Dinner that evening at the Tendo's was a quiet affair. The tension in the air was palpable and wrapped about the residence like a soggy blanket.
Ranma's 'good news' hadn't gone over as well as he had hoped it would; not that he expected any praise. He was proud. Imagine, him, a college freshman - something he dared not even dream of on his journey with his father.
The news had brought expected reactions as well as a few unexpected.
Soun sat in, what seemed, silent shock for a minute before a frown settled on his face like a sinking ship on the ocean floor. He leaned back from the table and grumbled to himself a bit. So, Ranma applied for university and more astonishing than that - he got in.
This would require some thought. Genma and he couldn't just allow the boy to leave. He had responsibilities to Akane and the dojo and -more importantly- to protect them from the master! He shivered a little in fear.
Genma had much the same thoughts as Soun. Deep down in the convoluted workings of his being - much like a motor way round-a-bout - was a spark of pride for his child, not that he'd ever voice it.
Nabiki was surprisingly supportive of the whole thing. Why, Ranma wasn't sure. The middle Tendo daughter always had her own motives that didn't usually consist of good cheer in Ranma's experience.
Kasumi was pleasantly surprised that Ranma had opted to continue his educational endeavours. She was a little disappointed that he hadn't applied to the same university as her younger sisters though. She hoped it wouldn't strain his and Akane's relationship. That wouldn't do at all.
Akane barely acknowledged it at all, content as she was knowing that the Earth was her own personal satellite.* She smiled smugly. He's never last. There was no way Ranma could best her at scholastics.
Nodoka broke the silence first. "Ranma," she said, her voice like tempered steel. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?"
Ranma paused chop sticks halfway to his mouth. Had he heard right? Was someone asking what *he* wanted? He placed his utensils down and cleared his throat. "Yeah..I've...uh...thought about it a lot-"
Akane snorted.
"- actually.." he trailed and fidgetted nervously with his pig-tail. "I - I want ta go."
The Saotome matriarch eyed her son sternly. "You do know what this means, do you not?"
Her only child child gulped and squirmed under her gaze. "Uh... no?"
"It means... I'm so proud of you!" Nodoka gushed wiping a joyous tear from her eye.
Ranma almost found himself planted face first in his plate; the victim of his own surprise.He hadn't expected that.
"Of course there is the matter of finances." Nodoka continued, "I've been saving for this occasion since you were born. You'll still have to apply for a loan, but I'm sure your father will gladly get a job to help you pay for living expenses, isn't that right, husband dear?" She smiled sweetly at Genma.
Genma twitched. Where was cold water when you needed it? He grinned sickly at his wife. "Certainly, No-chan." He cast a quick glare at his son. Damn that child; nothing but work since his first breath of air.
The moon's silver fingers traced the landscape of Tokyo and delighted in the warm buzz of neon. It brushed over the building tops and paused to push aside the curtains of Chiba Mamorus's window.
The young man lied in bed drifting somewhere between the realms of sleep and waking.
Tucked securely in the night stand drawer by his bed were four stones; kunzite, zoisite, nephrite, and jedite. No ordinary stones, were these. They were all that was left of generals from a millennium steeped in silver. The only physical evidence of the fours mens' existence, and only that if you knew the story behind them. There were also a gateway for restless spirits, however minuscule.
The stones glowed softly in their prison.
Four ghostly apparitions crowded around Mamoru's resting form. The air was vibrating with clarified memories and intense grief..
The group watched over the prince of a dead kingdom as he dreamed. His dream was saturated with anger and tasted bitter with betrayal; a strange coppery tang that invaded and strangled the senses.
Mamoru thrashed violently for a moment and then stilled as his subconscious mind asserted itself and paralysed his body. There would be no escape from the dreamscape this time. It would have its say at last...
....The halls of the building were tall and extravagant. They practically bled with age and the souls of the people before him. The ceiling arched high overhead and the walls proudly bore the images of those long gone. The lush curtains hung over the rain streaked windows; rivers of velvet terminating in pools on the mahogany floors.
Heels met polished wood with click after click. Mamoru turned abruptly, startled at the sound. It had appeared suddenly, lacking the subtle lead in of normal approaching sounds.
Two young men paused a short distance from him.
"I just don't see the problem." The taller of the pair said in a frustrated voice. He wore a loose long sleeve silver shirt with lace up ties that extended from elbow to wrist. His hair was cropped at the name of his neck, bangs left slightly longer to caress his cheeks and jaw line. The ebony tresses framed a porcelain face and icy blue eyes that seemed almost like fire opal.
"The people are anxious, brother. And the members of the court are talking-...but what are words in the face of blood?" The smaller man said with a sly grin. He was of delicate build - his button up shirt fit nicely over his chest and thin waist. His black hair was shorter than his brother's. His bangs were also short and fluffed over his forehead. His eyes were glossy amber brown.
How Mamoru knew these details from his distance, he wasn't sure. It was almost like he was standing next to them or...was them, oddly enough.
"Wh - What are they saying?" The tall one asked.
"Forget it. It's not important what they say. Let them talk-"
"No!" Tall all but shouted. "No, tell me. It *is* important and you damn well know it."
"As you wish, brother." Small sighed dramatically. "There is talk, brother. They say you have taken up with that Lunarian whore," he paused, a look of disdain crossing his face. "There are rumours. Such awful rumours, that you would give our kingdom for her kiss. Rubbish, isn't it?"
Mamoru watched as Tall's face paled and creased into a worried frown.
Small noticed too. "It is all just talk, isn't it?" He received no answer. Small placed himself in Tall's path and grasped his shoulders. "Answer me, damn you!" he said desperately.
Tall couldn't meet his brother's gaze. "I'm ... I'm sorry," he managed after a tense moment. "Please, don't tell father."
"I'm sorry...? I'm sorry!?'' Small mocked angrily. "Don't tell father? Is that all you can say?" By now he was shrieking. Mamoru could hear the panic in his voice, and then the sound of flesh impacting flesh as Small physically expressed his outrage.
Tall straightened slowly, gasping for breath. "Brother, I-"
"-Don't you 'brother' me. How could you? What of this kingdom? We refuse the alliance. We will never be part of it! What of the house of Endymion? Would you dirty it so willingly with the touch of that filth?"
"She is not filth!" Tall growled.
"Listen to yourself. She has twisted you. Can't you see the Lunarians are using you to add us to their conquests?"
"No! No, it's not like that. She loves me and I her-"
"-Shut up!" Small shouted.
"Brother, listen to -"
"I have no brother!" Small spat on Tall's boot, turned and left the hall without a backward glance...
...Mamoru woke feeling disoriented. What the hell was that about? He lied there for a moment confused. His alarm clock read 9:08PM. He hadn't meant to nap that long. He got up and stretched, filing the strange dream away for later. He has homework to do.
The Hikawa temple was filled with the laughter of teenage girls. The air of the old hose came alive with an aura of completeness. Everything was as it should be in the world because inside this structure warriors and protectors from life times ago were united.
"-I just couldn't believe it. You should have seen the look on Artemis' face!" Minako broke into a gale of laughter as did her audience.
Artemis sulked. "It wasn't that funny!" he whined. "I almost lost my di-"
"-But you didn't because the wonderful, beautiful, and heroic Minako Aino rescued you from the clutches of evil!" Minako declared dramatically.
"You're the reason I was in trouble to begin with!" the white cat's tail twitched in annoyance.
Minako placed her hands on her hips. "Isn't that a case of the black pot calling itself a kettle," she said.
There was a collective groan from the other girls.
"So," Makoto began, "is there any reason for this meeting or is this just a social call?"
Usagi had asked them all to gather at the shrine. It was the first meeting they had had in two months, since the defeat of Galaxia. They had seen each other since then, they were too closely knit not to, but it was always for study or some fun activity.
Ami looked up from the notes she was taking from a book on engineering. "Yes, Usagi. What's bothering you? You seem a bit down tonight."
The blonde in question examined the table top, trying to convert emotion to words. "Rei," she said after a moment, "did you do a fire reading like I asked?" She looked at the priestess with hope in her eyes.
Rei leaned back from the low table and shifted uncomfortable under Usagi's hopeful gaze.
"You asked Rei to do a fire reading without telling me?" Luna asking in a hurt tone. "Usagi, you know you can come to me with your problems anytime."
"I know Luna. It's just...." her voice trailed uncertainly. "It's just I'm not sure there is a problem. I've been having this weird feeling that something's really wrong, off somehow."
Luna jumped onto the table and sat before her young charge. "Don't be silly. Everything's going as planned and soon you and Mamoru will be married and crowned King and Queen. You're probably just anxious."
Usagi gave the black cat a flat stare before turning her attention back to Rei.
"You're just being paranoid. I did the reading. I didn't see anything concerning," said Rei. "The only thing I saw at all was a Phoenix rising from the flame, which I'm pretty sure represented us and a dagger for some reason. And that was only after hours of meditation."
The moon princess frowned. "I see..."
"Ah, come on Usagi, cheer up." Makoto smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later. Until then don't dwell on it too much."
Usagi smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I hope you're right.."
Ranma's 'good news' hadn't gone over as well as he had hoped it would; not that he expected any praise. He was proud. Imagine, him, a college freshman - something he dared not even dream of on his journey with his father.
The news had brought expected reactions as well as a few unexpected.
Soun sat in, what seemed, silent shock for a minute before a frown settled on his face like a sinking ship on the ocean floor. He leaned back from the table and grumbled to himself a bit. So, Ranma applied for university and more astonishing than that - he got in.
This would require some thought. Genma and he couldn't just allow the boy to leave. He had responsibilities to Akane and the dojo and -more importantly- to protect them from the master! He shivered a little in fear.
Genma had much the same thoughts as Soun. Deep down in the convoluted workings of his being - much like a motor way round-a-bout - was a spark of pride for his child, not that he'd ever voice it.
Nabiki was surprisingly supportive of the whole thing. Why, Ranma wasn't sure. The middle Tendo daughter always had her own motives that didn't usually consist of good cheer in Ranma's experience.
Kasumi was pleasantly surprised that Ranma had opted to continue his educational endeavours. She was a little disappointed that he hadn't applied to the same university as her younger sisters though. She hoped it wouldn't strain his and Akane's relationship. That wouldn't do at all.
Akane barely acknowledged it at all, content as she was knowing that the Earth was her own personal satellite.* She smiled smugly. He's never last. There was no way Ranma could best her at scholastics.
Nodoka broke the silence first. "Ranma," she said, her voice like tempered steel. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?"
Ranma paused chop sticks halfway to his mouth. Had he heard right? Was someone asking what *he* wanted? He placed his utensils down and cleared his throat. "Yeah..I've...uh...thought about it a lot-"
Akane snorted.
"- actually.." he trailed and fidgetted nervously with his pig-tail. "I - I want ta go."
The Saotome matriarch eyed her son sternly. "You do know what this means, do you not?"
Her only child child gulped and squirmed under her gaze. "Uh... no?"
"It means... I'm so proud of you!" Nodoka gushed wiping a joyous tear from her eye.
Ranma almost found himself planted face first in his plate; the victim of his own surprise.He hadn't expected that.
"Of course there is the matter of finances." Nodoka continued, "I've been saving for this occasion since you were born. You'll still have to apply for a loan, but I'm sure your father will gladly get a job to help you pay for living expenses, isn't that right, husband dear?" She smiled sweetly at Genma.
Genma twitched. Where was cold water when you needed it? He grinned sickly at his wife. "Certainly, No-chan." He cast a quick glare at his son. Damn that child; nothing but work since his first breath of air.
The moon's silver fingers traced the landscape of Tokyo and delighted in the warm buzz of neon. It brushed over the building tops and paused to push aside the curtains of Chiba Mamorus's window.
The young man lied in bed drifting somewhere between the realms of sleep and waking.
Tucked securely in the night stand drawer by his bed were four stones; kunzite, zoisite, nephrite, and jedite. No ordinary stones, were these. They were all that was left of generals from a millennium steeped in silver. The only physical evidence of the fours mens' existence, and only that if you knew the story behind them. There were also a gateway for restless spirits, however minuscule.
The stones glowed softly in their prison.
Four ghostly apparitions crowded around Mamoru's resting form. The air was vibrating with clarified memories and intense grief..
The group watched over the prince of a dead kingdom as he dreamed. His dream was saturated with anger and tasted bitter with betrayal; a strange coppery tang that invaded and strangled the senses.
Mamoru thrashed violently for a moment and then stilled as his subconscious mind asserted itself and paralysed his body. There would be no escape from the dreamscape this time. It would have its say at last...
....The halls of the building were tall and extravagant. They practically bled with age and the souls of the people before him. The ceiling arched high overhead and the walls proudly bore the images of those long gone. The lush curtains hung over the rain streaked windows; rivers of velvet terminating in pools on the mahogany floors.
Heels met polished wood with click after click. Mamoru turned abruptly, startled at the sound. It had appeared suddenly, lacking the subtle lead in of normal approaching sounds.
Two young men paused a short distance from him.
"I just don't see the problem." The taller of the pair said in a frustrated voice. He wore a loose long sleeve silver shirt with lace up ties that extended from elbow to wrist. His hair was cropped at the name of his neck, bangs left slightly longer to caress his cheeks and jaw line. The ebony tresses framed a porcelain face and icy blue eyes that seemed almost like fire opal.
"The people are anxious, brother. And the members of the court are talking-...but what are words in the face of blood?" The smaller man said with a sly grin. He was of delicate build - his button up shirt fit nicely over his chest and thin waist. His black hair was shorter than his brother's. His bangs were also short and fluffed over his forehead. His eyes were glossy amber brown.
How Mamoru knew these details from his distance, he wasn't sure. It was almost like he was standing next to them or...was them, oddly enough.
"Wh - What are they saying?" The tall one asked.
"Forget it. It's not important what they say. Let them talk-"
"No!" Tall all but shouted. "No, tell me. It *is* important and you damn well know it."
"As you wish, brother." Small sighed dramatically. "There is talk, brother. They say you have taken up with that Lunarian whore," he paused, a look of disdain crossing his face. "There are rumours. Such awful rumours, that you would give our kingdom for her kiss. Rubbish, isn't it?"
Mamoru watched as Tall's face paled and creased into a worried frown.
Small noticed too. "It is all just talk, isn't it?" He received no answer. Small placed himself in Tall's path and grasped his shoulders. "Answer me, damn you!" he said desperately.
Tall couldn't meet his brother's gaze. "I'm ... I'm sorry," he managed after a tense moment. "Please, don't tell father."
"I'm sorry...? I'm sorry!?'' Small mocked angrily. "Don't tell father? Is that all you can say?" By now he was shrieking. Mamoru could hear the panic in his voice, and then the sound of flesh impacting flesh as Small physically expressed his outrage.
Tall straightened slowly, gasping for breath. "Brother, I-"
"-Don't you 'brother' me. How could you? What of this kingdom? We refuse the alliance. We will never be part of it! What of the house of Endymion? Would you dirty it so willingly with the touch of that filth?"
"She is not filth!" Tall growled.
"Listen to yourself. She has twisted you. Can't you see the Lunarians are using you to add us to their conquests?"
"No! No, it's not like that. She loves me and I her-"
"-Shut up!" Small shouted.
"Brother, listen to -"
"I have no brother!" Small spat on Tall's boot, turned and left the hall without a backward glance...
...Mamoru woke feeling disoriented. What the hell was that about? He lied there for a moment confused. His alarm clock read 9:08PM. He hadn't meant to nap that long. He got up and stretched, filing the strange dream away for later. He has homework to do.
The Hikawa temple was filled with the laughter of teenage girls. The air of the old hose came alive with an aura of completeness. Everything was as it should be in the world because inside this structure warriors and protectors from life times ago were united.
"-I just couldn't believe it. You should have seen the look on Artemis' face!" Minako broke into a gale of laughter as did her audience.
Artemis sulked. "It wasn't that funny!" he whined. "I almost lost my di-"
"-But you didn't because the wonderful, beautiful, and heroic Minako Aino rescued you from the clutches of evil!" Minako declared dramatically.
"You're the reason I was in trouble to begin with!" the white cat's tail twitched in annoyance.
Minako placed her hands on her hips. "Isn't that a case of the black pot calling itself a kettle," she said.
There was a collective groan from the other girls.
"So," Makoto began, "is there any reason for this meeting or is this just a social call?"
Usagi had asked them all to gather at the shrine. It was the first meeting they had had in two months, since the defeat of Galaxia. They had seen each other since then, they were too closely knit not to, but it was always for study or some fun activity.
Ami looked up from the notes she was taking from a book on engineering. "Yes, Usagi. What's bothering you? You seem a bit down tonight."
The blonde in question examined the table top, trying to convert emotion to words. "Rei," she said after a moment, "did you do a fire reading like I asked?" She looked at the priestess with hope in her eyes.
Rei leaned back from the low table and shifted uncomfortable under Usagi's hopeful gaze.
"You asked Rei to do a fire reading without telling me?" Luna asking in a hurt tone. "Usagi, you know you can come to me with your problems anytime."
"I know Luna. It's just...." her voice trailed uncertainly. "It's just I'm not sure there is a problem. I've been having this weird feeling that something's really wrong, off somehow."
Luna jumped onto the table and sat before her young charge. "Don't be silly. Everything's going as planned and soon you and Mamoru will be married and crowned King and Queen. You're probably just anxious."
Usagi gave the black cat a flat stare before turning her attention back to Rei.
"You're just being paranoid. I did the reading. I didn't see anything concerning," said Rei. "The only thing I saw at all was a Phoenix rising from the flame, which I'm pretty sure represented us and a dagger for some reason. And that was only after hours of meditation."
The moon princess frowned. "I see..."
"Ah, come on Usagi, cheer up." Makoto smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later. Until then don't dwell on it too much."
Usagi smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I hope you're right.."