Disclamer: I don't own anything that deals with anime characters or shows or manga. I do however, own David and Angela and various other minor characters that will haunt the story from time to time. Enjoy and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE(!) don't sue me, I'm poor, married and in the US Army!
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Came the battle cry of the heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes as she called forth her trusty mallet of pervert bashing. She drew back her weapon and let loose with its devestating attack on her hapless target, driving it into the ground. "I'll never love a pervert like you! I wish that you would just leave or die!" She yelled angrily at the embedded boy before she spun around and went inside her home to her room.
Ranma lay there in his hole, his heart shattered into a thousand pieces at what Akane had just said to him. 'Where did it all go wrong?' He thought morbidly. 'Why can't we seem to get along? She just doesn't love me, she even said so this time.'
From her spot at her window, another of the Tendo sisters had watched the whole affair and despaired at what had happened. She could tell that this was the end. The final straw had landed on Ranma's back and it had just broken under the strain. She sighed, herself becoming depressed as she once again wished that she hadn't chickened out when Ranma had first appeared in her life. 'Thats the past now though, and I don't think that he'll want to be with me after everything that has happened since that day.' She thought as she closed her window and turned away.
On the outskirts of the District of Nerima a golden portal opened up in the middle of the air. It flashed once and out of it fell a person. This person fell straight into the canal that was below the portal. With a resounding SPLASH, the person arrived and the portal made a popping sound as it closed and disappeared.
'Where in the multi-verse am I?' The person thought as he stood up. He looked around and saw that where ever he was, there was a lot of technology, which he wasn't used to. 'This is not good. First I'm almost killed by my Emperor, then exiled to Goddess only knows where. I have to find a way back home, if for no other reason than to see Angela. After that I'll worry about getting a little revenge.'
As he walked out of the canal he saw a sign next to the road. Looking at it he quickly determined that he couldn't read this language. With a quick chant, comprehension flowed into his brain as he could now not only read the language, but speak it as well.
'Nerima eh? I wonder where that is? Well the only way to find out is to do a little exploring.' He thought as he started to walk into the district to do just that.
Ranma carefully dug himself out of the hole that he LOVING fiance had put him into. He then quietly entered the house and walked up the stairs. When he came before Nabiki's door, he hesitated briefly, then mentally girded himself to what must be done and softly knocked on the door.
"Its open." Came the reply from within.
Ranma opened the door and entered the room. Once in he quietly shut the door and locked it before turning around to look at Nabiki.
"What can I do for you Saotome?" Nabiki asked as she raised an eyebrow at what he had done.
"Ummm, Nabiki, I need your help." Ranma said slowly.
"All right Ranma, what do you need my help in? You tell me, and I'll give you a good figure of how much it'll cost you." She replied.
Ranma barely winced at the thought of having to pay, but again girded himself to this and mentally prepared what he need to say. "Nabiki I need you to cover for me. I need to get away for a few weeks while we're still on summer break." Ranma told her.
"Excuse me? What do you mean by cover for you?" She asked sharply.
Ranma sighed as he tried to explain what he had thought about. "Nabiki, I don't think that Akane and me are going to work out. I need to get away for a few weeks so that I can sort out how I feel about this. I don't know how much longer I can last before I lash out at someone, and that isn't good. If I lash out, someone might die, and I couldn't stand that if it did happen." Ranma told her carefully.
"Come on Ranma, you aren't going to kill anybody, and besides I don't think its as bad as you seem to think it is." Nabiki replied.
"Nabiki, you don't understand. There is nobody short of the Old Ghoul or the Freak that could stop me if I lose it. Heck I don't think even they could stop me now. Didn't anyone tell you what happened at Jusendo?" Ranma asked.
"You mean that story? Come on, that has to have been a major exageration." Nabiki answered skeptically.
"It wasn't Nabiki. I killed a GOD for Akane, and blew up the mountain too. An' still we fight and argue all the time. With the other fiances getting even nastier I don' think that I can stay sane much longer." Ranma virtually pleaded with her.
Nabiki blinked at this as she took it in. "All right then Ranma. Let's supposed for a second that what you say is true, what do you want me to do then?" She asked him.
"I need to you to keep them from finding me for about three weeks. I should have it all figured out by then, if not, then it won't matter anymore." Ranma replied.
Nabiki looked at Ranma very shrewdly, searching for a sign that he might be lying to her. When she didn't find any she leaned back in her chair and sighed to herself. "All right Ranma, I'll see what I can do, but it isn't going to be cheap. We'll discuss price when you get back from you trip though. I'll charge you for how much work it'll be to keep them away."
Again Ranma winced slightly but nodded in agreement. "Thanks Nabiki, you have no idea how much this means to me." Ranma replied as he turned to go.
"By the way Saotome, just where are you planning on going this time?" She asked casually.
Ranma froze, then looked at her over his shoulder, his expression neutral. "I'm not sure yet Nabiki. And even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. I don't want anyone to know where I'm going, just in case." Ranma told her.
"Just in case of what?" She asked, a bit miffed at him.
Ranma unlocked to door and started to open it. "In case I can't figure an honorable way out of this mess that is my life." He replied as he left her room.
Nabiki sat there in shock. Her brain not fully wrapping itself around the idea that what Ranma had just said amounted to a suicide decree. "Nahh he wouldn't be thinking of commiting seppuku, could he?" She asked herself quietly.
As David was walking through the city, he noticed that people seem to stare at him a little as he walked by. He looked down at what he was wearing and laughed softly to himself. 'I guess people would stare at someone if they were wearing court clothes I guess.' He thought. David glanced around and looked for a clothing shop so that he might be able to purchase some clothes that would be more in style with what people wore in this dimension. As he glanced about he caught sight of a store that said it sold Chinese style clothes. He stood there a second before nodding to himself and entered it.
"Welcome to my humble establishment sir, how can I help you today?" An old woman asked as she came up to him.
"Greetings Elder, I am in need of some clothes, as I find that mine don't suit this place very well." David replied as he bowed politely to her.
The old woman smiled softly at him and returned the bow. "Of course Your Grace, if you would be so kind as to follow me. I know just the thing for you." She said with a twinkle in her eye.
'What the hell was that about?' David thought as he followed her warily, thanking the gods that he still had his swords with him as he subtly loosened his tan'chi in its sheath.
The old woman led the way to the back of the store where she drew aside a curtain and led him into the alcove. Inside were several chests lining the back wall. She walked up to the center one and pulled out a key. She unlocked and then opened it. She reached inside and pulled out a bundle of clothes, unwrapping the bundle to reveal a black shirt and pants combo made of silk. The shirt was of similar style to what Ranma wore, except with sleeves, and had a golden embrodiery of a lion on the right side of the front. The old woman carefully laid out the clothes with great reverance.
"I've been waiting for you for quite some time now Your Grace. It does an old body well to finally give these to you." She said softly as she gestured to the clothes.
"What are you talking about Elder? How do you know what my title is?" David asked warily as his hand started to stray to the hilt of his sword.
"I know a great many things young lord. You have been spoken of in prophecies for many years. It has always been my family's duty to prepare for your arrival and to guide you on your path." She replied.
"And just what might this path be?" He asked sharply.
"The path that will bring you back to the woman that you love, and the freedom of your beloved homeland from the tyrant that currently sits on its throne." She replied. "If I might give a humble suggestion, I suggest that you shorten your name down to what the commoners of your homeland might do Your Grace. It'll confuse poeple if you keep such a long name like that."
David stared at her, trying to decide if he should trust this old woman or not. "How do I know that I can trust you Elder?" He asked.
"Your father, before he was assassinated, came to me and told me that he believed that you would be the one. He said that when the day came, he would ensure that you would be brought here, to the land of my home, that I might assist you as best I could. He then told me that this would be his last time coming to me because he was certain that he would be dead within the week. A week later I felt something that I had been dreading since that conversation, you see, my family has been bonded to the Imperial line for many thousands of years. We are its servants and spies. We are bound by magic to the leader of that line. When the true Imperial line was killed some four thousand years ago, that bond was somehow transfered to your ancestors. The only way that could have happened was if there was Imperial blood within them. Since that day, my family has served yours faithfully. Your father already knew about this realm, as well as several others I'm sure. He knew that if the Emperor were to discover this realm, then war would come to your people. He sought us out and told us to be ready for you, for he KNEW how you were and what would happen should this realm be discovered. He KNEW you would tell the Emperor that it would be a bad idea to start that war, and he KNEW that you would be exiled for it. And so he told me that when you were exiled, instead of to some random realm, he would guide you to this one so that the prophecy could be fulfilled." She told him.
David still looked skeptical, so he decided on one final test. "If you truely know who I am, then who is that I love more than anyone else in the multi-verse?" He asked, as he knew only three other people who could answer that truthfully and none of them were here.
The Elder smiled at him softly. "Truely do I say Your Grace that you love the Lady Countess Angelanosa Mariathanath Camposanto more than your very life." She answered.
David stood there in shock for a second before he shook himself mentally. "All right Elder, I concede. You are what you say you are. I thank you for the gift of these clothes." He said as he bowed formally to her as he gently picked them up.
The Elder smiled at him. "Please change into them Your Grace while I go get you some less formal clothes to wear." She said as she left him to change. As he changed she gathered more clothes for him to wear from her shop. When she had gotten enough, she returned to the back room and entered the alcove. "Here you go Your Grace. And when you've found the members of your inner council, please bring them all here so that I can give them their formals as well as whatever else I have for them here." She said to him softly as she handed him a couple of bags of clothes.
"Thank you Elder. I will do that, you have my word. May the Goddess watch over you and your business." He said as he started to leave.
"And may she watch over you and your endevours My Lord. May your sword arm never fail you in battle! And don't forget to bring your advisors here for their uniforms!" She said as he left her store. 'Go in peace my child, I weep that it should fall on you, but Fate has chosen your path.' She thought as silent tears started to fall down her face.
That evening, before dinner, Ranma sat in the Tendo's guest room packing everything into his backpack. He slowly put everything into its proper place, making sure that he left nothing that was his in the room. When he was finished he went to his father's backpack and dug in it for a second. When his hands came out of it, they bore a tanto. The ritual dagger of a samuria's daisho. Ranma pulled the blade out slightly, just enough to see the start of the edge. He gazed at the Saotome family crest stamped on the blade for a few seconds before he resheathed the blade and turned back to his backpack. Before he could hide it in his own backpack, the door to the guest room opened quietly to reveal Nabiki standing there. She stared at what was in Ranma's hands and suddenly knew that what he had implied in her room was true. Her gasp of shock caused Ranma to look up sharply at her, his eyes narrowed in a glare.
"Ranma, please don't do that. Please, don't think about it." She said to him softly thoughts of never seeing him again flashing through her mind.
Ranma's expression grew hard for a second. "Nabiki, I may not have a choice anymore. It may be the only answer." He replied coldly.
"There has to be another way than taking your life Ranma." She countered as she frantically thought of something to say to convince him not to go through with it.
"Why are you so interested in me staying alive? Need the money I generate for you eh?" He asked sharply.
Nabiki winced slightly at his accusation and bowed her head. "I know you won't believe anything I say to you Ranma, and I've given you plenty of reason not to believe too, but please believe me when I say that I never intended to seriously hurt you. The dojo needed that money to pay for all the food that your father eats as well as repairs for all the damage that happens whenever one of your rivals or fiances has a fight here." She said softly.
"I know Nabiki, thats why I never said anything about it. But you could have asked me, I would have helped out as best as I could have." Ranma replied just as softly.
"Please Ranma, let me make it up to you. I'm not going to charge you for covering for you, no matter how much it might cost me." Nabiki pleaded, looking up at him desperately, her course chosen as she decided to let it all out.
Ranma looked at her funnily. "Why Nabiki? Why would you do that? What would you get out of it by doing that for me?" He asked her sharply griping the tanto tighter.
"Ranma please! Promise me that you won't commit seppuku! Please give me a chance to make up all the wrongs that I've done to you." She begged, tears starting to show in her eyes as her mask finally broke.
Ranma looked at her very carefully, trying to see if she is putting on an act for him. "Why do you really want to do this Nabiki? Do you know how much pain I'm in? There is nothing left for me here. And after my mother hears about this latest thing she'll probably deem me unmanly anyways." Ranma said to her in a tired voice, his shoulders slumping.
Nabiki looked shocked and almost seemed to balk from telling him her reasoning before she saw his expression, which firmed her resovle that she was doing the right thing. "Ranma, you want to know the real reason why I don't want you to commit seppuku?" She asked him. At seeing his nod of agreement she looked down at her feet, suddenly very nervous about telling him desipte her having said it before back during that short time that they were engaged. "Its b...be...because I l..lo..love you." She stammered out, still looking at her feet, fearing to look up at him and see his rejection that she KNEW was there.
Ranma stared at her in shock. 'Naw that can't be it, she has to be lying to me again.' "I don't believe you Nabiki. You've told me that before and you didn't mean it then, so why should you mean it now." He told her bluntly, not seeing the tears start to fall from her eyes.
Nabiki choked back a sob that threathened to come out at hearing him reject her. "W..What would it take to prove to you that I'm telling the truth?" She asked him fearfully.
Ranma blinked at her, not expecting that kind of reply. "No more lying to me. No more cheating me, for a start at least." He told her slowly.
Nabiki gulped her tears and nodded. "I can do that Ranma-kun. No more lying, no more cheating. So I swear on my mother's memory." She told him softly.
Ranma turned around and put the tanto in his backpack, making sure that it was securely hidden in the pack. He suddenly jumped as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind and hold him softly, not the glomp that he was used to getting. "Nabiki?"
"I'm afraid Ranma." She said softly to him as she gently pressed herself against his back. "I'm afraid that I'll never see you again and that I won't be able to share with you how I really feel about you."
Ranma slowly turned around in her arms and looked down at her. He saw her bury her head into his chest and he suddenly felt tears soaking into his shirt. "Nabiki? You're crying?" He asked stupidly as he looked down at her in confusion.
"Ranma no baka, I love you damnit." She said haltingly as she looked up at him, tears falling from her eyes.
"Then why all the act? Why did you shove me off on Akane like that?" He asked.
"Because I was afraid of you. Now I'm afraid of losing you because of her." She answered as she tried to get some kind of control over herself.
"I've got to go Nabiki. If I don't leave now, I'll never get away, and then I'll end up killing someone." Ranma told her softly.
Nabiki looked very reluctant to let him go, but nodded in agreement. "Can I give you something to remember me by while you're gone then Ranma-kun?" She asked him.
Ranma thought about it for a little bit before he nodded in agreement with a small smile on his face. "Sure Nabiki, what can it hurt." He told her.
Nabiki smiled tremulously as she ran a hand up his back to the back of his head. She then drew his head down as she tilted hers up and kissed him passionately. Ranma's arms started to windmill wildly as Nabiki continued to kiss him, sliding her tongue into his mouth and deepening the kiss. After a short time of her kissing him, Ranma started to calm down and found that he enjoyed the kiss. He then wrapped his arms around her and started to return the kiss with all the passion that Nabiki was giving it. When they finally broke the kiss they stared into each other's eyes for a time before Ranma remembered where they were and gently broke the embrace that they were in.
"Wow!" Ranma breathed softly in amazement.
"Wow indeed." Nabiki agreed just as softly. "Ranma, please promise me that you'll return to me."
Ranma sighed as he looked into her tear-filled expression and remembered the emotion that was in their kiss. "All right Nabs, I'll come back and tell you my decision before I do anything else. But if there isn't any hope of getting out of this with honor intact then I won't have a choice about seppuku." He told her.
Nabiki nodded haltingly. She then reached up and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'll be waiting for you Ranma. I'm sorry that it took this for me to tell you how I really feel about you. I only hope that you can forgive me in time." She told him as she slowly stepped away from him.
Ranma nodded before giving Nabiki his famous smirk. He then opened his window and picked up his pack. "I'll see you in three weeks Nabs. We'll see what happens then. Take care of yourself and tell my mom that I love her okay?" He said as he stepped up to the window, preparing to jump out.
"I will Ranma. I love you." She replied as she watched him jump out the window and off into the distance. Nabiki turned around and went to the wash room to clean up so that no one in the family knew that she had been crying.
Twenty minutes later Kasumi called everyone to come for dinner. Once everyone, Saotomes and Tendos, were gathered at the table they all noticed that one was missing.
"Oh my, where is Ranma?" Kasumi asked.
"That's a good question Kasumi-chan. Nabiki-chan would be so kind as to go up to his room and find out what is keeping Ranma please." Nodoka asked her politely.
"Of course Aunty Nodoka." Nabiki said as she went up to the guest room. When she got there, she saw that everything was just as she had left it, except for a pair of notes that sat on the dresser. She went over and looked at them. One was addressed to her while the other was addressed to their families. Nabiki pocketed hers then grabbed the other one and took it back downstairs. "Ranma wasn't there Aunty, but this note was." She said as she held it up.
Nodoka reached out and took the note. After she carefully opened it she read it aloud so that the others could know what her son had written.
"Everyone,
I've gone on a training trip. Things have become very hard here and I need to leave for a time to get things straight. Because of what Pops has done while on the training trip that we took, I have been put in a very delicate situation involving my honor. I've left before all the things that have been happening around me cause me to break and do something that I'll regret. I'm going to find an honorable way out of the mess that is my life without commiting seppuku, but if I can't then I will have no choice. Do not try to find me, because you won't be able to. I'll be back before school starts again. You'll find out my choice when I return.
Ranma"
Everyone sat there in shock aside from Nabiki and Nodoka. Nabiki had her cold mask on while Nodoka was trying hard to hold in tears that threatened to spill out. Nabiki looked over her shoulder and silently read the last bit that Ranma had added at the end.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be manly enough for you mother. I'll make it up to you upon my return, even if it means commiting seppuku."
After a few minutes of silence Akane finally gathered enough wits to react to everything. "RANMA NO BAKA! How dare you run away!" She yelled. "I bet he's with one of his hussies!"
Nabiki just shook her head and sat down next to Nodoka, placing a discreet hand on her knee in comfort before she started to eat.
Several miles away from the Tendo Dojo Ranma was walking along the road in a slow, methodical pace, lost in thought. 'Where should I go? I want to go somewhere where I won't be easily found, but that they won't expect me to go.' He thought as he walked. Ranma was so lost in thought that as he turned a corner he ran into someone, causing them to fall. Acting on instinct, Ranma rolled backwards and came up in a fighting stance. As he looked at the one he ran into he saw a young man just a few years older than him. He was wearing black silk pants with a black chinese tunic with long sleeves. On the left side of the shirt was a golden lion rearing up to attack. At the man's hips were two swords in plain sheaths.
"A thousand apologies my good man. I didn't mean to run into you, I was lost in thought." The man said to Ranma politely.
"Ain' no problem, I was lost in thought also." Ranma replied as he relaxed out of his stance. "Name's Saotome Ranma of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
"My name is Sanders David, Grandmaster of the Tan'chi twin sword style at your service." David said with a bow.
"So what are you doing in Nerima? You don't look like the usual kind to come to this city." Ranma said.
"Actually I'm lost. I was banished from my homeland not too long ago. Now I'm just trying to find somewhere to live and survive." David answered.
"Well I wish I could help ya, but I'm leaving on a training trip." Ranma told him as he resetteled his pack.
David looked at him carefully, using all of his sense, including his mystical ones. After a short scan he mentally nodded to himself. 'This one could work. In fact I think that I've found one of my advisors. That was quick! A training trip eh? Maybe I could help him out. He sure does seem troubled about something.' He thought.
"Mind if I join you Saotome-san? If nothing else, I'll be able to provide you with companionship, if not assitance with any problems that you may have while on your trip." Daivd asked.
Ranma looked sharply at David, trying to see if he was possibly trying to get close so he could hurt him. After looking at the man's aura Ranma nodded slowly in reply. "If thats what you want to do. I doubt that you could help me with my problems though, and call me Ranma." Ranma told him.
"Of course Ranma. Let us go then, there is still daylight left and a lot of walking to do." David said to him.
Together the two men walked out of Nerima, heading for the mountains. As they walked they talked about random things that had nothing to do with their histories, just to make small talk.
Not long after dinner, Nodoka approached Nabiki slowly.
"Nabiki-chan, can I speak to you privately please?" She asked her.
"Of course Aunty, if you would follow me please." Nabiki said as she led Nodoka up the stairs to her room. When they arrived at Nabiki's room, they took seats, Nabiki on her bed and Nodoka in the chair that sat before the desk. "What is it that you wish to talk to me about Aunty?" She asked after the older woman had settled herself in.
"Did you know about this Nabiki? About my son leaving?" She asked.
Nabiki sighed and looked thoughtful. 'What should I tell her? I can't tell her everything, that would be bad right now. Ranma doesn't need a new fiance.' After a few more seconds she mentally nodded and looked Nodoka in the eyes, noticing the older woman's almost frantic look.
"Yes I did know Aunty. Ranma came to me asking for me to cover for him while he was away so that he could get the time that he needed." She told her.
"Why didn't he come to me and tell me anything?" Nodoka asked.
"I don't know Aunty, he didn't tell me. He did ask me to tell you something though. He wanted me to tell you that he loves you very much. I've gotten him to promise to come back here first before he acts on his decision." Nabiki replied.
"I've never thought that he was unmanly Nabiki, why did he put that at the end of the note? I would have never demanded that Ranma fulfill that contract, I love him." Nodoka asked as tears started to appear in her eyes.
"You might want to tell him that when he gets back Aunty. It will probably help him a lot in making a final decision." Nabiki said soothingly as she leaned forward to place a hand on the older woman's knee.
Nodoka smiled weakly at the younger girl in appriciation before she stood up. "Thank you for talking with me Nabiki-chan. Perhaps we could talk another day about my son, you seem to know a lot about him, and I would like to get to know him better, or as best as I can without him here." Nodoka said to her.
"I would like that very much Aunty. I do know a few things about Ranma. He has told me a lot of things that have happened to him while he was on his training trip with his father, and I know a lot about what has happened over the last two years." Nabiki replied as she stood and walked her to the door.
"Sleep well Nabiki-chan, and thank you again for talking to me." Nodoka said as she opened the door and left.
"You too Aunty. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Nabiki said with a small smile before she closed the door and returned to sit on her bed. Once seated she reached into her pocket and pulled out the note that Ranma had written for her to read it.
"Nabiki,
Thanks for covering for me again. I didn't know how to say this out loud, so here it goes. I think that I might care about you too. I don't know if I love you because I don't know what love is. My life is really messed up right now. When I get back, I hope to have found a way out of this mess. If I have, maybe we can try to be together. Who knows, maybe we'll work out.
Your Friend,
Ranma"
'Oh Ranma, of course. Even if you haven't I'll try to be with you. I love you.' Nabiki thought as she laid down on her bed and clutched the letter to her chest as she slowly fell asleep.
Three days had past since Ranma left the dojo. Inside the dojo things were hectic. The fathers were frantic to find him and get him to marry Akane, while Akane was a rage machine, getting angry at the slightest thing and blaming it all on Ranma. Nabiki was having a difficult time maintaining her mask around Nodoka as the two of them had talked a lot in the last few days about Ranma. Kasumi just took everything in stride and continued on like nothing had really happened.
Nabiki was sitting in her room, going over her ledgers, balancing out her books and making sure that they had plenty of money for the next few months. She was mostly finished when there was a knock on her window, distracting her from her work. Nabiki sighed in frustration and closed all the books before she got up and went to the window and opened it to find Cologne standing there.
"Good afternoon Elder, to what do I owe this visit?" Nabiki asked as she stood there.
"I have business that I need to discuss with you Nabiki-san." Cologne said as she hopped into the room.
Nabiki nodded as she sat back down in her chair. "What is it that you wish to propose to me Elder?" She asked, maintaining her mask even though she knew exactly why she was here.
"I need you to find Son-in-Law for me. Xian Pu and I have searched all over Nerima for him and we can't seem to find him. I'm willing to pay a good deal of money to you if you do find him." Cologne told her.
"All right then, I'll do what I can to find him for you then. Do you have any idea as to where he might have gone? All we know is that he's gone on a training trip, beyond that I don't have a clue as to where to look." Nabiki replied, trying to get more information from the crafty old woman.
"I've already looked in all the likely areas and a few unlikely ones. You're on your own as for where to look young lady." Cologne responded.
"All right, I'll do my best then, but no promises that I'll find him before he returns Elder. He said he would be back before school starts. I'll see what I can do though." Nabiki told her.
"If that is all that you can do for me then I don't see any choice but to accept it then. Here is an advance to help convince you to find him as soon as possible." Cologne said as she tossed an envelope on Nabiki's desk before she turned around and hopped out the window and back to her resturant.
Nabiki glanced at the envelope and then opened it. She gasped as she saw that it was stuffed full with money without looking like it had been. Nabiki started to pull the money out and count it. By the time she was finished she had counted a total of one and a half million yen.
"Damn thats a lot of money. I wonder why she wants to find Ranma so badly. Well I'll be damned if I let those Amazons get their hands on my man." She swore softly. "I think I'll use this money to find out why the Amazons want Ranma as well as find a way to break all of Ranma's engagements so that he'll have an easier time when he gets back."
Nabiki leaned back in her chair and started to brainstorm on what exactly she would need to do to help out the man she loved.
Somewhere in the mountains of Japan Ranma and David were sitting next to a campfire enjoying their dinner several days after they had left.
"So do you have any ideas as to how I can honorably get out of all this trouble?" Ranma asked David.
"I don't know Ranma. It certainly is a pickle that you've gotten yourself into. Now let me see if I have this right. Your father engaged you to the Tendos and several other families, most of which was for food or sums of money right?" David asked.
"Yup, thats right" Ranma answered.
"Then there is the Amazons. This Cologne wants you to marry her great granddaughter and beget as many girls as possible for the betterment of her tribe. Then you've got all those rivals, most of them being guys who feel that you're moving in on their women right?" David said.
"Yeah thats right too." Ranma replied glumly as he started to think about all of it too.
"Well if you marry one of the girls then all of your honor is shot, and thats bad. Changing your name isn't likely to help either. And you mentioned that becoming this ronin isn't an option either. Hmm this makes things tricky, but I think that I can at least give YOU an honorable way out of this mess." David said.
"Really? How can you help me? I mean I've tried to think of every angle and I've come up with nothing." Ranma asked skeptically.
"Back where I'm from we have a tradition amoung the people. We have mercenary companies all over the land. The tradition of these mercenary companies is that one's past stays there, when you join you have a clean slate, no prior honor, no pledges, no debt, no losses, no victories, nothing. I'm planning on starting a mercenary company and would like you to join." David told him.
"I don't know David, I'll think about it though." Ranma replied carefully.
A week and a half after Ranma left.
"Where is that ungrateful son of mine!" Genma cried as he and Soun stumbled into the dojo, drunk as skunks.
"The shchools will never be joined, WAAAHHHHH!" Soun said as he started his infamous waterworks trick.
"I'll bet hes with some floozy!" Akane yelled as she stopped in from the dojo.
Nabiki watched it all and shook her head as she headed upstairs to her room. When she got there she found Cologne sitting in her open window waiting for her.
"And to what do I owe this visit Elder?" Nabiki said in a cold voice as she glared at the old woman.
"Have you found him yet Nabiki-san?" She asked.
"No I haven't, and not for lack of trying either. He truely has disappeared this time. I've had my people everywhere trying to find him." Nabiki replied.
"Are you sure that you've looked everywhere?" Cologne asked sharply.
"All the training spots from here to Osaka and as far north as I can get people too. I've checked all the dojos, monestaries and little hideaways that you could think of and still no sign of him. Its good for you that I know how to stretch money out otherwise I would have asked for more money about two days ago, as is I still have about a quarter of a million left to play with before I'll need more." Nabiki answered her coldly.
"Just making sure that you're trying your hardest Nabiki-san, its very important that you find the Groom." Cologne told her as she turned and hopped away.
Nabiki sighed and sat down at her desk and pulled a key out from her blouse. She opened a locked drawer on her desk and fiddled around inside of the drawer before a small click was heard. She pulled out a thin book that had 'Ranma' written on it. She softly put it on her desk and opened the book up.
'Lets see here. Fiances except for Shampoo are gone. Either their dowerys were paid back or I've gotten an agreement that they would just give it up. All of his personel debts are paid, but all the ones that his father encurred are stuck to him and not Ranma now. Hmmm, there's still this issue of a cousin in Juban whose being taken care of by three women. I wonder if Ranma knows about this one. Tomoe Hotaru, sounds like a cute kid I guess. Heh, who would have thought that Ranma would be the official guardian for a thirteen year old girl. Well thats one I can't do a thing about until he gets back. Guess the rest of this money will just be a little nest egg for him then. Ahh the irony of it all! The Amazons paid to have all of Ranma's problems fixed and set aside a decent amount of money for him to have just in case!' Nabiki thought, chuckling at the end.
As Nabiki put the book away there was a knock on her door. "Just a second!" She answered as she quickly locked the drawer. "Enter!"
The door opened to reveal Ukyou standing there in her okonomiyaki chefs outfit, but without any weapons.
"Please come in and shut the door Ukyou-san. How can I help you today?" Nabiki asked as she turned her new comfortable chair around to face the young chef.
Ukyou did as she was told and stood before Nabiki. "I need your help with something Nabiki-san. I just recently received a letter from the government stating that my official gender had been changed back to female and just yesterday I received a letter from my father saying that my quest was finished and that I was no longer officially engaged to Ranchan." She said to Nabiki with a slightly scared look on her face.
"I see. That is certainly interesting news to hear Ukyou-san. What is it that you wish for me to do for you then?" She asked.
"I would like you to find out who had this done and why if at all possible. I'm willing to pay you whatever it takes." Ukyou answered.
"Hmmm. Thats a tall order, but I think that I can do that. 250,000 yen to start with and if I need more then I'll call you Ukyou. Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Nabiki said, causing Ukyou to wince slightly at the price.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Ranchan is, would you?" Ukyou asked hopefully.
Nabiki shook her head. "No I don't, and I've been looking. But I do know that he'll be back here before school starts again, I just don't know when exactly." Nabiki replied.
Ukyou nodded in thanks as she pulled out her check book and wrote a check to Nabiki. "Here you go Nabiki-san. Thank you for the help." She said as she handed the check over to her.
Nabiki smirked at her. "No, thank you Ukyou. I'll get on this right away from you." Nabiki said to her as she turned twoards her desk and opened up one of her ledgers.
Ukyou took the hint and left the middle Tendo daughter alone to work her black magic.
The same day in the mountains
Ranma and David had been sparring for the last few hours and were doing their cool down exercises when David looked at his friend curiously.
"Ranma I think that I might be able to help give you control over your curse. It won't be a cure I know, but it will get rid of the water magnet part as well as give you control of it." David said to him as they finished.
"Really? That would be wonderful if you could do that!" Ranma exclaimed, excited to get one step closer to a cure.
"The thing is that I need to watch the change happen a couple of more times to see if the spell that I do know will work on you." David told him.
Ranma grimaced at the thought of more magic, but he had learned to trust David so he nodded as they went back to their camp. Once there Ranma put a kettle on the fire, that was surprisingly still burning strong, so that he would have hot water for later. David watched as Ranma grabbed a bottle of water and poured some of it over his head, enacting the change. David opened himself fully so that all of his senses watch the change happen. As it happened David thought that he caught something odd just as the change was finishing. He shook his head to clear his sense, thinking that it might be just a mistake.
"Ranma could you do that a few more times. I need to make sure that I'm not going to be making any mistakes when we do this." David told him.
"Sure no problem David." Ranma replied as she grabbed the now heated kettle and poured a little of the water over her head.
David watched much more intently this time and just as the change was completed he knew that he saw something else switch. He narrowed his eyes and nodded to Ranma to do it again. As he did David finally caught what happened as his eyes shot wide open for a split second. He then looked at the now female Ranma and held up his hand to forestall the change back into a male.
"Tell me young lady, what is it like sharing a body with Ranma?" He asked softly.
"What the hell are you talking about David? Its me, Ranma!" She exclaimed in confusion.
"Nice try young lady, but I'm older than you and far more experienced in magic as well as souls and I know for a fact that you are not Ranma, you might share his memories and have his permission to use this form so that you could experience the real world, but you are NOT Ranma." David told her.
David watched as her expression changed rapidly from confusion to anger and finally settled on fear. "You won't tell anyone about me, will you?" She asked fearfullly.
"Of course not dear. I figured that Ranma allowed you out, instead of fighting the change of souls, so your secret is safe with me. But please introduce yourself. I take it that you are the girl who drowned in the spring 1,500 years ago?" David said.
"Yeah that was me, except it was a lot longer than 1,500 years ago. More like 15,000, but that isn't important. You can call me Saotome Ranko for now, my original family has been dead for far too long for me to use that name any longer." She told him, her sad expression getting to David's gentle heart.
David walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Its okay Ranko, I know what its like to loose your loved ones. My parents died when I was young and I was forced to raise my younger sister by myself. I would like to think that I did a decent job of doing that as she came out all right, but it still hurts not to have them around." David said to her softly.
Ranko sniffled a little as she turned to him and gave him a hug. "Thanks for understanding David." she murmured. "What are we going to do now?"
"Well I figured that we could continue as we have been and I'll still give the two of you control over the change. Doesn't make sense to call it a curse anymore, now does it?" He asked her with a small smile.
Ranko gave a watery chuckle in agreement. "Yeah it doesn't, and Ranma agrees. Do you think that I could be your friend as well?" She asked.
"I would be deeply honored to have you and your brother as friends Ranko. And if you both decide to join my mercenary unit then I will be both pleased and honored that the two of you would trust me that much." David replied.
"We'll think about it and give you an answer before we get back to Tokyo David." Ranko told him. "Now then lets get this spell over with so that we can go back to training." Ranko said as she stepped away from him with a grin.
"All right then, I know just the spell." David said with an answering grin as he started to chant.
A few days before school was going to start again Ranma and David were sitting on a train heading back to Tokyo. As the train flew down the tracks the two young men talked between themselves.
"So you're offering me a position in this mercenary company that you want to start eh? And by joining all my prior commitments are null and void?" Ranma asked David carefully, showing how much he had changed over the last couple of weeks.
"Not just any position Ranma, I'm offering the position of executive officer, my second in command. And it has been traditional where I was raised that when you join a mercenary unit, your past stays there, in the past that is." David answered.
"All right. I think I got it now. Ya know, this is just too good an opportunity to pass up now that I've thought about it, but what happens to our friendship afterwards?" Ranma replies.
"We'll stay friends of course. I'll always be your friend, even when I'm your boss, because I know that you'll follow orders when I do issue them. By the way, are you going to go forward with what we had discussed about your girl-side?" David asked.
"Yeah, I think that I will. It makes the most sense to me at least. Thank goddess that you can just magic it all into place." Ranma answered.
They continued to sit in silence for a few more minutes before David got a gleam to his eye as he suddenly looked at Ranma. "You want to play a joke on your family and friends?" David asked playfully.
Ranma looked sharply at him when he said that. "I don't know. I'd rather not hurt Nabs if I can help it, I really think that I love her." Ranma replied.
"That's fine. Why don't you just wink at her when she catches sight of us so that she'll know its just a joke." David responded.
"I guess that'll work. What do you have planned?" Ranma asked warily.
"Well I was thinking that we could visit this shop that I know of first. There is something that I need to get there for you. Then we'll head for the dojo with you in female form. Once there, or if anyone sees us, we start acting like a couple. That will throw everyone for a loop and we can play it up as much as you want to. Of course if you want we could include Nabiki-san in it as well and try to draw her into it by you throwing yourself happily at her and telling her how much you've missed her and love her and 'wouldn't it be fun to have a threesome with your David-kun'. I'm sure that if we did that then nobody would remain standing aside from Nabiki-san, and only her because you'll be holding her up." David told him.
Ranma looked both thoughtful and horrorified by the idea for a few minutes. During those few minutes David watched his friend's face go through a multitude of expressions before it finally just became a blank expression. He waited patiently for a few more minutes before Ranma's eyes focused on his.
"All right David, lets do it. You're right, it just might be fun for us." Ranma chuckled. "If nothing else, it'll be good for a few laughs to see the expressions on everyone's faces."
David chuckled as well and nodded.
"Next stop is Nerima, Nerima is the next stop. Please gather all of your things before you leave the train." The loudspeaker on the train said as the train started to slow down in preperation to entering the station.
As the train pulled into the station Ranma's eyes lost focus for a second. Suddenly his form looked less defined as the change happened and Ranma changed into Ranko. Her eyes refocused and she looked up at her friend. "How does this look David-kun? Do I look alright?" She asked in a cutesy tone of voice.
David smiled at down at her friend, mirth showing in his eyes. "Yes dear. You look just fine." He replied as they got up and grabbed their backpacks.
Together the two of them got off the train and started to leave the station. As they walked down the streets of Nerima the two of them looked around them, watching all the people stare at the two of them. The reason that they were staring was because the dreaded Saotome Ranma was WALKING down the street with a BOY. A boy that s/he was holding hands with! And casting loving looks at as well! Some people fainted at the sight, while some others just ran away crying that the world was coming to an end, and the third group just took it all in stride as yet another weird aspect of Nerima.
"What is up with some of these people David-kun?" Ranko asked him as she looked up at him.
"I don't know my dear, you'd think that they would know what a couple who loves each other would look like, wouldn't you?" He replied.
"Oh well. I guess its just something that isn't common here. Most people are used to seeing me either walking on a fence, roof-hopping or fighting someone. And here I am walking with you." Ranko said with a happy smile.
David chuckled at her reply and just squeezed her hand, letting her know he understood. The two continued on, despite what was happening around them, for the clothes store that David knew. When they stood outside it Ranko looked up at the sign and slowly read it.
"Oh my! I know this store! I come here all the time!" She exclaimed happily as she let go of David's hand and went inside ahead of him. "Grandmother! Its me!" She called out as she entered the store.
The old woman who owned the store came out of the back with a smile on her face. "Ranma, what a pleasent surprise this is. Last I heard you had disappeared to parts unknown." She said as she came up and gave Ranko a hug.
"I was out training and trying to find a way to get my life in order Grandmother. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it handn't been for David-kun though. He's been such a help! I've finally found my true self as well as where my heart truely lies." She said with a large grin on her face.
"Really now. I would love to meet this young man that has done so much for you." the old woman said to her.
"Of course he's just outside. Let me go get him real quick." Ranko replied as she dashed back outside and grabbed David by the hand and literally dragged him into the store. When they both stood before the old woman Ranko smiled happily as she showed him off. "This Grandmother is Sanders David, the man who has been such a dear in helping me find my true self. Oh and please call me Ranko when I'm like this, it'll cause less confusion." She said.
The old woman looked over to see David standing there with a grin on his face. "Greetings Honored Elder. Its a pleasure to see you again." David said a he bowed politely to her.
"It certainly is good to see you again young man, and in such good company too. I always did think that young Ranko needed a man of your nature to bring out the best of her." She said with a grin.
"Grandmother!" Ranko exclaimed with a blush. "You're embarassing me!"
David chuckled while shaking his head. "As fun as it is to do that my dear, we did come here for a reason. Honored Elder, Ranko is to be my Executive Officer, is there a chance that you might have something that would be appropriate for her?" David asked.
The older woman's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the young couple. "Are you certain of this young man. You know the consequences of such a decision I hope." She replied.
"I know them very well Honored Elder and wouldn't ask this of you if I wasn't absolutely positive of Ranko being capable of the job." David told her.
"David-kun what are you talking about?" Ranko asked looking slightly worried.
"Nothing that will hurt you Ranko-chan. I'll just wait right here while you go with the Elder." David answered.
Ranko looked into his eyes, searching for a possible chance that he might be lying or hiding something from her. After looking for a few seconds she slowly nodded and turned back to the Elder. "I'm ready whenever you are Grandmother." She said as she squared her shoulders.
The Elder glared at David on last time before turning to face Ranko squarely. "All right then dear. If you will follow me, we'll get this over with." She said as she turned around and led Ranko to the back room.
As they left the main room David breathed a sigh of relief and offered up a quick prayer to the gods for his friends. 'I hope that I'm right about this. If not then I don't know what I'll do. I don't think there are any priests in the area that can preform a resurection, this place just doesn't have enough magic users for that.' He thought as he looked at the back door in worry.
Inside the back room Ranko was faced with four wooden chests. The elder stood to one side of the room and looked seriously at Ranko.
"Child, inside one of these chests is your destiny. Choose carefully which one you try to open. Only one will open for you, the others will mean you death. Good luck." She said as she waved Ranko twoards the chests.
'Great, choose correctly or die. I just love this.' Ranko thought as she approached them. She slowly and gently extended her senses twoards the chests, trying to get a feel for them. Each one seemed to have a slightly different feel. The one on the far left was empty, as if it had already been opened. The one next to it felt like an enormous power, but in duality. The next one had a very oily or slippery feel to it. The last one felt like both life and death were contained all in one box. As she scanned each chest, Ranko listened to her instincts. As she sweeped back over them one last time her instincts seemed to tell her to stay the hell away from the last box and the first one. The third one seemed to feel familiar but not like it belonged to her. Going on what she felt she moved purposefully for the second chest and boldly opened it, expecting to get blown up.
"Good choice Child. It seems as if you are one of the prophocied. I wish you the best of luck with your new path." The elder said as she left Ranko to discover what was inside the chest.
Ranko stood there confused as she stared at the open chest. 'What the hell did she mean?' She thought. Ranko shook off her confusion and peered into the chest. Inside she saw balck clothes and a bundle of black silk that covered something long. She reached inside and pulled the clothes out to reveal a pair of black silk pants and a long sleeve black silk Chinese-style shirt with two golden Chinese dragons weaving around each other on the left side. Ranko smirked and changed into the new clothes. Once changed she gasped as the clothes morphed into something similar to what Xian Pu normally would wear, but still in black and with the dragons. Ranko looked warily into the chest at the wrapped bundle, not entirely trusting it now. She slowly reached down into it and withdrew the bundle. Whatever it was, it was hard. She looked over the wrapping carefully, noting its length and width. She then slowly unwrapped the object, revealing to the world a beautifully made katana.
"Wow." Ranko gasped as she stared at the beautiful weapon. Never before had she seen such a wonderful katana, not even her mother's looked this good.
Ranko slowly moved her hand to the hilt and carefully drew the blade out of its sheath, being mindful that it could be trapped. Once the blade was completly free of its sheath it started to glow a bright white, lighting up the entire room and casting shadows everywhere. Ranko was blasted with power from the inside as she felt something within her unlock. Suddenly memories flooded into her, memories of a past that she had thought lost to her. Her mouth opened in a scream as she slowly toppled forward and passed out as the pain of the memory dump was too much for her to handle.
Outside the room David was standing there looking around the store trying to calm his nerves at the idea that he may loose his new friend to something that even he didn't completely understand. He was still looking and pacing nervously when the Elder who owned the shop came out of the back room. David rapidly moved twoards her, his worry clear on his face.
"Is she alright? What happened in there?" David asked frantically.
The Elder looked up at David and smiled softly. "Ranko is just fine Young Master. She chose the correct chest." She informed him.
David sighed in relief, happy that his friend was fine. Just as he was starting to relax the was a flash of white light from the back room and a scream broke the silence. David broke past the Elder and ran into the back room to find Ranko crumpled on the floor wearing a Chinese Amazon pantsuit that was all black and holding a softly glowing katana. David could FEEL the magic that seemed bathe the room as he slowly approached his friend. He gently turned her over, making a small note of the two dragons on the left side of her clothes, and made her comfortable. He tried to pry the katana out of her hands but Ranko refused to release the blade from her grasp.
The old woman quietly came into the room and saw Ranko lying there with David hovering nearby. "Oh dear, I was afraid that something like this might happen." She muttered.
David spun to face her, anger showing on his face. "What are you talking about? What happened to her!" He almost yelled at her.
"I was afraid that with two souls in one body that one of them might have been the soul of the girl that drowned in the spring. Seeing as that is indeed true, I figured that eventually something would spark her memories and return them to her. Getting several years worth of memories about someone's past is a very painful experience. I'm not surprised that she passed out from it, I am surprised however that she was able to scream. Most people who suddenly remember a complete past life don't even have the ability to scream in pain before they pass out." She answered him.
David turned back around and sighed as he sat next to his friend. "You sure that she'll be alright when she wakes up?" David asked.
"Oh yes, she'll be just fine. She might have a little bit of a headache, but other than that she'll be okay. The problem will be that I have no clue as to how this will affect Ranma. With two souls in this body and both of them with complete memories, there is no tellig what might happen." The old woman said with a worried expression on her face.
David smiled softly as he gazed at Ranko. "I think they'll be just fine Elder. I have faith that both of them will be able to overcome whatever the world and the gods can throw at these two." David said with confidence.
The old woman nodded to him before she turned around and left. David sat next to his friend and smiled softly at her. 'Yet another thing for you to worry about my friend. I hope you come out of this alright.' He thought.
-
Inside Ranma's mind
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ranma glanced around him in confusion. The place that he normally retreats to when Ranko takes control had changed suddenly and drastically. One minute he was standing in a nice forest glade. The glade being the combination of all the things that he had seen while traveling with his father. The next minute it changed to be rolling hills with a forest in the distance. Ranma looked above him, expecting to see what he normally did, the moon hanging pale in the sky during the late afternoon. Instead he saw three moons hanging in the sky in the early morning light.
'What the hell is going on here?' He thought to himself as he looked around.
As he started to walk around, getting a feel for what had happened to his hideaway, he heard in the distance the sound of someone crying. The crying seemed to draw at Ranma, making him feel sad and lonely. He started to move twoards the crying, wanting to comfort whoever it was. As he drew closer to it he could determine that it was a woman that was crying. As he crested the last hill he saw Ranko curled up in a ball crying like there was no tomorrow. Being who and what he was, Ranma couldn't stand seeing this. He softly approached her and knelt down next to her.
"Shhhh Ranko, its okay. Everything is going to be alright." He said as he softly put a hand on her shoulder, doing what he had seen Kasumi do for her sisters a couple of times.
Suddenly Ranma was engulfed in a hug that threatened to break his ribs and Ranko held on for dear life while sobs wracked her body. Stunned for a moment, Ranma stiffened up on instinct before his mind recalled that this was Ranko, his little sister, someone who would never hurt him if they could help it. He slowly wrapped his arms around her as he started to rock her back and forth, making soothing sounds like he had heard Kasumi do a couple of times for Akane. After several minutes Ranko started to slowly calm down, her breathing returning to normal as the sobs died away and tears just leaked from her eyes. After she had finally stopped crying, she dragged her hand across her eyes, brushing the tears away, as she looked up at Ranma.
"Thanks Ranma, I needed that." She said softly.
"So what was that all about Ranko?" Ranma asked her gently.
"Well when I reached inside the chest and drew the blade out nothing happened, but when I took the blade out of its sheath I was swamped with memories. All of them memories of my life before I drowned in the springs." She answered.
"Too much too soon eh? I can understand that." Ranma replied. "So what were you like back then? What was life like?"
"Well I was a princess back then. My mother was the ruler of a planet called Vulcan, which was destroyed in a war that happened not long after my seventeenth year. This landscape is from Vulcan. Durning my life I was known as Sailor Vulcan, one of the defenders of the Moon Kingdom and a protector of its heir, Princess Serenity." Ranko told him.
"You mean you were like those sailor girls that I've heard about from Juban?" Ranma asked.
Ranko blinked in surprise, but nodded slowly. "You mean they're all alive?"
"Yup from what I've heard there are nine of them in Juban, along with some caped idiot." He answered.
"Thank the gods! I was afraid that I was the only one left alive. I only hope that Sa-chan remembers me." She said softly.
Ranma blinked as he looked at her before he suddenly got a mental picture of who Ranko was talking about. "Whoa that was weird." He said as he shook his head.
"What? What happened Ranma?" She asked him, a concerned look on her face.
"I think that our memories of who we are and were are merging because we share the same body." Ranma told her.
"Really, that could be a problem." She mused.
"Maybe and then again maybe not. It would certainly help you out some eh? If David agrees we could go over there and fight these youma that the Sailors are fighting. You could be Sailor Vulcan again, and if its my turn then I'll just be the Vulcan Knight." Ranma suggested.
Ranko looked thoughtful, running the idea through her head. After a few minutes she looked right into Ranma's eyes and shook her head. "No that won't work. I failed my planet when it needed me the most and now its an asteroid belt. Its better if we just call ourselves something else. You could still call yourself the Vulcan Knight, but I think that I'll call myself just the Guardian of Vulcan. In my eyes I lost my status as a Sailor Senshi when my planet blew up." Ranko told him.
"There is no need for that my child. You can still call yourself Sailor Vulcan. I'm sure with your brother's help you could reform my body." Said a soft female voice, surprising the two Saotomes.
Both of them spun around to see a young woman standing there. She was tall, maybe 6'2", pale skin and long dark hair that ended around her lower back. She stood there wearing black leather armor and had a katana on her hip. She smiled softly at the two and nodded to them.
"Lady Vulcan, is that you?" Ranko asked fearfully.
"Yes it is my dear defender." She replied.
Ranko prostrated herself before the essence of her home planet. "I'm ready to receive whatever punishment that you deem necessary to give this one for failing you in your time of need." Ranko said as she kept her position on the ground.
Ranma and Vulcan stared at her. Ranma in fear and worry that he would loose the one that he had come to call sister in his heart, mind and soul. Vulcan looked on with a cross between amusement and sadness.
"Get up Ranko Saotome, Sailor Vulcan, and face me as you receive your punishment." Lady Vulcan said formally. Ranma quickly looked at Vulcan, opening his mouth to say something to hopefully keep his sister from being punished too harshly only to see Vulcan put a finger on her lips and winking at him. -Don't worry Ranma, I'm not going to hurt her, just give her a new task besides reforming my body. I know that you'll do your best to help her in both tasks.- Ranma blinked at hearing her voice in his head, but nodded slowly to let her know he understood.
Ranko slowly stood up and stared straight into the eyes of the one who would punish her. For a second fear ruled in her eyes before they hardened to ice cold chips, not letting any emotion show.
Vulcan sighed mentally before she spoke. "Princess Ranko, Guardian and Senshi of Vulcan, are you prepared to hear your punishment?" She asked formally.
Ranko seemed to straighten herself before she replied. "I am ready, Lady Vulcan, to receive the punishment that I deserve." She replied just as formally.
"Then as your Planet I hereby give you the following punishment. That you shall continue to be my Senshi with the task of assisting the one known as Sanders David in his quest. You shall also have the following tasks. To defend the weak from the powers of evil, to reunite yourself with the other Senshi and guide them away from this Crystal Tokyo that Sailor Pluto has dreamed up, to settle down with someone that you love as your mate, and with the help of your brother, Sailor Saturn and the Princess Serenity, reform my body so that people may once more live on its surface, and finally to assist the other Senshi in reclaiming their planets from the near death state that they are currently in. This is your punishment. When all this has been done, you shall have my full forgiveness and all crimes shall be forgotten." Lady Vulcan told her.
Ranko's jaw dropped to the ground in shock at what she was told, as she had been expecting to hear that she would be stripped of her powers, instead of not only keeping them, but given the task of effectively reviving the Moon Kingdom again. "M..m...my Lady?" She asked in a stunned voice.
Vulcan smiled at her softly as she came up and gave Ranko a loving hug, like a mother would her child. "Truely I blame you not for what happened to me. You drowned in that spring before my body was destroyed. You have suffered enough my child, this punishment is to give you a new purpose. Go forth and make me proud to call you my Senshi once more. Always remember that I'll be watching you and I'll visit from time to time. Take care of yourself and your brother. You'll need to guide him into his new powers as at his suggestion, I've appointed him as the Vulcan Knight." She said to Ranko soflty.
Ranko just burst into tears and buried her head into Vulcans chest, her emotions running rampant after being pulled from one end of the spectrum to the other. As she slowly started to calm down and her sobbing trickled off to the point where she could talk, she looked up at her Lady and smiled sadly.
"It shall be as you wish my Lady. Thank you for having faith in me." Ranko said to her.
Vulcan just smiled and kissed her softly on the forehead before she stepped back and waved goodbye before she disappeared. Ranko looked over at Ranma and smiled softly, while Ranma looked at her with a worried expression.
"I'm okay bro. Looks like I get to train you in how to use the new powers that Our Lady gave you. She liked your idea about you being the Vulcan Knight, so you are now." She told him.
Ranma blinked for a second before he smiled at her. "Heh, well as long as the uniform isn't one of those fukus I'm okay with that. I don't think I could stand wearing one of those things." He said with a chuckle.
Ranko joined him, laughing at the mental picture of Ranma in a fuku. Suddenly both of them started to fade slightly. Ranma and Ranko looked at each other in shock, both of them concerned about what was happening.
"What the hell?" Ranma exclaimed as his sister faded faster than him.
"I think I'm waking up Ranma. Guess we'll talk later then." She said as she waved farewell before she disappeared. Ranma followed her a few seconds later.
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The Waking World
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David sat next to his friend and watched as she dreamed. 'Come on you two. Pull through this.' He thought as he gazed at his friend. It had been twenty minutes since Ranko had collapsed and David was starting to get worried. He had felt an emense presence earlier, one that he couldn't identify, and that worried him.
As he sat there thinking Ranko groaned and slowly opened her eyes. "David-kun? What happened? My head hurts like you wouldn't believe." she said softly.
"You screamed and when I came into the room I found you passed out with that sword in your hand. You wouldn't let go of it for anything. I made you as comfortable as I could and have sat next to you for the past twenty minutes. Also what was that emense presence that I felt not to long ago?" David said to her.
Ranko slowly shook her head to clear away the mental cobwebs before she looked down at her new sword. When she had gotten a good look at it she smiled happily. She then slowly sheathed the weapon and turned to faced her friend and commander. "That presence that you sensed was an old friend of mine checking in to see how I am. I've got some things that I would like to discuss with you David, but not here. Do you think that we could get going to the Tendo home. I'd like to continue with our plan." She replied.
David looked at her worriedly, but nodded. "Sure, we can get going now. By the way what kind of sword is that? Its similar to my Tan'chi, but with slightly more of a curve to its blade." He said as he helped her stand up.
Ranko smiled at her friend as she carefully stood up. She reached into the chest behind her and pulled out the silk wrapping for her katana and carefully wrapped her katana before slinging it over her shoulder. "It's the blade of my people. I'll tell you more about them at a later time, but the blades of my people were called katanas. They have a pair of blades called wakazashi and tanto. The wakazashi being shorter than the katana, almost half its length, and the tanto is the dagger to complete the set. Only someone of a noble line or someone who has been granted nobility are allowed to carry all three. Usually people only carry a katana, if they carry a blade at all. The tanto is used for ritual suicide to atone for the dishonor that you have caused your family or youself." Ranko told him as gave herself one last check to make sure that everything was in order.
Together the two friends left the shop after saying goodbye to the owner.