Mirrors Multiplied

Part Two

True Love, Again and Again...

by Jared Ornstead

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My Stolen Disclaimer
Ranma 1/2 property of Takahashi Rumiko, Sailormoon property of Takeuchi
Naoko.

=====

    "Uh, mom? I think that's their formal tea set. Nabiki's kinda nice
and all, but I'd like to think about it before getting engaged to her."
    Surprise shook Nodoka out of her trance.
    Nabiki gazed down at the table in embarrassment. She found that she
wouldn't have minded at all if he *had* served her the tea.
    Akane drifted into the kitchen, dreamy eyed. "Hello everybody." She
drifted over to the counter. "Kasumi, when..."
    Her haze didn't exactly shatter, it just flowed in new directions as
she saw her Ranma once again appear before her, in a place where she did
not expect him. "Hi." She murmured.
    Ranma, with a swirl and a flourish, pulled a completed meal out of
the pans and transferred it to the serving dishes. He casually tossed a
handful of shrimp in the air, and they landed as the final garnish on
the plates, all perfectly arranged.
    He stretched. "I *love* doing that." Then he winked at Akane. "You
awake this time?"
    She shook her head no, entranced and happy.

    The Sailor Scouts finished with the monster, a grotesque green thing
that kept sprouting tentacles.
    Mercury sat down, wiping her forehead with her arm. "My. That was
tough work!"
 Jupiter, standing with her arms crossed, agreed. "Yeah, not exactly my
favorite way to begin a weekend, you know?" She relaxed and leaned
against a wall. "I should be studying right now."
    The others looked at her in amazement.
    Jupiter shrugged, then laughed. "For my gymnastics class. There are
some new moves I have to learn, and I don't have anyone to teach me."
    Sailor Moon puddled herself on the floor, a profusion of arms and
legs that hardly looked human. "I'm *sooo* hungry!" She bounced to her
feet. "Hey, guys, why don't we go to that new restaurant in town?"
    Mercury shook her head. "Can't afford it. Besides, we should really
be checking back on that boy we were tracking earlier."
    Everyone groaned, but Mars' eyes sparkled. "Yeah, I mean, maybe
he'll turn out to be a hunk and invite us all to eat or something!"

    The table was set, and the whole Tendo family gathered around it,
staring at the profusion of dishes. "Wow! Ranma, you really cooked up a
storm." Nabiki praised the young man.
    Ranma accepted the compliment, but was getting nervous.  Something
was about to happen. He could feel it. Taking his mother by the hand he
said. "Hey Nabiki, I don't think we ought to..."
    Soun Tendo appeared out of nowhere, having finally finished up on
the phone. Wrapping himself around Ranma's waist he cried. "My boy! I
want to thank you for making my daughter happy. I want you to know you
can call me `Father.' Please take care of my darling girl!"
    Nodoka had slowly made the change from finding these unexpected
things about her son upsetting, to being heartily amused by them. She
used her hold on her son's hand to haul him back down to a sitting
position.
    "Now, Mr. Tendo. How very kind of you. Would you mind explaining to
me just how my son is making Nabiki happy?"
    Akane, missing the gist of the entire conversation because of her
rosy haze, caught only her father's announcement and flung herself onto
Ranma. "Oh, Yes! Ranma! I *will* marry you!"
    Ranma had new self control, but this exceeded it. He spurted out of
the arms of both Tendos like a wet banana, screaming. "Arrggghhhh!!!!
Look Mr. Tendo, I have no..."
    Kasumi chose that moment to enter, her hair slightly damp and
wearing a clean house dress. She also happened to be right under Ranma's
intended flight path. Not about to run into the same Tendo daughter
twice in one day he flipped around in mid air, skimming by her by
inches.
    Unfortunately, Kasumi had no martial arts reflexes. She flinched,
and the folds of her skirt caught the passing Ranma, and absorbed enough
of his momentum to send them both to the floor in a tangle.
    Kasumi popped up into a sitting position, aware of their position
and crying. "Oh, Ranma! What will this do to your engagement with
Nabiki?"
    Ranma did the only thing he could reasonably do under the
circumstances. He fainted.

    Walking home that evening Ranma tried hard not to look at his
mother. Her face was filled with mirth.
    "So how did it happen again?" Nodoka prompted.
    Ranma sighed. "I've told it all before. I was helping Kasumi because
I'd run into her telling her that Akane was sick."
    "Akane didn't *look* like she was ill." His mother teased.
    "I caught her fainting on the stairs, okay? I was worried about her,
so I carried her up to her room."
    "So that part she said about being alone with you in her room was
right?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
    "Yes, I mean No! I mean I never had my arms around her, or nothing.
She was just making that up!"
    "If you didn't put your arms around her then how did you carry her?"
Nodoka didn't fight her laugh. She was enjoying herself immensely. It
had been ages since she'd had as good a time as she'd enjoyed that
evening. She believed her son, she knew that he was an honest lad, who
would do most anything to keep his word. But the situation was just so
hilarious, and the explanations made it even more so.
    Ranma could only recall Soun Tendo fuming. He'd almost gone into
that demon head thing of his.
    "Look, mom. If you don't believe me that's alright. I just don't
know why you had to go and tell Mr. Tendo that about formalizing the
engagements."
    Nodoka realized, in retrospect, that she had gone a bit far. But at
the time she could hardly consider anybody taking her seriously. She put
a hand out comfortingly. "Now son, its not like you have to marry any
one of them. The arrangement we reached was only that you had to allow
them to go on dates with you, once each, to decide which one would be
the proper fit. If you decide that none of them suit you, then the whole
arrangement will collapse."
    Ranma allowed himself to be mollified. Having been engaged to every
female under the sun had happened to him before, in fact it seemed to be
a recurring theme. Just as his mind was caught up in calculating exactly
how many fiances he'd had in more than a dozen lives (of just the most
prominent realities) he didn't realize, until he'd nearly run into her,
that a girl was in his way.
    "Sorry, Amy. I almost didn't see you."
    He sidestepped, almost running into another girl. "Oops. Sorry Mina,
my mind's just a blank today. I guess I really should watch where...
I'm... go..."
    He'd raised his head to find himself surrounded by Sailor Scouts.
His mother was gaping at them in amazement, while the Sailors were
having a tough time not gaping at Ranma.
    Ranma stiffened, realizing what he'd just said and to whom. His eyes
shrank to pinpoints. "Uh Oh."
    He grabbed his mother. "Sorry guys, guess I must have mistaken you
for someone else. Bye!" He lifted his hand in the air. "Saotome Secret
Technique. Now you see me, now you DON'T!!!"
    His voice trailed off as he and his mother vanished.
    The Sailor Scouts stood stunned for just an instant, then Mercury
whipped out her computer. "I'm getting a very weak signal. But it's
going to be almost impossible to track him."
    "We *gotta* find out who that guy is." Venus urged. "I mean, he
knows our secret identities! What if he *told* someone?"

    Ranma collapsed on a park bench. Happosai's Inter-Dimensional Warp
technique was useless for travel *between* realities, but it was awfully
useful for getting out of sticky situations *in* one.
    He sagged and breathed out heavily. It wasn't fun though. It tired
him out and it was nearly impossible to carry another person any
distance. Thankfully his mother had fainted. So he didn't have any
explaining to do, yet.
    A pair of shapely orange boots stepped into his vision.
    "Sure is a nice trick," Venus commented. "Too bad that you can't
hold it very long."
    Ranma groaned. Then it began to rain.
    "Great. *Just* great." Spouted a thoroughly annoyed Ranma-chan. She
glared at the Sailor Scouts. "So when are you going to start sucking my
blood, huh?"
    The Sailors recoiled. "Eww!" Moon shrieked. "Who'd want to suck
blood? Sounds disgusting!"
    Female Ranma gauged their reaction. "You mean you aren't
super-powered vampires, held at bay only by the Legendary Tuxedo Mask?"
    "No! Where'd you get *that* idea?"
    "We are sailor suited warriors fighting to defend the Earth from the
Negaverse." Mercury supplied helpfully.
    "Yeah, and just how can you know our identities without knowing
that?" Jupiter added.
    Ranma sighed. She'd been jumping to conclusions again, forgetting
that each reality was always a little different than the last. That mess
at the Tendo place had been on so familiar a theme that she'd fallen
into the trap of thinking everything was the same.
    She looked at her mother, lying still in the rain. "Okay, I'll
explain. But can we get my mother warm first?"

    They judged the best thing was to return Mrs. Saotome to her home,
where she would be more than adequately taken care of. But there were
problems. Ranma/Ranko explained about her curse, appending that she
didn't believe that her mother would recognize her as a girl, which made
her hesitant to be seen that way by the staff.
    The Scouts, for their part, didn't want to be seen with a non-Scout
(drawing attention to that person, who could unfortunately identify
them) but didn't want to let Ranko out of their sight
    They stood there debating who should be left to guard Ranko, and how
many it would take to transport Nodoka, who, for all her slender
appearance, was also a great deal of muscle. When Ranko solved the
problem by going into a nearby clothing shop and emerging in a white
swimsuit, short purple skirt, and gloves. A makeshift Sailor costume.
    She posed. "Well, you *did* say you don't hang out with non-Scouts."

    Venus giggled.
    Sailor Moon laughed and zipped over to hug the startled girl. "Oh!
It's so cute! Hey, gang, maybe she can fight the Negaverse for us."
    Everybody had a good laugh.
    "Well, I suppose it will do for tonight." Mercury conceded.
    Mars helped Jupiter lift Nodoka onto Ranko's back. "Yes," her eyes
sparkled, brewing mischief. "Hey, what are we going to call our new
Scout?"
    "Sailor Ranma?" Mercury giggled.
    "Sailor Swimsuit?"
    "How about Department Store Scout?" Moon laughed.
    "She could wear an eyepatch and be Sailor Cyclops."
    Ranko was getting a little tired of the teasing, it had been a
*long* day.
    "Aw, hey gang lighten up. After all, Ranma can lift his mother all
alone and none of us can. Besides, he does pretty good for not having
any Sailor powers."
    The redhead smiled her gratitude to Mars. "Thanks Mars. I go by
Ranko when I'm a girl. Anyway, Tuxedo Mask was a prince of Earth,
right?" Ranko shrugged to get her mother settled more firmly on her
back. "So what planet *isn't* taken?"
    "Tuxedo Mask was a prince?" Sailor Moon asked in wonder. "Oh well, I
guess he can have a sister. For tonight you are Sailor Earth! Now lets
get moving."

    Jadeite chuckled as he laid his latest trap. He'd really been quite
ingenious about stealing energy, too bad the Sailor Scouts had stopped
him every time. But now he had a foolproof plan to stop them.

    The delivery had gone well enough. Then the Sailor Scouts got called
away to battle some monster or other. Even Mercury was complaining that
it was alot of work for them in one day.
    Promising to wait for them, Ranko slipped her own clothes on above
her fake Sailor suit. Then, recalling how hungry she'd become (they'd
somehow missed dinner at the Tendos) she checked her wallet and slipped
into a nearby restaurant. Where, it occurred to her, she could even get
hot water.
    She approached the counter and stopped dead cold. "U..Uc...Ucchan!"
    The proprietress narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?"
    Ranko trembled. "..." Then collapsed in tears.
    "Hey, what's wrong there?" Ukyo came around the counter in concern.
"I'm new to the restaurant business but I'm pretty sure tears aren't on
the menu." She put her arm around the crying girl and patted her on the
back.
    Ranko seized her arm. "Please, tell me." She sobbed. "Do you know a
boy named Ranma Saotome?"
    Ukyo thought back. "Hey! Yeah, I do. He's the one I was engaged to
when I was really small. My father and his father decided. Say, how did
you know about that?"
    Ranko just shook with tears, but their character had changed. After
a moment she'd recalled enough of herself to whisper. "Thank God."
    "Hey, you're pretty shook up there. How about an okanomiyaki, on the
house?" The strange girl nodded, and Ukyo went back around the counter.
"Say," she ventured, pouring out the batter. "I really would give a alot
to know how you knew about Ranma. It's not something I go telling my
friends, and I know my dad wouldn't talk about it. So, have you seen
Ranma or his father around?"
    Ukyo asked it casually, but Ranko could tell the question was
important to her. Warm feelings were beginning in her chest and Ranko
was suddenly so *glad* she'd found this place!
    Beginning to compose herself, Ranko struggled to answer. "Ranma
lives not far from here." Her voice broke off, and she struggled to
regain it. "I've heard that his father is dead."
    Ukyo froze in the middle of pouring sauce, making a puddle on an
otherwise perfect okanomiyaki. She put the sauce down, her eyes
downcast. "So that's it then. I've hoped for years he'd come and sweep
me off my feet, but with his father dead I doubt he even remembers me."
    Ranko shook her head, her cheeks still wet. "No, Ukyo. He thinks
about you every night. I've even caught him crying, just sometimes." She
amended. "But I'm sure he was thinking of you."
    Ukyo's eyes sparkled. She leaned forward eagerly. "Really?" She
leaned back, getting dreamy. "Oh, Ranchan!"
    Ranko thought back to the last reality where she'd seen Ukyo. It
seemed a thousand lives ago. She, as Ranma, had still been so new to
this... He'd gone into a fit and started screaming on and on about how
he loved Akane. Ukyo had listened, and it wasn't until later that he'd
learned that he and Ukyo had been married at the time.
    It had been that experience that had caused him to stop and think,
to quit crying about what he'd lost, and for the first time consider
what he was going to do with what he had, and what he might hope to
have. To try and make more of himself than a screaming lunatic who cared
only about things that weren't his anymore.
    And at the core of his honorable heart he'd never let him forgive
himself for what he'd done to his Ucchan. In a reality that ended,
carelessly enough, when he'd wished he'd never hurt her. A wish
fulfilled, perversely, by him spending the next hundred or so lives
never having met her.
    Both girls recovered their thoughts at about the same time. "Hey, I
can't serve you up a spoiled okanomiyaki!" Ukyo tossed it in a bin with
a deft flick of her spatula. She poured another, and one for herself,
then beamed. "Hey, I know! It's pretty late and all, why don't I close
up shop and you can tell me all about Ranma? I'll make you a trade. You
tell me about him and I'll do what I can to help you with *your*
troubles. How does that sound?"
    Ranko mumbled that it sounded good, so Ukyo happily closed shop,
then deftly served up the pair of okanomiyaki, joining Ranko at one of
the tables to eat.
    "So, why don't we start with you?" Ukyo asked. "What brings you out
this late on a rainy evening?"
    Ranko almost answered `Sailor business,' but had enough good sense
to keep her trap shut. Instead she performed a quick meditation exercise
to settle her wits, and answered. "I'd rather talk about you. I mean, I
hate to sound weird, but my problems are really wigged out. I doubt
you'd even believe me if I told you."
    Ukyo shrugged, bouncing her shoulders and her hair. "Aw, c'mon.
Gimme a try, will yah?" She swallowed a bite. "Go ahead, I promise I'll
believe you. So spill it."
    Ranko struggled, then took the plunge. "Okay, here's just one out of
many. Did you get any martial arts training when you were growing up?"
    Ukyo nodded. "Sure, my dad was really strict. He said I had to learn
martial arts or I'd never get a husband." She played with her food a
bit. "He can be a real creep sometimes, but he *is* my father."
    Ranko felt certain she'd had it worse. "Well, my dad was too. Only
he wasn't content to just teach me martial arts. He took me to all sorts
of exotic training grounds trying to make sure that I learned it all."
    "Sounds fun," said Ukyo.
    Ranko shook her head. "Maybe at first, but he wouldn't ever quit.
Well, we finally ended up at this cursed training grounds in China. It
turns out that whoever touches the water in any of the pools there gets
cursed to turn into whatever drowned in that pool last."
    "Wow. So did you get cursed?"
    Ranko nodded.
    "And you change?"
    Ranko nodded.
    Ukyo took her final bite of okanomiyaki. "So what do you turn into?"

    Ranko swallowed. She looked at Ukyo, eyes brimming. "A girl."
    Ukyo blinked, her chopsticks frozen. "*Wait*, I don't get it. You're
already a girl. What's the curse supposed to be?"
    Ranko just shook her head, got up and poured herself a glass from
the hot water tap. "Just remember, Ranma *does* love you." She told
Ukyo, then poured the glass of water over herself.
    "And I'm Ranma." He finished in a much deeper voice.
    Ucchan blinked for a moment, holding herself stock still. Then she
slammed into his chest in a hug that would have done a linebacker proud.
"Ranchan! Is it really you?"
    Ranma grunted under the impact. "Yeah. Or what's left of me." He
smiled down at her. "Uh, could you excuse me for a moment? Some weird
stuff happened on the way here and well... I'm kinda wearing a leotard
under this and it pinches something awful."
    Ukyo met his eyes, fought down a smirk, then giggled. Then the pair
of them were laughing on the floor. Ranma even pulled open his shirt to
show her the fake Sailor costume he wore, then the pair of them were so
lost to mirth that they actually laughed hard enough to knock a table
down on themselves. Said table still had their glasses on it, and, with
the accuracy of cold water seeking out the nearest Jusenkyo curse, Ranko
returned.
    Seeing him, or actually her, brought on more gales of laughter to
both of them. Soon the young girls were tired and wheezing, holding onto
the legs of furniture for support.
    Ukyo wiped a tear from her eye. "Poor, Ranchan. You really *have*
had it rough."
    Ranko shrugged. Somehow it didn't seem so bad anymore. Then she
caught a flash of light outside the window.
    Ukyo saw it too. "It's just lightning." She assured Ranko.
    Ranko stood up, getting serious. "It was lightning." She admitted.
"But lightning doesn't usually travel from side to side."
    Ukyo joined her. "What could it be, then?"
    Ranko joined eyes with her. "I think it's the Sailor Scouts. You
gotta forgive me, Ucchan. But I gotta go." She opened the door and ran
out, shrugging out of her shirt and pants. "See you tomorrow!" She
called, before leaping to the top of a building.
    Ukyo watched Ranko disappear as her father came down from his room,
stealing up behind her.
    "What was that about, Ukyo?" Genma inquired of his daughter.

    Jupiter landed after casting her thunder strike. The creature didn't
seem to mind it at all. It hadn't even been hit.
    The Scouts had been battling this monster for far longer than they'd
been used to. Mercury had used her bubbles to fog the area from time to
time, allowing the Scouts to take a breather, but it hadn't been easy.
So far they had chased it or been chased over half of the district.
    "We've got to get it controlled, so Sailor Moon can use her tiara
attack on it!" Venus called, before being called to dodge another
super-fast lunge by the creature.
    Mars used her own attack to lay down a curtain of fire, and the
Sailor Scouts collapsed down behind it, exhausted. "I'd settle for just
slowing it down." Jupiter groaned, wincing at bruises her Sailor suit
had barely protected her from.
    Luna and Artemis looked on, concern marking the two felines.

    Ranko arrived at the scene of battle, and was looking on as a small,
fast beast evaded most of the Sailor Scout's assaults. It was repeatedly
going after the Sailors themselves, who were finding themselves hard put
to dodge.
    Tuxedo Mask appeared beside her. "What's going on? Why are they
taking so long? I felt sure I would never get here in time..." He
watched as the creature went for another body attack on a Sailor Scout.
"What *is* that thing?"
    Ranko scowled, crossing her arms. "Happosai."
    Tuxedo looked at her. "A what?"
    "Not a what, a who." Ranko corrected, getting ready to leap into the
fray. "He's a couple of hundred years old and as evil as they come.
Look, his main asset is his speed. Even I can't hit him when he's moving
that fast. But if I slow him down do you think you can stop him?"
    Tuxedo twirled a rose around his finger. "Not a problem."
    Ranko accepted his statement with her eyes, then leapt into the
battle. "Hey, you old freak!" She announced from the top of a steeple,
silhouetted against the sky. "Nobody attacks the Sailor Scouts. They
stand for Love and Justice, which cuts out perverts like you! Fierce
Tiger Ball, Attack!!!"
    Ranko cupped her hands and a ball of energy shot from them,
impacting harmlessly where the hentai had been, exploding into a cloud
of debris that the old freak used to power his leap toward her.
    "Pretty Lady!" Happosai called, aiming himself for a clomp onto her
less public areas.
    Ranko had been expecting nothing less, and timed her attack
accordingly. She kneed him in the eyeballs when he'd gotten close.
Unfortunately, the attack hurt her leg almost as much as it did his
head.
    Clutching her knee, Ranko used one arm to vault away. "Sheesh,
what's got into this guy? It's like he's built outta stone or
something!"
    "He's drawing power from the Negaverse!" Mercury called out. "Be
careful!"
    Ranko took it under advisement, diving and rolling to the side
instead of countering Happosai's latest leap. "Everyone get ready!" She
cried, then stood facing Happosai, slightly favoring one leg.
    "What's the matter, old freak? Are you coming to get it or aren't
ya?"
    Happosai charged her breasts like a missile. Ranko split into two
images just as he reached her, allowing him to pass harmlessly in
between. Both then pivoted to face him as he landed behind her. Ranko's
images split again, and again, until duplicates of her stood in a circle
around the ancient pervert. They then began to float, rotating around
him in a spinning ring.
    "Sailor Earth, what are you doing?" Venus yelled.
    "Its the Amazon Splitting Cat Hairs technique!" Ranko called from
within the illusion. "And hurry up! I've only got a couple of seconds
before this guy breaks out of it!"
    Happosai was already concentrating his energy. "Hah! This simple
technique is no match for me! The illusion that creates can only..."
    A rose struck him stem first through the foot, nailing the old
pervert down and breaking his train of thought. Tuxedo Mask stood
highlighted on a building, his cape swirling. "Beauty must be enjoyed
with tenderness, else we would destroy that which we covet. Sailor
Scouts! Take care of this perversion of nature!"
    "Right!" They called in unison.
    "Mercury Bubbles, Blast!"
    "Jupiter Thunder, Crash!"
    "Venus Crescent Beam, Smash!"
    "Mars Fire, Ignite!"
    Happosai was simultaneously blasted, scorched, shot through and
frosted. He was just finishing a fit of spasms and was getting on to
being really mad when Sailor Moon's Tiara attack (lost in the explosions
and shouting) came and struck him in the chest, converting him into a
fine spray of dust.
    "Until next time, ladies!" Tuxedo called out, turning and vanishing
over the rise.
    Ranko dropped to one knee, clutching her leg.
    "That was *wonderful* Sailor Earth!" Luna came charging up. "Sailor
Earth?" Her head tilted in concern. "Are you alright?"
    Ranko shook her head. She looked up as the other Scouts gathered. "I
think it's broken." Tears were gathering in her eyes as she spoke.
    Sailor Mercury went to look, and Artemis observed. "Fighting on a
broken leg? That was very courageous of you. But your Sailor costume
should have prevented such an injury."
    "It's not a real Sailor costume." Jupiter told him.
    "Yeah, it's just a swimsuit." Sailor Moon supplied. "She got it so
she wouldn't look weird hanging out with us."
    "A swimsuit!" Luna gasped. "You mean she did all that under her own
power?"
    "Well, Yeah.. I guess so." Sailor Moon hedged.
    "Well, we have *got* to get her a pen immediately. We can't have any
of you Scouts fighting at less than your full potential!"
    "I'll call Central." Artemis volunteered, bounding off.
    The other Scouts all looked at each other, a little embarrassed and
unsure of what to do. Artemis returned with the pen clutched in his
teeth, which he dropped close to Sailor Earth's hand.
    "Now take this," Luna advised her kindly. "And call out `Earth Power
Make-Up.' The transformation should heal the damage to your leg."
    "Uh, Artemis." Sailor Moon asked while this conversation was going
on. "What did you tell Central?"
    "Hmm? Oh. I just told them that we'd found Sailor Earth, and she
needed her pen, just like the rest of you." He frowned. "There was a bit
of trouble finding it, so they ended up using some of their reserve
power to make her a new one. But she *does* need it if she's going to be
fighting alongside you guys. We can't have her getting injured all the
time."
    "Oh." Sailor Moon bigsweated, a huge drop forming on the back of her
head.
    Ranko reached for the pen, ruefully thinking. `Mother is sure going
to love *this* one when she finds out about it.' Raising the pen up over
her head she called out the power phrase.
    Instantly her body burned with blue fire, bringing her upright in
the air, an empty silhouette of energy, spinning gracefully in space.
Lightning coursed up her chest, coating her torso with a white Sailor
costume. Then molten metal reached out from around to caress her arms
and legs, forming gloves and boots on her empty limbs.
    With a flash of light she was no longer empty, filling out her
costume with flesh. Jewelry appeared with bright flashes of chi energy,
and she came to rest on the pavement, striking a pose.
    "Wow! I haven't had a trip like that since..." Earth trailed off.
    "Since?" Mars queried.
    "Since I can't remember." Earth finished, choosing not to mention
that it was since the last time she'd been married. It had been to Rae,
oddly enough, vampire and all.
    "Is your leg alright?" Luna asked, concern still in her voice.
    "Yeah, feels great. I can't even tell it'd been broken."
    "That is marvelous, Sailor Earth." Luna sounded relieved. She
yawned. "Well, we'd best be off to get our beauty sleep. It's been a
long day for all of us. We'll have a Sailor Scout meeting tomorrow. Ten
AM, the usual place."
    The Scouts nodded in unison.
    "Oh, Sailor Earth. Do you know where to find it?"
    Earth gave her the thumbs up and winked. "Cherry Hill Temple, in the
shrine? Not a problem."
    Luna leapt up into Sailor Moon's arms. "Well, then. See you all
there."
    The Scouts dispersed.

    Ranma awoke to hot, buttered croissants and the morning news, both
on a tray by his bed. The rolls he found interesting, and would have
ignored the paper save for the fact that the headline read, taking up
the full page no less, "New Sailor Scout Appears!"
    He read the article. They'd devoted half a page to a picture of
Ranko in her makeshift costume. The story described the fight in
sufficient detail that Ranma soon began to wonder where they'd hid the
reporter. The writer of the story had assumed the lights around Earth at
the end had just been to heal the new Sailor's wounds, so there wasn't
much about it save to mention that it had happened.
    The reporter had caught almost none of the dialog, and there was
rampant speculation about who the new Sailor Scout could be.
    He took a leisurely shower, pondering what he'd read, and was
halfway down to breakfast before he looked at the time- after nine. He
was not late yet, but he was going to be, unless...
    He skimmed into the kitchen on one foot. "Mom, I *really* have to be
somewhere this morning... mom?" He looked out, seeing her at work in the
garden. "*Mom!* Can I borrow the combat helicopter?"
    Nodoka yelled back. "That's fine dear. Just remember to take your
sword, ok?"
    "Sure, mom!"
    Pilot and copter were rounded up in short order, and in no time at
all they were racing over Tokyo. Ranma thinking furiously about what
he'd do when he got there.
    "Missile tracking radar is pinging us from the Kuno estate, Sir."
The pilot interrupted his musing. "Orders?" The man asked, expecting the
standard `Pilot's Discretion' they'd always given him before.
    Ranma snapped back to the present. "Surface evasion pattern. Go
now!"
    The helicopter dove for the deck. Their excellent pilot dropped them
down to street level, dodging trees and electrical wires to get there,
quickly bringing them into a long stretch of clear road where they could
race at high speed.
    "Sir, we've got three hostiles lifting off in pursuit!" The gunner
called out.
    If Ranma remembered it right there was a park not far from Rae's
place, a park with a big lake. He gave the order to head for it.
    Shops flew past beneath them, pedestrians and drivers stunned to see
this piece of military equipment screaming by just overhead. Ranma was
preparing to unbuckle and climb out on the wing. "When we reach the
park, you will drop to half speed over the lake and rise to about a
hundred feet. That's where I get off. You will then communicate with
home that I have been dropped off, don't sweat it if Kuno's birds hear
you, they're supposed to. Then it's Pilot's Discretion to the nearest
safe haven. Got that?"
    "Acknowledged. And good luck, Sir!"
    "You too!" Ranma unbuckled and soon was standing on the skid of the
copter, holding onto the side for support as wind threatened to tear him
away. If he understood the rules of this feud right, only members of the
family were threatened with anything close to full force. If the Kuno
helicopters understood that Ranma was no longer in this bird they
wouldn't chase it nearly as hard. Maybe even breaking off a chopper or
two to search for him.
    Which meant, if he judged his pilot right, that they would get away
no problem. He had worries about himself.
    The combat helicopter raced along, barely skimming traffic and
electrical wires. Rae just happened to be out sweeping the temple steps
when the helicopter rushed past, Ranma clinging fiercely to its side.
Leaves and papers blew wildly in its wake.
    Rae stood there in astonishment as the helicopter bounced to a
higher altitude over the park that (at least in this time) shared a
border with her temple. Then she gasped as Ranma dove off the side of
the moving machine.
    Dropping her broom she raced down to the lake, the wind still
blowing her skirt around her legs. She arrived a few moments later to
see a soaking Ranko dragging herself out of the water.
    "What happened?" Rae called, helping to pull Ranko out.
    "No time," the redhead gasped. "Gotta get under cover."
    "Here, let me help you to the temple." Rae supported the smaller
girl. "You are soaking wet. What were you doing up there?"
    Ranko squelched, getting her feet under her at last and beginning to
hurry up the path. Rae ran alongside her. Then Ranko flashed a disarming
grin. "I was worried about being late."
    Three other helicopters flew past, two following after the Saotome
chopper, one breaking off to search the park.
    Both girls looked at it in concern. "We'd better get you inside and
changed." Rae whispered.
    "No argument there." Ranko replied. They both ran back to the
temple.

    Kuno sat in a meditative pose, trying to ignore the bandages on his
scorched and wounded body.
    Sasuke materialized before him, kneeling. "Master, the strike group
reports that they can find no trace of the treacherous Saotome. Our
spies report that he was not in the copter when it landed."
    Kuno looked up from his trance. "Yet he began in the copter, you
say. Hmm, then it is obvious they evaded us by switching helicopters!"
He shouted. "Dispatch a roaving team to do what can be done following
their flight path. I, myself, will take a squad of men and search this
park that seemed to have been their destination."
    "But Master!" Sasuke interjected. "Your injuries!"
    "Bother me not with trifles!" Kuno shouted, springing to his feet. A
shiver passed up his spine and he fell back down to his knees. "Perhaps,
I should rest a bit first. Yes..." He passed out face down on the floor.

    Rae handed Ranko one of her own spare outfits, a white gi top and
red skirt. "So what was all that about?" She asked.
    Ranko started to change. Rae stopped her. "Uh, maybe you'd better
wash first. You smell like that pond."
    Ranko laughed at herself. "Sorry, I've been splashed so often that I
begin to forget the water's not always clean. Where's your bathroom?"
    Rae showed her, Ranko went in, pulling off her top. "You can come
in. I'm not shy."
    "You really don't mind?" Rae asked, somehow anxious to talk.
    "Nah, just don't go splashing me with hot water. Kay?"
    Rae smiled. "Sure." She sat on the tub while Ranko began scrubbing.
"What's it like? Being a boy and a girl, I mean?"
    Ranko paused, soap in her hair, considering. "Well, most people are
nicer to girls. I've had practically everyone in the world try to kill
me, or challenge me, as a guy. But lots of those same people bring me
flowers and things when I'm a girl."
    The redhead scowled. "Being honest, it stinks." She continued. "I'd
much rather be a guy full time. That way I don't have to constantly be
worrying everywhere I go. Changing in front of people is *really*
embarrassing. And its awkward and weird not having your clothes change
with you. So you find yourself on the beach in a boys swim trunks, or on
a date in a dress, and then somebody hits you with the right kind of
water and Poof! Major social embarrassment." Her scowl softened. "There
was one time when I was in a gymnastics contest, wearing a skimpy
leotard in front of hundreds of people, and my opponent started to fling
hot water at me." She sighed. "One of my friends got me out of it. I
nearly died of fright though."
    Rae's eyes twinkled, her left hand playing with the hot water tap.
"Really?"
    Ranko didn't notice. She moved on to scrubbing her chest and arms.
"Yeah, like today. I leave the house as a guy and I don't even get here
before I change. It happens all the time."
    "You don't say." Rae deadpanned. Hot water spurted out, covering
Ranko.
    Ranma held the washcloth very low, turning red. "Yup, that's the
sort of thing that happens."
    Rae laughed. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Here," she
splashed Ranma with cold water. "I'll get your back, that way we'll get
you out of here on time for the Sailor Scout meeting."
    Ranko pecked her on the cheek. "Just don't let anyone else know,
okay? I get treated like a freak most of the time."
    Rae blushed, and bent to her work. "Don't worry. I won't tell
anyone." Then she laughed. "We Sailor Scouts are good at keeping
secrets."

    Ranko and Rae, dressed in identical outfits and wielding identical
brooms, were sweeping together as Lita and Amy arrived. Ranko had even
allowed Rae to do her hair for her, and she had styled it the same way
she wore her own. The two of them looked like book ends as they greeted
the arrivals.
    "Well hello!" Amy called. "Glad to see you got here on time." She
praised Ranko, pleased with their new Scout being punctual.
    Ranko blushed, and Rae laughed. "Yes." Her eyes twinkled. "You
should have seen her arrive too!"
    Seeing her reaction, the ever-protectful Lita asked. "Was something
wrong?"
    Amy watched curiously as Rae relayed the story of Ranma's arrival,
speeding down the street on the side of a helicopter.
    "You mean someone's trying to kill you?" Amy could hardly believe
it.
    Ranko nodded, but didn't go into any details.
    "Who was it?" Lita asked.
    Ranko shrugged. "It's this guy named Kuno. His family's got this
blood feud going on with mine. They killed my father and I think we got
his. My mother doesn't even dare leave the estate anymore without her
guards. The whole thing's pretty ugly."
    "How dreadful!" Amy gasped.
    "We've got to put a stop to it." Lita proclaimed. "Lots of people
could get hurt in that kind of fight."
    Ranko sighed. "I *could* have ended it yesterday. Kuno and I got in
a fight, and I could have killed him. After that it probably would have
been over. But I didn't feel right about doing it that way."
    Amy put her hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "You did the right
thing. I'm certain of it."
    Serena and Mina came running up, shouting and waving to the group.
"Guys, ya *gotta* look at this!" Serena sang. "That new restaurant is
having a sale today, anyone who goes in a group of five gets their
dessert for free!"
    Serena skidded to a halt and glared at Ranko. "Oh. I suppose *you'd*
want to go to."
    Ranko smiled. There was an easy way out of this. "I'll tell you
what." She offered. "That restaurant's going to be jammed today. You're
hardly likely to get a seat. So why don't we go somewhere else and it
will be my treat?"
    Serena did a double-take. "You'd *do* that?"
    Ranko beamed, just like her mother. "Sure, why not? I'd even spring
for a cab there. Interested?"
    "What, do you expect Serena to turn down food?" Mina quipped. "Of
course she accepts. We'll all go."

    Later, and pleasantly full, the Scouts met in the shrine of Rae's
temple. Luna and Artemis had been set away on errands, allowing the
girls to be free in discussing Ranko's unique problem.
    "Wow! That was a *major* nice meal!" Serena gloated, massaging her
belly.
    "It really was very nice of you to take us all out to eat." Amy
congratulated. "I'm sure we'll all get to be good friends."
    The other Scouts voiced the same.
    "The first thing I'd like to know, Ranko." Mina turned to the newest
Scout. "It's how do you know so much? I mean, we've only met you for the
first time and you already know all about us."
    Ranko glanced around the group, all eyes were on her. She sighed.
"Well, I promised my mother this talk. I might as well get some practice
with you."
    She took out of her clothes a jeweled bracelet, obviously expensive
and probably old, placing it on the floor before her. The other Scouts
crowded in to look.
    "I got this a long time ago. Please don't ask me how, it's a story
I'm not sure I can explain. Not long after I got it I found myself in
China, there I got the matriarch of an Amazon tribe to tell me about it,
even give me some advice."
    "It's called a Destiny Ring, and it grants its user a nearly
unlimited number of wishes. There's a catch though, you can't ever undo
a wish once you've made it."
    Serena stared. "So, like, who cares? If I wished for a huge fortune
or a major cute guy there's no *way* I'd want to give it back."
    Ranko tolerantly replied. "Not even if you'd gotten the fortune in
insurance money from your mother dying? Or the major cute guy was also a
nutcase, or cheated on you? You have no say in *how* the wish is
fulfilled, Serena, it just gets done. And history is rewritten around
you when it happens. Shall I tell you what I made as my first wish?"
    She scanned the group. "It was a *very* bad day. I'd gotten in more
trouble than I think even you Scouts had ever done. But I was upset, and
I was angry, and I didn't even know what this thing did. So when I
wished that `none of this had ever happened to me' I had no idea that it
would come true."
    "What happened?" Mina whispered.
    Ranko breathed softly. "I lost everything. The girl I was engaged
to, my home, none of my friends even remembered me. None of it,
literally, had ever happened. I had a whole new life, but it wasn't *my*
life. There were people who knew me, but I didn't know them. I had a
job, but I didn't even know what I was doing at first. I had to start
all over from nothing."
    Ranko exhaled some tension. "Thankfully, after a little while, I
started to gain the memories associated with that life. So it wasn't all
bad. But you remember how I told you that the ring grants a *nearly*
unlimited number of wishes?"
    They nodded.
    Ranko leaned forward and lifted the ring up, showing off its dead
stones. "I've used them all, drained it dry, trying to get back to that
life I lost on my very first wish."
    Lita whistled.
    Ranko put the ring back in her pocket. "There is a flip side," she
said, more brightly. "I've got the memories associated with a couple of
hundred lives. I've *been* everywhere and *done* practically everything.
I started as a skilled martial artist and have kept studying, and in a
hundred lives I've learned more tricks than a circus panda."
    She grinned at the private joke. Selling Genma to the circus that
once had burned off alot of accumulated frustration.
    "Plus the experience has taught me alot about myself." She laughed.
"And about life, love, how to be happy." Ranko wiped a tear from her
eye. "It was not something I'd ever been good at before, being happy."
She shook herself back out of memory.
    "So that's how I know you. I've met you all four or five times now,
each time it's been a little different. Twice I just ran into you by
accident, like now. Once I served Queen Beryl, and once..." She got a
little embarrassed. "Well once I was a guy full time and I was married
to one of you."
    There was shock all around. "Married?" Mina gaped, then asked.
"Which of us were you married to?"
    Ranko blushed. "I'd... I'd rather not say."
    Rae flushed. "It was me, wasn't it?"
    Ranko looked at her, stunned beyond words.
    Rae studied her hands. "Hey, I read fortunes all the time. Some of
it just sinks in y'know? There was the way you knew your way around my
house. You asked where the bathroom was, but you knew where the towels
were and reached for my soap without even looking. I don't tell people
where I keep my bath things, not even my friends know that. It's just
not something I talk about. Then we were out sweeping and you got all
the trouble spots. I'd lived in this place for years before I knew where
all the leaves accumulated."
    Ranko and Rae met gazes, and couldn't tear their eyes away.
    Serena blushed. "Man, and I thought *my* life was weird!"

    Ranma got home, and sought out his mother. "Hey, mom, can we talk?"
    Nodoka looked up. "Sure dear, just let me get these gardenias
planted."
    Ranma got down and joined her, working the soil expertly. "Mom, you
know about the engagement thing last night?"
    Nodoka sat back on her heels, wiping the sweat away from her face.
"Surely your not upset about that, dear. As I told you, all you have to
do is go on a date with each of them. Then it will all be over, unless
you don't want it to be."
    "No, no, no, no. Could you get back down here? I'd rather whisper."
    Puzzled, Ranma's mother bent back to her task, listening.
    "It's like, well, what if I *did* love two of them?" He asked, in
utmost secrecy.
    Nodoka reared back, laughing merrily and loudly, filling the yard
with her mirth. "Oh, my son." She said, leaning back and enjoying
herself. "If that were your only problem in the world..." She continued
bubbling, hiccupping with laughter.
    "But mom!" He practically screamed.
    Nodoka resumed a more motherly bearing. Leaning into the flowers and
kindly instructing her son. "In that case, Ranma, you would simply marry
them both."
    His eyes bulged. "You can do that?"
    She nodded. "You can. Our roots go back to feudal days when
marriages were more often political than anything. Sometimes back in
ancient Japan a lord had to take more than one wife. We don't talk about
it much, but even though the world has changed around us, we do retain
*some* rights."
    She wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "That's why I wasn't
concerned with the mess at your friend's home last night. Even if you'd
had to marry the whole flock of them to retain your honor, there'd still
be enough room for someone that you cared for." She gestured to the
mansion around them. "We have a very large nest."
    Ranma hugged his mother fiercely. "I love you, mom!" He sobbed into
her breast.
    She quietly patted him on the shoulder. "There now. Is there a
reason for all these questions?" Nodoka could conclude that there were,
but children often required gentle handling.
    He nodded, still hugging her fiercely.
    She stroked his shoulder, asking delicately. "Are there any
arrangements that I should be making?"
    Ranma looked up at her, fiercely glowing with happiness and pride.
"I'll have to go ask." He told her.
    She held onto his hand, preventing him from escaping. "I would like
to meet my future daughters-in-law." She kindly requested.
    He nodded. "I'll bring them by." Suddenly his face fell. "But mom,
what if they don't like the idea?"
    She waved him off. "My son, you are an excellent catch. What I have
seen of you these past two days has been of a gentleman, a considerate
man and a noble one. If you were poor and an invalid you would be worth
a young lady's time. But you are not. You are handsome, athletic, a far
cry from poor, and with enough love in your heart to shame ten other
men. There's far too much of you for one maiden to handle. Go now, and
if the girls you love won't return with you..." She smiled. "There will
be others."
    Ranma's eyes brimmed with thankfulness for his mother. Then he ran
off.

************************************************
************************************************

Authors Notes:

    This my second try posting this. The first one apparently didn't go
through, and besides the extra work made this a better version.

    Okay, so why the part at the end? Why did I give Ranma an out to
marry multiple wives?
    It might have been because we *know* that it won't settle all his
problems, it just increases the depth and the magnitude to which they
can go. Can you imagine him married to Kodachi? Hmm, interesting
thought...
    Or it might have been that I got tired of the infinite repeat of the
endless fight over who gets him. I might have decided to just try it and
see who could catch him, based only on what she herself decided to do.
    You really want to know the answer? I felt like it. It makes an old
joke new again and gives me more fuel to be funny.
    I like being funny.

    To those of you who sent me flames. I *burst* my pimples at you (as
if I had any). Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of
Akane's cooking.
    But I did correct my errors. Nice, aren't I?
    I could be nice, I could be correct. I *could* even pay attention to
timelines and what goes on in the originals. But will I?
    I mean, how delightful would this be if it were just another
rewrite? Does *anybody* know what is going to happen next?

    Before you flame me, part Two here is just the calm before the
storm. Things should get *very* frisky from here on out. And I don't
mean sex.