As she leapt from yet another rooftop, she wondered why trouble had to reinsert itself into their lives so soon. The fight for peace, she knew, would be an ongoing battle until the end of time; but couldn't it have waited until after Summer vacation was over? And why did it have to happen so early in the morning?
"This better not be something that'll take up too much time to defeat." She groused to herself. She did have some youth that she wished to preserve, after all.
Chapter I: A new moon.
A certain pigtailed martial artist whistled idly while he walked along the top of a fence that overlooked the canal, his arms folded behind his head and intent on taking his leisurely time on his way to the empty lot.
As one might have already guessed, he was once again on his way to answer one of Ryoga's challenges. And, as usual, the date for the duel had long since passed. In fact, this was Ranma's seventh day of routine inspections to see if Ryoga had arrived yet, which had started three days after the issued date on the challenge.
Truth be told, Ranma was beginning to get a little worried. Ryoga may have a tendency to be late, but almost never by ten days. Sure, maybe he wasn't being detained by anything life-threatening (at least that's what he was hoping for), but he was concerned nonetheless. Despite his "friend's" vendetta, there was something that Ranma liked about him that, given time, helped to allay his anger toward him. As to what that was, well, that was anyone's guess: because he didn't know himself.
His musings were interrupted by faint screams, which were soon followed by explosions and plumes of smoke that originated only two blocks away.
"What in the hell's goin' on over there?" He wondered, forgetting about his fight with Ryoga (should he have been in the designated location) and running toward the source of the disturbance. Whatever was happening certainly couldn't have been caused by anyone he knew, right?
Unfortunately, he was correct. Skidding to a stop after rounding the last corner to his destination, he gawked, shocked at the sight before him.
Okay, maybe he'd fought Pantyhose enough times to be confident enough to fight him without much thought, but this thing made him beyond cautious. He was downright petrified. Two long, segmented horns protruded from its head, curved much like a ram's. Its body was monstrous, covered in black fur, and an equally black, leathery hide where such fur was absent. Muscles bulged to enormous proportions wherever muscle could be found, and his hands and feet, much like those of an ape's, seemed larger than normal. On its back, huge, bat-like wings could be found, adorned with knife-sized nails at the tips of each finger. Its face, though very much like Pantyhose's, was twisted into an ever-present scowl, and it had deep, seethingly-red embers for eyes, eyes that looked out from the shadowy depths of their sockets.
If Ranma were capable of thinking at this point and time, and had decided to make a comparison between the entity before him and the cursed form of Pantyhose, he'd've gladly fought a dozen of the latter before even thinking of fighting the former. If anything truer could be said, the demon before him could probably win most of its battles through intimidation alone. However, despite the apprehension he felt, his resolve to face the demon solidified as he watched it pick up a man who had tried to run out from one of the stores, who was then enveloped in some kind of red energy before being tossed aside like a doll. The unfortunate victim met a building's facade with a nauseating splat. It was then, as he watched the man crumple to the ground, morbidly transfixed as he was to the gore that he had just beared witness to, that he noticed others who had met a similar fate.
"Enough!" He shouted, grabbing the demon's attention. He doubted that he had any chance of beating this... Thing... But he'd be forever ashamed if he didn't try. One might be surprised if they knew such doubts but, then again, who was there that could read his mind, where such thoughts were never revealed aloud?
His body tensed as the demon sprinted toward him, its hungry eyes unnerving him greatly. This was not his everyday, run-of-the-mill demon that he fought on occasion; no, this one was extremely dangerous, if those lifeless bodies littering the ground were any indication.
When the demon was upon him, he jumped directly into its face, avoiding its grasp at the same time as he prepared to go straight into the use of one of his special techniques. It'd be foolish to test the waters against something so obviously evil and strong.
"Kachu tenshin amaguriken!" He announced, his left fist blurring into a flurry of activity as it struck the creature's face multiple times with all the strength he could muster behind it.
The demon lumbered back against the onslaught, but was otherwise unfazed. In fact, it responded by thoughtlessly throwing its head forward, unconcerned about the impact a whole human body would make against it. This caught Ranma by complete surprise, who had barely been fast enough to shield himself with his arms before impact.
Sailing through the air, his forearms screaming in pain, Ranma knew he was outmatched even before he crashed through a window and several aisles of shelves in a movie rental shop. But that didn't stop him from standing up and running back out into the light of day, ready to give his all in hopes of defeating his enemy. The demon awaited him, and licked its chops as it made to grab him again. Ignoring the former (which was quite disconcerting), he dodged the giant hand (being slightly comforted by the though of having a speed advantage), gathered his confidence, then joined his hands at their base and extended them toward his target's face, shouting, "Moko takabisha!"
Ranma took the chance to leap back, distancing himself from his opponent to see the results of his attack, wondering if said opponent's inaction was a good sign.
It wasn't. When the smoke cleared from its face, it was looking down at him with, if it were at all possible to tell (much less measure), a hunger bordering on lust. And he was startled when it spoke, its voice bellowing deep, rattling surrounding windows and vibrating his body ever-so-slightly.
"Yummmm..."
Before he could respond, Ranma found himself crushed within the demon's grasp, who had taken the opportunity to take advantage of his distraction. Well, most anyone would have been surprised if they had blasted a demon in the face and had gotten the kind of response that this one had given. Most would have expected them to be annoyed, or at least something along those lines.
Not this one, and Ranma soon found out why: the red energy had surrounded him, stripping him of his strength no sooner than it had appeared. The demon was absorbing his energy! He struggled, but the demon's grip was too strong for him to escape and he was rapidly losing what energy he had for accomplishing such a feat.
"Shishi hokodan!"
Ranma's body was jarred as a ball of green energy impacted the wrist of the hand that held him and, fortunately, the demon relinquished his grip as a result. Falling to his feet, he was too drained to stand just yet and thus he fell onto his bottom because of it. However, he was quite capable of turning his head to regard whom he had expected to see a short distance aside from him: Ryoga.
Ryoga, of course, wielded his umbrella in one hand after sending his energy blast. He wore a smirk on his face as he challenged the demon, proclaiming, "I won't allow you to kill Ranma: that's my privilege, and mine alone!" And with that being said, he then charged the demon with a battle cry.
"Oh, my hero..." Ranma muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. What right could Ryoga possibly hold over his life, anyway?
Rising to his feet, having recovered from being drained to some extent, Ranma decided to attack while Ryoga had the demon's attention. Obviously, someone with more energy (at the moment) was worth paying more attention to. The question was: what could be done now? Throwing energy at it was the same as feeding it, and conventional attacks didn't seem to have much effect. The Hiryu shoten ha wouldn't be possible because of the demon's size and strength; not because the demon may be too heavy to lift or too strong to be effected, but rather because there would be no room to draw it into a spiral and his shortage of strength wouldn't allow him to dodge very well anyway.
No sooner had he come to these conclusions did the demon snatch Ryoga out of the air, who hadn't figured out that the demon had been absorbing his energy blasts the whole time.
"Ryoga!" He yelled before leaping into the air, making an attempt to free his "friend" by attacking the demon from behind.
And was it ever an attempt: the demon, as if nonchalantly, spread its wings out and swatted him away by turning about. It didn't hurt much, the thin membrane of the wing that hit him being much softer than a skull, but sliding along the pavement, unable to right himself onto his feet as the friction quickly done away with the back of his shirt, had been anything but pleasant. Going through a stream of water, the source of which being a busted fire hydrant that an overturned car rested over, wasn't particularly pleasing either.
Getting to her knees, Ranma raised her head to see that Ryoga was in the process of being drained in much the same way that she had been.
"Damn it!" She cursed, despairing over the realization that she couldn't do anything.
And, so, she didn't even bother to rise to her feet, watching as Ryoga lost more and more of his strength to the demon, even as he futilely pounded on the hand that held him. But almost immediately she bowed her head and cracked the asphalt by slamming her fists against it, thinking desperately for a solution. Of course, only one idea came to mind: using what strength she had left to, at the very least, save Ryoga (even at personal risk).
Deciding thusly, she jumped to her feet and dashed toward the demon, calling out, "Hey! Ugly!"
"Who're you calling ugly!?" Ryoga retorted from his place within the demon's grasp. Said demon looked over its shoulder to regard the source of the voice and promptly snorted.
"I wasn't talking to you, you idiot!" Ranma responded with a tone of exasperation just before sliding between the demon's legs. Then, for the first time in all her years as a martial artist, she decided to implement a secret technique that was only to be used under the most desperate of circumstances... The Saotome's school of martial arts secret desperation attack: "taking the family jewels!"
"HAI-YA!"
Time seemed to stand still as Ryoga stared at his rival's extended leg, said leg currently embedded in the demon's groin. Ranma's head was turned away, one eye closed and the other partly so as it took a glimpse of her deed, a small part of her just too morbidly curious about just where her foot had actually gone.
And then time appeared to flow freely again. Ranma landed on one foot, then proceeded to hop up and down on it as she clutched at her gallant one, which was smarting after it had delivered its blow. Ryoga was released from his containment and was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground. The demon let out an ear-deafening howl of pain as it grasped its groin with both hands, tears pouring out from its void-like eyes.
"Ranma!" Ryoga gasped, pointing at said person accusingly. "Have you no shame!?"
Ranma turned to face Ryoga and fixed him with a glare, hardly amused, while still relieving her offended foot from the ground.
"I just saved you, pork butt!"
Whatever respite they had gained by Ranma's "unscrupulous" attack was wasted with words. Not only that, but it allowed the demon to backhand Ranma before she had a chance to raise a proper defense, and she was sent crashing through a wall of a nearby building.
"Mercury aqua rhapsody!" Was called out from above.
Startled, Ryoga then witnessed a torrent of water as it smashed into the side of the demon's head. The demon was knocked off balance and fell onto its side, but it soon returned to its feet and turned its gaze to the figure standing atop a building. It promptly forget about its former captive as its eyes settled upon its next victim.
Sailor Mercury, who was the first and only to arrive at the scene as of yet, frowned down at the boy who remained standing beside the demon, whom she thought would have had enough sense to run to safety.
"Run!" She shouted. "While I have it distracted!"
"Run? Me? Never!" Thought Ryoga to himself.
"..."
Well, he figured that a brief retreat to await a second wind might not be so bad. So thinking, he ran across the street and entered the building Ranma had been hit through, using the entrance she had involuntarily made. It wasn't that he was concerned about her: it was just a matter of making sure she was alive so he could kill her later himself.
As he heard that strange girl yell that attack of hers again, he found his rival lying in what remained of a toilet and its stall in some restaurant's restroom...
* * * * *
"Where am I?" Ranma wondered, puzzled by her surroundings.
All around she found nothing but whiteness, in the form of feathers, stars, moons, hearts and various styles and patterns of cloth. The background was a shifting and wavering opalescence, often casting the colors of the rainbow onto the white objects around her. It was quite pretty, if she did think so herself.
"What am I thinking!?" She questioned herself. Guys didn't describe things as... Hold on; technically she was a girl at the moment, and no one seemed to be around, so... Nothing to worry about!
"Still... Where on earth am I? Am I dead?"
"You're in a dream, princess." A response came to her, seemingly from nowhere.
"Who's there!?" She exclaimed in alarm, looking about herself for her unknown quarry.
It took a moment for her to register what exactly had been said, mostly due to being disoriented by the constant weightlessness she was experiencing. Once she did, she demanded, "And who're you callin' a princess!?"
"Why, you, of course."
A slight breeze began to come from the West (she could tell somehow), and it was warm and pleasant. Willing herself to turn about so she could face against the movement of the wind, she yelped in surprise when she found a miniature version of herself directly before her face.
"But that couldn't be me!" She thought to herself as she examined the figure before her. Said figure might have had her cobalt blue eyes, vibrant red hair, creamy white skin, as well as her figure and short stature, but there was no way she'd ever wear that getup!
The getup in question was a black, form-fitting body suit with white ribbons tied into bows over her bosom and at the small of her back, the former bow bearing a shiny black gem at its center. There was a white, sunburst-pleated miniskirt that proudly displayed her thighs in abundance. Her feet and calves were encased in black, knee-length boots with two-inch heels, the top of each tipped with a small band of white. Also, her hands were fit with black gloves that only reached as far as the wrist, where the cuff extended away and removed itself from contact with her skin and had a small band of white encircling the end that was similar to the one on her boots. The sailor collar was white with three black stripes along and near the hem, and the choker around her neck was black. In her ears were dangling earrings, with black-colored crescent moons hanging from pearls. Across her temple was a golden tiara with a small, black gem gleaming in its center. Finally, her fanny-length hair was tied with a black bow at the base of her braid.
"Wh-who're you?" She managed to stammer out, finding herself feeling quite awkward.
"I'm you, silly!" Her mini-self replied, giggling.
Ranma hadn't noticed before, but her voice was very pleasant to hear; a light and sweet soprano if she had ever heard one.
"Do I really sound like that?" She wondered to herself, in the privacy of her mind.
"But... How can that be?" She asked in response to what her so-called miniature self had claimed, feeling confused. Wasn't she a man? And what was up with her attire, not to mention diminutive size?
Smiling as she had been since her appearance, her mini-self genially answered, saying, "I am a spiritual representation of your heart, and what you see before you is a former incarnation that has been awakened in you. The day you fell into the nyannichuan was the day you reclaimed the body and memories of your past self." She leaned forward, a curious look on her face. "Don't tell me you never noticed?"
Ranma shook her head, hardly comprehending what had just been explained to her.
"Notice what?" She asked. Was she saying that she was a girl in a past life, and the nyannichuan had made her that girl?
"Concentrate." Was her mini-self's simple reply, remaining patient.
Even more confounded now, Ranma regarded her with a puzzled expression.
"Concentrate on what?" She wondered to herself. Maybe... She did say something about memories from her past life... Could that be it?
Concentrating on memories she didn't even know that she had, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind in the process. It was then that she finally became aware of how calm she had been in the place that she found herself at, and that being nude hadn't even bothered her nor seem important. She also noticed that her thought processes were working perfectly, everything coming and going freely and clearly. She found that a little odd. However, even stranger was her sudden realization of what her mini-self had been referring to. She had thought back to the day she had been cursed but, for some unknown reason, she had just now noticed how different she had been before taking her fateful plunge. In her search for the memories that belonged to her past life, she had instead found some from her current one and, in all honesty, did not like what she had found.
She, before the plunge, was very much like her father in almost every way and, despite not having any experience with girls, she knew she'd've been confident enough to... Get what she wanted out of her girlfriends. She was so arrogant, so thoughtless and selfish... How could she have not noticed the changes (the lack of said confidence, thoughtlessness and selfishness) after being cursed? She should have been confident when she first met the Tendo family, and would have picked Kasumi since she had seemed so docile and easy to manipulate.
"Kami-sama!" Was her shocked, internal response. "Would I have really done that? Yes... Yes, I would have."
But the curse, or rather the blessing, had seemingly mixed her personality with that of her past incarnation's and made such an occurrence impossible. She wasn't sure how she knew, but an unknown intuition told her that she was absolutely correct.
So, the Ranma that was literally carried into the Tendo's lives was more timid and conscientious, more selfless and open to learning. However, depending on the circumstances, the better or worse aspects of her personality could be drawn out and be more dominant.
Opening her eyes to gaze upon her mini-self, she was given a bouncy nod and a radiant smile.
"That's right." She was told, answering her unasked question.
"But... Why?" She inquired, then hastily added, "Not that I'm complainin' or nothin'."
And why not complain? From her viewpoint during this point and time, she hated her former self. Perhaps she wouldn't have such an opinion of herself if no changes to her personality had been made, but how could she have lived with herself treating people even worse than her father? Moreover, why had she not noticed before... That she had become different?
"Beats me!" Came the cheery reply, causing Ranma to give her an expression of incredulity. Then, shrugging, she continued, saying, "I'm a part of you that you never used in your past incarnation, so I'm about as much in the dark as you are. However..."
"However?" Ranma inquired intently, taking the bait.
"However, the reason for us meeting together like this at long last is because your 'heart' yearns for the capability to do good, to protect others from evil, much like the monstrosity that defeated you."
"I wasn't defeated." Ranma grumbled, eyes downcast and cheeks slightly flushed. "I'm just taking a breather, okay?"
"Whatever you say." Her mini-self replied with a smile that reached her eyes, amused. "Either way, it's your choice to unlock your heritage and memories. As your guardian, I've come in your time of need, and in response to the call of destiny. The choice is up to you."
"Wait-a-minute!" Ranma blurted out abruptly. "Heritage? Guardian? Destiny? What're you talking about?"
With an impish little grin, her "guardian" cryptically said, "Now that... Is a secret!" She was waggling her finger at her.
Ranma, for lack of a better word, was not amused. In fact, she was quite annoyed, and her facial expression demonstrated just that.
Sighing forlornly, her guardian allowed her limbs to hang languidly and, with a pout, said, "You're no fun, at all."
Feeling a little apologetic, though still serious, Ranma softly stated, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what's going on and I've had enough problems caused by jumping into the unknown before, you know?"
"I do." Her guardian replied, smiling slightly. "I'm you, remember?"
"Yeah, about that..." Ranma said, purposefully trailing off in the hope of eliciting certain information.
"Well..." Her guardian began thoughtfully, tapping an index finger against her chin. "Every living thing has a star seed: the planets, the animals, you, and every other creature in the cosmos. That's the part of you that I represent, but I'm no ordinary star seed. You see, certain star seeds are special, and they are called sailor crystals."
"What's a sailor crystal?" Ranma interjected.
"Don't interrupt!" Her guardian snapped, glaring balefully.
"Okay, okay!" Ranma quickly acquiesced. And she had thought that Akane had been capricious!
Clearing her throat, her guardian continued in a lecturing tone, saying, "Anyway, a sailor crystal draws power from certain planets or celestial objects, in order to protect them. You, princess, are one of two who have a moon crystal; or so it was, anyway. Your sister relinquished her ties with the moon, gradually, by adapting the Silver crystal as her source of power, her existence. Your destiny lies on a similar path, to allow a new moon crystal to be born."
Ranma didn't understand much of the information at all, but she did manage to catch a few interesting words as she had done once before.
"Princess? Sister?" Her face contorted into a vision of pure complexity. Since when did she have a sister? And how could she be a princess? She was a little surprised at not being disturbed by such feminine titles.
"All sailor crystals are considered royalty." Her guardian explained. "But you were also born a noble in your past incarnation, where you had a twin sister. She has also been reincarnated as you have."
"I... see..." Ranma spoke slowly, trying to make sense of everything she had learned thus far and only succeeding marginally.
For reasons she wouldn't share with her charge, the guardian of Ranma's sailor crystal softly said, "I apologize, but I must go now."
"But... But I have so many things to ask!" Ranma implored, becoming worried. "Wh-what do I do? What do I do with my sailor crystal? What do I do with my sister? How will this affect my current life?" She was practically pleading as she added, "Please! Tell me!"
Her guardian regarded her with compassion in response to her tearing eyes and softly said, "You must make the decision, princess. Your heart is your key; feel it, follow it, allow it to guide you in the right direction. You can continue with your old life, or venture into a new world of learning and growth. Making the transition, should you decide to follow that path, will not be easy. Choose..." She began to fade away as she retreated into a source of light that grew ever brighter. "Until, perhaps, we meet again..."
Ranma shielded her eyes with her arms as she was blinded by a flash of light, as it seemingly encompassed everything and yet nothing...
* * * * *
Groaning, her body aching from the blow that had been incurred by the demon, Ranma
opened her eyes and focused on the blurry shadow that stood in front of a portal of light.
"Good; I see you've managed to survive, Ranma." Came a condescending voice from the shadowy figure, that Ranma quickly recognized as belonging to Ryoga. At the same time her vision resolved that same fact, not to mention the hole in the wall behind him that shone light in her face.
"Shove it, Ryoga." She replied sourly, wincing at the pain that she felt as she sat up, several shards of porcelain cutting her in the process. "The least you could do is to show some gratitude."
Ryoga snorted, turning his head away as he said, "I didn't ask for your help. I almost had myself free when you butt in."
Ranma was tempted to argue, but decided against it. There was a demon to take care of, regardless of her physical condition; and she was determined to fight it until the end.
Clambering to her feet, the act quite painstaking, her thoughts focused on that dream that she had had while she had been unconscious. It felt like it had happened to somebody else, seeing as she had acted somewhat differently than what she decided was normal for her. However, she was certain it had been her that had been the recipient of the dream. And what a dream it had been! If she had hardly understood anything whilst she had dreamed, she hadn't a clue even as the dream faded from her conscious memory. She could remember key elements that had caught her immediate attention in the dream, as well as the end of it, but that was about it.
"What're you doing?" Ryoga inquired, watching as his rival leaned against the remaining partition of the stall for support.
She turned her head to regard the eternally lost boy, a you've got to be kidding me look on her face. "What do you think?" Came her rhetorical response. "I'm going back out there to fight that thing."
"Ha!" Ryoga exclaimed, his mocking tone nettling Ranma instantly. "You couldn't do anything before, and now you can barely stand!"
"I didn't see you do any better!" Ranma stated crossly, wishing that she had the strength to pound that arrogant bastard's head in.
But he was right about one thing: she was quite unsteady on her feet. There was no chance of her fighting now, as she would be just as vulnerable as any other normal person who crossed the demon's path.
"Jupiter oak evolution!" This was followed by an explosion and an enraged outcry from none other than the demon.
"What's going on out there?" Ranma wondered aloud, gazing out the hole in the tiled wall.
"You mean... You don't know?" Ryoga queried carefully, signs of disbelief creeping across his visage.
"Venus love and beauty shock!" And it sounded like the demon was shocked to find that it wasn't very beautiful at all.
Glaring at Ryoga with an ill-humored expression, Ranma pointedly said, "I was unconscious, remember?"
Ryoga blinked a few consecutive times, regarding her silently for a few seconds before bursting out at the seams with laughter. He was wondering how anyone could be ignorant of the Sailor Senshi, but he reasoned that it made sense, as far as he was concerned, that Ranma be among those ignorant of them.
Ranma was visibly steaming, wishing that she could put her foot where the sun didn't shine. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to do that to Ryoga after injuring her one foot while doing that groin attack. Standing on or using her injured foot just wouldn't work.
"I don't need this crap!" Ranma thought, miffed. So thinking, she stumbled toward the exit that she had installed earlier against her will. Maybe she couldn't fight the demon, but she could certainly leave the company of that annoying jackass.
Grabbing ahold of the wall for support, she stood within the hole and stared wide-eyed at the sight of color-coded cheerleaders as they wove around the demon, seeming to distract it with proximity of numbers while another separated from the group undetected.
"Mars flame sniper!" And the lone cheerleader fired an arrow of flame, striking the demon from behind, managing to knock it to the ground. Much of its hair on its back was singed. The other three quickly took the opportunity to unleash their own attacks while the demon lay prostrate before them.
"Venus love and beauty shock!" Declared the cheerleader whom Ranma deemed to be color-coded in orange.
"Mercury aqua rhapsody!" Came from the one color-coded in blue, synchronizing with the one in orange.
"Jupiter oak evolution!" The one color-coded in green joined in, in concert with the other two attacks.
Ranma gaped, amazed at the display of power that she was witnessing. Who could they be? And what were those attacks that they were using, that the demon couldn't absorb? If she had attacks like those, then she was sure that she wouldn't have any problem taking out the stupid demon herself.
When the smoke from the combined attack cleared, the demon picked itself up from the floor of the newly-formed crater and shook its head, clearing it of the disorientation that the blast of those attacks had induced. Then, turning her attention to the cheerleader in red, Ranma found her yelling to nobody in particular as she pressed an index finger onto the stud of her earring. She was too far away to understand what she was saying despite her yelling, but it was obvious that she was quite unhappy about something.
Once again Ranma wondered as to whom they could be. Did they associate with... What was her name... Mariko something... Well, did they associate with whomever she was thinking of? That would explain the strange names of their attacks and why they resembled cheerleaders. But where were their batons, or even their pompoms?
"Still... They won't be able to defeat the demon by themselves." She observed privately.
Which was why she had to do something. She had a score to settle with that demon, anyway and, so thinking, she thought that she was entitled to bring it down herself. But how...? She knew full well her incapability of walking a straight line, much less fight, in her present state.
"Choose..." Whispered a voice in the background of her thoughts, startling her slightly. It was then that something in particular occurred to her.
"These cheerleaders look just like my guardian!"
Maybe they weren't cheerleaders, then? Not that she was all that concerned about that. Either way, they were undoubtedly suited for battling energy-eating demons, and were powerful to boot. Just what kind of attacks did they use, anyway? As she watched the orange-colored "cheerleader" use her attack, she noticed that there was no reaction from her senses, and she couldn't find a trace of a ki signature.
Ryoga, by now, had suppressed his laughter and joined his rival's side within the hole in the wall. His attention was on said rival, and not the girls fighting the demon outside.
"You really don't know who they are?" He queried, sounding almost as if he were skeptical and expected to be fooled.
Ranma looked askance and, seeing that Ryoga seemed more curious than ready-to-tease, answered by giving him a light shake of her head in the negative before asking, "Who are they?"
She then returned her attention to the activity outside and continued to watch the mysterious girls fight.
"They're the sailor senshi." Was Ryoga's simple reply before he returned his attention to the fight. "I'm surprised you've never heard of them."
"Sailor senshi..." Ranma worded quietly, too low for Ryoga to hear over the din of battle.
"There is that 'sailor' word, from my dream." She thought to herself. And these senshi were, without a doubt, protectors, as her guardian had said they would be; they even declared the name of their respective planets with each attack. Was she to be like them?
Reviewing the remnants of her dream, she realized that this was the choice that she was to make: whether to be, or not to be, a senshi. She could be a protector, one capable of defeating the sort of demon that those girls now confronted. And all of them were girls; not powerful, musclebound men in spandex with mighty swords or some other weapon of justice, but innocent, seemingly fragile girls... And they wielded a power she could only dream of having. Sure, she considered herself to be good, but even she could tell that the four senshi had her beat in the power and capability department. Only her skill as a martial artist could serve her, but only so much. She knew very well that she couldn't expect the kind of opportunities that she had been presented with as far as her fights with Herb and Saffron were concerned. Those battles had come down to just one skill out of the many that she knew... There was always a chance that she'd have no effective option in the face of greater power and/or skill.
"But I have a sailor crystal, don't I?" She reasoned to herself. "Couldn't I use the same power and defeat that demon?"
Well, she didn't know if she would be able to defeat it, seeing as the other four couldn't accomplish that with all of their power combined, but she still hoped that she would be able to accomplish such a feat. The only question that remained was: how to go about becoming a senshi.
She pondered over the conundrum for a few moments and watched the battle as she did so. Then, after catching a glimpse of one of the senshi's brooches, she remembered an aspect of her dream that held the answer she was looking for: she had to use her heart. Her guardian had told her that her heart was the key, that she should follow it and allow it to guide her in the right direction.
Now that she knew exactly what she needed to do, it was only a matter of doing it. She closed her eyes and blocked out all the outside disturbances, then began to search out for her heart blindly, not knowing how to find it. It seemed obvious that she should concentrate on the beating organ in her chest, but she knew better because of her training and meditation, knowing that not all things are to be taken literally when told to focus on or use something that one couldn't hope to do through normal means.
The search was, to her relief and delight, short. No sooner had she started, had her heart been drawn to her desire to accept her role as a senshi. Her pure intentions were a shining beacon for her heart to use as a guide, so as to find her and make contact. The contact nearly stole her mental breath away; it was so warm and comforting, suffusing her whole body as it seemed to just breeze right through her from a Westerly direction... Just like in her dream, when her guardian had arrived.
Glancing over at Ranma, Ryoga was shocked to find her illuminated in a hazy, white glow, her hair and clothing being swept about wildly by a nonexistent gale. Also, by the serene expression on her face, he almost mistook her for someone else. Ranma? That content and cute? Not a chance!
"..."
"What in the hell am I thinking now!?" Ryoga exclaimed in thought, wanting but unable to turn away from the sight before him. It was no wonder he so easily became attracted to Ranma whenever she was in disguise: she was quite lovely when she actually appeared to be a girl.
"R-Ranma...?" He addressed her despite feeling uncomfortable, though still intently in the hope of getting an answer for what was happening.
Ranma was too engrossed with the energy that had lain dormant behind a never-before-opened "door" to register Ryoga's voice, delighting in the knowledge that, despite not knowing what the key to opening the "door" had been consciously, she could confidently open it by using an instinctive withdrawal from her subconscious. And that's exactly what she did. Clasping both hands over her physical heart, she announced, "Moon prism power, make up!"
She was instantly consumed with the unfamiliar power once she unleashed it, feeling it dissolve her clothing and wrap about her body. Her heart raced as the power swelled into an accessible reservoir beyond its enclosure. Her injuries were healed, relieving her of the pain she had been suffering from. Soon afterward felt her modesty returned to her, feeling some form-fitting attire encasing her torso, legs, hands and neck, followed by something cold and metallic gracing her temple. The power did much more, but she could not readily discern what the finishing touches were: she only knew that the new power was now as much a part of her as her life energy was.
When her induction into senshihood was through, she was left feeling exhilarated, pleasantly warm, and refreshed. She felt light on her feet, clear of mind, and confident enough to conquer anything; and conquer something she would.
Reintroducing her eyes to the light of day again, her curiosity inspired her to glance down at herself, and she couldn't help gasping in amazement at what she saw.
"I'm wearing the same getup that my guardian had worn!" She observed.
Inspecting herself more thoroughly, she found that everything was exactly as she remembered it in her dream. Well, after pulling her pigtail over her shoulder for a look, it was easy to tell that it wasn't any longer than usual. Not that she was concerned with the length of her hair.
Then, realizing what she had done in the presence of a certain bandanna-clad boy, she looked beside herself and found... An empty space. Casting her eyes downward, she found her quarry lying on the ground, a trail of blood trickling from his nose and a goofy grin plastered on his face. He was, of course, insensible. Figuring out how Ryoga had come to be in that state, she giggled and said, "Serves ya right, bacon breath."
"I can't believe dumpling head had to be sick today, of all days!" Ranma's right ear perked up, catching a voice from nearby. Turning aside to see what was happening, she managed to get her first close-up view of the red-colored senshi as she leapt into the air and away from the close proximity she had been to her... Showing off her bottom in the process. Ranma couldn't help blushing when she caught a glimpse of it.
Overcoming her embarrassment, she awaited for the best opportunity to intrude and have a rematch with that demon, not wanting jump right into an attack that the other senshi couldn't rein in. When she saw it, she dashed out into the open and made her intention known.
"Hey! Ugly!" She yelled, hoping that, by repeating the insult that she had said earlier, it would catch the demon off guard. She also hoped that her action would arrest the attention of the other senshi so they'd cease whatever strategy they were still in the process of implementing.
The demon had barely spared her a glance over its shoulder before returning its attention to the orange-colored senshi. But soon it suddenly spun around in a hurry to face an opponent worthy of its concern: a senshi making a direct attack. It had made the mistake of classifying the owner of the voice as weak, having had defeated the owner of said voice before; and so it realized, only too late, that it had allowed the new senshi time to get right into its face before it could properly react to the threat.
Grinning with triumph, glad that her voice hadn't warranted enough attention from the demon and had thus worked as a distraction, Ranma gave the demon a knuckle sandwich special right in its face. The demon's feet flew right out from under it as its head retreated and slammed into the asphalt with a window-shattering thud.
The four inner senshi gaped, shocked by the new senshi's display of physical prowess. They had never seen such a feat of strength before. Well, at least not from their own numbers.
Before the demon could recover, Ranma grabbed it by one of its pinkie toes and began to heave it up into the air, swing it in an arch, then slam it down onto the asphalt. She proceeded to repeat that motion a few dozen times.
The senshi continued to gape with astonishment.
Brushing off her hands after she was finished, Ranma looked down at her work with satisfaction. The demon was now lying face down in a hole that was shaped much like itself, one of its legs twitching every now and again. Not one to leave a job half done, she decided to use a technique that was only available to her as a senshi, one that came to mind as naturally as one would expect of someone who had used it many times previous.
"Moon tiara action!" She declared.
Throwing her tiara like a frisbee, it quickly spun fast enough with the aid of magic to appear as a solid disk, passing through the demon's neck without apparent trouble. And so the demon perished, dissolving into nothing, and Ranma was proud of a job well done. She then glanced up, surprised that her tiara reappeared on her head without having to retrieve it and do it herself. That, in her opinion, was quite convenient.
Upon hearing the name and seeing the sight of one of Sailor Moon's trademark attacks, the inner senshi regained their senses and cautiously approached the redheaded senshi as a group. Ranma allowed this, waiting patiently while she wondered how to respond to them. Would she become a member of their team, become friends or, at least, become acquaintances? There just seemed to be some underlying expectation to become a part of a whole of something.
The senshi whose dominant color was orange, who had thigh-length blonde hair that was accessorized in the back by a red bow, stepped ahead of the others and asked, "We appreciate the help, but that attack you used... Who are you?"
Ranma crossed her arms and frowned, making her displeasure about their offhanded offense known to them. They seemed inclined to being civil, but she knew that they were suspicious about something... And she had had enough suspicion in her life already to know that much. She didn't know why she was distrusted so often. It was true that she used deception often, usually in a fight, but she was sure that she didn't practice the kind of deception that would warrant the kind of suspicion that she often became a victim of. But if they were going to be like everyone else, then why care about them, much less be friendly toward them?
"What's it to ya?" She counter-questioned in a defensive tone.
"Sorry." The senshi in blue spoke up apologetically, who had realized she and her companions had to tread more softly with the new senshi. Well, as far as appearances were concerned, anyway. "But you must understand that another senshi utilizes the same title for her attack." As for whom, she remained vague, being precautious about what information to divulge.
"So?" Argued Ranma indifferently. "That's what came to mind, so that's what I said."
The senshi in red opened her mouth in preparation to reply, but was interrupted by a croaky voice from above, that said, "Hey guys!"
Everyone shifted around to look up at the new arrival, who stood precariously upon the ledge of a two-story building that housed an electronic appliances store. She didn't appear to be feeling well, if her facial expression and the arm that she held over her stomach was any indication.
"What did I miss?" The new arrival questioned, looking about herself and finding the immediate area, particularly the road, moderately damaged. The motion made her unsteady on her shaky legs, and she began to lurch forward. Unable to regain her balance while flailing her arms up and down, she wailed as she toppled toward the ground.
The inner senshi, having much experience with their princess and her clumsy behavior, were more than ready to catch her. However, they weren't ready for the blur that was the new senshi, who arrived below their princess before her feet left contact with the roof of the building. The other senshi paused and watched her fall into the arms of the mysterious senshi, seeing as she was already where any one of them would have needed to be.
"You okay?" Ranma asked despite the answer being obvious, gently placing her catch upon the ground. She hadn't known what a senshi had been just prior to her transformation into one, much less know that they existed, but she could tell that the girl she knelt before was one. Even so, she wondered why this one looked so different. What made her that way? Did it represent her status, strength or capabilities? And those wings; were they even capable of performing their purpose, or just there for appearance or something?
"Oh, I just have a stomach virus..." Usagi replied, then paused when she realized that the voice that she had answered to had been unfamiliar to her ears. Looking up, she found the face of a stranger, one with fiery red hair and... Blue eyes? Yes... But there was something about them... Something familiar to her.
Ranma felt really uncomfortable under the scrutiny that she had begun to receive from her, so she avoided eye contact.
"You have my, um, sympathy." She answered, uncertain as to what to say.
"Who are you?" Usagi inquired, wondering who the strange senshi could be. All of the senshi of their solar system were accounted for, as far as she knew. Other senshi from elsewhere had different dress codes to represent their systems, but this one, as far as she could tell, was undeniably under theirs. Besides the sun, which no one knew whether a senshi could be tied to or not, she had no idea what the senshi could possibly represent.
"That's what we were trying to find out." Came a voice from beside them.
Both Usagi and Ranma looked askance and found the other senshi walking up to them, and they soon stopped a few feet away. Usagi noticed that it was Makoto whom had spoken, and she continued, saying, "She used your 'moon tiara action' attack." Then, after a brief pause, added, "And I thought that we all had our own unique attacks for a reason."
The others around Makoto nodded afterward, agreeing with her.
"Isn't that my weakest attack?" Usagi queried, unable to concentrate too well because she was more concerned about the watering of her mouth and the feeling that she was going to unload her stomach of its contents again. Besides, why should she be worried about something so trivial? So what if someone else was throwing their tiara around.
Rei, exasperated, said, "Of course it's your attack! Aren't you paying attention?"
"But I'm not feeling good..." Usagi whined in her defense, which inspired Ranma to support her, who said, "Yeah! So stop making her feel worse."
"And who were you, again?" Minako asked sweetly, all smiles, bending over to be at eye level with the new senshi.
Ranma recoiled a bit at the intrusion of her personal space, but was even more discomforted by the subject of her identity being returned to the spotlight.
Placing her hand behind her head while smiling nervously, Ranma replied, saying, "Just your everyday cheerleader... Nobody special... Ha, ha, ha!"
"'Cheerleader?'" Makoto repeated, arms akimbo, her tone suggesting that she had taken offense by being referred to as such. She wouldn't have ever let anyone catch her wearing a cheerleader's uniform unless it was absolutely necessary for infiltration and/or the disposal of an enemy. To insinuate that she was wearing such an outfit was the same as asking for a broken nose.
In the background, Ami sighed to herself, knowing that the direction they were heading toward wasn't likely going to be a proactive one.
"Well, yeah." Ranma replied, sounding as if it were a common perspective. "A weird-looking cheerleader, I admit; but not too weird if I had a baton or some pompoms."
Makoto had become visibly mad, then. It had been bad enough to say that she had been wearing a cheerleader outfit, but a weird one, too? Fortunately, Rei pulled her aside and, looking down at the new senshi, emphatically stated, "Look; all we want to know, is who you are. It's not going to kill you to share that much, will it?"
"I s'pose not." Ranma sighed with resignation, then stood up and crossed her arms loosely to seem more impressive, smirking proudly as she said, "I'm Dark side."
The other senshi blinked, then simultaneously queried, "'Dark side?'"
"Of the moon." Ranma helpfully supplied.
Seeing that they were staring at her mutely in response, she asked, "What?"
"Um..." Usagi began with uncertainty while she picked herself up from the ground. She then placed a hand over her chest to indicate herself. "I'm Eternal sailor moon."
Said senshi really, really wanted to go back home and spend some time with a porcelain bowl. Not that she wanted to; but what better place was there to appropriately release vomit in?
"Oh..." Ranma voiced in response, not knowing what else to do or say. At least she now knew the reason for them being cautious around her, being that she represented the same celestial object and all. She guessed that it must be more from being an unknown element, or else they would have expected her to eventually discover her heritage. At least that's how her guardian had made it sound.
The other senshi soon introduced themselves in turn since she had finally revealed herself, but no personal identifications had been given to her just yet. She didn't know how to greet them, or even if she should try to get acquainted; so, she just nodded as they each identified themselves by their respective planet: Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. She absently wondered where the rest were.
"Well," Ami spoke up, somewhat surprised at finding out the new senshi's identity since she had been sure that they had upset her in some fashion in the beginning and thus had ruined the chance of learning it, "we all agree that we've never heard of Dark side of the moon?"
All present, except Ami and Ranma, voiced or gesticulated their agreement. Ranma remained silent, wondered what was happening now. Were they questioning her station?
"Then perhaps we should ask Luna and Artemis. They'd know if she was present during the Silver millennium." Ami suggested.
Ranma didn't know what the "Silver millennium" was, but she found herself interested in this "Artemis" person. Somehow, and for some unknown reason, the name sounded familiar.
"Luna!" Usagi croaked out, wishing that she had been within the comfort of her home so she could avoid vomiting in front of her friends and, subsequently, suffering embarrassment. "It's okay to come out now!"
Searching with her eyes, Ranma didn't find anyone approaching within her line of sight. Soon, however, she found out why when a new voice spoke up from the ground nearby, which asked, "So, who is this? Another senshi?"
"Luna is a cat!" Came the stark realization in Ranma's mind. And beside Luna was another one, and they were both scrutinizing her!
"Wait-a-minute; did that one just speak!?" She reflected to herself, glancing at Luna with wide, bulging eyes.
"We were hoping you'd know." Ami answered Luna, who turned to face the senshi of Mercury with a pensive look on her face. Artemis was the only one to leave his attention on the new senshi, who began to inch away stealthily. She trained her eyes on him, making eye contact, and maintaining that contact since he was the only one watching her.
"Um... Guys?" Artemis spoke up, interrupting Luna's thoughts.
"What is it, Artemis?" Luna replied as she turned to regard him, appearing to be annoyed by his interruption.
Nodding his head in the direction of the departing redheaded senshi, he said, "Seems our friend is leaving early."
All turned to discover that Artemis was indeed right. Ranma, who found herself caught, laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her head in agitation. She wasn't too surprised, though: that white cat had kept an eye on her, after all.
"And where do you think you're going?" Rei inquired with a challenging tone, her arms crossed under her bosom.
Ami shook her head disapprovingly, wondering why she didn't take charge and handle the situation as it should have been handled.
"Um..." Ranma voiced, looking about wildly as she tried to conceive a believable excuse for her need to vacate the area. She didn't want them to know of her acute ailurophobia for several reasons, so she wasn't about to stick around so they could find out.
Becoming desperate for something to say after a moment without a having forthcoming answer, she hastily resorted to saying, "Oh, look at the time! I've seemed to've forgotten a... Previous engagement! Yeah, that's it! See ya!"
And then she took off like the hounds of Hell were upon her.
"Don't just stand there!" Luna chided the others, whom had yet to understand the new senshi's behavior as they stood, unmoving and unprepared to give chase. "After her!"
And, so, they gave chase; although Usagi was quite reluctant even after Luna chomped on her ankle as an incentive. Usagi had to catch up with the others, so she was the only one who didn't have visual contact of their quarry. Fortunately, because she could see her comrades, she was able to follow the progress of the chase without getting lost. Even so, all the jumping around wasn't making her feel any better, and she really wished that that demon had shown itself on another day.
Looking behind her and seeing that the others were giving chase, Ranma wondered why these sorts of things always happened to her. What had she ever done to deserve being chased? In any case, she had to lose them and get back home, so she could relax and reflect on what had happened to her this day.
After several minutes of thought, running and jumping in random directions so the senshi behind her wouldn't know the direction of the residence she lived at, she decided that the only way to shake them was to literally disappear from their sight. Using her skills in the umisen-ken was an option, but she refrained from using those techniques for when she really needed to use it, being that the umisen-ken was once again "sealed." Absently, she did wonder how they had managed to find her even after she had given them the slip, because she had been sure that her expertly-performed evasive maneuvers would have eluded all but the old ghoul and the freak.
Little did she know how Ami was leading the group with her visor, which was homing on her life and magical energies. It had saved them from losing her a dozen times, and they knew that, without it, they would have surely lost the new senshi. However, they did have it, and Ami was doing her best to not lose her concentration because the life energy read-out on the new senshi was very large in supply compared to normal. It was nearly as high as her magical energy!
Ahead of the inner senshi, who were followed by Usagi, Luna and Artemis, Ranma cursed when she failed to shake her pursuers, wondering what she could do to lose them. However, as her thoughts turned to other ways of making those chasing her lose sight of her, something unknown directed her attention to the new energy source enveloping her ki field. She knew, somehow, that she could change it and use it for a different purpose, a purpose that she was more in need of for the time being: literally making herself invisible. She didn't know if it would work, but she had the feeling that it would; being a senshi seemed to instill such instincts.
"She's disappearing!" Makoto gasped, who witnessed the red-haired senshi fade from sight as the other three senshi had.
"Don't worry!" Ami assured them.
The life energy of the senshi they were pursuing might not be registering on her visor, but she could still detect the magical signature as before and could thus continue to follow it.
"Just listen for..." She ceased her instruction and abruptly shouted, "Go right!"
The others got the hint and proceeded to follow the senshi of Mercury as she guided them toward a now-invisible senshi.
"Damn it!" Ranma swore after a few more minutes of being chased, wondering how they managed to keep track of her. After taking a glance behind herself, she finally noticed how Mercury pointed in her direction whenever she changed course and led the other senshi, and that she was the only one wearing a visor of some kind.
Not knowing what else to do, she decided that her only place of sanctuary would be at her home. So concluding, she relinquished her invisibility technique, since it was obviously making no difference, and made a beeline for the Tendo domicile. Hopefully, the senshi following her would respect her and not invade her place of residence.
Upon landing in the backyard a short time later, she dashed into the veranda and hid herself behind its outer wall, standing rigid and quiet while hoping for the withdrawal of her pursuers.
Outside, standing along the top of the perimeter wall, four senshi took in the sight of the house that the red-haired senshi had taken into hiding.
"Should we follow?" Minako asked of Ami, her breathing labored by exertion as much as the others' were.
"No." Ami responded simply, subdued.
"Why not?" Rei inquired, eyeing Ami questioningly.
It was Makoto who spoke next, answering Rei's question with a rhetorical question, saying, "It's her home, isn't it?"
Makoto could tell because of several factors: firstly, Ami made it clear not to follow the new senshi into the house; secondly, the new senshi had tried to hide in random houses before going directly to this particular one; and, lastly, the new senshi relinquished her invisibility before doing taking the previous action, as if giving up.
"Oh..." Rei and Minako voiced together in understanding. If they breached such a personal place, what would that make them look like? Actually, it had been bad enough chasing her like a hunted animal, though they had hardly known how else to respond to the new senshi's strange behavior after Luna issued the pursuit, having been caught up in the moment. Currently, though, they found their actions unwise, and it had probably cost them a great deal of trust in regard to the newest senshi.
It was about then that Usagi finally arrived, hobbling towards them on ground level and looking green in the face. Luna and Artemis ran ahead of her, the former addressing the senshi, asking, "Where is she?"
"Home." Makoto answered before she and the others left the heights of the wall to join their princess on the ground.
Luna sighed with disappointment, then said, "All I wanted to do was ask a few questions."
"You mean... You don't know who she is?" Rei inquired intently.
Luna shook her head negatively while Artemis helpfully inserted, "Nor do I."
Ami pondered over the situation, wondering what was the best course of action to take from their current position. Finding only one worth mentioning, she suggested, "Perhaps Pluto would know? She is the eldest and has seen many eras, so... Maybe this new senshi lived before we did during the Silver millennium, and Pluto knew of her?"
"It's a start." Minako commented with the slightest shrug of her shoulders, not seeing anything particularly good or bad about the idea.
Usagi found something wrong with it, however. She was currently on her hands and knees as the need to vomit sapped her strength.
"But don't..." She paused to swallow, her mouth highly salivated. "Start right now..."
It was the only time that Usagi didn't like having her mouth salivating: when she had to return her food to the light of day instead of the other way around.
Everyone gathered around their princess, concerned about her health. Luna stepped beneath her bowed head, looked up and apologetically asked, "I'm sorry for dragging you out here, but it was necessary at the time. Would you like some assistance back home?"
In reply, Usagi raised her head, opened her mouth... And Luna's eyes widened in alarm as something much unlike words came spewing forth from her princess' lips.
* * * * *
Just as Ranma finished her detransformation, with the help of her new instincts, she was
startled by a woeful cry that came from the other side of the perimeter wall. She was curious
about the source, but she decided not to investigate for several obvious reasons. However, Akane
didn't have any reasons not to, and soon ran past her with nary a glance and entered the
garden to investigate. Still curious, Ranma figured she could find out what had happened from
her, and so she decided to wait.
A moment later, Akane returned, appearing to be a bit irritated.
"What's up?" She asked her, feigning nonchalance.
"Oh, nothing..." Akane muttered in response, unhappily. "But I know that somebody ate blueberry pancakes this morning."
"Gross." Ranma commented, though finding it kind of interesting to find out what that other senshi had eaten.
"I wonder why that is?" She idly questioned herself in thought.
"I know..." Akane agreed, then blinked when she realized just whom it was she was talking to, taking in their disheveled appearance and torn clothing. "When did you get back?"
"Just a minute ago." Ranma answered, seeing that her fiancée was inspecting her.
After giving herself an inspection of her own, she found that, though that new power had healed her injuries, it didn't mend her clothes or cleanse her body of filth.
"So..." Akane started with slight interest. "Who won?"
Akane secretly hoped that Ryoga had finally beaten Ranma, trying as hard as he does.
"I did, of course." Ranma replied with a proud smirk. "I put him out with a smile on his face."
Akane didn't know what she had meant by that last comment, but she did know another thing.
"But it seems he really got you good this time." She observed, smiling. In private, she thought, "Let's see him deny that!"
"Like you wouldn't believe." Ranma admitted with lament, surprising Akane. But only Ranma knew that it had been because of Ryoga's distraction that had caused the demon to inflict the worst of her bygone injuries, so it was, in a way, the truth. Then, not wanting to waste any more time, she added, "And I'd like nothing more than a nice, long soak in the furo."
Akane understood and allowed Ranma to walk away, but something conspicuous made itself known to her as she regarded her fiancé's departing back.
"Ranma?" She addressed to get her attention.
Turning about to face Akane, ceasing her progress toward the bathroom, Ranma wondered why she was looking at her so oddly, who responded with, "Yeah?"
"Your hair..." Akane began uncertainly. "I didn't know you were growing it out."
"Huh?" Ranma responded intelligently, then grasped her pigtail and pulled it over her shoulder so she could inspect it. Almost immediately she realized that her hair was indeed longer, and that her hair was now plaited quite loosely at the base of her head and was showing signs of looseness down the rest of her pigtail's length. She guessed that it must have grown at least four inches!
Doing an excellent job of hiding her surprise as far as she was concerned, she flipped her hair back behind her and, acting unconcerned, said, "I didn't, either. Guess I haven't been paying attention to it lately."
Akane wasn't fooled, knowing that Ranma was hiding something. But she didn't pursue the issue. There was no way that she wouldn't have noticed that much hair growth "lately", which would have normally taken four to six months to occur. Something was going on, and Ranma was withholding information from her again. Well, like always, she would just have to keep an eye on the idiot.
So, instead of making her suspicions known, she allowed her fiancé to leave with a piece of advice as a parting gift.
"Well, unless you want all the hassle that comes with longer hair, then I suggest paying more attention to it."
Ranma nodded, let out a mental sigh of relief, and then continued her way to the bathroom. When she was sure that she was out of Akane's sight, she quickened her pace, wondering, "What's going on?"
* * * * *
"The senshi are stronger than I remember."
The owner of the voice gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tightly, glaring out the sliding glass door and past the balcony it led to with bitter hatred. It had taken him two months to get the required energy to summon his first demon; it had been his own energy, leaving him tired and weak the entire time. Fortunately, it hadn't been a complete waste since he'd gathered enough energy to summon a stronger demon in half a fortnight. However, it would require his own energy to accomplish the rest that was needed.
"But I will destroy them." He vowed gravely. "I will not allow the Moon kingdom to re-establish its matriarchal rule over the Earth again."
Turning away from the morning sun, he wheeled himself into his bedroom for another session of self-draining that would render him weak and tired for the remainder of the day.
"Never again." He muttered before he shut the door behind himself.