Chapter 20: Losses
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
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"Put me to sleep like that, will he?" Happosai fumed. "Well, I have just the thing for HIM."
He stood poised on the roof of the Tendo home, looking over the edge. There the boy was, back to the yard, eating his noodles, wide open to attack. An unforgivable sin against his martial arts on top of the sins against him personally. He leapt down to teach a lesson. "Ranma! You shall burn... with moxibustion!"
"WEAAAHH! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Ranma hopped about as his back burned. "Whaddya think you're doin', old freak!" Of course he knew perfectly well what; but he had to act the part.
Happosai, for his part, did not stick around for the fun. He blew a hole in the roof and rocketed out. The fathers were left puzzled. "Interesting... all he did was burn him... and leave," Soun said.
"That's not like our evil master," Genma agreed.
The effects became apparent the next day. Ranma's back was still burning as Tatewaki Kuno ran toward him, just outside the school gates, for another attempt at taking him down. Ranma leapt at him, giving his now-trademark Boot To Da Face.
Kuno turned right around and bopped Ranma with his bokken. "You call that a kick? I barely felt it!"
"Then take THIS!" Ranma lauched a flurry of blows at the upperclasman's midsection. They seemed to have no force whatsoever. He was likewise unable to effectively block, and soon laid out on the street.
Kuno was in shock himself. "I beat... Ranma Saotome...and that means..." He glomped Akane. "YOU ARE MINE, AKANE TENDO!"
Akane kicked him away. She turned to Ranma. "Ranma, what's WRONG with you? How could you let HIM beat you?"
It was soon clear how: even a small child had the power to knock his head back, while Ranma's blows were only the merest taps. After school they checked in with Dr. Tofu.
The doctor noticed a mark on Ranma's back. "This burn mark! Can it be? The legendary technique said to have died a century ago... the "Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion? In the ancient texts, it says that anyone burned with this moxibustion, even the greatest martial artist, can be reduced to the weakness of a baby!"
As far as Dr. Tofu knew, there was no cure. "The moxibustion counter to the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion no longer exists." Implied was that Ranma was weak for the rest of his life.
Happosai wasted no time trumpeting his victory, throwing letters and leaflets around town advertising that Ranma was now weak. Ranma was soon running from both Kunos and the other boys who wanted Akane.
Oddly, it was Ryoga who stopped them. "I can't stand people who pick on the weak," he explained. "Your punches were like lightning bolts, Ranma... but now, you are only a shadow..."
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Dr. Tofu was not entirely stumped. He looked through his collection of moxibustion references for a lead. Eventually he found one. "According to the old texts, there's said to be a chart, in a remote hiding place, indicating the location in the body of the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion point. There's no reason to believe the chart won't list the cure as well!"
Ranma perked up when they told him. "I'll find that chart if I have to go to the ends of the earth!"
"I'll go with you!" Ukyo said. "Besides, since you're so weak, you can't possibly take over the Tendo dojo! Your engagement to them is moot!"
Soun shot her down quickly. "Akane can still teach, even if Ranma can't," he said.
"But he should still try to find a cure," Genma said. "We'll start with a few temples I know..."
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Zoicite had shown Kunzite the new target. "So how were you going to do it? The same as last time?" Kunzite asked.
Zoicite's expression grew hard. "I am tired of being ambushed by the Sailor Senshi. How can we distract them?"
"I have noticed only two of them is actually strong enough to kill a youma. And none has demonstrated ability to teleport. If you were to send your youma in first, and widely separated, you may have a chance."
Zoicite smiled. "Your ideas are always welcome..."
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Motoki and Reika were dumbfounded. "The monsters are after... me?" Reika asked.
"We'll protect you," Sailor Moon said. "You can count on us!" She didn't want to say that Reika would be okay, as that wasn't entirely true. She would have to spend a few seconds as a youma. Then again, Ryo and Yumemi-san had been fine afterward...
"We trust you," Motoki said. "What do we have to do?"
"Nothing special. Just leave everything to us!" She quickly took her leave and returned to her friends in the back alley behind the arcade.
"So what IS the plan for tonight?" Usagi said after detransforming.
Mamoru looked over the plan given by Cologne. "Zoicite should confront Reika and Motoki in an industrial district over here... Zoicite will come with three youma again, but the four of them will be separated by several blocks and flying a thousand feet up."
"That's out of our range," Rei said.
"Maybe not out of Makoto's," Ami said. "Mako-chan, how far can your lightning go?"
"Maybe a thousand feet. But even at close range I can't really kill with it with one shot." Makoto did not sound very enthusiastic tonight. Usagi didn't blame her, being depressed at finding Motoki was going steady. She had tried telling her that there were plenty of fish in the sea, but losing this one would probably weigh on her for a few days.
"Actually, Ranma's plan says we don't do anything until the crystal is out," Mamoru said. "Only Sailor Moon will be necessary. Reika will be left behind to cause damage. Zoicite will think she will have time to grow to full power. Most of us will deal with the other youma Zoicite brings."
"What about the cyrstal? What are our chances of getting it this time?" Makoto asked.
"We shouldn't worry about the crystal. It's easier to get everything the Dark Kingdom has if we don't fight too hard at this point. We're saving our tricks for later."
"I don't much like this plan," Usagi said.
"Neither do I," Mamoru admitted. "Neither does Ranma. You know how he is - he wants to win every battle. Not just win - dominate. This is not the one."
With their reservations, they all agreed to the plan. Better to get what they could this time - and keep Reika safe.
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Out in the countryside, the Saotomes and Ukyo were eating lunch. Their effort to cure Ranma by the geothermally heated rocks of the Yomogi Valley was a bust; now Genma was willing to try a more desperate idea. "The Crouch of the Wild Tiger!"
"Let's see it," Ranma said.
"Ready!" Genma sat on his knees. Ranma copied him. "Both palms on the earth! Face your opponent, and - " He began ducking his face toward the earth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Your ultimate skill is bowing and scraping?" Ranma asked.
"This technique was named for the legendary wild tiger that fell from a cliff and..."
"Forget it. I'll find it myself." He started taking rocks out of the cooking fire and placing them on spots around his bare chest and back.
This continued until Cologne arrived and placed a rock at a precise spot on his lower back. "It's time," she said. "Let's go."
Genma was amazed. "You got the cure from the Master? How?"
"A while ago, actually," Ranma said. "Kinda hard to see, but there was a chance he'd use it eventually. I just went through all his stuff until I found it, and copied it."
Genma was annoyed. "You just wanted an excuse to get out of school, didn't you?"
"Well, that, too..."
"Argh! Well, now we have to push it if we want to get to Tokyo before nightfall!"
"Heh. I'm more interested in AFTER nightfall... gonna show Happosai my moves."
Genma could sympathize with that.
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Happosai stood on a rooftop in Juuban, surveying the area. For the past several nights he had been on the lookout for the Sailor Senshi, but caught no sign of them. He had, however, gotten a large haul of panties. Juuban was virgin territory for him; women were not on their guard here.
"That won't last," he muttered to himself. "Better make the most of it." He began hopping roofs, eyes peeled for both underwear and sailor-suited warriors. Ah! There was one! He jumped after her.
WHANG!
Ukyo peeled Happosai off her spatula and tied him up in a bag. Then she put the bag in a box full of quick-dry cement and placed it on a truck heading out of town. Ranma-chan came over to help see the old man off.
"No guaranteees he won't be back in time for the fight," she said, "but it's better than nothing. I can't see his movements, so I had to track him the old-fashioned way. Not too hard when he isn't looking out for me."
"Can we make it in time?" Ukyo asked, looking at the sun going down.
"We'll have to. PLUTO PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"
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Zoicite appeared a mile over the dusky Tokyo sky. Three flying youma, agile but not very durable, appeared at some distance. He raised a wind berrier immediately and waited for an attack to come.
Nothing happened for some minutes. Deciding the Senshis' attacks did not have orbital range, he gave a signal. The group descended in square formation to one thousand feet.
Still no attacks came. Another signal and the youma made a fast drop to the street. Zoicite himself teleported down. Again, nothing hit him immediately.
He was along the street where Reika usually walked on her way home. There was a factory here; he had scouted it along with her route. He ported around it, then several other sites in the area where the Senshi would have to set up. No sign.
*Have I really done it? Did they not detect this one?* He was still uneasy, but his youma gave him the edge. They met up at the designated point and took up stations on the factory roof.
The target was coming up the street now. There was a man with her. No matter - he would be only mortal. Zoicite dropped his wind barrier, ported to them, and raised the barrier again, covering a larger area. The Senshi should not be able to stop him now.
None of his youma took action. The Senshi seemed to truly not be here. The only opposition before him was the woman's boyfriend. "This is him! Reika! Stay back! I'll protect you!"
"Heh heh. Very heroic, but give up. You cannot defeat me."
Motoki charged.
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On the factory grounds, the Inner Senshi hid, waiting for their moment. Usagi was torn between her need to go to Reika's aid and her fear of the youma patrolling the area. They would have to be dealt with first. "I don't like this..." Sailor Moon said.
"Shhh!" Mars put a finger to her lips. "Remember we're going to save her at all costs. It may just take a little longer."
They gritted their teeth as Reika screamed. Zoicite wasn't dropping his barrier; there was no way they could get the Rainbow Crystal this time. Still, this was their mark. Usagi charged up her tiara. "MOON TIARA ACTION!"
The tiara followed a path along the side of a building and up to the roof, just as a youma came gliding over. It died instantly. The other two youma saw their comrade go down and began evasive actions.
"Scatter!" Mercury fogged the area as everyone else headed for cover. The youma descended and began to use their wings to clear the fog. They maintained fire as they did so. One was an archer, firing arrows that multiplied in flight, covering large areas. Another threw spears that penetrated windows and light walls. They kept the Senshi on the run.
Zoicite was floating into the air, making off with the crystal. "Excellent," he said, appraising the situation. "Rikoukeida, finish them." He disappeared in a shower of petals, just before a thrown rose could reach him.
"SUPREME THUNDER!" Jupiter arced a bolt from behind cover to stun the archer. Moon poked her head out from cover and used her tiara to kill it. Now they only had the spear thrower.
It flew higher, trying to gain range to dodge. It couldn't dodge the purple ball of energy coming at it from its blind side. With it down, only Reika was left.
"He made it!" Sailor Moon cheered. "Now for Reika-san - WOAH!" She dodged as Rikoukeida threw bombs her way. Some of them turned into green slime that began to crawl up her legs. "What yucky things are these?"
"These proto-cells are the basis of all life forms. Like you," Rikoukeida said.
"Whaat?" Sailor Moon wasn't one for technical terms.
"FIRE SOUL!" Mars aimed a blast at the slime, burning it away. Some of the fire climbed up Moon's boots, coming uncomfortably close to her skin. This earned a predictable complaint.
Mercury cast Shabon Spray again. The Senshi moved as Rikoukeida sought them out with more bombs. Moon was soon in a safe spot to cleanse. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"
The youma returned to being Reika. Mercury went to her side and scanned her. "She's okay," she said.
The fog dissipated. Sailor Pluto walked up with Ukyo and Shampoo close behind. "We got here as fast as we could," Ukyo said. "Looks like things are in hand."
"We lost the crystal," Tuxedo Mask said. "Zoicite is taking no chances. He left as soon as he had it."
"That's about how things will go the next time," Pluto said. "And as long as they do, it's all according to plan..."
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"Zoicite, you say you have a new strategy for gaining the next Rainbow Crystal?" Beryl said.
Zoicite bowed politely. "I wish to test their abilities with a strongly defensive team this time. In addition to tough bodies, they will be outfitted with crystalline armor to survive more than one direct attack from the Sailor Senshi."
"Perhaps you may actually return with them this time," Magnetite said. "They are beginning to get fearful of the Senshi."
"They will do what Queen Beryl orders," Kunzite said. "But a good plan will ensure we do not lose forces unnecessarily."
"A good plan would be to strike at the Sailor Senshi before securing the Rainbow Crystals. They are committed to defense of the carriers. I recommend we focus on defeating them first as they try to do so. We do not have to secure the crystal in one attempt if we can thin their numbers with several."
"That could still be expensive," Zoicite said, "and would certainly be inelegant. Queen Beryl, allow me to choose suitable youma and I will certainly return with Youma Jiji and the Rainbow Crystal."
"Very well, Zoicite. Choose your youma. Bring me back the crsytal and Jiji."
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"Same plan, more or less?" Ukyo asked. The Senshi and martial artists were discussing their own strategy at the Nekohanten.
"Very different, actually," Ranma said. "These youma won't be so tough. I'll want to fight them in male form."
"Male form? But you can't kill them unless you're Sailor Pluto?"
"We don't want to kill them. Zoicite will want to bring them back. But they're wusses. We just have to tie them up. We have the tools for that. And as to Zoicite ..." He looked at Rei. "Your old man being a skilled priest actually helps. He has some ability to resist the Dark Crystal. that can buy us time."
"What about Happosai?" Cologne asked. "How will you keep him away this time?"
"Well, he wants to see you guys... I think if he does, that keeps him at a safe distance. You don't all have to be on site this time."
"But don't we want to stay away from him?" Ami asked.
"Guarantee disaster," Shampoo guessed.
"Not guarantee, exactly," Ranma said. "But he is a wild card. If you guys can keep him occupied, the Zoicite end of the battle works easier."
"I'm glad I'm not going near him," Usagi said.
"But you are," Ranma said. "After all, we don't need to kill the youma this time."
"ME? But... but Zoicite will expect to see Sailor Moon! And you'll need me to purify gramps!"
"You can do that after. But Zoicite can be fooled." He looked at Shampoo. "How good are you at dyes...?"
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Zoicite appeared above Tokyo again, only a thousand feet this time. No attack. A flash of light drew his eye. "Well, well... there they are. Moon, Jupiter, Mercury... who are they fighting? The old priest? No... he is too dark. Almost like one of us... pity he will die. But as long as the Senshi are divided..."
He soon appeared on the street outside the Hikawa Shrine. There was the old man, sitting on the temple roof, gazing at the moon. "Secure the grounds," he ordered the youma, flying up into the moonlight toward the old man on the roof.
"I know who you are!" the target said. "Rei warned me you'd come! Rei! He's here! He's here!"
A shrine maiden came out of the temple along with a young man in silk shirt and pants. "You! You won't get what you want tonight!"
There was an explosion to the left, then the right. Zoicite gaped as the youma rolled out from the trees onto open ground. Their armor had been destroyed! There were powerful foes about. The last two Senshi, no doubt. Well, the youma could keep them busy.
He raised his wind barrier, encompassing himself and the old priest, and pulled out the Dark Crystal. "You are one of the Seven Great Youma, Jiji," he said. "Arise and join us!"
The Rainbow Crystal started coming out of his chest. The shrine maiden began to chant, trying to penetrate the wind barrier, to no effect. The young man ran out into the street and engaged the youma guarding Zoicite's rear. He led it into the yard, near Zoicite, where the other two youma had been thrown.
The priest summoned his energy, resisting the Dark Crystal. "You won't turn me!" he said, starting chants of his own and waving his tasseled rod. Zoicite felt the resistance, costing him energy. He broke off the attack.
"My, you are a strong one. But you cannot win. You!" He dropped the barrier and called a youma up to the roof to hold the priest. The Dark Crystal did its work this time, taking the indigo Rainbow Crystal out. The priest started to change, growing larger and more muscular, becoming Youma Jiji.
"STOP! I KILL!" Zoicite looked to the woods to the left to find the Senshi who had thrown the youma sent that way - it was Sailor Moon! But she was a mile away!
"Heh heh heh... you are faster than I thought, Sailor Moon. But not fast enough. I have the Rainbow Crystal! Jiji-"
He had not been paying attention to the youma fighting the young man on the ground. Now he paid for his ignorance. "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!" A great tornado lifted the youma from the ground, slamming into Zoicite from below and forcing the two crystals from his grip. He grabbed at the Dark Crystal first, but the young man was now riding the wind, hopping on the youma being tossed about like stepping stones. He grabbed the indigo crystal first, then fired an energy blast to propel himself away.
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On the ground, Sailor Moon was working with the shrine maiden to keep Jiji contained. She was fighting hand-to-hand this time, holding her own quite well. Zoicite decided to cut his losses. "Time to go," he said. "But I'll be back..." He teleported away with the youma.
"He's gone!" Ranma said. "Time for bed, old man!" He leapt at the demon, stunning it with one blow. It stayed down long enough for the real Sailor Moon to arrive.
"HEEEELLLLPPPP! Ranma! He's after me!" The super-heroine was running as fast as she could from a diminutive lecher.
"Come on! You girls need some training! And I know just what to give you!" Happosai said.
Ranma smashed him into the dirt as he passed. "What could YOU possibly teach them?"
"Sailor Moon!" Rei said, indicating the youma her grandfather had become.
"MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" Jiji returned to human form. He slumped to the ground unconscious. Mercury and Rei were quickly at his side, confirming he was unharmed.
"Good job, Shampoo," Ranma said to the fake Sailor Moon. "That might work again next time..."
"Shampoo make better Sailor Moon than Usagi!"
"Hey!" the real one said. "I have more experience!"
"Not count! Shampoo have more what matters!" Moon got into a glaring match with Shampoo, much as she sometimes did with Rei.
"Seems to me Shampoo is a lot like you, Rei," Sailor Jupiter said.
"We're nothing alike!" Rei protested.
"Oh, Rei," Ranma said. "I found a scruffy-looking drunk passed out on your steps earlier. I stuffed him in the guest room to get him out of the way. You might want to check on him."
"So now we're a boarding house? Thanks a lot!"
"Aren't temples supposed to be sanctuaries?" Ukyo asked.
"I looked him over as well. I think he is on a spiritual journey of his own," Cologne said. "Perhaps you should take him in for a while."
"Great. This place is getting too crowded," Rei complained.
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"How interesting," Magnetite said. "Only humans, you say? And they did this to you? Are you losing your touch, Zoicite?"
"Challenge me and I think you will find I am still as strong as ever," Zoicite said. "That move was... unexpected. But it is trivial enough to defeat with a wind barrier. It will not work again."
"It is well that you returned with the youma," Kunzite said. "They are willing to go again. They think they can defeat all of the Sailor Senshi next time."
"Let them think what they will," Magnetite said. "I do not doubt these humans were allies of the Senshi. They will be around again."
"They are still only humans," Zoicite said. "They cannot stand against us. We need only worry about the Senshi. And I think they have more than just us to worry about."
"Other enemies of the Senshi?" Beryl was intrigued. "Tell me more, Zoicite."
"Gladly, my queen..."
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That weekend at training in the wilderness, the Senshi were in for a shock.
"Well, well," Rei said. "Usagi finally wants to train! What brought this on, odango atama?"
"Cause I felt like it!" Usagi said. "I have to train hard if I want to be a better Sailor Senshi, don't I?"
"Tired of running around while the youma shoot at you?"
"Well, she didn't do too bad last time," Makoto conceded. "She can control her tiara pretty well."
"So we've got a guided missile," Ranma-chan said. "She can still use a workout. How about you lift that rock for starters?"
Usagi spent several minutes grappling with the indicated rock. She ended up with her face in the dirt, having gotten it only a few inches off the ground. "This thing must weigh a hundred pounds!"
"Only ten," Ranma said. "I know you're good at running. How about to the top of this hill and down?"
"Should I time her?" Ukyo held a stopwatch.
"Let's see if she can just make it first," Ranma said.
"That isn't a hill! It's a mountain! It's got to be a mile high!"
"Less than five hundred feet. Get going."
She got ten feet up the hill before sliding back down. Several tries and more than an hour later she made it to the top. "YAY! I made it!" she called hoarsely. "I told you I could do it!"
"Now come back down," Ranma called back. She didn't so much as run down as roll.
After a break to catch her breath, Ranma gave her one more test. "Dodge these," he said, holding up some rubber balls they used for dodge practice.
"Don't throw them too hard!" Usagi pleaded.
"Pop used to throw stones hard enough to draw blood," she said, but went easy on her all the same. She not only failed to dodge a single ball, she had a habit of dodging INTO balls that weren't coming her way.
"Pathetic," everyone agreed.
"I guess some people are not cut out for this kind of training," Rei said.
"Can you swim?" Ranma asked. "Wait... let me rephrase that. Can you FLOAT?"
"Float? Of course I can! I go to the pool every summer!"
"It's true," Ami said. "We went to the beach this summer. She had no trouble swimming."
"Thank Kami-sama. At least YOU can swim. Our school principal tried to teach Akane to swim this past week. Girl has NO buoyancy. And doesn't know up from down when she gets in the water."
"Well, I guess I've got that on her," Usagi beamed with pride. "So what do we start with?"
"Oh, more of the same," Ranma said lazily. "Ten times up and down the hill."
"TEN!" Usagi sounded like she had been handed a death sentence. "I'm gonna die..."
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"So this is the place?" Usagi said.
"Please, let me go back home," Luna pleaded. "This neighborhood is too dangerous for me." She looked warily at the numerous cats along the residential walls, eyeing her with amorous intent. At Ranma's suggestion she had carried the Moon Stick
through here while during school hours. She had returned looking bedraggled and refusing to come back.
"Ranma was right about this neighborhood," Ami observed. "There sure are a lot of cats here..."
"Well, at least the cystal carrier isn't a person this time," Makoto said. "Zoicite won't have to hurt any people."
"We wait here," Cologne said. Luna had only been able to locate the house; Cologne had come by later to scan the occupants individually. She had been surprised to find the carrier was the family cat.
The group waited down the street, Senshi transformed, as Zoicite appeared in the sky. He disappeared again, then reappeared on the street fifteen minutes later with his youma, their armor replaced. It would, of course, not be of much use against Breaking Point strikes.
Luna huddled on Sailor Moon's shoulder as the neighborhood cats kept their distance from the humans. At the house, Zoicite deployed his youma in three-point guard formation and rang the doorbell. A young girl answered. "Yes?"
The general knocked her down with a wave of force. The most enormous cat any of the group had ever seen came out of the door, running past Zoicite, who ignored it and began exposing the girl to the Dark Crystal.
"It won't do anything to her, right?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Ranma said it wouldn't," Ukyo said. "Hey, that cat's coming straight for us!"
The huge cat stopped at their feet and looked up at Luna. The Senshi all looked between the two cats. "Is there something going on between you two?" Moon asked.
"Nothing!" Luna insisted. "We only met once on the street!"
Jupiter scooped up the giant cat. "Oof! You need to go on a diet." They carried the cat a few streets over to a canal, where Tuxedo Mask was waiting.
"Set him down here," he said. "The rest of us hide near these shops. We want to lure Zoicite out. His youma will be defending him, so we have to deal with them first."
They tried to set the cat down, but it followed Sailor Moon. "What's up with you, you dumb cat? Stay there!" She tried to push it back. It didn't want to go.
"Quick! Zoicite's coming!" Mars said in a stage whisper. She hid behind a trash can.
"Luna, I think he wants to be with you," Moon said.
"Me? Why? I've got nothing to do with him!"
"Well, he wants to be where you are, so you stay with him over there. Okay?"
Luna's head dropped in defeat. "Alright. If it will help..." She walked out to the canal. The large cat followed.
Sailor Moon barely made it back to a hiding spot in time. The armored youma showed up at either end of the street. Zoicite, encased in a globe of wind, floated over the rooftops and down toward the cats. He glanced around and called his youma in close. "Make sure we are not disturbed. Now, I will have the last Rainbow Crystal ..."
Out came the Dark Crystal. Mercury immediately cast Shabon Spray. The fog was stopped at the wind barrier, but the youma were outside it. Cologne and Shampoo made short work of their armor as well as disrupting their bodies with Breaking
Point strikes. Cologne engaged them, defending in spiral until she could get them into position. "Huryu Shoten Ha!" she yelled, spinning like a top in the opposite direction of the winds in the barrier.
The tornado met the barrier and cancelled it out perfectly. The youma now sank to the ground, ready to fight again. Zoicite, Rainbow Crystal in hand, decided his youma had served their purpose and disappeared in a shower of petals while he still had crystals in hand.
"SUPREME THUNDER!" "FIRE SOUL!" "MOON TIARA ACTION!" The youma were tough, and could indeed survive Sailor Moon's attacks. Disrupted by Cologne's Breaking Point strikes, however, the tiara could get through and prevent their reformation.
The cat was now fully changed into a lion-like humanoid youma. Sailor Moon went to work before it could do anything. "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!" The youma returned to being a normal, if very large, cat.
"We did it!" Sailor Moon cheered, then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "I'm gonna sleep for a week..."
"If you'd been exercising with us earlier you'd last longer," Mars said.
"I'm just glad that's over," Ukyo said. "Let's get back to Ranchan. He's been running Happosai around town all day."
Tuxedo Mask heaved to his feet. "Now the Dark Kingdom will have to challenge us for what we have."
"And Ranma loves challenge fights..." Cologne said.
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Ranma's next challenge, however, was not the Dark Kingdom, but one of his older enemies: Ryoga. The challenge letter had come the week before; he knew the Lost Boy now had power similar to what Akane had gained from the Super Soba noodles. He had considered seeking out the Martial Arts Calligraphy school and becoming super- powered himself, but he found he just couldn't take the mark seriously. But if Ryoga wanted to make himself a laughing stock, let him.
At the appointed time, Ryoga came up the street. "Where's the vacant lot?" he said.
"You just walked by it," Ranma said. He noticed what Ryoga was carrying in his backpack. "What's with all these dojo signs?"
"Along the way, I challenged a few dojos..."
"Looks like you have gotten better," Ranma said.
Ryoga prepared himself. "Come at me any way you like, Ranma."
Ranma tried full power and speed immediately. Ryoga was always just out of reach, barely evading his moves. Even a tap from his pinkie was enough to send Ranma sprawling.
"I beat him... with only my pinkie..." Ryoga hefted his backpack and prepared to move on. "Farewell, Ranma. I've got no use for you now. I thought if anyone... YOU could be the one to beat me."
"You sound like you want to get beat," Ranma said.
Ryoga explained about his recent experience with Martial Arts Calligraphy. "And with the markings, I did become the strongest man in the world... but at the same time... I've become the most tragic man, as well!" He lifted his shirt, showing the Mark of the Battling God on his belly. It looked like a child's doodle, far too happy and silly for a serious mark of power.
"I see," Ranma nodded. "I take it you can't just wash it off."
"No. The only way to remove the mark... is to be defeated in battle."
Ranma smiled. "I know just who you need to fight..."
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AN: sorry this took so long. I had a huge chapter in which Reika got captured and Zoicite later killed while scouting the Hikawa shrine, then realized it wouldn't work that way. Ranma knows if he presses the Dark Kingdom too hard with ambushes they will not waste time trying to extract the Rainbow Crystals in the field; he will take them back to friendly territory and let them come up to full power. Ranma couldn't allow that, so he backs off.
Next: Killing Ground