Ranma 1/2: The King of Storms
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranma or Sailor Moon. I wrote this for fun and do not intend to make profits from it. I don't have any money anyway, so suing me would get you jack.
"----" speech
'----' thoughts
Rants
I don't really deserve to rant.... _ What with my updates being random, spontaneous and rather annoying. Thanks for all the reviews; I really enjoyed some of the feedback. ('Specially about how much you all hate cliffhangers, though the cliffhanger for this chappie is about 10 times worse XD) The time between this update and the last was mostly spent sorting out some plot holes... And figuring out how I am going to make this work into a series. Yup, there's the plan... always was. I eventually plan on many anime and manga being incorporated, but I am gonna ease into that.... Hell I would get lost with all the characters @_@. So, without further ado...
Chapter 6: Just when you thought everything changed... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whistling a random tune to himself as he happily trotted along the top of a fence in his normal manner, calmly making his way to school. After the night several days ago, it seemed like things only got better. He felt so much more free than he did before, like a ball and chain was removed from his ankles, and for the first time in a long time, he could bounce about happily. It did really seem like he had made new friends, that really cared for him (Some seemed to care more than others), and that didn't ask for his hand in marriage or announce death threats whenever they spotted him. Though it did seem like a certain several of them would be more than willing to be his wife if he asked.
Juuban seemed to be adapting to having Ranma amongst it's streets, people now easily recognized him by site and either ran for their homes, fearing for their lives (which was the most common, much to Ranma's dismay), or greet him enthusiastically, glad to have a new protector of sorts. His newest companions were of the latter group.
So busy in his thoughts of the 180 degree spring on his life, he almost failed to notice Usagi creeping up behind him to scare him. Almost.
Poor Usagi got the surprise of a lifetime as her prey suddenly vanished in a rush of air. Confused, she glanced about, searching for her lost target until a calloused finger poked her in the back of the head.
"Gotcha."
Usagi frowned, stomped her foot and turned about-face to stare into Ranma's chest, and then raised her eyes into his. "Meanie!"
It had become a daily ritual every morning for them. The first day, Ranma had been caught as he was too deep in thought over current matters pertaining to his life, but ever since then he had always managed to notice her before she had a chance to get within a couple feet. Almost like a game between siblings, just to bug one another or extract giggle.
Ranma pouted and his lip quivered in mock pain "Oh, is that really how you think of me Usagi-chan!?"
"Yes!" A bonk over the head with her schoolbag supported her statement.
Acting hurt, Ranma took a dramatic pose with his hand resting on his forehead, "Oh, for woe is me, the ball-headed girl of my dreams thinks nothing more of me than a spineless bully, oh the shame!" They both knew Ranma was joking, Usagi already had a boyfriend and the thought of a relationship between them just seemed. wrong.
This earned him another swat over the head, though this time it was accompanied by a set of giggles. "Come on you, we are going to be late again."
It was surprising to Ranma himself how much he had loosened up in Juuban, especially around his new friends. No nervousness (even at how strong some were coming on) just a sense of belonging, like a piece of him had been missing for a long time, but was now restored with their presence.
Setting off at a reasonable pace, Ranma and Usagi headed towards Juuban high, discussing various plans for the day.
They arrived at school minutes before the tardy bell, taking their respective seats and preparing for class.
Time slowly ticked by, dragging seconds into minutes and minutes into hours.
Ranma's head was currently resting on his hand which was propped up by his elbow. He found it difficult to keep his attention on the teacher. It wasn't that he found it boring, it was just too easy. He had already learned today's lesson, and even read into tomorrow's lesson last night. Thus, he found his eyelids drooping, and the sweet pull of sleep becoming too much. 'Just a little longer." Ranma thought, looking up at the clock and finding that only 10 minutes of class had gone by. 'Aw damn.'
Ami too, was not paying attention. A dilemma had occurred the night before, when she had tried to search for files on this 'Sailor Nemesis' The mercury computer however, did not contain any information on the subject. Not one scrap was found, even after she had hacked through several files and turned them upside down looking for information. Apparently, someone did not want anyone to find any information about this particular subject.
Usagi was standing in the hall with a sign that said 'I was sleeping in class' tied around her neck. She was pouting, cursing her luck as she tugged at the uncomfortable sign.
Makoto and Minako were staring longingly at the hunk that had been dropped into their laps, only to find that he had been promised to another. The memory of the talk was still fresh in their minds as they sighed at the same time, making Ranma glance at them uncomfortably and shift so that they couldn't see his face.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Hikawa Shrine, 3 days earlier-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Well... he sure doesn't seem evil." Minako pointed out as they sat there in silence.
No one else could really argue with that, though they had been fooled before. So, they would still keep a close eye on him, even if they didn't think that he was a bad guy.
"Oh! Setsuna, you never told us who Ranma-kun was engaged to!"
Setsuna bit her lip. She knew some of the senshi would not like this... "Well, the person he's engaged to is..."
Silence dominated the room as they all stared intently at Setsuna, anxiously awaiting her answer.
"Me."
Minako looked shocked, and Makoto shook her head in disbelief.
"No way!" Rei shouted, "You are way too uptight and anal to get engaged!"
Setsuna's eye twitched and she looked up at Rei, a promise of a painful death in her eyes. "What?"
Rei gulped and giggled, and Minako and Makoto wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.
"I believe what she was trying to say." Haruka interrupted calmly, "Is that you never seemed like the type to get involved in a relationship."
Sighing, Setsuna nodded slightly and her eyes glazed over as she remembered her fiancée. "After him, I never considered another man."
"That good?" Makoto asked, the romance of it all capturing her heart.
"Better." Setsuna stated as she smiled gently. "I wasn't the only senshi in love with him though."
Some of the girls stopped and looked at Setsuna.
Setsuna chuckled. "He was one of the only men in the Silver Millennium that did not fear us. and was 'unique' himself. That and he wasn't as old or ugly as the others. He understood us better, the fear of us and the desire to be loved, wanted, and needed by someone."
The gathered senshi regarded each other with different feelings on the matter.
"Everything is different now though. we are different now. And I imagine he is too." The others were visibly relieved by this.
"So. you think Ranma is the last senshi?" Usagi asked in a calm and stern manner, one that she rarely showed.
Setsuna shook her head, "It is difficult to tell, but I do believe that he is."
"But what about the black moon on his forehead?" Ami interjected, receiving nods of agreement.
Setsuna giggled girlishly, much unlike herself. "I simply believe that his life has caused the chaotic nature of his origins to show before his Life magic comes back."
"So, he isn't evil?" Minako asked, little hearts in her eyes. She knew he wasn't a bad guy from the start, but nobody believed her.
Setsuna shot her a glare, "I don't believe so, but I won't let you lay a finger on him!"
The senshi froze and stared at Setsuna, the outburst greatly unlike her.
Realizing that she had gotten carried away, Setsuna laughed dryly. "Sorry, but I have waited since the Silver Millennium to be with him. Forgive me if I get possessive."
Minako and Makoto scowled, already plotting to capture Ranma for themselves. If Setsuna thought that them being engaged made him off limits, she was wrong.
"It's like something out of the latest princess manga Rei!" Usagi exclaimed happily, sighing.
"That's were it went! Give that back meatball head!"
The meeting went tumbling down a cliff from there.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Juuban High-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ranma winced and thanked the gods that his fiancées had not showed up yet as another set of longing sighs came from Minako and Makoto. 'What is it with women and craving guys? I thought that guys were more perverted. like Hiroshi and Daisuke. but those two,' Ranma glanced at them and immediately wished he hadn't as they giggled silently and waved, a slight flush coloring their cheeks. 'Man they are worse than any guy I have met.' Of course, Happosai wasn't considered because Ranma wasn't sure if it was male.
Class ended after what seemed like an eternity, and Ranma grabbed his bento that his mother so kindly provided, and leapt out the window as usual.
Makoto growled as she put the bento she made for Ranma down. "Darn it! I will never get used to him doing that."
Using the time that Makoto was distracted, Minako ran out of the class and down stairs, rushing to get to get to the tree where Ranma usually sat.
Sighing to himself, Ranma tried to ignore the stares as screams were heard from in the building, followed by loud crashes and the sound of blunt objects hitting flesh. Wincing, Ranma shook his head and continued eating as Makoto and Minako fought each other down the stairs of the school, before finally running out, biting, tripping, kicking and screaming at each other the entire time. A reasonable amount of sweat gathered on Ranma's brow as the two approached.
"Ranma, I made this bento for you!"
"No, try mine Ranma!"
"Hey! I made that Minako!"
The accused pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Makoto. "All's fair in love and war! Bleh!"
In the meantime, a woman stared out her office window down at the courtyard and cursed loudly, rage slowly building as she watched the two with Ranma. Her eye twitched dangerously and her mouth curved into a cruel smile.
"Apparently they had not taken my warning seriously. They shall learn then, oh yes indeed, they will learn." Setsuna tipped her head back and cackled maniacally, a glint of madness in her eye. The pen in her hand snapped from the pressure of Setsuna's hand, and sprayed a thick coat of black ink over her face and blouse. Setsuna cried out in surprise and fell backwards in her chair, landing very roughly on her back.
Glaring at the sky, Setsuna muttered about comedians as she arose again, and went in search of some cleaner for her shirt.
Despite his new attitude about school, Ranma found the Etruscan slave revolt as interesting as a growing toenail, and thus had his head rested on his desk as his eyes sagged dangerously, warning him of what was to come.
'No. I can't fall asleep! I said I was gonna do better and pay attention! There is no way that I am gonna. bah, who am I kidding.' Sleep soon engulfed Ranma in her tender caress, and luckily the teacher could not hear the soft snores coming from his prone form.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-The void of the dream world-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He was giddy with excitement. It was a ball. His first ball. The only one he had been allowed to come to. He was sure if he was good enough, that his mother may allow him to come to another. Glancing behind him, the adolescent glowered at the pair of guards that watched over him like a hawk. But he wasn't about to let them ruin his fun. He had never been to a banquet, and he would be damned if he'd let a couple of stupid oafs ruin it.
Sure, people were scared of him. Scared of how easily the senshi could fall to him. In truth, with how well the senshi were doing with none magical attacks these days, they could probably give him a run for his money. Not like he wanted to fight them though, most of them were really nice to him. Especially his sister.
And so, he watched the people dance, his brain soaking up the steps like a sponge. Isolation really made him eager to learn about anything he could get his hands on, that wasn't in the small library mother let him use.
"So Terry, how are the children?" The boy questioned, turning to one of his guards.
The guard smiled and nodded. "Very well, Little Patricia turned 5 just last week."
Smiling, he nodded to his companion and long time overseer. "Very good. What happened to Arthur?"
Terry frowned and shook his head. "I hear he got stationed somewhere else."
"Too bad, he was just opening up too."
Chuckling at the boy's statement, Terry nod. "Indeed."
Their conversation was cut short when a stunningly beautiful young woman strode up to his corner chair, and held her hand out. "Do you care to dance, prince?"
Smiling nervously, he took her hand and rose, accompanying her to the ballroom floor. Terry smiled and shook his head. "About goddamn time one of them came over here."
The other guard merely grunted and continued watching.
She was dressed in a flowing violet dress, shimmering like the ocean reflecting the evening sky. Her hips swayed with each step, causing more of the hypnotic sparkling that now had him captivated. Her eyes were of the same beautiful color, and he felt like he could stare into them forever, and be consumed by dreams.
The song started just as the clasped hands together, and began swaying.
Not having any experience in this sort of dance, he stumbled along, tripping over his feet and scuttling along, though being careful not to step upon her feet. Surveying others, he quickly had learned the steps, and began moving with a fluid grace, not unlike the oceanic feel of his companions dress. Together they captivated the audience, spinning and swaying, getting lost in each others eyes. Despite their young age, they both held an air of maturity, superiority even over others nearby.
The song ended all too soon for him, and he did not even recognize the applauding and shouts of approval from the many guests, and he suspected his partner did not either, as she leaned forward and captured his lips with her own, the soft and wet lips surprising him as she leaned ever forward. The moist warmth slowly engulfed his mind, and he soon found himself returning the favor with equal fervor. All too soon, it ended and they pulled apart, his own deep gray and blue orbs staring into her vast violet ones.
"I. I think I am falling in l-love with you. Ranma."
Ranma merely stared into her eyes for several long moments, before pulling her into a tight embrace and whispering comforting words into her ear.
This did not go unnoticed by another young woman, clad in a jade green dress of her own, as she scowled at the exchange.
"RANMA!?"
His eyes snapped open and his head shot up, quickly recovering from the dream he had been having.
"Mr. Saotome, please go join Ms. Tsukino in the hall."
Ranma barely recognized his teacher's voice, and found the lingering scent of flowers in his nose matching to the one that the girl's hair in his dream smelt like. A soothing yet exotic blend of rich, velvety scents had been very prominent in her hair. And. it was good.
Looking down at his hands, as Ranma exited the class and walked into the hall, Ranma saw the odd bracers he couldn't remove pulsating with a gentle blue hue, glowing dimly.
"You too huh?"
Ranma looked up at Usagi and down at the sign around his neck, that matched Usagi's own.
"Yeah. Etruscan slaves just aren't my thing."
Usagi giggled and sighed, "These signs sure are stupid."
Ranma nodded and leaned against the wall. "At least we don't have to hold buckets of water."
-_-_-_-_-_Later that day, before dinner and sometime after school got out._- _-_-_-_-
Ranma sighed, rarely glancing beside him to inspect the stores as he meandered through the mall. He had no real reason to be there, though it had seemed like a more interesting place to go to then home.
"Then at least." Ranma muttered, ignoring the giggles form girls as they watched him pass. "And what is it with all these girls and staring at me!? I mean, I thought this was what guys did, well. apart from the giggling. But, I never thought girls would be like this. Of course, my experience with women isn't the greates."
Ranma's conversation with himself was cut short when a familiar tingle in the back of his head ran down his spine, causing his entire body to shudder involuntarily. Something was going to happen. something bad.
Right on time, the shop he stood next to exploded in a fiery burst, throwing the martial artist back like a limp rag and crashing into the stone wall opposite where he had been standing.
Quick to rise to his feet, Ranma looked around and surveyed the damage. Moaning bodies of other lay upon the ground, a thick crimson pool slowly growing underneath their shuddering forms.
Flaming debris and chunks of granite checkered the floor, a thin layer of stone dust settling on the chunks of rock and bodies.
Looking up to see who or what caused such a horrific seen, Ranma's eyes widened at the sight of the creature before him. It was a humanoid, this was certain. Imagine a human, but the lower halves of both of his arms grew into giant claws, strong enough to bend steel like tin foil. And sprouting from his back, a gigantic tail, twitching ever so slightly to the slightest movement. And at the end, a large stinger, capable of injecting a venom into someone that would kill them in minutes. Such was the beast before Ranma. A combination of a scorpion and a man, grotesque in appearance, and a cold blooded killer as well.
Ranma's eyes narrowed in cold fury as he looked upon the monster, a rage unlike any he had felt before brewing inside, fueling his contempt and malice for the demon.
Surveying his handiwork, it smiled a cruel, toothy grin as it watched the humans moan in agony. It could feel the horror and helplessness radiate off of these pathetic mortals and it slowly began to absorb their lives to feed its master, when it finally discovered one human, who had not fallen to its attack. And apparently, he was very angry.
Ranma spared not a moment as he rushed forward and landed a very powerful punch on his opponents face, causing the beast to fly backwards into the wall, caving it in around and top of it.
Surveying the ruins for several seconds, scanning for any sign of the beast, Ranma sighed as he found none and ran back to the injured and began to drag them away from the store that had exploded, which was slowly collapsing in on itself, debris flying off of the store walls as smaller explosions rocked the frame.
Ranma hurried to another man and began to pull him away from any immediate danger, when a familiar tingle ran down his spine, causing his senses to automatically rise to their full potential.
He never even had time to think before the pincer smashed into the side of his face, sending him flying through the mall, and crashing through several pillars of stone before he finally settled to a stop amidst the stony wreckage.
Rubbing his sore jaw, Ranma winced as he realized that the monster could dish out as well as take a hit. He knew one punch wasn't going to kill the thing, he had only wished to delay it to try and help some of the innocents.
Standing upon shaky legs, Ranma rose and glared at the foul creature before him, before taking up a strong offensive stance and smirking ever so slightly, one of the smirks that makes his opponents blood boil and get so angry they casually make mistakes.
Ranma became unnerved when the monster returned the smirk, a maniacal glint in his eye.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ami quickly checked her beeping Mercury Computer, and gasped as she immediately contacted Usagi. The levels of energy it had picked up were unreal. She had not seen this kind of power since Metallia, and that made her all the more nervous.
"Usagi? We have a problem."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The scouts one by one gathered outside the mall, all already transformed and ready to go.
"So, why exactly did you call us Usagi?" Minako asked, slightly miffed that her boy watching was interrupted.
A loud explosion shook the ground beneath them as a burst of flame suddenly rose from the mall, and the sound of stone crashing and tumbling soon followed.
"That's what." Usagi said, displaying an unnerving cool in the situation as she stared angrily at the mall. From what Ami had told her, this youma was powerful. More powerful than any she or the other scouts had seen. But why? Crystal Tokyo was supposed to be the future; no more youma should come other than Beryl's leftovers, which were hardly powerful at all.
Haruka grinned and cracked her knuckles. "I've been itching for a fight to take out some frustrations on."
"Hold Uranus. This youma is more powerful than those we fought before. I can't understand how it is here, but be wary of it." Ami said, gazing almost calmly at her computer display.
"What're we waiting for then! Let's go!" Makoto shouted, and was quickly backed up by the others as Usagi led them all inside.
"So where is this thing!?" Rei asked Usagi, who was squinting to see past the dust that had been formed from smashed stone.
"Follow the explosions!" Ami shouted, as another deafening crash echoed throughout the mall and caused the senshi to shutter.
When they finally came upon the beasts location, the sight caused some to retch in disgust as they got a glimpse of the bodies. Bloody and broken, bent at unnatural angles with expressions of sheer terror on their face. A pool of coagulating blood slowly drying beneath their still forms, staining their clothes and skin.
Looking up, Usagi scanned for the monster, a rage filling her being unlike any she had felt before. "Where are you monster!? Come out! We are the Sailor Senshi and in the name of Love and Justice, We will Punish you!"
Her speech ended and only the clatter of something moving was heard. Each senshi readied their attacks and gazed at the thick cloud of dust that their eyes failed to pierce, catching glimpses of a shadow moving within.
Usagi squinted and prepared to attack, when the figure came into view.
His clothes were a wreck, ripped and torn in various places, and beneath these areas there were deep lacerations and cuts, stained a thick crimson as his blood slowly dribbled out of them. Various bruises, blemishes and burns scarred his body, his cheek swollen and nearly purple from the initial hit.
"Get out of here! You don't know what you're dealing with!"
The scout's eyes widened as they took in the beaten and bloodied form of Ranma.
"What are you doing here!?" Rei shouted, concern heavily laced in her eyes.
Before Ranma could answer, a deeper and infinitely colder voice answered.
"I'll teach you to turn your back on me in a fight!"
Ranma turned around with an expression of terror on his face, and screamed out as a gigantic pincer wrapped around his torso, squeezing him so tightly that several ribs cracked. His scream became louder, and the senshi's blood curdled as they heard the cry of pain.
Ranma winced and looked up at the youma, contempt easily seen in his eye.
"Fool. Now, you die!"
Ranma's eyes only had time to widen slightly, his pupils become dilated as the tail of the scorpion/man came down and struck true, piercing his skin.
The senshi watched, frozen in horror as the youma's tail came out of Ranma's back, dripping with a mixture of clear fluid and Ranma's own lifeblood, dripping onto the granite and causing a thick smoke to rise from the eerie concuction.
Ranma gagged and retched as he felt the venom spread through his body. A thick fluid that slowly stopped his heart and blood, making him stiff. He cringed as he raised one of his arms at the creature, and uttered his attack with a weak voice.
"Mouko Takahabashi."
The beast raised a brow, as a golden light filled Ranma's hand, then lanced forward and struck it in the face, causing it to cry out and drop Ranma, instinctively bringing it's pincers to it's face to try and shield the blow but the damage was already done.
Ranma growled as he slowly crawled to the wall, leaning against it in a sitting position. He knew he was dying. His chest felt so heavy, like someone stood on him, and each breath was heavily labored. He fingers and feet were numb with cold, and it slowly grew dim at the edge of his vision.
"Sailor Moon! Saturn! Go help him, we will take on this guy!" Rei shouted. And Usagi turned to protest but saw the pleading look in Setsuna's eyes, nodded and ran over to Ranma's form with Hotaru, and immediately begin to work the crystals magic, trying to bring Ranma back from unconsciousness.
The youma snarled as it finally could see again, albeit from one eye. The human had been strong enough to burn half of it's face off, and it was none too happy. It looked for it's target of vengeance, but was cut short by a shout.
"Dead Scream!"
The blast knocked the youma backwards and skidding across the floor, creating a light trench in the stone.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Usagi pleaded with Ranma's still form as she pumped more and more energy into him. Hotaru did not speak, but had a worried expression on her face as she too injected him with her healing powers, hoping to revive Ranma.
Both were unaware of the bright flash the crystal gave off.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Moaning and rising, Ranma clutched his head with one hand as the other supported him upright in a seating position.
Glancing about, Ranma took in his surroundings and his brow furrowed when all he could see was black. Rising on unsteady legs to his feet, Ranma became curious.
"Where am I? The last thing I remember was fighting that scorpion guy and." Realization struck Ranma like a ton of bricks. "Am I dead?"
"Nearly. On the brink one could say."
Ranma turned to the voice, his arms raised in a ready position as he quickly analyzed the person.
What he saw was not what he had expected. A woman, with a soft and gentle face looked back with a warm and loving gaze. "Hello Ranma. My name is Queen Serenity."
Ranma blinked and waved. "Uh, hi."
Queen Serenity giggled slightly as his lack of conduct, but smiled regardless and asked, "Ranma, do you believe in reincarnation?"
Ranma blinked again and took up a thoughtful expression. "I guess it's possible, I never really thought about it."
The queen smiled and nodded. "It is very much so possible Ranma, the Sailor Senshi are all reincarnations of warriors from an empire I used to rule, many, many years ago."
Ranma nodded a bit, still wary of what was going on. "So. what does this have to do with me?"
The queen smiled softly, a smile that made her beauty radiate and her kindness spread to Ranma's heart. "You are the reincarnation of my son, Ranma."
"I'm a prince!? A dead prince!?" Ranma shouted, his eyes bugging out and his face screwing into an expression of deep confusion.
A light laugh, like a dew on spring day answered and Serenity shook her head. "No Ranma, you are very much alive. You are my son, and I wish to awaken your true heritage. If I am to do this, I have to change you."
Ranma's look became one of a skeptic, but he kept his opinions to himself.
"I give you a choice, Ranma. In this hand," She raised her right and a soft glowing orb of a sapphire blue energy appeared, bobbing and dancing above her hand. "I hold your current life. Everything about you is here. In this hand." Raising her left hand, another orb appeared, though this one was a soft silvery-gray. "I hold your past life, memories and all. I give you the choice Ranma."
Ranma looked up at her and tried to read her expression for any trickery or deceit, but found nothing but honesty. He frowned and placed his chin in his hands, concentrating deeply on the matter at hands.
It seemed to stretch on forever, but in truth it was only a matter of minutes. Serenity raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly at his decision as he reached out to make his choice.
AN: X247, I know you are reading this. And all I have to say is I TOLD YOU SO =P MUWHAHAHAHA (Evil Laugh) I will now torment my readers with ANOTHER LENGTHY RANDOM UPDATE!!!! *gets smacked in the head be a mallet* Itai! Or not. _ I plan on alternating updating this and Chaos and Carnage (my other fic) so the variety should help me update a bit faster. I thank Integra-Hellsing for the offer to continue this fic, but I am still working on it, albeit slowly. Ja ne (review please!) -Gundraw
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranma or Sailor Moon. I wrote this for fun and do not intend to make profits from it. I don't have any money anyway, so suing me would get you jack.
"----" speech
'----' thoughts
Rants
I don't really deserve to rant.... _ What with my updates being random, spontaneous and rather annoying. Thanks for all the reviews; I really enjoyed some of the feedback. ('Specially about how much you all hate cliffhangers, though the cliffhanger for this chappie is about 10 times worse XD) The time between this update and the last was mostly spent sorting out some plot holes... And figuring out how I am going to make this work into a series. Yup, there's the plan... always was. I eventually plan on many anime and manga being incorporated, but I am gonna ease into that.... Hell I would get lost with all the characters @_@. So, without further ado...
Chapter 6: Just when you thought everything changed... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whistling a random tune to himself as he happily trotted along the top of a fence in his normal manner, calmly making his way to school. After the night several days ago, it seemed like things only got better. He felt so much more free than he did before, like a ball and chain was removed from his ankles, and for the first time in a long time, he could bounce about happily. It did really seem like he had made new friends, that really cared for him (Some seemed to care more than others), and that didn't ask for his hand in marriage or announce death threats whenever they spotted him. Though it did seem like a certain several of them would be more than willing to be his wife if he asked.
Juuban seemed to be adapting to having Ranma amongst it's streets, people now easily recognized him by site and either ran for their homes, fearing for their lives (which was the most common, much to Ranma's dismay), or greet him enthusiastically, glad to have a new protector of sorts. His newest companions were of the latter group.
So busy in his thoughts of the 180 degree spring on his life, he almost failed to notice Usagi creeping up behind him to scare him. Almost.
Poor Usagi got the surprise of a lifetime as her prey suddenly vanished in a rush of air. Confused, she glanced about, searching for her lost target until a calloused finger poked her in the back of the head.
"Gotcha."
Usagi frowned, stomped her foot and turned about-face to stare into Ranma's chest, and then raised her eyes into his. "Meanie!"
It had become a daily ritual every morning for them. The first day, Ranma had been caught as he was too deep in thought over current matters pertaining to his life, but ever since then he had always managed to notice her before she had a chance to get within a couple feet. Almost like a game between siblings, just to bug one another or extract giggle.
Ranma pouted and his lip quivered in mock pain "Oh, is that really how you think of me Usagi-chan!?"
"Yes!" A bonk over the head with her schoolbag supported her statement.
Acting hurt, Ranma took a dramatic pose with his hand resting on his forehead, "Oh, for woe is me, the ball-headed girl of my dreams thinks nothing more of me than a spineless bully, oh the shame!" They both knew Ranma was joking, Usagi already had a boyfriend and the thought of a relationship between them just seemed. wrong.
This earned him another swat over the head, though this time it was accompanied by a set of giggles. "Come on you, we are going to be late again."
It was surprising to Ranma himself how much he had loosened up in Juuban, especially around his new friends. No nervousness (even at how strong some were coming on) just a sense of belonging, like a piece of him had been missing for a long time, but was now restored with their presence.
Setting off at a reasonable pace, Ranma and Usagi headed towards Juuban high, discussing various plans for the day.
They arrived at school minutes before the tardy bell, taking their respective seats and preparing for class.
Time slowly ticked by, dragging seconds into minutes and minutes into hours.
Ranma's head was currently resting on his hand which was propped up by his elbow. He found it difficult to keep his attention on the teacher. It wasn't that he found it boring, it was just too easy. He had already learned today's lesson, and even read into tomorrow's lesson last night. Thus, he found his eyelids drooping, and the sweet pull of sleep becoming too much. 'Just a little longer." Ranma thought, looking up at the clock and finding that only 10 minutes of class had gone by. 'Aw damn.'
Ami too, was not paying attention. A dilemma had occurred the night before, when she had tried to search for files on this 'Sailor Nemesis' The mercury computer however, did not contain any information on the subject. Not one scrap was found, even after she had hacked through several files and turned them upside down looking for information. Apparently, someone did not want anyone to find any information about this particular subject.
Usagi was standing in the hall with a sign that said 'I was sleeping in class' tied around her neck. She was pouting, cursing her luck as she tugged at the uncomfortable sign.
Makoto and Minako were staring longingly at the hunk that had been dropped into their laps, only to find that he had been promised to another. The memory of the talk was still fresh in their minds as they sighed at the same time, making Ranma glance at them uncomfortably and shift so that they couldn't see his face.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Hikawa Shrine, 3 days earlier-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Well... he sure doesn't seem evil." Minako pointed out as they sat there in silence.
No one else could really argue with that, though they had been fooled before. So, they would still keep a close eye on him, even if they didn't think that he was a bad guy.
"Oh! Setsuna, you never told us who Ranma-kun was engaged to!"
Setsuna bit her lip. She knew some of the senshi would not like this... "Well, the person he's engaged to is..."
Silence dominated the room as they all stared intently at Setsuna, anxiously awaiting her answer.
"Me."
Minako looked shocked, and Makoto shook her head in disbelief.
"No way!" Rei shouted, "You are way too uptight and anal to get engaged!"
Setsuna's eye twitched and she looked up at Rei, a promise of a painful death in her eyes. "What?"
Rei gulped and giggled, and Minako and Makoto wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.
"I believe what she was trying to say." Haruka interrupted calmly, "Is that you never seemed like the type to get involved in a relationship."
Sighing, Setsuna nodded slightly and her eyes glazed over as she remembered her fiancée. "After him, I never considered another man."
"That good?" Makoto asked, the romance of it all capturing her heart.
"Better." Setsuna stated as she smiled gently. "I wasn't the only senshi in love with him though."
Some of the girls stopped and looked at Setsuna.
Setsuna chuckled. "He was one of the only men in the Silver Millennium that did not fear us. and was 'unique' himself. That and he wasn't as old or ugly as the others. He understood us better, the fear of us and the desire to be loved, wanted, and needed by someone."
The gathered senshi regarded each other with different feelings on the matter.
"Everything is different now though. we are different now. And I imagine he is too." The others were visibly relieved by this.
"So. you think Ranma is the last senshi?" Usagi asked in a calm and stern manner, one that she rarely showed.
Setsuna shook her head, "It is difficult to tell, but I do believe that he is."
"But what about the black moon on his forehead?" Ami interjected, receiving nods of agreement.
Setsuna giggled girlishly, much unlike herself. "I simply believe that his life has caused the chaotic nature of his origins to show before his Life magic comes back."
"So, he isn't evil?" Minako asked, little hearts in her eyes. She knew he wasn't a bad guy from the start, but nobody believed her.
Setsuna shot her a glare, "I don't believe so, but I won't let you lay a finger on him!"
The senshi froze and stared at Setsuna, the outburst greatly unlike her.
Realizing that she had gotten carried away, Setsuna laughed dryly. "Sorry, but I have waited since the Silver Millennium to be with him. Forgive me if I get possessive."
Minako and Makoto scowled, already plotting to capture Ranma for themselves. If Setsuna thought that them being engaged made him off limits, she was wrong.
"It's like something out of the latest princess manga Rei!" Usagi exclaimed happily, sighing.
"That's were it went! Give that back meatball head!"
The meeting went tumbling down a cliff from there.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Juuban High-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ranma winced and thanked the gods that his fiancées had not showed up yet as another set of longing sighs came from Minako and Makoto. 'What is it with women and craving guys? I thought that guys were more perverted. like Hiroshi and Daisuke. but those two,' Ranma glanced at them and immediately wished he hadn't as they giggled silently and waved, a slight flush coloring their cheeks. 'Man they are worse than any guy I have met.' Of course, Happosai wasn't considered because Ranma wasn't sure if it was male.
Class ended after what seemed like an eternity, and Ranma grabbed his bento that his mother so kindly provided, and leapt out the window as usual.
Makoto growled as she put the bento she made for Ranma down. "Darn it! I will never get used to him doing that."
Using the time that Makoto was distracted, Minako ran out of the class and down stairs, rushing to get to get to the tree where Ranma usually sat.
Sighing to himself, Ranma tried to ignore the stares as screams were heard from in the building, followed by loud crashes and the sound of blunt objects hitting flesh. Wincing, Ranma shook his head and continued eating as Makoto and Minako fought each other down the stairs of the school, before finally running out, biting, tripping, kicking and screaming at each other the entire time. A reasonable amount of sweat gathered on Ranma's brow as the two approached.
"Ranma, I made this bento for you!"
"No, try mine Ranma!"
"Hey! I made that Minako!"
The accused pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Makoto. "All's fair in love and war! Bleh!"
In the meantime, a woman stared out her office window down at the courtyard and cursed loudly, rage slowly building as she watched the two with Ranma. Her eye twitched dangerously and her mouth curved into a cruel smile.
"Apparently they had not taken my warning seriously. They shall learn then, oh yes indeed, they will learn." Setsuna tipped her head back and cackled maniacally, a glint of madness in her eye. The pen in her hand snapped from the pressure of Setsuna's hand, and sprayed a thick coat of black ink over her face and blouse. Setsuna cried out in surprise and fell backwards in her chair, landing very roughly on her back.
Glaring at the sky, Setsuna muttered about comedians as she arose again, and went in search of some cleaner for her shirt.
Despite his new attitude about school, Ranma found the Etruscan slave revolt as interesting as a growing toenail, and thus had his head rested on his desk as his eyes sagged dangerously, warning him of what was to come.
'No. I can't fall asleep! I said I was gonna do better and pay attention! There is no way that I am gonna. bah, who am I kidding.' Sleep soon engulfed Ranma in her tender caress, and luckily the teacher could not hear the soft snores coming from his prone form.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-The void of the dream world-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He was giddy with excitement. It was a ball. His first ball. The only one he had been allowed to come to. He was sure if he was good enough, that his mother may allow him to come to another. Glancing behind him, the adolescent glowered at the pair of guards that watched over him like a hawk. But he wasn't about to let them ruin his fun. He had never been to a banquet, and he would be damned if he'd let a couple of stupid oafs ruin it.
Sure, people were scared of him. Scared of how easily the senshi could fall to him. In truth, with how well the senshi were doing with none magical attacks these days, they could probably give him a run for his money. Not like he wanted to fight them though, most of them were really nice to him. Especially his sister.
And so, he watched the people dance, his brain soaking up the steps like a sponge. Isolation really made him eager to learn about anything he could get his hands on, that wasn't in the small library mother let him use.
"So Terry, how are the children?" The boy questioned, turning to one of his guards.
The guard smiled and nodded. "Very well, Little Patricia turned 5 just last week."
Smiling, he nodded to his companion and long time overseer. "Very good. What happened to Arthur?"
Terry frowned and shook his head. "I hear he got stationed somewhere else."
"Too bad, he was just opening up too."
Chuckling at the boy's statement, Terry nod. "Indeed."
Their conversation was cut short when a stunningly beautiful young woman strode up to his corner chair, and held her hand out. "Do you care to dance, prince?"
Smiling nervously, he took her hand and rose, accompanying her to the ballroom floor. Terry smiled and shook his head. "About goddamn time one of them came over here."
The other guard merely grunted and continued watching.
She was dressed in a flowing violet dress, shimmering like the ocean reflecting the evening sky. Her hips swayed with each step, causing more of the hypnotic sparkling that now had him captivated. Her eyes were of the same beautiful color, and he felt like he could stare into them forever, and be consumed by dreams.
The song started just as the clasped hands together, and began swaying.
Not having any experience in this sort of dance, he stumbled along, tripping over his feet and scuttling along, though being careful not to step upon her feet. Surveying others, he quickly had learned the steps, and began moving with a fluid grace, not unlike the oceanic feel of his companions dress. Together they captivated the audience, spinning and swaying, getting lost in each others eyes. Despite their young age, they both held an air of maturity, superiority even over others nearby.
The song ended all too soon for him, and he did not even recognize the applauding and shouts of approval from the many guests, and he suspected his partner did not either, as she leaned forward and captured his lips with her own, the soft and wet lips surprising him as she leaned ever forward. The moist warmth slowly engulfed his mind, and he soon found himself returning the favor with equal fervor. All too soon, it ended and they pulled apart, his own deep gray and blue orbs staring into her vast violet ones.
"I. I think I am falling in l-love with you. Ranma."
Ranma merely stared into her eyes for several long moments, before pulling her into a tight embrace and whispering comforting words into her ear.
This did not go unnoticed by another young woman, clad in a jade green dress of her own, as she scowled at the exchange.
"RANMA!?"
His eyes snapped open and his head shot up, quickly recovering from the dream he had been having.
"Mr. Saotome, please go join Ms. Tsukino in the hall."
Ranma barely recognized his teacher's voice, and found the lingering scent of flowers in his nose matching to the one that the girl's hair in his dream smelt like. A soothing yet exotic blend of rich, velvety scents had been very prominent in her hair. And. it was good.
Looking down at his hands, as Ranma exited the class and walked into the hall, Ranma saw the odd bracers he couldn't remove pulsating with a gentle blue hue, glowing dimly.
"You too huh?"
Ranma looked up at Usagi and down at the sign around his neck, that matched Usagi's own.
"Yeah. Etruscan slaves just aren't my thing."
Usagi giggled and sighed, "These signs sure are stupid."
Ranma nodded and leaned against the wall. "At least we don't have to hold buckets of water."
-_-_-_-_-_Later that day, before dinner and sometime after school got out._- _-_-_-_-
Ranma sighed, rarely glancing beside him to inspect the stores as he meandered through the mall. He had no real reason to be there, though it had seemed like a more interesting place to go to then home.
"Then at least." Ranma muttered, ignoring the giggles form girls as they watched him pass. "And what is it with all these girls and staring at me!? I mean, I thought this was what guys did, well. apart from the giggling. But, I never thought girls would be like this. Of course, my experience with women isn't the greates."
Ranma's conversation with himself was cut short when a familiar tingle in the back of his head ran down his spine, causing his entire body to shudder involuntarily. Something was going to happen. something bad.
Right on time, the shop he stood next to exploded in a fiery burst, throwing the martial artist back like a limp rag and crashing into the stone wall opposite where he had been standing.
Quick to rise to his feet, Ranma looked around and surveyed the damage. Moaning bodies of other lay upon the ground, a thick crimson pool slowly growing underneath their shuddering forms.
Flaming debris and chunks of granite checkered the floor, a thin layer of stone dust settling on the chunks of rock and bodies.
Looking up to see who or what caused such a horrific seen, Ranma's eyes widened at the sight of the creature before him. It was a humanoid, this was certain. Imagine a human, but the lower halves of both of his arms grew into giant claws, strong enough to bend steel like tin foil. And sprouting from his back, a gigantic tail, twitching ever so slightly to the slightest movement. And at the end, a large stinger, capable of injecting a venom into someone that would kill them in minutes. Such was the beast before Ranma. A combination of a scorpion and a man, grotesque in appearance, and a cold blooded killer as well.
Ranma's eyes narrowed in cold fury as he looked upon the monster, a rage unlike any he had felt before brewing inside, fueling his contempt and malice for the demon.
Surveying his handiwork, it smiled a cruel, toothy grin as it watched the humans moan in agony. It could feel the horror and helplessness radiate off of these pathetic mortals and it slowly began to absorb their lives to feed its master, when it finally discovered one human, who had not fallen to its attack. And apparently, he was very angry.
Ranma spared not a moment as he rushed forward and landed a very powerful punch on his opponents face, causing the beast to fly backwards into the wall, caving it in around and top of it.
Surveying the ruins for several seconds, scanning for any sign of the beast, Ranma sighed as he found none and ran back to the injured and began to drag them away from the store that had exploded, which was slowly collapsing in on itself, debris flying off of the store walls as smaller explosions rocked the frame.
Ranma hurried to another man and began to pull him away from any immediate danger, when a familiar tingle ran down his spine, causing his senses to automatically rise to their full potential.
He never even had time to think before the pincer smashed into the side of his face, sending him flying through the mall, and crashing through several pillars of stone before he finally settled to a stop amidst the stony wreckage.
Rubbing his sore jaw, Ranma winced as he realized that the monster could dish out as well as take a hit. He knew one punch wasn't going to kill the thing, he had only wished to delay it to try and help some of the innocents.
Standing upon shaky legs, Ranma rose and glared at the foul creature before him, before taking up a strong offensive stance and smirking ever so slightly, one of the smirks that makes his opponents blood boil and get so angry they casually make mistakes.
Ranma became unnerved when the monster returned the smirk, a maniacal glint in his eye.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Ami quickly checked her beeping Mercury Computer, and gasped as she immediately contacted Usagi. The levels of energy it had picked up were unreal. She had not seen this kind of power since Metallia, and that made her all the more nervous.
"Usagi? We have a problem."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The scouts one by one gathered outside the mall, all already transformed and ready to go.
"So, why exactly did you call us Usagi?" Minako asked, slightly miffed that her boy watching was interrupted.
A loud explosion shook the ground beneath them as a burst of flame suddenly rose from the mall, and the sound of stone crashing and tumbling soon followed.
"That's what." Usagi said, displaying an unnerving cool in the situation as she stared angrily at the mall. From what Ami had told her, this youma was powerful. More powerful than any she or the other scouts had seen. But why? Crystal Tokyo was supposed to be the future; no more youma should come other than Beryl's leftovers, which were hardly powerful at all.
Haruka grinned and cracked her knuckles. "I've been itching for a fight to take out some frustrations on."
"Hold Uranus. This youma is more powerful than those we fought before. I can't understand how it is here, but be wary of it." Ami said, gazing almost calmly at her computer display.
"What're we waiting for then! Let's go!" Makoto shouted, and was quickly backed up by the others as Usagi led them all inside.
"So where is this thing!?" Rei asked Usagi, who was squinting to see past the dust that had been formed from smashed stone.
"Follow the explosions!" Ami shouted, as another deafening crash echoed throughout the mall and caused the senshi to shutter.
When they finally came upon the beasts location, the sight caused some to retch in disgust as they got a glimpse of the bodies. Bloody and broken, bent at unnatural angles with expressions of sheer terror on their face. A pool of coagulating blood slowly drying beneath their still forms, staining their clothes and skin.
Looking up, Usagi scanned for the monster, a rage filling her being unlike any she had felt before. "Where are you monster!? Come out! We are the Sailor Senshi and in the name of Love and Justice, We will Punish you!"
Her speech ended and only the clatter of something moving was heard. Each senshi readied their attacks and gazed at the thick cloud of dust that their eyes failed to pierce, catching glimpses of a shadow moving within.
Usagi squinted and prepared to attack, when the figure came into view.
His clothes were a wreck, ripped and torn in various places, and beneath these areas there were deep lacerations and cuts, stained a thick crimson as his blood slowly dribbled out of them. Various bruises, blemishes and burns scarred his body, his cheek swollen and nearly purple from the initial hit.
"Get out of here! You don't know what you're dealing with!"
The scout's eyes widened as they took in the beaten and bloodied form of Ranma.
"What are you doing here!?" Rei shouted, concern heavily laced in her eyes.
Before Ranma could answer, a deeper and infinitely colder voice answered.
"I'll teach you to turn your back on me in a fight!"
Ranma turned around with an expression of terror on his face, and screamed out as a gigantic pincer wrapped around his torso, squeezing him so tightly that several ribs cracked. His scream became louder, and the senshi's blood curdled as they heard the cry of pain.
Ranma winced and looked up at the youma, contempt easily seen in his eye.
"Fool. Now, you die!"
Ranma's eyes only had time to widen slightly, his pupils become dilated as the tail of the scorpion/man came down and struck true, piercing his skin.
The senshi watched, frozen in horror as the youma's tail came out of Ranma's back, dripping with a mixture of clear fluid and Ranma's own lifeblood, dripping onto the granite and causing a thick smoke to rise from the eerie concuction.
Ranma gagged and retched as he felt the venom spread through his body. A thick fluid that slowly stopped his heart and blood, making him stiff. He cringed as he raised one of his arms at the creature, and uttered his attack with a weak voice.
"Mouko Takahabashi."
The beast raised a brow, as a golden light filled Ranma's hand, then lanced forward and struck it in the face, causing it to cry out and drop Ranma, instinctively bringing it's pincers to it's face to try and shield the blow but the damage was already done.
Ranma growled as he slowly crawled to the wall, leaning against it in a sitting position. He knew he was dying. His chest felt so heavy, like someone stood on him, and each breath was heavily labored. He fingers and feet were numb with cold, and it slowly grew dim at the edge of his vision.
"Sailor Moon! Saturn! Go help him, we will take on this guy!" Rei shouted. And Usagi turned to protest but saw the pleading look in Setsuna's eyes, nodded and ran over to Ranma's form with Hotaru, and immediately begin to work the crystals magic, trying to bring Ranma back from unconsciousness.
The youma snarled as it finally could see again, albeit from one eye. The human had been strong enough to burn half of it's face off, and it was none too happy. It looked for it's target of vengeance, but was cut short by a shout.
"Dead Scream!"
The blast knocked the youma backwards and skidding across the floor, creating a light trench in the stone.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Usagi pleaded with Ranma's still form as she pumped more and more energy into him. Hotaru did not speak, but had a worried expression on her face as she too injected him with her healing powers, hoping to revive Ranma.
Both were unaware of the bright flash the crystal gave off.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Moaning and rising, Ranma clutched his head with one hand as the other supported him upright in a seating position.
Glancing about, Ranma took in his surroundings and his brow furrowed when all he could see was black. Rising on unsteady legs to his feet, Ranma became curious.
"Where am I? The last thing I remember was fighting that scorpion guy and." Realization struck Ranma like a ton of bricks. "Am I dead?"
"Nearly. On the brink one could say."
Ranma turned to the voice, his arms raised in a ready position as he quickly analyzed the person.
What he saw was not what he had expected. A woman, with a soft and gentle face looked back with a warm and loving gaze. "Hello Ranma. My name is Queen Serenity."
Ranma blinked and waved. "Uh, hi."
Queen Serenity giggled slightly as his lack of conduct, but smiled regardless and asked, "Ranma, do you believe in reincarnation?"
Ranma blinked again and took up a thoughtful expression. "I guess it's possible, I never really thought about it."
The queen smiled and nodded. "It is very much so possible Ranma, the Sailor Senshi are all reincarnations of warriors from an empire I used to rule, many, many years ago."
Ranma nodded a bit, still wary of what was going on. "So. what does this have to do with me?"
The queen smiled softly, a smile that made her beauty radiate and her kindness spread to Ranma's heart. "You are the reincarnation of my son, Ranma."
"I'm a prince!? A dead prince!?" Ranma shouted, his eyes bugging out and his face screwing into an expression of deep confusion.
A light laugh, like a dew on spring day answered and Serenity shook her head. "No Ranma, you are very much alive. You are my son, and I wish to awaken your true heritage. If I am to do this, I have to change you."
Ranma's look became one of a skeptic, but he kept his opinions to himself.
"I give you a choice, Ranma. In this hand," She raised her right and a soft glowing orb of a sapphire blue energy appeared, bobbing and dancing above her hand. "I hold your current life. Everything about you is here. In this hand." Raising her left hand, another orb appeared, though this one was a soft silvery-gray. "I hold your past life, memories and all. I give you the choice Ranma."
Ranma looked up at her and tried to read her expression for any trickery or deceit, but found nothing but honesty. He frowned and placed his chin in his hands, concentrating deeply on the matter at hands.
It seemed to stretch on forever, but in truth it was only a matter of minutes. Serenity raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly at his decision as he reached out to make his choice.
AN: X247, I know you are reading this. And all I have to say is I TOLD YOU SO =P MUWHAHAHAHA (Evil Laugh) I will now torment my readers with ANOTHER LENGTHY RANDOM UPDATE!!!! *gets smacked in the head be a mallet* Itai! Or not. _ I plan on alternating updating this and Chaos and Carnage (my other fic) so the variety should help me update a bit faster. I thank Integra-Hellsing for the offer to continue this fic, but I am still working on it, albeit slowly. Ja ne (review please!) -Gundraw