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.

Makoto hurried up to the park wearing her exercise clothes. "I'm sure that Ranma must have been someone in the Moon Kingdom. Maybe my old boyfriend."

"Let's see, Ranma said that he saw a nice looking place on the other side of the hill from the pond." She looked around and stopped, as open-mouthed as the crowd of kids watching Ranma soar his way through an incredibly complex kata.

-On the other side of the same crowd

Soun also sat, watching as the dark-haired boy went though a series of moves the likes of which he hadn't seen since his training days. "Genma?"

The dark-haired boy paused mid-move to land next to a sick looking little girl. He went to one knee and applauded. "Great moves, Hotaru. Now try it again, lifting your left forearm higher and bending your knees more."

"Soun, it's your move. If you are going to insist on coming over to Juuban every day to play shogi, can we play already?"

"Okay, Yoma-kun. I hadn't realized that that was there." He looked at the Silver Queen attacking his Bishop.

"What were you looking at just now?"

"Nothing really, I just thought that I saw something that looked familiar, but I must have been wrong. No master of 'Anything Goes' would ever teach a woman, let alone a girl. The Master would never allow it."

His opponent snorted, "And here I thought that you were constantly bragging about Akane and how good she is."

"I trained her in Kempo, she picked up a few moves on her own, but I never taught her the whole system." His eyes widened, as he looked over Yoma-kun's head, "Look, the Tokyo Giant's blimp."

"What? Where?"

The shogi game continued.

Haruka growled as she studies the greater Tokyo phone directories, <Saotome Nodoka. Nope, not here.> She wiped her hands across her eyes, "I'm an idiot. Ami, of course."

She reached for the phone.

-On a grassy knoll a short distance away

"Tinker, are you sure that your gadget works?" The shorter women peered at the complex blend of electronics, machinery, and crystalline lattice that the older bespectacled man held in his hand

"Yes, Steward. I am quite sure you were there when I showed the Lady how well the 'gadget' picked up Silver Millennium energy. I know you were around when I showed Seneschal, Uranus reborn."

"Somewhere down there, is at least one of the Senshi." He pointed at the crowd.

"Is it the boy?"

"No," the reply was firm, allowing for no contradiction. "I scanned him when he grabbed Squire. He is fully human. I did detect some magic upon him, but compared to the magic of a Senshi, it is trifling."

-China

"Pant… pant… pant." Shampoo stood, hurt but alive, amid a pile of Musk, who were to her satisfaction hurt and dead.

Clap, Clap, Clap.

<Damn, why did he have to show up?>

"I will give you a part of the win, Shampoo," Herb called out to her, "I'll let you have the fat furry one. I get the other."

She considered the odds. Half of her party, including herself, were wounded. The surviving Musk warriors were slightly outnumbered, but Herb was unhurt. Also, they were already heading off in a ground eating pace.

"Hold, let them go. We have something we have to bring Elder Cologne." She gestured to her companions to lift the heaver of the two burdens that the Musk had died protected.

"A wise move, Amazon." The King of the Musk lift the burden away from his followers and hefted it on to one shoulder. As he did so, a part of the cloth that warped it, fell away and a shock of black hair and a male arm appeared. It seemed to move slightly then Herb turned and disappeared.

"Mousse, run ahead to the village and tell the elders that we are returning."

"Yes, my love."

"And quit calling me that." As the hidden weapons master ran off, Shampoo thought to herself. <At times, I almost wish that he had been able to defeat me. Certainly no else has even come as close as he has.>

-Back in the park

Hotaru blew back a strand of sweaty hair. <The way I feel right now, I'm tired, but the others… Wow!!!!>

Ranma had run each one of them through a set of exercises, standing there, arms folded across his chest as he watched. Then he started each on a different set of exercises. She could sense each one stressed the user almost to the limit but not to or beyond it.

She focused back as Sensei clapped his hands, "Okay, that's it. Lets cool down and then we'll go back to the house."

Soun looked at the sundial that decorated one end of the park, "Yoma, I'll have to be going now. I promised to escort Kasumi to her Kyudo. Day after tomorrow, same time?"

"Right."

As Soun walked off, he detoured to talk to the little girl, who was standing off to one side, watching the crowd surrounding the black-haired boy.

"Hello, I was watching you practice. Your sensei is good. Where does he teach?"

"Onii-san? Oh, he teaches here. Us."

"Your brother? No school?" Soun frowned, <I know that Nerima is a bit off, but if the dojo could get an instructor of his caliber. I've mourned my wife long enough. If only Genma would return with his son, so the boy could marry one of my daughters. If indeed they were still alive after disappearing for ten years.>

Suddenly aware that he had forgotten the Genma's heir's name, he frowned <Ataru, Tenchi or something?> He shrugged, it would come to him.

Seeming to recall her manners, she bowed. "I'm Hotaru Tomoe."

Soun bowed back, "Soun Tendo."

"Hotaru, we're heading back now, come on!" One of the other girls yelled to her

-Back at the Amazon Village, late that evening

Shampoo sat staring at the fire. Apparently Genma had somehow survived a stabbing and burial. Cologne believed that somehow the force of the burden he carried, as well as Genma's human and panda form alternating, had somehow kept him alive.

She shuddered.

If what had happened was living. Genma's mind was gone. All that he could say was: "Son Ranma Heir to Anything Goes no heir… Not marry Soun's… Child… Niece raise heir of my blood not heir of my school… Not a coward… Best solution… The scrolls gone."

Shampoo had her knife out ready to cut the throat of the poor insane person when Cologne struck the knife aside with her staff, "You heard, child?"

"I heard, babblings of crazy person."

"Anything Goes, Anything Goes. Happosai, revenge is sweet." The wizened old matriarch of the Amazons grinned a feral grin "Come girl, there is much we have to think about."

-Next day at the temple

Steward, bowed politely to Cherry and carrying the ofuda he placed into her hand, walked back to the car.

"The old man says that his daughter Rei made these. He claims that same type of these proved themselves against the Youma of the Dark Kingdom." She laughed. "I sounded duly impressed."

They laughed as Tinker studied the scroll, "Humph, it tickles." He held his hands around it, closed his eyes and concentrated for an instant. A black aura appeared between his hands. As the letters on the ofuda blazed, the aura changed to black flames then the ofuda vanished. "That was fun."

As the ofuda disappeared, both heads swiveled. "Tinker, can you feel it?"

"Yes, Steward." Tinker pulled on a crystalline monocle, "A Youma, of Dark kingdom vintage, unless I miss my guess."

She raised one eyebrow, "In some sort of stasis, poor thing.

He laughed, "And besides, you would see anything imprisoned that way."

"Even I can detect the moon magic from the temple. I think I even sense Chibi-Serenity there. You know as well as I that she will have to be set aside before we can achieve our vengeance. And yes, I am for freeing anything caught like that." she shuddered, "If the Lady hadn't kept our spirits up. even Seneschal would have given up."

He patted her on the back, "And if the Youma slays the princess?"

"Then she is too weak for us to pledge ourselves to… afterwards."

"Do you think we will be able to?"

"The queen stood for Justice. After we have ours, I'm sure she'll agree that we were in the right."

She raised one hand and was rewarded with a slight growl.

Luna who had been laying in the sun, sleeping, heard the same growl as she came suddenly awake. "A Youma? No, Beryl and her lot are long gone." She rolled over and went back to sleep, Then raised her head and blanched as much as a black-furred cat could, then quickly jumped to one side as the clawed feet of a Youma smashed down where she was.

As the girls changed into exercise clothes, Rei poked her head into the room, "That was Ami. She is running late and will be here in about a half an hour. Darn, and Minako and her folks took off to the beach for the day, I was hoping that all of the Senshi could get together and do this."

There was a sudden growl in the courtyard followed by a screech.

"Luna," Usagi gasped.

"Ranma," the rest gasped as they went through the unfortunate line of thought that their "hobby" lead toward. <One or more Senshi, plus mysterious happens, equals trouble.> The girls grabbed their henshin pens and bolted toward the courtyard.

Saying, "Get away, Ranma. We can deal with it", Usagi reached for her henshin pen. Then, like the rest stopped, gasping with astonishment at the scene before her. Ranma was walking on all fours circling the Youma. Who was not acting like a typical monster, that is to say attempting to either rip Ranma limb from limb and steal his soul gem or steal the soul gem first, then rip Ranma to pieces.

Instead, it stood there looking nervous as the growling boy circled it. Then it struck with a force that would have broken bones. Ranma lightly leapt to one side and hissed, then raised a hand, and swung downward. The Youma reeled back, a row of parallel gashes ripped into its side.

"Boy, if Devil Hunter Yukio were real and saw this, she'd freak." Rei muttered.

"To say nothing of her manager." This was from Hotaru

Usagi called out, "We've got to do something."

Rei settled back to watch. "We are. We are watching a Youma get its tail kicked."

"And we're at a safe distance, and nothing hurts." Makoto sat down to watch as well.

"GUUUYYYSSS!!!!!" Usagi stomped her feet. "We've got to save Ranma."

"It's too late."

Usagi turned back to the fight. Sure enough, the head of the Youma slid one way as its body slid the other."

"Right, way to go, Ranma-kun." Makoto jumped up and down in her excitement.

"Ranma. Uh, Ranma." Hotaru waved her hand in front of Ranma "Help." She eeeped in a very small voice as Ranma-neko looked at her.

To be continued.

Ranma stood staring at Hotaru, then jumped onto her.

As she screamed, the others almost used the henshin pens but held off, staring in astonishment.

"He's purring."

Author's notes: In the next section, you will see more about the Tendos, see why Ami was late, and also see Ryoga and Gypsy once again

--JML
jmlotzn1@pacbell.net

Webmaster: Larry F
Last revision: May 21, 2007