Ranma Half Moon chapter 26, Incident at the Ball, part 2 of 4
Author's note:
This episode fits in with Sailor Moon episode 22, where the Sailor Warriors thwart a plot to steal the silver crystal of a princess during a ball.
I now have a fiction press site for non-fanfiction stuff. If you want to check it out do a search for "resop" at the "fictionpress" website. My story is called "A Dream of Roses". It is about a group of blossoming young girls who are giving it their all for an opportunity to shine brightly as professional wrestlers in Japan.
Author's note: Song lyric translation by Kurozuki dot com.
Scene 1
"Congratulations Saotome-kun!"
Ranma-ko looks at Minako funny. "Why?"
"You danced with your man."
"Mi-na-ko!?" Ranma-ko voice seethes with annoyance.
"Okay, okay. However, while you were chasing hearts, I was able to find out where the Princess is hiding."
Ranma-ko nods. "Good work. What's next?"
"We still have some time, but it might be a good idea at some point to spy through her window through the trees outside. I have Artimus outside in a tree doing surveillance, but at some point we need to get up there as well."
Ranma-ko nods.
Ranma-ko sees someone else in the corner of her eye. "Minako, I need to talk with someone."
Minako nods. "Keep up the good work, one man is not enough for glamorous idol girls like us."
Ranma-ko rolls her eyes.
Scene 2
Usagi, Rei, Ami and Luna make their way through security, taking advantage of the scene that the disguised Usagi causes.
Scene 3
"Naru, what are you doing here?"
Naru looks up. "Ranma, I didn't expect to see you here. My mom is one of the subcontractors for the party."
"Cool. Oh, I danced with your boyfriend."
"Is Mister Sanjoin here?"
Ranma-ko looks around and is able to pick out Tuxedo Kamen. "He's over there. The tall one by the punch bowl."
Naru starts laughing. "Him? Ranma, that couldn't possibly be Mister Sanjoin."
"It's not?" Ranma-ko starts getting freaked out.
Naru gets a knowing smile. "Ranma, I see that you're still pretty new at being a girl."
"Gee, thanks. I never wanted it to happen, you know."
"You didn't? How tragic. Anyway, when a girl is in love she notices everything about her beloved. Even if her beloved was wearing a panda bear costume, she would still recognize her beloved by the way that her beloved moves."
Ranma-ko starts feeling funny. The ball room was full of guys in black tuxedos wearing white ball masks. Yet, she had recognized Tuxedo Kamen instantly. Could it be? No, Ranma-ko notices the way that people move not because of love but because of her martial arts training.
"Do you think Mister Sanjoin might come? That would be so cool."
This causes Ranma-ko to become more serious. "Naru, Masoto Sanjoin may or may not be Tuxedo Kamen. But, the more important issue is that I have seen Mister Sanjoin command monsters first hand. Is this really the type of guy you want to hang around with?"
"I love him."
"And, how old are you?"
"Fourteen."
Ranma-ko shakes her head. At least she wasn't a girl when she was 14. "Naru-kun, good luck. I just hope that I don't have to break your heart by killing Mister Sanjoin."
Naru grabs Ranma-ko's arm. "Why do you have to chase Mister Sanjoin?"
Ranma-ko smiles. "It's a secret. For now, let's just say that as a representative of my fighting dojo, I have a responsibility."
Naru starts sniffling. "Is life always so hard?"
Ranma-ko nods. "Always."
Scene 4
"Minako, what a surprise to see you! Did you like my song?"
"Mio-chan." Minako had tried hard to avoid Mio Kuorki but Mio was a hard person to shake. "It was good. I think it will do as well as 'Change of Pace' on the charts."
Mio beams. "I was inspired to write the song by watching the evening news and seeing those super heroines, the Sailor Warriors."
"Figures." Minako thinks to herself. "Mio-chan, is this the biggest party you've been to?"
"Mio-chan hasn't been a star for very long. This is much nicer than anything I've been to so far. And, I'm here with Minako-chan, so Mio-chan is happy."
This annoys Minako.
"Maybe Mio-chan and Minako-chan could sing a song from the show for the crowd?"
"I don't think they would let us."
Mio frowns. "Yeah, they would say no." Suddenly Mio smiles. "Please excuse Mio-chan, she sees hot guy."
"Sure, sure, go for it Mio."
Minako sighs. Mio sure was a handful.
Scene 5
Ranma-ko wanders around the edge of the dance floor looking for clues.
Suddenly, she is grabbed by the arm.
"Shall we dance, miss?"
Ranma-ko gets very mad. "Do I know you?"
The man is tall and has long hair. His face is hidden by his ball mask. "I think that you do, Ranma."
The man leads Ranma out on the dance floor.
"How do you know my name?"
"I remember the name of every beautiful girl that I meet."
Ranma-ko decides to play egotistical. "Well, you have one on me. I meet so many admiring guys that they all blend together."
"Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be rude, but I just saw someone that I must to talk to." The man waves to Ranma-ko while walking away. "Say hello to Akane for me."
Ranma-ko notices that the man walks straight towards Naru. Wait a second! Say hello to Akane? That's, that's, that's the king of the yomas, Masoto Sanjoin!
Ranma-ko sighs. Gee, this dance card is filling up fast!
On the other side of the dance floor, Mio Kuroki approaches Tuxedo Kamen. "Excuse me? Mio-chan can't help but admire your tuxedo. Did you like Mio-chan's song?"
"It was very nice."
"I wrote it for the Sailor Warriors."
Tuxedo Kamen smiles. "I'm sure they will like it." Tuxedo Kamen sees the disguised Usagi enter the ballroom. He cannot tell that it is Usagi, but she somehow feels familiar.
"Please excuse me, I need to say hello to a friend."
"Sure." Mio looks at Tuxedo Kamen as he walks away and notes his magical aura. "We'll being seeing a lot of each other. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."
To be Continued!
Author's note: Hidden in this chapter is a gimmick that I stole from the third Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA, and that OVA probably hasn't even been drawn yet! (Praise Erica's fan translations of the novels on the Yuricon Yahoo group.) Can you guess what the gimmick is? Leave your guesses on the reviews.