Disclaimer: Ranma ½ doesn't belong to me, as you all know. It

belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Likewise, Sailor Moon belongs to

Takeuchi Naoko. Thus, I don't own any of the characters in this

story.

Chapter 3: Bad Timing

Ranma sighed as he looked towards Juuban from the top of an

overhanging cliff. It'd been a long journey taken at a quick pace,

leaving himself exhausted, but he was finally here. In a few moments

he'd be able to see his mother again. It was hard to imagine staying

in one place, though. "Kind of ironic.", he thought. "I finally get

something I've dreamed about for so many years and I'm already having

regrets."

Xian Pu looked over his shoulder. "So, that is home?."

"Yeah, Xian. Another hour, or so, and we'll be in front of

my mom's house."

"Ah, is good news. Xian Pu need...", Xian Pu started, but

was cut off by a poke in the ribs. "What...I mean is, I need some

time to rest. You have pushed...very hard."

"Well, we better get going. Ma should have received the

post card I sent. She won't expect us 'til tomorrow, but I thought

I'd surprise her.", he said with a smirk on his face. And with that,

they set off towards home.

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

"I can't believe I'll finally be able to see Ranma again.",

Nodoka Saotome thought to herself while she walked home from the

grocery store, a smile on her face. "I'll have to start cooking

tonight so we can have a proper feast when he arrives. Kind of

funny that he sent the postcard instead of Genma, though. Then

again, Genma never was one for responsibility. I hope none of that

rubbed off on Ranma." Her face started to darken slightly as she

pondered that line of thought.

She unlocked the door to her home and stepped inside. "It's

always the same. So old and empty. It feels more like a museum then

a home, but that'll change.", she thought with a with a soft smile.

She instantly headed for the kitchen, dropping off the

groceries, then went upstairs to her room. She changed out of her

kimono and got into some jeans and a t-shirt. No sense in getting

her good clothes dirty with all of the all of the preparations she'll

be making, after all.

She went back to the kitchen and put on some classical music

from a portable radio she used whenever she needed to spend a lot of

time in the kitchen. "Tomorrow's feast will be unlike any I've ever

made before.", she vowed as she put on her apron. "Nothing is to

good for my son."

She had it all planned out. She would make a combination of

the best Japanese and Chinese dishes she knew, in honor of his return

from China. After all, knowing Genma, he probably didn't get to eat

very much while he was there. When Genma was around food seemed to

magically disappear.

Lulled into complacency with the combination of the music and

preparations for Ranma, Saotome Nodoka didn't hear the distant

crashes as they drew closer.

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

Sailor Moon paused in her roof hopping and drew out her

communicator. She sighed as she noted that a youma's portal was

starting to open up in southern Juuban. Why couldn't they allow her

to have a single day to rest?

She pressed the button on her headset. "Police Headquarters,

this is Sailor Moon, come in."

"Sailor Moon, this is Police HQ, go ahead."

"We have a youma portal opening at Akasaku district, lot 203.

Request evacuation of all possible citizens, and that a barricade be

put up.", she said as she set off towards the most recent attack.

The nearest Senshi was at least 10 minutes from the site, and she was

a good 20 minutes or so. She frowned as she thought about the damage

the youma could do before they got there.

"Roger, Sailor Moon. A barricade will be set up ¼ mile around

Akasaku district, lot 203. We'll do what we can to evacuate the

citizens. Good luck."

She didn't respond, putting all of her effort into getting

there. Her legs ached as she pushed them to their limits. Why was

it that all her powers seemed so useless? It'd help if she could

find a way to transport herself more rapidly. Why couldn't she have

the ability to fly, or something like that?

She was able to arrive at the site within 15 minutes, thanks

to pushing herself, but the monster wasn't there. 'Luckily', it left

a nice, wide trail for her to follow, as well as plenty of noise.

She followed the demolished houses and cars for a couple

blocks, and was able to see Sailors Venus and Mercury fighting a

creature that seemed to come from a bulldozer. Great, just what she

needed.

"Sailors, tri-point formation", she shouted as she joined the

fight. It was going to be another long day.

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

Ranma found himself confronted by a road block and a police

guard when he was within several blocks of his mother's house. He

tried to go a different way, but every street he came to was likewise

blocked. After about five min. of this he got a bit fed up.

"Hey, let me through! I have to get home."

"Listen, kid, you're not going anywhere. I'm not allowed to

let anyone enter."

"Whaddya mean, I can't enter? What's going on in there?!"

"You have to be kidding me, right? What do you think it's

about? Hmmph. The city's been under attack for over a month now

and... Hey!! You can't enter. It's too dangerous.", the policeman

yelled, while trying to grab Ranma's leg as he jumped ten feet above

the barricade.

"Xian Pu sorry about this.", Xian Pu muttered, bowing to the

policeman. "Have to find Revered One's mother. Have no time." Xian

Pu followed Ranma's lead by leaping over the policeman. Why did it

seem like she was always trailing so far behind Ranma?

Ranma ended up stopping fairly quickly. It seemed like the

logical thing to do, with the scene in front of him. There were four

girls in rather skimpy sailor outfits that seemed to be fighting

a...bulldozer? Not only that, but they were doing it right in front

of his mother's house. This was not the homecoming he was expecting.

"Hey, ugly. Need someone to fight? Try me on for size.",

Ranma said, getting into a ready stance.

The bulldozer ignored him, in favor of continuing to attack

the girls, who kept hurling something at it? "Could that be ki?",

Ranma thought to himself. He'd have time to check that out later.

He got ready to attack the monster, when he caught a movement out of

the corner of his eye.

Ranma turned around to see what could only be his mother in

the doorway. What were the police thinking? Why didn't they clear

everyone out?! Ranma started to run towards his mother, when he was

passed up by a figure flying backwards at an incredible rate. With

horror Ranma watched as the figure in red plunged into the side of

the house, collapsing part of the roof on his mother.

"Noooo!!", Ranma screamed, running towards his mother as fast

as he could. Why?! Why the hell did these things keep happening to

him.

Ranma used his kachu tenchin amagurikan to clear away the

rubble as fast as he could. However, her figure just lay there,

still and pale. He ignored the background noises of the fight as he

checked for breathing and a pulse. Tears started to stream down his

face as he performed CPR.

In, in, out. In, in, out. In, in, out. Why wasn't it

working? In, in, out. He was doing it just like he was shown. In,

in, out. If his mother didn't survive... In, in, out. No, he

wouldn't go there. She had to survive. She WOULD survive.

A golden aura started to surround him as he continued his

administrations. It started quite softly, first surrounding him,

then slowly creeping over to surround Nodoka as well. As the aura

gained intensity, Nodoka's complexion grew better. After a couple

more minutes Nodoka Saotome coughed weakly and started to breathe on

her own.

Ranma cried as hugged his mother to him. Unnoticed to him,

the battle had stopped. All that mattered was his mother. She was

alive!!!

Ranma felt a weight on his shoulder and turned around to see

one of the girls, the one with a blue skirt and red bow, had a hand

on his shoulder. "Get your hand offa me!", he shouted, batting the

girls hand to the side as he gently laid his mother back onto the

ground. His face red with the rage he felt he lashed out at her.

"This is your fault. You shouldn't participate in fights you can't

handle. Thanks to you my Mom almost got killed!!".

Sailor Moon's face fell, looking as if he had struck her.

"I'm sorry, I...".

"Just where do you get off, talking to us like that?!",

Sailor Mars self-righteously exclaimed. "Here we are, sacrificing

everything we have, in order to protect this city, and this is what

we get?"

"Hmmph. Some protection. You couldn't even protect the ONE

innocent that was left in the area!"

"Listen, you ungrateful little..."

"That's enough, Sailor Mars.", Sailor Moon said quietly, an

ashen look upon her face.

"But..."

"No, this is not the time or the place.", Sailor Moon stated,

turned back towards Ranma and bowed to him. "I'm sorry about what

happened to your mother.", she said while a tear rolled down her

cheek. "More sorry than you'll ever know...". She jerked around and

fled at a speed Ranma would have found awfully hard pressed to keep

up with.

The rest of the senshi gave him one last look then ran off

after their leader. Why was it that Ranma felt so bad about what he

said? It was all true. Oh well, he didn't have time to think about

that right now. He needed to get his mother to a hospital ASAP.

With that, Ranma gently lifted his mother up and started

walking in the direction of a hospital he'd passed while coming here.

Ranma sighed. It not only turned out to be a long day, but was

looking to be an even longer night.

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

*10 hours later*

Ranma sat bolt upright as the doctor gently shook him awake.

"Mr. Saotome, you're mother just woke up. She insists on

talking with you right away."

"Thanks, Doc. I appreciate all that you've done."

"Don't mention it.", he responded with a smile on his face.

"She wasn't that badly hurt in the first place. A little rest and

she'll be fine."

Ranma hopped to his feet and bowed to the Doctor, who bowed

in return, and left for what he could only assume was another needy

patient.

Ranma looked at the girl that had been sleeping by his side.

He contemplated waking Xian up, but thought better of it. She looked

so peaceful, smiling while she had her head placed on the back of her

arm. He knew that she really needed the rest and he wanted to have

some time alone with his mother anyway.

He proceeded towards his mother's room, knowing the route by

heart thanks to sitting by her side for several hours before he

retired to the waiting room. It was a small walk, and site that

greeted him upon his arrival left him momentarily speechless.

"Ranma", Nodoka whispered as she looked at her son for the

first time.

"Mom.", Ranma said, rushing to his mothers side, and gently

hugging her. It felt so good this time, not having to worry about

her health. This was exactly how he'd envisioned it feeling. So

peaceful. So comfortable.

"Shhh...it's alright. I'm fine. That monster didn't hurt

me."

This caused an Ranma to instantly bolt upright. "Monster,

nothing. Those girls caused this. It's thanks to them you're here."

Nodoka gazed at him with sadness showing in her eyes. "I'm

disappointed in you Ranma. What would make you think that?".

"Well, it was that red skirted girls' fault, wasn't it?

She's the one that crashed into the house, and caused this."

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot. After all, I'm sure she enjoyed

being thrown into the building. In fact, I'm sure that she feels

much better now that she hit it with enough force to make it fall

down."

"You don't understand, Ma. If you can't control a fight you

shouldn't be fightin'. I almost lost ya because of them! I almost

lost you as soon as I found ya."

"I appreciate the sentiment, son, but you're wrong.", she

said as she his hair with her hand. "Who do you expect to fight

those monsters? After all, did you get a good look at it?".

"Well, yeah, it did look tough, but I'm sure there are better

people than them."

"Name one.", she challenged. "Bullets don't have any effect

at all, and explosives barely scratch those things."

"Well, me for starters.", Ranma mumbled.

"You will stop that at once.", Nodoka stated with some iron

showing up in her voice. "It's thanks to those girls that this city

hasn't been completely taken over as of yet. Did you know that they

patrol this city both day and night looking for the newest monsters

to come up? Do you have any idea how much they sacrifice?"

Ranma gazed at his mother steadily. He was quite

knowledgeable in the area of sacrifice, but decided it might be

better left unsaid. He didn't want to ruin things any more than he

already had.

"Okay, Ma. I still can't say that I approve of the whole

situation, but I'll forgive them if it means so much to ya."

"Thanks, Ran-chan."

"Ah, man, not you too."

"Eh? What's this? Someone else calling you Ran-chan?"

Ranma coughed and turned his head to the side. He'd almost

let the secret about the curse out, telling her about the nickname

Xian used to kid him about his curse with. Time for some quick

thinking. "Ummm...yeah. There's a girl named Xian Pu that came with

me that sometimes calls me that."

Nodoka's eye's lit up at this statement and she interrupted

him before he could go any further. "I see. Well, since I have to

spend the night here we have quite a bit of time for you to tell me

all about her and the rest of your trip."

A smile lit Ranma's face as he sat back down in the chair

beside his mothers' bed.

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

Usagi woke up even more groggy and bleary eyed than usual.

She wasn't able to get a good night's sleep after her last fight.

She could still see that boy's haunting eyes. Blue and accusing, and

he was right. They had hurt an innocent with their ineptitude.

She just laid there in bed, her head pressed against her

pillow, as tears overtook her once again. Maybe he was right. Maybe

they weren't good enough to be Protectors of Love, Warriors of Justice.

"What's wrong, Usagi?", Luna asked, hopping onto the bed.

She was rather worried about her charge. She acted differently than

she normally did lately. For some reason, Luna wished that she would

start acting a little bit more like the Usagi she knew, and a little

bit less like the princess she was.

"That boy...di..did you see that boy's eyes? Did yo...you

see...e the pain? And it was all...it was all our fault."

Luna nuzzled face, trying to comfort her. "It's not your

fault, Usagi. You can't do everything. Despite your powers, you're

still only human. You've protected thousands of lives!! You should

be proud of yourself for what you've done."

Usagi knew that she was right, but couldn't get past those

eyes. Those terrible blue eyes.

Luna sighed, noticing that her administrations weren't doing

that much good. "If you feel that bad, you can use some of your time

constructively before you go out for your patrol."

This brought Usagi up short, and she turned to her guardian.

"What do you mean? What can I do?".

"If I recall correctly, that boy's house wasn't looking too

good after the fight. You might not know anything about construction,

but you could clear away the debris for them. Plus, you should be able

to pick up the larger pieces while you're in your Senshi form."

Usagi's face brightened as realization dawned on her. She

hugged Luna to her as she thought more and more about it. "Thanks,

Luna. That's a wonderful idea.".

Luna proved, once again, that cat's can blush when properly

inspired. "Well, let's get going. We have a full night ahead of

us.", she said, crawling into her bag/ carrying case.

"Just one sec, Luna. I have to make a call before we

leave.", she said, running for the phone. A quick push of the speed

dial and she got just who she was looking for.

"Hello?", a weary voice answered.

"Hey, Ami. Sorry for waking you up, but do you still have a

list of businesses that are willing to help out the Senshi?"

"Well, yes. Why?"

"Okay, here's what I need..."

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

Ranma smiled as he walked next to his mother, while Xian Pu

pushed her wheel chair towards the exit of the Hospital. She still

had quite a few bruises & cuts here and there, but looked quite a bit

better than yesterday.

"So, Ma. How 'bout I whip up something special for ya when

we get back?"

Nodoka smirked to herself as she answered her son. She

wasn't able to finish her preparations, but was able to get most of

the cooking done. "Oh, really? That's all right, Ran-chan, I'm sure

I'll manage. I would appreciate it if you could help out with the

patio, though. I'm afraid we don't have enough money to get someone

else to do it."

Ranma's face darkened at this. He knew it wasn't the Senshi's

fault, especially after talking to his mom and seeing some of the

news pieces on them, but that still didn't change what happened.

Someone was going to pay.

His thoughts were interrupted as they came to the front gate,

where a taxi was waiting for them.

A short ride later and they found themselves confronted by an

astonishing site. In front of their house was a news crew and a

small crowd. On top of that, it seemed like somebody was working on

the front of the house.

Getting out from the taxi, Ranma went to the other side as

the doors for Xian Pu and his mother opened, so he could walk beside

them. As they got out most of the crowd turned their gaze towards

them.

The crowd opened up a path for them as they moved towards the

house, but the reporter made a grab for Ranma. "So, young man, what

are your thoughts about what the Senshi have done for you and your

family?"

"Huhhh?"

The reporters left eye started to twitch slightly as she dove

into an explanation. "The Sailor Senshi are the one's that are

responsible for the reconstruction of you home. I was wondering what

you thought of that?"

"Oh.", Ranma said while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, I think it's...umm...great. Is this going to be shown on TV?",

he asked, turning towards the reporter.

"That's right."

"I was wonderin' if you would let me tell the Senshi

something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"I just wanted to apologize for some things I said to them,

especially that blue skirted one. I know it wasn't your fault, and

I'll do everythin' I can to help ya.", he said, bowing to the camera.

"And there you have it, folks. It looks as if the Sailor

Senshi are able to do more than just conquer against the visible foe.

This is Sakura Shimazu signing out."

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

Usagi smiled to herself as she went to sleep that night.

She hadn't defeated any youma that day, but she felt she'd won a much

more important battle.

Little did she know how right she was.

End of Chapter 3

Authors Notes: I finally have a web site up. Yay!!! If you want

any previous chapters you can go to

http://www.geocities.com/asgeras@prodigy.net/index.html

It's only a temporary setup, but will suffice for now.

I hope you enjoyed it. There wasn't too much fighting in it, since I

suck at fight scenes. Please tell me if you think it was better or

worse for their lack. Also, since I'll have a pretty big fight scene

coming up in 2-3 chapters, I was wondering if anybody could lead me

to a site that could help me out with them. If so, I would greatly

appreciate it.

As always, feel free to email me about likes, dislikes, or any

questions you might have.

Asgeras

asgeras@hotmail.com

http://asgeras.anifics.com