From: Sining To: ffml@fanfic.com Subject: [FFML][Ranma/SM][Repost] All Things Chaotic #1 Date: Sunday, October 03, 1999 11:07 AM Okay, before you people kill me for the long delay in reposting chapter 1, first let me just say "I'm sorry". I was in the midst of revising chapter 1 when I posted chapter 2 to the FFML, and I wanted to finish revising it before reposting it so hence, the long delay. Sorry bout that. A Ranmasm fanfic Chapter 1 Disclaimer: [Insert standard disclaimer here] Co-authored by: H-Packrat(gulrey@webquest.com) Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and Ranma1/2 characters belong to their respective owners. --Three weeks ago-- Akuma looked at the mere boy in front of him and snorted. "Go away, I do not do battle with children," he said turning his back on the boy. "Oh, is that so..." the boy said, smiling. Akuma stopped suddenly as he felt the battle ki of the boy behind him begin to rise. He turned his head back with a look of shock and surprise on his face, for the ki resembled the ki he used when he performed the move of the Raging Demon. Akuma's look changed to a smile, as he got ready to face this new fighter. Perhaps, the boy might be a worthy challenge after all. --Present-- "You're Usagi's cousin??" Ami asked, incredulous. The tall, cute stranger in front of her didn't seem related to Usagi in the slightest. "Yes, apparently my father was related to her mother," Ranma said lazily, lounging in one of the single-seat sofa, taking the curious looks that the rest of the Senshi was shooting him in stride. His duffel bag was lying on the floor by his side, apparently untouched. He wondered why everyone was acting so weirdly around him, although he could understand why that strange shinto girl was acting that way. After all, he supposed it wasn't every day that she saw a demon so he guessed she was probably shocked by the experience. It was no wonder the rest of the Senshi curious after all. They wondered who this person was, that was related to their princess. "So, how come we never heard of you before?" Makoto demanded, still not sure if this person was really related to Usagi at all. After all, he walked differently from Usagi. didn't look like her in the slightest. For one thing, Usagi was blond and he was a brunette. Of course, all her doubts would later be silenced when she saw him eat. "Hm," Ranma frowned. " Well, I don't think Usagi remembered me, after all the last time I saw her was over 11 years ago, when she was still very young," he said. "Well, I'm sure Usagi would have told us if she remebered she had such a cute cousin," Minako said, winking mischieviously at Ranma, who seemed to blush slightly before regaining his composure a moment later. "Where are your parents? Didn't they come with you?" Minako asked, as she didn't seem to see any other strangers besides Ranma. That brought about a silence from Ranma, as he seemed to stare off into space for a while. "... My parents... they died a long time ago. About eleven years ago, in fact." That seemed to bring sympathetic glances from almost every girl in the room, especially Makoto, who knew what it was like to lose both your parents. He shrugged as he noted their gloomy faces. "It doesn't matter, I was only six then, so I don't really have any memories of what they were like. I can't even remember how they died." "So how did you spend these last eleven years?" Ami asked, wanting to bring the conversation to a lighter topic. " Training in martial arts with -- " Ranma stopped suddenly, frowning as he remembered Happosai, and his curse. Even now, the anger was still raging in him, despite the fact that it had happened a few weeks ago. Happosai had known! Had known what Jusenkyo was like, and yet he still brought him there. And because of that, Ranma was cursed to transform into a girl every time he got wet. "With?" Usagi asked, having come out of her self induced 'coma' some time in the last few minutes and had been interestedly listening to her cousin's story. "Ow!" she said, grimacing as Rei elbowed her and shot her a glare, warning her to keep silent. " With the most irritating old fart in the world!" Ranma spat out, as he clenched his fingers into a fist, wishing that Happosai was there so he could take some of his anger out on the old man. There was an awkward silence in the room, as the girls noticed the intensity of his reaction. This was just when Tsukino Ikuko re-appeared, still wearing her apron. "Dinner's ready," she said, inciting a reaction from Usagi, who immediately bolted to the dinner table. Ranma however, was slower to react as he stood up slowly. "Ranma?" Ikuko asked, motioning Ranma to one side. "Do you have any plans?" she asked. "Hmm, not really. I figure I'd just drop by here then decide where to go next," Ranma said casually, shrugging as he did so. "Why don't you stay with us?" Ikuko asked sincerely, catching Ranma by surprise. " Ano?" " We can't just let you wander about Japan on your own. You are my brother's little boy after all." Ranma grimaced, he hated being called a little boy. But still, the offer tempted him. It had been such a long time since he had stayed under a roof. Finally, he did the only thing he could. "Arigato gozaimasu," he said, bowing low, deeply grateful. "Oh, please don't do that. You're family after all," Ikuko said, smiling. ---- The rest of the Senshi watched in shocked silence as Ranma fought with Usagi, the speed at which their hands moved over their battle ground, the dinner table, left a blur in its wake as their chosen weapons flashed through the air. It was like magic, the way the food vanished from their plates only to disappear down the two cousin's throats. Ami was staring especially at Ranma, surprised that the previously quiet and unruffled stranger she had met was the same person she was seeing now. She was having trouble believing it actually. "Wow," Minako said, gaping slightly in awe as Ranma gulped down half a bowl of rice along with some vegetables and fish. Barely pausing, he swallowed the other half down with some meat and fish. "Now, I _know_ this guy is Usagi's cousin!" Belatedly, it occurred to her to protect her plate, as a third of its contents seemed to have disappeared as well. Rei, who had protected her plate after losing half of it to Usagi, glared at the cousins. Not an angry sort of glare, but the glare you used when you were annoyed. Which Rei was, a lot. "Great," she commented, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Not only do we have a ravenous bunny, we've also got a wild horse that eats like a horse." Tsukino Kenji sweat-dropped as he looked at the two teenagers eating. Taking care of one Usagi was bad enough, but two? He wondered if he could even afford to pay the food bills now. It looked like Ranma had inherited his father's appetite, judging from the stories Ikuko sometimes told him about her brother, Genma. ---- Usagi watched as Ranma quickly settled into his new room, dumping his duffel bag onto the floor as he walked towards the bed. Gently, almost reverently, he placed the strange wrapped bundle down on a nearby table. "What's in the bundle?" Usagi asked, her natural curiousity getting the better of her. "This?" Ranma asked, holding it up, before unwrapping it, to reveal the hilt and scabbard of a katana. Usagi's eyes widened when he unsheathed the katana slightly, the gleam of polished metal reflecting the light back at her, before just as quickly, he sheathed it again, before gently wrapping it up again. Usagi couldn't believe that her cousin was actually carrying a katana with him, a perfectly functional katana from what she had seen. "Wh...what are you doing with that?" she managed to squeak out, when she was sure that her voice wouldn't give out on her. Ranma's face took on a hint of sadness as he looked at the katana, but it was gone so quickly that Usagi wasn't sure it had ever been there to begin with. "It was my mother's," Ranma said. "It's the only thing I have to remind me of my parents." "Oh, I'm sorry," Usagi said apologetically, looking down at the ground as she watched her cousin. Ranma didn't say anything but then again he didn't need to. --------- _Destruction. Death. Chaos. It was every where he looked, dead or dying people lying scattered on the battlefield. Large craters pock-marked the landscape, where blasts of magic and ki had struck. He wondered vaguely where he was, as he walked among the corpses. Death, so much death. Could any war truly be worth so much bloodshed? The leaders of both armies certainly seemed to think so. He wanted to cry as he saw the dead bodies of innocent children lying on the field of battle, struck down from behind when they tried to run. Who could have done such thing? *WHO!* his mind screamed. And suddenly he knew, as he caught his reflection in one of the pools of rainwater. It was him._ ---- The next morning, Makoto dropped by extra early by Usagi's house on their way to school. It was a daily ritual for the Inner Senshi, to meet at Usagi's house in the morning and go to school together. But the real reason she had dropped by early was because she hoped to learn more about Ranma. "Hello Makoto, you're early today," Mrs Tsukino remarked pleasantly, smiling at Makoto, who blushed embarassedly. " Ohaiyo Tsukino-san, is Usagi up?" Makoto asked, although she already knew the answer. Mrs Tsukino shook her head, sighing in exasperation as she did so. Despite the fact that she loved her daughter, some times she wished that Usagi wasn't so... so... 'Usagi' all the time. "Oh, then is Ranma up?" Makoto asked again, although if his sleeping habits were anything like Usagi's, he wouldn't be. So she was pleasantly surprised when Mrs. Tsukino nodded. "He's been up since dawn. He's out in the courtyard if you want him." There was a slight rush of air, causing Mrs. Tsukino to blink and when she opened her eyes again, Makoto was already gone. Makoto was out in the courtyard before Mrs Tsukino could even finish blinking. Noticing Ranma, she stopped running and slowed down to a leisurely walk, as she approached him from behind. She contemplated challenging him to a match or something, since he was interested in martial arts like her. Ranma meditated, drawing his ki into him, filling him up as it flowed through him like a river. Focus! his mind said, focus. And he did. Slowly he began going through the motions of a complex, yet simple kata, quickly gaining speed as he did so. Snap, kick, thrust. Makoto came to a complete halt as she watched Ranma jump into action, launching himself intro an intricate pattern of forms. She imagined that she could hear the air thrumming with energy as he did so. Ranma stopped, smiling with exertion. That had felt good, exercising his muscles like that. But now, it was time for the real test. He drew in a deep breath, relaxing himself. Then he began. Makoto watched in surprise as blue aura sprang into life around Ranma, blazing about him. Blue tendrils rose off him, writhing like sapphire flames. There was no sound for the next few moments as Makoto held her silence in awe and Ranma... Ranma was too caught up in what he was doing to pay any attention at all. Ranma waited for the ki to fill him to his limit, till he could not take any more. It was sweeter than any other feeling he ever had, the feeling of the ki filling him, more intoxicating than any drug. It was life itself, pure and unadulterated. Finally, he reached his limit. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself. And pushed himself beyond it. Drawing more ki than one could hold was potentially dangerous, no scratch that, it was very dangerous. The most fortunate thing that could happen was that one's heart would simply burst or give out from the strain of holding the ki. Ranma knew all this, but to train himself in martial arts, he had to take some risks. Then just as suddenly, he let it go all at once, causing the ki to rush out from him, causing a violent gust of wind to sweep across the courtyard. Collapsing to his knees, he panted like he had just run a marathon, sweat dripping down from his face only to be absorbed by the earth he stood upon. That was when he was aware of another's presence in the courtyard. Turning his head, he saw Makoto standing some distance away from him, looking at him with a mixture of awe and shock. Putting on a small smile, he greeted her, "Hello, you are one of Usagi's friends aren't you?" "Ye-yes, my name's Makoto Kino," Makoto said. "What was that thing you did just now?" she asked, referring to Ranma's ki aura. "It's called Ki." "Ki?" Makoto said in surprise. She had always thought that Ki was nothing but a myth, but from the demonstration she had just seen, it looked like ki was only all too real. "Ki, all living beings have it, to some degree to another. In some ways, it can be described as the essence of life," Ranma said, lecturing Makoto as Happosai had lectured him so many times before. "In time, martial artists can learn to harness this ki to their benefit, to boost their speed or strength temporarily. The most talented of martial artists can use this ki to do even more miraculous things, shoot balls of ki from their fingers, manipulate the elements with it... The list goes on and on." Makoto gawked at Ranma, suddenly seeing him in a new light. Spar with him? It would be a wonder if she could even touch him. "Can..." she licked her suddenly dry lips. "Can you teach me how to use my Ki?" Ranma stared at her for a moment, and she got the feeling she was being assessed from head to toe, which caused her to flush red, feeling embarrassed. Finally, Ranma shrugged and nodded his head. "Sure, why not," he said. "But don't expect any results straight away," he warned. "Hold out your hands." "Why?" Makoto asked, but nonetheless she did it anyway. Ranma grabbed hold of both of her hands, his larger ones easily encasing hers. "W-what are you doing!" she said, jerking her hands back, but Ranma's grip was as strong as steel. "Keep quiet, and concentrate. I'm going to let my ki resonate with yours," Ranma said, his eyes closed as he concentrated. He wasn't sure if what he was going to do was going to work, for Makoto was the first one he was trying it with. Makoto said nothing, just stood there as Ranma held her hands, feeling slightly foolish. She found herself staring at Ranma's face. It was what she would have called cute, and there was a honesty to his face that attracted her. "You're not concentrating," Ranma said under his breath, his eyes still closed. Makoto flushed, realising that indeed she had not been concentrating at all. "Gomen," she apologised, closing her eyes, although that caused her to feel defenceless. Suddenly she felt it, a slight tinkling sensation rush over her and for an instant, she felt more alive than she had for a long time. And then just as quickly, it was over. "Wa... was that it?" she asked, surprising herself by gasping slightly. Some how, that little exercise seemed to have tired her slightly. " Yeah, that should be all for today," Ranma said, wiping off the sweat that beaded above his eyebrows. That had been harder than he thought it would be. He felt drained as well. ---- "Usagi! You're going to be late for school!" Ikuko yelled as she watched her daughter rushing about, trying to get dressed and eat breakfast at the same time. She sighed, why couldn't her daughter act more like her she wondered. That was when she noticed that Ranma was only just exiting the furo. "Ranma! You haven't gotten dressed yet??" she said, looking at him in disbelief. "Dressed for what?" Ranma asked. "For school! You're going to be late!" "But I'm a martial artist, I don't need to go to school," Ranma protested, but stopped when he saw the look that Usagi's mother gave him. He had seen it enough to know that there was no changing the person's mind if they had that look on their face. ---- "I don't understand why I have to go to school in the first place," Ranma said, sulking slightly as he walked on the fence. Which was by itself an easy fault, it was managing not to fall off said fence that was really hard. "How do you expect to get a job if you don't have a proper education!" Rei argued. "I do have a proper education! I'm the best martial artist ever!" Ranma said confidently. "There's more to life than martial arts you know," Rei retorted. "Sure, there's food and sleeping too," Ranma replied. The rest of the Senshi had to restrain Rei from striking the martial artist on the head with her school bag. ----- Usagi and the other Inners watched as several girls gathered around a bewildered Ranma, bombarding him with questions about himself and his social life. From the slightly panicked and nervous look on Ranma's face, it seemed like his newly formed groupies were overwhelming him with their attention. "Wow, Usagi, your cousin seems to be very popular," Ami remarked, as she tried to count the number of people crowding around Ranma. But every time she got up to ten, she would lost count as the people moved among themselves. "Damn, they got to him first," Minako cursed, frowning cutely as she stared at the bevy of females surrounding Ranma. If it wasn't for the fact that there was practically no more space around him, she might have considered joining them. Ranma looked nervously at the wall of girls in front of him, backing away slowly. However, he soon found out that he had nowhere to retreat as another several girls surrounded him from behind, cutting off his route of escape. *What is wrong with these females!?* Ranma wondered, he hadn't done anything to irritate them. Happosai hadn't stolen their underwear and blamed him for it... So why were they ganging up on him for? He couldn't understand it at all. "Say, isn't that Naru? I thought she and Umino were going steady?" Ami said, squinting as she made out a familiar red-head among the crowd. " I bet she's trying to steal my Ranma!" Makoto said, preparing to go over there and snatch Ranma away from those boy-hungry girls before they could get their claws into him. "Your Ranma!?! When did he become your Ranma!" Minako yelled incredulously, as she looked at Makoto. "Uh..." Makoto had the grace to blush as she realised what she had inadvertently blurted out. She hadn't meant to say that, but for some reason it had just come out before she even realised she had the thought. "Mako-chan, are you interested in my cousin?" Usagi asked innocently. She took Makoto's blush as an affirmative and continued, "I could help you get him on a date, if you'd just cook me one of your delicious meals." Usagi's eyes glazed over as she imagined a mountain of food in front of her. "Deal!" Makoto quickly agreed, nodding her head vigorously. "HEY!!" Minako protested. "How about an all-you-can-eat coupon at Ice Cream World?" she said quickly, turning to face Usagi. "Deal!" Usagi said, just as quickly. She never imagined that having a cousin could be so beneficial. A large sweat-drop appeared on Ami's head as she looked at the other three Inners. She opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly a black blur whizzed past them. A black blur with blue eyes and a pig-tail. It was shortly followed by a gaggle of girls. "They're unusually persistant today aren't they?" Ami commented, frowning as she watched Ranma trying to lose the girls. "Wow, he's more handsome than Tuxedo Kamen!" several girls nearby sighed as they watched Ranma from a distance. This unfortunate remark however, found its way to Usagi. "Hey! How can you say that," Usagi yelled indignantly. "He is not more handsome than Tuxedo Kamen!!" She turned to her friends for support. "Right? Don't you agree Tuxedo Kamen is much more handsome?" "..." None of her friends replied, taking care to avoid her gaze. Tears welled up in Usagi's eyes, not believing her friends. "Bwaaaa!! How can you say he's more handsome than Mamo-chan!" Usagi wailed, tears flowing from her eyes like rain water. "Well... it depends if you want the refined scholarly look, or the macho bursting-at-the-seams look," Makoto said, trying to comfort their princess. "And Ranma is definitely bursting at the seams," Ami said unexpectedly, staring off into the direction that Ranma had run off to. This caused the rest of the girls to face-fault. "What? I'm not blind!" Ami said, noting their startled gazes upon her. However, that didn't stop her from blushing profusely a moment later. ---- *Man, those girls are persistant," Ranma thought as he watched the girls pass under him from his safe hiding-place in the tree. He couldn't understand this at all, had he done something to them? And why had he run from them in the first place? He frowned as he pondered that point, he remembered feeling very nervous as he was surrounded by them, and when he saw the looks on the face... That was the straw that broke the camel's back. He decided to make a run for it before something happened. He could imagine his friend, Ryouga's laughter when he heard that the great Saotome Ranma had run away from a bunch of girls. Untrained girls too! It was a joke really. But if it was, he didn't feel like laughing at all. Waiting until he was sure all the girls were gone, he jumped down to the ground. "Finally," he exclaimed as he began stretching his arms and legs. Suddenly, the bell began to ring, reminding him that he still had classes to attend. "Shimatta," he swore, realising he was going to be late for class. Unless... he looked up, if his memory served him correct, his class room should be three floors directly above him. With an inhuman leap, Ranma jumped up to the third storey, landing on the window ledge of his class. He noticed a bespectacled old man marking off something on a piece of paper, as he opened the window to climb into class. "Saotome Ranma?" the teacher said, looking around for the new student that was supposed to be joining the class today. Rumour had it that he was actually a cousin of Usagi's. If that was true, the teacher thought, this Ranma shouldn't arrive until well into the second period. "Here," Ranma said, as he climbed into class. The teacher took one look at him before his eyes glazed over and he fainted. "What?" Ranma asked snappishly as he tried to understand the astonished looks that the other students were giving him. "Haven't you ever seen anyone climb into class before?" ---- "Yaaaay!" Usagi cried jubilantly, half-walking, half-skipping out of the school grounds, a broad grin on her face. "School's over for the day!" She was about to run off towards the nearest arcade when Ami stopped her, grabbing hold of her shirt. "Not so fast, we still have to study remember?" Ami said, patiently, just as she had the last 54 times Usagi had forgotten their study sessions. "Aw, come on Ami. Can't we take a break?" Minako pleaded. Between fighting off the daimons that appeared regularly and their frequent study sessions, the girls didn't have much of a chance to go out for the past few weeks. "Well..." Ami said, pretending to think, before smiling and nodding. "Okay, I guess one day can't hurt." "Alright, let's go to the mall!" Makoto said. " To the mall!" Usagi said excitedly, as she prepared to dash off again, thinking about the various food stores in the mall. " Wait," Minako said, just remembering something. Or more accurately, some one. "What about Ranma?" "What about me?" came a curious voice from behind her, and she jumped up in the air, nearly shrieking as she did so. She turned to see Ranma staring at her with muted curiosity in his eyes. "W...when did you appear?" Minako said, her heart still pounding from her recent scare. She gaped at him, wondering why she hadn't even heard him sneak up on her. Nor did she feel his presence at all, until he chose to speak. Ranma shrugged nonchalantly. "Since you guys started to talk about taking a break," he said, helpfully. "Ranma, if you're free, how about going to the mall with us?" Makoto asked eagerly, not really minding the prospect of spending more time with Ranma. Ranma frowned. "What's a moll?" he asked, wondering if it was something that he could eat. He blinked as all the other girls face-faulted, wondering if he had something wrong. "Well..." Ami said slowly, not really sure about how to approach this topic. Most of them took malls for granted, they never imagined that they'd have to explain to some one what a mall was. "A mall is a big building with many shops in it," she explained to Ranma, looking into his eyes to see if he understood. Apparently he did, as he eyes flashed with understanding. "Ah," he simply said. "So would you like to come with us?" Minako asked. Ranma shrugged. Why not, after all, he didn't have anything else to do. ---- Ranma was in hell. Or at least it sure seemed like it. *Shoot me now,* Ranma thought morbidly as he watched the girls through heavy-lidded eyes. He had been with the girls as they had gone window-shopping through the mall for three long hours, in which they did nearly nothing but look at products. He couldn't understand how anyone could thing this was fun at all! But it was clear the girls did, judging by their laughter and smiles. However for Ranma Saotome, those had been the most boring hours of his life. But then again, not many things excited Ranma anyway. "Oh, look at the dress!" Minako said, slightly excitedly as she saw what was, to her, the most beautiful dress ever created. She fantasised about how Ranma would react once he saw her in it. Ranma right now was fantasising about what it would be like if he hadn't said yes and offered to accompany his cousin and the others to the mall. Ami watched as the rest of the Inners zone out, each respectively thinking of their love interests. She sweat-dropped, not really sure how to react to it. Although she had to admit, that was a pretty nice dress. That was when the daimon surfaced. The daimon had appeared suddenly, seemingly popping up from nowhere, catching everybody by surprise. The Senshi had quickly snapped out of their trance, and were about to escape to a suitably deserted location to change. It would be no problem escaping with the rest of the other people already fleeing. Then the daimon had opened her mouth, and everybody seemed to freeze as the first notes of a haunting melody came out of her mouth. Ami watched in despair as more and more people began fainting, dropping like flies to the floor. She tried to move her arms, but they wouldn't obey her and she dropped to her knees, fighting against the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her. The daimon smirked. Soon, all the humans would be unconscious, then she could go among them at her leisure to retrieve their heart crystals. Her plan was simply too perfect, or so she thought. Of course she forgot to factor in one black-haired pig-tailed martial artist into the equation. "Mouko Takabisha!" That was about all the warning the daimon had before the ki-blast slammed into it. Makoto turned her head back to look at Ranma in surprise, wondering why the heck he hadn't been affected by the daimon at all. "I'd suggest getting out of here as soon as possible," Ranma said as he walked up to them, all the while staring at the daimon. "B..but how??!? Why weren't you affected?" Rei asked, mouth open wide in disbelief. "That fool demon tried to immobilise me by trying to lock up my ki, but unfortunately, I'm a martial artist and I can easily control the ki-flows in my own body," Ranma explained. He turned to look at them. "You girls had better get out of here, it's going to be dangerous." Makoto opened her mouth to protest when suddenly, she felt some one pull at her. She turned to see Ami looking at her. "We can't do anything unless we transform," Ami whispered, looking Makoto in the eyes to convey her point. Makoto relented, taking one last look at Ranma facing the daimon before following the rest of the Senshi to a secluded corner to change. The daimon was furious, everything had been going fine until that pig-tailed _boy_ had decided to show up. Everything! She stood up, intending to pay the boy for what he had done. She smiled maliciously at the thought of taking his heart crystal from him and shattering it. "How dare you lay your hands upon me! I shall call the vengeance of heaven upon you!" the daimon said, before laughing uproariously in a suitable maniacal fashion. Ranma sweat-dropped, and wondered just why the daimon seemed so familiar. Suddenly he felt several strong aura's appear behind him. He turned to see... what had to be the most stupidest get-up he had ever seen in his life. Or so he thought as he regarded the several girls in sailor fukus, extremely short sailor fukus for that matter. He stared at them incredulously, hardly able to believe that anyone would wear such clothing. "Halt, we are the Pretty Soldiers Sailor Senshi! Music is for the enjoyment of everyone, for subverting their use, I shall punish you in the name of the moon!" Sailor Moon said, reciting one of her customary speeches. Ranma tried desperately to hold in his laughter, but finally gave up. It was like trying to hold back a raging river with one hand. It started with a small chuckling, pretending he was coughing into his hand but then he looked at the Senshi again and he broke out into loud guffaws that could be heard through out the mall. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt. "Sorry bout that," he said, still chuckling. He turned his head back to look at the Senshi again, and broke out into laughter again. "That was the dumbest thing I ever heard," he said finally, after some time. Dumbest, true, but also the funniest thing he had ever heard. "That was NOT DUMB!" Sailor Moon said indignantly, as she glared at Ranma. Cousin or no cousin, he was going out of line by insulting her speeches. "Was too," Ranma retorted. "Was not!" "Was too." "Was not!" The Senshi sweat-dropped as they watched their princess argue with her cousin. A pity they had forgotten about the daimon, for the daimon certainly hadn't forgotten about them. "Hey! Quit ignoring me!" the daimon yelled. She immediately regretted those words as several pair of eyes turned to look back at her. *Oopsie,* she thought. Ranma turned to look back at the daimon, reminding himself that there were more important things to take care of instead of arguing about speeches. The daimon looked from the Sailor Senshi to the strange boy who had managed to injure her, and decided that discretion was the better part of valour. With that decision firmly in mind, she started to run. "MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" However, she wasn't fast enough as the attack hit her in mid-run. Ranma stopped in mid-lunge as he watched a gigantic pink heart fly past him and vaporise the daimon. He blinked, made sure that the daimon was still vaporised and then pinched himself to confirm that indeed, he wasn't dreaming. "That was...weird," he said finally. He turned back to the Senshi, frowning as he did so. "Didn't I tell you girls to go and hide or something, Usagi?" The Senshi's eyes shot open in surprise, as they looked at him. "How did yo--" whatever Moon had been about to say was cut short as Mars clamped a hand over her mouth. "I think you must have mistaken us for some other attractive girls that you know," Mars said. "Yeah," Venus said, nodding her head vigorously. "I don't think so, Rei," Ranma said skeptically. "...How did you know it was us?" Mars said, defeated. "Who else would have such a hairstyle in Juuban?" he said pointing to Usagi's 'meatballs'. "You can't tell anyone Ranma, it's a secret." "Sure," Ranma said, shrugging. The other Senshi blinked. That had been easy. "I mean if I wore such stupid dresses, and made such stupid speeches, I wouldn't want anyone to know who I was either," Ranma continued, not noticing the evil looks the girls were giving him. "RANMA NO BAKA!" ---- A figure watched from the sidelines and smiled. He had been here since before the daimon had appeared and had watched events unfold as they had. Not that anyone would have noticed him unless he permitted it, even now Ranma and the girls couldn't see him. And he was pleased. He sighed softly, it had been a long time since he had started this game, and it would be longer still before it was ended. He hoped the children were ready, they would need to be for what was coming. He took one last look at the Senshi, and especially Ranma before he seemd to vanish into thin air. ---- It wasn't often that Setsuna, the Sailor Senshi of Pluto and the guardian of the Gates of Time, was puzzled and confused. Of course, it was hard to confuse her in the first place since she usually knew what was going to happen before it did. That had stopped however when a certain teenage martial artist had arrived in Juuban. A certain teenager called Ranma Saotome, a boy who seemed to radiate chaos with his every movement. Despite her best efforts to twist the timeline back to it's original shape, the timeline seemed to refuse to listen to her anymore. Worse, she was no longer certain of what was going to happen. And so it was because of that boy that she was confused, unsure of what to do about him. Should she simply get rid of him? But that might be risky since she had no idea if he was important to the present timeline, and if she did, she might upset the timeline even further than the boy had. And so she wondered.