Ranma Half Moon chapter 23, Ranma vs Tuxedo Kamen, Part 1

Author's note: This episode fits in before Sailor Moon episode 21, where the Sailor Warriors thwart a plot to have Sailor V killed off in an anime movie.

Author's note: I now have a fiction press site for non-fanfiction stuff. If you want to check it out, do a search for "resop" at the "fictionpress" website. My story is called "A Dream of Roses". It is about a group of blossoming young girls who are giving it their all for an opportunity to shine brightly as professional wrestlers in Japan.

"Mister Sanjoin? Sanjoin Masato?" Naru walks around the fountain at the Cherry Tree Park. Yoma Monsters have attacked me before in this park, but if Tuxedo Kamen is going to be here, then I will be safe. "I wonder where he could be?"

Naru hears a stirring in the bushes. "Come out, come out, Sanjoin Mister. I know you're there."

Ranma-kun casually strolls out of the bushes. "Sorry, I'm not Sanjoin Masato."

Naru steps back, shocked. "A pervert?"

Ranma-kun's face shows some annoyance. "Hey, I get called that a lot, but, I'm not a pervert."

Naru breathes a sigh of relief.

"But, for you, Osaka Naru, you will soon wish that I was a molester!" Ranma-kun dramatically points his finger at Naru.

"How do you know my name?"

"I saw you at the MS Department store and saw Tuxedo Kamen draining you of energy. I now know that Tuxedo Kamen is behind all of these monsters who have been appearing, and that you are Tuxedo Kamen's decoy, someone that he can save so he can convince the Sailor Warriors that he is their friend."

"That's not true! He wouldn't do something like that."

"And, now, thanks to the letter I had forged, I know that Tuxedo Kamen is really Sanjoin Masato."

"You devil, you leave Mister Sanjoin alone!"

"Emotionally attached to your little puppet master? I'll have you know that big jerk with the red sports car tried to hit on my housemate. And, she totally blew him off! I don't know why you'd want to defend that loser."

"Arrrrggghhh!" Naru charges Ranma-kun and they both crash into the pool around the water fountain.

...

"Hey you two, stop bullying that girl!" Makoto runs up to stop two of the ninth grade girls who are picking on a seventh-grade girl.

One of the ninth grade girls shoves the seventh-grade girl at Makoto.

Makoto catches the girl and helps her to the ground. "You girls should be setting good examples, not bullying people younger than you."

The two girls look at Makoto and then look at each other. Realizing that Makoto could totally beat them up, they resist the urge to talk down to the younger Makoto. "Hey, we didn't mean any harm."

"Yeah, we were just playing."

The two ninth-grade girls run away.

From a school window, Mio Kuroki smiles a sinister smile.

...

Ranma-ko jumps up from the water and strikes a fighting pose. "Okay, now I'm mad."

Naru-kun jumps up. "You're not going to hurt Mister Sanjoin."

Both Ranma-ko and Naru-kun stare at each other.

A tumble weed rolls by, whipped by a gust of wind.

Ranma-ko finally laughs. "I guess we have something in common."

"You've been to Jusenkyo?"

"Yeah. That's why I always wear a unisex Chinese peasant outfits. That way if I accidentally change, I don't look like a cross dresser."

Naru-kun nods. "Do those clothes stretch?"

"Yeah, I lose four inches when I become a girl, so the stretch in the clothes makes sure they still fit."

"I'm just really good at avoiding cold water."

"Wait here."

Ranma-ko runs over to Cologne's Chinese restaurant. "Hey, Shampoo."

Shampoo comes out and sticks up her nose. "Girl-type Ranma want something?"

"Need to borrow a teakettle."

Cologne, walking stick in hand, comes out with a teakettle full of boiling water. "Good afternoon Ranma. I remember a time when you wouldn't have wanted this." Cologne cackles. The time Happosai gave Ranma "full body cat-tongue" syndrome was some fun times.

Ranma-ko sighs. I am not going to be baited today. "But, it's all good now. I'll get this kettle back to you in a jiffy!"

Ranma runs back to the fountain, where Naru-kun hides to avoid attracting attention to his attire. Ranma pours half the water out and fills the kettle back up with water from the fountain pool.

"Okay, come out here." Ranma-ko pours the no longer boiling but still hot water on Naru-kun, who transforms.

"Hey, I recognize you. You are goldfish panties girl."

Ranma-ko blushes. I don't know if that name is better or worse than 'tree-borne kettle-girl'.

"You've saved me many times from those monsters. But, you're wrong about Mister Sanjoin. He couldn't be behind those monsters."

Ranma-ko sits down on the bench and sighs. "A couple of years ago I wouldn't have had a clue about how you're feeling. But, somehow, now, I think I just might understand."

Naru blushes. "Yeah, and most girls would think that you're evil for wanting to hurt the man they loved, but, somehow, I can't hate you for it."

Ranma-ko nods. "Well, Naru. Let's hope that I'm wrong. But, I still have to confront Mister Sanjoin. It's just not acceptable for monsters to be running around hurting people."

Naru nods.

...

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiino? Makoto Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiino?"

Makoto shuddered. When the school principal drew out your name, it meant that he was pretty mad. "Yes, sensei?"

The principle looked down on Makoto's record and then up at her. "You realize that this is the second time this month I have written you up for fighting?"

"But, I didn't do anything."

"A seventh-grade girl claims that you twisted her wrist."

"I was catching her. Two ninth-graders were bullying her. They threw her at me!"

"So, you're talking back to me? Wow. Miss Kino, fighting is not allowed in this school. One more incident and I will have you expelled."

Makoto gritted her teeth. It is like the whole school was conspiring against me.

To Be Continued