Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and it's characters are the product and property of Rumiko Takahashi and viz video.
The Juuban Incident
Chapter Six
By Michael Fetter
"SAOTOME RANMA! PREPARE TO DIE!!"
The shadow descended from the rooftops with the sun behind it. They held something large in their hands and had it pointed at Mamoru's head.
Smirking, Ranma-chan looked to the sky for her challenger, only slightly disappointed they had mistaken her for the pervert, Mamoru.
"Mamoru!" Akane tried to catch him before it was too late, but her speed was lacking, an oversight in her training.
Ranma did make it, however. With one arm she grabbed Mamoru by the shirt and tossed him out of the way, landing against a nearby wall with a thud. He was stunned a bit, but nothing she hadn't done to him before. Ranma was surprised to see her foot dig into the cement as she absorbed the impact of the blunt weapon with her upraised hand. The cement splintered, crumbling beneath her.
The boy on the other end of the heavy bamboo umbrella suddenly slid down the pole of the umbrella and collapsed onto the ground face first. Obviously he hadn't been expecting to be stopped in mid-air.
Ranma tossed the umbrella aside, listening to the ground crack where it hit, and watched the challenger slowly pull his face off the ground. "What the hell do you think you're doing, moron?!"
She narrowed her eyes and watched him shake off the surprise. He had a solid build, definitely broader than Mamoru, muscles straining his clothes in places. Ranma caught the sight of fangs as he spat out some of the dirt in his mouth. He finally blinked and looked up at her, anger quickly fading away to surprise on his face. "Hurting him would have been a real stupid move," Ranma growled, indicating the shaken Mamoru against the wall.
"Ranma?" Mamoru was taken aback by the authority and warning in the redhead's voice.
"Can't you tell he's just a weak pathetic pervert?" Ranma continued to growl at the fanged boy.
Ami pat Mamoru on the arm, looking away from what she took to be an insanely heavy umbrella that had nearly crushed her foot when Ranma tossed it aside. "She really doesn't think much of you, does she Mamoru?"
Mamoru deflated in exasperation. He was never going to understand women. Why was Ranma-chan such a jerk?
Studying the challenger carefully, Ranma decided he would make a fair challenge with some more training. His strength was definitely impressive. Her elbow hurt from supporting the weight of the half-ton umbrella, but the ki she'd played with had helped immensely. He was maybe a foot taller than she was, unkept hair was held back by a bandanna around his forehead. A yellow shirt was worn through in places, cut off at the shoulders. His brown pants were tied off at the lower leg for travel through forests. He reminded her somewhat of herself, her old self.
The boy's mouth opened and closed a number of times before he swallowed and just sat there staring at her. "I . . uh, I'm, uh, well . . y'know, I uh . ."
Snorting, Ranma turned away to continue on her way. He was not much like her old self at all, she supposed. So much for hoping a distraction would get her out of going to the mall. "Baka."
The rest had watched in silence. Akane was bent over the umbrella, straining with her arms to attempt to move it. Haruka had seen and had attempted himself. Haruka moved it an inch further than Akane had, but he complained of sore shoulders the rest of the day.
"Wait!" The boy suddenly called out.
Ranma turned around and waited. "Yeah, what now?"
His face flushed and he looked to the ground. "Uh, what's your name?"
"Saotome Ranma," she said.
The boy nodded as the group of girls and two boys left the area. He was still there an hour later with his umbrella in his arms sitting against the wall, staring at the spot where Ranma's foot had broken through the sidewalk. "Saotome Ranma," he repeated finally, listening to the way the name rolled off his tongue.
~
The mall was like a whole new world. People were friendlier, talkative, and they had the time to pause and look around. On the outside, there was work to head to and there was no time to talk. Most cultures were becoming standoffish and Ranma personally didn't like it. She'd been on the road with just her father so long that friends were hard to come by. Someone nice to talk too was just as hard. Surprising considering how many guys did try to talk to her.
"So Ranma, I'm told you're a martial artist." Haruka stated as he, Ukyou, Mamoru, and Ranma waited for the girls to finish inside a dress shop.
"I've trained some." Ranma was all too familiar with this and decided a long time ago that it wasn't worth the effort to explain how great the martial arts were. For a time she believed they were her whole life, then Jusenkyou happened. You only appreciate something the most when it is gone.
Frowning, Ranma turned to look at the dress shop. No way she would be caught dead in there. She'd made compromises already for the cursed body, the underwear and monthlies, but that was all she would allow. It still irritated her that she hadn't been able to get a boy's uniform back in Juuban.
"It shows." Haruka turned up his lip a bit at the redhead. "You have a certain grace that belies your skill."
Rolling her eyes, Ranma fixed her gaze away from the blonde boy. This was all she needed, another boy telling her how pretty she was or some shit like that.
Sliding closer, Haruka leaned up against the fountain wall beside Ranma. "What style do you practice?"
Closing out the voice, Ranma thought back to the boy she'd met on the street. He seemed so familiar to her. Maybe she should have asked his name, but then it would have looked like she was interested in the moron. There was no way she was going to fall, or even pretend to fall, for some guy just because she looked like a girl now. She was born a guy and she would live as a guy. It didn't matter what signal her body was giving her towards Mamoru. The damn tugging sensation had returned when she used a bit of ki to ward off the boy's umbrella attack.
Her frown deepening, Ranma brooded over that last thought for a while. Haruka still sat beside her attempting a conversation. By now Haruka's annoyance had attracted more attention from Ukyou and Mamoru. Becoming disgusted with the whole event, Ranma grabbed Ukyou's hand and dragged her friend further down the mall. Let the girls wait outside the Chinese shop if they wanted; she was bored.
Ukyou turned away from Haruka's look of surprise and to the redhead dragging her down the mall to a different clothing store. Mamoru had seemed unsure of what to do and so just stood there a moment, looking between the dress shop, Haruka, and then Ranma. Finding a pace with the stomping girl, Ukyou cleared her throat and followed Ranma-chan inside the shop. "So, what are we doing in here?"
The shop had one old woman tending the register in all of the clutter. Apparently, not many people actually frequented the place. Most of it was clothing, but in the back there were various Chinese affects: medallions, charms, necklaces, and some other little odds and ends piled into wooden bowls or hanging off of racks.
Ukyou smiled at the old woman that acknowledged her and continued to let herself be guided by her friend. It was odd how things changed in a few days. Before she'd just been hunting Ranma down because she thought he was a he, but he wasn't. He was a she, or looked like one anyway. Genma was her second target, but the coward kept running when she got close. Ten years obviously wasn't enough to beat the old bastard.
"There." Ranma pulled down some of her favorites. She'd been missing her regular clothes since the last of her Chinese shirts and pants were ruined by the Sailor Snots. There would be hell to pay the next time they showed their faces. Because of them she'd been going around in girlie clothing for the past two days!
Something soft was draped over Ukyou's arm and she looked down at the article. It was a white Chinese shirt with frog clips. "What's this?"
"Try it on." Ranma smiled at her. "This place is cheap so if you like it, I'll buy it for ya."
"You don't need to buy me anything, Ranchan." It was nice off Ranma to offer, but Ukyou knew how strained for cash the redhead was. "Besides, I like my chef outfits."
Ranma took the shirt back with a sigh and went through the rack in front of them.
Glancing around, "Hey, sugar, why don't you look through the Chinese dresses? They'd look a lot better on you than those big shirts."
Don't get angry, Ranma told herself. Ukyou didn't know how she felt about dresses or what really happened in Jusenkyou. "Naw, you like yer stuff and I like mine."
"These aren't bad."
Startled, both girls looked up to see Haruka holding up the white shirt that Ranma had handed Ukyou.
Grinning, Haruka swung the shirt over one shoulder. "Thanks, Ranma-chan. I think I'll go try this one on."
Ranma's face turned red with indignation as she watched the blonde saunter off. What a pig! Couldn't he take a hint?! Nearly growling, she snatched Ukyou's hand again and stomped for the Chinese dress rack. "On second thought," Ukyou winced as a red battle aura started to grow around her friend's body, "I think it's time for a change!"
Ten minutes later, the group was heading to the food court for lunch only Ranma made a pit stop beside a hard wall to slam her head into it repeatedly.
Most of the group left Ranma as she began to smack her head up against the wall, splintering a bit of the cement. Already a web of cracks was crawling across the area.
"Come on, Ranma-san." Akane tried to soothe the redhead. "It's not that bad."
"Hentai! Pervert! Baka!" Ranma growled, slamming her head against the wall in time with the insults.
"Some boys are just thicker than others." Akane couldn't understand it. The Chinese dresses Ranma had bought made her look amazing, though they were a bit form fitting.
When Akane and most of the girls in their group left the dress shop to find Ranma and the rest in a Chinese clothing shop, she'd thought Ranma would be after the masculine shirts she'd worn before. Instead, a blushing redhead had come out in the red, silk Chinese dress. There were boys on the other side of the mall who stopped to stare and drool at her.
Oh, Ranma-chan was everything Akane wanted to be. She had sighed, staring hopefully at what the redhead was.
The real problem was Mamoru. Akane frowned again upon realizing that her cousin was yet again just another boy. Standing like an idiot, he just gawked, leered really, at Ranma, not saying a word.
Haruka came out of the Chinese shop after Ranma and Ukyou with a smirk. He sidled up beside the redhead and put an arm around her shoulders. "Well look at that." He grinned at Ranma. "We look like a perfect match. The dress looks very nice on you, Ranma-chan."
Ranma turned away, eye twitching.
Which brought them back to the present with Ranma and the shattering wall. Why couldn't her cousin have been as nice as Haruka? That was all Ranma was looking for, Akane was sure.
~
The normally brooding Ryouga was not brooding today.
Not in all of his life had he felt this good. The sun was shining warmly down upon him. The breeze was slight and cooled his skin. Birds' song even sounded prettier. Ryouga had never noticed these things before in his travels. What was different now?
"Saotome Ranma," he sighed wistfully upon the name.
Since he'd met that wonderful girl things had taken a sudden turn in the opposite direction. He realized now that his life had been going nowhere. Ryouga couldn't even remember why he had been trekking across Japan and China in the first place. It was good to be back in Japan where things made sense. It was a wonderful thing to be in the same country as the redheaded love of his life.
Someone bumped into him. "Oops. Excuse me."
Still in a slight daze over the pigtailed vision on his mind, Ryouga didn't have the same sense to get angry with the person. "That's okay."
The blonde boy had already forgotten the incident and moved on, missing Ryouga's world suddenly collapsing around him. He collapsed onto the ground and continued to stare after the boy. Chinese clothes! That would mean . . "WHERE AM I NOW!?!" There was another part to that, but he couldn't remember whom it was he normally blamed for these things.
~
By the time Akane could pull Ranma away from the wall, the redhead was complaining of a throbbing headache. She looked back nervously at the shattered wall as large sections of it finally collapsed. Someone screamed then, hopefully the falling wall hadn't hurt them.
"So, what would you like, Ranma?" Mamoru asked as they stood in the food court.
Ukyou huffed at the choices. "We should be eating my okonomiyaki. Not this garbage."
"Oh you cook?" Ami smiled wearily at the cross-dresser she knew to be a girl. Why a girl wants to dress like that and why she hung around Ranma so much was not her concern.
Puffing up, Ukyou beat her chest once, "The best okonomiyaki chef in Japan!"
"Oh, yes." Kasumi agreed. "Ukyou made lunch yesterday. It was very good."
Ranma gave up on tugging at the Chinese dress to hide her assets more completely and opted to just glare at all of the boys that stared at her. A hole should be burning through Haruka's head if the expression on Ranma's face was anything to go by. Her stomach, however, heard the call to food. "Uh, I'll have some beef ramen."
"Sure." Mamoru nodded. "Why don't you and Michiru save the tables for us?"
Haruka stepped forward, nudging Mamoru out of the way. "Oh, I'll stay and let Michiru go for me." He had the same smug look on his face Ranma was quickly learning to detest. The way he talked grated on her nerves, so arrogant and pompous. He and his girlfriend, both had an heir of superiority about them that truly bugged her. And what sort of man makes the girl pay for food? "No man at all."
"What?" Haruka leaned closer so they stood face to face.
"I said you're a pig, you baka-hentai!"
There was a look of complete shock crossing Haruka's face and he stood up quickly, face red with embarrassment. Michiru was also confused and could only shrug at Haruka's unasked question.
Her boiling point, long reached, was ready to lay into the blonde jerk. Ranma could only take so much of the macho, chauvinistic crap. "You pathetic dweeb! Making yer girlfriend buy lunch while you hit on other girls! She must be hanging around you out of pity!"
"What was that?!" Haruka almost screamed.
"You heard me, pervert! Two-timing wuss!"
Haruka had to be physically restrained as he went red in the face, snarling in outrage with his hands balled up. "Try saying that to my face, little girl!"
Ranma remained unaffected by his show of aggression, and only smiled as both Mamoru and Ukyou grabbed one arm each to keep Haruka from attacking. She leaned closer, "Idiotic, womanizing asshole."
Haruka let loose a scream and broke free of Ukyou and Mamoru's grasp. She swung several times, each missing Ranma by inches only because the redhead didn't feel like putting a great deal of effort into her speed.
"Haruka, stop it!" Michiru tried to stop her boyfriend, but he either didn't care or couldn't tell she was ordering him with her weak little voice.
As Ranma landed a few feet further off, Haruka stopped to gain some focus then smiled and charged again. This time Ranma was a little more pressed to dodge as the blonde's strikes came faster and closer to their target. She was feeling the tug again. It was to Haruka now, and it set Ranma off like a demon.
"No way!" Ranma declared and slapped down one of the boy's punches then struck his forehead with her palm. It jogged his head a moment and left Haruka stunned.
Mamoru rushed in then to hold the two combatants apart. He was trying to divide up a discussion with the blonde and his fiancée without much success. "Calm down, I'm sure it's a misunderstanding."
"Damn right!" Haruka spat. "I'm going to get you, little girl!"
"Ha, like a slow moving, half wit like you could stop me," Ranma stuck out her tongue still playing just out of range of the blonde's fists.
~
In a pit of self-despair, Ryouga continued to trudge through the glittered building, marble-like floor reflecting back his face in the green stone. What did he ever do to deserve this? Life just seemed to enjoy trying to push him down a little further in his depression. After finally meeting a beautiful girl who had captured his heart the moment the met eye to eye, he just had to end up lost and possibly in another country.
He grumbled, passing through the dining area of the mall, missing the heated discussion next to one of the center tables. Ryouga's hands flexed open and closed, trying to control his building rage. It just wasn't fair! Couldn't he ever get a break?! "Dammit! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT REIKO!"
The crowd around him blinked as he screamed and stopped suddenly in his tracks. That name hadn't sounded right at all. All this time of tracking someone down for some reason and he couldn't even remember their names anymore. "RYOKO!" he tried. No, that's not it. "RANA! No. Sana! Nope. Sonya! Uh-huh. It was something odd and sort of went with the father's name. Oh, what was it?"
The wall beside Ryouga exploded and a large creature stepped through. A woman with long red hair laughed like shattering ice, "Go and retrieve the pure heart crystal!"
"Yes, mistress." The daemon responded before stalking off. It was a powerfully built creature, but Ryouga paid it no mind as he continued to mutter to himself.
"Serendipity? No, too long. Jasper? No, not Japanese. Sayuri? No, I think that's a cousin's name." He scratched his head. What was that name? If only he could remember Ryouga was sure that all of his problems would be solved, or at least he would know whom to blame.
There was another loud crash in the background.
"RANMA!!"
"That's it!" Ryouga smashed a fist into his palm and cried triumphantly. "Ranma! Ranma could probably help me figure this out! She was so strong and beautiful; if anyone could help it's Ranma! I've got to find her again!"
Wishing to express his gratitude, Ryouga smiled at the carnage behind him and blinked in surprise. When had this started? There was a group of teenagers being attacked by a large woman-like creature who shot hot dogs and hamburger patties like weapons. A large section of one wall was crumbling and now beginning to emit a blue aura.
The question he was about to ask was caught in his throat when a red haired goddess stepped out of the hole. She snarled something, but he was too far and entranced with her image to hear. There was a quick exchange of attacks ending with the girl being knocked through another wall. This shocked Ryouga back to reality.
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" Ryouga dropped his pack and wielded the heavy bamboo umbrella in his right hand. "If I save Ranma then she'll be only too happy to help me. She might even let me take her out on a date." A grin spread over his face along with a warm blush.
There was more yelling and a hotdog hit Ryouga in the forehead. "Ouch!" Shaking away the daydream, he rubbed the spot on his head before growling and charging into the fight. "I'm coming Ranma!"
~
Ranma was smirking at the blonde as he tried harder and harder to land a punch. It was starting to come very close so Ranma started blocking, but in a fashion to make it look like child's play. It set Haruka off even worse, but the boy was topped off with his speed. Damned impressive though. Ranma doubted she could have kept up without learning from the aura she was developing.
"Too slow, wuss boy," Ranma laughed and ducked one punch and blocked the uppercut Haruka threw in succession.
Haruka grit his teeth and kept at it. "Stop jumping around like a bimbo and fight me!"
Laughing, Ranma was only to happy to oblige him. For all his handwork, Haruka was not much for footwork. The leg sweep was easy, but it seemed that Haruka would be the one getting off light.
"Oof!" The crowd gasped as a large junk food woman ran into the area and shoulder-rammed the redhead into a wall. There was enough force to bring the wall down.
"I heard about you, little girl!" The daemon chortled, tossing around a hotdog in her hand. "Shark-chan couldn't keep up with your martial arts, but I, Junkie, will force cholesterol down your throat until your thighs are too fat to move! Hahahaha!"
The crowd blinked.
Shaking her head, Ami frowned and started looking for a place to change. "They really shouldn't let these things talk."
Mamoru nodded to the statement and started heading for the crumbling wall. He didn't expect to see Ranma hurt too badly, but it was better to check. It certainly was easier to take care of the redhead than Usagi.
On the other side of the group, Haruka and Michiru were shrinking back into the sidelines. Other patrons had overturned tables and chairs in a mad dash for the exit. Stupid speech or not, the daemon was flinging around too many fatty acids.
"What do we do," Michiru asked, looking over Haruka's shoulder as they watched the rubble, Ranma was beneath, shift.
Very pleased with the situation, Haruka crouched down and waited. "We wait for the daemon to go for Ranma's heart crystal then we snag it."
Frowning, Michiru crouched beside the blonde. "You aren't taking her insults very well."
"Hey!" Haruka turned to look Michiru in the eye. "Setsunna said the redhead was unusual and might have a pure heart crystal. This is just a side benefit."
"Ranma-san!" Akane and Ukyou ran to the wall Mamoru was crawling through.
"Hold the thing off, Akane!" Mamoru shouted back. He was rifling through the debris for the redhead. She had been silent for a while and he was starting to get worried. "C'mon, Ranma. Where are you?" His hand brushed against something.
"PERVERT!" Ranma-chan planted another mallet into Mamoru's head as she busted out of the fallen wall. Why did he have to grab her there so much?!
"Oh, Ranma," Mamoru muttered dazedly. "You're okay."
"Of course!" She stood up and brushed herself off. "Now who hit me in the head?"
Outside a large fast food stand on feet was facing off against one okonomiyaki chef and an angry pervert basher. Ranma nodded at the scene. She really should've known after the last two daemon attacks.
"Well," she cracked her knuckles and walked out of the hole, "let's get this party started."
Akane rammed her fists into the daemon a few more times, but as strong as she could hit the creature just shrugged the blows off. Ukyou was fairing little better. The daemon laughed and swatted them away with one hand and tossed sizzling hot dogs with the other. Nabiki and Kasumi quickly ducked behind an overturned table, food projectiles bouncing off harmlessly.
Using Akane and Ukyou as a distraction, Ranma went high with a kick to the daemon's head, laying in a few good hits before another sweep of Junkie's hand caught her and knocked her through another wall.
"What the hell?" Ranma shook her head and looked at her hands. "Why do I feel weaker now? I was stronger and faster than this fighting Haruka."
The question remained unanswered as she heard someone call her name from across the eatery. "I'm coming, Ranma!"
Ranma's eye began to twitch irritably. It was the guy from the street. That was all she needed, another guy chasing after her. They were all such perverts.
Ryouga plowed through the area with his umbrella, knocking away tables, kicking chairs, until he rammed the daemon, bowling it over with only a grunt of exertion.
Ranma was impressed. Her ki made her far stronger than most, but this Ryouga had just done something even she would think twice about. It didn't help her ki was weaker than it had been only a moment ago. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"I, uh . ." Ryouga scratched the back of his embarrassed as he stood over Ranma-chan. He hadn't been sure at the distance, but it had looked like Ranma wasn't wearing anything. The Chinese dress went a ways to support the idea. "Oh, y'know. I was in the area. Haha!"
"Right." Ranma stood up and brushed off some dust.
Ryouga waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this loser, Ranma-san." Before Ranma could protest, he was already off and swinging his umbrella.
Too caught up in rapture from talking with Ranma, Ryouga missed the flying patties coming in his direction. "Ow!" Ryouga rubbed another lump on his head and growled. "That's the last time you hit me with that junk food."
Junkie snickered, "And what's a little human like you going to do?"
Taking stock of his situation, Ryouga noticed that a large area had been cleared by the fighting. One girl and an okonomiyaki chef were shaking off some dizziness after being knocked across the room. Ranma and the boy he'd mistaken for . . someone, were stepping out of the second hole in the wall. Three if you counted the one the daemon made.
The daemon herself was a seven-foot pile of walking grease. She spattered bits of meat when she laughed and reeked like a deep fryer.
Ryouga smiled as he noted the rent pipe spitting water into the air. He looked back up to the daemon and held his hand out to the water, "I'll do this".
No one could see the change, but Ranma could feel it. Ryouga's aura had grown by half, not enough to become visible, and its coloring changed. Where once there had been a green, depressed ki was now something sitting on the border of blue. Ranma knew this altered ki signature. It was a feeling of familiarity.
Ryouga's stance altered and he hung his arms down loosely, holding the umbrella pointing to the ground. He bounced only slightly and a cocky smirk crossed his face. He was literally beaming confidence. "You're going down, grease-ball!"
Junkie struck out with her hand only to have Ryouga flip around the punch and jab his umbrella into her chin. The daemon staggered backwards and shook her head. "H-How?"
"That ain't all ya got is it?" Ryouga tossed his umbrella away and balled up both of his hands, still swinging around his waist.
Akane gapped, "That stance! I know that stance!"
Ukyou nodded in agreement. "That's Ranchan's stance."
"But where did this guy learn the Saotome School of Anything Goes?!"
Ryouga continued to smirk as he dodged kicks and punches, blocking a good number of them as he lashed out with complicated kicking combinations while in the air. As the daemon tossed a number of hot dogs into the air, he bent and twisted his body to avoid them, and planted both feet into Junkie's face. "Is that it, ya uncute pig? I'm fallin asleep yer movin so slow!"
"How dare you?!" Junkie reached back with both hands and then thrust forward, "Grease Fire!"
Taking a quick glance behind him, Ryouga noted Ranma staring wide-eyed at him. She didn't look like she was going to be getting out of the way. Now was his chance!
Ryouga dropped down beside Ranma-chan and scooped her up into his arms before bounding off to safety.
"Hey! Wait a sec-Ack!" Mamoru dropped to the ground as a stream of burning grease shot overhead.
Beside Nabiki and Kasumi, Ryouga set Ranma-chan down and smirked at her. "Y'all right?"
She nodded numbly.
Cracking his knuckles, Ryouga jumped back into the fight. "Someone outta teach ya some manners, puke face! Ya almost hurt, Ranma-san!"
Junkie skid across the ground as she received a powerful right hook to her jaw. Sick of dealing with these pests, Junkie roared in anger. "Pig Out!"
"Wha-?!" Ryouga crashed through a wall as a ring of junk food was launched across the area, catching him in the chest. The warm meat products left a trail of slime on his skin and clothing, and he was seeing stars. "Ow."
Ranma had watched all of this silently. The boy, he . . he was . . But how could this be?! Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the fanged boy slowly picking himself off the ground. This wasn't fair! "I'll kill you!"
Ryouga snapped to attention as the room was flooded with a silvery light. Again he was speechless upon the sight of his Ranma-san standing in the clearing with a flaming silver aura about her body. The power made her more beautiful if that were possible.
Others were looking at Ranma in much the same awe. This silvery light was . . it just reached out to them with a feeling of comfort and security, knowledge that she was here to protect them.
Junkie stared at the redhead for a moment before nodding her head. "It must be true. You do have a pure heart crystal."
Ami gasped as readings flooded in through her computer's sensors. The power reading she was getting from Ranma was intense. It was reaching levels only Princess Serenity had achieved up against Queen Beryl.
Clothes rippling with the power she was emanating, Ranma glared her silver eyes at the daemon and smiled. Her depression and anger were gone with this new bathing aura about her. There was the fighting spirit, but it was dedicated to protecting all innocent life. The daemon would have to go, she chuckled. "Time ta go, Junkie."
Summoning up another MSG laded attack, Junkie got herself ready to destroy the little witch. The silver aura was making her sweat, but she wasn't about to admit defeat to some girl! "DIE!"
Ranma-chan stared at the flying junk food ram and lifted one hand. Silver power rushed out the palm and cut through Junkie's attack. On the other side, the ki blast rolled into a silver heart and crashed against Junkie, shattering about her like glass, but much more devastating.
Junkie reeled backwards, screaming her death, "AAAUUUGGHHH!!!"
A breeze twisted through the area, picking at the bit of ashes Junkie had become, and carrying them off. The mall was quiet again and Ranma smiled contentedly.
"Ranma?" Mamoru had barely controlled his transformation into Prince Endymion as he watched Ranma bring forth the silver aura. What was this? Was Ranma . . ?
Ranma dropped her hand to her side and the power faded to nothing. The sudden loss left her system in shock and her eyes rolled back into her head. Mamoru just caught her as she tipped backwards into unconsciousness.
Wincing from the soreness in her back, Ukyou helped Akane to her feet and shook her head. "Yep, same old Ranma."
Akane only stared at the redhead, drool running down her chin.
~
Much later, a group of four sailor-suited girls arrived at the scene in the mall. By now everything had been cleared except for one of their own, Sailor Mercury, who waited patiently by a table, studying her computer.
Amazed at the level of destruction, Sailor Moon led the group to their fifth member. "Mercury?"
"Did you do all this yourself?" Minako also looked stunned as she stared at the numerous holes in the wall.
Ami only gave Venus a look that the blonde should know better.
Jupiter tapped a wall only to have the ceramic tiling collapse into a heap on the floor. "Well, if you didn't do it, who did?"
"Who else?" Mercury snapped her palm top shut.
"Ranma," was the unanimous statement.
Venus sniffed and kicked over a broken table. "That violent maniac would be the cause of this destruction."
"I can't believe she called us bimbos." No one bothered to look at Mars anymore when Ranma's name was mentioned; she seemed to have gained a one-track mind about the subject.
Despite her anger and jealousy, Sailor Moon was still concerned for other's safety. "Did she make it out all right, Mercury?"
Ami shrugged. Ranma had seemed all right, if a bit tired at the end. "She was knocked through a wall once or twice." This brought a smile to some of the girls' faces. Shaking her head, Ami opened her palm top and turned it for the others to see. "Something interesting though."
"What?" They all stared at the computer blankly, then Ami with blinking expressions.
Ami sighed. Why couldn't she have these conversations with Setsunna or just the moon cats, they at least wouldn't interrupt. "The power readings I had gotten before, I've got a bit more now."
"So?"
Time for the shocker, Ami took a deep breath, "Ranma is from the Silver Millenium."
Mars scowled, "Are you sure?"
At Ami's nod, Moon swallowed and asked the next question, "Is she Saturn?"
Mercury hesitated before closing her computer. "I . . I'm not sure. I doubt it."
Jupiter let out her breath she hadn't been aware of holding, "Well? Who do you think she is?"
"At the end of Ranma's fight with a daemon, she began to emit a silver aura." The readings Mercury had gotten were still a little misleading, but there was no denying certain facts. Facts like the type of attacks Ranma had used. "The magical blast was still fused with something else, but it was definitely Silver Millenium, very familiar to Sailor Moon's attack signature."
"Wait." Minako was starting to feel a headache and rubbed her temples. "Another one of Usagi's kids from the future like Usa?"
As much as she'd like that compared to this new theory, Ami had to shake her head. "No, this one definitely precedes Princess Serenity."
They blinked before shouting, "The QUEEN?!"
~
Haruka opened the door to their house for Michiru as they returned. Her hand still held her chin, nursing a bruise Ranma had given her during their brief scuffle. What it had been over was still a bit of a mystery to the two.
"You do wear that jacket a lot. Maybe she just couldn't tell." Michiru suggested as they stepped inside.
Haruka humphed. "No one is that blind. How could she not tell I was a girl? Didn't Nabiki say that Ranma used to wear masculine Chinese clothes too? Even Ukyou thought Ranma was a boy when they were six."
It did seem a little hard to swallow that anyone could be that slow. Still, Michiru wondered how Ukyou had also mistaken Ranma for the wrong gender.
The discussion was set aside as Setsunna walked into the living room. She wore her white blouse and green skirt, long green hair swaying behind her as she walked. "Well?"
"She's a hell of a fighter." Haruka summed up the experience. There were other, more colorful things (she'd be surprised to know Sailor Mars was of similar thinking) she could say, but Setsunna wouldn't be interested.
"Her power felt familiar, didn't it?" Michiru sat down at her piano and tapped at the key cover.
Haruka nodded. "Yeah. I'm not sure where I've felt it before, but it was definitely Silver Millenium."
"Of course it is." Setsunna stood beside the couch clutching something in her hand. After a momentary silence, she opened her hand and examined the sparkling pure heart crystal, dancing with captured sun light. There were two others out there and if what she thought was true . . "Michiru, this is yours."
The aquamarine haired woman was startled as Setsunna tossed the pure heart crystal through the air and gently caught it with both hands carefully. Haruka stood up to scream something about being careful, but Setsunna held up her hand to stall any complaint.
"Mine?" Michiru asked, confused. There was a power inside the gem that felt familiar to her, almost like Ranma's aura, but this was more specialized, not only familiar, but like it was a piece of her.
Frowning, Haruka turned and faced Setsunna with grim determination. Unfortunately she caught the woman's eyes and was quickly cowed. Staring at the ground, "What do you mean, it belongs to Michiru?"
Setsunna ignored the question and spoke to Michiru. "Concentrate on the pure heart crystal, Michiru and the answers will come to you."
Nodding, Michiru stared at the crystal in her palm. It was a wonderful thing to hold so closely. The calming aura about it set her mind at ease and she could feel herself slipping into cool sea, waves crumbling onto beaches while she floated out further where there were only slight waves in the silken waters. A sun overhead warmed her skin, a delightful contrast to the sea cushioning her body to float upon its surface.
In the distance the sea became the sky and the sky became the sea as if the two were one and the same. Michiru looked up to the blue vastness and thought if she looked close enough she could see the waves of a distant sea far above. As if the sea were something solid enough, she sat up and squinted with her eyes. Vaguely, she could see an image appear overhead. It was the sea, rolling like a field of blue grain. A border circled the image as it continued to become clearer, shrinking as it fell towards her.
Michiru was not afraid though the object looked as though it might crush her. A handle of white formed out of one edge as it continued to fall. The image was now clearly of her, looking up, looking down, at herself.
A hand on her shoulder breached the intimate contact and Michiru took a deep breath in shock. Haruka stood beside her with a look of concern on the blonde woman's face. "I'm all right, Haruka-kun," Michiru pat her lover's hand and turned back to the gem. She had her answer like Setsunna said she would.
Focusing, Michiru reached down, her hand slipping beneath the surface of the crystal until it was wrist deep. Something brushed her fingers and she grasped it, pulling back. The crystal began to dissolve into itself as Michiru extracted the object from her dream. When it was down, she was staring at herself, light blue eyes calm and fascinated at the same time.
"W-What is it?" Haruka gasped and took a step closer.
With the same lack of emotion, Setsunna stepped to Michiru's other side. "A mirror."
Haruka sighed, there was no use getting real answers out of Setsunna. It was best just to play along. "It must be more than a mirror or this pure heart crystal chase is a real waste of time."
"It's a seeing pool." Michiru softly whispered.
Setsunna nodded. "With the mirror you should be able to hasten the pace of your retrieval of the pure heart crystals."
"How?"
"Focus on the question and the mirror will show you what it can." Came Setsunna's reply.
"The next pure heart crystal," Michiru stared at the mirror, "Where can we find the next pure heart crystal?"
The mirror turned white with emitted light, a soft radiance of energy, before fading back to reality, misty images appearing within the mirror's surface.
The three women stood over the Uranus Mirror and studied the images it portrayed. After a minute the images faded with the light and they were left to ponder what they had seen.
Her face grim, Haruka turned to Setsunna.
"You know what you must do," the green haired woman glanced back at the mirror once before heading back upstairs. "Ranma must be dealt with."
~
They were back in Juuban again. Ranma sighed as she sat down on the roof of Mamoru's apartment building. The sky was clear and the moon was shining a pale yellow. Her skin prickled as a light breeze passed by, the Chinese dress flapping slightly. Despite being a dress, at least it was comfortable. The seems of this one had given out during the fight earlier, and now an opening ran from her left ankle to her upper thigh.
Ranma stared over the lip of the roof and down into the park across the street. She could see the moon's reflection off of the lack surrounded by a number of swaying masses that were trees. It was late out, past midnight when they returned, yet Ranma couldn't make herself sleep that night. After recovering from her earlier shock, her mind became boggled by the feelings and gut intuition she'd gotten from being around that fanged character in the mall.
He felt so familiar and she . .
Ranma rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes as the tears came again. She hadn't really cried like this in a long time. Not since Jusenkyou and realizing the truth.
After the mall they had returned to the Tendou dojo. Ucchan was already gone, left to begin settling down into her own life once again. She asked for training to defeat Genma one day and Ranma was only too happy to oblige. Things almost deteriorated once again as Soun began another soliloquy over the virtues of a man taking care of a woman. Feeling the hot ki from Ranma, each of the Tendou daughters had jumped across the table to slap a hand over their father's mouth. Nabiki especially had changed her tune after witnessing the power Ranma could command.
It was another quick send-off after dinner. Mamoru took a few of the shopping bags for her and escorted them both silently to the train station and then his apartment. The walk was becoming familiar by now. So much was happening in only a few days Ranma had almost forgotten about the engagement entirely until Mamoru handed her a key for the apartment. He promised to work out new sleeping arrangements as soon as he could.
There was something strange going on with her 'fiancé'. While he said he did not want the engagement, he did hold back on something that could clear them both. What did Mamoru see in Usagi anyway? Besides a perverted little girl sex fantasy that is.
Ranma sighed and clutched her knees. Maybe she would just settle down for a bit and try to think things out. At least here she had food, a place to sleep, and peace from her father. It would be nice to stay in one place for at least a little while. She would go and visit Ukyou and Akane on the weekends like they planned, she'd train them, and probably just hang out for a while. Though there was no way either of them could really fight these new enemies Ranma had acquired, she did appreciate their help. Though Akane was not as good as Ukyou, she was definitely a good fighter, better than most.
The moon was passing overhead and a light fog was covering the park the same way it had been in Jusenkyou. Ranma watched mist form, refracted the moon's light until it looked like white mounds of snow. She missed her true body, the strong male body that stood a few inches taller than most his age.
"R-Ranma!"
Ranma looked over her shoulder, brushing a tear onto her shoulder, to find a young man scrabbling over the side of the roof on the opposite side.
Ryouga smiled blissfully, not minding the fact he had been lost in a forest moments ago and now had pulled himself over a rooftop. "What are you doing in Osaka?"
Bits of gravel crunched beneath Ranma's feet as she stood up to face the boy. Her shoulders shook as she stared at him, eyes beginning to burn with anger. This was his fault! He was why she felt so bad now!
Ryouga yiped and ducked under a fast kick to his head. He was still in his cursed form, though most couldn't tell, and he was able to avoid a good number of the redhead's attacks. At the moment they were unorganized because of her distraught state. He held out his hands in a peaceful gesture, "Wait!"
Warm tears still fell down her cheeks and Ranma continued to focus her anger on the boy. When her attacks were being avoided for too long she started to really focus, her speed and accuracy increasing. She wanted, needed to hit him. Maybe punishing him would make the pain go away.
Ryouga jerked back his arms, rubbing a bruise on the underside as he continued to duck and swerve out of the way. "Ow! What'd I do?"
Lip trembling, Ranma folded over her ki and the speed suddenly doubled. Ryouga would have been pummeled if Ranma's mind had been clear enough to compensate for the pressure of her assault. Ranma stumbled and fell into Ryouga's arms, tagging him once in the gut. "You jerk. Why didn't you fight back?"
Ryouga tried not to wince when he was hit. Ranma was lying in his arms and he could feel her arms shudder and her sobs beat against his chest. He didn't want to see his goddess cry like this. "Man, you hit like a ton of bricks."
She didn't know what she was doing. Ranma stood there for a few moment, feeling better about being so close to Ryouga. It was not the contact of a boy she cared about, but the warmth of an aura she knew so well. It's what she'd felt in the mall. The aura, so confident and warm, it was the aura she used to carry with her as a guy. This was hers, a piece of her soul stolen by the cursed springs. Could that mean Ryouga was now . . "Are . . ?" but she didn't have the courage to ask. If it was true then who was she. All she had left was her name, but if it turned out that Ryouga was now Saotome Ranma then what was left for her?
Grabbing a hold of his shirt, Ranma sobbed into Ryouga's chest, whispering over and over, "I hate you."
Ryouga slowly closed his arms around the redhead, placing a hand on her head, running it over her smooth hair. He couldn't make out her muffled words, but he could tell she was crying from some great anguish. "Shh, don't cry," he attempted to soothe her with little whispers and held her close, the tug on his heart having led him here.
End Chapter Six
* * *
Sorry that took so long, but then college does become time consuming. Dang schoolin, whattibe gud fer?
Slowly, the trickle of information is pointing you to the purpose Ranma serves in this story. Or has it? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This settles the Ryouga/Ukyou introduction. What can be expected in the next chapter, why a new Ranma 1/2 cannon character of course! Bring on the Amazons!
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Ja ne.