Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, though I'd figure that that's a given. I also don't own Sailor moon, though if you thought I did you have mental problems. As for the many other series I've crossed with, I don't own those either.
4:32 AM. A pair of eyes open as a body cloaked in darkness slowly rises and stretches to overcome the haze of recent sleep. The sun had not yet risen, yet already this figure felt it was time to rise and seize the day.
Konatsu was careful as she got up and stealthily got out of bed. She could only imagine how badly Ryoga would react if he caught her sleeping in his bed. She was still too afraid to return to the Ucchan's, and thus had been spending most of her time at Ryoga's house. She had also gotten used to sleeping in his nice, comfy bed while he was off lost for a week. However, he had just come back from where ever he had been, and so Konatsu was forced to sleep on the couch.
Of course, Ryoga's couch was horribly uncomfortable. So she just waited until he fell asleep and snuck into his bed. Ryoga was thankfully a pretty heavy sleeper. However, being a ninja certainly helped during the whole sneaking process. She just had to make sure she got up before Ryoga did, or his head might have exploded when he found her.
'Better get back to the couch.' Konatsu thought to herself, silently leaving the room and descending the stairs.
-x-
5:00 AM. Shampoo awoke with a sudden alertness gained from years of habit and practice, leaping from her bed in an instant as a powerful blow descended upon her former position. She sailed across the room before her feet met her wall, bouncing off in a leaping kick towards her attacker.
"Well done, Shampoo. Your Great grandmother has taught you well." Her father praised, deflecting Shampoo's kick and lunging at her with a knife hand.
"Let's see how long you can go before I hit you." Shampoo groaned as she was forced on the defensive, jumping back from a few jabs to grab her sword off the wall. Her father snaked his hand out towards Shampoo, but she was prepared for it, deflecting the attack with the flat of her blade and lunging forward in a counter attack.
"What is the meaning of this, Father?" Shampoo asked, lashing out in a fast slash that seemed to ricochet off her father's raised forearm, despite the seeming impossibility of it.
"Come now, Shampoo. Elder Cologne has been doing this to you for years. I'm merely acting as her replacement while she's away. One would think you'd have gotten used to it by now." Her father replied with a grin, lashing out with two knife hands and forcing Shampoo backwards into the hallway.
-x-
6:00 AM. Amawa Hibiki awoke to the sound of an alarm clock and struck out wildly in a vain attempt to disable the device. He briefly wondered what madness had possessed him to wake up so early before remembering the importance of that day. Today was the first day he got to teach classes. The principal had given him a week to get accustomed to the school and make a lesson plan, which he had already done. Now was the time where he could actually begin to work.
"Ah, my first day at a new school, and the first step towards a new paycheck. Then maybe I can get Kurage back from Ba-san." With that thought in mind, Amawa got out of bed to get ready. All he needed now was a nice hot shower, a change of clothes and a jog down towards the school.
That was the plan anyway, until an odd noise from the window caused Amawa to open the curtains to see what it was. The color drained from his face as he saw that it was raining. So much for a jog. It would be more like a slow stroll with an umbrella to prevent him from transforming.
It would be another thirty minutes before Amawa realized that the only umbrella owned by the Hibiki family was Ryoga's, and that he had lost it over two weeks ago.
-x-
6:30 AM. Kasumi Tendo awoke and slowly sat up in bed, instinctively stretching the kinks out of her joints. She sighed contentedly and looked out her window at the cloud filled sky with a smile on her face. It wasn't exactly a cheerful sunrise, but there was something about a morning rain that Kasumi found pleasant.
"Oh my, so late already!" Kasumi exclaimed, seeing the time on her clock. She was usually awake by now. She must have been really tired last night.
"I'd better get dressed and start breakfast. Then there's the laundry, and the dojo needs to be cleaned out again, and it's been awhile since I mopped the kitchen floor. So much to do!" Kasumi got up and made her bed with practiced ease before crossing the room to pick out her clothes for the day. She should probably draw the bath for the day before starting on breakfast. Her sisters would appreciate that.
-x-
7:09 AM. A simple alarm clock sat in wait upon a simple nightstand, eagerly awaiting the moment it could perform its simple task. The life of an alarm clock was hardly a glamorous one, with only a single job to perform at a specific time every day, and usually for only a few moments. But this alarm clock enjoyed its job. When it's time came, it blared its alarm with a vigorous intensity, loudly and proudly sounding off to signal the beginning of whatever its owner needed to be reminded of. Today would be no different. In a mere few moments, it would be that time, and it would be able to perform its duty with joy.
7:10 AM. A buzzing sound on par with an air raid siren blasted through the room so suddenly that Nabiki practically leapt from her skin as she awoke. The alarm clock was happy to see that its owner was awake; clearly appreciating the work it did to remind her to start the day. Next she would reach over, switch it off, and it could wait for the next time it needed to wake her.
Today was different, though. For no foreseeable reason, the alarm clock suddenly floated a few inches off the nightstand that was its home and rocketed at impossibly high speeds towards the opposite wall, where it exploded spectacularly into its base components. The alarm clock was snuffed out, its existence over, silence once again descending onto the room.
"Ugh. I don't know why I ever bought such an annoyingly loud alarm clock." Nabiki grumbled. It did what it was supposed to do though, as she was now very awake. With a loud yawn and an exaggerated stretch, Nabiki crawled out of bed and strode across her room. As she approached the door, her bath items floated from their position in her closet into her hands and her uniform followed suit, folding itself up and landing in the bend of her arm just as Nabiki opened the door.
"Good Morning, Nabiki. Getting an early start today?" Kasumi asked cheerfully, currently in the process of sweeping the hallway. Nabiki nodded to her sister and tip toed around her, trying not to disturb what she had already cleaned.
"Morning Kasumi. I've just got some business to attend to early today. Is the furo ready?" Seeing her sister nod, Nabiki headed downstairs towards the bathroom, eager to get a nice soak. The door opened a few seconds before Nabiki even got to it and closed shortly after she entered. As her clothing seemed to remove itself from her body, Nabiki briefly wondered how the hell she ever got by without telekinetic powers.
"I am so going to enjoy this." Nabiki muttered to herself. It took all her will power not to cackle maniacally as she soaped herself without even touching the bar.
-x-
X:XX XM. Kunzite had no need to know what time it was. As a Dark General, he technically didn't need sleep. Thus, he didn't. And since one could not see the sun or the moon while in the underground hideout of the Dark Kingdom, the passage of one day into the next was a concept he didn't bother himself with.
"The White Crystal; Nephrite's trump card. It has taken me much research, but I have finally discovered its secrets." Kunzite muttered to himself, gazing at the crystal in his hands with an evil gleam in his eye.
"White Crystal, show me a being powerful enough to defeat Sailor Moon!" The crystal began to shine as a figure appeared within its prismatic surface. Information about the figure also began to flow from the crystal into Kunzite's mind, causing his grin to get even wider.
"So this is the one. If I can steal the energy of this human, I will be able to create a youma powerful enough to finally get rid of the Sailor Senshi. Or better yet, if I could pollute his mind, I could simply let him do all the work for me." Kunzite chuckled to himself, his evil plans beginning to form in his head.
"You will be a great asset to the dark kingdom, Herb."
Bishonen Senshi Sailor Moon
Chapter 7
Thunder Storm part 2
She stood stoically in the center of the room, looking down at her feet but not truly seeing anything at all. Her eyes were unfocused, as she was lost in thought. She stood where she was, totally unmoving, wearing nothing but a headband and an oversized tank top, though there were clothes strewn throughout the room. It looked like a miniature hurricane had decided to manifest itself within the walls of the hotel room, destroying all within. The bed was in two pieces and on two separate halves of the room. The nightstand, which had formerly been firmly bolted to the wall beside the bed, had been reduced to little more than a pile of splinters and kindling. Half of a coffee table could be seen hanging from the ceiling, the other half presumably sticking out of the floor in the room above her. The walls were cracked, the carpet was shredded, and the doors were nowhere to be found.
The only sound came from the steady beat of rain against the outside walls and windows, with an eerie silence resting everywhere else. The TV had formerly been competing with the rain for noise, before she kicked it through the wall. If she bothered to look up, she'd be able to see it halfway embedded in a dresser in the room adjacent to her own; a small foot print forever imprinted onto its screen. The residents in the rooms throughout the hotel barely moved, barely made a sound. Not a one of them dared complain to the girl since she hurled the remains of her dresser into the hotel manager when he had come to yell at her. Paramedics were in the process of loading the man into the back of an ambulance at the moment, while several armed SWAT members were debating whether or not it was worth going in to get her. She was being fairly quiet now, after all.
None of her clothes fit. It was a weird thing to go on a violent rampage over, but that was the reason. She had been taking the whole thing rather well up until that point. Sailor Moon had told her how to change out of her fuku, but wouldn't say anything about turning back into a man. When she had finally managed to get the redhead to spill her guts on the topic, she was understandably upset. She had started yelling at the shorter girl, but that was about it. She just walked off at that point and headed back to her hotel room. The Youma had destroyed her clothing, so she had been tying off the shreds of it that remained in a way that was at least moderately decent.
She must have been in shock, she now realized. It hadn't fully hit her until she got back and tried to change, and none of her clothes fit. She put on a tank top that used to hug her muscles so tightly only to see it drape loosely off her ample bust. Her boxers and pants would simply slide right off, as her waist was far too thin to support them. Her boxers had at least hung off her hips, but it only took a few steps before they too slipped to the floor. At that point, it had all just hit her so suddenly. The full extent of what had happened finally came crashing down on her, and she finally understood it. It was at that point that she kicked her TV into the next room, and everything went downhill from there.
Ryu sighed to herself and lifted her head, catching a glimpse of her neighbor huddling in fear through a particularly large crack in the wall. She could hear the SWAT team slowly making their way up the stairs towards her room and turned around to face them. Typically, these guys would bust into a room at top speed to catch their target unawares and force the situation to stop through brute force. However, it was clear to Ryu that she had spooked these guys. They knew what she was, and understood that even heavily armed and armored as they were, she could probably kick the ever living crap out of every last one of them. That was why they slowly filtered into the room and surrounded her. They were too afraid to make a sudden move.
"You are under arrest for disturbing the peace, assault and battery and destruction of private property. Please come quietly. We don't want to hurt you, Ma'am." One of them said. Ryu snapped her head up and glared at the officer that had spoken, seeing him visibly jump from her look. His face shield was obscured by water droplets from the rain outside, but she could still see the fear in his eyes.
"Did you just call me 'Ma'am?'" Ryu asked, venom in her tone. She clenched her fists, causing the entire swat team to jump a little at the sound of her knuckles cracking.
She had just started to calm down and this idiot had to go and call her 'Ma'am.'
Looked like it was time to inflict some more pain.
Kasumi hummed to herself as she set breakfast at the table, nodding to her family members as they muttered their thanks before returning to the kitchen. The tea would be ready shortly, plus she could hardly sit down to eat herself while all her cooking utensils were dirty.
The phone rang, causing Kasumi to pause briefly and turn towards it, answering it as politely as always.
"Hello, Tendo Residence." Kasumi said into the receiver, pausing while she listened to the voice on the other end. "Oh, Auntie! How nice of you to call. How have you been doing?"
Nabiki flinched a little upon hearing Kasumi address the caller. Auntie? That could only mean one of two people. She glanced at her father, who was stoically reading the paper and occasionally taking bites of his breakfast. She then turned to Genma and noticed the man looked fairly nervous as he shoveled the rice into his mouth. Good, from the looks of them, it was most likely the lesser of the two evils.
"No, Auntie, It's morning here. You have to remember your time zones." Kasumi suddenly said. Nabiki flinched again. Genma had suddenly calmed considerably and Soun was now trying to eat his napkin, apparently not realizing that he had missed his bowl entirely.
"Is Kasumi talking to Aunt Ru-?"Akane began, but Nabiki clamped her hand over her mouth before she could finish.
"Don't say her name, stupid!" Nabiki chastised. What was Akane thinking? Hasn't she ever heard the saying, 'speak of the devil and he shall appear?'
"You have vacation time and want to visit? That's wonderful, Auntie! When do you think you'll arrive?" They all suddenly heard Kasumi say. Soun suddenly turned very pale while a shudder went through Nabiki's body.
"T..Too late..." She muttered, removing her hand from Akane's mouth. Kasumi finished her conversation and hung up the phone before walking back to the table, kettle in hand.
"Auntie called, Father. She says she's has some free time and wants to come visit us. Isn't that wonderful?" Kasumi said, apparently not noticing the sickened look on her father's face.
"Y...Yes...of course it is, Kasumi dear." Soun muttered unenthusiastically.
"Oh, is Ranma-kun still sleeping? He's going to miss breakfast." Kasumi pointed out, noticing a distinct lack of a certain pigtailed boy at the table.
"Ugh, he always oversleeps," Akane groaned, starting to stand, "I'll go wake him up." Before Akane could get up from the table, she was stopped by Nabiki, who placed her hand firmly on her little sister's shoulder.
"That won't be necessary, Akane. I'm sure he'll wake up on his own any second now." Nabiki said, looking like she was concentrating briefly when a very loud thud from upstairs caused the ceiling to shake.
"What the HELL?" Ranma screamed, apparently upset about something.
"See?" Nabiki said with a grin, going back to her food. Ranma stumbled down the stairs a few moments later, looking disheveled and incredibly confused.
"I think I just got attacked by a ghost." Ranma muttered as he took his position at the table, Luna taking position in his lap shortly after.
"A ghost? What are you talking about?" Akane asked.
"All I know is something picked me up and hurled me into the wall, and I sure didn't see nothin'." Ranma explained. Kasumi set some food in front of him and he gave her a look of appreciation before digging in.
"You must be imagining things." Nabiki muttered. A few seconds later Ranma mysteriously slammed his face into the table. He then immediately sat up and looked around the room suspiciously, as if searching for an unseen attacker.
"Ghosts." Ranma insisted. Nabiki just chuckled. A crash of thunder interrupted their breakfast as everyone turned to look outside, seeing that the rain was getting worse.
"Oh dear, It really is coming down now, isn't it?" Kasumi muttered, watching the rain increase in intensity. A bolt of lightning could easily be seen crossing the sky from her position, followed shortly by another roll of thunder.
"It says here that a storm is coming in." Soun said. Ranma could see the start of the article on the front page, 'Typhoon will most likely miss Tokyo says meteorologists.' it read.
"I'm going over to Ryoga's. See ya." Ranma suddenly said, moving to stand up from the table and tripping over nothing.
"We've got school!" Akane protested. Ranma obviously didn't care though. After another suspicious look around for the ghost that kept attacking him, Ranma headed towards the door with Luna following shortly behind.
"There's a Typhoon coming in. School's probably canceled." With that, Ranma opened the door and promptly left. A few moments later he could be heard crying out in surprise and once again damning all ghosts in the area, but he disappeared from hearing range shortly thereafter.
Konatsu smiled as she moved around the kitchen with a practiced ease gained from years of serving her sisters, not to mention her recent work in a restaurant. She had been staying in Ryoga's home for over a week now, and since she was fairly certain that neither Ryoga nor his uncle had any idea how to work a kitchen, she figured it was her duty as the only girl in the house to prepare a proper meal and earn her keep in the process.
"Umbrella...Umbrella...There's gotta be an umbrella somewhere in this house!" Amawa shouted, frantically digging through a nearby closet in a desperate search for some means of deflecting rain water.
"Hibiki-san, are you going to have breakfast before you leave today?" Konatsu asked, not really paying any attention to what Amawa was doing in favor of concentrating on her work.
"There's no time for that. I have to find an umbrella or a rain coat or something. I can't risk getting wet on my first day of work." Amawa explained, closing the closet in annoyance before turning to look at Konatsu for the first time.
"Who are you again?" Amawa suddenly realized he didn't really know who this girl was, despite seeing her around quite a bit since he moved in.
"I'm Konatsu." She replied, turning down the stove burner as she added a few more ingredients to the pan.
"Oh. Are you Ryoga's girlfriend or something?" Konatsu's hand slipped forward at the unexpected question, briefly touching the burner before she pulled her hand back with a yelp.
"No, no, nothing like that." She denied, sucking on her fingers for a moment to try and relieve the pain and watched Amawa run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"I doubt an umbrella will be of much help." Konatsu said, pointing out the window. Amawa stood and looked, his jaw dropping open at what he saw. Lightning flashed in the clouds a few times as he gazed out at the torrent of water that was falling from the sky. The wind was even picking up, turning the downpour into a more horizontal hail of water.
"I'm screwed." Amawa muttered dejectedly. Thunder rolled across the sky as he said it, as if to emphasize his words. The door flew open just then, causing both Konatsu and Amawa to turn towards the opening. The rain was blowing in and soaking the entryway, as well as the large pile of crap that had tumbled to the floor after the door was opened. A very wet Ranma walked in shortly after and shut the door before shivering rather uncontrollably.
"H...h...h...hot...w...w...water..." She got out through chattering teeth. Konatsu just pointed Ranma towards the bathroom wordlessly, while Amawa just stood there wondering who the hell the girl was.
Ryu continued packing up her belongings, ignoring the groans of pain from the men lying around the room. Ryu had been expecting the SWAT team to start shooting shortly after she started moving; Hence, she had gone all out in order to incapacitate the whole lot of them as quickly as possible. However, not a single shot had been fired. She could only assume they were less willing to put a bullet into a teenaged girl than she had originally anticipated. She wasn't exactly complaining, though it did make her feel a little bad for breaking so many of their bones.
"C...Call an ambulance...Please!" One of the swat members cried out through his pain, cradling what was left of his arm. She had broken it in seven places at least, so it was sticking out at a bizarre angle that no limb was ever designed to be in.
'It's probably a good thing I can't use my Yamasenken. Otherwise, these guys would all be dead.' Ryu thought to herself, stuffing the last of her belongings into her pack and shouldering it quickly. Her clothing still didn't fit right, forcing her to improvise in order to clothe herself. She was actually wearing 2 shirts, one leaning to the left and the other to the right, and each was tied into a knot to eliminate the excess cloth. Her pants would not be staying on if it weren't for the belt she had tied as tightly around her waist as the belt itself would allow, which still caused it to hang on her hips and ass a little. Her boots had a pair of boxers and some socks stuffed into each toe before she had put her foot in. They were a bit loose, but they wouldn't come off mid-step at least. The only things she had that actually fit were her headband and weights, since they were pretty much a 'one size fits all' deal.
Ryu stood up and walked a few steps towards the door before turning towards the wall and smashing her hand into it. The Sheetrock cracked and the stud groaned, and Ryu distinctly heard her neighbor squeak in fear.
"Hey you!" Ryu addressed the man in the next room, "Call an ambulance for these guys." Ryu promptly left without bothering to get an answer. The rain was coming down with surprising strength and it seemed like her clothes and pack doubled their weight from the water they absorbed within a matter of seconds. She didn't really care though, she had a destination in mind.
"Ranma could change gender somehow. That bastard surely knows a way to make me male again." Ryu muttered to herself while slowly going from a stroll to a run. If she remembered correctly, his mother's house wasn't too far from here. Hopefully she knew where he was. Ryu was almost eager to get there, not only because she may very well be able to become a man again, but she could easily challenge Ranma to a rematch once she found him. With that thought in mind, Ryu picked up speed.
Ranma sighed contently as his body sank into the hot waters of the Hibiki's furo. It was a welcome change to the freezing cold rain outside, especially since a change in gender came with it. Atop his head, Luna laid out lazily as always, her back paws and tail dangling in front of Ranma's eyes.
"We really need to find Sailor Jupiter, Ranma. You shouldn't have let her run off." Luna said, swatting at Ranma's pigtail a few times.
"No thanks. Ryu and I have a history, and I get the feeling he's gonna want to tear my heart out with his bare hands if he sees me again." Ranma replied, pushing Luna's tail aside. It was surprisingly not bushy, considering she was a squirrel and all.
"I think you should take your duty as Sailor Moon more seriously, Ranma." Luna said simply, clawing at Ranma's pigtail again. Ranma flinched a little, feeling her claw dig into the back of his neck a little.
"And I think you need a bath. Get offa my head." Ranma jerked his head to the side as he said this, causing Luna to fall into the furo with a large splash.
"No! cough cough. Can't swim!" Luna was slashing around like mad, desperately trying to free herself from the dreaded water. Ranma would have none of it though as he began rubbing his hands through her fur roughly.
"Dirty squirrels need cleaning!" He responded, continuing his work at cleaning Luna.
"You suck!" Luna screamed, swallowing a little water in the process. Ranma stopped his assault of Luna when he heard the bathroom door open, and shortly afterward Ryoga walked in and jumped into the furo.
"What are you doing here?" Ryoga asked suspiciously, glaring at Ranma.
"Typhoon's coming. I figure school would be canceled. Plus there are some ghosts or something at the Dojo that keep attacking me." Ranma responded. Before Ryoga could reply to that, the bathroom door opened once again and in stepped Konatsu, who was quite nude as she, too, got into the furo.
"W...What the hell are you doing?" Ryoga shouted at Konatsu, who didn't seem to care at all that she was totally nude and sharing a bath with two equally undressed boys.
"Well, since you two were both in here, I figured we were having a meeting." Konatsu replied innocently. She honestly seemed confused that Ryoga would question why she was in the bathroom.
"You're a girl! You can't just barge into a bathroom with guys!" Ryoga insisted. He was also trying to avert his eyes from Konatsu's body. After all, water wasn't exactly very good at concealing a feminine form, considering it was translucent and all.
"I used to be a guy. It's not like either of you are going to try something." Konatsu reasoned. Ryoga didn't respond to that. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't be incriminating.
"Anyway," Luna interrupted. She had managed to find a foothold on the bottom of the furo. Even though she had to stand up straight on two legs, she at least wasn't going to drown, "Konatsu has a point. We should be having a meeting."
"About what?" Ranma asked, leaning back against the wall of the furo and staring at the ceiling.
"Sailor Jupiter, of course. We need to find her." Luna responded.
"Uh-uh, no way. Ryu can wander around and go about his business for all I care." Ranma shot back.
"Alright, then Ryoga and Konatsu can find her while you sit here acting like a child." Luna said back. Ranma turned his gaze towards the cat and glared at her.
"Hey, the guy tried to kill me. He also impersonated me to try and fool my mother into giving him a secret family scroll. And he tried to kill me! If he knew I was Sailor Moon, he'd probably try to kill me again." Ranma said.
"Well, did he know about your curse?" Konatsu asked. Ranma looked up at her in confusion, doing his best to stare directly into her eyes and not let them wander.
"Uh...Yeah. Why?" Ranma replied, looking confused.
"Well, he just turned into a girl. And if he knows you change into a girl, he'll probably track you down anyway. You're his best chance to find a way to change back." Konatsu pointed out, causing Ranma's face to fall a little.
"And if that's the case, he's probably going to go to your mom's home, if that's where he was before." Ryoga added, making Ranma's face fall further.
"...Regardless, I'm not going to go there to see him. Ryu's bad enough, but I'm not about to visit my mother either." Ranma said firmly, offering no objections.
"You don't want to see your mother? Why not?" Konatsu objected, honestly confused that someone wouldn't want to see their own mothers.
"She has also tried to kill me." Ranma replied with utmost seriousness. Konatsu blinked a few times at that, but didn't say anything further.
"Alright then, Ranma, you don't have to go. Ryoga, Konatsu, go to Ranma's house and see if Ryu is there. If not, we're going to have to search the city for her." Luna said, like a general giving commands to her soldiers. Despite the commanding tone of her voice, neither Ryoga nor Konatsu looked like they were about to fall in step.
"First of all, we don't know where Ranma's mother lives." Ryoga pointed out. "Secondly, there's a typhoon coming. Not exactly good search party weather."
"A little rain never hurt anyone." Luna said.
"There's a big difference between a little rain and a typhoon." Ryoga shot back.
"You three do whatever you want. I have my own business to take care of." Ranma said, crossing his arms.
"And what would that be?" Luna asked sarcastically, not believing Ranma had any business at all.
"Shampoo's still not talking to me. I figure she won't be able to run away from me in the middle of a Typhoon." He replied. Luna could only sigh in disgust. Ranma had such a one track mind, it was almost disturbing.
The windows began to shake and rattle in their frames as the wind and rain only continued to increase in intensity. Shampoo sighed a bit as she watched, eyes half lidded in obvious boredom and fatigue. The outside world was all but invisible to her, completely hidden behind sheets of water falling from the sky.
"We should close, Father. No one comes in this weather." Shampoo muttered as she turned towards the kitchen. Her father was still in there, cooking for reasons she could not understand. No one had come in for the breakfast rush, and with the way the weather was turning, that wasn't about to change.
"We'll be having guests soon, Shampoo. Have patience. They will surely want to eat when they arrive." Her father said, again, much like he did an hour before. It was starting to become a bit annoying, the way he insisted that someone would be coming by.
"How do you know?" She asked, though she already knew what he would say.
"Daddy always knows, dear." He replied. Shampoo almost wanted to throw a chair at him.
"Ah, here's one of them now. Open the door for him, Shampoo." Her father said, causing Shampoo to sit up and blink in surprise. She didn't hear anything. She also didn't see anything. The outside was still dreadfully wet and windy with no sign of changing. Despite this, she figured she might as well humor her father and opened the front door, ensuring she stayed behind it so that the rain coming in would not hit her. Surprisingly, the instant she opened the door, a figure ran inside. Shampoo was so surprised by this she immediately slammed the door afterwards.
"Ranma?" Shampoo asked, her confusion hitting her a few instances before her annoyance did. His persistence was one of the things she found attractive about her airen, but she had to admit it was infuriating when she wanted to spend some time away from the martial artist on occasion.
"Oh...Sh..Sh..Shampoo...Could...d I h...have a t...t...towel an' some hot w...water?" Ranma asked, her wet hair and clothes plastered so thoroughly to her body from the rain that they left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Shampoo could clearly see every curve and detail of Ranma's female body through the water laden cloth and immediately knew that any customers they may have had would have been leering at her.
"Here you are." Ranma turned and blinked in surprise, seeing the man she could only assume was Shampoo's father handing her a towel, a kettle of hot water, and a spare set of clothes. Ranma could only nod her head in thanks as she accepted the offered items and quickly went about using them.
"That was your father?" Ranma asked, figuring she might as well verify that fact before he said anything else. Shampoo nodded just as Ranma got done removing her wet clothes, now standing in the middle of the restaurant wearing nothing but a pair of soaked boxers before pouring the hot water over herself. Completely unconcerned with Shampoo's presence, Ranma toweled himself off before removing the soaked boxers and replacing them with the dry pair Shampoo's father had given him. It wasn't until he was mostly dressed again that he noticed Shampoo staring at him and blushing rather heavily.
"...Oops." He muttered, having a fairly good idea what she was blushing about. He tried not to smirk about it, but nothing stopped his ego from shooting through the roof from her reaction.
"What you doing here, Ranma?" Shampoo muttered in broken Japanese, turning her head away and trying to regain her composure. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before, as she had snuck into the bath with a nude Ranma a few times. She just hadn't been expecting him to strip right in front of her. Plus he was usually running away and hiding himself in those situations. This was the first time she had gotten such a clear look at his...nakedness.
"What am I doing here? You've been avoiding me and you won't tell me why. What do you think I'm doing here?" Ranma responded, half expecting the kick to the face but still failed to dodge it. He stumbled backwards and landed in a chair, the instant he hit the seat, he found a bowl of his favorite Ramen and a pair of chopsticks placed in his hands by Shampoo's father. He looked at the man in confusion, but he simply smiled from behind his sunglasses and disappeared into the kitchen again.
'That was strange.' Ranma and Shampoo thought simultaneously. Shampoo even had to stop mid step, since she had been fully intending to kick Ranma again. Instead, she stopped where she was and simply pulled open the front of her shirt before sliding the right sleeve down her arm to reveal the large bandage she had on her right shoulder and abdomen.
"Why you think I avoiding you? You turn into coward and a tree land on Shampoo! I'm angry at you!" Shampoo insisted, glaring at Ranma.
"Hey, I have an explanation for that," Ranma began, setting the Ramen aside in favor of continuing this discussion. However, something struck him as he stood up, and he turned a suspicious look on the girl in front of him.
"...Wait, what'd you say?" Ranma asked, watching as Shampoo's face twisted slightly in confusion. "What hit you?"
"Are you stupid? I say a tree hit me." Shampoo answered, though she didn't seem as adamant as she did a moment ago.
"A few days ago you said a ferris wheel landed on you." Ranma said, watching Shampoo only get more confused.
"No, It was a tree. I say tree, it tree." Shampoo responded. Despite herself, she didn't seem as sure as she did before. "I...don't remember. It blurry."
"What do you mean its 'blurry?' There's a big difference between a Ferris Wheel and a tree, Shampoo. How could you confuse them?" Ranma insisted. He wasn't even sure what he was insinuating about Shampoo's inconsistency, but something wasn't right about this situation.
"I not remember what happened at the carnival. I blacked out." Shampoo answered honestly. Ranma still looked at her strangely, but he didn't know what else to say about it. The point became moot though, as the sound of a scream of pain coming from the kitchen interrupted his train of thought.
A brief sigh escaped his lips as he just finished preparing the meal for the guest he knew would be appearing any moment now. He could already hear the footsteps that he knew would be there just as he poured the meal out into a bowl and grabbed a pair of chopsticks.
"Here," He said, turning around suddenly and presenting the surprised, effeminate man behind him with the bowl, "Have some ramen."
"What? What is this?" Zoisite muttered in surprise, taking the ramen but eying it in confusion.
"Ramen, my special recipe." He responded, even though he knew that was not the question the general asked. "I've been expecting you, Zoisite, so I prepared this in advance."
Zoisite glared at the man before him with undisguised suspicion. His mind simply could not grasp an explanation for this unusual behavior and the man's knowledge of his name, so he couldn't only assume foul play.
"Who are you? How do you know that name?" Zoisite demanded before tossing the bowl of ramen towards the nearby sink, believing it to be poisoned or worse. The man before him merely adjusted his dark glasses for a moment and smiled warmly, an act that only served to put the general further on edge.
"Ever since I was a boy, I have been graced with the ability of foresight. I could only see a few mere moments ahead, but it gave me an undeniable edge in my martial arts, and has always been a blessing to me." Shampoo's father began, turning away from Zoisite in the process. He began to clean up the area he had used as he told his tale, apparently unconcerned by the blonde man's presence.
"However, my ability has become much more powerful as of late, and I've started to see things many days before they happen. Because of that, I have learned of my true nature, of your existence, and of this meeting I also know of your intentions, and that I am powerless to stop what you are about to do." Saying that, he turned back around to face Zoisite, seeing that the man was smirking and holding up the black crystal that would soon steal the crystal within his own soul.
"Ah, that makes things easier. You seem oddly calm, though. Are you looking forward to becoming a Youma again?" Zoisite asked, curious about the man's demeanor. The last two he had encountered seemed to be anything but eager. It was a refreshing change to see things become easier.
"Not at all. In fact, I dread it." Shampoo's father responded, "However, I have seen how this day will end, and I have faith in my daughter and her husband."
Daughter? What was that supposed to mean? Zoisite wasn't sure what to think about that remark, but it sounded odd. Could that mean this man was the father of one of the Senshi? No, that couldn't be it. The Senshi were unlikely to be married. This old fool must assume that his family would actually be able to save him somehow.
"You are wise to accept the inevitable," Zoisite said with a smirk, allowing the glowing crystal to float out of his hand, "Zoi!"
The man began to scream out in pain as the waves of the crystal enveloped him, causing him to fall to his knees and clutch at his chest. Zoisite sighed at the display, sticking a finger of his spare hand into his ear in some vain attempt to dampen the sound of the screams of agony. The old fool had been so cooperative before, he could have at least had the decency not to scream. Red smoke began to rise from his body just as a yellow crystal flew from his chest into Zoisite's hand. Good, it looked like he'd get what he wanted and wouldn't have to worry about those meddlesome girls showing up.
Of course, just as he thought that, the door to the kitchen exploded inward and two teenagers rushed in. Luckily, they weren't dressed in mini skirts.
"Father!" Shampoo shouted, rushing to her father's side before glaring at Zoisite, "What you do to him?"
"You!" Ranma growled in annoyance, realizing too late that he wasn't supposed to recognize Zoisite. The man in question was ignoring Shampoo and looking at him with a raised eyebrow, which probably meant his slip hadn't gone unnoticed.
'Shit, what the hell am I supposed to do?' Ranma thought, glancing from Zoisite and the crystal in his hand to Shampoo's father and the red smoke he was producing. Ranma didn't need to be a genius to realize that Shampoo's dad was about to transform into some horrible monster, and there wasn't shit he could do about it with Shampoo around.
"Humph, I don't know how you know me, but it doesn't matter. I've got what I came for." Zoisite said before vanishing in a swirl of flower petals. Well, that was actually a good thing, it meant Ranma only had to deal with Shampoo's dad.
The red smoke was pouring out much faster now, and it wouldn't be long before it was too thick to see anything in the kitchen. And one thing was for certain, being blind when one of these stupid monsters were around wouldn't be a good thing.
"Come on, Shampoo! We need to get out of here!" Ranma said quickly, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her out of the kitchen as the smoke became thick enough to obscure her father from view.
"What you doing? Father is hurt." Shampoo protested, but Ranma wasn't about to let her get away from him as he ran back into the main room of the restaurant. Damn it, what was he supposed to do? Assuming whatever shampoo's dad became wasn't as annoying as Kuno was, Ranma should be able to give him a beat down just fine without transforming. However, there was no way Ranma could change him back without using that stupid moon stick, and there was no way in hell he was going to use that thing without transforming first. He'd look ridiculous. Plus, Shampoo would see him, and that was something he didn't even want to begin to explain.
"In a few seconds, that's not gonna be your dad anymore. And whatever it becomes, we're probably gonna have to kick its ass." Ranma said, still holding the girl back as she struggled to rush back into the kitchen that had already become completely full of red smoke. However, her struggles quickly stopped as a figure exploded out from the room in question, causing Ranma and Shampoo to go in opposite directions to dodge the incoming blow.
"The hell?" Ranma muttered, looking rather surprised at what he saw. Shampoo's father had become some kind of crazy snake man. His body was now scaled and was a distinct brown color, and judging from the hood of skin around his head, he was a Cobra. More unsettling than the fact he was a snake headed man was the fact that each of his hands seemed to end in another snake's head. These had neither eyes nor hood, but nonetheless they were obviously mouths with their own fangs.
"F...Father?" Shampoo muttered, glancing up at the Youma in confusion. For his part, he did not move from his spot, only slowly rotating his head back and forth between Shampoo and Ranma. From what Ranma could tell, the youma was having difficulty deciding which one of them to attack.
"Shampoo, he's not your dad anymore. The only way we can change him back is to beat the ever living crap out of him. Do you think you can do that?" Ranma asked, only glancing towards Shampoo quickly before turning his attention back to the snake. So far, this one seemed fairly stupid compared to the other Youma he had fought. Despite that, it was setting off his danger senses like nothing else. His brain was practically screaming at him to run the hell away and not look back.
"Yes. Shampoo fight." She had hesitated at first in her response, but when she did speak her voice carried a sense of determination that caused Ranma to smirk. Shampoo was no slouch when it came to delivering a well deserved ass kicking. With her help, He was confident they could take whatever this snake had to offer.
"So, you intend to fight me, eh?" The snake said in an oddly human way. So much for being stupid, Ranma thought. Though it was kinda odd that it spoke so clearly. He could have sworn it would have hissed as it talked, at least.
"I am Serpise, one of the Seven Monsters. Flee while you can, I offer no mercy to prey that crosses me." The snake said, turning towards Ranma as he did so. Somehow, that look unnerved him. There was something about it that immediately put Ranma on edge. It was as if the youma was giving him a knowing look, the kind of look Nabiki would give him when she was about to reveal some secret he had been trying to keep.
"Tch, I ain't backing down, Snake-head. Gimme your best shot." Ranma gloated, his smirk coming back to his face as he readied himself for battle.
"As you wish." Serpise responded, before he moved so quickly that Ranma almost didn't see it. He avoided the incoming strike by a hair's width, but did nothing to stop the follow up kick that sent him sailing across the room to come crashing down on a table.
'Oh, right. Snakes strike incredibly fast, can't believe I forgot about that.' Ranma thought in annoyance, getting back to his feet just in time to see Shampoo go sailing past him. Ranma wasted no time rushing back towards the snake, lashing out with a fist towards the side of its head only to see it starting to duck almost the second he started to attack. Another blow struck him in the ribs, but he moved with it, rolling off the attack and striking towards the Youma's shoulder. It started to bend away from him even before he got into position, and was well out of range by the time he struck. Another kick caught him in the chest just as the snake ducked for apparently no reason. He realized the reason moments later as Shampoo sailed clean over the youma and smashed into him at full force, sending him flying into another table.
'What the hell? It wasn't even looking at her! How does it keep dodging like that?' Ranma thought, getting back to his feet and watching Shampoo fight the snake for a few moments. His suspicions were confirmed almost immediately as he watched the snake casually avoid every blow Shampoo attempted to land and returned with an attack in the same movement. It was reading Shampoo like a book. No, it went beyond that. It was like it knew what Shampoo was going to do before she even did it.
'Can this youma read minds or something?' Ranma thought, grabbing a chair silently and raising it above his head. The snake made no change, apparently not even noticing him as it continued to punish Shampoo relentlessly for every failed attack. Nodding to himself, Ranma hurled the chair as hard as he could, making as little noise as he was able, and watched the snake start to duck almost as the chair left his hand, easily and completely avoiding the projectile.
'It knew the chair was coming almost right after I threw it. This guy's reaction time is completely insane. The only way I'm gonna hit him is with something he can't dodge.' Ranma thought, trying to think of a technique that would work and came up wanting. The only thing he had that came close to undodgeable was the Hiryuu Shoten Ha, and there was no way in hell he'd complete a spiral against this youma, especially in such a confined area.
"I guess I just have to attack and look for an opening." Ranma rushed back into the fight, delivering a reverse hook kick that the snake started to dodge right after he lifted his leg. He turned it into an ax kick in mid air, but the snake once again began to dodge practically before his attack began and Ranma hit nothing but the floor. What added insult to injury was the fact it wasn't even looking at him, instead concentrating on Shampoo.
"Dodge this." Ranma grumbled, collecting his chi for a moment. At this range, and with Shampoo keeping it busy, there was no way in hell it'd be able to avoid a Mouko Takabisha.
"As you wish." Serpise said simply, breaking off from Shampoo and crossing the room before Ranma had finished charging the technique. The chi build up died before Ranma had even formed it into a sphere, causing him to look at the snake headed youma in extreme annoyance. The damn thing didn't even give him a chance to set it off.
"Now you're just cheating." Ranma grumbled under his breath as the snake youma seemed to cross its arms.
"I tire of this. I expected you to put up a decent challenge, but you are not even worth playing with. I shall end this quickly." Serpise muttered, taking on a snake stance. Ranma would have laughed at the irony, but somehow couldn't find the mirth.
Without a word, Shampoo dashed across the floor towards the Youma that was once her father, surprising Ranma enough that he didn't follow suit for a few moments. Serpise barely moved as the two approached, only flaring his hood out further and starting to hiss.
"Naja Hannah." Ranma spotted a slight glow emitting from the snake's throat as it spoke and immediately changed his trajectory, intent on curving in towards the youma's right side. However, Shampoo didn't seem to notice the obvious sign of a magical attack until it was too late. Serpise opened its mouth so wide it looked like he could swallow Shampoo whole, unleashing an intense blast of yellow green energy that almost seemed to be a cross between a fluid and electricity.
Shampoo never had a chance at dodging it.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" She cried out, taking the blast head on and being dragged across the restaurant by it. She and the blast hit the opposite wall and kept going, hurling Shampoo out into the storm beyond.
"SHAMPOO!" Ranma shouted, stopping before he even started his attack when he saw Shampoo get hit. He was halfway to the hole before he was blindsided by Serpise, intending to retrieve the girl but instead getting body checked into another table.
"Damn it, I'm going to make you regret that." Ranma growled, climbing to his knees before Serpise was upon him, intent to smash him into the foundations with a powerful jab. Ranma twisted to the side, getting close enough to the Youma in front of him that his nose nearly touched its scales before he absolutely let loose.
"AMAGURIKEN!" Ranma shouted, his voice almost inaudible compared to the crack akin to thunder his attack created. Serpise flew from the impact, hitting the roof and cracking a rafter before crashing down on top of a table. Ranma halfway stood, his arm still raised, breathing heavily. He had never put that much effort into an Amaguriken before, not even when he first used it against Ryoga. His arm was smoking, his knuckles were bleeding, and he was in enough pain to wonder whether or not he had broken the bones in his arm and hand. Not only that, but his shoulder was hurting like hell. It was actually becoming difficult to keep his arm up like it was from how tired it felt. On the upside, he was fairly certain he broke the sound barrier with that attack, and if it weren't for the fact his opponent was a supernatural monster, Ranma was confident that assault would have killed it.
"How'd you like that, eh? Didn't dodge that one, didja? No, I don't think so." Ranma said through labored breathing, standing up straight and letting his right arm hang dead at his side. Serpise wasn't moving, which was a definite plus. However, crippling his arm probably hadn't been the best way to defeat this monster. He had completely forgotten how much it had hurt to let loose on Ryoga back when he first learned the Bakusai Tenketsu. There was a good reason he had slowed down the technique after that fight; he made a mental note to remember it this time.
After Serpise failed to move for several more moments, Ranma began to worry. He really hoped he hadn't killed it. If Shampoo stopped talking to him and started attacking him on sight because of the carnival thing, she'd probably give him another Kiss Of Death for this one.
"You're not dead, are you?" Ranma asked, moving closer to the fallen Youma to see if it was breathing. All the other Youma turned to ash when they died, but he didn't know if the ones that used to be human would do the same. It was worth checking, anyway.
"F...foolish human." Serpise muttered, surprising Ranma. The youma struck out with a hand that immediately opened up and revealed a pair of glistening fangs, catching Ranma in the upper thigh before he could get away.
"Sh...shit..." Ranma muttered, his legs buckling under him as he felt something burn into his veins. His vision started to waver as he looked up at the slowly recovering youma, seeing with some satisfaction that it was bleeding heavily and its chest seemed to be caved in slightly. An instant later, Ranma's vision failed him completely, and he collapsed to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.
His head was swimming, and his body felt like it was made of lead. What the hell had that snake hit him with? He would have thought he was dead if it didn't feel so much like being drunk. A snake the size of a man would surely have a potent enough poison to kill him immediately. Instead though, he felt heavy, sluggish, maybe even partially paralyzed. He could only assume the venom he had gotten a dose of was of the non lethal variety.
However, he was pretty sure he was hallucinating, if the apparent castle throne room around him was any indication. Whatever that venom was, it was doing a fantastic job of incapacitating him.
"My Prince, I have grave news from the north." Ranma heard a voice say from somewhere above him. He rolled his neck and barely responsive body, trying to turn towards the voice. There seemed to be an oddly dressed man kneeling before the throne in the room, and he had been the one to speak. Ranma's eyes moved up further, towards the man sitting in the throne. He was rather surprised to see it was...himself?
"Report." the other Ranma insisted from his position in the throne. Ranma did even know how to react to what he was seeing. It was one hell of a hallucination.
"The Red Witch is on the move. Several of our scouts have already fallen to her demon minions, and it seems she's coming this way." The herald said, raising his head to show the man before him his worry. "They're coming to attack the castle, my Prince. It is almost certain that they seek the 5 artifacts."
"I don't need you mixing your opinion with your report. Not even the Red Witch would be foolish enough to assume she could claim the Emotoas Artifacts. Regardless, we need to address her actions. Gather the 4 and tell them to meet me in my quarters." The Prince Ranma ordered. The herald nodded and quickly left, leaving Ranma with his princely double.
The world seemed to ripple slightly, causing Ranma to blink a few times from his position on the ground. As it did, the prince turned his gaze towards Ranma, seeming to notice him for the first time.
"How long do you intend to stay down? I never would have guessed you to be the type to give up so easily." He said, causing Ranma to blink in further confusion. That was when it clicked. He knew there was something odd about this prince.
"Wait, I recognize you. You're Ransuke. You're the me from my dreams." Ranma muttered, rolling over onto his chest and trying to push his body up. He failed "Am I dreaming?"
"You were dreaming, but this is something different." Ransuke replied, rising from his throne and crossing the room towards where Ranma lay.
"You're just a dream version of me. You aren't real. If this isn't a dream, how am I talking to you?" Ranma muttered, finally managing to get to a kneeling position. However, his legs still lacked the strength to allow him to stand. For a moment, he realized he was unintentionally kneeling before the prince, and had to resist the urge to grumble.
"In a way, you're right, but you also couldn't be more wrong. We are the same person. However, in another way, we are completely different. It is very complicated. Regardless, I am merely a ghost of the past. My spirit lives on in you, but it seems you have not yet realized your true potential." Ransuke explained, causing Ranma to only become more confused as he finally got back to his feet.
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, curious. Ransuke just smirked and put a gauntlet covered hand on Ranma's shoulder.
"If you want my power, the power of us all, you simply need to remember the words." Ransuke said.
Remember...the words?
Ranma blinked, finding himself once again in the Nekohaten. Serpise was only a few feet away, slowly but surely making his way to the hole in the wall he knocked Shampoo through.
"How are you standing already?" Serpise demanded, turning around to glare at Ranma. For his part, Ranma simply looked down at his hand, not sure what had just happened. Remember the words...What words?
Unsure of what else to do, Ranma simply recited the first words that came to mind.
"Moon Prism Power, Make up!" As the transformation overtook him, he couldn't help but feel like he had guessed wrong. However, that thought immediately left her mind as her feet settled to the ground and the change took hold. She felt...surprisingly better. Whatever venom had been in her body seemed to have been expelled by transforming. Not only that, her arm was feeling much better, not being nearly as sore as it used to be.
'Damn girly transformation turning out to be useful. It's easier to ignore if there's no benefits.' Ranma thought bitterly to herself before bringing her attention back to the issue at hand. Ranma had been distracted and paid for it with a magical attack that hurled her through the back wall and out into the storm, only to be followed by Serpise. Oddly enough, it hadn't hurt that much. Damn it, did the outfit protect against magic too? Son of a bitch.
"Your inattention will cost you." Serpise said, charging in at the ready. Ranma could only smirk as she saw it though. He was moving noticeably slower, having obviously been weakened by that earlier Amaguriken.
"Shut it!" Ranma replied, evading to the side and delivering a punch as hard as she could into the snake's mid-section. It grunted, staggered slightly, but immediately struck again, missing Ranma narrowly as she ducked and once again let loose into Serpise's abdomen. The Snake backed up and away after taking the hit, trying to get some room between them, but Ranma wasn't about to let up. The wound she had given him earlier was an obvious weak point, and she had every intention of pummeling it the rest of the night if she had to.
"Kachuu Tenshin..." Ranma muttered, dashing in and ducking under a backfist and sidestepping the follow up punch, placing herself inside the snake's defense, "...Amaguriken!" This one was far slower than the last, well within Ranma's typical range, but the effect was nonetheless devastating to the snake youma. Serpise doubled over in pain, spitting up an odd green fluid in the process.
"I'm weakened. There's nothing I can do to stop your Healing. Return me and claim your victory, Sailor Moon." Serpise muttered in defeat, hanging his head as the rain continued to pelt the two of them intensely. Ranma had honestly not noticed the rain up until that point. She was absolutely soaking, but somehow she had been too focused to care.
"You ain't getting off that easy, after what you did to Shampoo." Ranma growled, cracking his knuckles. Thunder crashed ominously in the background as she did, the rain and wind steadily building up around them. "I'm not done kicking your ass yet."
"Your anger..." Serpise muttered, raising his head, "...will cost you." Ranma was suddenly, unexpectedly, body checked by the downed serpent. She hadn't even seen it move, but she was sent reeling backwards from the blow. Before she could fully recover she was taking a kick full in the abdomen and sailed through the rain to crash into a concrete wall behind her, only to have Serpise body check her again. The concrete cracked and spider-webbed, but Serpise wasn't done. With one arm, he nailed the fuku clad girl in the shoulder to pin her to the wall. The other arm opened, revealing a pair of fangs he had every intention of burying into Ranma's flesh.
He never got the chance, however, as a thin sword flew out from the storm and went straight through his hand, pinning it to the wall beside him.
"It seems you are in danger again, Sailor Moon." The Tuxedo clad man said with a grin that was hidden behind his mask, but still completely audible.
"Shut the hell up, Tux. I didn't need your help." Ranma growled, glaring at the man through the rain. Despite the torrent of water falling on them, it didn't seem that he was particularly effected by it. Was that tuxedo water proof or something?
"He appears to be effectively weakened. Why not use that spell of yours to return him to normal?" Tux said, to which Ranma simply growled before pulling out the Moon stick.
"Fine, Fine. But I still think he got off too easy." Ranma muttered, then sighed. She pulled the sword out of the Youma's hand first, letting it slump to the ground in the process, before raising the stick overhead. "Moon Healing Escalation!"
"REFRESH!" It was over in an instant, and Shampoo's father slowly slumped to the ground in the process. Tux took his sword from the ground and resheathed it, turning his attention towards Ranma in the process.
"I think I will return this man to his home. You should probably go home as well. If a fragile young maiden like you stays in this weather too long, you may catch a cold." Tux said, obviously grinning from the tone of his voice.
"Shut up!" Ranma growled and punched the idiot square in the face. Of course, he was wearing a mask, but she was pretty damn sure he felt it anyway. An obvious crack appeared in the mask before it completely split and just fell away, revealing the smirking face beneath it Ranma had not been expecting.
"What the...You're-" Ranma was cut off before she finished what she was about to say, her mouth suddenly occupied by the man in the tux. So many things rose up in Ranma all at once, all equally powerful and several of them rather disturbing. However, the first reaction she decided on seemed like the best one available; Righteous Fury.
"What the fuck are you doing!" Ranma demanded, burying her fist into the abdomen of her accoster with enough force to cause him to crack the concrete wall even further than Ranma had when she hit it. He sat there in the crater he had created on impact for a few moments before slowly getting back to his feet, grabbing Shampoo's father in the process.
"You should consider my advice, Sailor moon. You're already turning red. If you do not return home soon, you will surely come down with something." The man in the tux said, still smirking. Ranma tried to punch him again, but he leapt out of range, landing on a street lamp.
"Sayonara." With that, he jumped off and disappeared into the storm, leaving Ranma to her rage. The transformation collapsed around her and Ranma could help but stare after the man with her fists clenched. She hadn't been this pissed since...she couldn't remember.
"RANMA!" Someone shouted, causing Ranma to turn around in annoyance to see who would dare bother her right now. It was Ryu, or rather, the girl Ryu had become. She could see Ryoga and Konatsu some ways behind her, but ignored them.
"I challenge you to a rematch, Ranma! You and me, Yamasenken vs. Umisenken! You owe me after turning me into a girl!" Ryu demanded. Ranma laughed mirthlessly, obviously not amused by Ryu's antics.
"I'm not in the fucking mood right now, Ryu. I've had a bad day. Don't push me." Ranma replied, still glaring even though the subject of her ire was long gone. Ryu growled in response, returning the glare he assumed was directed at her.
"You've had a bad day? I'm a girl because of you, you bastard! Don't even talk to me about a bad day! You ruined my life, the least you could do is give me back my Yamasenken!" Ryu demanded, pointing accusingly at Ranma. Ranma growled again, her patience at its end.
"Fine! You want to fight, fine. But don't bitch to me when I put you in the hospital. I'm in no mood to hold back." Ranma responded, a slight smile making its way to her face as she took on an all too familiar stance. Beating the ever living shit out of Ryu might just do something to get rid of this mind numbing frustration she was feeling. She was almost looking forward to it.
Herb sighed and began to slow down from his exercise, working his way to a stopping point. He had felt a disturbance on the edge of his senses, a presence that was coming his way. For a moment, he thought it may have been that annoying woman again before he realized the energy emanating from this person was far different from hers; darker. As Herb stopped his practice, he turned around to greet the man behind him.
"Who are you, and why are you disturbing me?" Herb demanded, offering no patience or mercy to fools that dared defy the prince of the musk.
"I am Kunzite, general of the dark kingdom, and I have come to make you an offer." Kunzite said, bowing deeply to show the proper respect to a man of royalty. He could also feel the power within this individual, and was somewhat disturbed how it utterly dwarfed his own. The white crystal did not play around, it seemed. It had found a truly powerful individual indeed.
"I'm not interested. Leave immediately." Herb replied, turning away from Kunzite and preparing to go back into his practice. When Kunzite did not immediately obey his orders, the dragon prince stopped and glared over his shoulder.
"It isn't wise to defy me." Herb growled, a bit of his power escaping as his aura took form around him. Kunzite resisted the urge to flinch.
"You haven't even heard my suggestion yet, it would be wise not to dismiss me so quickly." Kunzite insisted, but still stayed respectful. There was no reason to earn the prince's ire. It'd only hinder his plan. However, Herb seemed to be ignoring him now, instead turning his attention in another direction.
"HERB!" A feminine voice cried out, causing Kunzite to look and gasp in horror at what he saw. This wasn't even japan! What was one of them doing here!
"I've come to settle our score!" The blonde girl shouted out again, quickening her pace as she walked confidently towards the prince.
"You again. You are a skilled warrior, but your persistence is starting to get annoying. If you weren't so insufferable, I might consider you for a bridal interview." Herb growled, already flaring his aura. Though he was talking as if he were unconcerned, his actions suggested he was preparing to get into a fight with the girl.
"What is the meaning of this? Why is a Sailor Senshi here!" Kunzite demanded, pointing at the blonde. For her part, she looked confused. Herb did as well.
"Eh? What are you talking about? I'm the only Sailor Venus around!" Sailor Venus insisted, before turning to Herb, "Who the hell is this guy anyway?"
To be Continued.
Current Cross Count: 8
Author's Notes:
I can't believe it nearly took me a year to update this. I feel foolish now. Anyway, it's finally updated. Don't ask when Chapter 8's gonna show though. I have no idea.
Next time: Ranma and Ryu have a rematch, Senken style! The Tendo's aunt comes into town and seems to have attracted the attention of Zoisite, and Kunzite's plans seem to have been foiled by the appearance of Sailor Venus. Kunzite goes back to the drawing board and Sailor Venus becomes curious of these so called imposters in Japan. And what's up with these weird ass dreams Ryu and Konatsu start having? Find out in the next installment of Bishonen Senshi Sailor Moon: Clash of the Titans.
Ryo-Wolf