Chapter 8
Calm before the storm
"As it comes, so it goes."
A certain redhead dropped the folder from Furinkan High on the living room table and sank into the sofa, exhaling as her head tilted back, resting against the couch. It had been
a long day for Ranma.
Akane saw the tired redhead sitting on the sofa and couldn't help but join her. She jumped in next to her and wrapped her spouse in a hug. "How was your day, Ranma?" She kissed her before waiting for the tired girl to answer.
Ranma caught her breath after the deep kiss and collected her thoughts. "Exhausting. That place is the same as always, still the same madhouse. I think the old pineapple lost it for good."
Akane giggled and snuggled up to the redhead. "Can't be that bad, you still have all of your hair attached."
The redhead made a sour face. "Yeah, right! That jerk somehow managed to trim my hair. Made it super girly." She sighed. "It's like he wanted to drive me nuts. God damn maniac!" Ranma sighed, running a hand through the fringe to emphasize her words.
"He's lucky. If he did anything more to that hair of yours, I would pay him a visit." Akane threatened playfully, the memories of her buzz cut days resurfacing once more.
"That's my tomboy!" Ranma snuggled up to Akane in return, relaxing for a bit. Her expression once again turning serene. With a sigh, her eyes closed.
Nodoka entered the room, hearing those two talking. She noticed the folder on the table. "Excellent! We will take these with us over the weekend then." She rifled through the folder briefly.
Ranma peeked from the comfy embrace. "Where?"
"To your grandfather, of course." Nodoka sat in the armchair close to the sofa. "He will take care of the paperwork."
"Ohh… Do you trust him?" Akane asked and Nodoka nodded. "He has a soft spot for Ranma it might seem."
"What do you mean?" Ranma wasn't entirely convinced. She was weary of people offering a free help.
"Looks like he was saved by either you or one of your friends some time ago."
The two blinked. "What do you mean? How can he know?" Ranma asked puzzled.
"It appears that your grandmother keeps tabs on you." Nodoka revealed.
"What!" The two yelled, their eyes wide open.
"Calm down, they are family and they most likely just know about your more normal endeavors. No magical girl stuff. At least, they failed to mention it." The older woman explained, putting the two senshi more at ease.
"He might have hurt me, but he isn't a bad man and your grandmother will make sure he behaves. I spoke to her today." Nodoka placed the folder back on the table after after flipping
."She sent some formal clothes for the two of you to wear for the visit." She looked at a picture of Ranma's girl form in a Furinkan uniform she pulled from the folder. "This is so you!" She dotted on the picture.
Ranma sat upright at her mother's words. "What?"
"There is a reception held at the family's estate. We are all invited. There is transport arranged. They will pick us up on Saturday evening."
"I meant the saving thing. When exactly, where? Usually people flee before things get out of hand with the youma."
Nodoka sighed. "As I said, I doubt they know about your short skirt after school activities. I didn't discuss the details too much, though. We don't want to blow your cover by asking directly, do we? Besides, you might remember when you see him. He is a bit… hard to miss."
"I still don't get why do I have to get ID for my girl side anyway." Ranma sighed. "It's like you want to push me into this."
"Don't be mean, Ranma. I am only doing this to make things easier for you in the long run. The way you and magic tend to react… Let's just say it would make me breathe a bit easier. It's not just ID It is the whole identity. ID, social number and family register. You just don't exist, except your school records, and I don't want my daughter to end up as a ronin one day."
Ranma sighed, too tired to resist or even bother trying to ignore the implications. "Amazing. Short of splitting me in half, you basically want to create two of me…" She sighed.
"That is great! You have to tell us all about it," Ukyo pestered Ranma.
"Yeah, yeah. It's going to be boring. I might just leave if I don't like them. Hell, they didn't care they had a daughter until now. Why should I care that they are interested in a grand child all of a sudden?"
Ukyo poked his arm. "Come on, Ran-chan, give it a chance. It might not be as bad as you think."
Ranma looked at her skeptically. "You really think so?"
"Don't be such a sourpuss, Ranma." Minako said, brushing his hair.
Ukyo nodded. "Yeah. I mean, they're still your family, right? And who knows, maybe they're trying to make up for lost time."
"Hey, stop that!" He tried to get the blonde back off the black hair nest she was making up there. "It's bad enough that the nut job at Furinkan messed with my hair yesterday."
"But it looks much neater now." Minako sulked, which made Ranma feel bad.
"Okay." The martial artist hung his head, resigning against the onslaught of cuteness displayed by Minako. The blonde knew how to weaponize cuteness. With that the cheerful blonde was back in a flash, and once again comb in hand, as she administered the mane of black hair.
"Why don't you do this to others?" Ranma asked, gobbling up his lunch.
"Because you don't take care of it yourself. You need my help." She smiled devilishly. "You are just afraid to ask for it." Minako childishly stuck out her tongue.
"It's amazing, how everyone just wants to help me." The martial artist mumbled.
Sayuri and Yuka were waiting at the usual ice cream parlor they used to visit when Akane still lived in Nerima. The one that Akane frequently visited with them. One that got a bit trashed when the crazy Amazon came to Nerima. The one that mysteriously started earning more money when she and Ranma moved to Juban. "You think they forgot?" The girl wearing her hair in a high ponytail asked.
"Hey guys, long time no see." Called Akane, dragging a redhead behind her. "Sorry for being so late, someone was kicking up a fuss about being busy." Akane eyed the redhead as she found a place to sit across from her two friends.
Yuka handed Sayuri a 1000 yen note with evident reluctance.
Ranma eyed the two with a disgusted look. "Not very nice." She crossed her arms and blew a strand of hair from her forehead.
"Don't be that way, Ranma." Akane nudged the redhead, who was now sitting next to her, and who stuck out her tongue.
"So, how are you guys doing? I can see you haven't changed much." Sayuri looked over at the redhead. "… except."
Ranma sighed while Akane laughed nervously. "Juban is quite different from Nerima."
"Don't tell me, I so love those uniforms of yours." Yuka clasped her hands together, hearts in her eyes.
"Speaking of which…" Sayuri said looking at Ranma. "You do wear that uniform quite well, Saotome."
Ranma was about to stand up when a server came in and took their orders. After cooling down a bit and considering the proper course of action, the redhead decided to stay and make use of her newfound assertive nature. "It's not like it was my idea in the first place."
"Come off it, Ranma." Yuka eyed the redhead. "Why are you still so overly defensive about your girl side?" The girl eyed Ranma. "One might say you protest just to keep up appearances."
The redhead was at a loss for words. She was torn between leaving while making a scene, or just leaving. Something like this was usually expected by Ranma, but why did everyone still need to do this to her. Why them and today? "This was a mistake. Sorry Akane." Ranma pushed herself to stand up.
"Sit down Ranma!" Akane ordered in a tone that left no room for interpretation, pushing her back into the seat. "You have a sundae to dig into." She looked into the redhead's eyes and Ranma relented. The look Akane gave her was one of apology for her friend's words. She turned towards her two friends. "Stop bullying her. You don't want me to pick between you or her, do you?" Ranma felt her cheeks heat up, a clear sign of an out of control blush spreading over her cheeks.
"Akane, we…" Yuka said, stopping for a bit. "We're sorry. You know we're just teasing, right? After all that macho crap Ranma spouted all the time, I guess we got carried away a bit."
"Yeah sorry." Sayuri apologized.
"Alright. I guess I kinda deserved it. I used to be a bit of a jerk back then." The redhead smiled.
The girls smiled back, which made Ranma feel the warmth of acceptance that she never received back then when she hung out with guys. Not like this, anyway. It was a nice change. It felt like she belonged. She even forgave her in the bathroom.
"Say, Akane, is Juban safe? There were some serious things happening there lately. I mean, it is cool and all. Those senshi and such, but is it safe there?" Sayuri couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, nothing all that unusual. Just stuff similar to how things were here. Nerima is not all that safe, either. " Akane massaged her neck out of embarrassment while Ranma just shrugged, minding her melting creamy goodness.
This was something Yuka was really interested in, being a major sailor senshi fan. "Don't play it down, Akane. Those girls are amazing! And the way things started to heat up after the new batch of senshi appeared… You think they are recruiting?" She asked her words full of distant hope.
Akane was now in pure panic mode. She knew her friends loved the senshi. She knew they were major fans. Even Ranma peeked at the two slightly worried. The redhead wasn't keen on dragging the senshi business back to Nerima.
"We actually… I don't think they do. I mean, they seem to have things pretty much handled." Ranma mumbled between spoons.
The two girls eyed, while the third girl outright glared at the redhead.
"I never knew you were interested in Sailor Senshi Ranma." Yuka couldn't help but ask with a grin.
"It's a long story. They're actually pretty nice in person." The redhead blurted out. Akane was practically staring daggers at her presently wife.
"Ehrrrrm…" Akane coughed to gain the attention. "Anyway, as Ranma said, they seem to have things pretty much handled. The only thing that would bother me in their place is the hero worship going on lately." Akane tried to divert the attention.
"Yeah, there are these little shrine things popping up sometime at the spots where they save someone. I saw it on TV. "Sayuri chided in.
"Pretty annoying if you ask me." Ranma added her five Yen.
"Yeah, I heard from Nabiki that the city doesn't look kindly on that. She has her hands full ever since she became the head of the fanclub." Akane complained.
"Maybe we could come for a visit some day. She could introduce us to some of the senshi even." Yuka pleaded.
"For a price, you mean." Sayuri added with her eyes narrowed.
"She ain't that bad anymore. I bet she could introduce you to at least two." Ranma grinned, and Akane couldn't help but facepalm at that. For all the smarts Ranma seemed to possess, she was always just one step from foot in the mouth. It was like she did it on purpose. Some kind of playful self sabotaging purpose.
"I will try to ask her about it. Can't promise anything. She's insanely busy with college and all that… plus now the fan club." Akane said with a sigh.
"Ahh, college… Have you two decided on what kind of college to apply for? I mean, this is our last year of high school." Yuka brought up the topic the two neo senshi had actually neglected to consider with their busy lives. It was so easy to neglect these normal things when the world needed saving time and time again.
Akane blinked, caught off guard. "Ohh, that. Well, we are still considering our options, right Ranma?"
The redhead lifted her head from the ice cream tray, licking her lips in a way only Ranma could manage. "Waff coleg." she mumbled.
Akane and her friends planted their faces on the table.
Akane and Ranma bid the two girls farewell as the Furinkan students departed the mall, with the two Juban High attendees heading the other way. The taller cobalt haired girl pulled the smaller redhead closer by the waist, at which Ranma yelped slightly.
"What are you doing, Kane?" Ranma looked up to the chocolate brown eyes.
"Just making sure nobody steals you from me." The taller girl teased in mischievous tone.
Ranma rolled her eyes and frowned. "That is my line!" The redhead remembered all the times Akane had been kidnapped, and she had to get her back no matter what.
Akane laughed at the indignant redhead.
"I still think this sucks. Pops is gonna smell a rat when I show up like this again." The redhead gestured towards herself. "I bet he already does. When was the last time we visited with me in my male form?"
"It's been a while, I have to admit." The taller girl looked at the redhead, her eyes strict. "If you weren't such a slacker, we wouldn't need to transport to Nerima every time. We could use the train like normal people do."
"Normal…" Ranma spaced out. The meaning of the word somehow miles away from one Ranma Saotome. She longed for normal.
The two made their way to the Tendo residence, soaking in the Nerima atmosphere. It hadn't been all that long since they moved to Juban, but the place felt different somehow. The feeling of nostalgia clung to the streets they walked along so many times. Despite new shops or new traffic signs. The place was a bit different, but still the same.
Ranma stopped and grabbed onto the streetlamp to avoid toppling over. A sudden flashback to the Skynet ravaged Nerima of the now avoided timeline.
"What is it?" Akane yelled out, startled, quickly jumping in to supporting Ranma, so she wouldn't fall. Then it dawned on her as she looked around. The store ahead of them being demolished.
Ranma straightened up and looked Akane in the eyes. "Not you too…" She said worried.
Akane just silently nodded. No words were needed to convey the rush of thoughts in their heads. The only thing the two of them wanted now was to be at the dojo to make sure everything was fine and that the tragedy would never happen again. That the tragedy will never ever happen again. Not if they had anything to say about it.
The Tendo compound was teeming with life. Nodoka was sitting at the table with Kasumi sipping tea when Nabiki walked in, dressed in her business suit, returning from the city council meeting.
It seemed like such a good idea back then. Extra points towards her college score for dedicating some of her time. Then it expanded to her becoming the Sailor Moon fanclub chairwoman and the city liaison with the group of magical girls, a group in which her sister and strangely, her brother in law were a part of. To top it off, dealing with local politicians who behaved like children and being recognized as Soun's daughter due to his position as the chairman on the Neriman board brought her more reputation and made her a go to person for various tedious requests.
The bright side of things was the fact that these tedious jobs usually carried some kind of monetary compensation, and having a direct line to the senshi team made it all that sweeter.
"Busy day?" Asked Kasumi, sliding a cup of tea in front of Nabiki, who was now sitting.
Nabiki straightened her skirt and sighed. "A long string of those, actually."
"If I can be of assistance…" Nodoka eyed the middle Tendo.
Nabiki glanced at the Saotome matriarch with a curious eye. "Nothing comes to mind. I have to bear this burden myself." The middle Tendo inhaled the warm tea, her eyes closed.
"Don't think I forgot the favors you pulled for our family." Nodoka sipped her own tea. "I am in your debt."
"Careful maa, you don't want to owe Nabiki."
"Ain't you a little sunshine today." Nabiki poked Ranma who flinched after being poked physically by Akane.
"Now, now, let's keep it down. We have a class to teach this afternoon." Soun declared entering the room.
Nabiki couldn't help but wonder how her father kept so calm while keeping up with his duties at the district's board. Still, it was good to see him in such a good mood. Today, he was practically radiating a positive attitude. "Someone special daddy? Nabiki cast her father a knowing look.
"Just a few people I meet recently… This reminds me." Sound turned towards Kasumi, who nodded, and then towards Ranma. "I do need a sparring partner, an extra sensei to show off some of the techniques.
"I'll go wash up then, I guess." Said a slightly disappointed Ranma, pushing herself up from the comfortable position at the table. She just wanted to relax and hang around.
"Actually. I need my daughter in law this afternoon." Soun looked at the now standing redhead, his expression strangely soft and hard to discern. "Still, you should probably go change into something more suitable for a sensei. They will arrive soon. Kasumi went to prepare your dogi." Soun eyed Ranma for a moment before hesitantly adding. "And please… put on everything Kasumi hands to you. There are to be no accidents."
After a few moments, Kasumi passed by heading for the kitchen, avoiding the curious glances of others. "Ranma will be here shortly." She said as she disappeared. It was unbelievable to her how Ranma managed to be such a pain after such a long time.
After a few shrugs around the table, the gi wearing redhead returned shortly and sat down back down next to Akane. "What exactly is it that needs me all decked out?" Ranma asked, her eyes squinting. "I ain't teaching no grabby boys, got that!?" She adjusted the black ribbon holding her hair in a high ponytail.
Soun coughed into his fist, clearing his throat. "A women's self defense class. You will be the defendant."
Ranma was a bit taken a back by that. She looked at the two seated Tendo sisters, and Nabiki nodded.
"Yes, daddy used to teach those a while back. He was quite good at it." Nabiki said, looking at Soun.
"You might find, that the basics of teaching someone something so simple might be one of the most complicated lessons for a sensei to teach." Soun looked at Ranma. "I do want to pass this knowledge and skill onto you." He looked towards Akane. "Onto you as well dear Akane. You will be my second extra today. Please go change too."
The youngest Tendo smiled from ear to ear, her face lit up, her hearth warmed by the simple sentence, especially seeing her father so full of life once again.
Ranma tugged at her bra strap under the gi as she watched Kasumi glide out of the kitchen, placing a plate of cookies on the table, lighting up the redheads eyes with childlike glee. Before she could dig in, however, she was interrupted by the dojo bell, most likely signalling the arrival of the new students.
Haruka was a bit put off driving a car in something as uncomfortable as a martial arts dogi. However, after confirming the address with her mother, she was quite amused, and it made up for having to wear that offending garment. Then again, Michiru looked quite good in hers. The plunging V shaped opening was like a magnet to the blond's eyes. They left Hotaru at home with Setsuna and decided to join her mother, both. Still, there was no guarantee Ranma would be present, however the chances were good. It was Friday and the redhead always complained about Friday chores.
The dojo sign with the bell at the entrance made the place feel so spiritual until… "To engage the owner in savage combat, please use the side entrance" Haruka read slowly. "Lovely." She grinned. After a little while, muffled voices could be heard and Haruka glanced at her anxious mother and smiling Michiru. Her lips curled further to an even more mischievous smile. The door slid open exposing a tall man with black hair and… well her two senshi teammates dressed both in adorable dogi outfits. While Akane looked informal as ever, the redhead looked anything but. Her gi marked with various sponsors and tournament signs together with her name imprinted made her look quite imposing. Then again, her goofy smile small stature, the pinkish color and the fact that she knew her more than made up for that. Not to mention, she was stuffing her face with what looked like a freshly baked cookie.
"Hello Ranma, Akane…" She faced Soun "Tendo sama" Michiru and Ms Tenoh bowed with Haruka a few seconds behind.
"Tenoh san" Bowed the martial artists. Ranma's smile grew and changed to laughter. "Now you two, let's drop the formal act, shall we?"
Soun smiled, seeing the apparent familiarity between the youngsters. "I guess the kids are quite familiar with each other."
Miss Tenoh smiled. "It would appear so." She replied a bit confused.
"We are friends." Akane explained, looking at her father. Ranma growled. Friends was too strong a word for her liking. She eyed the blond with a measuring glance. Her attitude towards the Senshi of Uranus was colder than it should be, and Usagi had to lecture her several times.
"I see…" Soun nodded. "Please come in then. Feel at home, please. Any friends of my children are like a family. We will begin shortly." He guided the visitors to the dojo. "The world, it seems, is quite small, wouldn't you say, miss Tenoh."
Tomoko smiled a warm smile that left Soun feeling charmed. "It would appear so."
Due to the lack of time to stretch beforehand, the class started with a demonstration of proper warm-up techniques to loosen stiff muscles and correct posture acquired during the day.
"I still don't get it. Sure, I've heard others praise you for your skill but… basics?" Haruka chided Ranma.
"The so called basics are the foundation of all your future progress." The redhead smiled. "Don't underestimate them."
"I just thought you would be more hands on. You're usually such a showoff." Haruka said, yawning.
"Not everyone is such a tomboy, blondie." Ranma returned the verbal jab.
Haruka laughed, catching Michiru's attention. "It's not very ladylike to throw insults like this, little sunshine." Her lip twisted into a competitive snark.
"Is this a challenge?" Ranma grinned. She had known for a while that Haruka wanted to establish dominance with her, much like Ryoga in a way, always competing to be the top dog. Not even the warnings from the inner senshi who practiced with the redhead and her wife regularly managed to dissuade the blond. She just couldn't leave well enough alone. Ranma could respect that, to a point.
"Haruka!" Michiru interrupted the two snarling friends. "We are guests and here to accompany your mother." She glanced at the elder pair of the group, who seemed lost in their own world.
"It will be quick." Ranma grinned.
"You're on, little Red Riding Hood," Haruka snapped back.
Even Akane perked up, and Soun and Tomoko took notice.
"Ranma!" Akane snapped at her wife. "Stop it! You have a class to teach."
"Actually, if you're up to it… I believe a demonstration of skill could be a nice opening program for our lesson." Soun looked at Haruka and back at Ranma. He could sense the tension between them, and if a sparring session helped them release it, so be it. "You seem to be a bit of a martial artist yourself." Haruka nodded.
"More like a brawler." Ranma snapped. She despised Haruka's fighting style. Too rough, too uncultured. Even worse than Ryoga when they first meet back in Tokyo after such a long time.
Soun smiled. "Anything goes, then." He looked at Ranma sternly. "Be gentle, be crafty, and don't strain our guest too much."
All cleared the space in the middle of the dojo to make room for the presentation. Tomoko looked a bit weary. She knew her daughter liked to fight and fight dirty. She was worried about the little redhead.
Soun sensed her worries. "Please don't worry. No one will get hurt. Ranma can handle herself."
Ranma inspected her nails under the dojo lights. "Ready when you are, blondie."
Haruka didn't wait and approached the redhead. She didn't want to underestimate Ranma, so she took a methodical approach. She was very well aware of the redhead's habit of distracting people by making them mad to lose focus.
Her stance loose and profile minimal as she decided to use Ranma's tactics against her. "Nice hairstyle." She complimented the redhead and took a swing at her. It would be more accurate to say where she thought the redhead was. As she recovered from her momentum, she found the redhead standing behind her, still inspecting her fingers.
"Neat trick." Haruka quipped and turned to let loose a set of punches followed by a high kick aimed at Ranma's head and low sweep meant to trip the dogging opponent. Ranma just evaded her and flipped over Haruka, finding herself again behind the blond.
"Let me know when you're ready to fight." The redhead taunted.
"I could say the same about you. All you've done so far is dodge." Haruka now focused on the redhead's eyes while lowering her head to obscure hers. A corner of her mouth twitched upwards. She took a swing at the Ranma, following the vector of her dodging maneuver. She then sidestepped closer and twisted herself to deliver an elbow strike to the redheads head. Ranma blocked the elbow by jumping and pushing herself off, the said elbow to allow herself to be propelled backwards a bit.
"Not bad. Unexpected. You do have something in ya." Ranma smiled. "Now show me some skill. I know you can do better."
After a while of the sparring session, Ranma stopped Haruka, who was getting so immersed in the fight to actually throw herself fully into her punches. She hit the pressure points at her legs and pressed one on her shoulder, making her relax the muscles and trip, falling to her back.
Michiru and Tomoko eyed the blonde worriedly.
"I'm fine," the blonde grumbled as she stared at Ranma who offered her a hand. She was pulled up and dusted herself off. "You were toying with me!"
"Not toying. I just wanted to see what you can do under normal circumstance." Ranma winked.
"You call this normal?" Haruka facepalmed.
"Anyway, now that this little demonstration is over, let's try something more useful." Soun said, standing up.
Michiru giggled at the frowning Haruka and the grinning redhead behind her. "I told you not to challenge Ranma, dear."
"Now, Ranma, we shall demonstrate the techniques to handle stronger and physically superior opponents." Soun said, waiting for the redhead to take an unassuming stance of the unaware victim. He turned to the class. "Please pay attention to the details. After this demonstration, we will split into pairs for practice."
It took only several minutes for Ranma to breeze through a doesn't techniques of handling superior opponents. She was extra careful to present the technique gently, not to damage Soun too much for later practice this, however, still left a slightly dazed and ruffled Soun in her wake. Akane couldn't help but grin the whole time. This grin soon left her.
"Now…" Soun picked himself up and dusted his gi. "We shall split into the pairs and practice the techniques. Ranma and Akane will be the demonstrative pair. Akane will take my place"
Ranma blinked. Why did she have to be demonstrating things again from the damsel perspective?
Akane smiled and cracked her knuckles. "Ready or not, here I come." She said with a grin.
While the class was in full swing, Nodoka slipped silently into the dojo to observe the classes. She was no stranger to unarmed combat herself. However, she preferred a weapon like her heirloom katana. She couldn't help but giggle at the theatrics of her daughters. The demonstration slowly evolved into a sparring session involving an extensive use of chi and pressure points.
Soun, for the most part, managed to focus on the lessons, explaining the principles of using the attacker's power against them, and the woman Soun was teaching seemed to be a quick learner, unlike her daughter who was getting outmaneuvered by her green haired girlfriend. It was good to see Soun so full of life again.
It was when Ranma shifted to the more destructive chi techniques that Nodoka decided to step in. "Now, Ranma time to calm down a bit. You are not here to show off." The redhead yelped, and stopped her antics. Akane, however, managed to use the distraction and pinned the redhead to the ground. "And the defendant Saotome lost the fight. The title goes to the new rising star." The blue haired girl declared, giggling.
Soun signaled the end of the lessons soon after.
"I didn't know you are taking on students again, Soun." Nodoka smiled.
"Ohh… I hope it's not too much trouble. I wouldn't want to impose on you or your husband." Tomoko said in an apologetic tone.
It took a while for Soun to realize what Miss Tenoh meant. "What she is not…"
"What Soun is trying to say is that I am not his wife." Nodoka smiled and offered the woman her hand. "Nodoka Saotome…" The women shook hands, glad the awkwardness was gone. "I am here to watch my… daughter and her wife. " Nodoka looked at Ranma, who scrunched up her face at her introduction.
Tomoko was a bit taken a back at this. Sure, there was a resemblance between the redhead and the older woman, but wife? Was it possible in Japan? Her thoughts instantly went to her daughter's relationship. It was funny how small the world was. She always thought that Haruka was a black sheep in a white sheep flock. Now it seemed as if people like her were more common than she assumed. She suddenly realized she was staring. "Sorry to seem so shocked. It's just…"
"I know. Not that common of a thing, especially in Japan." Nodoka smiled. "She was always quite a tomboy."
"MAaaa!" Ranma complained.
"Now, now Ranma, be polite. I used to be a bit of a tomboy myself at your age." She smiled with a hint of the stern undertone which she knew Ranma would detect.
"It's fine, actually. I am no stranger to raising a tomboy myself." She looked at Haruka, who smirked and got tackled by Michiru from behind.
Soun couldn't help but grin at the two women and the antics of the youngsters. "Now I believe it is about time for a dinner. Would you care to join us?"
"I… I would hate to impose. We should probably head home."
"If you wish. I would hate to pressure you." Soun replied disappointed.
"Nonsense. Please join us, perhaps we can share some tips and stories of the hurdles of raising tomboys."
"If you insist, then." Tomokou caved in, bowing.
"I guess you are stuck with us, huh, tomboy?" Haruka nudged Ranma, who growled a bit.
A few years back, she was just a martial artist. Overpowered one, sure. Now she had the power to level a city with the snap of her fingers. She managed to always come out on top so far. The taste of victory was sweet, but the price was steep. She pushed the food around her plate, lost in her defeat, however, still lingered on her tongue. She closed her eyes and could feel the scorching heat of the nuclear blast. Hear the crumbling wood and clutter of knickknacks flying and crashing to the walls.
Ranma's eyes opened, and she saw her family enjoying the dinner, smiling and mingling. The Tenohs had joined them today, and the room felt even livelier. Even Nabiki seemed to be enjoying herself.
"What are you thinking about again, Ranma?" Akane said, stuffing her cheeks with some rice. "Should I…." She wore a mischievous smile, picking up some sashimi. "Say ahhhh."
"You crazy tomboy? I ain't a little kid." Ranma protested in vain as she was overpowered and Akane stuffed her face full of sashimi.
The redhead could only chew and glare at the laughing blue haired girl. The corners of her lips slowly crept upwards until she laughed, too.
Soun, sitting next to Tomoko, watched the children's antics with a serene smile. He knew the two were meant to be. Not until recently had he realized the preferences of his daughter. He wasn't blind or oblivious, and after that conversation with Genma, he was sure of it. Akane liked Ranma more as the cutesy little redhead. He glanced at the empty spot where Genma usually sat and realized what Ranma was thinking before Akane snapped her out of it. The Saotome kid was a handful, bickering and fighting with Genma. Still, he saw the strong family ties that were strong remained, even after what the man had done. Frankly, Soun wanted grandchildren to dote over, but that was for them to figure out. He was content as he watched them bicker.
Tomoko and Nodoka, meanwhile, kept busy with the stories of their daughters, to the great dismay of Haruka. Michiru was found the blonde's embarrassment funny and cute. Nodoka found it strangely easy to doctor her tales of the past, referring to Ranma as a she.
"I must say that your dinner today is excellent as always" Soun commended Kasumi's cooking.
Kasumi smiled. "Miss Saotome…"
"Nodoka, dear." She was interrupted by the kimono clad matriarch.
"...Nodoka helped with most of it." Kasumi beamed.
"What can I say. I need to practice a bit. Ranma always hogs the kitchen at home." She shrugged.
"Mooom!" Ranma protested, evading Akane's chopsticks."
Nabiki watched all of this all with an amused grin. Kasumi would go crazy if she knew that there were four Sailor Senshi complimenting her food. She would have to come up with some convoluted plan to get Ranma and Akane to pay Kasumi a visit in their Senshi forms to brighten her day.
"Miss Tenoh, the speed at which you managed to learn the basic techniques today had astonished me, even when the two demonstrators slipped into the self imposed contest."
Tomoko blushed slightly at the martial artist's praising words. "I used to practice kendo at a young age. This is a bit different, but I guess there is still something left in me."
This surprised everyone present, except Nodoka. However, most of all, it surprised Haruka. "Mom, how come you never told me?"
Tomoko smiled. "I didn't want to encourage your boyish tendencies. "I knew your father wouldn't approve."
"He can rot in hell for all I care." Haruka exclaimed.
"He is still your father, even if he is not the man I thought I would end up with." Tomoko mused and then abruptly stopped, looking embarrassed.
"Men, they are often full of surprises, sometimes good sometimes bad, but always unsettling, right." Nodoka tried to save the woman from embarrassment, shrugging it off.
Ranma watched Haruka scrunch up her face. This was a side of the tomboy Ranma never got to see, and Akane was a bit taken a back too. Michiru just smiled knowingly at the two.
The redhead couldn't help but wonder if the hatred towards men that the blonde always exhibited was somehow related to her father.
Colonel Shimada walked along the glass wall of the conference center, throwing his cigarette to the ground and stomping on it on the way inside. The littering laws were for civilians. He had more important things to do than look for an ashtray. His reflection in the glass panels moved along with him, that of a the black haired young middle aged man dressed in a crisp military uniform. His hair was short and spiky, trimmed into a fashionable haircut. The collection of folders stashed under his arm was getting loose, and he grabbed them and straightened them up at the nearby reception table.
He looked at the clerk, who nodded to him. "They are already expecting you, Colonel. He nodded and continued to the main conference room.
"... I expected him to be older..." He could barely make out the words of the reception clerk as she conversed with her friend sitting next to her. Needless to say, that this little sentence didn't help him one bit. He was already feeling a bit anxious. The top brass meeting of the military, the city, and state officials was something he wasn't keen on attending.
"... The North Korean missile crashed into the sea 200 kilometers off the coast of Okinoshima. South Korea shared their radar telemetry as well as providing real time tracking data to the air defense branch. These continued efforts by the North Korean regime were concerning developments. I propose commissioning several air defense posts along the east coast." Spoke General Aoki.
Shimada plugged in his hard drive to the prepared laptop and put aside the prepared folders.
"General, we are lacking the resources to do that. After the recent attacks in the Tokyo Bay area and the continued threats of the supernatural nature, we are spread a bit thin." The prime minister replied. "I can't recommend sinking any more funds towards the coastline defense against possible threats when I have these problems on our own turf. Problems that just recently leveled a considerable part of the main Tokyo marina, as well as part of the military installation." Minister Fujisara glanced at the newly arrived colonel.
"Speaking of which, mister Shimada." Said the minister. "Any news on our little problems in short skirts?" He laughed, an uneasy laugh born of countless headaches.
"As you instructed, I looked into the matter. The newly commissioned department of supernatural intelligence has yielded some new information over it's relatively short existence, especially from our agents in the field." He opened his laptop on the table and handed out the folders to be passed over for the attendees to look at. Standing up, he started his presentation.
"I see, please proceed and familiarize us with the results." Fujisara nodded to the officer at the door to dim the lights.
Shimada took the laser pointer and began his presentation. "These girls, in the past thought of as an urban legend, are real."
"Well duh!" Said general Imahara, commander of the JSDF tank division. "I could have told you that myself. I still have an imprint of that redhead in one of my tanks. Soldiers are treating it as a good luck charm and refused to have it repaired.
"Ehrrmm." Shimada coughed to gain the attention. "These girls, magical girls, might not always be magical. The theory is, that these sailor scouts, as they are called, are ordinary high school kids who have the ability to fight the monsters that have been making our lives difficult for some time now. The soldiers interviewed spoke of the typical high school girl banter between them. Some of them said that for all they have, seen they could have been their own kids the way they spoke and behaved." He skipped the presentation to the picture of sailor Venus and Sun back to back fighting the minigodzilas.
"They have some kind of magical ability to conceal their identities. The pictures taken are usually blurry and their faces are unrecognizable. Those rare pictures that are clear and sharp prove no better regarding their identification. Once you stop looking at the pictures, you simply forget the details. The face recognition software also came up empty on the search. The only thing that remains is their stature, names, and uniforms. These details are the only ones you can remember. As for the personal experience, it's like the moment you see them, you just forget the details about their faces and anything that might help you to recognize them. It was described by our experts as an extremely elaborate and advanced thought virus. It's like the uniforms are designed in such a way as to draw your attention and forget the other details, which are instantly scrambled."
"Thought virus?" Masami from the counterintelligence asked.
"Sorry, I have no clue. It's a word the guys at the office used." Shimada shrugged.
"Please continue." The minister said.
"Right, well." He skipped to the next picture. "These girls are helping people where they can and to the best of their abilities, which are sorely lacking in some cases, it seems. They are getting better at it, however. Sadly, the enemies they are fighting are getting tougher, too."
"Yes, yes, that is all interesting, however why? Why can't I get my air defenses?" Aoki grumbled.
"As I was about to say… he coughed. We managed to amass hundreds of eyewitnesses. We pieced them together to get the rough picture of what is happening." These girls are some kind of planetary defenders. They are named after the planets of our solar system. Some even after moons. Their enemies feed on the life energy of human beings."
"Life energy? You mean chi? Like the thing those martial artists in Nerima keep throwing around?" The police chief asked.
"Ahh, I was about to get to that, chief." Shimada smiled. "Yes and no. Every person has their life force. According to the observations, these martial artists call it chi, but they focus it, twist it, and expel it. Then it becomes the chi in their sense of the word. The latent energy untapped and raw is what these creatures are after." He paused and sipped some water. "Some of them, at least. Some just want to cause damage. Still, the point is, these girls are making a huge mess of things, but without them, we would have no chance." The next slide showed wrecked tanks and vehicles from the battle for Tokyo Tower. Imahara winced, seeing that. "Conventional weapons seem to have little to no effect. Even well trained soldiers can't measure up."
He skipped to the next slide, showing some old books and parchments. "We crosschecked the findings of our interviews with the earliest recorded history. Fables and legends, too. We came up with what reads like a fairy tale." He paused and took a deep breath. 'This will be hard to explain.' he sighed
"There used to be some kind of ancient civilization based on the lunar surface, and perhaps one that spanned the whole solar system."
Aoki laughed. "Are you serious? I thought this was supposed to be a briefing, not a standup comedy."
The minister threw him a death glare. "General compose yourself. Keep an open mind and your mouth closed. Those tanks didn't blow up by themselves up, and those men are not dead just because."
"Yes sir." Aoki replied, focused.
Shimada took that as his cue to continue. He almost understood how that Jackson guy had to feel back at the archeology conference in Tokyo. "The civilization was somehow destroyed or fell, and these so called sailor senshi are somehow connected to it. Perhaps the enemies are the same ones that caused it all in the first place.
"And on what do you base this speculation?" The minister asked.
"The texts and the transcript of the witnesses' testimonies, sir. When put together, they create a pretty clear picture. Sure, with giant holes, but a picture nonetheless.
"What do you propose then? Why Japan?"
"Well, that is still a mystery. Perhaps it is an accidental, random occurrence. We know that some other countries have had problems with supernatural and superhuman beings. Some magical, some not. There seem to be a whole plethora of these sightings and incidents. Usually thrown under a rug and filed somewhere top secret." Shimada shrugged. "I believe that we should establish some kind of official relations with these girls. Perhaps in time, we could discover more. The reconstruction of data and hearsay can only get us so far." The new presentation moved to the next slide. "The president of the Sailor Soon Fanclub seems to have some kind of way to contact them, and she arranged several meetings before. She also organizes the events and works to benefit their public image. Not to mention that the fanclub produces crystal clear pictures of these planetary defenders."
"That is quite true." The mayor of Tokyo spoke for the first time that evening. "These girls seem to have the best intentions at heart and always helped the city any way they could. Miss Tendo, who is the head of the fanclub, has quite a talent for politics too. Her father serves on the Neriman board for decades and is a man of integrity as well as quite a powerful martial artist. I believe it would be prudent to involve her and push this forward. It wouldn't hurt to have these girls cooperating with us more, and perhaps it could help us to avoid more unnecessary damage and loss of life." The mayor concluded.
"How can we be sure that the attacks are not their fault.?! I suggest capturing one of them. If we corner one of them, they can't say no, and we will have the upper hand." Aoki suggested.
"You can't be serious, sir. These are ordinary school girls. They are helping us, and they are extraordinarily powerful. You don't want to antagonize them."
"We need to control the situation. We can't afford a foreign force upon our soil." Aoki argued.
"Stop this!" The minister said, clutching his head. "We will attempt to contact them and opt for peaceful, mutually beneficial relations. No one wants to fight these girls, especially the soldiers who speak so highly of them." The minister looked around the room. "This meeting is adjourned. Colonel Shimada, you have the liberty to arrange a meeting between me, you, and those girls. The mayor will help you contact the club president. This meeting is adjourned."
Setsuna sat on the ledge of what was left of the Moon palace on Luna. She hated the place. She hated what her duty to the queen and later to Serenity led her to do.
She tried to protect Ranma. She tried to refuse and prevent the rebirth of the guardian of the Sun. She failed, and the future fated to become the upcoming reality managed to reestablish itself time and time again.
A thousand times she tried to stop this, to at least derail the train of destiny, but to no avail. If she took Ranma out of the equation, then it fell apart. If she prevented the sun from reestablishing her avatar, it fell apart. If she tried to manipulate threads of fate in all possible directions other than this, the future fell apart.
Ranma was simply the fulcrum. Same as the Sun Ranma represented now. It all hinged on this obnoxious redhead. It was hard to be believed, really.
Setsuna sipped from a glass of over a hundred year old wine, a gift from Napoleon himself. Her scowl reflected the bitterness that was trying to swallow her soul whole as she looked at her stash of bottles half buried in the moon dust.
"Why, damn it! Why!" She cried, smashing the glass over the obsidian foundation of the long destroyed grecoroman styled building. "Why is this so hard!" She fell to her knees and cried.
She killed millions and prevented countless others from being born in her quest towards a brighter future. All of them necessary sacrifices. Why should one redhead be so different? She knew full well why, of course. She had to do this because she was the only one that could. She was chosen for this task, to make sure the kingdom would rise again. The new moonrise upon this sad little corner of the universe. Then… then she would dull the pain once more. Why? Because there was no one else to carry this burden for her. Someone else might have gotten it wrong. Someone lesser could have been broken in their resolve.