Do you really need me to say it again?
No, nothing has changed. I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon. Or Tasmania, for that matter. Which is a shame. Tasmania rocks.
-Panda signs-
Sound Effects
'Thinking'
--
Luna, mooncat advisor to the New Court of Serenity, looked at her charges with a certain confusion.
"Alright, let me make sure I understand. We are waiting for…?"
"Our new martial arts sensei" supplied Ami, visibly twitching in excitement.
"Who you met…"
"At the youma attack yesterday" said Minako, looking depressed for some reason.
"Where he…"
"Killed the youma with a really REALLY cool lightning-fist attack and at least a seventh-dan kenpo/wushu blend" chirped Makoto, looking like a full ten years worth of birthdays and Christmas had come at once.
Luna sighed. She was really too old for this. Best to focus on the details, she decided. The big picture would likely give her a headache.
"And you are not transformed because…?"
"Oh, he has a very high energy output with a chaotic waveform with an inverse resonance to our planetary link's camouflage function" replied Ami in an offhand tone as she read up on combat styles on her computer.
A sweatdrop forming, Luna cast a pleading look at the other Senshi.
"He has magic and can see through the disguise fields, so there's no point in transforming" supplied Makoto, taking pity on the frustrated feline.
"So", said the mooncat in a tone that suggested she was working out just how bad the situation was, "You will be learning martial arts from an unknown boy who can defeat a youma, alone, see through disguise fields (thus putting your civilian identities at risk) and apparently use magic?"
"Yep!/That's correct/Mm!" came the simultaneous answer from the three Senshi responsible.
There was a series of thumps as Luna beat her head on the table in frustration.
Gently restraining and rubbing the ears of her friend and advisor, Usagi broke the uncharacteristic silence.
"Well, I think it's a good idea, but what do we know about this guy? Ami-chan?"
"Well, I met him about a month ago. Some muggers had cornered me near my cram school too quickly for me to transform and Saotome-san helped me. We talked for a while after that and the subject turned to computers. He'd never learned about them, so I offered to teach him as thanks". The genius girl shook her head a little in wonder. "It was amazing how fast he learned! He had almost no knowledge to start with, but in three weeks he could code as well as me!"
This brought some wide eyes from the audience.
"That is all well and good, but what do you know of his character?"
Luna could feel the headache growing.
Ami thought for a moment. "He's very driven. He wants to be the best at everything he does, and he often proves that he is. He's almost a savant, in fact. Everything he does relates back to martial arts in some way". Ami giggled slightly. "He couldn't grasp computers at all until I described programming as "combat using code". Then, well…"
Luna was starting to feel a little vexed, truth to tell.
"Yes, yes, but is he trustworthy? Especially seeing as he can penetrate the disguise fields."
At this, Ami's face firmed. "Absolutely. If there's one thing I've learned about Saotome-san, it's that he holds his honour as paramount. If he gives his word, I believe that he would never break it."
"That's true," Makoto interjected. "Honourable behaviour's a key tenet in most traditional Martial Art schools. In order to learn the higher-level and secret techniques you have to be known to be honourable and trustworthy. That this guy's as skilled as he is is a pretty good indicator that he's honourable."
"Well," chirped Usagi, "he sounds nice, and I think learning Kung-Fu sounds like fun! I can't wait to meet him!"
Luna bowed her head in defeat. Some days a cat just wouldn't get a break.
--
There were days, Hino Rei (sometime Sailor Mars) observed, when it was really, really good to be a Miko. When all the burdens and sacrifices of tending a shrine proved to be worth it.
Like (to pick an example out of the air), when cute pigtailed men with nice smiles and yummy muscles who moved like dancers needed directions around the shrine.
"Oh, the meeting hall? It's just up this way. Actually, I was just going there myself. I'll show you the way."
Ranma, noting the blush on the shrine maiden's face, sighed inwardly.
'Maybe it's another curse. The Curse of Unintended Attraction. Oh well, at least I can spot it now. Best to nip this in the bud'.
"This is a lovely shrine, Hino-san. I'll have to tell my fiancée about it, she loves places like this".
Noting the girl's spirits perceptibly droop at his words, Ranma was quite relieved to see the meeting hall in front of him.
'It's better in the long run, Ranma old boy, not to mention safer'.
Ranma was pulled from his reverie by the appearance at the doorway of Ami/Sailor Mercury.
"Ah, Saotome-san, come in! Let me introduce you."
Swifter than even he could react he found himself seated on a cushion, a cup of tea and plate of snacks within east reach and facing the eager looks of five young women (to whom he had been introduced by name and Senshi identity alike).
Truth to tell, all this attention was making Ranma feel more than a little uneasy. Instincts hardwired during his time in Nerima were screaming at him to escape before the hammer could fall. Such was the control Ranma possessed, however, that the only sign of this inner turmoil was a slight trembling of the hands as he reached for a biscuit as a stalling tactic.
"Ok", he said a moment later. "You're the Sailor Senshi."
A round of nods was the answer.
"And you want me to teach you the Art".
Another set of nods.
"Ok". Ranma's demeanour was suddenly businesslike. "I'll need to assess your skills to start off. Which of you is the best at fighting?"
A moment of discussion later, the tall girl ('Kino Makoto, that's her name') raised her hand.
"Ok, we'll spar now to let me get an idea of your skill" said Ranma, walking to the door. "Is there anywhere we could go for that, Hino-san?"
The dark-haired fire-user thought for a moment. "There's a clearing in the woods to the rear of the shrine that could work. It's about ten meters across and you can't see it from the shrine or the road".
"That sounds perfect Hino-san, thanks! I should be able to train your Senshi forms as an added bonus". Flashing a grin, Ranma gestured for the young Miko to lead the way before following her from the meeting hall, the rest of the Senshi bringing up the rear.
In the empty room, a forgotten and unnoticed mooncat emerged from beneath the low table.
"I think I should keep an eye on you, Saotome Ranma".
--
A forest clearing. Shadows of the surrounding trees broke the descending sunlight into mottled light and dark. A gentle wind fluttered the hair of the two figures facing each other in fighting stances about five meters apart.
With a glance, each assessed the other, judging openings, estimating skill, planning attacks. A tension filled them as they waited for a trigger, a moment, a signal as small as the fall of a leaf-
"Quit staring and fight, dammit!"
-Or something like that. That works too.
"Well, they were just standing there!" said Minako defensively in response to the glares the others were sending her.
"You interrupted the cool scene Mina-chan. That was like a movie" grumbled Usagi as Ranma and Makoto picked themselves out of the face-fault Minako had prompted.
Cocking an eyebrow at his sparring partner, Ranma brushed off the sweatdrop.
"Fight now?"
A nod was Makoto's response as she launched herself at her pigtailed adversary.
'Second dan kenpo, looks like' thought Ranma as he dodged a knife-hand strike and twisted around the accompanying snap-kick. 'Seems to rely on attack over defence though. Let's see…'
Catching a roundhouse kick on a forearm Ranma abruptly turned the tables on the tall girl, launching a flurry of punches, chops and kicks against her. 'Good speed, good judgement. Strikes to counter the light attacks, dodges the power blows. Looks like she's spotting the openings too, just not quite fast enough to take advantage. 'And,' he noted her breathing was becoming slightly ragged, 'she's a little lacking in stamina'.
Leaping back out of range, he signalled a halt.
--
The slight apprehension Makoto had been feeling as she sized up the pigtailed boy evaporated like ice on a hotplate in the face-fault at Minako's yell.
'Thanks, Mina-chan' she thought as she closed the distance and threw a strike/kick combination at her opponent, only to have him ghost around the blows.
And the next.
And the next.
Dammit, this was getting annoying!
'Testing my speed, eh?' she thought with a grin. 'Ok then, let's step it up!'
Focusing, Makoto pushed her strikes as fast as she could, not really surprised to see Ranma easily evade each and every one of them.
'Damn he's good. Looks like Tai-Chi and Aikido evasion manoeuvres. Wonder when he'll switch to yike!'
The last was thought as the pigtailed pugilist caught her kick with a forearm block and proceeded to launch a hail of strikes with a speed that left his fists a blur.
'Crapcrapcrap! Fast!' Makoto found herself pressed in a way that no other (human) opponent had achieved. Her dodges anticipated, her counters anticipated, her attempts at entrapments evaded, one thought occupied her mind.
'I can learn from this guy. SCORE!'
Barely ducking under a spinning kick, she noted the burning of her limbs. 'To tire me out so quickly! Amazing!'
About to signal for a halt, she was pre-empted as Ranma leaped back and bowed.
--
"Un. Real. Unreal. That was like a Wu-Xia film" muttered Rei in a slightly wooden voice, a sentiment met with nods from the other Senshi.
"I knew Mako-chan was good, but I'd forgotten just how skilled she really is" ventured Ami, looking intently at the data she'd recorded.
"She's skilled?" burst Minako incredulously. "What about him? I could barely see his hands! He moved like a ghost! Oh, why are the good ones always taken?" she grumbled, excitement abruptly switching to depression.
The others shared a rueful glance. Yep, this was Minako to the core.
"Ok!" Startled from their reverie by the approach of a cheery Ranma and a happily-sweating Makoto, the Senshi jerked to attention.
"Well," he continued, "I know Makoto's about a second-dan in kenpo, but have any of you had proper training in the Art?"
At the silent chorus of shaking heads, he smiled.
"Nah, it's ok. Good even, means there's not too much you need to un-learn. Now, Mako-chan's told me you don't generally use hand-to-hand on youma, right?"
"That's correct" supplied Ami (while Makoto blushed at the nickname). "We tend to rely on our magical attacks, although we do get a boost to strength, speed and toughness from our transformations".
"Which you use to get into position for the magic attacks, right?" Chuckling slightly at Ami-s startled confirmation, Ranma clapped his hands briskly. "Yosh! Ok, here's how it is. I'm gonna give you guys a crash course in the basics of the Art, aimed at bringing you up to Mako-chan's level as fast as possible. Mako-chan, we'll be working on introducing some different styles to your selection. Once you're ready, we'll switch to training your Senshi forms. Sound good?"
The Senshi's responses ranged from quietly positive (Ami) to enthusiastic (Usagi: "I could fight like Mako-chan? Yatta!") to incredulous (Rei: "Second dan is the basics?!") to somewhat frightening ("Sempai…"). So intent was Ranma on his new charges that he failed to notice the swiftly darkening sky.
As has been said before, the universe has a perverse sense of timing.
As the first raindrop fell, Ranma felt his heart fall with it.
'No, please. Not now.'
No such luck sadly. Feeling the tingle of the change, Ranma-chan sighed and braced herself. This could go one of two ways, she thought. Either the Senshi would calmly wait for an explanation, or-
"What the hell? Youma! Mars Power Makeup!"
Ah, of course. Good old option two: Freak out and attack.
Ranma-chan sighed as Rei transformed. "Look," she said, ducking under a burst of flame, "I'm not a youma. It's a" dodge "Chinese curse I got" dodge "at the valley of Jusenkyo." Dodge. "Could you stop throwing fire at me please?"
"Stand still and burn, Youma!" roared the red-clad (and quite annoyed) Senshi.
(Akane, doing homework in her room, sneezed.)
"Sorry about this" muttered the redhead as she vanished from her attacker's eyes. All the astonished Sailor Mars felt was a tap on the back of her neck before she found herself falling to her knees.
"'Noodle Legs' pressure point" said Ranma-chan, visible once more. "Now," she continued, addressing the shocked Senshi, "I am not a youma. It's a Chinese curse. Cold water transforms, hot water reforms. I'm not evil, I'm not a pervert, I'm just Ranma".
"He's right" said Ami, having shaken off the shock and called up her visor and the Mercury Computer. "There's not a trace of negative energy in his waveform, just massive ki and magic readings, though it's a very chaotic pattern. The curse?" She addressed the last to Ranma-chan and received a nod in response.
The Senshi, who had visibly relaxed at the genius girl's pronouncement, went from 'fight' to 'cool!' with a speed slightly disconcerting to the pigtailed Martial Artist.
"So, you can turn into a girl?" chirped Usagi, face alight with curiosity.
"Uh, yeah. It's a pain, but-"
"That's so cool! You can be both! Wow, your fiancée's soooo lucky!"
"Eh?" That was unexpected!
"Of course! You can be the boyfriend and the best friend! You can be the best parts of both sexes! The strength of a man and the caring of a woman! With your curse you can become the Ultimate Boyfriend!"
Ranma took in the victory pose Usagi had assumed and sweatdropped, even as he filed the notion away for future consideration. The other Senshi, on the other hand, simply sighed. Usagi was Usagi, after all.
"Ahem!" came a voice from behind them. "Now that we've established that you're not a youma (sorry for trying to burn you to a crispy cinder, by the way), do you suppose you could, oh, I don't know, LET ME USE MY LEGS AGAIN?!"
"Oops, sorry." Swiftly tapping the correct pressure point and setting Rei back on her feet, Ranma-chan cracked her knuckles. "Right, now that that's cleared up, I believe we were training? I have to be back home by seven thirty for dinner, so we'll have to train…hard". An Evil Grin crossed her face at the apprehensive looks the Senshi were trading.
"Now," she drawled. "Who wants to go first?"
--
"Saotome, I swear I will obtain the secret of the signs, even if i must defeat you to do it!" "Growf!" -Bring it on,- flip -Tendo! You will never beat my- flip -Unbeatable-Panda-Sign-Fu!-. "GraAAH! TELL ME!"
--
Author's Notes
So, the training begins! thanks for sticking around my friends. i apologise for the delay in updating, but i'm trying to get at least one chapter ahead, as well as working on my other story, so things have been a little slower than normal. still, here it is!
Review responses
Demodragon: Duely noted. I realised that it was a pretty thin argument and that in using it i've demonstrated my ignorance of japanese legal traditions, but i needed something that could shock Ukyo into a receptive state of mind and, sadly, that was the best i could think of. thanks for the heads up.
Minstrel Savant: Hey, thanks very much! Ran/Kas is my favourite pairing and it's gratifying that my humble effort meets the approval of another fan. thankee!
Ryan L. Spradling: Cripes, you're leaping ahead a bit! Duly noted, but that sort of scene is a looooong way off yet.
Teturo: Thanks. yeah, there have to be limits. i really don't care for 'Suddenly Super' stories. no, hard work and training are the only ways to become strong, at least in my humble opinion.
RanmaChaos: Will do!
Jerry Unipeg: Thanks! I've felt that Nabiki got a bit of a raw deal in terms of character traits, so i'm tweaking things a little. And Akane...a reader pointed out that i wasn't really being fair to her, so i'm working on a calmer, cooler, better Akane. and i think i like the concept better than my other one. Yosh!
Ookii Mamoru: Thanks, glad you liked it. as for the Elder, well...you'll see.
Ookii Mamoru (Reloaded): Yup. Kasumi wants autographs, Kasumi gets autographs.
deathgeonous: Thanks, and you're welcome.
Hiryo: No worries! i shall do so.
jgkitarel: wow, i ask for a review, i get a dissertation. thanks! Yup, the perception of Chaos and Order will be a running theme herein. Again, yup, Kasumi has too much potential as a character to be wasted as a 2D support. oh, there will be character development here, mark my words. Pluto's reaction will be both expected and out of the blue. i think you'll be interested. I'm glad you liked the Suitor Solution. i was a little concerned that it wouldn't pass examination, but a lot of folk seem to have liked it, so cool! in any case, Ramble away! long reviews are how i learn.
Rose1948: I'm looking foward to reading your story when it appears. glad to know i'm helping a little.
hellhound-d.o.w.: Thanks. i'll do my best to keep the plot ticking.
Quathis: Yeah, the Secrets of the Signs bit just popped into my head and i thought it might prove amusing. go figure. Yup, i wanted to reach the happt meduim between too many challengers and enemies and too few. of course, it could be that i'm clearing the way for the real enemies...nah.
Curtis-Ownby: Thanks! i will.
Dumbledork: that makes good hearing. thank you.
Six-string Samurai: It's not often having an error pointed out can make me laugh, but you managed. thanks, and i've corrected that little mistake. though it does give me an idea involving wrapping the trainee in cans of cheap beer and putting him in a pit of alcohol-starved Uni students on O-Week. hehehe.
pax-draconix: Thanks very much. i agonised over the writing of this humble fic, so it's gratifying to hear comments like yours.
Lerris: Thanks. On the strength of your heads-up i had a look at the user requirements when i uploaded my other story and couldn't find anything, but i'll look again. thanks again.
borg rabbit: Pluto won't really be either of those extremes, at least as i'm planning it. i'n not really much of a one for moral dualisms, so expect something in the grey areas.
Progos: Thank you! i will!
FluffyNevyn: Hey, thanks! my faith in my writing skills is slowly growing. I will indeed keep writing, worry not.
Prustan: Yup. i'm smoothing things out for the happy pair to prepare for...wait and see, ne?
well, that's all the reviews thus far! stay tuned, friends!
Smylingsnake out.