Title: Love For All Time

Author: Jade Hunter

A.N: Okay, this is something I just thought up after reading 'Remembered!' at the RAAC.       
          Enjoy.  As this has a Ranma/Setsuna coupling.  If you don't like it, please push the back    
          butten NOW.

Disc: The charactors from Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon do NOT belong to me.  However, the       
           concept of The Elemental Knight and his powers was invented by me, and the idea of this 
           belongs to me also.

"talking"
**thoughts**
<<telepathy>>
_emphasis_
^time^
////memories////

######################################################################

^Present^

	The sun was setting, creating a peaceful atmosphere.  Splotches of purple, red, 
pink, blue, and grey decorated the sky in beautiful patterns that swept ones breath away.  
That is, if one was paying attention.  On the roof of a house, in a district called Nermia, one 
young man was NOT paying attention to the gorgeous sunset.  This young man wore a red 
Chinese-style shirt, black Chinese-style pants, black kung-fu shoes, and black wrist braces.  
His shoulder-length black hair was tied back in a tight pigtail, and if one could see past his 
slightly puffy bangs which framed most of his handsome face, one could see that his eyes were 
the most unusual shade of deep blue/grey which was surprisingly well suiting for him.  He was 
sprawled across the slanting roof, where he was sulking about how his day had gone.

	**Hmph,** thought the young man, who's name was Ranma.  **Who'd have thought 
the day would turn out like this?**  

	First, Akane cooked breakfast, and forced it down his throat, resulting in the usage 
of the stomach pump Kasumi had to lug out of the closet everytime her little sister had her 
way in the kitchen.  Then, on the way to school, the old lady washing her porch hit him with 
the water she always seemed to have when he passed by.  It was funny how no matter how high 
he jumped, the water always hit him.  If he went up, the lady threw the water especially hard.  
If he dove to the ground, the lady happened to be gently tossing said water.  No matter how, 
the cold liquid always got him.  So, after a quick trip to Doctor Tofu, the had headed off to 
school.  Kuno then strutted out, and sprouted some awful speach about the 'evil-sorcerer 
Saotome'.  Then, Shampoo showed up at lunch and tried to feed him, which did not go well 
with Ukyou or Akane.  This, of course, resulted in Ranma getting beaten up from the excess 
punches and kicks thrown by the three brawling girls.

	As if that weren't bad enough, Mousse came out of now where, attacking him with 
chains and teaming up with Ryouga, who jumped at the chance to defeat him.  Kodachi came 
next, with her hideous laugh and her poisoned food.  She got tangled up in the 
Fiancee-Free-For-All, while Kuno joined in with the Kill-Ranma-League-Of-Nermia.  He 
finally slipped away unnoticed when the fights escalated into one big dust cloud of limbs and 
dangerous attacks, using the fiercsome might of the Saotome School Of Anything Goes Final 
Attack.  

	In other words, he ran away.

	But that wasn't what really weighted heavily in his mind.  The dream that he had 
the night before freaked him out more.  The strange dream, filled with beautiful faces, 
sparkling palaces, and deep red eyes that showed a depth of knowledge and age that he had 
never know before.

	"Those eyes," Ranma sighed.  "I know it has something to do with me."

////flashback////

	He strolled along unknown halls, not knowing where he was going, but following his 
feet to wherever they led.  He waked up to a large marble doorway, where four very stern 
looking guards stood with their swords in their hilts and their spears in hand.  But no matter 
how intimidating they looked, he knew that he could kill them in less than one second.  Less 
than half a second if need be.  They threw him a look mixed with awe and fear, then opened 
the door.  As he stepped into the spacious Throne Room, he felt something take over his mind, 
so that he was just an observer in his dream.  One of the guards announced him, and he 
stepped forwards and kneeled in front of a silver-haired woman with a cresent-moon symbol 
on her head.  He brought his right arm up to his heart and thumped it there once to show his 
allegiance.

	"Rise," came the bell-like voice of the woman on the throne, but only after he heard 
the distinct sound of her saluting back by gently rapping her fist once against her heart.

	He straightened immediatly, his greyish blue eyes cooling over to the deep blue of 
the night in his annoyance.  Next to the Queen, on a smaller throne, was a petite blonde with 
the same hairstyle as the Queen.  She, too, had a cresent-moon on her forhead.  Ranma 
realized that they were mother and daughter, and that this was the Princess Serenity.  He 
strode forward, took the offered hand by the Queen, and bowed over it, as was tradition for an 
ally to do to Royalty.  He side-stepped and waited for the Princess to proffer her hand, and 
raised his eyebrows when she remembered to do so only when she was nudged subtlely by her 
mother.  This gesture went unnoticed by all, but nothing, not even the most miniscule detail 
went past him unnoticed.  He bowed over her slim hand, and moved to her right to where 
Princess Venus was openly gawking at him with lust in her sky-blue eyes.

	She offered her hand, and he clasped her wrist in the warrior fashion, much to her 
startlement and the surprise of the rest of the court, though the Queen nodded approvingly 
and knowingly.  Her eyes glazed over as he went past her.  Princess Mars merely nodded at 
him before clasping wrists with him, improving his evaluation of the soon-to-be-Senshi as a 
whole.  This evaluation dropped a few points as Princess Jupiter had the same reaction as 
Princess Venus.  He sighed inwardly, while reaming the outward appearance of a stone mask.  
He clasped the wrist of Princess Mercury, who ducked her head in shyness, of Princess 
Neptune, who met him with an indifferent look, of the Princess of Uranus, who glared at him 
openly as they clasped wrists, and with the Saturn Princess, who offered up her frail right 
hand.  Finally, he stepped up to the last Outer, and waited for her to hold out her hand.  

	His demeanor did not change, even as his interest shot sky high, as he prepared to 
meet the only one of the court whom he had already gifted nearly forty years ago, but never 
met.  A slim hand moved up slowly to meet with his half-way.  He felt a torrent of tingles shoot 
up his arm, and he blinked.  His eyes first saw miles of green hair, silky looking and shiny with 
health.  Then, his eyes focused on one thing, and one thing only, her eyes.  

	Her deep, red eyes that held the secrets of the world.

	Secrets that he wanted to know.

	And he would stop at nothing to get to know this mysterious woman better.

////end flashback////


	"Ranma," called out Kasumi, interrupting his thoughts.  "Dinner is ready!!"

	He swung down from the roof with another heart-felt sigh, and took up his place at 
the table.  Akane was already there, P-chan snuggled withing her arms, pointedly ignoring 
him.  For some reason, P-chan nestled in Akane's chest failed to bother him as it always did, 
rather, he was amused.  He shrugged at the pig who happened to be looking at him, and 
smiled gently at the food in front of him.  Anyone who was looking, including Nabiki, thought 
that the smile was because of the pleasant aroma of Kasumi's gourmet cooking, but in fact, 
the smile was created by the picture of garnet eyes, surrounded by a waterfall of green.  In 
stead of inhaling his food as he usually did, he chewed each bite thoughtfully, and when each 
taste had been savored, swallowed.  

	He finished his meal in ten minutes, the longest it had ever taken him.  Choking 
noises brought him back to the world, where he saw Nabiki staring at him with her chopsticks 
in her mouth, Akane spluttering disbelievingly, his father babbling, Kasumi smiling fainter 
than usual, and Mr. Tendo passed out cold.  P-chan was opening his mouth and closing it, 
looking very much like a fish out of water.  They leaned forward when he prepared to speak, 
hoping for an explanation.

	"I'm gonna go study for the test tommorrow," Ranma announced, not noticing as 
everyone crashed to the floor in disbelief.  "Thanks for the dinner Kasumi."

	He sprung up to his feet and bounded to his room, compelled by an inner voice that 
berated him for slacking off in school.  The voice told him that the red-eyed woman would be 
ashamed if she ever found out.  He felt deeply alarmed, and was determined to get his grades 
up, if only to please the ruby-eyed woman.  He, surprisingly, managed to finish most of his 
homework and study a bit before his eyelids began to pull downwards and they could not 
disobey gravity any longer.

////dream////

	He walked next to Queen Serenity, and a few feet in front of Princess Serenity in the 
group, the position showing that although he was in league with the Queen, he was not ruled 
by her, she was not higher in rank than he, and that he was more higher in rank than her 
daughter.  He took brisk steps that the Queen had struggle matching, but would not show 
except the occasional twitch in her eye.  Behind the three came the gaggle of Princesses, lined 
up by age.  They strode into the Training Room, into a wide open are that he observed with 
disdain.  This place would be adequate for training soldiers, but not the ones who protected 
the Princess.  This would just protect them from the real life battles.  He whirled with the 
Queen suddenly, in tune with her.  They faced the surprised faces of the future Senshi - well, 
all except Pluto.  The Queen smiled regally before speaking.

	"My daughter," she addressed Princess Serenity.  "I have come to a decision about 
your safety."

	"Mother?" Serenity the fifth, better known as Serena, asked. 

	"I cannot be there for you all the time to protect you, especially when you are now 
reaching the age of duty," sighed the Queen.  "When you go on diplomatic visits, I cannot be 
there.  Therefore, I have decided that you shall have eight guards, all whom shall be blessed 
with the power of magic.  One who already has the powers."

	"Who shall be my guards?" inquired the Princess.

	"Ones who shan't look as if they were threats, but ones who are fiercly loyal to you 
no matter the circumstances," answered Queen Serenity.  "Your court shall be your guard."

	"How?" questioned Princess Venus.

	"That is a question you'd better ask my ally here," the Queen smiled, motioning to 
him.  "He is the one who granted Princess Pluto the power to turn into Sailor Pluto, the 
Guardian of Time."

	Princess Pluto took her cue and shouted out, "Pluo Planet Power!!"

	Instantly, a dark greenish black light surrounded her, and when the light 
disappeared, there stood Senshi Pluto, in all her glory.  She was clad in a white sailor-like top 
that was molded to her body, a really short black skirt, white gloves, black boots, and a golden 
tiara with the Plutonian symbol in the middle.  In her hands rested a large purple staff, 
shaped like a key and topped off with a garnet colored orb, which he knew to be the first 
Talisman.  She turned her attention to him, and after a long minute, so did the other 
Princesses.

	"I will be blessing you seven with more power than you could ever imagine," he told 
them.  "The powers will be the greatest in the kingdom, except for the Silver Imperium Crystal 
itself.  I will look into your auras and gift you with your powers."

	He probed their ki with his mind and made his decision.  To the Princess of Venus, 
the leader, would go the powers of love and beauty.  To the Princess Mars, the second in 
command, would go the power of fire.  To the Jovian Princess would go the power of lightning 
and woods.  The Mercurian Princess would posess the powers of ice and fog.  The Neptunian 
Royal would recieve the powers of the oceans and one of the two remaining Talismans.  The 
Uranus Princess would be blessed with the power of the sky and the last remaining Talisman.  
And most surprisingly, to the most youngest of all the Princesses, Princess Saturn, would go 
the most powerful power, the power of death.  To balance that power, she would also ge gifted 
with healing powers.  He glowed black, and let part of him flow in each of them.  In flashes of 
rainbow colored light, eight Senshi stood, proud and strong, but still, excepting one, 
unexperienced.  

	"Who are you?" Sailor Uranus asked, a bit subdued of her suspicion of him through 
her awe.

	"By most, I am called by my warrior name, The Elemental Knight," he replied.  
"But, since I will be teaching you how to fight and use your powers, you may call me Sensei."  
Seeing he had all of their undivided attention, he announced harshly, "You will meet me here 
tomorrow at the break of dawn!  Dissmissed!!!"

	"Hai, Sensei!" the Senshi yelled, Pluto, the Princess, and the Queen having left 
while he was transferring some power into the seven guards.

////end dream////

	"Oh man," Ranma breathed out as he shot up from his futon.  "Not again."

	He ran a hand through his bangs and glanced at the clock.  12:30 AM.  He sighed, 
flopped back down onto the futon, and drifted off into another dream.

////dream////

	He briskly strolled into the Ball Room, where the masquarade party was taking 
place, thrown in honor of the Senshi's coronation.  He placed a mask securely on his face 
before stepping into the room, seeking out one Princess.  He found her sitting with the other 
Princesses.  He briskly walked up to them, but noticed that Princess Saturn was glancing 
longingly at the dancing couples on the floor.  She glanced back at the others, and finding 
them in a deep conversation, resumed her observation of the dance floor.  His acursed kind 
heart - though many thought he didn't have one - intervened in his quest, and he strode up to 
the sixteen-year-old purple-haired Princess and bowed to her.  

	"May I have this dance, Princess Saturn?" he asked cordially, straightening.

	"Sensei?" she asked, startled.  She stared for a moment before placing a hand in his 
outstretched one and whispered, "Thank you."

	"I saw how much you wanted to dance," he whispered back as he led her into a 
graceful waltz.

	She smiled at him and annouced, "You know, these past two years, I've come to 
think of you as a big brother.  May I call you that?"

	He stared this time, in awe, and answered slowly, "Of course.  However, when we 
are in front of the public, you must call me Sensei, as you are."

	She nodded happily before sighing, "I always wanted a sibling........Big Brother."

	He smiled gently at her, so that no one coulds see, and finished the waltz.  Seeing 
her reluctance to leave the floor, he danced with her four more times, twice to more waltzes, 
and twice to a more fast tempo dance.  He then returned her to her throne, where she was at 
once snatched up by the Senshi for gossip on what they had conversed about.  He saw her 
shake her head, refusing to tell, and so walked over to the Queen, and bowed low to her, 
asking for a dance.  She accepted with a laugh to her protesting advisors, and they whisked off 
and joined the dancers in mid-step, still managing to get the dance perfectly and not miss a 
single step.  

	"You have done well," she praised him.  "The Senshi are now very powerful."

	He shook his head ruefully and sighed, "But not as powerful as they could be."

	"What?" asked the Queen in surprise.  "They are Sailor Senshi.  Part of your powers 
flow in them, as a larger amount of it flows in me and the Silver Crystal.  How much more 
powerful can they get, old friend?"

	"Ren," he said, using his nickname for her when she was once but a teenager 
herself.  "I designed the Silver Crystal especially for you and your line.  I gave you a small 
portion of my power."

	"Small?" asked Queen Serenity in disbelief.

	He smiled and explained, "Small to me.  I am the Elemental Knight.  Born master to 
all the power in the Universe.  You have less than half a billionth of my power, even if you were 
using the fullapacity of the Silver Crystal.  The power may seem invincible to you, but it is not 
to me.  The Senshi each have less than one sixteenth of half a billionth of my power, and yet 
they can reach the maximum level of one half of half a billionth of my power."

	"What will their powered up stages be like?" Queen Serenity questioned. 

	"They are now at the stage of Sailor Senshi," he said.  "Then, the next stage will be 
Super Sailor Senshi.  The final stage of power will be Eternal Sailor Senshi."

	"I see," the Queen mused before she had to go back to her throne.  She smiled, 
"Thank you for the dance."  Underneath her breath, so no one but he could hear, she added, 
"Sensei."

	Wiping the smile off his face and replacing it with his usual cold look as he faced 
the Senshi, he walked up to Princess Pluto and asked for a dance.  He looked up at her after 
bowing, and felt himself drown in those red eyes.

////end dream////

	Ranma stirred in his restless sleep, but did not awaken.  He rolled over 
unconsiously, thereby closely avoiding being crushed by a giant panda.

////dream////

	Ranma wandered around, waist deep in fog.  Suddenly, a strong gust of air knocked 
him back until he crashed into a window of some sorts.  He whirled around, only to come face 
to face with a strange black outfit.  however, what surprised himthe most was the person 
inside the strange outfit.  _He_ was wearing the clothes.  Well, someone who looked a lot like 
him.  This man had his grey/blue eyes, his angular face, and his black as night hair.  However, 
that was where the similarities ended.  This man's hair was cropped shorter, much like 
Ryouga's, but a bit longer.  He was seven inches taller, about 6'9 in height, and a few years 
older in looks.  He was also more heavily muscled, but not overly so.  A sense of calm 
deadliness, extreme power, and torrents of confidence rolled off of him.

	"Who are you?" Ranma asked, backing away slightly.

	"I am you," replied the man in a baritone voice that somehow relaxed him.

	"How can you be me when I'm right here?" Ranma shouted, waving his arms up and 
down.  Panic was driving him now.  "You don't even have the same name as me!!"  As soon as 
he said it, he stilled and wondered, "How did I know that?"

	"You are correct," said the man.  "I have a different name as you.  My name is not 
Ranma Saotome, but Ryuujin Noametsuchi.  However I _am_ you.  That is how you knew my 
name was different from yours."  The man, Ryuujin, held up a black stone that seemed to 
gleam with an inner light.  He offered it up to Ranma who looked at it in wariness.  "Take it," 
Ryuujin urged.  "And you will understand."

	Ranma reached out and hesitantly touched the stone.  He tried to pull back when 
the stone started to pulse, but found that he was held still by memories long forgotten, but 
treasured dearly.

######################################################################

To be continued in Part 2.

~~~~~Jade Hunter~~~~~