Ranma Half Moon chapter 38, A Star is Borne of Sorrow, part 1
Author's note:
This episode goes before with Sailor Moon episode 26, Bring a smile to Naru's Face! Usagi's friendship.
Note: Lyrics from Katagoshi ni Kinsei ("Venus Over My Shoulder") are clumsily adapted from a translation on sailormusic dot net.
Scene One
Minako pinches herself. She is awake, and Mio's manager is picking her up to go to the studio.
Mio Kuroki sticks her head out of the back of the car. "Hurry up, slow poke! Studio time is precious and we won't get any more if we don't finish." Mio uses her normal voice, rather than her childish voice.
Minako rushes to get in the back of the car. "Sorry. Five minutes ago I was pretending to care about school."
Mio does an haughty laugh. "Soon, you won't even worry about things like that."
"Was it hard for you, when you first started, Mio?"
This question shakes Mio. "I ran around for two years and never got anywhere. Then one day it all clicked. It was hard to accept success after all that frustration, but, like a baby bird, once I got over the shock of flying I never thought about it again."
Minako nods.
"But, I got a great song for you. It's not really my range or style, but I think it's a good match for you. Here, start reading the lyrics."
Scene 2
Ranma-ko walks by Cologne's Chinese restaurant. She sees Mamoru inside. She takes a deep breath and decides to take the bull by the horns. She walks in.
"Girl-type Ranma, why are you here?" Shampoo is quick to make her enemy feel uncomfortable.
"Calm down, Shampoo. I was hungry, okay?"
Ranma-ko waves to Mamoru. "Oh, Mamoru, fancy meeting you here!"
Mamoru smiles. "Ranma, won't you join me?"
Ranma-ko can see steam coming from Shampoo's ears. Out of the corner of her eye she can also see steam coming from Moose's ears. This was going to be fun.
Scene 3
Minako tries to make herself comfortable in the studio booth. Mio had helped her warm up with some exercises, so she feels confident about her voice.
However, the lyrics of the song make her slightly uncomfortable, like they are an inside joke played by Mio on her. But, that was impossible. Mio Kuroki doesn't know that Minako Aino is Sailor Venus.
"You ready for your first take?" Mio talk over an intercom and waves to Minako from behind the glass that separates the booth from the console room.
Minako nods.
Minako hears the intro through her headphones. It's time to do my best!
"In the clouds, before daybreak, the two of us found Venus.
Will our secret love vanish into the sky unsung? ..."
Scene 4
Ranma-ko and Mamoru laugh loudly at one of Mamaru's jokes. The joke wasn't funny, but Ranma-ko wanted to pretend that she was having a better time than she was just to make Shampoo angry.
Suddenly, Shampoo snaps. She comes over to Ranma-ko's table and shoves Ranma-ko.
"What's wrong with you, Shampoo. I'm your customer right now."
"Shampoo not care. Girl-type Ranma just doing this because she saw Shampoo flirt with Mamoru. I challenge Ranma to fight." Shampoo's crossed eyes look especially menacing.
Mamoru breaks into a cold sweat. "There's no reason to fight here."
Mamoru gets even more surprised when he is also shoved.
Moose towers over the seated Mamoru in a menacing fashion. "I think that there is a reason to fight. I'm not going to let you flirt with my Shampoo and get away with it."
Scene 5
"I was often watching you by the window.
I knew that you already had a special girl.
I smell the grass, behind my shoulders,
I'll hold on to these feelings even though they hurt.
So one day soon these feeling will transform
into the flowers that you never gave to me..."
Minako can see Mio cheering her one from behind the glass even though she can't hear her. This gives Minako more confidence.
Scene 6
Shampoo shoots Moose a dirty look, then gets back to Ranma-ko. "So, is girl-type Ranma fight?"
Ranma-ko grabs Mamoru by the arm and drags him back. "Mamoru, you better get out of here. Moose and Shampoo are like upper-level black belts and they can do some serious damage. You're only going to get hurt if you stay here."
Mamoru pats Ranma-ko's hand. "No, I think I will accept Moose's challenge."
Ranma-ko gulps. She has long suspected that Mamoru was a shape-shifter from the Jusenkyo Cursed Springs Martial Arts Training camp. Maybe she is finally going to see the true terror of Mamoru's power?
Moose's voice gets shriller and shriller. "You dare to take me lightly? I will show you my power!"
Scene 7
"Tomorrow, I'll smile again, even though I will be in pain.
But, my tears are gone and I will find a new love, looking at Venus."
Minako slumps exhausted. It is the tenth take, and none of them have really lived up to her expectations.
Mio sticks her head into the booth. "The technician thinks we got it!"
"But I goofed up the first verse!"
"Yeah, but take three's first verse was great. The tech guy will work his magic and edit the best parts together."
"But, I ..."
"Come on. The tech guys says we're done. I think it smells like a hit."
"Okay."
"Let's celebrate! I know a great restaurant."
"Thanks, Mio. I was really in heaven today."
"That's the whole idea." Mio smirks to herself.
Scene 8
Mamoru catches his breath walking down the sidewalk after pulling Ranma-ko out of the restaurant.
"What the heck was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"How were you able to evade the chains that Moose hides in his sleeves?"
Mamoru smirks. "His disguise would fool most people, but when I saw him I knew that he had six weapons hidden on his body due to the discrepancies between the bulges in his clothes and the predicted limb sizes for his frame and body type."
"He normally has eight, but that was amazing that you saw six."
"Since the bulge for his elbow was four inches too low, I was able to estimate how far his chain would extend, so I was able to grab his chains, tie them to a beam, and then yank him head first into the beam."
"And, what was that with Shampoo? Normally Shampoo wouldn't care if someone threw a flower at her."
"Well, in my medical studies, I learned the people from her region of China have an inherited medical condition that causes their eyes to cross. This crossing causes them to have a small blind spot in the middle of their field of vision. So, when I threw the rose at her, she didn't see it until it hit her in the head, surprising her enough to cause her to fall down and let us escape."
"Well, I am impressed."
"So, Ranma, are you doing anything Saturday? There's a museum opening that I am going to."
Ranma-ko smiles. "Sure. I'd love to go. Give me a call at the dojo. But, I gotta run now. Later!"
As Ranma-ko runs off she thinks to herself. "What was that? A date?? But, I need to find out if he's a shape shifter. So, I had better go through with it, even though he's a guy!"
To Be Continued!