Disclaimer: The characters featured within this story are not mine. In
fact, most of them belong to people who don't necessarily approve of my
using them here. Tough luck for them, I say. At least I don't make any
money from this, ne?
Warning: Do not microwave.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 10
by Jose Argao
"Konatsu? Ko-chan, are you home?"
Sayuri circled the Ucchan's, looking for a trace of either
Ukyo or Konatsu. She had tried contacting him by phone more than once
since last night, but no one had answered her calls. When Ukyo didn't
show up for school, she decided to come over and see what was wrong.
Her search brought no results, however, as all the doors were
locked and the windows were shut tight. She went to the front door and
knocked. She was a bit surprised when the door abruptly opened and
Konatsu stepped out. He was wearing a red kimono with a floral design
on the side. It made him look even more feminine than usual.
"Ko-chan, what did I tell you about cross-dressing?" she asked.
Konatsu stared at her for a few seconds, seemingly confused by
her question. A scowl formed on his face.
"That it's not becoming of a real man?"
Sayuri's jaw fell open in shock. Surely he couldn't have
forgotten already! Oh well, his clueless nature was one of the things
that made him so adorable anyway. She smiled brightly at him.
"No, you silly, I love it when you cross-dress! You look soooo
cute in that kimono! Is it yours, or did you borrow it from Ukyo?"
Konatsu laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, of course! I can't believe I forgot, silly me. This kimono
is mine, actually."
Sayuri moved to enter the restaurant, and was surprised when
Konatsu blocked her from walking further. She looked up at him, eyes
wide open.
"What's wrong, Ko-chan? Aren't you going to let me in?"
Konatsu gently pushed her away from the restaurant, closed the
door behind him, and stepped towards her.
"I'm sorry, but you can't go inside!"
Sayuri frowned. This was certainly unexpected. "Why not,
Ko-chan?"
Konatsu laughed nervously as he replied, "Mistress Ukyo is...
um... that is... she's sick! That's right, she's really sick!"
Sayuri's face took on a look of concern. "What? I'd better go
visit her, then. Let me in!"
Konatsu pushed her backwards again. "No! It's um... it's really
contagious! You shouldn't even be staying this close to the restaurant!
You'd better get back to school before you catch it."
Sayuri locked eyes with him as she spoke, "But _you're_ with
her!"
Konatsu continued pushing her away. "I've got a natural
immunity to it. I got it as a child and I can't get it anymore. You
should really get going. Bye!"
Sayuri watched her boyfriend run back towards the restaurant
and go inside. A loud click told her that the door was once again being
locked. She shook her head as she made her way back to school. Konatsu
sure was behaving strangely today.
*****
Konatsu leaned against the door as he locked it, thankful that
the girl had finally left. That had been close! He breathed deeply for
a few seconds, closing his eyes as he did so.
Slowly, his body began glowing with a pale yellow light. The
light quickly grew in intensity until it was too bright for a normal
human to look straight into. The light gradually dissipated, revealing
a young girl with short, purple hair, wearing red high-heeled leather
boots and a matching skin-tight leather outfit. On her back were two
large bat wings. Another pair, much smaller than the other, could be
seen growing from behind her head.
She smiled broadly and made her way upstairs to one of the
bedrooms, where the real Konatsu lay bound and gagged on the bed. The
male kunoichi was still unconscious.
A woman with blue-green hair was standing over him, watching as
he slept. The woman had wings not unlike her own protruding from behind
her head and back. They were attired similarly as well.
The woman turned to look at her, and she heard a voice speak to
her from inside her mind.
'Is she gone?'
The young girl walked towards the bed and used her own
telepathic powers to project her thoughts towards the woman.
'Yes, I sent her back to school. She won't be bothering us
anymore. Why is the ninja still unconscious?'
The woman grinned, amusement plainly showing on her beautiful
features.
'I gave him a few dreams. They should keep him occupied for
a while. You have done well, Lilith. Soon, we will have what we came
for.'
Lilith walked towards the older woman and hugged her tightly,
pressing her young body against the woman's more voluptuous one. She
was happy that she had pleased her sister.
'Thank you, Mistress Morrigan.'
Morrigan wrapped her arms around Lilith. Her face broke into a
smile as she stroked the young girl's purple hair.
'You don't have to be so formal with me. We are sisters, after
all.'
Lilith smiled at Morrigan, the wings behind her head flapping
quickly as evidence of her happiness. She raised the wings behind her
and wrapped them around the older succubus as well.
'Thank you, Onee-chan.'
*****
"So, are you going to tell me who Athan is?"
Haruka stared at the ceiling while waiting for Setsuna to
answer her question.
The two of them were lying on opposite ends of the bed. Setsuna
had raised the sheets to her chest in an effort to cover up her naked
body. Haruka giggled at the older woman's embarrassment. It was hard to
believe that this was the same woman who had forced her to perform
unspeakable acts just a few minutes ago.
Setsuna ignored Haruka and tried to concentrate on finding out
where her underwear had disappeared to. The last thing she wanted to do
right now was to show her body to Haruka once again. For an unwilling
victim, she had turned out to be quite an enthusiastic participant.
"He is nobody."
Haruka rolled her eyes. In her own opinion, she had been more
than patient with the guardian of time, even going so far as to play
Setsuna's little games without asking why. She felt that she deserved a
better answer than that.
Besides, if she kept nagging Setsuna long enough, the older
woman might tire of talking and decide to engage in more exciting
activities instead.
She stretched her arms and yawned, feigning disinterest.
Setsuna blushed when she caught herself staring at the blondes naked,
tone body. She wondered if Ranma preferred muscular women like Haruka.
She certainly hoped not.
"For a non-existent person, you sure were screaming his name
pretty loud."
Setsuna cursed herself as she caught herself comparing her
thighs to Haruka's and frowned. Her plan had gone horribly wrong. What
should have distracted her mind from Athan had actually made her miss
his touch even more.
She decided to play it cool. This situation might still be
salvageable.
"Stop asking about Athan. He is of no concern to you."
Haruka smiled at Setsuna. She had never seen Setsuna get this
worked up about anything. If her hunch was right, she may have found the
chink in the older woman's cool and emotionless armor.
"An old boyfriend, huh?"
Setsuna's heart skipped a beat at Haruka's question. Her grip
on the sheets came loose, revealing her body to Haruka once more. A big
smile appeared on the young blonde's pretty face. Setsuna quickly
grabbed hold of the sheets and covered herself with them once more.
"Of course not! How did you find out?"
An awkward silence filled the room as the two women gazed at
one another. Setsuna's features remained calm even as she mentally
kicked herself on her shapely behind. A large sweat drop appeared over
Setsuna's head. Haruka cleared her throat loudly.
"I just know about these things, that's all. It's a gift."
Setsuna stared at Haruka incredulously. The naked young blonde
withstood her glare with surprisingly little effort. She decided never
to put herself in such a compromising position with another woman again
--except maybe if the woman was a cute redhead who wore her hair in
pigtails, and even then only with the lights turned off.
*****
"Achoo!"
Umi and Fuu stopped looking through the dresses in the store
and stared at Hikaru. That sneeze had certainly come from out of the
blue.
"Are you alright, Hikaru? Are you coming down with a cold or
something?"
Hikaru crinkled her nose and sniffed around a bit. She shrugged
and concluded that she must have inhaled a dust particle or something.
"I'm fine, Fuu. Don't worry about me."
Hikaru's two friends nodded their heads and continued shopping.
*****
Setsuna managed to stop herself just as her thoughts were
about to stray towards Athan once more. It was beginning to become
difficult to concentrate on anything else. She looked at Haruka, who
was still naked. The younger woman's presumptuousness was starting
to irritate her.
"What would _you_ know about relationships with men?"
Haruka grinned. "Not much, really, but I know a lot more than
you do!"
Setsuna laughed out loud, then stopped when she realized that
the action was making her breasts bounce around too much.
"Don't be silly. I have over a thousand years of experience
over you."
Haruka raised her eyebrows. "Experience doing what? Hanging
around peeking at people through the Time Gate?"
Setsuna remained silent.
Haruka slid closer to Setsuna, causing the older woman to
shudder at their close proximity to each other. She wished she'd had
the presence of mind to keep her clothes close by.
"I can help you, you know. I have a lot of experience dealing
with men. I know how their minds work. Just tell me what the deal is
with this Athan guy and I'll tell you what I think you should do. What
have you got to lose?"
Setsuna considered Haruka's offer. She had hoped to hide the
whole situation about Athan from Uranus and Neptune. However, Haruka
had solved half the riddle already. Besides, she really _did_ have
nothing left to lose at this point. The Time Gates were all but useless
in their current state, and she was already starting to lose control of
herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and began her tale.
"Let me tell you about the grand ball that Queen Serenity held
in honor of Princess Serenity's birthday...."
*****
"I'm not going to dance with you and that's that. What part of
'no' don't you understand?"
Prince Endymion gave Athan one of his princely smiles as he
roughly grabbed the redhead's arm and held him close.
"Stop being so coy, Lady Athan. You and I both know that you
are madly in love with me. Let us dance the night away in an orgy of
rhythmic movement!"
Athan pulled away from Prince Endymion and ran towards Princess
Serenity, who was only too happy to have him back. She managed to pull
him behind her just as Endymion got to them.
"Princess, I would like to have a word with lady Athan for a
few moments."
Princess Serenity frowned at the handsome young man and stood
between him and Athan. She frowned when she noticed him gawking at her
cleavage. This dress was for Athan's benefit, not his.
"I am terribly sorry, Prince Digimon, but I must insist that
Lady Athan remain by my side at all times tonight."
Prince Endymion sighed. "Whatever for, your highness? Oh, and
it's Prince _Endymion_."
The princess quickly thought of a plausible excuse. Years of
practice in handling persistent suitors had trained her well.
"Well, because it is a custom here on the moon that on the
princess' birthday, members of royalty must only dance with people of
the same sex."
Prince Endymion thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Who
shall _I_ dance with, then?"
Princess Serenity looked around the room for a man. She frowned
when she realized that almost everyone in the room was female. Then, a
grin formed on her face ashen spied a familiar face near the buffet
table.
"Artemis, come here at once!"
*****
Artemis was busy getting better acquainted with Sailor Venus'
rather pretty young handmaid when he heard the princess call for him.
What could she possibly want now? Couldn't she see that he was busy
fostering better relations among the castle's residents?
He turned to look at her, and found that she was busy talking
to the silly young prince from Earth. How he hated that man. Not only
was he a complete idiot, he also possessed looks that served to distract
all the pretty girls from the other things they should be doing.
Things like himself, for example.
He sighed and made his way slowly towards the duo. As he got
closer, he noticed that Athan was with them, albeit clinging to the
princess' blouse like a child holding onto his mother. He smirked as
he remembered that Athan had once been his greatest competition in the
castle. The situation had not really changed, but it was so much easier
to ignore Athan's propensity for attracting beautiful women to him now
that he was a beautiful woman too.
He stopped smirking once he got within five feet of them. He
wasn't exactly a favorite of the Queen and he knew that Setsuna would
show him no mercy if he was to be charged with disrespecting a member
of the royal household. He bowed when he finally arrived at her side.
"I am at your service, your highness. What is it that you want
of me?"
*****
Princess Serenity bade Artemis to stand up with a wave of her
hand. She didn't particularly like the man. He was always trying to win
the love of one or another of her handmaidens. Tonight, however, she
was thankful that he was working in the castle.
"Artemis, you shall be Prince Dominion's dance partner for the
rest of the evening."
Artemis winced as he heard the order. While it was normal in
the castle for women to dance with each other because of a severe lack
of men in these functions, it was unheard of for a man to dance with
another of his own gender. He found it kind of sexist, actually, not
that he had ever felt the desire to hold another man close and sway
from side to side to slow music. He looked at Prince Endymion, who did
not look too pleased with how things were going, either. He looked at
Athan, who was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
He groaned. "Of course, your highness."
Princess Serenity smiled as she watched the two men depart. She
held her hand out to Athan and curtsied.
"May I have this dance, fair lady?"
Athan rolled his eyes, but decided to play along. The princess
_had_ just saved him from a fate worse than death, after all. He took
her hand in his own and led her to the middle of the dance floor.
"Of course, my lady. And every dance afterwards as well."
The princess blushed as he held her tight against himself. They
swayed slowly to the music, him leading and her following. It was such
a refreshing break from her everyday life, where she was always the one
who had to make decisions and everyone else just deferred to her.
She giggled, something that she didn't usually do in public.
The princess was expected to act serious and proper, like her mother.
For now, however, she felt that she could get away with acting like
the young girl that she was. It felt... liberating, to say the least.
She vowed right then and there that if she was ever given a chance at
a normal life, she would spend most of it giggling.
"Is something wrong, your highness? You haven't said a word
since we started."
Princess Serenity looked into the concerned eyes of Athan. It
was not hard to imagine that the beautiful young woman holding her had
once been a handsome young man.
"I'm fine, Athan. Just hold me."
A smile formed on Princess Serenity's face as they danced. She
could get used to this.
*****
"Look at them, your highness! It's disgraceful! They should
cease this embarrassing display at once!"
Queen Serenity sat quietly as Setsuna raved and ranted about
how it just wasn't right for the princess to fall all over herself for
the chance to dance with a single person. The fact that the person was
not only a convicted criminal but also a female at the moment only
served to make it even worse. She sat demurely on her throne as the
guardian of time droned on about how it was ruining the reputation of
the royal household.
"Setsuna, who is your escort for the night?"
Setsuna stopped ranting and stared at Queen Serenity with wide
eyes. The princess was making a laughingstock of herself and that was
all she had to say? This was an emergency! It was certainly not the time
to discuss her love life, or lack of one. Regardless, she had no choice
but to answer honestly.
"I have no escort, your highness."
The Queen remained silent for a few moments, looking at the
dance floor where Princess Serenity was currently dancing with Athan.
Setsuna was just about to open her mouth again when the Queen suddenly
interrupted her.
"I agree entirely with you, Setsuna. Neither my daughter nor
the senshi should be engaging in this behavior with Athan."
Setsuna's mouth fell open. Up until this moment, the queen had
always appeared to favor the young upstart from Earth. Finally, she had
a chance to get back at the little pervert for all the times he had
humiliated her!
"In that case, your highness, I volunteer to take care of the
situation myself."
Queen Serenity considered her offer for a few moments, then
slowly nodded. Setsuna resisted the urge to jump up and down with glee
while singing praises to the heavens. Her mind immediately set to work
figuring out how fast she could have a snake pit built and how much it
would cost.
"Bring Athan to me."
Setsuna blinked twice before realizing that the queen was
indeed talking to her. She quickly walked towards the dancing duo and
tapped her staff lightly on the floor. The princess stopped dancing
and confidently turned to face her. Athan did the same, albeit with a
little less confidence. She smirked at him.
"Her Majesty the Queen calls upon Athan."
She then grabbed Athan by the arm and dragged him towards the
throne before the princess could utter a word. She smiled triumphantly
as she presented him before the queen.
"Here he is, your highness. I recommend that you show him no
mercy."
Queen Serenity looked at Athan appraisingly from her throne.
A blush formed on the former guard's cheeks under her close scrutiny.
She smiled at him.
"Was that my daughter you were just dancing with?"
Athan frowned. Surely she had seen the two of them dancing. It
wasn't like he and the princess were trying to hide it.
"Er... yes, your highness. But-"
"You were dancing with Sailor Venus before that, correct?"
Athan looked up at the queen, whose face remained impassive as
she grilled him.
"That is correct, your highness. But-"
"You are seated at Sailor Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars' table,
are you not?"
Setsuna stared at Queen Serenity. What was all this leading to?
Thing were not going as she had envisioned them. She had assumed that
the queen would simply inform Athan of his offence and hand him over to
her for punishing. Why was she asking all these stupid questions?
Athan gulped. He was really starting to get nervous.
"That's true, but I don't-"
"You have also been chatting with Sailor Uranus and Sailor
Neptune during the course of the evening."
"Of course I have, but isn't that what you're supposed to do in
these-"
"You spent last night in Sailor Saturn's room, too."
Athan blushed bright red when he saw the way Setsuna was
looking at him.
"It's not like that! She was treating some burns I got from
Sailor Mars!"
Athan glanced at Setsuna and found that she was still glaring
daggers at him. The queen, however, was actually smiling. It was that
smile again, the one that always sent shivers up his spine. What could
she be up to this time?
Queen Serenity spoke calmly. "Needless to say, you cannot go on
acting in this manner."
Setsuna smiled. This was it, Athan was finally going to get
what was coming to him! She would have the last laugh after all.
"As of this moment, I am assigning you to be Setsuna's escort
at all official functions until further notice."
The entire room fell silent when the guests heard the loud
clang of the Time Staff hitting the floor as it fell from Setsuna's
grasp. She hurriedly got down on her knees and picked it up. After
doing so, she stood back up with all the poise of a seal running on
land and turned back towards Queen Serenity.
"Your highness, surely you must be joking! I have no desire
whatsoever to have Athan as an escort. He's not even a man right now!"
Queen Serenity smiled at the Time Guardian. "I am afraid you
have no say in this, Setsuna. You see, I find it appalling that all of
the other senshi are enjoying his company while you only ever get to
see him on your semi-regular bathroom get-togethers."
Setsuna's mouth fell open in shock. The Queen continued smiling
at her.
"I can see that you have been rendered speechless with joy. I
shall retire to my quarters now. You two, on the other hand, are not
allowed to leave the party or each other until the last guest has left.
Have fun!"
Athan and Setsuna could do nothing but stare as they watched
the Queen get up and leave the room. They both remained silent and
motionless for a full minute after she had gone.
After regaining his senses, Athan turned to the stunned Senshi
of Pluto and grinned sheepishly.
"So, do you wanna dance?"
*****
"Why don't I remember any of this?"
Haruka was not sure she liked what she had just heard. If what
Setsuna said was true, then she might have some residual traces of
heterosexuality in her. If she did, then perhaps her feelings for Ranma
were founded on something deeper than mere admiration.
"Because up until a few days ago, Athan didn't exist."
Setsuna locked eyes with Haruka and smiled. It was during these
times when she knew that whoever she was talking to was completely and
utterly baffled by what she just said that she felt her best. There was
just something about annoying other people with cryptic messages that
made her feel that all was right with the world.
She was, after all, the guardian of time. It was only natural
for her to know more than other people did.
"You see, it all started last week when I checked on the state
of the timelines...."
*****
"So you're going away? Just like that? After everything we've
been through, you're just going to leave me here?"
Akane's eyes misted over with tears and her lips trembled. She
turned her head slightly to the right and looked into the distance.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ran-"
"You're not sorry, Akane. You're disappointed! Do it again from
the start."
Akane pouted and crossed her arms in front of her. Nabiki was
being such a nitpicker today. If she didn't need her older sister's
help so badly, she would have left already. She couldn't believe she
was actually skipping her afternoon classes for this.
"What difference does it make, Nabiki? Don't they mean the
same thing?"
Nabiki sighed. Akane just wasn't cooperating with her. How was
she ever going to get Akane back together with Ranma if her sister
couldn't even recite a script properly? What was so hard about saying
a couple of lines anyway? She motioned for Akane to come closer and
stand in front of her.
"Do you love Ranma, Akane?"
Akane blushed as she stuttered. "I... I'm not sure. I think I
do... that is... I might-"
Nabiki silenced Akane with a wave of her hand.
"Are you saying that you're paying me to get your relationship
with Ranma back on track because you feel that there's a possibility
that you might love him?"
Akane frowned. Nabiki was making it sound so... silly. Why did
she have to go out and say it anyway? What good would it do?
Nabiki looked at her younger sister as Akane shifted her weight
from one foot to another. She shook her head and rose from her seat.
"This is hopeless. If you're not even sure whether you love him
or not, you'll never get anywhere! The deal's off."
Akane watched as her older sister got up and made her way out
of the empty classroom they had been practicing in. Nabiki had already
opened the door halfway when Akane slammed her fist on the desk beside
her, breaking to pieces. Nabiki turned back towards her and smiled.
"Something wrong, Akane?"
Akane breathed deeply, counting from one to ten to calm her
nerves. She couldn't believe her sister was making her go through with
this. She turned away and cleared her throat.
"I love him."
Nabiki closed the door and walked back towards Akane. "Who do
you love?"
Akane scowled at Nabiki as she replied. "Ranma."
Nabiki sat down on a chair and looked at Akane. "Do you want
him to love you, too?"
Akane turned away and nodded. Nabiki sighed, exasperated. "Then
why don't you follow my directions? You saw for yourself how effective
my methods are. All you have to do is act like I tell you until you're
married and you've got him. Ranma's sense of honor would never allow
him to get a divorce!"
Akane turned back towards Nabiki, blinking back the tears that
were forming in her eyes.
"Because I want him to love me for me! What we're doing, it's
like we're tricking him into loving me. It's disgusting! I don't want
to do it anymore. I... I'm leaving!"
Nabiki shook her head as she watched Akane run out of
the room. This was bad. If Akane wouldn't cooperate with her, then all
her chances of keeping Ranma in Furinkan were lost. Without him to fuel
the betting pools, she would have to work twice as hard to make the
same amount of money.
She would have to talk to Akane later and trick the girl into
doing as she wanted. It was for her own good, anyway. It wasn't like
her marriage prospects were particularly bright without Ranma. Other
guys simply wouldn't be able to survive her.
Nabiki slowly made her way out of the room, careful not to step
on any bits of the wooden chair Akane had destroyed.
*****
"Where am I?"
Ranma looked around the forest he was in, searching for a path
he could take. He didn't know where he was, and certainly couldn't
remember how he got there. Judging from the light filtering through the
leaves high above him, it was nearing nightfall.
The trees in the forest were very large, and the ground was
covered with their fallen leaves. From where he was standing, the
forest seemed to extend endlessly in all directions.
He jumped up onto the branches of one of the larger trees and
pushed himself up through the leaves to get a better view, hoping to
find a way out. Finding none, he decided to just spend the night in the
forest and figure out how to leave next morning. He found himself a
large branch and was just about to settle down on it when he heard the
sound of someone crying.
"Hello! Who's there?"
Ranma shouted as loud as he could, causing his voice to echo
around the large forest. Not a soul answered his cries, however, and
he found himself getting worried. What if it was a wandering mime
who had sprained his ankle and was now helplessly crying over the
misfortune that had befallen him?
Ranma started running in the general direction that the sound
was coming from. The sound became louder and clearer as he ran through
the forest. After a while, it became clear enough that he could tell
that it was a young girl weeping. Finally, after a few more seconds, he
found her.
"Ranma-kun, why do you hate me?"
Ranma stopped and stared at the young girl standing in front of
him, tears in her eyes. She was wearing a bright red Chinese shirt with
a pair of black pants. Her bright red hair was tied behind her head in
a pigtail. He stepped backward, unable to believe his eyes.
"You! How... are you for real?"
The girl continued to sob, hot tears falling from her eyes in
twin rivers. She raised her head to look up at him and gave him a look
of utter sadness.
"Ranma-kun, why do you hate me?"
Ranma continued moving slowly away from her. She looked exactly
like him in his cursed form!
"Aren't I pretty enough for you, Ranma-kun?"
Ranma continued backwards, but stopped when he felt a familiar
pair of arms snake around his body and locking him into a warm, tight
embrace. The warmth radiating from the arms circling him seemed to calm
him down, seemingly bringing him to a stupor.
"Why do you hate her, Ranma-kun?"
The words jolted Ranma awake. He immediately turned around to
see who had spoken. What he saw left him speechless.
"Ka... Kasumi? What are you doing here?"
Kasumi just smiled at him. She was wearing her old housedress,
making her look terribly out of place in the forest they were in.
"You made her cry, Ranma-kun. That wasn't a very nice thing to
do."
Ranma did not understand what she was saying. Kasumi seemed...
different somehow. It was all so strange.
"What are you talking about, Kasumi?"
Kasumi shook her head and pointed behind him. Ranma turned
around and found that his twin was crying again. She was curled up
under one of the trees and sobbing softly.
"You need to kiss her, Ranma-kun. Kiss her and make it all
better, Ranma-kun."
Ranma immediately recoiled from her. "I can't do that! Look
at her, she's me!"
Kasumi continued smiling at him. "Do you hate yourself,
Ranma-kun?"
Ranma frowned at her. "Of course not! Why would I hate myself?"
Kasumi took his hand and slowly led him towards his crying
double. She stopped beside her and turned to him.
"Then tell her, Ranma-kun."
Ranma nodded his head and kneeled so that he was at eye-level
with... himself. He gently tapped on her shoulder. She looked up at him
and rubbed her eyes. She was so much smaller than him. She looked so
fragile. He cleared his throat and smiled at her.
"Um... hi."
She tilted her head and blinked at him.
"Hello."
Ranma breathed in deeply. He wasn't really used to this sort
of thing. "Listen, um... I really don't hate you or nuthin' so
stop crying, okay?"
"You're just saying that. You don't like me at all! You're
always trying to get rid of me!"
She turned away from him and started crying again. Ranma
decided that this would probably be a good time to lie through his
teeth.
"What are you talking about? I love you! If I really wanted to
get rid of you I would have done it by now!"
Ranma's twin stopped crying and nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you
_are_ the greatest martial-artist on the face of the Earth... Do you
really mean it? Do you really like me?"
Ranma beamed with pride. Finally he had found someone who could
appreciate him for the martial-arts master that he was. He was starting
to really like her... er... himself.
"Yeah, sure. I like you a lot!"
Upon hearing Ranma's words his double's face lit up with a
smile that made him weak in the knees. He thanked the kami that he
rarely had to deal with any girls as cute as him.
"If you really mean what you said, Ranma, then kiss me."
Ranma blushed. She apparently wasn't one to beat around the
bush. He glanced at Kasumi, who smiled sweetly at him and nodded for
him to go on. He turned back to his double, who had closed her eyes
and was blushing a bit herself.
"Well, I guess maybe one little kiss wouldn't hurt."
He took hold of his double by her shoulders, and gently pulled
her closer to himself. Her blush deepened as he did so, and he felt
better that he wasn't the only one embarrassed about doing this. He
closed his own eyes and leaned closer to her. He mentally noted how
strange it was that the first person he would kiss in this way would
be none other than himself.
*****
"What are you doing, Ranma?"
Ranma opened his eyes and found himself holding Ms. Urd's
shoulders and leaning in to kiss her.
"Gah!"
He quickly let go of her and stepped backwards, only to be
stopped when he bumped onto the person standing behind him. Why were
there so many people in the train anyway? It wasn't even rush hour!
Luckily, Ms. Urd didn't seem to be too mad about it. As a matter of
fact, she was actually smiling at him.
"In any case, Ranma, it's good that you finally woke up. We're
almost there. We should be arriving any moment now."
Ranma thought it was great that he was to be transferred to
Juuban, the same place where Hotaru lived. Usagi and her friends also
lived there, and they were apparently the heroines he had heard about
who fought demons around here. If he was lucky, he might get to see
them in action and find out how they did it.
Ms. Urd also told him that he didn't have to go home until
Saturday, giving him a whole week to figure out how to deal with Akane.
She hadn't been herself lately.
"Well, Ranma, we're here!"
Ranma snapped out of his thoughts and found that the train had
finally arrived at their stop. All thoughts of Akane drifted away as he
followed Ms. Urd out of the train.
*****
"No! We were so close!"
Lilith slammed her fist on the wall beside her as she reverted
from Ranma's female form to her original body.
'Hush, Lilith, you will wake up the kunoichi. You must have
patience.'
Lilith crossed her arms in front of her and pouted, managing to
look incredibly cute in the process. Morrigan chuckled as she reverted
from Kasumi's body back to her own. She gracefully made her way to
Lilith's side and took the child into her arms.
'Do not worry, child. I have something special planned for
tonight. We shall have Ranma soon enough.'
Lilith sighed and allowed herself to melt into her sister's
hug. 'I love you, Onee-chan.'
Morrigan smiled at this. 'I'm sure you do, Lilith. I love you,
too.'
*****
"I'm so sorry, miss. I... I thought you were someone else.
Please excuse me."
Mamoru quickly walked away from the pigtailed redhead that he
had mistaken for Lady Athan. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking
about her. Even though he knew she had died when the Silver Millenium
ended, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was out there somewhere,
just waiting for him. It was getting so bad that he was starting to see
images of her everywhere he went.
He decided to go home for now. He needed time to himself. The
mall was not a good place to be when you were mistaking every other
girl you encountered for a long-lost love from a previous life. It
was a good thing he had already taken care of Usagi. The last thing he
needed right now was another one of her 'love can conquer all' pep
talks.
It was sort of strange, though. Was it only a few days ago that
he had felt they were soulmates? Was it only last week that he had
found those same speeches so inspiring and insightful? And then there
were strange dreams he had been having. What was happening to him?
Somehow, he had to get to the bottom of all this.
*****
"Who was that guy you were talking to, Hikaru? Is he a new
boyfriend or something?"
Hikaru laughed as she turned to Fuu and Umi, who had finally
emerged from the ladies room. They had been watching her, apparently.
She waved her hand dismissively at the direction the strange man had
gone off to.
"Of course not. He just mistook me for someone else, that's
all."
Umi grinned and sidled towards her. The blue-haired girl sidled
towards Hikaru and gave her a playful shove.
"I think he had the hots for you."
Hikaru blushed at the idea. "Of course not! He looked almost
old enough to be my father!"
Umi smiled at Hikaru, a mischievous thought passing through her
mind. "Maybe he's a pervert who likes to date high school girls!"
Fuu raised her hand to her chin and thought for a few moments.
"He reminds me of that guy we saw in Nerima, actually. The one
with the bokken."
Hikaru rolled her eyes. "Oh please, not _him_ again. That guy
was just crazy!"
Umi laughed out loud. "Oh yeah, I remember him! He kept saying
that you were his pigtailed goddess!"
Hikaru sighed and pulled her two companions along.
*****
Mousse opened his eyes slowly, the bright light making it hard
to focus on his surroundings. He held his head steady with one hand as
he pushed himself to a sitting position with the other. He was lying on
a bed. He noticed that he was no longer wearing his clothes. He wasn't
wearing anything, in fact. His clothes were gone, along with all of his
weapons. He shook his head to clear it, and had to shut his eyes when
the action brought his attention to the fact that he had a splitting
headache.
He heard a groan coming from somewhere to his right. He turned
his head to see who had made the sound and was startled to see Ryoga on
another bed beside his own. The wandering martial artist's body was
completely covered with bruises. Like him, Ryoga was also completely
naked.
Mousse blushed.
"I see that you are finally awake. I was beginning to think
that you and your friend were going to sleep forever."
Mousse quickly turned his head to the direction where the sound
had come from, and clutched it with his hands when the motion caused
waves of pain to emanate from his brain. If the owner of the voice had
come to finish him off, he would not be able defend himself. After the
pain had dissipated somewhat, he slowly raised his head again.
There was a woman standing just inside an open door in front
of him. The bright light coming from outside shrouded her features in
darkness. Mousse adjusted his glasses to see better, but could not
discern anything more. He cleared his throat to speak.
"Where am I? How did I get here?"
The woman chuckled at him. It seemed as if she found his
ignorance to be terribly amusing.
"My, aren't we inquisitive today? The answers to your questions
will be given in due time, Mousse. For now, you must concentrate on
getting better. That last battle took a lot out of you.
Mousse blinked twice, adjusting his glasses to get a better
look at the woman. He was sure he didn't recognize the voice as anyone
he had ever met.
"How did you know my name?"
The woman waved an arm dismissively. "I know many things,
Mousse. Do not concern yourself about such inconsequential details as
the source of my knowledge."
Mousse decided to lie down again. His head was beginning to
hurt. Beside him, Ryoga was still groaning. He could feel his eyes
growing heavy. He decided to ask one more question before going back
to sleep.
"Who are you, anyway?"
She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Mousse
could now see that she was wearing a red dress with a yellow cloak
wrapped around her shoulders and arms. She was also wearing dark blue
stockings with bright red, high heeled shoes.
Mousse smiled to himself, thinking that even Ranma wouldn't be
caught dead wearing such a ridiculous outfit. As his gaze traveled to
her face, he saw that she had long, flowing dark hair. She reminded him
of a gypsy. Now he was certain that they had never met before. He was
not the type to forget anyone with her striking looks. He was startled
out of his thoughts by her voice.
"My name is... Rose."
*****
Author's notes:
As expected, a lot of scenes got bumped into the next chapter.
Gomen, Chester-san.
This took a while, I know. I blame three things for the delay:
I got an internship at a programming company and they're working me
like a slave, I'm still working on my thesis, and the fact that Shinobu
is the cutest girl in the world.
I would also like to know if anyone is interested in Love Hina
fanfiction written by me. (I've got five of them written on paper :p)
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.
fact, most of them belong to people who don't necessarily approve of my
using them here. Tough luck for them, I say. At least I don't make any
money from this, ne?
Warning: Do not microwave.
Warning: Altaverse (Keichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 10
by Jose Argao
"Konatsu? Ko-chan, are you home?"
Sayuri circled the Ucchan's, looking for a trace of either
Ukyo or Konatsu. She had tried contacting him by phone more than once
since last night, but no one had answered her calls. When Ukyo didn't
show up for school, she decided to come over and see what was wrong.
Her search brought no results, however, as all the doors were
locked and the windows were shut tight. She went to the front door and
knocked. She was a bit surprised when the door abruptly opened and
Konatsu stepped out. He was wearing a red kimono with a floral design
on the side. It made him look even more feminine than usual.
"Ko-chan, what did I tell you about cross-dressing?" she asked.
Konatsu stared at her for a few seconds, seemingly confused by
her question. A scowl formed on his face.
"That it's not becoming of a real man?"
Sayuri's jaw fell open in shock. Surely he couldn't have
forgotten already! Oh well, his clueless nature was one of the things
that made him so adorable anyway. She smiled brightly at him.
"No, you silly, I love it when you cross-dress! You look soooo
cute in that kimono! Is it yours, or did you borrow it from Ukyo?"
Konatsu laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, of course! I can't believe I forgot, silly me. This kimono
is mine, actually."
Sayuri moved to enter the restaurant, and was surprised when
Konatsu blocked her from walking further. She looked up at him, eyes
wide open.
"What's wrong, Ko-chan? Aren't you going to let me in?"
Konatsu gently pushed her away from the restaurant, closed the
door behind him, and stepped towards her.
"I'm sorry, but you can't go inside!"
Sayuri frowned. This was certainly unexpected. "Why not,
Ko-chan?"
Konatsu laughed nervously as he replied, "Mistress Ukyo is...
um... that is... she's sick! That's right, she's really sick!"
Sayuri's face took on a look of concern. "What? I'd better go
visit her, then. Let me in!"
Konatsu pushed her backwards again. "No! It's um... it's really
contagious! You shouldn't even be staying this close to the restaurant!
You'd better get back to school before you catch it."
Sayuri locked eyes with him as she spoke, "But _you're_ with
her!"
Konatsu continued pushing her away. "I've got a natural
immunity to it. I got it as a child and I can't get it anymore. You
should really get going. Bye!"
Sayuri watched her boyfriend run back towards the restaurant
and go inside. A loud click told her that the door was once again being
locked. She shook her head as she made her way back to school. Konatsu
sure was behaving strangely today.
*****
Konatsu leaned against the door as he locked it, thankful that
the girl had finally left. That had been close! He breathed deeply for
a few seconds, closing his eyes as he did so.
Slowly, his body began glowing with a pale yellow light. The
light quickly grew in intensity until it was too bright for a normal
human to look straight into. The light gradually dissipated, revealing
a young girl with short, purple hair, wearing red high-heeled leather
boots and a matching skin-tight leather outfit. On her back were two
large bat wings. Another pair, much smaller than the other, could be
seen growing from behind her head.
She smiled broadly and made her way upstairs to one of the
bedrooms, where the real Konatsu lay bound and gagged on the bed. The
male kunoichi was still unconscious.
A woman with blue-green hair was standing over him, watching as
he slept. The woman had wings not unlike her own protruding from behind
her head and back. They were attired similarly as well.
The woman turned to look at her, and she heard a voice speak to
her from inside her mind.
'Is she gone?'
The young girl walked towards the bed and used her own
telepathic powers to project her thoughts towards the woman.
'Yes, I sent her back to school. She won't be bothering us
anymore. Why is the ninja still unconscious?'
The woman grinned, amusement plainly showing on her beautiful
features.
'I gave him a few dreams. They should keep him occupied for
a while. You have done well, Lilith. Soon, we will have what we came
for.'
Lilith walked towards the older woman and hugged her tightly,
pressing her young body against the woman's more voluptuous one. She
was happy that she had pleased her sister.
'Thank you, Mistress Morrigan.'
Morrigan wrapped her arms around Lilith. Her face broke into a
smile as she stroked the young girl's purple hair.
'You don't have to be so formal with me. We are sisters, after
all.'
Lilith smiled at Morrigan, the wings behind her head flapping
quickly as evidence of her happiness. She raised the wings behind her
and wrapped them around the older succubus as well.
'Thank you, Onee-chan.'
*****
"So, are you going to tell me who Athan is?"
Haruka stared at the ceiling while waiting for Setsuna to
answer her question.
The two of them were lying on opposite ends of the bed. Setsuna
had raised the sheets to her chest in an effort to cover up her naked
body. Haruka giggled at the older woman's embarrassment. It was hard to
believe that this was the same woman who had forced her to perform
unspeakable acts just a few minutes ago.
Setsuna ignored Haruka and tried to concentrate on finding out
where her underwear had disappeared to. The last thing she wanted to do
right now was to show her body to Haruka once again. For an unwilling
victim, she had turned out to be quite an enthusiastic participant.
"He is nobody."
Haruka rolled her eyes. In her own opinion, she had been more
than patient with the guardian of time, even going so far as to play
Setsuna's little games without asking why. She felt that she deserved a
better answer than that.
Besides, if she kept nagging Setsuna long enough, the older
woman might tire of talking and decide to engage in more exciting
activities instead.
She stretched her arms and yawned, feigning disinterest.
Setsuna blushed when she caught herself staring at the blondes naked,
tone body. She wondered if Ranma preferred muscular women like Haruka.
She certainly hoped not.
"For a non-existent person, you sure were screaming his name
pretty loud."
Setsuna cursed herself as she caught herself comparing her
thighs to Haruka's and frowned. Her plan had gone horribly wrong. What
should have distracted her mind from Athan had actually made her miss
his touch even more.
She decided to play it cool. This situation might still be
salvageable.
"Stop asking about Athan. He is of no concern to you."
Haruka smiled at Setsuna. She had never seen Setsuna get this
worked up about anything. If her hunch was right, she may have found the
chink in the older woman's cool and emotionless armor.
"An old boyfriend, huh?"
Setsuna's heart skipped a beat at Haruka's question. Her grip
on the sheets came loose, revealing her body to Haruka once more. A big
smile appeared on the young blonde's pretty face. Setsuna quickly
grabbed hold of the sheets and covered herself with them once more.
"Of course not! How did you find out?"
An awkward silence filled the room as the two women gazed at
one another. Setsuna's features remained calm even as she mentally
kicked herself on her shapely behind. A large sweat drop appeared over
Setsuna's head. Haruka cleared her throat loudly.
"I just know about these things, that's all. It's a gift."
Setsuna stared at Haruka incredulously. The naked young blonde
withstood her glare with surprisingly little effort. She decided never
to put herself in such a compromising position with another woman again
--except maybe if the woman was a cute redhead who wore her hair in
pigtails, and even then only with the lights turned off.
*****
"Achoo!"
Umi and Fuu stopped looking through the dresses in the store
and stared at Hikaru. That sneeze had certainly come from out of the
blue.
"Are you alright, Hikaru? Are you coming down with a cold or
something?"
Hikaru crinkled her nose and sniffed around a bit. She shrugged
and concluded that she must have inhaled a dust particle or something.
"I'm fine, Fuu. Don't worry about me."
Hikaru's two friends nodded their heads and continued shopping.
*****
Setsuna managed to stop herself just as her thoughts were
about to stray towards Athan once more. It was beginning to become
difficult to concentrate on anything else. She looked at Haruka, who
was still naked. The younger woman's presumptuousness was starting
to irritate her.
"What would _you_ know about relationships with men?"
Haruka grinned. "Not much, really, but I know a lot more than
you do!"
Setsuna laughed out loud, then stopped when she realized that
the action was making her breasts bounce around too much.
"Don't be silly. I have over a thousand years of experience
over you."
Haruka raised her eyebrows. "Experience doing what? Hanging
around peeking at people through the Time Gate?"
Setsuna remained silent.
Haruka slid closer to Setsuna, causing the older woman to
shudder at their close proximity to each other. She wished she'd had
the presence of mind to keep her clothes close by.
"I can help you, you know. I have a lot of experience dealing
with men. I know how their minds work. Just tell me what the deal is
with this Athan guy and I'll tell you what I think you should do. What
have you got to lose?"
Setsuna considered Haruka's offer. She had hoped to hide the
whole situation about Athan from Uranus and Neptune. However, Haruka
had solved half the riddle already. Besides, she really _did_ have
nothing left to lose at this point. The Time Gates were all but useless
in their current state, and she was already starting to lose control of
herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and began her tale.
"Let me tell you about the grand ball that Queen Serenity held
in honor of Princess Serenity's birthday...."
*****
"I'm not going to dance with you and that's that. What part of
'no' don't you understand?"
Prince Endymion gave Athan one of his princely smiles as he
roughly grabbed the redhead's arm and held him close.
"Stop being so coy, Lady Athan. You and I both know that you
are madly in love with me. Let us dance the night away in an orgy of
rhythmic movement!"
Athan pulled away from Prince Endymion and ran towards Princess
Serenity, who was only too happy to have him back. She managed to pull
him behind her just as Endymion got to them.
"Princess, I would like to have a word with lady Athan for a
few moments."
Princess Serenity frowned at the handsome young man and stood
between him and Athan. She frowned when she noticed him gawking at her
cleavage. This dress was for Athan's benefit, not his.
"I am terribly sorry, Prince Digimon, but I must insist that
Lady Athan remain by my side at all times tonight."
Prince Endymion sighed. "Whatever for, your highness? Oh, and
it's Prince _Endymion_."
The princess quickly thought of a plausible excuse. Years of
practice in handling persistent suitors had trained her well.
"Well, because it is a custom here on the moon that on the
princess' birthday, members of royalty must only dance with people of
the same sex."
Prince Endymion thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Who
shall _I_ dance with, then?"
Princess Serenity looked around the room for a man. She frowned
when she realized that almost everyone in the room was female. Then, a
grin formed on her face ashen spied a familiar face near the buffet
table.
"Artemis, come here at once!"
*****
Artemis was busy getting better acquainted with Sailor Venus'
rather pretty young handmaid when he heard the princess call for him.
What could she possibly want now? Couldn't she see that he was busy
fostering better relations among the castle's residents?
He turned to look at her, and found that she was busy talking
to the silly young prince from Earth. How he hated that man. Not only
was he a complete idiot, he also possessed looks that served to distract
all the pretty girls from the other things they should be doing.
Things like himself, for example.
He sighed and made his way slowly towards the duo. As he got
closer, he noticed that Athan was with them, albeit clinging to the
princess' blouse like a child holding onto his mother. He smirked as
he remembered that Athan had once been his greatest competition in the
castle. The situation had not really changed, but it was so much easier
to ignore Athan's propensity for attracting beautiful women to him now
that he was a beautiful woman too.
He stopped smirking once he got within five feet of them. He
wasn't exactly a favorite of the Queen and he knew that Setsuna would
show him no mercy if he was to be charged with disrespecting a member
of the royal household. He bowed when he finally arrived at her side.
"I am at your service, your highness. What is it that you want
of me?"
*****
Princess Serenity bade Artemis to stand up with a wave of her
hand. She didn't particularly like the man. He was always trying to win
the love of one or another of her handmaidens. Tonight, however, she
was thankful that he was working in the castle.
"Artemis, you shall be Prince Dominion's dance partner for the
rest of the evening."
Artemis winced as he heard the order. While it was normal in
the castle for women to dance with each other because of a severe lack
of men in these functions, it was unheard of for a man to dance with
another of his own gender. He found it kind of sexist, actually, not
that he had ever felt the desire to hold another man close and sway
from side to side to slow music. He looked at Prince Endymion, who did
not look too pleased with how things were going, either. He looked at
Athan, who was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
He groaned. "Of course, your highness."
Princess Serenity smiled as she watched the two men depart. She
held her hand out to Athan and curtsied.
"May I have this dance, fair lady?"
Athan rolled his eyes, but decided to play along. The princess
_had_ just saved him from a fate worse than death, after all. He took
her hand in his own and led her to the middle of the dance floor.
"Of course, my lady. And every dance afterwards as well."
The princess blushed as he held her tight against himself. They
swayed slowly to the music, him leading and her following. It was such
a refreshing break from her everyday life, where she was always the one
who had to make decisions and everyone else just deferred to her.
She giggled, something that she didn't usually do in public.
The princess was expected to act serious and proper, like her mother.
For now, however, she felt that she could get away with acting like
the young girl that she was. It felt... liberating, to say the least.
She vowed right then and there that if she was ever given a chance at
a normal life, she would spend most of it giggling.
"Is something wrong, your highness? You haven't said a word
since we started."
Princess Serenity looked into the concerned eyes of Athan. It
was not hard to imagine that the beautiful young woman holding her had
once been a handsome young man.
"I'm fine, Athan. Just hold me."
A smile formed on Princess Serenity's face as they danced. She
could get used to this.
*****
"Look at them, your highness! It's disgraceful! They should
cease this embarrassing display at once!"
Queen Serenity sat quietly as Setsuna raved and ranted about
how it just wasn't right for the princess to fall all over herself for
the chance to dance with a single person. The fact that the person was
not only a convicted criminal but also a female at the moment only
served to make it even worse. She sat demurely on her throne as the
guardian of time droned on about how it was ruining the reputation of
the royal household.
"Setsuna, who is your escort for the night?"
Setsuna stopped ranting and stared at Queen Serenity with wide
eyes. The princess was making a laughingstock of herself and that was
all she had to say? This was an emergency! It was certainly not the time
to discuss her love life, or lack of one. Regardless, she had no choice
but to answer honestly.
"I have no escort, your highness."
The Queen remained silent for a few moments, looking at the
dance floor where Princess Serenity was currently dancing with Athan.
Setsuna was just about to open her mouth again when the Queen suddenly
interrupted her.
"I agree entirely with you, Setsuna. Neither my daughter nor
the senshi should be engaging in this behavior with Athan."
Setsuna's mouth fell open. Up until this moment, the queen had
always appeared to favor the young upstart from Earth. Finally, she had
a chance to get back at the little pervert for all the times he had
humiliated her!
"In that case, your highness, I volunteer to take care of the
situation myself."
Queen Serenity considered her offer for a few moments, then
slowly nodded. Setsuna resisted the urge to jump up and down with glee
while singing praises to the heavens. Her mind immediately set to work
figuring out how fast she could have a snake pit built and how much it
would cost.
"Bring Athan to me."
Setsuna blinked twice before realizing that the queen was
indeed talking to her. She quickly walked towards the dancing duo and
tapped her staff lightly on the floor. The princess stopped dancing
and confidently turned to face her. Athan did the same, albeit with a
little less confidence. She smirked at him.
"Her Majesty the Queen calls upon Athan."
She then grabbed Athan by the arm and dragged him towards the
throne before the princess could utter a word. She smiled triumphantly
as she presented him before the queen.
"Here he is, your highness. I recommend that you show him no
mercy."
Queen Serenity looked at Athan appraisingly from her throne.
A blush formed on the former guard's cheeks under her close scrutiny.
She smiled at him.
"Was that my daughter you were just dancing with?"
Athan frowned. Surely she had seen the two of them dancing. It
wasn't like he and the princess were trying to hide it.
"Er... yes, your highness. But-"
"You were dancing with Sailor Venus before that, correct?"
Athan looked up at the queen, whose face remained impassive as
she grilled him.
"That is correct, your highness. But-"
"You are seated at Sailor Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars' table,
are you not?"
Setsuna stared at Queen Serenity. What was all this leading to?
Thing were not going as she had envisioned them. She had assumed that
the queen would simply inform Athan of his offence and hand him over to
her for punishing. Why was she asking all these stupid questions?
Athan gulped. He was really starting to get nervous.
"That's true, but I don't-"
"You have also been chatting with Sailor Uranus and Sailor
Neptune during the course of the evening."
"Of course I have, but isn't that what you're supposed to do in
these-"
"You spent last night in Sailor Saturn's room, too."
Athan blushed bright red when he saw the way Setsuna was
looking at him.
"It's not like that! She was treating some burns I got from
Sailor Mars!"
Athan glanced at Setsuna and found that she was still glaring
daggers at him. The queen, however, was actually smiling. It was that
smile again, the one that always sent shivers up his spine. What could
she be up to this time?
Queen Serenity spoke calmly. "Needless to say, you cannot go on
acting in this manner."
Setsuna smiled. This was it, Athan was finally going to get
what was coming to him! She would have the last laugh after all.
"As of this moment, I am assigning you to be Setsuna's escort
at all official functions until further notice."
The entire room fell silent when the guests heard the loud
clang of the Time Staff hitting the floor as it fell from Setsuna's
grasp. She hurriedly got down on her knees and picked it up. After
doing so, she stood back up with all the poise of a seal running on
land and turned back towards Queen Serenity.
"Your highness, surely you must be joking! I have no desire
whatsoever to have Athan as an escort. He's not even a man right now!"
Queen Serenity smiled at the Time Guardian. "I am afraid you
have no say in this, Setsuna. You see, I find it appalling that all of
the other senshi are enjoying his company while you only ever get to
see him on your semi-regular bathroom get-togethers."
Setsuna's mouth fell open in shock. The Queen continued smiling
at her.
"I can see that you have been rendered speechless with joy. I
shall retire to my quarters now. You two, on the other hand, are not
allowed to leave the party or each other until the last guest has left.
Have fun!"
Athan and Setsuna could do nothing but stare as they watched
the Queen get up and leave the room. They both remained silent and
motionless for a full minute after she had gone.
After regaining his senses, Athan turned to the stunned Senshi
of Pluto and grinned sheepishly.
"So, do you wanna dance?"
*****
"Why don't I remember any of this?"
Haruka was not sure she liked what she had just heard. If what
Setsuna said was true, then she might have some residual traces of
heterosexuality in her. If she did, then perhaps her feelings for Ranma
were founded on something deeper than mere admiration.
"Because up until a few days ago, Athan didn't exist."
Setsuna locked eyes with Haruka and smiled. It was during these
times when she knew that whoever she was talking to was completely and
utterly baffled by what she just said that she felt her best. There was
just something about annoying other people with cryptic messages that
made her feel that all was right with the world.
She was, after all, the guardian of time. It was only natural
for her to know more than other people did.
"You see, it all started last week when I checked on the state
of the timelines...."
*****
"So you're going away? Just like that? After everything we've
been through, you're just going to leave me here?"
Akane's eyes misted over with tears and her lips trembled. She
turned her head slightly to the right and looked into the distance.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ran-"
"You're not sorry, Akane. You're disappointed! Do it again from
the start."
Akane pouted and crossed her arms in front of her. Nabiki was
being such a nitpicker today. If she didn't need her older sister's
help so badly, she would have left already. She couldn't believe she
was actually skipping her afternoon classes for this.
"What difference does it make, Nabiki? Don't they mean the
same thing?"
Nabiki sighed. Akane just wasn't cooperating with her. How was
she ever going to get Akane back together with Ranma if her sister
couldn't even recite a script properly? What was so hard about saying
a couple of lines anyway? She motioned for Akane to come closer and
stand in front of her.
"Do you love Ranma, Akane?"
Akane blushed as she stuttered. "I... I'm not sure. I think I
do... that is... I might-"
Nabiki silenced Akane with a wave of her hand.
"Are you saying that you're paying me to get your relationship
with Ranma back on track because you feel that there's a possibility
that you might love him?"
Akane frowned. Nabiki was making it sound so... silly. Why did
she have to go out and say it anyway? What good would it do?
Nabiki looked at her younger sister as Akane shifted her weight
from one foot to another. She shook her head and rose from her seat.
"This is hopeless. If you're not even sure whether you love him
or not, you'll never get anywhere! The deal's off."
Akane watched as her older sister got up and made her way out
of the empty classroom they had been practicing in. Nabiki had already
opened the door halfway when Akane slammed her fist on the desk beside
her, breaking to pieces. Nabiki turned back towards her and smiled.
"Something wrong, Akane?"
Akane breathed deeply, counting from one to ten to calm her
nerves. She couldn't believe her sister was making her go through with
this. She turned away and cleared her throat.
"I love him."
Nabiki closed the door and walked back towards Akane. "Who do
you love?"
Akane scowled at Nabiki as she replied. "Ranma."
Nabiki sat down on a chair and looked at Akane. "Do you want
him to love you, too?"
Akane turned away and nodded. Nabiki sighed, exasperated. "Then
why don't you follow my directions? You saw for yourself how effective
my methods are. All you have to do is act like I tell you until you're
married and you've got him. Ranma's sense of honor would never allow
him to get a divorce!"
Akane turned back towards Nabiki, blinking back the tears that
were forming in her eyes.
"Because I want him to love me for me! What we're doing, it's
like we're tricking him into loving me. It's disgusting! I don't want
to do it anymore. I... I'm leaving!"
Nabiki shook her head as she watched Akane run out of
the room. This was bad. If Akane wouldn't cooperate with her, then all
her chances of keeping Ranma in Furinkan were lost. Without him to fuel
the betting pools, she would have to work twice as hard to make the
same amount of money.
She would have to talk to Akane later and trick the girl into
doing as she wanted. It was for her own good, anyway. It wasn't like
her marriage prospects were particularly bright without Ranma. Other
guys simply wouldn't be able to survive her.
Nabiki slowly made her way out of the room, careful not to step
on any bits of the wooden chair Akane had destroyed.
*****
"Where am I?"
Ranma looked around the forest he was in, searching for a path
he could take. He didn't know where he was, and certainly couldn't
remember how he got there. Judging from the light filtering through the
leaves high above him, it was nearing nightfall.
The trees in the forest were very large, and the ground was
covered with their fallen leaves. From where he was standing, the
forest seemed to extend endlessly in all directions.
He jumped up onto the branches of one of the larger trees and
pushed himself up through the leaves to get a better view, hoping to
find a way out. Finding none, he decided to just spend the night in the
forest and figure out how to leave next morning. He found himself a
large branch and was just about to settle down on it when he heard the
sound of someone crying.
"Hello! Who's there?"
Ranma shouted as loud as he could, causing his voice to echo
around the large forest. Not a soul answered his cries, however, and
he found himself getting worried. What if it was a wandering mime
who had sprained his ankle and was now helplessly crying over the
misfortune that had befallen him?
Ranma started running in the general direction that the sound
was coming from. The sound became louder and clearer as he ran through
the forest. After a while, it became clear enough that he could tell
that it was a young girl weeping. Finally, after a few more seconds, he
found her.
"Ranma-kun, why do you hate me?"
Ranma stopped and stared at the young girl standing in front of
him, tears in her eyes. She was wearing a bright red Chinese shirt with
a pair of black pants. Her bright red hair was tied behind her head in
a pigtail. He stepped backward, unable to believe his eyes.
"You! How... are you for real?"
The girl continued to sob, hot tears falling from her eyes in
twin rivers. She raised her head to look up at him and gave him a look
of utter sadness.
"Ranma-kun, why do you hate me?"
Ranma continued moving slowly away from her. She looked exactly
like him in his cursed form!
"Aren't I pretty enough for you, Ranma-kun?"
Ranma continued backwards, but stopped when he felt a familiar
pair of arms snake around his body and locking him into a warm, tight
embrace. The warmth radiating from the arms circling him seemed to calm
him down, seemingly bringing him to a stupor.
"Why do you hate her, Ranma-kun?"
The words jolted Ranma awake. He immediately turned around to
see who had spoken. What he saw left him speechless.
"Ka... Kasumi? What are you doing here?"
Kasumi just smiled at him. She was wearing her old housedress,
making her look terribly out of place in the forest they were in.
"You made her cry, Ranma-kun. That wasn't a very nice thing to
do."
Ranma did not understand what she was saying. Kasumi seemed...
different somehow. It was all so strange.
"What are you talking about, Kasumi?"
Kasumi shook her head and pointed behind him. Ranma turned
around and found that his twin was crying again. She was curled up
under one of the trees and sobbing softly.
"You need to kiss her, Ranma-kun. Kiss her and make it all
better, Ranma-kun."
Ranma immediately recoiled from her. "I can't do that! Look
at her, she's me!"
Kasumi continued smiling at him. "Do you hate yourself,
Ranma-kun?"
Ranma frowned at her. "Of course not! Why would I hate myself?"
Kasumi took his hand and slowly led him towards his crying
double. She stopped beside her and turned to him.
"Then tell her, Ranma-kun."
Ranma nodded his head and kneeled so that he was at eye-level
with... himself. He gently tapped on her shoulder. She looked up at him
and rubbed her eyes. She was so much smaller than him. She looked so
fragile. He cleared his throat and smiled at her.
"Um... hi."
She tilted her head and blinked at him.
"Hello."
Ranma breathed in deeply. He wasn't really used to this sort
of thing. "Listen, um... I really don't hate you or nuthin' so
stop crying, okay?"
"You're just saying that. You don't like me at all! You're
always trying to get rid of me!"
She turned away from him and started crying again. Ranma
decided that this would probably be a good time to lie through his
teeth.
"What are you talking about? I love you! If I really wanted to
get rid of you I would have done it by now!"
Ranma's twin stopped crying and nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you
_are_ the greatest martial-artist on the face of the Earth... Do you
really mean it? Do you really like me?"
Ranma beamed with pride. Finally he had found someone who could
appreciate him for the martial-arts master that he was. He was starting
to really like her... er... himself.
"Yeah, sure. I like you a lot!"
Upon hearing Ranma's words his double's face lit up with a
smile that made him weak in the knees. He thanked the kami that he
rarely had to deal with any girls as cute as him.
"If you really mean what you said, Ranma, then kiss me."
Ranma blushed. She apparently wasn't one to beat around the
bush. He glanced at Kasumi, who smiled sweetly at him and nodded for
him to go on. He turned back to his double, who had closed her eyes
and was blushing a bit herself.
"Well, I guess maybe one little kiss wouldn't hurt."
He took hold of his double by her shoulders, and gently pulled
her closer to himself. Her blush deepened as he did so, and he felt
better that he wasn't the only one embarrassed about doing this. He
closed his own eyes and leaned closer to her. He mentally noted how
strange it was that the first person he would kiss in this way would
be none other than himself.
*****
"What are you doing, Ranma?"
Ranma opened his eyes and found himself holding Ms. Urd's
shoulders and leaning in to kiss her.
"Gah!"
He quickly let go of her and stepped backwards, only to be
stopped when he bumped onto the person standing behind him. Why were
there so many people in the train anyway? It wasn't even rush hour!
Luckily, Ms. Urd didn't seem to be too mad about it. As a matter of
fact, she was actually smiling at him.
"In any case, Ranma, it's good that you finally woke up. We're
almost there. We should be arriving any moment now."
Ranma thought it was great that he was to be transferred to
Juuban, the same place where Hotaru lived. Usagi and her friends also
lived there, and they were apparently the heroines he had heard about
who fought demons around here. If he was lucky, he might get to see
them in action and find out how they did it.
Ms. Urd also told him that he didn't have to go home until
Saturday, giving him a whole week to figure out how to deal with Akane.
She hadn't been herself lately.
"Well, Ranma, we're here!"
Ranma snapped out of his thoughts and found that the train had
finally arrived at their stop. All thoughts of Akane drifted away as he
followed Ms. Urd out of the train.
*****
"No! We were so close!"
Lilith slammed her fist on the wall beside her as she reverted
from Ranma's female form to her original body.
'Hush, Lilith, you will wake up the kunoichi. You must have
patience.'
Lilith crossed her arms in front of her and pouted, managing to
look incredibly cute in the process. Morrigan chuckled as she reverted
from Kasumi's body back to her own. She gracefully made her way to
Lilith's side and took the child into her arms.
'Do not worry, child. I have something special planned for
tonight. We shall have Ranma soon enough.'
Lilith sighed and allowed herself to melt into her sister's
hug. 'I love you, Onee-chan.'
Morrigan smiled at this. 'I'm sure you do, Lilith. I love you,
too.'
*****
"I'm so sorry, miss. I... I thought you were someone else.
Please excuse me."
Mamoru quickly walked away from the pigtailed redhead that he
had mistaken for Lady Athan. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking
about her. Even though he knew she had died when the Silver Millenium
ended, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was out there somewhere,
just waiting for him. It was getting so bad that he was starting to see
images of her everywhere he went.
He decided to go home for now. He needed time to himself. The
mall was not a good place to be when you were mistaking every other
girl you encountered for a long-lost love from a previous life. It
was a good thing he had already taken care of Usagi. The last thing he
needed right now was another one of her 'love can conquer all' pep
talks.
It was sort of strange, though. Was it only a few days ago that
he had felt they were soulmates? Was it only last week that he had
found those same speeches so inspiring and insightful? And then there
were strange dreams he had been having. What was happening to him?
Somehow, he had to get to the bottom of all this.
*****
"Who was that guy you were talking to, Hikaru? Is he a new
boyfriend or something?"
Hikaru laughed as she turned to Fuu and Umi, who had finally
emerged from the ladies room. They had been watching her, apparently.
She waved her hand dismissively at the direction the strange man had
gone off to.
"Of course not. He just mistook me for someone else, that's
all."
Umi grinned and sidled towards her. The blue-haired girl sidled
towards Hikaru and gave her a playful shove.
"I think he had the hots for you."
Hikaru blushed at the idea. "Of course not! He looked almost
old enough to be my father!"
Umi smiled at Hikaru, a mischievous thought passing through her
mind. "Maybe he's a pervert who likes to date high school girls!"
Fuu raised her hand to her chin and thought for a few moments.
"He reminds me of that guy we saw in Nerima, actually. The one
with the bokken."
Hikaru rolled her eyes. "Oh please, not _him_ again. That guy
was just crazy!"
Umi laughed out loud. "Oh yeah, I remember him! He kept saying
that you were his pigtailed goddess!"
Hikaru sighed and pulled her two companions along.
*****
Mousse opened his eyes slowly, the bright light making it hard
to focus on his surroundings. He held his head steady with one hand as
he pushed himself to a sitting position with the other. He was lying on
a bed. He noticed that he was no longer wearing his clothes. He wasn't
wearing anything, in fact. His clothes were gone, along with all of his
weapons. He shook his head to clear it, and had to shut his eyes when
the action brought his attention to the fact that he had a splitting
headache.
He heard a groan coming from somewhere to his right. He turned
his head to see who had made the sound and was startled to see Ryoga on
another bed beside his own. The wandering martial artist's body was
completely covered with bruises. Like him, Ryoga was also completely
naked.
Mousse blushed.
"I see that you are finally awake. I was beginning to think
that you and your friend were going to sleep forever."
Mousse quickly turned his head to the direction where the sound
had come from, and clutched it with his hands when the motion caused
waves of pain to emanate from his brain. If the owner of the voice had
come to finish him off, he would not be able defend himself. After the
pain had dissipated somewhat, he slowly raised his head again.
There was a woman standing just inside an open door in front
of him. The bright light coming from outside shrouded her features in
darkness. Mousse adjusted his glasses to see better, but could not
discern anything more. He cleared his throat to speak.
"Where am I? How did I get here?"
The woman chuckled at him. It seemed as if she found his
ignorance to be terribly amusing.
"My, aren't we inquisitive today? The answers to your questions
will be given in due time, Mousse. For now, you must concentrate on
getting better. That last battle took a lot out of you.
Mousse blinked twice, adjusting his glasses to get a better
look at the woman. He was sure he didn't recognize the voice as anyone
he had ever met.
"How did you know my name?"
The woman waved an arm dismissively. "I know many things,
Mousse. Do not concern yourself about such inconsequential details as
the source of my knowledge."
Mousse decided to lie down again. His head was beginning to
hurt. Beside him, Ryoga was still groaning. He could feel his eyes
growing heavy. He decided to ask one more question before going back
to sleep.
"Who are you, anyway?"
She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Mousse
could now see that she was wearing a red dress with a yellow cloak
wrapped around her shoulders and arms. She was also wearing dark blue
stockings with bright red, high heeled shoes.
Mousse smiled to himself, thinking that even Ranma wouldn't be
caught dead wearing such a ridiculous outfit. As his gaze traveled to
her face, he saw that she had long, flowing dark hair. She reminded him
of a gypsy. Now he was certain that they had never met before. He was
not the type to forget anyone with her striking looks. He was startled
out of his thoughts by her voice.
"My name is... Rose."
*****
Author's notes:
As expected, a lot of scenes got bumped into the next chapter.
Gomen, Chester-san.
This took a while, I know. I blame three things for the delay:
I got an internship at a programming company and they're working me
like a slave, I'm still working on my thesis, and the fact that Shinobu
is the cutest girl in the world.
I would also like to know if anyone is interested in Love Hina
fanfiction written by me. (I've got five of them written on paper :p)
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.