Aftermath: A Story of Blended Clichés’

by Trimatter

1st fanfic. Started out as a oneshot. The Sailor MoonRanma story arc is finished. The Tenchi arc is now finished. Hope you will enjoy this. [Completed]

19. Side Story

I would like to thank Ghost in the Machine for putting up with me (which ain't easy at times) - and also for pre-reading this chapter with his trusty baseball bat and microscope.

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

I don't own any of these characters or situations. They belong to someone else. Also this is done purely for fun, not profit. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, yet to be born, or visiting from other dimensions is purely coincidental.

As always the spelling errors are mine, as are the grammar mistakes. I do own those finally and no longer have to rent them like I had been doing.

Boldly going where others had gone before and meekly going where few have been.

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Side Story: Government Actions

(My most cliche yet!)

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Sunday morning.

Early morning.

In a small, cluttered apartment in the Katsushika part of Tokyo, near the Shin-Koiwa station, silence ruled.

Until it was broken by the ringing of a cell phone.

A groan was heard. From a rumbled sheet covering the futon that was in the middle of the room, a lump stirred. The groan made an encore as the phone repeated its ring. An arm emerged from under the thin sheet and groped around before finding the offending device and picked it up on the third ring. The arm retreated back under the sheet taking the phone with it.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice asked.

"Kitsune?" a disembodied voice asked.

"Speaking," Kitsune Murakami answered, half asleep.

"Oh, good. You don't sound like you over the phone. It's Washi. Where have you been? Do you know what happened? We thought for sure we would be hearing from you after you saw the news."

"What news? I've been off for a week - you know I make it a point to not watch any TV while on vacation. Even if I did, I went deep-sea fishing for a couple of days and only got... in ..." pausing to look at the clock on the wall, "about four and a half hours ago."

Kitsune, still holding the phone to his ear, sat up and scratched his armpit.

"Well turn it on," Washi urged over the phone. "You know those magic girls you kept saying were more than urban legend? Well yesterday Juuban was invaded by an army of monsters and they came out in the open and helped fight them off. There's going to be an investigation and knowing your... interests on this I wouldn't be surprised if they call you in on it."

Slightly more awake now, Kitsune's mind started to work before his body.

"Monsters? Magic girls?" he thought. "You mean the Senshi?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Washi answered over the phone. "Now turn on the TV."

Crawling from the futon over to the television, Kitsune picked up the remote and turned it on. He blinked a few times as his eyes grew accustomed to the bright light being emitted by the screen. When his eyes finally focus on the images his mouth dropped open as watched in amazement.

The action on the screen was something out of a science fiction movie. A short skirted girl, a Senshi by appearance (but one that he never heard a report of before), took what could only be described as a ki charged fist in the face. The well built, shorted skirted, teal dressed girl disappeared from the screen leaving a headless thing on the ground that seemed to repair and grow before the camera.

The picture then jerked around a bit before Kitsune had the presence of mind to un-mute the television.

"... -ese dramatic shots from yesterday. It was at about at this point that Senshi X..." he quickly turned the volume down to a level where he could ignore it if he chose to and focused his attention on the action.

The camera jerked around some more before settling on the same teal dressed girl, hovering high above the scene. The picture then zoomed in on the girl, her face obscured by a rainbow effect that made identifying her impossible. She looked like she was struggling with something internal before a corona of power erupted from her body.

It was when the camera pulled back a bit Kitsune realized that the girl had wings that sprouted from her back. Wings of flame.

"I'll call you back," he absently said into the receiver as he disconnected. He was quickly absorbed into the developments of the previous day.

He watched the events that unfolded in Juuban with interest. Kitsune remembered when he had been briefed on these 'magic girls' when he got promoted to Investigator two years ago. The 'magic girls' were eventually dismissed as high end martial arts 'ki manipulators', the type you would find in any martial arts obsessed area, like Nerima.

For Kitsune, they struck his interest, an interest that became an obsession for a while like any other mystery or unexplained phenomenon. They were like a puzzle that begged to be solved by him. He knew that the events surrounding the 'magic girls' were more complicated than any martial arts or artist he had studied before. In his studies, he had versed himself in what a martial artist could do and couldn't and these girls didn't quite fit the mold.

When he first took to studying the 'Senshi', as they became known publicly, he gathered and collected material on them - no matter how obscure. He wanted to uncovered the truth behind the urban myths that had sprung up around the group of 'ki manipulators'. It wasn't so much the amount of information that he found surprising, but the age of what he found. It seemed that there was more to the Senshi than urban legend. What he did find was usually very old, enigmatic and mostly forgotten. Stories that were recorded on clay tablets or half rotted papyrus, that told tales of a civilization that fell in some catastrophe thousands of years ago.

It could be compared to the legend of Atlantis, but much, much older.

It was amazing what one would find if one dug around enough. Most of the information were copies of copies of copies of even older records that some claimed (by using and inferring the astronomical data on some of the records) originated from before the last Ice Age, eleven to twelve thousand years ago.

Many copies of the records that he collected were uncovered from various places around the world and told basically the same tale. A tale that was so fantastic, that the artifacts were usually dismissed as telling fictional stories, lore or parables and not historic record. The fact that they told the same story was also dismissed, by many professional scholars, as mere coincidence.

It became a side line, a hobby, and for a while, an obsession that occupied his off hours. Kitsune wanted to know what made them tick, what motivated them and most important, what they were up to. He tried to find out how the Senshi compared to the legends from the ancient records he discovered and how they did what they did. He was frustrated in his efforts because there was just not enough information about them in the present to do a comparison.

Focusing his attention to the news broadcast, his brain was working overtime, trying to pull everything he uncovered about the Senshi into use.

"There is something about this particular Senshi," he thought with a frown as the news show babbled about the newest Senshi, tentatively dubbed by the press as 'Senshi X'. "They say she is a new one that never has been reported by anyone before - but why does she seem so familiar?"

With a frenzy of activity, he began to dig through one of the file boxed that he kept under his desk. Eventually he dug out a thin folder, he pulled out its contents before fishing out a photostat of a stone tablet. One with a very detailed and lifelike drawing etched onto its surface - almost photographic in itself. He studied the drawing and compared it to what he was witnessing before him.

As he held up the photostat up next to the television, he was startled by the similarities. The flames that came from and re-entered her body. Check. The wings that looked as if they were made of fire. Check. The distortion around the face and head. Check. The glowing sword in hand. Check. The knock down, drop-dead gorgeous figure. Check.

Kitsune lowered the photostat and watched the re-run on the screen. There was no doubt in his mind, she was the one pictured on the tablet. Turning the sheet over, he read the information about the original.

"Etched stone tablet. Uncovered in a buried pit between San Estanislao and San Joaquin, Paraguay during an excavation for a road expansion Jan, 1969. Style is unlike any local art uncovered, Columbian or Pre-Columbian. Suspected that it was deposited there by unknown third party.

Radiocarbon dating of organic matter that was done on the undisturbed matrix that it was found in was inconclusive in determining exact date. Estimates from the radiocarbon dating combined with the local geology were used for dating and placed the object burial between the late Upper Paleolithic to early Mesolithic Periods. Approximately 7500 - 10,000 B.C.

Symbols on the tablet are in an unknown language and have not been translated. Other symbols appear to be astronomical in nature and are believed to be related to the Sun. This suggests that this is an image of a Sun Goddess, Sun Warrior or something similar."

Kitsune flipped the photo back over, he re-compared the images from the photostat to those on the television.

"Sun Warrior.... hmmmm. That has to be her," he thought. Studying the images some more, he concluded, "There's no doubt, this is her." He added with a smile, "Sailor Sun."

Spurred on by this turn of events, Kitsune began to dig through other folders of accumulated data that he spent two years on. He stopped at a thick stack of photostats. This time a copy of a copy of a bound book that dated back, according to the archeologist that photograph it in the nineteen thirties, some three thousand years and protected by a race of Amazon warriors.

Chinese Amazons, according to Dr. Jones.

Reading over Dr. Jones's notes, the locals claimed that the text was a copy of scrolls that were handed down from one priestess to the next, predating the very existence of the Amazonian tribe.

"Hmmm... let's see...," Kitsune thought before beginning to read the accompanying summary of the partial translation:

"A group of warrior women whose duty was to protect the Kingdom of the Moon. Each was granted the power of the planets and guarded their domains from evil from within and without. Together they ensured peace not only on their worlds, by on all the worlds. They were lead by an all powerful, benevolent queen that ruled with compassion and care."

He skipped down a bit.

"One warrior was granted the power of the heart of all the stars and guarded the kingdom from invaders from beyond the emptiness."

Kitsune's brow furrowed as he skimmed the material, stopping to read Dr. Jones' personal notes:

"The original scrolls were lost to age, but before it succumbed to time, the entire text was transcribed under the direction of one of the last priestesses. What remains of the original scroll kept in a jar made from a large chunk of amber - possibly the largest I've ever seen."

Kitsune studied the black and white photo of a youngish-looking American holding a large jar. The man was smiling for the camera. He was Caucasian, sporting a wide brimmed hat, wearing khakis, a holstered gun and what appeared to be a coiled bullwhip on his belt. According to the caption it was Dr. Jones himself, holding the jar that contained the remains of the original scroll. The jar itself, was about eighteen of twenty-two inches long, ten inches in diameter at its widest and was smooth looking and appeared to be without any seams.

The background was filled with locals, all women holding swords or other weapons, looking on with guarded expressions on their faces as Dr. Jones held their sacred artifact for the camera. The people were obviously Chinese and seemed unsure about what to do. Possibly seeing a western man for the first time in their history made them unsure, if anything. The crowd varied in age from young girls in their teens to the elderly. There was not one man other than Dr. Jones in the photo. The one person that stood out above the others, with the exception of Dr. Jones himself, was probably the oldest woman Kitsune had ever seen. What made her stand out was how small and troll-like she looked...

... and the fact she was perched and balanced on a long staff.

Breaking from his studies, Kitsune's attention was drawn back to the television. He recognized the person that was now on the screen as the Commissioner, the head of the National Police Agency, where he worked. He was making a statement of some sort at what was obviously a press conference. Kitsune reached over for the remote and turned up the volume.

"... we assure the Diet, and the people of Japan, that a full investigation into the activities of these... 'magic girls' ... will be conducted to determine if their presence here is a threat to national security. Let me introduce you to the man who will be leading the investigation, Chief Inspector Yamada. He will answer any questions you may have..."

At that pointKitsune hit the mute button in disgust.

"They're putting that bureaucratic idiot in charge?!" he swore to himself. "They might as well not even bother to have an investigation if they're going have him lead it."

Kitsune was about to continue his rant when he was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Hello," he answered with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Lt. Murakami?" the voice of Hachiman Tsuji, Kitsune's immediate supervisor said.

"Yes sir," Kitsune replied, more politely.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to cut your holiday short," Tsuji said. "This Senshi thing has got people in high places rattled. And some highly placed people want you specifically in on the investigation."

"I just saw on the TV that Yamada was leading this," Kitsune began.

"It will be explained to you in detail when you get down here," Tsuji paused.

"Yes sir," Kitsune replied with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Good. I'm also calling in your partner, I expect you here within the hour."

"Yes sir."

"Good. I'll see you when you get here. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Kitsune said as a dial tone filled his ear.

"That was weird," he thought slightly confused as he prepared himself to meet his boss.

Taking a quick shower and shave, Kitsune dressed, donned a black sports jacket, looked around his apartment one last time and closed and locked the door.

He was soon on his way.

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Driving down the Shuto Expressway No. 7, Kitsune had time to reflect about what was going on and why he was called in on this. Well, he was expecting to be called in on this, but those hopes were dashed when Chief Inspector Yamada was named to lead the investigation. No, Yamada would never call Kitsune in on this, no matter how qualified he was.

Yamada and him never got along for a reason Kitsune couldn't fathom. Maybe it was Kitsune's refusal to kiss ass.

Remembering back a year and half ago when Yamada's animosity toward him flared, he tried to make Kitsune look like a fool in front of the entire department. Only to have Kitsune turn the tables on Yamada. Unlike other subordinates, Kitsune wasn't afraid to point out his superiors shortcomings. In the end, Yamada stormed away from the confrontation of his making looking more like a spoiled brat than a professional law enforcement officer.

Yamada never forgave him for that embarrassment even though he mainly did it to himself. Yamada made it no secret when he tried to stand in the way of an advancement that Kitsune had earned, only to have that backfire. As one of the Division Directors pointed out at his last promotion, "anyone who can get Yamada that pissed off, must be doing something right".

Kitsune smiled at the memory of that as he pulled into the parking garage.

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Kitsune knocked before entering Assistant Commissioner's Hachiman Tsuji's office. Tsuji was seated behind his desk looking worried about something. This didn't alarm Kitsune in the least because Tsuji always looked worried about something. He was a big, barrel chest man that looked more like a retired sumo wrestler than the Head of the National Police Agency Department of Special Investigations. He wore thick glasses, a thin mustache under his nose - graying on the outer edges. This was the only hair he had for he was bald.

Sitting in one of the chairs opposite Hachiman, Kitsune glance uneasily at his partner Daishi before eyeing the third person who was standing off to the side. One he hadn't met before.

Setsuke Daishi was an unmarried woman in her mid twenties though she could pass for a girl in her late teens. Her hair was shoulder length and trimmed neatly away from her oval shaped face and she wore little or no make up. The only jewelry she wore was two gold ear studs and a watch on her left wrist.

She also had an eye for detail and was good at keeping Kitsune's flights of fancy to a minimum.

The newcomer was a slight man in his mid-thirties. He seemed to ooze a sublime power that suggested that he was not someone to take lightly. He wore a neat suit, whose dark color accented his close-cropped blondish hair. His expression was unreadable.

Hachiman looked up when Kitsune entered and shut the door behind him.

"Good, your here," Hachiman said while motioning Kitsune into a chair next to his partner. "Let me make some quick introductions. This -" motioning toward the standing man, "is Lt. Daisetsu Momotani. He's come from the Yokohama division to assist in the investigation."

Kitsune and Setsuke greeted their newest team member.

"He also worked in the Special Research Section into Paranormal Activities," Hachiman continued. "And before you ask it's not what it sounds like."

Kitsune raised an eyebrow.

The stranger known as Daisetsu spoke with a hint of humor, "Yes, we did get a lot of flack about that name. We mostly investigated fortune tellers and con artists claiming to use spiritual means to 'help' their clients. Mostly what they did was help themselves to their clients' money."

"But why such an crank name?" Setsuke asked while turning to face him more.

"The type of victims we dealt with seemed to open up more about their experiences when we approached them on their level of belief," Daisetsu answered in a way that sounded like something he'd had to repeat many times. "Otherwise they would clam up and say we were trying to make fools of them or embarrass them in some way. It was slightly misleading, but the name did help make our jobs easier."

Setsuke could relate to the problem and nodded understandably. Working on some of the more unusual cases with Kitsune over the last year and a half, she had run into similar situations. Some people just wouldn't talk about their beliefs or anything else unless they were surrounded by like-minded individuals. It sometimes made investigating a frustrating experience.

"So... how does Yamada fit into all of this?" Kitsune asked, wanting to get any bad news out of the way.

Assistant Commissioner Tsuji sighed and looked at his hands, folded neatly before him on his desk. Looking up he gave each person in the room an even gaze.

"What I am about to say doesn't leave this room. Understand?" he said gravely.

Daisetsu murmured a "yes sir" while Kitsune and Setsuke merely nodded.

Clearing his throat, Hachiman began, "Yamada is handling the public investigation. An investigation that already has a predetermined outcome."

Setsuke raised an eyebrow, Daisetsu remained standing where he was and Kitsune broached the silence that fell.

"What do you mean?"

Hachiman sighed again, "I mean in a few months time, the Senshi or Scouts or whatever they are called will be found not to be a threat to the public or the country."

Kitsune pondered this.

"This is to head off any panic, is it?" he finally ventured.

Hachiman nodded, "That is how it was explained to me."

"We're the real investigation, aren't we?" Kitsune stated more than asked, keeping the excitement out of his voice.

Hachiman once again nodded.

"Where do we start?" Daisetsu asked.

Hachiman reached over and grabbed a stack of folders.

"This is all the information we have so far on the incident yesterday," he explained while handing the stack to Kitsune. "Everything from confirmed events to nutjobs claiming to have information. The military has been ordered to give cooperation in this and will make any personal you wish to interview available."

Hachiman got out of his chair and paced back and forth behind his desk. He stopped by the window and looked out it. The light from the windows shined off his bald head.

"This comes from way up," he spoke as he turned to face the three. "Way up. Nothing is to by reported back to this office over unsecured lines. I would like hard copies of your reports instead. I want them handed to me personally by you... and make sure nothing is kept on your computers or backed up to any servers."

"That would make putting any information together difficult," Setsuke said.

Hachiman nodded, "You will be issued laptops for use with this assignment. You can pick them up from Kenjiro before you leave. They are to be turned back in at the conclusion of the investigation."

Kitsune sat and began leafing through the thick file folders that Hachiman gave them.

"Right," he replied absently. "We'll get right on it."

Hachiman nodded in a dismissive way as the three exited the room.

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Out in the hall.

"So what do you think?" Kitsune asked addressing Daisetsu.

"I don't really know. I've really dealt with - ah, magic girls before- and to be honest with you I don't know why I was called in on this either."

"Probably as a watchdog," Setsuke said idly.

"A watchdog?" came the puzzled reply.

"What Setsuke is trying to say" Kitsune interjected, "is that we deal with weirdness all the time. You were probably called in to give an impartial report of this as you see it. Don't worry, it happens all the time."

"... or you're here to spy on the investigation. Don't worry, that happens all the time too," Setsuke added offhandedly.

Daisetsu blink-blinked at the two.

"... oh...," he then mumbled.

"Well anyway," Kitsune sighed. "Let's see what's in these reports and plan on how we are going to do this."

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Tuesday morning.

Kitsune and his partners were interviewing General Takei, the senior most officer to come into direct contact with the Senshi.

"Thanks for coming down, sir. Your aid in this investigation is appreciated," Kitsune said in a very profession and formal way.

"Not at all," Takei replied. "I would be honored to aid you in any way. I have been instructed by my superiors to extend my fullest cooperation."

Kitsune and Setsuke smiled at the man seated across from them. Daisetsu seemed to prefer to stand behind rather sit.

"Now, in your own words, tell us what happened and your impressions of the Senshi."

General Takei sat firm and upright as he told the three, in detail, the events of last Saturday. Occasionally, one of the agents would ask him to elaborate on a detail.

"She stepped out of thin air?" Setsuke asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Teleportation," Kitsune stated.

"No..., at least I don't think so," General Takei fumbled for words.

The seated agents stared at the seated officer.

"Then what then?" Kitsune prodded.

"She said... " General Takei paused to gather his words together, "something about the fabric of space and folding two points together. I was so stunned by seeing someone step out of nothing, I may have remembered it wrong."

Setsuke looked over to her partner beside her. "Isn't that teleportation?" she asked him.

"Maybe... " Kitsune mused. "Folding space, moving through folding space. How much energy would you think it would take to do that?"

Daisetsu coughed. Turning the two seated agents looked at him for a comment. He waved them off.

"Did this Senshi have a name?" Kitsune asked as he turned his attention back to the General.

"Yes," he replied firmly. "The others called her Sun. Sailor Sun."

"That is not common knowledge," Setsuke said, leaning forward. She knew that having information that was not public was sometimes key to solving a crime, she moved to take steps to keep this under wraps. "Does anyone else know about this?"

"Yes. Just me and the staff that was with me, and Dr. Ikari," the General answered.

"I need you to make sure that this doesn't get out until the investigation is completed," Setsuke said. "Can you do that?"

"Yes. Of course, I'll order my men to keep silent on the subject" General Takei replied. "However, Dr. Ikari just left last night on an expedition to Antarctica. He won't be back for several months."

He's gone? Setsuke asked incredulously. He was one of the top people on our list we wanted to talk to.

Kitsune nodded absently as he half-listened to the conversation, pondering something in the name of the newest reported Senshi. He was silently thinking over some of his personal files on the Senshi, "The tablet. What was it? Hmmm...," he thought to himself, then it dawned on him. Thinking the last part out loud, he whispered, "Sun Warrior... Sailor Sun..."

"What?" Setsuke asked, breaking his thoughts.

Blinking and coming back to the here and now, Kitsune waved his hand dismissively.

"Nothing," he said. "Just something to check on later."

The interview continued.

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Thursday, mid-afternoon.

The first stop in their investigation.

The room was a disaster area. Paper and scientific journals stacked haphazardly everywhere. The smell was incredible, like a sick mixture of iodine and lemons... and very strong. The guts of many electronic pieces of equipment, now unidentifiable, were equally thrown everywhere. Somewhere in this chaotic sea of paper and plastic, was a sort of order.

An order only a madman could understand.

And said madman, a portly, grey haired retired electronics and physics researcher who became a self proclaimed 'Scientist of the Ultra-Normal' by the name of Dr. Yachi was eyeing a certain young police investigator with annoyance.

"So let me get this straight," Setsuke said dryly while resting her weight on one foot and folding her arms across her chest. "You claimed to have invented a device that can detect - magic?"

"No, that's not what I said," the grey haired scientist snapped. "I said I modified a Venkman, Stantz and Spengler detector to pick up the frequency of magical energy being generated in a locality."

Setsuke stared blankly at the older man.

The grumpy old scientist snorted, then clarified, "I didn't invent it, I modified it."

"Venkman, Stantz and Spengler?" Setsuke asked. "Who are they?"

Dr. Yachi exhaled explosively, then shook his head in exasperation. It was as if she'd just asked the most obvious question in the world.

"Doctors Venkman, Stantz and Spengler were pioneers in the investigation into the paranormal," Kitsune answered for the flustered scientist. "About twenty years ago they developed instruments for detecting ghosts and other 'ectoplasmic' creatures."

Setsuke looked at Kitsune incredulously. Kitsune for his part, smirked.

"Common knowledge," he replied to her look.

With a flustered look, she shook her head.

"About what you called us about?" Daisetsu asked, bring the conversation back on track.

"Huh? Oh, yes," Dr. Yachi said. "I got some interesting readings that weekend. By using and checking the time for the sequence of events from last Saturday to the readings I was getting. Well, see for yourself..."

Dr. Yachi began pulling out rolls of graph paper with squiggly lines on them. He selected one and partially unrolled it.

"Here," he explained, "is the average level of magic in the Tokyo and surrounding areas."

The roll was about five inches wide and had a long line that varied smoothly across one edge of it. There were occasional spikes, but on the average, none were over two lines on the graph.

"What do these lines mean?" Setsuke asked as the three investigators crowded around the retired scientist's work.

"The lines going across the paper are time, on this roll being minutes," he said. "The lines going the other way represent the amount or level of magic being detected."

"How is it measured - the magic that is?" Setsuke asked.

"It's measured using the standard Venkman, Stantz and Spengler units. Each line is equivalent to ten units."

"Is there usually this much magic activity in Tokyo?" Daisetsu asked, not really sure about what he was seeing.

"Oh yes," Dr. Yachi replied. "But here in the last month or so, there have been unexpected spikes of enormous power. Sometimes they come and go after a period of time, other times I get just a spike."

"Okay, this is the usual level - what about last Saturday?" Kitsune asked, wanting to get to the heart of the matter.

These -" he unrolled another set, "are the readings taken during the fight last Saturday."

The three agents studied the long sheet of graph paper as it was unrolled before them. It was markedly different than the previous sample. The lines started normally then climbed to the opposite edge in steps. Midway through the roll the measuring line shot to the high end of the sheet and stay pegged to the edge.

"This large surge of magic," Dr. Yachi explained while pointing out the details on the graph, "coincided with the appearance of Sailor X."

Later...

"So what you're saying is that with each appearance of a Senshi, the magic increased in the area?" Setsuke asked a clarify question.

"Yes, exactly," Dr. Yachi said.

"So what?" Daisetsu asked, slightly peeved. "I mean what good is this information?"

"It means that these magic girls may not be magic girls all of the time," Kitsune said as the two detectives looked on with quizzical looks and one scientist beamed.

"I'm guessing," Kitsune continued, "for the most part that these girls may be normal, everyday girls until they summon or manifest their power."

Daisetsu sighed. "That would make them harder to find, wouldn't it? It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Not necessarily," Setsuke said as she thought deeply on something. Looking up at her companions, "We just have to know how to look."

The two male detectives looked on questionably.

--------------

Monday morning.

"What are you both doing?" Daisetsu asked as he entered the crowded office he temporarily shared with Kitsune and Setsuke. Looking at his fellow agents, they were sitting at their desks and busily sorting through stacks of folders.

Looking for a needle in a haystack, Setsuke answered smartly.

"We're going through the reports of people who were picked up in the cordoned off zone after the battle was over," Kitsune said.

Daisetsu looked blankly for a moment, "Fishing for a lead?"

Kitsune nodded as his continued to sort through the files.

"How many people were picked up," he asked as he eyed the stacks for folders.

"Six to seven hundred were reportedly pick up in the cordon off area." Kitsune replied absently.

"That's a lot..."

"Yes," Setsuke said. "But, we're first limiting are search to girls between thirteen and twenty years of age for starters and see where that leads us."

"How many so far?" Daisetsu asked.

Kitsune looked at the thin stack between where he and Setsuke were working.

"I'd say about fifty so far," he finally answered.

Daisetsu took a seat and picked up a random file and began thumbing through it, seeing it was of a male he placed it in one of the obvious discard piles.

"Then what?" he asked as he placed another file in the discard - this time a woman in her fifties.

"Then we'll look at the reports and the transcripts of their interviews and look for someone who looks out of place," Setsuke said as she thumbed through a file, only to discard it.

"That would mean everyone. No civilians were suppose to be there," Daisetsu stated.

Setsuke sighed.

"We're looking for people who were suspiciously out of place or didn't have a plausible reason for being where they were," Kitsune elaborated. "If someone looks promising, then we do a more detailed background check."

And then?

We then go and talk to her.

Daisetsu nodded and gave his full attention to the task at hand.

-------------

The following Monday, mid afternoon.

The sky was surprisingly bright and clear. The few clouds that did haunt the skies were nothing but streaks of white, high against the blue sky. The distance rolling hills, covered with layers of ice and snow, were dotted among the flat, white plains. In fact, snow and ice covered about everything and reflected the sun's light, like a mirror. Off to the north, low in the horizon, the sun was almost blinding in is brilliance.

Nothing like Kitsune expected.

"In every movie I've seen the Antarctica is always cold, dark and had a continuous snow storm," he mused to himself as he stomped some warmth into his feet. "Well, the cold part is right - good thing it's summer down here are it would really be cold."

His partners looked worse for wear. After three changes of flights and twenty nine hours to reach the base Dr. Ikari was working out of, he imagined he looked no better. The Hercules C-130J cargo/transport plane especially outfitted for cold weather use wasn't the most comfortable way to fly, but it got them there.

"It wouldn't be so bad," Kitsune thought, "if I could get the smell of aviation fuel out of my nose."

"Flying on three planes from three different countries," Setsuke said. "This must be some kind of international expedition."

Kitsune nodded idly as Daisetsu merely grunted his agreement.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant," Setsuke asked the liaison officer assigned to them in English. "When can we see Dr. Ikari?"

"Well," Lt. McCallum answered in accented Japanese, "he is not exactly here. This is the main base of operations. Dr. Ikari is at one of the field bases - about two hours from here in the Snowcat."

He finished his statement with a wave toward a large, blocky and heavy looking vehicle resting on wide, flat trends.

"Two hours...," a very tired sounding Setsuke wilted wearily. The two men behind her felt the same way.

-------------

Arriving at the field base, which was nothing more than a group of small underground - or as it were - underice bunkers. As the liaison officer checked them in with the Officer of the Day, the three agents took the opportunity to remove their parkas. Working the kinks out of their tired bodies, each stretched and groaned in relief.

"Dr. Ikari will make himself available in about four hours," Lt. McCallum said as he approached the trio. "He is in the middle of examining... some data and cannot be disturbed."

"That's fine," Kitsune replied wearily. "Is there is anyplace we could rest before we interview him?"

"Yes, of course," he answered. "This way please."

------------

"On behalf of my colleagues," Kitsune began, "we'd like to thank you for your time."

"Of course," the goateed man answered. "I would be more than happy to help you in your investigation."

"Thank you," Kitsune said with a smile. "Now, what can you tell us about your impressions of the Senshi."

Using his right index finger, Dr. Ikari pushed his thick rimmed glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.

"Powerful, astonishingly powerful," he answered simply.

Kitsune, Setsuke and Daisetsu waited for the doctor to continue. After a few minutes of silence, Kitsune prompted the doctor.

"And?"

"Huh?" the confused doctor blink-blinked and asked.

"We understand they're powerful," Daisetsu said. "But about the Senshi -?"

"Ahh yes, the Senshi," the doctor said thoughtfully. "Um... what did you need to know again?"

The three agents sighed as one.

"How can the Senshi be so powerful," Kitsune prompted.

"Ah yes, powerful - of course, the Sailor Scouts," the doctor muttered absently.

The minutes ticked by in silence as the three agents waited for the doctor to say something.

"Can you give us your theory on how the Sailor Scout can be so powerful?" Setsuke prodded.

The doctor blink-blinked back into the here and now and visibly thought over this question.

"Well, we - that is, I- have a theory about the Scouts," he finally said. "By using and controlling the basic powers of the universe and using the mass of planetary bodies to harness and channel the power through them, they are able to channel massive amounts of energy to various effects."

Setsuke and Kitsune each raised an eyebrow simultaneously, Daisetsu merely grunted.

"How is that possible?" Setsuke asked.

"This theory I have," he went on to say, "and it's only a theory - that I can't prove unless I have access to a Senshi with time to disec- ah, I mean study her," Dr. Ikari slipped as Kitsune hid his surprise.

All was quiet for a moment as Dr. Ikari gathered his scattered thoughts.

"This energy," the he finally continued, "this power, exists on the most basic level of the universe. The only way I can describe this power is: it's like the aura of the universe - similar to the aura of living things. Also I theorize that one way to tap into this power is to fuse or merge with it in some way. To do this you must be bonded in some fashion to a conduit. The conduit for the Senshi I suspect are the planets in the solar system."

"Do you have any suggestions on how this could be used to track them down?"

Dr. Ikari shook his head.

"I really can't think of anything helpful in that area," he said while pushing his glasses back again. "We have suspected the existence of the Senshi for a while now, but lack the tools needed to really understand them."

"Who's 'we'?" Kitsune asked.

Dr. Ikari looked at Kitsume before answering in an even tone.

"When I say 'we', I mean we as in the scientific community. No scientist works in a vacuum."

A few moments of silence descended on the four.

"What can you tell me about Sailor Sun?" Kitsune asked.

"Ahh... now that is one subject I would like to study," the obviously excited doctor said. "The amount of power she displayed was incredible, simply incredible."

"We gathered that, Dr. Ikari," Setsuke cut in, slightly irritated at the unfocused doctor. "We were hoping for something more substantial."

"Sailor Sun," he began in a no nonsense way, "and this from my own observations only, is capable of moving through space/time. She can apparently create a tear the very fabric of space/time and force a juncture between two distance points. This juncture, or fold, in space/time is what she uses to 'teleport' between two points in space."

"How is that possible?" Daisetsu asked.

"I'm not sure," the doctor admitted. "However a colleague of mine in the United States did tell me that the moments that Sailor Sun folded or transported through space, coincided with the spikes they were getting on their space field sensors."

"Space field sensors?" Setsuke inquired.

"Yes... my colleague," Dr. Ikari stated carefully, " is part of a... FTL project that measures the fabric of space for disturbances."

"FTL, what's that?" Setsuke asked curiously.

Dr. Ikari pondered the question for a long moment.

"I can't really tell you," he flatly stated. "That project is supposed to be classified."

The three agents nodded.

"We understand" Daisetsu said. "Tell us doctor, what is your theory on how Sailor Sun can be so powerful?"

"As I stated before," the doctor began. "I believe it is a basic force in the universe that the Senshi are tapping into."

The three agents nodded, again.

"Sailor Sun - I think her power goes beyond that. The power she displayed suggests, as least to me, that she is capable of harnessing energies from multiple dimensions. Another way of putting it would be that she can draw power from many universes."

----------------

"Well that was a wasted week," Setsuke commented tiredly as they left the Tokyo Airport. "We didn't find anything useful to track the Senshi down."

"I don't know," Kitsune said with a hint of whimsy. "We got some good lessons in how to be scatter-brained."

Being tired, weary and starting not to feel too good, Setsuke barely managed to keep herself from hitting her partner.

"What's the plan now?" Daisetsu asked as he lugged his baggage toward the waiting taxi.

Kitsune opened the door of the taxi for his partners.

"We rest up a few days," he said. "Then we hit the files again."

-------------

Friday afternoon.

"You got a package," Setsuke said lazily as she placed a thick, large envelope down on Kitsune's file-cluttered desk. "It's from the United States."

Kitsune looked up from one of the files he was examining and at the large, yellow envelope that his partner placed before him.

"Oh - good," he said enthusiastically. "I was expecting it," as he took the package and tore open one end.

Setsuke looked over at Daisetsu with a cool, even look. Daisetsu, who was weeding through some papers before his attention was drawn by curiosity about the contents of the package, returned the look.

"Good ole Carl. I knew he would come through," Kitsune muttered as he dug through the newly acquired photocopies and photographs.

Setsuke blink-blinked.

"Who's Carl?" she asked, a little annoyed about being tuned out.

"Huh? Oh... sorry," Kitsune said while coming back to the real world. "Carl is an... old acquaintance of mine. He is a retired Chicago newspaper reporter that has a knack for picking up... let's say usual knowledge and information."

"So, what did he send you?" Setsuke asked, her curiosity perked.

As Kitsune resumed sorting through the documents, he spoke distractedly.

"Remember I mentioned the tablet they uncovered in Paraguay?" he asked as the pair nodded. "Well it ended up in the Chicago Museum Archives with four others that were discovered over the years. Each hadn't seen the light of day since they got there. Apparently about five years ago, the one depicting Sailor Sun was extensively studied to determine its age and origin."

He continued to rustle through the papers, stopping to read something every now and then.

"From what Carl has found out, someone took enough interest to actually send a core sample of the tablet for analysis," he continued before falling into silence.

He stopped once again in his explanations to read some of the papers.

"The sample from the tablet ended up and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California," he said as he looked up at his colleagues.

"JPL? Why?" Daisetsu asked, intrigued by the mystery.

"According to this, and this being a 'classified' document," Kitsune emphasized the statement by holding up the sheet of paper that had 'classified' and 'secret' stamped in big, bold letters. "The tablet is made of Moon rock."

"Moon rock?" Setsuke exclaimed. "You mean that it was made from a meteor?"

"No..., the report clearly says that there is no evidence of chemical changes due to atmospheric friction and the shattered quartz from impacting in the structure of the rock."

Setsuke sighed and picked up the envelope and examined it for anything interesting. With the exception of the many postmarks, there was nothing.

"So let me get this straight, you're saying that a picture of Sailor X-"

"Sun," Kitsune interjected.

"Sun," Setsuke continued without missing a beat, "that's at least 7,500 years old -"

"Better make that closer to twenty thousand," he said while handing her a sheet with figures on it.

Setsuke stopped in her summarization to look over what she was handed. Daisetsu looked over her shoulder, from a respectful distance.

"What is 'degree of cosmic ray degradation compared with surface cut measurements'?" she asked, now confused. Kitsune replied by handing her another sheet of paper.

Setsuke raised an eyebrow as she read, while Kitsune commented, "It's like radiocarbon dating for meteors or any other rock that has been exposed unprotected in space."

Daisetsu read the summary of the explanation slowly, because it was in English. "Any rock that is not protected by an atmosphere absorbs cosmic radiation. Once the rock is protected from the radiation, it seeps out slowly over time. The degradation curve follows a predictable curve and is useful for determining when meteors arrived on Earth. The cosmic rays penetrate and are released according to the density of the rock. Any cut or manufactured process releases the comic rays in an uneven way. The difference between the accumulation at the core of the rock and the cut surface can be used to determine an approximate age of the cut."

"These figures can't be right," Setsuke interjected. "According to these figures this would mean that the etching on this tablet is between seventeen and twenty thousand years old."

"And the etching is on a piece of moon rock that arrived on Earth without any of the chemical or geological changes associated with entry into Earth's atmosphere," Kitsune added.

Setsuke blink-blinked before shaking her head of any thoughts. Once that was done, she refocused on the task at hand.

"This... this would mean, that the Moon rock with the etching of Sailor X -"

"Sun," Daisetsu corrected this time.

"- would had to have been brought to Earth, well before the rise of civilization."

Silence fell in the room.

"This is not possible," Setsuke said quietly.

"Not impossible," Kitsune said. "It fits with all the other things I have found out about the Senshi over the years."

Daisetsu looked between Setsuke and Kitsune.

Setsuke sighed, Kitsune's imagination was even sucking her in.

"If there was such a civilization, what happened to it? And why are there no traces or ruins anywhere? Something substantial would have been uncovered by now."

"Because the heart of the civilization wasn't on the Earth," Kitsune said quietly.

Setsuke and Daisetsu fell into silence again and blink-blinked as one at Kitsune.

"Then... where?" asked as she thought about what she had just read.

Kitsune cocked his head at her, smiling broadly, "Guess."

She furrowed her brow, a gave a puzzled look while mentally putting the pieces together. Then it dawned on her.

"You don't mean to tell me you think...," she began before trailing into silence.

Kitsune, still smiling, nodded.

"What?" Daisetsu asked, totally lost.

Kitsune continued to smile, Setsuke turned to Daisetsu and explained, "The Moon."

--------------------

Tuesday, late night.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Kitsune returned to scanning the papers before him. The others, having an left hour ago, leaving Kitsune to finish going through the last few files that were segregated from the mass of files.

Rubbing his eyes again, Kitsune struggled to focus on the file before him.

"Ranma Yonai, age sixteen, hmmmm," he read aloud before he skimmed the contents silently while moving his lips. He stopped momentarily as he let his eyes linger over the photo that was attached, taken of the girl at the aide station. It was a picture of a very pretty redheaded teenage girl, that was... well built girl, wearing an expression of weariness. She also wore a pale pink waitress uniform with the name 'Yoshi Cafe American' stitched over the left side.

Looking away from the photo, he began reading the report from the officer charged with taking her statement. As he read, his instincts for weirdness kicked in and was telling him that something wasn't adding up. He stopped reading and consulted another sheet within Ranma's file and checked it against the page he was just reading.

Now alert, Kitsune brow crinkled and he thought to himself, "Something not right here, but what?"

Setting down the papers he stared of into space, trying to nail down what was off about Ranma's statement. Blinking a few times he picked up the top paper from the file and got up, cross the room to a wall were a blown up map of Juuban was pinned over his poster of the solar system.

Reading off some information on the sheet, he traced one finger along the map, stopping at a point midway on a block. Pausing to put a small rounded pin at the location, he then rechecked something and then traced with his hand again in another part of Juuban, this one an intersection. He placed another pin there. He contemplated the two points.

The first pin represented the Yoshi Cafe American, whose uniform the girl was picked up in... and according to the file, where she also resided. The second pin was the location where she was picked up. Between the two points, that were nearly at the opposite sides of Juuban, was the park.

The park where the battle had waged.

"Well Ranma Yonai," he thought, "what were you doing there?"

Re-reading the debriefing, he found that she claimed to "had gotten lost and confused during the evacuation, and ducked into a shop until the shooting died down". Kitsune thought about the plausibility of that explanation.

He shook his head.

"I can see getting lost and confused," he thought. "But, not that far and not where she ended up. No one could have such an impossibly bad sense of direction to end up way over there."

After a moment of thought, another explanation came to mind, "May be she was watching the fight and tried to get a better view... " and stopped that train of though with a shake of his head.

"If she were doing that," he concluded, "she would have been picked up sooner with all the patrols in that area."

He sighed heavily.

"I'll dig deeper tomorrow," he finally thought as his weariness was catching up to him. "I'll have Hippie look into her files. It may be nothing, but I'll see what turns up."

Kitsune sighed tiredly. Deciding to leave it until tomorrow, he knew he would get no more work done that night.

-----------------

Wednesday, morning.

Kitsune walked down the wide hallway on his walk to see Kenjiro or Hippie as he was known. He was the departments resident cracker, computer specialist, and all around sifter of information from cyberspace.

His suspicions were raised. He felt that something wasn't quite right about Ranma Yonai - he felt it in his bones and he was determined to find out what it was. Kitsune was one person within the department he felt was competent enough to find out any information about who this person was. Kitsune hoped that this might be one of the Senshi or at least someone who could give them a lead to them.

Stopping at a door that had a hand scrawled sign taped to it with the words 'Hippie's Lair" on it. Kitsune knocked once, then entered.

Kitsune looked about the familiar and semi-cluttered office. One side had nothing but file cabinets, all neat and tidy. The tops of the cabinets were oversized file folders that would not fit into the drawers, stacked neatly and labeled clearly. The opposite wall was opposite in many ways. Stacks of untidy paper were placed in a miss-mash way. Computers litter the floor space under the long table as three large monitors filled the working space on top. Empty bottles of soft drinks and Pocky boxes littered the spaces in between.

Hippie had quite a collection of hardware and software. All flavors of Windows, Macintosh and Unix operating systems were represented. Even a few custom operating systems that ran on custom built boxes that hadn't and would never see the light of day or ever should. All were available at Hippie's fingertips if he needed them.

Unlike his peers, Kitsune liked Kenjiro, or as others called him by the nick-name 'Hippie'. Hippie wore his hair long and unrestrained which made him look like 'Cousin It' from the Adams Family from behind. The only thing that ruined the effect was the growing bald spot at the very peak of his skull. His clothes were clean, but rumbled looking and his face always seemed to have a five o'clock shadow. Hippie sported dark rimed glasses that Kitsune suspected he wore more for appearance sake than anything else.

He looked and played the part of a die hard geek.

Kitsune really liked Hippie's ability to find out anything on anyone in the government's computers. This came in handy for tracking down suspects that were 'hiding in the system' as it were. There were more than a few times that Kitsune came to Hippie to help in tracking down a suspect with nothing but an alias to work with and he had managed to find some crucial clue or trace for Kitsune to latch onto.

The man himself was busy looking at some code on one of the monitors and didn't appear to notice Kitsune entrance. Kitsune was about to say something when Hippie spoke first.

"Be with ya in a sec, Kits," he said in a gravely voice. "Tryin' to nail down this damn code on these financial records. Would ja believe some highschool chick put this together?"

Not having any comment, Kitsune remained silent.

"Ahh... there we go... come ta papa," Hippie said gleefully before addressing the screen again. "There, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

Hippie punched a few more keystrokes and sent the decoded file to print before turning to face his visitor.

"Hey ya Kits. What's shaking?"

"I need you to find out all you can about this girl," he answered while handing Hippie a photo from a folder he was carrying with him.

"Here's her picture. Her name is Ranma Yonai, see what you can find out about her and let me know." Kitsune said sat on the edge of Hippie's work table.

Hippie took the materials while nodding his head.

Kitsune leaned against Hippie's work table before adding, "Keep it out of official channels. Okay?"

The balding long haired man nodded as he looked at the photo, "I'll get right on it, man. I'll give you a buzz when I find out anything."

Kitsune nodded then added, "Once you find anything, only tell me or Setsuke. No one else."

"You got it man," Hippie replied with a frown. "Wait ta minute, man - here," he said while fishing out and handing Kitsune a nondescript cell phone.

"I have one, thanks," Kitsune said with a wave of his hand.

"But not like this one, man. This baby has a custom encoder built into it. No one, I mean no one, can listen in on our yakkin' without the key. I've been dying to check it out since I got 'em."

"Where did you -? Never-mind," Kitsune said as he took the offered phone. He had long grown accustomed to Hippie and his toys.

"I'll call you on that if and when I find something important, man," Hippie said as he spun round and round in his chair. "Like, I got work to do - so keep it hangin', alright."

Kitsune smiled, "Sure, see you around Hippie - and thanks."

"Sure thing Kits."

------------------

Friday, mid-morning.

"Thanks," Kitsune said as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Daisetsu asked.

"Immigration. I called for some leads," he replied while shuffling papers into a folder.

"From immigration?" Setsuke asked looking up from her work.

"Yes, why don't," Kitsune said while looking at his watch, "we grab some lunch and head over to Nerima."

"Nerima? What's in Nerima?"

"Chinese Amazons."

"Chinese Amazons?" Daisetsu questioned quietly.

"Yes, Chinese Amazons," Kitsune answered as he stretched. "Let's eat."

Daisetsu stared, boggling at the thought of Chinese Amazons. Then with a blink-blink out of his dazed state, he dashed out into the hallway where the two other agents were, and quickly caught up.

-----------------

Setsuke looked around the closed restaurant, that was decorated lightly in a Chinese style that reflected the owner's origins. It was a fairly good size, neat and clean, but had a certain atmosphere of - mystery - that she couldn't quite figure. Daisetsu was off to the side, looking out the window and - doing what looked like picking his nose.

The too bubbly waitress who let them in after they identified themselves as officers, went to get her great-grandmother, who apparently owned and operated the eatery with her. Kitsune was looking at the decor and sniffed the air.

"I still don't know what you are hoping to find out here," Setsuke stated to her partner.

"Oh, I don't know," Kitsune said in a lazy way, "I checked with immigration and these were the nearest Chinese Amazons listed. According to Dr. Jones notes they have a strong sense of history and had actual scrolls that describe the Senshi."

"Chinese Amazons? I can't believe you dragged us out here to speak with Chinese Amazons?" Setsuke asked with a very annoyed look on her face. "We're suppose to be tracking down the Senshi, Kitsune, not listening to old fairy tales."

"Sometimes you can learn something from old fairy tales, young one."

"EEEP!" Setsuke squealed loudly as she jumped toward the ceiling. Daisetsu spun and had his gun half-way out of his holster before Kitsune waved him down.

Kitsune smiled at his partners reaction as he greeted the owner of the Cat Cafe.

They were met by an old woman, a very old woman. She couldn't be more than three feet tall, was troll-like and in one small wrinkled hand held a wooden staff that was at least twice her height. The wore a green one-piece robe that went all the way to the floor and her white hair was held back by an equally white hair-band. Her eyes seem larger than they should for an person her size and were hauntingly old. They seemed to look through them as well as at them.

"Are you Kho-lon of the Chinese Amazons?" Kitsune asked. "There something familiar about her..."

"Yes, I am young man," she replied cordially. "Please be seated."

The group made their way over to the nearest table. Kitsune and the other two agents were surprised when the elderly woman hopped upon her staff and pogoed over to the nearest chair.

"Come, sit," she cackled, sweeping her hand to the vacant chairs. "Xian-pu, some tea for our guests."

"No. That's alright," Kitsune speaking for Setsuke and Daisetsu. "You don't mind me saying, you remind me of someone I saw in an old photo."

"Oh? When was this?" she asked, genuinely interested.

Kitsune shook his head, "I don't think it was you, your grandmother maybe. You see, the picture was taken in the thirties."

The old women stared off into space, in contemplation.

"The only picture I remember being in at that time was when a western adventurer made his way to our village," she said, breaking from her thoughts. "We didn't know what to think when he and his friends showed up. We didn't feel he was a threat, so we showed him some of our treasurers, told him some of our history, and sent him on his way."

Setsuke, Daisetsu and the girl known as Xian-pu sat and watched the exchange.

"You must have been one of the little girls, then," Kitsune commented. "You have a remarkable memory."

The old woman cackled loudly. "Hardly," she exclaimed. "I was about... oh, two hundred and thirty at the time."

"Two hundred...? Surly you're joking..." Setsuke rebuked mildly.

"I assure you I am not joking," Kho-lon said in a tone that brook no argument. She gave the younger woman an equally intimidating gaze. "I remember well when the foreigner known as Dr. Jones visited my village - I remember it clearly."

Setsuke felt like a bug under the eye of the older woman.

"S... sorry. It's just..." her voice trailed off.

The old woman, dropped the serious look and cackled again.

"Don't worry about it, young one. I get that a lot. Now, how can this old woman help you?"

"You know about the incident that happen in Juuban, the one with the Senshi?" Kitsune inquired.

"I also remember that well," Kho-lon nodded as she settled more into her chair. "It is good to know that fellow Amazons warriors, ones blessed by the goddess, still exist."

"Goddess?" Setsuke asked.

"Yes. Legend has it that a goddess, a great warrior for peace, selected the finest examples of womanhood to bless with the power of the planets to help protect her realm."

At that point the old women pulled out a pipe and lit it. How she actually lit the pipe was lost to the three agents since no matches were involved.

"Each women," she continued, "was chosen for their knowledge, skill and abilities. Legend also speaks how each woman was selected for various traits. Strength, kindness, grace, tactical thinking, logic and loyalty being a few listed. Each woman represented the very apex of womanhood."

"What about this Tuxedo Mask ?" Daisetsu asked.

Kho-lon waved her hand in a way that was clearly dismissive.

"The goddess," the old woman explained, "not wanting her chosen leader to be lonely, blessed one man - to offer aid and comfort in a fight, as any male should. But little else."

Daisetsu snorted, "You don't get out much do you?"

If Kho-lon was offended, she didn't show it.

"Can you tell us anyway to locate these warriors?" Kitsune asked, keeping a professional attitude.

Kho-lon shook her head.

"According to legend, they only reveal themselves to whomever they choose. I don't think that your efforts in finding them will bear fruit."

"Oh?," Kitsune and Setsuke said in unison.

"Yes. The Warriors of the Heavens were, and I suspect them to still be, very secretive. Even the ancient scrolls handed down from priestess to priestess never mentioned them by their mortal names. Always in their warrior names, each one had a planet eventually named after them."

"I know, " Kitsune said, "that the scrolls where transcribed about three thousand years ago. How far back did the originals go?"

Kho-lon smiled, "You have been reading the notes of Dr. Jones, I see. The originals are nothing more than dust and scraps of fabric now. From what I know about its history, the scrolls were indestructible to the forces of man. Only time can and did touch them. It was handed down through the ages, before there were any Amazons. Exactly how old the original is, I cannot even venture a guess."

"How accurate was the transcription?"

"I really don't know," Kho-lon conceded. Considering the question carefully, she answered just as carefully, "As far as I understand it, the text had been transcribed, symbol per symbol, before the original fell to age. However, the meaning of most of those symbols was lost long before that. What we know of the text itself has been passed down orally from one generation to the next."

"So there is no way of knowing that that the legends you're telling us are actually on the Amazon text," Setsuke stated.

Kho-lon stared out into space, before nodding in concession.

"Of course, the oral legend should have been as accurate to the meaning of the text as possible. But I fear, the - political climates - over the centuries may have influenced and corrupted their true meaning. You do understand?"

Kitsune smiled, "Yes, perfectly - it happens all the time. Even today."

Setsuke, thinking there were better places to be and do asked, "Is there anything else you can tell us about the Senshi? The ones that are around today?"

Kho-lon regarded the question and the person asking it.

"The ones that are around today are the ones that were around then," she answered evenly.

"How is that possible? Kitsune asked. From what we have been able to determine, these legends go back a least fifteen thousand years."

"Time and age do not matter to the blessed ones," the elder answered while closing here eyes to emphasize the point. "They transcend both time and death."

The three agents stared at the old woman. The young teenager sitting next to her was listening to the entire exchange with rapped attention, all along playing with her purple locks.

Setsuke sighed.

"Kitsune, this isn't getting us anywhere."

Kitsune sat for a moment in contemplation, then nodded.

"Thank you for your time Kho-lon," he said as they rose from their chairs. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved a business card and extended it toward the elderly woman. "If you think of anything that may help us in our investigation, please feel free to call."

Taking the card, Kho-lon responded, "You're quite welcome, and if I remember anything helpful, I will be sure to inform you."

---------------

Tuesday, early afternoon.

"Why do all the brainiacs have messy offices," Setsuke thought as she was ushered into a fairly large office.

Thank you for your time Professor Royama," Kitsune began the conversation. "We appreciate any help you can provide."

"You're quite welcome. Anything I can do to assist you, I assure you I will," replied a surprisingly young looking scholar. "So tell me, what can a linguist like me do do help two agents from the Nation Police Force?"

"Thank you. First of all, we would like assurances from you that what we are about to give you doesn't leave this office. It is part of an on going investigation and we cannot risk jeopardizing the case because of leaks."

Professor Royama nodded.

"I understand. You have my complete confidence. I will say nothing of this to anyone."

"Thank you Doctor," Kitsune said as he removed copies of the Amazon text. "What can you tell me about what written on these?'

The Professor glanced at the copies handed to him. After a few moments of study, he looked back up at the two agents. He then went behind his desk, took his seat, turned on the desk light and resumed his study - this time in earnest. Looking silently through one page to the next, he would pause from time to time and went back to pages already looked over.

"Where... where did you get these?" he finally asked.

"These are copies of an Amazon text that dates back at least three thousand years," Kitsune explained. "An archeologist by the name of Dr. Henry Jones took the original photographs back in the mid nineteen thirties."

"This is like nothing I ever seen. I'm afraid I can't tell you what's on here until I've had a chance to work on this some," he said distractedly, while sorting through the copies. "Some of these symbols look familiar, but I will have to do some research to be sure."

"We understand, Doctor. About how long do you think it will take?"

He shook his head and rubbed his chin.

"Something like this could easily take months, even years to figure out," he answered.

"How about a rough translation?"

"If I dedicate most of my time and the time of two assistants, it may be possible to get you something in about - two months."

"Anything you can come up with would be appreciated, and please keep in mind that anyone helping you must keep this quiet."

The professor nodded behind his desk, all along jotting something down on a slip of paper.

"Yes... of course," he responded more distractedly.

---------

Monday, late morning.

The phone rang insistently as Kitsune picked it up.

"Hello, Kitsune here," he said into the receiver.

"I have something for you," the muffled voice on the other end said quietly.

Recognizing the situation, Kitsune glanced over to see Daisetsu busy reading through the mass of clues and hints before turning his attention back to the phone.

"It's good to hear from you. How are you doing?"

"You forgot something in your car - I suggest you retrieve it," the voice ignored Kitsune's ruse for Daisetsu benefit.

"Great, I'll try and see you this weekend," Kitsune said, continuing on with the ruse. "You too. Bye."

"Who was that?" Setsuke asked, as she too plied through the folders before her.

"Just a fishing buddy. He wants to get together this weekend for a bit," Kitsune answered while stretching his back. "Man, I think this chair is going to grow on me."

Standing, he worked the kinks out of his body.

"I'm going to stretch my legs for a bit - any of you want to join me?"

Daisetsu seemed to mull over the offered, but declined. Setsuke shook her head in response.

Kitsune nodded, "Be back in a few minutes."

----------------

The parking garage was surprisingly dark even with its fairly open construction. Kitsune moved into the direction of his car, a small compact model that was very suited for maneuvering around the crowded Tokyo streets. He always parked in the same spot out of habit, regardless of the other open slots that were closer to the elevators. As he approached his dark green vehicle, his eyes searched the shadows - looking for his unknown friend.

"Mr. Murakami, so good to see you," a voice echoed softly in the confined of the garage.

Kitsune stood by his car looking in the shadows, searching for where the voice came from.

"You said you had something for me, Fukai Inkou?" Kitsune asked the voice. Fukai Inkou was not the real name of his benefactor, but it was the only name that they used between them.

"Yes," he answered. "I put it on the front seat of your car. Let no one else see it. Not Mr. Tsuji, not Miss Daishi and definitely not Mr. Momotani."

Kitsune studied the voice as he always did when they had these meetings. He had never met Fukai Inkou face to face, but there were hints that he picked up over the last year that hinted the man was not Japanese. This was suggested by Fukai Inkou's slight, yet unidentifiable accent in his soft voice. Not wanting this source of information to disappear, Kitsune fought his curiosity and never really tried to trace the man down. Fukai Inkou always gave useful and accurate information - much of it top secret in nature and always dangerous if it was discovered in Kitsune's possession.

Opening his car door, Kitsune spied the manila envelope placed carefully on the passenger seat. Scooping it up, he removed the contents - a compact disk and nothing else.

"I suggest you look at that on something other than the laptops that were issued to you, Mr. Murakami," the soft voice echoed.

"Thanks," Kitsune said to the garage. The only reply he got was the sound of a door closing somewhere. Like so many times before, Kitsune knew he was alone again.

Walking back toward the elevators, he took the disk and placed it carefully into his inner jacket pocket for later.

------------

Evening, same day.

Closing the door to his apartment, Kitsune made his way over to his desk. He had to step over the futon that was still on the floor along the way.

Kitsune removed the disk from the jacket pocket and regarded it. It was very nondescript. It didn't even have a manufacture logo or any other markings at all on the slightly dull non-data side. Throwing his jacket over the only chair, he removed his personal laptop from its cubby and placed on the desk. Waking it, he then fed the disk into the slot, which softly whirred into life. Clicking on the CD, he opened the first file.

He began to read.

------------

Late night, same day.

Kitsune was suffering from information overload. The disk that Fukai Inkou gave him was a treasure trove of information. It showed that not only the Japanese government, but many people in high places in various other governments, had been aware of the Senshi and their past. The disk contained copies of files from intelligence agencies from around the world, reports of archeological findings and other materials dating back to the early nineteen hundreds. The disk also had reports from NASA, top secret reports.

The archeological data on the disk was damning enough. It showed that the governments of the world competing for scraps of ancient technology, which were rarer than gold and much more valuable. The governments of the world eventually aligned themselves into political blocks during the cold war and began sharing the secret data among member countries, which explained why the data on the disk was in English, Japanese, Spanish and French - all with cross translations provided.

The NASA files were the most interesting. It showed the space race in a whole new light. A memo dated January 3, 1961 summed it up:

"Evidence of a massive cache of technology is suspected to be buried on the Moon at Ocean of Storms, the Fra Mauro formation and Descartes highlands. This conclusion came from the partial translation of the South African scrolls. The scrolls themselves are made up of complex polymers and a yet unidentified compound that has, so far, defied analysis. The scrolls are partially preserved and seem to date from a time that the chief archeologist in charge, Dr. Jones, has dubbed the Lunar Era. The technology described in the scrolls suggest research and development facilities existed at the above listed locations.

It is imperative that the United States and its allies obtain as much of this technology as possible. Reports from behind the Iron Curtain suggest that the Russians are well aware of these caches and are drawing up plans to retrieve samples from the moon.

Such a project would be too large to hide from the public and covering any future plans for a landing on the Moon shouldn't even be attempted. Instead a campaign of misdirection should be launched and the public declaration of sending a man to the Moon should be enough to feed the public's interest without revealing the true purpose of the landings.

The funding for this..."

Kitsune stopped reading an let his mind turned these new facts over.

"They knew," he thought. "They've known for at least seventy-five years."

He sighed.

"Dr. Jones," he mused while skimming the biography attached. "I wonder if it is the same Dr. Jones that found and photographed the Amazon text?"

Kitsune sat back in his chair and exhaled slowly. The later, secret Apollo reports showed that while there was something buried in the Lunar dust, it was too deep to recover at the time. To prove the point, there were some photos of crude seismic measurements showing what could be buried structures. Tantalizing hints of what was.

Later probes to other planets, even the Mars Polar Orbiter, were used to try and locate any remnants of the lost interplanetary civilization.

Along with the historical data were reams of scientific theories and studies on various subjects pertaining to the lost Lunar Era. How an artificial gravity field could be generated on the Moon to keep an atmosphere - which was proven by examining the Moon rocks for traces of atmospheric gases. What kind of power was needed to generate a magnetic field, also proven by the rocks from the highlands. All the studies on the returned samples and the thesis written based on those studies suggested the Moon was terra-formed for habitation.

The most surprising and important finding was the recovery of human bone fragments.

The fragments, identified as pieces of right femur and a pelvis, were found somewhere on the Descartes highlands site proved that humans once lived on the Moon. As far as the report goes the bones were definitely human and the genetic tests on what remained of the DNA confirmed it. Radiocarbon dating showed that the person died about twenty-one thousand years ago.

Twenty-one thousand years before man officially walked on the Moon.

Later dated memos detailed the abandonment of further attempts to recover artifacts that might be on the Moon, until research on Earth could locate an easier cache to get to. Since then, any probe launched to, or going by, the Moon always snapped pictures of suspected sites.

So far, none looked promising enough to justify a manned flight.

On Earth the details were more concrete. The earliest reported finding of anything from the Lunar Era was some glass shards found in central Asia in the 1850's. It wasn't until the shards were examined in detail in the 1970's that the connection was made: the glass was not glass, but some unknown substance. Before that, most of the clues were in tablets and scrolls, many that Kitsune had photos and copies of already. What was new was that there were partial translations of the rune-like writing on them, which was a complex combination of a "component and symbol" language as one translator noted.

"I'm going to have to cross reference this with the translation that Professor Royama is doing for us," he thought before continuing to look over the materials.

Most of the artifacts recovered, came from Germany after World War Two. It seemed that Germany knew about existence of the Lunar Era long before any other country got wise to it. Many of the functions of the objects that were brought back to the United States remained unidentified as late as 2003, the latest date on the reports on the disk.

The photos didn't offer any clues to Kitsune either. The artifacts and objects looked almost mundane in appearance. Folded metal, long tube-like things and a staff made of unknown materials with a bejeweled crescent at one end of it.

The locations of many of the major sites on the Earth, as mapped out in the ancient texts, coincided with old and prehistoric meteor impacts. Many of the impact dates that were released to the public were deliberately falsified in order to dissuade any suspicion in the academic arena. The fact that the key areas on the Earth during the Lunar Era were devastated by some kind of bombardment, suggested an interplanetary war that laid waste most of the inhabited areas of the world.

Kitsune found that thought very disquieting.

"That fits into what genetic archeologists have been saying, about a bottleneck in the human genome," Kitsune thought as he recalled an article he read in a scientific journal.

The article covered "Genetic Archeology" and went on to describe how the map of the human genome was laid out or studied in an historic fashion. How genetic material was collected from different peoples across the world and from, when possible, remains of ancient people. Attributes were compared from the Mitochondrial DNA from all over and an oddity was uncovered. A genetic "bottleneck" was discovered.

How this "bottleneck" was discovered, was that in the Mitochondrial DNA more traits were being passed on from one generation to the next before a certain point in time. After that point there were fewer traits being pasted on, which meant that fewer people were around to pass on their genes.

The "bottleneck" in the human gene pool, as one researcher put it, could only be attributed to a near extinction level event. What the event was, the researchers didn't theorize.

But Kitsune knew.

The bombardment was enough to take most traces of the Lunar Era with it and almost bring an end to human life on Earth. And if he was right in his guess, it spelt the end of human life on the other planets as well. It was all theory, true - but the time span in which all events happened could not be coincidence.

The genetic "bottleneck" and the bombardment occurred approximately twenty to twenty-two thousand years ago.

Kitsune looked out the window and into the dark night, feeling very uncertain, small and vulnerable.

--------------

Thursday, mid-day.

Before Kitsune could take a bite of the stir fry he'd ordered, the chirp on a cell phone stopped him. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" he said to the dial tone.

The chirp was heard again.

Startled by this, he set his phone down on the table and patted himself down and pulled another cell phone, the one Hippie gave him, out of another pocket.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey man," Hippie's voice sounded over the secure phone. "I found something weird on that chick you wanted me to look up."

"Can't you tell me?" Kitsune asked, a little irritated that his lunch was interrupted.

"Oh no, man. this is something you have to experience yourself."

"Okay, give me..." he said checking his watch, "a half hour and I'll be there."

"Okay man, but be prepared to be freaked, man."

--------------

"Okay, Hippie, what do you have?" Kitsune asked, resisting the urge to say "man".

"Well, first off, man, I started by checking her school records. Ya know, ta see what was up there, right?"

Kitsune nodded.

"This is what I found," Hippie said while pulling files up on his screen.

On the screen was an image of very pretty red head with thin smile on her face, the stats were from Juuban High and contained little information that Kitsune deemed important.

"Okay - so?" he prompted Hippie.

"I'm not through yet man, learn some patience. Now, look at the transfer information," Hippie admonished as he pointed to the relevant lines.

"Okay, she transferred in from Furinkan High School in Nerima," Kitsune read. he thought, That's where that old Amazon lives...

Whatever Kitsune was thinking was lost as Hippie continued.

"Watch this and be ready to freak out, man," Hippie said as he punched a few keys. The image on the screen was replaced by a picture and information of a handsome teenage boy sporting a pigtail.

"Now read," Hippie commanded.

"Okay, Ranma Saotome," Kitsune read aloud before reading the rest silently as he moved his lips. After finishing he looked puzzled, and then looked over at Hippie who was busy spinning in his office chair.

"Okay, I give up. What's the connection between this guy Ranma Saotome and Ranma Yonai?" he asked the now slightly dizzy man.

The long-haired man stopped in mid-revolution, smiled and said, "They're the same person."

It took a moment for what Hippie said to sink through. Kitsune blink-blinked.

"What do you mean they're the same person? Are you insane?" Kitsune asked with a slight heat in his voice. "I can't believe that he would call me away from lunch for this?!" he thought.

"Hey man, chill, chill," Hippie said while making warding gestures with his hands. "You think I didn't notice? I mean, how can you not, man? One is a dude and the other is a chick - a very hot looking number if I do say so. I'm just showing you what I found, dig?"

Kitsune calmed himself and remembered who he was dealing with. True, Hippie may be a little unpolished in his manners and conduct, but he was very thorough when it came to his work. Taking a few breaths and clearing is mind before continuing.

"How can they be the same?" he asked.

"That's the tricky part. As far as I can tell, this Ranma Saotome got a sex change, adoption into the Yonai clan and transferred to Juuban. Legally. No loose ends or anything," Hippie explained. "But, check these specs, man," he finished by handing Kitsune a file.

Kitsune took the offered file and opened it. Clipped to one side was information on Ranma Saotome, the other Ranma Yonai. He started by skimming the vital statistics. His brow furrowed in thought.

"There's no way that this can be a sex change - the height, the weight, everything is different," Kitsune concluded. "How can they be the same person?"

"Don't know man, but dig this," Hippie handed Kitsune yet another folder.

Opening it he found information on one Ranko Tendo. The photo in the file was no doubt that of Ranma Yonai.

"What's this?" Kitsune asked.

"That Kits, is all the information I found on one Ranko Tendo - and dig this, she doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?"

"Yep, she doesn't exist. It was a pretty good job faking those records for passing a quick check, but dig deeper and you find she doesn't exist."

Kitsune was pondering what Hippie told him when Hippie interrupted his thoughts again.

"There's more, dude."

"More?"

"Yeah man, more," Hippie said while reaching for another file. "Check these prints."

Kitsune, already feeling a little overwhelmed looked at the offered file. Reading and examining the documents he looked up at Hippie who was watching him with a grin on his face.

"Cool, huh?" he said.

"This is impossible, this can't be," Kitsune whispered uncharacteristically.

"Nope, had the man himself check it out. Adjusting for the actual size differences, Ranma Saotome's and Ranma Yonai's, aka Ranko Tendo's fingerprints match."

Kitsune looked lost for a moment, then asked, "But how?"

"Hey man, I just find the shit, I don't explain it," came the reply. "That's your job."

Kitsune sighed, thanked Hippie and left, have much to think about.

------------

Kitsune made it all the way into the hall before Hippie followed him out.

"Hey man, I got just one more thing for you," he said as seriously as he could muster. "It's about your new partner Daisetsu."

"Let me guess," Kitsune said while he continued to walk away, "that's not his real name. He works of the Department of Defense, probably the Special Weapons Development Division and he is spying on us, hoping that we lead him to the Senshi so he can try to recruit them for some secret military operations."

Hippie stopped dead in his tracks.

"How did ja know?" he asked incredulously.

Kitsune stopped, turned slightly back toward Hippie.

"Happens all the time," he said over his shoulder with a smirk.

Kitsune turned around resumed his walk back to his office, leaving the speechless departments resident geek behind.

-----------

"I think I found a pretty good candidate," Daisetsu said excitedly to Kitsune as he entered his shared office. Setsuke was absent with a cold that day and wouldn't be in.

"Really? Who?"

"Rei Hino. She lives near the park in some shrine. She was reportedly evacuated by her grandfather and then for some reason showed back up at her home. It may not be much, but it's the only thing I found that is worth checking into."

"What did the report say about her being at home?"

"Nothing. That was the odd part," Daisetsu replied.

"Well, run a background check on her before going and interviewing her. I got a possible candidate myself, as a matter of fact," Kitsune paused to read something in the file he was carrying, "I'll be going back to Nerima to check on her background some more."

Daisetsu looked at him, "That should give you enough time to check out Rei Hino. Next week we'll go and interview both girls and see what they have to say."

Daisetsu nodded, "Sounds like a plan. I'll get right on Hino's background check. What about Setsuke?"

"We'll brief her when she comes in," Kitsune answered as he retrieved yet another file from his desk. "Let's try pulling this together in the next few weeks, the Diets Special Committee wants our report before they release the public one."

Daisetsu nodded, "Check."

"I need to check a few more things before I leave, if you need me - call me on my cell phone."

With a nod and a grunt from Daisetsu, Kitsune was out the door, headed for Nerima.

-----------------

An hour later Kitsune was standing and knocking on the door of a fairly nice, large house surrounded by a high wall. The entryway on the grounds was immaculately kept up and the obvious signs where the house was repaired were now blending into the rest of the structure. Kitsune waited patiently at the door for a response. He raised his hand to knock again, when the door was opened by a young women in her late teens or early twenties.

"Is this the Tendo residence?" he asked politely.

"Yes it is. I'm Kasumi Tendo. How my I help you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Kitsune Murakami, Special Agent from the National Police. I have a few questions on a person who was reportedly living here. May I come in?"

The young woman at the door tensed up and sighed. Her smile waned a bit, but managed retained it with some noticeable effort.

"Of course," she answered while stepping aside to allow entry. "I'll gather my sisters together. I'm afraid my father is not here at the moment."

A few minutes later...

"Now, Miss Nabiki Tendo," Kitsune said while addressing the middle sister, "I am well aware of your legal troubles," the young girl tensed, "but if you cooperate with this investigation, it will be noted and taken into consideration. You understand?"

"Yes sir," she replied politely, not wanting more legal problems to come down on her and by extension, her family.

"I am here investigating a Ranko Tendo and Ranma Saotome. What can all of you tell me about them?"

The room froze, and time seem to stand still as the gathered people stared back at him.

"W...why do you want to know about Ranma? Do you know where he is? Is he in any trouble?" The eldest of the daughters, Kasumi, asked with deep concern in her voice.

Kitsune smiled to himself, "Maybe these people know something after all," he thought, however, not wanting to give divulge anything about the true nature of the investigation, he prepared to tell a ready made excuse to cover his real reason for being here.

"Mr. Murakami," Kasumi continued, with a gentle, yet slightly forced smile. "If you have any information on Ranma Saotome, we would appreciate it if you would share it with us. When we are through answering your questions, of course."

"Well, in the normal course of city-wide student records audit," he explained, "Ranko's and Ranma's files were red-flagged. Looking closer at the records it showed one wasn't real, but a fraudulent document. The other was real, but both have been missing from the system for about a year now. Both apparently lived here and attended the same school together before their disappearance. I was sent to find out what happened to them."

Kitsune regarded the people in front of him.

"As far as the whereabouts of Ranma and Ranko," he continued, "I don't know. I was hoping to find out something here."

The three girls seemed to deflate on his words.

Nabiki asked. I mean, why send a special agent to check on a missing person?

Because foul play was suspected by someone up the food chain, he replied casually.

The middle Tendo girl swallowed visibly and fidgeted where she sat.

"Miss Tendo?" Kitsune prompted, looking at the distressed girl.

"Um... Ranko, that is... there was no Ranko. Not really," she worked out.

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

The three girls looked among themselves and back at the agent.

"Do you believe in magic, Mr. Murakami?" The eldest spoke as a statement rather than a question.

Kitsune sighed, put on a serious mask and said, "I work for the Nation Police Agency that has one of our chief inspectors is looking into the actions of a bunch of 'magic girls' over in Juuban. I may not believe in magic per say, but I do believe in unexplained and unusual phenomenon."

The girls looked at him as if they were uncertain of something. He noted that the youngest, Akane - if he recalled her name right, seemed detached from the conversation. She only listened but seemed to make a point not to join in. Her eyes never really looked at him when he spoke, and she seemed to flinch at the mention of Ranma's name.

The silence dragged on a few more minutes.

"You see...," Kasumi began, "Ranma and Ranko are one in the same."

She stopped there and let that statement sink in.

"Sex change?" Kitsune ventured, even though he already knew that was impossible.

Kasumi shook her head.

"No. Magic," she said sadly. "Ranma was the victim of a curse. He fell into a magic spring that changed his form into one of a young girl."

Kitsune held a neutral expression on his face as he though over what he heard.

"I have," Nabiki interject into his thoughts, "some video of him changing. If that will help convince you."

Kitsune nodded absently, and wondered what he got into. The middle Tendo girl left and after a few minutes returned with a tape in her hand. Placing it into the VCR she hit the play button and turned the TV on. Resettling into her place at the table, she used the remote to fast forward, eventually stopping at a familiar spot. Kasumi watched the screen with a look could only be described as sadness or melancholy, the youngest appeared to make an effort not to watch and Nabiki began to explain what he was seeing.

"This is Ranma and his father sparring in the morning. As you can see they are both men at the moment..."

The screen showed what can be describe as an all-out battle being waged between a stocky, over weight looking man in his forties and a pigtailed teenager. The fight looked more like something out of a martial arts inspired fantasy film than anything real. Kitsune was about to ask the relevance of what he was seeing when Nabiki spoke up.

"... watch..."

The pigtailed youth did a spin kick that would have connected with the older mans chest if he didn't block it by crossing his arms before him. The power of the kick did knock the older man into the pond, the same pond Kitsune noted that was in the back yard. Kitsune expected a very wet and irate man to rise from the pond, what arose from the water however, was entirely unexpected.

A panda.

Nabiki paused the video at that point.

"... the man that just turned into a panda is, or rather was Ranma's father. He fell into the spring of the drowned panda. Watch what happens next."

Kitsune heard the young man taunt the panda as it obviously fumed in the waters.

"Gettin' slow, old man?" the youth called out. "Maybe slackin' off and playin' go all day has made you soft - ay, old man?"

The Panda groffed and growled, turning the waters of the pond before pulling out a sign... out of nowhere... that read, "Respect your betters, boy!"

"Show me that you're better," the boy snorted, "and maybe I'll respect yah."

The panda responded by splashing the teen. Kitsune saw it, but for some reason doubted what he saw. He opened his mouth to ask for Nabiki to rewind a bit. She had already, in anticipation of his request, backed the tape up. He watched the scene again, where once was a black haired teenage boy, was replaced by a... very healthy, teenage red headed girl.

"What'dja do that for, you old fart!" the girl screamed before sending the panda into the wall that surrounded the Tendo's home.

The girl turned back and stalked toward the camera.

She stripped off her wet shirt and wrung it out letting the water fall into the yard. She was very exposed, parts of her anatomy were jiggling in interesting ways and all of it captured by the camera. All while doing this, she was oblivious to the the fact she was being recorded and was muttering things that sounded like "stupid old man" and "fat, lazy panda" under her breath.

"There's no doubt," Kitsune thought. "That's definitely a girl... with a lot of - er, talent."

The eldest Tendo girl entered the frame with a kettle.

"Here you go Ranma," she said sweetly.

"Thanks Kasumi, you're the greatest," the red head said with a smile as she accepted the kettle.

In one motion, the topless red head poured the contents over her head. Kitsune watched in fascination as the girl's body dissolved into a much taller and muscular looking male form.

"You're quite welcome, Ranma." Kasumi said brightly on the tape.

At that point, Nabiki stopped and rewound the tape. Ejecting it, she retrieved it and placed the tape before the still stunned agent.

"If you want, you can have that copy," she said quietly. "We have others - to remember him by."

"Thank you, Miss Tendo," Kitsune responded just as quietly. "Tell me, where did Ranma pick up such a curse?"

"China," Nabiki answered. "Somewhere in China, at a place called Jusenkyo."

-----------------

"I need to know about a place called Jusenkyo," Kitsune said while sliding into the booth across from the Amazon elder. "Can you tell me anything about it?"

An unreadable expression cross the old women's face. She sat there, across from him, studying him with aged eyes before replying.

"Would you mind if I ask you where you heard that name?" she asked in a neutral tone.

"Not at all," came his reply. "In response to some - doctored school records, a missing person report had been file on one Ranma Saotome. They sent me out to investigate his last known place of residence."

"Did they now?" Kho-lon said with a cocked eyebrow. "The last time you were through here you were looking for Senshi, now a missing high school student."

"That was a different case, over and done with," Kitsune lied, having been tipped off by Nabiki on Kho-lon's interest in Ranma. "I'll have you know that you were right, our efforts to find the Senshi came to nothing."

Kho-lon smiled at that.

"I knew you would fail, but about Ranma?" she hid her interest well, Kitsune thought.

"I have been assigned to find out why he and a Ranko Tendo are missing."

"So, how did you come across Jusenkyo?" Kho-lon prodded.

"I was over questioning the Tendo's about the two missing people," Kitsune explained. "They told me a incredible story of how Ranma and Ranko were one in the same."

"Did they now? I take it they sent you to me for conformation?"

Kitsune nodded.

"Very well," Kho-lon turned to face the dinning room. "Xian-pu! Come here please."

"My great-granddaughter has been touched by Jusenkyo," Kho-lon explained as the perky waitress bounced over to the table. So much so that Kitsune noted that Amazons didn't believe in bras.

"Yes great-grandmother?"

"This police investigator is searching for your husband." Xian-pu's face lit up when Kho-lon said that. "However, he has trouble believing in Jusenkyo curses. I need you to demonstrate yours."

"Husband huh? Well that confirms the Tendo girls story so far," Kitsune thought.

"This may help find husband?" Xian-pu asked in broken Japanese.

The elder Amazon nodded.

"Let us retire into the back of the kitchen," the elder suggested. "It will make less of a mess to clean up later."

--------------

Before leaving the Cat Cafe, Kitsune and the Amazons exchanged mutual assurances that if anything was found on the whereabouts of Ranma Saotome, each would inform the other. Both sides knew that this was a mere parting formality, neither side really expecting anything of it. Kitsune's thoughts were in disarray as he staggered back to his car and unlocked its door. Sliding in behind the wheel, he sat there contemplating the turn of events.

He had investigated many weird things over the years, vampires, zombies, strange lights in the sky and even a sea monster reported in the waters between Setana and Okushiri Island up north in Hokkaido. But never before had the weirdness been so... blatant.

"With all this going on, why in the hell has any of this never been reported?" he asked himself as he fumbled his keys into the ignition switch.

Watching a young and pretty teenage girl change into a pinkish cat several times was - unnerving.

"At least the story that the Amazons gave pretty much matched what the Tendo's said." He continued to ponder as he sat in his still parked car. He considered his options.

"Time to pay a visit to the local constable and find out why none of this was ever mentioned in any of the reports from here," he thought as he turned the key, starting the engine.

-----------------

Back at his office, Kitsune looked over the information he had gathered that afternoon on Ranma along with what Professor Royama managed to translate from the Amazon text. Professor Royama's translation was fairly close to what he had already read, however Royama's translation had deviated in some areas. This was due to him also having a background in physics as well.

Reviewing Ranma's files again, Kitsune shook his head sadly.

"Poor kid. He has lived a life more bizarre than should be legal," he thought as he looked over the material, idly noting that some of it was illegal.

Kitsune was glad that Daisetsu was not in the office, but wished that Setsuke was well enough to be at work. Maybe he'd pay her a visit tonight and talk about this.

"What's really interesting is that up to about two or three years ago, his life was relatively free of unusual occurrences," he thought.

"Sure, he had an idiot for a father," Kitsune continued with his thoughts. "With, according to the constable's report, cat fist training, multiple fiancées, and a self proclaimed Amazon wife. People coming out of the woodwork trying to marry him or kill him, it's a wonder he didn't go ballistic and kill someone."

Kitsune sighed heavily.

"But nothing really weird occurred in his life up until one and a half years ago or so when he got cursed. After that, his life was like a runaway freight train, out of control."

Kitsune sat and studied the files some more.

"No," he mused. "Maybe not entirely out of control. Looking at the series of events that lead up to him being disowned, all the legal paperwork on his change of gender and of all the places to end up, why Juuban?"

"Maybe fate or something else lead him there."

Kitsune raked the files into a drawer.

"With all his training, he would probably be a good soldier," he thought as he locked his drawer securely. "Hell, if these reports are to be believed, with his high end ki manipulations combined with his martial arts, he'd made a perfect..."

Combining that thought with what he read on the Amazon text, a disquieting realization dawned on him.

"I'll talk to Setsuke, get her take on some of this."

---------------

Tuesday, late evening.

Kitsune made his way to an apartment block, in Edogawa, not far from where he lived. It was a nice, clean and fairly modern one that would have had a nice view of the Kyu-Edo river if it wasn't for all the other buildings in the way. He traveled up the elevator and got off at a floor that he was well acquainted with. He came to and knocked on the door to the small apartment that housed his partner. After a small wait, a tired-looking Setsuke answered. Setsuke looked at Kitsune and blink-blinked. she was wearing a housecoat.

"Oh, Kitsune," she stated mechanically with fatigue. "Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you. I think I know what the Senshi are."

That got Setsuke's interest as she opened the door wider and stepped aside to admit Kitsune inside. She lead him into the single room that was her apartment. It was slightly smaller than the one he lived in, but it was more comfortable not being as cluttered. Sitting on a framed futon that also served as her couch and bed, Setsuke faced Kitsune that seated himself in a low sitting easy-like chair.

"Okay, what so you think the Senshi are?"

"Bio-weapons," Kitsune replied evenly.

Setsuke blinked at that.

"Bio-weapons? How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, I did some reading and thinking," Kitsune said as Setsuke rolled her bleary eyes. "I think I came across a passage in the photographs of the Amazons text that tells us what the Senshi are."

Setsuke stared at Kitsune as the seconds ticked by.

"Okay, I'll bite. What did you find out?"

"First, I think that Kho-lon told us what she knew. However, not really having any idea or imagining anything that may be attributed to technology, she credited magic."

"Well, I think some writer," Setsuke seeing, Kitsune's point, "I think someone once said something like, 'if technology was advanced enough, it could be mistaken for magic'."

"Exactly," Kitsune said. "It was Arthur C. Clarke, and it was 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'. That's what I think we're dealing with here."

Setsuke rolled her eyes again.

"And your proof?"

"Here," he said, taking a few sheets of printed paper.

"This is a translation of the Amazon text, which by the way is a mixture and variation of ancient languages and some Professor Royama hasn't seen before. I can see where Kho-lon got the idea of 'goddesses' and 'blessings'. If you interpret the translation... a different way you get something more plausible."

Passing her the photocopies of the Amazon text with the translators comments scrawled all over them and a typewritten copy of the translation, he waited for her to read them over.

"Look, Kitsune," Setsuke sighed. "I can hardly focus on anything much less read. From the looks of this, most of the text is still untranslated. So, could you please get to the point?"

Kitsune sighed.

"It's like this, 'blessing' can be interpreted as 'infusion' and these symbols here, they describe-"

"As fascinating as this is, could you give me the short version and skip the explanations for now?" She was feeling tired and puny and she wanted to go to bed.

Kitsune stared at his partner and nodded understandably.

"Basically the Amazon text details how candidates are selected, trained and infused with powers. Powers that gave their wielders the ability to tap into and control massive amounts of - for lack of a better definition - magic."

"Kitsune... ," Setsuke said wearily. "You know you're probably talking about a text, that is for all probable purposes, nothing more than a second hand copy of myths."

"Second hand, yes. Myths, I don't think so," Kitsune defended his viewpoint. "Why would a myth describe a room with obvious machinery, electronics and 'infusion tubes'? The text also has a summary of how the energy, that is 'focused from the planets', is actually fused with the very life force of the host bodies."

"Life force?"

"My guess that the energy is bonded to the aura that all living things generate. Some believe the aura is also the physical manifestation of a persons soul. When you combine that with Dr. Ikari's theory that the powers the Senshi tap into are a universal aura, you kind of get an idea of what's happening. But in any case, the energy is bonded permanently to the host. Not only does the host get 'magical powers' but also an extended life span and they have that energy stay with them after death."

"Transcending time and death," Setsuke said quietly.

Kitsune nodded.

"Imagine," Kitsune spoke in almost a fanatical tone, "a civilization, an old and forgotten one, whose technology was so advanced that the only way it can be described is magic."

Setsuke sighed and looked at him through bloodshot eyes. Pulling a tissue from a nearby box, she blew her nose and leaned back on her couch.

"But what happened to them?" she asked through her stuffiness. "If they were so advanced why did they disappear? Kitsune all you have is some ancient legends, stories and a few tablets. You really have nothing, no real concrete evidence, to base your theories on."

Kitsune thought for a moment about telling Setsuke about the information that Fukai Inkou provided him with, but decided to keep it secret as he had requested.

"It's all circumstantial, I'll agree. But how would you explain it?"

"I don't. I'm not even going to pretend that I know what's really going on. For all I know, we're probably dealing with some high end ki users that got lucky."

"Then you're ignoring the testimony of General Takei and his men. The Senshi infused their weapons with something - and that's something no high end ki user can ever do."

"Kitsune..."

"Look, I uncovered something the other week," Kitsune pressed, "About a girl that may be one of the Senshi. She is a high caliber martial artist and from what I understand, a high end ki user."

Setsuke raised a eyebrow.

"She also used to be a man," Kitsune finished.

Setsuke raised an eyebrow, "Sex change?"

"Something like that," her replied as he held a tape up. "Shall I?"

Setsuke nodded tiredly and wave toward her TV/VCR combo that she kept on a low table.

Kitsune inserted the tape and hit the play button.

Ten minutes later.

"This doesn't prove anything, this could be special effects for all we know," Setsuke said while rubbing her forehead.

"Setsuke," Kitsune said in a very serious voice. "I saw a girl change into a cat with my own eyes this afternoon.

Setsuke stared at her partner through bleary eyes.

"A trick?" she asked.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. "I even held her hand as Kho-lon poured the cold water on her great-granddaughter changing her. It is no trick."

Setsuke consider this.

"I also checked it out with the local constable," Kitsune continued. "He confirmed everything that the Tendo's and Kho-lon told me as well as what is on this tape."

The room fell into silence as Setsuke digested that tidbit.

"Why wasn't any of this ever reported?" she finally asked.

"Something this fantastic? Who would believe him and what would we do?"

Setsuke pouted in thought, then blew her nose again.

"We probably would tell him to stop drinking on duty."

"Exactly. Sometimes reality is too fantastic or incredible to believe," Kitsune stated. "That is why so much stuff goes unreported."

Setsuke looked at her partner suspiciously.

"You're not going to bring up that vampire thing from last year, are you?"

Kitsune shook his head.

"No, but thanks for reminding me," he said with a smile as Setsuke rolled her eyes.

The vampire case was one that truly strained their partnership, almost to the breaking point. Setsuke almost asked for a transfer. It wasn't so much the bizarreness of the case, but the fact it came at the heels of the zombie incident. Setsuke got over it though, after having some less weird cases come their way. To date, the vampire case had never been solved - at least officially.

"So - what are you going to do?" Setsuke asked while blowing her nose again.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to talk to her."

------------------

Wednesday, late afternoon.

The sky that was clear at the start of the day grew progressively darker as clouds moved in and hovered lowly over the scene. Scattered flurries fell here and there, but so far the snow hadn't invaded Juuban yet. Kitsune and Daisetsu got out of their unmarked police car. Kitsune stood by his opened door and considered the sky, feeling the cold moisture in the air that threaten to overtake them. With a sigh he closed the car door and with Daisetsu, started walking toward the cafe that housed a one Ranma Yonai.

Kitsune stopped in mid-stride, thinking.

"Do you want to take all day with this?" he asked his partner.

Daisetsu considered this, "No, not really."

"Well I'll tell you what," Kitsune said conversationally, "the shrine that Miss Hino lives is just a few blocks over that way."

Daisetsu stared off in the direction Kitsune indicated.

"While I'm talking to Miss Yonai, why don't you go talk to Miss Hino? We'll cut our time in half."

"Well...," Daisetsu pondered. "It's not exactly against regulations... and I would like to finish up early today. I did promise my wife that I would home by the weekend..." After a quick moment he spoke up, "What the heck, it's not like any of these girls are shoe-ins."

"Great," Kitsune said. "I'll meet you back here when your through."

With that, the two agents parted ways.

------------------

The elder Yonai was accommodating in securing a private corner of the empty dining room where he could interview the mysterious Ranma Yonai. The table he was lead to in the just opening restaurant was far enough to ensure no eavesdroppers, but open enough so Akiko could keep an obvious eye on them.

She seemed very protective of her charge.

Soon he was joined by a very pretty redhead. Pretty enough that he wished he was a few years younger, but his professionalism quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Ranma was a puzzle and he was determined to figure her out, even if her figure was slightly distracting.

She was short and in spite of being seventeen, she had not yet reached full mature height. Unlike most girls who almost at their full grown height, this one still seemed to be slightly behind her peers in that department. He would have guessed a late bloomer, except for the fact she was - very well built. Her blue eyes were piercing and her long red hair trailed down her back, in a rope-like pigtail. She wore the waitress uniform that he recognized from the photo of her, taken at the aid station.

"Miss Yonai," Kitsune began conversationally.

The pretty red head nodded nervously and took the seat opposite of him. Kitsune could tell the girl was uneasy, that was understandable considering that she never expected to be interviewed again. Especially by a special agent from the National Police Force.

"I'm just here to ask you a few questions concerning where you were during the battle of Juuban," Kitsune explained, getting to the point. "Would that be alright?"

The red head answered with a nod.

Kitsune eyed her for the briefest of moments before going on to the first question.

"Okay, Miss Yonai -," but he was interrupted as the girl spoke for the first time.

"Ranma, please" she said in a soft voice and thin smile that seemed forced. Everyone calls me Ranma. Miss Yonai makes me sound so old."

Kitsune returned the smile, a genuine one, hoping to put the girl more at ease.

"Okay Ranma," he began again. "Can you tell me how you ended up on the far side of Juuban from here?"

The girl squirmed a bit in her chair before answering.

"Well, not really," she began uneasily. "You see, everything was so confusing that day. At first everyone was everywhere trying to get out, and the next thing I know I'm hiding out in a store waiting for the shooting to stop."

Kitsune studied the way she said her explanation. She came across as if she were coached at the last minute or something. Either way, she was a terrible liar.

"Yes, but do you have any idea how you ended up where you did?" he asked, thoroughly convinced that the girl was holding back on him. "None of the patrols that you would had to get through to get there stopped you, so can you please explain?"

"I really can't... I didn't really pay too much attention," he noticed her eyes shifted around nervously. "I was too busy trying to find Granny and got separated from her during the evacuation... I really can't tell you more than that.

"I see..." he then reached into a small thin portfolio and extracted a group of photos.

"What can you tell me about these girls?" he asked while handing her the stack.

She looked through the stack and looked up at him and back to the photos in hand.

"They're the Senshi," she said flatly.

"I know, can you look at them and see if any may look familiar to you?"

She sighed heavy and proceeded to shuffle through the photos.

"I can't. Their faces are all distorted or something. What am I looking for?" she asked with a touch of edge in her voice.

"I would like you to see if any strike you as being familiar in any way. Anything, no matter how remote at this point, would be appreciated."

She sighed heavier than the last time as she re-flipped through the stack. This time she was naming them quietly to herself, but loud enough for Kitsune to hear.

"This one is Mercury... Moon... Uranus... Mars... Sun... Neptune... Venus... this one is Venus and Jupiter... and Saturn."

Kitsune's heart stopped. The young redhead sent a alarm bell ringing in his head, but why?

"Nope, they just look like pictures of the Senshi," she said as she handed the stack back across the table. "Just like the ones I've been seeing everyday in the newspapers."

Kitsune took the stack of folders back and froze in mid-reach. He then took the stack and looked through them himself. Then it clicked.

"Sun," he thought. "She knew that this was Sailor Sun. That information hasn't been made public yet. It might be wishful thinking on my part... I have to be sure."

"Miss... I mean, Ranma, would you mind naming the Senshi for me again as I hold up each of their pictures?"

Ranma responded by blink-blinking and him, shrugging her shoulders and then finally nodding.

"Okay, I guess."

He held on the first one.

"Sailor Mercury."

Next.

"Sailor Moon."

Next.

"Sailor Uranus."

Next.

"Sailor Mars."

Next.

"Sailor Sun."

Kitsune hesitated for the slightest of moments before going to the next one.

"Sailor Neptune."

Next.

"Sailor Venus."

Next.

"That one has Sailors Venus and Jupiter."

Next.

"Sailor Saturn."

Kitsune stared at the red head across from him.

"You seem to know your Scouts," he commented.

"Well... like I said, you really can't help knowing their names when they're in the newspapers for weeks," she said in a half retort.

"How about this one?" he asked as he held up the picture of Sailor Sun.

"Sailor Sun? What about her?" the teen asked, slightly tense.

"How did you know that this is Sailor Sun?" Kitsune pressed.

The teenager blink-blinked at him again, not really understanding what he was getting at. She shook her head slightly.

"I already told you," she snapped in a slightly strained voice. "Her name and picture have been in the newspapers since the battle."

Kitsune gave the girl a level gaze that seemed, judging from the look on her face, to unnerve her. Then his expression changed to a neutral one as he started to consider a few things.

"That information has not been made public," he thought to himself. "The only people that should know that Sailor X is Sailor Sun are the military personal that were at the command post, Dr. Ikari who is still in the Arctic and the Sailor Scouts themselves."

He regarded the fidgeting teenager before him, "She knows something or maybe she is even one of them. But, I don't want to really press too hard." Pursing his lips he thought more deeply before giving his hostess a comforting smile, "If I want to pursue this more, I'll know where to find her - besides I want to hear what she says about her curse."

"Thank you for cooperation, Ranma. Do you mind if I ask a few more questions - about you personally?"

Ranma looked at him with what was clearly suspicion in her eyes.

"Okay," she nodded. "As long as its not anything perverted."

Kitsune stared back at her with a quizzical look, until it dawned on him that Ranma must get hit on a lot.

"No, nothing like that," Kitsune said while making warding gestures with his hands. He leaned back in his chair and thought carefully about his next question. "Ranma can you tell me your relationship is with Ranko Tendo is?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the girl looked like she was going to fall out of her chair.

"Ah... why do you ask?" she finally worked out after composing herself.

Kitsune sighed. He was putting on a good act and knew the truth from what Nabiki Tendo had told him and what the Amazon's demonstrated the previous week. He wanted Ranma's side of it as well as confirmation.

"Ranma," he said in an even and oh-so-authoritative way. "I did a background check on you and the last time you were registered in the school in Nerima, you were a lot taller, weighed more and were definitely male. And the only photo of you as you are now was a student ID photo of a Ranko Tendo. Her records proved to be fraudulent under closer examination and I far as we were able to determine, she never existed."

He pause to let the words sink in. They must have for Kitsune saw the girl pale a bit.

"Now," he continued in the same tone of voice. "I would like some answers. Please."

Ranma appeared to stare at an interesting invisible speck that was on the table, a heavy silence fell between the two. After a few minutes of this, Kitsune was preparing to broach the subject again when Ranma spoke up.

"You won't believe me," she said quietly still looking at the tabletop.

"Ranma," Kitsune said softly, yet firmly. This had the effect of drawing her attention away of the tabletop.

With a disarming smile he continued, "I have been with the Special Investigations Department for a little over two years. In that time I have investigated what would be called normal things like dangerous cults, organized crime and bank robberies. A long with that I also had to investigate... more unusual things like monsters, ghosts and now magic girls. Believe me when I tell you, there nothing you can say that I would consider too fantastic."

The girl sat quietly, studying him. She cocked her head and then an eyebrow.

"Okay," she finally said. "First, have you ever heard of a place called Jusenkyo?"

He shook his head. Even though his talk with the Tendo's and Kho-lon's demonstration had revealed the nature of the place, he feigned ignorance to get Ranma's point of view. Part of investigating anything is never letting on how much you know, especially to a prospective suspect.

"Jusenkyo is - 'is the legendary training ground of accursed springs'," she said in a mock Chinese accent before continuing normally. "It is a place in a small isolated valley in the Quanjing Range. I was told that there are more than one hundred springs, each one is cursed."

"Cursed? How?"

Ranma sighed.

"Well," she began. "Anyone or any animal that falls into one of the springs takes the form and, depending on the spring, the personality of whoever or whatever drowned there."

"So if I were to fall into the spring of drowned rabbit, I would turn into a rabbit?" Kitsune asked.

"Yes, and you could change back with hot water, until you got hit with cold water. That would turn you back into a rabbit."

"Are these curses permanent?"

"Yes, I believe so. At least, when I was searching for a cure, I never heard or found a one that really worked."

"So what spring did you fall into?"

Ranma blinked before she gave him an exasperated look.

"I thought it was obvious, I fell into the spring of drowned girl."

He already knew that, but the confirmation was welcome.

"So you're really a boy?" he asked, playing dumb. He also wondered how she would answer.

"I'm a girl, dammit," she shot back, crossing her arms in front of her, an act that accentuated the fact. A shocked look crept onto her features as she sat there in self contemplation. After a moment of this, she descended into a fit of giggles.

"Is there something funny, Ranma?" Kitsune asked, confused by her behavior.

"It's just that... hee, hee, hee... that I used to say... hee, hee, hee... 'I'm a guy' for so long after I got cursed... hee, hee, hee... and to hear me now..." she continued to giggle, settling down after a few moments.

After the giggles subsided, Kitsune smiled and asked, "So I take it you fell into one of the springs that changed your personality as well as your form."

Ranma's eyes lit up on that, "Er... yes. Yes! That's it! That's exactly what happened. I was a boy, now I'm a girl."

"Can you demonstrate this curse?" he asked.

Ranma froze.

"I guess so... I don't really want to... but if it'll help convince you," she said meekly with a hint of fear her voice.

Kitsune regarded the girl and came to a decision. Ranma had already confirmed the stories he got from the Tendo sisters and the Amazons and saw no reason to make Ranma any more uncomfortable than she was. He could bring up the people he talked to in Nerima, but after talking to the local constable, decided against it.

Recalling the records of Ranma's life since she came to Juuban, she seemed to be well adjusted, hard working and well liked. From what he found, she had managed to catch up to her peers academically, and her teachers expected her to surpass many of her fellow classmates. So completely different was Ranma now, from the one reported in Nerima that it would be easy to think of them as two different people.

"Poor kid doesn't need that kind of life following her here anyway," he thought as he smiled at the now very nervous girl. "Besides, if she is one of the Senshi, the last thing I want to do is piss her off."

With that, he let the now slightly sweating redhead off the hook.

"No," he said was a smile, "I won't ask you to do that unless I have to. Your willingness to do so was enough to convince me."

Ranma left out a breath of relief.

Kitsune smiled and spoke with humor, "I guess you are a magic girl after all..."

The girl looked as if she were on the verge of panic.

"... just not the one I'm looking for."

Ranma visibly calmed.

"I thank you for your time and cooperation, Ranma," Kitsune said as he rose from his seat and bowed slightly toward the still seated girl. "I don't think I'll need to talk with you again, but just in case you think of anything about the Senshi, here," he handed her a business card which she took without though, "don't hesitate to call me."

"Yeah... sure," she replied absently, stunned at the sudden end of the interview.

-------------

Walking outside after being shown the door by Ranma, Kitsune waited for his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight before moving toward where he parked his car. The clouds had dispersed while he was questioning Ranma and the fresh patches of snow on the pavement were testimony to a brief snowfall that visited. He began his short trek back to the car, all the while he mentally reviewed the interview with Ranma.

"There is no way he thought to himself, that she could or should have known that Sailor X is Sailor Sun unless she was told by someone on the general's staff, which is unlikely or..."

He stopped and looked back in the direction he came.

"... she's one of them."

Continuing his walk to the car, his footsteps leaving trails in the virgin snow, he thought more deeply. "She was defiantly jumpy about talking about it and she's a lousy liar, too. It could be typical girlish behavior, but I doubt it. She is involved, somehow. I'm definitely not going to tell Daisetsu. He'll probably have Ranma brought in for more intensive questioning and I don't want the Senshi becoming someone's military plaything."

Approaching the car, Daisetsu was already there leaning on the side of it.

"How did it go?" asked Daisetsu.

Kitsune shook his head, "And you?"

"Same," Daisetsu answered. "She told me, rather matter-of-factly that she thought she would be safe at the shrine because the wards would protect her from evil."

Kitsune shook his head, "Stupid girl."

"What now?" Daisetsu asked while opening the passenger side door.

"Well, we have two other girls to interview, but they are longer shots than these two. After that, more leg work and see what comes up."

Daisetsu sighed as he slide into the passenger seat, "This is getting old."

Kitsune only nodded his agreement, "Happens all the time."

He took his place behind the wheel and soon they were gone.

-----------------

Two weeks later...

"We have reviewed the report that you and officers Daishi and Momotani have prepared," the chairman of the committee said. "Is there anything that you wish to add?"

"No sir," Kitsune said politely into the microphone. "I feel that the three of us have covered at much ground as we could in the time allotted to us. The fact is that in spite of the historical data we have been able to uncover - there is just not enough hard evidence today to trace these girls down."

"Do you think they are a threat?

"No," he answered while shaking his head. "They had the power to be a threat a long time ago. If they were going to do something that compromised the safety and security of Japan, then they would have done it long before now. If anything, from our research they seem to have gone out of their way to ensure that no innocents are harmed in their confrontations with the many entities that they fight."

"And this new Scout... Sailor X, are you sure about her Senshi name?"

"Yes sir. This is based on the interviews of the General Takei and his staff. Also there is historical record of the Sun being used in the naming of one of the Senshi. For all appearances, this seems like her."

"Tell me, Lieutenant Murakami - do you believe in what the report says about a lost kingdom that ruled the Solar System from the Moon? It seems more like science fiction than reality."

"I don't disbelieve, sir," Kitsune responded evenly. "If someone were to come up to you, say just six months ago and told you that we would face an invasion from another dimension, and it would be thwarted by a group of magic girls... well, chances are you would have seriously doubted the man's sanity."

"Point taken Lieutenant Murakami," the chair said with a smile. "How do you recommend we proceed from here?"

"At this point, I recommend that we keep the case file open for any new information that comes our way," Kitsune paused a moment. "But we don't actually pursue the Senshi until more facts present themselves."

"Questions?" the chairman directed toward the other members of the committee. He was answered by several men, shaking their heads. " Then on behalf of this committee, I thank you and your colleagues for your time and efforts in this."

"You're quite welcome, sir."

---------------

It was night.

The city, except for a few, was asleep. The cold winter air invaded the wide avenues and alleys of the great metropolis known as Tokyo. In an apartment in the northern part of the city was a man that riffled through a mass of papers and folders that crowded his desk.

Kitsune leaned back in his chair and looked about his apartment. An apartment that, in the last few weeks, he spent little time in. He looked around his desk. Scattered around and slowly getting collated into the files he already possessed, were files that he carefully copied from the investigation and secretly smuggled home with him. Among his ill-gotten gains were photocopies of classified files from the JPL, courtesy of a retired reporter in Chicago, Hippie's files on Ranma Yonai, a partial translation of the Amazon text, a CD from Fukai Inkou and a VHS tape.

Looking over his bounty, he sighed and removed from under his desk and old electric typewriter, a gift from Carl on their first and only face to face meeting four years ago. Plugging it in and turning it on, he rolled a sheet of paper into the rollers and contemplated the blank sheet before him. Hesitating as his fingertips touched the keys, he continued stare at the blank paper. Gathering his thoughts, he began to type.

"There is little doubt in my mind that the young woman, formerly male, that goes by the name of Ranma Yonai is involved in some way with the Senshi. To what extent is the question. Researching her past, she is a martial artist of the highest caliber. From what I can gather from the police reports from Nerima, when she was a he, Ranma was a regular fixture in fights that were known to destroy thick concrete walls and light poles.

Is Ranma a Senshi? With the chaos that followed her where ever she went until she moved to Juuban, it seemed almost like fate had pushed her in toward a predestined outcome. It seemed that something wanted Ranma in Juuban for a purpose and the only purpose I can think of is to aid or become a Senshi.

What can the purpose of the Senshi be? They have, according to local legend, been fighting daemons and other creatures, creatures that have injured innocent people before being rescued by the Senshi. This had been going on for at least the last two years that the Senshi have been making their regular appearances. I have decided to not pursue my investigation independently, lest I raise suspicions with the likes of people like Daisetsu. I feel confident that the Senshi mean us no harm and are willing to go to great lengths to protect us.

The only other questions I have is where have the Senshi been for the last fifteen to twenty thousand years? And what power that their enemy or enemies have that could have defeated them so long ago? Is that power still around and does it pose a threat today? Is the power that defeated them in the past the same one that they are fighting today? Is this a war and how long has it been going on?

I have no doubt I'll get my answers. I just need to be patient and keep my eyes open - and keep tabs on a certain boy turned girl and see what happens."

Kitsune looked at the freshly typed page and reread it, all the while silently moving his lips. Shaking his head slightly, he removed the sheet from the typewriter and placed it in a folder that was atop of the stack. Stuffing the pile of folders with one CD and one VHS tape into a file box, he then moved the box under his desk. There it joined other file boxes, some covered with a thin film of dust. Shutting off the typewriter, Kitsune stared out into the night, and thought about things that go bump in the night.

Sighing heavily he reached over and turned his desk-lamp off. The room was plunged into darkness.

It was time for bed.

------------------------------
------------------------------

This little baby had quite a history. The first four thousand words I laid down on it, I didn't like after re-reading it. So I started brainstorming and restarted this while in the waiting room. (Long story - I don't want to go there - ever again.)

Anyway, I sat and thought about what I didn't like about what I had written. As always when I think too much, I promptly fell asleep. After my unexpected nap, I decided my first draft was too cloak and dagger-ish, too complicated, busy, and dull. I then started searching for a different angle.

The inspiration for this is not obvious as it may look. I was thinking of the old Night Stalker television show (1974) with a government angle. Then I realized that the Night Stalker with a government angle was the X Files. So I ran with it - talk about coming full circle.

I also turned this into an experiment in 'winging it' . As some of you may recall, I try to outline things - until I lost my notes. Now I'm playing with different ways of writing and seeing what works best. For this experiment, I tried and writing the beginning and the ending first, then research and fill in the details from one end to the other. I don't know how well this would work on multi-chapter stories, but it seemed to come together okay on this one.

Thanks go out to Ghost in the Machine, who pointed out when some of my writing got too goofy from the stress from the "I don't want to go there" part of my life this last month. It's amazing what seemed like a good idea at the time, once pointed out or questioned by someone else, makes you wonder "what in the hell am I thinking?".

In the end, I hope all of you enjoyed this.