Chapter 14: Aftermath
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
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"Ah, such a fine morning," Soun mused. "Good times, eh, Saotome?"
"Never better," Genma said. "I feel like a new man!"
"Better than a new panda," Ranma said.
"Good morning, Ranma!" Kasumi said. "Breakfast is ready!"
"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma said as he and his father settled down to restart their morning sparring in the form of their usual food fight.
"She seems to be taking it well," Nabiki commented. "If you'd been away for a few weeks, you'd never know she'd been cursed."
"So calm and peaceful," Akane agreed. The chaos that had been creeping into Nerima since the Saotomes' arrival - even before, if you counted Kuno - didn't seem to affect her. Akane still blamed them for the fact that it had even begun to apply to her at all.
"You're not so bad these days either," Ranma noted. "Might almost be kawaii one of these days."
Akane gave him a sharp glance. "Well, I'm just glad I don't turn into a duck anymore," she said. "No thanks to you."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nabiki said. "Ranma did promise our curses would be cured permanently. But Mousse said that powder would only have worked for an hour. Shouldn't you have known that, Ranma?"
Everyone focused on him. Ranma sweatdropped and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, I said you'd be cured forever. Didn't say anything about that instant spring stuff."
"So you set all that up?" Akane was livid. "Half the city saw us naked!"
"Not me, little sister..." Nabiki reminded her. "Not my fault you couldn't keep your suit on."
"And how am I supposed to do that when I was that small? And what was Kasumi supposed to wear? Nothing stretches that much!"
"Hey, you know who's to blame," Nabiki said, looking straight at Ranma.
"Yeah," Ranma said, "where is the old freak, anyhow?" He looked around as if hoping to find Happosai about, feeling himself getting dangerously hot. This conversation was getting into dangerous territory.
Akane bought the misdirection, at least. "Next time that old pervert shows up around here, he's dead,"
"We'll help," Soun said. "Buddha knows we've tried..."
"And we'll keep trying until we get it right!" Genma finished.
"Amen," Ranma said.
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He wasn't entirely off the hook yet. Nabiki still had her doubts. "Fess up," she said as he practiced katas in the dojo. "You planned that, didn't you?"
"Planned what?" Ranma was continuing to practice a Soul of Ice variation, trying to develop a good poker face. He figured he might need it for the Gambling King, if he survived to that confrontation.
"Don't try it with me, Saotome. You knew what was going to happen."
"You know I have my limits," he said. "Happosai and Mousse were both there."
"True. But still... awfully convenient the way things worked out." She gave him an accusing look as she left.
She wasn't the hardest one on him for his role. Cologne guessed as well. "It would have been wiser to consult with me," she said. "You should have just arranged for all of the cursed to meet with Sailor Moon privately. They didn't have to be humiliated in public."
"Well, yeah," Ranma said. "But I just figured it would be the fastest way."
Cologne sighed. "Still a hasty child. Patience something you need to begin learning. You don't have to do everything today... or alone. You have allies now. You are part of a team. An army, if you will. Armies rely on trust."
"Armies aren't made of girls."
"Most aren't. This one is. And they are just as much at risk as any mundane soldier."
"I don't see them dying. Not if I help."
It didn't occur to Cologne to ask him if HE would die if he helped.
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Others around Nerima were wholly positive in their attitudes. Tatewaki Kuno seemed to have forgotten the humiliation of being a mouse. No one dared speak of it, of course. His sister now worshipped the Senshi, and had started looking into them.
Ukyo was closer to Ranma than ever. She suspected his plan might have had more to it than he had let on, and it didn't occur to her that he could have arranged a more low-key way to meet the Senshi and get decursed. She was a bit sensitive about having been seen naked in public. Ranma was beginning to see how it just wasn't worth bringing up certain subjects.
Ryoga hadn't been seen since he had reclaimed his things from the Tendo home. Ranma knew he was wandering across Japan again, training for their next battle. He suspected the lost boy would not want to meet with Rei any time soon.
Shampoo had started glomping Ranma every time she saw him and asking him for dates. The tension between her and Ukyo was rising. Ranma knew she was trying to make a case for marriage for herself. He regarded her as more dangerous than Nabiki in her ability to make Ukyo jealous. She was serving as an example of the sort of woman Ukyo wanted to be but had not spent years trying to become.
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The Senshi were gathered at the Hikawa shrine for their weeknight study and training session with Cologne. As Ranma was not there, Luna was. The mooncat was eager to learn the details of the incident on Sunday.
"So those were some of the people Ranma lives with?" Luna asked.
Cologne nodded. "His father was the panda. The family he lives with was cursed recently, only the father was uncursed - he was the man with the mustache. A few others were his enemies, always ready to challenge him - you know how some boys are."
"Jocks," Rei said dismissively. The others all nodded.
"But if all of those were Jusenkyo curses like Ranma's," Ami said, "wouldn't we be able to cure Ranma's curse the same way?"
Cologne paused at that. She suddenly seemed deep in thought. "That... is a most intriguing possibility. In principle, it could work... but the Lady's curse has always been stronger than others, resistant to overwriting by other springs..."
"Because she was Sailor Pluto," Luna said. "Her Senshi powers and nature were clearly bound to the spring, in addition to her body's appearance. That made it stronger."
"So maybe it will take more power, is all?" Makoto asked.
"How much more, do you think?" Usagi wondered.
"We shouldn't be hasty, Usagi," Luna warned. "I mean, what would actually happen? What would it mean for him to be cured?"
"A dangerous question," Cologne said. "It might mean the powers of Pluto are up for grabs again, and her Spring can be used. In which case Shampoo would take them, though under the circumstances we would feel obliged to return here to help with the war against the Dark Kingdom. Or it might mean her spirit will finally be freed of attachment to this world - she will die at last, and her spring will become an ordinary spring, carrying only the image of her body." She shook her head. "I do not want to risk it. Not until this war is won. We need her. Afterwards, well... we shall see."
They all agreed, and Cologne left as they began an ordinary school study session. As she left the grounds of the shrine, she could not help but feel conflicted. The Lady had been tied to the village since its founding. Tradition would demand that she stay. But would she accept this? Would she feel honor bound? Or did honor and duty work differently in her time and place?
She was, ultimately, a soldier from an ancient war, a war not yet won. What of when it was? Would she deserve her eternal rest? Assuming she did not end up a casualty of war again, more permanently this time?
So many questions. Cologne feared they would only get the answers from those who knew Sailor Pluto best: those who had betrayed and murdered her, taken her powers, and destroyed the Moon Kingdom. And they would only get those answers from the Dark Kingdom in the final battle against them, when it might be too late.
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"Because I hate being in plays, okay?" Akane said.
"Please, Akane! Please please please!" a man in a Godzilla suit said.
"Simply no one else can play the lead!" the Drama Club director, in clown suit, said.
Ranma watched in amusement as the Drama Club tried to recruit Akane. He had considered warning her of this last night, but it wouldn't have really changed anything in the end. Now he was trying to figure how little involvement in it he could get away with.
Akane was trying to finish after-class cleanup. "Don't you fools ever give up?"
"Come on, Akane! Just try it!" Yuka said.
"You should be flattered they asked you!" Sayuri added.
"Ain't you guys doing Romeo and Juliet this year?" Ranma said.
"Yes!" the director said. "Only Akane would be right for our Juliet!"
Akane suddenly made a pile out of the desks and climbed on top. "Oh, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" she emoted.
"IT IS THE EAST! And Juliet is the sun!" Kuno suddenly surprised Akane, emerging from the pile of desks.
"I really don't need any coaching from you, Kuno!" Akane said, hitting him away.
"But I am Romeo to your fair Juliet!" he protested.
"And who cast YOU, hm?" the director asked.
"I did," Kuno said, handing him a Permission to Join slip.
"What? You..." The director examined the slip. It was, indeed, a valid slip, signed by his recruitment officer. When had he done this?
"I, indeed," Kuno proclaimed. "And if one such as I am to be in your amusing little troupe, should I not be given the finest role?" He brandished his bokken at the director.
"Well, now that you put it that way..." the director saw the light of reason.
"Not so fast, Kuno..." Ranma said, looking around. "I think you got some competition."
In short order Hikaru Gosunkugi had declared himself a claimant to the mantle of Romeo. As did a non-student... Happosai. "Now, I admit, playing Romeo at my age won't be easy... but I would get a love scene with Akane! HA Ha ha!"
Ranma intercepted his leap. "Lucky you! So popular! So what about these love scenes, director-san? Anybody kiss?"
"Well, of course... that is rather the high point..."
"How about it, Akane? Looks like you have your choice of Romeos." He swept an arm to indicate the candidates. "Still want the part?"
"Uhhmmm..." She looked hesitant for a few seconds, then thought of something. "What about you, Ranma? Don't you want to be Romeo?"
Ranma realized he was now paying for being so effective at keeping his distance from her until now; she honestly didn't see him as a pursuer, but as more of a friend, someone she could be comfortable with when other options were not to her liking. "Ah, well, I never did any acting... I don't think I'd be any good..."
His card-playing friends, naturally, were not on the same wavelength. "Go for it, Ranma!" Hiroshi said.
"You can save Akane from them!" Daisuke pitched in.
"I guess..." Suddenly he found the director making out an admission slip in his name. He sighed. Some days you had to go with the flow.
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He had managed to acquire a student copy of the script some nights earlier. He looked through it as he explained the situation to Kasumi. "So she's actually going to be Juliet this time?" she asked.
"This time?"
"Well, when her elementary school did the play, she was Romeo." She pulled out the family photo album and showed Ranma a picture of Akane in the role.
"Man. And she LOOKED the part yet!" He returned to the script. "Hmmm. I might give it a go. The guy isn't a total wuss. He does kill a few people..."
Akane had been following the conversation. "I don't think they're doing the fight scenes," she said. "This is for a regional competition. They're just doing the ones everyone wants to see... the romantic ones."
"How romantic?" Ranma sweatdropped. "Does this mean you'd have to kiss Kuno or Gosunkugi? Or Happosai?"
Akane was suddenly blushing. "Well, if you put it like that..."
"Oh, don't give up, Akane!" Kasumi now offered her support. "You were so excited about this role! Don't give up on it now!"
Akane looked down at herself, then back up. "You're right. Playing Juliet was my childhood dream. No matter who Romeo is -"
On cue, Happosai appeared and leapt. "Oh, then you'll do it for me, Akane-chan?"
She smashed him out the door. "Dammit! If only I had a good Romeo..."
Ranma felt all eyes turn to him. "Yeah, I know... but do I really got to KISS her?"
"You have our permission!" Soun suddenly had a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"To save Akane from the Master's clutches, you should be willing to make ANY sacrifice!"
"I was afraid you'd say that."
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"Where am I... nah, forget it." For once, Ryoga was happy to be lost. The last thing he wanted now was to get back to the Tokyo area, where he might run into Rei. The first girl to ever show him any kindness and tenderness, even if she didn't know he was her pig. Now, she knew everything. How could she forgive him?
"Oh, Rei-san... if only... we could have met as people... then... then... AAARRHGGG!" He lashed out with a fist in rage, knocking over a tree. "How can she forgive me? After being with her for weeks..."
He tried to banish her from his mind. Best forget her and move on. Maybe one day he could thank the Senshi for curing his Jusenkyo curse. But the greater curse of his misdirection might mean he would never see them again.
He had better see Ranma again. That he was determined to do. And when he was determined to find something, or someone, sooner or later he would. And then there would be a reckoning.
He came down a hill to a beach. It was small, probably attached to the private resort on the cliff above. But more importantly, it had girls on it. Girls in bathing suits, splashing about in the water... girls he suddenly recognized. And who stopped as they recognized him.
"Hey... don't I know you?" Rei said.
"Yeah..." Makoto snapped her fingers. "Weren't you one of the guys in the fountain...?"
Ryoga froze up. *I'm soooo dead...* He fell on his back, paralyzed by embarrassment.
"Uh... Mako-chan..." Usagi said, "I don't think you should have mentioned that."
They dragged him up to the resort, where he eventually managed to loosen up. "Th- thank you for helping me... up here..."
"Oh, think nothing of it," Usagi said, also feeling awkward. "Just doing our good deed for the day..."
"I think he's still to embarassed to say anything," Ami said.
"Probably he can't forget the fountain..."
"*I* don't want to remember that fountain, Mako-chan," Usagi said. "It's getting ME kinda embarrassed. Can we PLEASE talk about something else?"
Rei slapped her hand down on the table. "I'll tell you what he SHOULD be embarrassed about." She pointed at Ryoga. "This guy spent weeks living under my roof and didn't try to let us know who he was. He knows who we are, he heard us talk about Senshi business."
"That's right!" Luna said. "Who are you, really? Are you a Dark Kingdom spy?"
"A dark what...?" Ryoga was now simply confused.
"We have to ask Ranma about this," Ami said. "He should know if they've learned anything from him."
"Ranma?" Ryoga perked at the name. "Ranma Saotome? Do you know him?"
"Huh?" Usagi blinked. "Do YOU know him?"
Ryoga's expression darkened, his embarrassment now forgotten. "Because of him, I've seen Hell," he said. He explained his acquaintance, from the bread fights to Jusenkyo and his time in Nerima recently.
"Ahmmm... yeah..." Usagi and the others sweatdropped as he told his tale. "I don't see how much of that has to do with Ranma... but he's one of us! His girl side, anyway. She's Sailor Pluto."
"Sailor... Pluto?" Ryoga mulled that over. "Then he had magic powers like you?"
"That's right!" Makoto said. "If you want to pick a fight with him, you have to fight us too!"
"You would defend that coward?"
"Coward?" Makoto said. "He's the most fearless fighter I've seen!"
"When he DOES fight," Rei said. "But why doesn't he join more of our battles?"
"Ummm..." Usagi wondered. "Maybe you do have a point, then..."
"Feh," Ryoga said. "Ranma only fights when he wants to. When he's sure he'll win"
"But that's just good strategy..." Luna began to protest.
"It's cowardice! His family knows nothing of honor! He should fight ALL of his battles!"
"Hey, I agree," Usagi said, holding up her hands, "but I think he has a lot on his plate. I mean, I wouldn't want to be in the same town as that Happosai guy he's dealing with right now..."
"Well, it's better that you stay out of the way. What we have is a matter between men."
"Ahhh," Rei said. "One of his jock fights. Mako-chan, everyone, I think we should leave them alone to settle this." She walked up to Ryoga and got uncomfortably close to him. "But you have to promise not to tell anything about us to anyone. Especially any monsters you find in Tokyo."
"And don't get in their way if you run into one of their fights," Luna added.
"I can keep secrets," Ryoga said, "and I can take care of myself. But I can't stand by while girls are in danger. As a man, I would have to protect you."
"Well, can you handle ghosts? We saw one around here last night," Rei said.
"Ghosts?" Ryoga sweatdropped. "S-sure, I'm not afraid of ghosts..." *As long as I can hit them...* he thought.
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The day of the competition Ranma went to confront Happosai directly to prevent the old man from taking part. The Master of Anything-Goes won this round, giving him some obstacles to overcome before he could make it to the school.
These he could deal with on only his physical strength. He came into the school dressing room through the window just as Happosai was making a leap at Akane. "O, fear not, my Akane! For I shall be your loving Romeo!"
"I don't THINK so, FREAK!" Ranma smashed through the glass and into Happosai's back. "Did you REALLY think sealing me in concrete and burying me in the backyard was even going to slow me down!" He shook off bits of concrete and a few chains.
Someone had a Plan B. "Oh, Ranma! I'm so glad you decided to play Romeo after all!" Ranma turned to see Gosunkugi in a girls' uniform from another school. "I'm your number one fan! I even made a costume all by myself..."
Ranma immediately shoved the costume back at him and booted him out the door. "Sorry. I'm engaged. I can't take a present from a girl." He closed the door, which then shook with a muffled BANG.
"Ranma..." Akane said. "Are you sure you can handle being Romeo?"
"It's either that or Juliet. You don't want me taking that from you, do you?"
Furinkan's turn was the last one of the night. There were still several hours to go. Ranma headed out to survey some of the other schools and their choices of material. One girl was dressd up for Alice in Wonderland; one boy as Jesus, complete with cross; others represented Romance of the Three Kingdoms and other works from around Asia. One person even came as some sort of cactus.
"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!"
"Oh, not again." Ranma stopped the charging Sherman Tank with an open-palm strike. The cardboard construct came apart, revealing Tsubasa Kurenai. "Figures. You actually BELONG here."
"You... UGLY thing, you! You can't take my Ukyo away!"
Ukyo, doing brisk business with the actors and audiences this night, took a break to come over to the commotion. "Give it up and GET LOST!" She and Ranma stuffed the dress-up boy in a trash can and kicked it over the Nerima skyline.
Ranma then held himself steady as Ukyo wheeled around and planted a deep kiss on his lips. He tried to respond properly. Maybe he would get the hang of this. in about three hundred years.
"Oh, Ranchan!" she said when they came up for air. "So you made it! Are you really going to play Romeo?"
"Ah, you know... pops want to encourage Akane or something," he said. They began walking back to her cart. "Only problem is everyone wants to see a kiss."
"You don't have to hold back on my account," she said. "This is just for a play, after all."
"Really? It's okay with you if I..."
"Yup. But you don't want to catch any germs, you know?" She held up a roll of masking tape.
Ranma smiled. "Yeah, I guess I don't..." He pocketed the roll with a grin.
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When Furinkan's turn came at the end of the night, Akane stood dressed up and ready on the balcony. "O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
"MY JULIET!" Happosai was the first to make his play as the club director tried to explain the background, leaping from the student's head and swinging on a vine.
Akane tried to stick to the script. "Wh-what man art thou...?"
Kuno leapt to the rescue. "No! I am Romeo!" His bokken cut Happosai's vine, leaving the hentai master to fall into the crowd.
Ranma took his cue. "NO! I'M ROMEO!" His patented boot-to-the-head attack decked Kuno on the stage. Happosai bounced in and a general melee followed.
"J-Juliet..." the balcony said to a surprised Akane. It was Gosunkugi, in a clever bodysuit painted in black and white stripes. "I couldn't beat them in combat... so I disguised myself as the balconEEEE!" He went sailing into the rafters courtesy of a kick from Ranma.
"Juliet!" Ranma perched on the edge of the real balcony, having come out on top of the onstage fight.
Akane tried to react. "Oh, Romeo!" She puckered up. Ranma cradled her cheek in his right hand... obscuring their mouths from the audience as he applied tape to both of them. He then brought their taped lips together as Akane's eyes widened in surprise.
Their fathers, hiding in the garden foliage, began the applause. The audience soon picked it up. The pair ripped their tape off and tried to protest. "It's just PRETEND! Just PRETEND!" they shouted over the din.
The applause continued until the other Romeos had recovered. "If thou protest it is but pretense," Kuno proclaimed, "then thy performance is inadequate. A TRUE Romeo brings out the most earnest performance in his Juliet!"
Happosai was much more plain-spoken by nature. "You're no Romeo, pigtail-boy! Hit the showers!" He threw Ranma into the rafters.
Ranma sighed. He would have no choice but to try his own Juliet.
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He came back from changing to find Happosai had moved the scene along to the wedding. The director was explaining the plot changes. "Poor Juliet is captured by an evil beast intent on -"
Happosai silenced him a bonk. "Who are you calling a beast?"
This left him momentarily open. Ranma took advantage, grabbing him from behind and stuffing a bottle of champagne in his face. "Let's drink a little wedding toast!"
The audience reeled. "What? A new Juliet now? Isn't she a bit...old?"
It was true; Ranma's cursed form, being taller than his normal one - almost as tall as Kuno - gave more of an impression of being college age. Unfortunately the script didn't call for any females but Juliet, and they had no costumes for Lady Capulet or the Nurse. Ranma-chan made do with what she had.
Happosai didn't resist the drink. Ranma sealed his fate by pulling out her bra. "Let me give you a token of my love."
This had the desired effect. Happosai was so engrossed in his prize he was easy prey to being sealed in a full wine barrel and carted offstage. "One down!"
Number Two wasn't to be thrown off by Ranma's cursed form. Kuno had eyes only for Akane. "My one and only Juliet!"
Ranma joined Akane in kicking him into the crowd. "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Ranma shouted after him.
"Right here, 'dear' Juliet," he said, making a swift comeback. He retrieved one of the champagne bottles and tried to shove it in Ranma's face. Ranma was able to deflect it at the last instant.
Kuno was not worried of his tactical failures; he knew how difficult an opponent Saotome could be, especially in girl form. He had long ago decided his only chance was to be overpowering. "Into my embrace, 'dear Juliet,' if you value life!" he said sarcastically, holding his bokken forth to smite his rival.
Ranma positioned herself against the castle wall backdrop. She dodged Kuno's strokes, causing him to cut a makeshift opening into the backstage. On the last thrust she grabbed the bokken by the blade and pulled Kuno behind the wall. Akane and the audience were treated to several seconds of sounds of severe pummeling.
Gosunkugi had now recovered and took advantage of Akane's distraction. "I hope you like chloroform..." he said as he mugged her.
"Get off me!" Akane yelled as she fought back. But it was too late: the chloroform took effect, and she swooned. Gosunkugi dragged her to a coffin set up for the death scene. "Ugh... too... heavy..."
"Two down!" Ranma said, finishing tying up Kuno before changing into male form to finish the scene. "Enough with the understudies! The show must go on!"
He emerged onto the stage to find Gosunkugi trying to drag Akane. "JULIET!" He batted Gosunkugi away and cradled Akane in his arms. "Wake up, stupid! We got a play to finish!"
The curtain closed as he carried her to the coffin. The director offered his narration. "For all of Romeo's loving entreaties... she does not awaken. Juliet sleeps... the sleep of death! But wait! There is one way to awaken her! A kiss from her beloved Romeo!"
The audience was getting confused. "That sounds like Snow White... or Sleeping Beauty!"
Ranma was getting annoyed with the script. The shook the director by his clown suit. "Why does everything keep coming back to a stupid KISS!"
"A special request from our guest judge," the director explained, gesturing behind him to a famous foreign actor, Xian "China" Li.
"Right, right..." Ranma resigned himself. "Well, we've gotten away with it once..." He grabbed the masking tape again and went out to finish the show.
"It was ACTING! You said so yourself!" Ranma pleaded.
"Just how many kisses did you have to give her?" Ukyo accused.
"It was only two all night!"
"Three with Nabiki!"
"What does she have to do with this?"
"You've kissed other women one more time than me!" She puckered up. "We gotta even up."
"Yeesh. So you're keeping track now? Are they money or something? Do you really gotta stay ahead of the pack?"
"Come on, Ranchan! It's just one more kiss! It shouldn't be hard if you really mean it!"
"But I didn't mean those ones on stage! So you're still ahead!"
"R-ranchan..." She was now crying. "Don't you care about my FEELINGS!" She ran away in tears.
Ranma felt horrible, but he still felt it was frustratingly hard to kiss her. He was still too uncomfortable with it. He was, in the end, his father's son, and Genma had raised him to be a fighter, not a lover. He didn't want anything to do with this sappy stuff.
He splashed himself and took a long walk through the night, hoping to see a vision of himself growing strong enough to be a real man about this. Whatever that meant.
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Ryoga was trying to get to sleep when he heard the crash of glass from the resort. He had set up his camp just off the grounds, within sight of the house, so that he would not get lost on the way in if the ghost showed up again and the Senshi needed his help.
"A battle...?" He quickly rushed through the trees to find a middle-aged man, looking like some sort of demon, lying on the ground, cowering before the ghost.
It showed him no mercy, attacking him while down and sending him rolling over the grass. He tried to get up, croaking out a name. "Sakiko..."
Ryoga wondered if the ghost was of a woman scorned or something. Time to get the full story later, he decided. "Stop right there, you! You won't hurt him!" He assumed a stance and prepared his charge.
The ghost turned toward him and seemed to be sizing him up. He ran and leapt, throwing a mighty punch - and sailed right through it, landing and rolling on the ground beyond. "Dammit..." he said as he recovered his feet. "How do I fight a ghost...?"
"You bad ghost that disrupted our holiday!" This came from the house, where the transformed Senshi now posed. "In the name of the moon, we'll punish you!"
"But I'm still scared!" Moon added.
"Don't!" Ryoga shouted to them. "You'll get hurt!"
The old man continued his pleading. "Sakiko, stop! Stop! Don't you recognize me?"
Mercury vanished into the house as the other Senshi set up at three points around the glowing blue contours of the apparition. Sailor Moon took off hre tiara and charged it. "MOON TIARA ACTION!" As with Ryoga, it went through with no effect.
Jupiter now tried a less material attack. "SUPREME THUNDER!" This also failed to connect. The Senshi were now at a loss.
Mercury emerged from the resort mansion with a girl in tow, about six years old. "Father!" the girl exclaimed.
"Sakiko, can't you stop the ghost?" Mercury asked.
Ryoga blinked. "You're Sakiko? Then... who was the ghost?"
"It should have gone when I woke up," Sakiko said. "Why isn't it going away?"
The ghost attacked again, sending the Senshi flying. Ryoga tried leaping again, still to no effect. Sakiko rushed to her father's side.
"Sakiko, run! The ghost is beyond your control!"
"What does that mean?" Sakiko asked.
"I think Sakiko's wish to be out of her father's control was enhanced and started to act on its own," Mercury said. The ghost's next attack sent her flying into the bushes.
Sakiko's father was now showing remorse. "I'm sorry, I always knew you wanted to lead a normal life..."
The ghost now moved in for the kill. Sakiko suddenly turned around in desperation and closed her eyes in concentration. "STOP!"
A blast of energy erupted from her. Sakiko sustained it as it disrupted the ghost. She kept it up until the ghost was entirely dispersed. She then collapsed in exhaustion.
Everyone began to relax now that the treat seemed gone. Sakiko's father began to explain. "I wanted to prove that Sakiko had this powerful ability. I knew she hated her power, but I went on with the training. And I used the guests of the lodge as test subjects."
"Then what about them?" Sailor Moon asked, indicating the employees dressed in monster costumes.
"I bet they were trying to exorcise the ghost," Mars said.
Ryoga looked darkly at Sakiko's father. "Using a little girl like that... and your guests..." He looked away in disgust. "Feh. You deserve what you get. I'll tell people about this and then we'll see how many guests you have."
He then remembered something. "Uhhmmm...where are we, exactly...?"
The Senshi all sweatdropped at this.
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AN: For those who were wondering, the Four Lords of the Dark Kingdom were originally Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite, and Kunzite. Each was lover of one of the Inner Senshi before falling to the control of the Dark Kingdom. I have created an original character, Magnetite, to serve as Pluto's lover and the key to turning her powers to the Dark Kingdom's use; he was the general seen in the flashback to Pluto's death. Following Jadeite's death he is promoted as replacement, and starts to take his own notes...
How I'd Do It section: Ranma/Negima crossovers. There are some good ones going right now, usually trying to get Ranma and possibly other NWC working with Negi at their normal ages - 16-18 for NWC, 10 for Negi, 14-15 for Negi's class. I'd be more interested in taking their commonly used dates - 1992 for the start of Ranma, 2003 for Negima. This means Ranma is encountering figures in the Negimaverse anywhere froma year before to a year after Negi's birth, depending on if you take Ranma from early or late in his continuity. So... how about Ranma adventuring as one of Negi's father's party?
Ranma/Ikki Tousen. Sounds very natural... Ranma graduates from near-futile, near-bloodless battles with NWC to tons of blood and gore. And Ranma-chan won't be the only one getting her clothes blown off by the force of the blows...