Ranma and Akane were calmly walking to school and they had just reached the school's courtyard when the heard approach of the one person neither of them wanted to deal with at the moment. Actually, they didn't want to deal with Kuno period. Unfortunately the Blue Buffon was walking towards them with his bokken in hand spouting his usual drivel. "Ah, my fierce tigress returns. Come Akane, let us embrace!" Naturally Akane pounded the loon before he could get his hands on her. The duo then walked over Kuno and Akane deliberately pressed as hard as she could on the back of Kuno's head.
Kuno was up again before Ranma and Akane could make it inside the school. He then cried out, "Curse you Saotome." Ranma turned around and watched as Kuno repositioned his bokken into an aggressive ready stance. The lunatic swordsman then cried out, "How dare you darken these halls of learning with your foul presence Saotome. Unhand the fierce tigress and the pigtail girl at once or face my wrath." Naturally Kuno didn't give Ranma a chance to answer before he charged at the mage.
At first Ranma got into a fighting stance and prepared to fight Kuno. Tweety was packed inside Ranma's backpack so Ranma didn't have to worry about his friend drawing too much attention for now. Once his abilities were revealed Ranma planed to let his metal friend out in the open, but until then Tweety was going to be hidden. Ranma's opening move was swerve out of Kuno's way and then he delivered a kick squarely in the upperclassman's back. Since Ranma's kick didn't have any chi in it Kuno was stunned but not out cold. Suddenly Akane hollered out, "Ranma we have five minutes before the bell rings."
That announcement immediately made Ranma become a lot more serious then he had been. While Ranma wanted to show that he could beat Kuno without his chi, he wasn't about to be stupid about it. There was no way that Ranma could beat Kuno and get over to his classroom before the bell rang within five minutes. Since the pigtailed mage did not want to find out what Hinako's chi draining attack would do with his mana he decided to withdrawn from the match.
Of course, there was no chance that Kuno would just let Ranma walk away from the match and he knew it. A discarded soda can caught Ranma's eye and gave him an idea of how to escape. Ranma quickly raised his hand towards the can and sent a bolt of black lighting at it. Everyone in the school watched as the aluminum can transformed into a four foot tall fat robotic monkey with a bokken in its hands. Ranma then turned to walk into the school and he called out to Akane, "Hey Akane, How do you think the buffoon will do against the baboon?"
Seeing Ranma transform the can into the droid seemed to give Kuno new strength and screamed out. "So the foul sorcerer summons foul demons from Hell? In the name of the Heavens I Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, shall stop you." Kuno then charged at Ranma intent on slashing Ranma's head off. Fortunately for Ranma the baboon droid blocked Kuno's strike almost 10 meters away from Ranma. Since the droid had everything in hand Ranma calmly walked up the stairs and headed to class. Of course, Kuno was so stubborn about defeating the 'foul demon' that he spent the entire school day fighting with the droid.
In the Neko Hanten Cologne was sitting in a chair with Mousse and Shampoo standing in front of her. For the past two hours the Elder had been listening to her two charges' story about what had happened ever since Shampoo had been mind controlled and Mousse had set off with the guys for China. If Cologne didn't know that her charges knew to be completely honest with her and the fact that it was Ranma, she would have thought that the two were trying to pull her leg. Even in Nerima legendary Phoenix Kings, sleeping magical powers, and a cursed Spring of Almost Drowned Akane Tendo all together in one adventure was a bit much to swallow.
Ease of digestion aside, Cologne was now faced with a very difficult choice. In the eyes of the Chinese Amazons Ranma was a cripple. Sure Cologne hadn't checked the boy personally yet, but she knew that there was no way that Shampoo would ever lie about Ranma permanently losing his chi abilities. Mousse sure, he'd lie in a heartbeat if he thought it helped him out in winning Shampoo. However Cologne knew that Shampoo knew all the laws and thus would never joke about something this serious.
Since Ranma was a cripple, Cologne needed to decide whether or not Shampoo's marriage should be annulled or not. Personally Cologne was finding this task to be the hardest decision she ever made. Ranma had been one of the best martial artists that Cologne had ever had the pleasure of teaching or knowing in her 300 years. The boy had picked up on techniques faster anyone and his ability at on the spot revisions of ancient techniques was simply mind blowing. Even the chance of a Genma like throwback popping up now and then, the younger Saotome's bloodline was an extremely hot commodity.
If it wasn't for Ranma suddenly gaining magic Cologne would have just told Shampoo to continue to go after the boy. However, Ranma did possess magic and that made Cologne very leery about what she should do. On the one hand Ranma's magical abilities might be an extremely recessive trait that would only rarely pop up among his descendents provided that the right conditions were met. On the other hand, the boy could give rise to a line of sorcerers and that made Cologne very nervous.
Magic users were an extremely touchy subject among the Chinese Amazons and for good reasons. The last sorcerer to visit the Jusenkyo Valley came almost 200 years ago so Shampoo and Mousse didn't know the lore regarding those types of people. Sorcerers were a lot like dragons in the Chinese Amazons' book. They were either wise people who brought great blessings to their allies or they were horrible people who brought terrible curses to their enemies. Over 3000 years the Amazonian nation had encountered enough of both kinds of magic users to adopt a healthy respect for anyone who had their own magic.
One time, long before Cologne had been born, there had been a small clan of magic users within the Amazons. Thanks to that clan the Amazons had near total control over the valley and the surrounding lands. However, one member of that clan went off the deep end and by the time that woman had been put down the entire clan and half the Amazonian people were dead. Could she really risk something like that happening again? Even at the cost of her beloved great-granddaughter's happiness?
Finally Cologne made her decision. With heavy heart Cologne said, "Shampoo. After careful consideration of the facts I am forced to rule as an Elder of the Amazon Nation that your marriage to Ranma Saotome is annulled due to the crippling of Ranma Saotome. You are now free of the Kiss of Marriage and shall no longer have to dread taking a worthless male into your bed." Even as Cologne said the ritual words to make Shampoo's annulment official she could barely keep from throwing up in disgust at what she was saying. Saying that Ranma was a worthless male was like saying that the Sun was cold.
Naturally Shampoo ran up to her room crying her heart out when she heard Cologne announce that her marriage was annulled. Mousse was about yell out in happiness and chase after Shampoo when Cologne jumped onto his back and pulled on his hair. She then brought a knife to Mousse's neck and said, "If you bother Shampoo now I will slit your throat. Now is not the time for your shenanigans. Do you understand me or will there be a roast duck special on the menu latter today?"
Mousse nervously said, "I-I understand Elder. I won't bother Shampoo or talk about her annulment for now." Cologne didn't move for a minute as if she was considering whether or not Mousse had said everything that he should. Then much to Mousse's relief Cologne moved the knife away from his throat. After she put the knife back wherever she had gotten it from the old martial arts mistress flipped off of Mousse's back and calmly landed in her seat.
Cologne then said as Mousse turned to face her, "Let's get one thing strait Mr. Part-time. I annulled Shampoo's marriage for one reason and only one reason. The other Elders will not allow the possibility of a magical clan being established back in the village. Given our people's history with sorcerers I can understand their concerns. Magic users are like dragons: make them your ally if their friendly and hide from their notice if their not, but never bring one back home. An Amazonian warrior is expected to bring her husband back to the village if he is her husband by combat."
"By annulling Shampoo's marriage by combat I am preventing a possible civil war from breaking out among our people. Young Ranma is already something of a legend among the younger warriors of the tribe thanks to tales of his adventures trickling back to China. His arrival in the village as Shampoo's husband would spark tensions between the older and younger generations that could erupt into a full scale war. As much as I love Shampoo and would love to see her marry the man of her dreams, I cannot do so at the cost of our people."
Then Cologne gave a small crackle and she said, "And don't think for a moment that we're just going to pack up and head back to the village. Shampoo's quest for her husband may have ended, but we've still got a lot of work to do. For now we will stay in Nerima and try to win Ranma as an ally of the tribe. Having such a powerful ally as Ranma will become is something that the Amazons cannot allow to slip through their grasp."
Chibiusa was walking down one of the many streets of Juuban with a smile on her face and Luna-P resting on her head. She had just handed her mother's letter to the Scouts living in this timeline and so far things had gone pretty well for her. Okay, it had been extremely embarrassing for Chibiusa to have her debut battle be such a flop. But that wasn't her fault! If it wasn't for the stupid disguise pen messing up her magic she would have blasted that daemon to moon dust. Sailor Chibi Moon was a complete joke compared to Sailor Neo Moon and Chibiusa knew it.
Why did her mother insist that she use the disguise pen in this timeline as well? Since none of the Scouts in this timeline were aware that the timelines were synchronized except for Sailor Pluto she could have claimed to come from a few years further in the future then the Scouts had visited. Chibiusa had even though of a proper cover story that could be used to explain her presence. Unfortunately her mother had nixed that plan in the bud and Chibiusa knew better then to try and go around her mother's back on this issue.
Of course, that didn't mean that Chibiusa was happy with her mother's decision. In fact she was down right furious about having to be a little girl 24/7 while she was in the past. She couldn't even return to her proper form at night like she could in the palace when she was alone in her room. And it wasn't like she could just sneak away and walk the streets by herself as Usa. Not only would her mother ground her for life, but there was the risk that one of the Scouts in this time could accidentally cross her path. That would lead to questions and headaches that Chibiusa knew she couldn't handle.
Chibiusa was brought out of her little pity party when she felt Luna-P vibrate on her head. Knowing that Luna-P was programmed to do that only when there was something important that she needed to be made aware of, Chibiusa looked around for a secluded spot so she could find out what was going on. She soon spotted and ducked into a little alley in front of her and hid behind a dumpster. The smell might be revolting, but Chibiusa knew it would provide more cover for her from anyone looking from the street. Once Chibiusa was certain that everything was clear she said, "Princess Serenity here. Confirmation code is 'Why isn't there any Chocolate Chip ice cream?'"
Luna-P accepted the code and then became a clear sphere showing Sailor Pluto. The aforementioned Scout bowed her head and said, "Good day Small Lady." Sailor Pluto completely ignored Chibiusa's death glare on hearing that name and continued to talk about why she was calling. "On the talisman front things are going right on schedule. My 20th century counterpart has already contacted Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune to inform them about the location of the talismans. Currently Sailor Mars is searching the inventories of the Crystal Tokyo museums trying to find the sole remaining heart crystal snatching gun that was use in the exhibit on the Scout's past enemies. As soon as that thing's found it will be shipped to the 20th century so that the Neptune Mirror and the Space Sword can be recovered."
While this was good news, Chibiusa knew that this couldn't the only reason why Sailor Pluto had called her. The vibrations that Luna-P had given off were in a specific easy to remember pattern that had been selected for when there was a message that only she should receive. Otherwise, Chibiusa was supposed to gather the other Scouts so that they could here the message as well. In a worried tone Chibiusa said, "Alright Sailor Pluto. What's come up?"
Sailor Pluto then sighed and said, "Everything that I'm about to say is not to be repeated to ANY of the other Scouts. Just after you left for the 20th century we received a message from the Nemesian Senate. Apparently there is a member of the Nemesian royal family still alive thanks to the fact that this person's father Saphir hid him away. The problem is that Saphir hid this heir by sending him into the past to the 20th century. All that the Nemesian Senate has told us is that this hidden heir is between 10-20 years old and lives in Tokyo. Even they don't have any more concrete information then that."
"Small Lady, it is imperative that this heir is found. The Nemesian Senate and the people of Nemesis are fiercely loyal to their royal house. Until the heir is found the Nemesian Senate is only willing to accept a cease-fire with Crystal Tokyo. If it wasn't for Prince Demand dying to protect you and Usagi then the Nemesian Senate wouldn't have even considered a cease-fire. In fact the only reason why they contacted us at all over this matter is because their time machine is damaged beyond repair."
"This matter must be handled extremely delicately Small Lady. Apparently there is a monitor on Nemesis that is tied to the heir's health. It the heir is attacked by a Scout then the Nemesian Senate promises they will break off all diplomatic contact with us and the war will resume. Crystal Tokyo cannot handle another war at all. Our infrastructure is too badly damaged and we were lucky to reach a cease-fire at all. If another war breaks out we will be destroyed, especially considering that the Nemesian Senate promises to use orbital mass drivers this time."
Chibiusa's face became ashen white when she heard that the Nemesian Senate promised to use mass drivers if war was resumed. Crystal Tokyo was a utopia in many respects and sadly one of those areas that it was utopia, in some people's books, was the fact the military pretty much didn't exist. Sure there were some peacekeeping troops stationed throughout Earth to take care of some minor demons that popped up from time to time. However, the Crystal Self Defense Force had less troops then the Japanese Self Defense Force and the CSDF was spread out over the entire world.
Nemesis might only have less then 1 percent of the population that the Earth had, but their military capacity was far superior to Earth's. Considering that the harsh environment that Nemesis had weeded out all of the weaker people during the colonization process this wasn't too surprising. While the main force of the Nemesis army was magical like the CSDF, Nemesis also had access to 'hard' military tech that had been developed and theorized by Western countries before the Great Freeze. Military tech that no one in Crystal Tokyo wanted tested out on them. The Sailor Scouts really didn't think they could power a shield strong enough to withstand a large rock being dropped from orbit at hyper-mach speeds. Even Neo-Queen Serenity was leery about her chances of stopping something like that.
Finally Chibiusa regained the ability to speak and she said, "Don't worry Sailor Pluto. I'll find this heir. Don't know exactly how I'll do that yet, but trust me I'll find him. If any of the Scouts cause any problems or endanger this heir's life I'll sell them to a shikima." Sailor Pluto couldn't tell if Chibiusa was joking or not about that last bit and she really didn't want to find out. After wishing Chibiusa good luck and promising to try and find something that could help the search Sailor Pluto ended the transmission.
Ranma was sitting on the roof of the Tendo house shaking his head as he watched the fire trucks try to put out the flaming ruins of what was the Tendo dojo. He then turned his gaze back to Tweety who was standing on his knee and said, "I guess the break from the craziness is off little buddy. What on earth were Pops and Mr. Tendo thinking with this little surprise wedding of theirs? Just because Cologne annulled my 'marriage' to Shampoo those fools thought that they had a green light to get me married to Akane."
"Good that you were with me little buddy or I'd probably be in a hospital now. What was Pops thinking when he came up with the idea of knocking me out with a mallet to stuff me into a tuxedo? Doesn't he remember that I physically can't handle those kinds of hits? At least, I won't until I learn how to create my own magical armor." That was one thing that Ranma had been rather annoyed to find out from Sapphire a few days ago.
Unlike Chi which directly strengthened the bones and muscles, magic used a different method to increase a person's toughness and physical abilities. Regardless of which type of mage a person was, enhanced physical abilities were brought about through the use of spells that altered, or rather augmented, a person's natural abilities. While these types of spells could in theory be directly connected to a person's body, Sapphire had claimed that only a genius master level mage or an insane fool would attempt such a feat. Instead, Sapphire had informed Ranma, mages enchanted a person's clothes or an item that a person was wearing. This item's enchantment would in turn grant the person the physical abilities that were desired.
Personally, Ranma really didn't know what to think about using a magical outfit to regain his former physical abilities if he ever got around to making one. On the one hand Ranma wanted to be able to use is martial arts skills on the level that he used to be on. But on the other hand, it wouldn't really be his skill since the physical abilities wouldn't really be 'his'. Yet again, he couldn't just depend on his droids to protect him forever from the crazies that kept popping out of the woodwork wanting his head or his hand. Also, wasn't a magical power-up that he created by himself different then a power-up that he was just handed because he made it himself?
Deciding to shelve the philosophical debate for later, Ranma thought about why the dojo was currently in flames. After Tweedledum and Tweedlebum had been temporarily knocked out by Tweety Ranma had gone looking for some answers. To Ranma's surprise he had found Akane in a wedding dress apparently getting ready for what was supposed to be their wedding. After some awkward moments Ranma had eventually gotten Akane to mention the Nannichuan water that had been sent by the Jusenkyo guide to Ranma. Apparently Soun was holding the water until after Ranma and she were married.
Naturally Ranma had bolted from Akane's room as soon as he found out about the Nannichuan water. However, he hadn't left the room to try and get his hands on the Nannichuan water for himself. Ranma had left the room for the sole purpose of getting as far away from the Nannichuan water as he could. Unlike the other cursed guys, Ranma knew more about magic and he had been more observant about what went on during some of the crazy adventures that had happened.
The Nannichuan water was not how a Jusenkyo curse could be cured. Sure the instant Nannichuan water overrode a guy's Jusenkyo curse, but that was because it was a temporary curse. Real Nannichuan water, like any other cursed Jusenkyo water, would cause the two cursed forms to merge together and Ranma had no desire to be cursed to become a hermaphrodite. Sure it stunk becoming a girl at inopportune moment, but at least he could blend in when he was in his cursed form. Ranma figured that the Jusenkyo guide probably sent the Nannichuan water over so that whoever he married could swap genders as well and thus maintain a harmony in his family. Touching gesture really, but not one that Ranma wanted have to deal with.
Ranma had hidden on the roof of the house because he figure it was the most out of the way spot he could get to that wasn't so far away that the craziness was dragged along with him. The roof was perfect because no one expected Ranma to be there since he couldn't get to it without using a ladder anymore. Luckily Sapphire had introduced the basics of flying last night to Ranma. Now Ranma wasn't very good at flying yet, but he was good enough to levitate himself from his bedroom window to the roof. Good thing that he had fled up here when he did because every lunatic in the town seemed to have shown up to fight over the bride, groom, and the wedding presents.
Turning his attention back to Tweety Ranma said, "What do you think little buddy? The fire in the dojo appears to have been put out and all of the rowdier guests have gone back to wherever they came from. Do you think it's safe for me to show my face downstairs yet?" Tweety immediately shot Ranma a glare clearly showing that it thought Ranma showing his face right now was a Darwin Award wining idea. It may not be able to speak, but the little droid could defiantly communicate with its creator.
Ranma nodded his head and said as he started to pet Tweety's head, "You're right. That's got to be the dumbest idea that I've ever had. Everyone's probably going to blame me for this catastrophe even though I didn't participate in it at all. After all, I'm the keystone to any major misadventure that hits this ward. Pops and Mr. Tendo are probably going to yell at me for 'stringing those girls along' and not just marrying my proper fiancée that they picked out. Kasumi and Mom are going to be extremely disappointed in me and they'll probably bring family honor into their scolding. Nabiki will try to force me to sell the shirt off of my back to pay for these damages. Akane, oh boy, I think I'd rather take my chances with a nuclear reactor melting down that cross her path right now."
With those facts out in the open Ranma began to seriously consider his life as it was heading. After carefully examining his life and his relationships with everyone he knew, Ranma did not like the conclusion. His friends and family were slowly driving him to an early grave. Oh Ranma was sure that they didn't mean that and would be horrified by that revelation, but the fact remained that he was almost certainly going to end up dead before his 18th birthday. The chaos was just escalating too fast for him to adapt and one day soon he'd end up on a funeral pier.
What made the whole situation worse for Ranma was the fact that he couldn't see any way that Ranma Saotome could get out of this death trap. He had lost Shampoo by the merest of chances and had found the other binds that his associates were unintentionally creating tighten. If everyone involved in this mess could see what was going on then the problem might be solved. However, Ranma knew that while his friends and family were fairly good people they easily became too obsessed by what they wanted at times.
Several hours later the sun was beginning to set and Ranma was still on the roof thinking about things. He was looking at his situation from every angle that he could think of trying to find an out. Sadly things through, stupidity, inaction, misunderstanding, and dumb moves on many people's parts had created a practically incurable mess. There was only one way that Ranma could think of to escape this mess and Ranma decided to take it. He pulled out a small card from his magical stuff space and said, "I guess its time I cash in this get out of hell card."
Sanoske Kinomoto was sitting down for a late dinner when he heard someone knock on his door. The elderly man groaned in frustration about how this always happened when he tried to eat and headed over to the front door. When Sanoske opened the door and saw who was standing at his door he let out a surprised yelp, "Ranma! Why are you here?" Immediately after Sanoske said that he said, "Please come inside Ranma, we can discuss why you're here later. I was just about to have dinner so why don't you join me. After we eat we'll do business."
Not wanting to offend the elderly man, and being too hungry to really complain to a warm meal, Ranma quietly accepted Sanoske's offer. Half an hour and one good meal later the two got down to business. Sanoske started things off by giving Ranma a friendly smile and saying, "So then, let's get on to business. What do you need my help with Ranma?"
In a respectful tone Ranma said, "Well Mr. Kinomoto, I need some way to legally make 'Ranma Saotome' disappear. My life as Ranma Saotome is going to get me kill sooner or later. I'll probably die sooner since on one of my more recent misadventures I lost the ability to use Chi. I don't want to go ronin because there's still too much prejudice in some areas about that. Is there anyway that I could form a new clan and have myself and my female form transferred to that register?"
The elder man closed his eyes and said, "It is possible to create a new clan for you Ranma. However, knowing your associates in Nerima this won't happened without a huge fight. First we'd have to prove that your parents are unsuitable to be parents. That is easy since we just have to reveal the Neko-Ken. The major problem is that although you would win your case in the end the loss of face and the mud throwing that would be generated by your case would leave a lot of bad blood and a lot of questions about the justice system."
"Luckily, I have been researching your unprecedented case in my spare time and I've found a solution that should get you out of your situation without scandalizing the country. You may or may not know this Ranma, but your mother was the last of her clan. You have a few distant cousins in other clans, but your mother was the last person to carry her clan's name. This is important because your grandfather apparently didn't trust your father at all. In his will your maternal grandfather had everything he owned put into a trust until one of Nodoka's children, you, were to claim the estate."
"However, there's a cause in your grandfather's will that states that the only way you can inherit the estate is if you agree to abandon the Saotome name and take up the Tohno name. Your grandfather even provided a sub clause in his will to insure that you could be emancipated and transferred to the Tohno clan since you are sixteen years old. I've even done a preliminary check of the Tohno estate. While it's not a great inheritance its more then enough to last you through high school and college without worrying about money provided you don't go on wild spending sprees."
Ranma thought about what Sanoske had told him. After thinking about it and reminding himself that this was why he was here Ranma said, "Ranma Tohno isn't bad on the ears wouldn't you say Mr. Kinomoto?"
Sanoske smiled and said, "I'd say it seems like a reasonable name Ranma. Now, the guest bedroom is the second door on the right upstairs. Go up and get a good night's rest, tomorrow we'll head to the district courthouse and I'll sign those documents insuring that your transfer goes smoothly. I doubt that your associates will be willing to go against the transfer with my signature on the documents. Going against a district judge on a matter like this isn't that smart of a move."
Ranma bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your counsel and your kindness Mr. Kinomoto."
Sanoske quickly replied, "Think nothing of it Ranma. It is the least I can do for the man who saved my little granddaughter's life. Little Sakura is very precious to me and I am eternally thankful that you were there when you were to get her out of the way of that car."