“And then the letter told me to come here,” said Hotaru, as she sat with the other Senshi and her parents.
“Wow,” said Usagi, wiping away a few tears. “I wish my story was that touching.”
“How did you become a magic girl?” asked Keiko Tomoe.
“Luna just showed up, dropped a magic broach, and sent me off to face the forces of evil,” said Usagi.
The parents began to glare. “And who is this ... Luna?” asked Souichi. No way in hell was that person going to send his precious baby girl to face the forces of evil with no training.
Whoops, need to remember to see what fighting classes I can sign Hotaru up for. No way is my baby fighting evil without knowing how to fight. Maybe I could make her some weapons... Always wanted to make those sentai ranger giant machine things...
“That ... that would be me,” said Luna, hopping up on the table.
The parents’ glare turned into confusion. “Your leader ... is the magic cat?” asked Keiko.
“No,” said the cat in question, trying to calm the parents. “I am the royal advisor to Princess Serenity.”
“Yeah,” said Usagi. “Except she doesn’t know who Serenity is, so we’re looking for her too.”
“But I do remember your daughter,” said Luna, trying to keep her voice steady. Upsetting Saturn would be a bad move ... for the entire planet. “Her name was Sailor Saturn, the Senshi of Death and Destruction.”
“Wow,” said Souichi. “At least you have a cool title, Hotaru-chan.”
Hotaru could only blink. “Um ... okay?”
“Cool,” said Usagi. “Welcome to the team! Can I read that?”
“Not now, Dumpling Head,” said Rei, growling. “We need to discuss the enemy with her!”
“WAH! REI’S SO MEAN!”
Ami just shook her head, wondering if they might actually get some work done now that they had some adults to help out.
Herb looked at the shattered stone wall before her, a smile forming on her lips. She had been a bit worried when this ... Ranma ... had asked her to remove her top, even if he insisted it was to remove the burn limiting her strength. After all, all that time within the Amazon Village had not quelled all of her memories of the Musk, particularly a few retainers who would often speak of ‘boobies’, and the usual stories of achieving mates.
But the male ... hadn’t even gawked, not even a moment at her front. He had taken care to avoid seeing it, making her question a bit about what could make a male do such for her.
She had damn near still punched the shit out of him for the pain she felt, but the column behind him had formed a massive spider-crack.
He had done it; he had returned her strength to her. And for the last few hours, she had been enjoying the feeling of shattering things, of launching destructive attacks once more. Sure, her power was unsteady, but it was something that could be fixed practice. The important thing is that so far, this Ranma had come through with half his promises to her.
And soon, after the Amazons fell, the Pot of Liberation would be hers, and her male form would be back.
“Enjoying things, I see.”
She turned, spotting her ... husband ... looking at her, his eyes without glasses. “They fixed those putrid eyes of yours?”
Mousse nodded. “Even gave me a pair of glasses to keep up the illusion of being as blind as a bat.”
“HEY!” yelled a bat-youma. “I can’t help being made this way!”
“You better run, male,” smirked Herb, as the youma slowly circled, “I think you pissed her off.”
“HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!” cried the bat-youma, as she dove after Mousse.
Herb began to giggle a bit at the scene. “If nothing else, it was all worth it just to see that.”
Ranma sat on his throne, his mind in deep thought. Things were coming to a head soon, he could sense that, even without consulting the Gates of Time. Pluto would be free tomorrow at the earliest, the day after at the latest. He could already feel the warning seals on her prison weakening.
But was he ready for her? His parents were out there with Ukyo, the Senshi were off-balanced by Saturn’s arrival, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the girls saw the powerhouse he had given them. And with her own knowledge, there was a chance Pluto might try and warn the Amazons or even the Phoenix about him. And it was a given that the Amazons would assist the Senshi, Pluto at the least if she explained things in the usual half-truths she used.
Not that the Amazon Elders would completely trust her, the two being too much alike in that regard.
But what could he do? How could he further develop the sense of innocence and good will that he was giving the Senshi?
Perhaps sending the others to them? Sure, it would raise the danger to his operations, but the same would be true for the enemies that he knew would be coming, enemies Pluto had never warned them of in any timeline he could remember. Venus and Jupiter were givens, both trusting a kind boy’s face more than rumors. As long as he didn’t appear threatening, the two wouldn’t be a problem.
Well, aside from hunting him down for a date. But he had enough experience as Ranma the Martial Artist to give him some safety. After Kodachi and Shampoo, there wasn’t much they could do to threaten him in that department.
The Outer couple, Neptune and Uranus, now they were a threat he needed to deal with. The duo reluctantly followed Usagi only after she defeated them. Even then, they still followed the ideals of loners more than teammates.
There could be a way around that though, especially since it was very doubtful that the parents of Hotaru would allow them the same leeway. Having the parents there would help ... regulate the two girls.
Then there was Endymion. What could be done about the reborn prince? The guy could be trouble, even if Ranma decided not to pursue Usagi. And the man was also going to be searching for the Ginzuishou as well.
His eyes shot open. True, the Senshi had the Silver Crystal to look for, but there had been another crystal, one used by their enemies from another timeline, if he remembered the stories. And while he would never allow something like that Crystal Tokyo to exist, it didn’t mean that the Black Light Gem, or the Jakokusuishou, didn’t exist. And since it was a crystal that enhanced negative energy, it was something he could easily use. In fact, it might be best to get it soon, before a Wiseman-wannabe did.
As a Dark Lord, it paid to have an ace or two in the hole, especially since he wasn’t entirely sure he could trust his upper management.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by The Demented Redhead
(Posted Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:37)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.