Hellos! Less than a week and another chapter's out! That's what happens when you're really interested and excited about something. But, unfortunately, don't think the update times will be so short. Anyways, I'm honestly surprised at the amount of favorites and follows that came in just a week, so thank you all. Reviews are an author's bread and butter!

Here's the next chapter!

Chapter 5

"Hiya Ami!" A cheerful voice echoed through the house, causing a certain bluette to wince at its volume.

"Hey, Mako." Ami greeted as Makoto made her presence known to her room. Ami was currently hunched over her computer at her desk, reviewing its contents. "What are you doing here?"

"Usagi said you would be here." Mako simply answered as she hummed and pulled herself a chair nearby and plopped herself beside her friend. "She told me why too."

"That doesn't answer my question." Ami drawled. She could probably guess why the tall, boy-hungry brunette was here. After all, even she could tell how attractive the mysterious Ranma Saotome was. "So what is it? You want to see some pictures?"

Makoto grinned cheekily and answered shamelessly. "That's right! Oh Ami, you know me so well."

Ami rolled her eyes, quite used to the girl's antics. She shuffled around in her pockets, pulling out the photograph Daisuke had given her (AN: If anybody's wondering, I'm referring to chapter 187, pg 121, final panel) and holding it up for Makoto. "Well here's a real photograph. So I've been doing some research, he's not bad as Minako makes him to be. I'd say he's just a victim of circumstance."

Makoto greedily snatched the photo out of the girl's hand and examined it. Her hungry face quickly contorted to one of bewilderment. Her eyes widening greatly and her jaws dropping in a comical fashion. "W-what is this?"

"Yeah I know. Ridiculous isn't it?" Ami said with her eyes still glued to the computer screen "That's the minotaur the two guys were talking about yesterday."

"No no." Makoto said shaking her head. "This girl!" She held the photo up and with a serious and precise motion, she pointed to the Chinese girl wrapped scantily in only pantyhoses. "Is she his girlfriend?"

When Makoto looked at the first thing she noticed was the extremely buxom and attractive Chinese girl. When examining the girl closer, she felt inadequate. From her outfit, or rather lack of outfit, she could see her bountiful chest, toned flawless skin, and petite beautifully exotic face. It was obvious she was knew martial arts and was proficient at it. How could she compete?

"..." Seconds passed as Ami couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well?" Makoto asked eagerly, still pointing at the girl.

"..." Ami sighed in resignation. "Well, yes and no."

"Yes and no?" Makoto asked. "What do you mean by that? Oh my god! Is he two timing? That womanizer!" Makoto gasped in shock as she came to her own conclusion. Honestly, a manly man like should be getting around. Nevermind, Mina's warnings… Maybe he wouldn't mind one more.

Ami rubbed her temples. "More like three timing… or something. He's apparently engaged to three fiancees at once."

"What!?" Makoto dropped the picture as she froze in dismay. "A-are you serious?"

"Yes I am." Ami mumbled tiredly. She was quite tired. After a long day which consisted of running from one district to another followed by long research on Minako's mysterious villain. That long research gave one consistent surprise after another which fried her brain to the impossibility and ridiculousness of the information. It didn't help that the website she found, , constantly had pop ups for donations and had so much blocked content that was privy to 'premium users' which, of course, requires money. The site was made by the Nabiki Tendo Hiroshi and Daisuke mentioned a few times. They had warned that she was a 'money loving bitch' and she could certainly see that. It also reminded why she knew the name Nabiki Tendo… Anyways, it was pretty unbelievable itself that there was a sole website dedicated entirely to Ranma Saotome. And now, Makoto barged in and was more concerned with boy problems than the actual problem at hand. "Look, here." Ami pointed to the screen with her right hand while her left hand lazily supported her chin.

Makoto crouched over Ami's shoulder and peered at the screen. There were three images with a different smiling girl in each. Beside each image was a standard description of the person, describing age, height, skills, claim, and other descriptions. Makoto mentally compared herself to each one. "Akane Tendo…" Makoto read the first name.

Ami nodded. "She's apparently the main candidate for marriage. Before they were born, the fathers had a prearranged marriage to unite the martial art schools."

"Prearranged marriages?" Makoto made a disgusted face. "Those things still exist?"

Ami shrugged.

"Let's see…" Makoto continued to read the site. "Ukyo Kounji...What the heck? Okonomiyaki-Style martial arts? Is this a joke?"

Ami shook her head slowly and pathetically. "She was engaged at the age of 6 but lost her dowry because his father stole it. Dubbed the 'cute fiancee.'"

"Stole the dowry?! That's terrible! How is she still engaged to him then?"

"I have no clue." Ami whined.

Makoto shook her head. It was like reading some far out manga. "Xian Pu or Shampoo… Chinese amazon?"

"It's a Chinese village in the middle of nowhere. It's called Joketsuzoku."

"Why was he in China in the first place?"

"Training."

"Like a training trip?"

"Correct, it was a ten year trip."

Makoto whistled, showing her awe. "What kind of training gets you a Chinese bride?"

"That's classified."

"Hm? Why can't you tell me, Ami? Think I can't handle the truth?"

"It's not that… It says here I have to get premium membership to access it."

"Well, why don't you get it? I mean it's worth it. Think of Mina!"

"I would… but it's 5000 yen."

Makoto inhaled sharply. "Ooh, that's a bit steep."

"What's annoying is that the site keeps asking for money, donations, memberships…" Ami trailed off. "...and it blackmails me for money." She muttered to herself. "Irritating money grubbing sociopath..."

"Tsk." Makoto made a thoughtful face. He had three fiancees, so what were the chances he'd date with her? "So what else do we know about him, other than his fiancees?"

Ami rubbed at her eyes, a testament to how long she'd has been staring at a screen. "Well, he's around 18... They don't actually know his birthday. His father Genma Saotome, the big guy in glasses and a bandana we saw for a second before Venus scared him off, is an infamous thief and con man. He and Ranma train in a style of Anything Goes, their own school."

"Never heard of it." Makoto waved off nonchalantly. She then proceeded to drill Ami with questions. "Who cares about that stuff anyways? What's his deal? Which of them's with him? Have any of them done it?"

Ami groaned audibly, expressing her irritation. She answered anyways. "The odds are in favor of Akane, but it describes a pretty abusive relationship with each of them. So he's ambivalent and hasn't chosen over 2 two years. They fight...a lot."

"Ooh!" Makoto perked up. "How about it?"

"It?"

"You know…" Makoto trailed off embarrassedly while making a suggestive motion with her hands.

"..." Ami have a deadpan stare to her dear friend. "Look I really doubt that-"

"Oh hey! It says right here he's a virgin! Wow!" Makoto had reached over and taken upon herself to find the answer.

"..." Ami rubbed her head consolingly. "Look Mako, I'm trying to help Minako. This is a huge problem for her. I'm a bit tired right now but, we need to help her. Frankly you're not helping."

Makoto paused,closed her eyes and took a deep breath to clear her mind. She couldn't help her tendencies. Steel blue eyes, perfect figure, and possibly, as Ami said, a good guy. But she was Minako's friend and friends help each other out the best they can. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll be serious. For Mina."

Ami nodded approvingly. "Why don't you write down the information so we could give it directly to her sometime."

"Good idea! We could give it to her at the ice cream shop tomorrow."

"What?"

"Usagi declared we cheer Mina up through ice cream, so we're going tomorrow." Makoto supplied helpfully as she found herself a piece of paper and a pen.

"Of course." Ami resigned.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Makoto cheered, ready to work.

The two of them worked for a good thirty minutes and came up with supple yet lacking information.

"Training since 4… Anything Goes… Rivals…" Makoto read the list slowly. "This is basic stuff. Is there anything on major weaknesses? Or how about pics on an actual fight?"

Ami shook her head. "We have to pay for those."

"I think Mina's wrong about him." Makoto concluded as he read the rest of the information.

Ami nodded. "Daisuke said it's just how he is because of his father. If anything, Ranma viewed Sailor V as a friend."

Makoto sighed. "I guess this is good enough. Let's call it a day."

"Let's." Agreed Ami.

"We'll give this to her tomorrow and if she's really serious about revenge then maybe we could all pitch in a little." Makoto stood up and stretched out her kinks then headed for the door to the room.

Ami smiled softly. "That sounds good. See you tomorrow, Mako."

The brunette flashed a bright smile back. "Bye Ami!"

After hearing the door to the house close, Ami switched settings on her computer and accessed the Mercury scans from the day before. She read the scans. "Powerful, very powerful, but human. That's a surprise. No magic abilities… Hm. What's ki? Afflicted with a magical curse?" She was quite thankful for the Mercury computer. She didn't have to pay for the information. Well… I guess I paid with my ordinary teenage life. "Jusenkyo springs induced a water based curse.. it doesn't tell me what it does though." Ami muttered. She yawned tiredly, her eyes fluttering to stay awake. They'll talk tomorrow and everything will be alright.

"Oh Mina." Artemis mewed at his ward's head as she laid face down on her bed. His paw was gently prodding her silky hair. "It'll be easier if you just forget him."

The reply came back muffled yet clear. "I want to, Arty. You know I want to, but I just can't!" The distress was clear. "I see him when I close my eyes. Grinning with that stupid face and laughing at me."

Artemis held his tongue, knowing that his words would hardly help the repetitive situation. Opting for humor, offhandedly, Artemis said, "You know, your hair kinda smelly." He grinned and spoke jokingly. "Maybe there's a shampoo that'll help erase certain parts of your memory, so just him."

"..." There was a soft sniffle before the reply. "Arty, that's just ridiculous."

"It's called wishful thinking." Said the white cat matter-of-factly. "You should try it sometime."

Seconds of Artemis silent smile passed. "I wish you wouldn't say stupid things."

"That's the spirit!" Artemis cheered at the lively albeit muffled response.

"...Thanks Artemis." Minako greatly appreciated the effort of her long time advisor.

"No problem."

Minako finally lifted her head from the pillow, revealing red eyes and a damp pillow. "How is it possible for a human to beat a Senshi?" She asked her advisor and oldest friend. "I suppose I could understand how I lost back then but I'm fully trained now."

"It's not possible." The cat answered simply and easily. He then muttered. "And I wouldn't say fully trained."

Minako missed the last part. "Then how? How is it possible?"

Artemis mused over the question. He had constantly asked himself the same question ever since he came up. "It's possible that he isn't human."

"He's a youma in disguise?" Minako logically assumed.

"Actually… no." The cat had long ago put away the idea of him being a youma. "He's too smart and skilled to be youma. You've seen it yourself. Most youmas are simple and nonhuman-like. The just go around take energy, possess, or just make a big mess. He's never done any of that. You can just tell when you're in the presence of a youma lord. I don't get anything from him."

"But you just said he isn't human."

"I did." The cat nodded. "There's other creatures you know."
"Really…?" Minako inquired, intrigued. "Like what?"

"I dunno."

"Arty!"

"I'm sorry!" The quickly defended himself, embarrassed at giving an empty answer "Me and Luna are Mau, so I assumed there's obviously a possibility of other lifeforms."

"So he's an alien?" Minako mumbled.

"I'm just saying."

"It's Luna and I, by the way." Minako corrected.

"..." The cat pawed at the blond's head, irritably. "Nice to see you in a good enough mood to correct my grammar."

Minako smiled softly. "Yea, thanks to you. You stupid cat."

"Hey!"

"I'm just kidding." Minako let out a gaping yawn. "We're going out to ice cream tomorrow."

"...Usagi's idea, isn't it?" The moon cat sighed.

"Yep." Minako flipped her pillow around to hide the wet side. "G'night Arty."

"Good night Minako." He replied as he padded around the bed to find a comfortable spot for himself to sleep on. "Try not to think about him, okay? I don't want to be thrown off the bed again."

"Well now that you mentioned him, I'm thinking about him." The troubled girl groused

"Goto sleep Mina."

The next morning found a male Ranma exploring the streets of Juuban. Or rather, the roofs of Juuban. Ignoring the gasps and stares of disbelief, Ranma leapt from roof to roof toward the place Hiroshi and Daisuke mentioned, Juuban High. Well, he would be heading there if he knew where the hell it was. Ranma sighed which prompted him to yawn gapingly. Immediately after the yawn, his stomach announced itself, growling loud and thunderous. So he was lost, tired and hungry. Lost because he foolishly decided to blindly go into a district he never been to before. Hungry because he had skipped Kasumi's delicious divine breakfast in favor of heading directly to Juuban with the dual benefit of skipping his morning beating. The only reason he did that was because his mind constantly thought his situation with V-chan which resulted with the dual downside of anxiously staying awake longer and prompting him to skip the aforementioned meal for more pressing matters.

Ranma groaned as his stomach protested its emptiness once again. "Maybe I'll find somewhere to eat first." He mumbled and stopped on red tiled rooftop. Looking around him, he observed the very different buildings. There was more of a city-like feel to Juuban than Nerima. They were much taller and modern than the buildings in Nerima and the people simply looked smarter than those in Nerima. Ranma sweatdropped as he thought about that. He scanned the streets, searching for some street stand, small business restaurant or even a vending machine. He cheered happily when he found something far superior to all those. His mouth salivated and his eyes lit up as he stared longingly at the color windows that marked an ice cream store. He felt around his pocket and realized they mirrored his stomach's void, having found a single 100 yen coin. He sighed pathetically as he then confirmed the cashier to be a young male and then searched for some quick access to water. Spotting a puddle under him, he leapt off the building, performing two flips and landing surprisingly softly on his feet elegantly and unharmed.

Beside him, he heard some gasps and an applause. He distinguished single pair of hands enthusiastically clapping louder than the rest. Preening himself, he bowed lavishly and smiled brightly, eliciting a mix of scoffs and giggles. When he looked up he was greeted with a few impressed onlookers who smiled approvingly at the show.

"Papa! Can you do that?" He heard and prompted him to look up from his dramatic bow. There was a young family before him. Very young. In fact, the petite blond father and an elegant aquamarine-tressed mother appeared barely several years older than their pale, frail daughter.

The father scoffed. "Of course I can." Ranma frowned internally. Something about the father tickled something in his mind coupled with the fact the voice didn't quite match the pitch he expected.

"Don't get so far ahead of yourself, dear." The young exquisite mother admonished.

"Yeah." Ranma chuckled as he mouth flew. "It took me years to develop that skill. It's not something someone like you could do."

The blond's face darkened considerably. "Someone like me, huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Ranma shrugged. "I'm just saying a pretty boy like you shouldn't get his hands dirty with what real men do." Ranma didn't know why he was so insulting to somebody he barely knew. He just knew that something about him just bugged the hell out of him. "You'd crack a nail if you tried."

The man bared his teeth and clenched his hands. "Why you sonuv-"

"Wow!" His daughter cut in, seemingly oblivious to the raised tensions. "That's amazing mister! How many years did it take you to do that?"

Ranma smirked as he noticed the man fuming and the woman holding him back. "Nah it ain't. I could've done that when I was 8."

"Really?" The girl said excitedly.

"Uh huh." Ranma nodded arrogantly. "I can do so much cooler stuff now."

"Like what?" Ranma could feel the eager curiosity just ooze out the girl.

"I can destroy a rock by poking it, catch arrows with my hands, go invisible and some other awesome things too."

It was so gratifying seeing the twinkling dazzled eyes of the lovable girl in front of him.

"What a bunch of bul- Ow!" Ranma let out a full on grin as the man's rebuttal was cut by a deft elbow to his ribs.

"I can see who wears the pants in the relationship." Ranma said aloud, loud enough to hear but soft enough to make it seem it wasn't intentionally said to hear. Honestly, Ranma was slightly impressed to the battle aura the man exuded. Slightly.

"Could you show me?" The girl in front of her asked, hopping slightly in excitement. She put on adorable puppy eyes that Ranma grinned at.

"Of course bu-" Ranma's stomach rumbled audibly, eliciting a giggle from the girl. "Sometime later… I gotta get something to eat."

"Aww…" The girl pouted preciously.

Ranma didn't know what came over him but he crouched down and rubbed the girl's black, soft hair affectionately, educing a content sigh and a wildly blushing child. "Sometime later, go check out the Tendo dojo over in Nerima." A cry of rage clued him into why he rubbed the child's head. Ranma drank in the anger as he straightened up with a 'fuck you' smile.

"You pervert!" Shouted the man in a feminine manner.

Ranma guffawed and briskly walked into the alley where he saw the puddle earlier. When he heard the rapidly approaching footsteps of the father, he changed into his fairer form. Adapting a calmer face, he casually walked out the alley just as the father appeared. Ranma almost sniggered aloud when he felt the absolute dumbfoundment. The humor immediately transformed into disgust as he then rolled his eyes with some irritation when he felt the father's gaze on his ass. In front of his wife no less!

Shaking his head in disapproval he headed towards the ice cream shop he spotted earlier.

"Haruka-papa, look! He really did turn invisible!"

Rei, Usagi, Makoto, Minako, and Ami. That was the order in which they sat at the round table in the ice cream shop. The scene featured the typical Usagi chowing down on immense portions of ice cream while the others, sans Minako, enjoyed their own moderate portions. Needless to say, the majority of them were quite used to their leader's antics and filtered out the embarrassment. The majority because, Rei couldn't handle the sloppiness.

"U-sa-gi!" Rei growled, enunciating each vowel darkly. "Have some propriety! It's bad enough you made us come here so early in the morning. Who in the world eats ice cream for breakfast?"
Usagi, unaffected by the seething rage of the raven haired girl, barely paused in eating as she replied. "What? You mean... you guys don't?"

"Of course not!" Rei yelled, causing the others except Usagi to wince at its volume. Luckily, there were no other patrons except them. "If you keep this up, you'll have ice cream for brains and thunder thighs!"

That made Usagi freeze. Her eyes welled up and everybody winced again as they all knew what came next. "Wahhh! Rei's calling me fat!" To console herself, Usagi took in bigger portions of ice cream whilst sobbing.

Rei, unfazed by the crying, shot back. "I didn't call you fat, meatball head. I said you were going to get fat!"

"That's the same thing!" ;-;

"No it's not!"

Finally the mediator cut in. "Guys, I think we should be focusing on why we're really here." Makoto said diplomatically.

Ami quickly agreed. "Makoto's right. Usagi set the meeting so we could cheer Minako up and help her out."

"She could've set the meeting at the shrine." Rei muttered darkly. "Not at some public place at eight in the morning!" Everybody winced again.

"I could've." Usagi nodded as she kept her focus on inhaling the sweetly goodness. "But I wanted ice cream."

Before Rei could retort, Makoto spoke. "Nevermind that Rei. Mina needs our help."

Rei scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Right, more boy problems."

A deafening smack of flesh on wood resounded the ice cream establishment, causing everybody to direct their attention to Minako. Even Usagi stopped eating and Rei blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst.

Minako, with her fist still planted firmly on the glossy yellow table, grounded out her words. "He is not my boyfriend. He is my worst nightmare. Don't ever think I'll ever stoop to his sickening bastard standards."

Rei blinked again at the pure hate and the curse. Oh right, he's the guy that humiliated her constantly when she was Sailor V. Appropriately admonished, Rei responded softly. "Sorry."

"Actually." Makoto piped up. "He's not bad as you make him out to be."

"Not bad? Not bad!?" Minako ranted. "He's mocked me countless time. Insulted my figure, my skills, and my looks! He tied me up, he left me suspended in a disgusting places, and he even buried me one time! Never once did he stop smirking that infuriating smirk of his. And you say he's not bad?"

Makoto shied away slightly at the anger directed at her, twirling her hands nervously. She forgot what she originally was going to say. "I… uh… What I meant was-"

"Makoto's right." Ami jumped in, saving Makoto from Minako's fury. Minako leveled an intense glare to Ami, causing her to sweat slightly, but she spoke calmly anyways. "It's just who he is and how he works."

"A narcissistic bully who preys on young, vulnerable girls?" Rei said cynically with a brow raised. Minako nodded in accord.

"Not at all." Ami denied. "Well I suppose he's narcissistic but that's given due to his life and skills. He's definitely not a bully and besides Sailor V is definitely not a vulnerable girl."

"You don't know if he preys on other girls." Rei retorted cynically

"That's not true." Ami said as she shook her head. "It's more like the opposite."

As Ami spoke, Minako's glare intensified, signifying the complete denial of Ami's words.

"Mina please." Makoto pleaded when she saw the intensity in her eyes. "This is the best way we can help you."

"By changing my beliefs? Why can't you change him?" Minako spat bitterly. "What do you guys know about him anyways? I'm the one who he tortured. I guess we all do know where he lives. We don't you help me do something about it?"

"Because it isn't what the Sailor Senshi stands for." The group turned Usagi, who had a fiery determination in her eyes, completely contrasting her clumsy, goofy act earlier. "We, the Sailor Senshi, are better than the monsters we face. You, Minako, are better than the criminals you faced." Usagi gave a meaningful look to Ami and Makoto and amended. "Whether or not he is a criminal. We're the senshi of love and justice. I understand he made you suffer in your earlier years and I know a sorry won't be enough. But you said you will never stoop to his standards?" Usagi directed all of this to a speechless Minako. "Then don't."

The four other girls stared in awe at the conviction in Usagi's voice. From ditzy to resolute. Their leader surprised them to no ends.

After a few seconds of meaningful silence, Ami cleared her throat. "Thank you… Usagi." Ami nodded appreciatively to Usagi to which she nodded back, still with passionate eyes. "As I was saying, I did so-"

Makoto cleared her throat unnecessarily loudly.

Ami continued. "Makoto and I did some research on your villain, Ranma Saotome." Ami shuffled around in her pocket and fished out a folded piece of paper. "There's a whole website about him. This is some of the basic stuff. There's tons more on the website."

Minako hesitantly grasped the paper and slowly unfolded it under the gaze of her peers. As she unfolded a bell chimed, signalling the entrance of another patron. However, nobody paid attention to it. Minako read its contents slowly.

"The bastard got three fiancees!" Minako gasped, catching the attention of Rei. "That cheating swine."

Ami nodded. "But none of them was his fault, only his father."

"Please, how could it only be his father's fault." Rei spat, disgusted at the news. "His father can't have that much control over him."

"Actually-" Makoto popped in.

"Genma is a corrupt fool that use his spineless son for his evil deeds. He definitely has control." Minako growled, interrupting Makoto. She continued to read the paper, taking note of the several names.

After some awkward moments of silence, Makoto spoke. "There's loads of information on him. But you have to pay some fees. I don't kn-"

"OH. MY. GOD!" Usagi suddenly, practically, yelled. Immediately, the four other girls put their hands at their waists, ready to pull out their henshin rods. "Look at that ice cream!"

Everybody, including Minako face faulted miserably. After such a powerful, emotional speech, such an outburst was a major let down.

Rei growled heatedly. "Who cares if some random person got ice cream. You had more than enough yourself!"

Usagi waved the last part off. "It's not that, but it's how she got the ice cream." She pointed at the girl who had heaping pile of ice cream. "Look!"

"That is pretty impressive. And she's slimmer and… healthier than you." Rei felt a twinge of inadequacy at her own body. How in the world did people who ate so much junk keep such excellent forms? And that bright red hair has got to be fake.

Impressively, Usagi ignored the hidden jibe, "What I'm so excited about is that she got all of that with only 100 yen!"

Makoto blinked. "No way! That's gotta be at least 2000 yen."

Suddenly, Usagi stood straight up, slamming her hands on her table.

"Wait…" Ami begged uselessly. "Don't…"

Usagi stalked over to the girl who started to eat the ice cream at rate equivalent to herself. She slammed her hands on the table, catching the attention of the girl who looked at her quizzically.

Then Usagi dropped to her knees and clasped her hands over her chest in a delicate fashion. Dropping her head in a final submissive act, she pleaded. "Please! Teach me!"

The girl looked up to her, steel blue eyes meeting bright blue eyes. She blinked owlishly. "What?"

Ranma blinked again in confusion as she looked down to a blue eyed blonde prostrated herself in front of her. Blues eyes are getting quite common in Japan he mused. "Teach you what?" He asked.

"Teach me your ways!" Usagi shouted at the floor as she kept her head bowed.

"Wha-?"

"Usagi!" Ranma heard another girl shout angrily. Looking off to the side, Ranma found it was a pretty raven haired girl. "Come back here! Don't bother her."

"Not until she instructs me of the path to free ice cream." Usagi shouted back, still in her begging position.

"She scammed him, you blockhead! What happened to love and justice!?"

"I love ice cream and there's no justice in those prices!"

"A-are you kidding me?!"

"Oh." Ranma said, nodding her delicate head slightly. "That's what you mean."

Finally, Usagi brought her head up, revealing twinkling innocent eyes that made Ranma wince. "So, will you teach me?"

Ranma made a thoughtful noise as he scanned the blond dubbed Usagi up and down. "Nope!" He said simply.

There was a semi-audible crack as dreams and hopes were crushed. "W-why not?"

Ranma subconsciously puffed out his chest and ran his hand sensually along the contours of his body. "You gotta have the right gifts ta do what I do. Your body ain't gonna cut it. You should be laying of the ice cream anyways. Then maybe you'll have a chance"

Tears immediately sprung up, causing Ranma to also immediately regret saying that. Usagi mumbled incoherently. It was unfortunate yet ironic that to get ice cream you had to not eat ice cream.
Ranma started chuckling nervously as she felt the glares of four other girls on her. "I was just kidding of course!" She amended. Seeing Usagi raise her head in question, Ranma continued. "I'm sorry, I'm just in a bad mood. I'm tired and hungry and you kinda interrupted me from my breakfast. That, and I'm kinda lost too."

"Ohmygod!" Usagi gasped in excitement. Ranma had to sweatdrop at the ridiculous mood swings of the girl in front of him. "You're eating ice cream for breakfast too!" Usagi's head whipped toward to her friends. "Ha! Take that Rei!"

There was a cry of outrage as Usagi turned back to him, smiling as if nothing was wrong with the world. "Will you teach me?"

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm busy looking for somebody and I'm lost… I'm not from around here."

"We can help you!" Usagi offered, eliciting groans from her four friends.

"Usa…" A tall brunette begged. "We're here to help Mina."

Usagi then adopted a sage-like appearance. "A wise man once said 'Sometimes the best way to solve your problems is to help someone else.'" (1)

"...Usagi, nobody said that. That was from a cartoon."

Usagi chirped back. "Doesn't mean it isn't true!" She turned her attention back to Ranma who was evidently sweatdropping even more. Her eyes implored him.

"I think you need to get your friends' agreement first." Ranma deadpanned.

Usagi turned around, giving a poignant glare to her friends.

"...Fine…" Came the general consensus.

A final sweatdrop joined the dozen others. How the hell does a ditz like her boss around so many better girls?

"So, whatcha looking for?" Usagi asked cheerily.

"Juuban high. I was told to look around there."

"Hey! We goto Juuban high! We can take you there!" Usagi offered and looked to his heaping mound of frozen treats. "After you finish your ice cream that is." Quietly she said to herself, "I can help."

"T-thanks." Ranma said. He was quite unnerved by the powerful cheery aura the girl exuded. He then looked to his quickly melting bowl of ice cream and made it disappear. He stood up as he wiped his mouth with his arm. "Let's go now so I can get out of your friends' hairs."

Usagi's eyes sparkled in adoration. "I have so much to learn…" She ushered the four other girls to get a move on and followed Ranma as he exited the store.

"So who're you looking for at Juuban High?" Usagi asked merrily as she walked beside yet slightly in front of Ranma.

"Just a…" Ranma paused in speech as he thought about the most suitable word to fit V-chan. "An acquaintance."

"What's their name? Maybe I know them." A mischievously coy look passed over Usagi and she asked in a singsong voice. "Is it a boy~?"

"Ew! No! I don't lik-" Ranma started panically. Realizing that he was in his girl form, he sobered up, quite understanding why he would be asked that. "No. It's not. I actually don't know her name either." Ranma admitted.

"Huh?"

"It's been a long time. We had a… big fight." Ranma half lied. "Honestly, I think she was the problem, so I'm gonna find out why."

"I see." Usagi said empathetically.

"I thought we were good friends. Best friends, maybe." Ranma continued out of sake of conversation. "But it turns out I was hated by her the entire time and she only put up with me because she had to."

"That's so sad!" Usagi moaned as she turned right. "Why's there so much drama now? My friend Minako in the back has been having problems with some 'acquaintance' too." She used quoted the word with her fingers to emphasize the familiarity of their situations.

Ranma 'tsked.' "That's too bad." He turned around, eyeing Usagi's friends. Something in his head churned. "Which one?"

"Ohmygod!" Usagi gasped, stopping on the sidewalk and turning around. "We haven't even properly introduced each other yet."

Everybody else stopped and looked at the blond, exasperated.

Usagi held out her hand. "Usagi Tsukino."

Ranma took it with a firm shake. "Ranma Saotome."

Suddenly there was a deafening silence as the group of five took a simultaneous blink. Ranma noticed a spike of rage in the other blond's aura. "Is there something wrong?" Ranma inquired.

Usagi chuckled nervously as she eyed Minako in her peripheral vision. "No, of course not. You just reminded us of… something that happened recently... " Usagi focused on the general group and gave a meaningful glare to a moody Minako. "Hey, guys introduce yourself."

"Makoto Kino, nice to meet you!" The tall brunette greeted cheerily.

"Rei Hino." The really pretty girl with straight black hair simply said.

"Ami Mizuno. Nice to meet you." The bluette bowed respectfully.

"Minako Aino." The other blond said with some distaste.

Blue haired Ami… Ranma's eyes narrowed as he thought about something. Aloud he spoke with a cheery smile. "Nice to meet you all."

"Great!" Usagi cheered. "Now that we all know each other, let's keep going. We're almost there."

"Wait." Demanded the other blond, Minako.

"Hm?" Ranma prompted.

"Ranma Saotome?" Minako muttered.

"Uh huh."

"You said you weren't from Juuban, right?"

"Yep."

"Where are you from?"

"Nerima." Ranma simply replied as he examined the strangely negative girl. "Say, have we met before?"

Minako's eyes narrowed dangerously as she fished out a folded piece of paper from her pocket.

"What are you doing Minako?" Usagi asked, fearful of scaring off their new friend.

"Yeah, Mina. She's obviously not him." Makoto added. "Like, listen to the pronouns."

Blue eyes, pigtail, and fucking Ranma Saotome from Nerima. Minako ignored their concerns and held the piece of paper up in a way she was in view of the paper and the girl. She tested something out. "Ryoga Hibiki." She stated.

Instead of a look of confusion, Minako got a look of surprise and rapid turning to scan the area.

"Why'd you say that." Ranma said irritably. Behind Minako, her friends were watching with wide eyes and complete silence, completely intrigued by the happenings.

Minako glanced at the paper. "Akane Tendo."

Ranma blinked. "How do you know her?"

"Who is she to you?" Minako asked gravely.

"None of ya business." Ranma said defiantly. It was similar to Nabiki situations. She had all the information on him and he had nothing on her.

"Do you do martial arts?"

"I do…" Ranma said hesitantly, suspicious of where the conversation was heading.

"Is it called Anything Goes Martial arts?"

Ranma slowly nodded. With every confirmation, he could feel Minako darken even more, slightly scaring him and putting him into an adrenaline rush. As a result, his mind raced.

"Nodoka and Genma Saotome. Do you know them?" The way she said Genma, so full of spite and repulsion was the last piece. It was exactly how V-chan said it at every precursor to their fights in London, seeing as Genma would typically be doing criminal activities with him to save his ass. He looked around him and they fit with Hiroshi's description. Blonde in the weird odangos, the really tall brunette, and the really hot one with long black hair. And then there was Ami, the bluette Akane lookalike who appeared when Sailor V and Sailor Venus came. They also went to Juuban High like Daisuke mentioned. Ranma examined the girl in front of him. Really examined her. Long blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and an incredibly beautiful face. In addition, there was the anger he recognized. With a mask and perhaps a little older…

"V-chan?" Ranma whispered.

Minako's visage darkened to a deathly image. "You're him..."

"Fuck."

I'm pretty proud of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

(1) Anyone know where the quote comes from? :)

Reviews are appreciated. Criticisms or compliments, it matters not.