and the embodiment of evil itself turned five strangers into the best of friends. Their adventures had also brought together two perfect soul mates.
The five girls helped each other through the major hurdles in their lives. From first dates to getting into high school Usagi and her friends had supported one another through it all. Now they turned their attention to helping the lone male in their group. Their focus was going to be placed on Mamoru's guest for the summer, his foster mother's son a boy named Ranma.
"I feel so bad for him. From what the family he's been staying with have told me, his parents have been fighting constantly. Apparently, daily fights are pretty common in their neighborhood in Nerima but that's usually the odd martial arts challenge not someone's father almost taking the backside of his hand to his wife's face when she barely has any martial arts training," Mamoru commented to the girls with a sigh.
Usagi and Minako could not imagine anyone's parents constantly fighting day in and day out. Sure their parents argued but that was over minor things and they usually made up afterwards. Every couple had their arguments, even Usagi and Mamoru. According to Usagi's mother, Ikkoku, the occasional argument between couples was healthy as long as they communicated with each other to settle their differences. However, what Ranma's parents were doing was definitely not healthy.
It was Ami who understood what Ranma was going through. Divorce was taboo in Japan and usually seen as a slight to the honor of a married couple. While her parents loved each other and thought they were ready for marriage, they could not handle what being married had to bring. Her mother's schedule at the hospital coupled with her father's graphic arts job at the time had put a great strain on their marriage. They had tried all they could to fix their marriage through counseling and help from their families but in the end instead of remaining married for the sake of their honor they divorced for the sake of their daughter. The day her father moved out of their condominium was the last day Ami had ever seen her father.
"All that arguing and fighting all the time. I don't know how anyone could stay in good spirits with it going on," Minako remarked.
"It's his dad's friend and his daughters I feel bad for. They took in Nodoka-san and her family while her house is under repair and they're the ones that have to deal with the fighting," Mamoru added recalling what Nabiki had told him the last time he called the Tendo home.
The girls tried not to dwell on the domestic problems between Ranma's parents and decided to focus on how they were going to spend their summer with him. As far as they knew, Ranma was the average teen who was into martial arts. What they did not know was that the last fourteen years of his life were devoted to nothing but martial arts. Ranma did not know how to be a normal teenager.
Oh Brother!
Part Four: My Not So Peaceful Summer
Ranma sighed as he adjusted the rather large pack on his back. If Genma had his way the pair would be hiking through the Yamanashi Prefecture in the Chubu Region on their way to a mountain village to train for the summer. However, Soun had convinced his friend and training partner to let Ranma move to the Azabu-Juban district in the Minato ward for the summer. There was no saying no when Soun Tendo threatened to unleash his demon head. And so, Ranma found himself that morning on the Toei Ōedo subway line, freshly made box of daifuku from Kasumi in hand, making the fourteen mile trip from Nerima to Azabu-Juban.
Leave it to Kasumi to think a box of homemade daifuku would be the perfect icebreaker with Mamoru-san. She wanted him to be on good terms with the university student. He was not at fault for what happened when he was a child Kasumi had reminded him. Besides, as Kasumi told him the day before, there was the very good possibility that his mother might have Ranma transfer schools before the new term began. That thought in itself was both comforting and worrisome to Ranma.
The soft sing song ding dong bell drew Ranma's attention to the electronic sign above the doors of the subway car as an automated overly cheerful female voice announced the station, "Azabu-Juban station next stop Akabanebashi station. Mind the gap. Mind the gap."
Letting out a held breath Ranma followed the throngs of office workers, embassy officials, and shoppers out of the subway car before it closed. "Well, it's now or never," Ranma commented to himself as he waited for the crowd to thin out.
"Do you see him?" Ami asked the taller Makoto when the crowd exited the subway car.
Makoto, with her hand shielding her eyes as though it would help her see better, scanned the crowd as she responded to Ami's inquiry, "There's too many people."
There were too many people indeed. It was the perfect recipe for confusion and chaos. It was the perfect environment for someone or something to attack in the busy crowd. If the station were Iidabashi the attacker would have been the typical street gang member or thug with a switchblade or baseball bat. If the station were Nerima then the attacker would have been a martial artist with a grudge practicing a very strange art. However, the station happened to be in Azabu-Juban the monster and demon capital of Tokyo. What attacked the crowd at the subway station was not human.
The creature stood eight feet in height and had luminescent scales covering its body that shimmered like the wings of a dragonfly. The creature appeared humanoid in basic body structure but had two insect like antenna sprouting from the crop of dark sea green hair on top of its head. The eyes of the creature, oval in shape and larger than a normal human's, appeared to change color with each turn of its head. In the middle of its forehead was a large black gemlike crystal. The loud guttural roar from the monster sent what was left of the crowd in the subway into a panic.
"This is just great," Makoto and Ranma commented at the same time from their separate locations within the subway station.
"We need to find someplace to transform," Minako added.
Rei took a quick assessment of their current situation finding no safe way to get through the crowd to station's public washrooms, "In this mass panic? I don't think that's going to be very easy."
"What is that thing?" Mamoru wondered.
Ami, already scanning the creature with her microcomputer, gave a quick analysis of it, "It appears to be something related to the Daimon but not quite. Whatever it is, this creature is fast and strong."
Usagi let out a sigh resigning herself to the fact that they had no choice but to transform where they stood, "We don't have any choice then I guess."
The girls were about to transform when Makoto noticed someone rushing the creature, "Uh guys, I think someone else is dealing with that monster."
"Ranma," Mamoru questioned in disbelief at what he was seeing.
It was just great indeed. No sooner had Ranma began scanning the crowd for signs of Mamoru and the friends and fiancé he wanted him to meet a strange eight foot tall monster began attacking the remaining crowd. Throwing down his pack next to a nearby pillar, Ranma rushed the strange creature using every bit of martial arts skill he possessed. The words of Nabiki, from the night before, were fresh on his mind as Ranma made his first move and assaulted the creature with a Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken.
"Ranma you do realize Mamoru-san lives in the monster capital of Tokyo. People have been reporting a whole number of strange creatures there for the last three years," Nabiki had told him.
"Listen whatever you are," Ranma said as he leapt into the air to place a roundhouse kick to the creature's head, "I wanted a quiet summer not all this craziness in my life again."
The creature attacked back extending the nails upon its fingers into deadly claw-like weapons and used them to slash at Ranma. Ranma barely avoided the frenzied hacks and slashes as they made contact with his red Chinese shirt tearing a small hole into the sleeve.
"Hey! This is my favorite shirt," Ranma yelled at the monster as he began to focus his chi.
From her spot on the subway platform Rei could feel the increase in Ranma's chi levels as her naturally honed danger sense kicked in. Years of living at her grandfather's temple had taught Rei how to feel the chi around her and read what emotions were locked within it for purposes of meditation, fortunetelling, and spiritual guidance. The amount of sheer confidence Rei felt coming off of Ranma was incredible. The golden glow making its way down to his leg was absolutely amazing.
"No way, he's figured out how to physically manifest his chi," Rei remarked visibly awestruck.
"Eat Ryusekyaku creep," Ranma announced as he leapt up and kicked the monster in the head with his chi enhanced leg.
Mamoru and the girls winced as they heard the sickening snap of the monster's neck. The head of the creature had twisted around to face behind it. Just when the girls thought the creature was done for they heard another sickening snap as it turned its head back into its original position. The sound was more than enough to make a few of the more squeamish members of the group nearly throw up their lunch.
"Okay that was sick and gross," Minako commented as they watched Ranma send a roundhouse kick to the creature's chin followed by a quick kick to its gut.
The monster went flying into the wall with a loud crunching thud as it slid down to the concrete floor of the subway platform. The moment its bottom hit the floor, the monster stood up and began focusing its energy; the black crystal on its forehead glowing. As Ami continued to monitor the monster from the stunned sidelines, its scales flashed as the monster sent a blast of energy towards Ranma.
Ranma was barely able to dodge the blast from the monster receiving another hit to the air. Wincing in pain from the slight burn that formed on his arm, Ranma quickly rolled out of the way as the monster attempted a second energy blast. Jumping to his feet Ranma began focusing his chi once more. Ranma knew he had to put an end to the creature and a well-placed Mōko Takabisha would be more than sufficient to get the job done.
"Okay that one hurt ya oversized lizard reject. It's time to end this little fight because I have people to meet and places to go. Mōko Takabisha!" Ranma said before attacking the monster with his chi attack.
The chi blast struck the monster square in the head sending it back towards the wall it had crashed into. The moment the creature hit the wall the black crystal in the monster's forehead split in two. Without the crystal in its forehead the creature disintegrated into a pile of organic dust. Worn from the attack and the resulting fight Ranma stood in his final position clutching his burnt arm breathing heavily.
Stunned and in shock by what they had witnessed the girls stood on the subway platform wide eyed not saying a word. Ami was quickly typing on her microcomputer trying to figure out what it was that had attacked the crowd on the subway platform. Makoto was in awe of the martial arts skill she saw the young man identified as Ranma display. Rei kept wondering just how Ranma was able to physically manifest his chi and if he could teach her the same. Minako had but one thought running through her head, he's cute.
After grabbing his pack, and the box of daifuku that were somehow still intact, Ranma turned to face the only other people left on the subway platform, Mamoru-san and his group of friends. "Sorry about that," Ranma apologized with a goofy grin and a slight nervous chuckle as though he was at fault for the fight.
"Wow, I had some idea you were good but I didn't know you were that good," Mamoru remarked still in awe over the display of martial arts skill Ranma had demonstrated.
With the slight boost to his ego Ranma straightened his stance and flashed Mamoru and his friends an overly confident smile. "I told you I was the best around," Ranma boasted.
Mamoru chuckled slightly at the confident boasting as he shook his head. Without wasting any time Mamoru began introducing Ranma to Usagi and the girls each one giving him a nod of the head as their name was mentioned. "Ranma, I'd like you to meet five of the closest friends any guy could ever ask for. This is my fiancé Usagi Tsukino, the girl genius Ami Mizuno, the Shinto priestess Rei Hino, the fiercely independent Makoto Kino, and the hopeless romantic Minako Aino. Girls, this is Ranma Saotome."
Ever willing to make a new friend, Usagi grabbed Ranma's hand for a western styled greeting and welcomed him to Azabu-Juban, "Ranma welcome to Azabu-Juban. I hope you'll enjoy your summer here with us."
The crystal clear pool reflected the tiny bit of light in the dark cavernous room like a mirror. The figure standing before it watched as the young man defeated the reptilian scaled creature. A sneer fell across the figure's face over the first of its creatures defeated by a human boy. The idea that a mere human could defeat one of its mighty creations infuriated the figure. There had been only one time when humans dared to fight the figure's army of monstrous creations and loyal followers, when the figure fell to the sons of Endymion.
"So the sons of Endymion are alive. This time mighty princes of the golden field and protectors over the landlings you will die at the hands of my great army. The realm of the landlings shall be mine by right," the figure said as a golden brown wing fluttered in the pool's light.