Chapter 1
Wind blew through the city of San Francicso whipping away at the streets. Yeilding to the might of the wind, trees swayed in their own private dance as people began to wake. The city of San Francisco, home of the largest population of engineers and software programmers in the world, began its daily act of greeting the sun. As the day began to burst forth, people began their daily ritual of commuting. Greeting the morning sun was no odd occurance for a certain young blond woman living in a downtown San Fran. apartment. However today, she remained buried in the folds of her blankets. A screeching pierced the air as an annoying alarm clock initiates. Groggy hands emerges from the confines of the blanket to grasp the alarm. Bleary eyes focused on the ceiling as Usagi awoke.
It had been four years since the fateful night of the gala when Usagi had ended her relationship with her destined lover. In a brash decision Usagi had decided to stay in San Francisco to begin her life a new. She had become requainted with her family since the time she moved to America. For the first year, she attended college and lived with her parents. However after she had enough money she moved out on her own and continued school on a part time basis. Now at the age of 23, Usagi worked as a professional photographer. All in all her transition to America went rather smoothly.
"Usagi! Have you seen my brand new Armani white shirt?"
Fully focusing on her room, she heard her roomate yelling through her door. Poking her head outside, she saw a blond blur racing around the living room. "Mina! Calm down, it is probably still hanging in the bathroom!" Rubbing her eyes, Usagi thought back to how Mina and her had met up again. They had both been attending UC Berkely together and dormed together. Both being strangers in a foreign land, they took comfort in knowing there was someone there who understood their problems. Forming a close bond, they supported each other in their time of need. Mina was now working as an actress trying to make a big break into the big screen.
"Usagi! Where are my-"
"On top of the fridge."
"Usagi! I can't find my-"
"On the Balcony!"
"Usagi!"
"Under your bed." The question and answer session was part of their morning ritual when Mina had an audition. Usagi calmly got ready for work as her hyperactive roomate sprinted around the apartment. After getting dressed and freshened up, Usagi quickly prepares some breakfast. Within minutes two bagels are toasted and buttered, a pair of apples and two bags of lunch were laid out on the kitchen counter. Standing back as the blond blur known as her roomate streaked past her and grabbed the bagel, apple and bag of lunch, Usagi smirked. If it had been 4 years ago, it would have been her who was so unorganized and most likely tripping her way out the door. However since then she had become less and less clumsy and more like the graceful princess she was once. Learning to manage her time in school, Usagi had a better idea of how to organize her schedule and the importance of waking up on time. Smiling at the reminiscense, Usagi glanced down at her watch.
"Oh my god I'm going to be late!"
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A few miles away in a skyscraper a young man sat at his desk pondering his next move. Cool and calculating he looked at the dilemma at hand. Which pawn would be sacrificed? Looking across at his opponent he tried to read her intentions, finding nothing, he looked back to the battlefield laid out before his desk, he made his move.
"Pawn takes rook. Checkmate."
"You know Ranma you are too good at this game for your own good." Nabiki sat back in her chair looking at the chessboard in front of her.
"It's like the business arena, and like the business arena I never loose." Ranma said in a calm voice as he sipped his tea.
Sipping her tea with a grimace, Nabiki picked up a 1 inch thick folder. "Anyways, how's the deal with Armantech? Will we be acquiring their nanotech division?"
Standing up, Ranma walked over to the large bay window. The last four years have been very good to Ranma, his hair now cut short to signify the loss of Akane. He was still tall and lean with a build anyone could appreciate. However his eyes portrayed emptyness instead of the happy young man who was once know as Ranma. After Akane had left him for another man, Ranma' became distant for a few weeks, only to return as a changed man. No longer naive and carefree, he was now more aware and calm. Now one of the richest men in the world at the age of 26, Ranma was also the most eligible bachelor in the world. As the CEO of ST Corp, he held virtually all power in the biotech industry, and a giant in the computer and software industry. All in all a perfect example of a man among men. Except for the hole in his heart that has been cemeted away.
"Nabiki, they are already ours, they just don't know about it." Ranma finally said.
Looking at the empty shell of eyes, Nabiki cursed her sister for being so fleeting with the heart. "Ranma, you really need some time off. between the job and training you put yourself through, when do you sleep? When do you have time for yourself? You need to take a break from work."
Looking to the sky above, Ranma imagined the feeling of reaching beyond the stars. "I shall. After the December conference I will be taking a trip over to China to train in the mountains and to keep Saffron at bay."
"Ranma..."
With his eyes betraying no feelings, Ranma turned to look at Nabiki."Nabiki you are my sister and my partner, we have made a very successful business together, please don't make me upset. I know exactly where you are going with this conversation. We've had it so many times and everytime I have told you the same thing. By pushing this issue, I know what you are getting at and I told you I am never investing time and effort into a relationship."
"Listen Ranma you can't keep avoiding the topic, you are still hurting from Akane. However this is just not healthy. You have retreated into a shell of emotionlessness since she left. Please just move on, you are so lonely and everyone feels it." Nabiki tried one more time.
Walking to the fireplace in the office, Ranma raised his hand and sent a small burst of chi to ignite the logs. Squating down and looking into the fire intensly, Ranma thrust his left hand into the flame. Screaming, Nabiki jumped out of her chair and raced to her 'brother'. Tearing his hands from the flame, Nabiki looked at his scarred hand.
"What were you thinking?" She screamed into his face. Peering into the impassive face, she wanted to slap him. However he motioned for her to look at his hands. Looking down at the scarred hand, she stepped back but fell onto her bottom. Ranma's scarred hand was healing at a alarming rate. what were 3rd degree burns just a split second ago were now faded away to 1st degree burns. Staring into her face, Ranma stood again.
"I care nothing for that... person. I am who I have become, as life has made me. What you see before you is what destiny has decided for me. If I must be lonely, so be it. Loneliness allows me to concentrate on the success of this company and my success in this world. It allowed me to train to be the best. This is what destiny has chosen for me."
Tears nearly formed at Nabiki's eyes as she saw the shell of a man where once was a lively optimistic young man. Life was cruel indeed. "I'm so sorry, Ranma. Kasumi, your mother and I just want you to love again."
"I appreciate the thought but never again will I entrust my heart to anyone again."
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The moon glowed brightly upon the Saotome ancestral home. The matriarch of the household was sitting on a balcony looking into the great beyond. Her face still youthful, however her eyes shone with wisdom. Tonight she had only one thing on her mind; her son. Tears formed at her eyes everytime she thought of her beloved son. Tears formed because of his lost childhood; of growing up without a mother and without a family. Tears of sorrow and pain from the loss that her son had to endure. Tears of a mother formed from the suffering her son has had to endure every day for he past four years.
"Dear?"
Turning to face her husband, a man who she had hated for a few years. That was until he won her back over by re-courting her after their divorce six years ago. They had been remarried for two years now, and he had been her support everyday of those two years. "Yes, anata?"
"What are you thinking of?" Genma moved to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her body.
"Our dear son... you know what today is right?" she said as she leaned into his chest. Enjoying the loving attention he was giving her, she tried not to cry for her son.
"The boy is strong. Stronger than anyone is and will be. He will survive this." Genma said stoically. He knew this was true, however he was worried for his son too. Many thought that he never loved his son, but this was simply not true. He did love his son, quite a bit, but he just simply did not know how to be a father. He tried to give Ranma the one gift that he felt was the most important to his life other than his family; The Art. Teaching him all he knew of the Art and more than he knew gave him joy that his son was so strong. However emotionally, Ranma never had to deal with any blows as he did physically. In that respect his son was weak. When Akane broke the engagement with him, it was similar to a strong strike to his heart. But being his son, he recuperated and fortified his weak point. Unfortunately that made him a emotionless man now.
"I know, but how much of this suffering must our son endure? Do the gods hate him so? Why?" Looking to the heavens, Nodoka searched for an answer.
"Anata, that is not for us to know. We can only be his mother and father as best we can. It doesn't do any good to ask for a question that cannot be answered now."
" I suppose so." Holding onto her husband, she silently cursed the gods for her son's suffering.
"Mom? Dad?" A calm voice called out to the couple. Turning around, they saw their adopted daughter Natsume standing in the doorway.
"What is it?" Genma replied noticing how much Natsume had grown since they had taken her and her sister in as their daughters two years ago.
"Kasumi, Taro, Ryouga and Dr. Ono are here with Uncle Tendo." Nodding, Genma guided his wife to the living room to greet their guests.
Natsume looked to her foster parents and felt her heart reach for them. Their son was slowly slipping away from all of them and they were simply running out of ways to help him. She remembered her first encounter with Ranma. He was so full of life and energetic, he had defeated Kurumi and herself with his wits and a smile on his face.
She had heard and saw the result of his power when a loved one was threatened. However when she met him three and a half years ago she saw not a man of life, but a man of loneliness and bitterness. Both her and Kurumi were on the brink of starvation since they had moved to America. When she heard the name Saotome, she immediately went to the Saotome house to find Ranma in hopes that he could give her a job to help a sick Kurumi. Instead she found the loving woman she called mother now.
Taking the two of them into her home, she nursed Kurumi back to health and fed them both. During this time her mother clung to her and Kurumi as much as they clung to her. After a few months they went back to Japan, where they stayed another year before their mother officially adopted them into the family. Since then Natsume has been teaching martial arts at the Tendo-Saotome Anything goes school of Martial Arts. Kurumi was now attending college in America training to join Ranma in ST Corp. All in all Natsume felt like a family except for her suffering parents and brother. Looking at the large room before her she swore that she would do anything in her power to mend this family back together.
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Gathered in the Saotome living room were Ranma's closest confidents other than Nabiki, Shampoo and Cologne. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as they all stared at some part of the house. Each mulling within their own thoughts trying to find something to say to the Saotome heads. No one really knew what to say to them except that they would continue in their efforts to revive Ranma. Ryouga looked to his brother in arms Taro with tired eyes
"How have you been Taro?"
With a cool and calm exterior, Taro looked at Ryouga. "Not any better than you have been. The Amazons grow restless recently with Saffron regaining his powers again. No one knows if he will decide to join the modern world or go against it."
Ryouga winced at the mention of Saffron. That name struck fear into the hearts of many people due to the power that the Phoenix has accumulated in the past years. Everyone who had a certain level of martial arts expertise could sense the rise in power of the winged being. "I will be joining you in the village at the end of this year."
"If that is your will, we would be in much need to defend against Saffron if he so chooses to oppose the modern era." Taro said a silent thank you to the gods. Ryouga would be a great asset to their side just in case. They had both grown to be each others equal in power.
Looking over, Kasumi looked at the two younger men conversing in their matters as she sat with her husband Tofu. So far her life has been far from easy. Since the marriage began, Tofu and herself had many arguments regarding where their hearts laid. Since Kasumi recieved her license as a doctor, she began a practice with her friend Mika in pediatrics. With the both her husband and her so busy neither had much time to spend with each other. That combined with the fact that they have yet to produce a child frustrated the couple to no end. Just then her Aunt and Uncle entered the room interrupting her thoughts.
"Greetings everyone, thank you for all coming. Dinner will be served in a few moments."
"Auntie Saotome, how have you been?"
"Saotome-kun! Are you up to a game of shogi?"
"Natsume why don't you show us around?"
At least in sorrow, the Saotomes have their friends and each other.
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Collapsing onto the couch in their apartment, Usagi dropped all her camera equipment next to her. Although she loved photography, it was exhausting work. Especially when the pictures had to be from the top of a mountain. She had spent all day hiking up the side of a mountain to obtain pictures for a new client. Looking over to the clock mounted on the wall, she noted that she had another hour before Mina came home. Since it was her turn to cook, she would have to start dinner now. If she had the money she would just order takeout, but she couldn't neither her nor Mina were rich and eating out was a luxury that they could not afford. For now it would just be grilled chicken and rice. Lolling her head back she stared out the sky window, tonight the moon was beautiful.
"Hello mother." Usagi liked to talk to the moon as if her mother Queen Serenity was still on it. It comforted her in times when she needed to be alone.
"It's been six years since I last saw him. Even though I've loved every minute of my life here in America, I still wish that he stayed here with me. I guess I still love him, after all we are destined to be together. I have to love him."
Smiling to herself, Usagi remembered all those times when they walked through the parks enjoying each other's company. "I haven't seen a man on a romantic basis since Mamo-chan. I just wish he understood why I needed to be out on my own for a bit. At least we talk to each other once or twice a month, but he seems so distant these past few months. He says he understands why we have to be apart but I can hear... something in his voice."
"We've agreed to love each other and remain faithful even though we are apart. I know this is hard on him but it is a testament of our love for each other. It cannot be broken after this trial. When we settle down, it will be forever and I do not want either of us having doubts or yearnings. I just hope that this time apart will rid us of our doubts and yearnings."
As Usagi continued her heart to heart, the moon seemed to glimmer and twinkle in response to the blond woman. "I hope he comes to America soon so we can see each other. I miss his warmth and his love." Wrapping her arms around herself, Usagi thought back to the times when her Mamo-chan held her as if she were the only one in this universe.
Suddenly the door burst in disrupting her train of thought. With an annoyed look, Usagi raised her head to what Mina was so excited about. What surprised her was that Mina staggering to bathroom. Sniffing the air, Usagi definately noticed the alcohol in the air. Forcing her tired body to get up, she stood to help her drunken friend.
"Mina-chan? Are you okay?" Usagi asked tentatively from the door.
"Yes! I got the part!" came a drunken reply from the bathroom.
"Really! That's great!" Usagi rushed to the bathroom to help her roomate. Mina was currently holding herself up on the sink as the bath filled with cold water.
"Yup! Me and Miaka went to celebrate at her brother's pub! I think I'm a little tipsy." Smiling brightly Mina nodded at that proclaimation.
"I think you did too." Leading her friend away from the bath, Usagi pushed some of Mina's stuffed animals out of the way so that she could lie down. "Come on Mina, please lie down."
"You're such a good friend Usagi." Mina slurred as she laid down. Suddenly she sat up and held onto her friends arm. "You should find a man. Forget about Mamoru!"
"Shhhhh... Sleep Mina-chan." usagi said as she gently laid her friend back onto the bed. Within minutes, Mina was sleeping. Stretching, Usagi looked out Mina's window to see a shooting star. Closing her eyes she made a wish, " I wish to see Mamo-chan again."
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The next morning, Usagi woke to her roomate stumbling around the kitchen. Groaning, Usagi pushed her stuffed cat aside and opened her eyes. Looking out the window she saw the darkening clouds up above the sky preventing the life giving sun to shine through. Yawning Usagi mentally went through a list of thing she had to do today. When she heard Mina knock something else over, she sighed and got out of bed.
"Mina! What are you looking f-" Usagi's mouth was instantly covered by her roomate's hand. With her index finger on her lips Mina made 'shushing' sounds.
"Not so loud." she whispered. Nodding Usagi walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Following behind her, Mina made her way to the couch and threw herself down. Quickly setting some water to boil on the stove, Usagi searched through the cabinets for some asprin. Throwing some bagels into the toaster, Usagi quickly fished out two mugs. Suddenly a breeze blew through an opened window as Usagi shivered a bit.
'Odd it's not even a cold breeze.' Usagi thought to herself. Shrugging, she looked onto the calendar to see where she had to go with her camera. 'The Hyatt for a wedding.' Smiling, Usagi loved to see weddings. it always filled her heart with joy to see the union of two people in love. She quietly imagined what her marriage would be like. First she would be in a beautiful white wedding dress and it would be an outdoors wedding. However before she could go into anymore details, the pot screeched to notify that the water was ready. Preparing some tea, Usagi brought the two cups of tea, toasted bagels, and two tablets of asprin over to the small table next to the couch.
"Here Mina-chan." Handing the suffering girl the two tablets, Usagi leaned back in her chair to enjoy her bagel.
"Where are you headed Usagi?" Mina said as she swallowed the two tablets.
"The Hyatt for a wedding, do you want to come?" Usagi said brightly as she looked out upon the gloomy clouds.
"Nah, I've got to go talk to the director about the script and some details." Nodding, Usagi turned on the TV to watch the morning news.
"With temperatures in the low 70s, we will be expecting rain all day long. I hope all of you have your umbrellas handy!" The news lady reported the dreadful news with a smile. Next a picture of a handsome man appeared on the monitor.
"Now in later news, billionaire Ranma Saotome reported a large contribution to fund the rebuilding of seaport which was destroyed three months ago in a Chinese terrorist bombing. The police have yet to find the cuprit of the bombing, however forensics did not find any signs of explosives. Reports are still cycling in Chinatown that there were two figures throwing bolts of energy blasts from their hands and that was the cause of the explosion."
"Also, Ranma Saotome is holding an annual charity gala at the Seaside Palace for starving children across the world This Saturday night. We will have live coverage of the guests as they enter the gala."
Feeling off, Usagi quickly got up to take a shower, leaving a bloodshot Mina to finish her tea. While undressing, she looked at herself. She had matured in the past few years. All her years of exercising and eating healthier had allowed her body to develop into the lithe and graceful woman she was now. Her fast metabolism allowed her to keep her figure and the baby fat from her face was also gone. Her chest was now fully developed and somedays a bit of a pain to have a large chest, but overally she felt that she was very well proportioned.
Stepping into the shower, Usagi thought back to the man on TV. "I wonder why he looks so sad and lonely?"
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As the morning broke across Napa, a young man stood in a darkened dojo concentrating deeply. All of a sudden dozens of blades swung down from the ceiling towards the young man. However the blades stopped a few feet from the man's body as they struck an invisible barrier. Dark blue and green tendrils of chi wrapped itself around the man's body slithering like a pair of snakes. As the man raise his right hand above his head, the tendrils were absorbed into his palm. Holding his hand out in front of his body, he concentrated even more causing flames of dark blue to erupt from his hand. With a shout, he released an enormous beam of fire towards titanium wall. When the beam died down, the wall had melted into nothingness so had the wall behind the titanium wall and the trees behind the walls.
Just then a screen flickered to life on the wall behind the man. "Ranma? We have a meeting in two hours with Armantech's CEO, and you need to go over the details of the gala with Kasumi after the the meeting. Then dinner with your mother and sisters. Your father called to inform you of a book he had found with arcane martial art techniques, he would like for you to take a look at it."
Catching his breath, Ranma walked to the door and nodded to his secretary. "I will meet you at the heliopad in an hour and a half, call my father and tell him to give the book to mother so she can bring it to dinner tonight. Tell Kasumi that I will be ready at lunch to go over the details. Also tell the Hyatt that I will be requiring a bottle of Dom Perignon and all the rooms beneath the penthouse tonight."
"Very good, Ranma. Will that be all?"
As Ranma was about to walk towards the bathroom, he stopped. "Actually yes, what are you doing on Saturday night?"
"Nothing as of yet. Why?"
"I need a date to the gala, if my mother insists, and I cannot find an appropriate date, I want you to come with me."
"Very good. Will that be all?"
"Yes, good day Setsuna."
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Nodoka sat calmly on the plane as she looked over the darkened Pacific ocean. She has flown so many times across the ocean that she was so used to the time zone changes. Looking over to her daughter Natsume, she noted how much she had matured in the past few years. It was no wonder that so many men sought to date her. However Natsume ignored most of them as they did not impress her at all. For a long time she had a crush on Ranma, however realizing that their relationship could never be, she stopped. She had recently been secretly seeing someone that Nodoka had yet to find out. Suddenly the screen in front of her lit up as a dark green hair woman appeared.
"Greetings Mrs. Saotome, Ranma has asked me to ask you to bring your husband's newly aquired book to dinner tonight."
Smiling at the woman, Nodoka sill wondered what it was about this woman that looked out of place. "Thank you Setsuna, if it is possible please call Kurumi and tell her to meet us at the Hyatt tonight at 8 pm. Also arrange to have someone to pick us up at the airport."
"Very good maam. will there be anything else?"
"Actually," Nodoka looked intenly at the woman and wondered if she would know. "do you know if my son is seeing anyone?"
"No maam."
"Oh I see, has he been well?"
"He is perhaps the healthiest man in the world."
"Emotionally I mean."
"He is as he has been since Ms. Tendo left him."
"Oh I see. Thank you Setsuna."
"Have a nice day maam." As the woman on the screen dissappeared Nodoka looked out into the sky and wept for her son.
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At the same time, a tall young man arrived in the San Francisco airport. Looking around he remembered the last time he was here, he had lost his girlfriend. However that had been four years ago and he had been a lowly reporter, he was now back to ensnare her again. He would show her that he could provide anything she wanted for her. Being the new editor of the magazine Generation, he was a very powerful man in Japan. Now all he had to do was to charm her as he did so with so many women. Confident that Usagi would run back into his arms now that he had changed the man he used to be, he strolled out of the airport.
Looking around he saw his assistant standing next to a red sports car. Mamoru Chiba smirked and carried his bags to the car.
"Well, I'm glad that you have such good taste." he said as he threw his bags into the back seat of the car.
"I'm glad you like the car, I rented it for 2 weeks and that can be extended to however long you plan to stay here." Maria stated with a bow to her employer.
Nodding, Mamoru slid into the drivers seat of the car relishing the feel of leather molding against his body. "Good, is my room at the Hyatt reserved?"
"Actually the penthouse has been reserved by someone else and the Hyatt placed you in one of their best suite."
With an incredulous look, Mamoru was amazed that he would be turned down for the penthouse. It had been a while since someone of greater importance stayed at the same hotel he did. "Who beat me out of the penthouse?"
"Ranma Saotome."
With a snort, Mamoru waved his assistant off. As Maria left, he started the car and looked at the city ahead of him. "It's been four years but I'm back and Usagi you will see how rich and powerful I am now."
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Arriving at her workplace in downtown San Francisco, Usagi waved to the florist who was located next the photography office. The photography office was not a very large nor very famous photography shop. However they made enough to make a tidy profit. Today's wedding would be their biggest job yet, a rich politician's son had decided to hire them due to their good reputation. If they made a good impression today, it could mean a lot of publicity for them. Making her way to her desk, Usagi placed her equipment down.
"Usagi!" Turning around, Usagi was immediately cornered by her boss. Her boss was a short Japanese woman in her early thirties. She was a kind boss to work for, however she was too high strung.
"Michelle, calm down. What's wrong?"
"The editor of Generations is in town." The older woman was waving her hands around and fretting with her hair at the same time.
"Yes, I heard what about him?" Usagi said as she mentally picked out her outfit for today's event.
"I want to try to impress him with our photographs, so he can link us with several very important contracts. I want you to talk to him today." The older woman said excitedly. "I hear he is single."
Rolling her eyes, Usagi sat down at her desk and fumbled through the draws for a pen. "Michelle, I told you I don't feel like dating, it's such a hassle. When the time is right, destiny will guide me to my true lover."
"I know I know, but how are you going to find a man when you don't actively go looking for one?"
Finding a pen, Usagi began to quickly jot down some notes on her post-it notes. "I don't like these rich snobby guys, besides I have that wedding to do today."
"I'll do it." A rich voice said from behind Michelle. "Afterall, I think I am a bit more qualified to meet this man. Besides, I think the editor would prefer a woman as opposed to a girl. "
Sighing, Usagi knew today was a bad day, first her car had stalled out on her twice, and now Anna was busting her chops. Ever since she joined the office, Anna had dislike her for some reason. Usagi got along with everyone except Anna. For some reason, the woman just didn't like the fact that Usagi was so friendly and just about everyone liked her. Anna was constantly putting her down on her looks, insulting her intelligence, and her actions. However Usagi never really got too angry at Anna, she just avoided her. Afterall Anna did a lot for the company, she was the person responsible for advertisements and public relations and image. With her sharp mind and killer body, she managed to attract quite a few customers. Wanting not to antagonize her, Usagi just nodded.
"If Anna wants to do it, let her. I really have no interest in meeting this editor." Michelle looked exasperated at her friend. She had wanted to set Usagi on a date with a rich and influential man. Afterall what kind of friend was she if she didn't try to help her friend's love life?
"Okay, Anna take Usagi's pictures and meet this man for dinner. He will be at the Hyatt at 8 pm" Turning around, Michelle was going to say something to her young friend, but Usagi had already left to go and ready for the shoot.
"Don't worry about that girl, by the end of dinner, this man will be eating out of my palms." Anna said with a flick of her hair.
"Just make sure he endorses our company, this could be the biggest break for us if we are contracted by his magazine for shoots.
"I will." Quickly Anna turned to get ready for the dinner. "Mr. Chiba get ready to have your socks knocked off."
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Arriving back at her apartment, Usagi raced into her room to get dressed for the wedding. Normally she wouldn't dress up too much for a photo session, but this time she had to impress the client by dressing professionally. Noticing that she had a few messages on her machine, Usagi pressed play.
"Usagi-chan, this is your mother. We will be in town this weekend for your father's boss's charity function. If you can please meet us for lunch on Saturday. We are bringing Shingo along, he just completed his internship with your father. We'll give you a call on Saturday morning so please don't party all of Friday night. Also, Usagi your father and I want to know if you've been seeing anyone recently. We worry that you seem to have been hurt from your previous relationship, or that you haven't given up on that Mamoru fellow. Now as your mother I just want what's best for my daughter. That's why I want to introduce to a very nice young man who works in the same company your father works for. His name is-" Quickly Usagi stopped the message before her mother could get much further.
It infuriated her to no end when her mother consistantly set her up with all these young engineers or managers who worked under her father. Her mother just simply didn't understand her agreement with Mamoru, when she felt that she wanted to settle down, she would marry him. However, she just didn't understand that Mamoru was her destined husband, and that he was the one she would end up marrying. They just needed some time apart to grow, and when destiny chose to, they would meet again and fall in love. Regardless of her mother's meddling, it would be nice to see them again. She hardly saw them more than three times a year, once for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and her Birthday. It was a bonus to see them this weekend. Jumping to the next message, Usagi continued to change.
"Usagi?! Mina? It's Ami, Rei and I will be in town next Wedensday for a convention. It would be great to see you and Mina again. Please call me at my cell number when you have a chance. It is 212-745-9090. Call me as soon as you can."
Stepping out of her room, Usagi snapped a clasp to her hair. Looking at the time, Usagi realized that she didn't have enough time to call her friends. Jotting down the number, Usagi made a note to herself to call them. Standing in front of her full length mirror, Usagi checked to see if everything was in place. She was dressed in a navy blue business suit. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a braid and secured at the bottom with a silver clasp and her make up was perfect. Picking up her equipment, she ran out the door completely missing the final message.
"Hello? Usagi, this is Mamoru, I'm in town and would like to meet you. Please give me a call when you can my cell number is ..."
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Quickly rushing to his limo, Ranma glanced at his watch. Tapping a small device behind his ear, Ranma stepped into his limo. The meeting with Armantech had gone on longer than Ranma had anticipated and as a result, he was late for his meeting with Kasumi.
"Setsuna." Ranma called out to the air as he quickly flipped through the notes he had taken during the meeting. Suddenly the panel in front of Ranma blinked into existence.
"Yes Ranma?"
"Call Kasumi and tell her I am late and on my way to the restaurant now." Ranma said as he continued to look through his notes.
"I'll get right on it." As the image winked out of existence, another call came through, Nabiki appeared on the screen.
"Ranma, how did the meeting go? When will Armantech sign over to us?"
Jotting down more numbers down, Ranma continued to evaluate his notes. "Nabiki, they already signed, we bought them out for 3 billion dollars."
Taken back a bit, Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "Really, I thought the CEO would take at least a week to break down and sell. Only for 3 billion? Why so low? Their company is easily worth that much, with their new technology, they are probably worth 6 billion. Surely he must know that."
"He did, but I told him that I own 35 % of his stocks and unless he could come up with 2 billion dollars on the spot, then he'd better sell to us. I also guarateed that they could keep their name and continue with their research, but from this point on everything they do belongs to us."
Laughing, Nabiki threw her papers into the air. "Ranma you really are good, I didn't think you could pull this off."
Looking up, Ranma flashed his partner a smile. "Nabiki there is something I need you to do. They are working on some sort of an AI technology that I want to know about. See what you can dig up."
" I will Ranma. But on a side note have you decided on who you will be taking to the gala. You know you can't just keep taking Setsuna. There is already a lot of talk that the two of you are secretly dating."
"I fail to see a problem with this." came a flat response.
Rolling her eyes, Nabiki spoke very slowly to ensure that Ranma understood "Ranma, you are a 26 year old multibillionare. Regardless of if you care, people do expect certain things out of men of high stations. Usually a woman by his side to show that he is stable."
"Ah yes, 'family values'. What a crude view of world people have today. I may not have many family values, that does not mean the products and services provided by our company is lesser in quality." Sitting back into his chair Ranma looked thoughtfully at Nabiki. "Very well, for my public appearance what do you think I should do?"
"I'll compile a list of eligible women in the area. We'll see what we can come up with." Nabiki said with a smile.
"Good, now I have to go meet with Kasumi. She has some last minute details to go over."
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The day may have been gloomy outside but inside the Hyatt, dozens of people were arriving for the marriage ceremony.The ceremony was allotted to start at 3 pm, however many of the guests were delayed due to the weather. Snapping pictures of guests and their lovely dresses and suits, Usagi wondered what it would be like to be able to afford some of the dresses that she had seen. How wonderful it would be to rich and carefree. Wading through the crowd with her SLR camera, she snapped pictures of the groom who was nervously fidgeting by the altar.
Silently she giggled at the scene, she wondered if Mamoru would be like that on their wedding day. Looking around she noted some of the influential people here. Spotting the parents of the groom she focused in on their faces. Snapping images of the parents who are now coming to terms with the fact that their son was now forming a family of his own. Capturing that emotion on film, Usagi felt an accomplishment in her heart. This was what she wanted to do in her life. Humans were such chaotic beings that they express such a range of emotions. Her goal in life was to capture those moments onto film.
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi was faced with a kind elder man who had his long hair pulled back in a sharp pony tail. "I was wondering if you might snap a picture of my father, myself, my son, and my grandson?"
Looking over to where the man was pointing, she saw a young man about her age with an infant in his arms sitting next to an even elder man. "Sure it would be my pleasure. just stand by the flowers." Usagi said as she agreed to the picture.
"Thank you." The elder man then guided his father and his descendants to the flower arrangement as all four generations lined up. Usagi looked to the four men and marvelled at the bond they each seemed to have to each other. Snapping a few pictures from different angles, Usagi tried to perfect the scene.
"All done, if you would just leave your name and address with me I can send this picture to you."
"Of course, just send one to myself and my son, Nobiyuki and Tenchi Masaki."
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Sitting in the limo by himself, Ranma reflected upon the day. He was now getting ready to meet his mother and sisters. His father had decided to go to Los Angeles to promote a dojo with Uncle Tendo. Days seem to fly by now, leaning back in his seat, he looked to the ceiling. Soul of Ice. Grace of Water. Fists of Fire. The techniques he had been perfecting for the past four years. Four years since the day when his heart was brutally crushed. Akane had always wanted to defeat him in battle and that day she had done so with the utmost efficiency. Some days he would see the scene over and over in his mind returning to his beloved fiancee moaning in ecstacy to another man's love.
She had left the gala earlier to get some rest. Back then he was so naive that he couldn't see her true intentions. He had stayed to reminensce with his old friends. Everything was perfect that night, he enjoyed spending time with Herb, Kirin, Toma, Taro and Mousse. He was even glad to see Shampoo and the younger version of Cologne. After spending hours with them, he had retired to his mansion expecting to hear silence but instead he hear his love's beautiful voice moaning another man's name. He had broken the door down only to confirm his suspicions.
The few moments after he had seen his only love betray him were a haze. He hadn't gone into a fit of rage. Instead it was a shock of disbelief, of pain; pain that no physical blow or psycohological blow could ever cause. He felt as if his life energy was sapped from his body. He couldn't breath or could he feel his body. He had collapsed onto the floor of the room. Afterwards, his love had tried to explain her betrayal with logical reasons. However he couldn't hear her. It seemed as if his body just shut down. He didn't want to hear her.
Shaking his head, Ranma shook the distraction from his mind. It had been a while since he thought about this topic. Usually he would think about it to remind himself why he didn't need a relationship. It must be all the pushing from his mother and Nabiki that had caused him to think about the inicident. Sobering up, Ranma straightened his suit and stepped out of the limo. As much as he was dead to the world, he did still love his mother.
"Alfred, please take the rest of the night off, but be here at noon tomorrow."
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The wedding had been perfect, even the antatics of the ringbearer seemed to add to the beauty of the ceremony. Since the beginning of the reception, Usagi looked about and tried to grab as many pictures as she could. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves as they dance in happiness. She nearly cried at the perfection portrayed when the bride and groom danced their solo dance to their song. This wedding was everything that she hopes that her wedding would be like. However everything was very extravagant and she knew that as much as she would want to have a wedding like this it wouldn't be possible.
"Hey Photo lady! Take five have a drink."
Turning her attention to Mr. Masaki, she smiled. His son's wife was perhaps one of the single most beautiful and graceful women she had ever seen. Her purple hair was a bit odd, but it seemed to suit her. Throughout the reception Mr. Masaki had been trying to get her to enjoy the party by having a few drinks, but she had declined. He was an endearing man though.
"Now I can't drink on the job now can I?"
"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud. Have a little fun, this is a celebration of a union of love." The elder man said sitting in a chair next to Usagi's position.
"I know and I am having fun." She said as she focused in on the ringbearer kissing the flower girl.
"So do you have anyone special back at home?" Usagi snapped the picture and looked at the man.
"Yes I do."
Curiously, the man swirled his champagne flute in his hand. "So what's he like? I like to get to know my competition."
Laughing, Usagi snatched a champagne flute from a passing waiter and sat next to the endearing man. "Well... He is reporter for a very prestigious magazine in Japan."
Sitting back into his chair, Nobiyuki sipped from his flute. "Japan eh? Why are you here and him there? I would think that you two would not see each other often eh?"
"Unfortunately I don't, but in our hearts we are always together. He understands that I need to find myself first before I can completely commit to him. But very soon I will be rejoining him and we will be married." Usagi said confidently.
"How very nice for you. So what is he like?"
Looking back to the times when her Mamo-chan had saved her from the clutches of evil, Usagi remembered his devilish good looks and his galantry. "He is tall, handsome, and my knight. He will always protect me whenever there is trouble."
"My my, quite the man. He is very lucky."
"Destiny, not luck."
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The hautingly beautiful melody wafted through the air adding to the atmosphere of the restaurant. The clancking of the silverware was overshadowed with the chattering of people. With a view overlooking the bay, it was not surprising that some of the most influential people gathered to dine in the prestigious restaurant. Sitting by the window, a lithe handsome Japanese man looked over some pictures given to him by the woman sitting across from him.
"These are very good, some of the best in fact." Mamoru commented as he flipped through the various pictures. "The photographer seems to capture the emotions of these people quite well."
"She is one of our best photographer. However she is one of many photographers in our agency." The leggy blonde from the photography agency pointed out.
"I see, just how long have you been with the agency?"
"2 years now, but our clients have praised our work and we are constantly recieving awards for our work. I can assure you we provide nothing but the best."
"But tell me what else can you offer? I have many contacts I could introduce you to, but I also have many other photograph agencies who do similar quality work."
Strategically pursing her lips, Anna leaned forward to look her dinner date in the eyes. "Well Mr. Chiba, I'm sure you realize our potential for sucess. We are one of the fastest rising photography agencies in the Bay area. So by helping us along our path of success, I'm sure we will accomodate to any favors you may ask in the future. We are hoping that you would contract our company for any photographic needs. Fashion shoots, scenic, just about anything I can assure you our company can and will accomodate to. I know that your magazine is beginning a new branch here in San Francisco."
Trying to look nonchalant at the obvious come on, Mamoru looked back down to the pictures. "Well, those are just words that you cannot back up. Why should I put my name on something a small agency that may fail, that would be bad business for me. Those rumors about our new branch are true. We are beginning a new magazine here for the younger generation of asians. However as I stated you simply cannot back up your claims, I will not contract your company unless it proves itself to me."
"Of course, we are not asking you to fully endorse us right now. Just put in a good word to a few people that you know. Perhaps show our pictures to some of the right people. Nothing more. If the first five people you talk to do not like our work, then you can cease promoting our work and not even consider using our firm in your new branch."
"Anna, Anna, you are running a photography agency with less than 25 employees, one hot-shot photographer, and one computer whiz. The only jobs that you have taken are peanuts to what my contacts are used to." Looking the blonde in her green eyes, Mamoru's ice blue eyes potrayed the message that he was not biting. "I'll ask again, what else do you have to offer me?" Looking down the length of Anna, Mamoru smiled.
Anna picked up on the subtle hint, and stood up. "Perhaps we could adjourn this meeting to your room?"
"Perhaps."
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On the other side of the restaurant, in a private tinted glass room, four people sat enjoying the view of the bay. Ranma noted that his mother and sisters seemed to be uncomfortable about something. Deciding that enough was enough, he initiated the topic.
"What is it that you want to say?" Placing his chopsticks down, Ranma's visage portrayed complete seriousness.
Nodoka looked to her two daughters and took a deep breath. "Ranma we just want you feel better. We were hoping that you would consider dating again."
Holding himself firm, Ranma supressed the flashbacks he had before. "I've told you before, I have no desire to be in another relationship."
"Ranma." It was Natusme this time. "Being in a relationship has it's good and bad points. Ever since the incident the fire inside you seems to have died out. We're worried about the negative effects of this."
"Just as i have told you in the past, I have no need for this 'fire' I have my ambition and my goals. I now have complete control over my body and mind. By being in a relationship, I would jepordize the balance of my control. I would be weakened." Ranma stated resolutely.
Placing her utensils down, Nodoka looked to her son. "Weakened? What do you mean weakened? You have to live and learn from that incident. Isn't that what a martial artist is supposed to do? Why are you running away? Why do you shield us from your life?"
Closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, Ranma calmed himself with an application of Soul of Ice. "I do not shield you from my life, I simply wish to be alone. Those who rely on emotion are unpredictable and do more harm than good. Those who can control their emotions are the strong and sucessful. Those who can manipulate their emotions to their needs are the strong. I have chosen to be strong. As for you, you are my family I care for you in my own way. I make the Saotome clan strong by becoming stronger."
Frustrated Nodoka felt as if she was talking to a brink wall. "We don't need to be strong, we want you to feel again. We want the old Ranma back."
"What about the time when you defeated Saffron to save Akane? You used your emotions then didn't you?" Natsume asked. After their first encounter with Ranma and Akane she had kept tabs on them and heard and seen of the resulting battle where Ranma had litterally defied a god to save the one he loved.
Continually to apply his Soul of Ice, Ranma prevented himself from bursting forth. It had been a long time since he had last this much turmoil with his emotions. However, combined with his rush of memories today and the fact that his mother was the only person who ever seemed to draw out his feelings, he felt weakened. Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried to change the topic. "What about you Kurumi?"
Startled by the question, Kurumi looked up from her dinner. She very rarely tried to participate in these conversations. Besides who was she to say what her brother should feel. "Me?"
"Do you have something to add to this conversation?"
Putting down her chopsticks, Kurumi looked to her brother. She really didn't know what to say. A silence passed between them as she tried to figure out what to say to him.
"Well... I think that mom and Natsume are right in some respects, but some of your points are correct as well."
Natsume looked to her sister wondering what she was trying to get at. It wasn't like her to disagree with Ranma. She more or less idolized him as a business man and a martial artist. "What do you mean?" she questioned her younger sister.
"Well, Onnisan has been through a traumatic experience and I think that it has caused him to try to avoid love. However, by us forcing him to love again is causing him to avoid love even more so. All we should do is be beside him in case he needs to talk to us." Kurumi reasoned. "But Onnisan you shouldn't deprive yourself of love. If love should come to you again, don't shy away from it. Allow what is natural to happen. I think it's a fair request."
"Education pays off when you are trying to comprimise, does it not?" Ranma said with a smirk. "I do not spurn love, I merely control my emotions to allow myself to think objectively. If I decide that a relationship is a good thing to be engaged in I will enter a relationship. I refuse to actively engage in the so called 'courting' process. If love were true enough none of the courting would be necessary. I will agree to Kurumi's terms. I shall not spurn love. However, I will look at it objectively and make a rational decision on whether to be with a woman or not."
Nodoka looked to her son. Somehow she felt a bit of a victory. At least he wasn't trying to completely avoid the topic. "Agreed."
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Packing up her equipment, Usagi smiled thinking about the great day she had been having today. All the guests had left except for the DJ, priest and the clean up crew. This was perhaps one of the best jobs she had gotten to work at. All the guests were not arrogant as she had originally thought, but asked her to join in the festivities. Mamo-chan. She had been thinking about him quite often recently, his face, his eyes, his galantry. They had wonderful times, she truly missed him. Perhaps it was time to get back together. Afterall she had only broken up because they needed time to find themselves.She had found herself, perhaps it was time to settle down with her beloved Mamo-chan. Perhaps he has reached a point that he could settle down with her.
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi saw the elderly priest standing behind her.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you were almost done packing up here."
"Just about." Usagi said as she snapped her camera case shut. Putting on her coat, she strapped her equipment to her shoulder.
"Do you need and extra hand there?" The priest asked as Usagi almost dropped a bag. Smiling appreciativly, Usagi handed the elder priest two bags.
"Thanks, my car is just out front."
Nodding, the priest followed her to her car. "So is this your full time job?"
Looking over her shoulder, Usagi nodded to the priest. "Yes, I studied Photography in college."
"What is it about photography that interests you?"
Frowning, Usagi tried to think of her reasons to enter photography. "Well actually I kind of fell into the major. I had originally wanted to be an artist. However I was never very good as sculpting and painting. Deciding that I could try another way of art, I tried photography."
Patting Usagi on the shoulder, the priest nodded approvingly. "It's very good to see that you have a passion for something. I'm sure you will go far in photography. Tell me what kind of pictures do you like to take?"
"People. Moments of emotions in people's lives to be exact. I like to capture people's happiness, sadness, love and anger. Emotions is what make people human. I like to immortalize feelings." Usagi said while looking into the sky. Spotting her car, she fished out her keys and walked towards it. "That's my car over there." Popping open her trunk, she laid her equipment down.
"Here you go young lady." The priest placed his bags into the car as well. After shutting her trunk, Usagi turned to the priest.
"Do you need a ride?"
The priest was taken back by the offer byut composed himself. "Well I need to get back to the church. But it is only two blocks from here. You need not-"
"Nonesense, hop in, I'll drop you off." Giving the priest a cheeky smile, Usagi started up her car. "I'm not taking no for an answer Father."
"Very well."
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Ranma rubbed his temple, as he stepped into the elevator. Never in four years has he had this much trouble controling his emotions. He was still trying to recover from his flashback from earlier today. In addition to his mother's request, today has been a good day so far. He just wanted to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning to a fresh day.
"To the penthouse Mr. Saotome?" Nodding to the elevator operator, Ranma leaned back against the wall. Looking to one of the mirrors of the elevator wall, he saw a handsome face with aclean cut image. But it was true, the chaos that made him the wild horse was gone. It was better this way. He hadn't had this argument with himself in a while. Last time was four years ago, when he was in an emotional wreck. Thinking back to his conversation with Kurumi, Natsume and his mother, her realized that this was the first time he had actually opened to them. Berating himself, he hadn't realized that his iron mask had weakened so much. He had to defeat this memory. However he had buried that memory so deep into his mind that he couldn't remember what was bothering him so much. He needed to find out quickly before his entire mask fell. Sighing in frustration, Ranma felt the need for some alcohol.
"Take me back down to the ground floor. I need a drink."
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Guiding his date to the elevator, Mamoru smirked at the woman. Very rarely did a woman turn down his charms. With this new found confidence he was sure Usagi would run back into his arms. Somewhere within a voice told him that by sleeping with other women he could jepordize his chances with Usagi, but his newer voice reasoned that Usagi would end up with him either way, so why not live it up before he finally tied the knot with that klutz. Feeling justified, Mamoru turned to his date.
"Wait here, I want to get something first." Walking to the front desk, Mamoru passed a beautiful looking blond. 'Nice body.' he commented to himself. "I'd like to have a glass of champagne sent to room 528 thank you." Turning back to the elevators, Mamoru rubbed his hands together. It had been a while since he had bedded down a foreign woman. It was a night he would remember.
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Looking down at her locket, Usagi listened to the melody emerging. It was the locket that Endymion had given to Serenity when she lived on the moon. After all these years the locket represented the love between the two souls and as long as it played their song, their hearts would forever be connected. Arriving back at the hotel, Usagi hopped out of her car. She had simply forgotten her hairpiece at the front desk. During the wedding, she had dropped her hair piece.
When Nobiyuki told her that his son had placed it at the front desk for safe keeping, she went back to her job and promised herself that she would pick it up later. As she walked to the front desk, a taller dark hair man had passed in front of her. 'Odd he looks familiar.' Usagi commented to herself. Keeping a distance away from the man, she spied on the man. If she were to get too close to him it would be impolite and she may scare him away. However as soon as he spoke, she knew. It was his voice, she could never forget it. It was always in her dreams rescuing her from evil minnions. The voice had said 'I love you' so many times. Just as he turned to leave, Usagi caught a glimpse of his face. It was just as beautiful as she remembered, but it wasn't the same face that she remembered. Something had changed.
Reaching out for him, she was just about to call him when she saw a woman walk to him and wrap her arms around his own. It was Anna. That woman was with her Mamo-chan. Usagi's first emotion was of disbelief. However she remembered that Anna was supposed to meet an editor for dinner, could that person have been Mamo-chan? Walking straight towards the couple she was just going to say something when the two kissed.
A dryness filled her mouth as she looked at the couple retreating into the elevator. Her legs all of a sudden felt weak and her stomach seemed to want to heave. Her chest hurt from being so tight. Leaning against a chair in the lobby, Usagi 's legs gave out. It was impossible. How could this have happened. They were destined to be together. Why was he with someone else? Taking a deep breath, Usagi's mind raced and her body grew cold and warm at the same time. Pushing herself to her feet, she went after the couple. Room 528 he had said to the receptionist. She wanted to know the full story and she would confront him about it.
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Entering the room, Mamoru escorted his soon to be conquest into the room. Turning to him, Anna smile cattily. She pressed herself to him and proceeded to kiss him passionately. Fumbling to close the door behind him, he felt her fingers reach for his shirt. 'What a woman.' he thought to himself. Pushing Anna deeper into the room, Mamoru took off his jacket before turning his full attention to her.
"I see you've done this before." he commented as he gazed upon her long exposed legs.
Winking at him, Anna removed her blouse to reveal her ample chest. "I like powerful men, and they like me. What can I say?" Grinning, Mamoru pushed her down onto the bed.
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Usagi crept quietly along the hallway trembling as she walked towards her destionation. Trying to compose herself, Usagi mumbled words of comfort to herself. Part of her blamed herself for pushing Mamoru to take comfort in the arms of other women. Perhaps she could still win him back, they shared a bond that could not be broken. She refused to believe that Mamoru betrayed her. Maybe he was just pretending to be with Anna. The hallway seemed so long and never ending as she walked towards his room in a haze. From a few door from the designated room, she heard a sound like a muffle moan. Freezing up, she tried to hear more, but she only heard silence. Walking closer to the door, she listen cautiously. Nothing. Perhaps she had heard things. Reaching the door, Usagi stared at the golden room numbers. A war raged within her mind as she debated whether or not to knock on the door.
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Kissing the shapely woman on his bed, Mamoru almost missed the knock at the door. Pushing himself up, he put his finger on her lips. "Wait, I think that's our champagne."
"Don't be long." Anna purred to him.
Reaching for a robe, Mamoru covered his naked body as he reached for the door. Opening the door, he saw a hotel employee with a bottle of champagne on ice with two champagne flutes.
"Here you go Mr. Chiba." Handing him the tray. Placing the tray down on the table, Mamoru reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his money clip. Pulling out a tip, he handed it to the employee.
"Here you go."
"Will you be requiring any contraceptives?"
Looking to the younger man quizically, Mamoru placed the money clip back onto the table. "What do you mean?" Pointing to something behind him, Mamoru turned to see Anna standing by the window and basking in the moonlight completely unabashed by her nakedness. Nodding, Mamoru accepted a few condoms from the man. Bowing, the man left the room.
"You know you really didn't need those." Anna said seductively.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm on the pill. You can do whatever you want with me."
Grinning darkly, Mamoru stalked towards the busty blond. "Believe me I will."
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Outside, Usagi wept silently crumpled in a heap by the door. It was true, Mamoru was sleeping with Anna and who knows how many more women before her. She had saved herself for him, because she believed he would do so as well. She wanted her first time to be with love, with him. But now that would never be possible. How cruel the fates were to have dealt her this hand. As Usagi wept her sorrows away, her ears heard the rhythmic rocking of the bed accompanied by Anna's moaning.
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Downstairs, a lone man sat at the bar swirling a glass around. Ranma looked at the amber liquid in the glass stupidly. Normally, when Ranma drank he would increase the metabolism in his body to break down the alcohol in his body so that he would not get too drunk. But tonight he just wanted to feel the effects of drunkeness. He hadn't drank like this since that horrible day when Akane betrayed him. He just wanted to forget. Forget his pain and sorrow. Forget his painful existence without Akane. Forget the fact that he would never feel love again. Forget love. He wanted to forget it all. Then he would regain control of his emotions again. he hated feeling so vulnerable right now. Perhaps with the help of his friend Jack and Jimmy, he would. Raising the glass to his lips, he drank the liquid.
By now he had been drinking for a good two hours. Grigory his driver stood next behind him in case he wanted to go out. Good old Grigory. He was the most reliable driver he had met. He wouold drive him anywhere and do anything without asking questions. He didn't feel like he had to justify his actions to Grigory. He had found Grigory after firing a string of nosy drivers. Setsuna had introduced Grigory to him as a mute driver. At first Ranma had been skeptical, however after the first week, Grigory had proved to be quite the driver who stayed out of his business. Grigory never hassled him about love or about his personal life.
Pouring himself another glass of whiskey, he thought back to a time when things were so much simpler. Things when he loved a woman with all his heart and she loved him just as much. His mother was right, he did rip apart a god just for the sake of Akane. He would have done anything for her had she just asked. But she betrayed him and she was happily with some other man. For weeks afterwards, he had thought that he had done something wrong. In the end, he simply didn't see what else he could have done. Then the revelation occured, there was nothing else he could have done differently because love is not predictable. That night he became a different man, the man he was now. Looking to his glass, he downed the whiskey quickly. Tonight he just wanted to forget.
A sudden crash brought his attention to a young lady who had just sat down on the stool next to him dropping her purse to the floor. Ranma looked at her with wide eyes as he took in her entire being. 'What a magnificient creature.' Ranma thought to himself. Catching himself, Ranma turned back to his drink. What was he thinking? Looking back at the woman, he couldn't help feel drawn to her. Her beautiful long golden hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, which framed her elegant face. She had a lithe body tone from exercise and soft hands from lack of manual labor. Every feature on her body seemed so... perfect. Blinking his eyes, Ranma wondered if he was dreaming. Mentally rapping himself on the head, he looked to the bartender.
Why was he getting so warm all of a sudden? It wasn't the warmth of the alcohol but something else. Something he wasn't entirely comfortable feeling right now. Getting up, he wanted to leave before the woman could tempt him any further. He felt the nuts and bolts holding his emotions together threaten to break. Shaking his head he sluggishly moved towards the door, when the woman stood up after downing two shots of 151 proof rum and immediately swayed right into Ranma. Ranma caught the woman and looked at her preparing to put her in her place when he saw something that froze him. Her eyes were so familiar, he knew exactly why she was at the bar. He saw the same eyes when he looked into the mirror four years ago. The pain, the unspeakable tortures she must be enduring right now. He could not leave now. Never has he seen such honesty from someone's eyes. The warmth in his body increased tenfold as he helped the woman back to her seat and sat back down and stared at the woman. She looked away and ordered a drink. Turning back to his drink, Ranma poured himself another glass.
"What did he do?"
Startled Usagi looked to the man next to her. He seemed oddly familiar but she brushed it off as she heard his question. How did he know? Looking to the man, he seem to honestly want to help her. "He betrayed me." Refraining from crying, Usagi took the drink placed in front of her and drank it quickly. Normally she didn't like alcohol due to the taste, but right now she just hoped it could help her forget what she just heard and saw.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
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End of Part 1
Wind blew through the city of San Francicso whipping away at the streets. Yeilding to the might of the wind, trees swayed in their own private dance as people began to wake. The city of San Francisco, home of the largest population of engineers and software programmers in the world, began its daily act of greeting the sun. As the day began to burst forth, people began their daily ritual of commuting. Greeting the morning sun was no odd occurance for a certain young blond woman living in a downtown San Fran. apartment. However today, she remained buried in the folds of her blankets. A screeching pierced the air as an annoying alarm clock initiates. Groggy hands emerges from the confines of the blanket to grasp the alarm. Bleary eyes focused on the ceiling as Usagi awoke.
It had been four years since the fateful night of the gala when Usagi had ended her relationship with her destined lover. In a brash decision Usagi had decided to stay in San Francisco to begin her life a new. She had become requainted with her family since the time she moved to America. For the first year, she attended college and lived with her parents. However after she had enough money she moved out on her own and continued school on a part time basis. Now at the age of 23, Usagi worked as a professional photographer. All in all her transition to America went rather smoothly.
"Usagi! Have you seen my brand new Armani white shirt?"
Fully focusing on her room, she heard her roomate yelling through her door. Poking her head outside, she saw a blond blur racing around the living room. "Mina! Calm down, it is probably still hanging in the bathroom!" Rubbing her eyes, Usagi thought back to how Mina and her had met up again. They had both been attending UC Berkely together and dormed together. Both being strangers in a foreign land, they took comfort in knowing there was someone there who understood their problems. Forming a close bond, they supported each other in their time of need. Mina was now working as an actress trying to make a big break into the big screen.
"Usagi! Where are my-"
"On top of the fridge."
"Usagi! I can't find my-"
"On the Balcony!"
"Usagi!"
"Under your bed." The question and answer session was part of their morning ritual when Mina had an audition. Usagi calmly got ready for work as her hyperactive roomate sprinted around the apartment. After getting dressed and freshened up, Usagi quickly prepares some breakfast. Within minutes two bagels are toasted and buttered, a pair of apples and two bags of lunch were laid out on the kitchen counter. Standing back as the blond blur known as her roomate streaked past her and grabbed the bagel, apple and bag of lunch, Usagi smirked. If it had been 4 years ago, it would have been her who was so unorganized and most likely tripping her way out the door. However since then she had become less and less clumsy and more like the graceful princess she was once. Learning to manage her time in school, Usagi had a better idea of how to organize her schedule and the importance of waking up on time. Smiling at the reminiscense, Usagi glanced down at her watch.
"Oh my god I'm going to be late!"
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A few miles away in a skyscraper a young man sat at his desk pondering his next move. Cool and calculating he looked at the dilemma at hand. Which pawn would be sacrificed? Looking across at his opponent he tried to read her intentions, finding nothing, he looked back to the battlefield laid out before his desk, he made his move.
"Pawn takes rook. Checkmate."
"You know Ranma you are too good at this game for your own good." Nabiki sat back in her chair looking at the chessboard in front of her.
"It's like the business arena, and like the business arena I never loose." Ranma said in a calm voice as he sipped his tea.
Sipping her tea with a grimace, Nabiki picked up a 1 inch thick folder. "Anyways, how's the deal with Armantech? Will we be acquiring their nanotech division?"
Standing up, Ranma walked over to the large bay window. The last four years have been very good to Ranma, his hair now cut short to signify the loss of Akane. He was still tall and lean with a build anyone could appreciate. However his eyes portrayed emptyness instead of the happy young man who was once know as Ranma. After Akane had left him for another man, Ranma' became distant for a few weeks, only to return as a changed man. No longer naive and carefree, he was now more aware and calm. Now one of the richest men in the world at the age of 26, Ranma was also the most eligible bachelor in the world. As the CEO of ST Corp, he held virtually all power in the biotech industry, and a giant in the computer and software industry. All in all a perfect example of a man among men. Except for the hole in his heart that has been cemeted away.
"Nabiki, they are already ours, they just don't know about it." Ranma finally said.
Looking at the empty shell of eyes, Nabiki cursed her sister for being so fleeting with the heart. "Ranma, you really need some time off. between the job and training you put yourself through, when do you sleep? When do you have time for yourself? You need to take a break from work."
Looking to the sky above, Ranma imagined the feeling of reaching beyond the stars. "I shall. After the December conference I will be taking a trip over to China to train in the mountains and to keep Saffron at bay."
"Ranma..."
With his eyes betraying no feelings, Ranma turned to look at Nabiki."Nabiki you are my sister and my partner, we have made a very successful business together, please don't make me upset. I know exactly where you are going with this conversation. We've had it so many times and everytime I have told you the same thing. By pushing this issue, I know what you are getting at and I told you I am never investing time and effort into a relationship."
"Listen Ranma you can't keep avoiding the topic, you are still hurting from Akane. However this is just not healthy. You have retreated into a shell of emotionlessness since she left. Please just move on, you are so lonely and everyone feels it." Nabiki tried one more time.
Walking to the fireplace in the office, Ranma raised his hand and sent a small burst of chi to ignite the logs. Squating down and looking into the fire intensly, Ranma thrust his left hand into the flame. Screaming, Nabiki jumped out of her chair and raced to her 'brother'. Tearing his hands from the flame, Nabiki looked at his scarred hand.
"What were you thinking?" She screamed into his face. Peering into the impassive face, she wanted to slap him. However he motioned for her to look at his hands. Looking down at the scarred hand, she stepped back but fell onto her bottom. Ranma's scarred hand was healing at a alarming rate. what were 3rd degree burns just a split second ago were now faded away to 1st degree burns. Staring into her face, Ranma stood again.
"I care nothing for that... person. I am who I have become, as life has made me. What you see before you is what destiny has decided for me. If I must be lonely, so be it. Loneliness allows me to concentrate on the success of this company and my success in this world. It allowed me to train to be the best. This is what destiny has chosen for me."
Tears nearly formed at Nabiki's eyes as she saw the shell of a man where once was a lively optimistic young man. Life was cruel indeed. "I'm so sorry, Ranma. Kasumi, your mother and I just want you to love again."
"I appreciate the thought but never again will I entrust my heart to anyone again."
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The moon glowed brightly upon the Saotome ancestral home. The matriarch of the household was sitting on a balcony looking into the great beyond. Her face still youthful, however her eyes shone with wisdom. Tonight she had only one thing on her mind; her son. Tears formed at her eyes everytime she thought of her beloved son. Tears formed because of his lost childhood; of growing up without a mother and without a family. Tears of sorrow and pain from the loss that her son had to endure. Tears of a mother formed from the suffering her son has had to endure every day for he past four years.
"Dear?"
Turning to face her husband, a man who she had hated for a few years. That was until he won her back over by re-courting her after their divorce six years ago. They had been remarried for two years now, and he had been her support everyday of those two years. "Yes, anata?"
"What are you thinking of?" Genma moved to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her body.
"Our dear son... you know what today is right?" she said as she leaned into his chest. Enjoying the loving attention he was giving her, she tried not to cry for her son.
"The boy is strong. Stronger than anyone is and will be. He will survive this." Genma said stoically. He knew this was true, however he was worried for his son too. Many thought that he never loved his son, but this was simply not true. He did love his son, quite a bit, but he just simply did not know how to be a father. He tried to give Ranma the one gift that he felt was the most important to his life other than his family; The Art. Teaching him all he knew of the Art and more than he knew gave him joy that his son was so strong. However emotionally, Ranma never had to deal with any blows as he did physically. In that respect his son was weak. When Akane broke the engagement with him, it was similar to a strong strike to his heart. But being his son, he recuperated and fortified his weak point. Unfortunately that made him a emotionless man now.
"I know, but how much of this suffering must our son endure? Do the gods hate him so? Why?" Looking to the heavens, Nodoka searched for an answer.
"Anata, that is not for us to know. We can only be his mother and father as best we can. It doesn't do any good to ask for a question that cannot be answered now."
" I suppose so." Holding onto her husband, she silently cursed the gods for her son's suffering.
"Mom? Dad?" A calm voice called out to the couple. Turning around, they saw their adopted daughter Natsume standing in the doorway.
"What is it?" Genma replied noticing how much Natsume had grown since they had taken her and her sister in as their daughters two years ago.
"Kasumi, Taro, Ryouga and Dr. Ono are here with Uncle Tendo." Nodding, Genma guided his wife to the living room to greet their guests.
Natsume looked to her foster parents and felt her heart reach for them. Their son was slowly slipping away from all of them and they were simply running out of ways to help him. She remembered her first encounter with Ranma. He was so full of life and energetic, he had defeated Kurumi and herself with his wits and a smile on his face.
She had heard and saw the result of his power when a loved one was threatened. However when she met him three and a half years ago she saw not a man of life, but a man of loneliness and bitterness. Both her and Kurumi were on the brink of starvation since they had moved to America. When she heard the name Saotome, she immediately went to the Saotome house to find Ranma in hopes that he could give her a job to help a sick Kurumi. Instead she found the loving woman she called mother now.
Taking the two of them into her home, she nursed Kurumi back to health and fed them both. During this time her mother clung to her and Kurumi as much as they clung to her. After a few months they went back to Japan, where they stayed another year before their mother officially adopted them into the family. Since then Natsume has been teaching martial arts at the Tendo-Saotome Anything goes school of Martial Arts. Kurumi was now attending college in America training to join Ranma in ST Corp. All in all Natsume felt like a family except for her suffering parents and brother. Looking at the large room before her she swore that she would do anything in her power to mend this family back together.
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Gathered in the Saotome living room were Ranma's closest confidents other than Nabiki, Shampoo and Cologne. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as they all stared at some part of the house. Each mulling within their own thoughts trying to find something to say to the Saotome heads. No one really knew what to say to them except that they would continue in their efforts to revive Ranma. Ryouga looked to his brother in arms Taro with tired eyes
"How have you been Taro?"
With a cool and calm exterior, Taro looked at Ryouga. "Not any better than you have been. The Amazons grow restless recently with Saffron regaining his powers again. No one knows if he will decide to join the modern world or go against it."
Ryouga winced at the mention of Saffron. That name struck fear into the hearts of many people due to the power that the Phoenix has accumulated in the past years. Everyone who had a certain level of martial arts expertise could sense the rise in power of the winged being. "I will be joining you in the village at the end of this year."
"If that is your will, we would be in much need to defend against Saffron if he so chooses to oppose the modern era." Taro said a silent thank you to the gods. Ryouga would be a great asset to their side just in case. They had both grown to be each others equal in power.
Looking over, Kasumi looked at the two younger men conversing in their matters as she sat with her husband Tofu. So far her life has been far from easy. Since the marriage began, Tofu and herself had many arguments regarding where their hearts laid. Since Kasumi recieved her license as a doctor, she began a practice with her friend Mika in pediatrics. With the both her husband and her so busy neither had much time to spend with each other. That combined with the fact that they have yet to produce a child frustrated the couple to no end. Just then her Aunt and Uncle entered the room interrupting her thoughts.
"Greetings everyone, thank you for all coming. Dinner will be served in a few moments."
"Auntie Saotome, how have you been?"
"Saotome-kun! Are you up to a game of shogi?"
"Natsume why don't you show us around?"
At least in sorrow, the Saotomes have their friends and each other.
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Collapsing onto the couch in their apartment, Usagi dropped all her camera equipment next to her. Although she loved photography, it was exhausting work. Especially when the pictures had to be from the top of a mountain. She had spent all day hiking up the side of a mountain to obtain pictures for a new client. Looking over to the clock mounted on the wall, she noted that she had another hour before Mina came home. Since it was her turn to cook, she would have to start dinner now. If she had the money she would just order takeout, but she couldn't neither her nor Mina were rich and eating out was a luxury that they could not afford. For now it would just be grilled chicken and rice. Lolling her head back she stared out the sky window, tonight the moon was beautiful.
"Hello mother." Usagi liked to talk to the moon as if her mother Queen Serenity was still on it. It comforted her in times when she needed to be alone.
"It's been six years since I last saw him. Even though I've loved every minute of my life here in America, I still wish that he stayed here with me. I guess I still love him, after all we are destined to be together. I have to love him."
Smiling to herself, Usagi remembered all those times when they walked through the parks enjoying each other's company. "I haven't seen a man on a romantic basis since Mamo-chan. I just wish he understood why I needed to be out on my own for a bit. At least we talk to each other once or twice a month, but he seems so distant these past few months. He says he understands why we have to be apart but I can hear... something in his voice."
"We've agreed to love each other and remain faithful even though we are apart. I know this is hard on him but it is a testament of our love for each other. It cannot be broken after this trial. When we settle down, it will be forever and I do not want either of us having doubts or yearnings. I just hope that this time apart will rid us of our doubts and yearnings."
As Usagi continued her heart to heart, the moon seemed to glimmer and twinkle in response to the blond woman. "I hope he comes to America soon so we can see each other. I miss his warmth and his love." Wrapping her arms around herself, Usagi thought back to the times when her Mamo-chan held her as if she were the only one in this universe.
Suddenly the door burst in disrupting her train of thought. With an annoyed look, Usagi raised her head to what Mina was so excited about. What surprised her was that Mina staggering to bathroom. Sniffing the air, Usagi definately noticed the alcohol in the air. Forcing her tired body to get up, she stood to help her drunken friend.
"Mina-chan? Are you okay?" Usagi asked tentatively from the door.
"Yes! I got the part!" came a drunken reply from the bathroom.
"Really! That's great!" Usagi rushed to the bathroom to help her roomate. Mina was currently holding herself up on the sink as the bath filled with cold water.
"Yup! Me and Miaka went to celebrate at her brother's pub! I think I'm a little tipsy." Smiling brightly Mina nodded at that proclaimation.
"I think you did too." Leading her friend away from the bath, Usagi pushed some of Mina's stuffed animals out of the way so that she could lie down. "Come on Mina, please lie down."
"You're such a good friend Usagi." Mina slurred as she laid down. Suddenly she sat up and held onto her friends arm. "You should find a man. Forget about Mamoru!"
"Shhhhh... Sleep Mina-chan." usagi said as she gently laid her friend back onto the bed. Within minutes, Mina was sleeping. Stretching, Usagi looked out Mina's window to see a shooting star. Closing her eyes she made a wish, " I wish to see Mamo-chan again."
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The next morning, Usagi woke to her roomate stumbling around the kitchen. Groaning, Usagi pushed her stuffed cat aside and opened her eyes. Looking out the window she saw the darkening clouds up above the sky preventing the life giving sun to shine through. Yawning Usagi mentally went through a list of thing she had to do today. When she heard Mina knock something else over, she sighed and got out of bed.
"Mina! What are you looking f-" Usagi's mouth was instantly covered by her roomate's hand. With her index finger on her lips Mina made 'shushing' sounds.
"Not so loud." she whispered. Nodding Usagi walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Following behind her, Mina made her way to the couch and threw herself down. Quickly setting some water to boil on the stove, Usagi searched through the cabinets for some asprin. Throwing some bagels into the toaster, Usagi quickly fished out two mugs. Suddenly a breeze blew through an opened window as Usagi shivered a bit.
'Odd it's not even a cold breeze.' Usagi thought to herself. Shrugging, she looked onto the calendar to see where she had to go with her camera. 'The Hyatt for a wedding.' Smiling, Usagi loved to see weddings. it always filled her heart with joy to see the union of two people in love. She quietly imagined what her marriage would be like. First she would be in a beautiful white wedding dress and it would be an outdoors wedding. However before she could go into anymore details, the pot screeched to notify that the water was ready. Preparing some tea, Usagi brought the two cups of tea, toasted bagels, and two tablets of asprin over to the small table next to the couch.
"Here Mina-chan." Handing the suffering girl the two tablets, Usagi leaned back in her chair to enjoy her bagel.
"Where are you headed Usagi?" Mina said as she swallowed the two tablets.
"The Hyatt for a wedding, do you want to come?" Usagi said brightly as she looked out upon the gloomy clouds.
"Nah, I've got to go talk to the director about the script and some details." Nodding, Usagi turned on the TV to watch the morning news.
"With temperatures in the low 70s, we will be expecting rain all day long. I hope all of you have your umbrellas handy!" The news lady reported the dreadful news with a smile. Next a picture of a handsome man appeared on the monitor.
"Now in later news, billionaire Ranma Saotome reported a large contribution to fund the rebuilding of seaport which was destroyed three months ago in a Chinese terrorist bombing. The police have yet to find the cuprit of the bombing, however forensics did not find any signs of explosives. Reports are still cycling in Chinatown that there were two figures throwing bolts of energy blasts from their hands and that was the cause of the explosion."
"Also, Ranma Saotome is holding an annual charity gala at the Seaside Palace for starving children across the world This Saturday night. We will have live coverage of the guests as they enter the gala."
Feeling off, Usagi quickly got up to take a shower, leaving a bloodshot Mina to finish her tea. While undressing, she looked at herself. She had matured in the past few years. All her years of exercising and eating healthier had allowed her body to develop into the lithe and graceful woman she was now. Her fast metabolism allowed her to keep her figure and the baby fat from her face was also gone. Her chest was now fully developed and somedays a bit of a pain to have a large chest, but overally she felt that she was very well proportioned.
Stepping into the shower, Usagi thought back to the man on TV. "I wonder why he looks so sad and lonely?"
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As the morning broke across Napa, a young man stood in a darkened dojo concentrating deeply. All of a sudden dozens of blades swung down from the ceiling towards the young man. However the blades stopped a few feet from the man's body as they struck an invisible barrier. Dark blue and green tendrils of chi wrapped itself around the man's body slithering like a pair of snakes. As the man raise his right hand above his head, the tendrils were absorbed into his palm. Holding his hand out in front of his body, he concentrated even more causing flames of dark blue to erupt from his hand. With a shout, he released an enormous beam of fire towards titanium wall. When the beam died down, the wall had melted into nothingness so had the wall behind the titanium wall and the trees behind the walls.
Just then a screen flickered to life on the wall behind the man. "Ranma? We have a meeting in two hours with Armantech's CEO, and you need to go over the details of the gala with Kasumi after the the meeting. Then dinner with your mother and sisters. Your father called to inform you of a book he had found with arcane martial art techniques, he would like for you to take a look at it."
Catching his breath, Ranma walked to the door and nodded to his secretary. "I will meet you at the heliopad in an hour and a half, call my father and tell him to give the book to mother so she can bring it to dinner tonight. Tell Kasumi that I will be ready at lunch to go over the details. Also tell the Hyatt that I will be requiring a bottle of Dom Perignon and all the rooms beneath the penthouse tonight."
"Very good, Ranma. Will that be all?"
As Ranma was about to walk towards the bathroom, he stopped. "Actually yes, what are you doing on Saturday night?"
"Nothing as of yet. Why?"
"I need a date to the gala, if my mother insists, and I cannot find an appropriate date, I want you to come with me."
"Very good. Will that be all?"
"Yes, good day Setsuna."
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Nodoka sat calmly on the plane as she looked over the darkened Pacific ocean. She has flown so many times across the ocean that she was so used to the time zone changes. Looking over to her daughter Natsume, she noted how much she had matured in the past few years. It was no wonder that so many men sought to date her. However Natsume ignored most of them as they did not impress her at all. For a long time she had a crush on Ranma, however realizing that their relationship could never be, she stopped. She had recently been secretly seeing someone that Nodoka had yet to find out. Suddenly the screen in front of her lit up as a dark green hair woman appeared.
"Greetings Mrs. Saotome, Ranma has asked me to ask you to bring your husband's newly aquired book to dinner tonight."
Smiling at the woman, Nodoka sill wondered what it was about this woman that looked out of place. "Thank you Setsuna, if it is possible please call Kurumi and tell her to meet us at the Hyatt tonight at 8 pm. Also arrange to have someone to pick us up at the airport."
"Very good maam. will there be anything else?"
"Actually," Nodoka looked intenly at the woman and wondered if she would know. "do you know if my son is seeing anyone?"
"No maam."
"Oh I see, has he been well?"
"He is perhaps the healthiest man in the world."
"Emotionally I mean."
"He is as he has been since Ms. Tendo left him."
"Oh I see. Thank you Setsuna."
"Have a nice day maam." As the woman on the screen dissappeared Nodoka looked out into the sky and wept for her son.
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At the same time, a tall young man arrived in the San Francisco airport. Looking around he remembered the last time he was here, he had lost his girlfriend. However that had been four years ago and he had been a lowly reporter, he was now back to ensnare her again. He would show her that he could provide anything she wanted for her. Being the new editor of the magazine Generation, he was a very powerful man in Japan. Now all he had to do was to charm her as he did so with so many women. Confident that Usagi would run back into his arms now that he had changed the man he used to be, he strolled out of the airport.
Looking around he saw his assistant standing next to a red sports car. Mamoru Chiba smirked and carried his bags to the car.
"Well, I'm glad that you have such good taste." he said as he threw his bags into the back seat of the car.
"I'm glad you like the car, I rented it for 2 weeks and that can be extended to however long you plan to stay here." Maria stated with a bow to her employer.
Nodding, Mamoru slid into the drivers seat of the car relishing the feel of leather molding against his body. "Good, is my room at the Hyatt reserved?"
"Actually the penthouse has been reserved by someone else and the Hyatt placed you in one of their best suite."
With an incredulous look, Mamoru was amazed that he would be turned down for the penthouse. It had been a while since someone of greater importance stayed at the same hotel he did. "Who beat me out of the penthouse?"
"Ranma Saotome."
With a snort, Mamoru waved his assistant off. As Maria left, he started the car and looked at the city ahead of him. "It's been four years but I'm back and Usagi you will see how rich and powerful I am now."
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Arriving at her workplace in downtown San Francisco, Usagi waved to the florist who was located next the photography office. The photography office was not a very large nor very famous photography shop. However they made enough to make a tidy profit. Today's wedding would be their biggest job yet, a rich politician's son had decided to hire them due to their good reputation. If they made a good impression today, it could mean a lot of publicity for them. Making her way to her desk, Usagi placed her equipment down.
"Usagi!" Turning around, Usagi was immediately cornered by her boss. Her boss was a short Japanese woman in her early thirties. She was a kind boss to work for, however she was too high strung.
"Michelle, calm down. What's wrong?"
"The editor of Generations is in town." The older woman was waving her hands around and fretting with her hair at the same time.
"Yes, I heard what about him?" Usagi said as she mentally picked out her outfit for today's event.
"I want to try to impress him with our photographs, so he can link us with several very important contracts. I want you to talk to him today." The older woman said excitedly. "I hear he is single."
Rolling her eyes, Usagi sat down at her desk and fumbled through the draws for a pen. "Michelle, I told you I don't feel like dating, it's such a hassle. When the time is right, destiny will guide me to my true lover."
"I know I know, but how are you going to find a man when you don't actively go looking for one?"
Finding a pen, Usagi began to quickly jot down some notes on her post-it notes. "I don't like these rich snobby guys, besides I have that wedding to do today."
"I'll do it." A rich voice said from behind Michelle. "Afterall, I think I am a bit more qualified to meet this man. Besides, I think the editor would prefer a woman as opposed to a girl. "
Sighing, Usagi knew today was a bad day, first her car had stalled out on her twice, and now Anna was busting her chops. Ever since she joined the office, Anna had dislike her for some reason. Usagi got along with everyone except Anna. For some reason, the woman just didn't like the fact that Usagi was so friendly and just about everyone liked her. Anna was constantly putting her down on her looks, insulting her intelligence, and her actions. However Usagi never really got too angry at Anna, she just avoided her. Afterall Anna did a lot for the company, she was the person responsible for advertisements and public relations and image. With her sharp mind and killer body, she managed to attract quite a few customers. Wanting not to antagonize her, Usagi just nodded.
"If Anna wants to do it, let her. I really have no interest in meeting this editor." Michelle looked exasperated at her friend. She had wanted to set Usagi on a date with a rich and influential man. Afterall what kind of friend was she if she didn't try to help her friend's love life?
"Okay, Anna take Usagi's pictures and meet this man for dinner. He will be at the Hyatt at 8 pm" Turning around, Michelle was going to say something to her young friend, but Usagi had already left to go and ready for the shoot.
"Don't worry about that girl, by the end of dinner, this man will be eating out of my palms." Anna said with a flick of her hair.
"Just make sure he endorses our company, this could be the biggest break for us if we are contracted by his magazine for shoots.
"I will." Quickly Anna turned to get ready for the dinner. "Mr. Chiba get ready to have your socks knocked off."
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Arriving back at her apartment, Usagi raced into her room to get dressed for the wedding. Normally she wouldn't dress up too much for a photo session, but this time she had to impress the client by dressing professionally. Noticing that she had a few messages on her machine, Usagi pressed play.
"Usagi-chan, this is your mother. We will be in town this weekend for your father's boss's charity function. If you can please meet us for lunch on Saturday. We are bringing Shingo along, he just completed his internship with your father. We'll give you a call on Saturday morning so please don't party all of Friday night. Also, Usagi your father and I want to know if you've been seeing anyone recently. We worry that you seem to have been hurt from your previous relationship, or that you haven't given up on that Mamoru fellow. Now as your mother I just want what's best for my daughter. That's why I want to introduce to a very nice young man who works in the same company your father works for. His name is-" Quickly Usagi stopped the message before her mother could get much further.
It infuriated her to no end when her mother consistantly set her up with all these young engineers or managers who worked under her father. Her mother just simply didn't understand her agreement with Mamoru, when she felt that she wanted to settle down, she would marry him. However, she just didn't understand that Mamoru was her destined husband, and that he was the one she would end up marrying. They just needed some time apart to grow, and when destiny chose to, they would meet again and fall in love. Regardless of her mother's meddling, it would be nice to see them again. She hardly saw them more than three times a year, once for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and her Birthday. It was a bonus to see them this weekend. Jumping to the next message, Usagi continued to change.
"Usagi?! Mina? It's Ami, Rei and I will be in town next Wedensday for a convention. It would be great to see you and Mina again. Please call me at my cell number when you have a chance. It is 212-745-9090. Call me as soon as you can."
Stepping out of her room, Usagi snapped a clasp to her hair. Looking at the time, Usagi realized that she didn't have enough time to call her friends. Jotting down the number, Usagi made a note to herself to call them. Standing in front of her full length mirror, Usagi checked to see if everything was in place. She was dressed in a navy blue business suit. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a braid and secured at the bottom with a silver clasp and her make up was perfect. Picking up her equipment, she ran out the door completely missing the final message.
"Hello? Usagi, this is Mamoru, I'm in town and would like to meet you. Please give me a call when you can my cell number is ..."
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Quickly rushing to his limo, Ranma glanced at his watch. Tapping a small device behind his ear, Ranma stepped into his limo. The meeting with Armantech had gone on longer than Ranma had anticipated and as a result, he was late for his meeting with Kasumi.
"Setsuna." Ranma called out to the air as he quickly flipped through the notes he had taken during the meeting. Suddenly the panel in front of Ranma blinked into existence.
"Yes Ranma?"
"Call Kasumi and tell her I am late and on my way to the restaurant now." Ranma said as he continued to look through his notes.
"I'll get right on it." As the image winked out of existence, another call came through, Nabiki appeared on the screen.
"Ranma, how did the meeting go? When will Armantech sign over to us?"
Jotting down more numbers down, Ranma continued to evaluate his notes. "Nabiki, they already signed, we bought them out for 3 billion dollars."
Taken back a bit, Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "Really, I thought the CEO would take at least a week to break down and sell. Only for 3 billion? Why so low? Their company is easily worth that much, with their new technology, they are probably worth 6 billion. Surely he must know that."
"He did, but I told him that I own 35 % of his stocks and unless he could come up with 2 billion dollars on the spot, then he'd better sell to us. I also guarateed that they could keep their name and continue with their research, but from this point on everything they do belongs to us."
Laughing, Nabiki threw her papers into the air. "Ranma you really are good, I didn't think you could pull this off."
Looking up, Ranma flashed his partner a smile. "Nabiki there is something I need you to do. They are working on some sort of an AI technology that I want to know about. See what you can dig up."
" I will Ranma. But on a side note have you decided on who you will be taking to the gala. You know you can't just keep taking Setsuna. There is already a lot of talk that the two of you are secretly dating."
"I fail to see a problem with this." came a flat response.
Rolling her eyes, Nabiki spoke very slowly to ensure that Ranma understood "Ranma, you are a 26 year old multibillionare. Regardless of if you care, people do expect certain things out of men of high stations. Usually a woman by his side to show that he is stable."
"Ah yes, 'family values'. What a crude view of world people have today. I may not have many family values, that does not mean the products and services provided by our company is lesser in quality." Sitting back into his chair Ranma looked thoughtfully at Nabiki. "Very well, for my public appearance what do you think I should do?"
"I'll compile a list of eligible women in the area. We'll see what we can come up with." Nabiki said with a smile.
"Good, now I have to go meet with Kasumi. She has some last minute details to go over."
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The day may have been gloomy outside but inside the Hyatt, dozens of people were arriving for the marriage ceremony.The ceremony was allotted to start at 3 pm, however many of the guests were delayed due to the weather. Snapping pictures of guests and their lovely dresses and suits, Usagi wondered what it would be like to be able to afford some of the dresses that she had seen. How wonderful it would be to rich and carefree. Wading through the crowd with her SLR camera, she snapped pictures of the groom who was nervously fidgeting by the altar.
Silently she giggled at the scene, she wondered if Mamoru would be like that on their wedding day. Looking around she noted some of the influential people here. Spotting the parents of the groom she focused in on their faces. Snapping images of the parents who are now coming to terms with the fact that their son was now forming a family of his own. Capturing that emotion on film, Usagi felt an accomplishment in her heart. This was what she wanted to do in her life. Humans were such chaotic beings that they express such a range of emotions. Her goal in life was to capture those moments onto film.
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi was faced with a kind elder man who had his long hair pulled back in a sharp pony tail. "I was wondering if you might snap a picture of my father, myself, my son, and my grandson?"
Looking over to where the man was pointing, she saw a young man about her age with an infant in his arms sitting next to an even elder man. "Sure it would be my pleasure. just stand by the flowers." Usagi said as she agreed to the picture.
"Thank you." The elder man then guided his father and his descendants to the flower arrangement as all four generations lined up. Usagi looked to the four men and marvelled at the bond they each seemed to have to each other. Snapping a few pictures from different angles, Usagi tried to perfect the scene.
"All done, if you would just leave your name and address with me I can send this picture to you."
"Of course, just send one to myself and my son, Nobiyuki and Tenchi Masaki."
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Sitting in the limo by himself, Ranma reflected upon the day. He was now getting ready to meet his mother and sisters. His father had decided to go to Los Angeles to promote a dojo with Uncle Tendo. Days seem to fly by now, leaning back in his seat, he looked to the ceiling. Soul of Ice. Grace of Water. Fists of Fire. The techniques he had been perfecting for the past four years. Four years since the day when his heart was brutally crushed. Akane had always wanted to defeat him in battle and that day she had done so with the utmost efficiency. Some days he would see the scene over and over in his mind returning to his beloved fiancee moaning in ecstacy to another man's love.
She had left the gala earlier to get some rest. Back then he was so naive that he couldn't see her true intentions. He had stayed to reminensce with his old friends. Everything was perfect that night, he enjoyed spending time with Herb, Kirin, Toma, Taro and Mousse. He was even glad to see Shampoo and the younger version of Cologne. After spending hours with them, he had retired to his mansion expecting to hear silence but instead he hear his love's beautiful voice moaning another man's name. He had broken the door down only to confirm his suspicions.
The few moments after he had seen his only love betray him were a haze. He hadn't gone into a fit of rage. Instead it was a shock of disbelief, of pain; pain that no physical blow or psycohological blow could ever cause. He felt as if his life energy was sapped from his body. He couldn't breath or could he feel his body. He had collapsed onto the floor of the room. Afterwards, his love had tried to explain her betrayal with logical reasons. However he couldn't hear her. It seemed as if his body just shut down. He didn't want to hear her.
Shaking his head, Ranma shook the distraction from his mind. It had been a while since he thought about this topic. Usually he would think about it to remind himself why he didn't need a relationship. It must be all the pushing from his mother and Nabiki that had caused him to think about the inicident. Sobering up, Ranma straightened his suit and stepped out of the limo. As much as he was dead to the world, he did still love his mother.
"Alfred, please take the rest of the night off, but be here at noon tomorrow."
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The wedding had been perfect, even the antatics of the ringbearer seemed to add to the beauty of the ceremony. Since the beginning of the reception, Usagi looked about and tried to grab as many pictures as she could. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves as they dance in happiness. She nearly cried at the perfection portrayed when the bride and groom danced their solo dance to their song. This wedding was everything that she hopes that her wedding would be like. However everything was very extravagant and she knew that as much as she would want to have a wedding like this it wouldn't be possible.
"Hey Photo lady! Take five have a drink."
Turning her attention to Mr. Masaki, she smiled. His son's wife was perhaps one of the single most beautiful and graceful women she had ever seen. Her purple hair was a bit odd, but it seemed to suit her. Throughout the reception Mr. Masaki had been trying to get her to enjoy the party by having a few drinks, but she had declined. He was an endearing man though.
"Now I can't drink on the job now can I?"
"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud. Have a little fun, this is a celebration of a union of love." The elder man said sitting in a chair next to Usagi's position.
"I know and I am having fun." She said as she focused in on the ringbearer kissing the flower girl.
"So do you have anyone special back at home?" Usagi snapped the picture and looked at the man.
"Yes I do."
Curiously, the man swirled his champagne flute in his hand. "So what's he like? I like to get to know my competition."
Laughing, Usagi snatched a champagne flute from a passing waiter and sat next to the endearing man. "Well... He is reporter for a very prestigious magazine in Japan."
Sitting back into his chair, Nobiyuki sipped from his flute. "Japan eh? Why are you here and him there? I would think that you two would not see each other often eh?"
"Unfortunately I don't, but in our hearts we are always together. He understands that I need to find myself first before I can completely commit to him. But very soon I will be rejoining him and we will be married." Usagi said confidently.
"How very nice for you. So what is he like?"
Looking back to the times when her Mamo-chan had saved her from the clutches of evil, Usagi remembered his devilish good looks and his galantry. "He is tall, handsome, and my knight. He will always protect me whenever there is trouble."
"My my, quite the man. He is very lucky."
"Destiny, not luck."
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The hautingly beautiful melody wafted through the air adding to the atmosphere of the restaurant. The clancking of the silverware was overshadowed with the chattering of people. With a view overlooking the bay, it was not surprising that some of the most influential people gathered to dine in the prestigious restaurant. Sitting by the window, a lithe handsome Japanese man looked over some pictures given to him by the woman sitting across from him.
"These are very good, some of the best in fact." Mamoru commented as he flipped through the various pictures. "The photographer seems to capture the emotions of these people quite well."
"She is one of our best photographer. However she is one of many photographers in our agency." The leggy blonde from the photography agency pointed out.
"I see, just how long have you been with the agency?"
"2 years now, but our clients have praised our work and we are constantly recieving awards for our work. I can assure you we provide nothing but the best."
"But tell me what else can you offer? I have many contacts I could introduce you to, but I also have many other photograph agencies who do similar quality work."
Strategically pursing her lips, Anna leaned forward to look her dinner date in the eyes. "Well Mr. Chiba, I'm sure you realize our potential for sucess. We are one of the fastest rising photography agencies in the Bay area. So by helping us along our path of success, I'm sure we will accomodate to any favors you may ask in the future. We are hoping that you would contract our company for any photographic needs. Fashion shoots, scenic, just about anything I can assure you our company can and will accomodate to. I know that your magazine is beginning a new branch here in San Francisco."
Trying to look nonchalant at the obvious come on, Mamoru looked back down to the pictures. "Well, those are just words that you cannot back up. Why should I put my name on something a small agency that may fail, that would be bad business for me. Those rumors about our new branch are true. We are beginning a new magazine here for the younger generation of asians. However as I stated you simply cannot back up your claims, I will not contract your company unless it proves itself to me."
"Of course, we are not asking you to fully endorse us right now. Just put in a good word to a few people that you know. Perhaps show our pictures to some of the right people. Nothing more. If the first five people you talk to do not like our work, then you can cease promoting our work and not even consider using our firm in your new branch."
"Anna, Anna, you are running a photography agency with less than 25 employees, one hot-shot photographer, and one computer whiz. The only jobs that you have taken are peanuts to what my contacts are used to." Looking the blonde in her green eyes, Mamoru's ice blue eyes potrayed the message that he was not biting. "I'll ask again, what else do you have to offer me?" Looking down the length of Anna, Mamoru smiled.
Anna picked up on the subtle hint, and stood up. "Perhaps we could adjourn this meeting to your room?"
"Perhaps."
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On the other side of the restaurant, in a private tinted glass room, four people sat enjoying the view of the bay. Ranma noted that his mother and sisters seemed to be uncomfortable about something. Deciding that enough was enough, he initiated the topic.
"What is it that you want to say?" Placing his chopsticks down, Ranma's visage portrayed complete seriousness.
Nodoka looked to her two daughters and took a deep breath. "Ranma we just want you feel better. We were hoping that you would consider dating again."
Holding himself firm, Ranma supressed the flashbacks he had before. "I've told you before, I have no desire to be in another relationship."
"Ranma." It was Natusme this time. "Being in a relationship has it's good and bad points. Ever since the incident the fire inside you seems to have died out. We're worried about the negative effects of this."
"Just as i have told you in the past, I have no need for this 'fire' I have my ambition and my goals. I now have complete control over my body and mind. By being in a relationship, I would jepordize the balance of my control. I would be weakened." Ranma stated resolutely.
Placing her utensils down, Nodoka looked to her son. "Weakened? What do you mean weakened? You have to live and learn from that incident. Isn't that what a martial artist is supposed to do? Why are you running away? Why do you shield us from your life?"
Closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, Ranma calmed himself with an application of Soul of Ice. "I do not shield you from my life, I simply wish to be alone. Those who rely on emotion are unpredictable and do more harm than good. Those who can control their emotions are the strong and sucessful. Those who can manipulate their emotions to their needs are the strong. I have chosen to be strong. As for you, you are my family I care for you in my own way. I make the Saotome clan strong by becoming stronger."
Frustrated Nodoka felt as if she was talking to a brink wall. "We don't need to be strong, we want you to feel again. We want the old Ranma back."
"What about the time when you defeated Saffron to save Akane? You used your emotions then didn't you?" Natsume asked. After their first encounter with Ranma and Akane she had kept tabs on them and heard and seen of the resulting battle where Ranma had litterally defied a god to save the one he loved.
Continually to apply his Soul of Ice, Ranma prevented himself from bursting forth. It had been a long time since he had last this much turmoil with his emotions. However, combined with his rush of memories today and the fact that his mother was the only person who ever seemed to draw out his feelings, he felt weakened. Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried to change the topic. "What about you Kurumi?"
Startled by the question, Kurumi looked up from her dinner. She very rarely tried to participate in these conversations. Besides who was she to say what her brother should feel. "Me?"
"Do you have something to add to this conversation?"
Putting down her chopsticks, Kurumi looked to her brother. She really didn't know what to say. A silence passed between them as she tried to figure out what to say to him.
"Well... I think that mom and Natsume are right in some respects, but some of your points are correct as well."
Natsume looked to her sister wondering what she was trying to get at. It wasn't like her to disagree with Ranma. She more or less idolized him as a business man and a martial artist. "What do you mean?" she questioned her younger sister.
"Well, Onnisan has been through a traumatic experience and I think that it has caused him to try to avoid love. However, by us forcing him to love again is causing him to avoid love even more so. All we should do is be beside him in case he needs to talk to us." Kurumi reasoned. "But Onnisan you shouldn't deprive yourself of love. If love should come to you again, don't shy away from it. Allow what is natural to happen. I think it's a fair request."
"Education pays off when you are trying to comprimise, does it not?" Ranma said with a smirk. "I do not spurn love, I merely control my emotions to allow myself to think objectively. If I decide that a relationship is a good thing to be engaged in I will enter a relationship. I refuse to actively engage in the so called 'courting' process. If love were true enough none of the courting would be necessary. I will agree to Kurumi's terms. I shall not spurn love. However, I will look at it objectively and make a rational decision on whether to be with a woman or not."
Nodoka looked to her son. Somehow she felt a bit of a victory. At least he wasn't trying to completely avoid the topic. "Agreed."
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Packing up her equipment, Usagi smiled thinking about the great day she had been having today. All the guests had left except for the DJ, priest and the clean up crew. This was perhaps one of the best jobs she had gotten to work at. All the guests were not arrogant as she had originally thought, but asked her to join in the festivities. Mamo-chan. She had been thinking about him quite often recently, his face, his eyes, his galantry. They had wonderful times, she truly missed him. Perhaps it was time to get back together. Afterall she had only broken up because they needed time to find themselves.She had found herself, perhaps it was time to settle down with her beloved Mamo-chan. Perhaps he has reached a point that he could settle down with her.
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi saw the elderly priest standing behind her.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you were almost done packing up here."
"Just about." Usagi said as she snapped her camera case shut. Putting on her coat, she strapped her equipment to her shoulder.
"Do you need and extra hand there?" The priest asked as Usagi almost dropped a bag. Smiling appreciativly, Usagi handed the elder priest two bags.
"Thanks, my car is just out front."
Nodding, the priest followed her to her car. "So is this your full time job?"
Looking over her shoulder, Usagi nodded to the priest. "Yes, I studied Photography in college."
"What is it about photography that interests you?"
Frowning, Usagi tried to think of her reasons to enter photography. "Well actually I kind of fell into the major. I had originally wanted to be an artist. However I was never very good as sculpting and painting. Deciding that I could try another way of art, I tried photography."
Patting Usagi on the shoulder, the priest nodded approvingly. "It's very good to see that you have a passion for something. I'm sure you will go far in photography. Tell me what kind of pictures do you like to take?"
"People. Moments of emotions in people's lives to be exact. I like to capture people's happiness, sadness, love and anger. Emotions is what make people human. I like to immortalize feelings." Usagi said while looking into the sky. Spotting her car, she fished out her keys and walked towards it. "That's my car over there." Popping open her trunk, she laid her equipment down.
"Here you go young lady." The priest placed his bags into the car as well. After shutting her trunk, Usagi turned to the priest.
"Do you need a ride?"
The priest was taken back by the offer byut composed himself. "Well I need to get back to the church. But it is only two blocks from here. You need not-"
"Nonesense, hop in, I'll drop you off." Giving the priest a cheeky smile, Usagi started up her car. "I'm not taking no for an answer Father."
"Very well."
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Ranma rubbed his temple, as he stepped into the elevator. Never in four years has he had this much trouble controling his emotions. He was still trying to recover from his flashback from earlier today. In addition to his mother's request, today has been a good day so far. He just wanted to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning to a fresh day.
"To the penthouse Mr. Saotome?" Nodding to the elevator operator, Ranma leaned back against the wall. Looking to one of the mirrors of the elevator wall, he saw a handsome face with aclean cut image. But it was true, the chaos that made him the wild horse was gone. It was better this way. He hadn't had this argument with himself in a while. Last time was four years ago, when he was in an emotional wreck. Thinking back to his conversation with Kurumi, Natsume and his mother, her realized that this was the first time he had actually opened to them. Berating himself, he hadn't realized that his iron mask had weakened so much. He had to defeat this memory. However he had buried that memory so deep into his mind that he couldn't remember what was bothering him so much. He needed to find out quickly before his entire mask fell. Sighing in frustration, Ranma felt the need for some alcohol.
"Take me back down to the ground floor. I need a drink."
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Guiding his date to the elevator, Mamoru smirked at the woman. Very rarely did a woman turn down his charms. With this new found confidence he was sure Usagi would run back into his arms. Somewhere within a voice told him that by sleeping with other women he could jepordize his chances with Usagi, but his newer voice reasoned that Usagi would end up with him either way, so why not live it up before he finally tied the knot with that klutz. Feeling justified, Mamoru turned to his date.
"Wait here, I want to get something first." Walking to the front desk, Mamoru passed a beautiful looking blond. 'Nice body.' he commented to himself. "I'd like to have a glass of champagne sent to room 528 thank you." Turning back to the elevators, Mamoru rubbed his hands together. It had been a while since he had bedded down a foreign woman. It was a night he would remember.
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Looking down at her locket, Usagi listened to the melody emerging. It was the locket that Endymion had given to Serenity when she lived on the moon. After all these years the locket represented the love between the two souls and as long as it played their song, their hearts would forever be connected. Arriving back at the hotel, Usagi hopped out of her car. She had simply forgotten her hairpiece at the front desk. During the wedding, she had dropped her hair piece.
When Nobiyuki told her that his son had placed it at the front desk for safe keeping, she went back to her job and promised herself that she would pick it up later. As she walked to the front desk, a taller dark hair man had passed in front of her. 'Odd he looks familiar.' Usagi commented to herself. Keeping a distance away from the man, she spied on the man. If she were to get too close to him it would be impolite and she may scare him away. However as soon as he spoke, she knew. It was his voice, she could never forget it. It was always in her dreams rescuing her from evil minnions. The voice had said 'I love you' so many times. Just as he turned to leave, Usagi caught a glimpse of his face. It was just as beautiful as she remembered, but it wasn't the same face that she remembered. Something had changed.
Reaching out for him, she was just about to call him when she saw a woman walk to him and wrap her arms around his own. It was Anna. That woman was with her Mamo-chan. Usagi's first emotion was of disbelief. However she remembered that Anna was supposed to meet an editor for dinner, could that person have been Mamo-chan? Walking straight towards the couple she was just going to say something when the two kissed.
A dryness filled her mouth as she looked at the couple retreating into the elevator. Her legs all of a sudden felt weak and her stomach seemed to want to heave. Her chest hurt from being so tight. Leaning against a chair in the lobby, Usagi 's legs gave out. It was impossible. How could this have happened. They were destined to be together. Why was he with someone else? Taking a deep breath, Usagi's mind raced and her body grew cold and warm at the same time. Pushing herself to her feet, she went after the couple. Room 528 he had said to the receptionist. She wanted to know the full story and she would confront him about it.
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Entering the room, Mamoru escorted his soon to be conquest into the room. Turning to him, Anna smile cattily. She pressed herself to him and proceeded to kiss him passionately. Fumbling to close the door behind him, he felt her fingers reach for his shirt. 'What a woman.' he thought to himself. Pushing Anna deeper into the room, Mamoru took off his jacket before turning his full attention to her.
"I see you've done this before." he commented as he gazed upon her long exposed legs.
Winking at him, Anna removed her blouse to reveal her ample chest. "I like powerful men, and they like me. What can I say?" Grinning, Mamoru pushed her down onto the bed.
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Usagi crept quietly along the hallway trembling as she walked towards her destionation. Trying to compose herself, Usagi mumbled words of comfort to herself. Part of her blamed herself for pushing Mamoru to take comfort in the arms of other women. Perhaps she could still win him back, they shared a bond that could not be broken. She refused to believe that Mamoru betrayed her. Maybe he was just pretending to be with Anna. The hallway seemed so long and never ending as she walked towards his room in a haze. From a few door from the designated room, she heard a sound like a muffle moan. Freezing up, she tried to hear more, but she only heard silence. Walking closer to the door, she listen cautiously. Nothing. Perhaps she had heard things. Reaching the door, Usagi stared at the golden room numbers. A war raged within her mind as she debated whether or not to knock on the door.
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Kissing the shapely woman on his bed, Mamoru almost missed the knock at the door. Pushing himself up, he put his finger on her lips. "Wait, I think that's our champagne."
"Don't be long." Anna purred to him.
Reaching for a robe, Mamoru covered his naked body as he reached for the door. Opening the door, he saw a hotel employee with a bottle of champagne on ice with two champagne flutes.
"Here you go Mr. Chiba." Handing him the tray. Placing the tray down on the table, Mamoru reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his money clip. Pulling out a tip, he handed it to the employee.
"Here you go."
"Will you be requiring any contraceptives?"
Looking to the younger man quizically, Mamoru placed the money clip back onto the table. "What do you mean?" Pointing to something behind him, Mamoru turned to see Anna standing by the window and basking in the moonlight completely unabashed by her nakedness. Nodding, Mamoru accepted a few condoms from the man. Bowing, the man left the room.
"You know you really didn't need those." Anna said seductively.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm on the pill. You can do whatever you want with me."
Grinning darkly, Mamoru stalked towards the busty blond. "Believe me I will."
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Outside, Usagi wept silently crumpled in a heap by the door. It was true, Mamoru was sleeping with Anna and who knows how many more women before her. She had saved herself for him, because she believed he would do so as well. She wanted her first time to be with love, with him. But now that would never be possible. How cruel the fates were to have dealt her this hand. As Usagi wept her sorrows away, her ears heard the rhythmic rocking of the bed accompanied by Anna's moaning.
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Downstairs, a lone man sat at the bar swirling a glass around. Ranma looked at the amber liquid in the glass stupidly. Normally, when Ranma drank he would increase the metabolism in his body to break down the alcohol in his body so that he would not get too drunk. But tonight he just wanted to feel the effects of drunkeness. He hadn't drank like this since that horrible day when Akane betrayed him. He just wanted to forget. Forget his pain and sorrow. Forget his painful existence without Akane. Forget the fact that he would never feel love again. Forget love. He wanted to forget it all. Then he would regain control of his emotions again. he hated feeling so vulnerable right now. Perhaps with the help of his friend Jack and Jimmy, he would. Raising the glass to his lips, he drank the liquid.
By now he had been drinking for a good two hours. Grigory his driver stood next behind him in case he wanted to go out. Good old Grigory. He was the most reliable driver he had met. He wouold drive him anywhere and do anything without asking questions. He didn't feel like he had to justify his actions to Grigory. He had found Grigory after firing a string of nosy drivers. Setsuna had introduced Grigory to him as a mute driver. At first Ranma had been skeptical, however after the first week, Grigory had proved to be quite the driver who stayed out of his business. Grigory never hassled him about love or about his personal life.
Pouring himself another glass of whiskey, he thought back to a time when things were so much simpler. Things when he loved a woman with all his heart and she loved him just as much. His mother was right, he did rip apart a god just for the sake of Akane. He would have done anything for her had she just asked. But she betrayed him and she was happily with some other man. For weeks afterwards, he had thought that he had done something wrong. In the end, he simply didn't see what else he could have done. Then the revelation occured, there was nothing else he could have done differently because love is not predictable. That night he became a different man, the man he was now. Looking to his glass, he downed the whiskey quickly. Tonight he just wanted to forget.
A sudden crash brought his attention to a young lady who had just sat down on the stool next to him dropping her purse to the floor. Ranma looked at her with wide eyes as he took in her entire being. 'What a magnificient creature.' Ranma thought to himself. Catching himself, Ranma turned back to his drink. What was he thinking? Looking back at the woman, he couldn't help feel drawn to her. Her beautiful long golden hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, which framed her elegant face. She had a lithe body tone from exercise and soft hands from lack of manual labor. Every feature on her body seemed so... perfect. Blinking his eyes, Ranma wondered if he was dreaming. Mentally rapping himself on the head, he looked to the bartender.
Why was he getting so warm all of a sudden? It wasn't the warmth of the alcohol but something else. Something he wasn't entirely comfortable feeling right now. Getting up, he wanted to leave before the woman could tempt him any further. He felt the nuts and bolts holding his emotions together threaten to break. Shaking his head he sluggishly moved towards the door, when the woman stood up after downing two shots of 151 proof rum and immediately swayed right into Ranma. Ranma caught the woman and looked at her preparing to put her in her place when he saw something that froze him. Her eyes were so familiar, he knew exactly why she was at the bar. He saw the same eyes when he looked into the mirror four years ago. The pain, the unspeakable tortures she must be enduring right now. He could not leave now. Never has he seen such honesty from someone's eyes. The warmth in his body increased tenfold as he helped the woman back to her seat and sat back down and stared at the woman. She looked away and ordered a drink. Turning back to his drink, Ranma poured himself another glass.
"What did he do?"
Startled Usagi looked to the man next to her. He seemed oddly familiar but she brushed it off as she heard his question. How did he know? Looking to the man, he seem to honestly want to help her. "He betrayed me." Refraining from crying, Usagi took the drink placed in front of her and drank it quickly. Normally she didn't like alcohol due to the taste, but right now she just hoped it could help her forget what she just heard and saw.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
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End of Part 1