Ranma-chan ran down the street glancing over her shoulder periodically to make sure no one was following her. Why the hell does shit like this always happen to me, she wondered. It’s like someone out there is having a great time playing with my life and laughing at my expense. Ranma-chan didn’t really know where she was going, just that she had to get away from the Sailor Scouts.
But how can you run from the Sailor Scouts when you yourself are a Scout, said a taunting voice in the back of Ranma-chan’s head. “I am not a Sailor Scout!” she shouted. Some people turned to stare at her, but Ranma-chan’s glare turned them back to what they were doing. In the back of her head the voice laughed.
Great, thought Ranma-chan, now I’m talking to myself. I need to find some hot water and change back to a guy. I’ll feel better then. Ranma-chan spotted a nearby café and went in to find a cup of hot water. A few minutes later a male Ranma was making his way down the street. Pushing aside his Scout problem, Ranma pulled the green stone Cologne had had out of his pocket. “Now what am I going to do with you?”
I don’t know, said the voice in Ranma’s head, you’re the Dragon, you tell me. Ranma missed a step and almost dropped the stone. Hey watch it, growled the voice. I may be a rock, but it doesn’t feel very good to be dropped on the ground.
“First a talking cat, now a talking rock. How much stranger can this day possibly get.”
From what I’ve heard about you, very strange indeed.
"Hey! It’s not my fault I seem to attract every weirdo on the face of the planet!” Ranma realized he was shouting and glanced up from the rock in his hand. Everybody on the street was staring wide-eyed at him. “Great. Now everyone here probably thinks I’m crazy because I’m talking to a stupid rock.”
Better to be a stupid rock than a cross-dresser.
“Watch who you’re calling a cross-dresser you lump of coal.”
You know, you really looked good in that Sailor uniform. I bet you could have gotten yourself a date looking like that.
“Any minute now I’m going to smash you into a pile of dust.”
Is that a threat? I wouldn’t advise trying it since I’m completely indestructible and you’d only end up hurting yourself. Or are you a masochist as well as a cross-dresser?
Ranma ground his teeth together and continued down the street. “Why didn’t the old ghoul tell me you could talk.”
Because she didn’t know. The only people I can talk to are the Dragon and the Phoenix.
“I’m not the Dragon!”
Tell me, do you deny everything that’s obvious? First you deny you’re a Scout even though you already transformed into one. Then you deny you’re the Dragon even though I just told you I wouldn’t be able to talk to you otherwise.
“I’m not the Dragon and I’m not a Sailor Scout!”
It never fails. Every time I find you, you’re as stubborn as a mule. You’ll come to see the truth soon enough though. Where are we headed now anyway?
“Home, so I can break things.”
Sounds like a plan to me.
“What do you mean Sailor Moon’s the Phoenix?” asked Akane.
“I meant exactly what I said girl,” answered Cologne in a slightly annoyed tone of voice. “You were there when I told Ranma the story of the Dragon and the Phoenix. Speaking of Ranma, he has the stone right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I need you to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid with it. That stone is very important to the welfare of this planet.”
“Excuse me,” said a somewhat confused Sailor Moon. “What exactly are you two talking about?”
Cologne gave Sailor Moon a look of annoyance before answering. “I will see that you understand what you need to after I make sure the stone is safe with Ranma. Son-in-law can be somewhat irresponsible at times.”
“That’s another thing,” said Mercury. “Why do you keep referring to Ranko as ‘he’ and ‘son-in-law’ for?”
Cologne swung her head to look at Akane, who shook her head. “They don’t know, and at the moment Ranma doesn’t want them to know.”
“Know what?” asked Jupiter.
Cologne ignored Jupiter as she nodded her head. “I will respect his wish for now, but if he doesn’t tell them soon it could cause problems. Eventually I will tell them if he does not.”
“Will you two stop talking as if we weren’t here!” demanded Sailor Mars in a heated voice.
Cologne glared at Mars. “I told you I would take care of you in a minute. Now be quiet until I’m done with Akane.” Cologne turned her attention back to Akane leaving a very angry Sailor Mars with nothing to do but glare at her back. “Now then, I saw what happened out here and I don’t think Ranma’s going to be in a very good mood for a while. He’s also going to be somewhat confused. Although I’ve never known him to do anything else, I need you to talk to him and make sure he doesn’t do anything rash and stupid.”
“I’ll try, but I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”
“He’ll listen. It may not seem like it, but you’re the only one he ever listens to.”
Akane nodded skeptically and turned to the Sailor Scouts. “I’ll talk to Ranko too. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince her to be a Scout, but if you want, I might get her to agree to be friends.”
“Thanks Akane,” said Sailor Moon. “Tell her we’re sorry if we did something wrong and we really want to be her friend.”
“You can also tell her that if she doesn’t want to be a Scout she doesn’t have to be,” added Venus. “We can still be friends.”
The other Scouts nodded their agreement with what Sailor Moon and Venus said, and Akane smiled. “I hope she agrees. It would be good for her to have friends like you.” Akane smiled again and then took off down the street waving to the Scouts as she went.
Cologne watched Akane leave and then turned to the Scouts. “You six come with me. I’ll see to your friends injuries inside,” she said as she eyed a beaten and battered Tuxedo Mask.
Using her staff Cologne bounded easily over the rubble filling the front of the restaurant and made her way to the kitchen, which had sustained little damage. As the Scouts entered the kitchen, she began heating water and preparing herbs. “Now then,” she said as she ground some herbs into a salve, “before I tell you what you need to know, I need you to tell me exactly who you are and where you come from.”
“Why do you want to know?” asked a suspicious Sailor Mars.
“Well, people with your abilities don’t exactly fall out of trees. I’m just curious to know how you got them.”
Sailor Mars opened her mouth to refuse answering, but Tuxedo Mask spoke first. “We are the reincarnated warriors of the Silver Millennium. We are here fighting the evils that would destroy the Earth as they once destroyed the Moon.”
“Ah, so you are from the Moon Kingdom. It was indeed a sad day when Metallia shattered the Silver Millennium. Many of my ancestors died defending their home from her minions.”
“You know of the Silver Millennium?!” asked a surprised Sailor Moon.
“Yes. The tribe of Amazons from which I come was one of the few peoples to survive Metallia’s attack. We are an old people and we keep very accurate records.”
“Your people must have been quite strong to have survived Earth’s defeat,” commented Mercury. “I thought the Earth had been almost completely destroyed.”
“There is a valley in China that is very well defended. Very few armies would stand a chance against what resides in that valley.” The Scouts exchanged skeptical looks and Cologne chuckled. “I see you don’t believe me. No matter, but if you ever get the chance to visit Jusenkyo… don’t.”
Sailor Mercury looked thoughtful for a moment, then she shook her head. “They never talked about a place called Jusenkyo in my Chinese geography class.”
“That’s because Jusenkyo is a little known place that is rarely visited, and for good reason. Ranma’s been there. Ask him about it some time. You might find his story very interesting. But right now we have more important matters to discuss, and your friend has wounds that need tended to.” Cologne hopped over to Tuxedo Mask and ordered him to remove his jacket and shirt. Once he complied she began rubbing a salve over the bruises covering his chest. Then she bandaged the cuts that had broken open during the fight with Matoshi. “There, that should take care of you.”
Tuxedo Mask moved around and flexed a bit, and then smiled. “The pain is almost gone. What was that stuff you used?”
“An ancient Amazon healing aid. Here,” said Cologne handing Tuxedo Mask a bottle, “rub this on your wounds every night and they will heal faster.”
Tuxedo Mask took the bottle and put it in his breast pocket. “Thanks.”
“Now will you tell us what you and Akane were talking about?” asked Mars.
“Impatient aren’t you. Especially since the only one this matter really concerns is her,” said Cologne gesturing to Sailor Moon. “She’s the one destined to save the world, not you.”
“Save the world,” said Moon in a weak voice. “Again.”
“If you follow me I will explain everything.” Cologne led the Scouts to the room in the back where Matoshi had made his entrance. The floor was covered in debris and there was a large hole in the roof and one in the wall, but other than that the room looked to be in fairly good condition. Cologne hopped over to the desk where the large book still sat, and opened it. “All of you come over here, I wish to tell you a story.” Cologne related the same story she had told Ranma, and when she was done the Scouts were staring at her with looks ranging from disbelief, Sailor Mars, to extreme interest, Sailor Mercury.
“So…um…what exactly does that story have to do with me?” asked Sailor Moon hesitantly.
“Like I said earlier, you are the Phoenix.”
“Oh boy. I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“Wait!” said Mars forcefully. “How do we know what you say is true. You could have simply made it all up.”
“It’s true, I could have made it all up. But to what purpose?”
“How should I know. This could all be part of some elaborate trap.”
Cologne began laughing and Mars got an angry look on her face. “No offense girl, but if I wanted to hurt you I could do it just fine right here. I would have no need to lure you into a trap.”
“How could you possibly defeat all of us?” asked Jupiter. “No offense, but you don’t look like much of a fighter.”
Cologne moved as soon as Jupiter finished her sentence. She brought her staff up and slammed it into Jupiter’s chest. Jupiter had no time to react and she was sent crashing into a wall. Mars moved to attack Cologne and she brought her staff around to sweep Mars’s legs out from under her. Mars was able to stay on her feet, but before she could completely regain her balance, Cologne appeared directly in front of her. Cologne raised a withered finger and used it to tap Mars in the forehead. Mars hit the wall and landed next to Jupiter.
The others were just beginning to move to help their friends, but Cologne was already back behind the desk perched atop her staff. “I’m sorry if I hurt anyone, but I figured that was the best way to prove my point.” Mars and Jupiter were slowly picking themselves off of the floor, but they didn’t look to be in to bad a shape. They were both eyeing Cologne with newfound respect.
“You must be one of the two ancient masters Dr. Tofu told us about,” said Mercury wide eyed.
“Probably. The only other person around here who could possibly be categorized as an ancient master is Happosai, and that’s stretching things in my opinion. Anyway, I take it you accept the fact that I’m not lying to you.” All of the Scouts nodded quickly, and Cologne smiled, “Good.”
“So…about this Phoenix thing,” said Sailor Moon. “Is there any way I can get someone else to take the job?”
Cologne sighed and rubbed her temples. “Why do they have to make it difficult?” she muttered. “No, only you can be the Phoenix and help save the world.”
“But I don’t wanna be the Phoenix. All I want to be is a normal teenage girl. Why does stuff like this always happen to me?” Sailor Moon sat down on the floor and began crying.
“Your such a baby Sailor Moon,” chastised Mars. “If it’s your destiny to save the world then you have to accept it. It’s not like you haven’t done it before.”
“Don’t worry Sailor Moon,” added Venus, “we’ll help you protect the Earth.”
Sailor Moon sniffled loudly. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course,” said Jupiter. “Have we ever let you down before?”
Tuxedo Mask came up and put his arms around Moon. “We’ll always fight by your side.”
Sailor Moon rubbed her nose on her glove. “Thanks guys, you’re the best.”
Sailor Mercury turned to Cologne, “You said there was another warrior, the Dragon. Do you know who he is?”
Cologne nodded. “Ranma is the Dragon.”
“Which Ranma?” asked Jupiter
“There is only one Ranma.”
Mercury considered this for a moment. “I guess that means the male Ranma since the female Ranma’s real name is Ranko.” She looked toward Cologne for conformation, but Cologne didn’t seem to be listening. She was staring intently toward the front of the restaurant. “Is something wrong?”
Cologne turned to look at the Scouts. “Someone is coming.” All of the Scouts immediately assumed defensive stances and Cologne laughed. “Don’t worry, they live here.” The Scouts visibly relaxed and everyone looked to the hole in the wall as a pink and white cat and a duck wearing glasses came into the room. “There you two are. I wondered what had happened to you.”
Shampoo studied the Scouts for a moment, then pawed around at the hole in the wall and meowed a few times. Mousse flew to the desk and quacked noisily at Cologne. Cologne swatted him with her staff. “I will tell you both what happened later.”
Sailor Moon bent down and picked up Shampoo. “What a cute little kitty. Kind of funny colored though.” Shampoo hissed and dug her claws into Moons arm. Moon dropped Shampoo with a squeal.
“Be nice Shampoo,” said Cologne, “these people are guests. I’m sorry about that, but Shampoo doesn’t like to be treated like a cat.” Shampoo meowed again and looked at Cologne. “There should be some hot water in the kitchen. Go and change back. You too Mousse, we have much to talk about.”
The Scouts watched Shampoo and Mousse leave and then turned back to Cologne. “You treat them like their human,” commented Venus.
“They are.” The Scouts exchanged confused looks and then looked questioningly at Cologne. “It’s a long story and not important at the moment. You, Sailor Moon, need to find Ranma and work with him. Together you need to learn how to use the power of the Dragon and the Phoenix.”
“You mean you don’t know how the power works,” said Sailor Moon a little worriedly.
“No. All I know is that the power within you both is stirring. I have felt it and it is slowly growing stronger.”
Sailor Moon opened her mouth, but was cut off by a loud banging from the kitchen. The sound of someone shouting in Chinese could be heard, and then there was a sound as if something, or someone, had been hit. The Scouts watched as a girl wrapped in a tablecloth stalked past the room muttering angrily to herself. A few moments later a young man, also wrapped in a tablecloth, walked by holding an ice pack against his cheek.
“Hey!” exclaimed Jupiter. “I recognize those two from the fight in the park.”
“The girl is my great granddaughter and the boy lives with us. They are both accomplished fighters. I sent them to help because I felt the dark power gathering around you and Ranma, and I knew you would need their help.”
“Thanks,” said Mars, “we did need their help.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” asked Mercury.
“No, I have told you everything I can.”
Tuxedo Mask rose to his feet. “Well then, I guess we’ll be going now. We have much to talk about and the day is growing late.”
The Scouts made their good byes to Cologne and made their way out of the restaurant. Cologne followed them to the front area and stopped. “I hope to see you again,” she said, “but with what you are facing I do not know if I will or not.”
The Scouts passed looks around and then waved one last time before heading toward home. Cologne watched them until they were to far away to see anymore, then she turned to look up at the late afternoon sun. “The warriors have been gathered, but I fear they may not be strong enough. I can feel the dark power growing and it is very great.”
“It has been this great before,” said a voice from behind Cologne, “and the Dragon and the Phoenix have always managed to defeat it.”
Cologne didn’t bother to turn around. She knew who she would see. “So you say Setsuna, but have the forces of the light ever been so varied. The Scouts should be fine, but I pray Ranma and his “friends” will be able to put aside their differences and petty bickering. They all have to face the evil as one, and if they cannot then they are doomed, and so is the Earth.”
“For generations the warriors of Joketsuzoku have guided those chosen to defend the Earth. Always they have succeeded. I have faith that you too will succeed.”
“It is as you say Guardian, but how can you be so sure of success when you know what is against us, and what the future will bring for our two champions?”
“You have not told them have you?”
“No. How can you possibly tell someone that it is their destiny to die?” There was no comment from Setsuna and Cologne turned around. There was no one behind her, but the restaurant looked brand new. Muttering about how unnatural it was for someone to mess with the time stream, Cologne went inside to try and explain the day’s events to her great granddaughter and Mousse.
“I’m home,” shouted Akane as she made her way through the front door of the Tendou dojo.
“Oh, there you are Akane,” said Kasumi as she came out of the kitchen. “We were beginning to worry about you.”
“I’m fine. Say, have you seen Ranma.”
“He’s in the backyard training,” said Nabiki coming around a corner. “Or at least that’s what he calls it. I call it breaking things because you’re in a bad mood.”
“So he’s upset then?” asked Akane.
“That’s one word for it. Did something happen between you and him today? He looks like he could shatter a boulder with his stare.”
“No,” said Akane hastily. “Nothing happened today. Besides the park incident, I mean. I’ll go talk to him, though. Maybe he’ll tell me what’s wrong.” Before Nabiki could ask anymore questions, Akane hurried away to talk to Ranma. She could fell Nabiki’s eyes on her back, and she knew her sister didn’t buy the fact that nothing had happened.
Akane found Ranma right were Nabiki had said she would. In the back yard breaking things. Judging by the pile of broken bottles, bricks, and two-by-fours it looked like Ranma had been at it for quite a while. At the moment he had a bucket full of bricks. Curious as to what he was going to do with them, Akane stood back and watched.
Ranma took the bucket and placed a few more bricks in it. Then, with a mighty heave, he threw all of the bricks high into the air. Throwing the bucket aside, Ranma assumed a fighting stance. As the bricks fell around him, Ranma used his chestnut fist attack to turn them into dust. Not a single brick hit the ground in less than two pieces. When he was done, Ranma just stood there.
“Feel better now?” asked Akane.
Ranma jumped and whirled to face Akane. Seeing who it was he seemed to relax a little. “Oh, it’s just you.”
“Who’d you think I was, Sailor Moon.”
At the mention of that name Ranma visibly tensed. “That’s not a name I really want to hear right now Akane.”
“Well too bad, you’re going to hear it. You were very rude to the Scouts today, and after all they’ve done for you too.”
“After all they’ve done for me? They put me in a dress damn it! I don’t know about you, but that’s not something I’m really grateful for.”
“Would you have been able to beat that samurai guy if they hadn’t? Besides, I didn’t see any of the Scouts put that outfit on you.”
“No, but their cat did.”
“Their cat?”
“Yes, their cat. You remember that cat that scared me in the park earlier today? Well apparently it talks. And not only does it talk, but it also tells people their reincarnated warriors and makes little wands that turn people into Scouts.”
“So your telling me a talking cat turned you into a Scout.”
“Sorta. It gave me the wand, but I said the words that transformed me.” Ranma shuddered. “I swear I don’t ever want to see the Scouts or their stupid cat again.”
“Well they want to see you.”
“I told you, I’m not gonna be a Scout.” Ranma turned to leave, but Akane stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“They don’t care if you’re a Scout or not. They just want to be your friend.”
“Huh?” said Ranma looking at Akane over his shoulder.
“I said they just want to be friends. Whether or not you become a Scout is up to you.” Ranma turned away from Akane again and began studying the sky. “Come on Ranma. Weren’t you saying that it would be nice to have some friends that weren’t always trying to kill you or marry you? These are them. And besides, you owe them an apology for your earlier behavior.”
“I don’t owe anyone an apology,” grumbled Ranma half-heartily. He went back to studying the sky for a few moments and then turned to Akane. “I’ll think about it,” he said, and then he walked off.
Well, at least he didn’t flat out refuse to talk to them, thought Akane, that’s something. Akane turned to go, but stopped suddenly as a thought crossed her mind. Should she tell Ranma that Sailor Moon was the Phoenix? She decided not to since it was sort of Sailor Moons secret. With that taken care of she left the backyard and went inside to see if she had time for a bath before dinner.
When Akane was out of sight Ranma made his way onto the roof of the dojo. This was his favorite place to be when he needed to think something over. Akane was right you know, said the voice in Ranma’s head as he lay down on the roof, you really were rude to the Scouts.
“Shut up. I’m trying to think.”
Oh, trying something new are we?
Ranma ground his teeth together. “You’re very annoying for a rock.”
I try. Seriously though, what’s to think about? The Scouts have helped you out before and they’ve said they don’t care whether or not you are a Scout. Why don’t you want to be friends with them?
Ranma didn’t answer, but instead studied the sky. He watched as clouds drifted lazily through the vast expanse of blue and tried not to think about Scouts or rocks.
I know why you don’t want to be friends, said the voice. It’s because your afraid they’ll find out about your little curse. And if they do your afraid they’ll think your some kind of freak.
“I’m not afraid of anything!” shouted Ranma.
Oh really? Then why won’t you be friends with the Scouts?
“Because I don’t wanna be a Sailor Scout.”
They’ve already said you don’t have to be if you don’t want to. I myself don’t see what the problem is. It’s not like you haven’t been in a dress before.
“This time it’s different.”
How is it different?
Ranma thought furiously for a moment. “It just is!”
Oh, well I can’t argue with such amazing logic. Looks like you win. The Scouts would obviously make lousy friends. They care about your feelings, they help you when you need help, and they don’t try to kill you all the time. Yep, what lousy friends.
Ranma went back to grinding his teeth together. “Fine,” he finally said, “I’ll try and be friends with them.”
Oh good. I see you’re not as stupid as I thought you were.
“One question though. How am I supposed to find them?” As Ranma was pondering this question he heard a familiar squeal from below. Leaning over the edge of the roof he saw a familiar black pig making his way down the front path. “Well, well, well, looks like I just solved that problem.” Ranma jumped off the roof and landed right in front of P-chan. Picking up P-chan by his head band, Ranma put himself face-to-face with the piglet. “Am I ever glad to see you Ryoga.” Smiling to himself, Ranma tucked a squealing P-chan under one arm and went off to find some hot water.
That night Ranma dreamed.
It was night and he was standing in a massive courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a giant fountain decorated with crescent moons. The fountain was dry though, and the courtyard was pock marked by small craters and covered in chunks of stone. Massive pillars, few of which still stood, surrounded the courtyard. A battle, thought Ranma. A battle was fought here. But where is here?
Ranma looked around trying to find something that would tell him where he was. Not finding anything in the courtyard, Ranma began searching the sky to see if the stars could tell him anything. They couldn’t, but the large ball of blue and green hanging in the sky did. That’s the Earth, thought a stunned Ranma. Which means I’m on the Moon. The moment Ranma made that realization, the courtyard began swirling with images.
Ranma spun around trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The courtyard was filled with the ephemeral shapes of people talking and laughing. The courtyard seemed whole again and the fountain sprayed water high into the air. Ranma knew what he was seeing wasn’t real, he could see right through the people, but it felt real. It felt right.
“Come on Riana,” said a familiar voice from behind Ranma. “We’re gonna miss our chance to get a good seat for watching the fireworks.”
Ranma turned to see two girls he recognized. The one who had spoken was Sailor Jupiter, and she was tugging on the arm of the other girl. It was that girl that made Ranma stare. Her red hair hung down to the small of her back and it was loose, but there was no mistaking who she was. She was him. Or rather, she was his female side as a Sailor Scout. Ranma was too stunned to do anything but stare.
Suddenly there was a loud commotion from one end of the courtyard. Ranma tore his gaze off of his Sailor double to see what was happening. On top of a raised platform stood Sailor Mercury, Mars, and Venus. They were surrounding what looked like an older, more mature Sailor Moon wearing a flowing white dress. She raised her hand and silence filled the courtyard. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could an explosion rocked the courtyard.
The explosion had come from behind Ranma, and he whirled to see what had happened. The pillars that had stood at that end of the courtyard had been shattered and standing in their place were three gray clad men and one woman. One of them seemed to look right at Ranma as he raised his hand. Before Ranma could react black fire erupted from the mans hand and completely engulfed him. Ranma screamed in pain as the black fire seared his flesh, and then suddenly the pain and the fire were gone.
Ranma looked himself over to see how badly he had been hurt, but he looked completely unharmed. He looked around and saw that the courtyard was as it had been before all of the images had appeared. A dream, he thought, this is only a dream. I need to try and wake up so I can sort through what I just saw. That was all real, I’m sure of it. Ranma closed his eyes and concentrated on waking up. He almost made it awake, but the day had been long and his exhausted mind pulled him back down into a deep, dreamless sleep.
“I did some research on Jusenkyo this morning,” said Amy.
“What did you find out?” asked Mina. After the events of the previous day, the Scouts had decided to go home to think over what they had learned. It was late morning now, and everybody (with the exception of Darien) was sitting around inside the Hikawa shrine discussing what had happened and what they had learned the day before.
“Not much I’m afraid. The only information I could find came from my computer, and that was just a small blurb.”
“So, what did it say?” asked an impatient Serena.
“All it said was that Jusenkyo is a training ground of cursed springs that should never, under any circumstances, be visited.”
“So why do you suppose Ranma went there then?” asked Lita.
“Probably because he didn’t know it was cursed. Like I said, the only information I could find on it was from my computer.”
“Did it say how it was cursed?”
“No, just that it was.”
“Did you find out anything about that old woman’s Dragon and Phoenix?” asked Rei.
“I did a little looking, but I didn’t find anything. I think she was telling the truth though.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew about the Silver Millennium and the war with Metallia so I think she knows a lot about stuff that isn’t common knowledge. Like old prophecies. And besides, Ranma seems to trust her and I can’t find any reason why she would lie to us.”
“So let’s say it is true. What are we going to do about it?” Silence answered Serena’s question and she sighed loudly. “I guess we don’t know that either.”
“And we also don’t know what we’re going to do about Ranko,” commented Luna.
“Your sure you didn’t say anything that could have upset her Luna?” asked Lita.
“I told her basically the same things I told all of you when I gave you your henshin wands. There was nothing in what I told her that should have made her so angry.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t like wearing a fuku,” said Serena helpfully.
Luna rolled her eyes. “Somehow I don’t think that’s the reason.”
Serena opened her mouth to defend her idea, but the door to Rei’s room slid open and Serena cut off what she was going to say. The bald head of Rei’s grandfather appeared in the doorway and Rei stood up angrily. “Have you forgotten how to knock grandfather?!”
“Sorry Rei, but there are a couple of girls here to see you. They said it was very important that they talk to you.” Before Rei could ask who they were, her grandfather was gone.
“Here when you don’t want him and gone when you do,” said an exasperated Rei. “Anyway, I wonder whose here.” Rei made her way out of her room and the other girls followed.
Ranma-chan stood in the courtyard eyeing her surroundings cautiously. Mainly she was searching for a certain talking cat, but any of the people who supposedly hung out here would do. Akane stood a little ways off and appeared completely calm, but Ranma-chan was anything but. She didn’t like the idea of coming here, but she had agreed and now there was no going back.
“So tell me again how Ryoga knew this was where one of the Scouts lived,” said Akane.
Ranma-chan sighed. After a lot of arguing Ryoga had finally told Ranma the identities of the Scouts and the name of the place where he could probably contact them. His directions to said place had left much to be desired, however, and she and Akane had spent all morning trying to find the Hikawa shrine. “He got lost and accidentally stumbled across them when they were transforming into Scouts. Apparently it was the same day he jumped me in Juuban.”
Akane nodded and went back to calmly studying her surroundings. Ranma-chan was resuming her search for cats when she heard a gasp from behind her. As jumpy as she was, Ranma-chan leaped straight up into the air and came down in a defensive stance facing the direction the sound had come from. She relaxed, slightly, when she saw that the gasp had come from a girl with long dark hair wearing the robes of a Shinto priestess. “You must be Rei.”
“How…how…?” The girls jaw worked, but no sound came out. Behind her four other girls appeared, but they all stopped dead when they saw Ranma-chan.
From Ryoga’s descriptions Ranma-chan was able to put a name to each girl. “Serena, Amy, Lita, Mina, and Rei,” she said nodding her head to each girl in turn, “the Sailor Scouts.” If the girl’s eyes had been wide before, now they were huge. Suddenly someone hit Ranma-chan across the back of her head. “What did ya do that for?!” shouted Ranma-chan as she rounded on Akane.
“Do you always keep secrets by shouting them across courtyards?” asked an angry Akane. “You promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone else their identities Ranma. If you do then I swear I’ll tell them your secret.”
“Don’t you dare,” growled Ranma-chan. Forgetting about the Scouts, Ranma-chan and Akane engaged in a glaring match.
“Um…excuse me,” said Amy hesitantly. Ranma-chan and Akane unlocked their gazes from each other and turned back to the Scouts. “Can you tell us how you managed to discover our identities?”
Ranma-chan nodded. “Ryoga told me.”
“Who?”
“A guy about my age, always wears a yellow headband and caries a red bamboo umbrella.”
Rei’s face went livid. “That’s the same guy who put a hole in my house! How the hell does he know who we are and what is he doing telling people?”
“He did mention something about a wall,” said Ranma-chan thoughtfully. “Don’t worry about Ryoga, though. I had to practically beat the information out of him and I know that he won’t tell anyone else. And as for how he found out who you were, that’s kind of a secret. But trust me, it was completely accidental.”
“So if that’s how you found us,” said Lita, “the other question is why are you here? I thought you didn’t want to see us anymore.”
“Well…” said Ranma-chan a little hesitantly. “I…um…decided that uhh…well…”
“Come on Ranma,” said Akane impatiently. “You promised you’d go through with this.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there. Look, what I’m trying to say is…” Ranma-chan took a deep breath and finished in a rush. “I’m sorry about what I said yesterday and I want to be your friend.”
Smiles blossomed on the faces of all the girls and Serena ran out to where Ranma-chan was standing. “That’s great!” she exclaimed throwing her arms around Ranma-chan. She released a rather startled Ranma-chan and promptly threw herself at Akane. “Thanks for talking to her for us. I knew you’d be able to bring her around.”
“Um…you’re welcome,” said a somewhat surprised Akane. The other girls gathered around the two martial artists and began adding their own comments about how glad they were to have them for friends. Ranma-chan was slightly amazed at the reaction she was getting, but at the same time she also felt strangely happy.
“Why don’t you two come in for some cookies,” invited Rei.
“I have a better idea,” said Serena. “Why don’t we all go shopping?” The other girls, including Akane, thought that was a great idea.
“Shopping?” said Ranma-chan.
“Yeah,” said Mina. “You look like you could use a new outfit. Those Chinese clothes don’t suit you. I saw this red dress the other day that I think you’ll look great in, though.”
“Dress?” said Ranma-chan looking a little pale.
“And maybe a new hair style to,” said Jupiter. “I think if you wore your hair loose you’d have a better chance of catching yourself a boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” said a now completely white Ranma-chan.
“Don’t worry,” added Serena, “we’ll have you looking like a boy magnet in no time.”
Ranma-chan turned to Akane for help, but she had a huge smile on her face and looked like she was about to burst into laughter. I don’t see what she thinks is so funny about all of this, thought Ranma-chan as she began thinking up ways to get out of her new predicament. Unfortunately nothing came to mind.
