Ranma Half Moon chapter 39, A Star is Borne of Sorrow, part 2

Author's note: This episode is on the same day as Sailor Moon episode 26, Bring a smile to Naru's Face! Usagi's friendship.

Author's note: Lyrics from Katagoshi ni Kinsei ("Venus Over My Shoulder") are clumsily adapted from a translation on sailormusic dot net.

"Okay, what I am about to say must never leave this room."

Nabiki looks up at Ranma-ko. "Oh, my. This must be important."

"I need to know how to get away with being naughty."

Nabiki turns red. "This I have to hear."

"Well, I have a date this weekend."

"A date, she says."

"But, it's really just a gimmick so I can see if this guy is from Jusenkyo."

"And, who might this prospective shape shifter be?"

"Mamoru."

Nabiki leans over. "Oh, come on Ranma, is that the only reason?"

"Of course it is! I'm a guy!"

Nabiki nods. "Well, Ranma, your story has made my day. I'll be happy to help."

"Thanks."

"It's my experience that you can get away with anything if you're a cute girl by saying something like 'Oh, did I do that? I'm so bad.' and giggling."

Ranma-ko nods.

"But, speaking of cuteness, are you planing on dressing up?"

"No! I'll dress normally."

"Well, your normal clothes are getting a little ripped."

"That's okay, I know where to get new ones for cheap."

"And, you might want to think about some gesture to fire Mamoru's imagination. Then you'll be able to get away with more."

Ranma-ko nods. This is good advice, but what would be a good gesture?

...

Ranma-ko leaps to Minako's balcony and knocks on the window.

Minako opens the sliding door. "I couldn't wait for you to come. The engineer had a rough cut of the song delivered here today."

"Cool, can I hear it?"

Artemis groans. "I thought we were going to discuss strategy on getting a rainbow crystal."

Ranma-ko waves her hand. "Keep cool, kitty. There's time."

"In the clouds, before daybreak, the two of us found Venus. Will our secret love vanish into the sky unsung? ..."

Ranma-ko and Minako listen to the tape.

"Wow! This is really great, Minako. May I have a copy?"

"Sure." Minako puts a blank tape in the tape player, hits rewind and record.

I wonder what a big gesture like Nabiki talked about would be like. Wait, I got it! "Hey, I have a great idea. There is a college radio station where Mamoru goes to college. I bet that if I take the song over there, I can get them to play it tomorrow."

Minako smiles. "That would be great. That will definitely set a mood for your date the next day."

Ranma-ko winks. "Especially if it comes with a very special personal dedication."

"So, you're really going through with this date?"

"There are some things about him that I need to find out."

Minako grabs Ranma-ko's hands. "I think it's thrilling that even though you're a really a boy you want to experience the joys of being a girl."

Ranma-ko raises an eyebrow. "No, no. Nothing like that. I just think that Mamoru is hiding a secret."

"Now, can we get back to the business of finding the rainbow crystals?"

"Yes!" Ranma-ko and Minako say in unison.

...

Ranma-ko knocks on a door which is heavily written over with graffiti proclaiming the supremacy of various bands.

Some scruffy guy opens the door. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I was hoping to have this tape played on the air?"

"Is it from a major label?"

Ranma-ko looks down, dejected. "No."

"Well, good! We don't play that over promoted crap around here."

Ranma-ko smiles. "Cool. It's by a friend of mine. She's trying to be an idol."

"No problem."

"And, it comes with dedication."

"So much the better. I'll be happy to deliver it on my show."

"You're not on now?"

"No, just helping out."

"Okay, well, the dedication is this. To Mamoru. I think you have a secret."

"Mamoru? Chiba, Mamoru?"

"Do you know him?"

"He was friends with one of the DJ's last year. Come in a second, let me show you a picture." The DJ leads Ranma-ko to a picture of Mamoru posing with four hot looking guys.

Ranma-ko involuntarily gulps. Three of the four guys look familiar, but I can't place where.

"Those four guys were called the F4."

"F4?"

The DJ scratches his head. "Wow, I thought all girls read Hana Yori Dango."

Ranma-ko giggles. "Just call me unconventional. But, they were called the F4?"

"Yeah, they all left, and no one knows where they went."

Ranma-ko nods. "Well, I got to go, but thanks for showing me that picture."

"My show is on at eight tonight."

"Great. I'll give him a call and tell him to listen."

Ranma-ko walks out of the building that housed the student radio station.

All right! First that call, then off to Chinatown in Yokohama for some new threads.

Makoto rides the commuter train with Luna in a basket on her lap.

The train is not crowded, so talking should be safe. "Makoto, thanks for taking me out to Yokohama."

Makoto looks around to see if anyone is watching before replying. "It's okay. I need more information on Usagi before I will accept her as a leader. I see her in school every day, but I want to see what she's like on her own."

Luna nods. "Sometimes I wonder if we're going to be all right."

"Didn't you see something in Usagi before you chose her to be Sailor Moon?"

Luna hesitates, and then hangs her head. "No. It was purely a matter of her being the one."

"But, she's protected you so far, right?"

"Yes, but she also infuriates me every day as well!"

Makoto nods. "That's why I need to see for myself who the real Usagi is."

Makoto thinks to herself. "I hope Usagi is more serious than she seems. She does seem nice, and she took me in as a friend when no one else would."

Luna takes a nap in the basket, lulled by the motion of the train. Makoto imagines her and Usagi making cookies. Usagi screws up a batch by being too distracted by a TV show to turn off the heat in time. She better not screw up my cookies.

To Be Continued!