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

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

I don't own any of these characters or situations. They belong to someone else. Also this is done purely for fun, not profit. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, yet to be born, or visiting from other dimensions is purely coincidental. I'm doing this for fun.

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

- + - + - + -
- + - + - + -

University Part 9

- + - + - + -

The room was large with a dome ceiling. It was dark and the only source of light came from a fireplace that caused the shadows to move and creep as the fire flickered. The decor was a mishmash of various styles and furnishings from different eras and places. Everything from ancient wing back chairs to ultramodern glass top tables supported by aluminum shafts were present. The high, curved walls were pockmarked with portraits ranging from long dead people to ghostly star-scapes.

The floor was carpeted with small rugs from plain to exotic designs, again from different times and places. The hard wooden floor peaked out here and there between the coverings, creating its own pattern. The walls below the paintings were lined with row after row of books, computer equipment and other odd devices. Each object had the aura of little or no use, as if they were placed there merely for decoration and nothing more.

Before the fireplace and its raging fire was a long and low comfortable couch. Across from it was a pane of glass that served as a desktop. It floated in midair without any visible means of support. Behind the desk floated two pillows, perpendicular to one another, creating a chair.

A figure entered the darkened room wearing a white, button up shirt and dark trousers. The man had thick facial hair. His eyebrows were bushy, his mustache was like a solid mass under his nose and his goatee was like a dagger pointing down. His complexion was dark, as if he spent a great deal of time in the sun. Yet physically it looked as if his skin were vacuum-formed over his skeleton.

The man was tall and slender, leaning toward being unhealthfully underweight. Along with his thin build he had an air of frailty about him, as if his thin arms would break if he exerted himself too much. In spite of his unimposing body, his eyes burned with the light of great intelligence and perhaps fear. He sighed as he sunk into the floating chair behind the desk, rubbing his goatee in contemplation.

"I have to report this," he pondered. "She hates being disturbed, but this could throw a monkey wrench into everything."

Steepling his fingers before his face as he rested his elbows on the desktop, he pondered deeper.

"The Senshi, after all this time..."

With that thought he removed a medallion from under his shirt and held the center part of it with the thumb and forefinger of one hand as he twisted the outer ring with the outer hand. There was no buzz of power, no blinking lights or any other indication that the device was on. Sitting, the man waited patiently for his... associate to respond to his call.

"Yes, Zarkov. What is it?" a voice from nowhere asked.

"I have a report from the unit that is watching over the Masaki household on Earth, Mistress," Zarkov said.

"Oh? Anything interesting?" the old woman asked.

"I think you should watch and judge it for yourself," Zarkov answered. "There may be a complication to the plan."

"I'll be right there."

And she was. She merely stepped out of thin air and into the room. She stood in front of the desk with a withered hand on a long staff.

"Let's see the report."

- + - + - + -

The Mistress watched the recording of the nighttime meeting between Washu and Tsunami, unmoving and in silence. As the scene played, a glint slowly came to her eyes and then a smile. A very unpleasant smile.

"This is going to be better than I thought," she proclaimed. "Sailor Sun! How wonderful! How Perfect!"

Zarkov watched the shrunken old lady almost dance with glee. It was almost comical when she did do a little jig. He didn't laugh though - he felt like he shouldn't dare to.

"M-mistress," he began, getting her attention. "Who is Sailor Sun?"

The Mistress stopped her jig and faced the man seated behind the desk.

"Sailor Sun is the Senshi name for Project Fire Walker," she said with a smile.

Zarkov thought deeply for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't recall Sailor Sun or a Project Fire Walker."

"Because she was a secret," the Mistress replied. "A big secret. As badly as you botched the Protectors project, do you think you'd be trusted with something as powerful as this?"

Zarkov flinched, but didn't argue the point.

"And now that she is here," the Mistress continued. "Things will get more interesting."

Zarkov blink-blinked.

"I don't see how this could work in our favor," he said worriedly. "If this Sailor Sun is as powerful as they suggest, then we will have to alter our plan."

The Mistress laughed a little laugh.

"Fear not my friend," the older woman cackled. "Have I ever been wrong yet? I did tell you that the Senshi would be back long before we started our manipulations for taking power."

Zarkov considered her words, then nodded in concession. "You were right about the Senshi coming back," Zarkov continued from his seat. "But you seemed surprised by Sailor Sun, though."

"I know many things," the hunched figure said as it moved into the light. "But I have to admit that I was surprised at this development. This does make it interesting."

Then she added, speaking more to herself than Zarkov, "In all the possibilities, who'd have thought that another would have been made."

"Another?" Zarkov questioned.

The old, huddled form of the Mistress gazed at the seated Zarkov. "Never-mind," she said with a hint of threat. "It is not your concern."

Silence fell between the two that lasted a few brief moments.

"What about Wind Walker?" the man suddenly asked worriedly. "How will you deal with her?"

"Don't worry about her, Zarkov," the Mistress said quietly. "I already have an amusement in mind to keep her occupied."

"How?"

She looked at him with an especially cold smile, one that made him shiver to his very core.

"That," she said before vanishing. "Is a secret."

Once he was alone, Zarkov sagged in relief into his chair as the Mistress went to wherever she came from. Rubbing his temples with the forefingers of each hand, he rued the day that he ever met her.

- + - + - + -

"Sailor Sun," she thought with amusement as she appeared in her private universe, a universe where she was the soul inhabitant. "Now this makes things really interesting."

Tilting her head, she replayed the chat Washu and Tsunami had in her mind. She smiled evilly as a plan slowly developed.

"What to do, what to do," she said coldly, her voice echoing in the near barren room. "I didn't expect there to be a Sailor Sun here."

The old women paused in her hobbling and considered.

"I'll set her free!" she announced to no one. "I will set her free. Like I was! Yes! That's what I'll do."

"She would make a good friend. Hmmm," she pondered. "I have been lonely for a long... time - another person to share eternity with would be welcome."

She stood at thought deeper on her plans and her desires.

"I'll have to plot carefully," she thought. "I shouldn't have too many problems with her if her upbringing was anything like mine. If it was like I suspect, then that would make us practically sisters."

She pondered in silence for a few seconds, then cackled and resumed her hobble across the room, then morphed into a tall, younger woman. Her hobble changed into a stride and she walked with purpose toward a wall with tall cabinets and a large mirror.

"I'll free her from the shackles of her slavers," she thought aloud. "I will make her realize what she really is - what she truly can be. She would make a great friend, if not..."

The woman's voice trailed off as she contemplated some more.

"... maybe a slave under my direction. And if I fail in that, well... she'll be fun to play with - before she dies."

She straightened her short skirt out and brushed some imaginary dust off herself.

"She had to have just been reborn not long ago, so she'll be easy for me to deal with," she said to her reflection. "She can't fight a goddess - yet - and hope to win. I'll have to pay the Earth a visit before I solidify my plans further - and to stir things up."

The chamber was filled with a slightly insane laugh before it died down. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"I going to be entertained," she thought to herself. "So very entertained..."

She stood smiling before a mirror and straightened the bow in her hair out.

- + - + - + -

It had been two months since Ranma's visit to Tenchi's home and once back in school, the two fell into a comfortable routine. Yet there were subtle changes in the routine. Ranma and Tenchi found themselves hanging out more and more together and socializing with other people less. Their respective roommates still dragged them to 'The Cute Rabbit' every Friday night, but the time they spent alone together was increasing.

Not that Ranma minded.

The previous week the school had its open house, and Akiko and Michiko with her boyfriend Jiro showed up. Ranma took the opportunity to introduce Tenchi to her family. Ranma smiled at Tenchi's embarrassment as Akiko declared him a "fine young man".

"Tenchi turned as red as my hair," Ranma chuckled to herself as she weaved her way through the sea of students that appeared between classes. "I think I'll head to the Library and catch up on some reading."

There was a slight difference in Ranma's class schedule this semester that gave her forty five minutes between two of her morning classes. She had used that break to find a quiet corner somewhere in the lounge on the main floor of the Library and catch up on her reading assignments or do research.

It was during one of her reading sessions in the lounge of the Library, that Ranma sat in one of the long, low couches that lined one wall of the lounge. In front of each couch was a equally low table that she dumped her pack onto. Unzipping the pack, she fished around and extracted a book, flipped through the pages, and stopped at the chapter Biological Chemistry. Leaning back into the couch, she began reading.

It was quiet during this time of day and she usually managed to get a lot of reading done. Tenchi knew her schedule and would usually show up a little later and they would pass the time studying or conversing with the other students in the lobby.

Occasionally he would be late and Ranma, or someone else, would strike up a conversation. Most the time Ranma had pleasant enough conversations with the other students that came wandering in and out of the lounge. Not that Ranma minded talking to someone, but every now and then there would be someone, usually a guy, that would get on her nerves.

This was one of those times.

"Excuse me," Ranma said tartly, interrupting the young man who decided to chat with her. Ranma motioned between her breasts and her head with her hands. "My face is up here."

"Ahhh," the young man stammered, realizing what part of Ranma's anatomy that he was staring at.

"I think you should find another place to sit," Ranma directed.

"But... I just...," his voice trailed off as he saw the look on Ranma's face. A look that brooked no argument.

"Jerk," Ranma thought bitterly as she raised her book to her face as the young man vacated his space.

A few quiet moments passed.

"Mind if I sit here?" a voice asked.

Annoyed that she was interrupted again, Ranma sighed explosively. She didn't really mind being social, but after dealing with the last jerk Ranma wasn't up to having her reading disturbed again. Looking up, her annoyance passed quickly as she saw who it was.

"Tenchi," she said merrily.

"Hi. Am I late?"

"A little - didn't think you'd make it. Have a seat," Ranma answered while patting the place next to her.

"I got caught up after class in a debate over 'what good is Bushido in today's world'," Tenchi explained as he sat next to the redhead. Comfortably close. "I thought I wouldn't get a chance to see you before classes kicked in again."

Ranma smiled at him, enjoying their closeness.

"We still on for tonight?" Ranma asked.

"Sure," Tenchi replied as he looked at Ranma in the eyes - something that Ranma loved and appreciated.

- + - + - + -

The alley was shrouded in shadows even in broad daylight, but in the morning twilight it was especially dark and uninviting. There was nothing special about the place in any way shape or form: A very typical alley with smelly dumpsters, cracked pavement and algae that was growing in spots that were constantly damp from runoff of lord knows what. The ugly, white washed walls and exposed pipes of the surrounding buildings added an air of claustrophobia to the narrow lane, giving it a more sinister feel than it deserved.

A line, suspended in mid-air, appeared suddenly as an old woman stepped into the ally from nowhere. She looked around and took in her surroundings. It was not exactly a grand debut to the world, but something she had already seen a few times before.

"According to the Watcher, Sailor Sun is going to school near here," the cloaked figure thought. "I could just feel her out, but I don't want to draw any undue attention. I'll just stake out the area where the Watcher reported her activities and wait for her to turn up."

On the completion of that thought, the old woman morphed into a much taller, young man wearing a dark sports jacket, white shirt and dark pants.

- + - + - + -

Ranma sat cross-legged and attempted to followed the mental exercises that were detailed in the scrolls she picked up from Master Asahi. She was finding it difficult to find her center as the memory of two years ago invaded her forethoughts when she went 'super'. It was impossible for Ranma to wrap her mind around the shear gargantuan amount of power she was capable of tapping into.

It frightened her.

"I have power, a ridiculous amount of power," she thought as she eased herself into her center to begin her meditations. "I've been training how to use it, but I've neglected on really actually controlling - regulating it."

She thought back on some of the training that Happosai had put her through and in the process strayed further from her center.

"Happosai really knows how to control ki," she thought, "and my powers acted kinda like ki up to a certain point."

Ranma stopped her musings and tried to return to a semi-meditative state. Unfortunately her thoughts and feelings were like a certain lost boy from her past, instead of relaxing into her center, Ranma grew frustrated.

"After that point, it acts - differently," Ranma sighed at her inability to meditate. She opened her eyes and thumbed through the copies of the scrolls she got from Master Asahi. "These are all about ki. I don't know how helpful these scrolls are going to be."

She sighed again heavily and gave up on the exercise. Slightly depressed with her momentary failure, Ranma reached for one of the scrolls.

- + - + - + -

Pluto was in the midst of another attempt to make sense of the readings that she was getting from the Gates of Time. She continued to untangle the mess that the main timeline had developed into when it had split into three distinct timelines. She was used to seeing more possibilities through the Gates, but what made this one different was that each timeline weighed in equally.

"This is so frustrating," she thought as she realigned the Gates of time using a different set of points.

The points, or reference points, were multidimensional beacons that the Gates of Time used to focus and track any timeline that Sailor Pluto desired. The points were essential to navigation in the endless vastness of the space/time continuum. The points were created by the Gates of Time itself over the millennia and billions had been manufactured and spread throughout space/time. By switching between several sets of points, Pluto's aim was to break the equally sized timelines into smaller ones in the hope of weeding out the most dominant timeline.

Pluto blinked as she made a slight adjustment with her staff. The timelines wavered, then split. Instead of three lines that Pluto was working with, there were suddenly a dozen.

"Yes!" she thought excitedly. "Success at last!"

Further celebrating was halted as the dozen timelines split again, and again...

She suddenly had hundreds, then thousands, and then millions.

"What in the hell?!" she said aloud as she tried to regain control of the situation, but the more she tried to bring the timelines under her control. She froze and reexamined what she was looking at.

It was a endless mass of lines that radiated from a center point. The lines were so densely packed that it looked solid to the untrained eye. Fortunately Pluto recognized what she was looking at, but unfortunately knew it was bad news.

"Oh no," she thought. "I lost the reference points - I can't find our timeline."

What was showing through the Gate of Time was not the dominant timeline that Pluto was used to seeing, even with the divergences that she had picked up on in the last few weeks. Instead the Gates were showing all the timelines for every possible outcome from a center-point that represented the big bang - the beginning of time - to the very end of the universe itself. Without the proper space/time reference points, it would be impossible to find the correct timeline.

Starting at the center-point that was the big bang, the beginning of time for this universe, Pluto attempted to find the proper timeline.

"This is bad," she thought, "It's like someone swept the reference points away."

She froze and reexamined what she was looking at.

"Someone did swept the reference points away..."

- + - + - + -

Ranma carelessly tossed her pack onto her bed. There it bounced once on her unmade sheets and blanket and rolled off onto the floor, spilling some papers through the half closed zipper. She plopped herself tiredly onto her chair before her desk.

Ranma sighed.

It wasn't that school was boring or anything. She was still happy and proud to be in Tokyo University, it was just that it just didn't seem to live up to the reputation that had been impressed upon her. It wasn't a party school by a long shot, but it wasn't the studious, sterile environment she envisioned either.

"Well at least Megumi made it back," Ranma thought as she reached into an open box of Pocky. "After the problems she told me she had with her old high school boyfriend..."

Ranma's thoughts drifted off as she munched away at the chocolate covered treat, only to be snapped back to reality by the time on her clock.

"Damn!" she thought. "I better get moving. I have to be at work in thirty minutes."

- + - + - + -

The young man leaned against the smooth metal of the telephone pole as he appeared to idly read the newspaper. Though the day was a nice fall one, the rains having passed earlier, he ignored the trees that were beginning to turn in favor of scrutinizing the college students as they herded themselves to and from their classes.

"She's around here, I know it," the disguised woman thought to herself. "I can sense the concentration of the universe's ki that she has nearby."

The man-looking woman leaned harder against the telephone pole.

Double checking to make sure her fields were suppressed she thought. "The last thing I want her to know is my existence before she is ready."

The crowds of students began to thin. Amid the various colored heads, a shock of red stood out. The Mistress' eyes narrowed.

"There she is. Yes, no doubt," she thought as she felt the concentration of power.

The disguised woman covertly studied the redhead as she made her way from the campus to the Folk Crafts Museum nearby.

"She's much more powerful than I thought," she mused with a smile. "All the better. I don't even have to extend my senses to trace the link."

Still appearing to be a man, the woman folded the newspaper under one arm and followed the redhead at a discreet distance. As she followed her, she examined the power that rolled off the young redheaded woman. Invisible to all, Ranma's power appeared like a blazing sun to the disguised woman's senses. Highlighted by Ranma's hidden power was a filament that lead off to the east.

The Mistress smiled.

The redhead entered a traditionally roofed building. The false man stopped at the entryway of the grounds and noted the sign.

"Folk Crafts Museum," Ranma's shadow mused to herself before waiting a few minutes and following her inside...

And there she was, the object of her quest. She was dressed in a neat jacket seated behind a desk with two stacks of brochures resting on top. The redhead looked up and spotted her the moment she stepped into the building.

"Welcome," the redhead said with a smile and a bow, "to the Folk Crafts Museum."

"Thank you," the sharply dressed man replied as he returned the bow. "Could you please help me? I seemed to have lost my way."

"Yes sir," the redhead said. "Where are you trying to go?"

Recalling some names on a map that he had seen earlier, the man lied convincingly. "I'm looking for Shibuya."

The redhead blinked. "Shibuya? That's a little east from here. Did you get off at the wrong station?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I did," the man answered smoothly as he noted the name-tag on the girl. "East of here, you say?"

"Yes sir," Ranma answered. "It's not far, just follow the road outside east and then the signs."

"Thank you," the Mistress said with a bow.

The redhead bowed in return. "You're quite welcome, sir."

The Mistress smiled at the happy coincidence as she exited. "Ranma... an interesting name. East she said. The same direction as the link. Now on to the next step."

With that thought, the woman turned on her heel and followed the invisible link.

- + - + - + -

Ranma came back to her dorm room after an afternoon of work. It was a slow afternoon, so she wasn't distracted from her circular thoughts. Things had been quiet lately, more so than ever. Ranma had finally calmed down and started relaxing about her course work that she didn't feel guilty that Megumi was still dragging her out on Fridays. Ranma objected less to that since she in turn dragged Tenchi along.

In spite of the routine, she was in turmoil over a certain pigtailed young man. A turmoil that has been plaguing her more and more often.

"I haven't even known him a year," Ranma thought to herself as she considered the man that won her... affection. "Feelings like this are not supposed to happen this fast. I'm not supposed to feel this way."

It had turned into what Ranma called 'the self debate from hell'.

"Who said you're not suppose to feel this way?" A voice asked in the back of her head. "Since when did love have a time limit?"

"I only met him, not even a year ago," Ranma mentally explained to herself. "What makes me think he should feel anything for me?"

"You see that look in his eyes," the other voice pointed out. "You know he feels something."

"How do I know for sure?" Ranma thought worriedly. "How do I know if I'm seeing something that's not there?"

"Then tell him how you feel!" The voice demanded.

"I can't do that!" Ranma answered. "He'll laugh at me at best - or at worst he'll avoid me like the plague."

"So you'd rather torture yourself with self doubt rather than find out how he really feels."

"No! Yes! I don't know!"

"And you never will know until you try..."

"Huh?"

Ranma forcefully quieted her mind down before it entered another bout of circular thoughts that would drive her crazy. With a slight headache and a sigh of exasperation with her inability to come to terms over Tenchi, Ranma sunk into her mattress, curled under the covers, and drifted off to sleep.

- + - + - + -

Ami was in her dorm room, finishing up the required reading for the next day. School was incredibly easy for her thus far and to tell the truth, she was getting a little bored.

With her roommate off doing research at one of the libraries, Ami once again decided to look into the Tech-master's files. She had taken a break from her reading during the summer and never really bothered to get back to looking into it. Now back in school, Ami found herself in a studying mood and decided to link up the Mercury Computer with the master one on the Moon.

Opening and waking the Mercury computer that was configured to look more like a more normal laptop, Ami made the command keystrokes that would commence the interlink. In a very few moments the Mercury computer connected itself to the Moon's Central Computer and began cross downloading the different security screens and updating files that were stored locally on the Mercury Computer. It was everything Ami was used to seeing when she logged on to the Moon Computer, except for one detail.

"Usage log?" Ami wondered, confused at this new addition to sign on screen. "What is that and why would it be flashing?"

Sidetracked from her original purpose of rummaging through ancient files, Ami delved into this new mystery. Typing away on her laptop, Ami explored the workings of the network between the Moon Computer and her Mercury Computer.

"Seems like the Moon Computer keeps an active log of who has logged in," Ami finally concluded. "But I have logged in before, so why is it alerting me now?"

She dug around some more.

"Ah-ha!" she said aloud before thinking, "I set up a security routine when I first got the computer. I was just playing around with it then - didn't think anything of it. I had forgotten all about it. It's just letting me know that someone else has logged on to the Moon Computer."

Ami mind froze at that thought before her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

"That means someone other than me has access to the Moon Computer."

- + - + - + -

Ranma was naked. She felt the cool air of the hallway brush against her bare skin, raising gooses bumps here and there. The hall way was long and wide with illumination coming from small slits on the rounded ceiling. Flanking her were two faceless people, much taller than her, dressed in all white smocks of some kind. She sensed another person directly behind her, but ignored that in favor of the person she was following.

It was Auntie.

And she too was walking between figures in white smocks.

And she was equally naked.

The procession walked down the hall until it dead-ended. Someone in front motioned with his(?) hand and the wall folded in on itself. Everyone silently entered another room that was wider than the hallway, but still surprised Ranma by how small it was.

The antechamber had a slightly rounded ceiling like the hallway, but the lighting was provided by glowing bars instead of slits. In the small room were several more people dressed in white whose faces Ranma couldn't quite make out. There was one that was dressed in a blue smock and seemed to be in charge. Though self conscious of her nudity, she put on a brave face as to not embarrass Auntie.

"Ready?" a disembodied voice asked. Ranma somehow knew it was coming from the blue smocked woman.

Auntie nodded and the white dressed people started attaching things to Auntie and Ranma.

"What's this?" Ranma found herself saying.

"It's all right," the voice of her Auntie said. "It's to make sure that you will be all right when you are granted your powers."

Ranma nodded.

"While you two are prepping, I'll double check the infusion tubes," the woman in blue said and disappeared.

"Is everything ready?" Auntie Serenity asked.

"Yes, my Queen," a familiar disembodied female voice from behind Ranma answered. "The field capturers are at maximum and the crystal is ready for infusion and implantation."

"What's the status of the focuser?"

"On line and building up the charge. Considering the amount of power that is expected, it is set very wide to encompass the entire galactic core."

Auntie Serenity nodded to one of faceless men in white as he finished attaching the wire-like things.

"My Queen," the disembodied voice from behind Ranma asked - it was annoyingly recognizable and Ranma was frustrated that she couldn't place it. "Tech-master Jurai asked me to remind you of the risks involved."

Auntie nodded to the voice that was still behind Ranma.

"I'm aware, thank you Tech-master Hakubi," Auntie said. "I'm sure we'll be just fine. We have done this several times before.

"But not with the amount of power we're infusing," the familiar voice said. Ranma wanted to turn around and see who this person was, but was frustrated that she couldn't.

"I'm sure all will be well," Auntie Serenity said while she motioned for Ranma to follow her. "Come along dear."

The door of the antechamber flowed into the wall and revealed a large, dome topped room with several more white dressed people hovering around instruments of some sort. Moving further inside, Ranma realized how small the room felt because of the huge pieces of equipment that filled it. To Ranma's eyes, one wall was lined with large, glass cylinders topped with several thick copper-colored tubes that ran up through the ceiling. Ranma remembered seeing the ruins of this room on the Moon. In this dream though, it was throbbing with life and power.

Finding herself still following behind Auntie, they moved among the machinery where still more people were dressed in white. The only person dressed differently was the women in blue from the antechamber. She was busy looking at something in her hand. Upon looking up, motioned for the two naked females in the direction of two unsealed tubes.

As each woman was being helped into their Infusion tube, Ranma spotted someone that made her heart stop. Peering in through the doorway of the antechamber, was a woman in red with red spiky hair and a face that was hauntingly familiar. A part of Ranma's mind latched onto the woman's face, turning it over in her memories. Then the door between the Infusion Room and the antechamber closed.

A humming vibration filled the glass-like tube that Ranma was encased in. Ranma's panic was calmed by the serene smile from Auntie, who was in a chamber much like Ranma's. Ranma watched as the woman in blue placed a crystal in a three pronged receptacle in front on Ranma's tube. The woman in blue then typed something into a floating, transparent keyboard.

Then a bright light filled the tube, engulfing Ranma and blinding her. The feeling of something penetrating into her very soul shuddered throughout her being. Ranma felt weightless as the light lifted her up, suspending her in midair in the tube. The feeling of power flowing through her became overwhelming and her mouth opened in a silent scream. The sensation of the infusion was interpreted by Ranma's brain as an odd mixture of pleasure and pain as the power drove Ranma to her limits and beyond, she was about to cry out in pain/pleasure when everything went black.

Ranma woke up from her sleep, disoriented and groggy from the overpowering realism of the dream. She mentally fumbled about trying to draw herself into a more aware state, all the while keeping the hauntingly familiar face of the woman in red in her mind. Ranma struggled to remember as she reached full consciousness, one name came though her still sleep fogged mind:

"Washu."

- + - + - + -

Ranma was wandering the campus, in the early predawn light, turning last night's dream over in her head. Being a Saturday, she took the opportunity of having no classes and not having to be at work until nine forty-five to sort through the confusing images and feelings of the dream.

"No," she concluded. "It wasn't a dream, it was a memory."

She continued her walk in the cool morning air, goose pimples rising on her bare legs that peeked from her shorts as she walked.

"I guess that little girl who lives with Tenchi shook a memory loose," Ranma thought, ignoring the cold. "I wonder what else is knocking around in the back of my mind."

She considered that line of thought.

"First my memories were blocked, then those came down. Even the memory block within the memory block eventually came down," Ranma pondered. "I know if I try to rush it, I can hurt myself. Maybe in a way I don't want to know, seems like when I try too much I remember nothing but bad stuff."

Rounding the corner of the building she lived in, she headed toward an open space in the back where she was occasionally instructed by Happosai.

"I'll run through some katas to help me think," she thought as she headed to the back of the dorms. "I gotta sort this out."

Her thoughts were derailed as another emotionally troubling situation jogged toward her.

"Ranma?" the jogger asked. "You're up early."

Ranma blink-blinked at the newcomer and then smiled.

"Morning Tenchi," she greeted him with a thin smile. "Your roommate woke you early again, I see."

Tenchi smiled in return. "Yes," he answered. "His snoring could wake the dead."

The two youths fell into a silence that grew more uncomfortable as it progressed.

"So," Tenchi ventured. "What are you up early for?"

"Nightmare," Ranma answered without thought. "Couldn't get back to sleep."

She caught Tenchi's eyes and a fluttery feeling invaded her stomach. She quickly suppressed it.

"Hungry?" Tenchi asked.

Ranma, forgetting her morning workout, smiled and nodded.

"Let's get something to eat," Tenchi offered as he led Ranma off to the cafe they had ate at before.

In spite of her control over her body, Ranma's heart rate went up involuntary.

"Oh man," she thought as they walked. She studied Tenchi's face, lost in the welling emotions she felt. "Do I really love him or do I just think I love him?"

"Say Ranma," Tenchi said suddenly while they continued on to the cafe. "I- I never got to..., um - you know - take you on a real date or anything."

Ranma's fluttery feeling increased tenfold.

"Ah... yeah?" She squeaked before composing herself and pointing out mirthfully. "Well you know, going to the 'Cute Rabbit' every Friday could be considered a date."

Tenchi was silent for a moment before saying, "I -I m-mean just us. No one else."

It was Ranma's turn for quiet reflection. "You want to ask me out?" she clarified.

Tenchi was silent for a moment, his face blushed slightly before he stammered, "Y-yes."

The fluttery feeling in the pit of Ranma's stomach exploded. Her nerves rose to such a state that it spread throughout her body as a great warmth. Her nervousness made itself known by the uncomfortable feeling of needing to void her bladder.

"Tell him how you feel!" part of Ranma's mind screamed. "It's the prefect time! No one is around - do it!"

"Tenchi - I love -," Ranma's voice and will faltered, "- to."

"Coward!" that part of her mind screamed in frustration.

Tenchi turned his face toward the shorter girl walking by his side and smiled.

"G-great," He said nervously. "Let's plan for next Saturday night - if that's all right."

"T-that's fine," Ranma stammered back. Her nerves finally getting the best of her, Ranma broke into a light giggle.

Tenchi open the door to the small cafe for her and both entered the eatery.

"Oh Tenchi," Ranma thought as she sat in their traditional spot by the window. "How can I tell you how I feel? If you reject me, my heart... my heart would shatter like glass."

- + - + - + -

Sailor Pluto pondered the problem before her.

"There's got to be some way to bring the situation under control," she thought while keeping the feelings of panic under control. "If I could find one reference point that is unique to our timeline, then I can start building new reference points from there."

Making further adjustments with her staff, Pluto continued to study the overflowing lines of emptiness that were the confused mess of endless time streams. Like several million long strings that all have been wadded up into knots, it was impossible to pick out the one string she needed. Pluto looked longingly for the one, defined point that she knew was unique to her timeline: The homing point.

"When I get back I'll have to report this to..." Pluto froze in thought as she realized that the most important point was missing. "Oh no! Without the homing point, I can't find my way back. I'm stuck here until I can find my timeline."

She looked at the mess that the Gates of Time was displaying with a new, deeper sense of despair.

- + - + - + -

The week ran its normal routine of classes, work and Tenchi. The afternoon however, had been unusually troublesome for Ranma. She sighed heavily as she entered her dorm room from a grueling afternoon in the lab with one thought on her mind: Thank goodness it's Friday.

The lab work that afternoon would have gone much better if Ranma's thoughts weren't constantly distracted by a certain somebody. Because of those thoughts, she had to rerun the experiment. For that, she rewarded herself with a severe scolding on the way back to her dorm for being so... imaginative.

It had been two weeks since Ranma and Tenchi's first "real date" and as far as Ranma was concerned, it went wonderfully. It was a typical "first date": dinner, movie, dancing and conversation. Lots and lots of conversation. Because Ranma and Tenchi were well acquainted with each other, there was none of the typical first date awkwardness. Underneath it all, Ranma got the feeling that Tenchi was holding something back. But seeing that she was also not telling everything about herself, Ranma couldn't complain.

Megumi was in, hunched at her desk, cyphering numbers from a math assignment. Ranma slipped out of her shoes, placed her backpack on the floor and sat down at her desk across from Megumi. Ranma then leaned over and extracted two books and a notebook from her bag and spread them across her desk. Ranma idly opened one of the books to the chapter she needed and stared at the words for a few seconds.

Ranma sighed and propped her head up between her hands with her elbows resting on the desktop.

"Why isn't love cut and dry?" Ranma bemoaned herself. "It's not like those movies I used to watch with Michiko where there is a... big realization or something."

Dropping one hand she fiddled with the open book before her, flipping pages back and forth without thought.

"Do I love Tenchi? She wondered. "Or do I just think I love him?"

Ranma stopped her fiddling and considered, "Do I even know what love is?"

She sighed again at the memory of her and him being together.

"How does he feel about me?" she thought wistfully. "He did ask me out..."

Ranma resumed playing with the pages of the book. "I can't just go up to him and say: Hey Tenchi, I think I love you, how do you feel about me? I'd die if he..."

Ranma thoughts drifted off, not wanting to think the worst.

"If I tell him and he doesn't love me, will he even want to be with me? Will I chase him off? The world would be a dark and lonely place without him."

She rubbed her forehead, trying to steady her emotions.

"This is so hard."

"Tough assignment?" Megumi asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Ranma said, breaking from her thoughts.

"I asked if you had a tough assignment," Megumi repeated. "You look like you're having a hard time of it."

"Yeah," Ranma said quietly. "I'm just trying to figure something out. That's all."

A few quite moments passed between the two girls. Ranma thought a bit more about her situation and turned to her roommate, who was by then back working on her math.

"Megumi?" Ranma said tentatively.

"Hmmmm?" Megumi replied absently as she fiddled with some numbers.

"Can I ask you something?" Ranma asked softly.

Megumi stopped what she was doing and looked up at Ranma. "What's the matter?" she asked seeing the slightly distraught look on Ranma's face.

Ranma remained quiet for a moment, then asked, "How do you feel about Tetsuyuki?"

Megumi blinked at the question.

"H-he's fun to hang around with," Megumi answered. "He is serious when he needs to be, like his classes and work, but he's also laid back and easy going when he wants to be. Why? Something about him I should know about?"

"No," Ranma said quickly while looking in her roommates eyes. "Just curious. But you didn't really answer my question: How do you feel about him?"

Megumi regarded Ranma for a few heartbeats before answering.

"I like him. A lot," Megumi admitted. "I'm not sure if he's 'Mr. Right', but I think he's pretty close. I figure if he is, it'll take care of itself. Why?"

"You've told him this?"

Megumi set her pencil down and folded her arms. "Yes. As a matter of fact I did tell him," she answered. "We've been going steady for awhile now and he's even dropped all his other girlfriends."

Ranma stared at her roommate in contemplation.

"Why are you asking this?" Megumi said, truly wanting to get to the dirt. "Is something going on between you and Tenchi?"

It was Ranma's turn to regard Megumi. Ranma sighed.

"I... I like Tenchi. A lot." Ranma's said before her voice faded. "But I'm..."

Silence reigned between the girls. The moment dragged on and consumed two whole minutes before Megumi prompted Ranma.

"But you're what?"

Ranma's eyes took on a different look than Megumi was used to seeing. She'd been with Ranma long enough to have seen the many moods Ranma had. During the last few months of rooming with her, Megumi had never seen this look before.

"Ranma," she said. "What's wrong?"

For Ranma the question was much deeper. She grasped to define how she felt. Ranma knew she was better at dealing with her emotions than before, but some emotions she dreaded and this was one of them.

"I'm...," Ranma paused to swallow. "I'm scared."

Megumi eyes widened at that. She quickly rose from her seat and knelt down in front of Ranma and looked upon her with concerned eyes.

"Has Tenchi been threatening you?" Megumi asked seriously.

Ranma blinked-blink at the question and realized the misunderstanding.

"No!" Ranma strongly objected. "He's treated me better than anyone outside my family has. It's just that I'm... scared... about how I... feel about him."

Megumi let out a sigh of relief.

"How do you feel about him?"

"I... lo-like him, I think." Ranma waffled. Megumi looked sternly into Ranma's eyes.

"Just like him?"

Ranma looked at her hands that were now in her lap. Hands are interesting.

"I think I love him," she quietly confessed.

Megumi smiled.

"Are you going to tell him?"

Ranma thought a moment, then shook her head.

"Why on earth not?" Megumi asked, incredulous at Ranma's answer.

"Because," Ranma worked out. "If I tell him and he doesn't feel that way...," the rest drifted off, but Megumi got the idea. Rejection is always hard.

"Ranma," Megumi said while taking the redhead's hands in her. "You gotta tell him how you feel. If he doesn't feel the same about you, it would be better to know now than risk the possibility of passing up a good thing."

"But how I feel scares me," Ranma admitted.

Megumi looked at Ranma's eyes and saw the fear in them.

"You owe it to yourself and Tenchi to tell him how you feel," Megumi said gently. "Or do you plan on going on this way?"

Ranma shook her head and lowered her eyes. Fear of rejection. Ranma had felt betrayed and rejected years ago when her ex-father and the Tendos turned on her. It was an awful feeling that ripped into her heart and she had never truly forgotten it. She had no desire to experience that feeling again.

"I gotta do something," Ranma thought to herself. "I can't keep dodging the issue. That is what a coward would do."

Ranma raised her eyes from her lap to look at her roommate's eyes. Megumi was still on the floor before Ranma, holding her hands.

"I'll tell him," Ranma said while gaining a decisive light in her eyes. She stood dramatically with a fist over her chest and proclaimed, "When we get together tomorrow - I'll tell him."

- + - + - + -

"There's got to be something I'm overlooking. There's got to be something for me to latch on to," Pluto thought with frustration as she attempted to sort the endless number of timelines out. It was proving a frustrating task made more frustrating as the flow of time move on, shifting, crossing over and merging the time streams here and there.

Sailor Pluto was even unsure how long she had been working on the problem, for time was meaningless where she was.

"I should have had a contingency plan for this. I never thought that all the reference points would be..."

She stopped in mid-thought.

"There is one!" she thought excitedly. "I didn't think of it as one because it wasn't designed for that."

Using her staff, Pluto made some very fine-tune adjustments in the Gates. The mass of intersecting lines appeared to sort themselves out, until a single strand, representing one timeline was present. In that timeline, a point - no more, no less- was visible as it moved from past to present.

"There!" Pluto said aloud in triumph. "Ranma's space/time tracker."

The single dot that represented the beacon of Ranma's space/time tracker also represented the here and now to Pluto. She was blinded to the past or future at this point, but she could now find the present. Also, the single dot that was unique to the correct timeline and using the Gates of Time as another space/time point, she could have the Gates start replacing the new reference points.

"Thank god she's wearing it," Pluto thought as she watched the throbbing dot that was her timeline. "I'll have the Gate start replacing the reference points, I hope she keeps wearing it while..."

Her thoughts sputtered out as looked closely at the dot, making a small adjustment the dot swelled up so she could inspect it in detail.

"What is this?" she thought as she noticed a barely perceptible filament of light spiral away from the dot.

"Someone has tapped into the tracker!" Pluto realized. "No one should be able to do that!"

She stopped and considered that. "Then again, no one or nothing was supposed to wipe out the reference points either."

Pluto's eyes narrowed.

"When I get back, I'll have to call an emergency meeting. I can't tell them exactly what's going on - but, I can tell them it is bad."

Pluto continued on her task to make the jump into the correct timeline.

"I have to get there quickly," she concluded to herself. "That means working with this single point."

She frowned. "That's going to be like walking a tight rope, but I have to try."

- + - + - + -

Tenchi watched Ranma as she danced.

He loved to watch Ranma. Whether he was just watching her as he sparred with her, walked with her, danced with her and...

Well, he found that he just loved watching her.

Right now he was dancing with her. They moved together rhythmically to the beat of the music. Someone decent was singing on stage, something that he was grateful for, but at the moment Tenchi didn't care. All his attention was focused on a certain redhead in front of him.

He found that he liked to study every detail in her movements. The way her shoulders moved to the beat of the music that countered the thrusting of her hips. How when she raised her arms above her head, it accentuated her figure. He looked upon the way her hair, done up it her trademark ponytail, flew around her head like a living thing.

He scrutinized Ranma's face as she danced. Her head would cock to one side slightly, always in perfect time to the music, her eyes hidden behind half closed lids. Then as she titled her head to the other side, she would open those eyes. He discovered that he would be lost in those expressive, blue eyes that seemed to reach deep inside him.

"Man, I got it bad," he commented to himself.

He looked at her again, this time she was smiling at him. Butterflies invaded his stomach. "Oh man, I got it bad."

"What?" Ranma asked while still dancing.

Tenchi blink-blinked, then froze in mid dance step as he realized that he said the last thought aloud.

"Are you all right?" a concerned Ranma asked as she waved a hand in front of Tenchi's face.

"Yes, thank you," he said with a smile and a nod. "Just need to rest up a bit."

Taking her by the hand, Tenchi led an unresisting, but contemplative Ranma back to their table.

"I gotta tell him," Ranma's mind raced as she reveled in the feeling of his hand in hers. "I gotta."

She sat next to him as Megumi and Tetsuyuki stood and took their turns at the dance floor.

- + - + - + -

Concentrating on achieving her goal, Sailor Pluto carefully made her way through he morass of space/time to what she hoped was her home timeline. Her surroundings were much like passing through a transparent tunnel with a multitude of other tunnels intercepting it from all directions. The confusing array of timelines and dimensions that crossed Pluto's path meant that she had to stop and recheck her bearings with her staff, before proceeding.

"So many dimensions to get lost in," Sailor Pluto thought as she made her way. She unknowingly echoed the sentiments that Sailor Sun had, two years prior.

Taking one last bearing and hoping for the best, Sailor Pluto used her staff to open the way. Pushing her staff into the space/time continuum, she followed it through and stepped into the here and now.

Pluto materialized by a low wall that was topped by a chain link fence between a street and a canal or creek. She was happy to have ended up on the dry street instead of in the water some twenty feet away. Looking about, she spotted storefronts across the way with their welcoming Japanese signs. She also discovered that her arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by the small crowd that started to gather around her.

"Good," she thought. "Right timeline and right country - but where and exactly when?"

Examining the buildings and finding no clues there, Sailor Pluto approached one of the people in the gathered crowd around her.

"Excuse me?" she asked politely, giving the circumstances. "I lost my space/time reference points. I know I'm in the right timeline, but can you tell me where and when I am?"

She was answered with blank stares. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Where am I?" she asked the crowd plainly.

"Um...," someone said. "You're in Kashiwa City."

"Kashiwa City?" Pluto asked and was greeted with many nodding heads. "That's northeast of Juuban," she thought.

"What date is it?" She asked the crowd.

After finding her answers, Pluto hurried back to Juuban. She was in the right timeline and the right date, or as near as Ranma's space/time tracker could get her. It was a tricky maneuver only having two points to work with, Ranma's and the Gate of Time's.

"I'm about two months from where I went into the Gates," she thought. "I need to get in contact with the others and let them know what's going on."

Usually traveling like she was used to meant using at least seven points. One, the Gates of Time, was the fixed point, the other six were divided between independent space and time points. This helped Pluto move between the Gates and where/when ever she needed to be. Without the vast array of reference points, moving from the Gates of Time to the here and now with just the two points was dangerous and one mistake could've left Pluto lost in space/time.

But she managed to pull it off.

Not wanting to risk unnecessarily losing herself in the confusing mess that space/time had become by teleporting around, Pluto ditched the crowd, found a secluded off road and de-transformed into her civilian self. Then Setsuna continued her trek toward Juuban using more conventional methods.

- + - + - + -

Ranma and Tenchi were taking a breather as Tetsuyuki and Megumi took their turn on the dance floor. They were seated close together, heads almost touching, in order to hear each other other the din of the club.

"Say Tenchi," Ranma said tentatively. "I got-, I have to tell you something."

Tenchi looked Ranma in the eye and waited. After a few moments when Ranma didn't continue, he broke the silence.

"What is it, Ranma?" he asked in a voice with thin traces of concern in it. "Is there something wrong?"

"Umm," Ranma grasped at straws. "No! It's... it's just...," her voice trailed off into nothing.

"I'm such a coward!" she mentally berated herself. "I can't say it! He'll think I'm an idiot!"

"Ranma," Tenchi said gently as he took her hands into his. "Is there something the matter?"

Ranma felt the blood drain from her face.

"God, why is this so hard?" she thought. So nervous with her own inability to speak her heart, she failed to notice Tenchi's behavior.

"Something's wrong," Tenchi thought. "I hope she's not trying to... not see me anymore."

The two stared at one another as the club seemed to fade into the background.

"What's on your mind?" Tenchi ventured.

"You are," Ranma thought as she spoke, "Ahh... Umm..."

Tenchi studied the girl seated next to him. She opened her mouth several times in her attempt to say something, but nothing came out. Ranma fidgeted in her seat, but all during this, she kept her eyes locked on Tenchi's. Ranma screwed up her courage and forged ahead.

"Tenchi," she began tentatively again. "I think that-"

Just as she was about to finish, Megumi and Tetsuyuki returned to the table.

"Whoa!" Tetsuyuki said loudly. "That was good. You guys up for another round or you ready to go?"

"Dammit!" Ranma screamed to herself. "Just when I got the guts to tell him!"

- + - + - + -

The cab of the train was packed.

The metal finish of the train's interior matched that of its exterior, right down to the lime green trim. Chrome rods ran the length of the cabin overhead, poles connected the rods to the floor of the cabin. Straps, with a hand hold on them, dangled down from the rods. The train was full of salary men and office ladies heading home after a hard day's work. Interspersed between the professionally dressed men and women were high school students also heading home from their late school clubs or heading out to party.

Setsuna tried to ignore her surroundings as she pondered the situation and held on to the strap as the train made its way. She was unpleasantly surprised how crowded it was at this time of night and was a little irritated on having to stand, occasionally pressed up against so many complete strangers. Not being one that frequented the trains and having no basis for comparison, she idly wondered if this was normal.

"What to do?" she pondered and planned. "I could head back to my apartment, but that's too far..."

Sighing and wishing the train was faster, she stared emptily out the windows. The brightness of the interior of the train contrasted with darkness of the night making everything except the brightest lights outside the train invisible.

"I'll head for the shrine," she concluded. "And use the phone there."

Setsuna mentally cursed herself for letting the batteries of her cell phone go down for the twentieth time that evening. She also cursed herself for not have a communicator handy and becoming so dependent on the Gates of Time for keeping contact with the other Scouts. It didn't help that the very train she needed to take pulled into the station before she could even think about using a public phone.

"I got dependent on one thing," Setsuna thought as she recalled something that Ranma had said. "When this gets sorted out, I'm going to have to make some contingency plans."

The train made a curve and the slight gee force made two men lean into her slightly. Luckily they didn't try to grope her, one was busy reading a newspaper, the other a manga.

"I'll see about getting Rei's grandfather out of the shrine," she thought getting back to the problem. "Then, getting everyone together."

As the train closed the distance between her and Juuban, Setsuna continued to mentally go over what she was going to tell the rest.

- + - + - + -

The two couples made their way back to the dorms, Tenchi and Ranma trailing behind Megumi and Tetsuyuki. Ranma was in emotional turmoil.

"I was so close, so very close!" she griped to herself. "I don't know if I can ever tell him now."

Ranma's mind rummaged through her emotional turmoil.

"If I tell him and he doesn't feel the same way as me..." Ranma thought gloomily. "...then my heart of glass would just shatter!"

Her shoulders sagged a bit as uncertainty and depression seized her. Tenchi noticed her posture and mistook it.

"Cold?" He asked.

"Huh?" Ranma replied, being torn from her thoughts and emotions.

Tenchi placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped walking.

"Ranma," he began to say, before turning his attention to Megumi and Tetsuyuki. "Guys? Would you mind going on without us - I think we need to talk."

Ranma and Tenchi's roommates looked at each other and back at them. Megumi gave Ranma a look mixed with concern and encouragement.

"Sure," Megumi answered for both of them, then addressed Ranma. "I'll see you back at the dorm."

Ranma and Tenchi watched the other couple move off into the lighted walkway. After they disappeared, Tenchi turned his full attention to his date. In the dimly lit walkway, they were alone. It was Tenchi's turn to screw up his courage.

"Ranma," he began. "I need to know how do you feel about me."

Ranma was caught completely off guard by the question. Ever since they left the club, she'd been trying to figure out a way to tell him how she thought she felt. The only problem was that she wanted to tell him with out really telling him, therefore sparing her any embarrassment if it didn't work out. Ranma stared at the taller young man under the light of the street light, frozen like a statue, fumbling for words.

Tenchi watched her for what seemed like an eternity as Ranma desperately tried to get her emotions together. He sighed.

"I guess it was a stupid question, huh?" he finally said depressingly, breaking the silence.

"I gotta say something! I'm such an idiot!" Ranma's mind screamed. "I've fought in life and death battles and I'm afraid to tell him that I love him! - I think I love him! I'm pathetic!"

"C'mon," Tenchi said somewhat depressingly as he turned toward the direction of the dorms. "I'll walk you home."

Ranma spoke for the first time since the unexpected question was popped.

"Ten... chi..., I..., I...," she stammered out, reflecting her brain freeze.

Tenchi turned back to Ranma with a quizzical look on his face. The redhead was still rooted to the spot, stammering about with her words. He blinked a few times and moved closer to the befuddled red head.

"Ranma?" he asked softly, growing concerned and wondering what was the matter.

Ranma stopped her stammering and tried to look into Tenchi's brown eyes. In her over-nervous condition, she was having difficultly doing that. "I gotta say something! I gotta do something!"

Tenchi leaned down to better look at Ranma's face, hidden in the shadows of her bangs. "Ranma?" he tentatively asked. "Are you alright?"

Ranma stared at the face of Tenchi as it hovered in front of her. A thousand different thoughts and emotions flooded through her, locking in her in a indecisive state. She quaked.

"I gotta do something - anything!" her mind screamed in anguish.

Before Tenchi could blink, Ranma had her lips pressed firmly on his.

- + - + - + -

It was late when Setsuna exited the Juuban Station. The sky was dark and starless in the city haze. The street lamps lit the area up in a surreal glow as Setsuna looked about to get her bearings. After a moment of study, she spied the lighted Tokyo Tower nearby - less than a half mile away against the blackness of the sky. Realizing where she was, she quickly made for the Cherry Hill Shrine.

Setsuna wasn't sure how long or far she walked, so engrossed in trying to figure out how to get Rei's grandfather out of the shrine. Before too long, she found herself passing through the Shrine gates. She let of a sigh of relief upon noting that Rei's grandfather apparently was not in. Letting herself in, not quite legally, Setsuna made her way to the phone. Dialing a well remembered number, she held the receiver up to her ear.

After the first ring a familiar voice answered the call. "Hello?"

"Rei," Setsuna said into the phone. "It's me - Setsuna."

"What's wrong?" Rei asked already picking up the signs of distress in Setsuna's voice. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the shrine. We need to have an emergency meeting," Setsuna stated. "We need to get everyone together as quickly as possible."

- + - + - + -

Tenchi overcame his shock of Ranma's lips on his and soon found himself returning Ranma's kiss. It turned into a tentative kiss after Ranma's initial lip mash and when they parted lips, the kiss only deepened. They parted briefly to make sure no one else was around before pulling each other into a tighter embrace and reengaging their lips.

Standing there, in the dimly light walkway, Ranma and Tenchi expressed their feelings without words...

Then the loud sound, much like that of a cell phone's ring, broke the moment. Ranma's communicator was buzzing loudly for attention in her purse.

- + - + - + -
- + - + - + -

Notes:

I can't believe it has been a year since I started this. Where'd the time go? It is amazing what started out as a one shot and a lark grew and grew into this. As always, I would like to thank everybody that took the time to leave a review. I tried to 'pick up the pace' with this chapter without skimping. I'll trust you, the reader, tell me if I succeeded or not.

To the people who complimented me on my improved writing: I thank you, but I must give credit where credit is due: Ghost in the Machine. Ghost's patience, pre-reading, comments, and sub-contracting my wife to "whop me upside the head" when I kept making the same stupid mistakes over and over again has been chiefly responsible for my improvement.

To ColdCypher who wrote: "... what was your wife's thoughts on this fic? (I'm curious :P:D lol)"

I don't know what my wife thinks about my fic, she hadn't read any of it in about nine months. She got caught up in her own hobby and hadn't had time to looked at it. My daughter has read though, and has deemed it "very, very cool".

To Impatient who wrote: "If you're waiting for 500 reviews,..."

I don't post based on the number of reviews I get, I post when a chapter is ready.

At this point I am working on part ten (which I have been fighting writer's block on for awhile), part eleven (which has been going smother than part ten), and various other scenes for future chapters. I also have been dabbling in my "anti-writer's block" story - which has helped me get pass those moments when I drew a blank as to what to write in the past. Overall, the last year has been fun and hope it will still be fun at the end of all this.

Thanks for reading