Lines Of Destiny A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover By Louis-Philippe Giroux Thank you for all your comments! Keep'em coming! C&C is always welcome!!! Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Please don't sue me. The latest versions of the previous chapters are always the ones on my WWW page at http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~dragon/lines/lines.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 4 Makoto had just come back from the market when she decided she was bored. Among all the Senshi, Makoto was perhaps the only one who missed the occasional fight with a youma, daimon, or whatever they periodically fought. Before she became a Senshi, Makoto used to release her frustrations on people around her, which resulted in her being expelled from different schools on a regular basis. As Sailor Jupiter, Makoto had found a way to use channel her destructive temper into a constructive fashion, namely electrocuting youmas. It had been several weeks since the defeat of Pharaoh 90 at the hands of Sailor Saturn, and very few monsters had reared their ugly heads since then. As a result, Makoto had been feeling bored recently, not that she would admit it to the others, especially not to Usagi... She looked at the time. *Mamoru probably arrived at the train station a while ago*. Not knowing what else to do, she decided to go see Rei at the Hikawa Shrine, remembering yesterday's conversation. If she was lucky, she might get to meet Rei's mysterious cousin before everyone else. She let out a small sigh. The moment she had heard Rei's cousin was a martial artist, she had gotten her hopes up, but said hopes had taken a quick and brutal nosedive when she learned that Rei's cousin was coming with his wife. Shaking her head away from such thoughts, she left her apartment, locking the door behind her and headed in the direction of the Hikawa Shrine. After a moderate walk, she arrived in view of the gates to the shrine and saw two people going in. One of them was a young black-haired, pig-tailed man, wearing a red Chinese shirt and loose black pants and the other was a black- haired girl, wearing a yellow dress and a sky-blue blouse. They were both carrying suitcases with them. Maybe _he_ was Rei's mysterious cousin. Ranma and Akane pushed open the gates and went inside the grounds. They looked around and saw the steps leading to the shrine itself. Seeing no one around, they decided to climb them and halted when they neared the top. "Rei? Are you here? It's me, Ranma!" he called out. A girl came out of the main building, a look of anticipation on her face. She had long, raven-black hair that went down her waist and she was clad in traditional Shinto priestess robes. "Ranma?" she said, blinking, all the while looking shocked for a few seconds. "Is that you?" "What? Don't you even remember me, Rei?" answered Ranma with a smile on his lips. Rei seemed to stare at Ranma for a few seconds, but quickly put herself together. "It's been a long time, Ranma. Welcome to the Hikawa Shrine." "Thank you for your hospitality," Ranma replied politely. "Rei, may I introduce you to Saotome Akane, my wife." Akane bowed in response. "I would like to thank you and your grandfather for your hospitality." "Oh, it's nothing," said Rei, waving the matter away. She looked at Akane curiously. "So, when did you two get married anyway?" "Yesterday," deadpanned Ranma. Rei stared at him for a few moments, then mentally shrugged. *Usagi and Mamoru are as good as married and Usagi is younger than he is, so why not them?* Besides, it's not as if it was any of her business, anyway. "Come on, I'll show you around the shrine grounds," she said. "Do you mind if I tag along on the guest tour, Rei-chan?" Rei, Ranma and Akane turned around to see Makoto, standing in the shrine's doorway. "Mako-chan!" Rei said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Ranma and Akane finally got a good look at the unexpected visitor: a very tall girl with long, flowing brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a simple green dress on that complimented her... substantial features well. Rei turned to Ranma and Akane. "Ranma, Akane, this is Kino Makoto, a very good friend of mine." Makoto gave a polite bow, which was returned by the two Nerimians. Rei repeated her question. "What are you doing here, Mako-chan? I thought you would have gone with Usagi and the others to greet Mamoru at the train station." "I just came back from grocery shopping," replied Makoto. "By the time I came back, the train would probably have arrived a long time ago. In fact, the other girls and Mamoru are probably on their way here." "Then they're probably not far behind," concluded Rei. She turned to Ranma. "You know, if I remember correctly, you were on the same train as Mamoru. Which reminds me, I hope nothing bad happened on your way here?" Ranma looked pensive for a second. "The trip was fine. There was a fight at the train station, but that's all." Rei looked a bit surprised. "What kind of fight?" she asked. Akane decided to jump in before Ranma could put a foot in his mouth. For some reason, she felt she did _not_ want Ranma to say that they had trashed a monster. It would probably just upset Rei; after all, young Shinto priestesses didn't deal with monsters on a regular basis, right? "Someone started a fight inside the train station and got kicked out," she answered. *It's not a lie, it's just not the whole truth* she told herself. With that, she subtly pinched Ranma's arm to warn him against saying more. Ranma looked sideways at Akane with a slightly puzzled look. "Nothing I couldn't have handled if it had come down to it," he finished, looking back at Rei. "You think you're that good a martial artist?" asked Makoto. "I don't think I am. I _know_ I am," said Ranma with a hint of arrogance in his voice. Akane winced. Rei and Makoto each raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at Akane. She shook her head. "Ranma _is_ good, but he has an ego problem as well." Ranma suddenly looked miffed about Akane's rebuke. "Well," said Rei, unwittingly defusing a potential scene, "let me show you around the shrine, okay?" "Lead the way," Ranma and Akane chorused. "Wow. Replies in stereo, too? You two are _definitely_ made for each other," said Makoto with a smile, trying to deal with the chagrin she'd felt when she'd seen just how much of a fine specimen Ranma was and the fact that he was taken in the most permanent way possible. *Akane sure is lucky!* she thought enviously. Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane blushed slightly at Makoto's comment. They knew they should be used to it by now, but coming from a relative stranger (a younger girl, no less, despite Makoto's deceptive physical appearance)... Rei raised an eyebrow at the blush. "You'll have to excuse Makoto. She's an incurable romantic." It was now Makoto's turn to look miffed. "Hey, I'm just searching for the right soulmate, that's all!" Rei rolled her eyes. "A soulmate who happens to look like your old sempai, right?" Makoto frowned, but said nothing. Rei motioned Akane and Ranma to follow her. "Come on, Ranma. Time to give you the guided tour." And so it went, Ranma, Akane and Makoto following Rei as she showed them around the shrine. They eventually reached the small courtyard outside. Ranma looked around and smiled. "Rei, at what time do you usually get up?" Ranma asked. "Around six o'clock. I have various duties to perform before I go to school. Why?" "Would there be a problem if I used the courtyard to practice my martial arts each morning? I need to keep in shape, even if I attend university." "I don't think there will be any problems," replied Rei. "I'll have to ask Grandfather about it, but I don't think he'll mind." "Where _is_ grandpa anyway?" asked Ranma. "I haven't seen him yet." "He and Yuuichiro, who, by the way, is an apprentice who also lives here, left yesterday to visit holy grounds outside the city. They'll either be back tomorrow or the day after," replied the raven-haired priestess. "And for the final stop of the tour, something I guess I should have showed you earlier: the guest room." Ranma and Akane went back to get their luggage, which they had left at the entrance, and followed Rei. She led them to a large room where two futons had obviously been recently installed. "You sure don't seem to have a lot of luggage for two university students who want to live in an apartment," observed Makoto. "We only have the basic stuff for a few days. Once we find an apartment, we'll send for the rest," replied Akane. "There's only one guest room, so you'll have to bunk in the same room. I hope you don't mind," said Rei. Ranma and Akane looked at each other questioningly, then back at Rei. "Why should we mind, Rei? We're married, remember?" said Akane. Rei blushed slightly. "Oh yeah... I'd kinda forgotten that just now.." she said a bit nervously. Makoto suddenly had a wicked gleam in her eye as she saw a golden opportunity for a little payback. "Maybe you should have bunked the futons closer together, Rei. After all, they _are_ newlyweds..." Rei suddenly burned beet red, thinking about the possible implications of what Makoto had just said. Rei turned towards Ranma and Akane, whose faces were also in the process of acquiring a healthy shade of red. Seeing them blush as well, Rei immediately panicked and jumped to conclusions. "NO, please! Don't do that here!... I mean... err..." Rei stuttered. Makoto couldn't help laughing out loud at Rei's predicament. The brunette turned to Akane and Ranma and apologized: "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Seeing Rei squirm is a rare sight and I couldn't pass this up." *Not to mention revenge for making fun of my sempai,* she added silently. "You are _dead_, Makoto," Rei growled too softly for Ranma or Akane to hear. Akane coughed politely. "Yes, well, speaking of... that, maybe we should go apartment-hunting while there still is time today, ne Ranma?" said Akane, not-so-subtly nudging Ranma with her elbow. Ranma shook himself out of the slight daze he was in, then nodded absently. "Uh? Yeah, apartment-hunting, that sounds good." He and Akane turned to leave. "We'll try not to come back too late, okay?" he said, looking over his shoulder. As soon as they were out of sight, Rei whirled on Makoto, who was still grinning like an idiot. "Makoto! What on Mars possessed you to make a comment like that? They're older than us, remember!" "Calm down," said Makoto. "It's exactly like I told them. You need to learn to relax, girl." Rei's frown suddenly turned into a smug smile. "Well, *I'm* not the one who's going to pass for a sex-crazed maniac because of that little stunt." Makoto sweatdropped. * * * "Your cousin has *very* weird friends, Ranma." said Akane, once she and Ranma were safely out of hearing range. "I'm just starting to realize that. Maybe Nerima wasn't so bad after all... Oh well, it'll only be for a couple of days, remember?" After a few seconds' pause, he added: "Why didn't you want me to tell Rei there was a monster at the train station?" "Ranma, Rei's a young Shinto priestess in training. We don't even know if she believes in monsters. She probably has enough problems of her own without having to worry about monsters and everything." "Okay, I can understand that, but why did you have to tell her I have an ego problem? You know I'm good!" "But you do have an ego problem, my lovable baka husband," said Akane in a teasing voice. Ranma smiled. "And you still can't cook, kawaiikunee-chan." Akane smiled and took Ranma's hand, which he gladly offered. * * * Meanwhile, Usagi, Ami and Luna had helped Mamoru take his luggage back to his apartment before heading to the shrine. While they were doing that, Hotaru had gone with Minako to her house to pick up Artemis and brief him on the events that had transpired at the train station. Both groups met up again near the shrine. Once the troop entered the shrine, they were faced with a smug Rei and a flustered-looking Makoto. "What happened with you two?" asked Ami. Rei thought about it and decided to go for the brief approach, omitting the details. "Makoto wanted to embarrass me in front of my cousin but ended up embarrassing herself instead." Makoto threw a frown at Rei, who pointedly ignored it. "Your cousin is here?" asked Ami. She looked around and added in a lower voice: "Should we move elsewhere, then? We have... serious business to talk of." "Don't worry. He's gone apartment-hunting with his wife," replied Makoto , almost sullenly. "That's right! Ami-chan told us he was married!" Usagi squealed. "How romantic! Aren't you eager to get married too, Mamo-chan?" she asked Mamoru, who was currently lost in his thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, can't wait," he mumbled distractedly. Fortunately, Usagi totally missed the tone and only heard the message. While Usagi was staring dreamily in the air with hearts in her eyes, thinking of her marriage to Mamoru, Minako turned to Makoto and Rei. "Have they been married long?" "Actually, no. Turns out they got married yesterday," said Rei. Surprised looks were everywhere. "And it's registration tomorrow too, if I remember correctly. What a way to spend a honeymoon," said Minako, shaking her head. Rei and Makoto suddenly looked as if they found the walls of the shrine very interesting. Before the other girls could start asking the really interesting questions, though... "Ahem!" All the girls suddenly took notice of Luna, who was looking generally annoyed. "We have more important business than discussing the married life of Rei's cousin." "She's right," said Ami. "There was a monster attack at the train station today." Rei's eyes widened while Makoto looked somehow disappointed. "Argh! The first monster attack in months and I miss it!" said the tall brunette sulkily. A sweat drop found it's way behind Luna's and a few of the other girls' heads. Ami, however, was unfazed by Makoto's comment and continued. "Well, it's not the monster in itself that was strange, but rather _who_ dispatched the monster." Makoto looked at Ami. "What? You mean you weren't the ones who killed it?" Minako jumped in the conversation: "We didn't even have a chance to transform! There was some kind of superpowered hunk accompanied by a girl who arrived in the same train as Mamoru who fought the monster. The guy cut its arms off with an energy blade, but then got thrown in a wall. The daimon tried to escape, but the girl bashed it with a hammer she got out of nowhere and the guy finished it with another energy blast. You should've seen him move, Makoto; it was unbelievable." Minako went on to describe the fight in detail with the speed of a sports commentator on amphetamines, concluding with the mysterious couple's escape. To say that Rei and Makoto were interested by this would be a serious understatement. "What did they look like?" asked Makoto. "The guy had black hair, tied in a pigtail. He was wearing loose black pants and a red Chinese shirt. The girl had short black hair, a yellow dress and a blue blouse," said Minako quickly, who noticed Rei wasn't listening to her anymore. Rei and Makoto were looking at each other. "Wait... Doesn't that sound like...?" Makoto started in an incredulous tone. Rei suddenly whirled back on Minako. "Did you talk to them? Did they say their names?" she asked quickly. This time, it was Usagi who jumped in. "We didn't even have a chance to. They vanished right after the guy killed the daimon." Makoto's eyes grew introspective. "I think Rei and I may know who your 'superpowered hunk' is... though we're not absolutely sure," said the brunette. "Who do you think they are?" asked Artemis, cutting off Luna in the process, who settled by glaring at him. "My cousin and his wife," answered Rei. "Ranma and Akane Saotome." "Your cousin!?" everyone else (except Makoto, of course) chorused incredulously. Once they calmed down, Rei continued: "Ranma and his wife look exactly like you described... And they mentioned there had been a fight at the train station." "That's... quite an understatement," said Ami. "Wait, it gets weirder," said Minako. "We also found out Mamoru had a sister who was Sailor Terra in the days of the Moon Kingdom and Hotaru had a brother," she said in an excited voice. "Sailor Terra?" chorused Rei and Makoto. "That would be a first! Why haven't we ever heard anything about her before today?" asked Rei. Luna and Artemis suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable. Luna had conferred earlier with Artemis and it seemed he had also spontaneously recovered some memories concerning Endymion's family. It was not going to be fun trying to explain that. Suddenly, Luna got an idea and turned to Hotaru and Mamoru: "Why don't you tell them what you told us?" Hotaru and Mamoru each raised an eyebrow at Luna's somewhat blatant attempt to divert the attention away from herself and Artemis but nevertheless told their tale to Rei and Makoto, who listened intently. End Chapter 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 5 Ranma and Akane's search for an apartment wasn't going as well as they had initially hoped. The few places that were available were either too expensive or too run-down. It was getting late when they decided to call it a day. They stopped in a restaurant located near Mizuharo University. After the waitress left, they settled back, waiting for their orders to arrive. "Finding a decent apartment doesn't look like it's going to be easy," said Akane glumly. "Yeah, not to mention that the rents are ridiculously high. Mom and Pop said they'd help with the money for the first year, but after that, we'll be on our own. Mom called it 'practicing the art of financial management' before we actually take over the Dojo," said Ranma. "I wonder where they got the money... Probably Nabiki." "So what if we _do_ have to find jobs?" replied Akane. "It's not that bad and besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of job offers posted on the university campus tomorrow." Ranma grimaced. "Speaking of tomorrow, maybe we shouldn't stay up too late tonight. I want to get some sleep to be able to get in a little practice tomorrow morning before registration." Akane nodded. "Do you mind if I spar with you? I don't want to lose my edge either." She paused, becoming serious. "And this time, I want it to be *real* practice, not one of those fake practice sessions you've been giving me for the last year, okay?" Ranma winced inwardly. During the last year, Akane had insisted that Ranma spar with her. Ranma had reluctantly agreed, but had constantly been holding back, knowing he would likely hurt Akane. It now seemed that Akane had known about it all along. Things could get ugly... Ranma frowned a little: "Look, I just don't want to hurt you..." Akane would have none of it. "No buts, Ranma! I need to get better if I'm going to run the dojo with you when we graduate," she insisted. Seeing Ranma waver, Akane used her most devastating weapon against Ranma (next to her mallet): the kawaii puppy-dog look. Ranma's resolve crumbled to dust when he saw her use that look. He hated it, but he could never resist it when she looked at him like that. "All right, all right, you win. We'll spar for real," he said, defeated. Akane's smile widened and she leaned over the table to kiss Ranma. "Thanks, Ranma," she said. Ranma tried to frown at the illegal use of her kawaii smile, but could only manage a wry smile and a shake of the head. The waitress then arrived with their meals and they dug in, speaking of mundane things. After the meal was finished, they resumed apartment-hunting for a while, but came up as empty-handed as before. * * * Back at the Hikawa Shrine, six young girls, a university student and two Moon cats had been having an interesting, if only moderately informative, discussion about Ranma and Akane. Speculations were flying around on the source of Ranma and Akane's mysterious abilities, but answers were not plentiful. "Why don't we just ask him when he gets back?" suggested Usagi. Makoto shook her head. "He didn't say anything about his abilities when he spoke to Rei and me. Do you really think he'll tell us all about it, Usagi-chan?" Usagi looked sheepish. "Don't worry, Usagi," said Ami. "I'm sure we'll find something." "So Mamoru, you think Ranma might be your reincarnated sister from the days of the Moon Kingdom?" asked Rei. Mamoru held his hands up. "I didn't say that, at least not exactly. I mentioned that Ranma reminded me of someone, but it's Hotaru who made the connection. I don't even know if the person I've been dreaming about recently _is_ Akana, though it would make sense." Rei looked at Hotaru questioningly. Hotaru sighed: "I have difficulty believing it myself, especially since Akana's not even supposed to have been reincarnated. It's probably just a freak coincidence." Rei had a pensive look on her face. Slowly, she turned to Ami. "Ami," she asked, "Your computer was built in the days of the Moon Kingdom, wasn't it? Would you by any chance have a picture of Akana somewhere in it?" Ami raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. I'll see what I can come up with." She took out her computer and started typing away. Rei turned to Hotaru: "And you say Ranma's wife looks like your brother from the Moon Kingdom." Hotaru nodded sadly. "Yes. She looks a lot like Kanma, especially when she wielded that hammer of hers." "But Akane can't be Kanma," she continued, shaking her head, "and neither can Ranma be Akana, because my brother died before the final assault on the Moon and we'd already know if Akana had been reborn." Makoto let out an exasperated sigh. "Kanma, Ranma, Akane and Akana! Is it only me or does anyone else here thinks this is a very weird coincidence?" "Is it coincidence to begin with?" replied Minako with an arched eyebrow. Hotaru looked disturbed. Luna moved forward and sat in front of Hotaru. "How can you be absolutely sure they died if no one ever found their bodies?" "Kanma used to correspond with me almost every day, no matter where I was," said Hotaru. "His messages stopped sometime before the destruction of the Moon Kingdom, roughly at the same time as the first Youma invasions began. The Saturn Palace was among the first place that was destroyed. If he _had_ survived, he would've found a way to tell me, I'm sure of that." Luna didn't look so convinced. "What about Akana?" asked Mamoru. "If she _is_ dead, why would I be having dreams of her now?" Hotaru sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you're just reliving memories of your past life. It doesn't necessarily mean anything. All I know about Akana is that she disappeared not long before the final assault. She probably died at the same time as my brother." Hotaru got up from her kneeling position. "Mamoru, the only one who could give you a more complete answer would be Akana herself; I'm sorry." Mamoru turned to Luna, who understood the implied question. "I'm sorry, Mamoru. Despite the fact that Artemis and I have, somewhat suddenly, recovered a few of our memories concerning your sister, we don't know much more about her disappearance than Hotaru does." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, broken by a small gasp from Ami. "Makoto, Minako," she said, eyes fixed on the computer, "I'm starting to believe the names _might_ mean something after all." Mamoru instantly got up and headed towards Ami, as did the others in the room. Seeing that everyone was going to crowd around her, Ami decided satisfy everyone at the same time. "Just wait a second and I'll give you a picture everyone can see at the same time." Before anyone could ask what she meant, a three-dimensional image of Akana was floating in front of them. "Since when have you been able to do that?" asked Makoto, impressed. Ami looked sheepish for an instant. "Only since recently. I found out by accident I could generate holograms with my computer when I was using it a while ago." "A _fortunate_ accident," said Mamoru, his eyes wide. *** Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane were slowly walking back to the shrine. They were getting close when, as fate would have it, rain started to fall. Unfortunately, the rain was sudden enough so that Ranma was unable to get anywhere before the change was triggered. Fortunately, the street was almost deserted, so no one witnessed the change. "I _hate_ it when this happens!", Ranma said in a disgusted voice, while slightly readjusting her cloth belt to fit her slimmer waist. Akane shook her head. "This is going to be a bit of problem, you know. We'll have to wait until the rain stops to go back to the shrine." "Don't I know it," replied Ranma in a dull voice. She looked around and saw a small cafe. "Let's wait out the rain in there, okay? If my clothes get too wet, hot water won't be of any use, I'll just turn right back into a girl." Akane nodded and they headed towards the cafe. Akane took the time to take a good look at her red-headed companion's figure. Ranma's female body was no longer as short as it used to be. While Ranma's male form merely looked a bit more mature, his female form had had a growth spurt during the last year which now put her at equal height with Ranma's male form. Her face had also matured, as she no longer looked like a young girl anymore. She looked like an eighteen-year old young woman and was no less beautiful because of it. The only other characteristic that has truly changed was the length of Ranma's pigtail. For some reason, Ranma had decided not to trim his pigtail, and it now reached down a bit past down his shoulders, as it no longer curled upwards (though Akane privately thought the long pigtail looked better when he was female). When they went inside the small cafe, they noticed it was empty, except for a young couple who was sitting together, having tea. The man was a bit taller than Ranma and had short, sandy blond hair, while the girl had turquoise hair that looked beautiful on her, reaching down just below her shoulder blades. Akane tried to remember where she had seen a girl with turquoise hair before, but couldn't quite place it. They chose a table and each ordered a cup of tea while they waited for the rain to end. Akane initiated conversation in a low voice, since she didn't want to attract attention. "Ranma, we're going to have to find a way to explain your female side to your cousin, you know. The way you attract water is going to make it very difficult to keep your curse hidden." Ranma scowled. "I have no intention of explaining my curse to Rei, Akane, and that's final. I don't need her to think of me as a freak and besides, we'll only be there for a few days, remember? She doesn't have to know anything." Akane shook her head. "That's a good thought," she said, "but know very well you'll eventually get soaked. You're a water magnet; remember your own words?" she finished with a small smile. She looked down for an instant, deep in thought for a second and then looked back up with a grin. "If you really don't want her to know your secret, I could just simply introduce you as my 'cousin Ranko'. It's not as if we've never done it before." Ranma sighed. "It'll have to do, I guess," she said in a resigned tone. "Well, at least it's not as if I don't have a lot of experience pretending I'm someone I'm not," she added wryly. Silently, they went back to drinking their tea. A few minutes later, four scruffy-looking men entered the cafe and immediately spotted Ranma and Akane. Two of the men went towards the other couple while the other two came towards Akane and Ranma. "Hey there, beautiful, wanna have a fun night tonight?" said the first one to Ranma, while the other man kept an eye on Akane. "Get lost before I break your hands, moron," Ranma replied without even looking at him. A barely audible sigh emanated from Akane's lips. The man seemed taken aback by Ranma's response, but kept going, nonetheless. "I know you want to have fun. I know a nice hotel nearby... the _special_ kind," he said in what was supposed to be a suave voice. He was about to put his hand on Ranma's shoulder when she looked at him with a glare that could have melted reinforced titanium. "If you keep this up, the only place you'll be going to is a hospital. Now get _lost_!" The other man started snickering at his companion's lack of success. The first man, however, decided to make a last attempt on Ranma. "Come on, I'll show you a good time..." he started when he put his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I warned you..." Ranma growled. Before the either one of the men could blink, she grabbed the hand that was on her shoulder, squeezed and twisted the hand. Hard. The snickers of amusement from the second man turned to a gasp when he heard several snapping sounds. Before he could do anything, his friend was laying on his knees on the floor, holding his hand and howling in pain. The second man was about to pounce on Ranma when he felt a strong blow to his head and collapsed. Ranma looked from the man who was on his knees gasping, to the other man who was lying on the floor unconscious and finally to Akane, who was holding one of her bigger mallets over the unconscious man's head. "I could've taken him, you know," Ranma told Akane flatly. "True," Akane said, throwing a disgusted look at the fallen men, "but they were getting on my nerves too, Ranma." Ranma smirked, but suddenly stopped when she realized that the other two men were harassing the couple at the other table were now looking at her. Behind the counter, the cafe's owner was growing increasingly worried. "Kisamara!" the first one yelled, running straight at Ranma, fist raised, while the other stood back and pointed a knife in a threatening manner towards the other couple. Ranma decided to end it as quickly as possible. Before the man had taken another step, Ranma had already gotten behind him and was twisting his arm backwards. "Take you friends with you and leave _now_, unless you want me to show you how creative I can get when I'm _really_ pissed off," said Ranma in a threatening voice. She subconsciously "saw" the fourth man coming towards her, but she didn't even have to move. As soon as the other man turned his attention to Ranma, the blond man shot up from his seat and swiftly kicked the knife away from the last man's hands. The last man tried to rush him, but he merely sidestepped and executed a throw which sent the man on the floor. It wasn't long before the blond man had him in a choke hold. The girl with turquoise hair slowly rose up, a smile on her lips, and addressed the two helpless men. "I suggest you take the nice lady's advice and leave before something really bad happens. Wouldn't you agree, Haruka?" The blond man, Haruka, nodded with a wide grin: "Why of course, Michiru! You know I don't like violence any more than you do." Ranma raised an eyebrow at Haruka, but decided instead to address the man who was helplessly struggling in her arms. "We're giving you ten seconds to pick up your friends and leave before I start getting angry. I strongly suggest you use the time wisely." Releasing the man, she shoved him towards his two companions who were being watched over by Akane. Haruka also pushed her captive forward. The men looked back at her, violence in their eyes. One of them even had the courage (or downright stupidity) to take a step back towards Ranma, who lost patience. If she knocked them out too, she'd have to drag him outside, something she didn't quite feel like doing. Instead, she glared at the man and summoned her battle aura. The man who had stepped towards Ranma stopped in his tracks when he saw the air around the redhead begin to shimmer. It wasn't the sight as much as the feeling of danger which accompanied the manifestation that made him think twice before continuing. "You've got five seconds left..." Ranma said menacingly. Realizing that they didn't really want revenge _that_ badly, the men suddenly decided that it might be better for their long-term health to leave the cafe before the red-haired girl decided to make good on her threats. They quickly picked their companions and left, looking back fearfully at Ranma. As the four men were leaving, Ranma idly considered hastening their departure with a Ki-blast, but restrained herself and dissipated her aura. She sighed. "Idiots..." she muttered in a sotto voice. Behind the counter, the owner blew a sigh of relief at not having had _too_ much of a commotion and decided to ignore the visual effects that the red-haired customer had manifested just a moment ago. While Akane was making her way towards the group, minus mallet, Ranma turned towards Haruka: "Are you okay? You weren't bad out there. You've got nice moves," she finished with a grin, completely mistaking Haruka for a man. "Obviously not as nice as some of yours," replied Haruka, with a grin of her own. "I'm Ten'ou Haruka," she said, "and my lovely companion is Kaiou Michiru," she finished. Ranma introduced herself and Akane. "I'm Tendo Ranko and this is my cousin, Saotome Akane. Pleased to meet you." "Kaiou Michiru... The violinist?" asked Akane in a questioning voice. "Yes, I do play the violin now and then," Michiru replied with a ghost of a smile. "It's an honor to meet you Kaiou-san!" Akane said with excitement. "I really like your music!" Michiru's smile widened. "Thank you very much." Haruka was mildly miffed that Akane had not recognized _her_ name, but seeing Michiru and Akane deep in their own conversation, she decided not to interrupt. Haruka turned to Ranma. "So, where exactly did you learn _your_ moves?" she asked, intrigued with some of the style she had seen the readhead use. Ranma shrugged. "Mostly my family's style. I've studied martial arts since I was old enough to walk, so I know a little of everything." Haruka raised an eyebrow. "A little? Sounds to me like you're being very modest, Ranko-san. I don't know a lot of people who could possibly move as fast as you do and generate an aura as powerful as yours," she said. *Well, except possibly for the other Senshi, of course,* she added silently. Ranma eyed the individual before her warily. For some reason, she felt a bit nervous about Haruka and she couldn't understand why. "Anyone can achieve that level of speed with enough training. The same with the aura. I'm just very good at martial arts." Haruka nodded absently, though her eyes were still fixed suspiciously on Ranma. *Why am I getting weird vibes from her?* she wondered. Ranma turned towards Akane before Haruka could continue probing for questions. "Akane, the rain's stopped. We should be heading back before it's too late. We've got registration tomorrow, so we should turn in early," she said, slightly stressing the last part. Akane stopped talking with Michiru just long enough to notice Ranma looking at her with a 'Let's-Get-Out-Of-Here-Please!' expression. She was about to ask out loud what was the problem, but thought better of it. Reluctantly, she turned back to Michiru and apologized. "I really enjoyed talking with you, Kaiou-san, but my cousin's right; we really should be going." Michiru looked disappointed for the briefest of moments, but smiled again. "Oh well, I enjoyed talking with you as well; perhaps we'll get another chance someday." "I hope so," replied Akane. And so, Ranma and Akane made their way to the counter, where Ranma ordered a cup of hot water to go, which the owner of the cafe was more than happy to provide free of charge. As soon as they left the cafe, Ranma turned to Akane: "Let's move fast, I don't want them following us. That Ten'ou guy bugs me for some reason." While they ran across the street until they were out of sight, Akane glared at Ranma. "If you'd merely knocked the moron out the old-fashioned way instead of scaring him off with your battle aura, Ten'ou-san probably wouldn't have 'bugged' you in the first place!" she replied, slightly angry. "Because of you, I didn't get to do a good first impression with Kaiou-san." "Speaking of her, just how do you know her, anyway?" asked Ranma. "Some of us happen to like music, Ranma. Kaiou Michiru is one of the most talented violin players around." Ranma decided not to pursue the matter any further as they kept a rapid pace towards the Hikawa Shrine. Inside the cafe, as soon as Ranma and Akane left, Michiru and Haruka looked at each other and nodded. Without a word, Michiru left some money on the counter and she and Haruka went outside to follow Ranma and Akane. When they got out of the cafe, though, Ranma and Akane were long gone. "Well, _that_ was interesting, ne, Michiru?" Michiru gave Haruka a dry look. "It could have been even more interesting if you hadn't pressed Ranko-san for answers. I was was starting to have a very interesting conversation with Akane-san." She paused for a few seconds. "Maybe it doesn't really matter, anyway," she said with a smile. Haruka looked at Michiru and raised an eyebrow in question. Michiru smiled even more. "We have a *much* better way to find out the truth than to stalk them." While Haruka was giving her the odd eye, she reached in her subspace pocket and came out with an item that made Haruka smile wickedly. The Deep Aqua Mirror. Author's notes: - Haruka: Yes, she *is* female, though Ranma will be referring to her in the male gender until he figures out the truth. I also know she plays the piano, but Akane was more interested in Michiru's talent that in Haruka's. - Did Michiru and Haruka see Akane mallet the second punk? Not completely. They were busy with two punks of their own, remember? - Why didn't Ranma just knock the punk out instead? She just got wet, she's cranky and it's that time of the month (kidding). She's just fed up of that kind of thing happening to her and is being increasingly hostile about it. - Can Mercury's computer really do holographic projections? The short answer is no (at least not that I know of). I needed Mercury's computer to be capable of holographic projection and it didn't seem too hard to imagine the Mercury Computer being able to do exactly that. End Chapter 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chapter 6 While Ranma and Akane made their way back to the Hikawa Shrine, they were largely unaware of the reception they were going to receive. The people occupying said shrine were busy staring at what was supposed to be a picture of the orignal incarnation of Mamoru's sister, Akana, who had also happened to be Sailor Terra in the days of the Moon Kingdom. "You're right, Ami. Except for the red hair, she _does_ look like a female version of Ranma," said Makoto. Akana could have been Ranma's sister. She had the same basic looks, only with a feminine cast. The only thing that was truly different was her hair, which had a flaming red color. Also different was the hairstyle: instead of Ranma's pigtail, Akana wore her hair loose. It flowed down past her shoulders, a river of red as bright as Tuxedo Kamen's roses. Mamoru gulped loudly without being aware of it. The girls watched as he slowly raised his hand and tried to touch the hologram, to no avail. "It's her," he whispered in awe. "She's definitely the one I've been having dreams about recently." Usagi felt a brief pang of jealousy at the thought of Mamoru dreaming of another woman, but quickly dismissed the idea when she realized he was talking about his sister. She turned to face her guardian cat. "Luna, is there some chance Ranma might be a Senshi?" she asked. The other girls all started at the question. The black cat looked uncomfortable. "I don't think so, Usagi. The Senshi were and still are all female. I never imagined that one of them might be reincarnated as a man." "Besides, Usagi-chan, I don't think he'd look very good in a Sailor fuku," deadpanned Makoto. The comment elicited a round of snickers that helped alleviate the atmosphere. Rei turned to Ami. "Why didn't you ever come up with this picture before?" "Well, I've never exactly had any reason to look for it before," replied Ami defensively. Her computer suddenly beeped. "There are people approaching the shrine, Rei." Rei's eyes widened slightly. "It's probably Ranma and Akane coming back," her eyes narrowed, "and he owes me an explanation for the train station incident." "You don't need to go on the warpath, Rei, I doubt he lied in order to spite you or anything. He doesn't know you're a Sailor Senshi, so he was probably just concerned about how you'd react if you learned he'd fought a monster," said Ami calmly. Rei deflated a little. "Maybe you're right, but I still want to know if he's as powerful as you described him to be, and if he is, I want to know how he does it." Ami smiled. "So do I." And so, they all moved outside the shrine to wait for Ranma and Akane. * * * Ranma and Akane were getting close to the Hikawa Shrine, so Ranma quickly poured the hot water she had gotten at the cafe on himself. The usual change soon followed. "Aaahh! It's good to be a guy again," the now male Ranma said with a smile. True to form, it couldn't last. Ranma was almost in front of the gate when a bicyclist whizzed by Ranma and splashed him with the contents of a puddle left there by the previous rainfall. Ranma frowned, disgusted. "I hate my life," she said in a depressed voice. Akane groaned. "What are we going to do now? You used all the hot water!" Ranma thought about it for a second. "Well, you could just go in the shrine and smuggle out a cup of hot water while I wait outside," she suggested. Akane nodded. "I guess it's as good a plan as any." She turned around and crossed to the gate. She had not taken three steps onto the grounds before she was confronted with the sight of a party of six girls and a young man looking for all the world like they were expecting someone. Her gaze was momentarily drawn to the shortest of the group. Akane stopped dead in her tracks and a sweat drop found its way on to the back of her head. "Ano.. am I... interrupting something?" Rei suddenly realized they all looked like a bunch of starving vultures ready to dive on someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, Akane-san, I was just saying goodbye to my friends when we heard people near the gates." Rei looked around, but didn't see Ranma. "Isn't Ranma with you?" she asked. "He'll... be along shortly," Akane said slowly. She took a long look at the group of girls and her eyes widened in recognition when she finally realized where she had seen them before. They were the same girls from the train station! She also belatedly realized that the young man was the one who had sat across from them in the train. *Great!* she thought sourly. *They're the only ones who really saw the fight at the train station and they happen to be friends with Rei?* She felt a small hope flare. *Maybe they don't remember me!* "Well, don't mind me," Akane said in a falsely cheerful tone. "I'll just go inside." Akane had barely gotten past the group before Rei spoke again. "Akane-san, my friends tell me you and Ranma were involved in a monster attack at the train station today. Is this true?" asked the priestess. Akane stopped and cursed inwardly. *Damn! Looks like we won't be able to sweep this one under the rug. Oh well...* With her back still turned, she said: "Well, the attack was quickly over, so it didn't seem really important. You looked like you had better things to worry about than fret over a monster attack." Rei narrowed her eyes. *She's treating the attack almost as if it were a walk in the park! Very strange...* But before she could ask her next question... Ranma was standing outside the gate when she heard Akane being greeted. She winced. *It sounds like there are a lot of people there. I hope Akane can get the hot water anyway.* She winced even more when she heard Rei question Akane. "I knew we shouldn't have tried to keep the fight secret," she muttered in a low voice. She then decided to go bail out Akane and stepped inside the gates, intent on diverting the attention away from Akane. "Hey, Akane, is everything all right?..." She got no further when she noticed the stares she was getting. Rei was a microsecond away from asking her next question to Akane when she noticed a second person walking through the gates. It took her a few seconds to realize exactly _who_ had just walked through the gates. She blinked, not trusting her eyes. Slowly, she turned towards the other girls to see their reactions and realized they were reacting much the same way she was. "Akana?" Mamoru blurted out incredulously, not believing his eyes. The comment was enough to break the staring contest. Ranma was the first to snap out of it. "I'm Akane's cousin; my name's Ranko," she said, startlement replaced by confusion. "_She's_ Akane," said the redhead, pointing towards her 'cousin'. The shortest girl in the group, shook her head. "He didn't say 'Akane'; he said 'Akana'." "Well, I'm neither Akane or Akana, so you must have the wrong person," Ranma said, looking at Mamoru. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself from staring at Mamoru as well. *He's the guy who was sitting with us in the train, but ... why does he look so familiar?...* Suddenly, for a brief moment, an image, like a long- forgotten memory flashed in her mind in which the young man in front of her was clad in a black and silver armor. She was about to put a name to him when the fluttering memory vanished as fast as it had appeared. She quickly shook her head. No one noticed Akane tiptoeing inside the shrine. *Might as well get the hot water while Ranma's distracting them,* she thought. "Are you okay, ah... Ranko-san?" asked Mamoru. "Yeah, it's just that for a second there, you reminded me of someone, that's all." "Who?" asked Hotaru, with what Ranma detected as a hint of eagerness in her voice. "And just _who_ are... " Ranma trailed off, her eyes widening. She never finished her statement. Suddenly, an expression of pure, utter, indescribable, unadulterated horror appeared on her face. A powerless young virgin faced with a legion of horny tentacled demons would'nt have looked so horrified. The girls were already halfway reaching for their henshin rods when they turned around to look at the gruesome horror whose sight alone had frozen "Ranko". The only things they saw were Artemis and Luna, who had come out of the shrine. They were currently imitating the girls, in the way that they were gawking (as much as a cat can gawk) at Ranma. Everyone (minus Ranma) blinked. They turned back to Ranko, not understanding what had her so frightened. "C-C-C-CAAAAAAAAAAAATTTS!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, pointing at the two cats. Everyone blinked once again. It was the last thing they did before Ranko took off at supersonic speed through the front gate and down the street. Before they could react to that particular twist of events, Akane came barreling down the shrine steps, a water-filled glass in her hands. "What? Where?!" she said looking left and right. She then spotted the two Moon cats and sighed audibly. "Great, just great..." she muttered. Rei looked at Akane, puzzlement painted all over her face. "Akane, what just happened here?" asked the bewildered priestess. Akane thought about it for a second. *If those cats are pets, Rei might as well know the truth. Ranma will forgive me.* She headed out towards the gate, intent on catching up with Ranma. At the last second, she turned around. "Ranko had a training accident when she was young and, as a result, she developed a pathological fear of cats." She looked pensive for a second and added: "Ranma doesn't like people to know, but he has the exact same fear, so if you don't want him to freak out when he gets back, you might want to take those cats elsewhere." Without adding another word, she turned back and ran away after Ranma. By the time Rei and the others moved to the gate, Akane was already long gone. Luna and Artemis slowly came back to their senses. "Excuse me," Artemis asked in a confused tone, "But can someone tell us what just happened here and who was that girl who looked so much like Akana?" Everyone started speaking at the same time. * * * Akane managed to catch up with Ranma a couple of blocks from the Hikawa shrine. The pigtailed martial artist was slowly banging her head against a wall, embarrassment chiseled on her features. Akane rolled her eyes and approached the young woman. "You won't be able to get rid of your phobia that way, Ranma," she said with a small smile. Ranma stopped pounding her head and looked at Akane. "It's just so embarrassing! Do you even realize how foolish I'll look now? How am I going to explain to a group of high school girls, one of them who's my own cousin, why I got freaked by a couple of c-c-cats?" "I think you're overreacting to all of this, Ranma." Ranma looked at her with a flat look. "You're not the one who runs for the hills each time one of _them_ crosses your path." Akane sighed. "Just before I left to come after you, I told them about your phobia, Ranma." "You did _what_?" "Look, Ranma," Akane said, her tone rising, "If those cats happen to be Rei's pets, she needs to know about your phobia. Besides, the other girls would've asked questions anyway, so I told them." It was Ranma's turn to sigh. "What exactly _did_ you tell them?" "I told them you and your male form had a training accident when you were young and as a result, you developed a fear of cats." "Why did you tell them I was afraid as a guy, too?" Ranma almost cried out. Akane merely looked at Ranma, not saying a word. "Right, right, I guess it couldn't be helped. They would've found out soon enough, ne?" Ranma closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them up again and looked at the glass of water in Akane's hands. "Is that hot water?" she asked, brightening. "It's not boiling, but at least it's warm enough to change you back." She smiled. "I guess that was the one good thing about all of this; it allowed me to get the hot water while everyone was staring at you." Her smile faded a little. "By the way, why *were* they staring at you like that? They were acting as if they'd seen a ghost." Ranma took the water and poured it over her head. The now male martial artist shook his damp head. "I'm not sure," he said. He thought for a couple of seconds. "Akane, did you notice that the guy who was there was the same one as on the train?" Akane nodded. "And the other girls were the ones you pushed me towards at the train station." Ranma shook his head slowly. "I told you we shouldn't have tried to hide the fight." Akane opened her mouth to protest, but Ranma forestalled her protests. "Let me finish first," he said. His wife settled back, looking a bit unhappy. "Akane, did you notice anything strange about the guy from the train? Did he remind you of anyone?" Ranma asked. Akane blinked. "No... not really," she said slowly. "Why?" Ranma looked introspective. "I can't help feeling I've seen him somewhere before. Not like having seen him before in a street or something, but it's like I remember him from a really long time ago..." It was Akane's turn to shake her head. "Sorry, but he doesn't really remind me of anyone. The only one who looks familiar to me is the little girl with the purple eyes." Ranma raised an eyebrow questioningly, but said nothing. Ranma and Akane looked at each other for a few seconds then shrugged in unison. "Oh well, we'll sort it out later. Right now, I suppose we'd better head back to the shrine and face the welcoming party," concluded Ranma with a wry smile. Akane smiled back and they headed once more towards the Hikawa Shrine, hand in hand. At the shrine, a healthy discussion was under way. Mamoru, the two Moon cats and the girls were waiting for the return of Ranma, Akane and Ranko. Mamoru was still a little shocked at having seen the girl from his dreams - his long-lost sister - appear out of nowhere and leave just as quickly. The other girls had just been plain frazzled by the "apparition". Luna and Artemis listened attentatively as the others finished explaining what had happened. "So she said she was Akane's cousin?" asked Artemis. The girls nodded. "That's what she said before she ran away," said Rei. Mamoru suddenly spoke up. "I need to find her." Everyone, especially Usagi, turned towards him. "I need to find her," Mamoru repeated. "She's my sister and she's alive! Before she took off, she mentioned I looked familiar." He looked at Hotaru. "I thought you said she couldn't be alive in this time." Hotaru now looked very uncomfortable. "I don't know how this can be, Mamoru-san..." "Mamoru," Luna said diplomatically, trying to take the attention off Hotaru. "You realize this might just be a freak encounter. She might not be your sister at all." Mamoru stared at Luna with what could almost pass as hostility before calming down. "Maybe," he said tightly, "but I intend to find out." Minako broke the awkward silence that followed, taking the opportunity to change the subject. "I still don't really understand why she freaked out like that when she saw Luna and Artemis," she wondered out loud. She turned towards Ami. "Do you really think a training accident could've done that, Ami?" The resident genius took on a slightly lecturing tone. "Her case is very unusual. I've heard of cases in which a patient who's been traumatized by an animal develops an irrational fear of that animal afterwards. However, I've never heard of a case like hers. If her fear *is* due to a training accident, the trauma must have been considerable in order for her to react like that. The best thing is to ask her about it when she comes back." "Do you really think Ranma has the same fear as her? He sure didn't look afraid when he trashed the daimon at the train station today," said Usagi. Ami shrugged slightly. "It's possible his fear is limited only to cats. We can ask him when he comes back. In the meantime, I suggest Luna and Artemis go hide somewhere before Ranma comes back, just to be sure." The two cats reluctantly went to hide in a couple of bushes. "Speak of the devil..." said Makoto, looking at who was coming through the shrine's entrance. Ranma and Akane walked in the gate and found the girls sitting on the steps leading to the shrine. While most of them looked at him with varying degrees of surprise, Ranma noticed that the young man looked somewhat disappointed. "Ranma, Akane," said Rei. "Did you find Ranko?" "She bowled me over when she was running away from here," said Ranma. "She decided to go straight home instead of taking another chance with the cats." He then started looking nervously around him. "You're sure they're gone?" "They're Minako and Usagi's pets," Rei said, indicating the two girls , who smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry, they're gone." Ranma heaved a sigh of relief. Rei almost couldn't believe Ranma's reaction. "Would you mind explaining why you and Ranko are so afraid of cats?" Ranma looked at the group of girls before him. "Before I tell you, none of this goes anywhere, understand?" He waited until everyone had nodded. Ranma lowered his head and sighed. "You know about how Pop trained me in martial arts when I was very young, don't you?" Rei nodded. "Well, he trained Ranko, too. When I was eight years old, oyaji decided that I... I mean that Ranko and I were old enough to learn a special kind of martial arts... the Neko-ken." Ami made a mental note to look up anything she could find on this style, while Makoto was shaking her head at the thought of anyone learning special martial arts techniques at that age. Ranma continued. "The Neko-ken was supposed to be an extremely powerful style. To train us in it, Pop wrapped us from head to toe in fish sausage and dropped us in a pit full of starving cats. Needless to say, the cats didn't ask before tearing the food off us." Everyone (save Akane) gasped. "But... that's insane," blurted out Ami. "What were you possibly supposed to learn that way?" Rei shook her head. "I can't believe uncle Genma would do something like that!" Ranma looked hard at her. "Believe it, Rei! There aren't a lot of things my father wouldn't have done to teach me martial arts." Usagi interrupted. "It mustn't have been pleasant for you and Ranko, but at least it only happened once." Ranma slowly turned to look at her. "Who says he only did it once?" Everyone gulped. Ranma continued. "When Pop realized just how sacred we'd become of cats, he decided to try and cure us by tossing us in the pit again. All it did was make the fear more intense, and we eventually snapped," Ranma said emotionlessly. By then, everyone was looking at Ranma with some degree of pity. Even Luna and Artemis, hidden in the bushes, winced in sympathy. "Still, you look sane enough to me," Minako said in a bright voice. *Geez,* thought Usagi. *And I thought I was the one who was tactless...* Before the other girls could tell Minako to shut up, Ranma smiled wryly. "Fortunately for us, the insanity was only temporary. An old lady managed to snap us out of it. It turns out that we were finally able to use the legendary Neko-ken, but at the cost of our sanity. Since that day, whenever Ranko or I see a cat, we freak out and we can't help it. It can become quite dangerous if we're exposed to a cat for any length of time." "What does that mean, exactly?" asked Ami. "We end up using the Neko-ken. If that should ever happen, you'd better pray Akane's nearby or run for your lives, because at that point, Akane is the only one who can bring us out of it," Ranma said. *Well, there's also a very good chance that triggering the curse might do it, but I'm not about to tell them that.* "You can't possibly be _that_ dangerous, can you?" asked Minako with a small, nervous smile. Ranma merely looked at Minako and raised an eyebrow. "You were at the train station this afternoon, ne? _You_ decide how dangerous I could be if I were several times faster and stronger with no control over what I did." While Akane scowled at the mention of the train station incident, Minako remembered what Ranma had done there and wisely decided to shut up. Rei, however, was not so easily deterred. "Ranma, speaking of the train station, would you mind explaining how you trashed a monster there this afternoon?" asked the young priestess. "Why is this so important to you, Rei?" asked Ranma tiredly. Rei was only stumped for a second. "Because you could've been hurt!" she stated seriously. She couldn't very well tell him she had a more... professional interest in the matter, now, could she? Ranma snorted. "Rei, I've been training in martial arts since the day I could stand up without falling. I've faced a lot worse than that monster, trust me." Ranma stopped when he saw Akane's expression turning red. *Stupid macho bravado,* Rei thought. "Well next time, leave it to the Sailor Senshi, okay? They're better equipped than you are to face these monsters." "You mean they actually exist? Anyway, people could have been hurt by that monster and I didn't see those Sailor Senshi anywhere, so I took care of it. Don't worry about me, Rei. I can take care of myself." "What about the energy blast? I'm quite curious as to how you did that." asked Ami. Ranma decided he had enough. Answering one or two questions was one thing, but he wasn't going to stand around and be interrogated by a bunch of high-school girls. "That was a Ki-blast," he said. "Rei knows what that is. Now, if you'll excuse me, Akane and I need to get some sleep if we're going to wake up early for registration tomorrow." Akane and Ranma got up and went inside the shrine. *He can manipulate his Ki?* thought a surprised Rei. "Wait!" yelled Mamoru. Ranma and Akane stopped. "I'd like to speak to Ranko again soon, if possible." Ranma frowned almost imperceptibly. "Why?" he asked. "She reminds me of... someone. I'd just like to talk to her, that's all." Ranma thought about it for a couple of seconds. *Mmmhh, if I let him meet 'Ranko', I might be able to find out why he looks so familiar,* he thought. "I'll let her know," he said out loud. "Arigato," said Mamoru. Akane was nearly inside the shrine when she turned around. "Excuse me, but what's your name?" she asked Hotaru. Hotaru's eyes widened slightly. "My name's Hotaru Tomoe, Akane-san," she said. Akane narrowed her eyes slightly, examining Hotaru. "Have you ever been in the Nerima area, Hotaru?" Hotaru blinked. "I don't think so, why?" Akane shook her head. "It's nothing, I guess. It's just that... I thought I'd seen you somewhere before, that's all," she said ruefully. She turned back around and went inside with Ranma before she could see Hotaru staring at her, eyes wide open. *She remembers?...* Just then, a yellow sportscar came close to the gate and stopped to reveal Haruka. "Hotaru-chan! It's time to go back home," she called out. She blinked when she noticed everyone's expressions, from Rei's puzzlement, to Mamoru's slightly anguished expression. Hotaru's features were in the process of acquiring a nervous twitch. "What happened here?" she asked. "Hotaru-chan, are you all right?" Hotaru snapped out of the daze she was in. Barely. "I'll tell you all about it on the way home, Haruka-papa," she said numbly. Haruka, seeing as she wasn't going to have any answers from the Inner Senshi, who seemed to be ignoring her for some reason, shrugged and got back into the car with Hotaru. "Michiru and I had an interesting evening too," she said. "I'll tell you about it on the way." Just before she closed the door, Haruka heard Minako and Usagi scream in unison: "LOOK AT THE TIME! MY PARENTS ARE GONNA KILL ME!". Haruka shook her head and closed the door. *Some things just _never_ change...* thought Haruka. End Chapter 6