Disclaimer: The characters ain't mine, I ain't making a cent... you
know the drill.
Warning: Error reading fanfic. Abort, Retry, Fail?
Warning: Altaverse (Keiichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 14
by Jose Argao
"Kiyaaa!"
Makoto swung her fist at Lilith, her powers as Sailor Jupiter
making her over ten times stronger and faster than normal. For all her
speed, however, Lilith was even faster than she was. The young succubus
gracefully dodged her punch and grabbed her arm, throwing her into a
wall afterwards. It wasn't really very painful. She could tell that
Lilith was just toying with her.
She growled in frustration and brushed the dirt from her
shapely legs as she stood up from where she had fallen. Time was
running out. She needed to do something fast, or Ranma would surely be
done for. There was no telling what Lilith's sister could do to Ranma
given enough time. She hoped it didn't involve any chains, rope, whips,
leather outfits, or whipped cream.
Lilith shook her head at Makoto as the girl gathered her wits.
She was very disappointed with the thunder senshi's performance. "I was
kinda hoping that fancy transformation you did would make you a little
bit more of a challenge, Mako-chan. Can't you do any better? I'm really
starting to get bored."
Makoto glared daggers at Lilith. No one spoke to Sailor Jupiter
that way and lived to tell about it! Actually, no one had ever spoken
to Sailor Jupiter that way... ever. Her usual opponents normally had
the conversational skills of a brick wall. Even when she _did_ face an
opponent capable of coherent speech, she rarely ever got to say more
than a word or two to them. They were always too eager to ignore her
and focus all of their attention on Usagi.
This used to really bother her, since she figured that Usagi's
long, drawn out speeches about love and friendship would turn boys off
from them. She only stopped worrying when she realized that guys would
like them regardless, if only for their long legs and short skirts. In
any case, she now realized that she wanted a guy who wanted her for her
mind, not her body. Her beautiful face and fabulous figure were often
put at risk while she performed her duties as a senshi, after all.
She needed someone like Ranma, who would love her sincerely
until the day they died. He had a liking for martial arts, which was
something she wanted to have in common with her future husband. Of
course, it didn't hurt that he was easily the hottest guy she had ever
laid eyes on. His looks completely put Mamoru to shame! She could just
see it now, the two of them alone in bed on their wedding night....
"Hey, are you alright?"
Makoto snapped out of her thoughts and found that Lilith was
standing right in front of her, waving a hand in her face. She quickly
stepped away from the young succubus. Lilith grinned impishly at her.
"You were thinking naughty thoughts just now, weren't you?"
Sailor Jupiter blushed hotly, turned away from Lilith, and
started shifting her weight from one foot to another. "Of... of course
not! Why would I be thinking naughty thoughts at a time like this?"
Lilith grinned and pressed herself against Makoto's side. She
stood on tiptoe and whispered softly into Makoto's left ear. "Come on,
Mako-chan. I won't tell anyone... it'll be our little secret."
Makoto smiled uncertainly as she turned towards Lilith. "Do you
promise that it'll just be between the two of us?"
Lilith nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh, cross my heart and
hope to die!"
Makoto looked around carefully before drawing Lilith towards
herself and whispering softly, "Well, actually--"
The sound of a large explosion from elsewhere in the apartment
interrupted Makoto's impending confession. She recoiled from Lilith and
jumped backwards, away from her opponent. What had she been thinking?
This was a battle, not a slumber party! She turned towards Lilith, who
was grinning widely at her.
Lilith winked at the stunned Sailor Jupiter. "Almost got you
there, didn't I? Oh well, it looks like we've got company. Let's go!"
Lilith skipped out of the room, Makoto running after her. They
stopped near the hall leading to the entrance, which looked like it had
just been hit by a cannon. Thick clouds of dust and plaster still hung
in the air. Everything was devastated. They could just make out a
feminine form from somewhere in the middle of the dust clouds. It was
apparently trying to twirl around but was having some difficulty of
movement due to the debris lying near its feet. It was also trying to
say something.
"I am... (cough)... Sailor Venus, the... (cough, cough)...
soldier of love and (wheeze) beauty. In the name... (hack)... of
Venus, I will bring the... (wheeze)... oh geez... (cough)..., maybe
I shouldn't have... (wheeze)... blasted the door down...."
A large sweat drop formed on Makoto's forehead.
*****
"I want you to find out what Ranma's class schedule is. If
you can get me his Juuban address as well, that'd be even better."
Nabiki listened to the voice from her cellphone as she
waited at the station for a train to come in.She paced back and
forth for a few seconds while the person at the other end replied
to her. She thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Yes, you'll get extra pictures of Akane for the address. I
expect to get results by tomorrow or the deal's off."
Nabiki sighed and shook her headas she listened to the reply.
"That's not my problem. I'm sure you'll find a way, Hikaru."
Nabiki ended the call and put her cell phone back into her purse
before Gosunkugi could bargain for more time. She didn't want to hear
excuses. She needed results. If Hikaru couldn't come through, she still
had other options. She expected that he would, however. The nerdy
little pervert didn't have nearly as much money as Kuno did, which was
why he had to take most of the pictures in his 'Akane Gallery' himself.
This was one of his few opportunities to get top quality images of
her little sister.
Nabiki sighed as she waited at the train station for the last
trip to Juuban. She didn't like the spontaneity of this little trip.
Still, it wouldn't do to let Kasumi have the last laugh. In hindsight,
she could see that her approach was sloppy and not very well thought
out. She had just taken it for granted that Kasumi always did as she
was told. She may have underestimated her older sister once, but it
wouldn't happen again.
Nabiki brightened a bit as her train came into the station
and slowed to a stop in front of her. At least with Ranma, she knew
exactly what she was dealing with. He may have been one of the best
martial artists in the world, but Ranma was ill-equipped to go toe to
toe with her in a battle of wits. She would have him back in Nerima
before he even knew what hit him.
Nabiki sat down on an empty seat, her mind already buzzing with
ideas on how to proceed. She was startled out of her thoughts when a
young girl suddenly sat beside her and grabbed her by the arm.
"Ms. Tendo, You're taking the same train I am! What a nice
surprise!"
Nabiki frowned as she took in the young girl who was smiling
brightly at her. The girl looked to be about eighteen years old and was
wearing a tight-fitting, yellow dress that showed her long legs off to
full effect. She had long, brown hair that fell backwards from her head
almost down to her waist. Nabiki found herself getting envious of the
unknown girl's brown locks. Her own hair refused to cooperate with her
unless she cut it short. Nabiki did not recognize her.
"Have we met?"
The girl rolled her eyes and pouted at her, tossing her hair about
in a cute way as she did so. "What a mean thing to say, Ms. Tendo. We
met just this morning at your English class!"
Nabiki's eyes went wide. Now that she thought about it, the
girl's dress _did_ seem a bit familiar. The rest of her didn't seem
too far off mark. She had heard the rumors, of course, but had simply
assumed that they were exaggerations.
"Ms. Hinako?"
*****
"Shadow blade!"
Rei narrowly avoided the large blade that Morrigan's arm had
morphed into, but found herself getting hit by the afterimages that
trailed the succubus. She fell to the ground, but was back on her
feet within seconds. She would not lose, not when so much was at
stake. Still, they had been fighting for a while and she had failed
to get even one attack through Morrigan's defenses.
She had already thrown a number of Fire Souls and Fire Soul
Birds at her opponent, but Morrigan had avoided those with ease.
She just wasn't used to fighting opponents that relied more on speed
and technique than brute force. Unlike the youma she normally fought,
simply sending a bigger blast of power at Morrigan did not seem to help
at all. All she had succeeded in doing was drain herself of energy. She
decided to try a more physical approach. If a flaming bird of searing
flames couldn't do the job, maybe a stiff kick to the shins would be
more effective. She jumped high into the air, concentrated her power
into her right foot, and aimed a kick straight at Morrigan as she
fell.
"Mars Fire Kick!"
Morrigan raised an eyebrow as she watched Rei's new attack.
She remained standing exactly where she was, not moving a muscle, as
Rei's flaming foot smashed into the floor four feet in front of her.
A deep hole formed on the floor where it hit, and Rei had to pull
mightily on her leg a couple of times before she managed to get it
loose. Morrigan rolled her eyes.
"Perhaps you would achieve better results if you try to avoid
making up moves as you go along, dear. I really don't see how you could
possibly hope to defeat me. Perhaps it would be for the best if you
simply gave up and went back to wherever you came from. Cut your losses
while you can."
Rei tried to glare at her opponent, but it came out looking
more like a wince. Hitting that floor really hurt! She needed to buy
time to think of a new strategy. She needed to distract Morrigan long
enough to figure out how to strike next. In other words, it was time
for a long, boring speech.
She wasn't as good as Usagi at using this tactic, of course,
but she was getting better. She should be able to buy at least a minute
or two. Maybe even five if she was lucky. She took a deep breath to
prepare herself before starting her verbal assault.
"I'll never give up! Maybe you _are_ a bit faster and stronger
than me, and maybe I _am_ way out of my league in fighting you, but I'm
fighting in the name of love! My love gives me the courage to continue
fighting against overwhelming odds. You may thwart my attacks, but
you'll never dampen my resolve. I am Sailor Mars, and the power of Mars
surges within me. I'm not as weak as I seem. You can't just snap your
fingers and make me go away!"
Morrigan's face brightened after listening to Rei's words.
She stood up straight, abandoning her fighting stance, and snapped her
fingers. Rei started glowed brightly, then disappeared in a cloud of
smoke.
"I forgot that I could do that. Thank you for reminding me."
She looked around her, found Ranma still sitting quietly on
his seat, and sat back down on his lap. She was glad that she had used
her powers to calm him down. It would have been problematic if he had
developed an urge to leave while she was fighting Rei. Trying to find
someone who didn't want to be found was quite hard when that someone
was hiding in a mental plane of their own creation. She playfully
ruffled his hair, then traced a finger along his jaw line as she
spoke to him.
"Now Ranma, what were we talking about before that girl
interrupted us?"
*****
Makoto's jaw dropped in shock once the dust cleared as she
surveyed the damage done to her apartment. The small hallway that led
from the hall to the inside of the apartment was littered with debris.
The wallpaper had been ripped off the walls, which had large cracks
in them and looked like they were about to crumble apart. She could
still make out one of the straps of her brand new sandals, which she
had purchased for a rather large amount of money, worn only once so
far, and left on the shoe rack beside the door. In the middle of it
all, Minako had finally stopped coughing and was now trying to pat the
dust off of her body.
The thunder senshi's lower lip trembled.
With a speed that surprised even Lilith, Makoto made her way to
Minako and grabbed the senshi of love by the shoulders.
"What the heck do you think you're doing here?"
Minako turned her gaze towards Makoto, grinned, and laughed
nervously. "I... uh... Sailor Mercury told me that you were in trouble
so... I came here to save you. I was trying to take the enemy by
surprise."
"By blasting the door to my apartment open with your powers?"
Makoto shook her friend rather violently.
Minako gulped as she took a look at the devastated hallway.
"Uh... yeah. I was thinking that most enemies have a plan
in case someone tries to sneak in and interfere with them, but no
one really takes a full frontal assault into consideration."
Makoto glared at Minako. "That may have been the dumbest, most
idiotic thing I've ever heard in my life! Where did you learn that?"
Minako rolled her eyes. "Duh! Don't you ever watch any movies?"
Makoto was about to say something politically incorrect about
Minako and blondes in general when she was interrupted by the sound of
another large explosion. She quickly turned to Lilith, who shrugged and
pointed towards the living room. Minako and Makoto ran towards it with
lightning speed, Lilith following at a leisurely pace.
There were heavy clouds of dust in the air, and they could make
out two female figures in the middle of them. They were both coughing
violently, and their conversation could be heard quite clearly from
where Makoto, Minako, and Lilith were standing.
One of the figures turned to the other. "I told you it was a
bad idea. The apartment is a mess! We should have just snuck in while
Sailor Venus was distracting them."
The other figure took a break from wringing her hair to reply
to her companion. "But we needed to take them by surprise! I mean,
after what Venus did to the door, no one would _ever_ expect us to
break the wall down too!"
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the middle of the two
figures. They both squealed like frightened schoolgirls and jumped back
with all the grace of an uncute gorilla swinging a mallet over its
head. The light seemed to be pushing the air away from it, forcing the
women to cover their delicate eyes lest dangerous dust particles find
their way into them. When they felt the air stop moving, they turned
back towards the middle of the living room.
The dust was mostly gone. They could now see a devastated room
and a confused Rei Hino standing in the middle of it. Usagi and Ami
were on one side of the room, trying to look like they understood what
was going on. On the other side of the room, Minako pulled her skirt
down and glared at Lilith, who reluctantly let go of the blonde's right
breast.
Makoto fainted.
A few seconds of awkward silence followed until Usagi found her
voice. "Um... Mars, how did you get here? And why are you naked?"
Rei glanced downward to confirm her state of undress, then
sighed loudly.
*****
"So that's what happened. After Ranma left, I realized that
there wasn't anything left for me to do in Nerima, so I asked to be
transferred to Juuban."
Nabiki frowned at her English teacher. "A transfer? Doesn't
that take a while to process? Aside from that, don't you need to give
the school a few weeks notice before you leave?"
Ms. Hinako giggled. "Oh, I've never bothered with that before.
Whenever I want to transfer schools, I just drain the energy of anyone
who has a problem with it."
Nabiki raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't it get you in trouble with
the Ministry of Education?"
Ms. Hinako shook her head. "Of course not. The people there
used to have a problem with me working as a teacher, what with me not
even having a college degree and all. After I showed them what I could
do, though, they gave me a permit that said that I could work in any
school teaching any subject that I want!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "When you showed the people what you
could do, did your demonstration involve threatening to drain them if
they didn't let you teach?"
Ms. Hinako nodded enthusiastically. "Of course it did! I mean,
I was only sixteen back then but I already knew that I wanted to be a
teacher and help reform delinquents. I already had the skills I needed,
so it just didn't make sense for me to go to college anymore."
Nabiki frowned, deep in thought. She hadn't anticipated this
new development. Ms. Hinako was annoying as a child, and dangerous as
an adult. There was no telling how a teenaged Ms. Hinako would act.
She would have to be watched, but how?
Nabiki thought for a few more moments, then smiled at her
teacher. "Say, Ms. Hinako, would you like to stay with me while we're
in Juuban?"
*****
"Um... you didn't just kill Rei back there, did you?"
Morrigan chuckled at Ranma's question. "Of course not. There
was no need to do so. I just kicked her out of this plane so that we
could have our privacy back. So let's get back to our discussion. Do
you agree to become my lover or not?"
Ranma smiled at her. Morrigan was turning out to be quite a
special woman indeed. On an intellectual level, he knew that she was
somehow causing him to act more calmly than he normally would. There
was simply no way that he would have acted the way he did unless he
was being manipulated by some powerful outside force. He also knew
that her offer was simply too good to be true. There had to be a catch
to it. Agreeing to be her lover would probably be an extremely dumb
thing for him to do. The best thing to do would be to reject her offer
and, if she tried to force him into it, fight her with every ounce of
will he had left in him.
On the other hand, Morrigan was gorgeous, sexy, sitting on his
lap, and she had just started licking his ear. How could she possibly
be evil when she felt so very, very good?
Morrigan smiled as she read Ranma's thoughts. Amazingly enough,
he was still putting up a feeble fight against her influence. It was no
use, of course. The battle was already over. He just didn't realize it
yet. She grabbed one of Ranma's hands and pressed it against her right
breast, draining him of the last of his will. She stopped licking his
ear long enough to whisper softly into it.
"Do you accept my offer, Ranma? Will you give yourself to me,
body and soul forever and ever? Will you kiss me, and seal our contract
of love?"
A small voice in Ranma's head implored him not to give himself
up to the seductive succubus on his lap. It died down when she drew
away and stared at him with her smoldering eyes.
Ranma grabbed Morrigan by her shoulders and kissed her roughly
on the lips. All that he lacked in experience, he more than made up for
in enthusiasm. When the kiss ended mere seconds later, Morrigan cradled
his head in her hands as she spoke soothingly to him.
"Thank you, my sweet. We are going have so much fun together.
Of course, there are a couple of trivial little things that I need you
to do for me first. Do you promise to do them for me?"
Ranma spoke quickly, without hesitation. "Sure! I'd do anything
for you."
Morrigan nodded slowly. "That's very good, Ranchan. I can tell
that we are destined to have a long, happy relationship. There's just
one thing...."
Ranma replied immediately. "What is it, my love?"
Morrigan smiled and pulled Ranma's body against her own. She
closed her eyes and spoke softly into his right ear.
"Call me mistress."
*****
"Sailor Mars, put something on! You'll catch a cold trying to
fight evil while naked!"
All other present occupants of Makoto's apartment collectively
sweat dropped, save for Makoto herself who was still unconscious. She
was lying across Ranma, who had fallen off of the couch but was still
apparently sleeping. Ami knelt beside her and cradled the thunder
senshi's head on her lap, wondering why no one else noticed Makoto go
down. She mulled that last thought over in her mind a couple of times,
realized what she had just told herself, then sighed with relief that
she hadn't said anything out loud. A girl thinking of another girl
going down... it just wasn't kosher.
She looked up to find that Usagi was in the middle of an
argument with Rei. Apparently, Rei had transformed into Sailor Mars
while she was thinking... er... not thinking of Makoto going down.
It was kinda curious, actually, since she was sure that Rei wasn't
holding her transformation pen when she materialized.
Usagi clenched her hand into a fist and waved it around the
air to give her words emphasis. Her skirt flew wildly about as she
spoke, making it worthwhile for even the most dedicated shonen fan to
watch her speak.
"So where have you been all this time, exactly? Mercury and I
have been trying to contact you the whole way over here and we couldn't
reach your communicator! We've been worried sick about you!"
Rei replied with a lot less fist-shaking and skirt-swaying,
which was a real shame.
"If you must know, I've been battling a powerful woman named
Morrigan in order to save Ranma from a future as her lover!"
Usagi frowned. "Really? How come Sailor Mercury's computer
didn't detect you transforming?"
Rei glared at her blonde friend. "That's because I was doing
it in a dream world!"
Usagi paled. "I don't think that has anything to do with the
topic, Mars. I'm not the type of person to judge anyone by what they
do in their fantasies, but I'd appreciate it if you kept yours to
yourself."
Rei's jaw fell open. She frowned as she recalled the last
thing she had said. Her face briefly brightened with realization, then
darkened with anger. "I meant to say that I was fighting Morrigan in
a dream world! Sheesh, can't you get your heads out of the gutter for
three minutes?"
All other present occupants of Makoto's apartment let out the
breath they've been holding. Lilith picked a timer up from a nearby
table, which had conveniently escaped damage, and set it for exactly
a hundred and eighty seconds.
Usagi nodded sagely. "Fighting to save a cute guy from an evil
and powerful other woman might be a very nice fantasy to have, Rei, but
I hardly think it's an acceptable excuse for not being around when your
friends are fighting a vicious youma!"
Rei frowned. "What friend? What vicious youma?"
Usagi rolled her eyes. "The friend was Mako-chan of course!
Why do you think we're all here? As for the youma, I'm talking about
the one standing a couple of feet behind you, beside Sailor Venus."
Rei turned around and saw Lilith, who smiled and waved at her.
She smiled and waved back before turning once more towards Usagi.
"Oh, _that_ youma. Well, Morrigan is like an adult version of
her! If you've been having trouble fighting her, just think of what I
must have went through! And for the record, it wasn't just a dream. It
was an actual dream world, a plane of existence just as real as our
own. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I was somehow able to
teleport from the shrine to the dream world, where I fought Morrigan.
I was just about to win, too, but then she pulled a dirty trick on me
and tossed me out here with you guys."
Usagi shook her fist once again. "Well I still think you should
have been here. What do you think, Morrigan?"
Ami blushed hotly and avoided Usagi's stare. "What do I think?
Well, I don't know! I certainly wasn't thinking of Mako-chan going
down or anything, if that's what you mean. I've been thinking purely
non-sexual thoughts all this time."
Usagi and Rei sweat dropped. They were about to launch into
another debate about the propriety of Rei's fantasies when the wall
opposite the one Usagi had blown up suddenly exploded. A man-sized
hole was formed on it, out of which a small bag was thrown. The bag
exploded in mid-air, and a powdery substance from inside it was
sprinkled onto the room's occupants. The expressions on the senshi's
faces immediately changed from blissful ignorance to stunned looks
of realization.
Usagi was the first to find her voice, since she was the more
accomplished of the group when it came to verbal matters. "Oh my gosh!
What have we been doing all this time! We shouldn't be arguing with
each other like this, we should be saving Mako-chan from the youma!
Then, afterwards, we can all go and save Ranma from the woman Mars was
talking about!"
No one paid any attention to the young princess. It was not,
however, because she was just stating the obvious. It was actually
because a new figure entered the scene as she was talking.
Shampoo had just walked into the room.
She strode purposefully until she reached an empty corner of
the room. Minako had moved toward her friends while everyone else was
watching the purple-haired beauty, since it didn't look like such a
good idea to be near the enemy if a fight were to break out. Some of
her friends' attacks tended to have a certain... indiscriminate quality
to them that made it particularly dangerous to stand in their line of
fire, or anywhere close to it. Basically, the senshi were now together
on one side of the room, while Lilith and Shampoo stood on opposite
corners of the other side.
Shampoo craned her neck to make sure that everyone's focus was
on her. She wanted to explain what she had done, for no particular
reason at all, but she didn't want to have to explain it a second time
to someone who wasn't paying attention. Satisfied with what she saw,
she began speaking.
"Shampoo had been watching you for some time. Shampoo saw some
of you with Airen. Shampoo left you alone, because Shampoo wanted to
do as Great-Grandmother told her. Now Shampoo leave for ten minutes to
take shower and she return to find you all in thrall of succubus while
Airen is sleeping, probably falling into hands of other succubus in
his dreams? Is very sloppy work of protecting love. Is unforgivable.
You not even worthy to call selves as admirers of Shampoo's Airen! If
you no wish to have Shampoo chase you to ends of Earth and kill, you
help Shampoo to vanquish succubus!"
Usagi felt the urge to defend herself from Shampoo's verbal
onslaught, but she was still trying to sort out exactly what the
Chinese girl had said when she heard Lilith yawn loudly in the other
corner of the room. The young succubus smiled at her companions,
then launched into her own spiel.
"Oh, phooey. I was really hoping that my spell would hold
until my sister was able to fully enslave Ranma to her will. Now you
had to release that silly little drug into the air and free them
from my influence. How come everybody wants to do things the hard way
around here?"
With lightning speed, Lilith leapt into the air towards Shampoo
and kicked at the startled Amazon warrior. Shampoo dodged to the right,
easily avoiding the attack. With practiced ease, she grabbed Lilith's
foot and used her own momentum to throw her towards the wall. Lilith
gracefully flipped over in mid-air and bounded from the wall, landing
on her feet back at her corner at the room. She smiled at her Amazon
opponent as they regarded each other from their opposite corners.
"Hey, you're pretty fast! I might actually have to put some
effort into beating you."
Shampoo smirked at the succubus. "You no take Amazon warrior
lightly. Ranma is Shampoo's Airen. Shampoo will show no mercy."
On the opposite side of the room, Usagi turned towards her
senshi and tried to marshal her troops back into fighting form.
"Listen, I'm not really sure what those two were talking about,
but they're obviously working for evil. Only youma would have hair like
that. As defenders of love and justice, it's our duty to defeat them in
order to keep Juuban safe."
The senshi heard their leader, and heeded her call. They all
started preparing to unleash their most devastating attacks on the two
youma who had dared to make them look like fools.
All except for Makoto, of course, whom Ami had left lying on
the ground beside Ranma. She groaned and hugged Ranma tightly, a smile
on her pretty face.
*****
"Eeeek! Help, it's a pervert!"
The cries of various female residents in Juuban rang out in
the night as, one by one, they became victims of the greatest, most
powerful panty thief who had ever lived. Security alarms and locked
doors alike were unable to deter him.
Such was the power of Happosai.
He didn't really come all the way from Nerima just to steal
panties, though. Or rather, he didn't come all the way from Nerima just
to steal these regular, common people's undergarments. Tonight, he was
after a much bigger prize. Recent events had resulted in Ranma getting
involved with the famous Sailor Senshi, and their ever-elusive panties.
All he had to do was stay in the general area, wait for Ranma to cause
a big disturbance, and he would have his chance to finally get at them.
He would have to use his somewhat different techniques to get
them of course. For years he had relied on stealth and speed to see him
through on his raids. He would wait, sometimes for days but often just
for a few minutes, for a stash of silky darlings to be left vulnerable.
The moment he saw his chance, he would strike. By the time the victim
noticed the crime, it would already be too late.
This was not an option with the Senshi.
A search of every single house in Juuban failed to reveal their
place of residence, so it was safe to assume that they did not live in
the area. As such, he had no idea where to find the place where they
kept their undies. He would have to actually free the delicate wisps of
cloth from their owners as they were being worn!
That was why it was important to get as much practice in as
possible. It wouldn't do to make a mistake against those magical types.
There was no telling what they might do to him given the chance. On
this mission, mistakes would not be tolerated.
Happosai stayed put in his hiding place above the second-floor
window of a house while his recent victims raised a commotion in the
surrounding neighborhood. Sooner or later, the lady of the house would
hear them and open her window to investigate. That would be his cue to
quickly clamber through the window and into the house, where he could
use the furniture as hiding places to properly position himself for a
strike.
It took a while, but the woman in the room eventually opened
the window to see what all the noise was about. Using skills honed
through years of practice, Happosai entered the window through the
space above the woman's head and immediately dove under the bed for
cover. Unlike before, however, he had no intention of lying in wait
for the commotion to die down and taking the woman's panties at his
leisure. This time, he planned to get the actual pair she was wearing.
He watched the woman look outside, even hearing the curses
she muttered under her breath directed towards the pervert everyone
was shouting about outside. Luckily for him, she was only wearing
an oversized shirt to bed. This would make it easier to get at his
prize. It would also better simulate the clothes worn by the senshi,
the designer of which must have had 'easy access' in mind when he
did so.
He carefully retrieved a small bomb from within his clothing.
It wasn't nearly as strong as the ones he used against Ranma. It was
designed to explode in mid-air and probably wouldn't even damage the
surrounding furniture. However, it would serve to distract the woman
long enough for him to steal her underwear before she even knew what
hit her.
He quietly rolled out of the bed and threw the bomb into the
air. As planned, it created minimum damage but caused maximum noise.
The woman threw up her hands and started screaming. Using the noise
as his cover, Happosai moved with blinding speed towards the woman.
He prepared himself for his act, jumped into the air towards her,
raised the shirt she was wearing, then jumped out through the window
with all the speed he could muster.
Foiled!
Unbelievable as it may seem, the woman wasn't actually wearing
any panties at all. All his careful preparation had been for naught.
How disappointing. He dejectedly started jumping from roof to roof,
looking through windows for other possible victims. He had just spied
a promising young girl sleeping in bed when he felt a sharp sting on
his back.
With a loud cry of pain, he fell onto a roof head-first. He
got up slowly and reached behind himself to see what had hit him. He
pulled the offending object out and held it up in front of him for
closer inspection. It turned out to be a rose with a sharp, pointed
stem. He immediately straightened up and used his aura to search for
the man who had thrown it at him.
He needn't have bothered. The man was going to give away his
location anyway.
Happosai was startled out of his concentration when he heard
someone clearing his throat from behind him. There was a tall man
standing on a post behind him. The man was wearing black pants, a
black tuxedo, and a white shirt underneath it. He also wore a mask
to hide his identity. Happosai had to fight not to laugh. Suddenly,
without warning, the man started to speak.
"A woman's underwear is a sacred thing. Perverts such as you,
who steal undergarments from defenseless females, are the lowest of
the low. Return what you have stolen and leave this place, lest I
visit you with my wrath."
Happosai yawned. If _this_ was the famous Tuxedo Kamen he had
heard so much about, the senshi's panties were as good as stolen
already! He dropped his sack of goodies onto the roof and fell into
an attacking stance. This wouldn't take long at all.
*****
"Crescent Beam Shower!"
Minako missed hitting Shampoo with her attack by a wide margin,
but succeeded in making ugly burn marks all over one of the remaining
walls of Makoto's living room. She cursed under her breath. If only her
attack was bigger and did more damage, it wouldn't be so hard to hit
her marks. She looked over at her companions, who likewise hadn't hit
either of the youma but had all but trashed what was left of Makoto's
living room. Usagi was shouting over the noise of the battle.
"Don't lose hope, girls. We may not have hit them yet, but they
haven't touched us either!"
Ami replied cautiously. "Um... I think that the main reason we
haven't gotten hit yet is that they're pretty much ignoring us. Look,
they're only fighting each other."
Usagi watched Lilith and Shampoo as they bounded all over the
room, simultaneously dodging each other's and the senshi's attacks.
She frowned.
"Don't fall for their trick! They're just trying to set us up
by pretending not to be after us. Look, they've been fighting for a
while but they haven't hit each other yet. They're obviously working
with each other. Hit them with everything you've got!"
Ami sighed loudly, then started charging up for a Shabon Spray
Freezing. On the floor near her feet, Makoto sighed and cuddled closer
to Ranma.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lilith and Shampoo
were busy trying to get an attack through the other's defenses. Lilith
blocked a kick from the purple-haired Amazon, then retaliated with
a kick of her own.
Shampoo jumped into the air and twisted to avoid Lilith's kick
as well as dodge a burst of fire from the senshi in red. They fought
so... indiscriminately. She was starting to regret helping them escape
Lilith's spell. Landing on the ground, she stepped back to avoid a
sweep from Lilith and brought her foot down hard, aiming for Lilith's
knee. The young succubus was too fast for her, however, and managed to
retract the leg in time to avoid her attack. She shook her head and
grinned at Lilith, who grinned right back.
"You is very fast. Very good at fighting. Not like when Shampoo
watch fight with girl in green skirt."
Lilith chuckled. "You saw that? I was just playing around then.
I didn't want to end the fight too quickly."
Shampoo dodged an attack from Usagi before replying. "They is
very annoying, no? Was bad idea to help them before. You want to take
them out before finish fight?"
Lilith grinned and nodded. "Sure!"
*****
"I don't know what to do anymore, Yuka. I _liked_ it when
Ranma was nice to me, but I wish he could be like that when I
was being myself. It's all so confusing!"
Yuka listened silently as her friend related the recent
events surrounding Ranma. She would never say it out loud, of
course, but she was actually happy that Akane's relationship with
Ranma was on the rocks. She had never really liked Ranma. He was
arrogant, self-centered, selfish, insecure, and chauvinistic. If
the latest rumors were true, he even had the nerve to run off
with Ms. Hinako to some tropical island! Akane was too good for
him. She deserved someone better than a jerk like Ranma.
"That's alright, Akane. Ranma's not the only guy in the
world. Even if the two of you don't work out, there are still
plenty of other guys out there. Better men than Ranma. Guys that
would like you for yourself. You heard the rumors. Why should you
lose any sleep over some guy who ran off with another woman?"
Akane smiled at Yuka. She was such a good friend. "Thanks,
Yuka. You're right. I should stop trying to be something I'm not.
I'm just going to be myself from now on and if Ranma doesn't like
it, well... it's his loss!"
Yuka smiled back. "That's right! Who needs Ranma anyway?
You could do a lot better than him."
Akane nodded. "Yeah, he's not even that cute. He's just sort
of ruggedly handsome, especially when he's fighting and he's got
that glint in his eyes that tells you he's loving every second of
it, or when he looks straight into your eyes after rescuing you
from marrying some foreign prince who kidnapped you. I don't need
that in my life."
Shortly after saying those words, Akane burst into tears and
started crying again. Yuka shook her head sadly. Akane would need
a little bit more time to come to terms with Ranma's departure.
*****
"Hmmm... things are getting more and more interesting."
A lone figure stood on the rooftop overlooking Makoto's
apartment building. Her feminine figure was silhouetted against the
light of the moon as she watched the battle continue with interest.
For no apparent reason, she started laughing maniacally. After a
few seconds, she stopped laughing as suddenly as she had begun.
"It looks like the girls are about to run into a little
trouble. I may have to step in and help them. I haven't fought a
real live succubus in centuries. This should be interesting."
She shifted her position a bit. While she was quite used to
wearing tight outfits with short skirts, this one was just a little
bit more... breezy than what she normally wore. It wasn't that big
of a deal, really, but she wondered how the distraction would affect
her fighting form. It looked as if she would soon find out.
She looked into Makoto's apartment and found that the
succubus and Amazon seemed to have struck some kind of truce. The
girls would never be able to win now. She adjusted her clothing
one more time and prepared to jump into the fight in case the
girls couldn't handle it anymore.
*****
Author's Notes
The first story arc is finally starting to come together!
Yay! Now if I could only find more free time to write....
I would like to thank Kevin Henry, Groo, Egan Mandreck, Tracy
Poff, Chester, Griever, Farmer, Sebastian Rynders, and Vex for all
the help they have given me for this chapter. Watch for more on the
next chapter, which will come out soon.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.
know the drill.
Warning: Error reading fanfic. Abort, Retry, Fail?
Warning: Altaverse (Keiichi ain't here, and the senshi timeline is
all messed up.)
"words"
'thoughts'
A Time for Wild Horses chapter 14
by Jose Argao
"Kiyaaa!"
Makoto swung her fist at Lilith, her powers as Sailor Jupiter
making her over ten times stronger and faster than normal. For all her
speed, however, Lilith was even faster than she was. The young succubus
gracefully dodged her punch and grabbed her arm, throwing her into a
wall afterwards. It wasn't really very painful. She could tell that
Lilith was just toying with her.
She growled in frustration and brushed the dirt from her
shapely legs as she stood up from where she had fallen. Time was
running out. She needed to do something fast, or Ranma would surely be
done for. There was no telling what Lilith's sister could do to Ranma
given enough time. She hoped it didn't involve any chains, rope, whips,
leather outfits, or whipped cream.
Lilith shook her head at Makoto as the girl gathered her wits.
She was very disappointed with the thunder senshi's performance. "I was
kinda hoping that fancy transformation you did would make you a little
bit more of a challenge, Mako-chan. Can't you do any better? I'm really
starting to get bored."
Makoto glared daggers at Lilith. No one spoke to Sailor Jupiter
that way and lived to tell about it! Actually, no one had ever spoken
to Sailor Jupiter that way... ever. Her usual opponents normally had
the conversational skills of a brick wall. Even when she _did_ face an
opponent capable of coherent speech, she rarely ever got to say more
than a word or two to them. They were always too eager to ignore her
and focus all of their attention on Usagi.
This used to really bother her, since she figured that Usagi's
long, drawn out speeches about love and friendship would turn boys off
from them. She only stopped worrying when she realized that guys would
like them regardless, if only for their long legs and short skirts. In
any case, she now realized that she wanted a guy who wanted her for her
mind, not her body. Her beautiful face and fabulous figure were often
put at risk while she performed her duties as a senshi, after all.
She needed someone like Ranma, who would love her sincerely
until the day they died. He had a liking for martial arts, which was
something she wanted to have in common with her future husband. Of
course, it didn't hurt that he was easily the hottest guy she had ever
laid eyes on. His looks completely put Mamoru to shame! She could just
see it now, the two of them alone in bed on their wedding night....
"Hey, are you alright?"
Makoto snapped out of her thoughts and found that Lilith was
standing right in front of her, waving a hand in her face. She quickly
stepped away from the young succubus. Lilith grinned impishly at her.
"You were thinking naughty thoughts just now, weren't you?"
Sailor Jupiter blushed hotly, turned away from Lilith, and
started shifting her weight from one foot to another. "Of... of course
not! Why would I be thinking naughty thoughts at a time like this?"
Lilith grinned and pressed herself against Makoto's side. She
stood on tiptoe and whispered softly into Makoto's left ear. "Come on,
Mako-chan. I won't tell anyone... it'll be our little secret."
Makoto smiled uncertainly as she turned towards Lilith. "Do you
promise that it'll just be between the two of us?"
Lilith nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh, cross my heart and
hope to die!"
Makoto looked around carefully before drawing Lilith towards
herself and whispering softly, "Well, actually--"
The sound of a large explosion from elsewhere in the apartment
interrupted Makoto's impending confession. She recoiled from Lilith and
jumped backwards, away from her opponent. What had she been thinking?
This was a battle, not a slumber party! She turned towards Lilith, who
was grinning widely at her.
Lilith winked at the stunned Sailor Jupiter. "Almost got you
there, didn't I? Oh well, it looks like we've got company. Let's go!"
Lilith skipped out of the room, Makoto running after her. They
stopped near the hall leading to the entrance, which looked like it had
just been hit by a cannon. Thick clouds of dust and plaster still hung
in the air. Everything was devastated. They could just make out a
feminine form from somewhere in the middle of the dust clouds. It was
apparently trying to twirl around but was having some difficulty of
movement due to the debris lying near its feet. It was also trying to
say something.
"I am... (cough)... Sailor Venus, the... (cough, cough)...
soldier of love and (wheeze) beauty. In the name... (hack)... of
Venus, I will bring the... (wheeze)... oh geez... (cough)..., maybe
I shouldn't have... (wheeze)... blasted the door down...."
A large sweat drop formed on Makoto's forehead.
*****
"I want you to find out what Ranma's class schedule is. If
you can get me his Juuban address as well, that'd be even better."
Nabiki listened to the voice from her cellphone as she
waited at the station for a train to come in.She paced back and
forth for a few seconds while the person at the other end replied
to her. She thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Yes, you'll get extra pictures of Akane for the address. I
expect to get results by tomorrow or the deal's off."
Nabiki sighed and shook her headas she listened to the reply.
"That's not my problem. I'm sure you'll find a way, Hikaru."
Nabiki ended the call and put her cell phone back into her purse
before Gosunkugi could bargain for more time. She didn't want to hear
excuses. She needed results. If Hikaru couldn't come through, she still
had other options. She expected that he would, however. The nerdy
little pervert didn't have nearly as much money as Kuno did, which was
why he had to take most of the pictures in his 'Akane Gallery' himself.
This was one of his few opportunities to get top quality images of
her little sister.
Nabiki sighed as she waited at the train station for the last
trip to Juuban. She didn't like the spontaneity of this little trip.
Still, it wouldn't do to let Kasumi have the last laugh. In hindsight,
she could see that her approach was sloppy and not very well thought
out. She had just taken it for granted that Kasumi always did as she
was told. She may have underestimated her older sister once, but it
wouldn't happen again.
Nabiki brightened a bit as her train came into the station
and slowed to a stop in front of her. At least with Ranma, she knew
exactly what she was dealing with. He may have been one of the best
martial artists in the world, but Ranma was ill-equipped to go toe to
toe with her in a battle of wits. She would have him back in Nerima
before he even knew what hit him.
Nabiki sat down on an empty seat, her mind already buzzing with
ideas on how to proceed. She was startled out of her thoughts when a
young girl suddenly sat beside her and grabbed her by the arm.
"Ms. Tendo, You're taking the same train I am! What a nice
surprise!"
Nabiki frowned as she took in the young girl who was smiling
brightly at her. The girl looked to be about eighteen years old and was
wearing a tight-fitting, yellow dress that showed her long legs off to
full effect. She had long, brown hair that fell backwards from her head
almost down to her waist. Nabiki found herself getting envious of the
unknown girl's brown locks. Her own hair refused to cooperate with her
unless she cut it short. Nabiki did not recognize her.
"Have we met?"
The girl rolled her eyes and pouted at her, tossing her hair about
in a cute way as she did so. "What a mean thing to say, Ms. Tendo. We
met just this morning at your English class!"
Nabiki's eyes went wide. Now that she thought about it, the
girl's dress _did_ seem a bit familiar. The rest of her didn't seem
too far off mark. She had heard the rumors, of course, but had simply
assumed that they were exaggerations.
"Ms. Hinako?"
*****
"Shadow blade!"
Rei narrowly avoided the large blade that Morrigan's arm had
morphed into, but found herself getting hit by the afterimages that
trailed the succubus. She fell to the ground, but was back on her
feet within seconds. She would not lose, not when so much was at
stake. Still, they had been fighting for a while and she had failed
to get even one attack through Morrigan's defenses.
She had already thrown a number of Fire Souls and Fire Soul
Birds at her opponent, but Morrigan had avoided those with ease.
She just wasn't used to fighting opponents that relied more on speed
and technique than brute force. Unlike the youma she normally fought,
simply sending a bigger blast of power at Morrigan did not seem to help
at all. All she had succeeded in doing was drain herself of energy. She
decided to try a more physical approach. If a flaming bird of searing
flames couldn't do the job, maybe a stiff kick to the shins would be
more effective. She jumped high into the air, concentrated her power
into her right foot, and aimed a kick straight at Morrigan as she
fell.
"Mars Fire Kick!"
Morrigan raised an eyebrow as she watched Rei's new attack.
She remained standing exactly where she was, not moving a muscle, as
Rei's flaming foot smashed into the floor four feet in front of her.
A deep hole formed on the floor where it hit, and Rei had to pull
mightily on her leg a couple of times before she managed to get it
loose. Morrigan rolled her eyes.
"Perhaps you would achieve better results if you try to avoid
making up moves as you go along, dear. I really don't see how you could
possibly hope to defeat me. Perhaps it would be for the best if you
simply gave up and went back to wherever you came from. Cut your losses
while you can."
Rei tried to glare at her opponent, but it came out looking
more like a wince. Hitting that floor really hurt! She needed to buy
time to think of a new strategy. She needed to distract Morrigan long
enough to figure out how to strike next. In other words, it was time
for a long, boring speech.
She wasn't as good as Usagi at using this tactic, of course,
but she was getting better. She should be able to buy at least a minute
or two. Maybe even five if she was lucky. She took a deep breath to
prepare herself before starting her verbal assault.
"I'll never give up! Maybe you _are_ a bit faster and stronger
than me, and maybe I _am_ way out of my league in fighting you, but I'm
fighting in the name of love! My love gives me the courage to continue
fighting against overwhelming odds. You may thwart my attacks, but
you'll never dampen my resolve. I am Sailor Mars, and the power of Mars
surges within me. I'm not as weak as I seem. You can't just snap your
fingers and make me go away!"
Morrigan's face brightened after listening to Rei's words.
She stood up straight, abandoning her fighting stance, and snapped her
fingers. Rei started glowed brightly, then disappeared in a cloud of
smoke.
"I forgot that I could do that. Thank you for reminding me."
She looked around her, found Ranma still sitting quietly on
his seat, and sat back down on his lap. She was glad that she had used
her powers to calm him down. It would have been problematic if he had
developed an urge to leave while she was fighting Rei. Trying to find
someone who didn't want to be found was quite hard when that someone
was hiding in a mental plane of their own creation. She playfully
ruffled his hair, then traced a finger along his jaw line as she
spoke to him.
"Now Ranma, what were we talking about before that girl
interrupted us?"
*****
Makoto's jaw dropped in shock once the dust cleared as she
surveyed the damage done to her apartment. The small hallway that led
from the hall to the inside of the apartment was littered with debris.
The wallpaper had been ripped off the walls, which had large cracks
in them and looked like they were about to crumble apart. She could
still make out one of the straps of her brand new sandals, which she
had purchased for a rather large amount of money, worn only once so
far, and left on the shoe rack beside the door. In the middle of it
all, Minako had finally stopped coughing and was now trying to pat the
dust off of her body.
The thunder senshi's lower lip trembled.
With a speed that surprised even Lilith, Makoto made her way to
Minako and grabbed the senshi of love by the shoulders.
"What the heck do you think you're doing here?"
Minako turned her gaze towards Makoto, grinned, and laughed
nervously. "I... uh... Sailor Mercury told me that you were in trouble
so... I came here to save you. I was trying to take the enemy by
surprise."
"By blasting the door to my apartment open with your powers?"
Makoto shook her friend rather violently.
Minako gulped as she took a look at the devastated hallway.
"Uh... yeah. I was thinking that most enemies have a plan
in case someone tries to sneak in and interfere with them, but no
one really takes a full frontal assault into consideration."
Makoto glared at Minako. "That may have been the dumbest, most
idiotic thing I've ever heard in my life! Where did you learn that?"
Minako rolled her eyes. "Duh! Don't you ever watch any movies?"
Makoto was about to say something politically incorrect about
Minako and blondes in general when she was interrupted by the sound of
another large explosion. She quickly turned to Lilith, who shrugged and
pointed towards the living room. Minako and Makoto ran towards it with
lightning speed, Lilith following at a leisurely pace.
There were heavy clouds of dust in the air, and they could make
out two female figures in the middle of them. They were both coughing
violently, and their conversation could be heard quite clearly from
where Makoto, Minako, and Lilith were standing.
One of the figures turned to the other. "I told you it was a
bad idea. The apartment is a mess! We should have just snuck in while
Sailor Venus was distracting them."
The other figure took a break from wringing her hair to reply
to her companion. "But we needed to take them by surprise! I mean,
after what Venus did to the door, no one would _ever_ expect us to
break the wall down too!"
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the middle of the two
figures. They both squealed like frightened schoolgirls and jumped back
with all the grace of an uncute gorilla swinging a mallet over its
head. The light seemed to be pushing the air away from it, forcing the
women to cover their delicate eyes lest dangerous dust particles find
their way into them. When they felt the air stop moving, they turned
back towards the middle of the living room.
The dust was mostly gone. They could now see a devastated room
and a confused Rei Hino standing in the middle of it. Usagi and Ami
were on one side of the room, trying to look like they understood what
was going on. On the other side of the room, Minako pulled her skirt
down and glared at Lilith, who reluctantly let go of the blonde's right
breast.
Makoto fainted.
A few seconds of awkward silence followed until Usagi found her
voice. "Um... Mars, how did you get here? And why are you naked?"
Rei glanced downward to confirm her state of undress, then
sighed loudly.
*****
"So that's what happened. After Ranma left, I realized that
there wasn't anything left for me to do in Nerima, so I asked to be
transferred to Juuban."
Nabiki frowned at her English teacher. "A transfer? Doesn't
that take a while to process? Aside from that, don't you need to give
the school a few weeks notice before you leave?"
Ms. Hinako giggled. "Oh, I've never bothered with that before.
Whenever I want to transfer schools, I just drain the energy of anyone
who has a problem with it."
Nabiki raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't it get you in trouble with
the Ministry of Education?"
Ms. Hinako shook her head. "Of course not. The people there
used to have a problem with me working as a teacher, what with me not
even having a college degree and all. After I showed them what I could
do, though, they gave me a permit that said that I could work in any
school teaching any subject that I want!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "When you showed the people what you
could do, did your demonstration involve threatening to drain them if
they didn't let you teach?"
Ms. Hinako nodded enthusiastically. "Of course it did! I mean,
I was only sixteen back then but I already knew that I wanted to be a
teacher and help reform delinquents. I already had the skills I needed,
so it just didn't make sense for me to go to college anymore."
Nabiki frowned, deep in thought. She hadn't anticipated this
new development. Ms. Hinako was annoying as a child, and dangerous as
an adult. There was no telling how a teenaged Ms. Hinako would act.
She would have to be watched, but how?
Nabiki thought for a few more moments, then smiled at her
teacher. "Say, Ms. Hinako, would you like to stay with me while we're
in Juuban?"
*****
"Um... you didn't just kill Rei back there, did you?"
Morrigan chuckled at Ranma's question. "Of course not. There
was no need to do so. I just kicked her out of this plane so that we
could have our privacy back. So let's get back to our discussion. Do
you agree to become my lover or not?"
Ranma smiled at her. Morrigan was turning out to be quite a
special woman indeed. On an intellectual level, he knew that she was
somehow causing him to act more calmly than he normally would. There
was simply no way that he would have acted the way he did unless he
was being manipulated by some powerful outside force. He also knew
that her offer was simply too good to be true. There had to be a catch
to it. Agreeing to be her lover would probably be an extremely dumb
thing for him to do. The best thing to do would be to reject her offer
and, if she tried to force him into it, fight her with every ounce of
will he had left in him.
On the other hand, Morrigan was gorgeous, sexy, sitting on his
lap, and she had just started licking his ear. How could she possibly
be evil when she felt so very, very good?
Morrigan smiled as she read Ranma's thoughts. Amazingly enough,
he was still putting up a feeble fight against her influence. It was no
use, of course. The battle was already over. He just didn't realize it
yet. She grabbed one of Ranma's hands and pressed it against her right
breast, draining him of the last of his will. She stopped licking his
ear long enough to whisper softly into it.
"Do you accept my offer, Ranma? Will you give yourself to me,
body and soul forever and ever? Will you kiss me, and seal our contract
of love?"
A small voice in Ranma's head implored him not to give himself
up to the seductive succubus on his lap. It died down when she drew
away and stared at him with her smoldering eyes.
Ranma grabbed Morrigan by her shoulders and kissed her roughly
on the lips. All that he lacked in experience, he more than made up for
in enthusiasm. When the kiss ended mere seconds later, Morrigan cradled
his head in her hands as she spoke soothingly to him.
"Thank you, my sweet. We are going have so much fun together.
Of course, there are a couple of trivial little things that I need you
to do for me first. Do you promise to do them for me?"
Ranma spoke quickly, without hesitation. "Sure! I'd do anything
for you."
Morrigan nodded slowly. "That's very good, Ranchan. I can tell
that we are destined to have a long, happy relationship. There's just
one thing...."
Ranma replied immediately. "What is it, my love?"
Morrigan smiled and pulled Ranma's body against her own. She
closed her eyes and spoke softly into his right ear.
"Call me mistress."
*****
"Sailor Mars, put something on! You'll catch a cold trying to
fight evil while naked!"
All other present occupants of Makoto's apartment collectively
sweat dropped, save for Makoto herself who was still unconscious. She
was lying across Ranma, who had fallen off of the couch but was still
apparently sleeping. Ami knelt beside her and cradled the thunder
senshi's head on her lap, wondering why no one else noticed Makoto go
down. She mulled that last thought over in her mind a couple of times,
realized what she had just told herself, then sighed with relief that
she hadn't said anything out loud. A girl thinking of another girl
going down... it just wasn't kosher.
She looked up to find that Usagi was in the middle of an
argument with Rei. Apparently, Rei had transformed into Sailor Mars
while she was thinking... er... not thinking of Makoto going down.
It was kinda curious, actually, since she was sure that Rei wasn't
holding her transformation pen when she materialized.
Usagi clenched her hand into a fist and waved it around the
air to give her words emphasis. Her skirt flew wildly about as she
spoke, making it worthwhile for even the most dedicated shonen fan to
watch her speak.
"So where have you been all this time, exactly? Mercury and I
have been trying to contact you the whole way over here and we couldn't
reach your communicator! We've been worried sick about you!"
Rei replied with a lot less fist-shaking and skirt-swaying,
which was a real shame.
"If you must know, I've been battling a powerful woman named
Morrigan in order to save Ranma from a future as her lover!"
Usagi frowned. "Really? How come Sailor Mercury's computer
didn't detect you transforming?"
Rei glared at her blonde friend. "That's because I was doing
it in a dream world!"
Usagi paled. "I don't think that has anything to do with the
topic, Mars. I'm not the type of person to judge anyone by what they
do in their fantasies, but I'd appreciate it if you kept yours to
yourself."
Rei's jaw fell open. She frowned as she recalled the last
thing she had said. Her face briefly brightened with realization, then
darkened with anger. "I meant to say that I was fighting Morrigan in
a dream world! Sheesh, can't you get your heads out of the gutter for
three minutes?"
All other present occupants of Makoto's apartment let out the
breath they've been holding. Lilith picked a timer up from a nearby
table, which had conveniently escaped damage, and set it for exactly
a hundred and eighty seconds.
Usagi nodded sagely. "Fighting to save a cute guy from an evil
and powerful other woman might be a very nice fantasy to have, Rei, but
I hardly think it's an acceptable excuse for not being around when your
friends are fighting a vicious youma!"
Rei frowned. "What friend? What vicious youma?"
Usagi rolled her eyes. "The friend was Mako-chan of course!
Why do you think we're all here? As for the youma, I'm talking about
the one standing a couple of feet behind you, beside Sailor Venus."
Rei turned around and saw Lilith, who smiled and waved at her.
She smiled and waved back before turning once more towards Usagi.
"Oh, _that_ youma. Well, Morrigan is like an adult version of
her! If you've been having trouble fighting her, just think of what I
must have went through! And for the record, it wasn't just a dream. It
was an actual dream world, a plane of existence just as real as our
own. I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I was somehow able to
teleport from the shrine to the dream world, where I fought Morrigan.
I was just about to win, too, but then she pulled a dirty trick on me
and tossed me out here with you guys."
Usagi shook her fist once again. "Well I still think you should
have been here. What do you think, Morrigan?"
Ami blushed hotly and avoided Usagi's stare. "What do I think?
Well, I don't know! I certainly wasn't thinking of Mako-chan going
down or anything, if that's what you mean. I've been thinking purely
non-sexual thoughts all this time."
Usagi and Rei sweat dropped. They were about to launch into
another debate about the propriety of Rei's fantasies when the wall
opposite the one Usagi had blown up suddenly exploded. A man-sized
hole was formed on it, out of which a small bag was thrown. The bag
exploded in mid-air, and a powdery substance from inside it was
sprinkled onto the room's occupants. The expressions on the senshi's
faces immediately changed from blissful ignorance to stunned looks
of realization.
Usagi was the first to find her voice, since she was the more
accomplished of the group when it came to verbal matters. "Oh my gosh!
What have we been doing all this time! We shouldn't be arguing with
each other like this, we should be saving Mako-chan from the youma!
Then, afterwards, we can all go and save Ranma from the woman Mars was
talking about!"
No one paid any attention to the young princess. It was not,
however, because she was just stating the obvious. It was actually
because a new figure entered the scene as she was talking.
Shampoo had just walked into the room.
She strode purposefully until she reached an empty corner of
the room. Minako had moved toward her friends while everyone else was
watching the purple-haired beauty, since it didn't look like such a
good idea to be near the enemy if a fight were to break out. Some of
her friends' attacks tended to have a certain... indiscriminate quality
to them that made it particularly dangerous to stand in their line of
fire, or anywhere close to it. Basically, the senshi were now together
on one side of the room, while Lilith and Shampoo stood on opposite
corners of the other side.
Shampoo craned her neck to make sure that everyone's focus was
on her. She wanted to explain what she had done, for no particular
reason at all, but she didn't want to have to explain it a second time
to someone who wasn't paying attention. Satisfied with what she saw,
she began speaking.
"Shampoo had been watching you for some time. Shampoo saw some
of you with Airen. Shampoo left you alone, because Shampoo wanted to
do as Great-Grandmother told her. Now Shampoo leave for ten minutes to
take shower and she return to find you all in thrall of succubus while
Airen is sleeping, probably falling into hands of other succubus in
his dreams? Is very sloppy work of protecting love. Is unforgivable.
You not even worthy to call selves as admirers of Shampoo's Airen! If
you no wish to have Shampoo chase you to ends of Earth and kill, you
help Shampoo to vanquish succubus!"
Usagi felt the urge to defend herself from Shampoo's verbal
onslaught, but she was still trying to sort out exactly what the
Chinese girl had said when she heard Lilith yawn loudly in the other
corner of the room. The young succubus smiled at her companions,
then launched into her own spiel.
"Oh, phooey. I was really hoping that my spell would hold
until my sister was able to fully enslave Ranma to her will. Now you
had to release that silly little drug into the air and free them
from my influence. How come everybody wants to do things the hard way
around here?"
With lightning speed, Lilith leapt into the air towards Shampoo
and kicked at the startled Amazon warrior. Shampoo dodged to the right,
easily avoiding the attack. With practiced ease, she grabbed Lilith's
foot and used her own momentum to throw her towards the wall. Lilith
gracefully flipped over in mid-air and bounded from the wall, landing
on her feet back at her corner at the room. She smiled at her Amazon
opponent as they regarded each other from their opposite corners.
"Hey, you're pretty fast! I might actually have to put some
effort into beating you."
Shampoo smirked at the succubus. "You no take Amazon warrior
lightly. Ranma is Shampoo's Airen. Shampoo will show no mercy."
On the opposite side of the room, Usagi turned towards her
senshi and tried to marshal her troops back into fighting form.
"Listen, I'm not really sure what those two were talking about,
but they're obviously working for evil. Only youma would have hair like
that. As defenders of love and justice, it's our duty to defeat them in
order to keep Juuban safe."
The senshi heard their leader, and heeded her call. They all
started preparing to unleash their most devastating attacks on the two
youma who had dared to make them look like fools.
All except for Makoto, of course, whom Ami had left lying on
the ground beside Ranma. She groaned and hugged Ranma tightly, a smile
on her pretty face.
*****
"Eeeek! Help, it's a pervert!"
The cries of various female residents in Juuban rang out in
the night as, one by one, they became victims of the greatest, most
powerful panty thief who had ever lived. Security alarms and locked
doors alike were unable to deter him.
Such was the power of Happosai.
He didn't really come all the way from Nerima just to steal
panties, though. Or rather, he didn't come all the way from Nerima just
to steal these regular, common people's undergarments. Tonight, he was
after a much bigger prize. Recent events had resulted in Ranma getting
involved with the famous Sailor Senshi, and their ever-elusive panties.
All he had to do was stay in the general area, wait for Ranma to cause
a big disturbance, and he would have his chance to finally get at them.
He would have to use his somewhat different techniques to get
them of course. For years he had relied on stealth and speed to see him
through on his raids. He would wait, sometimes for days but often just
for a few minutes, for a stash of silky darlings to be left vulnerable.
The moment he saw his chance, he would strike. By the time the victim
noticed the crime, it would already be too late.
This was not an option with the Senshi.
A search of every single house in Juuban failed to reveal their
place of residence, so it was safe to assume that they did not live in
the area. As such, he had no idea where to find the place where they
kept their undies. He would have to actually free the delicate wisps of
cloth from their owners as they were being worn!
That was why it was important to get as much practice in as
possible. It wouldn't do to make a mistake against those magical types.
There was no telling what they might do to him given the chance. On
this mission, mistakes would not be tolerated.
Happosai stayed put in his hiding place above the second-floor
window of a house while his recent victims raised a commotion in the
surrounding neighborhood. Sooner or later, the lady of the house would
hear them and open her window to investigate. That would be his cue to
quickly clamber through the window and into the house, where he could
use the furniture as hiding places to properly position himself for a
strike.
It took a while, but the woman in the room eventually opened
the window to see what all the noise was about. Using skills honed
through years of practice, Happosai entered the window through the
space above the woman's head and immediately dove under the bed for
cover. Unlike before, however, he had no intention of lying in wait
for the commotion to die down and taking the woman's panties at his
leisure. This time, he planned to get the actual pair she was wearing.
He watched the woman look outside, even hearing the curses
she muttered under her breath directed towards the pervert everyone
was shouting about outside. Luckily for him, she was only wearing
an oversized shirt to bed. This would make it easier to get at his
prize. It would also better simulate the clothes worn by the senshi,
the designer of which must have had 'easy access' in mind when he
did so.
He carefully retrieved a small bomb from within his clothing.
It wasn't nearly as strong as the ones he used against Ranma. It was
designed to explode in mid-air and probably wouldn't even damage the
surrounding furniture. However, it would serve to distract the woman
long enough for him to steal her underwear before she even knew what
hit her.
He quietly rolled out of the bed and threw the bomb into the
air. As planned, it created minimum damage but caused maximum noise.
The woman threw up her hands and started screaming. Using the noise
as his cover, Happosai moved with blinding speed towards the woman.
He prepared himself for his act, jumped into the air towards her,
raised the shirt she was wearing, then jumped out through the window
with all the speed he could muster.
Foiled!
Unbelievable as it may seem, the woman wasn't actually wearing
any panties at all. All his careful preparation had been for naught.
How disappointing. He dejectedly started jumping from roof to roof,
looking through windows for other possible victims. He had just spied
a promising young girl sleeping in bed when he felt a sharp sting on
his back.
With a loud cry of pain, he fell onto a roof head-first. He
got up slowly and reached behind himself to see what had hit him. He
pulled the offending object out and held it up in front of him for
closer inspection. It turned out to be a rose with a sharp, pointed
stem. He immediately straightened up and used his aura to search for
the man who had thrown it at him.
He needn't have bothered. The man was going to give away his
location anyway.
Happosai was startled out of his concentration when he heard
someone clearing his throat from behind him. There was a tall man
standing on a post behind him. The man was wearing black pants, a
black tuxedo, and a white shirt underneath it. He also wore a mask
to hide his identity. Happosai had to fight not to laugh. Suddenly,
without warning, the man started to speak.
"A woman's underwear is a sacred thing. Perverts such as you,
who steal undergarments from defenseless females, are the lowest of
the low. Return what you have stolen and leave this place, lest I
visit you with my wrath."
Happosai yawned. If _this_ was the famous Tuxedo Kamen he had
heard so much about, the senshi's panties were as good as stolen
already! He dropped his sack of goodies onto the roof and fell into
an attacking stance. This wouldn't take long at all.
*****
"Crescent Beam Shower!"
Minako missed hitting Shampoo with her attack by a wide margin,
but succeeded in making ugly burn marks all over one of the remaining
walls of Makoto's living room. She cursed under her breath. If only her
attack was bigger and did more damage, it wouldn't be so hard to hit
her marks. She looked over at her companions, who likewise hadn't hit
either of the youma but had all but trashed what was left of Makoto's
living room. Usagi was shouting over the noise of the battle.
"Don't lose hope, girls. We may not have hit them yet, but they
haven't touched us either!"
Ami replied cautiously. "Um... I think that the main reason we
haven't gotten hit yet is that they're pretty much ignoring us. Look,
they're only fighting each other."
Usagi watched Lilith and Shampoo as they bounded all over the
room, simultaneously dodging each other's and the senshi's attacks.
She frowned.
"Don't fall for their trick! They're just trying to set us up
by pretending not to be after us. Look, they've been fighting for a
while but they haven't hit each other yet. They're obviously working
with each other. Hit them with everything you've got!"
Ami sighed loudly, then started charging up for a Shabon Spray
Freezing. On the floor near her feet, Makoto sighed and cuddled closer
to Ranma.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lilith and Shampoo
were busy trying to get an attack through the other's defenses. Lilith
blocked a kick from the purple-haired Amazon, then retaliated with
a kick of her own.
Shampoo jumped into the air and twisted to avoid Lilith's kick
as well as dodge a burst of fire from the senshi in red. They fought
so... indiscriminately. She was starting to regret helping them escape
Lilith's spell. Landing on the ground, she stepped back to avoid a
sweep from Lilith and brought her foot down hard, aiming for Lilith's
knee. The young succubus was too fast for her, however, and managed to
retract the leg in time to avoid her attack. She shook her head and
grinned at Lilith, who grinned right back.
"You is very fast. Very good at fighting. Not like when Shampoo
watch fight with girl in green skirt."
Lilith chuckled. "You saw that? I was just playing around then.
I didn't want to end the fight too quickly."
Shampoo dodged an attack from Usagi before replying. "They is
very annoying, no? Was bad idea to help them before. You want to take
them out before finish fight?"
Lilith grinned and nodded. "Sure!"
*****
"I don't know what to do anymore, Yuka. I _liked_ it when
Ranma was nice to me, but I wish he could be like that when I
was being myself. It's all so confusing!"
Yuka listened silently as her friend related the recent
events surrounding Ranma. She would never say it out loud, of
course, but she was actually happy that Akane's relationship with
Ranma was on the rocks. She had never really liked Ranma. He was
arrogant, self-centered, selfish, insecure, and chauvinistic. If
the latest rumors were true, he even had the nerve to run off
with Ms. Hinako to some tropical island! Akane was too good for
him. She deserved someone better than a jerk like Ranma.
"That's alright, Akane. Ranma's not the only guy in the
world. Even if the two of you don't work out, there are still
plenty of other guys out there. Better men than Ranma. Guys that
would like you for yourself. You heard the rumors. Why should you
lose any sleep over some guy who ran off with another woman?"
Akane smiled at Yuka. She was such a good friend. "Thanks,
Yuka. You're right. I should stop trying to be something I'm not.
I'm just going to be myself from now on and if Ranma doesn't like
it, well... it's his loss!"
Yuka smiled back. "That's right! Who needs Ranma anyway?
You could do a lot better than him."
Akane nodded. "Yeah, he's not even that cute. He's just sort
of ruggedly handsome, especially when he's fighting and he's got
that glint in his eyes that tells you he's loving every second of
it, or when he looks straight into your eyes after rescuing you
from marrying some foreign prince who kidnapped you. I don't need
that in my life."
Shortly after saying those words, Akane burst into tears and
started crying again. Yuka shook her head sadly. Akane would need
a little bit more time to come to terms with Ranma's departure.
*****
"Hmmm... things are getting more and more interesting."
A lone figure stood on the rooftop overlooking Makoto's
apartment building. Her feminine figure was silhouetted against the
light of the moon as she watched the battle continue with interest.
For no apparent reason, she started laughing maniacally. After a
few seconds, she stopped laughing as suddenly as she had begun.
"It looks like the girls are about to run into a little
trouble. I may have to step in and help them. I haven't fought a
real live succubus in centuries. This should be interesting."
She shifted her position a bit. While she was quite used to
wearing tight outfits with short skirts, this one was just a little
bit more... breezy than what she normally wore. It wasn't that big
of a deal, really, but she wondered how the distraction would affect
her fighting form. It looked as if she would soon find out.
She looked into Makoto's apartment and found that the
succubus and Amazon seemed to have struck some kind of truce. The
girls would never be able to win now. She adjusted her clothing
one more time and prepared to jump into the fight in case the
girls couldn't handle it anymore.
*****
Author's Notes
The first story arc is finally starting to come together!
Yay! Now if I could only find more free time to write....
I would like to thank Kevin Henry, Groo, Egan Mandreck, Tracy
Poff, Chester, Griever, Farmer, Sebastian Rynders, and Vex for all
the help they have given me for this chapter. Watch for more on the
next chapter, which will come out soon.
Please send C&C to ukyo_rulz@edsamail.com.ph
Visit my homepage (www.geocities.com/ex_fuk) for new chapters.