Ranma Saotome swallowed nervously as he glanced up and down the line of nine magical girls. Knowing his luck, they were about to announce that he was engaged to one or all of them. Maybe they'd announce that he was actually one of them, the reincarnation of some ancient Princess, and destined to marry some loser like that Tuxedo Kamen guy he'd met in one of the recent battles. He was pretty certain that they weren't about to shout "Ranma, prepare to die!" but that was slim comfort.
"Um... you asked to meet me?" Ranma asked. "Did you detect some more of those monsters?" He still wasn't certain what the deal had been with them, but there hadn't been any for a couple weeks, so he'd guessed it was over.
"You needn't be worried," Sailor Moon said with a gentle smile. "We dealt with the source of that threat."
"So what do you want, then?" Ranma asked.
It was Sailor Mercury who spoke. "I've been studying some readings I took from when you helped us earlier," she said. "And I believe I have found a way that we could lift your curse."
It took Ranma several seconds to understand what she had said. "A cure?" he said disbelievingly.
"Yes," Sailor Moon said. A small, softly glowing crystal appeared in one of her gloved hands.
Sailor Pluto shifted her grip on her staff. "It will not be easy," the oldest-seeming of the group commented. "Jusenkyo is an ancient curse, a powerful magic fueled by hundreds of sacrificed lives. However, our combined strength and that of the Silver Crystal should be more than enough to break its power."
"Why?" Ranma asked, not willing to believe that one of his fondest dreams was about to come true so simply.
"To thank you for your help," Sailor Mars stated.
"Because it is the right thing to do," Sailor Moon said simply.
"And because it's a crime that a hunky body like yours is only around half the time," Sailor Venus added. There was an awkward silence for a moment. "What? It's true!" Venus said.
Sailor Uranus whispered something to Sailor Neptune that made the other woman laugh.
Ranma decided to ignore that. "There are others," he said, "with curses like mine."
"If we break your curse," Sailor Pluto said, "it will weaken Jusenkyo's hold on all its victims. The others will be easier to help."
"Do you want us to help you?" Sailor Moon asked.
Ranma swallowed again. "Yes," he managed to say after a moment. "Please."
Sailor Moon raised her crystal, as all the Senshi began to glow in various colors. Then, everything went white.
Ranma blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear them of the bright afterglow of the Sailor Moon's magic. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he realized that he had changed forms, his balance and a thousand other sensations telling him that he was again female. Half an instant later, he realized that he wasn't in his "ordinary" female body, that he was wearing high heeled boots and a skirt, that his hair was much longer, and that he was holding something in one hand.
That something was the first thing he was able to see, a long metal staff that Ranma quickly recognized. A glance down at his own body - or rather, Sailor Pluto's body - confirmed it. "Great," he muttered, and was startled to hear Pluto's voice from his lips. "I should've known something would go wrong."
"We all must have switched bodies or something," someone said. Ranma looked up, blinking a few more times to clear away the last of the afterimage of the white flare, and saw that it was Sailor Mars who spoke.
"No, really," Sailor Saturn - or at least her body - mumbled, her hand tightening around the Silence Glaive. "I should never have agreed to this stupid idea."
"I guess maybe we should all say who we really are?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Sounds good," Sailor Moon said. "I'm Ranma."
"What?" Ranma shouted, joined by many other voices. "I'm Ranma," he finished loudly.
"No way!" Sailor Neptune said. "I'm Ranma!"
"That's impossible," Sailor Venus protested. "I'm Ranma!"
"No you're not, I am!" Sailor Mercury said. The conversation quickly devolved into a confused jumble as the Senshi talked over each other, each claiming to be Ranma.
"Umm," a familiar male voice began, and the conversation instantly silenced itself. Ranma's body gulped audibly as all nine Senshi turned their gazes on him. "I don't know what's up, but you all can't be Ranma, because I'm Ranma Saotome."
The lone boy found himself on the receiving end of nine angry glares, and he took an involuntary step back. "Sorry about this?"
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(Posted Mon, 05 May 2008 22:21)
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