[Ranma/SM][FanFic] Sailor Ranko The Harder They Fall, Chapter 3
Bill Heineman
The ongoing saga of "Sailor Ranko", set after "Sailor Ranko: Just Add Water"
Based on "Sailor Ranko" by Fire and "Twice in a Millennium" by Kevin D.
Hammel and acknowledging "Black Moon - Eclipse of the Sun" by Arthur Hansen
By Bill Heineman
I don't own these characters. Please don't sue me, kill me or make me work
for a living.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto examined the unconscious bodies of Ranko and Akane. "They'll
survive."
Minako wasted no time. She scurried over to Ranko and undid her pigtail and
combed her hair. Minako tied a nice green bow at the end of Ranko's new
ponytail. "There! Perfect!"
Makoto was greatly amused. "You know that she's going to be mad that you did
that."
Minako admired Ranko's new look. "But it's so much better than that pig tail
she always wears."
Ranko's eyes fluttered open. She sat up and immediately felt the back of her
head and found the bow. "MINAKO!" Ranko was not happy about her sudden
change in hairstyle.
Akane woke up and saw Ranko's new hairdo. Akane laughed. Minako held up her
compact mirror in front of Ranko's face. "You can't say it doesn't look good
on you."
Ranko pulled the end of her hair over her shoulder to examine the new
addition at the end. She saw the cute green bow. She gently tossed the end
of her hair over her shoulder and sighed. "Ok. It looks good alright. AS A
GIRL!" She angrily added.
Minako put away her comb in her purse. "Well, what are you worried about?"
"Hot water Minako, hot water." Ranko sighed again.
Usa was puzzled. "Why are you worried about hot water?"
Ranko turned to Usa. A tinge of panic went through her body. "You don't
know?"
"Know what?"
Ranko sat up and looked Usa in the eye. "You say you're from the future
right?"
"Yes I am. It's a really nice place." Usa gleamed.
Ranko was very suspicious. "You said I taught you martial arts. You should
know why I have a problem with hot and cold water."
Usa gave a look of confusion. "Uh... You're sensitive to it?"
"So you don't know about my curse?" Ranko was starting to get really
worried. Akane looked at Ranko with a touch of fear in her eyes.
Usa gave a look of understanding. She nodded, "Oh that! Yeah. Everyone knows
how obnoxious you are."
Ranko was bordering on a full scale panic attack. "I'm not talking about
that! What about my curse?"
"That's not your curse? Pluto always said your personality was a curse."
"Don't tell me that I'm locked as a girl in the future!"
Usa was enjoying this. She always had wanted to torture Sailor Sun for all
the hard training she had been put through. Sun was a very strict teacher in
the art. "Ok, I won't tell you."
Ranko was panicking. She enjoyed her male side a bit more than her female
side. She had a gut feeling that fate was going to smash her into the ground
by locking her into male or female form forever. "Just tell me when it
happened."
Usa decided it was time to let her off the hook. "When what happened? You
change to a guy when you feel like it. You always have a hydro replicator in
your subspace pocket that can make hot or cold water at any time."
Ranko changed into the mood that most people went into after spending some
time with Usa. She reached over to Usa to strangle her. "Why you!"
Usa jumped over Ranko as she leapt forward and missed her throat and landed
on her stomach. Usa gracefully appeared behind Ranko and she lightly tapped
her back. "Got you! Besides, I can't tell you anything about the future."
Ranko looked at Usagi from her embarrassing position on the grass. "I'm glad
I don't have to live with her."
Usagi wanted to cry. "But I do."
Usa went over to her future mother. "C'mon mom."
Akane felt happy. She wanted to be a mom someday. She saw how Usa looked a
lot like her mother. She had the same eyes and heart shaped face. The only
thing odd was her pink hair. She glanced over to Ranko and saw how similar
her red hair was to Usa's. She turned to Usagi and studied the blonde hair.
She turned back to Ranko and studied the red hair. Blonde, Red, Blonde, Red
and Blonde combined into PINK!
Akane flared her battle aura. "Ranma!"
Ranko turned to Akane. "What?"
"How DARE you seduce Usagi!" She pulled out the largest mallet in her
arsenal.
"Say what?" Ranko took a few steps back to stay out of mallet range.
Usa turned to Usagi. "I heard she was really violent in the past but I
didn't know it was this bad."
Akane held back her anger for just a moment. "Usa, who's your dad?"
Usa knew the answer that would be the most fun. "Ranma!"
"THAT DOES IT!" Akane jumped and chased a frantic Ranko down the hall. Ranko
ran to the building and jumped onto the roof. Akane jumped after her with
her mallet over her head. "Come back here you two timing pervert!"
Ranko screamed as she ran for dear life. "I didn't do anything! I'm
innocent! Why can't I get a break?" Her screams faded away as they
disappeared over the school building.
Usagi's lips shuddered. "R-R-Ranma? I married Ranma?" She had horrible
thoughts of Mamoru not being in her life flash before her eyes.
Usa fell to the ground laughing. Makoto was pissed. She stood up and went
over to Usa and raised her hand to slap her. She brought it down and Usa
instinctively deflected the blow. Usa took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Mamoru
is my father. I'm just kidding."
Makoto stared down at Usa rolling on the ground. "That's not funny in the
least. Look at what you did to Usagi!" Ranko came around the building and
jumped into the tree branches above the girls trying to hide from Akane.
Makoto and Usa turned to Usagi who was weeping. Usagi bawled, "Mamo-chan!
I'm so sorry!" Akane came around the building and ran by the tree. She was
glowing a bright blue and she stopped at the center of the courtyard looking
for her target.
Usa saw her joke went too far. "Mom! I was only kidding. Mamoru is my dad."
Usagi turned to look at Usa. "Really? You're not lying?"
Usa knelt next to her future mother. "You've already been to the future. You
know Mamoru is your husband, the king and my father."
Usagi was relieved. Usa lost all consciousness as she was reduced into a
wafer thin pancake by Akane's giant mallet. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR LYING!"
Ranko from up in the tree called out, "See! It wasn't my fault!"
Usa's lay twitching under the mallet that rested on top of her. Akane let go
of the handle and brushed her hands together. She took a good look at the
pink hair sprawled all over the grass. "Usagi, why does she have pink hair?
Mamoru's hair is black and yours is blonde."
Usagi shrugged. "I dunno." She looked at her future daughter's body in
shock. "Usa, are you all right?"
Usa popped up from the ground. "Yeah, I'll recover. My Bakusai Tenketsu
training really toughened me up." The other girls were amazed at how Usa
re-inflated after a blow that would have killed most humans.
Akane stared at Ranko. Ranko shook her head side to side violently. "Don't
look at me! Don't you dare look at me!" She decided that staying in the tree
was a safe proposition for the time being.
Akane growled. She watched her husband with suspicion, Akane wasn't sure to
pummel her just to be on the safe side since she was going to be guilty of
something soon anyways.
========================================
Nabiki was reading the financial section of the newspaper during her lunch
break. She smiled that her hunches were on the money. She saw the trend in
the seafood industry and invested in American seafood companies that had
caught their fish in the Atlantic Ocean instead of Asian waters. The last
few months had declining harvests from the South Pacific and there was a
U.N. meeting coming up to discuss the over fishing problem.
Seafood prices in Japan were steadily climbing and such staples as dried
fish and octopus puffs were getting to be almost triple in price. Nabiki
wondered if someone was polluting the ocean or if this was a harbinger of
something more serious.
A shadow was cast over Nabiki's newspaper. She took a sip of her tea and
turned her eyes upwards. She purred in a feline voice. "Hello Kuno baby."
Tatewaki Kuno gave a gentle bow in return. He had business to discuss with
the honorable Nabiki Tendo. "I wish to know if you have found the location
of Sailor Sun or Sailor Io."
Nabiki put her paper down and went into her sultry persona. "Oh Kuno baby,
you know that the identities of the Sailor Senshi are a closely guarded
secret. It's like asking the identity of Sailor Moon. No one knows who she
is."
"Well, I know that if anyone can find out, that it would be you." Kuno
looked into the air and gazed at the clouds. His mind was among those same
fluffy white objects. "I've had a recent discussion with your sister and the
pig tailed one. I must first find and deal with that dread Saotome before
they can be freed from his clutches."
"So you want to two time the Senshi as well as my sister. Oh that is so
low." Nabiki wanted to slap Kuno for his obsession with her sister.
Kuno didn't see it that way. "As you so eloquently put it. I am not two
timing Akane Tendo and the pig tailed one. I am allowing them the honor of
my love for them. I have enough for both of them."
Nabiki wanted to throw her tea at him. She wouldn't since he was a serious
source of income for her. "That's the definition of two timing my friend.
You really need to just pick one."
"I cannot. I love them both!" Kuno unfolded a fan that read 'Kuno'. "I offer
them a place in the house of Kuno. That is an honor without equal."
"You are such a hopeless romantic. I assume your love is enough for two more
girls in your life?" Nabiki slipped her sunglasses on. "I'm on the case for
the identities of the Sailors Sun and Io." She paused. She wasn't leaving
empty handed. "I will need my retainer."
"A retainer? You've always provided me information without one before."
"You've never asked me to expose a super hero before." Nabiki quipped. "One
hundred thousand yen would be a good start."
Kuno produced a quantity of bills. "See that it is done. I want to speak
with them." He turned and left.
Nabiki leafed through the money. There was over five hundred thousand yen in
her hands. Kuno had really gone off the deep end. This could be the most
profitable month Nabiki had ever had. She hoped that Kuno would finally get
over his obsession with her sister and her brother-in-law's female side.
Photos and information on the Senshi commanded a much higher price and an
obsession with Sailor Senshi would cement a very lucrative enterprise for
Nabiki industries. Nabiki gave herself a tiny smile. Yes, this was going to
be very lucrative indeed.
========================================
Usagi left detention feeling sorry for herself. She trudged out of the
classroom and out the front gates of school. All of her friends were either
at Rei's shrine with Ami for study buddies or were at the arcade with Minako
playing the latest Sailor V game.
Usagi wanted to know what had happened to her daughter. She had grown so
much since the last time she saw her. Usagi leaned against the front gate of
the school. She couldn't help but feel proud that she was going to be a
queen someday and be married to her true love. It was a weird feeling
knowing that it was her destiny to be the centerpiece of a fairy tale. She
knew what the future was going to be like. She turned her head and saw her
future looking back at her.
"Hi mom!" Usa held out her hand. "Let's go home."
Usagi took her daughter's hand. "Please call me Usagi. You'll freak out
everyone if you keep calling me that." Usagi glanced around. "I don't want
people to think I'm an unwed mother."
Usa walked with Usagi holding hands. She stared at her mothers face. "Yeah
Mom. Uh... Usagi. It's just that now you really look like what you'll be in
the future."
Usagi took a good look at her future daughter. She had her dad's walk and
was taller than Usagi but not as tall as her father. Usa's hair was still in
the bunny style hairdo but long ponytails just like Usagi and combed in a
mature style befitting someone who was a young adult. Usa had an air of
discipline and maturity that was absent from the last time they were
together. Usagi glomped Usa. "How you've grown."
Usa glomped her mother back. "Psst, they're going to freak out."
Usagi relaxed her grip. "I guess so. It's just not many people get to meet
their daughters when they are the same age as they are."
Usa whispered in her mother's ear. "Tell you a secret."
Usagi loved secrets. She loved to tell them to all her friends. "What?"
"I'm only sixteen. I told them I was seventeen to get in your class."
Usagi still couldn't believe the closeness in age. "How did you pass the
entrance test?"
Usa scoffed. "It was easy. Heck, I could pass the college entrance exam with
my eyes closed."
Usagi gasped. This was not the runt she knew a few months ago. "What?"
"M... Usagi, schools are a lot better in the 30th century. I completed my
thesis on warp drive last month. I was supposed to start my temporal physics
class next week."
Usagi had a look of non-comprehension. "Things really have changed haven't
they?"
Usa waved her hand in front of Usagi's eyes. "Hello? Anyone there?" Usa
started walking gently pulling her mother along. "I'm from over nine hundred
years in the future. Things change."
Usagi studied her feet as she walked. "How have they changed?"
"Well, I can't go into any specifics. I can say that nine hundred years of
history will transpire before I'll be born." She stopped. She turned to face
her mother. "I studied that history and that's what I'm majoring in. I'm so
proud that you're my mother, 'The invincible Sailor Moon!' The things you've
already done and the things you will do are legend in my time."
Usagi glowed. "Really?"
"The things you and the other scouts have done to protect our world go
beyond what could even be described in the history books. Why just what
Sailor G... Uh... Sailor Saturn did with Pharaoh 90 was a great sacrifice."
Usagi caught the slip. "You were going to talk about a different Sailor
Scout?"
"No, I was talking about Sailor Saturn. Sorry for the confusion." Usa went
stone faced.
"Usa, how many scouts are in the 30th century?"
"I can't answer that. You know better than to ask for specifics about the
future."
Usagi nodded. "I understand. Oh I do have a question I think you can
answer."
"Ask."
"What do you transform to now? Are you still Sailor Chibi Moon?"
Usa laughed. "I haven't heard anyone call me Chibi anything for over a
year." She looked around and pulled Usagi into an alley. She sensed that no
one was around and touched her familiar looking broach on her high school
uniform. "Moon Cosmic Power Make Up!" Usa spun around and came down wearing
the exact same uniform as classic Sailor Moon complete with blue mini-skirt
and red bows.
Usagi covered her mouth in shock. She held her own broach and issued her old
transformation phrase. "Moon Cosmic Power Make Up!" She also transformed and
both girls were wearing the exact same costume. "I thought that there could
be only one Senshi per planet."
Neo Sailor Moon looked at her own garb and at Sailor Moon's clothes. Neo
Sailor Moon offered an explanation. "Well in my time, you became Queen
Serenity full time. You can only transform to Eternal Sailor Moon if the
need arises. I took the official role of Sailor Moon on my fifteenth
birthday." She glowed at the thought. "It was the best birthday present you
gave to me." She held her broach and gently shined it with her gloved
fingers.
Sailor Moon shrugged. "Well now I know what to get you for your fifteenth
birthday." Both girls laughed and reverted back to their normal guise. They
started to walk home.
Usagi had an idea. "Usa."
"Yes."
"Since you are really smart."
Usa knew where this was going. "Uh huh."
"Can you... Uh... Do my homework for me?"
Usa knew her mother all too well. "If you can beat me in an arm wrestling
contest!"
Usagi was beaten. "Rats!"
========================================
"GENMA!" Nodoka reached onto her back and pulled out her cloth wrapped
katana.
Genma ran to the koi pond and jumped in. He pulled out a sign, "No one but
us pandas here."
Nodoka was very angry with her husband. He and Soun were gone until the
mid-afternoon and smelled of cheap sake and alcohol. They were suffering
from severe hangovers. Nodoka had to call Genma's job at the factory and
tell them he was sick. The factory supervisor wanted a doctor's excuse since
Genma had already taken two other sick days in the last four weeks. Nodoka
wanted to know where her husband was during those two days.
"Where were you Monday of last week? Your boss said you didn't go in."
Nodoka held the cloth wrapped katana in a manner that meant she was in the
mood of serving a panda burger.
The panda held up a sign, "I was at work."
"That's not what your boss said." The cloth covering the katana slid down
exposing the handle.
Soun stepped in between the Panda and the soon to be Panda slayer. "He was
with me. We were hired to find a thief for the Nerima city council."
Nodoka faced Soun with angry eyes. "Did you get paid for this?"
Soun innocently looked to the sky. The panda pulled up another sign. "We got
an all you can eat buffet and fifty kilos of bamboo shoots."
Mrs. Saotome gritted her teeth. "But no money for the family?"
The panda flipped his sign over. "Think of the money we saved in food!"
Nodoka slammed her foot down. "Saved? Only for you two, what about the rest
of us!" She shouted at Soun, "You should be ashamed of yourself. If it
wasn't for Nabiki, I wouldn't want to even think of how this family would
fare."
She turned and went back into the house. She didn't want to get so upset
that she would actually have to use her sword.
Once Nodoka was out of earshot, Soun spoke to his furry friend, "Up for a
game of Shogi?"
The panda got out of the pond. His sign read, "Thought you'd never ask."
Nodoka went upstairs into her bedroom. She gently shut the door and knelt on
the sleeping mat on the floor. She started to cry. She had felt so trapped
and wanted to escape from her pitiful existence.
There was a gentle knock on the door. Nodoka forced herself to stop crying
and stood up. "Come in."
Kasumi opened the door. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Do you want to talk?" Kasumi smiled.
Nodoka let out a single laugh. "Oh Kasumi, you know exactly how to cheer me
up."
The eldest Tendo daughter held out her hand. "How about we go on a trip,
shall we?"
Nodoka had an idea where Kasumi was going to take her. She needed to get out
for a while. "Ok. Let's go."
========================================
Ranko was in her kimono waiting on customers at her waitress job near Tokyo
Bay. "Would you like to try our North Atlantic Salmon sushi?"
Ranko went to the sushi chef at the bar and handed him the sushi order card.
She then went to the kitchen to order the teriyaki beef and vegetable
tempura. She bumped into her fellow waitress Mariko. Mariko was a petite
Japanese lady just out of high school. She was a no nonsense girl and was
cute as a button. Mariko was upset. "All my best tipping customers aren't
coming anymore."
Ranko nodded. "Mine too. If we keep raising prices like this, no one will be
able to afford to eat here."
Mariko put some drinks on her tray. "We at least the mixed drinks are still
selling well. Maybe if they get drunk, they won't care about the prices."
Ranko held her friend's shoulder, "Try pushing the other sushi like the
Salmon. Salmon hadn't gone up and same goes for the Atlantic Tuna."
"You know that Mr. Miyagi only eats locally caught sushi. He thinks that it
could only be fresh if it came from local waters."
Ranko remember that Miyagi almost always left a 50% tip. He was a big
spender. He had been coming in only once a week now since the last major
price increase. Ranko lifted her tray onto her shoulder, "We do what we
can." She went back to work. She hoped against all hope that somewhere in
Juuban a job for a skilled martial artist opened up that didn't pay poverty
wages. Ranko so badly wanted to make a living at what she had spent a decade
training for instead of serving food in a sushi bar.
========================================
Akane was studying her English homework. "It's official. This language was
not meant for human beings. Why does the word 'beauty' have the letter A in
it?"
There was a knock at the door. Akane sensed two people in the hall. She
called out in a cheerful voice, "Coming!" She went to the sink and filled a
bucket of water. She was going to punish Tatewaki and Sasuke for intruding
on her space again.
She carried the bucket in one hand and opened the door. She stopped herself
from slamming the water all over her eldest sister.
Kasumi was surprised. "Oh my! Is this how you greet your guests?"
Akane quickly put the bucket behind her back. "Sorry, I just thought you
were someone else."
Nodoka saw that it was cold water. "I don't think my son appreciates
becoming a girl in that manner."
Akane realized what it looked like. "No! No, it was for another idiot."
Nodoka raised her eyebrow. "Another idiot? Are you referring to my son as an
idiot?"
Akane raised her head to the ceiling, sighed and then turned downward. She
trudged into the apartment and dumped the water in the sink. Nodoka and
Kasumi sat down on the couch. Akane sat next to Kasumi, "So what brings you
here?"
Nodoka exchanged glances with Kasumi. Nodoka gulped. "Well, as you know, the
Saotome home is no more."
Akane twitched at that memory. Ranma was given a gift from Nodoka for Akane
and it was mistaken for an engagement ring. Shampoo, Ukyou and Kodachi
chased Ranma all over town trying to claim the prize and had a full-scale
war at Nodoka's house. They leveled the place in the conflict. "Yes, I
remember that. I'm so sorry that it happened."
"I want to propose something. I'm thinking of selling the land and getting
an apartment."
Akane was happy and perplexed at the same time. "An apartment? I'm certain
you'll get a great deal of money. Your property is in a very good
neighborhood in Nerima."
Nodoka didn't know how to ask. She tried the direct approach. "I would like
for you and Ranma to live with me."
Akane got wide eyed. "Uh... I'm honored Mrs. Saotome, but we have to live in
Juuban. I think you can understand why. Oh... What about your husband?"
Akane didn't really want to live with Genma. Ranma wouldn't be thrilled
either, especially with the double life that they were living.
Nodoka said matter of factly, "What about him? I've lived without him for
ten years. I can do it again. Besides, he's happy living with Soun."
Akane looked at the clock. Ranma should be arriving in a few minutes.
"Excuse me for a moment." Akane locked the front door and checked the drapes
to see if they were sealed shut. She sat back down.
Kasumi asked, "Are you expecting one of Ranma's friends to stop by?"
"No. You'll see in a little while." She gave her attention to Nodoka. "I
think that Ranma would be overjoyed if you somehow were to live with us."
Nodoka relaxed in her couch. Those words made her year. "Where is Ranma?"
"He, I mean she is at work right now."
Nodoka was curious. "She?"
"She works as a waitress at a sushi bar. She makes good money in tips."
Akane crossed her arms and went cold. "A lot better than me. Grr..."
"Well you know how she wants to excel in everything."
Akane fumed. "She's had lot's of practice bumming extra food and free stuff
when she's a girl. She just bats her eyes and she doubles her tips." Akane
got up and grabbed the blankets that were stored under the living room
table. She laid them out on the floor and threw a few pillows around. "Just
to let you know, Sailor Sun will be here any minute now."
Kasumi couldn't help but wonder what Akane was doing. "Why are you putting
blankets on the floor?"
Akane sat down. "It's nighttime."
"Does this have to do with Sailor Sun's teleportation?"
"Yep. She falls asleep if she teleports at night."
Kasumi was curious. "What's it like to teleport?"
Akane pondered the question. "It's hard to describe. You feel like the world
stretches in every direction and you're surrounded by colors. Then it's
suddenly over."
A flash appeared over the blankets and Sailor Sun stood for a second. "Oh,
hi mom." She fell over fast asleep on the soft pile at her feet.
Akane gave a look of encouragement. "She's getting better. Usually, she
falls asleep immediately. She doesn't often say anything after a night
teleport."
Kasumi got up and moved her hand through the air that Sun beamed into.
"Amazing!"
Akane tapped Sun's back with the tip of her foot. "Wake up sleepy head.
We've got company."
Sun slowly turned over and sat up. She yawned and licked her lips. "Hi
Kasumi! Hi mom!"
Kasumi knelt by Sun and pulled at her red mini-skirt. "Where did you get
that outfit?"
Sun looked down at her skirt. "I dunno. Fuku's 'r' us? It just appears when
I transform." She changed back to Ranko in a kimono. "Is this better?"
Nodoka smiled. Her daughter looked beautiful. "I was discussing with Akane
about the idea that we get an apartment together."
Ranko's heart sank. "I wouldn't mind you mom. But I can't let dad ever find
out about this." She produced her henshin stick to make a point.
"So we are agreement that if it's just I that shares a dwelling with you
two, that you don't object?"
Ranko looked at her wife and back to her mother. "Well, we have to stay in
Juuban and I can't have dad around." She turned to Kasumi. "I hate to say it
Kasumi, but Nabiki isn't welcome either."
Akane cast daggers with her eyes. "RANMA!"
"Akane, if she ever got proof about us she'd sell it to Kuno or Ripley's
Believe it or Not or who knows what else." Ranko got depressed. Deep down
inside she had some respect for Nabiki's business skills but she had zero
respect for the way Nabiki had used her for money.
Kasumi stood up and helped Ranko up off of the floor. Kasumi agreed. "I know
Nabiki means well. But I'm afraid that Ranma is right. We can't ever tell
her about you or Ranma being Sailor Senshi. I just don't know if she'll keep
it a secret."
Akane sighed. "I wish Nabiki was more trustworthy. I hate keeping this a
secret from her."
Ranko shook her head. "I think too many people already know."
Nodoka looked at Kasumi and back to Ranko. "Are there others besides us who
know?"
Ranko thought about it. "Ukyou and Konatsu know about us."
Akane thought about Ryoga. His memory was erased when a timeline was undone
so he didn't count anymore. "I think that's it."
Nodoka nodded. "So I take it that Shampoo and Kodachi don't know."
Ranko shivered at the sound of Shampoo's name. "We can never tell Shampoo.
If Cologne ever found out, she'll drug me and cart me off to China in a
block of ice to join that tribe of hers. Cologne would love to have an
Amazon Senshi protecting her village."
Akane laughed, "You left out the part about marrying Shampoo."
"Let's not go there again. Anyways mom, it's late and I need to get some
sleep. Do you need a ride home?"
Nodoka removed her wrapped katana and placed it beside the couch. "If you
don't mind. I'd like to spend the night here. It's a long train ride home
and at this hour the trains only come every hour."
Kasumi had an idea. "I do need to go home. Father and Nabiki would be
expecting breakfast. Could you please teleport me? I'd like to see how that
works." She was excited.
Ranko produced her henshin stick. "On two conditions, one you wake me up
after we get there so I can get back home and two, I'll probably be landing
in the koi pond so don't get mad at me if we get wet."
Kasumi had the glee of a kid in a candy store. "Agreed!"
"Here we go again. Sun Star Power! Make Up!" Ranko transformed again into
Sailor Sun. "I can never get used to that. It's neat though."
Kasumi got a very good look at the transformation sequence. "Did you know
you're naked for a second?"
"Yes. That's why we hide before we do it. Ready to teleport?"
"What do I do?"
Sailor Sun stood next to Kasumi. "Just hang on." Kasumi held her arms around
the shorter girl and got a firm grip around her shoulders. Sun concentrated
her teleportation magic on the backyard of the Tendo dojo, picked a location
that no one was watching and called out, "Sun Beam Transport!"
Kasumi was overwhelmed at the sights and sounds of teleportation. The room
stretched and everything merged into a blur of light and color. She lost all
feeling in her body and she was transformed into a beam of light and
suddenly she was standing behind the dojo supporting Sailor Sun's sleeping
body.
Kasumi felt woozy and wanted to pass out as well. She propped herself
against the back wall. They were in the narrow corridor between the dojo and
the wall surrounding the property. There was no one nearby. She gently
patted Sun's cheeks. "Wake up Ran... Sailor Sun."
Sun muttered. "Ah re hum."
"Yes we are home. You can teleport back now."
"Uh huh." Sun shook her head to force herself to a conscious state. She saw
her apartment in her mind and flashed out.
Kasumi brushed her dress, fluffed her hair and walked back to the house.
Soun and Genma came around the corner. Soun looked around, "Kasumi? What
happened? We saw a flash."
"I don't know father. I just got home." Kasumi smiled and went into the
house.
Soun and Genma shrugged and went back to their game. Soun looked at the
board. "I don't remember you having that many pieces Saotome."
Genma made a move. "I win!"
Soun was wondering if his friend had somehow made the light show to distract
him so he could cheat.
========================================
Kasumi went to her bedroom. She sat on her bed and got ready for sleep. She
loved to teleport. She wanted to do it again sometime. Her bedroom door
opened and Nabiki entered and shut the door behind her. "Well sis, where
have you been?"
"I was out with Mrs. Saotome."
"Where is she?"
"She's staying with Ranma and Akane tonight."
Nabiki's 'Things don't add up' meter went to the highest value. "You came
all the way from Juuban by yourself at this hour?"
Kasumi fluffed her pillow. "I'm twenty years old Nabiki. I can take care of
myself."
Nabiki wanted answers. "What was that flash in the backyard?"
"What flash?"
"Don't play dumb. The whole backyard looked like you took a picture with a
giant camera. What's going on?"
"Nabiki, I just got back from Juuban and I'm very tired. Can was discuss
this tomorrow?" Kasumi yawned. Teleportation was very fatiguing.
Nabiki looked around the room and whispered, "Does Ranma know something
about the Sailor Senshi?"
Kasumi shivered. "Whatever do you mean?"
Nabiki kept her voice to a whisper. "C'mon sis! The Senshi are somewhere in
the Minato or Shinagawa areas of Tokyo. Juuban is right in the middle of
that. The Senshi beat Happosai and Ranma was in the middle of that whole
mess. You can't convince me that Ranma doesn't have some connection with the
Senshi."
Kasumi had to lie. She had to lie convincingly. She couldn't do it. "I need
to get some sleep Nabiki." She slipped under her covers.
Nabiki was angry. She was utterly convinced her sister knew something but
she wasn't going to press the matter for now. "I'll talk with you tomorrow.
Goodnight sis."
========================================
Sailor Sun beamed on top of the blankets again. She fell over and was out
for the count. Nodoka and Akane picked up Sun and tossed her into bed. Akane
touched Sun's jewel on her tiara and triggered her change into Ranko. Akane
bid her mother in law goodnight and they all went to sleep.
Nodoka slept a peaceful sleep. She for the first time in months was going to
start spending a lot more time with her son. She slept with a smile on her
face.
========================================
Hiro had a strange dream. He thought there was an earthquake last night. He
got up from his simple cot in his fisherman's hut and saw that a few items
were knocked over. He put on his coat and went outside to examine his hut
for damage. The sun hadn't risen yet so the landscape was very dark. Only
the moon provided light to see by. Hiro looked toward the village and saw
that it was dark. There were no lights at all. He saw his house was intact
and nothing was out of the ordinary. He went back inside. He flipped the
light switch and no light came on.
He cursed. There must have been a small quake and it knocked out the power
on this section of Okinawa Island. He picked up the bottles and cans and put
them back on the shelves. It was tedious work with the light being so
scarce. He dressed for work on the fishing vessel and locked the door of his
hut.
He started down the road toward the docks. The area was unnaturally quiet.
There were normally sounds of people at the docks preparing and launching
vessels for the morning fishing expeditions. He saw the docks ahead just at
the sun began to rise in the east. He tripped and fell into a hole in the
ground.
Hiro lifted himself off the dirt. He saw his coat was covered in mud from
ground water that had filled in the bottom two centimeters of the pothole.
He walked across the hole and climbed up the seventy centimeters to get out.
The sun now illuminated the village and the sight was terrifying. The entire
village was burned to the ground and no building was left standing. Hiro
stood in horror at the destruction before him. He spun around to run home
and he got an excellent view of the hole he crawled out of.
It was a footprint.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes: Please review my story. It makes me feel oh so happy and
prevents me calling you during dinnertime with this amazing TV offer.
Bill Heineman
December 31, 2002
========================================
bur...@contrabandent.com
http://www.contrabandent.com/burgerbill
========================================