Mirrors Multiplied

Part Two

True Love, Again and Again...

by Jared Ornstead

=====

Obligatory Stolen Disclaimer (it's so hard to find ones that fit nowadays 
 ;-)

Ranma 1/2 is copyrighted 1998 by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan Inc. and 
anyone else who rightfully owns the copyrights. All-Purpose Cultural Cat 
Girl Nuku Nuku is copyrighted 1992 by Yuuzou Takada/Futuba Sha/King 
Records/Movic. This fanfic was written entirely for entertainment 
purposes and NOT for monetary benefit. Please don't sue me. Any 
similarities with other fanfics are purely coincidental unless stated 
otherwise. 
	I'm very honest when I steal things, like disclaimers. Thanks Celeste!

=====

	Ranma had a peculiar mind-body relationship. He'd trained extensively to 
tune his reflexes and hone his skills, with the result that his body was 
often so good at certain tasks that it didn't feel the need to consult 
with his brain when doing them. Ranma's hands found a tea set arranged 
for an engagement ritual and went from there.
	Fortunately, his mind happened to be wandering by and saw what was up. 
He froze in mid-pour. "Uh, mom? I think this is their formal tea set. 
Shouldn't we at least think about this before engaging me to Nabiki? I 
mean, she's kinda nice and all but..."
	Surprise shook Nodoka out of her trance.
	Nabiki gazed down at the table in embarrassment. To her amazement she 
found that she wouldn't have minded it at all if he *had* served her the 
tea. In fact, she would have liked it.
	Nabiki came to a conclusion, calculated the odds, and realized that what 
she really wanted was... Ranma.
	Satisfied that it had averted catastrophe, Ranma's mind went wandering 
off to other things. While it's back was turned Ranma's body, now freed 
from supervision, went on with the last thing it had been doing and 
completed his part of the ritual, laying out the full cup of tea.
	Nabiki practically lunged for it.
	Nodoka beat her to it, absently picking up a cup of convenient beverage. 
Nabiki stared longingly at the steaming cup of tea, while Nodoka allowed 
it to warm her hands.
	Ranma disappeared off to rescue the souffle from the oven. His mother 
stood up and drifted over to the counter, Nabiki padding after the still 
untouched cup.
	Nodoka blinked. "My, that is a *wonderful* souffle! Ranma, however did 
you manage it? Even mine don't always turn out this good." She put the 
cup down to examine the dessert more closely.
	Nabiki made a grab for the tea, but was kept out of reach by Ranma doing 
a lightning dash into the refrigerator. While the door was open it 
prevented her from getting within reach so Nabiki edged around to the 
other side, only to have Nodoka pivot to bring the souffle to the 
counter, blocking her way completely. 
	Nabiki eyed the cup with longing eyes.
	Akane drifted into the kitchen, dreamy eyed and smiling. "Hello 
everybody." She drifted over to the counter and around Ranma's mom. 
"Kasumi, when..."
	Her haze didn't exactly shatter, it just flowed in new directions as she 
saw her Ranma appear before her once more. In a place where she did not 
expect him. "Hi," she murmured, reaching for a convenient cup of tea.
	 With a swirl and a flourish Ranma transferred the completed banquet out 
of the pans and into the serving dishes. He casually tossed a handful of 
shrimp in the air and they all landed perfectly arranged as the final 
garnish on the trays.
	He stretched, grinning. "I *love* doing that." Then he winked at Akane. 
"You awake this time?"
	She shook her head no, entranced and happy, cup still untouched in her 
hands.
	Nabiki made an end run and got beside her sister. "Ah, Akane. I see you 
found that tea I left there. May I have it back?"
	With a start Nodoka realized where that tea must have come from. With a 
quick glance toward the tea set to confirm her fears she gently but 
firmly lifted the cup away from the two sisters. "I'm sorry. But I would 
prefer to get to know you a little better before one of you becomes my 
daughter-in-law."
	Nabiki's face fell into a sorrowful mask.
	Nodoka looked between the daughters, the completed meal, and the ritual 
tea ceremony. Then down at the cup in her hands. "Ranma, why don't you 
accept their offer of letting you clean up? If Nabiki would let you 
borrow some of her things then we can let your's soak in detergent to get 
some of that oil out. And I can use the opportunity to get to know these 
girls while we wait."

	In the bathroom, Kasumi had committed the rare but pardonable act of 
falling asleep in the bathtub. She labored generously so that her family 
could live and eat in as pleasant a way as possible. So when granted an 
unexpected reprieve during what was normally one of her busiest hours, 
her body took advantage of the moment to allow her some much needed rest.
	That is why Ranma's knock went unanswered. Kasumi being lost in a dream 
whose contents only she could tell, but which brought a smile to her 
angelic face, so peaceful in repose.
	Ranma could be forgiven, because two of the Tendo daughters were under 
his mother's watchful eye, and the third was as brisk and efficient about 
a bath to get clean as anyone usually was. So when he knocked, and no one 
answered, he made the *grave* mistake of assuming that maybe he could use 
the Tendo bath for once in peace.
	Kasumi's clothes were in the hamper, which was normal. It would be like 
her to leave them available for cleaning until she could deal with the 
stains properly. There was a robe on the hook and a towel set out, but 
both these things failed to trigger any warning bells. The last thing 
she'd said before departing was that she'd leave the bath ready for him.
	Kasumi was so sweet.
	Lost in regarding how he might prosper in this world, Ranma entered the 
bath area proper, sliding the screen open and shut behind him. Then his 
body took over to get a quick hot-water scrub and rid himself of the oil.
	Soun Tendo popped in to get his toothbrush, having just finished with 
his friend on the line. He opened the screen door.
	Ranma looked up from where he'd been focusing on lathering the soap. 
Soun was there. Both blinked. Soun looked at the tub. Ranma followed his 
gaze and found Kasumi asleep in the water. She was lying comfortably, 
sleeping peacefully with her back to the door, her hair a gorgeous 
cascade across the tile.
	Her head tilted just so it happened to look like she'd been watching 
him, though her closed eyes could not be seen from the door.
	Her smile could not be mistaken.
	There was a moment of unbroken silence.
	Soun stepped back from out of the bathroom, closing the screen softly as 
he left. With a laugh and a giddy dance he went to call back his friends 
and tell them how the wedding was *definitely* going on!

	Out in the night, 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!"

	Ranma entered the kitchen. His hair was a wet mass and he was dressed in 
a T-shirt from Nabiki's closet and some jeans borrowed from Akane's. 
"Hi," he said. "This is all I could find that would fit. I hope nobody 
minds."
	Nabiki had a sudden, awful, and wicked inspiration. "Not at all." She 
said with a smile. "You can use anything of mine you like and I'm sure 
Akane is only too glad to have you in her pants."
	Nodoka and Akane went instantly stiff, catching the double meaning. 
Nabiki used this distraction to lunge past them and grab for the cup of 
tea. She seized it and gulped it down in a single swallow. Lowering the 
mug a smug smile of victory spread across her face.
	Nodoka turned to regard the Tendo daughter with a raised eyebrow. Nabiki 
was grinning like the cat that just ate the canary.
	"Congratulations, dear."
	Nabiki nodded smugly, feeling that congratulations were indeed in order. 
	Nodoka produced a perfectly ordinary teakettle. "But wouldn't you like a 
fresh cup? I poured that tea myself quite some while ago."
	Nabiki looked down in stunned sorrow at the perfectly ordinary teacup in 
her hands. A glance at the sink revealed the formal one newly washed, 
resting out to dry.
	And Nabiki had never caught her making the substitution.
	She sniffled and a huge tear tracked down her cheek.

	The Tendo dinner table glittered under a huge assortment of dishes and 
trays, thoughtfully kept warm by Ranma's mother throughout his short bath.
	He still wasn't quite ready to tell her about why it'd been so brief. 
Though Kasumi was, if anything, twice as beautiful in her sleep as she 
was awake. He envied the man who married her.
	Figuratively speaking. He never dreamed, despite all the evidence 
otherwise, that he might be the man selected for that role.
	"Wow! Ranma, you really cooked up a storm." Nabiki praised her guest and 
love interest. Akane just stared in awe at the profusion of dishes.
	"Wow! This is so cool!"
	Ranma accepted the compliments, 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 that you can 
call me Father. Please take care of my darling girl!"
	Nodoka had somehow made the change from finding these unexplained things 
upsetting to being heartily amused by them. She used her hold on her 
son's hand to haul him back down into 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, having missed the entire gist of the conversation because of her 
rosy haze, caught only her father's announcement and flung herself at 
Ranma. "Oh, Yes! Ranma! I *will* marry you!"
	Nodoka's eyes flew wide.
	Ranma had new self control, but this exceeded it. He spurted out of the 
arms of both Tendos like an oiled 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, absorbing enough of his 
momentum to send them both to the floor in an embarrassing tangle.
	Kasumi flashed into a sitting position, aware of the impropriety their 
position and crying. "Oh, Ranma! What will this do to your engagement 
with Nabiki?"
	Akane lost control, flinging herself in tears around Ranma. "Oh Ranma! 
How could you do this when you're going to marry me?!"
	Soun Tendo turned purple.
	Ranma did the only reasonable thing he could under the circumstances. He 
fainted.

	Walking home that evening in his own clothes Ranma tried hard not to 
look at his mother. She was smiling too much.
	"So how did that bit with the bath happen again?" Nodoka prompted.
	Ranma sighed. "I've told you before. I was helping Kasumi because I felt 
bad when we fell in the oil. She went to get cleaned up and then *you* 
sent me after her. *I* had no idea Kasumi was still in the bath. I did 
knock, you know."
	Nodoka partially hid a smirk. "It would seem fairly hard to miss a naked 
woman in the tub. And she was smiling at you?"
	Ranma tried hard not to blush too deeply. Kasumi had a wonderful figure 
and it wasn't doing his peace of mind any good to remember specifics. 
"Look mom, only Kasumi knows why she was smiling like that. I just wanted 
to get washed."
	"And Akane's claim?" Nodoka asked with false innocence.
	"That I'd been alone and intimate and all that stuff? Mom, how can you 
think that? She was sick and I was just taking care of her."
	"Akane didn't *look* like she was ill." His mother teased, toying with 
her boy.
	"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 in her room with you was true?" 
Nodoka's eyes sparkled with mischief.
	"Yes. I mean, No! I mean, I never had my arms around her or anything 
like that! She was just making that up!"
	"If you didn't put your arms around her then how could you carry her?" 
Nodoka allowed herself to let go and laugh. She was enjoying herself 
immeasurably. It'd been ages since she'd had a time quite as fun as what 
she'd enjoyed that evening. She believed her son, she knew he was an 
honest lad, one 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 and done 
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 making formal 
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, it's not like you have to marry any one 
of them. The agreement 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."
	And the arrangement was so tenuous only because she had alot more 
lawyers than Soun Tendo did. She'd faced down corporate sharks. An angry 
father was trivial by comparison.
	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. His mind was soon so caught up in calculating exactly 
how many fiances he'd had in more than a dozen lives (of just the most 
prominent realities) that he didn't realize there was a girl standing in 
his way until he'd almost run into her.
	"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..."
	His mind resurfaced from deep thoughts to find the rest of him 
surrounded on all sides 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 mere pinpricks. "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, taking a reading. "I'm getting a very weak 
signal. But it's going to be almost impossible to track him."
	Mars and Jupiter were staring around wildly yet ineffectually. Sailor 
Moon just stood in a knee-locked helpless position. Stunned.
	"We *gotta* find out who that guy is." Venus urged them all. "I mean, he 
knows our secret identities! What if he *told* someone?"
	Mars hopped to the top of a wall, looking around. "Well, we know his 
name's Saotome. He's gotta be *somewhere*. Start looking around."

	A couple blocks away 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. 
	It wasn't fun though. It tired him out and it was nearly impossible to 
carry another person any distance. It had been like sprinting through 
fire to carry his mother all the way he had. But he'd put enough distance 
behind him to confuse an enemy for a short while, and from what he'd seen 
his ability to leap was completely unusual in this world. There was an 
obstacle or two behind him that should give him the necessary few seconds 
to regain his breath.
	He sagged and breathed out heavily. Thankfully his mother had fainted 
when he began the technique. So he didn't have any explaining to do yet.
	A shapely pair of orange boots stepped into his vision.
	"Sure is a nice trick," Venus commented. "Too bad that you can't hold it 
very long."
	Two other Scouts landed in a flanking formation. Ranma's power was at a 
low ebb, and the last two Scouts were already running up. Obviously they 
had some form of communications going and weren't disturbed by leaping 
fences.
	Ranma groaned, measuring his depleted power against the nearly fresh 
Scouts and not liking at all what he found. If they were anything like he 
remembered from the *last* time...
	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 was caught off-guard. Backstepping she 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. Venus and Mars nodded firmly.
	"Yeah, and just how can you know our identities without knowing that?" 
Jupiter asked.
	Ranko 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.
	"And... weren't you, like, a boy a minute ago?" Sailor Moon asked, 
holding her nose.
	Girl-Ranma looked at the Sailor Scout over her shoulder, her well-padded 
chest making a distinct change in her outline.
	Mercury dropped her computer.
	Venus leaned forward and poked Ranma in one squishy breast. It responded 
pretty much like normal.
	Ranko winced, looking away. "Could you stop that? They're real, you 
know."
	Mars frowned, then decided to go for certain proof, grabbing the girl's 
pants and hauling down hard.
	No doubts there.
	The Scouts were dumbfounded.
	Ranko adjusted her clothes. "Are you done yet?" She retied her pants 
around her waist. "You sure you couldn't find a way to check me more 
thoroughly? I don't think I've been embarrassed enough yet. Though if you 
want to study anatomy there are schools. We could skip the street exam."
	The Scouts backpedaled, suddenly ashamed and blushing.
	Mercury blinked, apologizing for her friends. "We're sorry. It's just 
that we've never seen... And you *did* show up on my scanners as a boy. 
Maybe there's something wrong with them." She tapped her computer 
curiously after retrieving it.
	Ranko looked at the Scout, then sighed with forgiveness. "Nothing is 
wrong with your scanners, Mercury. Four minutes ago I was a boy. It has 
something to do with a magic curse."
	They all looked at her.
	They blinked.
	Ranko sighed, sensing the inevitable. She turned and looked at her 
mother, still lying in the falling rain. "I can explain." She said 
softly. "But can we get my mother someplace dry first?"

	They judged the best thing was to return Ranma's mother to her home, 
where she would be more than adequately taken care of. But there were 
problems with that. 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 household staff.
	The Scouts, for their part, didn't want to be seen with a non-Scout 
(drawing attention to a person who could unfortunately identify them) but 
didn't want to let Ranko out of their sight until they knew more about 
her.
	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 got fed up with 
their bickering and solved the problem by skipping into a nearby clothing 
shop and emerging in a white swimsuit, short purple skirt, and gloves, 
tying a big purple bow across her bosom. Finishing off a pretend 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, happy now 
that all the unpleasantness had been cleared up.
	Venus helped Jupiter lift Nodoka onto Ranko's back. 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, I mean she, does pretty good for not 
having any Sailor powers." The red-skirted Scout defended.
	The redhead smiled her gratitude to the girl. "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. Oh, cool! What's this?"
	Sailor Moon bent to pick up something that had dropped from Nodoka's 
hand. Ranko turned to see what was going on. It was a small transmitter 
of a size to fit in the palm unobtrusively. Her eyes flew wide seeing the 
blond Scout investigate it.
	"No, don't!" Ranko cried in alarm.
	Sailor Moon hit the button before looking up in surprise.
	Ranko swept her mother off her back and lay her on the pavement, ripping 
the transmitter from Moon's hands she dropped it back on her mother's 
chest. Turning again she began to force the Sailors away.
	"We've got to get out of here NOW!!! Sailor Moon just set off my 
mother's alarm beacon. There are going to be several BATTLE TANKS here in 
a couple of seconds who are going to *shoot* anyone they don't recognize 
on *sight!* GET MOVING!!!!"
	As if to emphasize her words helicopter rotors could already be heard 
closing on their location. 
	The Scouts still had not begun to move. Finding their hesitation to be 
less than desirable, or even survivable, Ranko slung Sailor Moon under 
one arm, Mars over that shoulder, Mercury in the other and began running 
as fast as she could.
	Which was pretty fast, as the other two were hard put to catch up, and 
neither Venus nor Jupiter were slouches. Still, it provided the needed 
impetus as the two Ranko could not carry began to follow the others out 
of sheer momentum.
	Ranko collapsed with her load behind the wall of a shop, the other two 
following after. Lights had already begun to play over Nodoka's form as 
twin assault helicopters swept the area with their weapon pods.
	It was seconds before a squad of six fast recon tanks vaulted a nearby 
shopping mall and squatted around his mother, their multicannons faced 
outward and twitching in anticipation of targets. The rumble of bigger 
reinforcements to follow could be felt through the stones of their 
concealing wall.
	Sailor Moon was kicking about. Ranko released her. Moon shot up and 
began to shout.
	"How DARE you..."
	Ranko's hand was over her jaw and her arm around her neck, catching it 
with viselike authority. She hauled the offended Scout to where they 
could just peek around the wall.
	A full score of twenty-ton repulsor tanks were arrayed in a wall around 
Nodoka, their mighty plasma turrets tracing probable attack patterns 
through the surrounding streets. The recon tanks were already out 
flanking their mighty brethren and beginning to pry into the area's 
shadows.
	Ranko hissed in Sailor Moon's ear. "Now we have about half a minute to 
get out of here before they find us. The only thing they want to do is 
protect my mother. But *you* set off an alarm code that said she was 
under attack, and her son just happens to be missing. Since I don't look 
like myself just now we can hardly hand me over, and until they find me 
they will assume that any oddly dressed people lurking in shadows are 
probably bad guys. So unless you *WANT* to get in a fight against them 
I'd be a little more quiet."
	Sailor Moon gulped in terror as Ranko eased them back in the shadows. 
The other four Scouts were waiting. Ranko gave them back Sailor Moon and 
a light repeat of what she'd said.
	They seemed willing to debate it.
	Ranko just shook her head, muttering. "Bloody amateurs." She addressed 
them. "Look, our window of opportunity is about five seconds long. If you 
get in a fight with *that* there will be hundreds of civilian casualties, 
whether you win or not. And if they see you they will want to fight you. 
*I'm* getting out of here."
	She started off deeper through the alleyways, muttering. "I *don't* have 
to wait until people are already shooting at me to make up my mind about 
something."

	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.
	All ladies loved the finer things. He could trap them by luring them 
into a shop of his own devising. With a youma proprietress the new 
lingerie store would be the perfect way to lure the Scouts in and destroy 
them when they were vulnerable.
	And in the meantime he could steal valuable energy. Of course, he never 
*dreamed* that he might not be the only one thinking of stealing things...

	They had finally made it out of the alleyways unharmed. Then the Sailor 
Scouts got called away to battle some monster or other. Even Mercury was 
complaining that it was a whole lot of work for them in one day.
	And that was without mentioning the fiasco with his mother.
	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 by the 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 do 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 don't know that my dad would talk about it to strangers. 
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! This reality no longer felt like a trap 
at all!
	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 when she'd seen Ukyo like this. 
It seemed like a thousand lives ago. She, as Ranma, had still been so new 
to everything... 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 that he'd never hurt her. A wish 
perversely fulfilled 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 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 about *that*. Instead she performed a quick meditation 
exercise to settle her wits, then 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 that 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 I learned all kinds of 
weird stuff."
	"Sounds fun," Ukyo replied.
	Ranko shook her head. "Maybe at first, but he wouldn't ever quit. One of 
the last places he took us was a training ground in China that's been 
cursed for a couple of thousand years now. It has a hundred or more pools 
with poles in them that you stand on to train." She sighed. "But the 
water in each pool curses anyone who touches it, even if you get so much 
as a splash. The curse is to turn into whatever drowned in that pool 
last. If you drop a rat into the spring of drowned hippo, a hippo it 
becomes. And the most bizarre things keep drowning there. Hot water 
changes you back to normal, but only until you get wet again."
	His audience chewed attentively. "Wow. So did you get cursed?" Ukyo 
asked.
	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, her 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. Getting up she poured herself a glass from 
the hot water tap. "Just remember, Ranma *does* love you." She told Ukyo, 
then poured the hot water over herself.
	"And I'm Ranma." He finished in a much deeper voice, putting down the 
glass.
	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 together. Ranma even pulled open his 
shirt to show her the fake Sailor costume he wore. This got the pair of 
them so lost to mirth that they actually laughed hard enough to roll into 
a table and knock it 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 
girls and they were some while riding it out. Soon the young ladies were 
tired and wheezing, holding onto the legs of furniture for their 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.
	She thought about it, concluding it was better not to get his hopes up. 
"I think I may have made a friend in the area."
	Genma nodded. "Hmm. Well, maybe you can invite her along. My best friend 
called a little while ago, one of his daughters is getting married. He'd 
like us both to come to the wedding."
	Ukyo *liked* weddings! She lit up the night just thinking of it, already 
planning her own. Maybe it could give her some ideas!

	Jupiter landed after casting her thunder strike. The creature didn't 
seem to mind it a bit. 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 glomp 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 the old 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?"
	"Sweeto!"
	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, looking up as the other Scouts gathered. "I think 
it's broken." Tears were gathering in her eyes as she held her knee.
	As Sailor Mercury went to look, 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.

	Ranko slipped into her room via the window, going right to her private 
bathroom and shucking both female clothes and form. A call earlier that 
evening with a certain code phrase she'd luckily remembered had called 
off the manhunt, assuring the staff that Ranma would return.
	Okay, a Sailor Scout was something he'd never been before. One thing he 
had to give this wish stuff, it wasn't boring. He slipped into a light 
shirt and shorts combo suitable for both sleeping and midnight battles, 
then crawled into bed.
	There was a warm body in there already.
	Once upon a time Ranma would have flown shrieking to the ceiling, waking 
the entire house and bringing down who knows what kind of trouble on his 
head. Now he just melted away silently and turned on one of the dimmer 
bedside lamps. Form of the blankets revealed that whoever it was was 
female.
	Okay, next question. Was this someone who belonged here or what? He'd 
had one or two 'previous selves' who would have kept a mistress on staff 
had they been able.
	Not that he had any intention of following in their footsteps, he just 
had to know the degree of gentleness to use when expelling the woman.
	Said woman rolled over in her sleep, sensed him somehow, and sat up. 
Aside from her face she was dressed fully in black ninja attire.
	"Kodachi."
	She put a hand wonderingly to his cheek. "Darling Ran-chan, so harsh? 
Did I forget my oath to you when my brother struck you down? Were you not 
saved, even though it might cost me my life? The hospital I had you 
carried to in secret was the best of all. Have I in any way failed you 
that you should not hold me?"
	What kind of monster would resist? Ranma held her in his arms, 
assimilating the information and acting in accordance with it.
	Kodachi sobbed, crying into his chest. "Darling Ran-chan. My own heart 
nearly died when you did. To have hid so long our secret love... only to 
lose you! Then to wait the weary months alone, knowing that to risk 
seeing you could bring down horror upon us both!"
	She sniffed and looked into his eyes. "But it is late. My brother cannot 
discover that I am gone. Would that I could offer you the welcome your 
safe return deserves. But our smoldering passion must await a safer time. 
Farewell my love."
	Separating herself from him Kodachi leaped out to the window. A glance 
back at him and she was gone. There'd been not a tinge of lunacy, no 
wicked laugh, just someone who loved him deeply. 
	Ranma went again to bed. Another puzzle piece, no solution yet.

	In the morning 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 injuries, 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...
	Ranma 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.
	And people wondered where that stirring music was coming from.
	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.

	In the greatest estate in Nerima, Kuno sat in a meditative pose, trying 
to ignore the bandages over 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 roving 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.
	In the corner a small potted plant edged out and went to inform its 
mistress of her lover's danger.

	Nodoka paced the underground command center in the Saotome estate. 
"They've committed how many air units, did you say?"
	The tech in black battle fatigues answered her from his board. "Three of 
their new assault version. Two are currently in pursuit of Skyknight 1, 
while another has dropped out to investigate the park where we received 
the transmission."
	Nodoka looked up from her pacing. "And where is Skyknight in relation to 
the closest kill zone?"
	"Less than a minute away from the bay, ma'am." Another tech supplied. 
"That's as free a kill zone as we'll find."
	The Saotome matriarch raised her chin. "Order two scramjet interceptors 
in from our offshore platform. Assault helicopters haven't a prayer 
against true air superiority fighters. We will neutralize this threat, 
save our crew and copter, and pray that will take some of the pressure 
off my son. Execute!"

	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. "To be 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." The part about Kodachi she didn't mention. 
*That* kind of secret people's lives could hang off of.
	"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 too."
	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 sent 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 see.
	"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 gets 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 have 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 it all up, 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 gasped, 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 Rae, 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 with a 
gloved hand. "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 loved... um... *two* of them?" He asked, in 
utmost secrecy.
	Nodoka reared back, laughing merrily and loudly, filling the whole 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, hiccuping with laughter.
	"But mom!" He practically screamed.
	Nodoka resumed a more motherly tone. 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 was, 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.


To be continued...

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

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.
	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.


************************************************
Author's Notes, Second Version:

	Well, I've been taking my time with the rewrite. I want to do it right.

	You'll notice that many bits are completely unchanged, while others are 
added to or completely new. Well, I didn't get to do everything in the 
first draft. Now that I have an idea I want to capitalize on some of the 
humor I missed the first time and include some things I forgot to do. 
Expanding on the Kuno relationship was part of them.
	This bit with Kodachi was planned from the start, and it *is* what 
happened, and she *is* sane. I just kept off including it until the 
opportunity had already passed.
	In fact Kodachi was one of the reasons for the rewrite. Ranma owes his 
life to her. I needed that hold over him later on, and where I was was 
too late to include it.

	Besides, I felt I wasn't throwing enough fiances at him. (grin)

"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of 
himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others?"
                                  --- Thomas Jefferson