From: Deric Subject: [Ranm/SM][FanFic] Uncles - Chapter 1 Uncles! (A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon X-Over) Story concept and idea by: Tomas Megarson See other peoples works on this idea at his website, http://www.geocities.com/nighthawktm/uncles.htm Words in this particular order by: Deric dericwilson@yahoo.com First Draft: 27 Dec 2000 Current : 11 Jan 2001 DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! I disclaim! I disclaim! ******** Ranma timeline - after end of manga - after first two OAV's Sailor Moon timeline - after Pharoh 90 ******** *thoughts* (author's notes) ******** Chapter One ******** Today was not a good day. No, that was too much of an understatement. Today really sucked the devil's...Ranma couldn't come up with an expression nasty enough to describe today. It started out normal - for him. Bicycled by Shampoo, malleted by Akane, attacked by Kuno, for the morning. Malleted by Akane for eating Ukyo's lunch. Separate attacks by Mousse and Ryouga, splashed with water by the old lady, chased by Kuno for the afternoon. Normal. Then he walked into the dojo and Kasumi was on the phone... ******** [Earlier] Kasumi was talking on the phone, saying, "Yes, Saotome Genma does stay here, but he's not expected back soon. Would you like to speak with his son? Alright. Ranma? Could you come to the phone, please?" "Moshi Moshi." "" "Yeah, and this is..." "" "His eldest son...?" "" "First wife...?" "" "Uhhhh...yeah." "" Ranma stared at the message he had written. A relative? One he had never known about? ******** When his father came home that night, Ranma confronted him. "Hey, Oyaji. Ya got a call today," said Ranma. "Someone from Vital Records said ya had another wife and son. What's that all about?" "Yes, son," Genma replied. "Your mother is not my first wife. My first wife was never interested in the Art. She was more interested in appearing well in front of the neighbors and her friends. "About 35 years ago, we had a son and she forbade me to ever teach the Art to him. She coddled him, smothered him with mothering, and made sure he never followed the Art. Long before I even met the master, she left me and took him with her. Eventually, she divorced me and remarried. He was crossed off the clan list when he was adopted by her second husband, a Tomoe something or other. "The rest, how I met your mother while studying under the master, you already know. I never contacted them and they never contacted me ever again. I heard he was a professor somewhere. Weakling," Genma harumpfed. "Well, he ain't teachin' anywhere anymore," Ranma shot back. "He's dead. Some lab explosion. They were looking for the next of kin. This is the address of the cemetary where they placed him after the cremation." Ranma considered telling Genma that he had a grandchild, but figured it was better if he never found out. Subjecting a twelve year old girl to the panda was not exactly in her best interests. He could imagine the nightmares oyaji could, and probably would, give her would last the rest of her life. ******** At dinner that night, Ranma decided not to say a word to anybody. If he didn't talk, he couldn't say the wrong thing and pay the usual price. Maybe a nice quiet meal was what everyone needed. He acknowledged everyone at the table with a nod as he sat down. When Kasumi passed out the food in individual portions, he nodded and returned her smile. When someone asked him to pass anything, he nodded, did so, and went back to eating. If anyone asked him a question, he merely raised the palm of his hand and shook his head. Everyone recognized that he didn't want to speak to anybody. Everyone that is, except Akane. "Alright, Ranma," Akane growled. "What is it with you, now?" "Akane what is it with _you_?" Ranma shot back in the same tone. "When I talk around ya, I get malleted. When I don't talk around ya, I get malleted for ignoring ya. Just what the hell do ya want? Why don't ya just leave me the hell alone?" Ranma got up, turned and just walked away. Not as far as he desired because he was almost immediately malleted. Once. Twice. And couldn't count any more because he lost consciousness. Akane din't stop pounding on him until he went completely through the floorboards. He awakened in Dr. Tofu's clinic. ******** [Present] "Yo, Doc." "Ah, Ranma," said the doctor, wiping his hands on a towel. "You're back among the living." "So, how am I?" asked Ranma. "I feel like I just got jumped on by everybody in Nerima." "It looks like you have a small concussion. The back of your body is heavily bruised. The good news is you don't have any broken bones. And the cuts and scrapes on your face, arms, and legs aren't severe enough to cause any scarring," Tofu-sensei concluded his diagnosis. "So, I take it I'm free ta go?" Ranma asked. Tofu thought for a moment. "I'd rather you stayed here because of the concussion." He chuckled for a second or two. "But I'm sure you're used to them, by now." "I think I'll get a little more peace and quiet, here," Ranma chuckled back. "I think I'll take ya up on that." "Alright, then. I'll see you for breakfast. Get some rest," the doctor told him and left the room. Ranma relaxed into the hospital style bed. He had to get away from the craziness, even if it wasn't that long. Maybe a training trip? It sounded good. A week or so away from here sounded really good. ******** Ranma slipped into the window of his room. He got his backpack out of the closet and started filling it. He packed quickly, as he wasn't going to be away too long. He considered leaving a note, but who really cared? Oyaji? Not likely. Akane? After the botched wedding and Jusendo, he thought they had grown a little closer. A few weeks later, everything had gotten back to the way things used to be. No use in leaving her a note. *Kasumi would be worried,* he thought. *Maybe I should leave her a note.* Ranma sneaked down the stairs. Entering the kitchen, he packed away a little rice from the storage container. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and tried to think of what he was forgetting. It took a moment, but he finally remembered. The note to Kasumi he left taped on the stove where, knowing the rest of the household, Kasumi would be the only one to find it. He then made his way back to the clinic. The next morning, Ranma had breakfast with Tofu. He then hefted his pack and left the clinic with no idea of where he was headed. When he put his hands in his pockets, he felt a piece of paper. *I thought I left that note on the stove.* Pulling it out, he saw it was the information the Vital Records Office left. Juuban. Tomoe Hotaru. *Well, I can always check out that couple and introduce myself to her.* Juuban was as good a destination as anywhere else. He headed in that direction at a medium speed walk. ******** He reached Juuban in the early afternoon and set up camp in one of the parks. There was no use in trying to track down someone who was probably working. If Hotaru was twelve, she would be a first year junior high schooler. No telling where she went to school. Might as well wait until school let out. He started practicing kata to pass the time and to keep up his skills. This was a training trip, after all. When the sun told him it was time for school to close for the day, Ranma stopped practicing and left the park. Rooftopping it for the most part, he occasionally came down to ask for directions. *Hah! I must sound like Ryouga. Can you point in the direction of the Tendo dojo? Heh.* Passing a school, he heard a commotion in one of the alleys. "Freak!" "Why don't you go back to where you came from?" "Witch!" "We can do without your kind, here." The first taunt caught his attention. He didn't like it when anyone called him that. They came from what looked like the usual pack of bullies. Four or five against one, most likely. That's the way they usually operated. They were surrounding a young girl with shoulder length black hair. Nothing ticked Ranma off as much as anyone picking on a girl. Ranma jumped from the roof into the middle of the pack. "If there's one thing I can't stand," he growled, "is some guy pickin' on a girl. When ya need a pack ta do it, I like it even less." Ranma started cracking his knuckles. "Omigod!" "Look who it is!" "He sure looks like Ranma." "Let's get out of here!" The boys fled as fast as they could manage. Ranma looked into her deep violet eyes. "Are ya all right? They didn't hurt ya did they?" he asked concernedly. "Why were they pickin' on ya anyway?" "I...I'm alright," she said. "They were picking on me because I can do something unusual. Something not normal." "I've seen a few unusual things. What is it?" he asked. I...I'm n...not sure I should show you. Everyone I've shown it to treats me differently from everybody else. You j...just helped me. I d...don't want you to hate me, too," she stammered. "I promise you. If ya can do something that I can't do, I will never think less of ya because of it," he told her softly. "Half of what I know how to do, is because someone else did it first. And I learned how ta copy it or do something ta counter it. So, what is it that you're able ta do?" he asked, gently. "This," she said as she tentatively placed her hand on his arm. The cuts and scrapes on his entire body slowly disappeared. Soon, he couldn't see where they had been in the first place. "This is what they were pickin' on ya for?" Ranma was astonished. "I think it's pretty cool." "Y...you do?" She was surprised. "M...most people that know about it don't like me or call me names because of it." "Then they're nuts," Ranma responded. "I wish I could do that." "R...really?" "Definitely. It would keep me from seeing the doctor so often," he laughed. She giggled in return. "Well, if you're okay, could ya tell me how ta get ta Tokugawa Street?" he asked. "You can...follow me, Ranma. That's the street I live on," she said, hesitantly. "Ya know me? I don't think we've met before." Ranma looked at her quizzically. "I'm one of your biggest fans! Y...you're so...together. You're...strong...and confident, not weak and helpless like me," she said, dejectedly. "And you can do stuff that no one else can, like it says on the backs of your trading cards. I have almost every one of your trading cards except for the Krome Kards and the special holographic cards and the rare Tofu-sensei card," she gushed. "What are ya talking about?" he asked, dumbfounded. "J...just follow me and I'll show you," she said, nervously taking his hand. She led him to the next block and pulled him into a manga shop. Heads turned. Jaws dropped. She took him to the back of the store, where what he saw made _his_ jaw drop. The entire wall was a shrine full of products with him as the featured idol. A banner across the top blared "Ranma and the Nerima Wrecking Crew". There were posters, wall scrolls, trading cards, bento boxes, figurines, videos, and he didn't know what else. He wasn't in all of them, but he was the most often pictured. There was a photo he recognized of everybody at the beach, taken just last year. He stared in shock. "This one is my favorite," she pointed to a poster. "It's just so Kewl!" The one she pointed to featured Ranma and Ryouga duking it out, hot and heavy. Ranma wearing his usual red sleeveless chinese shirt and characteristic smirk, Ryouga screaming in rage. *Also very characteristic,* Ranma thought. Another featured onna-Ranma fighting Oyaji in his cursed form. The caption underneath read, 'Ranko fighting with her panda'. He looked closer and saw the copyright on the poster. TN Productions. Whatever that was. Then he saw the photo credit. Tendo Nabiki. Now it all made sense. *Wait till I get my hands on Nabiki,* he fumed. ******** The word spread around the neighborhood at the speed of light. "Ranma's at the manga shop!" It seemed as if anyone who had ever glanced casually at a Ranma poster had teleported to the store. Soon, he was innundated with people wanting an autograph, wanting to talk to him, wanting to be near him, wanting to touch him, wanting to have him teach them some moves, wanting to ask him for a date. The store manager was getting frustrated. Such a coup to have one of his most featured people in the shop! Someone who never made personal appearances! But he could't make any sales! He couldn't get through to the cash register! Ranma tried to autograph what he could. It got to be too much for him when they started asking him to sign body parts. He looked at the girl and said, "I can't take much more 'a this. Do ya wanna get outta here?" When she nodded, he picked her up and slowly waded though crowd. Once outside the door, he told her to hang on and jumped to the roof of the shop. She screamed, half in fear, half in exhilaration. "Sorry about that, I should have warned you," he said, apologetically. "I just had ta get away from that mob." "It...it's alright," she stammered. "So, can ya show me how ta get ta Tokugawa Street from here?" he asked. "Sure. You go three blocks that way and make a left, then five blocks and make a right, then..." "No, no, no, no," he interrupted. "I mean can ya point the direction it is, right now. Ta lose this crowd, it looks like we'll have to go by rooftop." ******** When they arrived at Tokugawa Street, Ranma landed lightly on the sidewalk. He put the girl down, but kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady until she stopped weaving. "That was wonderful!" she gasped. "It's been great meeting you, Ranma!" "I'm glad I met ya, too, err..." he fumbled. "Hotaru. I forgot I never told you my name," she giggled. "So, where are...you..." She left off, as she finally registered the shock on his face. "What's wrong, Ranma?" He fished out a piece of paper with an address and name on it. Her name and address. "What...why...?" "I think we should wait and speak with your adoptive parents about this," he said. ******** "Tadaima!" Hotaru called from the front door. "Okaeri," came the sound of two voices from the kitchen. "Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, there's someone here to see you," she called back. Whatever the other Outer Senshi had prepared for, they never expected this. They saw Hotaru at the door with her idol, the in/famous Saotome Ranma. Ranma bowed to them. "Hajimemashite. Saotome Ranma desu. Douzou yuroshiku." "Douzou. Tenoh Haruka desu." "Douzou. Kaioh Michiru desu. Please come in and be seated in the living room. Would you like some tea?" she asked, somewhat off balance by his presence. "We were just about to have some when you came in. It shouldn't take too long to bring out some muffins." "You honor me with your hospitality," said Ranma. After some polite chit-chat with Haruka and Hotaru in the living room, and Michiru had poured and served, (Hey! Ranma may be uncouth, but he's still Japanese. Nobody gets down to business before tea in Japan. Maybe some of Kasumi rubbed off?) Haruka asked Ranma, "So what brings you here to visit?" Ranma started with the phone call from the Vital Records Office and ended with the arrival at their home, leaving out the fight and stay at the clinic, of course. "...and imagine my surprise when I found out she was the one I came ta visit!" "Only if you can imagine our surprise at seeing Hotaru at the door with her personal hero," Haruka chuckled. "So, what are your plans, Ranma?" "Other than wringing Nabiki's neck, at the moment, none. I think I have ta mull this over for a while. I wanna see the records for myself, too." He added quickly, "Not that I'm opposing the adoption or anything. It seems like Hotaru is well taken care of." He smiled. "Better than we can at the moment. I don't think I'll tell Oyaji about her, though. If he thought she had any money, or would come into it, he would rob her blind." "You don't seem to like your father very much," said Michiru. "Hey, I love the old fart. He's been the one constant in my life," answered Ranma. "It's just I wouldn't trust him with anything but the Art." *And not too far in that,* he thought. "Anyway, I plan ta be in the area for the next week, or so, and I would like ta get ta know my niece better. But I don't know if I feel very uncle-ish. Maybe Hotaru won't even think of me as an uncle, especially since there's only a five year age difference. After what I've seen, though, I think she could use another friend." "So, where are you staying, Ranma?" asked Haruka. "Oh, I set up camp in a park near a shrine," said Ranma. "I think I saw a sign saying Hikawa, or something like that." "Talk about a small world," Michiru said, amused. "One of our friends lives there." "Ooooh, can he stay here? Please? Please? Please?" Hotaru pleaded, with her cutest puppy dog eyes focused squarely on her 'parents'. "I, for one, don't think it's a good idea," said Ranma, "judging from the reception at the store. If anyone found out I was here, there might just be another mob hanging around. Besides, if it happens at the park, I can always pack up and move somewhere else." "Well, if nothing else, we can invite you to stay for dinner tonight," said Michiru. "I'd like that," Ranma replied. ******** Over dinner, Ranma slowed his eating to a mere fast pace, rather than his usual inhaling of food. There wasn't anyone trying to take the food off his plate, after all. "So, ya first met going to the same all girls academy? Wait. You're both girls?" Ranma did a quick double-take. "Oh, yeah. I see it in your chi signatures, now that I look for it. Didn't dawn on me ta check, at first." "You can do that?" asked Hotaru. "Just something I picked up along the the way. It helps in deciding how much force is needed ta beat an opponent. Saved my bacon once or twice, too, when someone sneaked up behind me," replied Ranma. "If ya don't mind me asking, how can two high schoolers adopt a child?" he asked. "Well, If you have the right connections, anything is possible," said Michiru. "Yeah, I found out about that, the hard way," Ranma said, shaking his head. "Why do you say that?" asked Haruka. "Let's just say I know somebody with a lot of connections," Ranma replied wryly, "by the name of Nabiki, who charges an arm and a leg." "Besides that, we're both seniors and of legal age," said Michiru. "I'd say that would help," Ranma said, then turned his attention to Hotaru. "Ya said ya had almost all my trading cards. I don't think I've seen any of 'em yet. Why don't ya show them to me." ******** When she showed her album of cards, Ranma was amazed at how many different cards Hotaru had. Though there were a few of them that showed each person individually, most of the cards were of the fights between the Nerima residents. He did notice most of those fights were ones in which Nabiki was present, usually after taking bets, as he remembered. The one fight that he saw was missing, though, was the one against Saffron. It was one that Nabiki hadn't seen, so pictures would have to be missing. He couldn't remember if anyone had brought a camera on their trips to China, as there weren't any pictures of the Joketsuzoku village or Musk Palace, either. Come to think of it, Toma was missing, and Kirin, too. Nabiki was definitely on the island. Did she have her camera with her? Duh. She always had a camera of some sort. The kidnaping had been recent, maybe she was holding back some pictures for more cards. She often did that with cheesecake photos of Ranma's cursed form. He was surprised that Nabiki had kept the Jusenkyo curses under wraps, giving separate cards to Ranko, Mr. Panda, and P-chan and making up names for Shampoo-cat and Mousse-duck. Maybe she couldn't figure out a way to make money out of it? Or, maybe, it just made more different individuals and thus, more cards. It did make him laugh when he saw the picture of the panda playing with the tire and posted around him were the usual signs saying, 'I'm just a cute panda'. As if a panda weighing 250 kilos could be called 'cute'. ******** "I don't know how often I can stop in, once I get back home ta the dojo," Ranma said, as he was leaving. "Don't worry about it," Michiru said. "We know where you'll be and you know where we are. Stop in for dinner again. We loved having you here. And that's a standing offer." "How did ya know I couldn't pass up an offer of a free meal?" laughed Ranma. "Simple. Just watching you dig in, earlier," Haruka smirked. "Anyone who eats with as much gusto as you do, certainly wouldn't mind having another free meal." "Okay, then, I'll take ya up on that," said Ranma. He then turned to Hotaru and gathered her into his arms for a goodbye hug. "I think I'm going to like being an uncle, if I can get great hugs like this from my cute niece." "Flatterer," Hotaru giggled, "you know that'll only get you more hugs." "Then I'll just have ta keep it up," Ranma said, kissing her forehead. "I'll see ya later." ******** The next day, Ranma went over to the main office for Vital Records in downtown Tokyo to get copies of public records. He started with the things he knew, namely, marriage certificates for Saotome Genma. Once he had a name for Genma's first wife, he got birth records with the two listed as parents and ended up with a name for his half-brother, Saotome Souichi. With that name in hand, he asked for an adoption record, which listed him as changing from Saotome to Tomoe. He then received a copy of Souichi's marriage certificate. *He married an Hibiki? Oh, joy. Thankfully, I know Ryouga's an only child.* Lastly, he obtained birth certificates for the children of Tomoe Souichi and Midori. Only one child. Tomoe Hotaru. *I always wondered why I wasn't named Ichiro or Jiro or anything else people usually name first-born sons. These make up a good reason why not.* The trip downtown and all the copies had cut deeply into his cash reserves. Luckily, he had received that standing offer of dinner at Hotaru's place. He would have to take them up on it sooner than he had expected. At least, today, he had the excuse of showing them the copies of the records. ******** [The day after] Ranma was up early, slowly going through his different kata looking for minor errors he could correct. He wanted to find something that would be enough of an excuse to make this 'training trip' a necessity. Feeling the presence of a powerful chi, he stopped and concentrated on the chi signature, just as someone he knew well came out of the woods. Ryouga. The two strong martial artists glared at each other, but neither one made a single move. Ranma finally asked him, "Why aren't ya attacking me, Ryouga?" Ryouga held his glare for another moment, then told his rival, "As much as I hate you, I need you to direct me to an address. You're the only one I can trust to get me there and not let anyone know about it. "You remember that message you left for me to call the Vital Records Office? They told me my father had another wife and a daughter. Well, that daughter, named Midori, and her husband had died and they were looking for blood relatives because they had a little girl who was going to be adopted by another couple. "This is the address. can you get me there, today? Now?" Ranma stared at the slip of paper. This was too much of a coincidence, even for him. *Why does weird stuff always happen to me?* An adrenaline surge shot through him as he looked, again, at the address and name that was written. Juuban. Tomoe Hotaru. "Here," said Ranma, holding out the address to Ryouga. "You're not going to help me? DIE SAO...!" Ryouga started to shout, but Ranma cut him off. "No, Ryouga. I don't need the address," Ranma told him quietly. "I was there two days ago. Ta meet Hotaru. Ya wanna make a stop first? At Vital Records?" ******** ******** End Chapter One ******** ******** Glossary for the Japanese deprived ******** Dojo : Training area, room, or building. Moshi Moshi : Loosely, "Hello". Literally, "Is anyone there?". (usually, only used on the phone) Oyaji : Old man, father. (very disrespectful) -sensei : Respectful term for doctors, teachers, and other professional people. onna- : woman, female gender. Tadaima : "I'm here" or "I'm home". Opposite of itekimasu, "I'm leaving". Okaeri : Usual response for tadaima. Loosely, "I'm (in) here". Hajimemashite. Douzou yuroshiku. : Loosely translated, "Pleased to meet you". (very formal) Can be used (less formally) without the Douzou yuroshiku. Douzou : In this context, "Also pleased". Depending on context, can mean, "Please do" or "Be my guest" or "Thank you". Desu (pronounced 'dess') : In this case, "I am". Can also mean "he/she/it/this is". The phrase I've heard most often is, 'meishi desu', which means "this is my business card." ******** Thanks to Tom for looking this over and pointing out when I had people OOC. C&C appreciated. Flames not acknowleged. Just use your pre-installed Download Editorial Listing of Elements To be Enhanced (also known by its acronym as the DELETE key) to send it on its way. (This last was stolen from Code Name D) -- Too many people say, "Sacrifices must be made!" Unfortunately, they don't realize that the sacrifice must be their own. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ From: Deric Subject: [Ranma/SM][FanFic] Uncles - Chapter 2 Uncles! (A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon X-Over) Story concept and idea by: Tomas Megarson See other people's works on this idea at his website, http://www.geocities.com/nighthawktm/uncles.htm Words in this particular order by: Deric dericwilson@yahoo.com First Draft: 11 Jan 2001 Current: 15 Jan 2001 DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! I disclaim! I disclaim! ******** Ranma timeline - after end of manga - after first two OAV's Sailor Moon timeline - after Pharoh 90 ******** *thoughts* (author's notes) ******** Chapter Two ******** Ranma and Ryouga spent most of the rest of the day shuttling between windows at the Vital Records Office. Not because they didn't have any idea of how to get what they wanted, but it's just the nature of a bureaucracy. The different departments were on different floors, in different parts of the building, and nobody was in a hurry to act on their requests. Add in the fact that they weren't the only ones in line, it made it a maddeningly frustrating task. Eventually, all the paperwork they wanted to see was copied and in their hands. They came out of the building and found an unoccupied bench in the middle of a nearby park. "I don't see how this makes us related, Ranma," said Ryouga. Ranma sighed. "Don'tcha see it Ryouga? Your half-sister, Midori, married my half-brother, Souichi. That makes us brothers-in- law. Not exactly relatives, but close enough for government work. Besides, I don't think we'd see each other, except for family gatherings. Not that there'd be many of those, now." He began again. "They had a daughter who is, now, being adopted by another couple. She's a niece ta BOTH of us. Tomoe Hotaru." Checking the time, he continued. "Anyway, they should be home by the time we get there. So, shall we go meet them?" Ryouga followed Ranma back towards the Juuban District. ******** Ryouga and Ranma didn't quite make it to Juuban before meeting the first autograph seekers. It wasn't as if Ranma didn't expect it to happen, but it definitely caught Ryouga by surprise. The two just signed and went on their merry way, but each time they were stopped, more and more fans seemed to appear, holding out things to be signed. Soon enough, it took them more than ten minutes to move as much as a city block. *Just our luck to get caught by autograph hounds. I should have figured in school closings,* Ranma thought. "Sorry, guys, we've got places ta go and people ta see," he told the fans. "Let's go, Ryouga." He tugged on his new-found brother-in-law's arm and dragged him along, quickly breaking into an easy, ground covering jog. "What's going on here, Ranma?" Ryouga asked, bewildered. "It's a long story...no, it's a short story. Feh. It's a story," Ranma told him, disgustedly. "One that'll take too long ta go into, at the moment. When we get ta Hotaru's place, she can show ya. It'll be easier if ya can see the reason." ******** When Michiru answered the door, she half expected the smirking face of Ranma. She didn't expect him to bring someone else along, though. "Hello, Ranma," she grinned, amusedly. "When we offered a meal, we didn't expect you to show up daily." "Ya have ta admit," he said, apologetically, "the first two times there was sufficient excuse for it. Anyway, this isn't about inviting myself ta dinner. Today, I want ta introduce you three ta someone you'll want ta know. Michiru, may I introduce Ryouga, another uncle to Hotaru." "Hajimemashite. Hibiki Ryouga desu. Douzou yuroshiku." "Douzou. Kaioh Michiru desu," said the stunned Senshi of Neptune. She started slightly, then shook it off, saying, "Do come in, please. Ranma, could you bring Ryouga to the livingroom? I'll go find Haruka." ******** After introductions were made with Haruka, refreshments served, and Ryouga's story told with his copies of the records to back it up, Haruka started questioning the two boys on what seemed to be a tangential line. "So, why aren't you two fighting each other?" she asked. "Is this about what's on the trading cards?" asked Ranma. "No, this is about a few incidents about three or four years ago, when I saw you two fighting over some bread in the lunch line at Skyview Academy," she smirked. "You...saw...? But Skyview was a boy's school!" exclaimed Ryouga. "As Ranma can confirm, I do make a passable boy, when I want to," Haruka said, nonchalantly. "The only reason I'm in a dress at the moment, is Michiru and I have a recital tonight and I hardly ever crossdress for formal occasions." "But how did ya get through gym class?" asked an astonished Ranma. "Surely ya couldn't have gotten a doctor's excuse ta get out of it, completely." "If you remember, there were individual shower stalls in the locker room, since it was a private school." Haruka countered. "I just used two towels, one around my waist and one strategically draped around my shoulders and over my chest. A jockstrap hides genitals, male or female, and I did have smaller breasts than that fat boy Ashikaga-kun, especially when I was thirteen and fourteen. The only class I skipped, with a doctor's excuse, was swimming." "Now that we've gone through 'old home week', do ya think Ryouga should be introduced ta Hotaru?" asked Ranma. "She does have a friend over, but I think they won't mind being interrupted," smiled Michiru. ******** "See, I told you I met Ranma," said Hotaru as they entered the livingroom. "I didn't say you lied, I just said that I didn't believe it," Chibi Usa replied. "Hi, Hotaru-chan," Ranma said, as she gave him a hug. "I have someone I'd like ya ta meet. This is Hibiki Ryouga, an uncle from your mother's side of the family." "Umm...hello?" Ryouga stammered. While Ryouga haltingly tried to speak with Hotaru, Chibi Usa turned her attention to the Outer Senshi. "Haruka? Michiru? I see you're dressed for your recital tonight. If you haven't started on dinner, yet, I thought I could invite Hotaru to eat with us. That way, you'll know where she is and is in good hands. But I should call home and see if it's alright with oba-san, first." "Thank you, Usa-chan," said Michiru. "We were going to call someone to stay with Hotaru, since Setsuna-san hasn't appeared, lately. Probably because she saw this in the time stream," she smiled, amusedly. "Go ahead and call, then let us know." As Michiru and Haruka turned to the others, they heard Ranma say, "...why don't ya show Ryouga your card album? I'm sure he'd like ta see what we're talking about." "Go ahead and get your album, Hotaru," said Haruka. "Usa-chan is making a phone call." When Chibi Usa returned to the livingroom, Hotaru had Ryouga looking through her 'Nerima Wrecking Crew' card album and she was pointing out the details that interested her in the collection. Ryouga seemed to have lost a lot of the nervousness he showed upon meeting Hotaru, actively critiquing the photos and explanations for what was described on their reverse sides. "Hotaru-chan?" Chibi Usa asked, to get her attention. "Oba-san said it was alright to invite you to dinner, since Haruka and Michiru have their recital tonight. Would you like to come over?" "I'd love to," Hotaru responded, "but I wouldn't want to leave my new uncles in the lurch. I just met Uncle Ryouga today." "I have a simple solution," Ranma put in. "Why don't we walk ya there? Somebody ought ta protect two cute girls from being hassled while out walking alone. And I think we're just the two ta do it right," he said smugly. ******** The four took their time walking to Chibi Usa's house, the two girls constantly asking questions about the boys' adventures. Ranma did his best to let Ryouga and Hotaru get to know each other better, and so, let Ryouga be the center of attention, mostly by keeping quiet and having Ryouga tell his tales. He learned quite a bit about Ryouga's life that he hadn't known before. He thought the tale of the brainless talking scarecrow, heartless metal man, and cowardly talking lion a bit far-fetched, but the winged monkeys sounded a lot like the Phoenix Mountain people, so he didn't interrupt.(1) Soon enough, the autograph seekers showed up again. Just as before, the boys tried to sign and leave them behind, but it seemed like they showed the autographs to their friends, who then followed the two martial artists. When it became too much of a hassle, Ranma picked up Chibi Usa and said, "Hey, Ryouga. Why don'tcha take Hotaru and follow us?" as he leaped for the nearest roof. "Coward!" Ryouga yelled up at him. "Don't worry about it, Uncle Ryouga," Hotaru said to him, putting her arms around his neck. "I've been wanting to do this, again, ever since Uncle Ranma did it the first time." When they were joined by the others on the rooftop, Ranma turned to Chibi Usa and said, "While they get ta know each other better, why don'tcha direct us ta your house? We can get ta know each other better, too." *And Ryouga can't get lost on the way, if he's following us.* ******** "This is the right block. Down there," Chibi Usa told Ranma. He hopped to the ground, followed by Ryouga carrying Hotaru. "That was fun, Ranma-san," Chibi Usa giggled. "Can we do it again, sometime?" "Just call me Ranma, and I'm sure it'll have ta be done again, sooner or later," Ranma said, shaking his head. As the four approached the front door of the Tsukino residence, Chibi Usa said to the two martial artists, "Please don't go, right away. I would like to introduce you to Ikkuko-obasan before you leave." *This house? Ikkuko-obasan? No, it couldn't be. Coincidences just seem to be happening too often, lately,* went through Ranma's mind. "Tadaima!" Chibi Usa said, opening the door. "Okaeri, Usa-chan," replied Tsukino Ikkuko. "I see you've brought Hotaru-chan and...who's this?" "Hi, Ikkuko-obasama," smiled Ranma. "Long time, hasn't it been?"(2) "Ranma?! Oh, it's so good to see you again!" gushed Ikkuko. "Usagi-chan and Shingo-chan will be so thrilled to see you, too!" She gave him a firm bearhug. "Are you related to everybody in Japan, Ranma?" Ryouga asked, just loud enough for Ranma to hear. "It's starting ta look that way," Ranma told him, quietly. "Ikkuko- obasama, I believe ya know Ryouga-kun?" "Ryouga-kun? This is Hibiki-kun?" Ikkuko asked, looking at Ryouga more closely. "My, you've grown. Handsome, too. How long has it been, three, four years?" "Close enough, Tsukino-sama," Ryouga chuckled. "I didn't recognize you either, probably because I always saw you with your family over dinner, and no one forgets Usagi." "Tadaima!" came Usagi's voice from the doorway. Ranma laughed. "Mention her name and she appears. Okaeri, Usagi-chan!" "Ranma!" yelled Usagi. The glomp she gave him was reminiscent of a certain Amazon, but this one he didn't try to escape. In fact, he welcomed and returned it. No one could say, for sure, whose back cracked more, Usagi's or Ranma's. "Where have you been? What have you been doing? What brings you here? Is Genma oji-san with you? Are you staying for a while? Will you stay for dinner?" Usagi shot off one question after another, not taking a single pause for a breath. "Whoa, whoa! How many questions do ya think I can answer at once?" laughed Ranma, kissing her forehead. "As for the last," he turned to Ikkuko, "do ya have enough for two more, oba-sama?" "Certainly, Ranma. We have enough, even if Genma was here," Ikkuko smiled. "Definitely enough for you and Ryouga, too." "Ryouga? Ryouga-chan!" Usagi proceeded to glomp him. "Now you understand why I said 'no one forgets Usagi'," chuckled Ryouga to Ikkuko. "Good to see you, too, Usagi-chan." "Usagi-chan," said Ikkuko, tapping Her daughter's shoulder, "don't you think you should take Luna to your room, so there's no...unfortunate incident?" "Omigod! I forgot! I'll be right back!" Usagi raced off, picking up Luna before she was seen by Ranma. "Luna?" asked Ranma. "Usagi's pet," said Ikkuko. "One of those creatures you have a bad reaction to, with four legs and a tail?" "A c...c...ca...one 'a those things?" Ranma asked, his voice cracking. "Yes, that's why I had her take Luna upstairs. Oh, Shingo's out back, in case you're wondering. As for why you're here..." she trailed off. "As long as we're staying for dinner, why don't I hold off on that until Kenji-ojisama gets home and I'll tell everyone all at once. It's a long story," Ranma said, shaking his head. "Hotaru-chan, Usa-chan, we'll see ya at the table. C'mon Ryouga. Let's go beat up on Shingo until dinner," he laughed. "Yeah, let's see if he learned anything more since the last time we were here," Ryouga smiled, following Ranma out the back door. ******** When Ikkuko called the boys for dinner, they came in wearing grins to see a fully occupied diningroom table. "Hey, any room for us Kenji- ojisama?" asked Ranma of Tsukino Kenji. "Oh, I'm sure we can fit a few more, Ranma," said the older man. "Good to see you, and you, too, Ryouga." "Thank you Kenji-sama," said Ryouga. "same here. My thanks to Ikkuko- sama for inviting me." "I believe you two know everyone here except for Usagi's friend Rei," said Ikkuko. "Rei, this is Kenji-san's cousin Genma's son, Saotome Ranma and his friend Hibiki Ryouga. Ranma, Ryouga, this is Hino Rei." "Hajimemashite," the three said, almost at the same moment. "Why don't you sit between Usagi and Hotaru, Ranma," said Kenji. "Ryouga can sit here between me and Shingo." "Put the vacuums together, I understand," said Ryouga. "What?" asked Rei quizzically, until she saw Ranma and Usagi inhaling dinner. Looking closer, she saw them stealing morsels from each other's plates while laughing at the other. "I always wondered where she got that from," she muttered, completely amazed at their antics. "You should see them when Genma's here," smiled Kenji. "then they go at it in earnest. This is just playing. Neither one is taking any more than the other." "Hey," said Usagi to Ranma, looking at her formerly filled chopsticks. "When did you get to be so fast?" "Long story," said Ranma, between bites. "Let me start off with when Oyaji and I left here the last time." He went through the challenge from Ryouga, travelling throughout Japan, then China, omitting Jusenkyo and the Amazon village tournament results. Lightly mentioning training in the controlled chi attacks he learned from Cologne, he told them of all the strange martial arts styles he'd come across; Martial Arts Okonomiyaki Cooking, Martial Arts Rhythm Gymnastics, Martial Arts Ice Skating, Martial Arts Takeout Racing, Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, Martial Arts French Eating, and a host of others. "I can't believe there are so many weird martial arts styles," commented Kenji. "I'm still waitin' ta see if there's a Martial Arts Junk Food style.(3) Well, ya know what they say," said Ranma, "Nerima is the capitol of martial arts, outside of China. And the strange is normal, there." "Almost as strange as what happens here, in Juuban," said Rei. "There've been monsters, youma, daimons, the Sailor Senshi..." "I thoght somebody made them up," said Ryouga. "Magical girls fighting monsters doesn't sound real, to me." Oh, they're real, alright," said Usagi, with conviction, "one of my friends was attacked at her mother's jewelry shop and says she was saved by Sailor Moon." All the girls agreed. "I've had some real bad experiences with magic," said Ranma, "and Ryouga can definitely back me up on that." Ryouga nodded. "I'm just glad none 'a that magic stuff happened in Nerima." "So you're back at your mother's house, then?" asked Ikkuko. "Not quite," said Ranma. He then went into his living at the Tendo's dojo, the multiple fiancees, the kidnapings and everything else that had gone on during the past year. "Four fiancees?" Shingo asked. "That I know of, so far. Two officially because Oyaji's an idiot and thinks nobody remembers things he promises five or ten years later, one I beat in a fight who now thinks I'm her husband, and one who thinks she is because she's totally insane." Ranma shuddered. "None of 'em have been picked by me. "Now, for the reason Ryouga and I were at your doorstep, today. Ryouga, if ya would do the honors? I think I've hogged...er...taken up too much of the conversation already." Ryouga glared at Ranma for the pig comment, but decided to let him live because he corrected it quickly and gave him the big announcement. "Ranma and I would like to introduce you all to our niece, Tomoe Hotaru," he announced, grandiosely. "What?" The four Tsukinos and Rei asked, incredulously. "Minna-san, I'd like to introduce my ojisan, Ranma and Ryouga," said Hotaru nonchalantly, but grinning from ear to ear. "How did it happen?" "Why don't any of you have the same family name?" "Wasn't your father an only child?" The questions flew fast and furiously. "It turns out," Ryouga started again, "both of our fathers had other wives they married thirty, thirty five or so years ago. My father's first wife had a daughter, named Midori, who married Ranma's half brother, Souichi. He was adopted into the Tomoe family when his mother remarried." He paused momentarily, letting everyone digest the information. "We only found out this week when the Vital Records Office contacted us, well, actually, tried to contact Genma, and Ranma took the call. They said they were looking for blood relatives because Hotaru was being adopted. We went down to the Vital Records Office and got the paperwork to prove what they said." "So what are your parents going to do?" asked Ikkuko. "We decided not to tell Genma or oppose the adoption," answered Ryouga. "Though if I see my father, I'll probably tell him about it. There's hardly ever anyone home at my house, which is why they had to contact me through Ranma, and Ranma doesn't want to get Hotaru's mind warped or be taken advantage of by Genma, the honorless idiot." "What do you mean by that?" asked Usagi. "Can ya say multiple fiancees or Neko-ken?" asked Ranma, smugly. "Point made," agreed Kenji. "Okay, so if she's Genma's granddaughter, that would make her my...first cousin, twice removed. That's assuming both you and your half-brother are my first cousins, once removed, with my mother and Genma's father as sister and brother. Welcome to the family, Hotaru. Now you can call me oji-san." Kenji smiled. "I'd be happy to, oji-san," said Hotaru. "It's nice to find family after thinking your whole family is gone." "Since it looks like dinner is over," Kenji said, "why don't we talk this over in the livingroom? It'll probably be more comfortable in there." "I don't see why not," said Ranma. "Besides, some 'a the paperwork is in Ryouga's pack and ya can take a look at it." Usagi said, "The girls and I will be down after we say hi to Luna and bring her dinner up to her." ******** "So Ranma's your cousin?" Luna asked Usagi, when the Senshi had gathered in her room. "And he's also Hotaru's uncle? And what's this about 'unfortunate incidents' with cats?" "Second cousin. His father and mine are first cousins," Usagi began. "Ranma's father took him on a ten year martial arts training trip, beginning when he was about five or six. They used to stop and stay here, from time to time, when they were in the area. That's how I got to know him. Somewhere along the way, his father found a beat up manual about an unbeatable martial art, called the Neko-ken." "Cat Fist? What has that got to do with anything?" asked Rei. "The manual said to learn the Neko-ken, you toss a child wrapped in fish sausages into a pit full of starving cats. My baka uncle did it with Ranma," said Usagi. "That's insane and cruel!" Hotaru cried out. "At least it only happened once." "No, he didn't learn it the first time," Usagi cringed. "What?!" Rei asked, outraged. "It took about six or seven times," Usagi said glumly. "He went temporarily insane and took on the attributes of a fighting cat; speed, agility and strength, almost like a tiger. Now, when he's near any cat too long, he unleashes the Neko-ken, thinks like he's a cat and anybody he thinks is dangerous to him is beaten until they're unconscious, usually his father or anyone trying to capture him. He can usually run away from a cat before it happens, but it happened once, here, that he couldn't get away in time. He shredded trees down to toothpicks." Usagi shuddered, followed by the other girls. "Then he saw me." "He didn't...hurt you did he?" Luna asked, warily. "No, that's the funny thing. No, not funny like a joke. Funny strange," Usagi said with a touch of awe in her voice. "I was so scared, I couldn't move. He jumped over twenty feet and knocked me over, but he didn't attack me. He just curled up in my lap and purred." "What?!" all the other girls asked, shocked. "Later, when Uncle Genma regained consciousness, he told me that it meant Ranma trusted me, absolutely, not to hurt him or bring any danger to him and loved me without reservation. He said he had seen only one other person that Ranma trusted like that, an old grandmotherly type lady that had brought him out of the Neko-ken the first time," Usagi recalled. "He told me that if Ranma was in the Neko-ken and someone attacked me, Ranma would probably darn near kill whoever it was. Of course," she giggled, "he'd most likely do that anyway, Cat Fist or not." "Yeah, I can see that, the way you glomped on him when you got home today," Chibi Usa giggled. "I wonder if I should tell Mamoru-otousan." "Oooh, you..." Usagi started, her ire rising. "Girls, please!" called Luna. "That's enough! This Ranma seems safe enough, as long as he's in control, and you know him better than I do. But I do sense something magical around him and his friend. No, not Negaverse or Silver Millenium," she added quickly, "but magic nonetheless." "He did say something at dinner about not having anything magical happen to him that was good," Hotaru put in. "Maybe that could be it?" "It makes me wish Ami was here tonight, so she could scan him with the Mecury Computer," said Luna, "but that's only wishful thinking." "I don't think that should be a problem," said Hotaru, "he's camped out at the park next to the Hikawa Shrine, for the next few days, anyway." "What?!" exclaimed the other three girls and the moon cat. "I don't remember if he mentioned it today, but he told us that the day before yesterday," said Hotaru. "We invited him to stay with us, but he didn't want the house to be mobbed because he was there. Remember the route we used to get here, Usa-chan? And the reason for it?" giggled Hotaru. "What are you talking about?" asked Luna. Hotaru and Chibi Usa proceeded to tell the others how they met Ranma and Ryouga, for each, their first time. ******** When the girls began returning downstairs, Usagi missed the top step, tripping down the stairs. She wasn't hurt, only her dignity suffered. Ranma was about three paces too short of catching her, since he didn't see her at the top of the stairs. As she lay sprawled on her back, Ranma put his hands out for her to hold. Assisting her to her feet, he whispered in her ear as she rubbed her posterior, "Shall I kiss it and make it better?" "How do you know how to say the right thing, to make me feel better?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face. "Cause I love ya, 'bunnybrain'," Ranma said with a smirk. Just before she punched him in the shoulder for that remark, Shingo decided it was time to break the two up. "Have a nice trip, sis?" "Don't laugh too hard, Shingo," Ranma told the younger boy. "You'll go through the same clumsiness soon enough." "What do you mean?" "It looks like she's going through a growth spurt," Ranma said. "Tell me, Usagi. You're tired a lot, oversleep, eat enough for six and don't gain weight, and you're occasionally clumsy, right?" "Yeah..." "Growth spurt." He turned to face Shingo. "You'll probably go through one, yourself, Shingo, somewhere between twelve and sixteen. It sure upsets your balance when your arms and legs are a different length almost every day." Rather than let them dwell on that fact for too long, Ranma decided to get Shingo out of the firing line for a while. Ranma hoped sending him on an errand would keep the siblings from getting started on (Tsukino) World War III. "Hey, Shingo. Ya got any extras 'a those 'Nerima Wrecking Crew' trading cards? I've got somebody I wanna throw 'em their face and I don't think I can buy any, without a mob showin' up." "Yeah, I have a few doubles and triples I haven't traded, yet," he responded. "Could ya make sure they're ones with me or Ryouga on them?" "No problem, Cousin Ranma." Having postponed the war, for now, Ranma headed back into the livingroom, followed by the four girls. ******** Responding to the knocking on the door, Ikkuko opened it to find a smiling Haruka. "I believe you have a bundle of energy that should be getting ready for bed?" Haruka asked. "Yes, but I don't think you'd be wanting Usagi. I think you want Hotaru," Ikkuko joked. The two chuckled slightly. "How was your recital?" she asked, leading Haruka to the livingroom. "Oh, no sour notes, but I don't think we really reached the audience," Haruka grumped. "They were polite enough in their applause, but we could tell they weren't really moved by the performance. Maybe because they were there to see the other people, but I had hoped we could overcome that." "Haruka-papa! Time to go?" asked Hotaru, when she noticed her entering the room. "You still have school tomorrow, Hotaru-chan," Haruka replied. "Say good night to everyone and let's get going." Hotaru started making her rounds, giving everybody a hug, even Shingo. *He may be obnoxious to his sister, but he's still family. I can't wait to tell Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama about that.* Haruka asked Rei, "Would you like a ride back to the shrine? We could drop you off there." "Shrine?" Ranma asked. "She wouldn't happen ta be the friend that lives at the Hikawa Shrine, would she?" "As a matter of fact, yes," Rei told Ranma, then looked to Haruka. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather walk. And not have nightmares." "Now, Rei, you know I've never had an accident," Haruka chided her. "True, but I don't think you know that Tokyo is not your personal racetrack," responded Rei. "The near misses are just too close for me to think about." Once Haruka and Hotaru left, Rei decided to make her farewells, also. "School starts early enough, I think it's time I went home," she said. "If ya don't mind," said Ranma, "I'll walk along with ya. I'm camped out at the park next ta the shrine, for the next couple of days." "You could always stay here, Ranma," Kenji told him. "True," Ranma answered. "But as I said ta the others, if autograph hounds start following me and Ryouga again, I don't think you'd wanna have a crowd hanging around your front door." "There is that, isn't there?" said Ikkuko. "We never expected to have a celebrity in the family." "It's starting ta wear me down, a little," commented Ranma. "So far, everywhere I've gone in the last few days there've been people chasing after me. I don't know if I'm cut out to be someone's idol. The first couple 'a times, it was a surprise, but it felt good. Now, I'm starting to dread walking anywhere." ******** As Ranma and Ryouga walked Rei home, the conversation turned to the two boys' accomplishments in the martial arts. "You can actually use your chi as a weapon? I use it a little in my fire readings, but I've never had real control over it," said Rei. "It does take concentration and focus, just watch," replied Ranma, as he conjured a fist sized chi ball over the palm of his hand. Ryouga, not to be ignored, matched Ranma's effort. "Wow! I don't believe this," said the stunned miko. "May I feel them?" she asked, putting her hands over the visible manifestations of chi. "Go ahead," said Ranma. "But be careful not ta touch them, ya could get burned." Rei cncentrated on Ranma's first, then Ryouga's chi ball, almost touching them but leaving enough room to keep from scorching her fingers. It amazed her as they were so alike, yet so different. She could feel the power in both, but the emotions she felt in them were almost completely incompatible. Ranma's was blue and full of confidence, bordering on arrogance; while Ryouga's was greenish and contained more depression than she had ever experienced, before. "Are they always like this?" she asked. "Well, it's different for different people," Ranma answered, dissipating the chi ball. "It depends on what triggers your focus. For me, it's confidence. For Ryouga, it's depression. For every emotion the chi is a different color, too, from what I've seen. Confidence seems ta be bluish, depression seems ta be greenish, anger is reddish. I still haven't figured out what our local chiropractor uses for healing, but that seems ta be yellowish white." "Don't you have to be a grandmaster to take active control of your chi?" Rei continued her interrogation. "We're both at that level for Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi Chuan, Aikido, and Thai Kickboxing," Ranma answered. "Ryouga's most likely at master or grandmaster level for Kendo or other weapon styles. If I ever start teaching at the dojo, I'll probably take the tests for becoming a grandmaster, no sense in doing it before then." "If?" Rei asked. "I figure I have ta find out if I can teach, first," came Ranma's reply. "I know I can learn fast, but who knows if I can pass on what I know?" "Weren't you two teaching Shingo before dinner?" queried Rei. "Yeah, some. But nothing formal, and it's not on a regular basis, either." said Ranma. "Hey, I just thought of something. I wonder, can your grandfather teach us more about chi control? Ya said ya use a little of it in your fire readings. I suppose he's the one who taught ya, right?" "It can't hurt to ask," said Rei, turning into the shrine gate. "I'll tell him you'll be here tomorrow to ask him." ******** ******** End Chapter Two ******** ******** (1) Yes, that is a reference to _The Wizard of Oz_ by Frank Baum. (2) You may be wondering why I have Ranma and Ryouga calling the Tsukino parents -sama, and no one else does. I'll explain it here rather than in the body of the story. Most people, be they friends or family, have a few inside jokes that just don't get explained to other people, probably are totally unexplainable. It's a case of 'You had to be there'. This is one I decided to put in to have a better sense of realism. These people knew each other well three to four years in the past. Even after that much time has passed, things like this draw on a time when there was a connection, if they've been disconnected at any point, jumpstarting a new connection. With my brothers and step- brothers, the inside jokes are Monty Python bits, from the TV show and movies. With one friend of mine, the inside joke is a quoted line from the movie _Blazing Saddles_. ('It's twue, it's twue') With another, It's a line from _Young Frankenstein_. ('Could be raining.' or 'Frau Blucher. ') Amazing how many of my inside jokes involve comedy films. (3) The Martial Arts Junk Food style is a reference to _Girl Days_ by Robert Haynie. He's up to Chapter 17 as of Dcember 2000. Hilarious. I first found it at the Tass.org Ranma Fanfic Archive Index at http://fanfic.anime.tass.com/ ******** Glossary for the Japanese deprived ******** Hajimemashite. Douzou yuroshiku. : Loosely translated, "Pleased to meet you". (very formal) Can be used (less formally) without the Douzou yuroshiku. Douzou : In this context, "Also pleased". Depending on context, can mean, "Please do" or "Be my guest" or "Thank you". Desu (pronounced 'dess') : In this case, "I am". Can also mean "he/she/it/this is". The phrase I've heard most often is, 'meishi desu', which means "this is my business card." -kun : honorific, usually for males, indicating equals, classmates, or friendship. chibi : little; often used to distinguish between two people with the same name, such as here (eventually) when Tsukino Usagi is introduced into the story, although, I've mostly worked around it, calling them Usagi-chan and Usa-chan. -sama, -san, -chan : honorifics meaning Lord/Lady; Sir/Ma'am; Little one (from most formal to most familiar). Oba- : Aunt. Tadaima : "I'm here" or "I'm home". Opposite of itekimasu, "I'm leaving". Okaeri : Usual response for tadaima. Loosely, "I'm (in) here". Oji- : Uncle. Oyaji : Old man, father. (very disrespectful) Dojo : Training area, room, or building. Minna- : Everybody, everyone. There is no plural in Japanese, so Hotaru introducing her oji-san can mean one or many. Baka : idiot. Otou- : Father. miko : shrine maiden, acolyte. ******** Thanks to Tom for looking this over and pointing out when I had people OOC. C&C appreciated, flames ignored and deleted. The comments received from Chapter 1 were very nice and the criticisms weren't too bad either. Keep those cards and letters coming in, folk. Encouragement is one thing even a fanfic writer needs. -- Too many people say, "Sacrifices must be made!" Unfortunately, they don't realize that the sacrifice must be their own. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ From: Deric Subject: [Ranma/SM][FanFic] Uncles - Chapter 3 Uncles! (A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon X-Over) Story concept and idea by: Tomas Megarson See other people's works on this idea at his website, http://www.geocities.com/nighthawktm/uncles.htm Words in this particular order by: Deric dericwilson@yahoo.com First Draft: 17 Jan 2001 Current: 26 Jan 2001 DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! I disclaim! I disclaim! ******** *Thoughts* (Author's notes) ******** Chapter Three ******** Turning into the Tendo dojo gate, onna-Ranma sighed. *A week away from Nerima and it doesn't rain, I don't get splashed, nothing. Two minutes away from the dojo and I get splashed by the old lady wetting down the sidewalk. I wonder how much the curse is affected by my staying in Nerima?* Ranma-chan sighed again, then walked through the front door. "I'm home," Ranma called from the front door. "Welcome back, Ranma-kun," came Kasumi's voice from the kitchen. "Hi, Kasumi," Ranma told her as s/he entered the kitchen. "Leaving was a good idea, but it's still good ta be back. Any water hot?" "Sure, just help yourself." One hot water transformation later, Ranma handed back the towel Kasumi gave him to dry off. "Thanks, Kasumi. Do ya know if Nabiki's home? I have ta see her about something." "Yes, she's in her room," she replied. "Don't go wandering too far, dinner will be ready in about half an hour." "Great. Kasumi, you're the best," he said, pecking her on the cheek. Looking quizzically at his retreating form, Kasumi wondered why he had kissed her. *He certainly seems to be happier. I wonder what happened on his training trip? He never used to be this affectionate. Could he have realized that it doesn't affect his 'manliness', however warped his parents seem to think that is?* Reaching that conclusion, Kasumi turned back to preparing dinner, humming a cheery tune and a smile slightly wider than usual on her face. ******** Ranma knocked on Nabiki's door. "Nabiki? Ya busy?" "No, come on in." "I need ta ask ya a few questions. How much is it gonna cost?" said Ranma, coming straight to the point. "It depends on whether I already know the answers or have to pay to get the information." "This is stuff ya already have a hand in, so ya should know it already. 500 yen per answer?" "With the family discount, that should do." "Here," he said, plopping a trading card on her desk. "This should be worth about 5000 yen, a dated trading card signed by both me and Ryouga." "How did you find out about these?" "When people keep stoppping ya asking for autographs," he told her, smugly, "ya DO occasionally look at what they ask ya ta sign. And with the 'family discount', that should get me another question for free, since ya asked me. So, question number one, why?" "You're catching on," Nabiki smirked, "but you should have bargained before answering." "Okay, ya got me again. But the first question, why?" "I always said I needed to expand the photo business. After seeing what happened with Pokemon and Digimon cards, I figured I could do just as well with pictures of you and the others." "I figured there was a reason ya haven't been blackmailing me so often, lately. Now, I know," said Ranma. "On ta number two. How far are these released, since I haven't seen any in Nerima? I just wanna know how far I have ta go ta get away from autograph hounds." "Just on Honshu island for right now, excepting Nerima," Nabiki replied. "I didn't want the 'models' to find out. As long as everyone stayed in the district, no one would have been the wiser. Although with the sales figures as they are, the distributor is hounding me to release them to the rest of Japan." "I guess I could restrict my training trips to the mountains and forests, from now on," Ranma said. "Are you holding back on Toma and Kirin for more cards?" "As a matter of fact, yes. Toma's kidnaping us will be the third set to be released. Can't release too many too soon. Got to build up some incentive for the suckers...er...customers to buy more." "I figured that was the reason. I don't know how much you've made, so far, but I don't think you've spent everything on the dojo upkeep. Ya wouldn't happen to be keeping a college tuition account, would ya? Ya are graduating this year. I don't know too much about taxes and such, but I heard that scholarship donations are tax deductible. I mean, that's the reason the house and dojo are supposed ta be wedding gifts, ta avoid taxes, right?" Ranma asked. "You do catch on quicker than most people. Yes, there is a scholarship involved." "Ya could say I've learned from the best," Ranma smirked. "You. I guess you've set it up ta put yourself and Akane through college. Ya wouldn't happen ta have set it for me or Kasumi, would ya?" "As a matter of fact, I worded the charter to list practitioners of the Anything Goes style as first priority. Kasumi and I are still on the dojo's roster, even though we haven't studied in a while." "Could ya add in the charter ta have descendants of Tendo Soun and Saotome Genma as second priority?" Nabiki shot him a look that would make most people shudder in fear. Curiosity. "Now, why would you want that? As a practitioner of the art, you're covered. When any of us have children, they'd be covered, too, because they'd learn from us. Why?" "Let's just say that I have my reasons. I know you'll find out eventually, but I don't want it known by anybody, yet. I'll tell ya when I think it's safe to letcha know." "This 'training trip' you just came back from. It has something to do with that, I'm sure. You wouldn't be fathering any illegitimate children, would you?" "500 yen?" Ranma laughed. "Yes, it has something ta do with my leaving last week. No, I don't have any illegitimate children. Not by a long shot. Or your father or Oyaji, if that's what you're thinking, now. I will give ya a hint, though. There are six or seven people who know and none of them will say anything, because ya don't know who they are or where ta find them. You'll know soon enough." *And I'd better get those copies out of the house before Nabiki finds them. Maybe I should take them to Uncle Kenji to keep in a safe place.* Ranma started on a new tack. "Well, if you're gonna release a new batch, I suppose I could sign a few, as long as I know the money is gonna go ta the scholarship fund. And it should keep ya from blackmailing me, since the money won't be in my pocket. I might as well do some personal appearances, too, as long as they're outside of Nerima. Hey, it's better than working at the Nekohanten. Less stress. I hope." "Hmmm. I could do a print run that are just for signings, dedicated to the scholarship fund..." Nabiki trailed off and started working with her abacus. Ranma took the opportunity to leave her room to let her work on her calculations. ******** While Ranma was conferring with Nabiki in Nerima, in Juuban, or more precisely, at the Hikawa shrine, the Sailor Senshi had gathered to confer about Ranma. "I do want to know more about Uncle Ranma and Uncle Ryouga, but isn't this a little underhanded? For us, that is." "Hotaru, I've known them both pretty well for years and if there was anything we could find out, they would be the first to say it's alright," Usagi said. "Yes, but wouldn't it be better to ask them first? It's not like they're the enemy, after all." "Hotaru-chan, we didn't exactly tell them we were the Sailor Senshi, did we?" Michiru stated. "Alright. I just don't like it, though," Hotaru pouted. "Now that we know our motives aren't the purest, could we get down to what Ami found out?" queried Artemis. "Curiosity killing the cat, Artemis?" Aino Minako smirked. Nearly everyone facefaulted as Mina, finally, was able to state an English metaphor correctly. "Ahem," Luna cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Ami?" "Let's start with the basics," Mizuno Ami began, "they are human. No surprise there, as we have them related to two of us. Their power levels, on the other hand, are nowhere close to the human norm. I'm not sure if they are naturally this powerful, or if it's a result of intense training. They come within a hair's breadth of our power levels in our Senshi forms." The gathered Senshi gasped, almost as one, after hearing that revelation. "That's impossible!" exclaimed Kino Makoto. "No one could possibly have that much power, naturally!" "As impossible as it sounds, I believe it to be true," Rei countered. "They both demonstrated conjuring up energy balls to me, the night they walked me home." "I think we are seeing a genetic predisposition to control vast amounts of energy," Ami continued. "They are related to the two of us that have the highest energy potentials, Usagi and Hotaru." "Interesting thought," said Luna. "What about the magical signatures? I felt those, but can't place them as Silver Millenium or Negaverse." "As you, Artemis and, probably, Setsuna already know, there are six types of magic," Ami began, "High, Middle and Low Magic, both Light and Dark." "True. Silver Millenium and Negaverse are both High Magic. One, Light, and the other, Dark," Artemis commented. "That's why it's hard for us to detect the difference, because they are both High Magic." "What is unusual, is their magical signatures seem to be a blending of all six," Ami told the assembled group. "From what the Mercury Computer tells me, it seems to be a powerful spell cast on them. It would take at least two, possibly four or six, mages to cast it perfectly and to remove it, if it can be removed. The Computer tells me once it is in place, almost nothing can dislodge it, unless you can find a magus that knows how to mix all six types of magic."(1) "That does partially explain his comment that nothing good happened to him with magic," said Rei. "If he couldn't find anything to remove the spell, the frustration would be...I can't think of a word bad enough to cover it all." "Don't try, Mars," said Meiou Setsuna from the doorway. "I think it would be beyond anyone's reckoning." "Setsuna!" cried all the Senshi at once. "Puu!" called Chibi Usa. "What brings you here?" "A warning and a recommendation," said the grim guardian of The Gates of Time. "I feel the Negaverse stirring once again. And, if you want your powers to increase, you all should pay attention to those two." With those words, the Senshi of Pluto disappeared again into the stream of time. "Yeah, once again, just enough information to sound like a Chinese fortune cookie," grumbled Haruka. "But if she said something, it is bound to be important," said Luna. "We'll have to try to keep a close eye on them, Artemis, Ranma's ailurophobia notwithstanding." ******** [Later - Oh, lets say a week, just for the fun of it; a Saturday] Ranma was looking over the flyer that Nabiki had printed up announcing the first, ever, personal appearance of members of the now famous 'Nerima Wrecking Crew' scheduled that day in Roppongi (a district next to Juuban, known as the entertainment district of Tokyo). He noticed something that looked out of place and questioned Nabiki about it. "I thought me and Ryouga were gonna be the only ones there. What's this about 'surprise guests'?" "Look. I have you and P-Chan as announced guests, and then have Ranko and Ryouga as surprise guests, as long as none of the fiancees show up. If they do, they become the surprise guests. And I won't have to pay them." "In the words of Kuno, 'Nabiki, thy mercenary light shineth through the standing doldrums of eternal bliss. Yea, though thou walkest upon the ground, thy head is unmistakably perched in the lap of the heavens.' Sheesh. I gotta stop listening ta him rant." Nabiki smirked. "Just do the individual demonstration, then sign for a while. I'll let you know when it's time for P-chan to become Ryouga again. After you two come back from his transformation, do the fight demonstration and go back to signing. Got it?" "It's not like ya haven't said it before. I got it. I just hope ya won't blackmail most of the appearance fee outta me. 2500 yen per hour is a whole lot better than working at the Nekohanten, but it don't mean much if I put it right back into the dojo. By the way, how are ya gonna get P-chan ta sign anything?" "Ever hear of stamp pads? He can just do a footprint on the cards." "Sounds like ya have everything planned for." "I'm the promoter. It's my job." ******** Everything went like clockwork. Nabiki arrived at the store early to set up a signing area and a demonstration area, rope barriers for the expected lines of people, and corridors through the store that left easy access to the checkout cash register. Ranma and P-Chan arrived at the back door to the shop, where Nabiki let them in to a curtained area, set up to keep them out of sight until the announced starting time. Ranma would have liked to have had a TV set, rather than the radio that was back there, so he could watch the sumo matches. But, it was better than going bonkers with nothing to keep his attention from the anticipated deluge of fans. "Hey, Nabiki. How did ya come up with this?" Ranma asked her. "I don't remember ya doing anything like this, before." "Oh, I just copied it from a manga signing I went to, to meet my favorite artist," was her reply. "The only thing new I came up with, was the demonstration area." "How did ya come up with the materials? The ropes and stage and stuff? It's not coming out of our appearance fees, is it?" "Believe it or not, I got all this from the promotions department at the card company. From what I understand, they do this all the time for their sports cards lines. Baseball, Sumo, Basketball, whatever. This is all free, as long as it promotes selling their cards. They send the people out to move this stuff around and pack it up, no charge," Nabiki grinned. "Oh, remind me to introduce you to the card company's promotions director. He usually shows up after the signing begins, so he can watch the demonstrations as a fan would." When it became time to do his demonstration, Ranma went through his different kata, starting with the easiest, gradually increasing the difficulty and speed. Nabiki provided a running commentary, just in front of the cordoned off area, telling the crowd exactly what Ranma was doing, and why. He didn't do any chi attacks, though he did use his chi to increase his speed and power. He finished off the demonstration with the Katsu Tenshin Amaguriken technique, calling it out under his breath, destroying a six by six post into splinters. The crowd roared its approval, Ranma took his bows, and Nabiki announced the signings would begin in five minutes. After returning inside, Nabiki placed P- Chan on the signing table next to Ranma and the marathon signing began. ******** [Less than a day - but feels longer, somehow] *Ryouga's got it easy,* Ranma thought, *all he has to do is stamp on the cards. I have to take all the questioning. I know they think they're the first ones to come up with the same questions over and over again.* *Now I'm getting a cramp from doing so many signatures. I hope the fight demonstration is soon.* Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a ripple moved its way through the crowd. It looked like the fans were being drained of their chi. *Is Ms. Hinako here?* From outside, he heard a cackling almost, but not quite, like Kuno Kodachi's. "So much wasted energy on useless pursuits! The Negaverse has a much better use for such energy! Ahahahahahaha!" Seeing no one but P-Chan and Nabiki were still conscious, he grabbed the hot water thermos and Ryouga's clothes from the 'Artists Lounge' and transformed the directionally challenged youth back to his human form. "C'mon, Ryouga. Let's find out who's ruining our day and ruin their's." Exiting the shop, the boys found a sight that nothing in their experiences had prepared them for. It was a...thing. A thing that stood over four meters tall, covered with spikes about one half meter long. It was a shade of mottled seasick green, that looked like it was trying to turn off-cerulean. Its long and luxurious hair was mauve. Just the right shade of mauve to clash horribly with its eyes of orange. "What in the heck is that thing, Ranma?" asked Ryouga. "Your guess is as good as mine," came Ranma's reply. "Ya got a five yen coin on ya?" "Yeah, but what would you need that for?" Ranma placed the coin between his middle and forefinger and yelled out, "Happosai Go-En Satsu!" It took some of the chi the thing was collecting and Ranma felt the increase of chi burning through his body. "No En Satsu Return!"(2) he called, making a circle with his thumbs and forefingers, blasting the thing in the chest and knocking it onto its back and disrupting its chi collecting. "Let's get it, Ryouga!" "Oh, boy! Something to pound on that I don't have to hold back to keep from hurting them!" Ryouga grinned with malice aforethought. "Let's go!" ******** The Mercury Computer alerted Ami with its tell-tale warning of Negaverse activity. *Roppongi,* she thought, as she scanned for the direction of the attack. *Just over the district line.* Immediately activating her communicator, she told the Senshi what she had detected. "Let's go, team!" She was the first to arrive and was totally surprised to see two boys fighting the thing. She scanned the trio and, also to her surprise, she recognized the pair of power signatures as people she had scanned before. *Ranma and Ryouga. What are they doing here?* Putting that aside, for the moment, she tried to think of something that would help them, at least until the rest of the Senshi arrived. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" she cried, freezing the thing's feet to the street, making it impossible for it to dodge. The two martial artists were as surprised as the thing they fought, but were quick enough to take advantage of the situation. Dodging swings from its arms, they relentlessly pounded on the thing's legs and knees until it started to shoot the spikes from its body at the two. This caused them to keep their distance, allowing it the chance to break free of the ice. It continued to attack them with the spikes, when Ranma saw something that scared the living daylights out of him. Nabiki, taking pictures, was standing directly in the path of half a dozen flying spikes, totally oblivious to the danger. "Nabiki!" he screamed and immediately dove into her, knocking her down, but not without him taking one of the spikes in his calf. "Get outta here and behind something solid," he growled at her, pulling painfully at the spike in his leg. "You're not equipped ta deal with this thing," he said, looking at the blood covered spike in his hand. Nabiki eeped, and crawled back into the store. "Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!" "World Shaking!" "Mars Fire, Ignite!" "Deep Submerge!" "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" "We are the Sailor Senshi! Manga is an entertainment that has no need for evil beings, like you. In the name of the Moon, we will punish you!" Ranma looked up to the rooftops and saw what he formerly thought was just something the newsmen made up. Several girls in short skirted sailor uniforms, unleashing magical attacks at the creature. Something else caught his attention, their chi signatures. *I know at least half of them. Usagi? Hotaru? I can't let on that I know them, Nabiki would have a field day.* "Moon Scepter Elimination!" cried Sailor Moon, and the creature dissolved into dust particles. The Senshi jumped lightly from the rooftops and began to check out the victims of the creature's energy draining. Mercury stood in front of Ranma and called to Senshi of Healing, "Saturn? I think you're needed over here." "Just lie still...sir," Saturn told him. "This shouldn't hurt at all." *Hotaru? Is Saturn?* "I trust ya," Ranma grinned. "It's not like it's the first time I've been healed, after all." The warmth that engulfed him was familiar, but the power and speed of healing were noticeably increased, to his recollection. When he was finished healing, he stood up and said, "Sailor Saturn? Thank you. Maybe ya can check out my companion, over there? His name is Ryouga." He looked for Nabiki and, since she was nowhere in sight, quietly asked the Fire Senshi, "Could ya meet me and Ryouga at the Hikawa shrine on Sunday? We'll be there working with the shrine master." He whispered to Mars, "In your civilian form, Rei. We'll keep the reporters busy, here, so ya can get away unnoticed." A startled Mars nodded, dumbly. As the Senshi began their departure, the television news crews started pulling up in their cargo vans, vainly trying to get set up before the Senshi left. As the three Nerima residents were the only conscious witnesses, the cameras tended to cluster around them. "Well, It's not how I would like my first personal appearance ta turn out, but it's not so unusual. At least for me and Ryouga. Strange things just seem ta happen around us," he said, shaking his head. "This is the first time I've come across a youma, though, or was it a daimon? It wasn't as intense as fighting a demigod, but it certainly was vulnerable ta martial arts moves." "I don't know, Ranma," added Ryouga. "It sure could take a punch or kick." "Hey, we could still throw it around, couldn't we? And it was defeated in the end, wasn't it?" "There is that, isn't there? But the spikes gave us a problem." "I don't think it was any worse than Mousse's shuriken," Ranma countered. "They were just larger, is all." Nabiki dropped her face into one hand, shook her head, and thought, *What is it with those two idiots, anyway?* She smiled into the cameras. "This was supposed to be a kickoff for the release of the third set of 'Nerima Wrecking Crew' trading cards. But you can take it from me, this was NOT a publicity stunt to get media attention. I nearly got injured and you can be sure, getting myself hurt would NOT be in the best interest of promoting the 'Nerima Wrecking Crew'. As for the Sailor Senshi, I'm sure they are not publicity hounds, nor do I think they would be available for publicity stunts. We are grateful for their appearance and for their destroying whatever that thing was." ******** The Senshi, detransformed since they were out of the area, were wondering what it was about those two martial artists, also. "He definitely called you Rei?" asked Ami. "Do you think it was a guess?" "Uncle Ranma knew," Hotaru piped up. "He joked about my healing him, once before." "Hotaru is right," said Haruka. "He once told us about chi signatures being unique. I think he knew someone else was conscious, and probably listening, because he looked around before he said anything." "So, what do we do, now?" asked Chibi Usa. "We find out what he knows, obviously," Haruka said. "And the easiest way to do that, is to have Rei talk to him at the shrine, tomorrow. In the short time we've known him, he seems to be honorable enough. But there's no sense in taking any chances." "I think he can keep a secret," Usagi added. "Besides, he's not the first non-Senshi to know our civilian forms and keep them confidential. Urawa comes to mind." "Okay!" Rei exclaimed. "I'll see what he wants. Tomorrow." ******** [Sunday] Ranma and Ryouga spent the morning learning what they could about chi control from Grandfather Hino. After the lesson was concluded, they confronted Rei when she was alone. "Rei? I think we have ta discuss what went on yesterday, over in Roppongi," Ranma told her. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Ranma," answered Rei, attacking the leaves on the steps with her broom. "Oh, please," said an exasperated Ranma. "Don't deny it. We know ya have ta keep it a secret. That way ya don't have everybody and their brother attacking ya at home. Believe me, I know. There's too many that do that ta me, although most of my opponents just wanna defeat me, not kill me." "Rei," put in Ryouga, "We knew everybody there, except for Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. I've met Mercury in my travels before, but never knew her civilian name. Her mother is a doctor, and she makes the best cookies I've ever tasted, except for Ranma's prospective sister-in- law," he reminisced, fondly. "So what do you want from us?" she asked, irritably. "We are gonna train ya," Ranma answered, "the ones who are willing, that is. Speed from me. Weapons from Ryouga. Power and Control from both of us." "Why?" "Let's just say we have some incentive ta try ta help keep our relatives from getting hurt." ******** ******** End Chapter 3 ******** ******** (1) What does this mean? No looking for a cure for Ranma, what else? I hope I gave it a great mumbo-jumbo reason. (2)"Happosai Go-En Satsu!", "No En Satsu Return!" are chi gathering and explosive return attacks first described in the manga as Ms. Hinako's signature attacks. Go (five) en (yen): a five cent coin, if the exchange rate was 100 yen per dollar. ******** Thanks to Tom for looking this over and pointing out when I had people OOC. I've also decided to get rid of most of the Japanese expressions, and hence the glossary, after metroanime (Gregg Sharp) made a valid point in his C&C to me. I really put them in to show off what I retained after taking the first year Japanese course about ten years ago. I have an ending in mind, it's just that the characters keep telling me they want to play for a longer time than I had figured. As a matter of fact, Akane keeps threatening to mallet me if I don't put her back in, after I wrote her parts out completely in the second and third chapters. Actors! (or would be actresses! I'm sure John Biles doesn't have as many problems as I do, Lemon Sherbet, et al, notwithstanding.) C&C appreciated (even listened to), flames deleted before they burn my hard drive. -- Too many people say, "Sacrifices must be made!" Unfortunately, they don't realize that the sacrifice must be their own. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ From: Deric Subject: [Ranma/SM][FanFic] Uncles - Chapter 4 Uncles! (A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon X-Over) Story concept and idea by: Tomas Megarson See other people's works on this idea at his website, http://www.geocities.com/nighthawktm/uncles.htm Words in this particular order by: Deric dericwilson@yahoo.com Earlier chapters can be found at the RAAC Ranma Archive at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma or the mirror site at Tass.Org http://www.fanfic.tass-anime.com First Draft: 31 Jan 2001 Current: 6 Feb 2001 DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! I disclaim! I disclaim! ******** *Thoughts* (Author's notes) ******** Chapter Four ******** The next Sunday morning, as Ranma and Ryouga trained with Grandpa Hino, the Senshi began to gather at the front of the Hikawa Shrine. "Do you think this is a good idea, Haruka-papa?" "I'm not sure, Hotaru-chan," her adoptive 'father' told her. "They already know our secret, Rei made that certain. It remains to be seen what they intend to do." "Haruka," Michiru chided, "at the worst, there's nothing they can do to help. At the best, they can help to make us more effective. Let's not complain until we find out, hmm?" "She's right, Haruka," Ami said. "If nothing else, they can teach us what they know of martial arts. Makoto is the only one of us that has had any formal training in it. Luna and Artemis have given us some training, but they can't demonstrate anything. I don't think it wise to be totally ignorant of the basics, even if they can't help with our magical attacks." The Senshi quieted when they heard the two boys coming down the steps of the shrine. Ranma was holding a thermos flask and a pitcher of water in either hand. He noticed all their attention was focused on him and Ryouga, so he decided to just state, flat out, "We already know one of your secrets. Ta make it even, you'll know one of ours." He then poured some of the pitcher over his head. The startled gasps from the girls he had expected. "Tendo Ranko? Is you, Uncle Ranma?" Hotaru whispered in bewilderment. "That's imposs...Okay, it's possible, because I see it. How?" asked a dumbfounded Rei. "It came from falling into a cursed pool, when I was training in China," said the now female Ranma. "Most of the people at my school in Nerima know about it, but it's not like I want it known. I just happen ta get caught in the rain or splashed unexpectedly. A lot," s/he said wryly. Pouring some of the hot water from the thermos over her head, Ranma reversed the transformation, eliciting another round of startled gasps. "Cold water turns me into a girl and warm water changes me back. It was decided ta use the name of Tendo Ranko, when I'm a girl, while trying ta hide the curse from my mother." "Do you mind doing that again, Ranma? I'd like to get a scan of the changes," said Ami. "No, I expected ta have ta do it two or three times, anyway. Most people don't believe it even when they see it," Ranma said. "Mercury, right? I'm sorry, but I don't know your other name." "Then let me introduce you to those of us you haven't met. I'm Mizuno Ami, this is Kino Makoto and Aino Minako." "A pleasure ta meet ya, Jupiter and Venus," Ranma said as he bowed, formally, to the three. "I'd say that's proof he knows our other identities," Haruka said to Michiru as Ranma transformed himself for Ami. "Now to see what he does with the information," she concluded, warily. When Ami and Ranma were finished, he addressed the group, "The front of the shrine doesn't look ta be the best place ta train. If I thought we could get away with it, I'd train ya in the Tendo Dojo, but there would be too many prying eyes. Let's see if there's any privacy in the back." ******** While going around the building to the back, Makoto sidled up to Ryouga, out of earshot of the others. "Hibiki Ryouga? You wouldn't happen to be related to Hibiki Ichiro, Would you?" "Uh...yeah. He's my father. Why do you ask?" "It's just that's the name of my uncle who keeps up the rent on my apartment since my parents died," said Makoto. "Now I know how Ranma feels." "What?" "I asked him if he was related to everybody in Japan, about three weeks or so ago when we found out we were related to Hotaru. He told me that it's starting to look that way. Now, it's starting to look that way for me, too," he said, shaking his head. "Happy to meet you, cousin." ******** "Don't tell me," Mina said to Makoto as everyone spread out at the rear of the building. "He looks just like your old boyfriend." "No," sbe began, "well, now that you mention it, they both do." "Figures. So, does he have a girlfriend?" Mina giggled. "Did you ask him for a date?" "I don't know if he has a girlfriend," Makoto told her, "but I don't think it's a good idea to date relatives." "Huh?" "Don't grunt. It's not 'ladylike'," Makoto laughed. "It turns out that he's my cousin. It's his father who pays the rent on my apartment." ******** Ranma gathered the group around him. "I have no idea whether or not this will do any good. I hope it will. When Saturn healed me yesterday, it felt the same as when Hotaru healed me when we met. There was a difference, though. Saturn used more power to do it. So, right now, I'm assuming that strength in your civilian forms is multiplied when ya transform. "What we're gonna do, here, is ta work on control, power, speed, awareness, and tactics. Strength and endurance are gonna be your personal responsibilities. We can't be with ya often enough ta work with ya on them, but I'm gonna outline a simple endurance regimen. "Start at the front of your house and run at your top speed as far as ya can. Keep where ya end up as your first turn around point. Start walking back until ya have enough energy ta run back ta your house, at whatever speed ya can muster. When ya can run from your house ta the turn around point and back at your top speed, it's time ta change your turn around point. And ya find your next turn around point the same way ya found your first. "An easy strength regimen is ta put a marble in your bookbag. Then the next day, two marbles and so on and so on. Every time you get to a point where ya have one hundred grams of marbles, switch them with a one hundred gram weight. Then keep adding a marble a day, until ya need another hndred gram weight. Then a kilogram weight. And so on. Sooner or later, you'll get to the point where Ryouga is, putting lead in the hollows of things, like his umbrella. "Of course, you'll be doing the endurance training with the weights, too.(1) "Danger sense I don't know if I can teach. It came ta me that mine started because I started ta be aware of what was around me. Of course, most of the time I was out of crowded areas and the only one that would attack me was my old man or someone like Ryouga, who would announce a challenge, first. But I think I've come up with a solution. At random times and places, me and Ryouga are gonna throw tennis balls at ya. Nothing that'll leave a bruise or anything, but enough ta startle ya. Not just from behind ya, as ya may be thinking right now, but any direction, including above and below ya. You'll know you're doing good when ya can catch the ball and throw it back at us without thinking about it until after the ball has left your hand. It should also keep your reflexes sharp. "Now that I've outlined what ya can expect outside of formal training, are there any questions?" The girls looked at each other during the pause. They had many questions, but nothing they felt could be put into words, at least at the moment. The situation was a bit outside of the usual, for them. "Alright, then," Ranma began again, "now it's time ta say what ta expect during formal training." Ranma threw a tennis ball at Makoto, who just barely caught it before it hit her arm. She confusedly stared at the ball in her hand. "Basically, expect the unexpected," he continued. "That's part of the awareness training. It doesn't stop. Ever. Not even during classes." He gestured to Makoto, who tossed the ball back. "After meeting up with that creature, the other day, it looks like most of the usual hand ta hand combat skills won't be very much help. With that in mind, we've come up with a kata or two that emphasize movement, dodging, and blocking. "There may be times when we work with ya in your Senshi forms. It would be in the control portion of training, ta my thinking. I don't know if you've ever tried ta use a magical attack when not transformed, like Hotaru can heal like that, but we're gonna see if ya have one that works in the same way. "From what I've seen and read, your magical attacks are focused through your weapons. We can only hope ta adapt normal weapon forms ta help your use of magic, because we don't know that much about magic, except its effects. One thing we DO know is; the more you use it, the more you find you can control it and the stronger it becomes. So, shall we begin with the kata?" ******** *Is it just magic or is it magic enhanced chi?* Ranma thought, as he put the now transformed Senshi through drills in magic use. *They seem to be drained after several attacks. And most of their attacks, that aren't elements like fire and water, look like my and Ryouga's chi attacks. Although, I could probably come up with something close, if I used hot or cold chi blasts. I wonder...* "Mercury?" he asked, to gain her attention. "I want ya ta scan me and Venus as we both attack that rock. Venus, try a lower powered Crescent Beam and just knock out a rock chip, if ya can." Ranma let loose a small chi-blast, trying to do the same damage as the 'Senshi of Love' to the car-sized rock. "Now, can ya tell me how they compared, alike and different?" came Ranma's inquiry. "Interesting...the magic in the Crescent Beam is overlaid on something not dissimilar to your chi energy," mused Mercury. "The variance is the amount and how the energy is used." "Whadda ya mean by that?" "Where you take an amount of energy, make a packet out of it and send it out; Venus uses it as a focus," Mercury answered. "She draws a small line of energy to the target, then overlays it with magic to make it powerful enough to do damage." "So, if the target moves, she follows the original line and misses?" Ranma asked. "That sums it up very well," she assured him. "Check ta see if everyone's magic attacks are like that. Maybe, in the meantime, I can come up with something that'll follow the target." ******** [Another Saturday afternoon] It had been a few weeks since the interrupted signing session in Roppongi. Ranma hoped this next one Nabiki had arranged for today would have a distinct lack of the unusual happening. As it was, there was one usual thing happening. Ryouga was lost. Again. Ranma searched the house and dojo for Ryouga. *If he makes us late for the signing, I'm going to hurt him. BADLY.* He finally found P-Chan in the hall closet, looking for an exit. "What am I gonna do with ya, Ryouga?" asked the exasperated martial artist of the pig. "Well, at least ya haven't left the place and made it impossible ta find ya." He tucked an arm under the pig and proceeded to the front door, where he was accosted by his erstwhile fiancee. "Where do you think you're going with P-Chan, Ranma? You're always doing something cruel to him! And he's my pet!" an annoyed Akane grumbled. "Ask Nabiki." "What do you mean,'ask Nabiki'?" asked his perplexed fiancee. "If she wants ya ta know, she'll tell ya. If not, I'm not gonna cross her and make my life even more miserable. Understand?" "Alright, I'll ask her!" *Later,* she told herself. *Right now, I'm going to find out where you're going!* ******** Ranma caught up with Nabiki as he changed trains in Mita to get to Takaracho, where the signing had been advertised. "What took you so long? The train will be here in less than ten minutes," she said perturbedly. "Do you realize this is the last train to Takaracho for four hours? You could have ruined the entire deal." "Let's see. First I had ta find Ryouga. Then I had Akane nearly keep me from leaving the dojo because I had her beloved P-Chan. Then, she followed us and I had ta lose her, even after I told her ta ask YOU why I was taking P-Chan anywhere. So, I was busy," Ranma huffed. "Bwee," said P-Chan/Ryouga, apologetically. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Nabiki said. "I've just got a lot riding on this, after that fiasco in Roppongi." "Yeah, since this one is far away from Juuban, maybe no monster thingie will show up?" Ranma KNEW he shouldn't have mentioned THAT as soon as the words left his mouth, especially at a train junction a few stops away from Juuban. Oh, the fact that one just appeared in the background behind Nabiki might have given him a clue, also. "Here," he told her, handing her the pig. "Get Ryouga transformed. I think I'm gonna need the help," he said resignedly, taking off in the direction of the disturbance. ******** Ranma approached the creature warily, attempting to get its attention away from the victims, yet trying to keep from being hit by a magical attack. Like the previous monster, it was vaguely humanoid, but bizarrely so. While it had the requisite two arms and legs in bilateral symmetry with a head at the top, it seemed to be made of living vines. That the vines were purple, made it clear that it had not exactly been of earthly origin. *Let's see. First thing to do is to cut off its chi gathering ability. How is it draining its victims?* Ranma mused. *Ah! There!* "Dragon's Breath!" he called out. Ranma released the hottest chi blast he had ever tried before, directly in the center of the 'body'. *Maybe it was a good thing we drilled the Senshi in magical attacks. I would never have thought of using different temperature chi blasts, otherwise.* His blast burned through the outer covering, bursting a crystalline object that was the main focus of its chi gathering ability. Although the crystal was shattered, the vines seemed to regenerate themselves, closing the hole he had just made. *Aw, great. I hope me and Ryouga can hold this thing off until the girls get here. It looks as if it's going to take magic to get rid of this reject from Kodachi's garden.* ******** The Senshi arrived within minutes after Ranma burned out the crystal, but even they were having trouble subduing the creature. *I wonder what's keeping it animated? Now, how was it you destroyed a golem, again? Oh, yeah. Unloose the string and the sticks just fall apart. Doesn't seem to be any string or sticks. Just vines.* As he mused, the vine monster began unraveling some of its makeup to use as distance weapons. *It's a good thing that dodging kata is working out. I'd hate to think of what would have happened, otherwise.* Suddenly, his danger sense started screaming at him. He couldn't understand why, he wasn't near anything threatening. Neither were Ryouga or the girls. The girls. Nabiki! He scrambled towards her and scooped her up just as one of the vines, that missed the Senshi, struck where she had been standing. "This is becoming a habit, ya know," he told her sarcastically. "Pulling ya out of danger, that is. Just like I try ta do for Akane." "There is one major difference. I don't go running towards it, if I can help it. Although I do like being carried by you," she blushed. "Ya ain't so bad yourself," he blushed back, putting her down in one of the shops in the station. "I...I mean it's not like you're trying ta hit me for getting ya out of the firing line." "Oh, just go back and save the world, now that I'm out of danger," she said, as her face slowly turned darker shades of red. "Yeah, I guess I should," he said slowly, also starting to blush furiously. "Besides, your cousins and niece need you, too." "I knew you'd find out, eventually, I just didn't think it would be this soon," he told her as he pecked her on the forehead and rushed off. *No, you fool. Don't fall for him, too. He's your sister's fiance,* she berated herself. *But he never was affectionate before that training trip where he met up with his relatives. He never was this affectionate with Akane, either. What am I thinking! I'm the Iron Bitch of Furinkan High! This doesn't happen to me!* ******** "Any ideas, Mercury?" Ranma asked as he returned to the fighting. "No. It heals too fast for any of our attacks to hurt it, for more than a second or two." "So. Ya need a wound to last for longer than a few seconds." He thought for a moment. "Can't have everybody concentrate on one area, it'll protect itself by shifting position and leave everyone open for retaliation." "My thoughts, exactly." "Here's an idea, have me and Ryouga concentrate on one leg, Uranus and Neptune on the other. Ryouga can take the punishment, and the other three of us are the best at dodging. While we keep one or two wounds constantly open, the rest of ya can probably do enough damage if it's constantly having ta try ta regenerate its wounded legs. Maybe enough ta get ya some attacks under its skin?" "Sounds like a plan worth trying. I'll tell the girls, you tell Ryouga." "Why?" "Let's just say they're more used to taking suggestions from me." "Yeah," Ranma smirked, "Uranus ain't used ta taking suggestions from anyone." Getting Ryouga to divert his attention to one section of the creature entailed breaking him of his berserker rage, but once he got the general idea, he threw himself into it. Literally. He pushed himself into one of the holes he and Ranma had made and hot-chi blasted anything that tried to regenerate. Uranus and Neptune wisely made use of the Space Sword to cut holes and Deep Submerge to hold them open. Finally, a combined Crescent Beam and Mars Fire slashed the monster from right shoulder to left leg, and it dropped into two pieces. Sailor Moon space dusted it before it could rejoin its halves, just as the train to Takaracho arrived in the station. Ranma was pulled violently by his warring thoughts. Should he critique the battle while it was fresh in everyone's mind or get on the train to keep Nabiki from missing the autograph session? He made his decision. Nabiki was scarier. Scarier than any monster he had ever fought. She knew where he lived. "Why don'tchu guys go over the battle after your regular training?" he called out, while running for the train. "Ya know. Same time and place as ya always do?" Sailor Moon was startled, but Mars was quickest on the uptake, only because Mercury seemed to be distracted. Rei tapped the side of her nose with a forefinger to let Ranma know she would tell the others. The three Nerimans hopped aboard the train to Takaracho just before the doors closed. Mercury kept staring after the train until it rolled out of sight. *Nabiki?* ******** [Sunday - the next day] Akane managed to stay out of Ranma's and Ryouga's awareness as she followed them to the Hikawa shrine that morning. *Ranma's been acting so weird for the past few weeks. He hasn't picked on P-Chan at all! And now he takes Ryouga, of all people, to this shrine. I wonder what's going on with him?* went through her confused thoughts. *He'd better not be meeting some girl, like that one sweeping the stairs.* She watched as both boys greeted her, then walked on up the stairs to formally greet the shrine master with respectful bows. *Now what is he doing here? He never struck me as the religious type.* Ranma's fiancee decided to wait and see. She waited. And waited. And grew more frustrated with the passage of time. *Ooooh. Wait till I get my hands on that...that...* Her thoughts were interrupted as several girls arrived in pairs and groups of three to gather around the shrine maiden, who had finished sweeping the stairs, at the front of the building. Out of their collective sight in her hiding place, she noticed they seemed to be waiting for something. *Or some ONE!* went her darker thoughts. Those thoughts seemed to be justified as they broke up their chatting when Ranma and Ryouga exited the shrine and gathered them up to lead them around to the back of the building. She quietly creeped around the side of the shrine. *Just who does that baka think he is, coming out here to meet a bunch of girls and...Cousin Ami? THAT'S who he's been coming to see?* She watched as Ranma and Ryouga placed themselves in the center of a semi-circle of kneeling girls. *What are they doing?* She strained hard to catch what Ranma was telling them. "This is part of awareness," Ranma was saying. "Ya should be able ta sense each other without any problems, by now. Now comes the hard part, extending your senses outward. Relax, and try ta take in everything around ya at once. Feel the trees, the rocks, the building..." Ranma reared back and threw a tennis ball directly at Akane's forehead. Akane, without thinking, grabbed the ball and shot it back at him. "Why did you do that, you baka! You could have hit me with that thing!" Akane nearly screamed, as Ranma casually caught the ball and turned back to the semi-circle. "This is what we expect ya ta build up to, eventually," Ranma told the kneeling girls. "May I introduce our UNPLANNED interruption, my...fiancee, Tendo Akane." *Good thing we started with this rather than Senshi forms!* he gratefully thanked the Kami. "What are you doing here with my cousin Ami, Ranma?" Akane asked angrily. Ranma sighed. "Anybody else here with relatives who live in Nerima?" Mina and Rei raised their hands, somewhat guiltily. "Who?" Ranma asked, almost expecting the answers they gave. "Ono Tofu, the chiropractor," said Mina. "Kuno Kenjiro, the principal of Furinkan High," said Rei. "Ryouga? Do me a favor and run them through the kata and teach it ta Akane?" Ranma asked his brother-in-law. "I have ta think about something." Ranma sat on the back porch of the shrine and thought. Thought HARD. *Too many coincidences to be coincidences. I keep Hotaru from being bullied and find out she's my niece. She's friends with Usa and Usagi, both of them cousins of mine. They all turn out to be Sailor Senshi. Now we find out most of the Senshi are related to the more obvious, and powerful, chi users in Nerima.(2) Is that the reason Nabiki, me, and Ryouga weren't affected by the chi draining? Because we're related to one of the Senshi? There has to be a reason, but what is it? *I don't think I can figure this all out by myself. It has to do with energy, power, chi, and magic. Can't question Cologne about it. She's the one who knows the most about magic, but the old ghoul is too sharp. Somehow she'll figure out a way to use it against me and drag me back to China. Asking Happosai is out, too. The old pervert would find some way to glomp the girls. Forget Pops and Mr. Tendo. They just don't know enough. That leaves Doc Tofu. But everything is a secret, and it's not MY secret to give away. And I have to ask them give it away, now, with Akane listening in. I hope they can forgive me for what I'm about to ask them to do.* "Gather around, everyone," Ranma said as he got up and approached the girls. "Ya can most likely guess what I'm about ta ask ya," he began, resignedly. "Who it is, is two people, Akane and Doc Tofu. There's too much going on here ta be coincidence. The doc is the only one I can think of that has the knowledge ta figure out what's going on and not have him use it against ya, or us, in some way." A voice came from the side of the shrine, "Be guided by his thoughts, my friends. It is necessary to preserve the future." Setsuna walked back around the side of the building and disappeared once more. "Cryptic as ever," Haruka smirked as Akane stared in disbelief. "I take it we won't need a vote," Usagi stated as she gathered everyone's assent by eye contact. "Ranma, would you care to do the honors?" "You do it, Ryouga. I'm coming down with a major headache," Ranma said as he sat down and buried his face in his hands. "Akane, let me introduce you to the Sailor Senshi." She facefaulted. ******** ******** End Chapter 4 ******** ******** (1) The Strength and Endurance training is what I did in Army Basic Training. We started out just doing five and ten mile hikes (8 and 16 km in the rest of the world) and then adding equipment until we were carrying fifty pound (22 kg) packs with weapons. The first few weeks were tough, getting used to it, but soon enough we were running two to three miles at a time with all our equipment on our backs. (2) No, I don't mean the principal, I mean Kuno Tatewaki. He and Akane use it, but have not learned control over it, all throughout the manga. ******** Thanks to Tom for looking this over and pointing out when I had people OOC, although I'm starting to throw in some things that aren't quite canonically covered. I haven't quite decided who (or what) the villain is, as yet, although I suppose it will be covered as generically Negaverse. Should I have Jadeite escape his crystal prison after the death of Beryl? Also, thanks to John Watson for posting the map site for the Tokyo trains/subways. Otherwise, I'd have had to make up names for the train junctions and/or destinations. Got this finished faster than I expected. The next few chapters will take longer to put out, what with work, school, etc., to take up time. Expect some quotes from Sun Tzu in chapter 5. C&C appreciated, flames watched, because I'm a pyromaniac. -- Too many people say, "Sacrifices must be made!" Unfortunately, they don't realize that the sacrifice must be their own. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ From: dericwilson@my-deja.com (Deric) Subject: [Ranma/SM][FanFic] Uncles - Chapter 5 Uncles! (A Ranma 1/2 & Sailor Moon X-Over) Story concept and idea by: Tomas Megarson See other people's works on this idea at his website, http://www.geocities.com/nighthawktm/uncles.htm Words in this particular order by: Deric dericwilson@yahoo.com Earlier chapters can also be found at the RAAC Ranma Archive at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma or the mirror site at Tass.Org http://www.fanfic.tass-anime.com First Draft: Apr 2001 Current: 29 Jun 2001 DISCLAIMER: I disclaim! I disclaim! I disclaim! ******** *Thoughts* [Author's notes] ******** Chapter Five ******** Walking back to Nerima took a little longer than usual for the three martial artists. Not because they were fighting, mind you, but because they had two of the (untransformed) Sailor Senshi with them. Akane was catching up on lost time with her cousin Ami and Minako was considerably lost in ecstasy, being escorted to her uncle's place of business by two REALLY cute guys. Ranma had figured there was no time like the present to ask Dr. Tofu about enlisting his talents in aiding the teens in their struggle. He had asked Ami to come along because her work with the Mercury Computer would be useful in showing the doctor what they were up against. That Akane had someone else to focus on, and wasn't berating or pummeling him, was exceptionally pleasing. Minako decided this was a good time to drop in and see her uncle and asked (well, pleaded) to come along. That she was going to walk along with Ranma and Ryouga was not a factor in her decision. Nope. Not at all. Uh-uh. No way. *I guess this proves there's just something about Nerima, curses, and water,* thought Ranma-chan. *Although, Ryouga seems to have gotten off lucky. He wasn't splashed. Just me and Minako. I wonder if it's because Akane's here and she'd find out about his curse if he did get splashed? Ah, well. Hey, maybe the old lady looks for us and does it on purpose. She does seem to have a wicked gleam in her eye, even though she apologizes.* A slightly damp Minako looked over at the now female Ranma. "You say this happens all the time?" "Yeah," s/he said, shaking the excess water out of her red hair. "I think it happens in Nerima about five times as often as anywhere else, though. Anyway, we're almost at the Doc's place. He usually has water heated for tea for his patients." ******** "Hey, Doc," the female Ranma called at the clinic door. "Ya got any water heated?" "No problem, Ranma," Tofu answered from his office. "You know where it is. Help yourself." "Thanks, Doc. Oh, I brought a few people and we need your help," he said as he transformed back to male again. "Not another fight," said Tofu as he came into the waiting room and searched the group for obvious injuries. "Minako? What brings you here?" "Not what, but who," Mina giggled, "Ranma. Hi, Uncle Tofu." "Ranma and I were training our relatives and their friends," Ryouga said. "Then something came up and we decided you were the one to ask about it." "Oh, let me introduce you to the person you haven't yet met." interjected Akane. "This is my cousin, Mizuno Ami. She's also a friend of Mina's." "Pleased to meet you, Dr. Tofu," Ami bowed. "Mother speaks very highly of you." "The pleasure is mine," replied Tofu. "So, you must be Mizuno Midori's daughter?" [1] "Yes, Doctor." "We've consulted on a few of each other's patients at Juuban General. I'm glad I am finally able to meet the daughter she always raves about." Ami blushed. He turned to Ranma and said, "I don't see how you do it, Ranma. If something is wildly improbable or darn near impossible, you always seem to be able to be involved with it. Who'd have ever thought that relatives of ours would be friends?" "Well, there is something else, which is why we're here," said Ranma. "Mina? Ami? If ya would?" One transformation sequence later, a stunned Tofu stared at Sailors Mercury and Venus. Ranma jumped into the silence that ensued, "We found out that each of us is related ta at least one of the Senshi. Me and Ryouga are related ta more than one. We 'happened' ta find that out recently. That's too many coincidences ta be without some kind of design to it. We figured it had to do with chi, magic and power, but we don't know enough about magic. We were hoping that you might." Tofu shook off the surprise and told them, "Come on into the office. Maybe we can find something in my library." ******** "Let me see, here..." Dr. Tofu browsed through his library, finally selecting a battered and worn leather bound book. As he turned the pages, the others noticed how fragile and yellowed the pages actually were. "Ah, here it is. 'Coincidently'," Tofu allowed a bemused smile cross his features, "I 'happened' to find this passage recently, while searching for something else. I think you'll see the relevance." Akane took a look at the page Tofu was studying. She couldn't understand half of the characters displayed on the page. "What does it say, Dr. Tofu?" I don't recognize the language." Tofu looked at her, slightly confused. "It's an 1891 Japanese translation of a 2500 year old Chinese scroll. There are only 27 characters that have dropped out of use since then. And none of those are on this page." He thought a moment. "Akane, how long have you been keeping this a secret? Dyslexia is rare in women, 95 per cent of the people who have it are men." "I...I don't know what you're talking about." Akane stammered. Tofu just looked at her, concern evident in his eyes. Akane rushed out of Tofu's office into the waiting room, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Ranma followed quietly after her. "Now, this explains a whole lot," Ranma said, walking up behind her and placing his hands lightly on Akane's shoulders. "What do you mean by that?" she asked angrily, twisting around quickly to face him. He replaced his hands on her shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and spoke to her in a quiet voice. "It explains why ya hardly ever do any studying with anyone else and ya always do it behind closed doors. It explains why ya focus on the teacher so much during class. It explains why ya have to be shown how ta do things, instead of getting the knowledge from a book or scroll. It explains why ya hardly ever follow the written directions from Kasumi's recipe book while you're trying to cook. And it explains a lot of the anger ya carry around with ya. "Ya aren't stupid, Akane. The grades ya get at school prove that. Most dyslexics aren't either, especially the ones that can hide it for so long. I just wonder how much better ya could be, at school and in the Art, if ya didn't have the condition. "It's a lot like Ryouga's sense of direction. Ya can't help it. It's just the way your brain is wired. It takes ya longer to get things right than most people. And it makes ya frustrated so much, it finally makes ya angry." He gathered her into his arms as the anger slowly faded from her eyes, leaving behind a mixture of doubt, frustration, uncertainty and fear. "It's alright. None of us here are gonna spread it around ta anyone else." Ranma held her in his arms until she stopped shaking from the adrenaline rush. Finally, she returned his gesture and wrapped her arms around Ranma. He pecked her on the forehead and told her, "Let's find out what Tofu found." ******** When he saw Akane rush out of the room and Ranma directly after, Tofu waited a few moments, then decided to recite the words of the prophecy for the benefit of the three remaining teens. "This is the passage that seems to have the most relevance: "'And the blood shall be the link and the link is of the blood, The blood shall have the power and the power is in the blood, The blood shall call the destiny and the destiny is the blood. When the circle is complete, the cycle shall be completed, A new cycle shall begin and the beginning shall preserve what shall be. Then shall the nine be ten, for the future calls on the past, Then shall the four be five, for the circle shall have two focal points that are one. The Yang and Yin will be one with the focus and the focus shall be the Warrior.' "A circle of power is usually 13," said Tofu. "14 I can see, if someone stands in the center of the circle. The focus, or focal point. Here, it says there will be 15. Very confusing. "Using numerology, 13 would be a four, a building number, which stands to reason, because the circle is used to build power. 14 becomes a five, which indicates the senses, although most people think of it as the number for pleasure. A six, which is what the prophecy indicates with a 15, is the number for nurture and growth. "Nine and Ten indicate endings and beginnings, since a ten resolves to a one, and a two for partnerships. The three numbers not mentioned 3, 7, and 8 represent communication, logic, and material gain. That should mean this would have nothing to do with them." "I can see the Senshi as the ten, although I don't know what it means about 'the future calls on the past'," Ryouga said. Ami and Minako just looked at each other, knowing the same thought ran through their minds. *Chibi Usa.* "Then, there are the four of us," Ryouga continued. "You, me, Akane, and Ranma. But do we have to find a fifth?" "No," came Ranma's voice, as he and Akane stepped into the doctor's office. "I'm the fourth and fifth." "What?" "'Two focal points that are one'? Who's the focus of most of the weird things around here? 'Yang and Yin'? Male and female? 'The Warrior'? Sound familiar?" "You may be right, Ranma," came Tofu's reply. "It's why this passage was etched in my mind." "Well, magic doesn't follow regular logic and none of us are doing this for material gain," Ami said. "What troubles me right now is the implication for the loss of communication." "What do you mean, Ami?" asked Akane. "It may mean we have to travel into the dimension of the Negaverse." She and Mina shuddered. ******** After setting up a meeting with Tofu at the shrine for the next Sunday, Mina decided to spend some time with her uncle, so Akane invited Ami and Ryouga for dinner. As the four walked back to the Tendo training hall, Akane asked Ranma, "So why aren't you and Ryouga fighting more often like you used to?" "Remember that last 'training trip' I took?" Akane blushed as she remembered one of the reasons he left in the middle of the night. Something to do with mallets. "Ryouga and me found out that we were related ta the same person, Tomoe Hotaru. Then we found out that we were brothers-in-law. We realized that having no other relatives but her uncles, and them fighting each other all the time, really hurt her sense of family. So, we decided that we could at least be civil ta each other. And since we've been working together, as Nabiki's 'employees', we came up with a compromise. I give up teasing him about things he can't control, and he stops blaming me for things I can't control." "So, does Nabiki know about the Senshi?" Akane asked. "She knows that Hotaru, Usagi, and Chibi Usa are, I think, 'cause they're the only ones with a paper trail as being related ta me. And she knows Ryouga and me are training them a bit. I think she overheard me talking with them, the first time they showed up. You know, that time we were on the news? I don't think she knows Ami is. If she does, she hasn't let it slip around me. Knowing her, though," Ranma added, "she'll probably make the connection when Ami shows up for dinner." ******** [The next Sunday at the shrine...] "I don't see why we're giving away our alter egos to any Tom, Dick, or Harry," Haruka groused. The other girls just let it go. Haruka grousing about something was like Rei and Usagi fighting, something that let everyone know everything was normal. "It's not everybody in the world. Besides which, Setsuna not only approved, but encouraged it," Michiru told her. Haruka turned to face her lover, saying, "I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it." When the Nerimans arrived, everyone gathered around the table after the introductions were made. The first subject up for discussion was a way to predict where the next appearance of the Negaverse would happen. Not coming up with a conclusive argument, it was tabled for the time being. Next up was how to get to those appearances faster. During that discussion, Tofu commented, "Ah. Sun Tzu, VI:1 I believe. 'Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.'" "Yeah, so far, they're the ones who've been attacking when and where they want. And we're the ones who've had ta rush ta get there," said Ranma. "We've been lucky, so far. They don't know what they're up against, yet. Sun Tzu, III:18; 'Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.' And they've lost every time, thankfully. If so, that should mean they don't know themselves, either." "That may be our only advantage," Ami put in. "What do you say, Setsuna?" "I cannot guide you, for I see three outcomes of this meeting. What you decide here has three offshoots in the continuum and after that, there are 2700 ways for things to go wrong." The others gasped. "But, there are at least two ways that it will go right," she told them, her cold mask seemed to waver slightly, almost into a half smile, before it slammed into place once more. Eventually, the strategy session turned to whom it was responsible for sending the attacks. "We must find who is really behind those attacks," Makoto said. "We never see the person that is pulling the strings. We have to go after our true enemy." "And right now, we have ta find out who or what the enemy is or wants," Ranma agreed, "besides just stealing energy. Sun Tzu, X:31. 'Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.' We have ta find out who they are, where they are, then pick weather and terrain ta fight them." "So far, they've been deciding everything," said Ryuoga. "So, I guess we have to show up in their dimension. Sun Tzu, I:24. 'Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.' I don't think they'll expect us to show up at their home base." "Since we all seem to agree that we have to go into the Negaverse dimension, should we bring Luna and Artemis with us?" Usagi asked. "I know they aren't mentioned in the prophecy, but would it mention non-humans?" "Good question," said Tofu. "Who are Luna and Artemis? And what are they, if they aren't human?" Ami explained, "They are the former advisors to the Moon Kingdom and they are at present our advisors, as we are the current reincarnations of the Silver Millenium. And, respectively, they are...," she hesitated, "...a black and a white...," she paused, and in a small, tiny voice she reluctantly spoke the final word, "...cat." Ranma shuddered at the thought. "If they are your advisors, where are they now?" Tofu asked. "And how are they to advise you while missing this meeting?" "They aren't missing this meeting. They're listening in, right now," said Mina, brightly. Ranma scrambled to his feet, desperately searching for possible hiding places for the aforementioned felines. He nearly jumped ten feet in the air as Usagi placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Ranma," she said soothingly, "they're not here. They're listening in from Central Control by using their communicators." He wilted with relief and returned to where he was sitting. "Ranma," Usagi said hesitantly, "if things go horribly wrong, we might need you to use the Neko-Ken to get out of it." "I know. It might be necessary. That don't mean I have ta like it." The amused chuckles of the Senshi surprised him until Haruka leaned over and whispered, wryly, "That's my line. Didn't you read the script?" Ranma just gave her a dirty look. "So, if we take them," he shuddered again, "how do I keep them from sending me into the Neko-ken before it's needed?" "In the past, we have taken them along on our journeys in a shoulder bag," Ami interjected. "I wonder if our disguise pens would work for them. It might be possible for them to disguise themselves as small dogs, or maybe squirrels, to allow them to climb things without drawing undue notice." Luna's voice came from Ami's computer, "Although the disguise field would cover us, if worse came to worse there is no way of telling if the field would be able to be dropped in sufficient time to do any good. Whoever set up the disguise field might not be conscious." "So, they use human speech," acknowleged a surprised Tofu. "Would that be a problem, Ranma?" "As far as I know, as long as they have a cat shape and a normal cat meow, it'll be enough ta set me off," replied Ranma. "So, if we are going to go to the Negaverse, do we go now?" Ami asked. "If I remember correctly, Sun Tzu, II:5; 'Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.'" An intrigued look came from Ranma and Ryouga. "Been reading up, Ami?" Ryouga asked. "I AM the one who has been doing tactical analysis for a while, now," Ami replied. "Sun Tzu is one of the best for that." "Have you considered Musashi?" Tofu asked. "I have read the 'Book Of Five Rings', but the information is much more cryptic," she answered.[2] Usagi took a look around the table. Seeing the determination in everyone's eyes, she stated in her 'Serenity voice', "It looks like we're going today. Luna? Artemis? Get here as soon as you can. I'm not sure we can teleport everyone all at once, but we'll have to try." "I can alleviate the power problem," said Tofu. "If you're able to supply me with a few different colors of chalk, I can create a teleportation circle." "Make it so," Usagi continued in her 'princess' voice. Then she giggled and said in her regular voice, "I always wanted to say that, ever since I first saw that Star Trek program." "You have realized that, when we go, you need to go as a Warrior and not a Martial Artist, Ranma?" Tofu asked as Rei went to find drawing materials. "Yeah, one more thing I have ta do that I know I won't like," he said disgustedly. "Uh...Uncle Ranma? Don't take this the wrong way but, there's a difference?" Hotaru asked. "A Martial Artist does his best ta win without killing," he answered, in a voice that carried the weight of the world, "a Warrior knows he can't always avoid it and does so quickly, without regret. It's why you're called the Sailor Senshi and not the Sailor Martial Artists." Usagi and Mina went outside to wait for Luna and Artemis as Tofu began drawing a complicated ritual circle with the multi-colored chalks provided by Rei. ******** After Tofu finished drawing the power circle on the shrine's floor, he told the assembled group, "The non-Senshi will be on the cardinal points except for Ranma, who will be in the center. I would say that Ryouga and I should be opposite each other in the circle, East/West or North/South," said Tofu. "Akane should be opposite Sailor Moon, wherever the secondary and tertiary focii would be. "Hmm," he pondered a moment. "Moon rises in the east, so she should be East and Ryouga and I should be North or South. With Ranma in the center as primary focus and the four cardinal points covered, everyone else should fill in the rest of the circle. Most likely next to your relative