Hellos! Here's a new chapter. My god… When I gave my version of DnD alignment… three years ago... I never knew I could be so 'wrong.' Haha. But then again, you guys didn't agree with each other, either. That was extremely interesting.
What I did was based off what I thought as the perspective of 'objective society.' Of course, immediately, the problem is how could I possibly be objective. Basically, I thought to myself: If I put [Character] in society outside of Nerima, how would they act? This is why I had Shampoo and Cologne as good. They wouldn't go around terrorizing others, they'd abide by the rules, albeit unconventionally, thus chaotic. In the story, they were provoked by a completely unconventional outsider, Ranma. I believe the Kunos would definitely cause harm to others, classifying as evil and so on… But once again, this is subjective. This is irrelevant anyways but it was fun to read your thoughts. Onto the story!
I've decided to change Ranma's pronouns according to his current gender.
Been a year and eight months. Ha and that sentence was another year ago. That definitely does stuff to whatever I had originally intended. Oh boy.
I appreciate the all reviews asking for more.
Chapter 8
"What's taking him so long?" Hiroshi asked, pacing around the living room.
"Who are you talking about?" Daisuke mumbled, idly eating Pocky while laid back on the couch, watching TV.
"Ranma!" Hiroshi shouted, picking up his pace. "Who else would I be talking about?"
"Oh. I don't know…" Daisuke, looked up curiously.
"Argh, this is terrible!" Hiroshi yelled. "Why can't Ranma just come in and beat us up already? Feels like it's been three years since we've seen him!"
"That's an oddly specific amount of years." Daisuke noted. "'Sides, do you want him to beat us up?"
"Well… no." Hiroshi answered, stopping his incessant pacing. "But… it just feels like we were forgotten."
"To be fair, it's not like we were that important in his life, with all his shit going on."
"That's true. But, it still hurts!" Hiroshi whined. "It's like we're just here to be laughed at! Like, this even this entire conversation isn't important! What's the point of it?"
"There, there." Daisuke said monotonously.
"I mean, is this even real?" Hiroshi laughed hysterically. "Is this even a part of the grand scheme of everything? You know what I mean?"
"..."
"..."
"You know, this pity fest isn't going to make me change my mind about the 1000 yen, right?"
"Shut up, Daisuke."
"Look at that guy!" Exclaimed an overly excited voice in hushed tones. The guy in question was a tall, elegant man in his twenties. He wore a black business suit with a white blue shirt underneath and a dark blue tie. He wore a stoic face and hard eyes on top of thin lips and sunken cheeks. "He's pretty nice. Right, Minako?"
It was a beautiful midday with a cloudless sky. The sun radiated a comforting warmth to Minako and Makoto who sat upon their usual wooden bench. The sounds of children laughing and squealing filled the air, overpowering the hush conversing voices of the supervising adults. A sweet aroma waft through the air, signifying a truly sprung spring.
"I guess." Minako said, scanning the man discreetly as he passed them. He didn't turn his head to look at them but it was obvious that he intentionally walked on the path so he would walk by them. He had been lingering around and chose the path that went by them out of many. "He looks too serious. The way he walked by us tells me he's a jerk. I mean, he expected us to go to him."
"Sure…" Makoto agreed hesitantly. He was the sixth decent man to be in the park. He was also the sixth decent man to be immediately shot down. Normally, Minako would be crowing with her at the handsome men that went by. They would chat about their looks, their outfit, and their build; they never talked about their personality. Unlike their other man-dow shopping, the atmosphere was quite uncomfortable. The two remained in silence with Makoto fidgeting in her seat.
"He thought it was just sparring." Minako broke the silence, speaking while blankly staring forward. Her chin rested upon her stretched hands while her elbows rolled on her thighs.
"Huh?"
"He thought I was having fun. Trying to arrest him and trying to beat him." She spoke monotonously, a matter-of-fact style of speaking.
"Oh..." Makoto said haltingly. She certainly welcomed her friend's words but knowing that she wanted to forget the person in question, she wasn't sure if it was positive or not. So, she opted for silence.
"To him, it was normal to humiliate the loser when winning. He didn't see it as torture." Minako started idly swinging her feet under the bench. "That's just so wrong. I can't even imagine how you would ever think like that."
Makoto observed her dear friend. The blond girl continued to stare lifelessly ahead of her in the same position and posture. "I guess he was raised that way." She offered.
Minako hummed with her lips tight. "Genma is a bastard." It was vile. The way she said that name. "But you'd think by the time we had our first… encounter… that he would know better. Some little voice saying 'Hey! That girl looks hurt! You should stop!'" Minako vented mockingly. "Or... 'hey! That girl's trapped and hogtied with her own clothes, that shouldn't have been detached in the first place because it's an invasion of privacy, you probably shouldn't manage to find snakes and scorpions in a friggen city to drop in front of the defenseless girl, who just happened to be incredibly scared of those things!'"
She couldn't help herself. Makoto sweatdropped but her face didn't betray her.
Minako continued. "He should be old enough to know the most basic morals. I mean he knew that stealing was bad! He even called him a 'useless bastard!'"
"Ami said that he had been on an over ten year training trip." Makoto spoke tactfully and deliberately, trying to defend the boy who she truly thought wasn't a bad person but at the same time not setting her currently emotional friend. "It's not like he had any real role model to look up to. He only had his dad."
"You didn't have either of your parents, but you turned out well." Minako countered tartly.
"..." Makoto's face fell, breaking eye contact.
Minako blinked, and the overwhelming bitterness vanished, just for a second. Only to be replaced by regret and self-loathing. Minako turned to her. "I-I'm sorry. Mako."
"Let's just…" She sighed. "Let's just forget about this. You said you were never going to see him again, right?"
"Yep." Minako affirmed with a nod. She returned her gaze back to the park.
"That reminds me." Makoto perked up, quickly pushing the thought of her parents out of her mind. "We spoke to Setsuna and she said tha-"
"Hey, that guy's pretty nice." Minako suddenly perked up.
Makoto quickly turned her head to the direction her friend was pointing to, immensely joyous that her friend finally took the initiative to pick someone out. Just from his face and clothes, she knew he was Chinese. He wore a white robe with sleeves long enough to rest his arms within each one; the robe was also tied up by a red cloth belt. As he walked she could see his blue sweatpants and white shoes. Despite his femininely long hair, he certainly was handsome looking and had a nice athletic build that she had favor to. "There's a lot of people here with blue eyes in Japan, huh."
Minako blinked, not really expecting that kind of statement. "I guess…? So what do you think about him?"
"He's not bad. Pretty cute. Unique style of clothes. Not too flashy and not too arrogant." Makoto admitted. While walking, the person in question constantly jerked his head to the sides, ducking every once in awhile as if something was hiding on the ground. Curiously, Minako stated. "He looks… lost."
"You're right." Minako agreed in the same curious manner as Makoto.
"Let's go help him!" With little resistance, Makoto pulled Minako off the bench and walked towards the lost man, pulling Minako along.
"Stop pulling." Minako whined, barely resisting the stronger, bigger girl. "Jeez, Mako. I can walk by myself."
"Okay. Fine." Makoto complied, letting go. Hopefully helping a person out will help Mina forget. Where was that happy go lucky girl she knew and loved?
As they walked up to the man who was looking at the sky, Makoto perkily greeted. "Hello!"
"Shampoo!" The man had turned to them and immediately glomped Makoto who was too slow and too surprised to react. With his face resting on her shoulder, he cried happily. "Oh how I dreamed of the day you'd greet me without malice!"
Evercr- No. Evercurl? L'Oreal EverPure… That's the one She swore she would forever use that shampoo for the rest of her life. Her face heated as she felt the tight, powerful muscles constricting under his thick robes. "H-hhi. My name's M-makoto."
She could feel the stranger jerk back from her shoulder and stared into her eyes. While maintaining his grip on her body with his left hand, he pulled out incredibly thick glasses from nowhere and put them on. Immediately he disengaged from her body and sprang back an impressive ten feet. "You're not my Shampoo!"
With a disappointed sigh, she found a strong distaste for the style and type of glasses he wore. "Then what shampoo do you use?"
The man blinked, or that's what she thought he did behind the thick glasses. "What are you- Nevermind that! I must find that cheating bastard! This is Juuban, right?"
"R-right!" Makoto confirmed, recovering from the strange moment. "Are you lost? Where are you from? What's your name?"
"My name's Mousse!" He claimed proudly, adjusting his glasses a bit. His thick glasses shimmering to the midday sun. Have you seen a boy wearing red with a black pigtail, by chance? Or a girl with a red pigtail?"
God. Damn. It. Shampoo's the Chinese Amazon fiancee! Makoto mentally whined. She glanced towards Minako and flinched at seeing the girl drop into a mix of gloom and rage. "No, no. Not at all… What did he do?"
"Running after another girl when he already has the love of my lovely Shampoo!? And then, announcing it all over Japan? Disgusting! Damn that coward Saotome!" He held his balled fist up in the air, shaking it in rage.
"I uh… I." Makoto stumbled over her words, lost in the situation. This developed far faster than she anticipated. Then, there was then a familiar beeping sound. She spared a glance to Minako who quickly shook herself out the pessimistic mood she was in. There was a silent agreement before Makoto addressed Mousse. "Sorry, we can't help you. Don't know who you're talking about."
"Really?" Mousse questioned suspiciously, his right hand rubbing his chin analytically. "Your friend there had that face."
"That face?"
"It's the same face that all people get when Saotome is mentioned." Mousse said, nodding his head in recollection. He spoke matter of factually. "It's that mix of disgust, horror and rage balled up in one festering boil of putrid fury."
"That… Says a lot about him." Makoto mumbled. Waving her hands in a pushaway gesture, she said. "You know the news… always stretching the truth. There's no way some guy can just be engaged to the Sailor Senshi."
"Anyways." Minako pulled Makoto along. "We really have to go."
As the two ran off, Mousse took off his glasses to continue his search.
"Wait… Ka-chan? You're a scout?" Ranma spoke with bugged eyes.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, civilian." Sailor Uranus insisted, mentally berating herself on her idiocy. "Right now, we have to go after that youma before it wrecks Japan."
"That wasn't a youma… Tha- Hey! Don't change the topic! You just said that you were-"
"Shampoo attack!" Suddenly, falling from the sky, Shampoo performed a dropkick to which Uranus was able to successfully block with her for arms in an 'X.'
"What are you doing, Shampoo!" Akane called from behind her. "They're the Sailor Senshi! They're the saviors of the world!"
"If Shampoo take down blue too too short skirt then Shampoo fight orange too too short skirt easy!" She cried after dropping down and unleashed a flurry of blows to a surprised Uranus who took the blows.
"Stop it!" Saturn shouted, seeing a fight randomly break out scared her, the attacking girl could really get hurt.
Shampoo grinned as she pounded her enemy, find it too too easy. It seemed like the saviors of the world were too slow and untrained in hand to hand combat. This one was not even fighting back! Shampoo laid a punch to the Senshi's gut followed by a kick to the side of her chest. While the blows hit solidly, it didn't seem like it did damage which confused Shampoo a bit. She felt the soft sponginess of the skin with each blow yet there was seemingly little effect. The skimpy outfit appeared to be absorbing the blows. Cocking her fist back, she then threw her fist at Uranus' face.
Sailor Uranus simply took the blows, not really expecting to fight a civilian at all. If she wasn't powered up, she definitely would have been killed by the inhuman strength of the attacks she felt. They said battles happened here on a daily basis? After standing idly as a punching bag, the attacks suddenly stopped. Opening her eyes, she noticed the attractive girl who claimed to be Ranma standing protectively in front of her holding a fist that was aimed for her head in her palm. Considering the power she felt in the purple haired girl, it was quite hard to believe that the smaller red head was able to block the punch with seemingly little effort.
"Aiyah!" Shampoo growled, dropping the punch. "What you doing Airen?"
"What am I doing?" Ranma repeated shocked. "What are you doing, attacking some innocent for no reason? I mean she's not even a fiancee! 'Obstacle is for killing' ain't even applied here."
Fiancee? Uranus thought idly while watching the scene in stupor. Fellow lesbians, that's nice. Glancing to the side, she noticed Neptune, Saturn and Akane simply watching. The former two had stares of disbelief and the latter just looked angry.
"Just test." Shampoo answered coyly, as if innocent. She pointed to Uranus. "Is okay. She no hurt."
"That's not the point!" Ranma exclaimed. "She could've gotten hurt! She didn't do anything to deserve to be attacked. If anything, ocean over there should be the one to blame for blasting water at me."
"So…" Shampoo pointed to the green haired girl who simply gaped in understanding. Shampoo clenched her right fist and punched the open palm of her other hand. "Is okay?"
"No!"
"Shampoo!" Akane joined, hands on hip. "They're the Senshi! You can't just beat them up! It's not like you can anyways."
Shampoo sneering and crossing her arms at her rival. "Akane no win, no means Shampoo no win."
"Why, you!" Akane shouted indignantly, marching up to the purple-haired beauty. "I can't beli-"
"Akane, stop." Ranma quickly placed him in front of her. "This really doesn't involve you."
Behind Ranma, Shampoo stuck out her tongue and pulled on her eyelid while giving direct eye contact with Akane. Of course, Akane didn't take too well to that casual dismissal. A slight aura enveloping her body. "Ranma! How can you protect her? Why are you never on my side!?"
"I ain't picking sides!"
"Nyehhh," Shampoo continued her taunting. She grabbed Ranma's arm and squeezed tightly to her bountiful bosom. Much to the exasperation of Ranma. "Airen want Shampoo. Not you~"
Uranus' eyes widened as the name was confirmed but that was quickly washed away as she was getting a little ticked.
Within their argument, it was if they were casually talking as if they could take on the Sailor Senshi. Granted, she felt the strength and speed behind the Chinese woman's blows but still, there was no way that a person could fight a senshi, especially one on one. They were protectors of Earth for god's sake. She shook her head and walked over to her fellow senshi.
"What do you think you were doing?" Whispered Neptune urgently. "You gave away your identity."
"Maybe she'll forget about it." She mumbled, she quite did not understand why she felt compelled to say what she had said. "Isn't that how our disguise magic works?"
"I have no idea." Neptune said slightly condescendingly. "After all, nobody has ever revealed their identity to civilians... except you."
Uranus gave a deadpan stare.
"Why did that girl call you Ka-chan?" Saturn asked in a hushed voice in Uranus' ear. "How did you know her name was Ranma Saitama?"
"Saotome." Uranus instantly corrected and immediately mentally bashed herself for it.
Neptune gave her an inquisitive glance, a raised brow and tight lips.
There goes any chance of denial. Deflection it is. "It's not important. What is important is that we get out of this madhouse."
Saturn and Neptune nodded, with Neptune a lot more hesitant than Saturn. The three of them looked over to the trio to see if they were still arguing. And they were. There was now shouting, mainly between the redhead and the bluehead. They had their arms frantically waving in their air to accentuate their words. On the side of the two, Shampoo was watching with a sly smile. Her arms crossed under her breasts.
"My goodness!" Neptune gawked. It was at this moment, Akane pulled out a giant mallet from… her pocket? And brought it down on the redhead's head. The concrete underneath the girl's feet crumpled.
"I guess she wasn't lying about that." Uranus muttered blandly. Turning around, she commanded her companions. "All right, that's enough of this place. Let's go."
There were tears in Saturn's eyes. She cried. "Wh-what? We watched someone die!"
"No we didn't." Sure enough, the redhead was moving out of the woman-made hole. Another memory resurfaced in her mind. "Let's go."
"B-but." A teary eyed Saturn protested, her gaze not leaving the rapidly escalating scene.
"It's 'normal' here." Uranus reminded the youngest Senshi, with air quotes around 'normal.' There wasn't even a single news crew to broadcast the fact that they were there fighting some bull monster! And she knew the residents of the district saw them; they were literally walking by the spectacle! If the same situation occurred in Juuban, the newscast would be upon them in mere minutes. "The longer we stay in this insane asylum for a district, the more our identities are at risk."
"More at risk than it already is?" Neptune chided. "Saturn and I are not the ones who have revealed their identities."
"Look, I'm sorry." Uranus said a little tiredly, rubbing her forehead. "But, we're being unprofessional here. We can talk about this after we leave."
Neptune quietly accepted with a nod and the three started to move out the vicinity. In the background, they could still hear the shouting going on as they bounded across the rooftops.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
"Curse you Saotome. Putting all these obstacles in my way." Mousse cursed, absentmindedly walking between a couple, forcing them to let go of their hands. "Stop hiding and come out and fight like a man!"
"C'mon Naomi, let's get away from this creep." Quickly, the couple scurried away.
Mousse stumbled around the streets, occasionally walking into street lamps, other citizens, parked cars, trash cans, and other miscellaneous items.
The citizens of Juuban walked across the streets in suspicion, averting their gaze and speed walking away. Mousse was getting frustrated. Where was he? And where was that damned Saotome? If only he had a clue, something to give him a direction in this unknown district. He mumbled incoherently, how dare Saotome give up Shampoo for some shameless girl in skirts. Japanese vigilantes? Who the heck were the Sailor Senshi anyways?
Just then, screams pierced the air and Mousse instinctively turned his head towards the source. Smoke raised into the air and lights flared. He grinned and broke off into a sprint, bounding off random objects. As he neared, he heard a feminine scream followed by an explosion. He was now close enough to take in the scent of smoke. The streets became emptier, a stark contrast to the battles in Nerima. He could feel the ground shaking underneath him after every explosion now. Finally, he made his way to the scene, positioning himself beside a wall, hidden from view of the attackers/victims.
The battle occured in the middle of the street. Mousse squinted and squinted harder. There were five girls in white, extremely short skirts. The Sailor Senshi, it seemed. They spoke a phrase and elemental magic projected from themselves, with most creating explosions as they hit an object. They were relentless in their attacks on their enemy. Mousse frowned, brows scrunching inwards along with his squint. Their attacks were targeted on a single woman in the center of the street. She wasn't even fighting back! She was tall for asian standards, and that was accentuated further with her very skinny figure. Nothing abnormal. He leaned closer, the woman was escaping but failing, her brown hair flailing as she tried to back out.
Mousse backed up for a moment to contemplate. Ranma was nowhere to be seen and this woman was getting picked on. What kind of people attack someone behind their back? His martial artist's honor called to him and he sprinted into the battlefield. Immediately, the magic attacks stopped and Mousse found himself free to move across the field towards the woman.
"W-wha. What?!" He heard a voice call out from the Senshi. "What the heck?!"
Arriving at the woman, he scooped her up in his arms with ease and bounded off, eliciting a surprised yelp from his passenger.
"Wait!" A different voice yelled in group. "Come back here with that youma!"
Mousse was already a mile away from the group, sounds of vehicles approaching and passing him. Judging by the van and apparatuses on the top, he assumed them to be the news crew.
"Let go of me, human!" Mousse's attention was brought to his luggage. Her skin felt rubbery and she was much heavier than she had appeared from a distance. "Let go of me, or I'll make you let go of me!"
He paid no heed to her voice and continued through the streets when sudden fatigue hit him. The sensation of rubber disappeared and she seemingly lightened. However, he kept moving through the fatigue and found a place on the high rooftops to place her down. "Ugh."
"You're… still awake…" She spoke inquisitively. "Your… your energy is… potent."
Mousse inhaled and exhaled meticulously, clearing out the fatigue. Heavy! "What do you eat, woman?" Perhaps, she wasn't as skinny as he thought. He put on his glasses and indeed, she was shorter and softer than before, but strangely healthier looking compared to the earlier battle.
She scowled at him and abruptly charged at him, hands raised in a fashion that he could make out well manicured nails. He casually dodged the telegraphed attack and rubbed his face with his long sleeve, wiping away sleepiness. "I just saved your life! Have some respect, woman!"
She growled like a predator. "Don't chastise me, human. Why have you not fallen?!" She charged once more, releasing a fury of swipes to no success. Mousse sighed with a shake of his head and before she knew it, she was tied up with rope from nowhere. "Unhand me, scum!"
Mousse crouched close enough that his glasses almost touched the nose of the brunette. "Look, if you're not going to be nice and say thank you, then I'll be on my way. Why were you getting attacked anyways?"
Silence reigned until she finally spoke, her face refusing to lose the scowl. "Do you mock me?"
"Huh?"
"Do you not know what I am?" She asked in a deliberate fashion.
"A woman?" Mousse answered with some hesitation, toying with his glasses. Was there something here he was missing? Honestly, does it hurt for some people to say a simple 'thank you'?
A calculative expression replaced her frown. That was soon replaced by tears. "Oh! It was those awful senshi and their racism! I was just trying to eat when they attacked me for no reason! I was starving! I just wanted a snack… and then they attacked me"
Mousse flinched, taken aback by the sudden emotion. "No reason?" He parroted, heat started to boil up at the injustice.
"It was horrible!" She cried. "I can't even go back home because I was supposed to provide for my… my… uh, family!"
Under his thick glasses, it was Mousse's turn to scowl. "Where do you live? I'll give you some food and take you back to your family."
"No!" She suddenly shouted. Her eyes widened and then immediately softened. "I mean, please don't… hum- mister. I can't show my face."
"Why not?"
"I-uh. I don't have enough…" She mumbled, losing her train of thought. A surge of inspiration struck her. Tears sprang to her eyes. "The senshi! They know where I live! They'll come after me again!"
Mousse shook his head. Unfairness at its worst. "I can bring you to Nerima. The people there can protect you. Despite the bastard Saotome is, he'll be sure to defend you."
"Against the senshi?" She asked incredulously.
Mousse chuckled with some slight pride. Puffing up by association. "I don't know who these senshi are but I'd be worried for the senshi if I were you."
The youma narrowed her eyes. She could even taste the pure confidence radiating from him. She licked her lips. "...Are they as potent as you?"
"Potent?"
"You have a lot of. Um. I can feel a lot of, how does one say... energy? Within you." She spoke, conscious about her words.
"Ki?" Mousse offered. Was she a martial artist too? Impossible, the way she fought was of a pitifully untrained child. Though he was aware of religious people on the more mystical side of things could sense Ki. Perhaps she was a priestess being persecuted solely for her beliefs. "Do you mean ki?"
"Sure sure." She spoke, her face careful not to betray emotion. If this man didn't even know who the senshi were then perhaps... "That… Ki. You have a lot of… that."
Mousse nodded. He gave some credit to the Nerimians, the majority were at least versed in the arts for some ki, no matter how little and subconsciously they used it.
She broke out in a smile. The human was exuding just so much of this 'ki.' It was so delicious as if she were drinking water after days without it, or having the perfect sleep after months of insomnia. Truly, an ambrosia to her tired body. To think they were more like this man all clumped together? She may actually return back to the Dark Kingdom on her own powers. Her leaders would just love this. "That's wonderful. Please take me there."
Mousse nodded and proceeded untying her. "The name's Mousse."
"Call me Hebi."
"All right. Let's get you somewhere safe."
"Thank you, mister!" She said, grinning like a lizard. As Mousse picked her up, he grunted slightly in exertion, being in Japan for too long must be making him soft.
"Sorry Hotaru." Neptune addressed the youngest senshi as they continued speeding across roofs. "I suppose we have to find another time to visit him."
The purple senshi nodded. Her mind was more focused on the scary women she had just witnessed rather than the cute martial artist. "It's okay."
"I'm very much against that." Uranus spoke. "This place is a nutcase." She shook her head and scoured around the area. "Hey, that alley is empty, we'll change back and take the train. I don't want to run all the way back to Juuban."
Her companions nodded and the three jumped into the alleyway.
As lights enveloped their bodies and depowered themselves, the three senshi looked up at the crescendoing fluttering above.
"Watch out!"
Their mouths dropped as they saw the redheaded girl rapidly approaching their location from the air. It was rather odd, however, that the girl looked nonchalant, annoyed if anything, about the situation. Rather than screaming while flailing to their impending death. All they could hear were the fluttering of her baggy clothes as they flapped through the air.
Seconds later, the girl collided with the concrete wall behind them, crumpling it into rubble.
"All right." Haruka said through tense teeth. "Let's get out of here." She started to briskly walk out of the alleyway only to stop when noticing her companions not following.
Hotaru cried out. "She's dead!"
"Ugh." Moaned the girl as she stood up, letting the concrete dust fall. "Stupid triggerhappy fiancees."
Michiru and Hotaru simply gaped as Haruka stood, simply annoyed.
"Oh hey." She said, acknowledging them. "It's you guys!" She turned her head side to side, curiously. "I thought I saw the senshi run here."
"Really, miss?" Michiru calmly asked, her eyes closely examining the redhead. "You may be delirious from the fall. Would you like us to take you to the hospital?"
"Nah. And don't call me miss." She brushed the question off and shook some kinks out of her body, attracting pairs of eyes to her body. The girl frowned at Haruka who blatantly staring as she stretched, crossing her arms under her chest. "Don't you have any honor? Your wife's right there."
"Honor?" Haruka said slowly, another memory resurfaced. At the insult, she shot back. "What do you know about honor, Ranma?"
When Haruka spoke, Hotaru and Michiru stood silent. Only their heads turned when someone spoke.
Ranma's eyes narrowed and then widened, gears turning. "Ka-chan, you're a guy?"
"I-uh." She stuttered. "Ranma, you're a girl?"
Ranma looked down at herself. "Huh. Don't know why I forgot. I'm a guy! And don't you forget that! You're a senshi?"
"Nope." Haruka denied. "I think slamming into concrete is messing with your head."
"What the heck are you talking about?" Ranma asked in bewilderment. "Just earlier, you said my name. Just now you did and I saw three senshi go in this alley and there's three of you here." She looked around and pointed at each person respectively, articulating each name. "Dark blue. Ocean. And purple."
"We have names, idiot!" Haruka's eyes twitched at the blatant disrespect.
"Haruka!" Michiru admonished.
"The jig's up." Came the gruff answer. Haruka kneaded her forehead.
Ranma cocked her head. "Wait, so did turning into a senshi curse you? Cuz, like, you were a chick. But now you're not a chick. But when you're dark blue, you're a chick."
"It's Uranus." Haruka grounded out. "And I've always been a woman!"
Michiru chided her once more. "Ha-ru-ka!"
"Michiru! It doesn't matter anymore!"
Ranma stared in disbelief, eyes darting from Haruka and Michiru. "But, you guys are… you're…"
"Yea. We're lesbians." Haruka rolled her eyes as Michiru blushed a bright red. They just revealed their relationship to a stranger!
"You mean, when you're senshi?" Ranma scratched his head. "Is that how that works?"
Haruka fumbled with her suit with jagged motions. "Does this finally get through your thick head?" Two lovely mounds expanded behind the button down. Michiru stared wordlessly.
Ranma blinked owlishly. "Okay… Well, you can't blame me. You didn't grow that much then did ya?"
"Son of a…" Haruka's face heated and approached Ranma, waving a fist. "I don't need to hear this from a person who left me!"
"Eh?" Michiru and Hotaru gaped aside. Michiru was dazed, not quite comprehending that the very healthy redhead had history with Haruka. And she never spoke about it. Was she a starlight? Or was her lover actually bisexual?
Ranma's face scrunched and she passively shook her head. "What?"
"You are Ranma Saotome, right?" Haruka asked in an aggressive stance. "The 'son' of Genma? We had races everyday where I'd lose every time? We fought each other too. You're also that cocky idiot we saw earlier today, right?"
"Yea…" Ranma's eyes glazed over and softened as other thoughts snagged her mind. "Did I… Did make your life a living hell, too? Do you hate me too?"
"What are you going on about?" Haruka asked, her voice in a gruff and confused tone. "I want to know why'd you left me so suddenly! You promised me!"
"What? What did I promise ya?" Ranma asked, brows furrowing intensely. "Pops finally caught wind of his old master Myazaki in London. I didn't wanna leave, but pops beat me so I had to go. Sorry... I guess."
"He beat you?" Hotaru gaped loudly to the side, putting both her hands to her opened mouth. Beside her, Michiru also gaped, disgust crossing her elegant features.
Ranma broke the stretching silence, cocking his head to his side. "What? Of course he beat me. It's pretty normal."
"Did he beat you often?" Michiru asked in concern, unable to mask the disgust she felt.
"That's terrible…" Hotaru whimpered, tears gathering under her eyes.
"Well. Back then, sure. Pretty much every single day." Ranma shrugged, unconcerned with her past. "Whatcha you expect? I was a kid and he was a full grown adult, obviously he'd beat me."
Michiru put her hands to her lips. "Did he use his fists?"
Ranma cocked her head to the side. "Well, yea. That's his style. He calls weapons weak and cowardly. You really show someone how weak they are when you beat them with your bare hands, haha." Ranma chuckled.
"Does he do it when he's drunk?" Michiru asked, vowing to call child protective services later.
"Nah. He doesn't touch me when he's drunk. Most of the time, he usually just passes out. He only beats me when he's sober. Which isn't often, let me tell you." Ranma explained chuckling slightly. In the back of her head, she was curious to why they were so interested in this. With bravado, she spoke out, "He doesn't beat me anymore. Now, I can proudly say that I can return the favor. Heheh."
"That's… wonderful." Michiru turned her head to the side at the blatant happiness to abuse and spoke in a dry tone. Hotaru continued staring wide-eyed.
Haruka stood silent, finding hard that an energetic, athletic, and stubborn person like Ranma could let himself be beaten by his father. She examined the girl with deliberation. She had striking blue eyes, similar style of hair, and same fierce personality, further confirming they were truly one and the same.
Ranma Saotome. The only boy who made her feel so angry, and so excited and so unlonely.
The brazen boy they had seen earlier certainly reminded her of Ranma years ago, but she had been too focused on defending her personal honor to seriously analyze him. They had to be the one and the same based on what she discovered and Ranma was the only one who called her Ka-chan. Then why was Ranma female? At first, she assumed Ranma was a starlight but quickly threw that idea away as Ranma couldn't recognize their senshi names or identify as a female as the starlights did. "Can you change back to a guy?"
"Got any hot water?" Ranma asked in a slightly defeated tone. "It's a water based curse I picked up in China. Need some to change me back."
"China?" Haruka puzzled. "I thought you went to London."
"I did. We went to China afterwards. If you guys want, I'll explain it to ya." Ranma answered while walking out the tight alley. After a moment, the other three girls followed suit.
Back in the Hiwaka shrine, five young girls and one ancient woman were conversing about their recent youma encounter.
"What. Happened." A cold steel voice cut through the shrine like paper.
"We'resosorrySetsuna! WealmosthadherbutthenWOOSH! Someguydivedinandranawaywithher!"
Multiple pathetic sighs filled the room and Rei spoke up. "The youma was rescued by some idiot in white robes."
"Rescued…?" The scowl was set in stone on Setsuna's face. A youma lord that cared about his subjects? A youma lord in the city? "Why didn't you guys run after them? You cannot let a youma get away! Who knows what horrors it will do."
"It happened so fast!" Usagi blabbered. "The guy was so fast too! He ran just as fast as we could go while carrying the youma."
"Do you girls know who he is and where he could have possibly gone? He's likely another enemy." Setsuna spoke with a tight jaw and minimal movement. Likely, they were gone from the planet entirely, back to the Dark Kingdom. It didn't hurt to check of course.
"That was Mousse." Makoto answered, bringing the attention to her. Across from her, Ami nodded in confirmation and turned back to the Mercury computer in her lap. "Chinese Amazon from Nerima… One of Ranma's rivals."
"There's that name again." Setsuna muttered.
"Yeah, well we saw Mousse earlier today." Makoto continued, gesturing to herself and a gloomy Minako beside her. Makoto blushed a soft red, thinking back to their encounter. "He was searching for Ranma around Juuban when we saw him. We talked to him a little then that's when we got the signal from our communicators."
"I cannot find any other reason for the current… events… except for the workings of youma lords. They must be planning something." Setsuna let her gaze fall on each of the other occupants in the room. I'll say this again. Stay away from those individuals."
"Didn't need to tell me twice." Rei, to the right of Ami, mumbled, swinging her feet under the wooden chair.
"Have you told the outers about this?" Makoto asked.
Setsuna sighed, letting her body loosen in exasperation. "I could not find them at their home and there was no note informing me of where they went."
"That probably means they've found nothing wrong." Makoto offered.
"Or they ran into trouble." Setsuna countered.
"Wouldn't we get something from the communicators then?"
"Big trouble." Setsuna clarified, always the pessimist.
"Hey." Ami announced. "I tracked youma, it stopped moving."
"Well, where is it?" Rei asked, leaning over Ami's shoulder to see what was on the computer.
"It's in Nerima."
Minako mumbled under her breath. "Of course it is."
"Uhh…" Usagi drawled, turning her gaze to the eldest senshi. "What do we do?"
"We must go after it." Setsuna answered.
"But you just said we have to stay away from there!" Usagi whined, throwing her hands up in the air.
"I know what I said." Setsuna sighed. "But now the situation has changed and we must end this now before it gets worse. Worse than it already is."
The inners except one nodded simultaneously.
Minako spoke up. "Can I pass on this one? You guys can go on ahead."
Setsuna frowned. The blonde girl had her gaze fixed on the center of the floor, her head leaning forward causing her hair to cover most of her face. "No. We don't know what we're facing here and the more of us there, the quicker and better it'll be to resolve this."
Minako sighed. "Okay. Fine. Let's get it over with."
She paid no attention to the moody girl's attitude. Setsuna tapped the wooden floor with her staff. "Let's go."
"That's amazing!" Hotaru gushed, reaching over to feel Ranma's arms, testing for any illusion trickery.
"Amazing is one way to put it." Ranma let the small girl probe her and set down the cup of hot water he received from the vendor. "So yeah. Story of my life."
Michiru and Haruka sat in silence. Michiru was utterly shocked at the pure chaos. From Japan to London to China and back, He was involuntarily thrown from one situation to the next, practically forced to fend for himself out of pure will and determination, yet he made it. To think he had survived the intense training his idiot father put him through, the constant manipulation from those around him, and the too few friends yet many enemies he had gathered.
Everything he said matched up with what Haruka remembered of him. Broken childhood, abusive father, lack of a home and friends, his strive to be the best, only because he had no other option. It reminded her of herself. She stood up to which Ranma flinched to her surprise. His eyes tracked her with a melancholy acceptance, as if he was preparing for the worse. When she was a foot away from his chair, Ranma broke eye contact and looked down. If only she knew what was running through his mind.
She bent down and hugged him. She felt his body tense under her and it had no sign of relaxing, much to her distaste.
"Ranma." Haruka whispered. "I'm sorry."
His body barely relaxed as he spoke. "Sorry for what?" Confusion clear in his voice.
"Sorry that you had gone through all of that."
"You didn't have anything to do with it."
"I know but can't I be sorry for you? For everything you've gone through?"
"I… I don't know." Ranma said quizzically and uncomfortably. Never before had anyone tried comforting him or even said sorry. Especially for something they had nothing to do with. It was unknown to him and quite uncharacteristic of the Ka-chan he remembered. The brash, angry, stubborn 'boy' that he had so much fun butting heads with. But… Did Ka-chan see it that way too? "Is that possible?"
Haruka could feel his body finally relax completely. If there was one thing Haruka remembered, it was Ranma's lack of social skills. "Of course it is." She removed herself from the hug and stared into Ranma's questioning eyes. "Remember our promise?"
Pure panic erupted into Ranma's eyes. He started searching. All he could really remember was hanging out with another lonely boy who also had a difficult past. They would race, spar, and explore together. Or was his memory so skewed? "We made a promise, Ka-chan? Don't tell me I fucked things up with you too."
"You didn't have a choice. I don't blame you." Haruka said, thinking back to his story. "We promised to have each other's back, stick together, and fight til the end. Remember?"
Ranma remembered. It was after another brawl they had. Some older kids picking on Haruka for being different. A silly thing really, but traumatic enough at such an age. Too cold, uncaring and detached they called her. They beat them up of course. And he had never seen another person so grateful to be on the same side as him. Like Ucchan, and even V-chan, Ka-chan was another of the few tight nit friends he had while travelling, until his father tore him away… again. "Yeah. So much for that promise."
Haruka laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's just a silly promise we made when we were young."
Ranma frowned. "Then why'd you bring it up?"
"Because I just remember being so mad." Haruka took a trip down memory lane. "You were my best friend Ranma. You helped me through so much and we made that promise, then suddenly you left without a word to me. And I was lost again and all it left was a bitter taste."
"Sorry." Ranma muttered. Great. Another life he messed up.
Haruka punched Ranma's shoulder, wincing a little at contact. "Hey I said I don't blame you. Besides that was forever ago. If I hadn't met you at all, I would've never been happy during that time."
Ranma looked up.
"I'm glad to have met you. I'm not going to throw that away just because you had no choice but to leave. I know you would have stayed if you could. I just didn't know that at the time."
Ranma thought about Sailor V. "Even after all those time I humiliated you after you lost? Everytime? Without fail? Like when you lost that one race onto the top of the hill and collapsed on the ground and since you couldn't move at all, I nudged you off and you started rolling all the way down? And when you crawled back up, all muddy, bruised, and tired, I nudged you off again? You don't think I was ruining your life or anything?"
Haruka twitched at the reminder. "It was all in good fun, I know that." She watched her dear friend, who appeared way too contemplative for his own good. "Where's that cocky idiot I remember, huh? The stupid tactless boy who didn't give a care in the world."
At the gibe, Ranma flashed his trademarked grin. "Fifty steps ahead of ya in every race and fight."
She twitched even more. "There we go."
Michiru and Hotaru stared silently at the scene with uncontained surprise, never having seen Haruka so close to another man. It was a side of Haruka they had never seen. She had never mentioned Ranma when they met. Perhaps it was another bitter memory she didn't want to bring up again. Having a best friend in a time of isolation and turmoil then suddenly and unexpectedly ripped away from it. A cruel joke to anyone especially at that age.
Now they reunited and despite Haruka's initial intentions of beating the cocky son of a gun they were bantering like friends who had been together since the very beginning.
"So Ranma…" Haruka started in an attempt to save face from her losing the verbal combat, her brow constantly twitching and face flushed. "What is this I hear about being engaged to a senshi?"
Ranma choked on his next couple words as he sputtered. "I-it's not true and not happening. Another one of misunderstanding in my life."
"I figured as much." Haruka nodded. "I didn't think being engaged to a Senshi was possible." She muttered and rolled her eyes to herself. "But then again if it were to happen to anyone it'd be that blond puppy eyed senshi." Even Makoto had more sense than that.
Hotaru spoke up. "T-they can't be engaged?" She eyed Ranma briefly. "Why not?"
Haruka eyed her surrogate daughter curiously. "It's more like the Sailor Senshi shouldn't get engaged as it puts whoever their significant other in danger. Unless they're a prince like Endymion." She snapped towards Ranma. "You're not some type of prince are you?"
"You calling Genma a king?" Ranma dryly said.
"There also isn't a good reason or possibility a Senshi should get engaged." Haruka continued explaining to Hotaru. "We're just supposed to protect Earth in quick bouts and not go around meeting people in our guises."
"Oh." Hotaru mouthed. "But can I get engaged?"
"Hotaru, sweetie." Michiru addressed. "You're far too young for that kind of stuff."
"No I'm not!" She spoke indignantly cute. "If I'm old enough to see you and Haruka-papa make kissy faces everywhere and hear all those sounds from your bedroom at night then I'm old enough for this stuff."
"..."
"Okay, yeah." Haruka said slowly. "I guess you can get engaged. But I'm going to beat up any boy that tries to get their hands on you, little missy."
Hotaru mumbled. "Not from what I've seen."
There was some silence between the group of four until Ranma spoke. "Hey Ka-chan."
Haruka cocked her head.
"Can you help me out?" Ranma asked. "I talked to you guys about V-ch- er... Minako, remember?"
"Mhm?"
"Well she hates my guts. I didn't think it'd bother me. But she was someone I really did think she was one of my best friends. Next to my time with you, London was one of my favorite memories."
"Considering everything you've told us, I can see why she might hate you…" Haruka said dryly.
"That's what I don't get." Ranma said frustratedly, rubbing his forehead. "I treated ya, the same way, but here you are. Not hating me."
"Hmm… I see." Haruka said thoughtfully, not having realized that herself. "I'll help you out."
Ranma smiled brightly, an enormous sense of relief washed over him. "Thanks, Ka-chan! I got your back anytime!"
Haruka grinned widely. "Of course. But it's not like I'd ever need you now."
Another thought occurred to him and Ranma started poking his fingers. "So, we're good friends… So you trust me right?" At Haruka's nod he continued. "So I try my best to keep my promises. Like right now, I gotcha back?" Haruka nodded again, but this time she gazed intently at Ranma, her curiosity piqued. "Since you're a Sailor Senshi, I was wondering if ya can help me out with another thing I promised to a… fri- er an… acquaintance of mine."
"Anything Ranma." Haruka said. She really was happy to see her closest friend. When she really thought about it and from what she knew of Genma, she couldn't blame Ranma for leaving all of the sudden after, roughly, four months of spending practically everyday together. She'd gladly make up for lost time, starting with helping him solve his issues with Minako and whatever it is he's asking for now.
"So... you know how the bows of your Sailor outfits come off?"
"They can come off?" Michiru blinked.
Ranma nodded embarassedly. "So I was thinking. If those could come off, then cou-"
It was then that they heard rapid footsteps approaching from above.
"Mousse?" Ranma said looking up. Screw Taro, that was something he could deal with later. There was no time limit for that deal. The blind boy bound closer, carrying what looked like a woman. Ranma frowned, it looked as if Mousse was struggling jumping over buildings with such a light load.
"Saotome!" Mousse yelled, from above, dropping down to their group. He let down his load, panting much more than he should have been. He shook his head rapidly to clear out the exhaustion. He frowned at the group and put on his glasses. "You fiend! Three more women?"
"Is it that strange for me to have female friends?" Ranma rolled his eyes. "And what's with her, huh? You cheating on Shampoo?"
Mousse scoffed. "Do you think I'm some kind of idiot? Running after some other woman when I know Shampoo loves me?"
Ranma bit back his tongue.
"If you must know, Saotome." Mousse continued. "I was looking for you in Juuban for justice to my darling Shampoo when I found Hebi being attacked. And so, with my genius and honor, I went in and saved her."
"Attacked?" Michiru asked.
"In Juuban?" Haruka furrowed her brows.
Haruka and Michiru had been watching the newcomers. The Mousse fellow with absurdly large glasses had surprised them, seeing him bound across rooftops while carrying another person in his arms. While they figured it was quite normal for people in Nerima, they haven't quite gotten used to the idea of normal people performing athletic feats that they believed magical girls can do. Though Mousse's looks and clothes looked foreign, they mostly glossed over him, it was the new woman that really caught their attention. Something about her set them on edge. The way she kept looking at Mousse and Ranma with an eerily giddy smile and cheery disposition. Wasn't she just attacked? Her clothing was frayed in places and had holes with burnt edges. No normal fight would involve flames. At least not in Juuban.
"Who was attacking you?" Haruka asked the woman directly, interrupting the conversation between the two Nerimians.
Suddenly, the women's cheery disposition was replaced by a frightened schoolgirl temperament as the attention was turned to her.
"It was those terrible Senshi!" She wailed, clutching Mousse. "I was just minding my own business when they attacked me out of nowhere!"
This instantly caught the Outer's and Ranma's attention.
"Mousse." Ranma spoke seriously, eyeing the woman carefully. "The Sailor Senshi are the good guys." He noticed the woman's eyes widening slightly.
"As if you know who's good and bad." Mousse accused him.
"They are the good guys." Hotaru said.
"Th-they are?" Mousse believed the small girl immediately. He noticed the couple next to the girl nodding their heads too.
"That's right." Michiru said. "They fight against youmas who drain the energy out of people."
A switch flicked in Mousse's mind, and he immediately turned towards his female companion who had been slowly inching away. The four other people, turned too.
Caught in the moment, the youma started to warp, growing out a long scale tails, and scales slowly crusted over her face. Her limbs lengthened and craws jutted out of her fingers. She spoke with a lisp. "I suppose I couldn't have expected all humans to be as stupid as this one."
"Hey!" Mousse shouted.
"Doesn't matter now!" The youma cackled, raised her arms, draining the energy from the occupants around her. She felt a massive influx of energy enveloping her body, energizing her to levels she had never felt before. She licked her lips. To her surprise, none of the six individuals fell unconscious as one normally would.
Ranma immediately ran forward and jumped to deliver a flying kick, knocking her lizard body to the ground, and preventing her from draining even more energy. "Mousse, you fucking idiot!"
The three outers, stared in shock then turned towards each other, in an attempt to telepathically communicate. Should they transform right there? No, Mousse was right there. They all got up from the table, but stopped at the sight of Ranma and now Mousse battling the Youma.
"Ok Saotome, I may have made one of those rare lapses in judgement." Mousse grumbled, throwing a flurry of chains out of his sleeves at the youma's feet.
"You think?" Ranma growled, as he launched himself feet first at the youma's chest, who fell due to the force in addition to her wrapped legs. "Rare?!"
Mousse retrieved a spiked mace, throwing it at the youma's head. "You only have yourself to blame, Saotome. I wouldn't have been in Juuban, if you hadn't cheated on my darling Shampoo!"
"I ain't engaged to no Senshi!" Ranma released his Tenshin Amaguriken, battering the immobile and stunned youma with hundreds of punches.
Hebi took all the attacks with wide eyes. Impossible! I had already recovered draining that blind idiot and drained all these humans again. And now they're making me use up most of it just to withstand the attacks. How can they be so powerful? They're even bantering along the way! She could barely move. At least with the Sailor brats, they would attack from a distance and she could make a hasty escape. But with the excess energy she still had, she had one last option. Her leaders might be slightly angry, but they'll understand with the potency of the people here.
Ranma finally let up. He noticed the youma barely looked hurt, which confirmed the feeling of his punches being absorbed by some barrier. He was panting, the energy drain the youma performed drained more ki than he expected it to. To the side Mousse, was on his knees exhausted and panting.
With a sudden surge of strength, Hebi broke out of the chains and cackled. "You fools, you've led me to this little nowhere town with such energy. Without your precious Senshi here, the Dark Kingdom will rise again!" She violently threw her hands down and a spiral of black wisps rose, seemingly deteriorating her body from the legs up.
Ranma turned towards Mousse to level a smoldering glare.
"Y'know, I'm famished. Know what I'd like to have just right about now?" A soft yet threatening voice asked, sending chilling shivers down the spine of Mousse. Ranma grabbed a glass of water that he had used to demonstrate his curse to the outers.
He had royally screwed up.
"Duck."
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was essentially a Haruka arc.
I've shamelessly used a joke from another story.
I'll probably make another fanfic with side stories or something. There'll be a chapter of Ranma and Haruka as children. Maybe more Sailor V vs Ranma moments. And a little something else.
This is a little different than I had originally planned. Not that I remember what I had originally planned… otherwise it wouldn't be different.
Most of the chapter was written basically three years ago then some was added two years after and the rest was pretty recent. I don't write in a chronological order so there's bits and pieces. Curious if anybody could tell.
Reviews are appreciated. Criticisms or compliments, it matters not.