Twin Dragons under Moonlight
A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon X-over
Chapter 2
By Ben Bradley

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Disclaimer: None of the characters from Ranma � or Sailor Moon belong to me. I am merely borrowing them for this fiction.

Note: [] = English

"" = Japanese

:::: = Thought

Enjoy!

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Ranma roused slowly from his rest and yawned deeply. The ground outside his tent was still moist from the previous night's rain and the smell of pine was strong in the morning air. The morning mist was wispy and torn, and rather reminded him of smoke from a battlefield. A second look by the drowsy martial artist confirmed that the damage caused by the fight the night before wasn't just a dream as he had hoped. For a brief moment he missed the morning sparing he used to have with his father, but he brushed that thought away.

He was stiff and in pain from the hits he had taken, but the pain receded as he stretched and began to flow through his forms. Even though his body was busy with the motions of the kata, his mind was thoroughly analyzing the fight from as many angles as he could think of.

The daimon, despite its ridiculous appearance, was a very difficult opponent. Ranma frowned and put a little more energy into a kick when he remembered how, for all his skill and strength, he could barely get it's attention. He had managed to hurt it, but only when he had actually used one of his special attacks or when his battle aura was in full force. As quickly as the anger had come to him, it melted away.

Then he thought about who had really won the fight, Sailor Moon. It seemed silly to him that a girl that wore a stylized sailor suit and made stupid speeches before starting a fight could have the power to finish off the daimon.

He almost laughed as he thought about that. It seemed like he had spent a fair portion of the fight keeping an eye on her and saving her from any potential harm. What had really surprised him was that even though she seemed like a startled rabbit every time he had saved her, she did have enough nerve to step between him and Ryouga while they were fighting, not to mention tackle the daimon when it had both him and Ryouga by the throat.

He shook the images of the blond Senshi from his head and concentrated on remembering what moves had the most effect on the daimon. After a few short minutes, he decided that he was going to have to train harder with his special moves if he was going to be fighting daimons again.

::Maybe I could find Ryouga sometime today so we can get some real training done...:: He thought as he finished his kata. He winced slightly as several bruises started to complain again. Ranma frowned to himself while he gathered what he needed for school, doing his best to ignore the pain and stiffness that had returned full force.

A short while later, he dashed off for his first day at Juuban High with a silly grin plastered on his face. He ignored the startled looks he got as he rocketed down a fence towards his new school.

"This is great! No more Kuno!" He laughed as he hopped off the fence and walked through the gate for the school. Activity in the yard seemed to stop as he made his way into the building. He ignored this and made his way to the offices. He looked around at the chaotic crowd of administrators and teachers attending to the last minute details before the school day and sighed.

"I ain't ever gonna get my schedule at this rate..." Ranma muttered to himself before wading into the chaos.

"Can I help you?" a pudgy man asked Ranma as he wandered aimlessly through the office.

"Yeah, I'm Ranma Saotome and it's my first day here. Do ya got my schedule?"

"Hmm... Let's see... Saotome..." the man began flipping through a pile of papers on his desk until he got to a fairly thick file. "Ah, yes, Ranma. Have a seat," He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. The administrator waited until Ranma was seated before speaking again.

"Do you know what these are?" he asked as he held up the thick files. Ranma shook his head.

"These are your discipline files from Furinkan High. It seems that you have been in more than your fair share of trouble."

"I can explain," Ranma said nervously before the man waved him silent.

"I'm sure you can. The faculty at Furinkan seemed to be making special effort to detail exactly who was at fault in all of these disturbances. Fortunately for you, not many of them were your fault, not directly anyway."

"So, I'm not in trouble?"

"No, you're not. I just wanted to warn you to be on your best behavior while you are here and that includes wearing the uniform," he handed Ranma a slip of paper. "Now get to class."

"Uhm... I don't have a uniform."

"Didn't your parents buy you one?"

"I'm takin' care of myself now. I'll get a uniform after I'm sure I can eat."

The man's eyes took on a hard glint. "I think you had better tell me what's going on, young man."

Ranma sighed, "I decided that Pops just wasn't doing the right things anymore, so I moved out. I've got enough money to eat for a while, and just as soon as I can get a part time job or somethin' I'll be able to keep on eatin' and maybe get a better place to stay."

Ranma sat nervously as the administrator made a quick phone call. Once he had hung up the phone, the man sighed and stood from his desk. "Come with me, Ranma. I think you need to see our guidance counselor."

"I ain't done nothin' wrong yet!" Ranma protested as he stood to follow him.

"It's not that. I think you need to talk about what was happening at home, and I'm not qualified to help you with that. Here we go, you just knock on her door and tell her everything that's been going on at your house. Here, she's going to want to see your files," he handed Ranma the files and walked off.

Ranma looked at the oak door blankly for a moment before he glanced at the nameplate. What he saw made him do a double take.

"Setsuna Meioh? Ain't that the same woman that wanted to talk to Usagi the other night?" he asked himself as he knocked. Shortly after knocking, he was asked to enter by a familiar voice.

"Come in, Mr. Saotome. I've been expecting you."

Ranma opened the door and looked around the surprisingly large office. The walls were covered floor to ceiling with bookcases and behind a large oak desk sat Setsuna.

"Please, have a seat."

"Uhm... Thanks." He closed the door behind him and sat in front of her desk. "Here, the guy who told me to come here said you'd wanna see this." He handed her the file. "Your discipline record is not as important as finding out what caused the rift between you and your father," she said calmly as she placed the file on her desk and steepled her fingers.

"Now that'll take a while," Ranma said sarcastically, "Which part of messin' up my life did you wanna hear first?"

Setsuna merely raised an eyebrow at him and waited.

"He's engaged me to more girls than I can count, once it was for a bowl of rice a fish and _two_ pickles. About the only thing I can thank him for is training me to be the best at Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Is that the only reason you left?"

Ranma fidgeted in silence for a few minutes. "Well, no." He finally admitted. "I got into a pretty big fight with Akane the other day. I thought we were finally starting to get along..."

"Go on," she prompted when he faltered.

"Well, it's like this; she thinks of herself as a martial artist, but she ain't got none of the discipline needed to be any good at it. She's always flying off the handle at the least little thing, and then when you try an' help her she blows up on ya and then beats you into the ground with the nearest blunt object." Once his hesitation over talking about this with a stranger faded, it was like a floodgate opening. For some odd reason, he felt as if he knew her from some time long ago, but he couldn't place exactly where.

"Her cooking is toxic, but instead of listening to Kasumi when she tries to learn, she just improvises."

"Her cooking can't be that bad..."

Ranma gave her an odd look, "Only someone who ain't never had to eat her cooking can say something like that. Anyway, she expects to be able to train with me, but when I try to seriously train her, she gets mad about something and loses focus. I guess that's what really happened the other day..." He trailed off as he thought back to the fight that led up to his departure from the dojo. At the silent prompting from Setsuna to continue, he preceded to describe the incident in detail.

Once Ranma had finished telling Setsuna about that and Mamoru and Usagi's subsequent arrival at the dojo, he slumped in his seat.

"Come to think of it, I dunno know why she suddenly got so mad," he said half to himself.

"She couldn't have always been like that." Setsuna protested mildly.

"Oh sure," Ranma laughed, "Every once in a while she'd give this little smile or do something nice for me. I guess after ten years on the road with Pops I was a bit lonely at first. After a while things had gotten better, kinda. Except once she an' I started to get along better, Pops and Mr. Tendo started pushing us to get married a lot. I couldn't stand it!" He made a gagging noise.

"I see," Setsuna said mildly. "So that's why you are living in a tent in the middle of the park."

"Yeah. That'll only be 'til I can find a better place to sleep."

Setsuna regarded the young man across from her. It seemed odd to her that no matter how much hardship he had endured, he still seemed to have a fairly positive attitude.

"Tell me then, what did your mother have to say about this?"

Ranma looked down and mumbled something under his breath before he straightened back up. "I dunno. Pops took me on a training trip ten years ago and I haven't seen her as a man," he snorted in disgust. "That's another reason not to go back to Pops fer now."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow and started rummaging around in her desk drawer. Despite his potentially disastrous ability to alter the time stream, she found herself feeling just a little sorry for the young man. After a moment she decided that if she couldn't just get rid of him, she may as well keep an eye on him. That being decided, she pulled out a small pamphlet and handed it to Ranma.

"Here. That's a listing of the jobs a student is allowed to take during the school year. With the kind of determination that I believe you have, I'm certain you will find a decent job and keep your grades up."

"Hey, thanks!" Ranma said as he started flipping through the pamphlet before her words really sunk in. "Wait a sec, what about my grades?"

"It's very simple. You must retain a certain grade point average to be allowed to work after school. Otherwise, I'll be forced to place you in a study group and you will not have the time to be able to work even an hour." Her tone was level, but her face betrayed a sternness that Ranma had only seen once or twice before. It looked a lot different on a beautiful woman's face rather than a wrinkled old woman, but it was unmistakable. She quickly wrote down a quick note and handed that to him as well.

"That is an explanation to your teachers about your lack of a uniform. I do expect you to purchase one just as soon as you can afford to. I think it's time you went to your home- room."

"Uhm... Thanks," Ranma said as he got to his feet. "I guess I'll be seein' ya again later." He waved jauntily as he left her office and closed the door.

Setsuna leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. After careful consideration, she decided that she needed to see for herself what kind of upbringing he had. The files from Furinkan were very carefully worded; as if they were trying to hide something and Ranma himself had been less than forthcoming about more than the very recent past.

With a dazzling display of flashing lights, she transformed into Sailor Pluto and departed to the Gates of Time to learn more about the mystery that was Ranma Saotome.

Earlier that morning, Minako Aino woke slowly to an impatient tapping on her cheek. She drowsily batted at the paws in front of her face and rolled onto her side. The patting on her cheek resumed and she gradually became aware of the insistent buzz of her alarm clock.

"Oh no!" She yelled as she sat bolt upright in bed, sending Artemis flying, "I'm going to be late for school!!"

"Bwee!" P-chan complained as Minako's frantic movements woke him up. Bemused, he watched as she dashed into the next room and came back a moment later trying to tie her ribbon and eat a piece of toast at the same time.

"Artemis! Why didn't you wake me up?" She said to the dazed moon cat. Without even pausing for a reply from him, she started stuffing books and papers at random into her book bag. P-chan squealed indignantly as he was grabbed and shoved into the bookbag as well. Minako either ignored or didn't hear his panicked squealing as she finished getting ready and dashed out of the house.

She barely managed to make it to her seat before the bell rang. A small sigh escaped her lips as she watched her teacher enter the room and begin with roll call. While fighting off the inevitable boredom that was algebra class, she reached into her book bag for her notebook. Her eyes widened when she felt something small and warm inside her bag. She opened the bag fully and looked inside, half expecting to find Artemis in there. What she did find, though, was P-chan.

"Ryouga?!?" she whispered. "How did you get in there?"

P-chan did a little piggy shrug and did his absolute best to look small and innocent. Minako gave him an unreadable look as she retrieved the notebook she needed.

"We'll talk about this later," she whispered and returned her attention to the front.

P-chan sighed a bit to himself and tried to make himself comfortable. It was pitch black in the book bag and utterly boring. The only thing he found that helped with the boredom was to listen to the classes being taught.

When lunchtime rolled around, Minako slipped away from the classroom with her book-bag in hand. Once she was off school grounds, she pulled Ryouga from her bag.

"I think we need to find your backpack," she said as she headed towards the park where they had fought the previous night. "Maybe it's somewhere near where I found you..."

After they had walked through the park for several minutes, they came across the site of the previous night's battle. Ranma's tent was pitched in a neat little camp on the edge of the battlefield and Ryouga's pack was sitting out in the open. Minako put P-chan down and began to rummage through the pack until she found the small propane stove and a kettle. She giggled a bit foolishly as she tried to set it up but never seemed to get it put together quite right.

"Bwee!" P-chan snorted, a little annoyed at how long it was taking her before he gently pushed her hands away from the portable stove with his snout and proceeded to set it up himself.

"Are you trying to say I don't know what I'm doing?" Minako asked in a stern tone. P-chan spared her a glance as he finished setting it up and dug a canteen of water out of his pack. Once the kettle was full and sitting on the portable stove, P-chan settled back on his haunches and watched the kettle in earnest.

"Now I've seen everything, a piggy that boils his own water," Minako giggled. The moment a puff of steam wafted from the spout of the kettle, Minako grabbed it and poured its contents over P-chan.

"Would you stop doing that?!" Ryouga screamed as he covered himself while turning a bright red. "Could you look away please?"

Minako did have the good grace to blush as she looked to one side while Ryouga dug through his pack and quickly got dressed.

"Now what do we do, Ryouga?" Minako asked when he was done. "I've already missed out on class for the afternoon, so I might as well do something. Besides," she continued with a mischievous little grin, "I can't let you wander off, now can I?"

"Uhm, I dunno," he looked around nervously.

"Well, what do you normally do during the day when you want to stay in one place?" She asked with the sweetest smile she could come up with.

"I either train or fight Ranma," Ryouga answered without hesitation.

"Oooh! Can I watch?" Minako squealed.

"I guess..."

Mamoru Chiba sighed as he closed the door to his apartment. A quick glance around showed him that Ryouga still had not returned.

"Was it too much to ask for him to not get lost?" He muttered as he dropped his books on the coffee table. He paused for a minute and gazed at the framed photo of Ryouga.

As he stood there, there was a knock at the door. After one last quick glance at the photo, he answered the door.

"Oh, Usako."

"Hi Mamo-chan!" She gave him a quick hug and then gazed up at his face lovingly. Her face darkened when she noticed his pensive look. "What's wrong?"

"It's Ryouga... I think he got lost."

"I think he's with Ranma right now, actually. There was a second attack last night."

"There was?" He looked stunned, "Must not have taken long, I never even felt you being in danger."

"Actually," she looked down and scuffed her feet a little. "I was."

"What?!?" Mamoru half yelled as he dragged Usagi into his apartment and slammed the door. "Are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere are you?!?" He began to check for any injuries in a panic.

"I'm fine, Mamo-chan!" She batted playfully at his hands. "Ranma was there and he looked out for me!"

Mamoru's face darkened. "Ranma?"

"You should have seen it! He and Ryouga fought with the daimon with their bare hands!" She made a few punching motions to emphasize a point or two as she described the fight to a stunned Mamoru.

"Wait a minute!" He stopped her when she described how Ryouga had shot his shi shi hokkoudan, "Are you telling me that those two can do energy blasts!"

"Yeah! Rei-chan says that Ranma uses his ego, while Ryouga uses all these dark emotions, like depression and stuff. Poor Rei-chan said she had a terrible headache because they used way more of something she called 'Ki' than she's ever dreamed of using. It really knocked that daimon for a loop! It caught them by the throat then, but I tackled it. Then Ryouga ripped one of its arms off right before it exploded!"

Mamoru felt more and more insignificant as Usagi excitedly finished her story, but failed to mention Ranma's transformation.

"I'm sorry, Usako. I should have been there."

"Don't worry about it, Mamo-chan." Usagi tried to comfort him, "We beat the daimon, and Ranma went looking for Ryouga."

"You said they both got hit by water from a Deep Submerge, right? Did Ranma change as well?" He asked.

Usagi looked away and began to fidget. "Well, yes..."

"What does he turn into?"

Usagi fidgeted a little longer before she looked up at his face again. "I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you! It's Ranma's problem, and I don't think that I should be spreading it around."

"Usako!" He sounded shocked and angry at the same time.

"He was really uncomfortable about it. If he wants to keep it a secret, I'll do what I can to help him." She said defiantly.

"So, you don't trust me enough? Is that it?" Mamoru half yelled. "Your always so worried about other peoples' feelings, what about mine?"

"I'm sorry, Mamo-chan," tears began running down her cheeks as she rushed from his apartment. He sighed to himself as he watched her go.

"That didn't go well."

Usagi wandered listlessly down the streets of the Juuban shopping district. The few store windows she looked in only reflected her tear-streaked face. She couldn't even bring herself to go into the Crown Arcade. The other people on the sidewalk gave the depressed girl a wide berth.

"Hey, Usagi!"

Usagi looked around for who had called her name, but couldn't see anyone she knew. She let her head drop back down and continued to trudge along.

"Up here," Ranma said from the fence next to her. When she did finally look right at him, he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she tried in vain to stop crying and smile for him.

"Like heck it's nothing," Ranma said as he hopped off the fence. "The last couple a' times I've seen ya, you've been all smiles and now I see ya just wanderin' around crying? I ain't that stupid."

Usagi just looked at him for a moment before latching onto him with a death grip and she cried into his shirt causing Ranma to wince thanks to his bruises.

"Mamo-chan's being mean! He's mad because I'm keeping someone's secret from him. He doesn't think I trust him!" She wailed.

"Uhm... Who's secret would that be?" Ranma asked after he looked around frantically, fully expecting Akane to materialize and pound him for letting another girl hug him.

Usagi suddenly froze and backed away from him. "I really shouldn't tell you either."

Ranma shrugged, "Not a problem. It ain't like I care what other people's secrets are or nothin'. Ain't it almost time for yer study group?"

"Oh no! Ami-chan's going to scold me if I'm late!" Usagi looked frantically at her watch, "Rei-chan's temple is all the way across town and I only have five minutes to get there." She slumped down and began dragging her feet as she walked off, "I'll see you later, Ranma."

"Wait a sec!" Ranma jogged a few steps to stand in front of her, "I can get ya there in a jiffy."

"Really?" Usagi looked up at him and dashed her tears away with a fist.

"Yeah, but you gotta trust me," He said as he motioned for her to get on his back.

"Uhm.. Ok..." She said a little dubiously as she climbed onto his back.

"Hold on tight!" He said as he leapt into the air. Usagi screamed and grabbed onto Ranma's neck with all her might as they left the ground far below.

"Loosen up! I can't breath!" Ranma gasped as they landed on top of a lamppost. Usagi loosened her grip just enough so he could breath and he leapt again. Once he was on top of the buildings, he ran fast enough to take Usagi's breath away. One of the pedestrians in particular had stopped longer than the others to watch the spectacle. Witch Mimette smiled to herself as she stepped up to a public phone.

"Professor? I have a new target."

Rei scowled as she looked at her watch again. Everyone else had already shown up for the study session, save Usagi.

"Where is she?" She asked irritably as she opened her notebook.

"Now, now. Usagi-chan probably stopped off to see Mamoru after school," Ami said before returning her attention to the problem that Ryouga was struggling with.

"She better hurry if she knows what's good for her." Rei growled and tried to study. There was an annoying high-pitched noise that slowly grew louder. She tried rubbing her ear with one hand, but the noise didn't go away.

"Hey, you guys hear that?" She asked. The others stopped studying for a moment, and then they too could hear the noise.

"What is that?" Makoto asked as she stood and tried to follow the noise.

"It's coming from outside," Minako said sternly, "and it sounds like someone screaming."

They all walked out to the front lawn of the temple and strained their ears.

"That almost sounds like Usagi..." Rei muttered.

"What ever it is, it's coming this way," Minako frowned as she began to wonder how she would be able to transform without Ryouga seeing her. Similar thoughts were running through the heads of the rest of the Senshi.

Suddenly, Ranma shot over the temple wall with a very frazzled looking Usagi on his back. Her eyes were clenched shut and she was still screaming. The rest of the girls face- faulted at this sight, but Ryouga merely snorted.

"Showing off, Ranma?" he asked.

"Aww, shut up. Hey, we're there," Ranma said gently to Usagi.

She stopped screaming and opened her eyes to look around. "I think I'd rather take the bus next time..." She said shakily as Ranma put her down.

"What in the world were you doing?" Rei asked angrily, "You're late for the study group and you come in screaming your head off, distracting the rest of us!"

"No fair, Usagi-chan! You've already got Mamoru!" Makoto complained with a pout. She almost said something else when Usagi burst into tears.

"Aw, geez... You got her started again..." Ranma muttered as he knelt next to Usagi.

"Usagi-chan, what's wrong?" Ami asked as she moved to comfort her as well.

"Mamo-chan and I had a fight." Usagi finally managed to say between sobs.

The girls gave a collective gasp as Usagi continued to weep.

"Come on, you two have had fights before," Rei said comfortingly, causing Ryouga to give her a startled look, "And you've always managed to make up in the past. What could make this time any different?"

Usagi gave a quick, pleading look at Ranma. Rei shifted her gaze to the pigtailed boy and gave him a quick smile.

"Ranma? Could you take Ryouga inside? I don't think Usagi will tell us what's wrong while you're here."

"Uhm... Sure," Ranma said as he grabbed Ryouga's shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure you could be studyin' instead of listening in on some girl talk."

Once the boys were inside, the girls huddled close around Usagi.

"I think you need to tell us what's going on." Rei said firmly.

"Well, I told Mamo-chan about the fight last night. He got mad when I wouldn't tell him about Ranma's curse."

All the girls but Minako gave her a disbelieving look.

"Let me guess, you didn't tell him for the same reason you didn't tell me about Ryouga's?" Minako asked calmly. Usagi nodded a little.

"What are you talking about?" Makoto asked, "Ryouga's got a curse too?"

Minako blushed at the memory. "Is it alright if I tell them, Usagi-chan?" She asked in a very small voice.

Usagi nodded slightly and wiped her eyes a little. Minako then told them about how Ryouga was turned into a little black piglet and she took him home to her bath.

"You took a bath with Ryouga?" Makoto asked in disbelief.

If it was possible, Minako turned even more red. "Well... He passed out almost right away though."

"I was wondering why you were the one to bring Ryouga here today," Ami said, "he did seem to be a bit more, distracted by you while we were studying."

"How did he look?" Rei asked suddenly.

Minako sighed and clasped her hands together, "Like a Greek god..."

Usagi giggled at that, gaining the attention of the others.

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Usagi-chan!" Makoto smiled, "Come on, I brought some really nice snacks for while we're studying."

Makoto had barely finished saying that when Usagi rocketed into the room where they normally studied. The others smiled indulgently at that and followed at a more sedate pace.

"Don't eat all of them!" Rei called after her.

"So, where had ya wandered off to last night?" Ranma asked as they entered the house.

Ryouga rubbed the back of his head and laughed a little, "I got stuck in a tree and Minako found me..."

Ranma smacked his head, "Please tell me ya ran off before she took you ta bed."

Ryouga blushed, "Actually, she took me into the bath..." He stopped as Ranma fell down howling with laughter, "Shut up, Ranma! It's not funny!"

"Sure it's not," Ranma laughed, "It's hilarious!"

Ryouga fumed and clenched his fists, but said nothing.

Ranma stopped laughing suddenly and his face took on a determined cast. "Seriously, Ryouga, we gotta talk."

"Huh?"

"You remember the fight last night? I was thinkin'... If we end up fightin' one of those things again, we might not win. Not unless we train seriously."

Ryouga frowned, "You've got a point there, Ranma. That thing was harder to fight than Pantyhose."

"You're the only martial artist around here that's even halfway good enough to train with. If I wasn't worried about Shampoo showin' up all the time, I'd get in touch with the old ghoul."

Ranma started to pace back and forth as he continued, "Anyway, the only things that seemed to hurt it were those sailor girls' blasts and our special moves. I think we need ta learn how to better work with our ki."

"Hey! I broke its arm just fine on my own!" Ryouga snapped.

"I know that, stupid! Yer aura was practically blinding when ya did it too. What we gotta learn is how to focus our ki into more of our attacks without wastin' all that effort lighting up an' makin' easy targets if we're fighting at night." Ranma growled.

Ryouga thought about it for a few minutes, "You wanna cooperate? So we can train to fight those... things?"

Ranma smiled, "Can you think of a better challenge? This is what the Art is for! Think about it, Ryouga, if we can fight off monsters like that, regular people ain't gonna get hurt. A martial artists' duty is to protect those weaker than himself ain't it?"

"Well, yeah I guess so..."

"Great!" Ranma smirked, "We'll start tonight in tha park again, or maybe a vacant lot."

"What are you guys talking about?" Usagi asked from behind them, causing both martial artist to jump.

"Geez, don't sneak up on me like that!" Ranma said.

"Well, excuse us for living!" Rei said as she crossed her arms and frowned. Despite himself, Ranma found himself cringing away from her.

"What were you talking about so intensely?" Ami asked them. "We could hear the two of you outside."

"Uhm.. Training! Yeah, we were talking about training!" Ranma said a little loudly while Ryouga nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

"Can I watch?" Makoto and Minako asked simultaneously.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" Ranma asked.

"Since that is settled," Ami said as she held up one of their books, "shall we get started with our studying?"

"You're more than welcome to stay and do your homework here, Ranma." Makoto said as he turned to leave.

"Uh... Are you guys sure?"

"Sure!" Makoto picked up a plate of sandwiches she had brought and held it up to Ranma, "Here, have some!"

"Hey, thanks!" Ranma said as he grabbed four and ate them in only a few seconds. He blinked when he noticed that he was subject to a lot of staring from the girls.

"Wow, you must've been hungry." Makoto finally managed to say.

"He eats more than Usagi-chan," Minako said, stunned.

"Is that possible?" Rei asked.

"Come on, she can't eat that much!" Ranma said with a smirk, "Look at how thin she is, she can't possibly pig...out?" he trailed off as Makoto put the remainder of the sandwiches down in front of Usagi and two of them disappeared almost instantly and a third was being nibbled on.

"Whoa..."

A short time later found Ranma reluctantly studying with them as well. He tried desperately to ignore the almost constant giggling and other noises that surrounded him, but there was one noise he just could not ignore.

"Meow."

He froze at that dreaded sound and slowly turned his head to look straight into the face of his worst nightmare. For some odd reason he didn't immediately react, his eyes glued to the crescent moon sigil on the black cat's forehead. They sat in that tableau for a full second before Ranma's reflexes kicked in.

"Yaaaahhh!! Get it away from me!" He shot across the room and became one with the wall. The girls all shot to their feet, ready to transform, but there was no daimon. Just a very scared looking Ranma, and a very startled Luna.

"Good grief," Ryouga said as he picked Luna up, "C'mon, let's put you somewhere where you won't scare Ranma." Before anyone could think to stop him, he had walked out the door.

"What the...? Hey, wait for me! Ryouga!" Minako said as she dashed after him.

"What's wrong with you, Ranma?" Rei asked, "Scaring us all half to death just because you saw a cat."

Ranma slumped down and hugged his knees. "You wouldn't say that if you knew the hell I'd been through..."

The girls settled back down and looked at him expectantly. The ensuing silence wasn't broken until Minako returned with a slightly embarrassed Ryouga in tow.

"I can't believe you had gotten halfway down the block before I caught up with you," Minako said as she flopped back into her seat, "Honestly, Ryo-chan."

Ryouga just blushed and said something incoherent as he sat as well. Makoto and Usagi looked at each other in shock.

"Ryo-chan?" they whispered to each other.

"Well, Ranma?" Rei said with a touch of an edge in her voice, "Are you going to tell us about why you were so scared of Luna or not?"

Ranma grumbled something under his breath before he relaxed into a more comfortable position. "It happened when I was ten years old. Pops got it into his head ta teach me some supposedly invincible technique called the neko-ken. The trainin' was deceptively simple. Wrap tha trainee from head to toe in fish sausages and toss him into a pit of starvin' cats. The stupid idiot didn't bother to turn the page and find out that it causes the trainee to go insane."

The girls winced at that. A few quick glances were exchanged between them before Usagi dared to speak.

"That's terrible! How could he do that to you?" she sounded almost sick.

Ranma shrugged, "He wanted me to become the best martial artist ever."

"How many times did he throw you into that pit?" Rei asked suddenly.

Ranma winced at the memory, "Dunno. I lost count after the second time." A stunned silence settled over the room as Ranma stood and grabbed his bag. "I guess I'll be going. See ya," he waved as moved to leave the room.

"Wait! Ranma!" Ryouga grabbed his arm, "are you going to just walk out like that?" he growled. "Did you forget about our training?"

"Don't sweat it piggy, I'll come back fer ya." He slapped Ryouga's hand off his arm, "Or did you forget that Friday is only three days away? I seem ta recall you sayin' yer gonna take that test Friday."

Ryouga stumbled back. Oh no! I had forgotten! He thought as he clenched his fists. "Heh, don't worry about that, Ranma. I got this thing aced!" He began to laugh maniacally.

"Wait a second, Ryouga," Ami motioned towards the paper he was working on. "You got these problems wrong. See?"

Ryouga fell over almost bonelessly while Ranma laughed and left the room. Minako moved to kneel next to Ryouga as he twitched slightly.

"Ryo-chan? Are you alright?" She asked.

"Uhm... Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" Ryouga laughed nervously as he sat back up and grabbed his pencil.

Sailor Pluto stumbled out of the Time Gates and knelt heavily. She knelt like that for some time, clutching the Time Key and breathing raggedly. She looked back at the images the Time Gate showed and cringed as she saw yet another painful scene from Ranma's life flow past.

"How? How could I have just let something like that happen?" She asked no one in particular.

When she had decided to look into Ranma's life, she had started at a fairly logical point, when he was barely a toddler. She had smiled as she had watched his home life. Things had seemed fairly normal until the day that Genma had taken Ranma away from Nodoka. From there, it devolved into one painful day after another. She had watched helplessly as Ranma was mercilessly trained in the martial arts, moved from town to town in search of new techniques and finally subjected to the Neko-ken. What she had seen was just too much for her to endure, and she had broken the promise she had made to herself not to interfere with someone's past. She sighed as she thought back to what she had done...

Genma pushed his screaming son into the pit before closing the lid. He sat next to the lid and waited.

"Come on boy, do your old man proud and learn to get over that fear of yours." He said to himself.

"That's no way to treat your own son!" Setsuna declared as she burst into the room, disguised as an old woman.

Genma hardly looked at her. "Go away. This has nothing to do with you, old woman."

"I warn you, Genma Saotome, if you do not bring him back out of that pit this instant, there will be catastrophic consequences to pay."

"There will be even worse ones to pay if he can't get over his fear of cats!" He roared as he leapt to his feet, "My son and I signed a pledge with my wife that should he return and not be a man among men, we both would commit seppuku! How manly is it to be scared of a cat?"

Setsuna's response was lost amongst the sharp reports of boards splintering and the angry yowling that came from within the pit. Genma rushed to the edge, only to have a white blur shoot out of the pit and maul him.

Setsuna fought to keep from crying as she watched the ten-year old boy finish clawing his father and made motions like a cat was kicking sand over something undesirable.

"Ranma..." she said softly. Ranma spun quickly and glared at her. She knelt and waited quietly while Ranma slowly circled her before coming within reach.

Setsuna gingerly reached out and scratched the boy behind the ear. Ranma began to purr like a kitten and rubbed his head against her hand. In a few moments, Ranma was peacefully asleep in her lap.

"What am I going to do with you, Ranma?"

She had stayed in that time period for a few months, long enough for Ranma to not be quite as sensitive to the approach of a cat. On a whim, she carefully set into his psyche to not be afraid of the moon cats only if they spoke to him.

Shortly before Genma had taken Ranma and moved on she disappeared back into the time stream, leaving Genma to think that she had died. From then on, Genma could swear he felt a piercing gaze at his back every time he decided to try a new and dangerous technique. Unfortunately for Ranma, he usually ignored it.

"I had a real chance to make a difference in his life and keep him away from Juuban, but I blew it," Sailor Pluto berated herself. Almost absently, she shifted the Time Gates to show Crystal Tokyo again. There were even more splinters in the time-stream now, and there were possibilities that were growing as each moment passed. She frowned when she noticed a rather large splinter had formed and was growing. She traced it back and gasped when she discovered that this time, neither Ranma nor Ryouga were at the core, but Usagi and Mamoru.

"This is not good." She muttered and probed the thread some more. She frowned as the gates replayed Mamoru's angry words.

"That idiot... Doesn't he realize what he's just done?" She said angrily. She fumed for a few minutes before she calmed back down and continued watching the significant points of Ranma's life. There was still plenty of time for Mamoru and Usagi to fix their own mess and she needed to know everything she could about Ranma to be able to get him to leave Juuban for good, or at least minimize his effect on her princess.

Ryouga let out a sigh of relief as he put his pencil down on top of the mock exam he was taking with the others. He shook his wrists for a moment to relieve a cramp while Ami looked over his work.

"Ryouga," Ami said in a slightly concerned tone.

"Uhm... yeah?"

"You got the entire geography section wrong."

Ryouga facefaulted and fell on the table twitching. Minako patted his back comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it, Ryo-chan!" she said brightly, "You'll get it right soon enough."

Ryouga sat up, a blush covering his face, "Y-yeah. You're right! I can do this!" He declared as his aura sprung up around him.

The girls dove away from him, half expecting him to throw another blast. Ryouga ignored them and grabbed another mock exam and began writing furiously, his aura licking spectral flames across the table as he worked. Rei grit her teeth a little as she dealt with the storm of emotions coming from him. I use a little Ki in my fire readings, but this... At least I wasn't transformed this time.

"Wow..." Usagi said softly once she had gotten over her shock, "He must be really determined to get into High School."

"Determined is an understatement," Makoto said. "If he's not careful, he'll rip the paper."

They watched him in silence as he worked furiously for the next half-hour.

"Hah!" Ryouga yelled as he stood and held the test up, "I'm done! I'm ready!" He laughed maniacally. Ami gently pulled the test from his hand.

"It's good to see that you're so confident on this, Ryouga," She said gently, "But let us see if you answered the questions correctly."

"Come on, Ami-chan! With concentration like that, how could he get them wrong?" Usagi said as she clapped for Ryouga.

"Oh dear," Ami's soft words brought an instant halt to Ryouga's celebration.

"What is it?" He asked worriedly as he knelt to look at the paper Ami was grading.

She didn't say a word, but held the piece of paper up so everyone could see it clearly. The paper looked like it had been scorched and was completely unreadable. Ryouga's jaw dropped as he realized what he'd just done.

"Now that's just too rich!" Ranma smirked from the doorway.

"Ranma! When did you get here?" Usagi asked as she twisted to look at him.

"About the time pig-boy over there started laughing his fool head off."

"Shut up, Ranma!" Ryouga growled as he clenched his fist, "I will be ready for that test by Friday!"

"Of course you will, Ryo-chan! I believe in you!" Minako grabbed onto his arm, causing his angry expression to shift into a somewhat goofy one.

"'Ryo-chan'?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. He glanced back and forth between Ryouga and Minako for a second. Ranma smirked as he walked over to Ryouga and hit him on the shoulder, "You sly dog you! Congrats!"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb on me, man! You know what I'm talkin' about! C'mon, let's get some trainin' done."

Ryouga suddenly looked really serious, "Yeah, training. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" He gathered his things and left following Ranma. The girls turned a hard look towards Minako.

"So, when did he become Ryo-chan, Minako?" Rei asked as she crossed her arms.

"Well..." Minako fidgeted a little as she blushed, "He just looked too cute when I had caught up with him, and he had finally realized that he was lost."

"That's it?" Makoto asked skeptically.

"That and the bath you took with him, right Minako-chan!" Usagi giggled. The others began to giggle as well when Minako turned a very bright red.

"That was an accident! I swear!"

"Of course it was," Ami said placatingly.

"That's why he looked 'like a Greek god'!" Makoto teased her.

"Let's celebrate for Minako-chan by getting some ice- cream!" Usagi declared as she stood, "Minako Aino, future idol, has fallen in love! How can we let an occasion like that slide by without celebrating?" She asked in her most serious tone before turning for the door. "To the ice cream parlor! That's the perfect place to celebrate for Minako-chan!"

"Face it, Usagi, you just want some ice-cream," Rei stood as well, though.

Mimette peeked around the corner of a fence that bordered a vacant lot. Her target was there, and there was another young man with him as well.

Look at him! He's gorgeous! She thought to herself, Maybe I can get him to kiss me before I unleash the daimon on him... She giggled as she patted the briefcase.

"Ya ready, Ryouga?"

"Bring it on, Ranma!"

With a shout, the two martial artists rushed each other and began their sparring, although to the casual observer, they looked more like they were trying to kill each other. Punches and kicks flew faster than most people could follow them, and Mimette was no exception. She gazed on Ranma with starry-eyed wonder as a small crowd gathered around the lot to watch the two martial artists train.

"Wow! I had no idea they were so healthy! Too bad I only have one daimon, I'm sure they both have pure heart crystals!" She giggled as she walked into the vacant lot.

Neither Ranma nor Ryouga noticed her approach as they were too intent on their training. Ryouga flew backwards from a well placed kick from Ranma and landed in the dirt near Mimette.

"That was a good one, Ranma!" Ryouga snarled as he regained his feet. "I actually felt it."

"You should've! I tried focusing my ki into that kick," Ranma smirked and then started looking around the vacant lot with a worried expression on his face.

"You're going to have to tell me how you did that." Ryouga grudgingly admitted as he walked up to Ranma.

"Sure man, it's like this..." Ranma beckoned him close and began to whisper, "Something's out there."

"What?" Ryouga frowned as he tried to adjust to the sudden change in the topic.

"I dunno..." Ranma glanced around the lot, "But it has the same feel to it as that thing from last night."

"How far?" Ryouga tensed as he strained to feel the presence as well. "I feel it, but I can't tell where." He grumbled.

"Excuse me?" Mimette said meekly as she approached. She screamed in fright when both Ranma and Ryouga turned on her and fell into their stances.

"Geez! It's just a girl!" Ranma muttered.

"What's the matter with you two?" She half yelled as she held one hand over her heart.

"Sorry, Miss, but we are in training to fight monsters," Ryouga explained.

Mimette's face took on a hard look. "You two fight monsters?"

"Yeah! It's every martial artists' duty to protect the weak." Ranma said sternly as he crossed his arms.

Mimette backed away from them slightly and held the briefcase in front of her in both hands. "Well then, how about this?" She said as she slapped the briefcase onto the ground and popped the latches. "Go, daimon!"

"What the?" Ranma and Ryouga leapt away from her as purplish smoke gusted from the briefcase and a vague form began to take shape.

"You! You're helping the monsters!" Ranma accused.

"I am Witch Mimette, and your pure heart is mine!" She laughed as she held up her staff, "Charm Buster!"

"Yow!" Ranma dodged to one side while the Charm Buster left a shallow crater where he had been standing. Ryouga scowled at Mimette, but diverted his attention to the strangely silent daimon that had finished forming. This one resembled a female samurai, but the sword it held in one hand was an ugly serrated blade. Its armor was black and trimmed with a sickly looking yellow. What really unnerved him, though, was the silvery skin the daimon had. It almost looked like it was completely metal.

"Go, daimon! Get his pure heart!" Mimette commanded. The daimon exploded into action then, rushing the still dazed Ranma with one hand outstretched towards him.

"Oh no you don't!" Ryouga snarled as he leapt to engage the daimon. He knocked it off balance with a jump-kick to the shoulder. The daimon countered with a lightning quick slash of its sword that Ryouga barely managed to dodge, leaving the sword to cut harmlessly through the air.

"Great, a Kuno monster," Ranma muttered as he almost casually landed on the daimon's head, driving it to the ground.

"Careful, Ranma! That thing's fast!" Ryouga warned him as the daimon rolled away from them and stood in a classic kempo stance.

"Let's get it!" Ranma yelled as he charged, fully confident that he could defeat the thing in front of him.

The daimon made a slow, deliberate arc with the sword before bringing it up faster than the eye could see.

"Air blades!" It called out in a monotone, but the effect of its attack was immediately apparent. The air surrounding the daimon swirled with dark energy that suddenly lashed out towards a very surprised Ranma. Although he managed to dodge that attack, the daimon had closed in with him and grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him off of the ground. Ranma blanched when the daimon seemed to be moving in to kiss him. He turned his face to one side, but he felt a suction that seemed to be pulling at his very soul.

"Ranma!" Ryouga yelled as he kicked the daimon squarely in the small of its back. He did not relent there as he continued to punch and kick with a sudden fury.

"Fool!" The daimon declared as it backhanded Ryouga away, "You would live longer if you didn't interfere!"

"That," Ryouga smirked as he stood, "Was a mistake!" With a vicious grin he grabbed his umbrella.

"Idiot! I have a hostage!" The daimon declared as it hauled around the arm that had Ranma to show Ryouga, but held nothing other than Ranma's shirt. "What?"

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma called out as he began punching the daimon as fast and as hard as he could. The armor the daimon was wearing began to buckle before the force of the attack sent it flying.

"My turn!" Ryouga yelled as he leapt high into the air, the tip of his umbrella aimed straight for the daimon's face. The daimon barely got out of his way before he crashed into the ground where it had been a moment earlier. Ryouga stood in the crater formed by the force of his blow and smirked at the daimon.

"What are you waiting for? Kill him and take the other one's heart crystal!" Mimette yelled at the daimon.

"Fury strike!" The daimon yelled as it rushed Ryouga, its sword blurring into a silver streak as it swung it in a dizzying pattern. Rainbow like glitters of light trailed each swing catching Ryouga's eye with its hypnotic pattern. For a split second Ryouga did not move, his eyes glued to the silvery streak that was the sword. Some deeply ingrained survival instinct prompted his first clumsy dodge, but the pain from the cut broke him out of the trance and he began to dodge in earnest.

Ranma gasped and began mustering all the confidence he could when he saw that despite Ryouga's desperate dodging, there were more and more rents appearing in his shirt and small droplets of blood tainted the dirt at his feet. ::It's only a matter of time till it scores a clean hit,:: Ranma thought to himself.

"Mouko Takabisha!"

The sphere of brilliant blue ki sped across the lot and slammed into the daimon, knocking it off of its feet. Rather than waiting for it to get back up, Ranma launched himself at it with every intention of crushing the daimon's head.

Ryouga tried to blink away the fuzzyness before his eyes and gasped for breath as he stumbled backwards. He watched in a peculiar kind of detachment as Ranma was caught by his foot and flung into the fence by the daimon. Even as Ranma regained his feet, Ryouga's eyes glazed over and his umbrella slipped from fingers as he collapsed in a heap.

The daimon chuckled evilly as it slowly approached the dazed Ryouga.

"Now, there's no point in resisting. Time to die, pest!" it called out as it raised the sword high.

Ranma let out an inarticulate yell as he leapt over the daimon and picked up Ryouga.

"Not today!" He shouted before leaping over the fence and dashing down the street.

"After them!" Mimette commanded as she began to pursue Ranma. The daimon followed suit, it's bloodied sword held high.

"Wasn't that a great idea?" Usagi asked the others as they walked out of the ice cream parlor.

"It wasn't the best use of our time, Usagi-chan," Ami said mildly, "But that parfait was good."

"Huh?" Makoto looked down the street at some sort of commotion, "What's going on?"

"Where?" Rei asked a split second before Ranma landed right in front of her, a barely conscious Ryouga still slung over one shoulder. He didn't even notice their presence before he leapt off again. A few seconds after he was gone, the daimon tore past them with Mimette right behind it.

"We need to transform!" Makoto said in a hushed voice, but then looked around in concern.

"Hey! Where's Minako?" She asked.

They looked around for a few seconds before Usagi pointed down the street. They all looked that way just in time to see Minako sprint around the corner, apparently having no trouble keeping up.

"We'd better catch up with her and quick!" Rei said as she turned towards the alley.

"Sometimes I forget exactly how fit Minako is," Makoto muttered to herself. "And then she goes and does something like this."

Ranma was gasping for breath when he stopped inside a junkyard and put Ryouga down.

"Come on, man! Snap out of it!" He growled as he shook the larger boy a few times while keeping a careful watch out for the daimon. Ryouga groaned and sat up holding his head in one hand.

"Watch out for its Fury Strike, Ranma," he muttered. "It can hypnotize you if you aren't careful."

"I'd wondered about that, I never saw it get a clean hit on you."

"If it had, I'd probably be dead right now," Ryouga said as he stood.

"Get down, moron!" Ranma hissed as he yanked Ryouga back down. "They were right behind me."

Ryouga nodded and picked up a solid piece of rebar and swung it experimentally a few times. They waited in silence after that.

It wasn't long before the daimon appeared at the junkyard, followed quickly by Mimette. Ranma motioned for Ryouga to follow him and he scampered up one of the piles of junk. Ryouga followed as silently as he could, and crouched next to his erstwhile ally and watched the enemy.

"You up to a Shi Shi Hokkoudan?" Ranma whispered.

"If you're up to a blast of your own!"

"Ok, on three we jump towards it and blast it at the same time! Three!"

They burst from their concealment and descended like hawks upon the daimon.

"Mouko Takabisha!"

"Shi Shi Hokkoudan!"

The twin spheres of energy exploded against the daimon with the force of a cannon sending it head first into a pile of scrap where it lay still.

"Hah! That was too easy!" Ranma gloated as he turned towards Mimette. "Now, why don't we have a bit of a talk about that thing..."

Unnoticed, the daimon had regained its feet and was quietly stalking up behind them. It raised its sword for a fatal strike against an unsuspecting Ryouga when suddenly the blade was wrapped by a golden chain with heart shaped links. The sound of the sword being ripped out of the daimon's hand was enough to warn Ranma and Ryouga who both turned and delivered round house kicks to opposite sides of the daimon's head.

"Who dares?" Mimette demanded as she watched the sword arc through the air towards one of the many piles of scrap before a white-gloved hand snapped out and caught the sword by the hilt.

"I dare, Witch Mimette," Sailor Venus declared as she strode into full view while holding the sword. "In the name of Venus, I shall chastise you!"

"Daimon! Kill her! Kill all of them!" Mimette screamed before she retreated.

The daimon suddenly backed away from Ranma and Ryouga and held one hand out towards Sailor Venus. The sword pulled towards the daimon, but she refused to let go. Despite her best efforts, she was slowly being pulled towards the daimon. The daimon snarled and made a curious wrenching gesture with its hand. Suddenly, the pull was too much for Sailor Venus to resist and she was lifted off her feet and dragged through the air towards the daimon.

No! If it gets it's sword back... Ryouga thought furiously as he charged the daimon with his piece of rebar held low and slightly behind him. He was peripherally aware of Ranma running next to him.

"Hold onto that sword!" Ranma yelled as Sailor Venus smashed into the daimon with her shoulder. She nodded briefly and struggled to keep the blade out of its reach.

With a metallic snap, metal claws shot out of the daimon's armored forearm. It held the claws up to Sailor Venus's throat.

"Back off, or she dies!"

They skidded to a stop a mere meter from where the daimon stood. Sailor Venus stiffened and the sword was pulled from her fingers. The daimon stopped holding the claws up to her throat and instead picked her up by her neck. Ranma and Ryouga backed up a few steps.

"Ok, now let her go!" Ryouga demanded as Sailor Venus clasped her hands together with the index fingers pointing out and brought them up to the arm with the claws.

"Heh, too bad, she dies anyway!" The daimon cackled as it raised its sword.

"No!" Ryouga yelled and he threw the rebar like a spear. The daimon slapped it out of the air with its sword, but that distraction bought Sailor Venus the time she needed.

"Venus Crescent beam!" She barely managed to say the name of the attack, but it was enough to trigger her magic. A thin yellow beam of light arced out of her fingers and cut deeply into the daimon's arm, forcing it to drop her. She collapsed into a boneless heap at its feet and gasped for breath, oblivious of the sword descending at her unprotected neck.

"Dead Scream." Despite the fact that the words were barely a whisper, they were clearly audible to everyone on the battlefield. The daimon looked up from its intended victim just in time to be blasted away by a purple ball of energy. It stood shakily and leaned against a pile of scrap while it searched for this new adversary.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ranma practically flew towards the downed daimon, his aura flaring like a bonfire.

"Kachuu Tenshin Amauguriken!" he screamed as he unleashed his attack on the pinned daimon. This time, the daimon had no- where to go and it received the full force of the attack. The daimon's body was smoking when Ranma finally pulled away from it, wearied by his attack.

The rest of the Senshi had shown up while he had been pounding on it, and were either gaping at him or helping Sailor Venus back to her feet. Ranma caught himself staring when he saw an elegant green haired Senshi standing off to one side. For some reason, she seemed to spark a long forgotten memory but he could not place exactly where he had seen her before.

The daimon shifted a bit, causing some of the scrap to fall over. Ranma half snarled at it as he turned and unleashed a Mouko Takabisha at it point blank, leaving the daimon buried in the rubble.

"That was a tough fight, eh pig-boy?" Ranma commented as he walked up to Ryouga.

"Don't call me that!" Ryouga snarled before he walked off in a huff towards the Senshi. Ranma shrugged and followed him over.

"Hey, you alright?" Ryouga asked Sailor Venus when he reached her side.

Sailor Venus looked at him dreamily as she nodded, "Yes, thank you."

"Hey thanks for the save earlier!" Ranma piped in, "I thought that thing was down for the count."

"Is it gone?" Sailor Mars asked Sailor Mercury, "I couldn't see if it was destroyed."

Sailor Mercury pulled her computer out of subspace and tapped on it for a few moments. While she was doing that, Ranma approached the tall Senshi with the green hair.

"Hey, you feel real familiar to me. Kinda like I've known you fer most of my life. Why is that?" he asked in a no-nonsense tone.

Sailor Pluto gave him a slightly amused look. "Do not worry, Ranma Saotome. You may find out why in time."

"How do you know my name?" He asked suspiciously, but before she could answer him, Sailor Mercury gave a startled shout.

"It's still alive!" She yelled just before the pile of scrap it was under exploded. They dodged for cover as shrapnel hummed through the air all around them.

"I fight on!" the daimon screamed as it finished standing.

"Geez, that thing even sounds like Kuno!" Ranma complained as he rushed towards it.

"Fury Barrage, Silver Rain!" The daimon glowed for a brief second before its armor shattered into the form of a hundred knives that rocketed towards Ranma. He backpedaled away from the daimon and dodged the knives.

"Hang on, Ranma!" Ryouga yelled as he leapt towards the daimon holding an old safe above his head.

"Burning Mandala!" Sailor Mars unleashed her magical fires at the daimon, hoping to distract it from Ranma and Ryouga. The daimon blocked the flames with its sword, momentarily obscuring it from view as the small rings of fire slammed into the ground around it.

The rest of the Senshi fanned out as Ryouga threw the safe at the daimon, missing by only the slimmest of margins. He landed on top of the safe in a crouch and he leapt straight at the startled daimon.

"Fury Strike!" It called out and started following the complex routine again.

"That won't work this time!" Ryouga yelled as he caught the daimon's wrist with one hand and he poked the sword with the index finger of his other hand.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!"

To the disbelief of the Senshi and the daimon, the sword exploded. Ryouga ignored the shrapnel and began kicking the daimon as hard as he could without releasing his grip on its wrist. The daimon recovered long enough to kick him to one side, only to be hit by the Sparkling Wide Pressure thrown at it by Sailor Jupiter.

"Ryouga!" Sailor Venus leapt over to his side to help him stand. "You're hurt!" She gasped when she saw the numerous cuts that were still bleeding slightly.

"It's nothing," Ryouga panted as he tried to regain his breath, leaning slightly against her. Despite herself, Sailor Venus blushed a little at the contact.

The daimon recovered from the attack and rushed towards Sailor Moon, a new sword materializing in its hand.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon cried as she desperately threw her tiara at it, only to have it slapped to one side by the daimon. Sailor Moon froze and looked at the approaching daimon with wide, scared eyes.

"Hey! Look out!" Ranma yelled as he ran towards her and the daimon as fast as he could. He had picked her up and had leapt away a split second before a single rose struck the daimon in the forehead forcing it to fall over backwards.

"I cannot forgive those that would attack in the guise of the honorable." A male voice rang out across the battlefield, causing everyone to look up to where a man in a tuxedo and cape stood with his arms crossed. "Retreat now, evil one!"

"Who's that weirdo?" Ranma asked Sailor Moon, who was blushing slightly from being held against Ranma's bare chest.

"Huh?" She blinked, "Oh, Tuxedo Mask!" She waved at him a little. Tuxedo Mask frowned slightly when he saw who was holding her. His frown turned into an outright scowl when he noticed that she was blushing as well.

"How about coming down here and helping instead of standing there making stupid speeches?" Ryouga yelled as he charged the daimon again.

"Hey, wait!" Sailor Venus yelled and ran after him.

With an inarticulate shout, Ryouga began grappling with it, attempting to blow the sword up again with the Baksai Tenketsu. The daimon stubbornly kept the sword out of his reach and tried elbowing him in the face.

Ryouga leaned back a little from the daimon and grinned wickedly, "You know, that felt like a baby's kick!" he declared as he headbutted the daimon, causing its head to snap backwards and it fell to the ground. Venus took advantage of the opening with her Crescent beam, opening up a large cut across the daimon's back.

"Uhm, Ranma?" Sailor Moon asked in a small voice as they watched the fight.

"Yeah?"

"Could you put me down now?"

Ranma reddened as he quickly placed her back on her feet. "Sorry!" he said as he backed away nervously.

Sailor Moon watched him for a moment and started giggling. "I'm not mad at you! Thanks for helping back there."

"No prob! I'd do it again any time!" he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. He turned away from her to hide a blush and watched as Ryouga worked with Sailor Venus to back the daimon into a corner. Finally, Ryouga gave it one mighty punch that launched it into the air and Sailor Venus promptly tied it up with her Love Me Chain.

"Now! Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask said from where he stood.

"Spiral Moon Heart Attack!" She unleashed her magic at the bedraggled daimon, utterly destroying it. It faded from view and revealed the breastplate from samurai armor that fell harmlessly to the ground.

Ranma cracked his knuckles and then assumed a Kunoesque pose. "And hark! Yon monster hast been vanquished!" he intoned with a poor imitation of the kendoist.

"Knock it off, Ranma," Ryouga half growled as he brushed the dirt from his hands.

"Are you two alright?" Sailor Mercury asked as she walked up to them, "You both took a few hits back there."

"We're fine!" Ranma laughed as he slapped Ryouga on the shoulder, "It ain't like that thing could hit hard enough for Ryouga to feel it."

"Just shut up, Ranma," Ryouga hissed as he clutched his side, blood seeped from between his fingers.

Sailor Moon walked up; from her expression it was easy to tell that she had a few things she wanted to say, but the wail of a police siren caused all of them to pause for a moment.

"We'd better split, Ryouga. Cops don't like it none when there's fightin' for no reason that they like," Ranma tugged at his arm before waving at the Senshi. "See you guys at the next fight!"

"But, you can't keep fighting the daimons! They'll kill you!" Sailor Moon blurted out.

Ranma smirked. "They'd try. Maybe I'll have a chance to give you a few pointers, like when to dodge." He waved jauntily again before leaping off over the wall with Ryouga right behind him.

"Come on, we'd better get going too," Sailor Venus said as she ran towards the wall.

"Isn't that the same direction that Ranma and Ryouga ran off?" Sailor Mars said slyly. Sailor Venus skid to a stop and laughed sheepishly as she turned to follow the others away.

Mamoru stormed into his apartment and slammed the door. He could not believe the nerve of those two boys! Not only was Ranma slowly stealing his girlfriend, his own cousin was berating him for not fighting with the rest of them. He growled to himself as he recalled the way his Usako blushed in Ranma's arms and made no struggle to get free of him. He was still pacing angrily when there was a knock at the door. With two quick strides he reached the door and flung it open.

"What?!" He half yelled before he had even checked to see who it was.

"Geez, Chiba. Don't blow an artery or somethin'," Ranma said mildly.

"Did you have a bad day at class, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked as she peeked from between Ranma and Ryouga's shoulders.

"Uh, yeah," Mamoru stepped aside to allow them to enter. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked once they were inside. Ranma and Ryouga exchanged a quick glance.

"Uhm, weren't you the one that wanted Ryouga ta stay here?" Ranma asked.

Mamoru said nothing as he stalked into the kitchen area of the apartment. Usagi watched him walk off with a worried expression on her face.

"Somehow, I think he had a worse day than we originally thought," Ryouga muttered as he snapped out his sleeping bag and sat down on it.

"I'm outta here then. I'll see you guys later," Ranma said before he left and closed the door behind him. Usagi nervously peeked into the kitchen where Mamoru was busy making some tea.

"Mamo-chan?" She asked timidly. He turned and looked at her with an angry expression, causing her to shrink back a little. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why? Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"..."

"Mamo-chan," she moved to give him a hug, but he pulled away at the last moment. Usagi's eyes filled with tears as she clasped her hands under her chin. Without another word, she fled from the kitchen and out of the apartment.

Ryouga shot to his feet when she ran through, but made no attempt to stop her. Mamoru stomped out of the kitchen, his face contorted into a scowl a minute later.

"Maybe you should try being nicer to her," Ryouga said as he settled back down.

"Shut up," Mamoru barked as he pulled out one of his texts and stubbornly began to read it.

Ryouga gave him a slightly angry look. "Look, making her cry twice in one day ain't very good at all," his voice got louder as his anger built. "Usagi is one of the kindest people I've ever met, and if you keep treating her like this, she'll leave you!"

"Impossible!" Mamoru snapped, "We're fated to be together! She is mine!"

Ryouga snorted. "Fate is cruel, and so is life in general. You'd better get used to it!"

"Just what are you trying to say?"

"I'm starting to think that fate was cruel to give Usagi to you. Cruel to her anyways. Can you prove me wrong?"

"Get out!" Mamoru yelled as he leapt to his feet, "I won't let you talk to me that way!"

Ryouga looked stunned for a moment before he silently picked up his stuff and walked out the front door that Usagi had left open behind her. He waited until he was well away from Mamoru's building before he let his feelings show on his face.

It hurt, a lot, to have alienated his own cousin. Even though Ryouga knew deep down in his heart that Mamoru was overreacting he still got depressed over it. He hung his head as he walked, not noticing the sickly green aura that began to play across his skin.

The worst part, he suddenly realized, was that he no longer had a stable place that he could be found at. Unless he found someone he knew, and quickly, he was doomed to never make it into High School. Determination replaced his depression, he had a goal and nothing on earth was going to stop him! He looked up and clenched his fist in a silent vow, right before he tripped over a crying Usagi.

He landed face first in the dirt, but that was a minor inconvenience to him. He quickly regained his feet and looked down on her. She was so lost in her personal misery that she hadn't even noticed his tripping over her. Ryouga squatted down next to her and ripped off a bandanna.

"Here," he said simply as he held it out to her. She didn't even look up to see who had offered it to her before she took it and noisily blew her nose. Ryouga glanced around and realized that they were in a wooded park, in fact they were in a thicket.

He smiled a bit ruefully to himself. Well, if I wanted to be completely alone, I would look for the woods as well. He settled down to wait for her to finish crying. When it became obvious that she had no intention of finishing any time soon, he dug through his pack for some trail rations and his portable stove.

It wasn't long after he had started cooking that her crying had tapered off. He looked over at her and saw that she was sitting quietly and watching him cook.

"I see you're feeling a bit better now," he said a bit gruffly as he fought a wave of sudden sadness that seemed to bore its way into his very soul just from seeing the pain in her blue eyes.

"How'd you find me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper thanks to how raw her throat was from crying for so long. "No-one knows about this place, not even Luna."

"Honestly?"

She nodded.

"I got lost."

Her sudden laughter at such a simple statement rang like a silver bell throughout the thicket. Ryouga seemed startled at her sudden outburst.

"Oh Ryouga, that's funny! I come here to be alone and you get lost and find me," she giggled for a while at that thought.

Ryouga dished out a bowl of food for her and handed it to her. "Here, I think we both missed dinner."

Usagi accepted the bowl graciously and began to eat.

"By the way," she asked between mouthfuls, "why aren't you at Mamo-chan's apartment? I thought you were staying with him."

Ryouga's expression turned melancholy. "We got into a fight, and he kicked me out."

Her eyes went wide. "Why? He was so happy when he found you."

He rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly, "Actually, the fight was about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. As far as I know, the last two times you've seen him you ended up leaving in tears," He shrugged. "I yelled at him about it, so he kicked me out."

"You poor thing!" she cried as she impulsively gave him a hug, "you're not supposed to get caught up in the middle of our problem. Where are you going to stay now?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll just find Ranma and camp with him, that way we'll be able to train before he goes to school."

She gave him a startled look, "How can you be so calm about this? If my cousin got angry with me to the point of kicking me out of his home, I'd be in tears by now."

"Easy, I've had a lot worse things happen to me so I'm used to my luck running out on me. Life's tough, but every hardship we face just makes us stronger," he looked away for a moment. "Besides, it's just as well. There's stuff going on that's pretty dangerous and I don't want it to follow me back to his place."

"Something dangerous?" She asked while her stomach sank. Oh no, he's talking about the daimons!

Ryouga nodded and carefully rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal several bandages and a few ugly bruises.

"You're hurt!" Usagi gasped even as she remembered the fight from earlier that afternoon and the wicked looking sword that the nameless daimon had been wielding.

"A little. I'll be OK if this one cut on my side ever stops bleeding."

"How did you get it?" She asked despite her knowing exactly how.

"We got into a fight with some kind of witch and her pet monster."

Usagi leapt to her feet and grabbed his arm, "Come on, Ryouga! We gotta get you to Ami-chan's mom! She's a doctor!"

"I don't need to see a doctor," he said a little indignantly, "it's not that bad."

"You got cut by a monster! What if it gets infected?" She said as she tried dragging him out of the thicket. When she couldn't get him to budge, she turned her large blue eyes on him. She gave him her most pitiful, pleading look.

"Please? For me?"

He melted at that point.

It was well after dark by the time they had reached Ami's house. Usagi had been keeping an eye on Ryouga from the corner of her eye, and she was getting more and more worried. There was an almost unnoticeable tightness around his eyes, but her biggest concern was the slowly growing bloodstain low on his left side. She ran up to the door and began alternating between pounding on the door mercilessly and ringing the doorbell. After a few moments of that, Ami's mother opened the door.

"Usagi! What on earth is the matter?"

"Miss Mizuno! Ryouga's hurt pretty bad! Hegotintoafightandgotcutandnowhewon'tstopbleedingwegottahelphim !"

Miss Mizuno gathered Usagi into a comforting hug while she cast her gaze at Ryouga and saw the bloodstain on his shirt. "You'd better come inside."

After she had brought them inside, she had him sit on the kitchen table. "Take off your shirt, young man, and let me take a look."

Reluctantly, he pulled off his shirt. Usagi gasped when she saw the full extent of his injuries. Miss Mizuno carefully peeled off the crude bandages and examined the various cuts and contusions across his chest and abdomen.

"How did this happen?" She asked him.

"I got into a fight with a monster. It was a rough fight even after those girls in the funky fukus showed up."

"Sailor Senshi," Usagi absently corrected him.

"Whatever."

"Do you know why it attacked you?" Miss Mizuno asked as she started rummaging through one of her cupboards.

"It wasn't really after me. It was trying to get Ranma's heart crystal or something."

Ami walked into the kitchen at this point and handed her mother a black case.

"Here, Mother, I believe that you were looking for this."

"Thank you, Ami," she smiled as she opened the case and pulled out a surgical needle and thread. "I'm going to have to stitch up that one cut on your side. Did you want to hold one of the girls' hands while I do that?"

Ryouga instantly turned red and began to babble incoherently and waving his arms about. Ami and Usagi gently restrained his flailing arms while Miss Mizuno deftly stitched up his side.

"There. I'm going to call your parents and let them know your staying here tonight, Ryouga. It's getting late, and you are hurt."

"Don't bother trying to call them, they aren't going to be at home," Ryouga said sadly.

Miss Mizuno would have questioned further, but she caught the steady gaze from her daughter and the almost imperceptible shake of her head.

"Very well. I'm still calling your parents, Usagi. I'm not going to let you go out alone at this hour. You can sleep in Ami's room once you get him settled into the guest room."

Usagi went to attention and gave a very sloppy salute. "Yes Ma'am!"

A short time later, Usagi and Ami had gotten Ryouga settled into the guestroom, and they retired to Ami's room. Usagi smiled a little to herself as she did every time she came up here. Ami's room resembled a library more than a teenage girls' room, but somehow it still felt warm and inviting.

"Well, now we know what Minako-chan meant about him looking like a Greek god," Usagi said as she sank into the chair at Ami's desk.

"Maybe. But we didn't see enough to be able to make a fully accurate comparison," Ami commented.

Usagi gave her friend a startled look and began giggling as Ami slowly turned a bright crimson.

"We need to talk," Usagi said softly. Ami nodded and pulled out the Mercury computer and ran the program that would detect any humans that came within a certain distance.

"All set, Usagi-chan."

"I found out why Ranma and Ryouga were fighting with the daimon."

"Oh?"

"Ranma was its target. Oh Ami! I'm so worried for him! What if another one finds his camp and attacks him while he's asleep?" Usagi half cried.

"It's unlikely," Ami said gently to her distraught friend, "Usually after the daimon for a particular target is destroyed, they ignore that target. Otherwise, we all would have had daimons coming after us once again now that the talismans have been found."

Usagi didn't take that too well, "Oh no! I couldn't stand for you or Mako-chan or Rei-chan or Minako-chan to have your heart crystals taken again! Wasn't once bad enough?"

"Usagi-chan! I just said that they were not doing that!" Ami sighed as Usagi caught her up in a fierce embrace.

"I won't let them hurt you! Any of you!" Usagi whispered into Ami's shoulder even as she wept.

The next morning, Miss Mizuno hurried the girls off to school and called in sick to work. She had been holding a suspicion in the back of her mind for quite some time that her daughter and her friends were the Sailor Senshi, but she didn't say anything about it to them. She had decided a long time ago that she would remain silent on that and quietly bandage any wounds from their battles or any of the unfortunate victims they sometimes brought her. She sighed to herself as she looked in on Ryouga. He was still asleep, but he seemed to be caught in some kind of nightmare. He was thrashing about on the futon so violently that she was concerned that he might accidentally re-open the cut she stitched up the previous night.

"Ryouga! You need to wake up!" she said sharply. She almost screamed when he surged out of the futon and landed right in front of her in a fighting stance. He was sweating profusely and breathing hard like he had been in a fight recently, but he slowly relaxed out of his stance and bowed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I startled you. I guess I was having a nightmare," he said a bit sheepishly.

"Quite all right, Ryouga. What school do you go to so that I can call in for you?"

Ryouga blushed in even further embarrassment, "I'm not going to school right now." He continued quickly when he saw the disapproving look begin to form on her face, "But I'm studying to take the placement test tomorrow! Ami has been helping tutor me so that I can get back into High School."

"That's very kind of her. Try not to disappoint her. Now, why don't you let me take a look at your wounds?"

Ryouga shrugged and pulled off the shirt he had worn to sleep. Miss Mizuno gasped in shock when she saw that the bulk of the bruising was already gone, and most of the smaller cuts were already healed over. Even the one that she had to stitch up looked like it was almost ready for her to remove the stitches.

"That's amazing!"

"I heal fast," he said modestly. "It's real handy when you're a martial artist."

Miss Mizuno took a closer look at him and frowned. "Your family name wouldn't happen to be Hibiki would it?"

"Uhm... Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

"That explains a lot," she smiled. "One of my colleagues transferred from Nerima General and had all kinds of stories about the martial artists that periodically showed up there. I didn't believe him at first, but he was insistent."

"We weren't all that bad..."

"Maybe not, but yours and Ranma's names came up a lot in his stories, either people you sent there or you two personally. Now why don't you follow me down to the kitchen and we'll get you some breakfast and then you can study all day while the girls are at school."

"Uh, sure."

Ranma scowled as the lunch bell sounded. His stomach was achingly empty and the school food was woefully inadequate. He decided that rather than waste his money on the pitiful school lunch he would dash off campus and grab a bowl of noodles and be back before he could be missed. He wasn't prepared, however, to find Setsuna waiting for him at the gate.

"Going somewhere, Mr. Saotome?" she asked archly.

"Yeah, I forgot my lunch this mornin' and I gotta get more than I can get at the cafeteria," he replied blandly. "I'll be back before class starts up again."

"You know it's against the rules for a student to leave campus without permission."

"Fine. Ya mind if I go get some food now?" he asked as he jammed his hands into his pockets.

"I do mind. You need to learn responsibility, starting with being prepared in the morning," she said sternly.

"I ain't got time fer this," Ranma grumbled as he leapt to the top of the wall. "Ya want me to bring ya back somethin'?" he asked sarcastically.

"Actually, that would be very nice. Why don't you get me some yakitori and a small bowl of ramen," Setsuna said after a moment of consideration.

"Fine. I'll take'em to yer office when I get back," with that, he leapt off the wall and bounded down the street like an overgrown grasshopper.

Setsuna sighed to herself and shook her head. She knew that getting him to follow school rules was going to be hard, but she never realized that it would be this difficult! Still, maybe by letting him get himself some food now she could start earning his trust. Then she could concentrate on having him follow the rules.

Almost exactly a half-hour later, Ranma leapt through her office window with a takeout box spinning idly on one finger. Setsuna nearly fell out of her chair when he arrived. Ranma almost smirked as she quickly regained her composure, but he managed to keep a straight face.

"Here ya go," Ranma said as he placed the box on her desk.

"Thank you. Next time, though, please use the door," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

Ranma merely gave her his best smirk before he leapt right back out the window. Once he was on the ground he cast a thoughtful look back up to her window.

Maybe she has a point... Shampoo always did annoy me by not using the door, but then again I ain't breaking the walls or nothin', he thought about it for a moment more before he shrugged and made his way back to class.

Once school let out, he made his way over to Mamoru's apartment to pick up Ryouga. Maybe we'll have enough time to spar before his study group gets going.

When he reached Mamoru's door, he knocked and waited patiently. After a few minutes, Mamoru answered.

"Oh, it's you," he said flatly.

"Good afternoon to you too, Chiba. Is Ryouga here?"

"No. He left last night," Mamoru answered shortly and slammed the door.

"Geez, he's still in a bad mood," Ranma muttered as he made his way back down the stairs. "Now I hafta find Ryouga before the study group gets started and who knows where he ran off to."

After running around Juuban for several hours in search of the lost boy, he finally gave up and made his way to the Hikawa Shrine to break the bad news to the girls. When he stepped into the room they usually study in, he nearly lost his footing when he found Ryouga already there and getting help from Ami. Makoto looked up as he came in and smiled.

"Hi, Ranma! Come on in and have a seat, we're just getting started."

"Uh, sure," he said as he sat down. "Hey Ryouga, I'm kinda surprised ta see you here, since Chiba said you left his place last night."

Ryouga swore under his breath while Usagi suddenly looked stricken. Ranma looked between the two of them and frowned.

"Now what did I say?"

"It's not your fault, Ranma," Ami said.

"He kicked me out last night for telling him off about yelling at Usagi," Ryouga growled.

"He did what?!?" Ranma shot to his feet.

"Sit down, Ranma!" Rei snapped, "You can't do anything about it."

"Like hell I can't! I'm gonna go beat some sense into that moron! You don't go and yell at girls fer no reason."

"I swear, if you do something rash I'll take my broom to you!" Rei threatened.

Ranma cringed for a second before he laughed. "You know, you sounded almost just like Akane there fer a second."

"Just be quiet, Ranma. My entrance exam is tomorrow and I want to study as much as I possibly can," Ryouga said as he turned back to the book in front of him.

Ranma bit back a retort as he settled back down and pulled out his homework. The hours seemed to go by slowly, but eventually it was time for them to leave.

"You'd better show me where you're camped, Ranma," Ryouga said as they stood to leave. "It looks like I'm going to be camping in the same spot for a while."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll be able to get some training in each mornin'," Ranma said as he shouldered his bag.

"Don't forget that I will be showing you to where you can take your entrance exam tomorrow," Ami said.

"Same here, Ryo-chan!" Minako chimed in.

"Don't train tomorrow morning, Ryouga. We still have to take you back to Ami-chan's mom to get those stitches out," Usagi cautioned.

"You needed stitches?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, that one on my side that just wouldn't stop bleeding," Ryouga said quietly.

Ranma frowned for a moment before he smiled again. "Nice to know you still heal as quick as ever. How many stitches did it take."

"Twelve," Ryouga shrugged.

Ranma let out a low whistle, "Man, that thing tagged you better than I thought it did."

"So you two did fight a monster yesterday," Rei commented. "And here I thought Usagi had gotten over excited again." She loftily ignored the raspberry that Usagi blew her.

Ranma shrugged and merely waved as he half dragged Ryouga out of the room. Once they were a little ways down the street from the shrine, Ranma turned on Ryouga.

"Just what did you tell them?" He demanded.

"Just that we fought one of those monsters with the Sailor Senshi yesterday," Ryouga said. "Why? It wasn't really a secret, was it?"

"Never mind," Ranma sighed. "I just didn't wanna make 'em worry."

"Whatever."

The dawn seemed sickly the next morning. The sky was overcast and the air was very still when Ranma and Ryouga emerged from their tents. Ryouga sighed as he quickly prepared a breakfast while Ranma did a quick kata.

"Cheery morning," Ranma said as he sat down to eat.

"Take an umbrella, it's going to rain," Ryouga grumbled.

"Ain't you in a good mood?"

"Shut up, Ranma. I'm not in the mood for your smart mouth this morning."

"Stop frettin' about that test already! If I can pass it, so can you."

"At least you managed to go to most of Junior High. I couldn't find the place again after you ran off to China with your father."

"Are you still on that?" Ranma asked tiredly.

"No, just the truth. You didn't just walk off down the road. Knowing Genma, he made you run," Ryouga replied.

"Heh, you got me there. He did make me run."

Usagi, Ami, and Minako approached their camp at that point.

"Good morning! How are you two doing today?" Usagi chirped.

"Just fine, Usagi, just fine," Ranma said as he stood and stretched.

Minako sat down next to Ryouga and attached herself to his arm. "What about you, Ryo-chan?"

He sputtered for a minute before he managed to say that he was fine as well. Minako and Usagi giggled at his antics, while Ranma affected the look of the long suffering.

"Gotta run. I can't be late fer class," he said as he dashed off.

"We'd better hurry as well, Ryo-chan. They are holding a mock placement test at my school today," Minako said as she stood. "Ami and I talked with one of the administrators and he said you could take it for real while Usagi-chan, Ami-chan and I practiced."

"I thought you went to a different school from the others," Ryouga said as he grabbed his pack and stood as well.

"I do, but my teachers agreed to let me and Ami-chan go there for extra practice," Usagi said.

"Well, Usagi does need the extra practice. I think that our teachers wanted to show me off though," Ami said just a bit glumly as they started walking.

"Don't let it get to you, Ami-chan! We are all proud of how smart you are, the teachers just want a bit of credit. After all, a student is only a dissection of a teacher," Minako said seriously while the others sweatdropped.

"Minako-chan, that's supposed to be 'A student is a reflection of the teacher,'" Ami corrected gently.

Minako giggled sheepishly, "I messed that one up pretty bad, didn't I?"

The others could only laugh and nod.

To say that Ryouga was nervous would be an extreme understatement. He barely heard the conversation from the girls around him as they walked towards Shibakouen Junior High. It didn't help his mental state much to have Minako hanging off of his arm either. When they did reach the school, Ryouga was painfully aware of the looks he was receiving from the other students there, and the whispered conversations around him seemed to set a constant hiss in the air.

Unnoticed behind them, one young man had stopped to stare at the way Minako was hanging onto Ryouga before he burst into a fit of swearing. With a great deal of effort, he managed to stop swearing before he angrily jammed his hands into his pockets and stomped his way into the building.

Ami noticed Ryouga's shell-shocked look once they were inside the school and sighed. She knew this was going to be tough enough for him without Minako embarrassing him.

Since Ryouga wasn't very coherent, they sat him in a chair outside the school's offices. Minako ran off to her class while Ami and Usagi checked in with one of the administrators. Occasionally, Ami would come out of the office with a piece of paper for him to sign, but otherwise Ryouga was left alone with his thoughts.

When the time for the mock exam rolled around, he was so nervous he could vomit. The trip to the room where the exam was being held passed in a blur. The other students filing in steered clear of him while he nervously broke chunks off of the corners of his desk. He barely registered the droning voice of the instructor while the exam booklets and answer sheets were passed out, but he very clearly heard what came next like the crack of doom.

"You may begin."

The next hour was a living hell for him. The pressure to do well sat heavily upon him. He wanted so much to be able to show Ranma that he could get into High school that he very nearly let his aura blaze. He clenched his teeth and willed himself calm as he continued to write his answers. The only sound he heard was the ticking of the clock and the rasp of his pencil against the paper.

Finally, he reached the end of the exam and he turned it over on his desk with a barely audible sigh of relief. The exam may have been over for him, but now he had the wonderful task of waiting for the results to come back. He didn't move a muscle when the teacher took his exam off of his desk, and he barely dared to breathe while he waited.

"Time is up, pencils down everyone. The results shall be posted shortly after lunch period is over. Mr. Hibiki, why don't you go with Miss Aino to her class? I'm sure it will be time well spent for you." The old man smiled briefly when he saw Minako's sudden smile.

"Come on, Ryo-chan! Let's go!" Minako hauled at his arm. Usagi and Ami gave them a covert thumbs up before they departed. Minako took up her now usual position on his left arm and led him down the hallway to her classroom.

"Don't worry about the exam, Ryo-chan. I'm sure you did just fine." Minako whispered to him before she opened the door to her class.

"Come on in Miss Aino," her teacher nodded to her as the door opened. "And why don't you introduce yourself young man?" it may have sounded like a request, but it definitely was an order.

"Ah, I'm Ryouga Hibiki and I was here today for the entrance exam," he said just a touch nervously.

"Wasn't it just a practice exam?" the teacher asked.

"Not exactly. Since it's been so long since the last time I was in school, it's going to be used to judge what grade I belong in."

"I see. Since you are already familiar with Miss Aino, why don't you sit next to her for today," she handed him an English translation book. "We are on page ninety seven."

Ryouga sat at his desk and did his best to ignore the stares from the other people in the classroom as he opened his book. He almost laughed out loud when he saw the simplicity of what was being translated and apparently, it showed on his face.

"Since you seem to have already translated it, why don't you share it with the rest of the class, Mr. Hibiki."

Ryouga gave a nervous shake before he stood and began reading. Minako almost stared in amazement. All traces of a Japanese accent had disappeared when he began reading.

He's fluent in English?!? She thought to herself, That's amazing!!

The teacher seemed to be in a similar state of shock, since she gave no indication for him to stop reading. He read aloud until the bell rang, indicating that it was time for lunch. Ryouga put the book on the desk with a certain amount of relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Hibiki. That was very well done," the teacher smiled as she began to gather up some papers on her desk. "You may all go to lunch now."

[Why didn't you tell me you were fluent in English?] Minako smiled impishly as she spoke in her own flawless English.

Ryouga gave her a toothy smile, [You never asked. Why do you think Ami never said anything to me about English?]

"Hey you," One of the male students said as he approached Ryouga's desk, "What makes you think you can waltz in here and start showing off?"

Ryouga gave him a startled look. "Showing off? The teacher asked me to translate, so that's exactly what I did."

"Don't get cute with me, pal," The other boy growled. "When all is said and sifted, you're still nothing but a worthless dropout."

His words started an excited buzz of gossip in the classroom, which caused Ryouga to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. He really didn't like being the center of attention like that.

"That's enough, Imotoku!" Minako snapped when she saw how embarrassed Ryouga was getting, "It's not his fault he couldn't go to school for a long time. At least he learned something while he wasn't attending."

"Stay outta this, Aino. It ain't got nothing to do with a quitter like you."

That got Ryouga upset. "And just why do you think she's a quitter?" he snarled.

"Simple. She quit the volleyball team just when they were ready to go to the championship! Without her, they failed to take the trophy. She just quit, with no real reason, not to mention she's been real standoffish with the rest of us," Imotoku crossed his arms and smirked.

"I'm positive she had a very good reason," Ryouga growled and fixed a stern glare on the younger boy.

Imotoku seemed to at a loss once he heard the conviction in Ryouga's voice. They stood glaring at each other over a desk while the whispers around them increased in volume.

"Isn't that the guy Minako turned down flat a few weeks ago?" Ryouga heard one of the other girls whisper behind him.

"Yeah. She was saying that he was too much of an obsessive jerk. He didn't stop following her for a week. You should have seen how angry he was this morning! I wonder what happened?"

"Isn't it obvious? He saw Minako hanging onto Ryouga here on the way in."

"Please, can we not talk about this?" Minako pleaded. She really didn't want to think about all the gossip and rumors that this scene was going to start, and she definitely didn't want it to get any worse.

"Right, we just can't let it out that you've been late so much that when you're actually on time the teacher has to change her pre-marked sheet. Nor can we let this dropout know that you fall asleep in class on a regular basis, now can we?" His tone dripped with malice and he had a superior smirk on his face. "Poor friendless Minako... Always too busy to do anything with anyone here," Imotoku said as condescendingly as he possibly could.

Ryouga was stunned to see the somewhat hesitant nodding of agreement from the other students in the class. He gave Minako a quick glance and what he saw made his blood boil. Crystalline tears were standing in her eyes and Imotoku was doing everything he could to make her cry in front of the entire class.

"Alright you, I think you've done enough to ruin her day," Ryouga snarled.

"Not nearly enough."

"That tears it! I challenge you, Imotoku!" Ryouga roared, startling the rest of the class

"What?" Imotoku looked startled.

"Are you deaf as well as ugly?" Ryouga sneered. "I said that I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you will apologize to Minako about everything you've said today and leave her alone."

"Fine, if I win, you will have to buy my lunch for the rest of the year!"

The teacher walked up to them at this point. "I will not allow you two to fight in my classroom!" she declared. "So why don't you run down to the athletic field and get it over with."

Half the students facefaulted, but they all ran for the door. As Minako turned to leave, the teacher caught her arm.

"Yes?" Minako asked a bit nervously.

"I know you're wondering why I'm allowing this to go on, so I decided to let you know right now," She sighed. "That young man decided to engage in a duel to defend your honor. That's the most romantic thing I've seen in this school in years! Go and cheer him on now!"

Minako ran to catch up with the rest of the class. She got to the field just in time to be surrounded by a cluster of girls.

"Wow, he's fighting a duel for you? I hope Imotoku doesn't hurt him too much."

"What do you mean?" Minako asked.

"Well, he is the captain of the boxing club."

Minako doubled over laughing at that.

"What's so funny?" A different girl asked.

"You'll see," Minako smiled.

"Are you prepared for your doom, Imotoku?" Ryouga declared as he stood a few feet away from the other boy.

"Ha! I hope you got the money for all those lunches your going to have to buy!"

"Heh. Just give me your best shot. I'm certain I won't feel a single one of your punches."

That enraged Imotoku, and he charged Ryouga with his fist cocked. Ryouga merely yawned. There was a resounding smack as Imotoku's fist impacted with Ryouga's jaw, followed by a howl of pain. It wasn't Ryouga that howled though. Imotoku danced around in front of Ryouga while clutching at his bruised hand.

"That felt like an autumn leaf brushing my cheek as it falls. Try again," Ryouga said in his most insulting tone. Imotoku decided to try hammering Ryouga's stomach, but every one of his punches was deftly blocked.

"Sorry, got some stitches down there and I don't need you getting them infected," Ryouga said in an offhand manner that only enraged Imotoku even more. Wow, now I know why Ranma likes taunting people when he fights!

He let it continue for a few minutes before he decided to end it. He sidestepped a particularly wild attack and smoothly punched Imotoku in the stomach. Imotoku folded nearly in half around that fist and collapsed limply to the dusty field. Ignoring the cheers from the crowd that had gathered, Ryouga picked him up and shook him till he regained consciousness.

"Why don't you apologize to Minako now?"

"Go to hell!"

"Been there, done that," Ryouga replied blandly. "Apologize now, or next time I won't pull my punch."

Ryouga set him on his feet and turned him towards where Minako was standing. Imotoku hesitated until he felt Ryouga's breath on the back of his neck.

"If you don't start moving now, I'm going to break every single bone in your body as slowly as I possibly can."

Shaken, Imotoku staggered over to Minako and knelt in front of her. He then placed both hands on the ground and bent forward until his forehead touched the ground.

"I apologize," he muttered.

"Say it again! I couldn't hear you!" Ryouga snapped.

"I apologize!" Imotoku practically screamed this time.

"That's better," Ryouga smirked at that point and started to walk away. Minako quickly walked after him.

"Thank you, Ryo-chan," she said softly once she had caught up with him.

"You're welcome," he blushed as she reclaimed his arm again, "I couldn't just let him talk that way about you."

"I did have my reasons."

"I'm sure you did. He was just jealous."

They swung over to where the test results were being posted and met up with Usagi and Ami.

"Did you hear? There was a duel during lunch!" Usagi squealed with excitement, "I wonder who was fighting and what it was about."

Ryouga and Minako blushed in unison, causing Ami and Usagi to share a glance.

"Don't tell me you were in that duel, Ryouga?" Usagi asked.

"Actually..." he said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You didn't strain too much, did you?" Ami asked in concern, "You still have those stitches in."

"It was amazing!" Minako gushed. "He let Imotoku get the first hit, but Ryouga acted like he barely felt it."

"I did only barely feel it," Ryouga muttered.

Minako ignored that and described the fight in some detail.

"...and then he made Imotoku apologize for insulting me!" she finished.

"If you're done talking about today's entertainment," the vice principal said as he walked up to them. "I need to speak with Mr. Hibiki regarding his placement test."

"Good luck, Ryo-chan!" Minako said as they walked off. Ryouga watched them walk a short distance away, all three of them giving him a thumbs up.

"Well young man," the vice-principal handed Ryouga a small slip of paper. "I'm sorry, but your score was not quite good enough to get into High School."

Ryouga slumped as he looked blankly at the sheet of paper that declared in writing that he failed.

"What we did decide, though, was that it was because of your lack of formal education that caused that score. So, the faculty here has decided that the best thing for your education is if you repeat our last grade level from the current point and try again at the end of the year."

"You mean?" Ryouga asked blankly.

"What I mean is this, re-do the ninth grade and take the entrance exam again. I'm sure you'll pass it the next time you take it, if you study here with us."

Ryouga muttered something noncommittal as he shuffled over to where the girls were waiting anxiously.

"Uh oh..." Usagi whispered. "He doesn't look happy."

"Ryo-chan?" Minako asked softly.

Ryouga continued to hang his head and said nothing.

"Ryouga? What's wrong? Didn't you pass the exam?" Usagi asked, her voice filled with concern.

The almost imperceptible shake of his head confirmed the girls' fear.

"I'm so sorry, Ryouga. You did your best," Ami tried to comfort him, but he didn't respond at all.

"Ryo-chan, look at me," Minako said gently. When he still didn't respond, she began to plead with him. "Please, Ryo-chan. I still believe in you. I have to! You've done almost as much for me as Usagi has! Please, just look at me! Ryo-chan!"

Ryouga looked up with a slightly dead look in his eyes. His eyes locked with Minako's for a split second before he looked away and began to recite.

[The world is a dark and lonely place.
What light could shine where there is
nothing but shadow?]

They looked stunned, and for once Usagi was speechless. Minako placed her hands on Ryouga's cheeks and forced him to look her in the eye before she spoke.

[Only the single ray of hope pierces
the shadow, but hope is only the
forerunner. Love, passion, kindness
and companionship follow in its wake.
The world does not have to be dark and
lonely, but it will be if you do not
hold the last virtue close to your heart.
Hope.]

Ami dabbed at her eyes with a small lace handkerchief as she watched Minako slowly lead Ryouga out of the school. Usagi looked confused for a few minutes before she turned to Ami.

"Ami-chan? What did they say when they spoke in English?"

"Only the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," Ami sighed. "It's time for us to go home too."

They had barely gotten out of the doors of the school when the sky began to weep as well. Despite the gloomy weather, Ami thought that she saw a ray of light walking in front of her, directly under a red bamboo umbrella. **End of Chapter 2

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Author's Notes:

I hope that you all have enjoyed the second chapter of Twin Dragons under Moonlight. Feel free to e-mail me with your comments, I will try to respond to all of my mail.

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