Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo, or Ranma ½. *Hangs
head.*
Author's Notes: I know your thinking 'About time she updated,' and you're right. Sorry about that. I was gathering ideas, and some I had to write down before I forgot them. *Kowtows* Please accept my apology. (Kowtow = bow really low. FYI. I don't know however, if that is how it is spelled :p)
Alright fifth day now I do believe. We need... dunno but we need something :p Let's get started. I do believe someone wanted more tender moments, and someone else wanted a bit more action. Someone thought I was making it too easy on Ranma, I fail to see how, I haven't gotten rid of the girls or his father yet, nor have I cured neko-ken like I wanted to. Another wanted less groupage cause it was hard to follow, let's see if I can accommodate.
Soul's Destiny, Blood's Inheritance Chapter 8
Ranma looked down into her face on more time, ready to kiss her as the door exploded. People started screaming and taking alternate routes out of the ball room. After checking to see that the princess was being protected by Prince Endymion, Ranma transformed into his battle uniform and turned to the inner senshi.
"Quickly, go out behind the throne. I'll hold them off!" he urged, trying to get everyone through.
"You mean, we'll hold them off," said Star, transforming into her sailor outfit, "I will not fail and run this time."
Seeing the determination in her, Ranma relented, and pushed the queen and other scouts through.
Glancing to his companion, he gave her a worried look as the enemy poured into the ballroom.
Star smiled at him warily, "Ready to dance one more time?"
Ranma nodded. "Let's do all we can."
"Right, you provide the power, I'll provide the magic." With that, both attacked, taking many down. The numbers were too great however, and both soon fell. Crawling over to the only girl he would ever truly love, Ranma looked into her lifeless face and whispered, "I promise," then succumbing to the darkness.
Ranma awoke to the sound of Tenchi's snoring in a cold sweat. 'What was that?' he thought, 'I haven't had that dream for five days now.'
Ranma looked over to Tenchi, and then to the bracers he had put back on his wrists before going to bed. 'What is the significance of these? Why do I feel so comfortable with these on? It's like they were made for me and me only.'
Looking down at them one more time, Ranma decided to get up and walk the halls a bit to calm down. 'Maybe I'll go outside and do a kata.'
Ranma thought about the dream as he walked through the halls, and finding no answer, went outside to where the springs were. Finding a place where there was no water, Ranma started an intricate kata of speed and grace, unaware that he was being watched.
Hikari was having trouble sleeping. 'Why does that dream bother me so?' she asked herself, walking the halls of the resort. She found no answer just walking along, and decided a bit of fresh air would do her good.
Going outside, she saw Ranma in nothing but a pair of sweatpants doing an intricate kata. Her breath caught as she watched his graceful movements. She sat down to watch on a nearby bench, just focusing on his movements. Then a flash of blue caught her eye.
'Those bracers. I had to sell those bracers. I thought they would never find who they were meant for, I thought he was gone forever. Ranma was only a look a like. A very likeable look alike,' Hikari thought, tears forming in her eyes.
'He probably doesn't remember at all. None of the inner scouts or outer scouts remembers. It was by a freak accident that I did, when I was very little.' Hikari put a hand to her heart, which was beating so hard that it hurt. A sob tore through her, as she wondered what would have happened, had she defeated Metallia, instead of running, and letting it escape. 'Would we have fallen in love? Or rather, would he have returned mine? So many questions unanswered, and I may never know because we all have forgotten and lived new lives.'
As Hikari thought more, her sadness grew, and she put her head in her hands. Then, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her, and she found herself crying into Ranma's chest.
Ranma finished his kata, returning to reality, and the sounds of crying reached his ears. Looking around, he saw Hikari, her face buried in her hands, shaking. Unable to bear her crying, Ranma, for the first time in his life, tried to comfort, instead of run from it. Sitting down next to her, he pulled her up against his chest, and hugged her.
For a moment, it looked like Hikari hadn't really noticed, but then she shifted her position slightly, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Making low, comforting sounds, Ranma slowly calmed her down, and they stayed like that for a while longer.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked softly, as she pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry for g-getting you w-wet," was all she said.
Ranma waited for more, but it never came. Hikari just sat there, looking miserably into her lap. "It might help if you talk about it," Ranma said, trying to prompt her.
Hikari gave Ranma a side look, and then looked down again, blushing. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, and started to collect herself, nodding.
"It all starts with a dream I had when I was little, just after my parents died. When I got to the orphanage, I was about four years old. It was a decent place, and while I loved it there, I longed for adventure. In my dreams I found it, though I didn't know what they meant. I still have those dreams, of a place where magic and elegance reined. You remind me of someone I met there in my dreams. After a while though, the dreams turned dark. He... died, as did I, doing the job our souls were meant to do."
Ranma repressed a gasp as he heard his dream retold in the tears of a familiar soul. "Would we have fallen in love?" Ranma whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.
Hikari's sobbing stopped, yet tears still ran down her face. 'He knows! He remembers.... but how?'
Hikari unconsciously hugged him closer, and breathed in his scent. Ranma kept holding her, until he felt her tears subside. "I'm not sure I remember everything, but I do know about the past our soul's have in common," he whispered again.
"The evil awakens again," Hikari said softly, "The inner scouts are too slow to realize this. Even the princess is far less than she was. They need to remember everything, and in a hurry. Their souls are too weak right now from the battle before."
"Why are they weaker now?" Ranma asked, pulling away slightly.
"As far as I know, when their home planets were stripped of life, the core of the planet had to transfer the powers directly to their souls, instead of allowing them to draw upon the planet itself. Their bodies were not meant for that so they are starting all over in learning to use their power. Sailor Moon, or rather Princess Serenity, is new to the whole scout thing as it is. It will take to long if they don't remember how things were and train to defeat her."
Ranma nodded, and then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He and Hikari turned in time to see the sun peak over the horizon, and watched the sun rise in silence.
**Back in Ranma's room**
'Something isn't right here,' Tenchi thought, trying to wake up, 'Someone's missing.'
Tenchi opened his eyes and rolled over, looking for Ranma. Not finding him, Tenchi sat up and stretched, wondering if Ranma went to one of the hot springs outside. 'Maybe I'll join him. I don't think we have anything planned for today. I wonder if Auntie will tell Ranma about our heritage. He won't have to worry about the throne of Jurai at least.'
Tenchi got dressed and pulled out what he thought he'd take with him to the springs. Gathering a book and a towel, Tenchi headed off to the changing room, meeting Nodoka and Ranko along the way. "Looks like you two had the same idea I did. Have either of you seen Ranma?"
Nodoka looked slightly startled, "I thought you boys would still be sleeping. I wonder where he got off to."
"I think he might be at the pools. Since we're all headed out there we'll find out," Tenchi said.
Ranko and Nodoka nodded, and they all went into their respective changing rooms. Emerging on the other side, Tenchi encountered Nodoka, who appeared to be waiting for them.
"Ne, Auntie, do you know of your heritage?" Tenchi asked, wanting to get it out in the open.
Nodoka froze, and then turned to face Tenchi. "So you know also. That was one of the reasons I had run away. Why do you ask?"
Tenchi hesitated, and looked down before answering. "Are you going to tell Ranma and Ranko? The only reason I know is because a Jurian princess landed on earth a while ago. She has taken up residence in my house along with her younger sister, a space pirate, a galaxy policewoman, and the universe's greatest scientific mind."
"When we visit, that will make it a problem if they don't know," Nodoka said softly, "I will see to it that they know. It's just extremely hard to believe."
"I think Ranma will believe just about anything now," Tenchi said dryly, "That is what kind of life he's led."
Nodoka just nodded as Ranko came out of the changing room. "Hi momma! Hi Tenchi! Let's go find Ranma!"
Tenchi grinned, and turned. Ranko and Nodoka followed, Ranko's good mood rubbing off on them.
'I will tell them soon,' Nodoka thought, 'Very soon.'
The sound of voices reached their ears and Tenchi stopped, peeking around the corner. "Ranma's talking to Hikari," he said, preparing to step out and greet them.
Ranko and Nodoka grabbed Tenchi by the shoulders and pulled him back telling him to shush and heading back up to the corner to listen.
"So now I'm not sure what to do. I know that mom divorcing pops won't really solve everything, but it should help. There's also that stupid neko- ken training pops put me through."
"The neko-ken was an unbeatable technique set up by a legendary god. It's said that it can be used with almost any base animal that eats meat. Base meaning the smallest. Cats were often used because of their ferocity and don't-mess-with-me attitude. There is a legend of someone being able to use it at will because he was almost like a cat himself," said Hikari, trying to give a bit of history on the technique.
Ranma thought a bit, "I had better explain this dream I had then. When we were fighting that cat youma, I felt my consciousness go under and found myself in a place with a black tiger with white stripes and a gate. I tried to leap over the tiger through the gates but a force field shoved me back through as well as with the tiger. The tiger then turned and spoke to me, saying I should learn to accept him if I ever wanted peace from this technique."
Hikari looked thoughtful. "Look for it inside your mind and try to make peace with it. You've been running from it for so long that you're becoming dependent on it."
Ranma sighed, "Easier said than done. It takes a lot to admit to the fear anyways."
Hikari hugged Ranma and murmured something into his chest that Nodoka and Ranko couldn't hear. Ranko snorted, and whispered how unfair it was to keep them from hearing like that. Nodoka just giggled.
Ranma then called out to them, "I know you two are there! You might as well bring Tenchi out here with you, doesn't seem fair to let him miss out."
Nodoka and Ranko came around the corner with Tenchi looking guilty. Ranma and Hikari sat in a pool next to each other. "I'm guessing since you tried to meddle before mother that you don't mind Hikari."
Nodoka looked indignant for a moment, but then sighed, "You had better keep it quiet until the other girls have no claim on you. Even then it's no guarantee that they'll leave you alone. You might want to teach Hikari some basic moves to protect herself if it comes to that."
Ranma frowned, "I can protect her!"
Hikari giggled, "I know some martial arts. It wouldn't be too hard to find a dojo to take lessons at to defend myself. And Ranma, you won't be around all the time with your job and us going to different schools at the moment."
Ranma looked a little disgruntled at that but then sighed. "I suppose I ought to teach a few things ta make sure you know what you would be up against."
Hikari smiled at him, and then looked around to see one of the clocks near the pools. "I had better get going. I need to help Trista with the children."
Ranma looked like he was about to protest, but then settled down a bit, his eyes following her as she got out of the pool. Hikari smiled and winked at Ranma before leaving, allowing the rests thoughts to run wild.
"So, Nii-san...." Ranko started, giving Ranma a look.
It took Ranma a while to register Ranko, and by the time he did, everyone was looking at him. "What?" he asked startled.
Tenchi chuckled, while Ranko and Nodoka giggled. "We were just wondering when you would realize how much you liked her is all."
Ranma blushed a bit, and then looked at his mother, who had a serious look upon her face. "Something wrong, mom?"
Nodoka started and looked at her son's concerned expression. Tenchi looked at her expectantly as Ranko watched, slightly confused. 'I can't tell them now. Maybe... maybe later will be better. Yes, much later.'
"Nothing's wrong son," she lied, a smile growing on her face, "I'll need to talk to you and Ranko later however."
Ranma and Ranko just looked at each other, questions in their eyes, before turning back to Nodoka and nodding. "Alright momma, anytime you're ready to talk to us. We'll be there."
Nodoka smiled, happy that her children understood. "Only two days left. What do we want to do with that time?"
"I've heard that there's a decent amusement park around here. We could go there if we wanted," Ranko said.
Tenchi shrugged, "I'm all for staying here and resting like Ranma and I were supposed to do."
"Now that's not much fun," Ranma said, "I vote we explore the grounds a bit more. See if there's any good place to train."
Nodoka looked slightly startled at that remark, "Well that's one thing your father did right. He gave you a love of the art."
Ranma grinned, "I think I would have loved it even if he hadn't been my father. There are times when I thought giving up would be ideal but since I'm his son, he knew what buttons to push to make me do something."
Ranma's face then grew stern, "He won't be able to do that anymore. Things have changed."
Nodoka and Ranko nodded, while Tenchi looked thoughtful. Tenchi then looked at the clock. "If we want breakfast we had better get out so we can get it. The dining room will close soon."
Ranma and Ranko adopted scandalized expressions and jumped out of the water, nearly leaving their towels behind them. Nodoka laughed at their antics and got up at a more leisurely pace.
"You'll need to tell them before we leave. You do know that right?" Tenchi asked.
Nodoka nodded, a troubled expression covering her face. "I just wish I knew how they would take it."
'Oh they would probably take it better than you think, Auntie. A lot better,' Tenchi thought as he got up.
Arriving at the dining room, the four found that there was still plenty of food left, and quickly got plates. Ranma got a lot of everything while his twin got half as much, which was still a lot of food. Nodoka just shook her head at her children as she proceeded to pick up her own meager meal of three pieces of bacon, four eggs, and four pieces of toast.
Ranma looked around the dining room, and quickly spotted Trista, Hikari, and the children. Catching Hikari's eye, he winked, and grinned to himself as she blushed.
Tenchi rolled his eyes, and smacked Ranma on the back with his free hand, nearly upsetting both of their trays. Ranma gave him a reproachful look and followed him to the table that Ranko had grabbed. "You didn't have to do that, you almost made me lose all of my food."
"Well lover boy, if you had been paying attention to something other than your new girlfriend then I wouldn't have had to smack you so hard. I called you five times already!" Tenchi exclaimed.
Ranma gave Tenchi a sheepish grin as he started to dig into his food.
"Well what d'ya know, it's the other human vacuum cleaner," said a sarcastic voice.
"That wasn't very nice Mamoru."
Ranma turned to see Mamoru shrug as Motoki gave him a look. Ranma just swallowed, and answered, "What's up?"
Mamoru and Motoki looked slightly startled at Ranma's good nature, but recovered quickly. "We were just looking for the girls," Motoki said, "Usagi, Rei and Ami invited us to go exploring the mountain path today and then they left to ask you guys if you wanted to come."
Ranma got up, leaving half of his breakfast, "I'll help you look for 'em. I'll be back in a little while."
Motoki gave Ranma a grateful look as the three turned to leave.
"Careful you three," Nodoka called out, "We'll help after breakfast."
Ranma just waved, thinking, 'I have a bad feeling about this.'
As they got outside, Motoki finished explaining where they had looked, and showed Ranma the place where he and Mamoru parted with Usagi, Rei and Ami.
"Mamoru and I had just turned to head back in when they cornered us and asked. We were supposed to meet them thirty minutes ago outside the dining hall. When they didn't show up after twenty minutes of waiting, we got worried and looked inside the dining hall. When we didn't find them there, well, we looked for your family. Since you all haven't seen them, I guess they got lost somewhere."
Ranma nodded at Motoki's reasoning, "Then we should start looking around the pools, maybe they decided to stay in one of them for a while and lost track of time. We'll split up to cover more ground."
Mamoru and Motoki nodded, and picked a direction. Ranma turned and walked slowly in the third direction, and stretched his senses to see if he could detect their energy. 'Theoretically this should work, but I've never done this before. Now let's see, lots of small energies here. Probably squirrels or rabbits.'
As Ranma continued to experiment, the urgent feeling started to grow. Suddenly, his danger sense went off and he jumped high into the air, as a pair of tentacle sped through the area he was just in.
'.... Well, looks like I have something new to worry about,' Ranma thought, looking down to his bracer's, 'Now how do I transform, I know about my past but I never dreamed about this.'
Knowledge suddenly filled his head as he fell, and he shouted out the words he would need to transform.
The monster looked stunned as its prey was no longer there. First the Sailor Scouts had tried to foil the plan and failed, Jedeite would finish them later. Right now, he needed to collect as much energy as possible, and the humans were making it impossible. How was he supposed to serve Lord Jedeite when the humans were being so uncooperative?
Ranma's yell startled the monster and the flash of light that signaled the transformation startled them both. Ranma recovered first, delivering a swift roundhouse kick, accompanied by a loud yell. Ranma followed up by a flurry of punches and channeled his ki to finish the monster off. As the monster turned to dust, Ranma heard the sounds of three bodies falling nearby.
Sweatdropping Ranma detransformed, and went to find the source of the noise, thinking, 'I have the strangest suspicion that I know what that was.'
As Ranma rounded the last tree, he found Usagi, Ami, and Rei unconscious near it. Shaking his head, Ranma whistled for Mamoru and Motoki like they agreed, and set to checking on the girls. Noticing a few bruises on them, Ranma saw nothing else wrong and attempted to wake them up.
Motoki and Mamoru came crashing through the trees and stared at the unconscious girls. Ranma adopted an annoyed look, "C'mon you two help me try to wake them."
Both responded by kneeling near one of the girls. Mamoru kneeled next to Usagi, while Motoki kneeled next to Rei. 'I guess that leaves Ami for me then,' Ranma thought as he sighed.
It didn't take long to waken Rei and Ami, who seemed to have a minimum of energy drained. Usagi was taking longer, and the other two kept going on about the youma.
Ranma was about to say he had taken care of it, but thought better of it. "I think the sailor scouts took care of it. If they didn't it won't take long for it to make a commotion. Mamoru, I think you had better just carry her back to the resort. It doesn't look like she'll be waking up anytime soon."
Mamoru nodded and picked Usagi up, ignoring Rei's jealous face. Rei then turned to Ranma. "Would you carry me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyes.
Ranma rolled his eyes and then turned to head in the direction of the resort. "Let's get moving, the rest are going to be worried about us."
Motoki, Mamoru, and Ami nodded while Rei fumed at the brush off. Ami giggled at her friend, and then followed Ranma through the trees to the pools. Motoki rolled his eyes at Rei and Mamoru ignored her, more intent on the girl in his arms.
As Ranma led the group, he concentrated on the energy signatures behind him, memorizing them. 'That should make them easier to find,' Ranma thought.
Looking back at the crew, he studied them. Suddenly Usagi moved a bit, and Mamoru called for the group to stop a second. Mamoru knelt, laying Usagi half on the ground, and stroked her face, trying to get her to wake up. Usagi then opened her eyes yet didn't look to be really seeing anyone.
Ranma strained to hear as the girl whispered a name and he could have sworn he heard Mamoru's heart break. "Endymion," Usagi whispered softly, "Endymion where are you? Please help me."
Mamoru swallowed and tried again. "C'mon odango atama, it's time to wake up."
Usagi's eyes shot open as she shrieked, "Don't call me that!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to have completely regained consciousness.
"You all right Usagi?" Ranma asked, "These two were going on about some youma."
Usagi's eyes opened wide, "That's right! It was heading for the resort! We need to warn them."
Usagi tried to get up, and fell back into Mamoru's arms, putting one hand to her head.
"Don't push yourself Usagi," Motoki said concernedly, "It looks like you took a hard hit to the head."
Usagi just nodded, and allowed Mamoru to pick her up once more, not registering that she was in his arms. Ranma just smiled as he watched them from the corner of his eye, and turned to lead the group back to the resort. "We're nearly there.
We'll get some ice for your head there."
Usagi fell asleep in Mamoru's arms along the way and snuggled closer to him, making him blush. They soon arrived at the resort's main building, and Ami led them to their room, so that Mamoru could lay Usagi down. Ranma just smiled and took his leave, "I've got to let Ranko, Tenchi and mom know that they're all right. I'll see you all later."
Mamoru and Motoki gave Ranma and absentminded wave and Rei sat pouting, still angry from his brush off earlier. Ami smiled and nodded at him, quickly returning her attentions to her friend.
Ranma found his family near the entrance to the pools. "They're alright. We found them. They got lost in the woods."
Nodoka sighed, "Well it's a good thing you found them and nothing else did."
Ranma just grinned at his mother, thinking, 'I had better not tell them about the youma then.'
"Well, we have the rest of the day to relax. I opt that we explore today and head to the amusement park tomorrow, since it is rather late already," Nodoka said.
"Alright!" Ranko shouted, "Amusement park here I come!"
Ranma and Tenchi just grinned, agreeing with the decision, and got out their map of the resort compound.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long, I tried to get it out before Otakon but I have a lot of distractions and a short attention span. -_-; Please bear with me. Alright, next story is... Ummm... whichever one I get to :p Ja ne!
Author's Notes: I know your thinking 'About time she updated,' and you're right. Sorry about that. I was gathering ideas, and some I had to write down before I forgot them. *Kowtows* Please accept my apology. (Kowtow = bow really low. FYI. I don't know however, if that is how it is spelled :p)
Alright fifth day now I do believe. We need... dunno but we need something :p Let's get started. I do believe someone wanted more tender moments, and someone else wanted a bit more action. Someone thought I was making it too easy on Ranma, I fail to see how, I haven't gotten rid of the girls or his father yet, nor have I cured neko-ken like I wanted to. Another wanted less groupage cause it was hard to follow, let's see if I can accommodate.
Soul's Destiny, Blood's Inheritance Chapter 8
Ranma looked down into her face on more time, ready to kiss her as the door exploded. People started screaming and taking alternate routes out of the ball room. After checking to see that the princess was being protected by Prince Endymion, Ranma transformed into his battle uniform and turned to the inner senshi.
"Quickly, go out behind the throne. I'll hold them off!" he urged, trying to get everyone through.
"You mean, we'll hold them off," said Star, transforming into her sailor outfit, "I will not fail and run this time."
Seeing the determination in her, Ranma relented, and pushed the queen and other scouts through.
Glancing to his companion, he gave her a worried look as the enemy poured into the ballroom.
Star smiled at him warily, "Ready to dance one more time?"
Ranma nodded. "Let's do all we can."
"Right, you provide the power, I'll provide the magic." With that, both attacked, taking many down. The numbers were too great however, and both soon fell. Crawling over to the only girl he would ever truly love, Ranma looked into her lifeless face and whispered, "I promise," then succumbing to the darkness.
Ranma awoke to the sound of Tenchi's snoring in a cold sweat. 'What was that?' he thought, 'I haven't had that dream for five days now.'
Ranma looked over to Tenchi, and then to the bracers he had put back on his wrists before going to bed. 'What is the significance of these? Why do I feel so comfortable with these on? It's like they were made for me and me only.'
Looking down at them one more time, Ranma decided to get up and walk the halls a bit to calm down. 'Maybe I'll go outside and do a kata.'
Ranma thought about the dream as he walked through the halls, and finding no answer, went outside to where the springs were. Finding a place where there was no water, Ranma started an intricate kata of speed and grace, unaware that he was being watched.
Hikari was having trouble sleeping. 'Why does that dream bother me so?' she asked herself, walking the halls of the resort. She found no answer just walking along, and decided a bit of fresh air would do her good.
Going outside, she saw Ranma in nothing but a pair of sweatpants doing an intricate kata. Her breath caught as she watched his graceful movements. She sat down to watch on a nearby bench, just focusing on his movements. Then a flash of blue caught her eye.
'Those bracers. I had to sell those bracers. I thought they would never find who they were meant for, I thought he was gone forever. Ranma was only a look a like. A very likeable look alike,' Hikari thought, tears forming in her eyes.
'He probably doesn't remember at all. None of the inner scouts or outer scouts remembers. It was by a freak accident that I did, when I was very little.' Hikari put a hand to her heart, which was beating so hard that it hurt. A sob tore through her, as she wondered what would have happened, had she defeated Metallia, instead of running, and letting it escape. 'Would we have fallen in love? Or rather, would he have returned mine? So many questions unanswered, and I may never know because we all have forgotten and lived new lives.'
As Hikari thought more, her sadness grew, and she put her head in her hands. Then, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her, and she found herself crying into Ranma's chest.
Ranma finished his kata, returning to reality, and the sounds of crying reached his ears. Looking around, he saw Hikari, her face buried in her hands, shaking. Unable to bear her crying, Ranma, for the first time in his life, tried to comfort, instead of run from it. Sitting down next to her, he pulled her up against his chest, and hugged her.
For a moment, it looked like Hikari hadn't really noticed, but then she shifted her position slightly, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Making low, comforting sounds, Ranma slowly calmed her down, and they stayed like that for a while longer.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked softly, as she pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry for g-getting you w-wet," was all she said.
Ranma waited for more, but it never came. Hikari just sat there, looking miserably into her lap. "It might help if you talk about it," Ranma said, trying to prompt her.
Hikari gave Ranma a side look, and then looked down again, blushing. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, and started to collect herself, nodding.
"It all starts with a dream I had when I was little, just after my parents died. When I got to the orphanage, I was about four years old. It was a decent place, and while I loved it there, I longed for adventure. In my dreams I found it, though I didn't know what they meant. I still have those dreams, of a place where magic and elegance reined. You remind me of someone I met there in my dreams. After a while though, the dreams turned dark. He... died, as did I, doing the job our souls were meant to do."
Ranma repressed a gasp as he heard his dream retold in the tears of a familiar soul. "Would we have fallen in love?" Ranma whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.
Hikari's sobbing stopped, yet tears still ran down her face. 'He knows! He remembers.... but how?'
Hikari unconsciously hugged him closer, and breathed in his scent. Ranma kept holding her, until he felt her tears subside. "I'm not sure I remember everything, but I do know about the past our soul's have in common," he whispered again.
"The evil awakens again," Hikari said softly, "The inner scouts are too slow to realize this. Even the princess is far less than she was. They need to remember everything, and in a hurry. Their souls are too weak right now from the battle before."
"Why are they weaker now?" Ranma asked, pulling away slightly.
"As far as I know, when their home planets were stripped of life, the core of the planet had to transfer the powers directly to their souls, instead of allowing them to draw upon the planet itself. Their bodies were not meant for that so they are starting all over in learning to use their power. Sailor Moon, or rather Princess Serenity, is new to the whole scout thing as it is. It will take to long if they don't remember how things were and train to defeat her."
Ranma nodded, and then noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He and Hikari turned in time to see the sun peak over the horizon, and watched the sun rise in silence.
**Back in Ranma's room**
'Something isn't right here,' Tenchi thought, trying to wake up, 'Someone's missing.'
Tenchi opened his eyes and rolled over, looking for Ranma. Not finding him, Tenchi sat up and stretched, wondering if Ranma went to one of the hot springs outside. 'Maybe I'll join him. I don't think we have anything planned for today. I wonder if Auntie will tell Ranma about our heritage. He won't have to worry about the throne of Jurai at least.'
Tenchi got dressed and pulled out what he thought he'd take with him to the springs. Gathering a book and a towel, Tenchi headed off to the changing room, meeting Nodoka and Ranko along the way. "Looks like you two had the same idea I did. Have either of you seen Ranma?"
Nodoka looked slightly startled, "I thought you boys would still be sleeping. I wonder where he got off to."
"I think he might be at the pools. Since we're all headed out there we'll find out," Tenchi said.
Ranko and Nodoka nodded, and they all went into their respective changing rooms. Emerging on the other side, Tenchi encountered Nodoka, who appeared to be waiting for them.
"Ne, Auntie, do you know of your heritage?" Tenchi asked, wanting to get it out in the open.
Nodoka froze, and then turned to face Tenchi. "So you know also. That was one of the reasons I had run away. Why do you ask?"
Tenchi hesitated, and looked down before answering. "Are you going to tell Ranma and Ranko? The only reason I know is because a Jurian princess landed on earth a while ago. She has taken up residence in my house along with her younger sister, a space pirate, a galaxy policewoman, and the universe's greatest scientific mind."
"When we visit, that will make it a problem if they don't know," Nodoka said softly, "I will see to it that they know. It's just extremely hard to believe."
"I think Ranma will believe just about anything now," Tenchi said dryly, "That is what kind of life he's led."
Nodoka just nodded as Ranko came out of the changing room. "Hi momma! Hi Tenchi! Let's go find Ranma!"
Tenchi grinned, and turned. Ranko and Nodoka followed, Ranko's good mood rubbing off on them.
'I will tell them soon,' Nodoka thought, 'Very soon.'
The sound of voices reached their ears and Tenchi stopped, peeking around the corner. "Ranma's talking to Hikari," he said, preparing to step out and greet them.
Ranko and Nodoka grabbed Tenchi by the shoulders and pulled him back telling him to shush and heading back up to the corner to listen.
"So now I'm not sure what to do. I know that mom divorcing pops won't really solve everything, but it should help. There's also that stupid neko- ken training pops put me through."
"The neko-ken was an unbeatable technique set up by a legendary god. It's said that it can be used with almost any base animal that eats meat. Base meaning the smallest. Cats were often used because of their ferocity and don't-mess-with-me attitude. There is a legend of someone being able to use it at will because he was almost like a cat himself," said Hikari, trying to give a bit of history on the technique.
Ranma thought a bit, "I had better explain this dream I had then. When we were fighting that cat youma, I felt my consciousness go under and found myself in a place with a black tiger with white stripes and a gate. I tried to leap over the tiger through the gates but a force field shoved me back through as well as with the tiger. The tiger then turned and spoke to me, saying I should learn to accept him if I ever wanted peace from this technique."
Hikari looked thoughtful. "Look for it inside your mind and try to make peace with it. You've been running from it for so long that you're becoming dependent on it."
Ranma sighed, "Easier said than done. It takes a lot to admit to the fear anyways."
Hikari hugged Ranma and murmured something into his chest that Nodoka and Ranko couldn't hear. Ranko snorted, and whispered how unfair it was to keep them from hearing like that. Nodoka just giggled.
Ranma then called out to them, "I know you two are there! You might as well bring Tenchi out here with you, doesn't seem fair to let him miss out."
Nodoka and Ranko came around the corner with Tenchi looking guilty. Ranma and Hikari sat in a pool next to each other. "I'm guessing since you tried to meddle before mother that you don't mind Hikari."
Nodoka looked indignant for a moment, but then sighed, "You had better keep it quiet until the other girls have no claim on you. Even then it's no guarantee that they'll leave you alone. You might want to teach Hikari some basic moves to protect herself if it comes to that."
Ranma frowned, "I can protect her!"
Hikari giggled, "I know some martial arts. It wouldn't be too hard to find a dojo to take lessons at to defend myself. And Ranma, you won't be around all the time with your job and us going to different schools at the moment."
Ranma looked a little disgruntled at that but then sighed. "I suppose I ought to teach a few things ta make sure you know what you would be up against."
Hikari smiled at him, and then looked around to see one of the clocks near the pools. "I had better get going. I need to help Trista with the children."
Ranma looked like he was about to protest, but then settled down a bit, his eyes following her as she got out of the pool. Hikari smiled and winked at Ranma before leaving, allowing the rests thoughts to run wild.
"So, Nii-san...." Ranko started, giving Ranma a look.
It took Ranma a while to register Ranko, and by the time he did, everyone was looking at him. "What?" he asked startled.
Tenchi chuckled, while Ranko and Nodoka giggled. "We were just wondering when you would realize how much you liked her is all."
Ranma blushed a bit, and then looked at his mother, who had a serious look upon her face. "Something wrong, mom?"
Nodoka started and looked at her son's concerned expression. Tenchi looked at her expectantly as Ranko watched, slightly confused. 'I can't tell them now. Maybe... maybe later will be better. Yes, much later.'
"Nothing's wrong son," she lied, a smile growing on her face, "I'll need to talk to you and Ranko later however."
Ranma and Ranko just looked at each other, questions in their eyes, before turning back to Nodoka and nodding. "Alright momma, anytime you're ready to talk to us. We'll be there."
Nodoka smiled, happy that her children understood. "Only two days left. What do we want to do with that time?"
"I've heard that there's a decent amusement park around here. We could go there if we wanted," Ranko said.
Tenchi shrugged, "I'm all for staying here and resting like Ranma and I were supposed to do."
"Now that's not much fun," Ranma said, "I vote we explore the grounds a bit more. See if there's any good place to train."
Nodoka looked slightly startled at that remark, "Well that's one thing your father did right. He gave you a love of the art."
Ranma grinned, "I think I would have loved it even if he hadn't been my father. There are times when I thought giving up would be ideal but since I'm his son, he knew what buttons to push to make me do something."
Ranma's face then grew stern, "He won't be able to do that anymore. Things have changed."
Nodoka and Ranko nodded, while Tenchi looked thoughtful. Tenchi then looked at the clock. "If we want breakfast we had better get out so we can get it. The dining room will close soon."
Ranma and Ranko adopted scandalized expressions and jumped out of the water, nearly leaving their towels behind them. Nodoka laughed at their antics and got up at a more leisurely pace.
"You'll need to tell them before we leave. You do know that right?" Tenchi asked.
Nodoka nodded, a troubled expression covering her face. "I just wish I knew how they would take it."
'Oh they would probably take it better than you think, Auntie. A lot better,' Tenchi thought as he got up.
Arriving at the dining room, the four found that there was still plenty of food left, and quickly got plates. Ranma got a lot of everything while his twin got half as much, which was still a lot of food. Nodoka just shook her head at her children as she proceeded to pick up her own meager meal of three pieces of bacon, four eggs, and four pieces of toast.
Ranma looked around the dining room, and quickly spotted Trista, Hikari, and the children. Catching Hikari's eye, he winked, and grinned to himself as she blushed.
Tenchi rolled his eyes, and smacked Ranma on the back with his free hand, nearly upsetting both of their trays. Ranma gave him a reproachful look and followed him to the table that Ranko had grabbed. "You didn't have to do that, you almost made me lose all of my food."
"Well lover boy, if you had been paying attention to something other than your new girlfriend then I wouldn't have had to smack you so hard. I called you five times already!" Tenchi exclaimed.
Ranma gave Tenchi a sheepish grin as he started to dig into his food.
"Well what d'ya know, it's the other human vacuum cleaner," said a sarcastic voice.
"That wasn't very nice Mamoru."
Ranma turned to see Mamoru shrug as Motoki gave him a look. Ranma just swallowed, and answered, "What's up?"
Mamoru and Motoki looked slightly startled at Ranma's good nature, but recovered quickly. "We were just looking for the girls," Motoki said, "Usagi, Rei and Ami invited us to go exploring the mountain path today and then they left to ask you guys if you wanted to come."
Ranma got up, leaving half of his breakfast, "I'll help you look for 'em. I'll be back in a little while."
Motoki gave Ranma a grateful look as the three turned to leave.
"Careful you three," Nodoka called out, "We'll help after breakfast."
Ranma just waved, thinking, 'I have a bad feeling about this.'
As they got outside, Motoki finished explaining where they had looked, and showed Ranma the place where he and Mamoru parted with Usagi, Rei and Ami.
"Mamoru and I had just turned to head back in when they cornered us and asked. We were supposed to meet them thirty minutes ago outside the dining hall. When they didn't show up after twenty minutes of waiting, we got worried and looked inside the dining hall. When we didn't find them there, well, we looked for your family. Since you all haven't seen them, I guess they got lost somewhere."
Ranma nodded at Motoki's reasoning, "Then we should start looking around the pools, maybe they decided to stay in one of them for a while and lost track of time. We'll split up to cover more ground."
Mamoru and Motoki nodded, and picked a direction. Ranma turned and walked slowly in the third direction, and stretched his senses to see if he could detect their energy. 'Theoretically this should work, but I've never done this before. Now let's see, lots of small energies here. Probably squirrels or rabbits.'
As Ranma continued to experiment, the urgent feeling started to grow. Suddenly, his danger sense went off and he jumped high into the air, as a pair of tentacle sped through the area he was just in.
'.... Well, looks like I have something new to worry about,' Ranma thought, looking down to his bracer's, 'Now how do I transform, I know about my past but I never dreamed about this.'
Knowledge suddenly filled his head as he fell, and he shouted out the words he would need to transform.
The monster looked stunned as its prey was no longer there. First the Sailor Scouts had tried to foil the plan and failed, Jedeite would finish them later. Right now, he needed to collect as much energy as possible, and the humans were making it impossible. How was he supposed to serve Lord Jedeite when the humans were being so uncooperative?
Ranma's yell startled the monster and the flash of light that signaled the transformation startled them both. Ranma recovered first, delivering a swift roundhouse kick, accompanied by a loud yell. Ranma followed up by a flurry of punches and channeled his ki to finish the monster off. As the monster turned to dust, Ranma heard the sounds of three bodies falling nearby.
Sweatdropping Ranma detransformed, and went to find the source of the noise, thinking, 'I have the strangest suspicion that I know what that was.'
As Ranma rounded the last tree, he found Usagi, Ami, and Rei unconscious near it. Shaking his head, Ranma whistled for Mamoru and Motoki like they agreed, and set to checking on the girls. Noticing a few bruises on them, Ranma saw nothing else wrong and attempted to wake them up.
Motoki and Mamoru came crashing through the trees and stared at the unconscious girls. Ranma adopted an annoyed look, "C'mon you two help me try to wake them."
Both responded by kneeling near one of the girls. Mamoru kneeled next to Usagi, while Motoki kneeled next to Rei. 'I guess that leaves Ami for me then,' Ranma thought as he sighed.
It didn't take long to waken Rei and Ami, who seemed to have a minimum of energy drained. Usagi was taking longer, and the other two kept going on about the youma.
Ranma was about to say he had taken care of it, but thought better of it. "I think the sailor scouts took care of it. If they didn't it won't take long for it to make a commotion. Mamoru, I think you had better just carry her back to the resort. It doesn't look like she'll be waking up anytime soon."
Mamoru nodded and picked Usagi up, ignoring Rei's jealous face. Rei then turned to Ranma. "Would you carry me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyes.
Ranma rolled his eyes and then turned to head in the direction of the resort. "Let's get moving, the rest are going to be worried about us."
Motoki, Mamoru, and Ami nodded while Rei fumed at the brush off. Ami giggled at her friend, and then followed Ranma through the trees to the pools. Motoki rolled his eyes at Rei and Mamoru ignored her, more intent on the girl in his arms.
As Ranma led the group, he concentrated on the energy signatures behind him, memorizing them. 'That should make them easier to find,' Ranma thought.
Looking back at the crew, he studied them. Suddenly Usagi moved a bit, and Mamoru called for the group to stop a second. Mamoru knelt, laying Usagi half on the ground, and stroked her face, trying to get her to wake up. Usagi then opened her eyes yet didn't look to be really seeing anyone.
Ranma strained to hear as the girl whispered a name and he could have sworn he heard Mamoru's heart break. "Endymion," Usagi whispered softly, "Endymion where are you? Please help me."
Mamoru swallowed and tried again. "C'mon odango atama, it's time to wake up."
Usagi's eyes shot open as she shrieked, "Don't call me that!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as she seemed to have completely regained consciousness.
"You all right Usagi?" Ranma asked, "These two were going on about some youma."
Usagi's eyes opened wide, "That's right! It was heading for the resort! We need to warn them."
Usagi tried to get up, and fell back into Mamoru's arms, putting one hand to her head.
"Don't push yourself Usagi," Motoki said concernedly, "It looks like you took a hard hit to the head."
Usagi just nodded, and allowed Mamoru to pick her up once more, not registering that she was in his arms. Ranma just smiled as he watched them from the corner of his eye, and turned to lead the group back to the resort. "We're nearly there.
We'll get some ice for your head there."
Usagi fell asleep in Mamoru's arms along the way and snuggled closer to him, making him blush. They soon arrived at the resort's main building, and Ami led them to their room, so that Mamoru could lay Usagi down. Ranma just smiled and took his leave, "I've got to let Ranko, Tenchi and mom know that they're all right. I'll see you all later."
Mamoru and Motoki gave Ranma and absentminded wave and Rei sat pouting, still angry from his brush off earlier. Ami smiled and nodded at him, quickly returning her attentions to her friend.
Ranma found his family near the entrance to the pools. "They're alright. We found them. They got lost in the woods."
Nodoka sighed, "Well it's a good thing you found them and nothing else did."
Ranma just grinned at his mother, thinking, 'I had better not tell them about the youma then.'
"Well, we have the rest of the day to relax. I opt that we explore today and head to the amusement park tomorrow, since it is rather late already," Nodoka said.
"Alright!" Ranko shouted, "Amusement park here I come!"
Ranma and Tenchi just grinned, agreeing with the decision, and got out their map of the resort compound.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long, I tried to get it out before Otakon but I have a lot of distractions and a short attention span. -_-; Please bear with me. Alright, next story is... Ummm... whichever one I get to :p Ja ne!