[SM/Ranma][FanFic] A Call To Action, Part Two
Mike Koos
A Sailor Moon / Ranma 1/2 Crossover
Part Two
written by Mike Koos
--------------------
Luna insisted on sprinting through the front door and into the
hall ahead of Ami and I, to make sure no one would see Sailor Mercury
and Sailor Terra run out of the apartment in which Mizuno Ami lived.
That's a good idea, I have to admit. We don't want anyone finding
out about our secret identities.
I'll bet Ami would never have told me she was Sailor Mercury if
I wasn't a Sailor Senshi myself.
A day ago, I wouldn't even have thought about trying to fight a
monster. Today... I know it sounds like a cliche, but it feels like
I've been doing this sort of thing forever.
It's all been a blur. We were all in Ami's bedroom holding a
weekly study session, when we heard there was a monster roaming the
halls. The monster showed up while we were standing outside the
front door. She threatened to steamroll over Usagi... and would
have, too, if I hadn't pushed it away in what was probably a
temporary loss of sanity.
The others pulled me back into the apartment - where I learned
that not only could Luna speak, but Ami, Usagi and Rei were the
'Sailor Senshi' I've been hearing a lot about. And I, Tendo Nabiki,
just happen to be a Sailor Senshi as well. Wow, imagine that.
So now here we were, chasing after the monster I'd tried to
fight against with my bare hands.
Luna's return temporarily ended that line of thought. "It's
clear," she breathed. It sounds like she's run to both ends of the
hall and was slightly winded from doing so. You know, I've never
thought about what might exhaust a cat... it can't be easy to keep up
with Ami, Rei and Usagi when they're running around. But if she had
the ability to perform a standing flip, she's got better endurance
than this. Hmm... I didn't see her running around that much
earlier... I was too busy doing something stupid.
I nodded to Ami. "I guess we'd better get going." She nodded
back.
Ami peered around the door frame into the hall to double-check
that no one was there, then motioned for me to follow her.
I let my thoughts drift to my uniform. It, too, felt like a
longtime part of me, as the knowledge of how to be Sailor Terra did.
Yet there were a lot of things I didn't have - like a technical
explanation for this uniform. "This is more like a dress uniform,"
I said to my teammate as we began to run. "You... we... fight in
these clothes?"
"Yes. Apparently, they serve both as dress clothes and as a
uniform in which to fight." Ami brought up a bit of the fabric of
the glove protecting her forearm. "Although this fabric is thin,
it's the strongest and most resilient cloth I've ever seen! I
haven't even figured out what its limits are, or how a fabric can be
this strong..."
"Magic," the word escaped my mouth. I glanced behind us to see
Luna following at a distance.
"Hm?"
"Magic. We're using it, even *wearing* it. I can feel it
inside me, A-- uh, Mercury! I know you want to have an explanation
for it now - so do I - but maybe we need to know more before we can
come to any useful conclusions."
She seemed disappointed. "Perhaps you can help me come up with
the explanations, then," Ami smiled.
I faced forward so that I could frown without Ami seeing it.
Oh, I wish she'd stop that. *She's* the smart one, not me. "Maybe
later. Right now, I think we're supposed to be worrying about that
monster."
My 'new' knowledge told me that as a Sailor Senshi, I'm supposed
to essentially fulfill the role of a hero, defender and protector.
That included taking out monsters before they could get away with
hurting others or destroying things. What it *didn't* tell me was
how I was supposed to do that. I've got power, but how do I use it?
I'd rather not fight hand-to-hand if I can avoid it.
Ami must have understood how I felt at that moment, because she
proceeded to tell me not to analyze what I was doing while fighting.
That I should just act on instinct for now, and it'll all come to me,
like it had earlier. I still can't believe I'm doing this...
Or that Ami-chan is doing this, either. Dad offered to teach
her how to be a fighter; she'd been more polite in turning him down
than I had, claiming she really did not want to be a fighter. And
now - she's fighting evil as Sailor Mercury.
I can't complain. Who would have thought I could be Sailor
Terra?
A sigh, hopefully too soft for Ami to hear, especially compared
to the sounds of our running. Footsteps and the rustling of our
clothes, *those* aren't as loud as I thought they would be. Do these
uniforms mask the sound of our movement, too?
I've got to stop dwelling so much on established facts and get
on with it. I'm a Sailor Senshi. Ami's a Sailor Senshi. Usagi and
Rei are Sailor Senshi. Luna can talk. Argue, command, even. And
we're all on our way to fight a monster with our magical powers.
Sort of. The trail of the monster was hard to follow most of
the time, and Usagi and Rei hadn't left any signs. They're running
more often than fighting. That's good news for everyone except Ami
and I - we have to find them. I risked a glance at Ami, who was
sprinting beside me. "Isn't there a way to teleport to them or
something? We can lose track of them very easily."
Ami shook her head. "All we can do is run, and hope we catch up
to them in time. However..." her voice trailed off. She raised a
gloved hand up to her ear as if to do something with the earring
there. An instant later a transparent blue visor materialized,
seemingly sliding around her eyes as it formed. Information and
other displays began flashing across the inside of the visor.
I did a double-take. Magic, *and* technology? What about all
the people who insist they don't really mix all that well? If she
had a computer like that, couldn't she run a scan on these clothes to
learn more about them? "What's that?"
"Hm?" Ami followed my gaze back to the instrument covering her
eyes. "Oh, this is my visor. I can use it to scan for various
things. If I need to execute more specialized tasks, I have the
pocketbook computer that Luna gave to me."
She had a 'pocketbook computer?' When I asked as much, she
smiled faintly and said, "I'll show it to you later, when we have the
time to answer some of the questions you likely have. You would like
to know what really happened to me at the Crystal Seminar about a
month ago? That was the day when I discovered that I was Sailor
Mercury." We changed directions, turning left into a hall on Ami's
cue.
For a second I dwelled on the word *later*, almost missing Ami's
revelation. She's sure we're all going to make it through this fight
with no problems? Even though I'm not thoroughly sure I know what
the heck I am supposed to be doing?
"At first, Usagi was alone as Sailor Moon, with Luna." The
thought took me by surprise. Usagi fighting monsters all by herself?
"Then, they found me. We found Rei soon after that..."
"...And now, you've found me. Hey, did you ever think - several
years ago, when we were little, that we'd both be doing something
like this?" I felt rather stupid for bothering to ask her that, but
the question was more to take my mind off a few things than for
reminiscing.
Her smile grew stronger. "Yes, I dreamt of doing things like
this on occasion. For love and justice, as Usagi-chan always states.
Didn't you have the same kind of dreams?"
I did, once. Mostly, before Mom... before she... left us.
After that I became too old to dream of becoming a hero. I'd thought
that none of our family's problems could be solved by any special
powers I might gain. And now...
"Fire...... SOUL!!"
"That was R--" I caught myself. Blast, I've got to remember
*not* to use our true names when we're like this. "That was Mars,
wasn't it?"
"Yes." The yell had come from around the corner ahead of us.
We rounded it in time to see the monster dive out of the path of
flames pouring forth from Rei's fingertips. I gaped again. Wow, if
she could do that, then what could I do?
Ami immediately threw her arms wide. "Shabon... Spray!"
A fine mist descended upon us, though I could see through it to
an extent. "Mercury!" Usagi exclaimed, relieved to 'see' us.
"And..."
"Terra," I answered. "Sailor Terra."
"Terra," she repeated.
The monster growled to let us know she was still here, too.
Another of Rei's Fire Soul attacks cut through Ami's mist to silence
the monster for a few seconds. What little of the mist had been
evaporated by the fire was soon replaced.
Again, I wondered, what could I do? Hmm... let's see. Sailor
Mars seems to have control of fire, Sailor Mercury has control over
water, I suppose - and Sailor Moon has... what *does* she have?
Terra. If I'm Sailor Terra, I might have control over earth, or
something like that. It's a pity no one could tell me what my powers
are before all this.
Suddenly, the monster exploded from the mist directly toward me.
I heard myself yelp both in surprise and shock, and leapt backward,
farther than I'd expected. Being a Senshi must be boosting my
agility and strength. Maybe my speed, too.
I felt something click into place in my mind again, and let
myself flow with it as Ami had advised.
"Sand..." I yelled, bringing my hands together before me. A
whirling globe of sand formed between them, the sense of the power I
held firmly in place building within me... I don't think I know how
to explain how wonderful this felt! "...Spiral!"
I urged the power forward, away from me. The volleyball-sized
sand globe intercepted the monster and engulfed it. As I watched in
awe, the resulting sandstorm threw the monster back into the fog...
which was starting to fade. Ami, who I could see clearly now, threw
me a knowing glance. I'd done it, hadn't I? I've found my power!
"Now what?"
"Sailor Moon!" Rei called while pivoting to see where Usagi had
stationed herself.
Usagi nodded. "Right!" She removed her tiara from where it
rested around her forehead. What is she doing? I wondered. The
tiara turned into a disc of light in her hands. "Moon... Tiara..."
she spun once, throwing it with a snap of her wrist. "...Action!"
Her tiara flew like a boomerang. It sliced *through* the
monster's midsection before returning to its owner.
Meanwhile, the monster was howling in obvious pain. Both halves
of her body paled to an ash gray and lost cohesion, drifting to the
ground like sand from a broken hourglass before fading completely
from sight.
"Is it all over?" I asked.
Rei smirked. "I hope so."
"I would like to know what that youma was doing here." It
figured Ami would state something like that. *Youma*!? You mean to
tell me that wasn't a monster, but a demon?
"The same thing they're ALWAYS doing! Running around, stealing
people's energy... I don't wanna fight another one of those things
tonight if I don't have to!" Usagi whined. You know, I think I
agree with her.
Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd that was starting to
gather at the other end of the hall. "I don't think we have the
luxury of investigating, Mercury," I told her. "We'd better leave
while we can."
Ami glanced from me to the crowd. "She's right," Rei seconded.
"Time to go!" She broke into a run toward the closest open hallway.
Usagi and I followed at her heels.
"But..." Ami protested, then ran to catch up to us. She hadn't
had much choice; already a few people were rallying the others to
chase after us. "But we should be investigating! We don't know why
that youma was here, or what it was trying to do! It could have been
a diversion to distract us from something else!"
I tried to keep my voice down while I ran. "We'd better change
back, first. I don't think we'd get much done looking like this."
Ami frowned. "I suppose so." She took the lead. "C'mon! My
apartment's not that far from here!"
We ducked into the apartment and shut the door, as the people
who thought it would be fun to run after a group of Sailor Senshi
turned the corner we just rounded.
Rei didn't wait to hear if our 'fan club' had left the hall.
"Quickly! Change back to normal!"
Doing that was easy enough. I thought of my untransformed self,
and the concept of returning to that state of being. When I next
looked down at myself, I had done just that. Returning to 'normal'
apparently takes much less time than it does to transform - no
special-effect shows here.
Someone knocked at the door. Ami motioned for the rest of us to
hide behind the kitchen counter.
She warily opened the door. "Y-yes?"
Usagi edged her head around the end of the counter to look at
the man who was asking Ami if she'd heard or seen anything
suspicious. At least, she remained there until Rei and I hurriedly
yanked her back into hiding.
Ami paused for a couple of seconds. Had she heard? Had whoever
it was at the door heard? "Does that mean that monster that everyone
is talking about is gone?"
The voice told her that there was nothing to worry about. "The
Sailor Senshi destroyed the monster. We're just looking for them so
we can... ah, thank them."
I imagined the smile that Ami must have worn at that moment.
"I've been here, cleaning up after the guests I had over this
afternoon, and I can't say that I've seen or heard much. Aside from
what people were yelling about the monster, anyway. But if I do
happen to see the Sailor Senshi, maybe I can tell them 'thank you'
for you."
The man laughed. "Thank you, miss. Sorry to bother you."
"That's quite all right." None of us breathed until we heard
Ami close the door again.
Except for Usagi, who decided it was necessary to hold her
breath a minute longer. When she did exhale, forcefully and loudly,
her momentum made her collapse forward onto her face. "Waaah!" she
wailed, pulling herself to her feet. "I hate it when we have to hide
like that! All crammed in one spot, you guys pulling me and
everything--"
"Shut UP, Usagi!" hissed Rei. "Someone might still hear you!"
"If she's *that* loud, they can," I snorted. "Ami?"
Ami eased away from the door. "I think it's okay."
Rei and I breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Though
for some reason I felt as though we'd forgotten something. Why would
that be? All of us were here, except... "Hey, where's Luna?"
The others looked startled. "I'll bet we lost her when we were
running from the scene of the battle," Ami said, thoughtfully.
"We'll probably find her when we go out to investigate."
Ordinarily, I might have commented on her use of the word 'bet,'
but I could tell Ami was truly concerned for Luna. I wished I knew
Luna better, so that I could better share in that concern. Right now
I feel like an adopted sister in a family that was doing quite well
without me.
Another thought occurred to me. "Ami-chan? What kind of policy
does this mansion have on pets?" 'Mansion' was another term for
certain types of apartment complexes, especially those that really
did look like mansions.
Usagi answered for Ami. "'No pets allowed,'" she quoted. "You
know that. That's why I have to sneak Luna in in a large handbag."
"Uh-huh," I nodded. "So what are people going to say when they
see her walking through the halls?"
A low, anxious scratching at the front door saved Usagi from
having to respond. Ami fumbled the door open, and Luna barreled in,
looking for the world as if she were being followed.
"Luna!" Usagi exclaimed, while the cat in question hid behind
the couch.
"Is someone after you?" I asked.
She strained to speak in between breaths. "I don't know. I've
been running non-stop trying to find my way back to here. Someone
could very well have seen me and followed."
Ami placed her ear to the door once more. "I don't hear
anything, Luna. Actually, we were preparing to go out and look for
you, while seeing if we can find out why that youma was here."
"I'll come with you."
"No!" When everyone turned to stare at me, I realized the voice
had been mine. "Um, no. Luna... you must be tired after chasing us
everywhere. You really should stay here and rest."
"Yeah, and you won't have to hide if you stay here." I had the
impression Usagi was more concerned with having to carry Luna
everywhere with us in that oversized handbag she'd brought than the
need to keep Luna concealed.
Luna studied each of us in turn, perhaps guessing how much we
would protest if she again insisted on leaving with us. I still
can't believe I'm a part of this, now. If I hadn't become Sailor
Terra... if that monster hadn't chosen to attack here - I might have
finished my studying and gone home, back to an ordinary life. I
might never have known my three friends were the Sailor Senshi...
** ** **
The gratingly loud buzzing of my alarm clock wrenched me away
from my dreams. On what could pass for morning reflex, I blindly
brought my hand down on the nightstand next to my bed several times
in search of the snooze button.
Once the clock was silenced, I covered my hands with a
pajama-clad sleeve and went back to thinking about my dream.
I was dreaming... about the day I learned I was Sailor Terra.
Why would I be dreaming about that?
It wasn't exactly a dream, either - more like a memory. Did it
have something to do with Ami coming over last night? Or is my
conscience yelling at me for not rushing to join the others?
Ah... I'll worry about it later.
As for the dream, nothing really had happened after the point
where I woke up; Luna decided not to join us after all. We went out
to see what we could find - but not before Luna pulled me aside to
give me a communicator. Our first communicators looked more or less
like a pastel pink pocket calculator with an additional small, round
window and a speaker that gave better sound than you'd expect from a
watch-sized speaker.
We found no clues that night. By the time we left the apartment
again, there was a TV news crew wandering the halls and the only
thing we learned was never to let Usagi be the one to talk to a
reporter if we could help it.
I didn't realize exactly how distracted I was that morning until
Akane raised her voice at the breakfast table. "*Oneechan*!"
Usually, I just tune out Ranma and Akane at the table because it
doesn't take long for either of them to start yelling. Not that I
don't pay attention to every last bit of nonsense in this household,
mind you.
"Huh?" I swallowed the bite of fish I had in my mouth.
"Is something wrong, oneechan? You seem distracted and you
haven't been paying attention."
I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that, Akane?"
She pointed at my plate. "You never noticed Mr. Saotome taking
most of your food."
What do you know? He *has* taken most of it. Ranma isn't
beyond taking food from the rest of us, but since he currently sits
across the table from me, you'd think I might notice him reaching for
my plate. His father sits along the edge of the table next to me...
mostly as a panda, if just to give him another excuse to lounge
around and eat all the food he can.
Sighing, I pushed the remnants of my meal toward the oversized
bear and excused myself from the table. "Here, you can have the
rest. Just remember that I expect payment for the whole meal in full
by the time I come home this afternoon."
The panda nervously swallowed hard.
"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded from the door. "There's plenty of
food for everyone. You shouldn't charge anyone simply because they
take your food."
I crouched on one knee to pick up my bookbag. "If there's
plenty of food for everyone, he can ask for more food. He doesn't
have to steal mine." That said, I made my way to the door. What can
I say? I learned the cold and indifferent act from a few of the best
examples ever to walk the Earth. "Anyway, I think I'll leave for
school now. I've got a bunch of things I need to take care of."
Kasumi's voice stopped me before I could make it through the
front door. "Nabiki-chan, wait." She joined me in the foyer,
wearing a concerned expression. "Is there really anything bothering
you? Is everything all right with your friends in Juuban?"
"N-no, Kasumi," I managed after very nearly swallowing my
breath. "Ami-chan and everyone else are just fine." How much does
she know, about my secrets?
"It's just that for Ami to come all the way here from Juuban
during a storm to talk with you for less than an hour strikes me as a
bit unusual." Suspicion clashed for a second with her concern.
"There was something she had to tell or ask you that she believed she
couldn't accomplish with a telephone call."
Occasionally, I wonder if Kasumi is even more observant than I
am. "Not really. Everyone wanted to invite me to a little
get-together last night, and Ami thought I might go there with her.
I had some homework to do, though, so I told her that I wanted to
stay here and get it done."
"Oh. If I didn't know any better, Nabiki-chan, I would think
you've been trying to distance yourself from Usagi and Mamoru since
their marriage."
"Huh?"
"Were you in love with Mamoru?" The ends of her lips were
beginning to turn upward.
"*No*!" I practically shouted. She's close to the truth, yet I
never expected her to come to *that* conclusion. "Sorry. But we all
knew from the start that Usagi and Mamoru were meant for each other."
Not counting Rei's attempts to strike up a relationship with him, of
course.
Kasumi chuckled. "They must have a unique relationship for you,
Ami and your friends all to insist they were meant for each other."
"I... yeah, I suppose you could say that."
"I wonder if I could ever have such a relationship," Kasumi
wistfully sighed.
"You will, Sis." If she and Dr. Tofu ever decide to have a
serious talk about their feelings for each other, perhaps, I silently
amended. "I really need to get going; you know I don't like having
to run to school like they do," I said, gesturing across the hall in
the direction of the family room where Ranma and my little sister
continued to eat breakfast.
"I still believe the three of you should walk to school
together."
I shook my head. "I'd rather not. Besides, they're always
cutting it too close to the late bell." For my purposes, I have to
get there early enough - which also has the side benefit of avoiding
all the nonsense Akane and Ranma might encounter each morning.
Not about to let Kasumi bring up any other points, I pushed the
front door open and broke into a run. "Bye! I'll be home later this
afternoon!"
** ** **
Kasumi watched her sister sprint through the gates in the high
wall that bordered their yard. <Nabiki...> Her practiced gaze could
tell that there *was* something troubling the middle Tendo sister,
despite Nabiki's assurances to the contrary. Whatever the problem
was, it likely had to be related to what Ami had come in person to
Nerima just to discuss with her friend.
She pursed her lips. Above all, Nabiki was the least likely
member of the household to share her concerns with anyone who could
help. No - if she wanted to learn whether or not Nabiki's concerns
were serious, the best way would be to ask another of the people
involved.
Ami. <I wonder if we still have Ami-chan's phone number in the
address book?>
** ** **
Now, I'm beginning to worry.
Even if Kasumi doesn't know my biggest secret, she's concerned
enough to do a bit of digging. I doubt she'll find anything if she
asks Ami or I directly. Usagi, maybe. But we've more or less been
keeping these secrets *way* too long to give them away in a slip of
the tongue... I hope.
Hmm. I'd better find something else to think about.
What kind of enemy could we be facing now? What kind of threat?
I wonder if anyone else on the team thinks we've pretty much seen it
all, because it sometimes seems that we have whenever we manage to
win a fight. Then the next fight comes and we start all over again.
We've fought enemies from the past, present and future, many kinds of
monsters out to steal energy, pure spirit or what-not - several
designed to take advantage of people's weaknesses - and even our own
dark sides. What would Kasumi think if she knew that we've faced the
end of the world?
Heh, there are times when I wouldn't mind throwing this in the
face of one or both of those super-macho martial artists who've come
to live with us. Ranma turns into a girl *and* he's seen Akane
fight, but he still acts as though girls are too weak to fight and
need to be protected like little children. His father's worse. If
Ranma ever came across one of our fights, he'd try to force us to
stand back while *he* fought the bad guys all by himself. The less
he knows, the better.
Oh... I'm drifting. I still don't know if I'm ready to rejoin
the team as a full-time fighter. I'll have to do it eventually,
but... I'm still afraid. More for the Princess's sake and everyone
else I know than myself.
Nothing of note happened while I made my way through the
school's main courtyard. The word around here is that all the guys
following Kunou-chan's stupid rule of defeating Akane in a fight in
order to be able to date her - as if he'd *really* allow anyone else
to date Akane! - had finally decided that since Ranma is engaged to
my little sister, there's no point in bothering to fight her. I
suppose *that* comes as a blow to Kunou, since he obviously counts on
their fights against Akane to make himself appear better.
'Course, that would never stop him from going after Akane. He's
so sure he can beat Ranma and never lose, but that's exactly what he
does every time they fight. He returns again and again, with the
delusion that his two loves love him and no one else; that he's never
lost in a fight and will easily trash Ranma again 'this time.'
I expected to see him waiting behind one of the larger trees for
Ranma and Akane to run through the gates. You've got to admire a guy
who sets himself up every school day just to be punched or kicked
into low Earth orbit, if that's humanly possible. That, or pity him.
He wasn't there.
Maybe he's finally come to whatever few senses he's got left and
gone on to class? I seriously doubt that. He's probably just out
sick or something like that. I don't envy his pet Ninja for having
to cater to the guy's whims all day. Does Sasuke even sleep? I've
been to the Kunou mansion - yes, it's a real mansion - and trust me,
it is *not* a place in which you want to let down your guard, to
sleep or otherwise.
I took a few minutes to check into the rumors of the morning.
There was nothing really of interest there, either, just the usual
rumors about Ranma. None of them are rumors I've started... well,
they're right when they say truth is stranger than fiction. What
rumor could I spread that's more weird than the real Ranma?
That he's looking for a different girl to be his girlfriend?
Sure, that might create some short-term revenue for me in some deals,
but in the end all I'd really accomplish would be to get the guy in
more fights - especially with Akane and our fathers. No; I don't
squander resources like that unless I want to teach Ranma a lesson.
He does need to learn that someone can take down the invincible
Saotome Ranma without fighting him in hand-to-hand combat.
Some other time. I figured I'd better head to my homeroom and
see what was going on there this morning.
I was surprised to see Kunou sitting in his seat when I walked
through the door. He's in his seat, this early in the morning and
before Akane gets here? That's not normal - for *him*, anyway.
"Hey, Kunou-chan," I said, dropping casually into my seat -
which just happened to be immediately to Kunou's left. "Aren't you
usually out in the yard right now, trying to beat up Ranma?"
He turned to look at me. Only then did I notice the ashen
quality of his skin and the glazed look in his eyes.
Signs which occasionally indicate that someone's been draining
people of their energy or worse.
Speaking seemed to come at the cost of a bit of effort. "Oh,
Tendo Nabiki... how fortunate I am this day." Pause. "For last
night, both my loves appeared to me and expressed their desire to be
one with me, forever."
I narrowed my eyes. How could Kunou have seen Ranma and Akane?
As far as I know, neither of them left the house yesterday after the
rain passed. "So Akane and the pig-tailed girl want to be 'one' with
you forever, huh?" I don't think Ranma *or* Akane would ever say
that to him... not of their own free will, anyway.
"Is that not what I said?"
"And what about Ranma?" I persisted.
He didn't even blink. "My loves have promised me that while
they remain with me, that peasant shall never bother us again."
Oh, really? "And how do you know someone's not trying to play a
trick on you? You're the one who's always saying that Ranma uses all
sorts of dark tricks to keep you from what rightfully belongs to you."
His eyes stared through me, this time. "I know."
I said nothing else to Kunou after that, but made up my mind to
keep an eye on him for the rest of the school day. The fact that
Kunou claimed his two loves had paid him an evening visit aside, if
something *had* been draining his energy, it likely still had a link
to him. Whenever monsters drained energy, they didn't release their
victims until there was no more energy to be found.
During our lunch break, I followed him from a distance. He
separated from the crowds - most of the student body *and* the
faculty tried to leave Kunou alone, not wanting to bother with his
temper or bokutou - and walked until he came to one of the vacant
side lots.
For several minutes he stood there, leaning against a tree with
his eyes closed as if he'd come here to contemplate something.
I was doing my best to fight my boredom and stop glancing at my
watch every three seconds when I heard the voices calling Kunou's
name.
"Kunou-sempai--!" That sounded like Akane - if you dragged her
voice through a couple of mediocre sound filters, first.
Next came 'Ranma's' voice. "Sempai!"
A girl that looked somewhat like Akane emerged from the bushes,
approaching Kunou from the right. She immediately took hold of his
arm. Another girl, who looked less and less like Ranma's female
half, came to him from his left.
Blast, if they aren't radiating strong auras of darkness and
evil...
Just great; so someone's decided to toy with Kunou's mind. No,
I'm not going to say 'what little mind he has;' that's way too easy
a joke. The *real* Ranma and Akane could manipulate him like a
marionette if they actually chose to do so. These two... whoever
they are, they're going farther than that. Chances are, I'm going to
have to do something, so I'd better transform.
I ducked behind the large bush from which I was watching Kunou's
secret meeting, hand instinctively reaching for my transformation
pen. Do I really want to risk this? I asked myself. Of course I
do. Just because it's Kunou-chan out there doesn't mean I neglect
what I'm supposed to be doing.
My power came to me even as I called for it in a hushed tone of
voice. "Terra Crystal Power... make up!"
Both 'Akane' and 'Ranma' had focused their gazes in my direction
by the time I was able to return to watching them, now as Sailor
Terra. "One of *them* is here," frowned Akane.
Kunou blinked. "...Who?"
"A Sailor Senshi is nearby," 'Ranma' told him without looking at
him. "Watching us. She will try to take us away from you, sempai.
Forever."
"The Sailor Senshi stand for truth, justice and good itself, as
I have been told," exhaled Kunou. "I cannot believe any one of them
would do such a thing." He stared at them. "Unless you... happen to
be some sort of evil?"
'Akane' and 'Ranma' immediately lapsed into the sad puppy dog
routine, eyes pleading. "Please don't let her separate us from you,
sempai!"
Kunou considered their pleas for a second, then strengthened his
resolve. "I shall not let that happen," he vowed.
I'm going to have to fight him, too? Wonderful. Well, as long
as I can keep my distance from him and just focus on his two friends,
I'll be better off. I was expecting him to join the fight sooner or
later, if I'm fighting whatever's taken on the appearance of the two
girls he loves.
"I wouldn't listen to them if I were you," I yelled, leaping out
to confront the pair. "They're not the real Tendo Akane and the
pig-tailed girl."
"I suppose *you've* never known true love, so you have to go
around preventing others from experiencing it, too. Who are you?"
'Akane' shot back.
I'm glad Mina isn't here to hear her say that.
Hmm. This Akane argues a bit like the real Akane, at any rate.
Resisting the urge to fire off a retort, I leveled a glare at her and
her 'friend' instead. "I am the defender of this world, and those
who stand upon it, Sailor Terra. Who are you, then?"
'Akane' laughed. "You don't know who we are? It's a pity the
vaunted Sailor Senshi are so uninformed!"
"It doesn't matter," added 'Ranma.' "You won't need to know who
we are once you're dead!"
I shrugged. "Death threats are really nothing new to us."
"You mean to kill one of the Sailor Senshi? You *are* evil!"
Kunou withdrew.
He didn't make it far. Both of the 'girls' leapt at him.
"*Now*!" they screamed in unison. "Combination!"
The three merged into one monster before my eyes. I hesitated.
Being a Senshi does make you bolder after a while, true, but it
doesn't necessarily eliminate your fears. That's good, because a
good fighter keeps her fears to help fuel her rational thought and
common sense - among other things, like adrenaline.
This monster was an androgynous, eight-foot tall humanoid that
did and didn't look like Kunou, more female than male. I wouldn't
doubt that the two-to-one female to male ratio had something to do
with that. It also carried a two-handed energy sword, more
reminiscent of an actual metal blade than a wooden bokutou. "Feel
honored, Sailor Terra. The Crimson Millenium shall be reborn on your
blood."
** ** **
Ranma instinctively turned his head toward the windows of his
classroom when the screaming started. In an instant he had left his
desk and scrambled out onto the classroom's third-story balcony to
search for whatever had been the cause of the screams.
He'd been grateful for a break from listening to his teacher
drag out what he felt should be an eight minute lecture into forty
minutes, though.
Seconds later, Akane and several other members of their class
joined him. "What's going on?" she asked.
"I don't know, yet."
Meanwhile, the main door to the classroom was thrown open behind
them. "There's a Sailor Senshi fighting a monster out in the yard!"
an aide breathlessly exclaimed.
Akane's eyes widened. "The Sailor Senshi? Here?"
Ranma intensified his search. The Sailor Senshi had been the
talk of countless rumors in schools near Tokyo for at least a year or
so before he'd left for China and now, it seemed the rumors were still
running wild.
He had paid some attention to the rumors; the Senshi were
supposed to be fighters in a sense... though as to how a group of
girls in costumes were supposed to 'save the world' was beyond him.
"Okay, everyone," their teacher raised his voice above the
noise. "Back inside the room. I want all of you to stay away
from the balcony and the windows." Strange martial-artist fights
were really no big deal, but everyone had learned their lesson from
events that had happened in Juuban - when the Sailor Senshi were
involved, it was best not to stick around. Anything could happen and
usually did.
"Akane... c'mon," Ranma motioned for her to step closer to him
while everyone else was being herded back into the room.
"Huh?" She recognized the look in Ranma's eyes - one that
indicated he was about to do something impulsive. "What are you
going to--"
Grabbing her and hopping off the side of the balcony was proof
of that intent, she supposed. "...do?"
"Ranma!" she growled once they had landed on the ground. "What
did you do THAT for!?"
He withdrew a step. "It sounded kinda like you might know
something about those Sailor Senshi, so I thought I'd bring you
along."
Akane allowed herself the luxury of relaxing slightly, pushing
her long fall of raven-black hair back into place behind her.
"Nabiki-oneechan probably knows more about them than I do; they say
the Senshi come from Juuban, and she's always going there to visit
Ami."
"Nah... I bet Nabiki'd charge us for the information." Ranma
frowned. "If there really *is* a Sailor Senshi out here, this'd be a
good chance to find out more about them."
Akane nodded. She wasn't sure what to make of the Senshi,
having only rumors and news reports to work from as was the case with
Ranma. Though, Nabiki and Ami seemed to be fairly set in their
opinion of the Senshi, leading Akane to wonder what the two knew
about the mysterious group of young women.
The rush of people running from the battlefield had nearly died
away, meaning that anyone else left on the grounds had opted to stay
and watch the fight. Fortunately, they'd noted the direction from
which everyone had run and immediately started in that direction.
"If we *do* find a Sailor Senshi fighting a monster, what then?
We help her fight?" Akane asked Ranma.
His breath caught in his throat for a couple of seconds. He
hadn't thought that far. "Maybe."
For another minute all they heard were the sounds they made -
short breaths timed to coincide with the rhythm made by their feet as
they ran through the grass of a vacated softball field.
And then, they saw her. A Senshi, short hair as brown as the
majority of her uniform that wasn't white. Only the ribbons adorning
her chest and back of her waist were a different color, blue -
although they wondered if they had caught a flash of gold from her
neckline and amidst her bangs. The flares descending a short
distance from her shoulders were transparent, with a lavender hue.
She darted with what could very well have been a practiced skill
around her opponent's mediocre attempts to bring its sword down on
her, prompting a round of awed murmuring from the few spectators who
hadn't fled.
Ranma watched the girl continue this tactic for a while, against
a monster who had no apparent set gender and was perhaps around three
feet taller than her. <I thought they were supposed to be fighters?
All she's doing is dodging everything!> His brow furrowed. <I'm
gonna have to save her, aren't I?>
While he completed the thought, the Senshi distanced herself
from the monster. She made a motion with her arms as if releasing a
bird into the skies, shouting the words, "Earth... Cascade!"
To his surprise, the earth followed her command. The ground
underneath the monster exploded, sending fragments of earth into the
air. In turn, those same fragments began to pummel the monster like
a swarm of furious hornets.
The monster had soon hacked its way out of the barrage, though
the attack had definitely hurt it. In the meantime, the girl leapt
to the top of a nearby hill. "Hey! I'm over here! You know, I
expected more of a fight from you!" she taunted. "What was that you
said about my blood?"
Now notably more angry than before, her opponent sprang after
her. "When we said that you would die, Sailor Terra, we meant it!
It's only a matter of time before we stand over your wretched
carcass!"
Sailor Terra again bounded out of the monster's reach. To add
injury to insult, she stuck out her tongue. "Well, you picked the
right person to possess... assuming you want to TALK me to death!"
Akane paused. Didn't that voice sound... *familiar* to her, in
some way? Her mind refused to match the image of the Senshi to
anyone she'd ever met, but somehow, something about Sailor Terra's
voice indicated that she might be someone Akane did know. And Akane
wasn't sure whether or not she liked that thought.
She abruptly realized what Sailor Terra was doing. "Ranma!"
she hissed. "She's trying to lead that thing away - from the
buildings, and all of us!"
Ranma saw that Akane had guessed correctly. The others watching
the fight had tried to follow it, yet they were already being left
far behind. Soon only he and Akane would be able to keep pace with
the pair... assuming neither Sailor Terra nor the monster gained much
more speed.
** ** **
My first indication that I'd let things go on long enough to get
out of hand was when I saw Akane and Ranma joining the small crowd of
people watching me fight, out of the corner of my eyes.
Blast. I should have known any fight within the school grounds
would bring them running. How stupid of me. And Kunou-chan would
have come running, too, had those two not toyed with his mind and
then absorbed him.
By leading this... *creature* away, I'd hoped to minimize some
of the damage. Fewer witnesses meant someone else was less likely to
be hurt, and fighting in the open translated into less property
damage. I didn't want to give it the idea to use anyone or anything
as a weapon against me, either.
I suppose only my sister and her iinazuke can keep up with us,
now, but there's nothing I can do about that.
How do I beat this monster without destroying Kunou in the
process? I wish Usagi was here - separating them would be easier for
her. Are these two an example of what Ami was trying to warn me
about? The 'Crimson Millenium?' Sounds like a warped version of the
Silver Millenium.
*Warped* is right. Those monsters have used Kunou's mind
against him, finding his desires and using them to make him
vulnerable enough to corrupt his body into a new monster with which
to fight me. They've changed and mutilated him...
I felt a cold shiver run up my spine. Is it just me, or can I
actually feel this monster reaching for my mind? *No*! I won't let
you have it! I'm not going to let myself be used for evil again!
Never!
It laughed. "So weak... and afraid." I collected my senses in
time to be broadsided against my right temple with the flat of its
sword, tossing me several yards away.
Dazedly, I was aware of Ranma and Akane stepping forward to face
my monster. What? I can't let them do that! I've got to get up
and... oww! That hurt!
I managed to sit up, as shaky as my body is right now. There's
blood seeping from where that sword had caught me - I can feel it.
Putting a hand up to the wound only leaves me with a sharp jolt of
pain and blood on my glove.
Well, I'm bleeding, anyway. And I've got the beginnings of a
headache that may never go away. So much for that idea.
My little sister. Ranma. I've... I've got to distract the
monster so it doesn't hurt them...
I pulled myself up, willing my body to stop shaking. That
worked, though it did nothing for the pain bouncing about like a
pinball in my head. The monster, thankfully, was returning its
attention to me. "We will deal with you eventually, Saotome Ranma,"
it told Ranma. "You are not worthy of our attention at this time."
Guess Kunou-chan still has some influence in that jumble.
Wait... that's it! "Akane!" I shouted through clenched teeth,
bearing the pain that resulted. "That monster has taken over Kunou!
You have to try to get through to him!"
"So that's why he sounds familiar," I heard Ranma say, before
the monster charged at me again - slicing at my left arm and chest.
I screamed as the blade went deep enough to draw blood in both places.
"Sailor Terra!" Akane yelled. Anything she said immediately
after that was lost to me while I fought back the pain.
If only I hadn't turned down Ami's offer... maybe then I'd know
of some weak spot in these things and I wouldn't be on the verge of
getting myself killed.
"Kunou-sempai!" That was Akane. The *true* Akane. I can't see
what she's doing yet, though, not until I feel better enough to tear
open my eyelids.
"Sempai!" Ranma. And female, too. When did he find cold
water, *and* the time to change?
"NO!" the monster boomed. "The boy is ours!" If slicing me up
while I couldn't fight back was any indication of that, it used my
legs as a quick example.
One single slice from the top of one leg to the other. A
renewed surge of blinding, searing pain hit me; I toppled over onto
my side. Thank goodness that thing's only trying to wound me for the
moment, not cripple or kill me. I'm not in any condition to stop it
from going farther than this...
"Kunou-sempai!" Akane repeated her plea. "Please, don't hurt
Sailor Terra! She's our friend! If you hurt her, you hurt me, too!
Can't you see what your doing to her?"
Sheesh, that sounds so... so... oh, I can't think of the word!
Cliched? I hope it works, anyway.
"Me, too," chimed Ranma.
There was a temporary silence. "A-Akane-kun...... pig-tailed
girl..."
I forced back enough of the pain to open my eyes... and
immediately saw the monster standing over me.
It stared at me in horror. "What have you caused me to do?"
Taking a few halting steps toward Akane and Ranma, it hurled its
sword off to one side. "No more! I won't let you harm anyone else,
especially the ones I love."
The monster grabbed its head and dropped to its knees. "Leave
me, foul servants of Evil! I want no part of you!"
Apparently, that was sufficient. Kunou had to want what the
monsters offered, for them to take control. If he was not subdued
enough to see what he had done and insist that the monsters leave
him... they would have to oblige him.
They tore away from him. Kunou rolled across the ground for
several feet before settling into unconsciousness.
I knew this would be my last chance to do something about the
monsters. I feel like I'm close to collapsing as it is - probably
lost too much blood - and if I do, it'll be up to Ranma and Akane to
finish this. Swallowing more pain, I made an effort to sit up and
run through the paces of an Earth Cascade.
My voice betrayed much of the pain I was trying to overcome.
"Earth...... Earth... Cascade!"
The Cascade caught Ranma and Akane's doubles, destroying them
and scattering them to the wind, after the recoil pushed me onto my
back. But I'd won. No more monster. *Now* I can collapse.
Akane ran to my side, lifting my head and shoulders in her arms.
"Sailor Terra? Sailor Terra! Are you... going to be all right?"
she asked, desperation filling her voice.
"Look... at me, Akane," I breathed. Ranma was doing just that,
studying my wounds. "I don't know."
My transformation suddenly began to reverse. I couldn't hold on
to it any longer... my energy was gone. In a matter of seconds my
sister discovered exactly who she was holding. Who Sailor Terra
happened to be...
"*Oneechan*!?"
I'm losing my own grip on consciousness. But the pain is still
with me, interrupting my words. "Akane. Call... call Ami. Tell
her......... to bring... Hotaru."
Everything, as they say, faded to black.
(...to be continued...)
----------
Credits:
Written by: Mike Koos
Prereaders/Special Thanks to: Artemis & Luna, Tom Williams, David
Wills, Jim Robert Bader, Jonathan Ng, Kevin D. Hammel, Richard
Beaubien, Louis-Phillipe Giroux.
All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at
ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works
or from my WWW pages at
http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm
Comments and questions welcome.
*****************************
* Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos * "I can do nothing to stop you.
*---------------------------* Your background music is too
* email: mak...@mother.com * strong for me."
***************************** - Whose Line is it Anyway?
www: http://www.anime.usacomputers.net/~makoto/index.htm