Ranma normally either would’ve shrugged and let the befuku’d girl get her just desserts for a bit before salvaging the situation or would’ve taken the comment as an insult to his prowess in the Art, which would lead him to demanding a one-on-one match here and now. Of course, Ranma normally wouldn’t be facing a youma-possessed kendoist who looked like some sort of unholy union of Edward Scissorhands, Pantyhose Taro’s cursed form, and Morrigan Aesland.
This exceptional confrontation taking place, Ranma simply nodded and excluded the transformed Su from his analysis of the fight. So, we have a aquatranssexual martial artist who managed to defeat a god thanks to a great deal of both skill and luck up against a martial artist who took down a demon not entirely unlike the one possessing her and a Gamera-esque giant turtle, enhanced by youma possession. Truly, this would be a fight to remember, one worthy of sagas to be remembered for generations.
“SACRED FONT!”
Or not.
Crying out her attack’s name, Sailor Aquarius thrust her right arm towards the Motoko monstrosity, supporting it at the elbow with the left. Bits of circuitry and armor coalesced from the technomantic power of her Senshi energy and rapidly attached themselves to her extended right arm, forming a sleek, shining, and above all effective arm cannon.
In another universe, Samus Aran sneezed, then cursed. The only thing worse than sneezing in the Power Suit was sneezing in the Power Suit in an environment where removing the helmet in order to clean it would ensure one’s death. Sure enough, she was currently exploring a deep-sea trench. “Every freaking time…”
Back in the fight, the cannon fired an ultra-high velocity stream of holy water at the blade-fingered beast, damaging it not just with sheer pressure but with the blessed properties of the deluge. The entire process occurred within a second or two.
While the backsplash, combined with the water attractor aspects of the Nyannichuan curse, had guaranteed Ranma’s transformation, the combination of magically created cold water and the broiling chi coming off the foe gave her the perfect setup for a superb Hiryu Shoten Ha.
When the vortex died down and the monster came to a rough landing, there came from it a sinister hissing. Both Senshi and Saotome prepared themselves for a second onslaught, but instead the dark cloud that had caused the mutation rose from Motoko, allowing the victim to return to her usual, albeit largely disrobed, form.
The cloud manifested single glowing red dot. It was clear that it was an eye, and that it was not a happy eye. “Know this, Senshi. Know this, Starbinger. I, Dominus, will not allow your ranks to swell any further.” This said, the nebulous darkness vanished.
The tension having lessened somewhat, Keitaro and company emerged from behind the stands. Seeing that Motoko was very nearly nude, Keitaro quickly dispatched Shinobu and Sarah, trying to stymie his nosebleed as subtly as possible.
With Motoko’s modesty restored and all present assembling, the conventional series crossover introductions seemed ready to begin. That was when the Inner Senshi teleported onto the scene.
“Martial arts tournaments are for personal improvement and public entertainment, and attacking outside of Juuban is just plain rude! In the name of the Moon—” Sailor Moon paused in her monologue to look around and note the general absence of youma-related chaos, energy draining, and, thankfully, tentacles. “I think we’re a little late.”
“Indeed,” calmly replied the dark-skinned girl in a sailor fuku. “The youma has been defeated, albeit not destroyed. Greetings, my Queen.”
Sailor Moon was understandably confused. “And you are…?”
The stranger Senshi bowed. “Sailor Aquarius, first of the Zodiac Senshi to reawaken.” Her uniform was a bit…different from the others. Bits of blinking electronics were attached here and there, giving an air of cyborg chic. Furthermore, no Senshi had yet exhibited a blue-and-gunmetal plaid fuku. Had the Senshi seen Su during a red moon, they’d recognize her more mature form, rather than the still somewhat childish face and figure she had normally.
“Mercury?” the Moon Princess asked.
The Senshi of Ice began her scan immediately. “It’s true. Her powers match all shared traits of a Sailor Senshi. Her domain appears to be technology, with a secondary focus on water. Given that Aquarius is the constellation of the water bearer, I suppose that makes some sense.”
“What about her?” asked Mars, noting Ranma, who was still relatively deep in thought trying to determine the finer workings and emulation potential of the Sailor Teleport. Of course, she wouldn’t have called it such, but it’s what she was doing.
Mercury turned her visor on the martial artist. “Strange…impressive physical strength and some minor magical ability. What’s really surprising is the sheer amount of magical trauma she’s undergone.”
This snapped Ranma out of her reverie. “Whaddaya mean ‘trauma’?”
“Well, I’m picking up what’s either one major curse or a whole bundle of lesser ones, vestiges of several chi line rearrangements consistent with the activation and deactivation of major acupressure and moxibustion points, a number of karmic retributions, and to top it all off, your psyche is partially split into at least three pieces.” Mercury looked up from the readout. “To be honest, Miss, it’s something of a miracle that you’re still both healthy and sane.”
Ranma reflexively harrumphed and muttered “I ain’t no Miss,” before replying with, “There’re some folks who’d disagree with ya on the ‘sane’ bit. But yeah, I’ve put up with a lot. Still, I’m tough.”
The Mercury Computer gave an urgent beep. Its corresponding Senshi tapped away frantically. “Oh my…”
“What?” The other Inners looked over the bluenette’s shoulders, but didn’t see the big deal.
Her reply was unintelligible to most present, but the phrase “this young woman” came in all too clearly to Ranma’s ears.
“Dammit, I need to find some hot water…” Ranma said bitterly.
Keitaro, who had decided to leave the conversation to the miniskirted superheroes up until now, jumped in helpfully. “We have a hot spring here. The least we could do after you helped save Motoko is let you use it. Shinobu, would you show Miss…”
“I ain’t no Miss,” Ranma repeated forcefully, before relaxing. “Name’s Ranma Saotome. Nice ta meetcha.”
The landlord and half-girl shook before Shinobu said, “This way, Saotome-san,” leading Ranma to the bath.
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(Posted Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:07)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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