Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Tenchi Muyo, Dirty Pair Flash, or Birdy the Mighty

Author's Notes: Chapter six is here and boy will this be a doozy! I know I said it would be one chapter per character but I discovered I had more to write than I thought. Without further ado, let's get on with the show!

Kikuko the Mighty

Chapter 6

Rooftops of Nerima-

Kikuko was relieved when her scanner was able to detect her grandmother. In her time it was designed to pick up people in general or specific family members. Even Ryoga was programmed into it. Her combat suit offered ease of movement in the form of a skintight red bodysuit with armor pieces molded to her chest, shoulders, hips, shins and forearms. It was designed to withstand heavy impact and even deflect slashes, but that part was never tested. She sincerely hoped it didn't come to that. Cologne was following after her at speeds that would rival a ninja with a tanto knife gripped in each fist with the blades pointing behind her. According to her scans it said that the kidnapped woman was at Furinkan. The jaunt from Juban to Nerima took at least ten minutes. She could have flown with her ARMS but it would have been noticeable. As they approached the high school, pistol fire erupted from around them. The young matriarch seemed to leap into the air and vanish while the redheaded girl executed a series of rapid sideways flips, shards of shattered concrete flying everywhere.

"Come on out Birdy and your boyfriend's mother will be unharmed!" a male voice called out. The girl was hiding behind a chimney with a perplexed look on her face. Whoever this guy was he had a grudge against her mom, but she couldn't remember hearing anything about this guy.

"Who are you?" Kikuko called back.

"You don't remember your old love, eh? Did that pathetic human make you forget me? And how did you get that hideous red hair?" he was either genuinely curious or trying to piss her off, either way he was succeeding in raising her ire.

"Release the innocent! You got what you wanted!" Cologne called out from the left, but the redhead was fairly certain she wasn't where her voice originated from.

"…Release her? But we're having so much fun already! If you really don't remember me I suppose I better refresh your memory…" he declared ominously as he stepped out in the open. His hair was the same white as her mother's old hair with green and black streaks. His eyes were flat and vicious, filled with an unholy amusement. With a snap, two robots appeared bearing Nodoka between them. The state of her grandmother made her snarl in fury, anger burned in her aura. Her grandmother was bound with her arms stretched out painfully, the same done to her legs, putting her in a tight spread eagle position. Her clothes were a wreck and soaked with blood, a gash in her face oozing blood. She could feel Cologne's aura leap up and triple in intensity. Her younger body was able to utilize much more chi than before. The man smirked at his handiwork, oblivious to the danger mounting around him.

"The name's Garzett, Mora Garzett. Come out Birdy and I'll release the woman." He said with the air of a man holding all the cards. With a growl, Kikuko stood up and walked out into the open. The sheath weaving back and forth behind her, her bangs screening her eyes. If he was aware of the trouble he did a good job at hiding it.

"You got me." She was getting ready to drop the sword when he laughed.

"Don't throw it away dear! That ancient relic can't save you anyway. Oh and tell the child to come out." He demanded. The cruel humor in his voice was making her flesh crawl.

"C'mon out Cologne." Kikuko said. The lavender haired girl came out into the open, knives still held in her fists with needles dangling from between her fingers. He didn't even demand that she drop her needles.

"Cologne? What an idiotic name! Still…Get it out of your system. Attack me with everything you have and then submit to my power." Garzett laughed as the two girls got ready to fight. Their sole concentration seemed to be on him. The needles flew with lethal accuracy for the man's head, but a field came up around him and melted the slender weapons into slag. He was about to taunt her when he heard a crashing sound from beside him and saw his robots fall to pieces.

"You are such a bad boy…I guess we gotta punish you." Kikuko said mockingly as she set her grandmother down away from the battle. She hit the police beacon as she straightened up, her hand hovering over the sword as she flared her aura into the visible spectrum. Garzett seemed unconcerned but inwardly he was seething.

'How did she get so fast?' he thought furiously just as a blast of concentrated chi slammed into his field from behind, warping the barrier. He had forgotten that there was someone behind him and after that display he realized that ignoring them could be foolish, if not fatal. Garzett summoned more robots to keep them busy. The ones he summoned looked like ovals with big red eyes and mechanical tentacles with pincers. He had to get Birdy to recognize him at any cost and if it took something heinous he would do it. With that thought in mind he spotted Nodoka and a dark idea took shape.

The robots were plentiful, but easy to dispatch. Cologne was slashing them into metal confetti with deft blows so fast they were invisible. Her opponents were gathered around her, their heated engines giving her an idea. With a feral grin she led them into the spiral. Machines are so simple; she thought as she unleashed the uppercut that was the inevitable conclusion.

"Hiryuu Shoten Ha!" she cried as the chi charged cyclone whipped into frenzy, demolishing them instantly. Cologne looked to Kikuko to see how she was doing and blinked. She was thrashing them in a combination Neko-ken and Hiten Mitsurugi Style. Golden blades would suddenly erupt out of nowhere beneath the machines, impaling them. After a rapid series of slashes, she held her right palm out before unleashing a wave of golden ki that tore through the robots like they were paper.

"Ahhhh!" a woman screamed. The warrior girls whipped their heads around to see what was going on and stared in shock as they saw the man standing with an arm tightened around her neck from behind. What drew their attention, however, was the gun held to her head. He seemed competent with the gun on the surface, but the two chi experts could see his aura was imbalanced from nervousness.

"Stop this!" Kikuko cried as she saw him tighten his hold. Nodoka was struggling weakly to escape. The redhead made an odd hissing sound as she watched her grandmother in distress. Cologne surreptitiously pulled out more needles from her sleeve. The "elder" was preparing for a burst of speed far beyond anything she could do when she was older. With a burst of ki the needles vanished, her arm seemingly motionless, but her sleeves were smoking from the friction. The man yowled in pain and rage as needles impaled every inch of his arm like a freakish porcupine. The captured woman suddenly thrust her elbow back before cracking him with a spin kick and diving out of the way. With Neko-ken speed Kikuko rushed past Garzett with the sword extended. He tried to erect the shield to defend himself but he was simply a millisecond too slow. With a cry of rage and pain he collapsed into pieces. The injured woman lay on the ground crying from pain. Just then Ranma and Birdy appeared on the scene. The pigtailed boy rushed over to his mother and pulled her into a hug. She needed medical treatment which could be provided at Birdy's ship.

"I'm taking her to the ship. Find out what happened, Birdy." He said curtly before leaping away with his precious cargo. His girlfriend looked to the two girls who helped so much and sighed.

"Tell me about it." She ordered. Ranma seemed so cold just now. Birdy understood how he felt but he seemed strangely angry at her and it hurt. Kikuko gave the report as short and succinct as she could while Cologne tried to glean what she could from the body. At the name Mora Garzett the policewoman nearly crumbled. If her daughter hadn't grabbed her she would have collapsed.

"Mom…what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. The other redhead drew in a few shuddering breaths as she got her emotions under control.

"H-he was a guy I liked when I was just a rookie. Mora meant everything to me, but he gradually began growing colder and more distant. When I heard he was killed on an assignment I grieved over the loss. Two people I loved a great deal were dead by this time. I-I never knew he was still alive…" she pushed away from the future girl and went to where Cologne was examining the corpse. Kikuko groaned as she realized how bad this was going to look, but if she convinced her Mom not to say anything it would be even worse when he found out. Suddenly an exclamation of shock drew her attention to the investigation.

"What's up?" she asked as she got closer. Cologne looked as if she were playing with the remains until she got closer. The young Amazon kneeled down and peeled back the skin, revealing that it was actually synthetic skin covering a metal skeleton. It was cleverly made too, it would have held up to nearly any form of normal detection. Birdy was visibly shaking at this revelation. Of course it couldn't have been the real Mora. He's dead. Just as they were peering closer a shadow loomed overhead. The three girls leapt away just in time to avoid a black cyborg drop down. It was wielding a huge ninja sword that was easily as tall as he was.

"Now what?" Cologne demanded irritably. The machine seemed to be much faster than their previous opponents and was scanning them like a real person would. He suddenly lashed out at Birdy who whipped out a ki construct tonfa to block but the sheer force of the blow sent her flying. Cologne's suddenly lunge into the Bakusai Tenketsu produced some results such as his armor cracking marginally. From the crack a head erupted from the chest chattering madly. It looked like something from a nightmare.

"We need to take that thing down and fast…Moko Takabisha!" Birdy cried as she fired the ball of blue confidence chi only to have it deflected by the sword. She tried a Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken to crack his armor further but the creature whipped her fists away with its tongue. The cyber ninja was joined by others that seemingly dropped down from out of nowhere.

"The future is mine Kikuko Saotome! I'm not out to kill you, just to kill your mother or your father…Either one will suffice! If even one of them dies than you will cease to exist!" Kagato howled maniacally.

"What the hell was that?" the young Chinese girl demanded.

"That was Kagato…Time to use my secret weapon… ARMS II launch!" Kikuko called out. The suit of power armor flared into existence on her body. There were six cyber ninjas. It just wasn't fair…for them. Kikuko's first empowered attack tore into the cyber ninja's chest and exploded out the back clenching a black beating heart just before crushing it. A high whine filled the air before the cyborg died. The original pressed the attack on Birdy.

"Saotome Sealed Technique…Kishin Ryu Dan!" the policewoman called out as she unleashed the vacuum blade attack, tingeing the blades with blue ki that shredded through his exposed chest. The creature exploded in a shower of bloody offal. Cologne gathered chi into her palm, focusing her power into a tight little ball before she hurled it outward. It struck her opponent in the chest, detonating on impact, and hurling cybernetic body parts down like rain. The remaining three cyborgs began warily circling their opponents, putting the girls in the middle. ARMS II was in high stance mode with her aura radiating out of it, but something held her back. She could easily dispatch these guys but then her mom might be exposed to attack. The family blade was held firmly in her hand. She said a prayer to the blade to help her protect her family. With that she bent her knees slightly as she swept the sword into a two-handed stance.

Cologne was watching their circling enemies warily. She had to use more ki than she expected to destroy even one of them. It was a terrible state of affairs when an Amazon matriarch was just barely enough to turn the tide. The girls standing back to back with her were both incredibly powerful and skilled martial artists so she was able to calm her younger nerves with the knowledge that she was being watched over. It was strange how that felt. Her lips quirked into a smile as she relaxed into a lazy seeming stance. Her knees bent and she was crouched over at the waist with her knives dangling from her fingers as she swayed.

Birdy realized just how important she was. Here was this girl from the future who thought she had nothing to worry about. Her parents were obviously in love and if things continued than she would be born in due time, but this Kagato was threatening that future and that just rubbed her the wrong way. This was her daughter that he was screwing with. She should just stay back and remain safe, but what happened if Kikuko died as a result or Cologne? Imperceptibly she moved into the final stance of the Anything Goes style with her hands clasped lightly in front of her.

Kagato was monitoring the battle and after Kikuko had turned the tide of battle now once, but twice he created a device to measure life force or chi as they called it. His scanner suddenly erupted into an emergency alarm forcing him to tear his eyes away from what would be a slaughter only to stare in horror at the readings. The three girls' auras had nearly quadrupled in intensity. The aura swirl forming around them was almost casually lapping at his cyborg creations' feet as they prepared to attack.

"So this is where she got such power…" he mused as he prepared to draw back from the battle. No sense in continuing to watch since the battle data would be compiled by the ship for future viewing. It was pointless to watch when he could already predict the outcome. Even with the cyborgs' next generation aura barrier they were as good as dead. The only sound to mark his leaving was a mini sonic boom. His prediction turned out to be accurate. The cyborgs charged only to be slashed, pummeled, and diced into submission.

"It appears we won." Cologne said with poorly concealed relief. She never expected it to be that much of a challenge. The lavender haired girl felt as if she ran a marathon. Birdy brought her into a hug.

"That was something I wouldn't want to repeat." She said, as relieved as Cologne. Kikuko threw her arms around both of them after disengaging ARMS II.

"We need to check on Dad and Grandma." Kikuko said just before a freak rainstorm hit. It was so strange because it lasted just long enough to trigger the curse and to only get her soaked. The girl-turned-boy groaned. Cologne snickered at him until her eyes were suddenly riveted below his waist. Kikuko was confused about what she was staring at until her mother pointed downward. The gender bender looked down and let out a definitely unmanly squeak when he realized what they were staring at. The thirteen-year-old girl shook her head so hard she almost got whiplash and managed to get her hormones under control. With a last hug they took off across the rooftops.

The Ship-

Ranma sat in the ship watching his mother float in the healing tank and sighed. He had been angry at Kikuko and Birdy for trying to keep him away, but he had to admit he wasn't exactly good with his emotions. His mother had been kidnapped and injured. According to the message Birdy gave him it had been a ploy developed by Kagato to kill the ones responsible for bringing Kikuko into the world. If she was that good at what she did that someone would risk a paradox to get rid of her then he had to make sure she was born. His mother was touching the glass as she watched him. He placed his hand on hers. The heartfelt moment was ruined when the hatch hissed and opened, admitting Birdy he supposed. The love of his life walked into the room and hugged him.

"How's she doing?" Birdy asked.

"Doing better…It should take another hour or so to fully heal her." He said as he nuzzled her neck. The redhead in his arms held on tighter wondering what he was thinking. He was trembling slightly.

"What's wrong baby?" she asked as she stroke the back of his head.

"I-I need to ask you something…" Ranma began nervously. Birdy gave him her full attention. "B-Birdy…would you marry me?" he asked. Birdy had tears flowing down her face as she kissed him fiercely, her arms holding him tightly and not letting go. Kikuko and Cologne were watching the exchange but wisely stayed silent. The martial artist girl having found hot water. The time traveling redhead sniffled, thanking her lavender haired companion as she produced a box of tissues. The girls cried at the beautiful scene. It could have gone on forever but Ranma had to come up for air.

"That was a yes if you need an explanation." Birdy said with a smirk. The pigtailed boy grinned and rubbed her back before realizing they had an audience. To his credit he only blushed and didn't jump away like his first impulse told him to do.

"That was so beautiful!" Cologne of all people wailed and fell sobbing in Kikuko's arms. The redhead blinked as she patted her on the back in confusion. Birdy giggled at the youthened elder's antics.

"Birdy, we need to talk. Alone." He gave the listeners a look that spoke volumes. That was the cue for Kikuko and Cologne to leave. After they had left the room, Birdy looked to her fiancé.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's that Kagato guy… I have an idea on how we can help her but it may not be pretty." He outlined his plan much to his future wife's horror.

"You wouldn't! I know she used something similar but you must have perfected it by then." Birdy protested.

"But if we employed safeguards. I got the actual scroll for teaching it. It details months of meditation and conditioning it also doesn't require a pit of starving cats." He told her.

"Oh kami-sama…You are serious…" she buried her face in his shoulder and wept. If they wanted to protect her than they needed to teach her the most powerful technique in the galaxy. The True Neko-ken.

Street-

The streets weren't as crowded as they had thought for midday, which was good because the girls didn't want to roof hop just now. Cologne was playing cute little girl as she held Kikuko's hand. The older girl bore it all in stride with a smirk until something wiped that smirk off her face. Her body felt strange. Without warning she collapsed to the pavement with her eyes wide and unseeing.

"K-Kikuko? Wake up!" the thirteen-year-old girl screamed as she tried to rouse her friend, but it didn't work. It appeared as if the girl was having a seizure, her heels were banging the concrete spasmodically. No one wanted to stop and help. An insistent pair of small hands suddenly grabbed the next person that came by.

"What the hell?" the guy snapped at the girl currently staring up at him. She was a pretty thing so he decided something right there.

"My friend's sick…Can you help?" she put on her best puppy dog eyes unknowingly playing into the man's deranged hands.

"Sure…" he smiled reassuringly. As soon as she turned her back, he was in motion. The chloroform came out and he quickly wrapped his left arm around her, pinning her arms even as the cloth pressed to her face. He almost wasn't fast enough as she cried out in surprise. The girl was strong and her struggles were enticing him, but he had martial arts training and was an accomplished breaker so he knew his strength was more than enough.

Cologne struggled while holding her breath but she knew she couldn't last against before she had to breath. Her faint sobs echoed in her mind mockingly. The only one who could help her was unconscious and she needed help as well.

'Kikuko…' Cologne thought in despair as she went under.

Kikuko's mind was a whirl of thoughts. It felt as if someone had taken hold of her brain and flipped it upside down. Thoughts were forcing their way in. Memories of Neko-ken training involving cats and periods of darkness. It felt strange as she remembered things that her mind knew never happened, but that turned out to be just as valid as her real memories.

'What's going on?' she thought.

'Time travel can be a bitch.' Her subconscious answered back.

'What do you mean…?'

'Simple. Your parents realized the difficulty that Kagato presented and vowed to teach you the Neko-ken. The real deal and not what your dad created.'

'Why?'

'Because they love you so much that they would hurt you to keep you alive. The expression 'This hurts me more than it does you' is true in this instance.'

'…Who are you?'

'I am you, but at the same time not you. You only get one chance at this. Will you accept the Neko-ken and all that it involves?' her inner voice asked. As the voice quieted she swore she could hear crying and realized it was Cologne. She sounded distressed about something. A smell reached her that made her flinch. It was a man whose soul was corrupted and the smell was his aural "stink".

'I don't have time for this! Cologne's in trouble and her younger body isn't as strong. I accept! Just let me wake up!' she cried out in panic. Something warm and furry crawled inside of her, magnifying her already intense feelings. What pushed to the forefront was anger. With a primal cry she awakened.

Outside of her mind-

The man was pleased with what he had. According to that guy with the silver hair he could find a real prize and here he was, holding his new toy. A strange rumbling sound reached his ears. He searched for the source of the noise and realized it was a cat's purr, but much deeper and more menacing. His eyes locked on the still form of Kikuko. He had to blink as in a thrice she was crouched, her left hand lightly touching the ground, and rubbing her cheek with her right hand.

"Now what…?" he asked in confusion as something fought for dominance in his mind. The pervert had heard a number of stories about Nerima and suddenly one of them leapt to mind with startling clarity. The tales of a boy who could turn into a redheaded girl that fought like a cat demon. He was suddenly faced with a very real living legend and knew fear. The cat girl gave him a feral snarl as he held his victim before him as a shield. He gaped in astonishment as she disappeared. The girl in his arms suddenly reappeared behind the protective feline.

"Meow" was the last thing he heard before everything tumbled into darkness. As his consciousness fled, felt his body born up by a veritable hail of blows. His last thought was on maybe improving his life.

The Neko girl turned to check on her friend and nuzzled her neck softly to see if she was okay. The lavender haired girl came around soon after to find herself inches away from Kikuko's concerned face, but something was off. When the redhead saw that she was awake, she mewed happily and nuzzled her again before licking the tip of her nose. Cologne was certain that was not normal behavior.

"Kikuko?" she asked curiously. The Neko girl began purring loudly and butting her head against her chest playfully. No doubt about it, the girl was in the full Neko-ken, but what about the male who did this to her? When she got a look at what had become of him she felt vaguely ill. He looked as if a cat had mauled him, which is a fairly accurate description.

"Miyah!" Kikuko exclaimed before clambering into her lap. The Chinese girl sighed and petted her friend gently.

"I said it before and I'll say it again… Nothing is dull around a Saotome…" she smiled as her friend went to sleep.

End Chapter

Author's Notes: The Kikuko side story is over. Next chapter we find out what happened to Mihoshi and let me tell you it won't be quite as you remember. Of course with me writing that holds doubly true. I hope you all read and enjoy! It doesn't matter if you review, even if reviews are nice, all that matters is that you enjoy the story. Ja ne!