Prologue

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC.

Kasumi moaned, heaving herself onto her elbows as her lover pistoned into her relentlessly. The young woman took advantage of her change in position to thrust her hips up and plant her feet firmly in the down mattress, raising her knees and allowing her to grind herself into each powerful lunge.

"Uhn… uh… nnmmmm…" As another orgasm neared, Kasumi began to whimper and moan. Convulsively, she grabbed twin handfuls of her satin sheets and screamed, the final wave of passion and arousal sending her over the edge.

It was the rhythmic thumping on her wall that drew Nabiki out into the hallway. She never had been a heavy sleeper, and lately her nights had been long and drawn out as she attempted to remain asleep as her older sister got her brains screwed out. The middle Tendo daughter hadn't been able to discover the identity of Kasumi's lover, a condition she intended to remedy within the minute, but whoever the unfortunate man was, he would wish he'd never set his sites on any of the Tendo women.

All she had to do was make a big enough scene and convince Ranma that someone was taking advantage of her sweet, innocent sister and the gullible martial artist would tear Kasumi's boy-toy into convenient, easily disposable little pieces.

Akane, unlike her sisters, slept nearly as soundly as Ranma on most occasions; but her sister's earsplitting scream managed to penetrate her sleep-deadened mind. She was up almost instantly, negligently tossing P-chan out the window and grabbing a bokken (one of several she kept under the bed for just such an emergency) in one fluid motion. She didn't bother to open the door, choosing instead to use her unusual strength to plow through the thin barrier.

Kasumi was in trouble; she had to save Kasumi.

Genma met Nabiki and Akane in the hallway. He hadn't heard any noise— his stomach was simply demanding to be fed once again— but the scream, and the arrival of his son's soon-to-be wife and one of her sisters, adequately raised his curiosity. He shielded his eyes as Akane smashed Kasumi's door into splinters with her bokken, and hung around the doorway while the two girls rushed in. It wouldn't do for something dangerous to get upset with him. He'd just stand back and go get Ranma if trouble arose.

The room filled with a shocking luminescence only a moment after the door met its unfortunate end. Kasumi was still riding out her final release and clutched the sweating body of her lover with arms and legs tightly clenched around him.

Ranma himself wasn't in much better shape. He'd held back for over an hour while continually screwing Kasumi, and his release had been powerful and mind numbing, so he didn't immediately react to the sharp bright light that flooded the room.

It was about three seconds later, when his seed had been fully expended, that the young martial artist began to wonder why the previously darkened room was now well lit. Pulling away from and out of Kasumi, he slowly rolled over to confront the gaping, and in one case glowing, visages of the two younger Tendo sisters and his stunned father.

"…Oh, shit…"

Kasumi wearily kicked off her shoes, not bothering to replace them with the soft indoor slippers that waited next to the door. Juuban General had been absolutely swamped with victims of the latest monster attack. She and the trauma team that she headed had been in nonstop surgery for nearly eleven hours, but the child would live. She regretted that the rest of the boy's family had not survived, but that was the way of life and she had done her small part.

A looong, hot bath and a good night's sleep would refresh her depleted reserves of emotional and physical energy, but the trek to the bathroom seemed like an impossible mission. Each step compounded the pain in her aching feet, yet she made it, thankfully. Sluggishly, the woman retrieved a large bath towel from the linen closet and slid open the door to the furo. The room was already filled with a thick blanket of warm, cloudy steam. Through the fog, Kasumi could barely make out the form of her daughter, her pride and joy, laid back in the large furo.

Kasumi couldn't even remember the last time she had bathed with Ami. Maybe they could talk for a while about girl stuff and boys; yes, that would be great, even if she did feel dead on her feet. The effort would be well worth it, she felt. Over the last few years she had grown apart from her daughter. Running the emergency ward at the hospital left her little time, and Ami's studies ate up the little free time she had apart from her friends.

Shedding her light blue medical garb, Kasumi breathed in deeply, appreciating the enshrouding mist's warmth. A single fluid movement unlatched her bra and a similar tug caused her panties to slide to the floor. For a woman in her mid-thirties, Kasumi showed none of the signs of aging. She glanced down at herself, proud that she still looked like a twenty-five year old, with high, firm breasts and generous, yet tight hips. Despite her long pregnancy and hectic career, she still made time to exercise frequently and eating healthily went a long way towards staving off the decline brought on by advancing years.

It was only as she was slipping into the almost intolerably hot water that Kasumi noticed Ami's bruised and battered form. She gasped, reaching out for her sleeping daughter, an instinctive, "Oh my," coming to her lips. Years of experience in treating nearly every form of injury the human body could sustain told the woman that nothing was seriously wrong with her daughter. The bruises were already halfway healed, and the scratches and small lacerations were scabbed over and none showed any signs of infection.

Who had done this to her baby girl?! What kind of monster would do such a thing?!? Sobbing, Kasumi pulled Ami to her chest and hugged her tightly.

Ami woke up with a wince, feeling every one of the injuries she'd sustained during the struggle with the full-blooded demon she and the other Senshi had fought off earlier in the day. Thank all that was holy for accelerated healing, something she seemed to have even when not in her Senshi form, much to the chagrin of her teammates.

The girl opened her eyes and squawked in surprise. She was in her mother's arms and the older woman was weeping softly. Oh no, what would she think? Ami shifted slightly, trying to take pressure off of a tender spot near her lower back. The motion caught her mother's attention and Ami found herself the target of an all-powerful gaze that burned with an internal fire of such intensity, she momentarily wondered if the woman had been possessed.

"Oh, Ami, my little baby girl, who did this to you?" Kasumi asked pleadingly. "He won't hurt you anymore, I promise."

Ami's eyes widened in surprise. Her mother thought someone had… Oh, hell, she was so screwed. "M-mom, you've got the wrong idea. It's nothing like that!" Ami quickly exclaimed. How was she going to get out of this without compromising her identity?

Kasumi cradled her daughter tightly, not allowing the girl to escape her grasp. Around them the water sloshed and splashed, but neither of them paid it any attention, too caught up in more important matters to care. "It's all right, Ami. I'm not mad at you. We'll talk to the authorities and have everything straightened out. Then I'll go talk to your aunts and see about contracting a hit man… No, better yet, a mad scientist… Yes, a really nasty one with lots of sharp needles…"

Fearing that her mother was about to go off the deep end, Ami began to talk, blurting out secrets she'd never even thought about exposing. They were gonna be so pissed at her, Ami knew, but sacrifices have to be made every day, and who knew, maybe her mother wouldn't mind having a superhero in the family.

Ranma walked into the post office, exchanging greetings with the kindly old man that ran the pick-up counter. Before going to check his own post office box, the martial artist stopped by the drop window. He deposited a fairly thick envelope into the slot after making sure that it had the proper address and number of stamps. It contained the greater portion of his winnings from the last few months and should arrive at Kasumi's within a few days.

He'd never participated in his daughter's upbringing, something he regretted a little more each day, but he knew how dangerous and chaotic his life was, and an infant or small child could easily become a pawn or liability in the circles he moved through. For years now, he had been sending the money, trusting in Kasumi to spend it wisely. Occasionally he would get a letter telling how she and her daughter were faring, but just knowing that he'd helped Kasumi get through medical school and support her and Ami was enough for him.

Who would have thought that his child would be a supergenius, top-ranked scholastically throughout Japan? Ranma fished the key to his box from his pocket and strolled over to the wall that housed it. He was expecting a letter from a couple friends in America who he'd competed against and fought alongside a few years back. No such luck, no international letters. The only letter was a small, carefully penned message from Kasumi.

With more excitement that he cared for, Ranma tore open the envelope and read:

Dear Ranma,

Please come quickly. Ami's life may be in danger.

Sincerely,
Kasumi Mizuno

Short, and to the point. Someone was gonna die.

Ami had chosen not to tell the other Senshi about her revealing their secret. Why tell them when it would serve no useful purpose, but could irrevocably damage their trust in her? Pushing the matter to the back of her mind, she followed Minako and Rei into Makoto's apartment. The Senshi of Jupiter had been the most heavily injured during the fight over a week ago, and only now in the last few hours had she been able to walk around on her own. Without the beneficial healing properties of her transformation, Makoto would have died.

They all knew it. They also chose to ignore that. It was depressing. For now, though, everyone was happy to see Makoto up and around, where before she had been broken, bleeding and comatose. A half dozen broken ribs, a shattered femur, and massive internal damage nearly all gone in less than a week. It really was impressive.

They found the girl in the small kitchenette, hobbling from one appliance to the other. A cake, two plates of brownies, and a sheet of cookies made themselves at home on the counter. Ami goggled at her friend. Here the girl was, barely healed, in need of another week of bed rest at least, and she appeared to be in a baking frenzy.

"Makoto, what do you think you're doing?" Rei demanded, cutting Ami's own enquiry off. The black-haired temple maiden stomped over to the taller girl and stared fiercely into her eyes.

Makoto shrugged sheepishly. "I just couldn't stand another moment in that bed."

Ami and Minako exchanged knowing looks, both of them leaning back to watch the spectacle unfold.

Kasumi had the day off, and was using it to the best of her ability. Laziness wasn't something she was prone to, but everyone needs a little break in the routine. A few boxes of bon-bons and a stack of cheesy romance movies were the woman's preferred activity of choice. So, when someone knocked on the door, she was reluctant to pull herself away from the television. A few moments of contemplating whether or not to answer it passed before she steeled herself and sat her second box of bon-bons aside.

A sip of lukewarm wine to clear the lingering taste of triple-chocolate fudge from her mouth, and Kasumi was at the door.

Ranma. He stood on the front porch in all his glory. A martial artist through and through, Kasumi could practically feel the vitality he exuded just by existing. Oh, he was so beautiful! She blushed at her own, slightly impure thoughts and said, "Ranma, it's nice to see you again. Won't you come in?" It took every ounce of willpower she could gather to keep her voice from breaking. She still felt the same nearly overpowering attraction to the man, even after all these years. If only she could have convinced him to stay with her…

She stepped back and smiled at Ranma. He was nervous, that was easy enough to discern, but there was an air of grim purpose about him to. At least her letter had gotten through. It was nice to see that he cared after so much time.

It'd been nearly a decade since Ranma had last seen Kasumi. It'd been during a school play Ami had participated in, and she'd seemed so happy, so full of life. Not much had changed as far as Ranma could tell. Kasumi had matured into an ageless beauty, much like his mother and his own cursed form.

He had to be led almost like a child into the living room of the home he'd helped to pay for, yet had never himself seen. Would he have ever gathered the courage to make the trip if Ami hadn't been in danger? He doubted it. A battle to the death, that Ranma Saotome could handle with ease. Emotional stuff was still largely beyond him. A product of his misspent youth, he thought with a mental chuckle.

Meaningless, though comforting pleasantries were exchanged, and over a half hour period the two…lovers, friends, whatever they were, filled in the missing details of each other's lives. Kasumi largely skipped over her short and failed marriage to a friend from college; focusing mainly on her career achievements and the academic honors their daughter had received. Ranma stuck to the tournaments and a few of the more harrowing adventures the last decade and a half had thrown at him.

Finally, impatient to understand the threat to Ami, Ranma asked, "The letter— you mentioned Ami was in danger?" And so Ranma became privy to a secret known by very, very few people.

"Whoa…" Minako breathed rapturously, a faint line of drool threatening to run down her chin. The girl couldn't help it. He was gorgeous, dreamy, hot, god-like… he was the perfect man!

Rei simply nodded in agreement. Her face was suffused by a bright pink blush that traveled to the very roots of her hair. The two girls had accompanied Ami to her house for a quick cram session before a major history test the next day. They hadn't expected to meet the very embodiment of masculinity sitting on Ami's sofa. Well, they hadn't exactly met him yet. He was currently asleep, but they certainly planned to meet him when he woke up. Maybe he was looking for a wife?

Ami could see what attracted her friends to the stranger. Sure, he was perfectly proportioned, handsome, and not too heavily muscled, but she preferred the scrawnier, intellectual type. Not that she didn't appreciate the view; he just wasn't her cup of tea. Now if she could only figure out why a strange man was asleep on the sofa in her living room, everything would once again be right with the world.

"I saw him first," Rei and Minako said simultaneously. They looked at one another, slight growls escaping their throats.

"Um, guys, he's old enough to be your father," Ami informed helpfully, hoping to stem the building storm of hormones. It didn't work.

"So? What does a couple decades matter when true love is at stake?" Minako demanded imperiously.

Rei was about to add her own opinion when Ami's mother walked into the room.

Kasumi saw the hungry looks in the eyes of Ami's friends and decided to nip that in the bud. She and Ranma had already decided to tell Ami the truth. Now was as good a time as any.

"Hello, Minako, Rei, would you like to stay for dinner? Ami's father is paying a visit, and I'm sure he would like to meet a couple of her friends," she offered, wincing internally in sympathy as she watched girlish hopes crumble before her very eyes.

All three young girls looked to Ranma, then back to Kasumi, then to Ranma, then Rei and Minako glanced to Ami. This cycle repeated for a minute.

"He's my father?" Ami finally asked disbelievingly. She knew her stepfather wasn't her real father— she had been four when her mother had met the man— but the subject of her real father seldom came to light. She knew it was a painful memory for her mother. Now, though, the woman seemed happy and not at all upset to see the man whom Ami had for so many years assumed was an evil bastard.

Kasumi nodded.

To be continued.

Author's Notes: Somehow my keyboard has started working again (YAY!!!) and since I haven't written anything in a while, here's something new. It's based off of an idea by RIFT120 on the Delphi forum, so blame it on him. I know that I've killed some canon stuff from SM, and altered Rei's behavior a little, but so what? I do stuff like that all the time, right? Well, I hope you enjoy this, at least the three or four more parts that I'll be able to get written before I shift to something else. C&C welcome at dark_phoneix@hotmail.com

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Last revision: May 21, 2007