Just a plan
Author: Poly

Authors note:
I'm free! More or less, that is. It looks like I'm having a little more time in
the future to write. Real life can be demanding sometimes, but it looks like
things are shaping up. Anyway, Let's get on with the review response.
Ghost in the Machine: You got it. Things are bad when Pluto is doing the
Kodachi act.
Materia-Blade: Just read this chapter. ;-) Let's just say that if Ranma can
get away with the amount of property damage in Nerima, then scaring
some boy's can't be a major crime. Good job with your own story's as
well. Keep up the good work.
C. Rose: I know. I know. My chapters are short. Can't be helped, though.
I blame it all on real live. It should change in the near future, though.
For the rest of the reviewers: THANKS! They were nice reviews and I feel
all fuzzy and happy inside.

Disclaimer:
What do you mean they're not mine! Are you sure?

PART XVII
Prelude to disaster

Ranma-chan, or Sailor Sapphire as she was now known, was watching the
arcade. A group of boys had just entered. The rooftop she occupied gave
her an excellent observation point. Now that she had spotted her pray,
she made her move. With a few jumps she was across the street and on
top of the arcade roof. A conveniently-placed skylight provided access to
the building. At least it should have. The skylight was locked tight from
the inside with a latch. She wouldn't be able to open it without brute
force.

She frowned. No stupid skylight was going to beat her. "In the movies it
always works." she muttered. Reaching into stuff space, she rummaged
around and retrieved a credit card. Ranma-chan blinked. How did she get
a credit card with the name Setsuna Meiou on it? She shrugged. If it
worked, it worked. She would bother with the details later.

Wedging the credit card between a crack, she managed to spring the
latch. With a satisfied grin, she opened the skylight and jumped inside.

Ranma-chan found herself on the third floor of the building. By the looks
of it, it was used mainly for storage and other general usage. The second
floor should have the snack area of the arcade while the ground floor
housed all the games.

Looking around carefully, Sailor Sapphire looked for the stairs. It didn't
take long to find them. Using her sneaking abilities, she silently made her
way down the dark stairs. She was about halfway down them when she
heard the sound of somebody coming up. With a leap she clung to the
ceiling.

"I am the ceiling. I will become the ceiling." She whispered to herself.

She saw one of the staff members of the arcade pass under her. When he
had entered one of the storage chambers, she dropped down silently and
made her way down the stairs as quickly as possible before he returned.
Ranma-chan peeked around the thick curtain that was at the end of the
stairs. She appeared to be behind the bar. A quick scan of the floor
revealed a single couple at one of the tables sharing a sundae.
Apparently, this was not the peak hour of the establishment. It was still
early anyway. Keeping low, Ranma-chan sneaked from behind the bar and
made use of tables, chairs and potted plants as she made her way to the
stairs leading to the ground floor. The couple sharing the ice didn't notice
her.

Carefully, Sailor Sapphire peeked downstairs. Noticing the flight of stair
would lead her to the back of the gaming area, she made her way down.
Once downstairs, she slipped between two large game machines and took
to the shadows. She was lucky this area wasn't busy, as well. Looking
around the area from her new observation point, she spotted her prey
quickly. The group of boys she had followed were all gathered around a
couple of games not far from her current position.

"ULTRA KILL!"

Ranma-chan almost jumped her skin when the sudden voice blasted in her
ear. Perhaps her current position wasn't as well chosen as she initially
thought.

"UNSTOPPABLE!"

ranma-chan just shook her head. She never was into computer games,
and couldn't quite understand what people found so interesting about
them. Blowing up a mountain in a fight with a phoenix god might make
anybody a little blasé when compared to computer games.

"YOU HAVE LOST THE MATCH!"

Ignoring the continued battle cries from the machine, Ranma-chan
sneaked around the room until she managed to hide between a couple of
game machines behind the group of boys. She listened in on their
conversation.

"Hey, Taki. Why are you playing that Sailor V game anyway? I thought
you said they were dumb." One of the guys said. Taki, who was
apparently the leader of the group, was sitting behind one of the game
machines playing the Sailor V game.

He shrugged. "Who cares." he replied. "I've had it with this game. Let's go
do something else."

Sailor Sapphire took this as her cue. She emerged from the shadows and
stood behind the group of boys. Flaring her battle aura slightly for
dramatic affect, she spoke with an icy voice.

"Going somewhere, boys?"

Those few words drew the immediate attention from the group. They
turned around and stared with wide eyes at a glowing Sailor Senshi.
Ranma-chan smirked when she saw the shocked expressions on there
faces. She could safely assume that this was the first time these boys had
actually encountered something out of the ordinary without being filtered
by the media. Her smirk grew larger.

"I have heard how you have been a bad bunch of boys and badmouthing
the Senshi. I think I might have to reeducate you." With those words, she
poured some Ki in her hands, forming it into a glowing ball.

The eyes of the boys grew even larger and they took a step back
simultaneously. Ranma-chan just glared at them darkly. Something
suddenly clicked in the mind of those boys. There was a Senshi standing
in front of them. A real, living pissed off Senshi holding a glowing ball of
energy. A Senshi they had made fun of not too long ago. This was not
good. Hurriedly, the group of boys ran to the exit of the arcade, stumbling
over each other in there rush to get out.

Ranma-chan just watched them go. When the last one had exited the
establishment, she couldn't hold it in any more. She fell over and started
rolling on the ground with laughter. This, of course, attracted the few
other customers of the establishment. Ranma-chan's laughter died down
quickly to an occasional chuckled when she noticed she became the center
of attention again. Standing up quickly, she brushed of her uniform and
flashed a smile towards the people that were looking at her with wide
eyes. Moving quickly, she moved to the exit and took to the rooftops. She
still had a big smile on her face.

* * *

Usagi was happily walking along the street while soaking up the sun. She
thought back to the monster she and her friends had fought earlier. It was
a tough fight, but they prevailed. She was just happy they managed to
defeat it without Ranma's help. She wondered about the girl, though. The
one that was apparently an acquaintance of Ranma. She smiled. She
would go see Ranma and ask about her. Perhaps she could make a new
friend as well. Happily, she turned down a street on her way to the
apartment building Ranma was staying at.

She blinked in confusion when she turned the corner of the street. There
was a group of boys there that seemed out of breath from a lot of
running. She ought to know the signs. She did a lot of running herself
while trying to make it in time for class. The group didn't seem to notice
her.

"I'm never going to listen to you again, Taki." One of the boys said. "What
if one of those others had been there as well?! That mars chick or the one
with the meatballs! She is supposed to be their leader, you know!"

Usagi, overhearing this, stopped in her tracks. The name 'meatball head'
was a touchy subject with her.

"Don't call me meatball head!" She almost automatically yelled.

One of the boys that was still jumpy from their earlier encounter yelped,
surprised from the sudden shout. "It's another one! Run for it." He yelled,
panicking.

Usagi blinked in surprise when the group of boys made a break for it,
leaving nothing but dust in their trail. She shook her head. That she would
never understand. They hadn't even looked at her.

"Hey, Usagi!" a sudden voice yelled from behind her.

"Eeeek!" Usagi jumped and whirled around, panting from the sudden
fright. "Don't scare me like that!" she yelled.

She noticed an embarrassed Ranma-chan now standing in front of her.

"Sorry." The red head said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Usagi waved it of. "Don't worry, Ranma. I should be used to it by now."
She was a little embarrassed herself. "Setsuna does it to me all the time
anyway." she added almost as an afterthought.

Ranma-chan jerked her head when Usagi mentioned that name.
"Setsuna? As in Setsuna Meiou?" She asked.

Usagi nodded, surprised. "You know her?"

Ranma-chan shrugged her shoulders. "Not really." The redhead
rummaged in her pocket and pulled out what looked like a credit card.
"It's just that I found this. Not sure how I got it, though." She handed the
card over to Usagi.

The blonde girl looked at it. "It's her name alright. I could return it to her
when I see her again."

Ranma-chan nodded. "That's fine by me. Saves me the trouble." Ranma-
chan looked curious at her friend. "What are you doing all the way out
here anyway?' She asked.

Usagi smiled. "I was going to visit you. I wanted to meat that nice girl
who accompanied you this morning."

Ranma-chan blinked. "You mean, Kasumi? Sure. She's with my mom right
now."

The two girls began walking towards the apartment building while chatting
about various subjects. Usagi mostly wanted to know how Ranma knew
Kasumi. Ranma-chan related some stories about the Tendo's and the
hectic life she had led in Nerima. They reached the apartment in short
order. Opening the apartment door, Ranma-chan called out to announce
her arrival. Both her mother and Kasumi responded.

Ranma-chan put the sugar she had bought in the kitchen. Both girls
joined Kasumi and Ranma's mother for a cup of tea. Usagi was soon
talking pleasantly with Kasumi. Ranma-chan just listened in, commenting
now and again. She never noticed the covert glance and contemplating
look from Kasumi.

* * *

Ranma was laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. A smile of
contentment was on his face. Today had been a good day. Kasumi's visit
was a welcome surprise. It was good to know how everything was going
back in Nerima. Usagi and Ranma-chan had both brought Kasumi back to
the train station at the end of the day. After Kasumi had departed, the
two girls had stopped for ice cream at one of the local ice cream parlors.
The blonde and the redhead had promptly started an ice cream contest.
This ended in Ranma-chan teaching Usagi the ultimate 'cute-as-a-million-
puppies' look that so often awarded her free food. The boy behind the
counter hadn't known what hit him when two extremely cute girls had put
their skills to use. With an extra, free ice cream in hand, they had left the
ice cream parlor, after witch Usagi said her good-bye and headed home.

Ranma sighed blissfully. Yes. This had definitely been a good day. Perhaps
he should introduce Usagi to Akane when he was back in Nerima. He
frowned. He hoped Akane wouldn't assume Usagi was another fiancée.
Naaah. The blonde girl was just too nice and totally crazy about that
Mamo-chan boyfriend of hers too. Yes. He should definitely introduce the
two girls. With his mind made up, he closed his eyes and promptly fell to
sleep.

* * *

Ami looked up from the book she was reading. The Mercury computer on
her desk had made a beeping noise, indicating configuring that the
parameters had finished calculating. Ami picked up the computer and
started typing and checking the results of her program. She nodded in
satisfaction. Typing a few commands, she put the computer back to work.
It would soon be time to notify the others.

* * *

END PART XVII

Additional authors note:
Next time we will see what Pluto is planning. Run for cover!