I would like to thank Ghost in the Machine for pre-reading this chapter with his trusty baseball bat and microscope.

Constructive criticism always welcome.

Boldly going where others had gone before and meekly going where few have been.

I don't own any of these characters or situations, this is done purely for fun. As always the spelling errors are mine, as are the grammar mistakes.

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Juuban part 16

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Somewhere outside of space and time...

"The whole solar system is moving toward an area of space where there is a..."

"... it was not detected, because the particles are so dark, they absorb light..."

"... passing through, a critical percentage of the energy from the Sun would be blocked ..."

"... the temperature would quickly drop to a point where..."

"... and after the world freezes, you would..."

"... and establish Crystal Tokyo."

The group was transfixed by the revelations of Pluto. The freezing of the Earth would doom billions of people and assure Crystal Tokyo - at least as Pluto envisioned it.

"How can something like that get so close to the Solar System without anyone noticing it?" Jupiter asked.

"The cloud is made up of a type of dark matter," Pluto answered in an controlled voice.

"What is dark matter?"

"Dark matter," Mercury answered, " is a... general term used to describe matter is the universe that cannot be seen."

"Correct," Pluto confirmed.

Mercury whipping out her computer did a quick search.

"According to the computer," Mercury continued, "there are two possible types of dark matter. One is called MACHOs - that stands for MAssive Halo Objects, guys. And the other is called, get this, WIMPS - that means Weakly Interactive Massive Particles."

"And...?" Venus prodded.

"There is a third type," Pluto interjected. "It interacts as weakly, as weakly with normal matter as WIMPS, but over a certain - concentration - it can effect light. So invisible are these objects that it is impossible to detect them with the tools available today - even when they are between the Earth and Sun. The only indication for observers on Earth of what would be happening is an apparent decrease in the Sun's output."

"What would happen if we prevent this?" Mercury asked.

Pluto shifted uncomfortably, "The Moon Kingdom would be re-established - only about five to six hundred years later."

"Why in the hell," Moon stated firmly, "didn't you say anything about this. This is worse that the Negaverse, Galaxia, and the Protector's combined."

"There's nothing we could have done to stop it..." Pluto said lamely.

"What do you mean nothing we could have done? Sun could probably stop it, right?" Moon said tartly while thumbing to said Senshi.

Sun remained silent in uncertainty.

"But," Pluto hesitated, "I wasn't planning or counting on having Sun here to help. If it wasn't for the Protectors', I would not even have bothered..."

"Bothered to try and trap her in the Protectors universe as she destroyed it?" Moon pointed out.

Pluto's mouth opened to say something, but whatever it was, died.

"And you thought this was alright?!" Sailor Moon screamed at Pluto. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I was trying..." Pluto began.

"I don't want to hear it!" Moon shrieked.

Moon stood there, surrounded by her Scouts, shaking in anger. All was quiet except for her labored breathing.

Moon rounded suddenly on Sun, "You can stop this." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yes ma'am," Sun responded immediately and without thought. Then her brain caught up with her mouth, "I mean... I think. What would be the best way to deal with this? I mean, how should I deal with... a cloud of invisible matter?"

The other scouts looked at one another, except for Pluto who stood by the Gates like a statue and Mercury who was typing frantically into her computer.

"The best way," Mercury said, while reading off something on her screen. "Would be to disperse the cloud enough so when the solar system passes through, the amount of light being filtered out is negligible."

"How about if I... oh, never mind, bringing it together in one spot would be bad," Sun thought out loud.

"Why not?" Mars asked. "It seems to me that it would be easier."

"Easier, yes," Mercury agreed. "But it may disrupt the gravitational balance in this part of the galaxy too much and beside that, turning it into a large massive object would be just as dangerous."

"Can you do it?" Moon asked Sun again.

"Yes. I can," Sun answered.

"Do it. Now."

"Wait..." Pluto interrupted as Sun called her sword up, "if you interfere, Chiba-Usa may never be born."

The room descended into a heavy silence as Moon looked at Pluto, deep in thought, before answering, "If... sacrificing my future born daughter... prevents the deaths of billions of people... then I am willing to do that."

Moon turned to Sun. "Go."

Sun nodded and was off.

------------------

Sun soon found herself in familiar and comfortable surroundings: space.

She stretched her senses to find the object or objects of her mission. The large interstellar cloud of dark particles, unlike gas clouds that reflect and defuse light brightly, was invisible for all practical purposes. To aide in its invisibility, it approached the Solar System opposite the galactic center, coming from a relatively empty area of space. A combination of circumstances that lessened the chances of it ever being detected.

So invisible the cloud was, Sailor Sun couldn't really see it even when she was literally in the middle of it. She instead detected as a slight increase of mass in the fabric of space.

Seeking out the path that the solar system would pass through the cloud, Sun maneuvered herself within its relative line of travel. There she made her way into the cloud dispersing the particles enough so by the time the Earth arrived, it would pass through harmlessly. In spite of the vastness of the cloud, it didn't take long for her to deal with this threat.

Twenty five minutes later, Sun was back at the Gates of Time.

"I took care of it," Sun said as she sealed the way behind her.

"Good," Moon responded.

"Now what do we do?" Jupiter asked.

Each girl contemplated the question for the briefest of moments before the room exploded with chatter as each girl tried to suggest what they thought at the same time. Some voices were getting louder in an effort to be heard, others paired off into side conversations, ignored their surroundings.

Sailor Moon somehow brought the room into order, "We protect the Earth until the Moon Kingdom rises - then we'll see."

Pluto was strangely quiet during the inopportune brainstorming session. She stood near the Gates, eyeing Sun. Returning the look with a raised eyebrow, Sun strolled over directly in front of Pluto.

"You don't trust me?" Sun asked Pluto coldly.

"No... I don't," came the stern reply. "I don't trust you because there is nothing to keep you check. You are... too powerful to be trusted."

"Pluto," Venus exclaimed. "You are in no position to say that about Sun, especially after what you tried to pull."

"I was doing what I thought was best with the situation at the time," Pluto said defensively. "I have been working by myself for thousands of years, you have no right to judge me!"

"Yet you decided to judge Sun," Moon stated.

Pluto's anger and frustration flared inside her. Her emotions, long held in check, rushed to the surface.

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" she snapped as the group of girls took an involuntary step back.

"I watched over and protected this Earth over the millenniums while waiting for you to be reborn! And I had to do it alone, by myself - do you have any concept of how... overpowering lonely I was? Do you know what its like to... to... have to watch and never be a part of humanity? Do you? Do you?!"

The Scouts, shocked by Pluto's emotional outburst, stood in stunned silence.

"I saw... a chance to shorten the time... and I took it," Pluto said quietly, head bowed and breathing raggedly. She then raised her head and looked at the Senshi in the eyes, "Wouldn't you?"

"But the cost is too high," Moon said. "Especially if we can prevent it."

"And what are we going to do about the next major threat?" Pluto asked while eyeing Sun.

"Do you know for sure that Sun is a threat?" Mars asked pointedly.

"I can't see what see does or doesn't do, so - no -I can't truly answer that, "Pluto said quietly. "But - throughout history I've seen power corrupt and control the very people that suppose to control it. I said it before 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' - and there is no greater example of absolute power than Sailor Sun."

All was quiet.

"For what it's worth Pluto, I understand why you think the way you do," Sun spoke, breaking the silence.

"You do?" Pluto responded in genuine surprise mixed with suspicion.

"Yes," Sun confirmed while shrugging her shoulders. "I can understand why you feel the way you do. You explained what you witnessed over the course of history and... you're right. Someone with as much power as I have shouldn't be allowed to exist. Why I was made so... ridiculously powerful is beyond me."

The other Scouts in the room looked at Sun as if she grown another head. Knowing how Ranma's life had been and what she had been though, it wouldn't be entirely unexpected.

"Wh... what do you mean?" Venus asked.

"I meant what I said," Sun stated. "I understand where Pluto coming from... and... I forgive her. I understand why she would be afraid. If I were her, I would be afraid too."

A pin could be heard if it dropped, if one was available.

Sun sighed, "Look guys, I was angry at her until I started thinking about... someone like me. How would you control someone like me? How would you deal with a threat as big as me?"

"Sun... Ranma... you're not a threat. I know you wouldn't do anything amoral," Moon said assuredly.

"How do you know? You know next to nothing about me and if I started to go bad, how would you stop me? Would there be any way to stop me?"

The others looked at one another, seriously thinking the question over before returning their gaze on Sun. Sun could swear she could hear her heart beating. Moon glided up to her, placed a hand on each of her shoulders, drawing Sun's eyes into hers.

"I believe in you," Moon stated softly.

Though Sun was comforted by the reassurance that washed over her from Moon, but self doubt reared its head and she replied just as softly, "I wished I could believe in myself."

Moon embraced Sun in a gentle hug, which Sun returned hesitantly. All was quiet for a moment.

"Is there anyway for Pluto to keep tabs on Sun?" Mercury suggested. "Would that help alleviate any of your fears?"

"Yes, I would feel better about it," Pluto said while nodding. "If I could see what she does in the future, but she was made to evade all forms of detection. There is no way for me to use the Gates to track Sun.."

Sun, still being held by Moon was furrowing her brow, trying to remember of something. "A dream... a balcony... a test. Flying in the air... no before that, what? He handed me something... what was it? Where did he get it? Where did he...Yes!... I think I know!"

"There's a way, I think," Sun whispered quietly, but loud enough for all to hear.

Moon, who was still holding Sun, leaned back to see her face, "Really?"

"Yes..." Sun nodded while looking about the faces of the others, "I think so. Let me check something."

Sun stepped back and disengaging herself from Moon. She summoned her sword and cut a path to parts unknown and disappeared.

"Where'd the heck she go now?" Mars asked, slightly irritated.

---------------

The Moon.

Its gray, colorless surface contrasted to the palace, still impressive even in ruins.

Underneath the ruins of the palace, Sun using her feelings more than her memories, was digging through the rubble that once was a lab. She hoped it was The Lab. Time and decay had played their part and she was not very sure about where in the sub-basements of the palace she was. She hated relying on her half forgotten dreams and memories for guidance, but it was all she had at this point and she just had to make do.

Examining her surroundings, Sun had a fairly good... idea, if you could call it that, where she was and what she was looking for. There were a few signs she was in the right area, but half forgotten dreams didn't exactly inspire confidence. Oversize equipment, like the insides of some giant radio tubes from the nineteen forties, dominated one wall. Between the giant tubes were clear cylinders, big enough for a human being to be encased in was connected by the remnants of copper-like tubing that ran up through to the ceiling.

There were twelve of them.

Sun trembled as if she was cold.

"I feel like I'm in a cemetery or a forgotten shrine or something," she thought as the place gave her the creeps.

For an instant her imagination, or was it memory, ran away with her. Phantom shapes moved among the equipment and around the room. She could almost feel the place throb with hidden energies, swirling into the tubes.

The tubes.

"Infusion tubes, " Ranma thought. "That's what they are. This is where I was, where we were... made."

That stirred a thought that Sun decided to ignored for the moment as she returned to the task at hand. Forgetting the equipment and her feelings about them, Sun moved around the room searching one cubby hole to the next.

"It has to be around here somewhere," she thought to herself.

She moved the rubble that had laid undisturbed for thousands of years, lifting, moving and examining everything that caught her interest. There was much moon dust that had worked its way into the depths of the palace, that she was kicking up plumes of it in her search. So much so, that it got in the way at times.

"Where is it?" She thought frantically, fearing the feelings and vague memories would escape before she could capitalize on them.

She searched under the larger chunks, shifted the smaller bits and raked her fingers through the lunar dust that coated the floor, in some places thickly. She continued on and didn't stop to take in anymore of her surroundings as she concentrated and hoped her search would bear fruit. She was about to move onto another room when a familiar object caught her eye, half buried in the Lunar dust. Scrambling for it, she grabbed and held it up in triumph.

An object from a dream.

A bracelet. A very nondescript bracelet.

-----------------

"Let's try this," Sun said as she reentered the Gates.

"What is it?" Mercury asked.

"If I recall my dreams correctly," Sun said as she sealed the rift behind her, "it is a tracking and recording instrument."

She approached the group and held the simple bracelet before her.

"I am not sure how it works, but I am pretty sure that the Gates of Time should be able to 'tune' in to it."

"Let's see," Mercury said as she held out a hand. Sun passed the object onto Mercury as Mercury brought out her computer. The other girls gathered around.

"Where did you find it?" Jupiter asked.

"It was buried in the ruins of the lab," Sun answered.

"Lab?" Jupiter and Venus asked simultaneously.

"Yes. The lab under the palace. Well, one of the labs. Where we, ah, were... created," Sun said, the last softly.

The group stopped examining the ancient artifact and stared as one at Sun. Sun for her part was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to really notice. Sun had one hand out and was ticking off each finger as she was mentally counting something. Mercury quickly returned to scanning the bracelet, narrowing down how it functioned.

"I think she's right," Mercury said while turning the object around in her hand while hole her computer with the other. "According to the records on file this was, or is, a space/time tracker. It has a whole lot of specs here I don't really understand, but it should work as Sun said."

Turning the bracelet over with her free hand, Mercury studied it closely.

"How do you put it on?" she asked as she realized that the bracelet had no seams or latch and would be too snug to fit over Sun's hand.

Sun reached with her hand, taking the bracelet back. With a move that displayed both practice and unconscious effort, she snapped the bracelet around her left wrist. She held it up for all to see.

Mercury scanned the bracelet and announced, "Yes. My scan shows that something is happening.... no, wait. It dropped off - I'm not getting anything anymore. Pluto see if you can see anything."

Pluto used her staff and directed her attention to the Gates of Time. The image coming through the Gates was soft and out of focused. Pluto made an adjustment with her staff, the pictured sharpened to reveal Sun standing among the other Scouts in the room. The image came from a third point of view and not from the angle that the bracelet was being worn.

"How can that be?" Mercury exclaimed as she noticed the picture. She then moved around the room until her line of sight matched the image from the Gates.

"The picture is coming from here, but you're over there," she said while pointing to Sun. Sun just shrugged her shoulders.

"I know how to wear it - not how it works," was Sun's reply to Mercury's confusion.

Turning her attention to Pluto, "Does this help?"

Pluto nodded slightly, "A little. But there is still the matter of how are we going to keep you in check."

"How do the rest of you keep each other in check?" Sun asked.

The girls looked at one another.

"We... really don't. We... just do what's right... for love and justice," Moon said.

"Love... and... justice," Sun echoed quietly.

Sun thought about this deeply before asking, "What is moral? Or, what do you consider moral?"

"What do you mean?" asked Uranus, after staying in the background with Neptune and Saturn.

"I mean what code of ethics do we follow? How do we morally apply our power? What rules do you use as a guide?" Sun rattled off.

"Sun... Ranma," Mercury started, herself groping for words. "We don't really have a 'code' per say. We protect this world from evil, like the Negaverse... we follow what's in our hearts."

Sun blinked at that.

"Our hearts?"

"Love and justice are not just words, they mean something and we carry that meaning in our hearts," Moon said. 'It's in your heart too. I'm sure of it, or you wouldn't be feeling so much pain from yesterday."

Sun blanched a little from the reminder of previous days events. After a moment of silence she asked, "So, what do we do?"

Moon looked at her Senshi before answering, "We will protect this world from any threats. There is a lot we could do to help move the world along to a more peaceful path..." shooting a look at Pluto, "and even more we shouldn't do."

"She was doing what she thought was right," Sun said in Pluto's defense.

"Yes, that's true," Moon agreed. "But she is not in a situation that is... healthy for her, and we must do what we can to help her."

"I don't know..." Pluto began before lapsing into silence.

"Is there anyway for you to monitor the Gates when you're not here?" Mercury prompted.

Pluto though before answering, "Yes. There are many ways to monitor the Gates remotely. I rarely do because... I fear something might happen."

"Paranoid? Lonely?" Mercury sighed. "Those are not good things to carry around."

"And you have us," Neptune interject as she indicated the others in the room. "There is no reason to keep yourself apart from us."

"I don't know...," Pluto began, uncertain.

"Your going to have to do something," Mars said.

"Could you at least try?" Moon said. "At least try to join the rest of the human race."

"I..." Pluto began before falling under the attack of Usagi's puppy dog eyes of persuasion. She sighed and wilted. "Okay. I'll try."

Which, of course, was followed by a patented Usagi's Super Glomp.

------------------

Ranma said a quiet goodbye to Ami and Usagi as they separated at the intersection that lead to her home. It had been a long evening and Ranma felt bad in a way. It was cool enough that her breath showed when she breathed. She felt tired and worn.

She fingered the new addition around her left wrist with her right hand absently as she walked home. She noticed the night sky, looking at the stars that managed to shine through the urban haze that always hovered over the city.

She was relieved that what could have been a disaster turned into a productive meeting.

Unlocking the door, Ranma entered the restaurant that was her home. The dimly lit dinning room greeted her...

... and Michiko.

Ranma blinked a few times before saying anything.

"Ah... sis?" Ranma asked nervously. "What's, ah, up?".

"Just... worried about you and thought I would wait up for you," Michiko said pensively. "Are you okay?"

Ranma stared at Michiko for what seemed like a long moment before answering.

"I'm better. I can't say that I'm fine... but I'm better. I went up to the temple on the hill and... talked to the shrine maiden there." Ranma didn't like to lie, so she bent the truth a bit.

Michiko smiled warmly, "Do you feel better for it?"

Ranma nodded slowly before answering.

"A little," she answered. "Yesterday was just... too much," she finished with a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Michiko said softly. "Granny told me... told me what happened. I just want you to know if you need anything, I'll be happy to help you."

Ranma looked into the hazel eye of Michiko and felt the same calmness she did when she looked into Akiko's eyes.

"Thanks, sis," she worked out with a trace of a smile. "That really means a lot to me."

As late as it was, the two girls chatted softly as they headed upstairs.

------------------

Ranma woke what was very late for her the next morning, still stiff and sore from the weekend. The weekend. How two days could seem like two months she'd never know. As she sat up in her futon, she still felt tired and fatigued by her ordeals. Waitressing, battling the Protectors, wrestling with her feelings of guilt and then dealing with Pluto - all within the last forty-eight hours. A busy, emotional and physically draining weekend.

At least in school she could relax a bit. No, wait. She wanted to meet with the guidance counselor about ideas on what she should do with her life.

Sigh.

"No nightmares at least, thank god," she thought as she stretched her arms outward.

Ranma stretched and rolled up her futon. Not in the mood, she forgone her usual practice session and took a quick bath before padding downstairs. Akiko was up as usual, putting around the downstairs.

"Good morning, Granny," Ranma called out.

"Good morning, Ranma. Did you sleep well?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah - I mean yes, thank you," Ranma answered. "No dreams... no nightmares."

Akiko regarded Ranma for the briefest of instants before stating, "The school is closed for the day due to what happened. I've decided to keep the restaurant closed for the day as well. After this past weekend, I feel everyone needs a break."

"Yeah... I mean, that is, yes. That would be great." Ranma replied.

"I think you should look at the morning newspaper," Akiko said with a hint of nervousness while waving a hand toward a table. "I don't think it's really anything to worry about, but you should be aware of what's going on."

Ranma walked up to the indicated table with the thick newspaper atop it.

'Government to Investigate Senshi' the headline practically screamed. Other sub-headlines were 'Heroes or Threats?' and 'Sailor Scouts: Government Cover-up?'.

Not a good way to start the day.

"Crap," Ranma said flatly.

"Language," Akiko gently chided.

"Sorry Granny," Ranma said sheepishly. "But... aw, pooh - what I'm I going to do?"

"I would think not much. After all no one knows who you are... I wouldn't worry too much unless you get careless. I pointed it out because you should be aware of it."

Ranma thought about that. Akiko was right. If she didn't do anything really stupid, she shouldn't worry about it. After all, there was nothing to connect her to the Senshi.

---------------------

Time passed...

Ranma was seventeen now...

Chiyo, Michiko and Ami took Ranma out to do a little shopping on her birthday. she picked up a few silk shirts and pants that she favored and, at Michiko's insistence, a nice thigh length, charcoal colored skirt. Outside her Senshi uniform, Ranma never cared for skirts. She had to admit however, that this one did show off her legs well.

As Ranma discovered as she opened the door to her home and entered followed by her sister and friends.

"SURPRISE!" The room exploded.

"EEEK!" Ranma shrieked and jumped straight up.

The room fell into silence as everyone in the room froze and looked upon Ranma as she clung to the rafters of the ceiling. Ranma blink-blinked at the crowd below as they did the same to her. The tableau lasted all of thirty seconds before laughter invaded the room.

A slightly embarrassed Ranma dropped to the floor and joined in the feeling that permeated the room by giggling at her own reaction. Surrounded by her friends and family, she realized what was happening.

A party.

A birthday party...

... complete with uncle Shojo's karaoke machine.

For her.

All her friends and family were there to celebrate it with her.

Growing up with Genma, Ranma never celebrated anything. She didn't even partake any festival or celebration. Instead of seven-five-three festival, Ranma got cat fist training, instead of New Year's, Ranma got dragged from one dojo to another. Instead of a birthday, Ranma got sold to another fiance for food or whatever caught Genma's fancy at the time.

The surprise birthday party was emotionally overwhelming for her. So much that it was the first time in her life she remembered crying because she was happy.

----------------------

Time passed...

Ranma was pleased how well the Scouts had integrated with the friends she already had and not displaced anyone already close to her. This was important to Ranma. Not having any real friends before coming to Juuban she desired to keep any she did have.

Rei was still a pain and sometimes, between the two of them, they would amuse the others with their antics. Ranma only barely caught something about the way it reminded them of how Rei used to act toward Usagi. Of course, whenever she asked Usagi or Rei, they would claimed not to know what the others were talking about.

Ranma often wondered herself, but when she did asked any of the others, she wouldn't get any real answers. Mainly because of the giggles the subject seem to spawn.

Early one December morning, Ranma, Rei, Michiko, Usagi, Makoto and Minako were walking toward the arcade for some warm drinks. Winter was firmly in place as the thin layer of fresh snow that covered the sidewalk crunched underfoot with each step. The sky was dominated by the gray of winter as the procession made their way down the avenue.

It had been an interesting morning as Ranma demonstrated part of her morning routine to her friends in the courtyard of the Cherry Hill Shrine. It became more interesting as Rei attempted to do some of the simpler katas that Ranma performed - on a dare.

She was still limping from her effort.

Rei's grumbling is what lead herself and Ranma becoming involved in what was becoming a 'typical discussion' for the pair.

"Why are you such a pain?" Ranma asked as she walked beside the raven haired girl. With each breath she was sending fog into the air. "I went easy on you, it's not like I went all out or anything."

"A pain?!" Rei griped loudly. "I'm in pain! I'm not the one who thinks doing katas for hours in the freezing cold is a fun way to 'spend a morning'."

Rei vowed to herself never to do anything this stupid on a dare again.

Michiko and Makoto, who were directly behind the arguing pair, rolled their eyes along with Minako, Usagi and Ami who were behind them.

"It wasn't even one hour, not hours and you wouldn't be complaining if you weren't so out of shape," Ranma stated flatly.

"Out of shape! There's nothing wrong with me! I'm in fine shape," Rei groused loudly.

Ranma snorted and muttered, "Yeah, right."

Rei fumed as she took a side long glance at the redhead. With a sly grin, she shot out while motioning to Ranma's ample bust, "The only reason you're so strong is that you carry all that extra weight with you all the time."

Ranma looked stunned for a second before her eyes narrowed, "You're just jealous because you're built like a brick..."

"Whaaat," Rei shrieked. "I'm not -", she began her retort, only to be cut off as Ranma continued.

"... and not to mention flat as a board."

"Grrrr... Listen you over endowed bimbo ...," Rei grounded out.

"Bimbo!" Ranma shrieked in indignation, sounding not too unlike Rei seconds before. She stopped and faced her irritating friend, with hands on hips.

"I maybe many things, but a bimbo is not one of them!" Ranma declared.

"Only a bimbo would try to scam free treats like so," Rei said with sugary sweetness dripping from her voice, clasping her hands together by her cheek, widening her eyes in puppy-dog mode and batting them.

All in all, a very good imitation of Ranma.

Ranma had the decency to look embarrassed. Blushing and stammering, "I, ah... I... ah... ju... just because I can scam a few boys doesn't mean..."

"Well you surely dress like one," Rei added smugly, feeling like she had the upper hand. "If that sweater were any tighter, you'd be wearing it on the inside."

Ranma's mouth gapped open before a smile crossed her lips.

"It just looks good on me," Ranma tittered while striking a pose that accentuated her figure, causing a young man across the street to walk into a light pole. "It was a birthday present from Tamami and I fill it out..."

Rei snorted as Ranma continued, still tittering.

"... unlike a certain uncute shrine maiden who can cuss like a sailor..."

"Uncute!" Rei roared.

Makoto turned to the girls behind her while Ranma and Rei continued their verbal spar.

"Do they remind you of anyone?" she asked Usagi.

Looking at the spectacle before her, Usagi always wondered why the others asked her that every time Ranma and Rei got into it. Never the less, she pondered the question before answering, "No. No one in particular."

The words, "macho" and "floozie" were exchanged at that point, as Mounts Ranma and Rei threatened to blow.

Makoto whispered a quick explanation into Michiko's ear. Michiko grinned at the summary of events while eyeing Usagi and began giggling. Usagi's eye twitched subtly.

"Are you sure?" Ami asked Usagi, smiling all the while.

Usagi's brow furrowed in thought before she shook her head, sending her hair flying as she did so. More words in the background, "patron saint of tomboys" and "bimbo-zilla" flew by.

"I think they like each other, or they wouldn't be arguing so," Ami added as Usagi's eyebrow twitched some more as she caught on - vaguely.

Any further conversation was interrupted by two loud "nyaah's". Ranma and Rei, almost nose to nose, giving each other 'raspberries'. Ranma adding two of her fingers on each side of her mouth, stretching it sideways while sticking her tongue out. Rei, her tongue out also, pulled down one eyelid with a finger. Both girls held that pose for a few seconds...

... looked at each other in the eyes,...

... blinked,...

... and burst into a fit of giggles.

Overall, a pretty good morning.

--------------

Makoto was inspired. Soon after the demonstration, she practically begged Ranma to teach her some of her moves.

Ranma tested Makoto's skill level.

"What martial arts background do you have?' Ranma asked.

"I know karate, Makoto replied.

"Okay, let's see how good you are."

After a short sparing session Ranma sat down where Makoto was already sitting, after being thrown. Leaning with her back against the wall, Ranma began her discussion on Makoto's abilities.

"I can tell a guy taught you how to fight," Ranma commented after the sparing match.

"How?"

"The way you handle yourself in a fight. Women have different capabilities than men do. Believe me I have first hand experience in the differences," Ranma explained. "Trying to fight like a guy when you're a girl isn't a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, guys are bigger and stronger than women - not to mention demons, Chinese Dragon Princes, Protectors or any other assorted weirdness."

Ranma took a breath before continuing.

"That means, unless you've had a lot of strength training, you shouldn't block. Guys can take hits that will bring a girl down. Girls have a bit more agility, so concentrate on dodging. Also you tend to focus on kicking, which many male instructors teach their female students. It seems natural since your legs are stronger than your arms, but most combat will probably take place in closer quarters."

Makoto nodded.

"This is good if your attacker is within your kicking range," Ranma paused. "If our sparring match is any indication, if an attacker gets inside, too close for you to use kicks, you limit yourself by the number of moves that you have."

"What should I do?" Makoto asked.

"We need to build your strength up," Ranma said firmly. "More than it already has. This will help you deal with taking a hit if it comes to that - also we'll work on the strength of your hands. "

"My hands?" Makoto asked while looking questionably at said appendages.

Ranma nodded.

"You'll be surprised how strong hands comes in handy for pinching a nerve or poking a pressure point. Also striking with strong fingers can do much more damage than a fist."

"Can you train me? Or at least help me improve on what I know?" Makoto asked.

"Sure," Ranma replied happily. Then, while rubbing her chin in thought, added with a touch of mirth, "To really bring you up to speed though, I might have to toss you into a pit of starving cats wrapped in fish sausage."

"Ah... ah... ah..." Makoto said while starting to big sweat.

Ranma stared at the frozen girl before giggling.

"I'm joking!" Ranma said, breaking Makoto from her thoughts of hungry felines.

"Let's start with something simple," Ranma said while standing. "This is a kata that I first learned when I was seven. You start with..."

Time passed...

So every morning since then, Makoto would show up early at the restaurant before school, help rearrange the dining room and Ranma would teach her martial arts. It was a challenge for Ranma, learning how to teach and not use the insane methods that Genma used. Ranma started with working on Makoto's balance and speed.

"No, not like that. Like this," Ranma said as she corrected Makoto's stance.

Makoto followed Ranma's lead.

"You see, this way you can defend yourself if your attacker comes in low, like at your gut, or you can make it offensive if he comes in high," Ranma explained.

Makoto asked, "What if the guy is too big to block in this stance?"

"Then you use speed to dodge and outflank him, like so."

Makoto moved in the way indicated.

"You would have to be pretty fast to do that," she stated.

"Yup. But it is possible, like so." Ranma blurred.

"Wow. How did you do that?" Makoto asked after reeling her jaw in.

"Practice. Training. Then more practice and training," Ranma said with a smile.

"It's something called 'Chestnuts Roasting On a Open Fire'. I can teach it without the fire though - I learned it by pulling fish out of a fish tank without getting wet. It will take awhile for you to build up the speed and you'll have to build up your ki to help you. This will take awhile, but in the meantime it is a great exercise to help you develop speed and ki. Interested?"

Makoto nodded in affirmation as she followed the redhead.

-----------------

Time passed...

Ranma talked with Haruka and Michiru. Setsuna took Hotaru out for a while affording the girls some privacy to talk. It was awkward for the first twenty minutes, but after that they all started to relax.

After talking for about an hour and a half, they decided to leave the past where it was for the time being. They all left it open ended though. If their memories returned to a point that things changed - then they'd see what happens.

Ranma was a little saddened by this for some reason that she didn't really understand. But in the end, thought that perhaps it was best to let the past be left in the past.

---------------

Time passed...

Two a.m. on the roof of Ranma's home.

Happosai decided to pay a visit. The only thing that Ranma objected to was the lateness of the hour.

"Okay. Talk," Ranma said while crossing her arms under her breasts. The Grandmaster of Anything goes looked nervously around him in the dim light. Ranma was at ease, she detected no one else on the or any of the surrounding rooftops. They were alone.

"Yes. well.... you see...," Happosai stuttered.

Ranma raised an eyebrow and continued her examination of the diminutive martial artist master.

"Yes-s?" Ranma drawled out.

"I think we've found a way to satisfy your - request," Happosai said worriedly.

"Oh?" Ranma answered while raising the other eyebrow.

"Yes, you see we've adapted a variation of the..." and Happosai continued his lengthy explanation of how the Anything goes school proposal to change the testing requirements for its possible masters.

Later...

"It's sounds pretty complicated... are you sure there is nothing easier?" Ranma yawned.

Happosai eyed Ranma and snorted, "You got any helpful suggestions?"

Ranma thought for a moment before replying.

"Er... no. No, not really," Ranma admitted.

"Then we're in agreement?" Happosai asked hopefully.

Ranma thought a moment before concluding, "Oh, what the hell."

"Okay... but no funny stuff. Got it?" Ranma said sternly while wagging a finger toward the smaller person.

Happosai nodded quickly and enthusiastically. "No funny stuff, gotcha. Um, can we have the library back now, please?" he asked.

"Yes," Ranma said tiredly while yawning again. "Why do all these conversations always seem to happen in the middle of the night?" she thought.

"Two days from now. The same roof top as last time - say about say 11:30 at night," she then added.

"Great. We'll see you there. One question," Happosai looked at Ranma in the dim light of the rooftop. "How did you manage to do what you did? We talked about it and haven't been able to figure it out."

Ranma gave Happosai a guarded look before answering.

"I can't tell you. If it was just me - it would be different, but other people are involved and I can't say anything. I promised."

Happosai looked at the young women and sighed.

"Okay. It's fine with me. You have always been good at trying to keep your promises unlike some people I know. I won't ask again."

Ranma nodded as she yawned from the lateness of the night.

"Anything else?"

Happosai shook his head.

"Okay then. I'll see you in two nights," Ranma said while leaping down from the roof.

------------

Time passed...

Ranma was uneasy.

Two days ago an "investigating government agent" showed up as she returned from school. Asking all sorts of questions. Awkward questions.

Questions about Ranma, and why 'he' was a 'she'.

And about the Senshi.

When Akiko showed her the paper, she didn't think she had anything to worry about in the government's investigation into the Senshi. She didn't stop to think at the time, that being picked up by the JDF troops in the cordon off area after the fight would cause her problems. Problems like why she was where she was and how she got there.

It took a while, but she managed to convince him that she was ignorant.

She was very glad that it was over with, but the nervousness of the event lingered.

------------

Time passed...

Outside the was snow still on the ground.

Inside it was busy. Very busy.

New Years.

Ring out the old. Ring in the new.

Seventeen year old Ranma found herself working in the back helping Akiko and Yoshi cleaning up the kitchen area after hard use. Up front, Michiko, Hitomi and Makoto (who was helping out, and earning some money on the side), were politely ushering the last of the customers out the door as they prepared to close for the night.

As Ranma scrubbed a particularly stubborn pot, she had time to think about the coming year and reflected on the waning one. Her life had changed over the last three months, since the "Battle of Juuban', as one newspaper put it. Her nightmares lessened, but had not gone away completely. She had moved from sleeping on the living room floor to sharing Michiko's room. It was an unexpected and welcome change.

It helped her to have someone nearby when Ranma did have nightmares, it was comforting. Michiko always was there to help Ranma when she needed it to get through the night. It was nice to have someone to talk to at the drop of a hat if you wanted or needed to. Of course, Akiko had to threaten to separate them if they "didn't stop gabbing all night". After the third reprimand, Michiko and her kept their 'gab time' to a reasonable hour.

In a few more hours after they had, cleaned up and changed, they would all go to the Cherry Hill Temple around midnight. They would stay as Rei's grandfather struck the temple bell 108 times. The bell would toll 108 times so the new year would be free of evil.

After scrubbing, drying and putting the pots away, Ranma went up front to help clean the dining area. Michiko and Makoto were busy mopping the floor and Hitomi was arranging the chairs on top of the tables. Ranma's eye was drawn to the decoration of pine branches, bamboo and straw that adorned the stairwell that lead up to the Yonai home for luck in the coming year.

"You need any help?" Ranma called out.

"I think we got it," Michiko answered as Makoto nodded.

Akiko and Yoshi came to the front and they looked around with some satisfaction.

Turning to Akiko, "If you don't need me," Yoshi said, "I'll be getting home and meet all of you at the temple."

"That would be fine, dear. I'll see you there," she replied.

Crossing the floor together, Akiko let her son out and adjusted the decoration made up of corn husks. The one over the stairwell was for luck in their home life, this one was for luck in their business.

"Is there anything else?" Makoto asked as she placed the mop into the nearby bucket.

Looking around, Akiko appraised the results of the young girls labor and answered her with a smile.

"No, dear. I think you did quite well. It is close enough to the weekend and we won't be open tomorrow. Let me figure up and give you and Hitomi your paychecks and then we'll see you up at the shrine."

Makoto bowed and carried hers and Michiko's cleaning supplies into the kitchen.

-----------------

Time passed...

Happosai was training her.

Ranma picked herself off the ground and spit out some snow, dirt and grass that got into in her mouth. Using a fingernail, she dug a few blades of dead grass that had gotten lodged between her teeth.

"Little freak. How in the hell did he do that?" she thought bitterly. If she wasn't having such a good time she would be very pissed right now.

She had resolved that in her sparing with Happosai, that she would do it without tapping into her Senshi abilities. She found suppressing them surprisingly easy since it was like controlling her ki, just slightly different. Ranma realized during the 'Battle of Juuban' how dependent she had become on her Senshi abilities to carry her in a fight (even untransformed) and was focused on changing that.

She had lost her edge and was determined to get it back.

Having it rubbed in your face like Happosai was doing was downright humiliating though.

"Now then, did you see what I did?" Happosai asked the young women sagely as she finished cleaning the debris off her face.

Ranma thought deeply. She was going in high with a punch to distract Happosai from the real attack, which was meant to be a leg sweep. Happosai just stood there and blocked the punch as expected and suddenly, the next thing she knew, she was flying through the air and face planted into the ground.

But there was something else. Something his did with his other hand...

"I'm not sure... it's like... I don't know. It's like you used a little of your ki to... do something," answered Ranma, mostly to herself.

"Very good. It was something taught to me by my Master. It is called the 'Way of the Pebble'," Happosai said solemy.

"The Way of the Pebble?" Ranma asked, puzzled.

Happosai brought out his pipe, lit it and took a few puffs before continuing.

"You know of the breaking point from the Amazons?" Happosai asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke as he did so.

Ranma nodded.

"Well, there's more to it than the Amazons lead you to believe. More to it than the Amazons know to use," Happosai took a drag from his pipe. "I take they gave some nonsense about how it was used by quarry men or miners to break up rock?"

Ranma nodded.

Happosai snorted. "Well let me tell you this, it was developed over five thousand years ago by the Anything Goes Master Korg. He named it the "Way of the Pebble". An Amazon stole a copy of one of the scrolls for the technique from Master Hue, a half completed scroll at that, so they didn't get the whole record of how it's done."

Ranma just stared at Happosai as if he just turned into the Pope or something. She swallowed, furrowed her brow and asked, "They stole it?"

Happosai nodded.

"Yes. You will find that many of their "secret styles" are mostly stolen from other sources," Happosai paused for another drag from his pipe. "Their 'Chestnuts Roasting in an Open Fire'" is just a poor imitation of the 'Fists of Fire' and the later 'Fists of Lightning' that were developed long before there were any Amazons."

Ranma stood there considering the implications of what he said before turning back to what Happosai had just demonstrated.

"What exactly is the 'The Way of the Pebble'?" Ranma asked, her curiosity peeked.

"It is a Martial Arts technique where the smallest of actions lead to greatest of results," Happosai said with great reverence. "Think of it as the 'Breaking Point' times ten, but there is more to it than that. It can effect non-living and to a lesser effect, living things. It is a very powerful style."

"What did you do to me when I attacked?" Ranma asked.

Happosai grinned.

"To you nothing, to the ground beneath you - I removed some dirt under your left foot - your heel to be exact - at just the right time when you were trying to kick me with your right. By the way, you have to work on making your moves less readable, I saw them a mile away and them some," Happosai finished by puffing on his pipe.

Ranma just stared at him, left eyebrow twitching.

"Let me get this straight. You just removed some dirt from under my foot and that left me fifteen feet away, face down in the ground?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

Happosai shook his head, still smiling.

"No not some dirt. I would say, about this much," he said while opening his hand and displaying a few crumbs of dirt in his palm.

"I don't believe it."

"Have I ever lied to you..."

Ranma snorted, raised an eyebrow and gave a very unamused look at the Martial Artist Master.

"... lately?" Happosai finished in a deadpan sort of way.

Ranma sighed in resignation before moving on, "Why is it called the 'Way of the Pebble'?"

"That goes back to when the technique was first developed," Happosai explained. " As my old Master Hue, told me, Master Korg apparently caused a mountain to crumble into the sea by removing a pebble."

Ranma stared dumbly at Happosai.

"The trick you see, " Happosai continued, "is knowing how to find the pebble, the right moment to remove it and how to remove it."

Ranma continued to stand there and stare dumbly at Happosai as he puffed away at his pipe.

"That has to be the biggest load of..." she shook her head. "I don't believe it."

Happosai raised an eyebrow. "Care for another crack, my girl?"

Ranma smiled in a predatory way and answered, "Why not."

Later...

After spiting another mouthful of snow and grass out for the forth time that evening, Ranma sat upright and said, "Alright! I believe you already."

Happosai chuckled in an amusement.

"Okay," Ranma asked in exasperation. "How does this work?"

Happosai, already having his pipe out while Ranma was cleaning her mouth out, answered with a touch of whimsy in his voice.

"Everything that exists has a frequency - everything has a... resonance if you will. A certain vibration that all the energy that makes up matter has."

Ranma, sitting cross legged on the snow cover ground, paid rapt attention to the aging Martial Arts Master as he continued.

"I'm sure you have heard of Opera singers shattering glass with the pitch of their voice?" Happosai puffed away at his pipe.

Ranma hesitated for a second before nodding once.

"Well this technique works on the same principle, but much more refined. Instead of sound, I use my ki. By altering the frequency of my ki, I can manipulate matter and move it around."

"And the 'Way of the Pebble?" Ranma asked.

"Is a way of finding the 'linchpin', the 'keystone', the very foundation of what holds an object together," Happosai paused for a drag from his pipe, "... and moving it."

"And this works on living beings, too?" Ranma asked, paling a bit and feeling uneasy all of a sudden.

Happosai nodded while exhaling smoke, "Yes, to a lesser degree. The more solid an object the better it works. Living creatures are not a solid as mountains."

"So it does have limits," Ranma stated.

Happosai sighed.

"Ranma, my girl, everything has limits. No matter what - and there are other limits to this technique though."

"And what are they?" Ranma asked while standing. The ground was, after all, freezing.

"It is limited by the amount the practitioners ki. The greater the ki the greater the distance."

"How far can you... attack from?"

"With my ki as it is, I am limited to about - oh two, three feet."

"Two or three feet? With as much ki as you have? How much ki does this thing take? And how come I didn't sense you using it?"

"It takes ki to find the pebble, and once found, it take ki to take the pebble. Everything in this takes ki. The more ki you have, the more you can do."

Ranma pondered the words.

"And the reason you didn't sense me using my ki," Happosai continued, "is that it was very focused. Unless you knew how and where to look, you shouldn't have detected any rise in my ki."

"How did this Master Korg crumble a mountain?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't there," Happosai snapped.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. don't get your gi in a bind," Ranma said while making warding gestures with her hands.

Happosai sighed.

"Remember," he finally said, "this is one of Anything Goes most closely guarded secrets."

Ranma nodded and thought of something.

"Um... if it is such a closely guarded secret, how the Amazons get a hold of part of it." Ranma inquired while raising an eyebrow.

Happosai chuckled, "Well, you see, Master Hue had a... hee, that is... the bad habit of lowering his guard when a pretty face showed up... and... hee, hee, hee."

Ranma stared at Happosai for a moment.

"Oh brother," she thought as she rolled her eyes.

Then lesson continued.

----------------

Time passed...

New Year's was very busy. Coming of Age was very, very busy.

Ranma flowed through the crowded dining room and place orders quickly and carefully before the diners. Extra tables were set up to capitalize on the festivities. Michiko was running around placing orders in the kitchen and taking them, Makoto was carrying two tea services and balancing a squid pizza on her head. Balance practice in the mornings with Ranma was paying off. Akiko was busy at the register and she had drafted several family members to help out in the kitchen. Hitomi was bussing tables and newly wed Fumiki was taking orders from a large group that had pushed four tables together.

The place was crowded with the new adults as they chatted loudly amongst themselves. Most the men were dressed in dark business suits with an occasional dark-colored kimono thrown in, while all the women hair their hair done up and wore colorful kimonos - many of them expensive and rented - just for the event. Some of the kimonos were so cumbersome that stools, that were taken out of storage earlier, were offered for the women to sit in as so that the bows that tied their outfits off wouldn't be damaged by the back of the chairs.

The crowd was also different in its make up. Usually the restaurant drew young couples that were starting out for a night on the town and didn't give any trouble. That night, Ranma had to fend off at least a dozen advances, some quite aggressive, and not-to-gently escort a few rowdy, drunken twenty year olds to the door. She restrained herself from breaking a guy's finger who actually pinched her rear, but she did give him a nasty sprain in his hand.

Glancing at the clock, Ranma thought with no small relief, "Only one more hour to go."

As she was leaning over to refill some cup with tea, one of the slightly inebriated men decided that Ranma's right breast was an interesting object to be groped. Not expecting anything this brazen, the man actually succeeded in copping a good feel.

Ranma was not pleased.

With lighting speed she caught the offending hand with her free one and gave it a painful twist and squeeze. The owner of said hand yelped in pain as his buddies seated with him looked on in surprise. She turned and faced her molester and looked him coldly, very coldly, right in the eye.

"Touch me again," she said as she brought herself under control by remembering a line from some foreign show she watched over at Tamami's, Monty Pi-something-or-other Frying Circus, "No Mongo! ... never kill a customer".

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she put a bit of ki into her voice. She then addressed the now very sober man.

"Touch me like that again, and they'll be carrying you out. Understand?" The coldness she project using her "soul of ice" just added to the effect.

This had the added effect of sobering the rest of the men at the table up quite quickly and she was not bothered by them the rest of the night.

Browsing the dining room, Ranma smiled as she noted Makoto giving a table of men the same type of treatment - she had developed a bit of ki, but not much or how to use it consciously yet. That would take a lot more practice and training for that to happen. She was, however, showing the rewards of the speed training that Ranma had been putting her through. Makoto still came out soaking wet from it, but she was getting faster. Poor fish.

As Ranma studied how one of the men at Makoto's table was holding his hand, the strength training as paying off too. She smiled, having Makoto try to crush tennis balls with her hands had really strengthened her grip.

---------------

Time passed...

April.

Time to return to school.

Ranma's last year of high school.

A herd of girls, nine of them, made their way toward the high school.

Ranma was in the middle of the pack and enjoying lively conversation with Tamami, who over the winter break, tutored Ranma over English. Between her, Ami and the extra schoolwork assigned over breaks, Ranma had finally caught up, for the most part, to the rest of her class.

"You really should try reading it. It's a very good book," Tamami said.

"I don't know... a book about a bunch of wizards?" Ranma asked halfheartedly.

"Oh, but Harry Potter isn't just about wizards... it has a bit of everything in it. Give it a try," Tamami pressed.

Ranma sighed and smiled at the same time.

"But does it have to be in English, though?" Ranma asked.

Tamami smiled back, "Reading something that you're interested in is one of the best ways to motivate yourself into learning a new language. At least for me."

From behind, Michiko interjected while thumbing at the girl walking next to her, "It could be French, Tamami here has started collecting languages like Hitomo collects capsule toys."

Hitomo spoke up on hearing her name and hobby mentioned, "Speaking of which, did you all see the new Sailor Senshi gatchapons that came out yesterday?" She stopped and opened her book bag. "Here, I have a Sailor Mercury with me."

"How did they make figures of them?" Minako asked. "No one knows what they look like."

Five of the girls in the group were extremely curious about this. They knew the disguise field that snapped into place when they transform would make it impossible for anyone, anything or any kind of recording device to recognize them. Now to find that they were immortalized in plastic, each wonder how their figure looked.

"I really don't know," Hitomo shrugged as she fished through her school bag. "My guess is that they used their own impressions of how they think they'd look."

The girls grounded to a halt to see the latest figure in Hitomo's collection.

"Ta-dah," she said triumphantly as she held out the small figure in a blue fuku.

Four of the girls looked upon the small figure with interest, the remainder looked at the abomination before them.

"Oh, man," Ranma whispered.

"You said it," Rei said.

"That's... um, interesting," Minako added.

"I'm... I mean, I don't think Sailor Mercury's... um, are that... big," Ami stammered as her eyes boggled at the small representation of what was supposed to be her in her Senshi form.

"Yeah, I don't think so neither," Hitomo said off handedly while studying the figure. "I think the designers went a little over board."

"You think?!" Minako deadpanned.

"A little!" Usagi said aghast. "If they went a little more over board then her, she would... I mean, she... that is, hers... um, Mercury's, ah, er, um, her..."

"'Boobs' is the word," Ranma said dryly.

"... would need a forklift to support them." Makoto finished for the much befuddled Usagi.

"True," Hitomo agreed. "But this is not as bad as some of the others..."

Five of the nine girls faces drained of color.

"H... how bad are the others?" Usagi squeaked.

"Well, Sailor Moon is pretty big..."

Usagi paled some more.

"... but that new one with the red hair - Sailor Sun, she pretty huge. I think they're going to get complaints on that one."

Ranma, in spite of her self control, flushed.

"How... huge?" Ranma asked, fearing the worst.

The group resumed their walk toward the school.

"Well," Hitomo hummed as she put away the tiny figure in her bookbag. "If Sailor Mercury needs a forklift... then I would say the Sailor Sun would need... um, a shipyard cargo crane."

Rei couldn't contain herself anymore.

"BAH-HA-HA-HA!"

Ranma gave Rei, her annoying friend, a smoldering glare.

"How about Sailor Mars?" Ranma asked flatly.

"I don't have her figure yet," Hitomo answered. "But from the pictures I've seen, she's pretty flat chested compared to the others."

"WHAT!" Rei screeched. This time it was Ranma's turn to laugh.

"BAH-HA-HA-HA!"

The other girls in the group looked on in amusement by Ranma and Rei's reactions.

"Well," Michiko piped up, not realizing who was laughing at whom. "Ranma is a big Sailor Mars fan."

"Huh?" that brought Rei up short.

"That would explain Rei's reaction," Chiyo said. "She did mention how much she liked and envied Sailor Sun at the last slumber party."

"Huh?" that brought Ranma up short.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Tamami confirmed.

The two said persons looked at each other and just as suddenly looked away.

"Oh," they both squeaked.

At that, both girls snapped around to look at each other again, their faces flushed before they looked away again.

With that the gaggling group of girls entered the school yard.

------------------

"Now students," Mr. Kurata getting the classes attention, "What is a chemical?"

The class fell into a heavy silence as each person considered the question.

"Is... is it like... a mixture of elements?" a boy in the back of the class ventured.

"Well that's one way of looking at it," Kurata said. "In truth, everything is a chemical. Whether it be in a pure form or mixed with something else. What you are wearing is chemicals, what you are sitting on is chemicals, and even the air you are breathing is chemicals."

There was a brief mummer in the class.

"Chemistry is the study of matter and how it interacts with other matter and energy. For this semester, we will be studying organic and inorganic matter. Can anyone here tell me the difference between organic and inorganic is?"

Silence once again fell over the class. Ranma screwed up her courage and raised her hand.

"Organic means living things... so I think organic chemistry would be about how living things chemically work," the last said as a question.

Kurata smiled, "That's a good guess, but to be specific: the study of molecules that contain carbon in them. Carbon is the building block of life."

"Building blocks, hmmm...," Ranma thought to herself. "This is getting interesting..."

"First, we will review the scientific method..." Kurata droned on into things that Ranma covered last year. She was thinking... about building blocks...

----------------

Time passed...

Training with Happosai was a surprisingly enjoyable experience. The only things that weren't to Ranma's liking were the lame names given to most of the techniques that Happosai was teaching her. That in itself wouldn't be bad if she could have changed those names. Happosai though, insisted on keeping the original names and shot down any suggestions for 'cooler' ones.

Bummer.

It seemed like everything was 'The way of this', 'The way of that' or 'The way of something or other'.

The way of the long walk off a short pier. The way of the rock, paper, knife (apparently it was developed before scissors). The way of the Demon dog. The way of putting things on top of other things. The way of silly walks. The way of not being seen.

Ranma pondered the names of some of these techiques. They seemed vaguely familiar for some reason.

The one that stuck in her mind was:

"The way of the fish that travels up stream to spawn before dying? What kind of technique is that?" Ranma asked incredulously.

"It is a sacrificial move. Do you think that those fish know for sure that there will be a next generation? Of course not!" Happosai said authoritatively.

"But... what does it mean?"

"It... is more of a philosophy that a technique, Ranma," Happosai said while puffing on his ever present pipe. "It means that you might have to make a life or death choice on saving the many and not the few. It means you will have to face the prospect of innocents dying so that many more innocents can live. It is not an easy thing to deal with. Especially for someone like you."

Ranma felt a queasiness build up inside her, one she hadn't had in a while. Happosai couldn't have known that she had already faced that demon, and would probably wrestle with it off and on for the rest of her life.

"How do you deal with a decision like that?" Ranma asked softly.

"Me?" Happosai answered with a question. He puffed on his pipe a bit, then spoke. "I think I would look around me and look at the mass of humanity and think 'if it wasn't for me and others that were sacrificed, we would not be here'."

"That would make it better?" Ranma asked, slightly indignant.

"No. Of course not," Happosai snapped back. He then added softly, "It would just make it bearable."

Ranma, for once could fully understand the answer.

----------------

Time passed...

That guy that Pluto had been seeing, some foreigner called The Doctor. He seemed a little - eccentric - but nice. Ranma wondered what the heck was with that scarf and the reason why it was as long as it was. Pluto claimed that she was interested in him because they shared a "professional interest". Ranma could tell she was telling the truth. There was no 'spark' when she talked about him, just a cool analytical evaluation of the Time Lord's actions and that of his TARDIS. It was all purely on a professional level. The other Scouts, however having a more romanic outlook on things, imagined more.

Pluto, or Setsuna, was much better since rejoining the human race. She had her days though, when paranoia struck her and she would have to race back to the Gates to check on them personally. Ranma would go there after her and they would talk about little things, thing of no real import.

But sometimes, it is the littlest things mattered the most. Especially in cultivating a friendship.

-------------

Time passed...

Ranma thought in all her days that she would ever return here. The last time she was in this area, it was the beginning of the end for Ranma Saotome. This one place changed her life more than anything - and it was arranged by a certain Senshi of Time. But that was all past history and forgiven. Ranma felt no anger toward Pluto or remorse for what could have been. She simply accepted the way things were.

And that was good enough.

She stood high upon Mount Phoenix, looking in the direction of Jusenkyo. The wind carried her red ponytail away from her face, trailing behind her. Though the air was freezing, she didn't really feel it because her shields sheltered her from the elements. In spite of the protection, she crossed her arms instinctively as if to keep warm. Then something occurred to her.

"Hmmm," Sun wondered. "My shields protected me from the cold but not the wind. I wonder how strong the wind would have to be before my shields protect me from it?"

She sighed as she looked above to the clear blue sky with contrasting high clouds that painted streaks of white across the scene. To the north, she saw the peak of Mount Kensei in the distance, its base obscured by the morning mist. The top shone brightly as the snow at its summit reflected the light from the sun.

She was here because Pluto had alerted the Scouts to a self-proclaimed "demi-god" that was soon "going to get too big for his britches". Pluto's vocabulary got more interesting the more she got out.

They were here to "to come to a peaceful understanding and resolution" as Moon put it. She had become quite the negotiator over the last school year. She always tried to figure out things from the other side before trying to work things out or committing to any decisions. She believed that force should be the last resort when dealing with reasonable beings.

This would be the third time she negotiated with another "interested party" in the last six months.

"How's it going?" the Senshi of the Sun asked her companion.

"So far so good. I'm only doing a tight localized reading of the time stream running ten minutes ahead of the present," answered Pluto. "I don't think the Phoenix people are going to be too much of a problem."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Let's just say they have an extensive collection of history, long memories - and they have legends about us... you in particular."

"I... see. So I'm here as a deterrent?" Sun said somewhat bitterly.

Pluto raised her eyebrow as she continued to monitor the time stream with the orb atop of her Garnet Staff.

"Sometimes Sun, the only thing supposedly reasonable and intelligent beings understand is a threat, even a subtle one," Pluto sighed. Her eyes never wavering from her task, she continued, "Sad but true. You're here to ensure that Sailor Moon is taken seriously. These people respect power and strength more than logic and reason."

"Makes me feel like nothing but a weapon," Sun whispered as she looked over the valley. "A thing..."

"Sun..." Pluto began before stopping. She collected her thoughts and continued. "We are all in this together. I sorry. I know it's m-"

"Don't," Sun interrupted Pluto. "We been down that path. No reason to revisit it. I already forgiven you for everything."

Pluto continued to monitor the timestream.

"Besides...," Sun continued, "you and everyone else are in the same boat."

Pluto raised an eyebrow again, then asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Sun answered while looking at the other distant mountain peaks. "Look at it this way: when you get right down to it, all the Senshi are really nothing more than weapons."

Pluto pondered this while she continued to watch over Moon through her staff.

"You really believe that?" she asked.

Sun turned her attention to Pluto," Yes, I do."

Pluto was silent.

"Remember when you told me when Moon first was... awakened to fight the Negaverse?"

Pluto nodded, still monitoring the negotiations.

"She never was really given a choice of whether or not she can walk away from it of not. She had to be convinced, prodded and sometimes forced into taking action before she finally accepted her... duty."

Pluto sighed, "And the others?"

"More or less the same," Sun explained." It's not like any of them really volunteered for this. The situation at the time dictated their actions - in the end there was no real choice."

"Choice is what you wanted?" Pluto sighed.

"There are no real choices, just the illusion of choices."

Pause.

"That's disturbing...," Pluto said.

"But," Sun paused dramatically. "The illusion of choice is sometimes just as important as having any real choices."

"Sounds like you been reading again," Pluto said, knowing that Ranma had been reading some interesting philosophy.

"Yeah... well," Sun began, "I've been skimming some books on how if you don't have free choice, then you have no real responsibility." She sighed before continuing, "But, other stuff I've read say that it's not an excuse. That life is really about how you and everyone else interacts with each other. The number and the type of choices are already made for you by the whole of your environment. Everyone always has a limited number of decisions on what they can and cannot do. Their environment dictates the number and what kind of decisions you can make."

"So... does anyone really have any choices?" Pluto asked.

"Yes, but the number is not as great as they think," Sun answered.

Silence fell between the two Senshi. Sun turned and looked out to where she knew Jusenkyo to be.

"Don't mind me," Sun said with a wave of her hand. "It's... it's... just... I'm just... moody. Okay?"

Pluto pondered the situation before venturing, "Thinking about Jusenkyo - and what might have been if you had the choice?"

Sun turned to face Pluto before answering, "No, not really," she said while turning away again to take in the scenery.

"Then what?" Pluto asked as she kept observing the negotiations.

Silence.

"Ah... um, monthlies," Sun sheepishly answered.

More silence.

"Oh," Pluto deadpanned, before smirking. "All the more reason for Saffron to be agreeable. No one wants to face Sailor Sun while she's PMSing."

"PLUU-TO!" the indignant Senshi wailed.

"Looks like their going to be wrapping things up here soon," Pluto said as she watched Sun stammered for a good comeback, much to her amusement. None surfaced.

"Everything looks good from here," Pluto continued to report. "Sailor Moon should be joining us in ten minutes."

A grumbling Sun just nodded her head.

----------------

Time passed...

===== Epilogue =====

Ranma placed the plates out on the table, preparing for the celebration to come. She was working side-by-side with her sister Michiko, readying the closed restaurant for the party. This was to be one last get together for them and their friends before everyone moved on to the next step of their lives: higher education.

Michiko was going into engineering. This surprised Ranma because before she met Jiro she showed no interest in it. But over the last year she had developed a strong taste for fast moving vehicles. A taste, Ranma suspected, she got from her boyfriend or as she put it "he's just a friend that's a guy, that's all".

Yeah, right.

She went as far as to piece together a scooter from scrap and salvaged parts from dead scooters. The result looked like a Yamaha scooter on steroids. She built it all herself and added "a little something extra" to give it "a bit of a zip".

As if a scooter that can go zero to sixty in seven seconds can be considered "zippy".

The school, which had rules on what type and kinds of bikes its students could use, refused to allow her to ride it to school. This limited her 'fun time' to off Saturdays and Sundays.

Michiko applied and was accepted into Nekomi Institute of Technology. The fact that her "guy that's just a friend, that's all" was going there was just a coincidence.

Yeah, right. Again.

For Ranma, due to her efforts and help of her friends, not only graduated from Juuban High, but managed to do so within the top ten percent of her class. When she the opportunity to take the Tokyo University entrance examines, due mostly from some very nice letters of recommendation from her teachers, she did so. To her surprise, she did well enough to be accepted. She wasn't near the top of the class ranking by a long shot, but she did get in.

Ranma going to college. In two days.

Majoring in chemistry.

Who would have thought it.

Looking at the clock, she noted the time. Everyone they knew, and a few they didn't, would be arriving soon.

---------------

The friends were seated at tables that were pushed together and talked loudly amongst themselves. In spite of the din, everyone somehow managed to understand what was being said between them. Which was amazing considering that there was at least five different conversations going. Food and drink were passed between the participants.

Ranma looked over the scene, feeling part of something greater. Her friends, true friends, had grown beyond what she could've imagined two years ago. Ranma was seated in the middle of the table, to her right sat her sister, Michiko. On her left was Rei, who she had grown closer to over the year. They still traded insults, but it was more playful in nature without any sharp edges.

Across from her were Hitomo, Chiyo and Tamami. The last two with their 'boyfriends of the week' that Ranma didn't even make an effort to remember their names. Around the table were other girls, some with their boyfriends, some not. Usagi was there with her fiancé, Mamoru. Ranma only met him the few times that he was visiting from going to school in the United States. He seemed alright. She was alarmed, however, by the way he threw roses around when he was Tuxedo Mask.

She just thanked whatever god there was for the negative answer to her question of him being related to the Kuno's.

As the party wound up, the young people broke into groups whose members intermingled with members of other groups. Akiko was there to "keep any shenanigans from happening". Not that were going to any. Nope, not under her watchful eye.

"Look out!" came a shout from across the room. Suddenly a pink thing dashed under the table where everyone had been seated.

Soon a very wet and very pink cat poked his head out from under the table.

"What happened?" Usagi asked as she bent down to check the condition of the animal.

One of the guys, the one that was with Chiyo, came forward.

"I'm very sorry," he said politely. "Your cat... um, kinda jumped in front of me and startled me."

Everyone eyed the now pink cat wrapped in a towel that Akiko provided.

"I sorta, well dropped my glassful of red punch on it," the embarrassed lad continued as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Um, can I barrow a mop. I kinda made a mess back there."

"Oh, Artemis, you're soaked! Mrs. Yonai is there anyplace I can take him to get him cleaned up?" Usagi asked apologetically.

"Let me dear. You stay here with your friends and enjoy yourself," Akiko said as she took the still damp and pink cat from Usagi's arms.

As Akiko walked toward the stairs she was being trailed by a black cat.

"Artemis will be alright, Granny is very gentle," Michiko reassured Usagi.

"Yeah, It'll be alright," Ranma chimed in with a broad smile. "Besides, there's karaoke!"

Yup. Uncle Shoji's karaoke machine once again made another appearance.

---------------

Upstairs, in the bathroom, Akiko was filling the sink with warm water. The pink cat tucked securely under one arm, still wrapped in the towel. Hearing a scratching sound, Akiko looked over to the entrance of the bathroom. She discovered another cat, a black one, staring curiously at her from the doorway. Wondering only briefly how a cat could open a door, she turned her attention back to the stained cat, now the sink.

"Now," she addressed the cat. "Let's get you cleaned up."

The sound of singing from downstairs filtered up to the bathroom as Akiko continued to wash and fuss over Artemis. The cat itself was slowly returning to its original color of white. Taking a sideways glance she noticed the other cat peaking out into the hallway before looking overs its shoulder at her.

The cat nodded.

Akiko closed her eyes and allowed her other self come to the front. A crescent moon faintly glowed on her forehead before fading.

"I want to thank the two of you for watching over my daughter and her friends," Akiko said while lifting the wet cat onto a dry towel that was spread out on the floor.

"It has been an honor your majesty," Artemis said while bowing.

"Enough of that," Serenity/Akiko gently chided as she knelt and began drying Artemis . "It turned out better than I could have hoped. Pluto is back doing what she supposed to be doing and Sun has at least a shot at finding happiness."

She continued to rub the now white cat dry.

"And my daughter has grown to be quite to diplomat, hasn't she?" she asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Artemis answered. "She's growing into quite a leader. She's learned to take charge and not afraid to delegate when needed."

"Your majesty," came a whispered call from black cat at the doorway. "Will you ever tell them?"

Serenity/Akiko sighed.

"No, Luna," she answered. "At least not in this life. I still have much work to do and if they knew - well, I fear things could go back to the way they were."

She thought a few more moments before adding.

"And they would probably be... pissed, I think is a good word for it, if they found out the truth before they understood the reasons behind my actions."

Artemis nodded in agreement, "Like Ranma did when she found out about Pluto's manipulations?"

Serenity/Akiko visibly tensed, then relaxed.

"Yes... you can say something like that," she finally said.

"But you will tell them eventually?" Luna interjected.

There was a pause as Serenity/Akiko finished drying Artemis.

"Yes, but not in this century or the next five for sure," Serenity/Akiko finally answered.

The laughter and singing was getting louder as evidence that the party was in full swing.

"I wondered... do you think Pluto's concerns about Sun were founded?" Luna asked.

"No," Serenity/Akiko answered. "Even if they were, I could deal with Sun if it came down to it."

"Your majesty?" Luna questioned.

Serenity/Akiko smiled, "In spite of what is indicated in the official records, there is a fail-safe."

The two cats looked quizzically at Serenity/Akiko.

"No one can overpower Sailor Sun - not even me," she said. "But, the power of all the Senshi does flow through me, even if I cannot use the power myself. If it came to it, I could 'cut it off'."

Luna and Artemis looked at each other, then back at the elderly woman.

“Does that go for any of them?,” the black cat asked.

Serenity/Akiko nodded, as silence fell among the three.

"Now,” Serenity/Akiko said as she smiled at her two charges. “I think it is time to rejoin the party. Besides it wouldn't do to have that many young people in one place without a chaperone too long, would it?"

Closing her eyes, the crescent moon glowed and faded from her forehead as her Serenity self was put away.

With that she rose and lead the two cats back to the first floor.

============

End Juuban

===========

Author notes:

Well, I "winged" this one. Let me know if I'm still airborne or if I crashed and burned.

I know that a lot of time was covered in this chapter, but it was necessary. But considering up to midway in Part 11 (13 on the pop up menu) covered months and the last bit of the same chapter to the beginning part of this one cover ONE weekend. That's right, approximately four chapters devoted to a Saturday and Sunday.

Ranma had a very busy weekend.

For those who are wondering about when Tenchi is going to show up. Ranma doesn't met him until her freshman year in college, which should be soon story-wise. I have a general direction I want to take the story, but I'll probably take the time to a least semi-outline it before writing any more...

... and that will give me time to fire up the old betamax and... I mean VCR, yeah, that's it... er, ah, DVD? - ahem, to watch the Tenchi OVA's again. It's been awhile. (Author sweatdrops as he shows his age.)

I do have a side story cooking about the government investigation mentioned in this chapter. I have only about four thousand words down on it and I'm not to sure about it how it is going to turn out. I got distracted by searching for napkins.

And I been thinking about doing some other stories that's been bopping around my head.

Sigh.

Well, anyway I'll keep plugging away.