Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha. The American rights are owned by DIC. Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan. The American rights are owned by Viz Communications.

Notes: This starts dark, then turns WAFFy. For the purpose of this story, all of the Inner Scouts attend Juuban High. I faithfully promise that Ranma will NOT become a Sailor Scout, nor be reincarnated from the Moon Kingdom as anyone important.

On the off chance that the reader is not familiar with them, a quick recap of the players:

• Ranma: Ranma
• Haruka: Sailor Uranus
• Michiru: Sailor Neptune
• Hotaru: Sailor Saturn
• Ami: Sailor Mercury
• Minako: Sailor Venus
• Usagi: Sailor Moon
• Mamoru: Tuxedo Mask
• Rei: Sailor Mars
• Makoto: Sailor Jupiter
• Setsuna: Sailor Pluto

As the two left, there was moment of silence as the rest absorbed the thought of Haruka giving her car to anyone, even Michiru. She grinned at them; "We brought two cars."

"Anyway, I do need your help. I have somehow found myself honor-bound to be the guardian of a sex-shifting, teen-aged martial-artist. One who will need a stick to beat off would-be suitors in either sex. A walking nail begging to be pounded down. And I'm sure that is just the beginning of the troubles; once I have time to think, I'm certain to think of others."

The silence deepened to stillness as the rest took in the problems facing her.

"Errr, can I help," Makoto Kino raised her hand, Haruka looked at her. "Suggesting some other problems you might want to think about."

"Ranma is about 15, right?"

The rest looked at Makoto, stunned that she had yet to mention that Ranma resembled her old boyfriend. Haruka nodded.

"When my parents died, I was broken up, but I had my friends and family around to help me. As near as I can figure, Ranma lost everything. The way of life he has known for two thirds of his life, gone. The only person who has been a constant in his life, gone. He didn't say, but I have a feeling that he ended up burying his father after he killed himself. Then he walked out from wherever he was and got here, he doesn't look as if he ever had the time to mourn."

Haruka closed her eyes, as Ami, who was sitting behind Usagi patted her on the back, then spoke, "Haruka-san. That isn't all, you saw what happened when he got wet. We have all grown up as girls; we knew what to expect socially and physically. As an example, he had never had her time."

The rest looked puzzled as they parsed the sentence, then their eyes widened as they exchanged glances.

Ami wasn't paying any attention, "I would doubt that he ever sat a modern health class — especially one for girls."

"Anyway there is something else, you heard him comment on being raised a MAN among men. Anyone want to bet that he grew up on comments like, 'don't be a girl', 'only girls cry', 'you are weak, just like a girl.' Looking around she could tell she wasn't about to win any sucker bets.

"This situation is probably one step beyond embarrassing to him, it must be mortifying. The fact that he is still going speaks wonders as to his strength."

Haruka sagged for an instant; then Usagi spoke up, using her Serenity voice. "Uranus, can we help you bear your load? The five of us attend Juuban High School, if you need help we can help keep an eye on Ranma at school."

"Thanks, but for now I'll watch him. I'll keep the offer in mind, but for right now, I could use any advice you could provide."

Rei just looked at Usagi/Serenity, "If I ever fall back into just thinking of her as an air headed twit, I want to make sure that I remember this," she thought to herself.

"What do you think, Setsuna?" The Senshi of Fire asked, looking around, "Humph, she disappeared, as usual. Just once, I'd like to have her hang around to give a straight answer, without the end of the universe being involved."

The six girls sat to make plans.

The next morning, Michiru sat sipping a cup alternately giggling as Haruka bounced from cupboard to cupboard— muttering comments as to just how much one teenaged boy can eat, and contemplating Haruka. Most people just saw her brash, intemperate side, but before they had drifted off to sleep, Hotaru had told her everything that the rest of the Sailor Scout had said, fretting that there was no way that she could ever successfully raise Ranma. Privately, Michiru thought it — Haruka's fretting — was a good sign.

Hotaru starred out the widow, entranced as this cousin of Papa's danced and flowed though a kata. She had seen the others do the martial arts exercises before, and it had looked so graceful and powerful, but what Ranma was doing, she shook her head in amazement.

A couple of minutes later, Ranma glided into to dining room rubbing his sweat dampened hair, smiled at Michiru and Haruka and looked at Hotaru then grinned. "You must be Hotaru, Michiru said I would meet you."

As Ranma proved, Michiru's buying the extra provisions to be a wise idea, he took in Hotaru's covert studying. "Saw you watching me out the window, do ya think I'm very good?"

She, who had missed the meeting the previous night, nodded at him, wide eyed.

"You should have seen me when I started, I was really bad. I practiced and got better and better. If you'd like, and these two say okay, I'll teach you a few moves."

Hotaru transferred a look as kawaii as every kitten ever born to her guardians; who looked at each other, sighed then nodded.

When Hotaru had left Haruka glared at Ranma. "I don't like being mousetrapped. Hotaru is delicate."

Ranma stood, "And you're worried that I will be too hard for her?"

He lifted his hands "See these?"

She nodded.

"They once punched through the hood of a moving car, pulled out the engine, grabbed and cradled a baby as I jumped away." Ranma chose a relatively normal situation from his past; somehow he doubted that throwing ki and using some of the secret Saotome family techniques he had seen his pop use and learned, would reassure his guardian. "Some drunk tried to plow through a crowd of people full speed, pulling the engine out was the easiest way to stop the car. He tried to take another car to get in, the baby was still In the that one so I returned the baby to his mom."

"What happened to the drunk?" Michiru asked.

"Turned him over to the police."

"Pity."

"A part of the code says that I gotta help those who are weaker than myself. I can see that Hotaru has great strength inside. However, weak as she is physically, she must be a target for her school friends teasing."

The two nodded.

Hotaru giggled slightly to herself, as, a bit later, she went into school, her classmates staring at her and the departing Ranma. Ranma had volunteered to take her on as a student and offered to walk her school.

She had thought that it would mean walking to school on the ground. And it had for a bit, then as she was beginning to feel a bit tired, he asked and taking her book bag had swung her onto his shoulder and resumed walking, Then he explained that one of the critical things that a martial artist needed was balance, so he jumped up to the top of a wall and just strolled along effortlessly as if they were on the ground.

Intersections were leapt over, without breaking stride and too soon they arrived at school. And he softly landed.

"Later, Hotaru-chan."

"Bye for now, brother" She had thought about it and decided that the term fit.

To be continued.

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007