An Unlikely Couple
A Ranma 1/2 / Sailor Moon crossover
Parts 1-3
By Kent Hyam
Author's note: If any one cares about the continuity, this takes place after vol. 38 of the manga for Ranma and prior to the appearance of the Sailor Starlights for Sailor Moon. Comments can be sent to [email protected]
Shampoo looked at the huge bird-like monster advancing on her and grimaced. Dying was bad enough, but for an Amazon warrior to be killed by something so silly looking was unforgivable. It didn't look like she had much choice, though. The monster was far quicker than it looked and she'd wrenched her knee dodging it's last attack. Resolving to go down fighting, Shampoo was both surprised and relieved when a rose suddenly impaled the monster's hand.
As the monster shrieked in pain, Tuxedo Kamen scooped up the pretty girl and jumped to the top of a nearby streetlight. From there it was easy to reach the rooftops. When he attempted to set the girl down, he found himself caught in an unbreakable, but oddly pleasant grip. He was unable to resist when Shampoo pulled his head down to meet her lips.
Shampoo ended the kiss and stepped back to inspect her rescuer. It was hard to tell with the mask, but he seemed to be very handsome. He was taller than Ranma, and had excellent taste in clothes. There was one final point to consider. He was obviously a skilled martial artist. Shampoo recalled the rose and wondered at its significance. Martial arts horticulture, maybe.
"What did you do that for?" Despite his question, Tuxedo Kamen had his own suspicions as to the reasons. That's why Shampoo's answer surprised him so much.
"You saved Shampoo. Is law."
"What?"
Tuxedo Kamen blinked when Shampoo produced a book and handed to him. Seeing that it was already open, he started to read. "If an amazon warrior's life is saved by an outsider male, she must marry him. That's absurd! I'm not going to marry you."
Shampoo's shoulders slumped as she turned away, a tear glistening in her eye. "You no like Shampoo?"
"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Tuxedo Kamen jumped guiltily. He'd forgotten about the monster. Oh well, it sounded like Sailor Moon had already destroyed it. "It's not that. I'm sure you're a very nice girl."
"Then you marry Shampoo?" Tuxedo Kamen tried to avoid her embrace but failed miserably.
"No! I've already got a girlfriend."
"Who?"
"Her." Shampoo turned in the direction he was pointing and critically examined Sailor Moon, who had just jumped up onto the roof.
"Humph! Shampoo better looking," she said, thrusting out her chest.
Unfortunately, the masked hero couldn't resist a quick comparison. His last sight that night would be of Sailor Moon swinging a large mallet.
"Shampoo, are you going to school now?" Akane ventured nervously. The outfit Shampoo was wearing might have passed in some schools, if the bottom two thirds of the skirt hadn't been missing.
"No. Shampoo wear for new airen. He like."
"I wonder why."
"New airen," Ranma repeated. "What about me?"
"Handsome and mysterious Tuxedo Kamen only one for Shampoo."
After watching Shampoo depart, Ranma turned to Akane. "She dumped me? I don't see what's so great about that Tuxedo Kamen, anyway."
"Ranma, it's so romantic the way way he always helps Sailor Moon. Almost like a fairy tale."
There was something about the look in Akane's eyes that upset Ranma. "All he does is run around in a suit. I could do that."
"Don't be absurd. You don't have a romantic bone in your body"
Ranma silently crept down the stairs. Even if Nabiki was visiting a friend, and the other inhabitants of the house were variously occupied, it wouldn't do for him to be observed. Akane and Mr. Tendo wouldn't understand what he was doing. In all honesty, Ranma didn't really want Shampoo chasing him. There was his pride to consider though, he couldn't just let someone dump him like that. Especially not for some masked moron. He'd show Akane how a real martial artist handled monsters.
A dusty and weary traveler paused in front of the Tendo traininghall. This time Ryoga would tell Akane the he loved her for sure. Akari was a beautiful girl, but his love for Akane was pure. Plus, he had no idea where Akari was. Ryoga absently stepped aside as a masked person wearing a tuxedo and top hat stepped out of the building. Yes, this time he'd tell Akane for sure. Ryoga furrowed his brow in thought as he realized something. The person who'd just left had been in disguise. That could mean only one thing.
"Ranma, how dare you try to trick me?" Ryoga bellowed. Akane forgotten, he ran after the distant figure.
When Ryoga reached the last spot he'd seen Ranma he looked around in puzzlement. Ranma was nowhere in sight. Looking around wildly, Ryoga caught sight of someone leaping across the rooftops. With a snarl Ryoga leapt up after him. He wasn't going to let Ranma get away this time.
Ranma was beginning to realize that his plan wasn't quite as well thought out as it could have been. He'd been able to get to Juuban easily enough by sneaking a ride on the public transportation system, but he had no idea what to do now. He'd never really gone looking for trouble before. It had always just seemed to find him.
"How dare you cheat on Akane?"
Sort of like that. Ranma ducked under Ryoga's umbrella with the ease of long practice.
"What are you talking about P-chan?"
"You're wearing a tuxedo. Admit it, you came here to meet a girl." Ryoga scowled in frustration as Ranma nimbly twisted to avoid a circle kick.
"I'm looking for a monster, not a girl." Not having time for a fight, Ranma hoped to calm Ryoga down.
"You're cheating on Akane with a monster? Die!" Ryoga swung his umbrella down, hoping to smash Ranma with a single blow. It didn't work out that way, Ranma stepped aside and Ryoga's umbrella continued down to strike the pavement. It then continued on to destroy the water pipe beneath the street. Ryoga only had time for one startled bwee before the stream of water swept him away.
Ranma looked down at her appearance in disgust. "Aw man, how am I supposed to fight monsters like this?" As if to answer her, the sound of a nearby explosion shook the night air. As Ranma sprinted towards the disturbance she thought to herself that the Sailor Senshi didn't seem to have much trouble.
Haruka was beginning to realize that the Senshi's new enemy was going to be trouble. The problem was the unexplained divergence from the tactics that their enemies usually employed. First attacking outside of Juuban district and now appearing in two locations simultaneously. Since the monsters didn't seem to be very strong, Haruka and Michiru had volunteered to deal with one of creatures by themselves. Which led to her current predicament. A huge crystalline creature was holding her in one pincer and using her as a shield. The only bright point was that none of the inners could see this.
Ranma adjusted her clothing in irritation. Not only was the tuxedo waterlogged and probably ruined, it just didn't fit anymore. At least she'd managed to find the Sailor Senshi. There were two of them fighting some crystal monster on the street below her. It looked like the one with short blond hair was in trouble. Time for a dramatic entrance.
Sailor Neptune blinked as a masked figure landed on the arm holding her partner. If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that Tuxedo Kamen had shrunk in the wash. The bright red hair disproved that theory, however. It didn't really matter, since the newcomer was trying to pull Sailor Uranus free.
"Don't worry, I'll have you loose in a second." Ranma silently snarled in frustration. Her efforts to rescue the monster's captive weren't going as well as she'd hoped and it was getting hard to keep her footing with the monster swinging it's arm around. Hmmm, maybe she could use that. Ranma moved with the next swing and hurled herself off the arm, while keeping her grip on the blond girl. Finding herself flying through the air, Ranma twisted around to steady the other girl and make sure that they both landed on their feet.
"All right. Let's blast it Neptune!" Haruka was more than ready to vent some of her anger and embarrassment. Fortunately, the monster made a convenient target. "World Shaking!"
"Deep Submerge!"
The two attacks merged and slammed into the monster. It shook for a moment, as it resisted the combined assault and then exploded with a roar and a near blinding green flash.
Sailor Uranus dusted her hands off in satisfaction, another threat had been eliminated. "Thanks for helping." Realizing that she was speaking to empty space, Sailor Uranus looked around in puzzlement. "I wonder where she went to?"
"You mean that was a girl?" If Ranma had still been there he would've found the note of jealousy in Michiru's voice very familiar.
Ryoga reminded himself that it was the duty of martial artists to protect the innocent from monsters. There was no doubt about that, the only question was what he could do. It was times like this that transforming into a small black pig had definite drawbacks. Well, he'd just have to try his best.
Sailor Venus dove gracefully out of the way, as a spear flashed through her former position. Recovering quickly, she saw the black armored knight that they were fighting block Mars' Flame Sniper with it's shield and hurl a spear at her. The monster wasn't really that dangerous, but it was fighting the four senshi to a draw. What a time for Usagi and Mamoru to go on a date. Suddenly, a small black form hurtled into the knight's face and then leapt away before it could be struck. Venus was quick to see the opportunity.
"Quick, attack while Luna has it distracted! Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"
"Mars Flame Sniper!"
"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
The force of the four Senshi's attack overwhelmed the knight and it disappeared inside a pillar of white light. When the light died, nothing remained but a wisp of smoke, which was dissipated by the wind.
"I don't believe it! We beat a monster without Sailor Moon."
Mars smiled a Sailor Jupiter's astonishment. "I wonder what's taking meatball head so long, anyway?"
"Interrupting a romantic date is unforgivable. I am the pretty sailor suited warrior Sailor Moon and I will... Hey, where's the monster?"
"I think the other Senshi already defeated it, Sailor Moon," Luna said.
"They can do that?" Nearby, Tuxedo Kamen covered his face with one hand. He'd just gotten Usagi to forgive him and their date was interrupted by a false alarm.
"What do you mean by that? Of course we can. Say, Luna, what are you doing over there? Weren't you distracting the monster?"
"I think that was this little fellow, Venus." Sailor Mercury had finished examining the spot where their opponent had perished and was now holding a small black animal in her arms.
"Oh, what a cute pig." As the other Senshi gathered around to examine Mercury's find, Tuxedo Kamen and the moon cats stood by and watched.
"It looks like he's hurt his leg," Sailor Moon said, pointing to a scrape on one limb.
"Yes, I'm going to look after him until I can find his owner."
"Girls, we'd better leave before we attract too much attention. You can look at the pig some other time."
"Be quiet, Artemis. What were you doing while we were fighting that monster, anyway?"
"I thought I saw someone watching and I was trying to find them."
Mercury cut into the growing squabble between Sailor Venus and her alleged pet. "He's right, we'd better leave now. We can meet tomorrow night at the temple, to discuss this new enemy."
After a few words of parting, the Senshi went their own ways. No one noticed the shadowy figure that trailed after Tuxedo Kamen.
A hot bath was just the thing he'd needed, Mamoru decided. It was a lot easier to put things in perspective now. He and Usagi had patched things up, and it was nice to have an enemy that could be beaten with comparative ease. Mamoru closed his eyes and decided that he'd just soak for a few minutes before he got out.
Moments later, Mamoru was awoken by a splash and the sensation of a heavy weight pressing down on him.
"Shampoo find airen. She so happy."
Mamoru's eyes flew open in shock. "Get off of me!" After overcoming his shock, he continued, " And put on some clothes!"
Shampoo watched avidly as Mamoru scrambled out of the tub and hurriedly covered himself with a towel. "Shampoo not have any clothes here. Airen not mind?"
"No! I mean, yes I mind." Mamoru cracked an eye open to see that Shampoo had gotten out of the tub and was moving towards him. Scooping up the shirt he'd been wearing, he tossed it towards her. "Here, put this on."
Outside the bathroom, Mamoru paused. The shirt was an improvement, but there was no way he wanted her seen leaving his apartment dressed like that. There was only one option. Luckily, he had the numbers of all the senshi on his speed dial. "Makoto, I need a favor. Could you hurry over and bring a spare set of clothing?"
Deep in the earth, beneath the city of Tokyo, a silver haired woman, dressed in a grey business suit, materialized and bowed deeply."Lord, two of the attacks failed. However the third was a success."
On the plinth before her, a translucent lavender crystal pulsed briefly.
"I understand. However, we will find a suitable host soon."
Part 2
Mamoru desperately wished that the girl sitting beside him on the couch would turn into a monster and attack. After all, he had plenty of experience with that sort of thing. Instead she turned to him, an unshed tear glistening in her eye. "Airen not like Shampoo?"
"I told you, it's not that I don't like you. I'm in love with someone else." For the seventh time he estimated the length of time it would take Makoto to arrive with a set of clothing for his unwelcome guest. He also hoped that she was faster than he thought.
"Shampoo much better looking than meatball girl." The amazon was sure that her confidence was fully justified. The way her airen's shirt clung to her wet body left little to the imagination.
Vowing to never use anything even remotely resembling that phrase to describe Usagi again, Mamoru gathered his self control. "What a person is like inside counts for more than physical appearance. Us... Sailor Moon is a wonderful person who's always willing to help others. You should know that, she helped save you from that monster."
Shampoo was getting a bad feeling about this. Not only had Ranma never sounded this determined, Shampoo had just realized something about her competition. "Meatball girl is a strong fighter?"
"Sailor Moon? Yes, she's the leader of the Senshi and has fought a lot of monsters." Mamoru wasn't sure exactly where this line of questioning was going, but he had a good idea of what answer he should give.
"Shampoo see." Frowning thoughtfully, she barely seemed to register the door bell ringing, although Mamoru practically jumped to his feet.
"That must be Makoto. Wait here and I'll get some clothes for you."
"Haruka! Michiru! This is great. You usually don't attend Senshi meetings." Usagi greeted the two arrivals cheerfully.
"Something unusual happened while we were fighting that monster last night and we thought we should tell the others about it," Haruka said. The tall blond looked slightly uneasy for some reason, but Usagi didn't really pay attention.
"You can tell us about it when Ami gets here." Usagi frowned slightly. "I wonder if something's wrong. It's not like her to be late."
"Sorry I'm late. I had a lot of trouble finding this little fellow. I don't know how he managed to get lost like that." Ami walked in the temple room the served as the Senshi's meeting spot, carrying a small black pig in her arms.
"That's the pig that you said helped you last night? He's cute." At Usagi's words the other girls gathered around Ami, while Mamoru and Haruka looked on impatiently.
"Is he hurt?" Makoto asked, pointing to a bandage on the pig's rear leg.
"Just a little scrape. We can talk about him later. We should really deal with Senshi business first."
Oh, all right," Usagi conceded reluctantly. "Haruka and Michiru have something to tell us anyway."
Seeing that the other Senshi were looking on expectantly, Haruka decided to start talking before Michiru got a chance to give her version of events. "Michiru and I were busy fighting the monster when a red-haired girl dressed in a tuxedo showed up and helped us out. We had everything under control, but she definitely speeded things up."
"Oh," Minako exclaimed, "maybe she's sort of like Tuxedo Mask."
"No! She's not!" Haruka snapped.
Minako was about to continue, but subsided when she caught sight of the expression on Michiru's face. "We don't know that she had anything at all to do with the Silver Millennium," Ami commented calmly.
"She definitely wasn't normal. An ordinary girl couldn't be nearly that fast or strong," Michiru said.
Artemis stretched lazily and yawned, drawing the attention of the humans in the room towards him. "Well, the Senshi weren't the only fighters in the Moon Kingdom, just the strongest group."
"As I recall, each of the Senshi headed a group of elite warriors that aided them in their duties." After she finished, Luna smiled smugly, happy to show Artemis up.
"How come you never mentioned this before, Luna?"
The moon cat looked sheepishly at Usagi. "It never seemed important before. I have no idea how we'd find any of these warriors."
"Great-grandmother, Shampoo have problem."
Cologne sighed wearily. It was good that Shampoo had finally given up on Ranma. The way that he'd reacted after the failed wedding had left little doubt that he had no intention of marrying Shampoo. On the other hand, the current situation wasn't that big an improvement. "I take it your talk with your new airen didn't go well?"
"He not want weak girl he have to rescue. He want strong fighter."
"Ironic, considering how you met, but if that's your only problem, it's easily dealt with."
"Great-grandmother think so?"
"No monster can withstand over three thousand years of Chinese amazon history. A few weeks of training and you'll be ready to impress your husband. Now, let's get to work. We have to open soon, and Mousse can't do all the work setting up the new restaurant."
"I can't tell you anything about this girl, but I did find some things out about our opponents. They're youma." Unnoticed by anyone present, the small pig nestled on Ami's lap pricked up its ears and began to pay closer attention.
"Are you sure, Ami? I don't think there's any way the Dark Kingdom could have returned after we defeated them." Luna sounded far more hopeful than certain.
" The data my computer picked up doesn't leave much room for doubt. Maybe there were survivors on earth, or there could be another place that has youma."
"Well, it doesn't matter. They aren't much stronger than the daimons we fought, so we shouldn't have any problems beating them," Makoto said.
"You're probably right, but their tactics have me worried. If they keep attacking in more than one place at a time we might not be able to stop them all."
"Maybe it won't be easy, but we can handle them. Now, I brought some chocolate chip cookies, so who wants some?"
Ranma thought that he'd learned a lot from his first foray battling the forces of evil. Mainly that the Senshi needed the help of a trained fighter like him. Wearing a tuxedo was out though. They were just too expensive. Unfortunately, this left him with only a few options. "Kasumi, do you know where that costume Nabiki wore to that party last month is?"
"It's packed away in the attic."
"Thanks." Ranma didn't know why he missed this the first time. If he disguised himself as a girl things would be a lot simpler. He did plan on letting Akane know eventually, and explaining why he was running around with a bunch of girls in miniskirts would be hard enough. There were a few other things to take care of as well. He wondered how the Senshi managed to conceal their identities.
"Usagi, I think that you and Mamoru need to talk, privately."
"Mumph. I'm busy eating, Makoto."
"Don't worry. I sent him outside with an extra box of cookies."
Shrugging, Usagi stepped outside to find Mamoru looking unusually pale and tense. "Is something wrong, Mamochan?"
"Sort of." Mamoru shifted uncomfortably. "You remember that girl that we rescued from that bird monster last week?"
"You mean the one that kissed you?"
"Um, yes. She found out my identity and showed up at my apartment yesterday night."
"You told Makoto before you told me?" Usagi demanded.
"Only because Makoto was the only one with clothes that would fit her." Even before he finished Mamoru knew that he'd said something exceptionally stupid.
"You had a naked girl in your apartment?"
"I don't know how she got there. I know that sounds stupid, but it's the truth." Seeing tears start to glisten in Usagi's eyes, Mamoru stepped forward and grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Look, I told her that you're the only one I love and she seemed to understand. Why don't I make things up to you by taking you out to dinner. There's a new Chinese place opening up, and I'm sure that I can get us in."
"You don't have to make anything up to me. I trust you. We can still go to the restaurant, though," Usagi added quickly.
"Of course."
"Are you keeping him Ami? He's so cute," Minako squealed.
"Just until I find his owner. An animal as well trained as he is must be someone's pet."
For once Ryoga was barely aware of the girls fawning over his cursed form. He had more important things to think about. Part of this arose from the fact that he was, however inadvertently, spying on the Senshi. The rest stemmed from the frustration he felt. A gentle girl like Ami shouldn't be risking her life fighting monsters. At least not without someone to protect her.
"I'm calling him Aristotle, because he's so smart."
"Really? Then maybe he could help Usagi with her homework," Rei teased.
"Well, Aristotle, do you think you could?" Ami asked.
Realizing that she was asking him a question, Ryoga absentmindedly nodded. His mind was still occupied with the question of how he was supposed to escape without the ability to open doors. Moments later he had his chance as Usagi and Mamoru returned. Darting through the open door, he ignored Ami's calls and continued to run into the night.
"Minako, are you reading the newspaper?" Artemis asked uneasily. Any behavior that departed this far from the norm had to be bad news. On the other hand, it could just be a dream. All the time he and Luna had spent looking for Ami's new pet had tired them both out. Listening to Yuuchiro try to explain to Rei why he was half naked had been worth it though. Tokyo was weird, but he really doubted there were any naked vampires running around.
"Yeah. I think I've figured out what the youma are up to."
Artemis winced internally. Sometimes it didn't pay to be right. "They've issued a public statement on their plans?" he guessed.
"Don't be silly. Look at this ad."
"Free karate lessons? That does sound familiar."
"Right. Plus, there was a dojo near the last attack. It's the article beside the add that's the real proof though."
"Martial artists disappear," Artemis read. "Hmm, Azusa Shiratori, Sentaro Daimonji and Picolet Chardin II. These people all vanished in Nerima. Even if there was one attack there, we can't assume that the Dark Kingdom has anything to do with this. Something else could've happened to them."
"Come on, Artemis. These people are martial artists. It's not like they practice tea ceremony, or sit around all day eating."
"Well, you may be right. A martial artist would have more energy for them to drain than most other people."
"That's why I'm going to go check this place out with Ami after school. Ask no questions and you'll catch no flies."
Ryoga's day wasn't going well. Miraculously he'd managed to recover his pack, but that was the extent of his luck. Despite his determination, he hadn't managed to find either Ami or her house. He was also coming to the realization that he had no idea what he'd do when he found her. Certainly he wanted to protect her, but he couldn't just follow her until another youma attacked.
"Even if you're right about the youma attacking martial artists, I don't think there are any around here." Despite her words, Ami continued to covertly use the Mercury computer to scan the area. "That's odd. Do you see that boy across the street."
"The cute one with the bandanna and the huge backpack?"
"Er, yes. There's something odd about him. His energy level is much higher than a normal human's and I'm picking up traces of magical energy."
"Do you think he's one of those warriors that Luna told us about last night?"
"I don't think so. If he was he'd probably seem to be normal until he transformed. I think you were right about this dojo. The readings I'm getting remind me of one of the Dark Kingdom's generals."
"We should probably keep an eye on him, to find out what he's doing then."
"That's a pretty good idea, but how..." Ami stopped talking when she realized that Minako was already on the other side of the street, introducing herself to the forces of evil. At least now she knew why Artemis hadn't wanted to come along.
"The Nekohanten. It looks nice," Mamoru said as he looked around the interior. He'd been a bit surprised at how easy it was to get a reservation, and the way the waiter attacked a palm tree when he'd introduced himself was really strange. He wasn't going to let that ruin the evening though.
"Are you sure you can afford this? It looks expensive."
"Don't worry, Usagi. I have... Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Usagi twisted in her seat so she see whatever had panicked her boyfriend. To her surprise all she saw was a familiar looking girl in a tight Chinese dress.
"Shampoo so happy Airen visit. Shampoo training very hard to make Airen happy." The purple haired amazon smiled brilliantly at Mamoru, completely ignoring Usagi.
"What does she mean, Mamoru? Mamoru? Where did he go?"
"Airen very fast. Shampoo take order now?"
It was hard to travel so far outside of Tokyo but avoiding the Senshi would be worth it, the silver haired woman mused. Especially if she managed if she finally managed to get a sufficiently powerful host body. Deciding to try to catch her target off guard, she teleported directly behind him.
"Who are you?" Feeling the sudden displacement of air as much as he heard it, the slender youth spun to confront the intruder. Finding only an elegantly dressed woman, he didn't attack but remained on his guard.
"I'm Argentite of the Dark Kingdom and..." Noticing his lack of reaction she paused ion her speech. "Shouldn't you be running away in panic or something?"
"One of us should be."
Argentite frowned. Humans weren't supposed to react like this. Oh well, it would just make things easier. Not that anyone named Pantyhose could be that tough. Snapping her fingers, she caused a youma that looked like something a botanist would imagine while on a really bad LSD trip to erupt from the ground. "Grab him."
"Just remember you brought this on yourself."
Argentite was having trouble believing this. The human still wasn't running. Instead he was unscrewing the lid of what appeared to be a canteen. He hadn't been watching that silly movie with the flying monkeys, had he? No, he was pouring it over himself. "Oh, shit!"
Part 3
Ryoga frowned angrily. If he couldn't find the Crown Arcade soon, he'd be late for his date with Minako, which meant that he wouldn't be around to protect Ami if monsters showed up again. Growling in frustration, he lashed out, putting a sizable crater in a nearby wall.
"My, you are a strong one, aren't you? I think you'll do just fine." The heavy bruising on Argentite's face only served to accentuate the cruel smile she wore.
Ryoga spun on his heel, ready for a fight. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the silver haired woman hovering in mid-air. Despite her battered appearance, she somehow seemed to radiate malevolence. Skipping several cognitive steps, Ryoga immediately leapt to the most convenient conclusion. "I won't let you hurt Ami!" Ryoga shouted, as he pulled a handful of bandannas loose and began to twirl them.
"Another crazy one? Zaariki, subdue him." Argentite tossed a small metallic globe to the ground and then teleported away a split second before half a dozen razor sharp bandannas passed through the space she'd been occupying.
Ryoga looked at the armored figure that arose in her place with grave misgivings. He didn't really care that the monstrosity was over twice his height. What he wanted to know was how something with two chain saws in the place of hands expected to subdue him. His question was soon answered, as the creature swung one arm in a sweeping arc towards him. He easily ducked underneath the blow, but couldn't suppress a shudder as the blade dug into the wall behind him and sprayed him with fragments of brick.
Looking down into the alley, Argentite winced as the strange boy she was supposed to be capturing knocked Zaariki through the side of the building she was standing on. Randomly kidnapping martial artists was far too dangerous she decided. If Zaariki captured the boy she'd be happy to take credit. If not, she'd come up with a different plan. After the last time, she wasn't going to involve herself directly.
Once more the Hino shrine was the site chosen for a meeting of the Sailor Senshi. However, this meeting wasn't in response to some attack, but had instead been called by Ami, who claimed to have important news.
"I think we have a clue as to what our enemy's after." Seeing that she had the attention of the other Senshi, Ami continued, "Minako noticed that most of the attacks so far have involved martial artists. So when she saw an ad for a dojo that was offering free lessons, she asked me to help check it out."
"And you found something?" Makoto asked bluntly.
"Not exactly. I, ah, did detect some unusual readings, but nothing definite." Inwardly, Ami debated telling the others about Ryoga, but Minako was right. She only had suspicions that he was connected with the Dark Kingdom and there really wasn't anything they could do even if he was.
"How do you know that the Dark Kingdom's behind it then," Haruka questioned. "A lot of the attacks have occurred around dojos, but that's not proof."
"There's more," Minako burst into the conversation, ignoring Artemis' warning glare.
"That's right. Several martial artists have disappeared in the Nerima district. We already know one attack took place there."
"How could I forget?" Usagi groused. Mamoru's unwilling entanglement with the girl he'd saved was still a sore point for her.
"That's right. That girl the youma was attacking did seem to be a martial artist," Rei commented.
"This isn't good." Seeing the curious looks that the other senshi directed at her, Makoto elaborated, "Somebody's going to have to go to Nerima to stop whatever is going on there and I'll be one of them. I have relatives living there."
"I thought you didn't have any family."
"Yeah, how come you never mentioned them?"
"Everyone quiet. I can feel something." Quickly rising, Rei hurried to the door of the shrine and stepped outside, the other girls following.
"What is it, Rei?" Usagi, asked steeping up beside the shrine maiden and ignoring the drizzle that had begun to fall.
"I'm not sure. I'm sensing some kind of powerful energy, but it seems to be heavy, almost oppressive."
"Could it have something to do with that?" Michiru asked, pointing at a blue-green column of energy towering hundreds of yards into the sky.
"Well, maybe."
Ranma scowled in frustration as he wiped the first drops of rain of his forehead. Using a bike to patrol Juuban had seemed like a good idea and it certainly was far faster. However, that didn't mean that he'd found anything, and now the rain was threatening to transform him.
"I suppose a giant sign lighting up the sky is a bit much to ask for. Or maybe not" Ranma's eyes widened slightly as she glimpsed a distinctive pillar of ki rising over some distant buildings.
Pausing only momentarily to fix the direction in his mind, Ranma began pedaling furiously towards it. He barely noticed as the rain finally changed him.
With a helpless roar, the armored behemoth soared across the width of the alley and crashed through the far wall.
Grinning widely, Ryoga leapt forward to press his advantage before Zaariki could regain his feet. Unfortunately, although he was able to easily dart past the twin blades that served in place of Zaariki's arms, a blind sweep of the youma's arm knocked him sprawling backwards.
"Die!"
Ryoga ignored his opponents bellowed pronouncement. Despite his superior skill, the fight wasn't going as well as he'd hoped. He was winning, but not fast enough. He hadn't fought anyone this tough since Lime and one mistake could be fatal. It was time to change tactics.
"Shi Shi Hokodan!" Ryoga resisted the urge to celebrate as the bluish blast of energy slammed into Zaariki, causing him to howl in pain. Instead, he began to draw on his inner reserve of despair once more. Unnoticed, a single drop of rain fell from the sky.
"This must be where that light came from," Sailor Moon stated.
The other Senshi ignored her comment as unnecessary. A deep crater, partially filled with rubble from collapsed buildings, stretched across the alley.
"It looks like whatever caused it has already left." Stepping down into the crater, Sailor Uranus began to inspect the debris. "There must have been some kind of fight here."
"I think you should be care-," The rest of Sailor Neptune's warning was cut off as a battered monstrosity lurched upright, throwing off a pile of wreckage.
With a snarl of rage, Zaariki brought his remaining arm down in a wide arc, aiming directly at the startled senshi in front of him.
"Fierce Tiger Shot!" A bright yellow sphere struck Zaariki's arm, deflecting the blade at the same time as Sailor Uranus dove to one side.
While shouted attacks indicated that the other six senshi were directing their power at the hapless youma, Sailor Mercury turned and began to search for the source of the attack that had saved Uranus. It wasn't hard to find. Mercury recognized the petite red-head from both Uranus and Neptune's descriptions. Neither of them had mentioned the fishnet stockings or the high heels, but then they had glossed over a lot of details. Before she could speak, the mysterious figure leapt away and darted out of sight at breathtaking speed.
Blocks away, Ranma halted her blind flight and rebuked herself mentally. Running away just because there were a couple of mangy cats around wasn't going to impress anyone. Still, she'd been the one to come to the rescue, not that tuxedo wearing pretty boy that Akane liked.
As she fished her backpack out from its hiding place, Ranma glanced around to ensure no one was watching. "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken Revised: Saotome Quick Change Technique!" Being out of her embarrassing "costume" was nice, but there was still one more thing to take care of. Chuckling happily, Ranma unscrewed a thermos of hot water and poured it over her head.
Retrieving his bike, Ranma began to pedal back to Nerima, when a though suddenly struck him. He was going to have to keep doing this. That girl might have died if he hadn't been there. Not only that he'd have to maintain his disguise. If the senshi met him while he was a guy, his incredible good looks and natural charm would cause more trouble than he cared to thing about.
"Are you sure it was her?"
Sailor Mercury looked up at Uranus and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. That was the first time I saw her and I didn't get a chance to scan her either."
"Look what I found, Mercury."
"Oh, you poor thing. Did you get hurt again?" After a hurried inspection of the small black form held in Sailor Venus's arms failed to reveal any injuries, she reached out and cradled her missing pet against her breasts. "You shouldn't run off like that, Aristotle. It's really dangerous."
"Oh no! I forgot all about Ryoga. Bye everyone. I gotta go." Sailor Venus spun on her heel and dashed out of the alley, transforming back to her civilian identity as she did so.
"We all should go as well. We don't want to draw too much attention."
Luna looked with distaste at the small animal sleeping on the center of Usagi's bed. It wasn't that she had anything in particular against pigs or even that it was dirty or poorly behaved. It was just the way it seemed so smug and self-satisfied while Usagi and the other girls fussed over it. If she'd been an ordinary cat it wouldn't be so relaxed.
If Luna could have smiled she would have. Maybe it wasn't nice to mistreat dumb animals but the pig deserved a little scare. Crouching slightly, Luna silently leapt onto the edge of the bed and began to creep towards the center.
Ryoga quietly fumed. Ami's mother was having guests over, so Ami had asked Usagi to look after him for the night. That was just a minor part of him being stuck as a pig though. The worst of it was that he wasn't strong enough. Even the Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan hadn't been enough to finish the monster off. Ranma would have been able to defeat it, Ryoga realized. But then, Ranma's ability to create new techniques on a moments notice had helped him to defeat Saffron. Pausing, Ryoga turned the thought over in his mind. New techniques. He wasn't strong enough but that would change.
With his decision made, Ryoga abruptly became aware of another presence. Snapping his eyes open; he found himself face to face with Usagi's pet. Since he'd had the misfortune to visit Jusenkyo, he'd run from many things. A house cat, even one that could talk wasn't going to added to the list.
Luna paused nervously. She didn't have much experience with this sort of thing, but she had an idea that this wasn't the usual course of events. Firstly, she never even known that pigs could growl.
"I can't tell you how glad I am that you guys are coming with me?"
"Come on Makoto. These people are your relatives. They can't be that bad."
Makoto stared at the gates that seemed to loom before her and then glanced back at Haruka. "Tatewaki isn't so bad as long as you've got something heavy to hit him with when he gets out of hand, but you've got to be careful with Kodachi. Don't eat anything she's cooked, don't accept any gifts from her and if she offers you flowers run."
"You've got to be exaggerating."
"Not really. In fact-,"
"Cousin Makoto, I welcome you and your companions to the noble Kuno estate. I hope you find the accommodations to your satisfaction."
Makoto regarded the familiar figure in kendo garb with a mixture of exasperation and affection. "Hello Tatawaki. This is Michiru Kaioh-"
"A name worthy of such a fair blossom," Kuno interrupted, offering Michiru a wide smile.
"And this is her _good_ friend Haruka Tenoh," Makoto continued.
"Of course." Kuno inclined his head as if in apology. "Shall I show you and your friends to your quarters?"
"I think that would be best."
Usagi hummed happily to herself as she opened the door to her home. The rest of her family would be busy for the evening so she'd have the house to herself. She was just beginning to review her plans, when a black streak impacted with her chest, knocking her to the ground. Stunned, she watched another streak run past her and out into the street.
"Luna?" Usagi stared incredulously at the small body lying on top of her.
"Your finally back! That pig's a monster. You wouldn't believe what it tried to do to me. Why, it chased me all over the house."
Usagi climbed to her feet and cautiously peered into the house. Her eyes widened at the sight of the over turned furniture and the wreckage strewn across the floor. "You did all of this?"
"I told you it was the pig's fault," Luna commented crossly.
"You can't be serious. Aristotle is barely half your size." Usagi's expression hardened as she stared down at Luna. "I bet you were chasing him. That's probably why he ran off. Ami's going to be really disappointed."
"Chasing him? I already told you it was the other way around."
"I can't believe that you'd try to blame Ami's pet for this. Next you'll be saying that he's an agent of the Dark Kingdom."
"We never did find out what happened to Jadeite," Luna muttered under her breath.
Makoto looked around as she emerged from her new room. One advantage of staying with her admittedly crazy relatives was that they had plenty of room. They might be a little strange, but she'd dealt with worse since becoming a senshi. So had Haruka and Michiru for that matter. Everything would be fine. In fact, Haruka was just coming out of the room across the hall, she'd already lasted longer than the music teacher Kodachi had when she was seven.
"I knew that you were exaggerating when you told us about your relatives, Makoto."
"Well, you just don't know them as well as I do," Makoto stated grimly.
"You're being absurd. Kuno's a bit stiff, but aside from that he isn't bad. In fact he took me on a tour of the estate. This place is amazing. I think you could land an airplane in the training hall."
"Yeah. It is pretty big." Makoto paused for a moment as she realized something. "Kuno took you on a tour? Where is Michiru anyway?"
"Kodachi is showing her around. Something about feeding her pet turtle."
By the time Haruka realized that Makoto was moving she'd already turned the corner.
Argentite drew a deep breath and wiped the perspiration off her face as she materialized in Nerima. Her master was not tolerant of failure. If the senshi had beaten her, he might have been more understanding. He'd fought them himself. Unfortunately, she'd failed to capture what were supposedly ordinary humans.
Well, she didn't intend to fail again. Her early successes might not have yielded what she'd sought, but they'd provide excellent raw material for her new plan